Welcome to Today in Yankees History
by Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers Sportsbook Poker Slots
Today in Yankees History Aug 30
Yankees defeated the Mets in
doubleheader 5-1 and 8-7, now 19-13.
| 1905 | In his first major league at-bat, 18 year-old center fielder Ty Cobb doubles off Jack Chesbro in the first inning of the Tigers' 5-3 victory over the Highlanders at Detroit's Bennett Park. The two-bagger is the first of the 4,189 hits the 'Georgia Peach' will collect during his 24-year Hall of Fame career.  Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886– July 17, 1961), nicknamed The Georgia Peach, was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936 Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.2%); no other player received a higher percentage of votes until Tom Seaver in 1992. In 1999, the Sporting News ranked Ty Cobb third on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career. His combined total of 4,065 runs scored and runs batted in (after adjusting for home runs) is still the highest ever produced by any major league player. He still holds several records as of the end of the 2019 season, including the highest career batting average (.366 or .367, depending on source) and most career batting titles with 11 (or 12, depending on source). He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source), most career runs (2,245 or 2,246 depending on source) until 2001, most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974, and the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977. He still holds the career record for stealing home (54 times) and for stealing second base, third base, and home in succession (4 times), and as the youngest player ever to compile 4,000 hits and score 2,000 runs. Cobb ranks fifth all-time in number of games played and committed 271 errors, the most by any American League (AL) outfielder. Cobb's legacy, which includes a large college scholarship fund for Georgia residents financed by his early investments in Coca-Cola and General Motors, has been somewhat tarnished by allegations of racism and violence, largely stemming from a couple of largely-discredited biographies that were released following his death. Cobb's reputation as a violent man was fanned by his first biographer, sportswriter Al Stump, whose stories about Cobb have been discredited as sensationalized, and have largely proven to be fictional. While he was known for often violent conflicts, he spoke favorably about black players joining the Major Leagues and was a well known philanthropist
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| 1910 | 1910 In the nightcap of a doubleheader at Hilltop Park, Highlander hurler Tom Hughes tosses 9.1 innings of no-hit ball before giving up a single to Naps' left fielder Harry Niles. The New York right-hander, eventually giving up seven hits, goes the distance, losing the 11-inning contest, 5-0. Thomas James Hughes (November 29, 1878 – February 8, 1958) was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1900 through 1913, Hughes played for the Chicago Orphans (1900–01), Baltimore Orioles (1902), Boston Americans (1902–03), New York Highlanders (1904) and Washington Senators (1904–09, 1911–13). He debuted on September 7, 1900, and played his final game on October 3, 1913. A native of Chicago, Hughes was knicknamed "Long Tom" for his height, a then-impressive 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m). His younger brother, Ed Hughes, also played for Chicago (NL) and Boston (AL), making them the first set of brothers to play for the Red Sox.
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| 1939 | Yankee freshman Atley Donald, who will win 12 straight games to set an AL record for the most consecutive victories thrown by a rookie, throws a recorded pitch at 139 feet per second (94.7 mph) to establish a new record for a fastball. A speed meter owned by the Indians and the Cleveland Plain Dealer measured the velocity of 'Swampy's' throw. Richard Atley Donald (August 19, 1910 – October 19, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. A native of Morton, Mississippi, the right-hander played for the New York Yankees from 1938 to 1945. "Swampy", as he was nicknamed, stood 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and weighed 186 lbs. Donald was usually a fourth or fifth starter during his career, and sometimes used in relief. The Yankees won two American League pennants while he was on their staff (1941 and 1942), winning the 1941 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He made his major league debut on April 21, 1938 in a start against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Yankees lost 3–2, as Bosox starting pitcher Johnny Marcum earned the win. He started in one more game for New York that season, then returned to the minor league Newark Bears. Donald was back for good in 1939, and set a league record for consecutive wins by a rookie. On July 25 he defeated the St. Louis Browns 5–1, increasing his record to a perfect 12–0. He finished the season 13–3 with an earned run average of 3.71 and led the league in winning percentage (.813). He remained a consistent winner throughout the remainder of his career and never had a losing season after going 0–1 in 1938. He finished in the league's top ten twice more for winning percentage (1941 and 1942) with records of 9–5 and 11–3, respectively. In two World Series appearances, however, he was 0–1 with a 7.71 ERA. In 1943 or 44 he was reported to be the fastest pitcher ever, with fast balls measured at 98 mph. Beset by eye and elbow injuries and now 34 years old, Donald made his last major league appearance on July 13, 1945. His season record was 5–4 with the lowest ERA of his career, 2.97. Career totals include a 65–33 record (.663) in 153 games pitched, 115 games started, 54 complete games, 6 shutouts, 28 games finished, 1 save, and an ERA of 3.52. In 932.1 innings pitched he struck out 369 and walked 369. He hit .160 in 356 at bats with one home run and 23 RBI. Donald was a Yankee scout for many years after retiring as a player. He played college baseball for Louisiana Tech. He died at the age of 82 in West Monroe, Louisiana. Donald scouted New York Yankee pitcher Ron Guidry. In 1978, as a rookie, Guidry won 13 consecutive games, breaking Donald's American League record of 12 consecutive victories by a rookie set in 1939 |
| 1961 | A computer named Casey is used to predict Roger Maris' chances of passing Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in 154 games. The IBM 1481 believes the Yankee slugger has a 55 percent chance of hitting 61 round-trippers to establish a new single-season mark for homers. |
| 1975 | The Braves replace manager Clyde King with scout Connie Ryan, disappointing some of the fan base who had hoped Billy Martin, recently released by the Rangers, would get the nod before being hired by the Yankees. The 55 year-old former Atlanta skipper stays with the club as a special assistant to executive vice president Eddie Robinson. |
| 1986 | Yankee hurlers Tommy John (43) and Joe Niekro (41) become the first 40+ pitchers to start both ends of a doubleheader since 1933 when White Sox hurlers Sad Sam Jones (41) and Red Faber (44) started against the A's in a twin bill at Shibe Park. John loses 1-0 in the opener, and Niekro pitches five innings of the nightcap for a 3-0 victory over the Mariners.  Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, California Angels, and Oakland Athletics. He was a four-time MLB All-Star and has the second-most wins of any pitcher since 1900 not in the Hall of Fame. At the age of 18, in 1961, John was signed by the Indians, who were impressed with his curveball. He pitched two seasons for them before getting traded to the White Sox, with whom he would spend seven seasons. He established himself as a major league starter in 1965 and became Chicago's Opening Day starter in 1966. In 1968, he finished fifth in the American League (AL) with a 1.98 earned run average (ERA) and was named to his first All-Star team, though he missed the end of the season after he was injured in a fight with Dick McAuliffe. In 1971, pitching coach Johnny Sain tried to change John's pitching mechanics, but John had his highest ERA since 1964 and was traded to the Dodgers for Dick Allen after the season. He won 11 games in 1972 with the Dodgers, then led the National League (NL) in winning percentage over the next two seasons. In 1974, though, he suffered a potentially career-ending injury when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in a game against the Montreal Expos. Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodger physician, performed ligament replacement surgery on John later that year. He missed the 1975 season recovering but became the first pitcher to successfully return to baseball following major surgery. Tommy John surgery has since become a common procedure among baseball pitchers, with one out of seven MLB pitchers in 2012 having received it at some point during their careers. John had a 10–10 record his first year back from the surgery. In 1977, John had his first career 20-win season, going 20–7 with a 2.78 ERA as the Dodgers won the NL West and reached the 1977 World Series. He helped the Dodgers return to the World Series in 1978 with a 17–10 record before leaving for the Yankees as a free agent. With the Yankees, John posted 20-win seasons in 1979 and 1980; he was an All-Star in those years as well as in 1978, his final year with the Dodgers. In 1981, he suffered a scare when his son Travis fell three stories on August 13 and spent about two weeks in a coma. Travis made a full recovery, though, and John (who missed some games to be at his son's bedside) played in his third Yankee-Dodger World Series, winning Game 1 though the Yankees ultimately lost the Series, marking the third World Series in which John had pitched for the losing team. He was traded to the California Angels in 1982, for whom he made two starts in the AL Championship Series. He remained with the team until 1985, when he was released, though he spent the second half of the season pitching for the Oakland Athletics. Unsigned to begin 1986, it appeared that John's career might be over, but injuries to Yankee pitchers prompted New York to re-sign him. John won 13 games for the Yankees in 1987, then became the oldest player in baseball in 1988 following Phil Niekro's retirement. In 1989, he tied Deacon McGuire's record for most seasons pitched (26, later broken by Nolan Ryan) before retiring. From 1995 through 2009, John was on the Hall of Fame ballot; he never received more than 31.7% of the votes (75% is required for election) but remains eligible to be chosen by the Modern Era Subcommittee of the Veterans Committee. He served as a broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees in the 1990s, then managed the Bridgeport Bluefish from 2007 through the first half of the 2009 season. Since retiring, he has served as a motivational speaker and also founded the "Let's Do It" Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness about suicides and preventing them.
  Joseph Franklin Niekro (November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of Major League pitcher and first baseman Lance Niekro. Born in Martins Ferry, Ohio,[1] Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio and attended West Liberty University in West Liberty, West Virginia. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1967–1988 for seven different teams, primarily for the Houston Astros.
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| 2005 | In the long tradition of Bronx Bombers, Alex Rodriguez becomes only the second right-handed batter in Yankees history to hit 40 homers in a season. The New York third baseman joins Joe DiMaggio, who hit 46 homers in 1937, the only time 'Joltin' Joe' reached the mark.  |
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