On July 23 in Baseball History...

1890 - Harry Stovey of Boston's Players League club becomes the first Major League player to reach 100 career home runs.

1925 - Lou Gehrig's four-run home run is the difference in the Yankees' 11-7 victory over the Senators. The New York first baseman's bases-full homer is the first of a record 23 grand slams he will hit during his 17-year career in the Bronx.

1925 - In a Class C Western Association minor league game against the Topeka Jayhawks, Paul Richards of the Muskogee Chiefs is summoned from his shortstop position to pitch. The future major league player and manager throws with both hands during his brief appearance on the mound, including an unusual confrontation with a switch-hitter, that briefly results in both the pitcher and the batter continually swapping hands and batter's boxes respectively, until the ambidextrous hurler becomes a left-hander and right-hander on alternate pitches, regardless of where the batter places himself.

1930 - Pirates third baseman Pie Traynor hits game-winning homers in both ends of a doubleheader. The future Hall Famer's ninth inning home run wins the opener and he ends the nightcap when he connects in the 13th.

1939 - Using yellow dyed balls, the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 5-2 at Sportsman's Park. The experimenting with use of the color sphere, which is designed to make the ball easier to see for the players and the fans, started in Brooklyn last week and will be tested once more, in a September game played at Wrigley Field.

1939 - In a 16-3 Tigers rout at Briggs Stadium, A's catcher Harry O'Neill appears in his only major league game. In 1945, the 22-year old backstop will die in combat on Iwo Jima becoming one of only two big leaguers to be killed in World War II.

1944 - In the eighth inning of the second game of a doubleheader with the bases loaded, Giants manager Mel Ott orders for Bill Nicholson, who has hit four home runs in the twin bill, to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded by his pitcher Andy Hansen. The free pass to 'Swish' doesn't work when the Cubs score three runs to tie the game.

1956 - Joe Cronin and Hank Greenberg are officially inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York.

1960 - During an 8-3 loss to the Senators, A's outfielder Whitey Herzog hits into a triple play as his line drive is snagged on the mound by Pedro Ramos‚ who tosses it to first baseman Julio Becquer to double up the runner‚ and the third out of the play is made by relaying the ball to shortstop Jose Valdivielso getting the runner at second base. It is the first all Cuban triple play in major league history.

1960 - Jimmy Piersall is ejected for the sixth time this season after ignoring the home plate umpire's warning to stop running around the outfield with his arms raised during Ted Williams’ plate appearance. The Indians’ center fielder, who charges the umpire after being tossed from the game and has to be restrained by teammates, was guilty of trying to distract the batter from the field which is forbidden by the rule book.

1962 - Jackie Robinson becomes the first black player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Joining the Dodger infielder in the Cooperstown ceremony are fireballer Bob Feller, veteran manager Bill McKechnie, and outfielder Edd Roush.

1964 - Kansas City's Bert Campaneris homers off Twins' Jim Kaat on the first major league pitch he ever sees. The A's rookie shortstop homers again in the seventh knotting the score with a two-run round-tripper in the team's eventual 4-3 victory in 11 innings at Metropolitan Stadium. The 21-year-old Cuban and Bob Nieman are the only players since 1900 with two home runs in their first Major League game.

1965 - In a 5-1 win over the Mets, Phillies' first baseman Dick Stuart homers at Shea Stadium becoming the first player to have gone deep in 23 major league ballparks.

1969 - At Washington's RFK Stadium, the National League scores early and often to coast to an easy 9-3 victory over the AL in the 40th All-Star game. Cardinals' right-hander Steve Carlton, the starting and winning pitcher, hits a double in the third inning off Blue Moon Odom to become the last hurler to get an extra-base hit in a Mid-Summer Classic contest.

1974 - At Three Rivers Stadium, Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey, a write-in All-Star starter, singles and doubles to help the National League beat the Junior circuit, 7-2. Mike Schmidt, also a write-in, plays in his first Midsummer Classic thanks to radio intern Howard Eskin's on-air campaign which urged Phillies fans to stuff the ballot box for their young third baseman.

1974 - In a surprise statement released after the All-Star game played in Pittsburgh, Hank Aaron, who had indicated on many occasions that he had no interest in the position, let it be known he would accept a Braves' offer to manage the team "simply because there are no blacks managers in baseball." The superstar's comments create an awkward situation the next day when Atlanta announces it has hired Clyde King to replace Eddie Mathews, who was fired three days ago.

1975 - At Three Rivers Stadium, Frank Taveras is picked off first base in an unusual play. After getting a big lead, to get a good jump on a sac bunt, the Pirates shortstop is picked off when the catcher throws the ball to first base with the Phillies right fielder Jay Johnstone covering the base to complete the 2-9 play.

1976 - Tying an American League record, Orioles outfielder Reggie Jackson hits a home run in six consecutive games. The round tripper does not help when the Birds bow to the Brewers in Baltimore, 4-3.

1976 - Joining Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron, Sadaharu Oh becomes the third professional to hit 700 home runs. The 33-year old Yomiuri Giants' slugger, who will finish his career with his 868 career homers, is the first player to accomplish the feat in Japan.

1978 - The Yankees win their fifth straight, 3-1, over the White Sox. At the Chicago airport, Billy Martin, reacting to reporters' questions about Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner, replies, "The two deserve each other. One's a born liar; the other's convicted." The remarks will cost Billy his job.

1985 - Oddibe McDowell becomes the first Ranger player to hit for the cycle. His seventh inning home run completes the unique event, but the center fielder adds another round tripper in the following frame when Texas beats the Indians at Arlington Stadium, 8-4.

1991 - Rob Dibble, just back from a three-game suspension, is ejected for throwing at - and hitting - Cubs baserunner Doug Dascenzo in an 8-5 Reds loss.

2000 - Joining his grandfather and his father, Reds' third baseman Mike Bell becomes part of the first three-generation family to play for the same team. Gus played for Cincinnati from 1953 to 1961 and his son spent the 1987-88 seasons in the Queen City.

2000 - The Astros hit four homers in one inning off Cardinal hurler Andy Benes tying the major league record for round-trippers allowed by one pitcher in a single frame. The second inning uprising helps Houston set a team record for homers in one inning and ties a team record with six big flies for the game.

2000 - After rejecting a trade to the Mets, Reds' All-Star shortstop Barry Larkin agrees to a three-year, $27 million contract extension that will keep him Cincinnati until 2003.

2000 - The Big Red Machine rolls into Cooperstown delivering first baseman Tony Perez, manager Sparky Anderson and Reds announcer Marty Brennaman into the Baseball Hall of Fame along with 1975 Red Sox World Series rival Carlton Fisk. Also enshrined are 19th century Cincinnati second baseman Bid McPhee and Negro League star 'Turkey' Stearnes.

2002 - Celebrating his 29th birthday by hitting three homers in Boston's 22-4 rout of the Devil Rays, Nomar Garciaparra ties the major league record becoming the 26th player to hit five home runs in two games. It was the Red Sox shortstop's second three-homer game, having accomplished the feat against the Mariners on May 10, 1999.

2002 - Nomar Garciaparra establishes the record for consecutive home runs in the shortest time in terms of innings. In a 22-4 rout of the Devil Rays at Fenway Park, the Red Sox shortstop homers three times in two frames - two two-run homers in the second and a grand slam in the third.

2005 - At SBC Park, uniform number 36 is added to the second deck of the left field bleachers joining nine others as the Giants honor Gaylord Perry. The Hall of Famer, who won 134 of his 314 career victories with San Francisco, remembers his 37-year old son, Jack, who died last month of complications from leukemia.


2006 - In a 3-1 victory over the Indians at Jacobs Field, Francisco Liriano and four Twins relievers establish a club record with 17 strikeouts in a nine inning game. The Minnesota starter reached double-digit whiffs (10) for the third time this season with Pat Neshek, Dennys Reyes, Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan adding seven more punch outs over the last four innings.

2006 - Adrián Beltré hits the first inside-the-park home run in the eight-year history of Safeco Field. The eighth-inning blast to centerfield comes off Mike Timlin in the Mariners' 9-8 victory over Boston.

2008 - In a slugfest at Angel Stadium, Los Angeles collects a season-high 19 hits beating the Indians, 14-11. The hit parade is lead by Howie Kendrick (4), Jeff Mathis (4), and Casey Kotchman (5) making it the first time in franchise history three different players have had four or more hits in the same game.

2009 - Thanks to a spectacular grab of Gabe Kapler's bid for a leadoff home run in the ninth inning by defensive replacement DeWayne Wise, Mark Buehrle tosses the 18th perfect game in major league history, a 5-0 gem over the Rays at U.S. Cellular Field. The 30-year-old southpaw, who received a congratulatory call from President Obama, a big White Sox fan, becomes the second pitcher in franchise history to throw two hitless game for the team, matching Frank Smith's accomplishment when the right-hander did it against the 1905 Tigers and the 1908 A's.

2010 - With a bases-empty homer in the first, a ground-rule double in the fifth, a two-run triple in the sixth, and a single in the eighth inning of the Diamondbacks' 7-4 loss to San Francisco at Chase Field, Kelly Johnson becomes the fourth player in franchise history to complete a cycle. The Arizona second baseman joins Luis Gonzalez (2000), Greg Colbrunn (2002), and Stephen Drew (2008) to accomplish the feat with the D-Backs.

2011 - For the first time in the 50-year history of the franchise, the Mets compile a 50-50 won-loss record after playing one hundred games. New York achieves the dubious distinction when they lose in Florida, 8-5.


2011 - The Mariners tie the 1992 franchise record for consecutive defeats by losing to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, 3-1. Seattle's 14th straight loss results in Boston's skipper Terry Francona's 1,000th win as a major league manager.

2013 - Wearing their home whites and batting in the bottom of the innings, the Reds drop a 5-3 decision to the Giants in the second game of twin bill at San Francisco's AT&T Park, the make-up game of a washout of a July Fourth contest that could not be rescheduled to be played Cincinnati. The Reds would have been the first team in major league history to produce a walkoff win on the road had they come back from their two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth.

2014 - The Texas Rangers traded Joakim Soria to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel.



Baseball Birthdays on July 23...

1864 - Phelan, Dan
1866 - Yingling, Joe
1874 - McAllister, Sport
1876 - Beaumont, Ginger
1880 - Brockett, Lew
1889 - Dressen, Lee
1889 - Ridgway, Jack
1890 - Schmidt, Pete
1891 - Theis, Jack
1896 - Rico, Art
1897 - Ford, Hod
1897 - Fried, Cy
1899 - Rowland, Chuck
1899 - Holley, Ed
1900 - Wilson, Jimmie
1901 - Hillis, Mack
1908 - Goodman, Ival
1914 - Croucher, Frank
1915 - Glossop, Al
1915 - Lyons, Hersh
1917 - Scarborough, Ray
1918 - Sessi, Walter
1918 - Reese, Pee Wee
1919 - Shofner, Strick
1923 - Aloma, Luis
1926 - Groth, Johnny
1927 - Jester, Virgil
1931 - Stanka, Joe
1933 - James, Johnny
1936 - Drysdale, Don
1937 - Look, Dean
1940 - Allen, Hank
1950 - Goddard, Joe
1961 - Crim, Chuck
1963 - Pacillo, Pat
1968 - Carpenter, Bubba
1969 - Mercedes, Henry
1969 - Matos, Francisco
1973 - Garciaparra, Nomar
1974 - Barnes, Larry
1980 - McPherson, Dallas
1981 - Kuo, Hong-Chih
1982 - Mather, Joe
1986 - Carignan, Andrew
1989 - Pryor, Stephen
1991 - Carasiti, Matt



Baseball Deaths on July 23...

1896 - Beach, Jack
1920 - Dickerson, Buttercup
1933 - Williams, Rip
1937 - Saylor, Phil
1949 - Anderson, John
1950 - Lange, Bill
1962 - Shinners, Ralph
1969 - Mahaffey, Roy
1974 - Signer, Walter
1975 - Mills, Art
1979 - West, Lefty
1980 - Snell, Wally
1982 - Pena, Roberto
1988 - Polivka, Ken
1996 - Munger, Red
1996 - Wineapple, Ed
1997 - Cross, Jeff
2003 - Delis, Juan
2003 - Wilson, Grady
2005 - Daniels, Tony