Prime Time gets moved from Atlanta to Cincinnati
Braves Franchise History
1916: Christy Mathewson pitches a 3-0 shutout over the Boston Braves, leading the New York Giants to their 17th consecutive victory, all on the road. In spite of their impressive winning streak, the Giants will finish second to the Brooklyn Robins in the National League pennant race.
1932: The Red Sox split a pair with the visiting A’s‚ winning, 6-4, before losing, 3-0. It is the Sox’s last Sunday game at Braves Field.
1952: Meanwhile‚ the Giants lose a shot at another young Birmingham player as Braves scout Dewey Griggs signs Henry Aaron to a contract. The Indianapolis Clowns receive telegram offers from both clubs‚ and Aaron‚ thinking he’ll have a better chance to make the team‚ prefers the Braves.
1953: 3B Bob Elliott lines a double in the Browns’ six-run 11th inning‚ as they beat the Tigers, 11-5. For Elliot it is his 2‚000th major league hit. Harry Brecheen (1-6) wins his first of the year.
1954: Before a record Milwaukee crowd of 40‚001‚ the Cardinals beat the Braves, 13-7‚ snapping the Braves’ ten-game win streak.
1962: Ernie Banks makes a spectacular return from his May 25th beaning with three homers and a double against the Braves at Wrigley Field. Three teammates hit home runs‚ but the Cubs lose to the Braves‚ 11-9. Amado Samuel hits his first major league homer and Joe Torre and Joe Adcock also connect. The Cubs outhit the Braves‚ 15-8‚ but an Andre Rodgers error in the 3rd opens the way for six unearned runs.
1965: Lou Johnson hits two home runs to back Don Drysdale’s pitching and give the Dodgers a 5-3 win over the Braves.
1966: Ron Santo’s 10th-inning homer gives the Cubs a 3-2 win over Atlanta. The day before‚ he beat the Atlanta Braves with a three-run‚ 12th-inning homer in an 8-5 win.
1969: With the Braves drubbing the Mets, 12-0‚ manager Lum Harris lifts Hank Aaron for another Lum – Mike Lum. Lum hits a pinch double off Al Jackson and takes over in LF as the Braves coast to a 15-3 win. It is the third time in his career that Aaron has been lifted for a pinch-hitter.
1980: Dodger Bob Welch faces the minimum 27 batters in a 3-0 one-hitter against the Braves. The lone Atlanta baserunner is Larvell Blanks‚ who singles in the 4th inning and is erased on a double play.
1984: The Braves overcome a 4-0 deficit to beat the Cubs‚ 7-4‚ but lose 3B Bob Horner‚ who breaks his wrist diving for a ball and who will be sidelined for the rest of the season. Horner broke the same wrist last year and missed the final 43 games.
1994: The Braves trade OF Deion Sanders to the Reds in exchange for OF Roberto Kelly and minor league P Roger Etheridge.
Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
1996: John Smoltz (11-1) allows four hits in topping the Cubs‚ 2-0‚ in Atlanta. Smoltz strikes out 13 to raise his National League-leading total to 97.
2021: Braves OF Marcell Ozuna is arrested at his home in Sandy Springs, GA on charges of domestic violence after he is found by police battering his wife and attempting to strangle her. He is on the injured list at the time. He will not return this season, missing the Braves’ run to a World Series title, and will be suspended a further 20 games at the start of the 2022 season, but will escape criminal charges.
MLB History
1934: At St. Louis, Ray Pepper has five hits, including two homers, and drives in five runs to lead the Browns to a 12-7 win over Detroit. Pepper will knock in 101 runs this year, but his career total will be just 170 RBIs; he is the only player in history to have a 100-RBI season without reaching 200 for his career.
1990: Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics becomes the American League’s all-time stolen base king. In swiping third base against the Toronto Blue Jays, Henderson steals his 893rd base to surpass the long-standing record set by Ty Cobb.
1992: Tim Raines of the Chicago White Sox collects his 700th major league career stolen base.
2002: In an article in Sports Illustrated, former National League MVP Ken Caminiti claims that about 50 percent of current major league players use some form of steroids.
2010: Roy Halladay pitches the 20th perfect game in Major League history, striking out 11 in the process, as the Phillies defeat the Florida Marlins, 1-0. Following Dallas Braden’s perfect game earlier in the month, it is the first time that two perfect games are pitched in the same season in 130 years. Lee Richmond and John Montgomery Ward had both pitched perfect games five days apart in 1880.
2017: A big fracas erupts in the 8th inning of a game between the Nationals and Giants. With Washington leading 3-0, Hunter Strickland plunks Bryce Harper on the hip with a 98 mph fastball, angering the young superstar who charges the mound, triggering a bench-clearing brawl. Not many punches land, but an angry Strickland has to be dragged off the field by three teammates. The Nats claim the pitch is in retaliation for an incident during the 2014 Division Series, when Harper homered twice off Strickland and the two exchanged words; they had not faced one another since then. Harper will receive a four-game suspension and Strickland one of six games for their part in the incident. Nats player Mike Morse suffers a concussion during the melee, ending his career.
2024: The first results from the Negro League Statistical Review Committee established by Commissioner Rob Manfred to work on the integration of statistics from the Negro Leagues that were recognized in 2020 as being full major leagues are in. Among the first results are a change in the all-time leader for batting average, a title now held by Josh Gibson. It should be noted that Baseball-Reference had preceded this by a number of years, integrating Negro Leagues stats into its records shortly after Commissioner Manfred’s announcement.
Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images