TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime
1976 – Cleveland Indians player-manager Frank Robinson, in his final Major League at-bat, strokes a pinch-hit single in a 4-3 loss to Baltimore at Cleveland Stadium. The 41 year-old future Hall of Famer ends his 21-year playing career with a batting average of .294 and 586 home runs, the fourth-best in baseball history at the time of his retirement.
1996 – Roger Clemens, in his final victory wearing a Red Sox uniform, ties his own record for strikeouts in a game when he strikes out 20 batters in a nine-inning game, going the distance in the team’s 4-0 victory in Detroit. The ‘Rocket’ first achieved the feat a decade earlier against the Mariners.
2002 – Major League Baseball teams across the nation celebrate the first annual “Roberto Clemente Day”. Each home team’s recipient of the John Hancock’s Roberto Clemente Award will be recognized (the balance will be given when the road team arrives home) and the national recipient of the award, chosen from among the 30 club honorees, will be announced during the World Series.
And finally…in 2008, Greg Maddux breaks Cy Young’s Major League record by getting his 13th win for the 20th consecutive season. The Padres veteran right-hander’s streak of not issuing a base on balls for 59 2/3 innings, however, ends as ‘Mad Dog’ walks Jason Bay on a full count in the third inning of a 5-3 victory over the Pirates at Petco Park.
PLAYERS BORN TODAY
Harvey Haddix (1925), Ken Brett (1948), Tony Scott (1951) and Ryne Sandberg (1959)
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