1978 – J.R. Richard fires his second-straight shutout in a 13-0 drubbing of the Braves. Jose Cruz is the batting star with four hits and six RBIs. Enos Cabell contributes three hits while Denny Walling launches his first major league home run.
Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a 535-foot home run off Montreal Expos pitcher Wayne Twitchell to highlight a 6 – 0 victory at Stade Olympique. It is the longest home run in the ballpark’s history and is also Stargell’s 407th career home run, tying him with Duke Snider on the career all-time list.
May 29, 1976, Benches clear in the Bronx when New York Yankees Lou Piniella collides with Boston Red SOC catcher Carlton Fisk at home plate At Yankee Stadium.
1973 – Johnny Edwards belts a three-run homer as Houston builds a 7-0 lead against the Giants. San Francisco rallies to tie it but Jim Wynn smashes a solo shot off Sam McDowell in the ninth for an 8-7 victory. Astros take over first place in the NL West.
Martin Dihigo dies in Cienfuegos, Cuba, at the age of 65. Over the course of his career, Dihigo made seamless transitions between all nine positions and played in several countries. As a hitter, he won both batting average and home run titles; as a pitcher, he won more than 250 games and once defeated Satchel Paige while touring Cuba. He will be elected to the American Hall of Fame in 1977 and also was or will be voted into the Cuban, Mexican and Latin American Baseball Hall of Fame.
One big hit, one big drop, two wild pitches and one bad hop are what it takes for Pittsburgh to prevail, 3 – 2, in 14 innings over Philadelphia. The big hit is Roberto Clemente’s 3rd-inning triple, a 440-plus-footer off Forbes Field’s left-centerfield light tower, which drives in Freddie Patek with the tying run. In the 8th, John Briggs drops a fly ball hit by Al Oliver, which allows Matty Alou to score the tying run. Alou will also score the game-winner six innings later, courtesy of two consecutive wild pitches by Dick Selma, the latter featuring the aforementioned bad hop, off the cement beneath the backstop screen, which allows Alou to score the walk-off tally from second.
At RFK Stadium, Pilots manager Joe Schultz is ejected for disputing Bernie Allen’s fourth inning ‘foul’ two-run home run that ties the score at 4 in a game his team will eventually lose to Washington, 6-5. According to Jim Bouton’s account in his book, Ball Four, the Seattle skipper is tossed after offering his glasses to the plate umpire Ed Runge.
On May 20, 1968, California Angels shortstop Jim Fregosi hits for the cycle during a 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. The cycle is the second of Fregosi’s career, tying him with several other players for the major league record. In total there are 34 players who have hit for the Cycle more than…
May 20, 1964 – Harmon Killebrew pays a visit to 8-year-old John Guiney in a New York hospital. Killebrew and the Twins were in town for a two-game series with the Yankees when he heard about how Guiney was badly burned when his altar robe caught fire while lighting candles at his parish…
During the Cubs’ doubleheader sweep of the Phillies, Ken Hubbs strokes eight singles in eight trips to the plate at Connie Mack Stadium. The BBWAA will select Chicago second baseman as the National League’s Rookie of the Year.
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