TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime
1966 – In the first major league game to be played totally on artificial turf, Houston beats Philadelphia at the Astrodome, 8-2. Prior to this contest, the outfield consisted of painted dirt with only the infield covered with the new material created by Monsanto Company dubbed Astroturf.
1982 – Tony Gwynn doubles off of southpaw Sid Monge for his first major league hit. The 22 year-old rookie outfielder, who will end his Hall of Fame career with 3,141 hits, goes 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly in the Padres’ 7-6 loss to Philadelphia at Jack Murphy Stadium.
2001 – Arizona southpaw Randy Johnson sets a major league record for strikeouts by a reliever when fans he 16 batters, completing last night’s game that was suspended in the top of the 3rd inning. The ‘Big Unit’ gets the victory in the Diamondbacks’ 3-0 victory over San Diego in the Qualcomm Stadium Stadium contest.
And finally…in 2013, a surprise sixth contender participates in the Presidents Race when Sharknado, a character from the SyFy original movie about sharks being brought on land by a waterspout, ambushes George, Tom, Teddy, and Bill in the Nationals Park dash. Although Sharknado successfully blows past four of his competitors, Abe, with the wind to his back, secures a first-place finish.
PLAYERS BORN TODAY
Phil Cavarretta (1916), David Segui (1966), Preston Wilson (1974) and Rick Ankiel (1979)
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