1992 – Oakland P Dennis Eckersley becomes the second pitcher in history to record 50 saves in a season as he preserves the Athletics’ 6 – 5 win over Chicago. The White Sox’ Bobby Thigpen had 57 saves in 1990.
1990 – Mike Simms’ first big league homer in the tenth inning scalps the Braves, 4-3. Jim Deshaies benefits when Ken Caminiti takes a grounder from Francisco Cabrera and sends it around the horn to Dave Rohde and Simms for a triple play to squelch a threat.
1990 – The Padres fire Jack McKeon, who has been the San Diego general manager for 10 years.
1988 – Bob Knepper fires a one-hitter to stifle Atlanta, 1-0. An infield hit by Dale Murphy in the second and a walk to Bruce Benedict in the ninth are the only baserunners he allows. Gerald Young’s single in the eighth scores Ken Caminiti for the game’s only run.
Howard Johnson breaks a 53 year-old National League record when he strokes his 36th home run as a switch hitter in the Mets’ 7-1 victory over Chicago at Wrigley Field. The New York third baseman’s historic homer, the team’s franchise-high seventh grand slam of the season, surpasses the mark established by Cardinals’ first baseman Ripper Collins in 1934 but is far less than the major league record of 54 set in 1961 by Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle.
Another rookie, the Phils’ Marvin Freeman wins his first big league game, beating the Mets in New York, 7 – 1. Marvin has another cause for celebration: his daughter Paris is born today.
In his major league debut, San Diego’s Jimmy Jones pitches a one-hitter against the Astros, allowing only a 3rd-inning triple to opposing pitcher Bob Knepper on the way to a 5 – 0 win. He’s the first National League pitcher to debut with a one-hitter since Juan Marichal.
1985 – In a Boston 7 – 6 win over Detroit, Wade Boggs ties Tris Speaker’s club mark of 222 hits with a single in the 2nd inning. His 5th-inning single, his 185th, sets a new American League record for singles, breaking the mark set by Willie Wilson in 1980. Wade will end with 187, a mark that will stand until 2001.
1984 – Rookie Jim Traber makes his debut in Baltimore, first by singing the national anthem before the Red Sox game, then by DHing. The Red Sox are unimpressed, clipping the Orioles, 8 – 0. Traber had sung the national anthem a number of times before minor league games.
1982 – Playing against the Royals at Anaheim Stadium, outfielders Fred Lynn and Brian Downing crash through the LF fence while trying to catch a fly ball. Lynn makes the catch and it is ruled an out, the umpires reason that it is the same as if he had tumbled into the seats. California wins, 2 – 1, when Daryl Sconiers singles home the winner in the 9th.
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