Ben Oglivie has three home runs in three at bats as the Brewers beat the Tigers, 5 – 4 in the first game of a doubleheader. Oglivie drives in the winning run in the second game as the Brewers take it, 3 – 1.
Mike Schmidt homers in his first three times up for the Phillies, to give him a major league record-tying four straight over two games. Schmidt flies to the warning track in his next at bat, and the Phils lose, 8 – 6 to the Giants. Schmidt will hit three more home runs in the next three games to tie the National League record of seven home runs in five games.
July 6, 1979, The Los Angeles Dodgers purchase the contract of a young lefty from Yucatan for $120,000 named Fernando Valenzuela and assign him to Lodi in the California League where he posts 1.13 ERA in 24 innings. He makes his MLB debut 14 months later and give up just two earned runs in his…
University of Hawaii lefty Derek Tatsuno, selected in the 2nd round of the June draft by the Padres, signs with a subsidiary of the Seibu Lions for $750,000. Tatsuno, of Japanese-American descent, set an NCAA record of 20 wins (in 22 starts). He will finally sign with the Milwaukee Brewers, who select him in January of 1982 but he will be ineffective in the minors.
1979 – Fireworks in Cincinnati. The upstart Astros nip the Reds, 3-2, to take their first-ever ten-game divisional lead. Jose Cruz and Jeff Leonard drive home runs in the seventh to lead the come-from-behind victory. Joaquin Andujar and Ray Knight, ex-teammates in the Cincy farm system, start a bench-clearing brawl after hurling insults across the diamond. Joe Sambito cools the Reds with two shutout innings for the save
The Phillies’ Steve Carlton shuts out the Mets, 1 – 0, on a one-hitter, but the Phils manage to lose three other hurlers on the same day: Larry Christenson pulls a groin muscle, Dick Ruthven goes on the disabled list, and Randy Lerch fractures his thumb in a brawl.
Don Kessinger (46-60) is fired mid-season as the player-manager of the White Sox and will be replaced by rookie skipper Tony La Russa, who had been managing the club’s Triple-A Iowa Oaks in the American Association. During his eight-year tenure with Chicago, La Russa will compile a 522-510 record, with his team winning the AL West title in 1983.
On July 2, 1979 Indians manager Jeff Torborg announces his resignation effective at the end of the season. In three weeks he will be fired and replaced by Dave Garcia. Source: Baseball Reference July 2
July 1, 1979 – At County Stadium, Paul Molitor hits a leadoff homerun his 2nd in two days, off Floyd Bannister, as the Brewers roll by the Seattle Mariners‚ 10-3. Gorman Thomas hits his 2nd HR in 2 days and Robin Yount adds a 3-run dinger. Jim Slaton goes the distance for the win…
New York hits five homers off Red Sox starter Dennis Eckersley to win, 6 – 5. Boston also loses speedster Jerry Remy, batting .304 on the season, when he injures a knee sliding home. Remy will appear in only seven more games all year. Remy will never swipe more than 16 bases after coming back, after averaging 35 steals his first four seasons.
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