This Day In Baseball May 13

Debuts, Milestones, No Hitters, Rule Changes, Events, Birthdays, Deaths, and more on This Day In Baseball.  

Events for May 13

In a 13-7 rout of the Corsicana Oil Cities, Paris Parasites left fielder Clyde Bateman becomes the second player in Texas League history to hit four home runs in a game, a feat accomplished last season by Oil Cities catcher Jay J. Clarke. In less than two months, the 26 year-old slugger, who will lead the circuit in hitting and homers, makes history again when he throws a no-hitter for the Steers (the franchise’s new name after moving to Waco on June 26) against the Fort Worth Panthers. (Ed. note- Clyde Bateman is also known as Quait Bateman – LP)

Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers hits his first grand slam. After six innings, Detroit leads the Boston Red Sox, 10 – 1. Boston comes back to win the game, 13 – 11, in 10 innings.

The New York Giants score a major league record 10 runs before the St. Louis Cardinals retire the first batter in the 1st inning. Fred Merkle drives in six of the Giants' 13 runs in the 1st en route to a 19 - 5 victory. When Giants manager John McGraw decides to save starting pitcher Christy Mathewson for another day, Rube Marquard enters the game in the 2nd inning and sets a record for relievers (since broken) with 14 strikeouts in his eight-inning appearance.

The New York Giants score a major league record 10 runs before the St. Louis Cardinals retire the first batter in the 1st inning. Fred Merkle drives in six of the Giants’ 13 runs in the 1st en route to a 19 – 5 victory. When Giants manager John McGraw decides to save starting pitcher Christy Mathewson for another day, Rube Marquard enters the game in the 2nd inning and sets a record for relievers (since broken) with 14 strikeouts in his eight-inning appearance.

The Red Sox come back to beat the Tigers 13-11, overcoming a nine-run deficit in the Bennett Park contest. Duffy Lewis’ tenth-inning grand slam proves to be the difference in the game that also featured Ty Cobb’s first bases-loaded round-tripper.

Joe Sewell of the Cleveland Indians strikes out twice in one game for the first time in his career. Washington Senators rookie Cy Warmoth is the pitcher. In a 14-year career, Sewell will have only one other multiple strikeout game.

Joe Sewell of the Cleveland Indians strikes out twice in one game for the first time in his career. Washington Senators rookie Cy Warmoth is the pitcher. In a 14-year career, Sewell will have only one other multiple strikeout game.

At Cleveland’s League Park, the Indians defeat the Yankees, 4 – 3, in the first game in major league history in which players from both teams wear numbers on the back of their jerseys.

For the first time in major league history, a game features both teams wearing numbers on the back of their jerseys when the Indians host the Yankees at League Park in Cleveland. The numerals will become a permanent fixture on each club’s attire.

Pitcher Jim Tobin hits 3 homeruns and fires 5 hitter

Pitcher Jim Tobin hits 3 homeruns and fires 5 hitter

Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves almost single-handedly beats the Chicago Cubs at Braves Field, 6 - 5, by pitching a five-hitter and hitting three consecutive home runs. Tobin, who hit a pinch homer the day before, becomes the only pitcher in modern history to collect three home runs in a game. His fourth at-bat results in a fly ball caught against the fencein left field.

Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves almost single-handedly beats the Chicago Cubs at Braves Field, 6 – 5, by pitching a five-hitter and hitting three consecutive home runs. Tobin, who hit a pinch homer the day before, becomes the only pitcher in modern history to collect three home runs in a game. His fourth at-bat results in a fly ball caught against the fencein left field.

Braves’ pitcher Jim Tobin, en route to a 6-5 victory over the Cubs, becomes the first modern-day hurler to hit three home runs in one game, equalling the feat of Guy Hecker, who hit three inside-the-park round-trippers playing for Louisville in 1886. ‘Ironsides’, who pinch-hit a homer in the eighth inning of yesterday’s contest, would have hit five consecutive blasts, if his first inning fly ball, which was caught against the right field fence, had gone out.

During the pregame infield practice, a barrage of racial slurs is directed at Jackie Robinson by the Cincinnati fans during the Dodgers’ first visit to Crosley Field this season. Brooklyn shortstop Pee Wee Reese, a Southerner from Kentucky with friends attending the game and captain of the team, engages the black infielder in conversation, and then put his arm around his teammate’s shoulder, a gesture that stuns and silences the crowd.

Ron Necciai of the Bristol Twins strikes out 27 batters in throwing a 7-0 no-hitter

Ron Necciai of the Bristol Twins strikes out 27 batters in throwing a 7-0 no-hitter

In an Appalachian League game, Ron Necciai of the Bristol Twins strikes out 27 batters while pitching a 7 – 0 no-hitter against the Welch Miners. Four of the Welch hitters reach base on a walk, an error, a hit by pitch and a passed ball charged to Twins’ catcher Harry Dunlop on a swinging third strike. But 27 strikeouts are recorded on the night, including four in the 9th inning, as a result of Dunlop’s miscue; one batter is retired on a grounder in the 2nd inning.

Larry Miggins hits the first of his two major league home runs, going deep off Preacher Roe in the fourth inning of the Cardinals’ 14-8 loss to the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. The round-tripper hit by the Bronx-born outfielder, who had once shared his dream of playing in the big leagues during a prep school assembly with a buddy with aspirations to be a baseball broadcaster, is called by an overwhelmed Vin Scully, Brooklyn’s play-by-play announcer who had wondered that day with his friend “what the odds against that would be.”

At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate for the first time in his major league career. The New York Yankees slugger finishes the game with three home runs – two left-handed and one right-handed – and drives in all of his team’s runs in a 5 – 2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Whitey Ford is the winning pitcher and Steve Gromek the loser.

For the first time in his major league career, Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate, finishing the game with three round-trippers – two from the left side and one batting right-handed. The switch-hitting slugger drives in all of his team’s runs in the 5-2 victory over Detroit at Yankee Stadium.

Mickey Mantle blasts home runs from both sides of the plate for the first time in his major league career

Mickey Mantle blasts home runs from both sides of the plate for the first time in his major league career

Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals collects his 3,000th hit

Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals collects his 3,000th hit

Teammates Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer each have four extra-base hits as San Francisco beats the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 16 - 9. Mays hits two home runs, two triples, a single and drives in four runs, and Spencer has two home runs, a triple, a double and six RBI for a combined 28 total bases.

Teammates Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer each have four extra-base hits as San Francisco beats the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 16 – 9. Mays hits two home runs, two triples, a single and drives in four runs, and Spencer has two home runs, a triple, a double and six RBI for a combined 28 total bases.

Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals collects his 3,000th career hit with a pinch double off Chicago Cubs pitcher Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals win, 5 – 3.

Signed Willie Mays Picture - 8x10 Beckett BAS #F87973 - Beckett Authentication

Giants set record with 50 Total bases in a 16-9 rout of the Dodgers

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Dick Wantz dies following surgery for brain cancer. The 25-year-old Wantz had made his debut only one month earlier, pitching one inning in relief in his only major league appearance.

California Angels pitcher Dick Wantz dies following surgery for brain cancer

California Angels pitcher Dick Wantz dies following surgery for brain cancer

Ernie Banks drives in 7 and reaches 1500 RBI's

Ernie Banks drives in 7 and reaches 1500 RBI’s

Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs reaches the 1,500 runs batted in milestone with seven RBI in a 19 – 0 shellacking of the expansion San Diego Padres. Hard-throwing right-hander Dick Selma earns the win as the Cubs tie a modern-day record for the most one-sided shutout in National League history.

Buzz Capra is the winning pitcher in a 1 – 0 Mets victory over the San Francisco Giants. Capra’s first major league RBI – a 2nd-inning single scoring Cleon Jones – is the only run of the game.

For the sixth consecutive game, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals collects at least three hits.

For the sixth consecutive game, George Brett collects at least three hits, batting an incredible .692 during the span. The Royals’ third baseman, who is 18-for-26 against the Orioles, Twins, and White Sox, raises his season’s batting average from .277 to .396 with his torrid pace at the plate.

Ray Knight of the Cincinnati Reds hits two home runs in the 5th inning – including a grand slam – to lead the Reds to a 15 – 4 rout of the New York Mets.

The Chicago Cubs win game No. 8,000 in their history with a 5 – 0 shutout of Houston at the Astrodome.

The Cubs become the first major league team to win 8,000 games when Allen Ripley and Lee Smith combine to shut out Houston in Chicago’s 5-0 victory at the Astrodome. The milestone comes in the 15,337th contest in the 107 year history of the franchise.

After trailing by eight runs, going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Yankees rally to beat the Twins 9-8. Don Mattingly’s ninth inning two-out three-run walk-off home run at the Bronx ballpark is the finishing touch.

Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins ties a major league record with four doubles against the Toronto Blue Jays. He becomes the 35th player to hit four doubles in a game, the first since Toronto’s Damaso Garcia in 1986.

Kirby Puckett ties a major league record by collecting four doubles in a game

Kirby Puckett ties a major league record by collecting four doubles in a game

George Brett

George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hits his 300th home run

George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hits his 300th career home run in the 6th inning of a 7 – 3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Brett is only the 6th major league player with at least 3,000 hits and 300 home runs.

One day before his 40th birthday, George Brett hits his 300th career home run, joining Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, and Al Kaline as the only players with three hundred homers and three thousand hits. The Royals’ third baseman’s historic ball is picked up by a fan, who happens to be blind, on a veterans’ hospital outing.

Tim Salmon of the California Angels ties an American League record with his 13th consecutive hit.

The Atlanta Braves set a National League record and tie a major league mark by hitting home runs in 25 straight games, doing it when Ryan Klesko hits a two-run shot in the 6th inning against St. Louis.

The Mexico City Tigers crack three grand slams in a 16 – 5 rout. Luis Garcia hits two of them and Julio Franco adds one.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Todd Stottlemyre earns his seventh victory of the season as the Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres, 6 – 2. It is also Stottlemyre’s 136th career win. He and father Mel Stottlemyre become the first father-son combination to record 300 wins.

Alex Rodriguez becomes the fifth-youngest big leaguer to hit his 200th career home run, at 25 years and 289 days. Mel Ott accomplished the feat in 1934 at the youngest age (25 years, 144 days).

38 home runs shy of the exclusive 500 home run club, Jose Canseco retires at 37 age due to injuries sustained in recent years. The former American League MVP, who was cut by the Expos during spring training, had his best years in Oakland, forming with Mark McGwire one of the most feared one-two punches of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In the comeback, which will become known as the Mother’s Day Miracle, the Red Sox rally for six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Baltimore at Fenway Park, 6-5. Prior to the final frame, Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie had blanked the opponents on three hits before Boston crossed the plate six times, thanks to two singles, two doubles, three walks, and two errors.

Ryan Zimmerman’s hitting streak ends at 30 games when he goes 0 for 3 with two walks, but Washington beats San Francisco, 6 – 3, behind the pitching of Shairon Martis. Zimmerman falls one game short of the franchise record of 31 games set by Vladimir Guerrero in 1999, when the Nationals were still the Montreal Expos.

Alfonso Soriano hits his 53rd leadoff homer as the Chicago Cubs defeat the Padres, 6 – 4, in a rain-shortened game. Soriano’s blast ties Craig Biggio for second on the all-time list, still well behind record holder Rickey Henderson at 81; it also breaks the Cubs record held by Jimmy Ryan, as it is Soriano’s 21st such homer since joining the team in 2006. For the Padres, Adrian Gonzalez hits two long balls off winner Ted Lilly.

The Pirates down the Cardinals, 5 – 2. Adam LaRoche has a home run reversed on an instant replay review; it marks the first time in 14 reviews that a home run call has been reversed since instant replay was instituted in 2008.

The Reds beat the Diamondbacks, 10 – 3. Arizona rookie Gerardo Parra homers off Johnny Cueto in his first major league at-bat, the 100th player to homer in his first trip up in the Show.

Ryan Zimmerman’s Nationals-record consecutive hit streak comes to an end at 30 games when he grounds into a ninth-inning force play, ending the day 0-for 3 with two walks in the team’s 6-3 victory at AT&T Park. Only two Washington ballplayers, Hall of Famers Heinie Manush and Sam Rice, have had longer hit streaks than the Nats’ third baseman.

Mat Latos comes extremely close to pitching a no-hitter, but has to settle for a one-hit shutout, the first complete game of his career, as San Diego beats the Giants, 1 – 0. The only hit he allows is a ground ball by Eli Whiteside in the 6th that glances off him towards third baseman Chase Headley, whose throw to first base is a fraction of a second too late to retire Whiteside. For good measure, Latos also drives in the only run of the game.

Zack Greinke finally earns his first win of the year, but it comes too late to save Trey Hillman’s job. The Royals announce after the 6 – 4 win over the Indians that their manager has been fired and will be replaced by former Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost. The Royals are 12-23 and in a familiar last place in the AL Central.

Trey Hillman, who compiled a 152-207 record in his two-plus years with the club, is fired by the Royals. The popular and well-respected 47 year-old, who piloted the team to a 12-23 record this season, including today’s victory, will be replaced by the team’s current baseball operations assistant and former Brewers manager, Ned Yost.

Justin Verlander does his best Johnny Vander Meer imitation but comes up short in his first start since pitching the second no-hitter of his career on May 8th. The Tigers ace is still masterful, though, keeping the Royalshitless until Melky Cabrera’s two-out triple in the 6th. He ends up allowing two hits in 8 innings in a 3 – 1 win. His losing opponent in last week’s no-hitter, Toronto’s Ricky Romero, also has a low-hit game, giving up the first of his four hits with two outs in the 6th. He comes up one out short of a complete game shutout, leaving Frank Francisco to get the final out of a 2 – 0 victory over the Twins.

Jeremy Hellickson also shines on a night of great pitching performances. The Rays rookie pitches a four-hitter for the first complete game and shutout of his career in Tampa Bay’s 3 – 0 win over the Orioles, on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Matt Joyce and Johnny Damon hit homers that account for all of the Rays’ runs.

Coco Crisp gambles and loses: in the 8th inning, with the A’s trailing the White Sox, 4 – 3, he attempts a straight steal of home with left-handed reliever Matt Thornton on the mound, but C A.J. Pierzynski manages to tag him out as he slides. The Sox hold on for the win.

The Mariners beat the Yankees, 6 – 2, in Andy Pettitte’s return to pinstripes after a one-year retirement. Justin Smoak and Casper Wells hit homers against Pettitte; Kevin Millwood picks up his first win for the M’s. Wells is a dutiful son on Mother’s Day, hitting his long ball after his mom, who drove all the way from Schenectady, NY to the Big Apple to attend the game, asked him to hit a home run to make it memorable.

Another Mother’s Day hero is the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, swinging a pink bat in support of breast cancer research, who belts a walk-off grand slam off Manny Acosta of the Mets, capping a 6-run 9th-inning rally as Miami wins, 8 – 4. And he is not the only player to accomplish the feat, as the Reds’ Joey Votto also ends his team’s game with a slam, completing a three-homer game as Cincinnati defeats the Nationals, 9 – 6. It the first time that two games end on a grand slam on the same day since April 10, 1988, when Mo Vaughn and Steve Finley were the hitters.

Jordan Zimmermann is the first major league pitcher to seven wins as he also drives in three runs in Washington’s 6 – 2 victory over the Dodgers. His opponent, Josh Beckett, falls to 0-5. For Washington, Bryce Harper runs at full speed into the outfield fence in the 5th inning as he attempts to catch a fly ball hit by A.J. Ellis; he has to leave the game and while he will return to action quickly, the nagging injuries resulting from the collision will affect his production significantly for the rest of the season.

In his return to Arizona after his off-season trade, Justin Upton has a huge night, banging out four hits including a homer in a 10 – 1 Braves win over the Diamondbacks.

Justin Upton, playing In his first game at Chase Field since the January trade that sent him to Atlanta in a seven-player deal, collects four hits, including a home run and a double. The first overall pick by Arizona in the 2005 amateur draft receives a mixed reaction from the crowd, with slightly more cheers than boos during Atlanta’s 10-1 rout of the Diamondbacks.

2014 – Two pitchers with long winless streaks face-off in tonight’s game between the Dodgers and Marlins. Josh Beckett records his first win since the 2012 season as he gives up a run in 6 2/3 innings in a 7 – 1 Dodgers win. His opponent, Jacob Turner extends his streak to 16 starts and is 0-10 on the road for his career, in spite of an ERA under 4.00.

Last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, Corey Kluber of the Indians, finally gets his first win of the year after starting off 0-5. He strikes out 18 Cardinals batters and allows only one hit over 8 innings to lead Cleveland to a 2 – 0 win. The 18 strikeouts tie a club record set by Bob Feller in 1938 and are the most by any American League pitcher since Roger Clemens also struck out 18 in 1998.

Jonathan Singleton of the Fresno Grizzlies drives in 10 runs in a 17 – 6 beating of the Albuquerque Isotopes in the Pacific Coast League. He goes 4 for 6 with two homers, including a grand slam, in setting a new club record for RBIs.

Major League Baseball announces its decision in the case of SS Jose Reyes, who has been on administrative leave since spring training following an off-season domestic violence incident. While prosecutors decided to drop criminal charges, MLB comes down hard, extending Reyes’ suspension until May 31st, a total of 51 games, costing Reyes $7 million in salary.

Chris Heisey’s pinch-hit home run, his third of the season, marks the first time the Nationals have had two pinch-hitters go deep in the same game. Earlier in the contest, Stephen Drew, coming off the bench, blasted a game-tying two-run shot in the sixth inning of Washington’s eventual 5-3 victory over Miami.

Bryce Harper signs a contract extension that will pay him $21.6 million in 2018, his final year before he becomes eligible for free agency, an amount which is a record for a player in his arbitration years. He then celebrates by hitting a walk-off homer off Edubray Ramos with two outs in the 9th to lead Washington to a 6 – 4 win over the Phillies.

Called up from AAA earlier in the day, Joey Rickard has a great game for the Orioles against the Rays as he homers twice and drives in 4 runs in a 17 – 1 rout. Danny Valencia and Trey Mancini also homer for the last-place Birds and Dylan Bundy pitches 7 scoreless innings in his first start since allowing 7 runs and 4 homers without retiring anyone in a start against the Royals on May 8th.

2009 – Every person in the Astros’ starting lineup, including pitcher Mike Hampton, has a multi-hit game in the 15-11 victory over Colorado at Coors Field. Lance Berkman leads the 24-hit attack (one shy of the club record) with a 4-for-4 night. Miguel Tejada adds three hits while Geoff Blum drives in five. Houston scores all their runs without the benefit of a homer. 

1988 – Glenn Davis drives in four and Gerald Young provides four hits as Houston pounds the Cubs, 8-2. Nolan Ryan tosses his first complete game in over two years, fanning eleven. Davis leads the league in RBIs (33) while Young leads in stolen bases (22). 

1981 – Don Sutton twirls a five-hit shutout to blank St. Louis, 3-0. Art Howe adds a two-run homer. Off the field, Mike Ivie is hospitalized for mental exhaustion less than a month after he was traded to Houston for Jeff Leonard and Dave Bergman. Expected to be the cleanup hitter, Ivie bats .237 with no homers in 19 games. He will miss the rest of the season. 

1969 – Houston plays their first game outside the United States, a 10-3 pounding of the Montreal Expos at Parc Jarry. Doug Rader drives in three and Johnny Edwards produces two run-scoring singles against their new expansion foe. Donn Clendenon, who refused to accept a trade to Houston during the winter, goes 0-for-5. 

1966 – Dick Farrell and Claude Raymond combine for a one-hitter in Philadelphia. The Astros only manage three hits themselves but the last is a ninth-inning blast by Jim Wynn off Chris Short that hits the roof of Connie Mack Stadium for a 1-0 victory.

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