On September 15 in Baseball History...

    1884 - Meriden, ahead 5-3 in the top of the ninth inning, wins the Connecticut State League contest when Hartford forfeits because the team refuses to use a ball, needed to replaces the one that was hit foul into a marsh behind home plate, citing the sphere did not come from a box sealed by the league secretary. The suddenly shortened game also featured the only home run hit that season at the Meriden ballpark, a round-tripper stroked by its captain, future Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack.

    1902 - The trio of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance completes their first twin killing in a 6-3 win over Cincinnati at Chicago's West Side Grounds. The Cubs' legendary douple-play combination will be immortalized by the 1910 baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams, Baseball's Sad Lexicon.


    1904 - Giants rookie Hooks Wiltse wins his 12th straight game, setting a Major League mark for consecutive games won at the start of a career. It will be tied by relief hurler Butch Metzger in 1976.

    1912 - Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox pitched his 16th consecutive victory to tie Walter Johnson's record as he beat the St. Louis Browns 2-1.

    1922 - Catcher Butch Henline is the first National League player to hit three homers in a game since 1897, as the Phils beat the Cards 10-9. Henline's third home run tied the game in the ninth inning and Cliff Lee then hit the game-winning home run.

    1928 - The Braves play their ninth consecutive doubleheader. The streak, which began on September 4th, sees the team lose five in a row, including four to the Giants.

    1929 - Between games of a twin bill, Cincinnati entertains fans by sponsoring a base-circling contest with the winning player receiving $75 in prize money. Evar Swanson breaks Hans Lobart’s record of 13.8 seconds set earlier in the year as he completes the 360 foot dash in 13.3 seconds, according to official AAU timers who officiated the race.

    1931 - The Philadelphia Athletics clinch the pennant, beating Cleveland at home. Eddie Rommel, veteran knuckleball pitcher for the A's, is the winning hurler, as Connie Mack wins his third successive pennant. It is Mack's ninth, and last, American League championship.

    1938 - For the fifth time in a major league game, brothers homer in the same contest when Pirates teammates Lloyd and Paul Waner both go deep in the fifth inning of the Bucs' 7-2 victory over New York at the Polo Grounds. Although 'Big and Little Poison' have completed the deed twice before, they are the first siblings in history to hit the home runs in consecutive at-bats, a feat which will not be duplicated again until the Upton Brothers go back-to-back for the Braves in 2013.

    1946 - The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in five innings in game two of a doubleheader when the game was called because a giant swarm of gnats engulfs Ebbets Field. The insects became such a problem for the players, umpires and fans that the game had to be stopped.

    1950 - At Ebbets Field, Cardinal starter, Cloyd Boyer, hurts his arm while warming up and is replaced by Red Munger. The reliever goes the distance beating the Dodgers, 6-2, getting credit for a complete game, but not for a game started.

    1950 - Johnny Mize hits three home runs in one game for the sixth time in his career‚ establishing a major league record. The first baseman's offensive output, which makes him the second player to accomplish a three-homer game in both leagues along with Babe Ruth, isn't enough when the Yankees lose at Detroit, 9-7.

    1952 - The Braves play their last game in Boston's Braves Field before moving to Milwaukee, losing to Brooklyn's Joe Black 8-2. The crowd of 8,822 is the second largest of the season at the ballpark.

    1958 - Snuffy Stirnweiss is killed when the New Jersey commuter train in which he is a passenger plunges off the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge between Elizabethport and Bayonne. The 39-year old former all-star infielder, who played with the Yankees, Browns and Indians, led the American League in hitting with a .309 average playing for New York in 1945.

    1960 - Giants' superstar Willie Mays ties a major league mark by hitting three triples in an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia. The third three-bagger of the game in the eleventh inning for the ‘Say Hey Kid’, who collects 5 hits in 6 at-bats, leads to the eventual go-ahead run in the Connie Mack Stadium contest.

    1963 - Inspired by their fans, the Mets hold the first of many Banner Days. The Polo Grounds event gives the 'New Breed' an opportunity to display their creative ideas with signs, including some with a negative tone, with an on the field parade between games of a doubleheader against the Colt .45s.

    1963 - All three Alou brothers - Felipe, Matty and Jesus - played in the outfield at the same time for the San Francisco Giants in a 13-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

    1964 - At Wrigley Field, Larry Jackson fires a six-hitter beating the Reds, 6-1, to become the season’s first 20-game winner. The 33-year old right-handed workhorse will finish the campaign with a 24-11 record for the eighth-place Cubs.

    1967 - At the spacious Astrodome, Jimmy Wynn becomes the first Astro to hit three homers in one game. The 'Toy Cannon's' performance isn't enough as the Braves beat Houston, 9-8.

    1969 - Cardinal hurler Steve Carlton fans nineteen batters, including three in the final frame, to establish a new major league mark for strikeouts for a nine-inning game. Lefty's performance is spoiled when Ron Swoboda's pair of two-run homers proves to be the difference in the Redbirds' 4-3 loss to the Mets at Busch Stadium.

    1971 - Making his debut in relief in the ninth inning against the Braves, Astros' rookie Larry Yount injures his right shoulder on his very first warm up pitch, and the 21-year-old right-hander will never get another chance to pitch in the bigs. Robin's older brother's total major league experience will consist of just one-warm up pitch.

    1971 - The Oakland A's win the American League West Division with their 3-2 victory over Chicago and the Royals' 6-2 loss to California. The franchise hadn't won a title since 1931 when Connie Mack managed the team in Philadelphia.

    1974 - On a bright, sunny day at Fenway Park, Rico Petrocelli is struck behind the left ear, below the helmet, when he loses Jim Slaton's pitch due to the blinding glare off the outfield bleachers. The beaning, which causes inner ear damage, results in the third baseman missing the rest of the season and will hasten his early retirement prior to the start of the 1977 season at the age of 33.

    1974 - Gaylord Perry goes the distance for his 20th victory when he beats Baltimore and Ross Grimsley at Memorial Stadium‚ 1-0. The right-hander, who will finish the season with a 21-13 record, will be the last Indian pitcher in the twentieth century to win twenty games.

    1975 - Mike Vail ties the National League rookie record as the outfielder hits in his twenty-third consecutive game. The Mets' late season call up’s streak matches the 1948 freshman performances of Richie Ashburn (1948, Phillies) and Alvin Dark (1948, Braves).

    1977 - The Orioles forfeit to the Blue Jays when manager Earl Weaver pulls his team off the field in the fifth inning citing a hazardous condition, a small tarpaulin held down by bricks on the bullpen mound.

    1977 - The Royals set a club record of 16 straight victories when they defeat the A's in ten innings in the nightcap of a doubleheader, 5-4.

    1978 - In front of 47,188 fans at Dodger Stadium, Don Sutton throws a six-hitter to beat Atlanta, 5-0. With tonight's attendance, Los Angeles becomes the first team in major league history to draw three million fans at home.

    1979 - Bob Watson of the Red Sox became the first to hit for the cycle in both leagues as he led Boston to a 10-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He hit for the cycle with the Houston Astros against San Francisco on June 24, 1977.

    1990 - Bobby Thigpen pitched one inning and became the first relief pitcher with 50 saves in a season as the Chicago White Sox beat the Red Sox 7-4.

    1995 - Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith sets a Major League record with his 1,554th double play in a 7-6 loss to the Dodgers.

    1996 - The Baltimore Orioles set baseball's season home run record with five against Detroit, including Mark Parent's record-breaking shot in the third inning and Brady Anderson's tenth leadoff homer of the year. The homers gave the Orioles 243, three more than the 1961 New York Yankees.

    1996 - Thanks to Andres Galarraga's three-run homer the Rockies establish a big league record for runs scored at home. Colorado, which will amass 658 tallies at Coors Field, scores its 626th, 627th and 628th runs of the season when the 'Big Cat' goes deep to surpass the 1950 Red Sox who crossed the plate 625 times.

    1996 - Frank Thomas slams his 215th career home run in a White Sox uniform to surpass Carlton Fisk as the franchise all-time leader. The Big Hurt's historic homer is the first of three round trippers he hits in a 9-8 loss to the Red Sox at Boston's Fenway Park.

    1996 - The Rangers retire their first number in franchise history when they honor Nolan Ryan. The future owner of the team, who wore uniform jersey #34, pitched two no-hitters and won his 300th career game during his five years on the mound for Texas.

    1997 - Baltimore outfielder Eric Davis played five innings in the opening game of a day-night doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, his first game since colon cancer surgery in June.

    1997 - Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 51st and 52nd homers in Seattle's win over Toronto to become the sixth Major Leaguer to hit 100 or more home runs over two consecutive seasons. Jr. hit 49 homers last season.

    1997 - - The newly renovated Anaheim Stadium will now be known as Edison International Field. The 30-year old Angels’ ballpark will once again be a baseball-only facility.

    1998 - In a 12-7 win over the Twins, Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the fourth-youngest (28 years and 10 months) player to reach 1,000 RBIs. Junior got to the 1,000 mark younger than anyone except Mel Ott (27 years, three months), Jimmie Foxx (27 years, eight months) and Lou Gehrig (28 years, 9 1/2 months).

    1998 - Ending a six-game drought without a homer, Mark McGwire, pinch-hitting in the ninth inning, hits his 63rd homer. The solo shot off Jason Christiansen in the Cardinals' 8-6 loss to the Pirates allows 'Big Mac' to regain the home-run lead over Sammy Sosa.

    1998 - Working the ninth for his 40th save in the Rangers' 6-5 win over the Orioles, John Wetteland joins three other pitchers in major league history to have three or more 40-save seasons. Dennis Eckersley, Jeff Reardon and Lee Smith have also accomplished the same feat.

    1998 - Rolando Arrojo (14-12) sets a record for wins by an expansion pitcher when the Devil Rays defeat the Angels, 8-1.

    1999 - The owners unanimously approved a resolution to redraft the Major League Agreement allowing the American League and National League to merge in all aspects except on the field, where the leagues and divisions will remain the same.

    2000 - A's first baseman Jason Giambi sets a team record by hitting his fourth grand slam of the season as Oakland drubs the Devil Rays, 17-3. The base-loaded shot also ties a major league record for the most grand slams by a team in a single season, 12.

    2000 - Passing both Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, Mariner Rickey Henderson scores two runs to take over second place on the career list for runs scored. Henderson with a total of 2,175 will need to tally 71 runs to pass all time leader, Ty Cobb (2,245).

    2000 - In a 5-4 victory over the Giants, Padres' closer Trevor Hoffman becomes the third player in baseball history to have four 40-save seasons.

    2002 - Defeating the Indians after a 67-minute rain delay, 5-0, the Twins clinch the American League Central Division flag. Minnesota, which will be making its first playoff appearance since 1991, was almost eliminated during the off season due to contraction.

    2003 - With his 2,063rd career base on balls, Barry Bonds passes Babe Ruth on the all-time walks list. The Giant left fielder now trails only Rickey Henderson, who has 2,190 free passes.

    2003 - Rafael Palmeiro joins Jimmie Foxx as the only players to hit 35 homers and drive in 100 runs in nine consecutive seasons. The Hall of Famer Foxx accomplished the feat playing for the A's and Red Sox from 1932 to 1940.

    2003 - Thousands of Hanshin Tigers fans jump off the Ebisubashi Bridge into the Dotonbori River in celebration as their hometown heros clinch the Central League title for first time in 18 years. It has become a local ritual to jump into the murky river when the team wins.

    2004 - With the bases loaded in the fourth inning during an eventual 6-2 Expos victory at Dolphin Stadium, Mike Lowell tags Brian Schneider taking a lead off third base. The Expos catcher becomes the victim of the hidden ball trick not realizing the Marlins third baseman had not given the pitcher the ball after visiting the mound.

    2006 - For the ninth consecutive season, the Devil Rays lose 90-plus games. The 1936-45 Phillies are the only other team in big league history to accomplish the infamous feat.

    2007 - Prince Fielder's NL-leading 46th home run establishes a Brewers franchise record. The Milwaukee first baseman's third inning round tripper off Reds' hurler Kirk Saarloos breaks the team's home-run mark set by Gorman Thomas (1979) and Richie Sexson (2001, 2003).

    2007 - Although it’s nowhere near the amount 1998’s Mark McGwire's single season home run record ball commanded, Giants slugger Barry Bonds' career No. 756 home run baseball sells for more than experts predicted. The ball thrown by Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik on August 7, which was auctioned by Matt Murphy, the fan who caught the historic homer, is won by an unidentified bidder for $752,467.

    2008 - The day after dropping a doubleheader to the Phillies, the Brewers fire Ned Yost (457-502) ending the manager’s six-year tenure which saw Milwaukee develop from cellar dwellers into a contender in the National League Central Division. New skipper Dale Sveum, formerly the team’s third base coach, will try to stop the recent skid of 11 losses in 14 games and keep the 83-67 club in contention for the wild card.

    2010 - Derek Jeter, giving a performance worthy of an Oscar, is awarded first base when the umpires determine the New York shortstop was hit by a pitch thrown by Chad Qualls. Video replay of the at-bat, that clearly shows the fastball hit the knob of the bat, prompts a national debate about the ethics demonstrated by the usually squeaky-clean Yankees captain, who admitted after the 4-3 loss to Tampa that he pretended to get hit by the pitch to get on base.

    2010 - The Cubs beat the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, 7-3, to complete their first three-game sweep in St. Louis in more than twenty years. The victory marks the first time since June 12, 1988 that the visiting Chicago fans can break out the brooms in the Gateway City.

    2010 - At Fenway Park, Jose Bautista establishes a new Blue Jay record for home runs in a season when he hit his 48th, a two-run blast on a 3-2 fastball thrown by Michael Bowden. The 29-year old outfielder, who has never gone deep more than 16 times in a year, breaks the mark established by George Bell in 1987.

    2011 - After hitting a first inning two-run homer, singling in the second, and stroking a leadoff double in the fifth, Pablo Sandoval hit for the cycle when he drives a pitch that sails just beyond the outstretched glove of Colorado's right fielder Carlos Gonzalez for a triple. 'Panda', a third baseman not known for speed, becomes the 25th Giant player to accomplish the feat, and the first since Fred Lewis did the deed in 2007, also at Coors Field.

    2012 - In the Marlins' 6-4 victory over Cincinnati in Miami, Jose Reyes is charged with baseball's unofficial 500,000th error. The All-star shortstop earns the dubious distinction when he flubs Drew Stubbs' ground ball in the seventh inning.

    2012 - In a thirty-minute pre-game ceremony, four U.S. Marine pilots unveiled a bronze statue of Jerry Coleman at Petco Park honoring the longtime Padres broadcaster for his 70 years of major league service in the booth and as a player, and for his distinguished career in the Marine Corps, where he flew 120 combat missions during WWII and the Korean conflict. The 7-foot, 5-inch sculpture, which sits on a granite base, is in front of three 4-foot by 8-foot panels that captures the 88 year old's roles in baseball, the military, and as broadcaster.




    Baseball Birthdays on September 15...

    1847 - Snyder, Jim
    1856 - Bushong, Doc
    1861 - Flanagan, Ed
    1862 - Cleveland, Elmer
    1870 - O'Connor, Frank
    1875 - Rohe, George
    1876 - Altrock, Nick
    1881 - Doyle, Slow Joe
    1887 - Suter, Harry
    1888 - Dubuc, Jean
    1892 - Lunte, Harry
    1893 - Martin, Speed
    1897 - McQuillan, Hugh
    1899 - McCurdy, Harry
    1900 - Meeker, Roy
    1900 - Clancy, Bud
    1902 - Young, Russ
    1905 - Peploski, Henry
    1905 - Page, Vance
    1906 - Tobin, Johnny
    1906 - Biggs, Charlie
    1907 - Ostermueller, Fritz
    1919 - Budnick, Mike
    1924 - Davis, Jim
    1927 - Simpson, Duke
    1928 - Lennon, Bob
    1929 - Wheat, Lee
    1933 - Fitzgerald, John
    1936 - Burdette, Freddie
    1937 - Smith, Charley
    1938 - Perry, Gaylord
    1940 - Linzy, Frank
    1941 - Barbieri, Jim
    1949 - Pagan, Dave
    1949 - Carrithers, Don
    1950 - Hilton, Dave
    1952 - Collins, Don
    1956 - Pacella, John
    1960 - Fischer, Todd
    1966 - Simons, Doug
    1967 - Abbott, Paul
    1967 - Moeller, Dennis
    1968 - Robertson, Rich
    1969 - Perry, Herb
    1971 - Hardtke, Jason
    1975 - Cardona, Javier
    1975 - Smith, Dan
    1976 - Pena, Elvis
    1976 - Thornton, Matt
    1977 - Rolls, Damian
    1983 - Hochevar, Luke
    1991 - Suero, Wander
    1994 - Hudson, Dakota




    Baseball Deaths on September 15...

    1922 - Jones, Charlie
    1924 - Chance, Frank
    1932 - Kane, Harry
    1935 - Ardner, Joe
    1940 - Yewell, Ed
    1946 - Wilson, Tex
    1949 - Bonham, Tiny
    1949 - Beckendorf, Heinie
    1950 - Knotts, Joe
    1953 - Sigsby, Seth
    1957 - Butcher, Max
    1958 - Stirnweiss, Snuffy
    1961 - Carlson, Leon
    1963 - Miner, Ray
    1971 - Ortiz, Roberto
    1978 - Bettencourt, Larry
    1981 - Caldwell, Earl
    1991 - Burgess, Smoky
    1993 - Allen, Ethan
    1995 - Reyes, Nap
    1996 - Pilney, Andy
    2010 - LaMacchia, Al
    2011 - Taylor, Bill
    2015 - Wiles, Randy