On September 23, 2000, former major leaguer Aurelio Rodriguez dies at the age of 52 from injuries suffered when he was struck by a car. A slick-fielding third baseman, Rodriguez won a Gold Glove in 1976 for the Detroit Tigers. He played for seven teams during his 17-year career.
The Giants and Diamondbacks split a doubleheader, with Arizona winning the first game, 7 – 5, and San Francisco taking the nightcap, 9 – 5. Arizona OF Luis Gonzalez hits a three-run home run in each game, and has a total of 8 RBIs on the day.
The Braves whitewash the Expos, 10 – 0, clinching their 9th consecutive trip to the playoffs. Greg Maddux hurls the shutout, extending his streak of scoreless innings streak to 36 1/3.
The Angels batter the Rangers, 15 – 4, despite Rafael Palmeiro’s 400th career home run. He is the 32nd player to reach that total.
Former Dodger Carl Erskine fires up the crowd by playing the national anthem on the harmonica and then Kevin Brown fires a two-hitter to give the Dodgers a 2 – 1 win over the Padres. Brown strikes out 13 in beating Woody Williams.
At Wrigley Field, the Cardinals defeat the Cubs, 6 – 5, despite 1B Mark Grace’s 1,000th career RBI for Chicago. Joey Nation makes his major league debut and takes the loss. His consolation is singling in his first at bat, off Britt Reames.
Rafael Palmeiro becomes the 32nd major leaguer to hit 400 career homers as he hits a three-run shot in the fifth inning of a 15-4 defeat to the Angels at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
Breaking the major league team record held by the 1997 Braves and the 1999 Indians for grand slams in a season, Ben Grieve’s seventh-inning bases-loaded home run gives the A’s a record breaking 13 grand slams.
Joining Frank Robinson, Devil Rays’ Fred McGriff becomes only the second player in major league history to hit 200 homers in both the American and National League.
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