On September 24 in Baseball History...

    1916 - Marty Kavanagh, Indians utility man, hits the American League's first pinch-hit grand slam for Cleveland in a 5-3 win over the Red Sox. The ball rolls through a hole in the fence and cannot be retrieved in time for a play at the plate.

    1919 - With a blast that clears the roof of the Polo Grounds, Red Sox outfielder Babe Ruth ties the game in the top of the ninth in an eventual 2-1 loss to Yankees that takes 13 innings to complete. The Bambino's round-tripper, his 28th of the season, breaks the 19th century home run record established in 1894 by Ned Williamson of the NL's Chicago White Stockings.

    1922 - Cardinals outfielder Rogers Hornsby hits home runs off Giant hurlers Jesse and Virgil Barnes. The homers served up by the brothers enable the ‘Rajah’ to set the National League record for round trippers in a season with 42.

    1925 - With the Yankees trailing by three runs in the bottom of the tenth inning, Babe Ruth hits a Sarge Connally pitch for a game-winning home run which beats the White Sox, 6-5. The 'Sultan of Swat' becomes the first modern player to blast a walk-off homer with the bases full which wins the game by one run.

    1926 - The Cardinals clinch their first pennant in the 35-year history of the franchise when they beat the Giants at the Polo Grounds. Billy Southworth's second inning two-run home run off his former team proves to be the difference in St. Louis' 6-4 victory at the Polo Grounds.

    1928 - A Monday afternoon of crowd of only 404 watches the Tigers blank the last-place Red Sox, 8-0. The meager amount of fans at Navin Field is the lowest American League attendance ever recorded in Detroit.

    1929 - Tom Zachary of the Yankees wins his 12th without a loss 5-3 over Boston. He is the first pitcher to go 12-0 for a season.

    1934 - Idle Detroit wins the pennant, as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 5-0 in the season finale at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth walks in the first inning, limps to first base, and leaves for a pinch runner in his last home game as a Yankee.

    1940 - At Shibe Park, Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx blasts his 500th career home run off A's pitcher George Caster. The historic homer is one of four round trippers hit in the inning setting an American League mark.

    1946 - Disappointing on the field, the Yankees nevertheless finish their home season with an attendance of 2,265,512. The best previous draw was the 1929 Cubs at 1,485,166. Total Major League attendance was 18.5 million, 75 percent more than 1945.

    1948 - The Red Sox loss to the Yankees along with Detroit's defeat of the Indians results in a three-way tie for first place with Boston, Cleveland and New York finishing the day with identical records of 91-56 with only seven games to play. A one-game playoff, between the Tribe and BoSox, will be needed to crown Cleveland as the American League champs.

    1950 - With 66‚924 fans in attendance, the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 9-5, on Johnny Mize Day at Yankee Stadium. The 38-year old first baseman and future Hall of Famer contributes to the victory over the fading Boston team, now four games behind the Bronx Bombers, with a single and double.

    1957 - Grounding out, Pirates left-handed first baseman Dee Fondy becomes last player ever to bat in Ebbets Field when the Dodgers blank the Bucs, 2-0 in the final major league game ever played in Brooklyn.

    1968 - During a game against the Braves in Atlanta, Mets manager Gil Hodges suffers a mild heart attack. The New York skipper, who will die of a massive coronary in 1972, is hospitalized until October 20 when doctors give him a clean bill of health, but warned him about the continued risks of stress and smoking. 

    1969 - Home runs by Donn Clendenon and Ed Charles, and Gary Gentry's four-hitter, clinch the National League East for the Mets, who defeat Steve Carlton and the Cards 6-0. As the game ends, a large number of the 54,928 fans pour onto the field ripping up huge chunks of sod. Seven fans suffer fractures in the celebration.

    1971 - Al Downing becomes a 20-game winner when he blanks the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 2-0. The Dodger left-hander, best remembered for giving up Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run, will compile a 123-107 record during his 17-year major league career.

    1971 - In the top of the fourth inning of a losing effort to Philadelphia, Cubs' starter Milt Pappas strikes out the side throwing just nine pitches. Greg Luzinski, Don Money, and Mike Anderson are the victims of the right-hander's immaculate inning.

    1974 - At Memorial Stadium in a 5-4 loss to the Birds, Tigers outfielder Al Kaline gets his 3000th hit. The milestone hit is given up by Orioles hurler Dave McNally, a two-bagger down the right-field line.

    1975 - Tom Seaver learns the adage the "third time's the charm" isn't always true when he loses his bid for a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the third time in his career. After striking out Don Kessinger and Rick Monday, rookie outfielder Joe Wallis, playing in his 15th career game, singles to right field for Cubs' first hit off the Mets' starter in the Wrigley Field contest.

    1977 - Gene Richards of the Padres and Pirates outfielder Omar Moreno both swipe their 50th base of the season to surpass Sonny Jackson's rookie record set with the Astros 1966. The Friars' first baseman will establish a new freshman mark ending the campaign with 56 thefts, three more than the Bucs' flychaser.

    1978 - Yankee southpaw Ron Guidry ties the American League record for shutouts tossed in a season by a lefty when he blanks Cleveland, 4-0. 'Gator', with his ninth complete scoreless game equals Babe Ruth's mark, who accomplished the feat in 1916 with the Red Sox.

    1979 - Pete Rose singles as the Phillies fall to the Cardinals, 7-2. Rose reaches 200 hits in a season for the tenth time. He breaks the Major League record of nine such seasons held by Ty Cobb.

    1980 - The Braves, with 24,897 watching, beat the Astros 4-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, pushing the Braves over the one million attendance mark for the season. The eleven other National League teams have already reached that milestone, making this the first season ever in which all the teams in one league have done so.

    1984 - Rick Sutcliffe pitches a two-hitter in a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh to clinch the National League East title for the Cubs, who will be making their first postseason appearance since 1945. The win is Sutcliffe's 14th in a row.

    1985 - Expos outfielder Andre Dawson slugs three home runs, including a pair of three-run shots in a 12-run fifth inning, to lead Montreal to a wild 17-15 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Dawson joins Willie McCovey as the only players to hit two home runs in one inning on two different occasions.

    1988 - Julio Franco's two-out, two-strike ninth inning bad-hop single spoils Dave Stieb's bid for a no-hitter. The Blue Jays' starter settles for a 1-0 one-hit victory over the Indians.

    1991 - With his 37th homer of the season, Howard Johnson establishes a new NL record for round-trippers by a switch-hitter when he goes deep off Bob Walk in the Mets' 10-8 loss to Pittsburgh at Shea Stadium. HoJo, who will extend the record finishing the season with 38 home runs, had set the previous mark in 1987.

    1992 - At the age of 40, Dave Winfield drives in four runs with a homer and a two-run double becoming the oldest player to drive in 100 runs. The 40-year-old does the trick in his 2,700th career game. The future Hall of Famer's offensive outburst helps the Blue Jays beat the Orioles, 8-2.

    1992 - Kenny Lofton establishes an Indian record when he steals 62nd base of the season, a swipe of second base in the first inning. The Tribe's rookie center fielder surpasses the previous franchise mark established by Miguel Dilone in 1980.

    1993 - Defeating Cincinnati, 9-2, the Rockies set a National League record for wins by an expansion team. Colorado's 65th win of the season surpasses the mark established by the Houston Colt .45s. in 1962.

    1998 - Tom Gordon strikes out the side saving a Red Sox 9-6 victory over the Orioles at Fenway Park. 'Flash' records his 42nd consecutive save establishing a new major league record.

    2001 - Former American major leaguer Tuffy Rhodes ties the Japanese record set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964 when takes fireballer Daisuke Matsuzaka deep for his 55th home run of the season. The Kintetsu Buffaloes outfielder has five games left to break the record, but opposing pitchers will intentionally walked him to prevent the immortal Oh's record being broken.

    2002 - Thanks to Jason's two home runs in the Yankees' 6-0 whitewash of the Devil Rays, the Giambi brothers (Jason 40, Jeremy 20) pass the DiMaggio siblings for the highest single-season total for homers with 60. The DiMaggios (Joe 46, Vince, 13) went yard 59 times in 1937.

    2002 - The Astros have their first rain delay at home since July 15, 1976. To save time, officials decide to cover the Minute Maid field with a tarp during the 19-minute delay rather than use the retractable roof.

    2003 - Eric Gagne ties John Smoltz’s National League mark for saves with 55th as he helps the Dodgers defeat the Padres, 5-3. The Los Angeles closer equals the NL mark in consecutive opportunites, which is also a record.

    2004 - Atlanta's streak of consecutive division titles is extended to 13 with the Braves clinching the NL East as a result of an 8-7 victory over the Marlins. The record run, which excludes the strike-shortened season of 1994, includes the three titles won in the NL West prior to the re-alignment of teams in 1993.

    2005 - Averaging more than 50,000 fans per game, the Yankees become the third franchise in major league history, and the first since the 1994 strike, to pass the four-million attendance mark. The 1993 Colorado Rockies and the 1991-1993 Toronto Blue Jays are the other teams which have reached the milestone.

    2006 - With the best record in the majors at 94-62, the Tigers clinched their first playoff spot since 1987. Detroit's 11-4 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium ends the 19 season postseason drought.

    2006 - As the Petco Park sellout crowd roars, Trevor Hoffman retires all the three Pittsburgh batters he faces in the ninth inning ensuring a 2-1 San Diego victory. The Padres closer's 479th career save surpasses Lee Smith's total (1980-1997) making the 38-year-old reliever the all-time leader in saves.

    2006 - David Ortiz ties Babe Ruth's American League record with his 32nd round-tripper on the road. 'Big Papi's 53rd homer of the season comes in the Red Sox 13-4 losing effort to the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre.

    2007 - Baltimore completes a season sweep of the Royals with a 3-2 victory at Camden Yards. The Orioles, twenty-three games under the .500 mark, beat Kansas City seven times in seven tries making it only the sixth time in team history that a season series has been swept from an AL opponent.

    2008 - Thanks to Mark Teixeira's eighth inning solo home run, the Mariners are defeated by the Angels, 6-5, making it the fourth time in franchise history the club has lost 100 games. Seattle has the distinction of being the first team with a $100 million payroll to lose 100 games.

    2009 - When his team beats Kansas City, 10-3, Red Sox skipper Terry Francona moves ahead of Mike Higgins with his 561st win piloting Boston, the second-most in franchise history. Joe Cronin, the club's all-time leader, accumulated 1,071 wins during his 13-year tenure with the team from 1935 to 1947.

    2010 - Rafael Soriano sets a club record when earns his 44th save of the season in the Rays’ 5-3 win over Seattle at Tropicana Field. The right-handed reliever, who will extend the mark to 45, had been tied with Roberto Hernandez, who saved 43 games for Tampa Bay in 1999.

    2011 - With his strikeout of pinch-hitter Jose Lopez in the Brewers' 6-4 win over Florida, John Axford earns his 45th save of the year to set the single season franchise park for saves. The Milwaukee closer surpasses Francisco Cordero, who established the mark with 44 in 2007.

    2011 - Dillon Gee becomes the first Mets rookie to win 13 games in a season when New York defeats Washington, 6-3. In 1984, Dwight Gooden compiled a 17-9 record as a freshman in 31 starts for the team.

    2011 - In a pre-game ceremony before a nationally televised game with Boston, the Yankees celebrate the 50th anniversary of Roger Maris's record breaking 61st home run. The festivities include New York captain Derek Jeter carrying the bat to home plate that the Rajah used to hit the Tracy Stallard pitch on October 1, 1961, and Sal Durante, the 19-year fan old who caught the historic homer in the right field stands, bringing the ball onto the field.

    2011 - The 200,000th game played in major league history since 1876 goes over time. At Minute Maid Park, it takes the visiting Rockies 13 innings to beat the Astros, 4-2, in the milestone meeting of big league clubs.

    2012 - Curtis Granderson becomes only the fifth player in franchise history to hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons when he goes deep into the upper deck at Target Field in the Yankees' 6-3 victory over Minnesota. The 31 year-old southpaw-swinging slugger joins Jason Giambi and Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle as the only other Bronx Bombers to accomplish the feat.

    2013 - The Baltimore Orioles released Wilson Betemit.

    2013 - The Marlins lose their 100th game of the year, dropping a 2-1 decision to Philadelphia en route to the second-worst record (62-100) in franchise history. The season follows a much-maligned fire sale that left the team without its prized players from the 2012 roster, including Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, as well as starting pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson.

    2013 - Michael Wacha just misses becoming the 22nd rookie ever to throw a no-hitter when Ryan Zimmerman beats out an infield grounder with two outs in the top of ninth inning for Washington’s only hit. The 22 year-old Cardinals right-hander comes within inches of fielding the ball that cost him his bid for history in the team’s 2-0 victory at Busch Stadium.

    2014 - Twins' hurler Phil Hughes loses a $500,000 bonus when he doesn't return to the mound after a lengthy rain delay, having pitched a season total 209.2 innings, an out short needed to trigger a contract incentive worth a half-a million bucks. The Minnesota right-hander, who held Arizona to one run over eight innings, finishes his first year the team with an 11.63 K/BB ratio, the highest single-season mark for a starter in the history of the game, surpassing Bret Saberhagen's record of a 11.00 K/BB ratio accomplished with the 1994 Mets.



    Baseball Birthdays on September 24...

    1853 - Flaherty, Martin
    1859 - Miller, Cyclone
    1878 - Richardson, Bill
    1881 - Vail, Bob
    1882 - Kane, John
    1890 - Gonzalez, Mike
    1891 - Siglin, Paddy
    1893 - Sargent, Joe
    1894 - Neu, Otto
    1896 - Pennington, Kewpie
    1909 - Reder, Johnny
    1910 - Walker, Dixie
    1910 - Seats, Tom
    1920 - Davis, Otis
    1921 - Vollmer, Clyde
    1925 - Hood, Wally
    1929 - Mangan, Jim
    1931 - Krsnich, Mike
    1938 - Banks, George
    1939 - Nen, Dick
    1940 - Motton, Curt
    1942 - Nieson, Chuck
    1946 - Camilli, Lou
    1947 - Angelini, Norm
    1948 - Soderholm, Eric
    1949 - Kirkwood, Don
    1952 - Gilbreath, Rod
    1955 - Heimueller, Gorman
    1956 - Brooks, Hubie
    1958 - Acker, Jim
    1962 - Davis, Doug
    1964 - Palmeiro, Rafael
    1964 - Neidlinger, Jim
    1965 - Leius, Scott
    1966 - George, Chris
    1966 - Gilkey, Bernard
    1966 - Koslofski, Kevin
    1970 - Spoljaric, Paul
    1971 - Millar, Kevin
    1971 - Burke, Jamie
    1973 - Garcia, Jesse
    1973 - Loewer, Carlton
    1974 - McDonald, John
    1976 - Broussard, Ben
    1977 - Encarnacion, Mario
    1977 - Coco, Pasqual
    1979 - Cornejo, Nate
    1980 - Speigner, Levale
    1982 - Karstens, Jeff
    1983 - Ishikawa, Travis
    1984 - Carroll, Scott
    1984 - Crotta, Michael
    1984 - Rodriguez, Rafael
    1987 - Goebbert, Jake
    1988 - Jones, James
    1988 - Sierra, Moises
    1988 - Strickland, Hunter
    1989 - Buchanan, Jake
    1991 - Ynoa, Michael
    1993 - Smith, Drew
    1993 - Torres, Jose



    Baseball Deaths on September 24...

    1910 - Boone, George
    1913 - Roat, Fred
    1933 - Donlin, Mike
    1941 - Castro, Luis
    1946 - Tesreau, Jeff
    1956 - Marbet, Walt
    1958 - Jackson, Bill
    1963 - Gammons, Daff
    1965 - Knox, Cliff
    1967 - Allen, John
    1973 - Nelson, Tommy
    1973 - Sloan, Bruce
    1974 - Porter, Dick
    1977 - Lollar, Sherm
    1978 - Bostock, Lyman
    1980 - Ayers, Bill
    1980 - Shore, Ernie
    1990 - Werts, Johnny
    1993 - Goldstein, Izzy
    1996 - Embree, Red
    2005 - Smith, Frank
    2008 - Vernon, Mickey
    2009 - Bates, Del
    2015 - Sukla, Ed