TODAY IN BASEBALL: July 11

TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime

1914 – Making his major league debut, Red Sox hurler Babe Ruth beats the Indians, 4-3. Duffy Lewis, a pinch hitter for the rookie southpaw, singles in the seventh, giving Boston and Ruth the victory.

1985 – Astros fireballer Nolan Ryan fans Mets left fielder Danny Heep for his 4000th career strikeout. The ‘Ryan Express’ doesn’t get a decision but Houston beats New York in 12 innings, 4-3.

1989 – In a contest best remembered for the leadoff Ruthian blast to center field by Bo Jackson, the game’s MVP who will join Willie Mays as the second player to hit a home run and steal a base in an All-Star game, the American League beats the NL’s best players, 5-3, at Anaheim Stadium. During the first inning of the Mid-Summer Classic, former U.S. President and one-timer baseball announcer Ronald Reagan joins Vin Scully in the NBC broadcast booth.

And finally…in 2010, long time Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard dies at the age of 99. The ‘Voice of God’, a nickname bestowed by Reggie Jackson, informed patrons of the lineups and of the players coming to bat in over 4,500 contests during his 56 years behind the microphone in the ballpark in the Bronx.

PLAYERS BORN TODAY

Milt Stock (1893), Bob Allison (1934), Andy Ashby (1967) and Javier Lopez (1977)

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