TODAY IN BASEBALL: September 24

TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime

1956 – At Memorial Stadium in a 5-4 loss to the Birds, Tigers outfielder Al Kaline gets his 3000^th hit. The milestone hit is given up by Orioles hurler Dave McNally, a two-bagger down the right-field line.

2001 – Former American major leaguer Tuffy Rhodes ties the Japanese record set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964 when he takes fireballer Daisuke Matsuzaka deep for his 55th home run of the season. The Kintetsu Buffaloes outfielder has five games left to break the record, but opposing pitchers will intentionally walk him to prevent the immortal Oh’s record being broken.

2002 – Thanks to Jason’s two home runs in the Yankees’ 6-0 whitewash of the Devil Rays, the Giambi brothers (Jason 40, Jeremy 20) pass the DiMaggio siblings for the highest single-season total for homers with 60. The DiMaggios (Joe 46, Vince, 13) went yard 59 times in 1937.

And finally…in 2006, as the Petco Park sellout crowd roars, Trevor Hoffman retires all three Pittsburgh batters he faces in the ninth inning, ensuring a 2-1 San Diego victory. The Padres closer’s 479th career save surpasses Lee Smith’s total (1980-1997), making the 38 year-old reliever the all-time leader in saves.

PLAYERS BORN TODAY

Dixie Walker (1910), Hubie Brooks (1956), Rafael Palmeiro (1964) and Kevin Millar (1971)