Title: Born Today - August
osfan58202233 - August 1, 2008 02:04 PM (GMT)
August 1st – Milt May, 1950
Son of Phillies third baseman Pinky May, Milt was signed as an infielder by the Pirates, who made him a catcher. He was a good handler of pitchers and a lefthanded line-drive hitter who rarely swung at a bad pitch, but also was reputedly the slowest runner in the majors for much of his career. At age 21, he drove in Pittsburgh's winning run in Game Four of the 1971 World Series. The Astros gave up Jerry Reuss for May after the 1973 season, making him their everyday catcher. On May 4, 1975, he drove in Bob Watson for ML baseball's one millionth run. Traded to Detroit, he played six games in 1976 before a broken ankle sidelined him for the season. With the 1981 Giants, he batted .310 - the highest mark ever for a San Francisco catcher. He was re-acquired by the Pirates late in 1983, and was made a coach for 1987.
from "A Common Problem" by Robert Nishihara (one of my favorites):
Son of Phillies third baseman Pinky May, Milt was signed as an infielder by the Pirates, who made him a catcher. He was a good handler of pitchers and a lefthanded line-drive hitter who rarely swung at a bad pitch, but also was reputedly the slowest runner in the majors for much of his career. At age 21, he drove in Pittsburgh's winning run in Game Four of the 1971 World Series. The Astros gave up Jerry Reuss for May after the 1973 season, making him their everyday catcher. On May 4, 1975, he drove in Bob Watson for ML baseball's one millionth run. Traded to Detroit, he played six games in 1976 before a broken ankle sidelined him for the season. With the 1981 Giants, he batted .310 - the highest mark ever for a San Francisco catcher. He was re-acquired by the Pirates late in 1983, and was made a coach for 1987.
from "A Common Problem" by Robert Nishihara (one of my favorites):
| QUOTE |
| In 1980, the San Francisco Giants signed Milt May to be their starting catcher. To illustrate what dire straits the Giants' catching corps was in at the conclusion of the 1979 season, May, who hit .254 in a split season with the Tigers and White Sox in 1979, actually represented hope. By comparison, the menagerie that the Giants had assembled that season had managed a paltry .210 average with 45 RBI. In 1980, May hit .260 for San Francisco with 50 RBI in 103 games. In 1981, he hit a career best .310. Of course, 1982 Milt May cards, as you may have guessed, can be had very cheaply. (By the way, if you want to impress your friends, tell them that you know not only who scored the 1,000,000th run in MLB history but you know who drove that run in as well. It was good old Milt May who hit the homer that scored Houston Astros' teammate Bob Watson in 1975 with the landmark run.) |
sources: thediamondangle.com, baseballibrary, astrosdaily.com
osfan58202233 - August 3, 2008 04:22 AM (GMT)
August 2nd – Jesus Manuel Rivera Torres, aka Bombo Rivera, 1952
A righthanded platoon outfielder, happy-go-lucky Bombo was the darling of Minnesota fans in 1978, when a song was written about him ("The Ballad of Bombo Rivera" by Garrison Keillor). Teammates sometimes attributed the strong-armed outfielder's popularity to his nickname, but he earned the fans' appreciation by hitting .281 in 1979. He had more at-bats (541) in his two years (1985-86) in Japan; playing for Kintetsu, he hit .240 with 37 HR and 86 RBI.
apparently, Rivera is one of the select few (relatively speaking) who hit an inside-the-park Grand Slam...did it on June 26, 1976:
A righthanded platoon outfielder, happy-go-lucky Bombo was the darling of Minnesota fans in 1978, when a song was written about him ("The Ballad of Bombo Rivera" by Garrison Keillor). Teammates sometimes attributed the strong-armed outfielder's popularity to his nickname, but he earned the fans' appreciation by hitting .281 in 1979. He had more at-bats (541) in his two years (1985-86) in Japan; playing for Kintetsu, he hit .240 with 37 HR and 86 RBI.
apparently, Rivera is one of the select few (relatively speaking) who hit an inside-the-park Grand Slam...did it on June 26, 1976:
| QUOTE (Larry from South Carolina) |
| I saw this feat by Bombo Rivera of the Expos against my beloved Pirates at Jarry Park. I was in Pennsylvania visiting relatives and we watched the game on KDKA out of Pittsburgh. IIRC, Rivera hit the omnipotent sinking line drive to center field where Bucs CF Al Oliver tried for the catch. He missed! (DUH!) And, playing in Jarry Park with it's monstrous outfield, it certainly didn't help Pittsburgh's cause in fielding the ball! Pittsburgh did eventually go on the win this game by a 7-6 score. |
here's a list of all of the ITPGS's up to 1999 that i stumbled upon:
| QUOTE (Sean from Baseball Fever) |
| Without further delay I present the members of the Inside-the-Park Grand Slam Club : 10/03/1999 Randy Winn TBA 07/21/1999 Tony Womack ARI 05/03/1998 Dan Wilson SEA 06/26/1997 Tony Gwynn SDN 08/28/1991 Chico Walker CHN 09/01/1990 Mike Greenwell BOS 08/30/1990 Ron Karkovice CHA 08/14/1990 Luis Polonia CAL 06/02/1989 Junior Felix TOR 06/21/1987 Bob Brower TEX 06/09/1985 Terry Pendleton SLN 07/19/1982 Tom Brunansky MIN 09/26/1980 Ben Oglivie MIL 06/10/1979 Jim Essian OAK 08/05/1977 Frank Taveras PIT 06/26/1976 Bombo Rivera MON 06/22/1976 Kevin Bell CHA 08/26/1973 Paul Blair BAL 09/18/1971 Carlos May CHA 09/02/1971 Cesar Cedeno HOU 09/02/1970 Gene Alley PIT 05/30/1970 Roberto Pena MIL 06/25/1967 Rick Reichardt CAL 07/20/1965 Mel Stottlemyre NYA 06/09/1963 Tim McCarver SLN 08/08/1961 Gary Geiger BOS 08/25/1960 Willie Mays SFN 07/06/1960 Bob Skinner PIT 06/04/1960 Wally Moon LAN 06/01/1958 Johnny Temple CIN 08/08/1956 Ted Kazanski PHI 07/25/1956 Roberto Clemente PIT 05/15/1955 Irv Noren NYA 05/01/1955 George Freese PIT 06/16/1954 Ferris Fain CHA 08/27/1952 Al Rosen CLE 04/19/1952 Don Lenhardt BOS 06/19/1951 Willie Jones PHI 05/18/1951 Jack Cusick CHN 08/02/1950 Wes Westrum NY 04/27/1949 Pete Milne NY 04/20/1948 Tom McBride WAS 08/24/1947 Eddie Waitkus CHN 07/20/1947 Paul Lehner SLA 06/29/1947 Ferris Fain PHA 07/26/1943 Arky Vaughan BRO 05/31/1942 Dixie Walker BRO 05/03/1942 Eddie Miller BSN 05/25/1941 Pete Reiser BRO 04/20/1941 Doc Cramer WAS 09/16/1940 Ray Mack CLE 07/04/1939 Jim Tabor BOS 09/21/1937 Hal Trosky CLE 07/31/1937 Elbie Fletcher BSN 06/04/1936 Mickey Cochrane DET 07/06/1934 Sam Leslie BRO 07/05/1934 Lou Gehrig NYA 06/20/1934 Heinie Manush WAS 06/14/1934 Leo Durocher SLN 06/23/1933 Tony Cuccinello BRO 05/14/1933 Hack Wilson BRO 05/01/1933 Arky Vaughan PIT 06/11/1932 Danny Taylor BRO 05/30/1932 John Stone DET 07/09/1930 Del Bissonette BRO 08/26/1929 Norm McMillan CHN 07/04/1929 Adam Comorosky PIT 05/10/1929 Earl Averill CLE 05/20/1928 Earle Combs NYA 09/14/1927 Max Carey BRO 07/15/1927 Bud Clancy CHA 05/25/1927 Les Bell SLN 08/04/1926 Bill Barrett CHA 05/18/1926 Tony Lazzeri NYA 07/28/1925 Spence Harris CHA 06/20/1925 Kiki Cuyler PIT 06/13/1925 Joe Judge WAS 04/17/1925 Joe Judge WAS 08/09/1924 Jigger Statz CHN 07/25/1924 George Harper PHI 07/10/1924 Harvey Hendrick NYA 07/15/1923 Bernie Friberg CHN 07/11/1923 Fred Haney DET 07/01/1923 Patsy Gharrity WAS 05/14/1923 Wally Pipp NYA 05/12/1922 Chick Fewster NYA 08/30/1921 Tony Boeckel BSN 08/18/1921 Shano Collins BOS 07/28/1921 Howie Shanks WAS 07/16/1920 Joe Jackson CHA 08/02/1919 Harry Heilmann DET 06/24/1919 Tommy Griffith BRO 06/05/1919 Eddie Collins CHA 08/23/1918 Irish Meusel PHI 08/19/1918 Edd Roush CIN 06/04/1918 Marty Kavanagh SLN 06/17/1917 Lee Gooch PHA 06/06/1917 Rogers Hornsby SLN 09/30/1916 Happy Felsch CHA 09/28/1916 Benny Kauff NY 09/15/1916 Zack Wheat BRO 09/13/1916 Sherry Magee BSN 08/03/1916 Red Smith BSN 07/15/1916 George Burns DET 05/31/1916 Frank Gilhooley NYA 08/27/1915 Dots Miller SLN 07/29/1915 Honus Wagner PIT 06/10/1915 Bob Bescher SLN 10/05/1914 Possum Whitted BSN 09/28/1914 George Cutshaw BRO 09/26/1914 Rabbit Maranville BSN 09/03/1914 George Burns NY 08/18/1914 Heinie Zimmerman CHN 08/03/1914 Ed Konetchy PIT 06/02/1914 Davy Jones PIT 05/27/1914 Rabbit Maranville BSN 09/17/1913 Ty Cobb DET 08/05/1913 Cy Williams CHN 07/11/1913 Birdie Cree NYA 06/11/1913 Sam Crawford DET 05/11/1913 Joe Jackson CLE 10/03/1912 Duffy Lewis BOS 08/22/1912 Eddie Onslow DET 10/09/1911 Ben Houser BSN 09/07/1911 Tommy Leach PIT 07/28/1911 Tex Erwin BRO 06/24/1911 Stuffy McInnis PHA 06/04/1911 Eddie Grant CIN 06/02/1911 Doc Gessler WAS 05/18/1911 Ivy Olson CLE 05/07/1911 Joe Jackson CLE 05/04/1911 Honus Wagner PIT 09/30/1910 Beals Becker NY 09/15/1910 Red Murray NY 09/13/1910 Chief Wilson PIT 08/26/1910 Dick Hoblitzell CIN 07/22/1910 Deacon Phillippe PIT 07/21/1910 Tommy Leach PIT 05/17/1910 Donie Bush DET 04/21/1910 Jake Stahl BOS 04/20/1910 Kid Elberfeld WAS 09/11/1909 Chief Meyers NY 06/03/1909 Honus Wagner PIT 07/18/1908 Danny Murphy PHA 06/28/1908 Germany Schaefer DET 05/17/1908 John Ganzel CIN 08/16/1907 Tommy Leach PIT 10/04/1906 Sammy Strang NY 08/18/1906 Kitty Bransfield PHI 07/27/1906 Ginger Beaumont PIT 07/18/1906 Cy Falkenberg WAS 10/07/1905 Frank LaPorte NYA 09/26/1905 Joe Stanley WAS 07/05/1905 Tommy Corcoran CIN 06/25/1905 Billy Maloney CHN 06/17/1905 Sam Crawford DET 10/01/1904 Red Dooin PHI 09/19/1904 Danny Murphy PHA 08/25/1904 Bill Dahlen NY 07/30/1904 Dave Fultz NYA 07/08/1904 Freddy Parent BOS 05/10/1904 Miller Huggins CIN 05/06/1904 Harry Davis PHA 04/22/1904 Art Devlin NY 06/05/1903 Hobe Ferris BOS 04/30/1903 Tommy Leach PIT 08/28/1902 Wid Conroy PIT 08/04/1902 Frank Chance CHN 07/25/1902 Jimmy Collins BOS 07/08/1902 Harry Davis PHA 06/03/1902 Mike O'Neill SLN 09/24/1901 Jimmy Sheckard BRO 09/23/1901 Jimmy Sheckard BRO 09/23/1901 Joe Kelley BRO 09/22/1901 John Ganzel NY 09/20/1901 Honus Wagner PIT 06/18/1901 Jimmy Williams BAL 06/17/1901 Ducky Holmes DET 04/28/1900 Fielder Jones BRO 05/23/1899 Elmer Flick PHI 05/15/1899 Willie Keeler BRO 04/28/1899 Pete Cassidy WAS 09/29/1898 Kip Selbach WAS 07/28/1898 Honus Wagner LOU 10/03/1897 Tuck Turner SLN 09/11/1897 Jake Gettman WAS 07/28/1897 Cupid Childs CLE 07/14/1897 Bobby Wallace CLE 05/08/1897 Bones Ely PIT 06/11/1896 Jake Stenzel PIT 08/24/1895 Jimmy Ryan CHN 05/20/1895 Ace Stewart CHN 09/30/1894 Heinie Reitz BAL 07/07/1894 Lave Cross PHI 09/05/1893 Parke Wilson NY 07/18/1893 Eddie Burke NY 07/08/1893 George Van Haltren PIT 06/15/1893 Jesse Burkett CLE 05/11/1893 Bobby Lowe BSN 08/10/1892 Billy Hamilton PHI 07/06/1892 Lave Cross PHI 04/30/1892 Elton Chamberlin CIN 04/12/1892 Herman Long BSN 09/26/1891 Tim Shinnick LOU 07/20/1891 Bill Kuehne COL 05/01/1891 Oyster Burns BRO 10/01/1890 Jack Crooks COL 08/29/1890 William Brown NY 07/21/1890 Al Myers PHI 06/05/1890 Jocko Fields PIT 04/19/1890 Cupid Childs SYR 09/16/1889 Monte Ward NY 08/20/1889 Ned Hanlon PIT 08/19/1889 Joe Mulvey PHI 08/27/1888 Tom Brown BSN 05/03/1888 George Shoch WAS 05/16/1887 Fred Mann CLE 04/27/1887 Bob Caruthers STL 09/06/1886 Harry Stovey PHI 07/13/1886 Charley Jones CIN 05/06/1886 Mike Dorgan NY 06/27/1885 Dave Orr NY 06/20/1882 Larry Corcoran CHN 09/29/1881 Harry Stovey WOR |
notice anything special in 1901? September 1901?
baseballlibrary.com, baseball-fever.com
osfan58202233 - August 3, 2008 04:25 AM (GMT)
August 3rd – Harry Heilmann, 1894
Harry Heilmann was one of the great hitters in the history of baseball. He won four batting titles with averages of .394, .403, .393, and .398. With just nine more well-timed hits, he would have been the only player to hit .400 four times. Harry's GREAT MOMENT came in 1925 when on the final day he had six hits in nine at-bats to beat Tris Speaker .393 to .389. And, in the last game of the 1927 season, with the crown already in hand, he went seven for nine to beat Al Simmons .398 to .392. Harry Heilmann could hit.
check out this cool article on Heilmann, from which the following is lifted:
Harry Heilmann was one of the great hitters in the history of baseball. He won four batting titles with averages of .394, .403, .393, and .398. With just nine more well-timed hits, he would have been the only player to hit .400 four times. Harry's GREAT MOMENT came in 1925 when on the final day he had six hits in nine at-bats to beat Tris Speaker .393 to .389. And, in the last game of the 1927 season, with the crown already in hand, he went seven for nine to beat Al Simmons .398 to .392. Harry Heilmann could hit.
check out this cool article on Heilmann, from which the following is lifted:
| QUOTE |
| Although the Tiger first baseman was improving, he had had a largely undistinguished career after six seasons in Detroit, batting .291, while averaging five home runs per season, which was a respectable total for the Dead Ball Era that ended in 1919. While a dramatic increase in offense would suggest that there was a "lively ball" era that began in 1920, a livelier ball was not the sole reason for the increase. Major League Baseball's offensive explosion in the Roaring '20s was also directly related to the ban of the spitball in the winter of 1919. Add to that the league's insistence that fresh balls be introduced into games more frequently after an August 1920 game in which Cleveland's Ray Chapman was killed by an "errant" Carl Mays fastball. It was speculated that Chapman had had a difficult time reacting to Mays' submarine pitch because he could not see the ball, which had been stained by tobacco juice and licorice. No hitter benefited more from the resultant changes in baseball than Harry Heilmann, as he was transformed into a superstar virtually overnight. The rise in offensive production demanded that outfielders employ new strategies, forcing them to spread out and play deeper; the line-drive-hitting Heilmann took advantage of the gaps that were created. |
deadballera.com, dickperez.com, ballparkguys.com