TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime
1991 – At Busch Stadium, Lee Smith becomes the fifth Major Leaguer to record his 300th save when he pitches a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the Cardinals’ 5-2 victory over L.A. The Louisiana native will retire with the most saves in Major League history with 478, compiled during 18 seasons with eight different teams
1996 – A monument in center field at Yankee Stadium is dedicated to Mickey Mantle, who died of liver cancer last year. The commemorative structure, the first to be erected by the team in 47 years, joins three other monuments in the Bronx ballpark that honor the legacies of Miller Huggins, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig.
2010 – Felix Hernandez collects his 1000th strikeout when he fans David Ortiz in the sixth inning of the Mariners’ 4-2 victory over Boston at Safeco Field. The 24 year-old Seattle starter, the fourth youngest ever to reach the milestone, joins Randy Johnson (2,162), Jamie Moyer (1,239), and Mark Langston (1,078) as the fourth pitcher in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
And finally…in 2015, calling his tweet completely unacceptable, ESPN pulls analyst Curt Schilling from the network’s Little League World Series broadcasts. The former Major League pitcher’s post, which was quickly deleted, connected Muslim extremism to Nazi Germany.
PLAYERS BORN TODAY
Rollie Fingers (1846), Oddibe McDowell (1962), Albert Belle (1966) and Doug Glanville (1970)
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