This Day In Baseball History - May 3rd

[DaaBoTownSox]

1938 - Lefty Grove defeats the Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings for the first of a record 20 consecutive victories at his home field, Fenway Park in Boston. He will not lose there until May 12, 1941.

1961 - Another brilliant Warren Spahn performance is spoiled when left fielder Mel Roach's misplay costs the Milwaukee ace a second no-hitter in a row. Spahn settles for a two-hitter in topping the Dodgers 4-1.

1975 - The Reds switch Pete Rose from left field to third base, opening a lineup spot for utility outfielder George Foster. Over the next four seasons, Foster will average 36 home runs, 117 RBI, and a .302 batting average to help the Reds to two world championships.

1979 - Bobby Bonds hits his 300th home run against Moose Haas in a 6-1 loss to Milwaukee. He has 413 stolen bases at the time and becomes the second player, after Willie Mays, to have 300 stolen bases and 300 home runs.

1980 - Giants first baseman Willie McCovey hits his 521st and final career home run. His shot against Montreal's Scott Sanderson ties him with Ted Williams on the all-time list. He will retire on June 6.

1980 - Rangers pitcher Fergie Jenkins defeats the Orioles 3-2 to become only the fourth pitcher to win 100 games in each league. He won 149 games for the Phillies and Cubs before moving to the A.L. in 1974.

1986 - Cubs third baseman Ron Cey hits his 300th and 301st home runs and Chicago scores four times in the top of the ninth to beat San Francisco 6-5.

1992 - Baltimore's Gregg Olson, just 25, becomes the youngest pitcher in history to record 100 saves.

1995 - David Bell makes his major league debut at third base for the Indians in a 14-7 victory over the Tigers. His appearance makes the Bells, with his father Buddy and his grandfather Gus, the second three-generation family in major league history (the Boones were the first). Gus Bell dies four days later.

[Bothrops Atrox]

This is a great idea! Can you do it every day?

I mean, I know there are internet sites that probably already do this, but...

[DaaBoTownSox]

This is a great idea! Can you do it every day?

I mean, I know there are internet sites that probably already do this, but...

I can try my best!

[Michaelradio]

Hey guys I don't want to step too far over the line with a self promotion ( it is worth noting I do not make money off of my site and it is just an informative way to share baseball info) but I do a weekday This Day In Baseball History podcast that airs in 7 different states. I'm expanding to 10 states and weekend shows by the summer. You can check it out at www.thisdayinbaseballhistory.com. Each podcast is only 90 seconds. Enjoy.

[DaaBoTownSox]

May 4th

1943 - Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick demonstrates the revised balata ball to reporters by bouncing it on his office carpet. This ball will prove to be fifty percent livelier than the 1942 model. When introduced in games on May 9, there are six home runs hit in four doubleheaders compared with nine home runs hit with the previous ball in the first 72 games.

1946 - Washington's Cecil Travis gets six straight hits before being stopped by Cleveland's Steve Gromek. A prewar hitting star, Travis has few other starring moments as a player after suffering frozen feet during combat in Europe.

1966 - Willie Mays hits a NL record 512th HR, topping the mark of another Giant, Mel Ott, as the Giants beat the Dodgers 6-1.

1975 - The Giants beat the Astros 8-6 in the first game of a doubleheader at Candlestick Park. In the second inning, Houston's Bob Watson scores what is calculated as major league baseball's millionth run of all time. Philadelphia National Wes Fisler scored the first run on April 22, 1876.

1980 - White Sox first baseman Mike Squires catches the final inning of an 11-1 loss to the Brewers, becoming the first left-hander to catch in the majors since Dale Long in 1958.

1981 - Yankees reliever Ron Davis strikes out the last eight batters of a 4-2 win over the Angels, tying Nolan Ryan's A.L. record for consecutive strikeouts and setting a new record for consecutive strikeouts by a reliever.

1982 - Twins rookie outfielder Jim Eisenreich, who suffers from the nervous disorder Tourette's Syndrome, is forced to remove himself from a 5-3 loss to the Red Sox when he is taunted mercilessly by bleacher fans and his violent twitching becomes uncontrollable. Eisenreich, hitting .310 after making the jump from Class A ball to the major leagues, will be hospitalized on May 9 and will make several unsuccessful comeback attempts before retiring in 1984. He will return to the majors with the Royals in 1987 after finding an effective treatment for the condition.

1996 - The Rangers have a pair of one-hit wonders. Roger Pavlik one-hits the Tigers to make the Rangers the first A.L. team to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since the Washington Senators in 1917. Neither Pavlik nor his predecessor, Ken Hill, issues a walk in the one-hitters.

1997 - Detroit pitcher Willie Blair suffers a broken jaw when he is struck by a line drive off the bat of Julio Franco. The 31-year-old Blair will bounce back and double his previous career best with 16 wins.

[KCGHOST]

2012 - Cubs Starter, Ryan Dempster, and Reds Starter, Homer Bailey, both of whom were born on May 3rd square off in a game played on May 3rd.

[DaaBoTownSox]

1917 - Babe Ruth of the Red Sox allowed only two hits as he outpitched Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators, 1-0. Ruth knocked in the winning run with a sacrifice fly.

1922 - Jesse Barnes of the New York Giants pitched the only no-hitter of the year, beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0.

1925 - Pittsburgh shortstop Glenn Wright made an unassisted triple play in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals when he caught Jim Bottomley's line drive, stepped on second to double Jimmy Cooney, and tagged Rogers Hornsby coming from first.

1957 - Cleveland pitcher Herb Score was hit on the right eye by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald in the first inning. The ball broke Score's nose and damaged his eye; he missed the rest of the season.

1959 - A crowd of 93,103 came to the Los Angeles Coliseum on "Roy Campanella Night" to show their affection for the paralyzed Dodger catcher. The Dodgers were beaten by the New York Yankees, 6-2, in an exhibition game that followed the ceremonies.

1960 - Norm Sherry, a replacement catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hit a home run in the 11th inning to give his brother, relief pitcher Larry Sherry, a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Los Angeles.