On a June 20, 2001 interview at Jamestown NY, Brooklyn Dodger great Carl Erskine talks about the New York Giants stealing the signs and Bobby Thomson’s Home Run.
2018 – Pitcher Danny Farquhar returns to the mound only six weeks after suffering a life-threatening brain aneurysm on April 20. Granted, he only throws the ceremonial first pitch for the White Sox before their game against the Brewers at Guaranteed Rate Field surrounded by his family and some of the staff from the RUSH University Medical Center, but his appearance is an important step in the recovery process. The entire team comes to the mound to witness the pitch, in support of their stricken comrade.
2017 – The first-place Brewers defeat the struggling Mets, 2 – 1, behind a strong pitching performance by Chase Anderson who tosses seven scoreless innings. There is an unusual play in the 4th inning: with the bases loaded and one out, Milwaukee’s Eric Sogard lifts a pop-up near the third base line. The Mets’ batboy tries to get out of the way, taking his chair with him, but in doing so impedes 3B Wilmer Flores’ path to the ball. Third base umpire Fieldin Culbreth first calls the batter out, but the umpires reverse themselves after conferring, as there is no provision in the rules for “batboy interference”. Manager Terry Collins comes out to argue and is ejected, but he shouldn’t have bothered, as Sogard then grounds into an inning-ending double play.
Mookie Betts follows his three-homer game of the previous day by hitting home runs in his first two at-bats against the Orioles, giving him five home runs in seven at-bats. The Red Sox hit three other long balls in the game, including a pair by Chris Young, while the Orioles hit none, but Boston still goes down, 13 – 9.
Indians OF Marlon Byrd is suspended for 162 games following the second positive test for PEDs of his career. At 39, it is unlikely that the former All-Star will return after serving his penalty.
2015 – The Pirates win for the 9th time in 11 games thanks to help from one of their fans on the road. Playing the Giants at AT&T Park, the Bucs are up 4 – 3 in the 8th when Buster Posey lifts a fly ball towards foul territory in right field; RF Gregory Polanco goes out near the stands to attempt a catch, but, Steve Bartman-like, a fan wearing a Pirates cap and jersey reaches out and deflects the ball into the stands, accidentally hitting Polanco in the process. After a video review, umpire Doug Eddings calls Posey out on fan interference, ending the inning. Things don’t end well for the fan, though, since he is ejected for interfering with a ball in play.
2014 – It’s a new month but some of May’s brightest stars keep on shining as the Blue Jays shut out the Royals, 4 – 0. Mark Buehrle, who tosses 8 scoreless innings, is the first major league pitcher to notch 10 wins this season, while Edwin Encarnacion, who hit 16 homers in May, hits a two-run shot. 6 of the 15 games played today end in shutouts, with Roenis Elias of the Mariners and Kyle Lohse of the Brewers throwing complete game whitewashes.
Johan Santana throws the first no-hitter in the 50-year history of the New York Mets when he defeats the Cardinals, 8 – 0. He walks 5 and needs 134 pitches to complete the game; he is helped by a great catch by Mike Baxter, who crashes into the fence at full speed and hurts himself in snagging Yadier Molina’s line drive in the 7th. The Mets had played 8,120 games before their first no-hitter, while there had been 131 MLB no-hitters since they debuted.
Major League Baseball announces changes to the format of the World Baseball Classic for its 2013 edition. The tournament will be preceded by a 16-team qualifying tournament, to be held in the Fall of 2012. Taking part will be the four teams that failed to win a game in 2009 – Canada, Panama, Taiwan and South Africa – and 12 teams that have recently played in the Baseball World Cup, including Colombia and Nicaragua, who had been excluded from the first two editions of the WBC in spite of a solid tradition of international play. The four winners from the qualifying tournament will advance to the main event the following spring.
Stunning the crowd, Teddy, it appears, has finally won a President’s Race at Nationals Park, bringing an end to his winless streak. Unfortunately, because TR sped into first place riding a Segway, he is quickly and emphatically disqualified by Screech, the team’s mascot.