Kansas City Royals' George Brett Collects Career Hit 1,500

On August 29, 1982, Hall of Famer and Kansas City Royals great George Brett gets career hit 1,500.

Over his 21 major league seasons, Brett, a lifetime .305 hitter, would go on to collect 3,154 hits, consisting of 665 doubles, 137 triples and 317 home runs. He also had 1,596 RBIs, 1,583 runs scored, 1096 walks and 201 stolen bases.

Three times Brett led the league in hits, with his highest single season total coming in 1976 with 215.

Brett is also one of only four players to hit for a .300 batting average, have 300 or more home runs and have over 3,000 hits in a career. The others include three more Hall of Famers, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial.

Brett finished his career with 13 All-Star appearances, with 13 consecutive appearances from 1976-1988. He was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner in 1980, 1985 and 1988. He was a three time American League Batting Champion in 1976, 1980 and 1990. He was a Gold Glove winner in 1985 and that same year he won the World Series with the Royals. On the way to winning the World Series, Brett was named the ALCS MVP.

In 1980 Brett won his only MVP Award, as well the Hutch Award, which is given annually to an active Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity.

In 1986 Brett won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, which is given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best exhibits the character and integrity of Lou Gehrig, both on the field and off it.

The Kansas City Royals retired his no. 5 jersey in 1994 and in 1999 he was inducted into Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame with 98.2 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared. It was the fourth highest percentage of the vote given to a player ever just behind Cal Ripken Jr., Nolan Ryan, and Tom Seaver.

In 2013 Brett joined the Royals in a different capacity as a hitting coach.

Vince Coleman Throws Firecrackers At Fans

On July 24, 1993, Vince Coleman gets in trouble for throwing firecrackers at a group of fans outside of a ball game.

Coleman was one of the fastest base runners the game of baseball had ever seen, compiling multiple seasons with more than 100 stolen bases and even stealing a record 50 in a row in 1989.

After leading the league in stolen bases the first six seasons of his career, Coleman left the St. Louis Cardinals to sign a large deal with the New York Mets – where his productivity took a nosedive. He did not live up to his massive three million dollar salary and failed to even keep out of trouble.

He feuded with Jeff Torborg, scuffled with a batting coach, claimed that Shea Stadium's aesthetics were preventing him from being a Hall of Famer, cost Dwight Gooden a start when he accidentally wacked him with a golf club, and was even accused of a raping woman in 1991, although no charges were ever filed.

But his most infamous moment came after a 5-4 extra-inning loss in Los Angeles. Coleman and Bobby Bonilla were in the passenger's seat of a car, driven by teammate Eric Davis, when they pulled up in front of Dodgers Stadium, where a few hundred fans were exiting. Coleman, as a practical joke, hurled a firecracker into the throng of people before they drove away laughing. The citizens involved weren't laughing though; the explosion injured several people, including a 33 -year old woman, an 11 year-old boy and the eyesight, cheek, and finger of two year-old Amanda Santos.

Coleman would play in three more games before the Mets dismissed him for the rest of the season (albeit with pay). He was given three years probation, 200 hours of community service, and an additional $2,500 in fines. It took him several days to apologize, and when he did, he offered the following statement: "I'm a father first and an athlete second. Amanda stood out near a gate to catch a glimpse of a ballplayer. But today, I want her to catch a glimpse of a loving father and a helpful friend."

The next season, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals.

George Brett And The 'Pine Tar Incident'

On July 24, 1983, George Brett and the ‘pine tar incident' make headlines.

It was the top of the ninth at Yankee Stadium. With two out and a man on first, Royals third baseman George Brett was at the plate, with New York closer Goose Gossage on the mound. In the matchup between two future Hall of Famers, Brett got the upper hand, hammering a pitch into the right field bleachers. The home run gave the Royals a 5-4 lead.

Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles had noticed earlier in the year that Brett used a large amount of pine tar on his bat (as many hitters did to grip the bat better). Nettles was aware of an obscure baseball rule forbidding no more pine tar on a bat than the width of the plate (18 inches), and that Brett appeared to violate this rule. Nettles who was caught using a corked bat nine years earlier, had informed manager Billy Martin of this previously in the year. Now that Brett had hit, barring a ninth inning rally, a game-winning home run, there was no better time to bring it up with the umpires.

Martin was already talking to home plate umpire Tim McClelland before Brett even touched home plate. McClelland summoned the other umps to the diamond to discuss it, and then rested the bat on the plate as Brett watched curiously from the dugout.

Instead of hitting the game-winning home run, he had been called out on violation -- ending the ballgame in a Yankees win.

Instantly, Brett bolted out of the dugout with his arms shaking and his eyes bulging. He approached McClelland and had to be restrained, as he appeared hysterically upset. The image of Brett's ballistic tirade is one of the most replayed highlights in sports history. "The video of me now is pretty hilarious," Brett said in the book, Once Upon a Game, "with me charging the umps, having to be held back, yelling and screaming and flailing my arms, but at the time it wasn't funny. It was highway robbery!"
During the commotion, Royals pitcher Gaylord Perry, a player also known for breaking a few rules, stole the bat from McClelland and carried it toward the dugout. He threw it to Rocky Colavito, who in turn passed it off to another Royals player before security intervened. The bat was confiscated by the umpires and sent to AL president Lee MacPhail.
The Royals filed a protest, claiming that the game had been unfairly taken away from them. In a rare occurrence from any of the four major sports leagues, the protest was upheld by MacPhail, who noted that while the pine tar extended 23 inches up the bat, and that technically it was illegal to use, Brett's bat "did not violate the spirit of the rules." In other words, while the bat should have been removed from the game, Brett shouldn't have been called out.
And so less than a month later, on August 18th, 1,245 dedicated sports fans walked into Yankee Stadium to see the game pick up right where it left off, right after Brett's home run. It was an odd site. Brett, Colavito, Perry, and manager Dick Howser had all been ejected three weeks ago, so none of them showed up to the ballpark. Meanwhile Billy Martin, who called the game's resumption three weeks after the fact "a mockery," staged his own protest by putting pitcher Rod Guidry in center field, because their center fielder from the July game (Jerry Mumphrey) had been traded. He also put first baseman Don Mattingly at second, making him the first lefty to play a middle-infield position in years.
The Yankees had filed an injunction to stop the game from continuing, however the c

ourts had ruled against them. Martin had one final trick to pull. Before Yankees pitcher George Frazier faced Hal McRae of the Royals, Martin went up to the umpires and argued that Brett had not touched all of the bases during his home run trot. There was a completely different umpire crew from the July game, and Martin figured they wouldn't be able to disprove him. But crew chief Davey Phillips was ready and produced an affidavit signed by the previous crew saying that the home run should stand.
Martin then took out his frustration on Phillips, yelling at him until he got ejected. George Frazier struck out McRae to retire the side. In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees went down one-two-three to Royals closer Dan Quisenberry, at last finalizing a 5-4 Kansas City win, and ending probably the most intriguing baseball game ever played in July.

Brett would eventually donate the bat to the Hall of Fame, where it rests today.

 Check out the video below of Brett's 'pine tar incident':

Brett Misses World Series

On Oct. 15, 1980, George Brett is forced out of World Series with an injury. It would be later found out that Brett had hemorrhoids.

Over his 21 major league seasons, Brett, a lifetime .305 hitter, would go on to collect 3,154 hits, consisting of 665 doubles, 137 triples and 317 home runs. He also had 1,596 RBIs, 1,583 runs scored, 1096 walks and 201 stolen bases.

Three times Brett led the league in hits, with his highest single season total coming in 1976 with 215.
Brett is also one of only four players to hit for a .300 batting average, have 300 or more home runs and have over 3,000 hits in a career. The others include three more Hall of Famers, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial.

Brett finished his career with 13 All-Star appearances, with 13 consecutive appearances from 1976-1988. He was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner in 1980, 1985 and 1988. He was a three time American League Batting Champion in 1976, 1980 and 1990. He was a Gold Glove winner in 1985 and that same year he won the World Series with the Royals. On the way to winning the World Series, Brett was named the ALCS MVP.

In 1980 Brett won his only MVP Award, as well the Hutch Award, which is given annually to an active Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity.

In 1986 Brett won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, which is given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best exhibits the character and integrity of Lou Gehrig, both on the field and off it.

The Kansas City Royals retired his no. 5 jersey in 1994 and in 1999 he was inducted into Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame with 98.2 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared. It was the fourth highest percentage of the vote given to a player ever just behind Cal Ripken Jr., Nolan Ryan, and Tom Seaver.

In 2013 Brett joined the Royals in a different capacity as a hitting coach.