The Rockies defeat the Cubs, 14 – 5, despite three successive home runs by Sammy Sosa. Winning pitcher Mike Hampton ties the National League record for home runs in a season by a pitcher by hitting his 7th. The major-league record is 9.

Mike Hampton ties the National League record for pitchers with his seventh homer when he goes deep off Felix Heredia in the Rockies’ 14-5 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Colorado southpaw equals the mark established by Dodger hurlers Don Drysdale (1958, 1965) and Don Newcombe (1955), and two shy of the major league standard set by Wes Ferrell, playing for the Indians in 1931.

Yankees P Ted Lilly is suspended for six games for hitting Anaheim’s Scott Spiezio in the head with a pitch in a game last Sunday. New York manager Joe Torre rips into baseball’s dean of discipline, Frank Robinson, for the decision. Lilly was not thrown out of the game by the umpires when the incident occurred.

The Giants score a 6 – 4 victory over the Reds in a game marked by two milestone home runs. Ken Griffey, Jr. hits the 450th of his career, becoming the youngest player in history (by 15 days, over Jimmie Foxx) to reach that mark. He was also the youngest to hit 350 and 400. Barry Bonds hits his 49th of the season, becoming the fastest to ever reach that number.

Tigers P Nate Cornejo makes his major league debut against Rangers P Joaquin Benoit. It is the first time since August 21‚ 1990‚ that both starting pitchers are making their big league debuts. The Tigers tie a modern record by scoring 13 runs in the 9th inning to snap a 6 – 6 tie and roll‚ 19 – 6. Damion Easley gets 6 hits‚ including 2 in the 9th‚ to tie an American League and team record‚ last done by Ty Cobb. The winning pitcher is former Ranger Danny Patterson‚ who faces one batter in the 8th.

With 50‚863 on hand at Oakland‚ the A’s down the Red Sox‚ 6 – 1, behind the pitching of Tim Hudson. Carl Everett’s home run accounts for the only Bosox score‚ while Jason Giambi homers for Oakland. Johnny Damon hits a double the hard way when his drive down the RF line lands in a beer cup. Trot Nixon is the right fielder.

Black Betsy, Shoeless Joe Jackson’s 40-ounce warped hickory bat, is won by 30 year-old businessman Rob Mitchell in a 10-day eBay auction. The $577,610 price tag is believed to be the largest amount ever paid for a baseball bat.

Black Betsy, Shoeless Joe Jackson’s 40-ounce warped hickory bat, is won by 30-year-old businessman Rob Mitchell in a 10-day eBay auction. The $577,610 price tag is believed to be the largest amount ever paid for a baseball bat.

The Hall of Fame Veterans Committee, comprised of five former players, five media members and five former executives, which was established in 1953, is to be replaced by a 90-member group made up of the members of the Hall of Fame (61), the recipients of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for writers (13), the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters (13) and current Veterans Committee members (3). The new committee will be able to elect players only once every two years and executives, umpires and managers only once every four years. The new committee will fail to elect anyone before being restructured again.

In a Vanity Fair magazine interview, Tommy Gioiosa, a former friend of Pete Rose, alleges that Rose bet on baseball, used a corked bat, and participated in drug dealings.