On August 4 in Baseball History... 1901 - Cincinnati and Pittsburgh players are clocked while running from home plate to first base. The fastest time for the 90-foot sprint is three seconds flat, by Pirates outfielder Ginger Beaumont.
1903 - Nap Lajoie is so furious that umpire Tommy Connolly has put an old black ball into play that he hurls the ball over the grandstand. His act results in Cleveland forfeiting the game to Detroit.
1908 - In Brooklyn, the last-place Cardinals blank the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), 3-0. The entire Washington Park contest is played with just one ball.
1909 - Umpire Tim Hurst instigates a riot by spitting at Athletics second baseman Eddie Collins, who had questioned a call. This incident eventually leads to Hurst's banishment from baseball two weeks later.
1910 - Jack Coombs of the Philadelphia A's and Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox hooked up in a 16-inning scoreless tie. Coombs struck out 18 and allowed three hits. 1929 - The Cleveland Indians, down to their last out, scored nine runs in the ninth inning for a 14-6 comeback victory over the New York Yankees.
1932 - After being fined $1,000 and suspended until Carl Reynolds, the player whose jaw he broke in two places a month ago was ready to play again for the Senators, Bill Dickey returns to the Yankees line-up. The future Hall of Fame catcher bangs out four hits, including a grand slam, despite missing 31 games.
1935 - Walter Johnson (46-48) resigns as manager of the Indians and will be replaced by Steve O'Neill (36-23). The Tribe has dropped 23 of its last 32 decisions.
1941 - In the third inning, catcher Mickey Owen catches three foul flies, the first time in the major leagues that feat has been recorded. His Dodgers whip the Giants 11-6.
1942 - n a military relief game at the Polo Grounds which will be the last war-time twilight game played, Pee Wee Reese's grand slam in the top of the ninth, which puts the Dodgers up 5-1, doesn't count because of the 9:10 pm government curfew. The game ends up as a 1-1 tie with the Giants.
1945 - Two remarkable debut pitching performances by Senators' rookies makes the 15-4 loss to Boston a most memorable contest. The game which features Tom McBride tying a major league record by driving in six runs with a bases-loaded double and triple during the Red Sox 12-run fourth inning, sees Joe Cleary, the last major leaguer to be born in Ireland, giving up seven runs on five hits and three walks in his only big league appearance to finish with a career ERA of 189.0, and in mop-up work, WW II veteran Bert Shepard, with an amputated leg as a result of being wounded in WW ll, hurls five 1/3 innings giving up just one run on just three hits in his only major league appearance.
1948 - Ernie Harwell, filling in for Red Barber who is recovering from a bleeding ulcer, calls his first major league game as the Dodgers beat the Cubs at Ebbets Field, 5-4. To obtain the future Hall of Fame broadcaster, Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey trades minor league catcher Cliff Daper to the Atlanta Crackers.
1955 - At Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks hits three home runs as the Cubs out slug the Pirates, 11-10. The Windy City's first baseman goes deep off three different Buc hurlers.
1963 - At County Stadium, Roger Craig suffers his 20th loss of the season when the Mets lose to Milwaukee, 2-1. The defeat is the right-hander's 18th consecutive setback, tying Cliff Curtis' National League mark set in 1910 with the Braves, and one loss shy of A's Jack Nabors' 1916 major league record.
1963 - With Yankees trailing Baltimore, 10-9, in the night cap of twin bill, Mickey Mantle, after missing two months of the season with a broken foot, makes a dramatic return to the lineup as a pinch hitter when he homers to deep left field in the bottom of the seventh inning off George Brunet to tie score. The crowd of nearly 40,000 fans goes wild as the 'Mick' hobbles around the bases in the Bronx Bombers' eventual 11-10 walk-off win, a victory made possible by Yogi Berra's two-out walk-off round-tripper in the bottom of the 10th inning.
1965 - Roy Hofheinz buys R.E. "Bob" Smith's remaining shares of the Houston Sports Association to take control of the Astros. Due to a rift between them, the former co-owner had made the offer thinking the 'Judge' couldn't put the funds together.
1968 - The Yankees, once again, honor their aging superstar when the team hosts the second of three Mickey Mantle Days at the ballpark in the Bronx. Prior to the game, over 2000 young fans paid tribute to the future Hall of Fame outfielder by parading across the field with homemade banners expressing their admiration for the living legend.
1971 - In a Texas League contest, Tommy Walker hurls a 15-inning no-hitter beating the Albuquerque Dukes, 1-0. The Dallas-Fort Worth Spur right-hander faces only 47 batters during the minor league game, two over the minimum.
1980 - The Seattle Mariners fire manager Darrell Johnson and replace him with Maury Wills, who becomes the third black manager in Major League history. Seattle had lost nine games in a row and 20 of 24 since the All-Star break.
1982 - Joel Youngblood became the first in Major League history to get a base hit for two different teams in two different cities in the same day. In the afternoon, his hit drove in the winning run for the New York Mets in a 7-4 victory in Chicago. After the game, he was traded to the Montreal Expos and played that night in Philadelphia. He entered the game in right field in the fourth inning and later got a single.
1983 - While warming up before the fifth inning of the Yankees 3-1 win over the Blue Jays game at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, New York outfielder Dave Winfield accidentally kills a seagull with a thrown ball. After the game, Winfield is brought to the Ontario Provincial Police station on charges of cruelty to animals and is forced to post a $500 bond before being released. The charges will be dropped the following day.
1984 - In a 9-2 Giants rout of the Astros, Jeffrey Leonard collects five hits. The cleanup slugger gets all singles and, therefore, is unable to demonstrate his one-flap-down home run trot in front of the Houston fans at the Astrodome.
1985 - The 40-year-old Tom Seaver became the 17th 300-game winner in major league history with a six-hitter — all singles — as the Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Yankees 4-1 on Phil Rizzuto Day. Seaver walked one and struck out seven, giving him 3,499 in his 19-year career. 1985 - Rod Carew of the Angels singles off of Twin Frank Viola in the third inning to become the 16th major leaguer to amass 3000 hits.
1985 - Prior to the loss that results in Tom Seaver's 300th career victory, the Yankees honor Phil Rizzuto by retiring their former player and current broadcaster's uniform #10. The 'Scooter', known for the expression 'Holy Cow', is knocked over in a pre-game ceremony by a fitting gift from the team, a cow wearing a halo.
1987 - In the fourth match up of 300-game winners since 1900, Angels’ hurler Don Sutton (317) allows four hits in six innings to beat Steve Carlton (328) and the Twins, 12-3. The 645 combined victories is the largest number of wins ever accumulated by pitchers starting the same major league game.
1989 - Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost consecutive no-hit bids with two outs in the ninth inning in September, came within one out of a perfect game before settling for a two-hit 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees.
1990 - The Braves trade Dale Murphy to the Phillies for Jeff Parrett, Jim Vatcher and Victor Rosario. The move enables the youngster David Justice to return to right field and win the Rookie-of-the-Year Award.
1992 - At an auction, actor Charlie Sheen pays $93,500 for the ‘Mookie Ball’ which went through Bill Buckner’s legs capping the miraculous Met comeback in the sixth game of the Fall Classic in 1986. Arthur Richman, the team’s traveling secretary, who was given the ball that night by right field umpire, Ed Montague, gives the all the proceeds to charity.
1993 - Tony Gwynn has six hits against the Giants. It is the Padres outfielder's fourth game of 1993 with five or more hits. He becomes only the third person to get five hits or better that many times in a season.
1993 - After being hit by a Ryan Express fastball, Robin Ventura charges the mound to get at the 46-year old pitcher. Nolan Ryan responds by putting the White Sox third baseman in a headlock and punches him six times, much to the pleasure of the Rangers fans at Arlington Stadium. 1994 - Fan favorite Kent Hrbek announces his retirement effective at the end of the season. The Twins first baseman, who played his entire 14-year career in Minnesota, ranks near the top in virtually every team offensive category.
1994 - In Anaheim, Goose Gossage, makes his 1000th major league appearance retiring Tim Salmon on a pop-up in the seventh inning of an eventual 4-2 Angels loss to the Mariners. The future Hall of Fame reliever will end his 22-year career playing in 1002 games with seven different teams.
1996 - Baltimore managers Earl Weaver and Ned Hanlon, Kentucky congressman Jim Bunning and Negro League star Bill Foster are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
1997 - Brad Radke of Minnesota got his 12th straight win, pitching seven strong innings in the Twins' 9-3 victory over Toronto. Radke became only the third pitcher since 1950 to win 12 consecutive starts.
1998 - Darryl Strawberry hits a game-tying pinch-hit grand slam highlighting a nine-run ninth inning in the Yankees' 10-5 come-from-behind victory over Oakland. The 'Straw' is the first player in the American League to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in one season
1999 - In an effort to break out of a team slump which has resulted 15 losses in 19 decisions, all nine Angel batters use Jim Edmonds' bat the first time through the order. The center fielder's lumber yields dramatic results when the Halos go 4-for-8 with one walk in the first inning, including Bengie Molina's first career hit, an RBI double, in LA's 4-3 win over Kansas City at Edison Field.
2000 - Joining Dave Kingman, Frank Huelsman, Willis Hudlin, Paul Lehner, Wes Covington, Ted Gray and Mike Kilkenny, Dave Martinez ties a major league record as he appears for his fourth team in a season. In the past four months the veteran outfielder/first baseman has played for the Devil Rays, Cubs, Rangers and now the Blue Jays.
2000 - With 32 home games remaining, the Astros, who moved from the pitcher-friendly Astrodome to homer-haven Enron Field this season, set a franchise-record by already hitting 83 homers at home this season.
2003 - Major League Baseball announces a five-year deal, which will generate more than $500 million in revenue, for apparel and headwear global licensing rights. The seven companies involved in the deal include Majestic Athletic, New Era Cap, Twins Enterprises, Nike USA, Dynasty Apparel Industries, Drew Pearson International and VF Imagewear.
2004 - Continuing a tradition over a half a century old, the Cardinals announce their new ballpark scheduled to open in 2006 will also be known as Busch Stadium. In 1953, a month after Anheuser-Busch purchased the Cardinals, the brewery bought Sportsman's Park renaming it Busch Stadium and then kept the name in its new downtown stadium which opened in 1966 calling the facility Busch Memorial Stadium.
2004 - Mike Matheny's major league errorless streak behind the plate ends when his errant throw allows the runners to advance to second and third base on an infield single. The Cardinals' catcher hadn't committed an error since August 2, 2002, a span of 252 games.
2005 - After the team goes into a free fall from first place, the Orioles fire manager Lee Mazzilli (129-140) and replaces him with bench coach Sam Perlozzo on an interim basis. Currently suffering an eight-game losing streak, the Birds have dropped 16 of their last 18 games.
2006 - At age 95, Elden Auker, the last living pitcher to face Babe Ruth, dies of congestive heart failure. The author of Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms, which he wrote when he was ninety, started his major league career in 1931 by striking out Babe Ruth and getting Lou Gehrig to pop out.
2006 - In the Phillies' 5-3 victory over the Mets, Chase Utley' s hitting streak ends at 35 consecutive games. Philadelphia’s second baseman, who goes 0-for-5, has the fourth longest stretch in National League history.
2007 - Needing only 14 seasons to accomplish the feat, Alex Rodriguez becomes the 22nd and youngest player (32 years and 8 days) to hit 500 career home runs. The historic three-run homer, off Royals’ starter Kyle Davies who was recently acquired from the Braves, is hit into the left-field seats at Yankee Stadium making A-Rod and Mickey Mantle the only two players to reach the milestone in the Bronx.
2007 - In the second inning at Petco Park in of a front sellout crowd of 42,497 fans, Barry Bonds drives a Clay Hensley fastball over the left-field wall for his 755th home run tying Hank Aaron’s 33-year-old career home run record. The opposite-field drive, ironically off a pitcher who failed a steroid test as a minor leaguer in 2005, is met with mixed reactions as a few patrons hold up asterisk signs and the crowd responds to the feat with a mixture of cheers and jeers.
2008 - At the start of the rain delay during the Astros and Cubs game at Wrigley Field, fans are advised to take cover in the concourse due to a tornado warning being issued by the National Weather Service for downtown Chicago. The game resumes in 2 hours, 45 minutes, but approximately an hour later more thunder and lightning and another 39-minute stoppage cause the contest to be called in the bottom of the eighth with Houston credited with a 2-0 rain-shortened victory.
2008 - During a Brewers' 6-3 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park, first baseman Prince Fielder confronts starting pitcher Manny Parra in the dugout shoving the hurler twice in the dugout after an angry exchange of words. The Milwaukee hurler had taken a no-hitter into the fifth, but gave up six runs on four hits and four walks before leaving the game for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.
2008 - The Mariners stun the Twins with a 10-run seventh inning coming back from a 6-0 deficit in an eventual 11-6 victory at Safeco Field. With six runs driven in, Raul Ibanez, who hits a grand slam and a two-run single in the frame, establishes a club record for RBIs in one inning, one more than Ken Griffey Jr. mark set in 1999.
2010 - Exactly three years to day he hit his 500th round-tripper, Alex Rodriguez eclipses Babe Ruth in becoming the youngest major leaguer to hit 600 career home runs when he blasts a two-run first-inning shot into Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The 35-year old Bronx Bomber third baseman is the seventh player in baseball history to reach the milestone.
2010 - The Phillies obtain Mike Sweeney from the Mariners for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The deal is necessitated for Philadelphia when their All-Star first baseman Ryan Howard is put on the disabled list with a severe sprained ankle.
2012 - Mike Baxter sets a team record and ties a National League mark when he walks five times in a nine-inning game in the Mets' 6-4 victory over San Diego at Petco Park. Only five of the 25 pitches thrown to the New York right fielder were strikes, with thirteen of the final 14 being out of the strike zone.
Baseball Birthdays on August 4... 1845 - Martin, Phonney
1867 - Beckley, Jake
1869 - Gaule, Mike
1875 - Nelson, Ray
1876 - Jackson, Charlie
1878 - Hinchman, Harry
1879 - O'Connor, Paddy
1883 - Moren, Lew
1885 - Jones, Tex
1890 - Luque, Dolf
1891 - Haislip, Jim
1894 - Grant, Jim
1895 - Benton, Sid
1896 - Lee, Cliff
1896 - Galloway, Chick
1899 - Melillo, Ski
1902 - Moore, Al
1902 - Blankenship, Homer 1902 - Hallahan, Bill
1907 - Caster, George
1911 - Stainback, Tuck
1912 - Schuster, Bill
1912 - Coppola, Henry
1915 - Easter, Luke
1918 - McElyea, Frank
1918 - Kolloway, Don
1920 - Keegan, Bob 1929 - Pignatano, Joe
1930 - Gabler, Gabe
1932 - Coates, Jim
1934 - Green, Dallas
1937 - Kostro, Frank
1938 - Oyler, Ray
1939 - Meyer, Bob
1939 - Higgins, Dennis
1942 - Bravo, Angel
1942 - Jones, Cleon 1944 - Nye, Rich
1945 - Davison, Mike
1946 - Collins, Kevin
1947 - Poulsen, Ken
1948 - Grubb, Johnny
1949 - Humphrey, Terry
1951 - McIntosh, Joe
1957 - Hayes, Ben
1960 - Davis, Steve
1961 - Wasinger, Mark
1962 - Farrell, John
1962 - Clemens, Roger
1964 - Surhoff, B.J.
1964 - Rodriguez, Ruben
1965 - Merullo, Matt 1966 - Johnson, Jeff
1967 - Bieser, Steve
1967 - Martinez, Domingo
1968 - Hook, Chris
1969 - O'Leary, Troy
1970 - Jones, Dax
1972 - Bourgeois, Steve
1973 - Howry, Bobby 1973 - Weaver, Eric
1975 - Milton, Eric
1976 - Fukumori, Kazuo
1976 - Linebrink, Scott 1977 - Crawford, Paxton
1978 - Allen, Luke
1978 - Knott, Jon
1982 - Roenicke, Josh
1986 - Castellanos, Alex
1987 - Burgos, Hiram
1987 - Freeman, Mike
1987 - Martinez, David
1990 - Ellington, Brian
1992 - German, Domingo
1994 - Arcia, Orlando
Baseball Deaths on August 4... 1897 - Gilroy, John
1920 - Fennelly, Frank
1924 - Nicol, George
1944 - Skinner, Camp
1946 - Lind, Carl
1950 - Coveleski, Harry
1950 - Burke, John
1951 - Tonneman, Tony
1955 - Balenti, Mike
1959 - Charles, Chappy
1959 - Williams, Pop
1961 - Rose, Chuck
1963 - Fisher, Bob
1964 - Standaert, Jerry
1966 - Cavet, Pug
1971 - Lamanske, Frank
1972 - Batten, George
1980 - Jamerson, Lefty
1983 - Wheeler, Ed
1989 - LaMaster, Wayne
1991 - White, Sammy
1993 - Maier, Bob
1995 - Bartell, Dick
1996 - Brown, Willard
2002 - Payne, Mike
2006 - Auker, Elden
2007 - Mancuso, Frank
2016 - Ramsay, Robert