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May 8th
1901 - In their long-delayed A.L. home opener, Boston defeats Philadelphia 12-4 behind Cy Young, who has jumped from the St. Louis N.L. team. He will lead the A.L. with his 1.62 ERA and 33 wins, which are 41.8 percent of his team's 79 victories. This post-1900 record will stand until Steve Carlton totals 45.8 percent of the Phillies' 59 wins in 1972.
1906 - With the A's shorthanded because of injuries, Connie Mack puts pitcher Alvin "Chief" Bender in left field in the sixth inning of a game against the Boston Pilgrims. Bender hits two inside-the-park home runs.
1907 - Boston's Big Jeff Pfeffer threw a no-hitter to give the Braves a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Boston.
1929 - Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first by a left-hander in the majors in thirteen seasons.
1935 - In the first game of a doubleheader, Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds hit four doubles in consecutive innings (sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth) off four different Phillies pitchers. Lombardi also singled as the Reds beat Philadelphia 15-4.
1946 - Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky becomes the first player in AL history to score six runs in one game as Boston beats the White Sox 14-10. During the week Pesky also had eleven straight hits before grounding out against Al Milnar of the Browns.
1947 - According to a story by league president Ford Frick, a movement among Cardinals players to protest their first meeting with Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers is aborted by a clubhouse talk from owner Sam Breadon (who denies the story). Suspended manager Leo Durocher and his wife, Larraine Day, are in the stands as the Dodgers win 7-6 on a Pee Wee Reese home run.
1966 - Orioles right fielder Frank Robinson powers the first ball ever hit completely out of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The 451-foot shot ends Luis Tiant's scoreless-innings streak at 27. Baltimore wins 8-3 and ties Cleveland for first place.
1966 - The St. Louis Cardinals closed old Busch Stadium with a 10-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
1968 - Jim "Catfish" Hunter of the Oakland A's pitched a perfect game to beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0.
1973 - For the second time in his career, the Pirates' Willie Stargell poles one out of Dodger Stadium. His blast off Andy Messersmith hits the right field pavilion roof 470 feet away. His first such homer, a 506-foot shot, came off Alan Foster on August 5, 1969. No other player has hit one out of the stadium.
1973 - Cubs manager Whitey Lockman is ejected during a 12-inning 3-2 win over the Padres. Coach Ernie Banks fills in for the last few innings, technically becoming the major leagues' first black manager.
1984 - Minnesota's Kirby Puckett had four singles in his first Major League game as the Twins beat the California Angels 5-0.
1994 - The Colorado Silver Bullets, the first women's team to play a pro men's team, lost 19-0 to the Northern League All-Stars. Leon Durham hit two homers and Oil Can Boyd started for the All-Stars. The Silver Bullets had two hits, struck out sixteen times and made six errors.
1998 - Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire connects for his 400th career home run in the third inning at Shea Stadium. McGwire, who has homered every 11.82 at-bats in his career, reaches the milestone in his 4,726th at-bat, beating babe Ruth to that plateau by 128 at-bats. McGwire is the 26th major league player to hit 400 home runs.
2001 - Randy Johnson became only the third pitcher to strike out twenty batters in nine innings, but didn't finish the game as Arizona went on beat Cincinnati 4-3 in 11 innings. The Big Unit, the first left-hander to fan twenty, missed out on the chance to join Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood as the record-holders for a nine-inning game because Arizona could not finish off the Reds in regulation.
1901 - In their long-delayed A.L. home opener, Boston defeats Philadelphia 12-4 behind Cy Young, who has jumped from the St. Louis N.L. team. He will lead the A.L. with his 1.62 ERA and 33 wins, which are 41.8 percent of his team's 79 victories. This post-1900 record will stand until Steve Carlton totals 45.8 percent of the Phillies' 59 wins in 1972.
1906 - With the A's shorthanded because of injuries, Connie Mack puts pitcher Alvin "Chief" Bender in left field in the sixth inning of a game against the Boston Pilgrims. Bender hits two inside-the-park home runs.
1907 - Boston's Big Jeff Pfeffer threw a no-hitter to give the Braves a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Boston.
1929 - Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first by a left-hander in the majors in thirteen seasons.
1935 - In the first game of a doubleheader, Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds hit four doubles in consecutive innings (sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth) off four different Phillies pitchers. Lombardi also singled as the Reds beat Philadelphia 15-4.
1946 - Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky becomes the first player in AL history to score six runs in one game as Boston beats the White Sox 14-10. During the week Pesky also had eleven straight hits before grounding out against Al Milnar of the Browns.
1947 - According to a story by league president Ford Frick, a movement among Cardinals players to protest their first meeting with Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers is aborted by a clubhouse talk from owner Sam Breadon (who denies the story). Suspended manager Leo Durocher and his wife, Larraine Day, are in the stands as the Dodgers win 7-6 on a Pee Wee Reese home run.
1966 - Orioles right fielder Frank Robinson powers the first ball ever hit completely out of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The 451-foot shot ends Luis Tiant's scoreless-innings streak at 27. Baltimore wins 8-3 and ties Cleveland for first place.
1966 - The St. Louis Cardinals closed old Busch Stadium with a 10-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
1968 - Jim "Catfish" Hunter of the Oakland A's pitched a perfect game to beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0.
1973 - For the second time in his career, the Pirates' Willie Stargell poles one out of Dodger Stadium. His blast off Andy Messersmith hits the right field pavilion roof 470 feet away. His first such homer, a 506-foot shot, came off Alan Foster on August 5, 1969. No other player has hit one out of the stadium.
1973 - Cubs manager Whitey Lockman is ejected during a 12-inning 3-2 win over the Padres. Coach Ernie Banks fills in for the last few innings, technically becoming the major leagues' first black manager.
1984 - Minnesota's Kirby Puckett had four singles in his first Major League game as the Twins beat the California Angels 5-0.
1994 - The Colorado Silver Bullets, the first women's team to play a pro men's team, lost 19-0 to the Northern League All-Stars. Leon Durham hit two homers and Oil Can Boyd started for the All-Stars. The Silver Bullets had two hits, struck out sixteen times and made six errors.
1998 - Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire connects for his 400th career home run in the third inning at Shea Stadium. McGwire, who has homered every 11.82 at-bats in his career, reaches the milestone in his 4,726th at-bat, beating babe Ruth to that plateau by 128 at-bats. McGwire is the 26th major league player to hit 400 home runs.
2001 - Randy Johnson became only the third pitcher to strike out twenty batters in nine innings, but didn't finish the game as Arizona went on beat Cincinnati 4-3 in 11 innings. The Big Unit, the first left-hander to fan twenty, missed out on the chance to join Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood as the record-holders for a nine-inning game because Arizona could not finish off the Reds in regulation.
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