April 29, 1986: The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-1 at Fenway Park. Roger Clemens of the Red Sox becomes the 1st pitcher to strike out 20 batters in a regulation 9-inning regular-season Major League Baseball game.
Tom Cheney of the Washington Senators had struck out 21 in a 1962 game that lasted 16 innings; and Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan had each previously struck out 19 in a 9-inning game. But 20 had never been done before.
Clemens struck out the side in the 1st inning: Spike Owen, Phil Bradley and Ken Phelps. He struck Jim Presley and Iván Calderón out in the 2nd. That's 5. He struck Dave Henderson out in the 3rd, having no idea that Henderson would be traded to the Red Sox later in the year, and would very nearly become the biggest hero in franchise history -- and, as far we know, without using performance-enhancing drugs. Anyway, that's 6.
Although Clemens allowed his 1st hit of the game, a single to Owen, in the 4th, he otherwise struck out the side: Bradley, Phelps and Gorman Thomas. That's 9. He struck out the side again in the 5th: Presley, Calderón and Danny Tartabull. That's 12, and the record of 19 was now very much within reach. He struck Henderson and Steve Yeager out in the 6th. That's 14, with 7 outs still available.
The problem was, the Red Sox hadn't scored yet. And after striking Bradley and Phelps out, for 16, Clemens gave up a home run to Thomas. The next out was a groundout, making it Mariners 1, Red Sox 0, meaning not only did Clemens need to make at least 3 of the last 6 outs strikeouts to tie the record, but he was losing the game. When Carlton got his 19 in 1969, he was pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, and lost to the New York Mets. And when Bob Feller set the old record of 18 for the Cleveland Indians against the Detroit Tigers in 1938, he lost, too.
Luckily for Clemens, the Sox staged a 2-out rally in the bottom of the 7th. Steve Lyons singled, Glenn Hoffman drew a walk, and Dwight Evans hit a home run. It was 3-1 Boston.
In the top of the 8th, Clemens struck Calderón and Henderson out. That was 18, with 4 outs to go. But he only got Al Cowens to fly to center to end the inning. The Red Sox threatened in the bottom of the 8th, but did not score.
The 1st batter in the 9th was Owen, and Clemens struck him out. That was 19, to tie the record. Next up was Bradley. On a 2-2 count, Clemens blew him away with a fastball. For the 1st time, a pitcher had struck 20 men out within 9 innings. It could have been 21, but Phelps grounded to short to end the game.
Clemens had stuck out 20, walked none, and allowed just 3 hits. Also notable, given his later reputation, is that he did not hit a batter. And while 1 error was made behind him, it ended up not mattering. His only real mistake was the home run by "Stormin' Gorman." All 9 Seattle starters struck out at least once, with Bradley "leading the way" with 4 strikeouts, a feat known as "The Golden Sombrero." (Striking out 5 times in a game is "The Platinum Sombrero.")
Mike Moore pitched decently for Seattle, keeping the Sox off the board for 6 innings, going into the 8th having allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks, with 4 strikeouts.
Clemens would be the best pitcher in baseball in 1986, winning the American League's Most Valuable Player award. But he couldn't finish Game 6 of the World Series, and that's one of the reasons the Red Sox lost that Series to the Mets.
On September 18, 1996, Clemens produced the 2nd 20-strikeout game in MLB, fanning 20 Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium. He would finish his career with 4,672 strikeouts. As of this writing, that is 3rd all-time. He won 354 games, more than any pitcher in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era except Warren Spahn and Greg Maddux. He made 11 All-Star Games, won 7 Cy Young Awards, and appeared in 6 World Series, winning them in 1999 and 2000 with the New York Yankees. Fan balloting named him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
He is not, however, in the Baseball Hall of Fame, due to the perception -- never proven, and the federal government had the chance to do so in court, but couldn't -- that he used performance-enhancing drugs. The perception that he is a rotten person hasn't helped.
The record has not been broken, but has been tied by 2 other pitchers. Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs became the 1st National League pitcher to strike out 20 batters in a game, against the Houston Astros on May 6, 1998. And Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks struck out 20 Cincinnati Reds on May 8, 2001.
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April 29, 1986 was a Tuesday. There was a full slate of games in MLB that night, including this one:
* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 14-11 at Yankee Stadium. Ed Whitson was the winning pitcher, in relief of Ron Guidry. The Yankees got home runs from Mike Pagliarulo, Ken Griffey Sr., Mike Easler and Rickey Henderson. Don Mattingly went 0-for-4, and Dave Winfield 0-for-3, but each has an RBI on a bases-loaded walk.
* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 10-5 at Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium. Bruce Berenyi was the winning pitcher, in relief of Ron Darling. Darryl Strawberry hit a home run.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 12-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt and Luis Aguayo hit home runs in the 1st inning, and Nolan Ryan got knocked out of the box in the 2nd. Darren Daulton added a home run, in support of Shane Rawley.
* The California Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Reds manager Pete Rose thought it was a good idea to put his own 45-year-old self at 1st base, and bat himself 2nd, when he came into the game batting 0-for-5 on the season thus far.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Candlestick Park in St. Louis.
Football was out of season. One game was played that day in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Montreal Canadiens beat the Hartford Whalers, 2-1 at the Montreal Forum, to win Game 7 and the Adams Division Final. Claude Lemieux scored the winner, 5:55 into overtime.
In the NBA Playoffs, these games were in the Conference Semifinals:
* The Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks, 119-108 at the Boston Garden, in Game 2. Larry Bird scored 36 points.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-112 at the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA, in Game 1. Charles Barkley had 31 points and 20 rebounds.
* And the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets, 119-101 at The Summit in Houston, in Game 2. The Rockets would win the Western Conference title, but lose the NBA Finals to the Celtics. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")
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