TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime
1946 – Ted Williams clouts the farthest home run ever hit at Fenway Park, a shot estimated to have traveled 502 feet before striking the straw hat of a fan sitting in seat 21 in the 37th row in of section 42 in right field. The seat will be painted red to commemorate the location of the Splendid Splinter’s Ruthian blast, although at the time of the homer the area consisted of bleachers and not individual seats.
1999 – After being ejected in the 12th inning by plate umpire Randy Marsh for arguing a catcher’s interference call, Bobby Valentine returns to the dugout with a fake mustache and glasses. The National League will suspend the Mets’ manager for two games and fine him for using the disguise. They also took away his free spins.
2008 – Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the sixth player in major league history to hit 600 career home runs. With a runner on third, Junior goes deep in the first inning on a 3-1 pitch thrown by Marlins’ moundsman Mark Hendrickson in the Reds’ 9-4 victory at Dolphin Stadium.
And finally…in 2009, twenty-one teams miss an opportunity to draft 17-year-old high school standout Mike Trout, who in three years will become an impact player in the American League during his rookie season. The ‘Millville Meteor’, selected in the first round of the Amateur Draft (25th overall) by the Angels, is most notably passed over by the Nationals and the Diamondbacks, teams that would both pick twice before Los Angeles made its first selection.
PLAYERS BORN TODAY
Bill Virdon (1931), Dave Parker (1951), Randy Winn (1974) and Joe Kelly (1988)
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