Los Angeles Dodgers' Eric Gagne Sets MLB Consecutive Save Record

On Aug. 28, 2003, Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne sets a record with his 44th consecutive save of the 2003 season and his 52nd in a row dating back to the 2002 season.

Gagne would end the 2003 season with 55 saves in 67 appearances, both league leading earning him the NL Cy Young Award.

Gagne's streak would continue into the midst of the 2004 season and eventually earn 84 consecutive saves. Which is still more consecutive saves than that of any other closer in MLB history.

Gagne would finish his 10-year career with 187 saves, almost half of those were earned during his streak which last over three consecutive seasons.

Over the course of his career Gagne racked up 33 wins and 26 losses, with a 3.47 ERA over 643.2 innings in 402 games. He compiled an amazing 718 strikeouts compared to just 226 walks and only 13 intentional walks.

Gagne last played in 2008 for the Milwaukee Brewers where he sported a 5.44 ERA in 50 games with 10 saves.

Check out the video below of Gagne's record setting 84th consecutive save:

Milwaukee Brewers Closer Rollie Fingers Gets 300th Save

On Aug. 21, 1982, Milwaukee Brewers closer Rollie Fingers gets his 300th save as a pitcher.

Fingers started his career as a member of the Oakland Athletics in 1968, the year the team moved from Kansas City to Oakland. He played for the Athletics from 1968-1976, earning himself three World Series titles with the club in 1972, 1973 and 1974. In 1974 he was also named the World Series MVP.

Fingers was a starter with the A’s until 1970 when he began making relief appearances. In 1971 A’s manager Dick Williams made up his mind that Fingers would be a relief pitcher and the rest is history.

In 1977 the San Diego Padres picked up Fingers, where he played from 1977-1980. Fingers won the National League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in 1977, 1978 and 1980 with the Padres. He was also a two-time National League saves champion in 1977 and 1978. In 1980 Fingers broke Hoyt Wilhelm’s record of most saves in a career with his 228th.

In 1981 Fingers was back in the American League with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was continuing to get saves at an impressive rate, and once again won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award but this time in the American League. He was also the American League saves champion in 1981. But the most impressive feat of all that season was that Fingers was named the American League MVP and the American League CY Young.

In 1982 Fingers recorded his 300th save, and was the first closer in Major League history to do so. When Fingers retired in 1985 he finished his career with 341 saves, 114 wins and 118 losses, making him the first pitcher with 300 saves and also to have 100 wins, he also recorded 1,299 strikeouts in his career.

Fingers was elected into the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. Both the Athletics and the Brewers have retired his jersey No. 34.

Fingers is regarded to as one of the pioneers of modern relief pitching, especially for defining the role of the closer.

Los Angeles Dodgers Jerry Reuss' No-Hits San Francisco Giants

On June 27, 1980, the Los Angeles Dodgers Jerry Reuss' throws a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants in an 8-0 game.

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).

 

Reuss 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, narrowly missing a perfect game 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.

Pittsbugrh Pirates Manager Lloyd McClendon Gets Ejected

On June 26, 2001, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon was ejected from a game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Pirates manager had witnessed two questionable calls by first base ump Rick Reed. That plus the strain of coaching the last-place Pirates compounded McClendon's 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 11th inning, but kept the game alive with a two-out, two-run homer by Aramais Ramirez.

In the 12th inning, Rob Mackowiak singled to center to score Dmitri Young, giving the Pirates a 7-6 win. Afterward, Lloyd was dealt a $1000 fine, and an all-time spot on the coaching-meltdown Hall of Fame.

Red Sox Hire Francona

On Dec. 4, 2003, the Boston Red Sox hire Terry Francona as manager.

Francona played in the Major Leagues for 10 years for the Montreal Expos from 1981-1985, the Chicago Cubs in 1986, the Cincinnati Reds in 1987, the Cleveland Indians in 1988, and the Milwaukee Brewers in 1989-1990.

Francona wasn’t an All-Star caliber player but he did play the game posting a career .274 batting average with 16 home runs and 143 RBI’s in his career.

After his playing career was over Francona began coaching, spending several years in the Chicago White Sox organization. In 1991, he managed the rookie league Sarasota White Sox of the Gulf Coast League. In 1992, he ran the South Bend White Sox of the mid-level Class A Midwest League. As manager of the AA franchise Birmingham Barons from 1993–1995, he posted a 223-203 record and won two distinctions: Southern League Manager of the Year in 1993, Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year in 1993, and top managerial candidate by Baseball America in 1994, the same year Michael Jordan played for Birmingham. Birmingham won the Southern League championship in 1993.

He managed in the Dominican Winter League with the Águilas Cibaeñas, and he also won the championship and the Serie del Caribe in 1994–95. That team included Miguel Tejada, Manny Ramirez, and Tony Batista.

In 1996 he started his Major League coaching career, becoming the third-base coach for the Detroit Tigers, working under their new skipper, Buddy Bell, a former teammate of Francona on the Reds.

fter the season ended, he was hired as manager of the Phillies, who had won the NL pennant in 1993 but then had three consecutive losing seasons.

In Francona's four seasons (1997 through 2000) as the Phillies skipper, the club never rose above third place in the National League East. His best finish with the Phillies was 77–85 in 1999. In 1998 and 1999, the Phillies finished in third place, behind the Atlanta Braves and their division-rival New York Mets.

He was fired following the 2000 campaign, and spent the following season as a special assistant to the general manager with the Cleveland Indians in (2001), which was followed by two one-year terms as a bench coach for the Texas Rangers (2002) and Oakland Athletics (2003).

In 2004, he was finally given the head managerial spot he desired. The Red Sox hired Francona to manage their club in 2004, after Grady Little's contract was not renewed following the Red Sox loss in the 2003 American League Championship Series.

Francona led the Red Sox to a 98–64 record in 2004, the second-best record in the American League behind their biggest nemesis, the New York Yankees. The club jelled in the second half and was the hottest in baseball after the All-Star break.

As the American League wild card, the Red Sox swept the AL West champion Anaheim Angels, three games to none, in the Division Series. In the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Red Sox fell behind the Yankees, three games to none, including a 19–8 loss in Game 3 at home in Fenway Park. However, the club regained its composure and won the last four games of the series, the first time in Major League Baseball history that a team rallied from an 0–3 deficit to win a playoff series (only the third team to even make it as far as Game 6, and the only team to even force a Game 7 after trailing a series three games to zero). The Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals, 4–0, in the 2004 World Series, ending the so-called Curse of the Bambino.

During the 2005 season, Francona was hospitalized after complaining of severe chest pains. Tests revealed significantly clogged arteries, but it was concluded that Francona had not suffered a heart attack. This incident, as well as a life-threatening pulmonary embolism suffered in 2002, ongoing treatment for blood clots, and painful knees, have led to circulation issues which necessitate wearing extra clothes, including two pairs of tights. This is also why his regular uniform top is usually hidden by a pullover.

Two years later, the Sox won the AL East Division, finishing two games ahead of the Yankees. Under Francona's leadership, the Sox swept the Angels in the Division Series before dropping three of the first four games to the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. The Sox, facing elimination, went on to win their next three games, defeating Cleveland to advance to the 2007 World Series, where they swept the Colorado Rockies in four games. Terry Francona is the only manager in Major League history to win his first eight consecutive World Series games and just the second manager to guide two Red Sox clubs to World Series titles, the other being Bill "Rough" Carrigan who led Boston to back-to-back championships in 1915 and 1916.

As of October 1, 2008, Francona's career regular-season managerial record was 755–703 (.518), while his post-season record was 22–9 (.710). Among managers who have managed at least 20 post-season games, he has the highest winning percentage. Francona is the first manager in MLB history to win his first eight games in the World Series.

Francona was 7–0 in playoff elimination games until Game 5 of the 2005 ALDS, against the Chicago White Sox, when he became 6–1 and 9–0 in ALCS elimination games until Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS, against the Tampa Bay Rays, when he became 9–1.

On June 2, 2009, Francona recorded his 500th win as manager of the Red Sox, making him the third manager in club history to have 500 wins. The only other two to win at least 500 games as manager of the Red Sox are Joe Cronin (1,071), and Mike Higgins (560).

On May 6, 2010, Francona became the fourth person to manage 1,000 games for the Red Sox.

On July 23, 2011, Francona got his 1,000th win as a manager. He became only the second manager in Red Sox history (after Joe Cronin) to accomplish this feat. Later that season, he presided over one of the worst collapses in the history of Major League Baseball when the Red Sox went 7-20 for the month of September and squandered a nine-game lead over the Rays for the AL Wild Card spot in the postseason. Following the season, the Red Sox declined to exercise Francona's 2012 option.

Francona was hired as manager of the Cleveland Indians on October 6, 2012, and officially introduced on October 8. Thus returning to the dugout after a one-year hiatus of managing in baseball and doing sports broadcasting duties. The Indians chose Francona over Sandy Alomar Jr., who served as the club's interim manager for the final six games after Manny Acta was fired on Sept. 27.

Francona and Alomar, who spent the past three seasons as a coach in Cleveland, were the only candidates to interview for the Indians' opening.

Alomar stayed in Cleveland under Francona's staff as bench coach.

DiMaggio Wins MVP

On Nov. 27, 1941, Martinez Native Joe DiMaggio beats Ted Williams to win the American League MVP.

Though the numbers would suggest Wiilliams might have had a superior season hitting than DiMaggio, as Williams hit for a .406 batting average, while clubbing 37 home runs and bringing in 120 RBI’s. However it was DiMaggio who had done something no man had ever done before, and has equaled to this date. While hitting for a very respectable .357 batting average with 30 home runs and bringing in 125 RBI’s, DiMaggio hit safely in 56-consecutive games.

DiMaggio would be the first and only hitter to hit safely in over 50 games, breaking the pervious record which is still held in the National League by Willie Keeler who played for the Baltimore Orioles.

Since DiMaggio hit safely in 56-consecutive games only four players have come within 20-games, and only a single player has come within 15.

In 1945 Tommy Holmes of the Boston Braves, was the first player who had a sizeable shot at catching DiMaggio’s record, as he hit in 37-consecutive games.

Over the 2005 and 2006 seasons a Bay Area native in Alameda’s Jimmy Rollins hit safely in 38-consecutive games.

In 1987 Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers hit safely in 39-consecutive games.

But no player since DiMaggio has hit in over 40-consecutive games besides Pete Rose, who hit safely in 44-consecutive games during his 1978 season with the Cincinnati Reds.

To me I think DiMaggio’s consecutive game hit-streak is one of the last of the untouchable records in baseball, with the others being Barry Bonds’ home run record for a single season and a career, along with Rickey Henderson’s stolen base record.