The following are the events that happened world-wide throughout the sport of baseball.
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1800s
- 1880 - Fred Goldsmith of the Chicago White Stockings shut out the Buffalo Bisons, 11–0, on two hits. Chicago extended his winning-streak to 13 games, to set a new National League record.
- 1896 - The Cleveland Spiders took advantage of 13 base on balls and three wild pitches by a severely discontrolled Jouett Meekin, to beat the New York Giants, 11–5.
- 1897 - The Cincinnati Reds acquired slick first baseman and good hitter Jake Beckley from the New York Giants.
1900s
- 1904 - Dan McGann of the New York Giants collected five stolen bases in one game against the Brooklyn Dodgers to set a major league record, a feat not duplicated until August 24, 1974, by Davey Lopes. Otis Nixon eventually wil set a new mark with six stolen bases on June 16, 1991.
- 1909 - In an American League game featuring a major league record-setting 44 assists by both teams (as noted by historian Joe Dittmar), the Cleveland Naps defeated the St. Louis Browns, 5–2. The National League high assist marks of April 23, 1903 and May 15, 1909 (both between the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds) fall short of today's record. Addie Joss for Cleveland and Barney Pelty for St. Louis were the pitchers as each team recorded 22 assists.
1910s
- 1911 - Art Fromme allowed just one hit — a double by Honus Wagner in the second inning — in pitching the Cincinnati Reds to a 1–0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- 1912 - New York Giants pitcher Red Ames stole home in the fifth inning of a 6–2 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1920s
- 1923 - At the Polo Grounds, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Cy Williams hit his 18th home run of the season, and his 15th of May, to set a new major league record for the month. The homer came off New York Giants pitcher Rosy Ryan.
1930s
- 1937 - Carl Hubbell earned his 24th consecutive victory over two season and Mel Ott hit a ninth-inning home run as the New York Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2. Hubbell won the game in relief. His 24-win string started on July 17, 1936.
- 1939 - For the first time in his career, Charlie Gehringer of the Detroit Tigers hit for the cycle, in a 12–5 win against the St. Louis Browns. Gehringer did it in order – single, double, triple, homerun –, becoming the first player in major league history to cycle that way.
1940s
- 1946 - The outlaw Mexican League scuttles its competition, Mexico's only league entry in organized baseball. There are now 43 minor leagues for 1946.
1950s
- 1955 - Norm Zauchin of the Boston Red Sox hit three home runs with a double and 10 RBI in the first five innings of a 16–0 victory over the Washington Senators.
1960s
- 1960 - Baltimore Orioles catcher Clint Courtney used an oversized mitt in an effort to handle the pitches of knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm. The mitt, designed by Baltimore manager Paul Richards, was 50 percent larger than the standard. Courtney handled Wilhelm’s pitches flawlessly in a 3–2 win over the Yankees. The oversized mitt will later be banned.
- 1968 - MLB expanded outside the confines of the United States as the National League announced expansion for the first time in seven years awarding Montreal as well as San Diego.
1970s
- 1974 - Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ken Brett no-hit the San Diego Padres until the ninth inning, settling for a two-hit, 6–0 shutout in the first game of the doubleheader. In the second game, Brett's two-run pinch-triple gave Pittsburgh an 8–7 victory.
1980s
- 1988 - Dwight Evans of the Boston Red Sox collected his 2,000th career hit in a 3–2 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
1990s
- 1993 - Former Atlanta Braves All-Star Dale Murphy announced his retirement from baseball. The two-time National League MVP retired with a .265 batting average, 398 home runs and 1,266 runs batted in.
- 1997 - Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Seattle Mariners broke his own major league record for home runs hit through May by connecting for his 23rd of the season in an 11–10 loss to Minnesota. Griffey broke the mark he set in 1994 with 22 homers. In the same game, Mariners second baseman Joey Cora extended his hitting streak to 22 games, to set a team-record and tie the American League mark for switch-hitters.
2000s
- 2000:
- The St. Louis Cardinals paid tribute to Dizzy Dean by dedicating a statue of the Hall of Fame pitcher by sculptor Harry Weber outside Busch Stadium. Dean joined Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter, Bob Gibson, and Lou Brock to be honored in such a manner.
- The Cincinnati Reds retired the No. 24 jersey worn by Hall of Famer Tony Pérez making it just the sixth to be retired by the oldest professional baseball organization. The former first baseman joined Fred Hutchinson (1), Johnny Bench (5), Joe Morgan (8), Ted Kluszewski (18) and Frank Robinson (20) to be honored. Ken Griffey, Jr., after being acquired by the Reds in the off season, agreed to switch his uniform number from 24 to 30, the number worn by his father Griffey Sr. as a member of the Big Red Machine.
- 2001 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit the 12,000th home run in Giants history. The home run came off Colorado Rockies pitcher Denny Neagle in the first inning of a Giants 5–4 victory at Pacific Bell Park.
- 2003 In Atlanta, Georgia, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals uphold a decision preventing the Florida attorney general from investigating Major League Baseball's 2001 attempt to eliminate two teams. The 11th circuit decision, by Judges Gerald B. Tjoflat, Susan H. Black and Richard W. Goldberg, was based on the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and state law rather than the sport's antitrust exemption and was considered to be a major victory by the baseball commissioner's office.
- 2004 - Carlos Peña of the Detroit Tigers went 6-for-6 with two home runs, five RBI and four runs in a 17–7 victory over Kansas City.
- 2006 - At Fenway Park, Curt Schilling became the 104th pitcher in major league history to reach 200 wins in the 6–4 triumph over Tampa Bay. Trot Nixon had three RBI, Mark Loretta hit 3-for-5 with an RBI to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, and Jonathan Papelbon notched his 18th save in as many opportunities, extending his major league record. Schilling became only the fourth pitcher to earn his 200th win while in a Red Sox uniform, joining Lefty Grove (1934), Ferguson Jenkins (1976) and Luis Tiant (1978).
Births
- 1894 - Frank Snyder, catcher (d. 1962)
- 1909 - Pinky Higgins, All-Star infielder and manager (1969)
- 1912 - Terry Moore, All-Star outfielder and manager (d. 1995)
- 1944 - Gary Nolan, All-Star pitcher
- 1949 - Terry Collins, manager
- 1956 - Mark Clear, pitcher
- 1968 - Frank Thomas, All-Star IF/DH
- 1969 - Jeff Bagwell, All-Star infielder
- 1969 - Todd Hundley, All-Star catcher