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Photo by Louis Reqeuna/MLB via Getty Images
Just over 50 years ago, Dusty had Braves fans on their feet. Braves Franchise History
1915: The Cubs edge the Braves, 1-0, behind Phil Douglas, with Lefty Tyler taking the tough loss. Tomorrow, the Cubs will win another 1-0 battle, but it will take them 12 innings to do it.
1923: Paul Strand, RF for Salt Lake City (Pacific Coast League), makes his 290th hit, a pro baseball record. He will play in 194 games, make 325 hits, including 66 doubles, 13 triples, and 43 home runs, for a .394 BA, with 180 runs and 187 RBI. He also has 612 total chances in the OF. Strand, 30, had come up to the Boston Braves as a pitcher in 1913 and was 6-2 for the 1914 pennant winners, mostly in relief. The Athletics will pay a reported $100,000 (which Connie Mack later says was really $40,000) for him, but he will hit just .228.
1938: Brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pirates hit consecutive homers off Cliff Melton in the fifth inning at the Polo Grounds. Pirates P Jim Tobin puts Mel Ott in the record book, hitting him with a pitch three times. Tobin wins 7-2. The Waners’ feat marks the first time in major league history that brothers have gone deep back-to-back; the next time will come on April 23, 2013, courtesy of B.J. and Justin Upton of the Atlanta Braves.
1959: Dodger SS Maury Wills goes 5-for-5 in a 10-inning, 8-7 win over the Braves.
1959: The Giants whip Warren Spahn and the Braves 13-6 behind Jack Sanford. Willie Mays has four hits and five RBI. The Giants are now two games in front with eight to play
1961: With 10 strikeouts in an 11-2 win against the Braves, Sandy Koufax has 243 strikeouts, most ever for a National League lefty.
1967: At the spacious Astrodome, Jimmy Wynn becomes the first Astro to hit three homers in one game. The “Toy Cannon’s” performance isn’t enough as the Atlanta Braves beat Houston, 9-8.
1971: Making his debut against the Braves, Astros’ hurler Larry Yount injures his right shoulder on his very first warm-up pitch and will never get another chance to pitch in the bigs. Robin’s older brother’s total major league experience will consist of just one-warm up pitch.
1973: With a runner aboard and the Braves already trailing, 2-0, Dusty Baker makes what The Sporting News will call “the greatest catch in Atlanta Stadium history,” literally climbing the center field fence to prevent Pittsburgh’s Richie Hebner from doubling Atlanta’s deficit with one swing of the bat. Though coming in the fourth inning, the play will later prove pivotal when, thanks to Baker, the three runs finally pushed across by game’s end gives Atlanta a 3-2, walk-off win.
1978: The Dodgers become the first major league team ever to draw three million fans. Jay Blood is the historic three millionth spectator as the Dodgers shut out the Braves, 5-0. The victory is dampened when coach Jim Gilliam suffers a brain hemorrhage.
1985: The Yankees trade pitcher Jim Deshaies and two other minor leaguers to be named later to the Astros for 40-year-old Joe Niekro, reuniting the Niekro brothers as teammates for the first time since 1974 with the Braves.
1997: The Braves beat the Giants, 5-4 on Fred McGriff’s two-out, two-run homer off Rod Beck in the ninth inning. The homer caps a four-run rally for the first place Braves.
MLB History
1972: In a record-setting effort, the Reds and Padres combine for 28 strikeouts for a nine-inning game, the Padres winning 1-0, on Cito Gaston’s fourth inning homer. Winning pitcher Fred Norman strikes out 15, while Don Gullett fans 11. Pedro Borbon notches the other two.
1977: The Orioles forfeit to the Blue Jays when manager Earl Weaver pulls his team off the field in the fifth inning citing a hazardous condition, a small tarpaulin held down by bricks on the bullpen mound. The Jays are ahead 4-0 when the forfeit is called. The Orioles will end the season tied with the Red Sox at 97-64.
1998: Rolando Arrojo (14-12) sets a record for wins by an expansion pitcher as the Devil Rays defeat the Angels, 8-1.
1998: Ken Griffey Jr. hits homer No. 52 and drives in the 1,000th run of his career in the Mariners’ 12-7 win over the Twins. He becomes the fourth-youngest player in history to reach the milestone, after Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, and Lou Gehrig. Junior hit his 52nd on this date last year.
<img alt="Ken Griffey Jr." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/73ksqrCbKM7fhe6-B_OjcVaQyYM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25614201/384818.jpg">
2003: With his 2,063rd career base on balls, Barry Bonds passes Babe Ruth on the all-time walks list. The Giant left fielder now only trails Rickey Henderson, who has 2,190 free passes.
2007: Cleveland’s record-breaking winning streak ends after 22 wins when they are beaten, 4-3, by the Royals.
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.
<img alt="MLB Photos Archive" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EfVv2cedIGjktl-RuI_sFePFMbU=/0x304:2674x2087/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73586813/52991156.0.jpg">
Photo by Louis Reqeuna/MLB via Getty Images
Just over 50 years ago, Dusty had Braves fans on their feet. Braves Franchise History
1915: The Cubs edge the Braves, 1-0, behind Phil Douglas, with Lefty Tyler taking the tough loss. Tomorrow, the Cubs will win another 1-0 battle, but it will take them 12 innings to do it.
1923: Paul Strand, RF for Salt Lake City (Pacific Coast League), makes his 290th hit, a pro baseball record. He will play in 194 games, make 325 hits, including 66 doubles, 13 triples, and 43 home runs, for a .394 BA, with 180 runs and 187 RBI. He also has 612 total chances in the OF. Strand, 30, had come up to the Boston Braves as a pitcher in 1913 and was 6-2 for the 1914 pennant winners, mostly in relief. The Athletics will pay a reported $100,000 (which Connie Mack later says was really $40,000) for him, but he will hit just .228.
1938: Brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pirates hit consecutive homers off Cliff Melton in the fifth inning at the Polo Grounds. Pirates P Jim Tobin puts Mel Ott in the record book, hitting him with a pitch three times. Tobin wins 7-2. The Waners’ feat marks the first time in major league history that brothers have gone deep back-to-back; the next time will come on April 23, 2013, courtesy of B.J. and Justin Upton of the Atlanta Braves.
1959: Dodger SS Maury Wills goes 5-for-5 in a 10-inning, 8-7 win over the Braves.
1959: The Giants whip Warren Spahn and the Braves 13-6 behind Jack Sanford. Willie Mays has four hits and five RBI. The Giants are now two games in front with eight to play
1961: With 10 strikeouts in an 11-2 win against the Braves, Sandy Koufax has 243 strikeouts, most ever for a National League lefty.
1967: At the spacious Astrodome, Jimmy Wynn becomes the first Astro to hit three homers in one game. The “Toy Cannon’s” performance isn’t enough as the Atlanta Braves beat Houston, 9-8.
1971: Making his debut against the Braves, Astros’ hurler Larry Yount injures his right shoulder on his very first warm-up pitch and will never get another chance to pitch in the bigs. Robin’s older brother’s total major league experience will consist of just one-warm up pitch.
1973: With a runner aboard and the Braves already trailing, 2-0, Dusty Baker makes what The Sporting News will call “the greatest catch in Atlanta Stadium history,” literally climbing the center field fence to prevent Pittsburgh’s Richie Hebner from doubling Atlanta’s deficit with one swing of the bat. Though coming in the fourth inning, the play will later prove pivotal when, thanks to Baker, the three runs finally pushed across by game’s end gives Atlanta a 3-2, walk-off win.
1978: The Dodgers become the first major league team ever to draw three million fans. Jay Blood is the historic three millionth spectator as the Dodgers shut out the Braves, 5-0. The victory is dampened when coach Jim Gilliam suffers a brain hemorrhage.
1985: The Yankees trade pitcher Jim Deshaies and two other minor leaguers to be named later to the Astros for 40-year-old Joe Niekro, reuniting the Niekro brothers as teammates for the first time since 1974 with the Braves.
1997: The Braves beat the Giants, 5-4 on Fred McGriff’s two-out, two-run homer off Rod Beck in the ninth inning. The homer caps a four-run rally for the first place Braves.
MLB History
1972: In a record-setting effort, the Reds and Padres combine for 28 strikeouts for a nine-inning game, the Padres winning 1-0, on Cito Gaston’s fourth inning homer. Winning pitcher Fred Norman strikes out 15, while Don Gullett fans 11. Pedro Borbon notches the other two.
1977: The Orioles forfeit to the Blue Jays when manager Earl Weaver pulls his team off the field in the fifth inning citing a hazardous condition, a small tarpaulin held down by bricks on the bullpen mound. The Jays are ahead 4-0 when the forfeit is called. The Orioles will end the season tied with the Red Sox at 97-64.
1998: Rolando Arrojo (14-12) sets a record for wins by an expansion pitcher as the Devil Rays defeat the Angels, 8-1.
1998: Ken Griffey Jr. hits homer No. 52 and drives in the 1,000th run of his career in the Mariners’ 12-7 win over the Twins. He becomes the fourth-youngest player in history to reach the milestone, after Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, and Lou Gehrig. Junior hit his 52nd on this date last year.
<img alt="Ken Griffey Jr." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/73ksqrCbKM7fhe6-B_OjcVaQyYM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25614201/384818.jpg">
2003: With his 2,063rd career base on balls, Barry Bonds passes Babe Ruth on the all-time walks list. The Giant left fielder now only trails Rickey Henderson, who has 2,190 free passes.
2007: Cleveland’s record-breaking winning streak ends after 22 wins when they are beaten, 4-3, by the Royals.
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.
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