6/24/1977: Ralph Garr of the White Sox homered off Minnesota’s Paul Thormodsgard in Minneapolis. It came in the third inning with two men on and no one out. Jim Essian, the runner on first, thought the ball might be caught by the Twins’ right fielder, Dan Ford, so he retreated towards first base. Garr was watching the flight of the ball and passed Essian after rounding the bag. He was credited with a single and two runs batted in.
5/28/1977: Butch Hobson lost a homer off Marty Pattin because of a ruling by umpire Terry Cooney. Hobson’s hit in the seventh inning went into the screen over Fenway Park’s left field wall. Unfortunately, it bounced off a light tower and came back onto the field and was ruled in play.
4/10/1976: On the second day of the season in Milwaukee, Don Money batted with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and the Brewers behind the Yankees 9-6. Before Dave Pagan delivered his second pitch to Money, New York manager Billy Martin yelled to first baseman Chris Chambliss to call time. Chambliss asked umpire Jim McKean. Money hit the pitch and circled the bases. The Brewers celebrated and went into the clubhouse thinking they had won for the second time in two games. However, before Money crossed the plate Martin was on the field arguing with McKean. After a couple of minutes of Martin’s tirade, the umpires sent for the Brewers to come back on the field. The Brewers were obviously upset about the call. First base coach Harvey Keunn said that the pitcher was already in his motion when Chambliss yelled for time. Some Brewers went so far as to say that Martin intimidated McKean into reversing the homer. The Yankees won the game, 9-7, and the Brewers protested the outcome to no avail.
7/21/1975: Cardinal catcher Ted Simmons hit a homer to lead off the fourth inning in San Diego. However, Padres manager John McNamara claimed that his bat was illegal. Home plate umpire Art Williams agreed with McNamara because there were grooves cut into the fat part of the bat, clearly above the 18� area from the handle. Williams ruled Simmons out and the bat was confiscated by crew chief Ed Vargo. The game was protested by the Cardinals, but they won 4-0.
6/19/1974: Giant Ed Goodson hit a home run in the third inning off Bob Gibson at St. Louis with Garry Maddox on first and no one out. Unfortunately, he passed Maddox between first and second. Goodson was credited with a single and a run batted in.
9/20/1972: In the first inning of a game in Anaheim, Kansas City pitcher Steve Busby hit a grand slam homer off Lloyd Allen. Unfortunately, first base umpire John Rice called time as the play started which nullified the blast. John Mayberry had already hit a slam in the inning so the Royals would have been added to the very short list of teams with two grand slams in one inning.
6/25/1971: Brooks Robinson of the Orioles hit a towering flyball to left-center field in the top of the fourth inning off Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg which caromed off a light tower behind Fenway Park’s Green Monster and rebounded back on to the field. Second base umpire Bill Haller ruled that the ball hit off the top of the wall and Robinson only got a double. Players in the Baltimore bullpen confirmed that the ball had hit the light tower and should have been a home run.
4/7/1971: Carlos May of the Chicago White Sox homered in the top of the first inning of the second game off Rollie Fingers in Oakland. The blow came with two runners on and one out. May did not touch home plate and was out on appeal.
9/30/1970: Leo Cardenas lost a solo home run to an umpire’s decision. In the eighth inning of a game in Minneapolis, Cardenas hit a ball that appeared to hit the left field fair pole off Kansas City’s Wally Bunker. However, the umpires ruled it a foul ball. Both Bill Rigney and Bob Allison were ejected for protesting the call and Cardenas finished his plate appearance with a strikeout.
6/30/1969: At Parc Jarry in Montreal, in the top of the second inning Ernie Banks of the Cubs hit a ball to right field that cleared the fence but was difficult to see in the bad lighting. Expos right fielder Rusty Staub kicked some dirt around and convinced the umpires that the ball went under the fence. Cubs manager Leo Durocher argued the call and was ejected. He then protested the game, won by the Expos, 5-2. This homer would have been #488 for Banks, who finished his career with 512 four-baggers.
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