1951 – With the Cubs 10 games under .500 at 35-45, Phil Cavarretta replaces Frankie Frisch as manager. They will go 27-47 the rest of the way to finish in last place.
The Pirates’ Ralph Kiner drives in seven runs, hitting three home runs, including his 10th grand slam, in a 13 – 12 slugfest win over the Dodgers. His final homer, a solo shot off Erv Palica in the 8th, breaks a 12 – 12 tie. Manager Chuck Dressen berates Palica, publicly questioning the pitcher’s courage by clutching his throat in a choke signal. In Kiner’s final at bat, in the 9th, Carl Furillo pulls down the slugger’s long drive near the CF gate. Joe Garagiola and Gus Bell also homer for the Bucs, while Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson homer for Brooklyn.
LF Joe Adcock is 4 for 4 and throws out a runner at home in the 9th, to lead the Reds to a 9 – 8 win over the host Phillies.
After pitching for Bill Veeck in Cleveland in 1948, Satchel Paige rejoins him with the St. Louis Browns.
On July 15, 1951, the New York Yankees demote struggling rookie Mickey Mantle to their Kansas City farm team in the American Association. Mantle will return to the Yankees in August and finish his first major league season with 13 home runs and 65 RBIs.
On July 12, 1951, At Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees blanks Cleveland, 1 – 0, for the first of his two no-hitters this season. Gene Woodling’s 7th-inning homer off loser Bob Feller is the difference in the 1 – 0 game. Reynolds, facing only 29 batters, and retired the last…
The Red Sox and White Sox draw a record crowd of 52,592 for a twi-night doubleheader at Comiskey Park. Boston wins the opener, 3 – 2. In the second game, Saul Rogovin of the White Sox goes the route in a 17-inning contest, only to lose, 5 – 4, on Clyde Vollmer’s sac fly. Ellis Kinder of Boston pitches 10 scoreless innings in relief for the win.
Using four home runs from Stan Musial, Bob Elliott, Ralph Kiner and Gil Hodges, the National League All-Stars defeat the American League at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium in the 1951 All-Star Game. Kiner hits a home run for the third year in a row.
On July 8, 1951, in the second game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, future Hall of Fame second baseman Red Schoendienst hits home runs from both the left and right side of the plate.
The feud between Joe DiMaggio and Casey Stengel reaches a head in the 2nd inning against the Red Sox. Because of a misplay in the 1st, Stengel sends reserve Jackie Jensen out to CF to relieve the Yankee Clipper after he has already taken his position. The Red Sox clip the Yankees, 6 – 3, as the red-hot Clyde Vollmer belts a two-run homer.
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