Why I love this game VII...
Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:50 amThe lineup card began in 1881 when the National League adopted a rule requiring "the captain of each nine to furnish the entire batting order by nine o'clock on the morning of each game." Previously, captains often changed the order in the middle of the game. It wasn't until 1908 that the fourth-place hitter in the lineup was first called "the cleaner-up" and eventually the "clean-up man."
Marty Kavanagh of Cleveland was credited with the American League's first pinch-hit grandslam when the ball he hit rolled through an opening in the fence and could not be recovered in time. It happened on September 24, 1916 (in the AL's 15th year of existence), as the Indians beat the Red Sox, 5-3. Under today's rules, the hit would be a ground rule double.
First (and only) umpire judged guilty of dishonesty on the field: 1882 Richard Higham, former manager and NL player, was banished from the league for advising gamblers how to bet on games he umpired. Higham outlined a simple code – if the gambler received a telegram from him saying "Buy all the lumber you can," the gambler was to bet on Detroit. No telegram meant that the gambler was to bet on the opponent.
The first baseball game played in New York in a place called "the polo grounds" took place in September 1880. That year, John B. Day, a young cigar wholesaler, founded an independent team called the Metropolitans.
The first game in Yankee Stadium was played on April 18, 1923. By far the largest baseball crowd to that point, 74,217, gathered on a chilly (49º) day for the 3:30.
John Philip Sousa and his Seventh Regiment Band led the teams and the two owners, the infamous Harry Frazee of the Boston Red Sox and Jake Ruppert of the Yankees, to the CF flag pole for the opening ceremonies. Babe Ruth had declared, "I'd give a year of my life if I can hit a HR in this first game in this new park." And he did just that.
The first telecast of a major league game took place on Saturday, August 26, 1939. It was the first game of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, between the Dodgers and Cincinnati. 35,535 fans saw the league-leading Reds win, 5-2.
On September 11, 1906, during a game at Hilltop Park against the New York Highlanders, Hobe Ferris of the Boston Red Sox, "notorious for his hard style of play" and hot temper, berated teammate Jack Hayden for lackadaisical play. Fisticuffs ensued and, after teammates separated the combatants, Ferris braced himself against the dugout rail and kicked Hayden in the face, knocking out several teeth. The fight resumed until broken up again. Both were ejected from the game, making this the first time that teammates had been ejected for fighting each other.
Marty Kavanagh of Cleveland was credited with the American League's first pinch-hit grandslam when the ball he hit rolled through an opening in the fence and could not be recovered in time. It happened on September 24, 1916 (in the AL's 15th year of existence), as the Indians beat the Red Sox, 5-3. Under today's rules, the hit would be a ground rule double.
First (and only) umpire judged guilty of dishonesty on the field: 1882 Richard Higham, former manager and NL player, was banished from the league for advising gamblers how to bet on games he umpired. Higham outlined a simple code – if the gambler received a telegram from him saying "Buy all the lumber you can," the gambler was to bet on Detroit. No telegram meant that the gambler was to bet on the opponent.
The first baseball game played in New York in a place called "the polo grounds" took place in September 1880. That year, John B. Day, a young cigar wholesaler, founded an independent team called the Metropolitans.
The first game in Yankee Stadium was played on April 18, 1923. By far the largest baseball crowd to that point, 74,217, gathered on a chilly (49º) day for the 3:30.
John Philip Sousa and his Seventh Regiment Band led the teams and the two owners, the infamous Harry Frazee of the Boston Red Sox and Jake Ruppert of the Yankees, to the CF flag pole for the opening ceremonies. Babe Ruth had declared, "I'd give a year of my life if I can hit a HR in this first game in this new park." And he did just that.
The first telecast of a major league game took place on Saturday, August 26, 1939. It was the first game of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, between the Dodgers and Cincinnati. 35,535 fans saw the league-leading Reds win, 5-2.
On September 11, 1906, during a game at Hilltop Park against the New York Highlanders, Hobe Ferris of the Boston Red Sox, "notorious for his hard style of play" and hot temper, berated teammate Jack Hayden for lackadaisical play. Fisticuffs ensued and, after teammates separated the combatants, Ferris braced himself against the dugout rail and kicked Hayden in the face, knocking out several teeth. The fight resumed until broken up again. Both were ejected from the game, making this the first time that teammates had been ejected for fighting each other.