Thomas blasts 500; Biggio reaches 3,000

On June 28, 2007, former MVP and Toronto Blue Jays slugger Frank Thomas is the first of three players to hit career home run number 500 in 2007.

Thomas' blast came in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The longtime White Sox player had been ungracefully cut by Chicago after they won the championship in 2005.

Thomas then bounced to Oakland and then to Toronto; in 2008, he returned to Oakland after being waived by the Jays.

The fan who caught the home run ball, 24 year-old Todd Eisenlohr, gave the ball back to Thomas in exchange for a chance to meet him.

Thomas got his home run ball and awarded Eidenlohr with an autographed bat, ball, and jersey.

It would have been a perfect story... except that Thomas argued a call in the ninth inning and was promptly ejected, earning him the distinction as the first player to get ejected in a game where he hit his home run number 500.

Also reaching an important figure on June 28, 2007, was Astros second baseman Craig Biggio, who got career hit 3,000.

Biggio collected five hits on a night that ended with a game-winning walk-off grand slam from teammate Carlos Lee in the bottom of the eleventh inning.

It came one day shy of the nineteenth anniversary of Biggio's first career hit.

It was not the first milestone Biggio reached in his career; a few years earlier, he passed Don Baylor for the all-time record in getting hit by a pitch (268).

Dodgers Reuss' no-hits Giants

On June 27, 1980 the Los Angeles Dodgers Jerry Reuss' no-hits the San Francisco Giants 8-0.

Reuss played for eight teams in his major league career; along with the Dodgers (1979–87), he played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1969–71), Houston Astros (1972–73), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1974–78). At the end of his career (1987–90), he played for the Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Pirates again (Reuss is one of only two Pirates to have played for Danny Murtaugh, Chuck Tanner, and Jim Leyland, the other being John Candelaria).

He was the third oldest active player when he retired at age 41 in 1990. He was one of only 29 players in major league history to play in four different decades. In 1988 he became the second pitcher in history, joining Milt Pappas, to win 200 career games without ever winning 20 in a single season.

He was later joined by Frank Tanana, Charlie Hough, Dennis Martínez, Chuck Finley, Mike Mussina, Kenny Rogers, and Tim Wakefield. (Mussina won 20 for the first time after recording his 200th win.)

Reuss finished his career with 220 wins and 191 losses, a 3.64 ERA and 1,907 strikeouts.

His career also saw accomplishments come in the form of two All-Star selections in 1975 and 1980, with the Pirates and Dodgers respectively. Also in 1980 Reuss was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year, after posting eighteen wins and only six losses, and leading the majors in shutouts with six.

His no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on June 27, only saw him strike out two batters, and missing out on a perfect game early due to a throwing error in the first inning by shortstop Bill Russell.

Reuss finished second behind Steve Carlton in the running for the Cy Young Award that same year.

In 1981 Reuss was on the Dodgers World Series Championship team.

After his playing time in baseball, Reuss became a broadcaster for baseball, working nationally for ESPN from 1991 to 1993, and was also a color commentator for the California/Anaheim Angels from 1996-98.

He also served as a pitching coach with the minor league Iowa Cubs before returning to broadcasting with the Dodgers in 2006, serving as a color commentator alongside Rick Monday.

McClendon steals first base

On June 26, 2001, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon wasn't pleased when he was ejected from a game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Pirates manager had witnessed two questionable calls by first base ump Rick Reed, and the strain of coaching a last-place Pirates team might have compounded his frustration.



McClendon threw his hat in outrage, picked up first base, and exited the field to a standing ovation with the base still under his arm.

When he got to the dugout, he heaved the base down the steps and went back to the clubhouse.

The umpires decided not to go after fuming McClendon and wisely replaced the base with a new one.



Pittsburgh trailed 6-4 in bottom of the eleventh inning, but kept the game alive with a two-out, two-run homer by Aramais Ramirez.

In the twelfth inning, Rob Mackowiak singled to center to score Dmitri Young, giving the Pirates a 7-6 win.

Afterward, McClendon was dealt a $1,000 fine, and an all-time spot on the coaching-meltdown Hall of Fame.

Ripken Jr. goes for 1,000, McGwire blasts 300

-->

On June 25, 1988 Hall of Famer and Baltimore Orioles great, Cal Ripken Jr. plays consecutively for 1,000 games. He would go on to play a total of 2,131 consecutive games breaking the record previously held by Lou Gehrig, in 1995 and in 1998 he would see his consecutive game streak end at 2.632.

To this day Ripken Jr. is still the holder of the most games played consecutively, and as of June 11 2013, the current player with the longest active Major League consecutive games streak is Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers with 405.

Ripken finished his career with a .276 batting average, 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, 1,078 extra base hits, 603 doubles, 1,129 walks 1,647 runs and 1,695 RBIs in 3,001 games played. All of which are Baltimore Orioles records.

Ripken Jr. was the 1982 American League Rookie of the Year, and was a 19-time All-Star; making the All-Star team in every season he played except for his Rookie campaign. He was the All-Star Game MVP twice in 1991 and 2001, and is still the All-time leader in MLB All-Star fan balloting with 36,123,483 votes. He has the most starts at shortstop for the American League in an All-Star game with 15, and 17 in total with two at third base.

He won the World Series once with the Orioles in 1983, was a two-time Gold Glove winner in 1991 and 1992. He was an eight-time Silver Slugger award, including four straight from 1983-1986. He was a two time American League MVP in 1983 and 1991. Ripken was the 1991 Home Run Derby winner and in 1992 he received the Roberto Clemente and Lou Gehrig Awards.

In 1999 Ripken Jr. was named to Major League Baseball’s All-Century Team. That same yea he was ranked number 78 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

Ripken Jr. had his iconic number eight Baltimore Orioles jersey retired in 2001, that same year he was ranked the third greatest shortstop all-time in The New Bill James Historical Abstract.

He was elected into the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 with 98.53 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared. The third highest for a player ever, and the highest ever for a position player. 

                                                                *      *      *

On June 25, 1996 Oakland Athletics slugger Mark McGwire hits home run number 300 for his career, he would end his career with 583 home runs.

In 1987, he broke the single-season home run record for rookies, with 49. Throughout his career Mark McGwire hit 49 or more home runs five times en route to hitting 583 career home runs. Four times McGwire led the league in home runs. For his career, McGwire averaged a home run once every 10.61 at bats, the best at bats per home run ratio in baseball history (Babe Ruth is second at 11.76).

1n 1998 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals McGwire and fellow National League central rival, Chicago Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa both encountered on a record-breaking home run season. McGwire and Sosa would both end up breaking Roger Maris' single season home run record of 61 home runs, as Sosa went on to hit 66 home runs and McGwire 70.

McGwire’s 70 home run season was a Major League record until 2002 when Barry Bonds broke the feat when he hit 72 home runs.

McGwire finished his career with a .263 career batting average, 1,626 hits, 1,167 runs, 1,414 RBIs to go along with his 583 home runs. His career on base percentage was .394, his career slugging percentage was .588 and his on base plus slugging was .982.

McGwire was the 1987 American League Rookie of the Year, and was a 12-time All-Star including six-straight appearances twice, from 1987-1992 and from 1995-2000. He was a two-time World Series Champion, once as a player with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and once as a coach with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. He won a Golden Glove at first base with the A’s in 1990 and won three Silver Slugger awards, two with the A’s in 1992 and 1996 and one with the Cardinals in 1998. McGwire also won the 1992 Home Run Derby and was given the Lou Gehrig Award in 1999.

Also in 1999 he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

McGwire also played for Team USA in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 helping Team USA earn a Silver medal. McGwire also helped the United States in international play during the Pan American Games and Intercontinental Cup in 1983 helping the USA earn a Bronze and Silver medals respectively.

In 1999, The Sporting News released a list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. The list had been compiled during the 1998 season and included statistics through the 1997 season. McGwire was ranked at Number 91.

In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their list and McGwire had been moved up to Number 84.

However, in the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, McGwire failed to attain election receiving 128 of the 545 cast (23.5 percent of the vote) in 2007, 128 of 543 (23.6) in 2008, 118 of 539 (21.9) in 2009, 128 of 539 (23.7) in 2010, 115 of 581 (19.8) in 2011, 112 of 573 (19.5) in 2012, and 96 of 569 (16.9) in 2013.

McGwire had a Hall of Fame career based on his stats and accomplishments but because of his trouble with performance enhancing drugs (PED) his call to the hall might come in to questioning.

Instant replay in sports

-->

Instant replay goes back along way in sports. The first known use of replay in sports came in 1955 during a Hockey Night in America broadcast on CBC Television; producer George Retzlaff used a "wet-film" (kinescope) replay, which aired several minutes later.

With the first instant replay being used in football in 1963, as CBS Sports Director Tony Verna invented a system to enable a standard videotape machine to instantly replay on December 7, 1963, for the network's coverage of the Army–Navy Game.

After technical hitches, the only replay broadcast was Rollie Stichweh's winning touchdown. It was replayed at the original speed, with commentator Lindsey Nelson advising viewers "Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again!

Leagues using instant replay in official decision making include the National Hockey League, National Football League, Canadian Football League, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.

But referees and sports them selves have only used instant replay for a short period. 

The NBA started the use of replay in 2002, after the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. After that moment replay was used for last second shots, and to determine if a shot was a three-pointer or two-pointer.

In the NFL and DFL replay has been used since 1986, although very limited, the current system was invented in 1999, bringing in the ability to challenge calls on the field. The current system mirrors a system used by the now defunct USFL in 1985. Each coach is allowed two opportunities per game to make a coach's challenge. Before the 2004 NFL season, the instant replay rule was slightly changed to allow a third challenge if both of the original two challenges were successful.

The NHL does use replay to see if goals at the end of the period have the puck went over goal line before time expired. But that is the extent of replay in the NHL.

In baseball replay has been used for 2008 and is used for boundary calls. Among the reviewable plays are; Fair Ball-homerun, Foul Ball, Ball Clearing Wall-homerun, Ball Staying in Play-Live Ball, Ball Leaving Field of Play-homerun, Ball or Player interfered with by spectators.

This brings me to a situation were replay, which is supposed to help you make the right call, was misused on Tuesday, May 7 when the Oakland Athletics Adam Rosales hit, what should have been a game-tying two-run homerun in the ninth inning of the game against the Cleveland Indians.

Umpire Angel Hernandez who was crew chief on the night called the home run a double and the A’s were unable to tie the game although loading the bases, ending up on the short side to the Indians 4-3.

MLB executive vice president Joe Torre said, “An improper call was made.”

However, despite pointing out the mistake, Torre said the disputed call would stand. The Indians still earn the 4-3 victory.

Everyone remembers the call in the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers game last year with the replacement referees. Had replay been used correctly the Packers would have won the game, not the Seahawks, and a whole season changes.

For the A’s the call by Hernandez might not change the season, being just one loss. But that being said, the Oakland squad only won the American League West by a single game last year, on the last day of the season against the Texas Rangers, a division opponent.

So in my opinion it is the wrong thing to do to let the call stand.

If Major League Baseball wants to prove they are willing to do the right thing, they should allow the two teams to pick up where the game was if they had reversed the calling, giving Rosales the game-tying homerun.

However, as much as I would like to think the MLB is willing to correct a wrong, I think it is highly unlikely a new ruling will come down, now multiple days since the event.

As well with the change of Inter League play happening more often, and clubs visiting clubs out side of their own division less, the A’s don’t’ travel to Cleveland again this year, making accommodations for the game, albeit not a full nine-inning contest, still be hard to do, given each teams scheduled off-days for the rest of the season.

So what comes next with replay, is it more usage, or less?

I think less usage would be the way to go, getting back to the roots of sports where a referees call was the final word, not an instant replay. But the times change and technology drives us, so replay is most likely here to stay. For better or for worse.

The origin of Interleague play

-->

On June 12, 1997, after 126 years of major league play, the first interleague game in history is played when the San Francisco Giants defeat the Texas Rangers, 4-3, at the Ballpark in Texas.

Glenallen Hill becomes the National League's first regular season designated hitter.

Interleague play was discussed much earlier than the 90’s, in the 1930’s the NFL was doing an interleague schedule and MLB owners proposed the idea then, but nothing came from it.

In the 1950’s major league owners considered a proposal to play 28 games of interleague play within the then 154-game schedule. The proposal was not adopted, however, the current system of interleague play shares many of the elements brought up in this proposal. The concept of interleague play was brought up again in 1970, but was not adopted until 1997, a few years after the 1994 players’ strike, in an effort to renew the public’s interest in Major League Baseball.

Since then interleague play has become a fan favorite around the country when cross town or cross city rival teams get to play each other, such as the Giants and A’s, White Sox and Cubs, Yankees and Mets.

The American League holds a slight edge on the all-time record in interleague games as they have won 2,142 games compared to the National League winning 1,940 games, that includes the 61 games the American League has won, and the 57 games the National League has won in 2013 interleague play as of May 31.

Nolan Ryan throws a no-no.

On June 11, 1990 former Texas Rangers ace and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan pitches his sixth no-hitter beating the Oakland Athletics. In the ninth inning he retired Ken Phelps, Rickey Henderson & Willie Randolph.

Ryan threw four of his MLB record seven no-hitters with the California Angels, two with the Rangers and one with the Houston Astros The seven no-hitters are three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. Despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award.

Only Ryan, Sandy Koufax (four), Cy Young (three), Bob Feller (three), and Larry Corcoran (three) have pitched more than two no-hitters. Corcoran was the first pitcher to throw a second no-hitter in a career (in 1882), as well as the first to throw a third (in 1884).

Thirty men in all have thrown more than one no-hitter. Randy Johnson has the longest gap between no-hitters: he threw a no-hitter as a member of the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 1990, and a perfect game as an Arizona Diamondback on May 18, 2004.

The pitcher who holds the record for the shortest time between no-hitters is Johnny Vander Meer, the only pitcher in history to throw no-hitters in consecutive starts, while playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938. Besides Vander Meer, Allie Reynolds (in 1951), Virgil Trucks (in 1952), and Ryan (in 1973) are the only other major leaguers to throw two no-hitters in the same regular season.

Five pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in both the American League and the National League: Cy Young, Ryan, Jim Bunning, Nomo, and Randy Johnson. Only four catchers have caught a no-hitter in each league: Gus Triandos, Jeff Torborg, Darrell Porter and Ron Hassey. Triandos caught Hoyt Wilhelm's 1958 no-hitter and Jim Bunning's perfect game, Torborg caught Koufax's perfect game and Ryan's first no-hitter, Porter caught Jim Colborn's 1977 no-hitter and Bob Forsch's second no-hitter in 1983, and Hassey caught Len Barker's and Dennis Martínez's perfect games.

Ryan is one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades and the only pitcher to have struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons. While his lifetime winning percentage was .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, with 324 wins and 292 losses. With a career 3.19 earned run average.

Ryan would finish his career with 5,714 career strikeouts, which rank first in major league baseball history by a significant margin. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 839 strikeouts. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962; walking over 50 percent more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history. Ryan and Sandy Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Other than Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by the entire MLB), Ryan is currently the only major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least three different teams: the Angels, Astros, and Rangers.

Ryan was inducted into Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1999 with 98.79 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared.