HOVG REWIND: May 13, 2016

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY courtesy of National Pastime

1958 – As a pinch-hitter, Stan Musial collects his 3000th hit in the sixth inning off Moe Drabowsky in the Cardinals’ 5-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. ‘The Man’, the youngest player to reach the milestone, is the eighth major leaguer to accomplish the feat.

1993 – 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 on a veterans’ hospital outing who happens to be blind.

2002 – Thirty-eight home runs shy of the exclusive 500 mark, one-time ‘Bash Brother’ Jose Canseco, 37, retires 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 as a teammate of Mark McGwire.

And finally…in 2009, Ryan Zimmerman’s Nationals-record consecutive hit streak comes to an end at 30 games when he grounds into a ninth-inning force play. Washington’s third baseman, who goes 0 for 3 with two walks, is just the seventh major leaguer to put together a string of 30 or more straight games with a hit this decade.

STAT OF THE DAY provided by @HighHeatStats

Jose Rijo turns 51 today. Remarkably underrated, Rijo was the only pitcher in baseball to start at least 30 games with an ERA under 3 each year from 1991 to 1993.

PLAYERS BORN TODAY

Larry Gardner (1886), Juan Beniquez (1971), Jose Rijo (1965), and Barry Zito (1978)