July 31, 1972: Dick Allen Rocks Two Inside The Park Shots In Minnesota

     On July 31, 1972, Chicago White Sox first baseman Dick Allen became the first player since 1932 to hit two inside-the-park home runs in same game, as he led the way to an 8-1 victory over the Twins in Minnesota.

     Allen's history making performance began in the first inning when future Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven walked Pat Kelly to lead things off, then gave up a single to Luis Alvarado, which set the table for Allen who rapped a line drive to center that got past Bobby Darwin and went all the way to the track, as Allen wheel around the basepaths. The three run homer set the tone for the day, and the Wampum Walloper was not done just yet, as he struck again in the fifth with a two run inside-the-parker.

     The second blast was a towering drive that Darwin tried to catch at his shoestrings, only to have it get past him. As the ball got past Darwin, Allen rounded the bases once again, and he ran his way into the history books the moment he touched the dish. While Allen's five RBI performance led the way for the White Sox in the offensive department, his starting pitcher Stan Bahnsen locked down his 13th win of the year with a complete game six hit performance.

     New York's Ben Chapman was the last man to achieve the feat. He had accomplished it in July of '32. 40 years later Dick joined the club. Allen was the sixteenth man to do it since 1900, and it has only been accomplished one time since, with that coming in October of 1986 Minnesota's Greg Gagne belted two inside-the-parkers in a game against Allen's former White Sox.

     On a personal note, I think that Dick Allen is a player from baseball's past that is a bit overshadowed. I know that he had his bumps in the road throughout his career, but that guy was one of the greatest players of his time, and his career was a very storied one. The story about the two inside-the-park shots is just one of many great stories from the life and career of Dick Allen.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN197207310.shtml

Here is a list inside-the-park home run records: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_isphr.shtml

   
   

July 30, 1874: Baseball Reaches New Lands

     On July 30, 1874, the Boston Red Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics played the first professional baseball game on foreign soil at the Edge Hill Cricket Grounds in Liverpool, England. The Athletics beat the Red Stockings by the score of 14-11 in the contest that was the just the beginning of a three week tour. Some 400 people showed up to watch the game that is played on a diamond, and they cheered the teams throughout the contest.

     The idea to travel abroad was the brainchild of the Red Stockings manager Harry Wright who sent his star pitcher A.G. Spalding to England to arrange a tour of the British Isles. The two clubs that were involved were the cream of the crop on American soil, as the Athletics were the 1871 champions, while the Red Stockings were two-time defending champs, and they were headed toward another title as well. The two clubs took an unprecedented break from the National Association's schedule to take baseball to places it had never been seen before.

     In a diary written by Boston's Andy Leonard it was said that the fans said things like "ah, it's the old game of rounders", while others proclaimed they believed that Americans could beat their beloved cricket squads at their own game, and they were right. It was also said that the fans would cheer for long foul balls because they did not have an understanding of the game.

     The two clubs played in Manchester, London, Richmond, Sheffield, and Dublin over the next few weeks, and they not only played the game of baseball, they also fielded cricket teams against the locals, and did not lose a match. After the three week stretch was over the teams boarded a ship and headed back to American soil where they would each finish out the season. The Red Stockings won 22 of their last 37, as they stormed toward their third consecutive title. It was said the game of baseball was not well received which made the trip an unprofitable one. With that said those two teams still had done something that had never been done before. It was a truly historic trip as the game that would become America's National Pastime was shared abroad. It also led to another world tour in 1888 and 1889, as well as the famed tour of 1914 that was featured on this blog earlier this year.

     To date, I believe this to be the oldest fact that I have ever used. Simply finding the article that appeared in a newspaper from the following day was a true thrill for me. It is something to think of those men who were true pioneers of the game. They were taking a game that they had learned to love, and shared it with others. Today I tip my cap to them. 140 years later, I too love that game.

I am going to include several references today. A great deal of information about the trip came from the book: The Irish In Baseball: An Early History by Dave Fleitz. It looked like a very interesting book, that detailed much more than this trip.  This website also provided insight into the trip as well as the game of baseball before the century turned the corner: http://www.19cbaseball.com/  If you happen to be interested in the 1914 tour you can read about it here: http://onthisdayinsports.blogspot.com/2014/02/february-1-1914-white-sox-and-giants.html

July 29, 1989: Henderson Steals Five Without Even Getting A Hit

     On July 29, 1989, Rickey Henderson stole five bases for the A's in Oakland without the benefit of a hit. Randy Johnson and the Seattle Mariners issued the speedster four free passes, and the speedster made the most of them. Unfortunately for Henderson and his teammates the Mariners received 13 free passes of their own, and won the game 14-6. Henderson started stealing bases in 1979. He broke Lou Brock's modern day single season record of 118 in 1982 when he stole 130, and he ran past Lou Brock's all time record of 938 in 1991, and he kept on running until 2003. He finished his career with 1,406 stolen bases, and to this day he remains the king of thieves.


Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK198907290.shtml

July 28, 1994: 27 Up 27 Down; Kenny Rogers Achieves Perfection In Arlington

     On July 28, 1994, in front of a home crowd of more than 46,000 in Arlington, Texas Rangers hurler Kenny Rogers became just the 12th man in the history of Major League Baseball to achieve perfection during a 4-0 win over the California Angels. The perfect game also made Rogers the first left handed pitcher in the history of the American League to achieve the feat. The Rangers had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a solo shot by Jose Canseco, and an RBI off the bat of  Dean Palmer. The Rangers tacked on their other two runs in the fourth with back-to-back home runs by Canseco and Pudge Rodriguez. At that point Rogers looked to be in cruise control, and he would continue to cruise until Rex Hudler stepped to the plate to lead off the ninth. While Hudler was getting ready to face Rogers he was telling the fans in the front row that he was going to break it up, and he damn near did when he gave a fastball a long ride into right that looked like it was a sure hit, before rookie Rusty Greer made an absolutely spectacular diving play in right center that preserved the perfecto. The near hit by Hudler was the only true threat by the California squad. Rogers finished things off by getting catcher Chris Turner to ground out, and moments later shortstop gary Discarnia shot a routine fly ball to center. The moment Greer recorded that 27th out, a celebration ensued. Perfection had been achieved. Watch the final inning here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYdQKQ1V8pM

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX199407280.shtml

July 27, 1918: Heitmann Joins The E.R.A. Infinity Club

     On July 27, 1918, Henry Heitmann of the Brooklyn Robins played out one of the shortest careers in the history of Major League Baseball, when he started the second game of a doubleheader versus the St. Louis Cardinals in Brooklyn. Heitmann faced just four batters, and they each picked up a hit off of him before he was pulled from the contest. On top of it each of those came around and scored. Heitmann never played in another major league contest again, which led to a lifetime E.R.A. of infinity, and put him in a club that no major league would want to join.

     The Robins had taken the first game of the doubleheader by the score of 2-0, but their luck would be much different in the second tilt as the Cardinals knocked them off by rapping out 26 hits, and scoring 22 runs en route to a 22-7 blowout. The 21-year-old kid who had just been called up from the minors and was a solid pitcher at the lower levels. It might be too bad that he never got a chance to redeem himself at the major league level, but if he had we might not know his name today. Heitmann joined the Navy immediately after the contest, although, he was back in Rochester within the year. According to his stats that will be provided below, he played minor league ball until 1928, and carried a 3.27 earned run average throughout his minor league career. He also won 17 games twice. Not too shabby.

As of 2010 there are 14 men who own an infinity lifetime E.R.A., here is that list: http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/7450

You can view Heitmann's minor league numbers here:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=heitma001har




   

July 26, 1987: Molitor Steals For The Cycle In Milwaukee

     On July 26, 1987, Brewers legend Paul Molitor completed the stolen base cycle during a 7-4 win over the Oakland Athletics at County Stadium in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee DH led the first inning off with a single off of Dennis Lamp, then swiped second in the blink of an eye, and took third when Ernest Riles grounded out. The feat was completed after Robin Yount walked, before a double steal was executed as first baseman Greg Brock stood at the dish ready to take a swing. The A's catcher Terry Steinbach called for a pitch out in anticipation of the thievery, but I don't think he anticipated Molitor's dash for the plate, as he fired to second trying to gun down Yount. The A's shortstop saw Molitor make his break, and cut the ball off and fired it home. The ball went to the first base side of the plate as Molitor came in with a head first slide. The run was just the beginning of a great day for those in the stands in Milwaukee as they watched their club build a seven run lead after six. The A's rallied in the eighth with four runs, before Dan Plesac came in and earned a four out save.

     To date, only 40 men have completed the stolen base cycle in one inning. Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner each achieved the feat four times, while Max Carey and Jackie Tavener did it twice. Molitor was the first man to achieve the feat in a Brewers uniform, and it has not been matched by a member of the Milwaukee squad since. The last person to achieve the feat was Dee Gordon of the Los Angeles Dodgers who did it in July of 2011. Thanks to Baseball Almanac for the comprehensive list that can be viewed here: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/stealing_second_third_home.shtml

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL198707260.shtml

July 25, 1956: Roberto Clemente Belts An Inside The Park Grand Slam In Walk Off Fashion

     On July 25, 1956, Roberto Clemente belted a walk off inside-the-park grand slam at Forbes Field which propelled his Pittsburgh Pirates to a stunning 9-8 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs. The Cubs had broke out big in the eighth with seven runs that gave them a 7-4 lead, the Bucs came back in the bottom of that inning with a run, but watched the Cubs take it right back with a run in the top of the ninth. Up 8-5 the Cubs skipper Stan Hack called on Turk Lown to shut the door, but the reliever got himself in trouble by loading the bases, with two walks and a single. Realizing that Lown was quickly melting down, Hack called on Jim Brosnan to go after the 21-year-old Clemente who took the first pitch he saw and drove it all the way to the left field wall. It looked to be a game tying triple until Clemente blew through a stop sign,as the ball got away from the outfielder, the ball was relayed into Ernie Banks, and Clemente hauled ass to the plate. As the throw by Banks was reaching the dish Clemente slid past, but reached back just before a tag could be applied. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette put it "the crowd of 12,431 went goofy with excitement" while Clemente and his teammates celebrated the spectacular finish.

     Clemente hit 240 home runs during his Hall of Fame career. 10 of those were of the inside-the-park variety. Only one of those 10 was a walk off shot, which just so happened to be one of seven career grand slams. As far as the big fly goes Clemente enjoyed Cubs pitching more than any other, as he took them deep 41 times. The Cincinnati Reds were second on the list, as they surrendered 40 bombs to the Pirates legend.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT195607250.shtml