1979 – Bobby Bonds of the Cleveland Indians hits his 300th career home run against Moose Haas in a 6 – 1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Bonds has collected 413 stolen bases at the time and becomes the second player, after Willie Mays, to have 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases.
On May 3, 1975, Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson decides to switch Pete Rose from left field to third base, making room for promising slugger George Foster in the outfield. Over the next four seasons, Foster will average 36 home runs, 117 RBI, and a .302 batting average the move will help the “Big Red…
The Reds beat the Braves at Riverfront Stadium, 6-1, making Gary Nolan a winner for the first time in nearly two and half seasons. The right-hander’s last win came on October 3, 1972 when he beat the Astros by an identical score in Cincinnati.
1974 – Astros get an assist from part of the Astrodome crowd as they drop the Cardinals, 4-1. Two female fans run nude through the outfield during the seventh-inning stretch. The distracted Cards give up three runs in the bottom half of the frame. A two-run single by Doug Rader is the key hit. Claude Osteen goes the distance.
1966 – Joe Morgan homers and drives in three to pace the Astros past the Cubs, 10-2. Dave Giusti is the complete-game winner, assisted by three Chicago errors that provide five unearned runs. Sonny Jackson adds three hits and a stolen base.
On May 3, 1964, Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants rips four home runs against the Hanshin Tigers, establishing a new Japanese League record for most home runs in a game. Oh also shares the record with several major leaguers, including Hall of Famers Ed Delahanty, Chuck Klein, Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, and Mike Schmidt.
In his first and only at bat with the Baltimore Orioles, pitcher Buster Narum hits a home run off Don Mossi of the Cleveland Indians. Six days later, Narum will be optioned to Triple-A Rochester but will return to the majors next year with the Washington Senators, where he will hit two more home runs. Narum becomes the first pitcher to have more homers than wins in a season, but he will be matched on September 2nd by Ed Hobaugh, and in 1992 by Dave Eiland.
Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds hits his first major league home run off St. Louis Cardinals ace Ernie Broglio.
Another brilliant Warren Spahn performance is spoiled when left fielder Mel Roach’s misplay costs the Milwaukee Braves’ ace a second no-hitter in a row. Spahn settles for a two-hitter in topping the Dodgers, 4 – 1.
The Toronto Maple Leafs play their home opener against the Jersey City Jerseys. Toronto outfielder Ellis Burton hits a two-run homer batting from the left side in the 8th inning – then hits a grand slam from the right side later in the frame. It is the first time in Organized Baseball history that a player has homered from both sides of the plate in one inning.
Enjoy our free trial and start listening to games, interviews and shows! Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, and Seaver!