October 5, 2007: The Bug Game

October 5, 2007: Game 2 of the American League Division Series. This was the Bug Game. The Yankees are leading 1-0 in the 8th inning, on a Melky Cabrera home run.

Suddenly, a swarm of insects, identified as "Lake Erie Midges," descends on the field, and starts crawling all over Yankee reliever Joba Chamberlain, the young superstar of the season. He never recovered as a major league pitcher. The umpires, led by Bruce Froemming, refused to suspend the game until the bugs left. Joe Torre went along with this. Casey Stengel would not have. Billy Martin certainly would not have.

The Indians tied the game in the inning, and won the game in the 11th inning, and won the series in 4 games. The Yankees could have protested to the MLB office, but what good would that have done?

As I wrote at the time:

A loss due to bugs? This is the sort of thing that happens to Boston, to Chicago, to Philly. In fact, things like this could be expected to happen in Cleveland, but to Cleveland.

When the Yankees lose in a big situation, there's rarely a bizarre element to it. This was bizarre. This was "curse material."

The umpires should have stopped the game for "unplayable conditions" as if it was raining, or (as has happened in Cleveland) there was snow, or fog. Surely, Billy Martin would have lodged an official protest. As would George Steinbrenner, a Cleveland native, who would have expected this, if he were still alive. Can we really be sure that he is?

But then, what do you expect? The crew chief is Bruce Froemming, the longest, uh, serving, and in my book worst, umpire who has ever lived. This guy deserves to be left alone in a room for 15 minutes with Milton Bradley. He is that bad of an ump...

Andy Pettitte justified our faith in him. He was in trouble in every inning, and got out of every inning. I only heard that sixth on the radio, and I'm convinced I could hear John Sterling squirming. That inning should be replayed at every pitching clinic from big-league spring training down to Little League, to show every pitcher, and aspiring pitcher, on the planet that speed is one of the least important factors for a pitcher, that far more important are control and poise. We are right to worry about Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain in situations like this, because they haven't been tested. Andy is the test.

But I don't blame Joba. He was pitching under conditions that, as far as I know, no pitcher in the history of postseason play in Major League Baseball has ever had to face, and that goes back to the 1884 matchup of the National League Champion Providence Grays and the American Association Champion New York Metropolitans. (Like their much-later successors, known as the Mets for short. The Grays won, behind workhorse Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn.)

Joba lost his control inside that swarm, but he didn't lose his poise or his courage. And he took it like a man from the press. He's 22. He's more mature than a lot of ballplayers in their 30s prove to be. Whoever's managing this team next year, please, do not make him into a starter. He can be Mariano Rivera's successor.

Instead, Joba was turned into a starter, an idea that failed, and he became one of the least mature players in recent Yankee history.

*

October 5, 2007 was a Friday. Game 2 of the other ALDS was played at Fenway Park. The Los Angeles Angels blew a 3-2 lead in the 5th inning, and Manny Ramirez took a Justin Speier pitch over the Green Monster in the 10th inning, giving the Boston Red Sox a 6-3 win.

And there were 6 NHL games played that night:

* The New York Islanders beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at the RBC Center (now the PNC Arena) in Raleigh.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Anaheim Ducks, 4-0 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. (Hey, that one still has its original name.)

* The Dallas Stars beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Hey, that one still has its original name, too.)

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1 at General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

Also, the football team at my alma mater, East Brunswick High School, beat J.P. Stevens, 23-14 at John E. McGowan Stadium in Edison, Middlesex County, New Jersey. 

September 2, 1972: Bruce Froemming Blows Milt Pappas' Perfect Game

September 2, 1972: The Chicago Cubs host the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Milt Pappas is the Cubs' starting pitcher, entering the game with a record of 11-7. Although a decent pitcher, he is best known for being the pitcher that the Cincinnati Reds traded their best player, Frank Robinson, for following the 1965 season. In the past 7 years, that trade had already gone down in history as one of baseball's worst trades. The events of this game did not change that.

The Cubs granted Pappas a quick lead, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. They made it 4-0 in the 3rd. In the 8th, they extended it to 8-0. The result of the game was no longer in doubt. But Pappas inched closer and closer to baseball history. In the 8th inning, he made a fine play on a comebacker hit by Derrel Thomas for the final out. It was 24 men up 24 men down.

Johnny Jeter, no relation to Derek, led off the top of the 9th inning, and he hit a line shot to left-center field, where future Hall-of-Famer Billy Williams caught it. Fred Kendall, father of future All-Star Jason Kendall, grounded to shortstop, and Don Kessinger threw him out.

The batter was Larry Stahl, pinch-hitting for Al Severinsen, who had relieved Padre starter Mike Caldwell. He ran the count full. Pappas threw a pitch that was a little outside. Stahl checked his swing, but appeared to go around. It should have been strike 3, the last out, a no-hitter and a perfect game for Pappas.

The home plate umpire was Bruce Froemming, in only his 2nd season in the major leagues. A native of Milwaukee, a few days away from his 33rd birthday, he called the pitch a ball, and sent Stahl to 1st base. The perfect game was ruined.

Garry Jestadt was the next batter. He popped up, and 2nd baseman Carmen Fanzone caught it for the final out. Pappas had his no-hitter. But this game went into the books as a perfect game ruined on a walk to the 27th and, potentially, last batter. It remains the only such game in baseball history: 27th men have reached on hits, and on errors, but only this one due to a base on balls.

After the game, Pappas approached Froemming, and appealed to his ego. He reminded Froemming of how few perfect games had been pitched -- 10 at that point -- and thus how few umpires had called them. Froemming told Pappas, "Milt, if I'd called that pitch a strike, I'd never be able to live with myself." Pappas forgot the high road and yelled, "How do you live with yourself with all the other lousy calls you make?"

Pappas would finish his career with a fine record of 209 wins and 164 losses, a 3.40 ERA, and a 1.225 WHIP. He deserved better than to be remembered only as the man acquired in the Frank Robinson trade. Certainly, he deserved that perfect game. He is still remembered for having pitched a no-hitter for the Cubs, something that Burt Hooton had done the season before, and Ken Holtzman had done 1 and 3 seasons before. Pappas died in 2016, shortly after the 50th Anniversary of the infamous trade.

Froemming went on to umpire for a record 37 years (since broken), and became one of the worst ever. In Philadelphia, he is notorious for a call at 1st base that cost the Phillies an out that would have clinched the 1977 National League Pennant, leading to the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the Pennant. Froemming's swan song was the 2007 American League Division Series between the Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, when he, as crew chief, refused to stop the game until the Lake Erie Midges left.

*

September 2, 1972 was a Saturday. These other Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Yankee Stadium. Steve Kline outpitched Tom Bradley. Bernie Allen hit a home run. Thurman Munson went 1-for-3 with the team's other RBI.

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 11-8 at the Astrodome in Houston. Ken Boswell hit a home run for the Mets. Willie Mays appeared only as a defensive replacement, and did not come to bat.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3, with an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* A doubleheader was split at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). The Atlanta Braves won the opener, 10-7. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 3-0. Dave Downs pitched an 8-0 shutout. It was 1 of 13 shutouts pitched by the Phillies that year, 8 of which were pitched by Steve Carlton.

Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 4-for-8 with a walk and 4 RBIs, including hitting the 666th and 667th home runs of his career. Ten days later, Mike Schmidt would make his major league debut for the Phils.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-3 with 2 walks, a home run, and 3 RBIs. It was the 239th home run of his career. He would hit 1 more.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose and Johnny Bench both went 0-for-4, with Rose adding a walk.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Metropolitan stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Steve Dunning was the winning pitcher, and helped his own cause with a 2-run home run. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Rod Carew went 2-for-5.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 0-for-3. Frank Robinson, in his only season with the Dodgers, did not enter the game.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium). Rudy May pitched a 3-hit shutout to beat Jim Palmer. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.

* And the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Bill Freehan and Mickey Stanley hit home runs in the top of the 11th inning, off Dave Hamilton, who blew the game for Vida Blue. Fred Scherman was the winning pitcher, in relief of Mickey Lolich. Al Kaline went 2-for-5. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4.

This was also the day of Game 1 of the "Summit Series," and the Soviet Union shocked Canada, 7-3 at the Montreal Forum.

It was the week before the college football season opened in America. In English soccer, it was a battle of London teams, and Arsenal and Chelsea played to a 1-1 draw at Highbury.

August 10, 1995: Major League Baseball's Most Recent Forfeit

August 10, 1995: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Cardinals lead, 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, thanks to solo home runs by Brian Jordan and Mark Sweeney.

The Dodger players had been angry with the balls and strikes called by home plate umpire Jim Quick. When Raul Mondesi struck out, he yelled at Quick, and Quick threw him out of the game. Manager Tommy Lasorda went out to argue, and Quick tossed him, too.

It was Ball Day at Dodger Stadium, and fans objected by throwing their gift balls -- real, hard, leather-covered baseball -- onto the field. Quick cleared the field, and decided to forfeit the game to the Cardinals. As of August 10, 2022, it remains the last forfeit in Major League Baseball history.

*

August 10, 1995 was a Thursday. These other MLB games were played:

* The New York Yankees were swept in a doubleheader by the Cleveland Indians, 10-9 and 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Mariano Rivera, not yet converted into a reliever, started the opener, and was shaky. But the Yankees led 9-5 going into the 9th, when closer John Wetteland melted down. Paul Sorrento went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and then didn't play in the nightcap. In that game, Chad Ogea outpitched Sterling Hitchcock.

Over the 2 games, Kenny Lofton went 3-for-9 with 4 RBIs, and Albert Belle went 3-for-9 with a walk and an RBI. For the Yankees, Don Mattingly went 2-for-9 with an RBI. Their catchers had the most production: Mike Stanley was 3-for-4 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs in the 1st game, and Jim Leyritz went 2-for-3 with a walk in the 2nd game.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Phils reliever Heathcliff Slocumb melted down in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. John Valentin hit 2 home runs, José Canseco and Mike Macfarlane 1 each. The Orioles' only run came on a home run by Cal Ripken.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Javy López singled Fred McGriff home in the bottom of the 9th, making Mark Wohlers a winning pitcher in relief of Tom Glavine.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-2 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* A doubleheader was split at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The San Diego Padres won the 1st game, 3-2. The Chicago Cubs won the 2nd game, 12-5. Tony Gwynn was injured, and did not play in either game.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 5-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Jason Jacome pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball. Hipólito Pachardo pitched the 8th, and Jeff Montgomery the 9th, completing the 7-hit shutout, to outpitch Mark Langston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. J.R. Phillips hit 2 home runs for the Giants. Barry Bonds went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs.

* And the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins, the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners were not scheduled.

August 9, 2025: MLB's 1st Female Umpire

Jen Pawol (left) and Marlins manager Clayton McCullough

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

August 9, 2025: The Atlanta Braves swept a doubleheader from the Miami Marlins, 7-1 and 8-6 at Truist Park in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia. Michael Harris II hit a home run in the opener, and Marcell Ozuna hit 2 in the nightcap.

The 1st base umpire in the opener, and the 3rd base umpire in the nightcap, was Jen Pawol. This made her the 1st female umpire in the history of Major League Baseball. A few women had tried to make it, including Pam Postema, who umpired in Class AAA, and umpired games during Spring Training of 1988. But none had ever gotten to a regular-season game before Pawol.

Jennifer Pawol (no middle name) was born on December 29, 1976 in West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey. Derek Jeter lived in the same town for the 1st 4 years of his life, and Olympic Gold Medal skier Donna Weinbrecht also grew up there. Pawol played softball and soccer at West Milford High School, continued playing softball at Hofstra University on Long Island, and began umpiring high school softball games.

She went to a professional umpiring school in 2016, and began umpiring in the Gulf Coast League in 2017. By 2023, she had reached Class AAA. Two years later, she "got the call." During that first doubleheader on August 9, there were no complaints about any calls she made.

The next day might have been more important, because umpiring behind the plate is more important than doing so at any base. In what turned out to be another 7-1 Braves win over the Marlins, she correctly called 99 out of 104 balls, and 41 of 47 strikes.

That translates to her called ball accuracy being 95 percent, compared to the major league average of 97 percent; and her called strike accuracy was 87 percent, compared to the major league average of 88 percent. In other words, in her 1st major league game, as a rookie home plate umpire, she was only slightly less than the average.

Online, plenty of toxically masculine "traditionalists" complained about her even being in the major leagues. However, neither Braves manager Brian Snitker nor Marlins manager Clayton McCullough argued with her, not even once. Over the rest of the season, not one man in uniform argued with her at any time.

*

August 9, 2025 was a Saturday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Yankee Stadium II. Trent Grisham hit a home run in the 8th inning to win the game for David Bednar, in relief of Luis Gil. José Altuve went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-4 at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The Mets got home runs from Pete Alonso, Starling Marte and Juan Soto. For Alonso, it was his 252nd career home run, tying him with Darryl Strawberry for the Mets' all-time leadership.

* The Sacramento Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Mike Trout went 1-for-5.

* The Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Rate Field in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-0 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Noah Cameron pitched 5 2/3rds innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and 4 relievers completed the 8-hit shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Globe Life Field in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-5 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 at Petco Park in San Diego. This game went to extra innings, the "ghost runner" rule came into play, and Xander Bogaerts was ghost runner for the Red Sox in the bottom of the 10th inning. Ryan O'Hearn was intentionally walked to set up the double play. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Ramón Laureano singled Bogaerts home.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.

* The Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-2 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-4 at T-Mobile Park. Julio Rodríguez hit 2 home runs, and Cal Raleigh hit his 44th homer of the season.

June 1, 2012: The Johan Santana "No-Hitter"

June 1, 2012: The New York Mets host the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, Queens, New York City. The starting pitchers are 2 of the best in baseball at the time: Johan Santana for the Mets, and Adam Wainwright for the Cards.

Santana walked 2 batters with 1 out in the top of the 2nd inning, but worked out of the jam. He issued a leadoff walk to Matt Holliday in the top of the 4th, but stranded him. The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th. Santana walked Matt Adams to lead off the top of the 5th, but stranded him.

Former Met Carlos Beltrán led off the top of the 6th. He hit a drive down the left-field line, just fair -- but 3rd base umpire Adrian Johnson incorrectly ruled it a foul ball. As a result, Santana had another chance, and got him to ground to 3rd. He finished that inning having not allowed a hit -- at least, not officially.

The Mets put the game away in the bottom of the 6th: Kirk Nieuwenhuis led off with a single, David Wright drew a walk, and Lucas Duda hit a home run. They added 3 more runs in the 7th, to lead, 8-0.

Part of Mets' lore is that, in their entire history, now an even 50 years, they had never had a pitcher throw a no-hitter for them, despite several close calls. Tom Seaver, alone, had taken a no-hitter into the 9th inning and was unable to finish it on 3 separate occasions: In 1969 (a perfect game with 2 outs to go), 1972 (2 outs to go) and 1975 (1 out to go).

Even worse was a list of pitchers who left the Mets, and then pitched a no-hitter: Nolan Ryan 7 times between 1973 and 1991, Seaver himself in 1978, Mike Scott in 1986, Hideo Nomo in 2001 (having also done so before he was a Met, in 1996), Philip Humber a few weeks before Santana (a perfect game); and, perhaps most gallingly to Met fans, Dwight Gooden in 1996 and David Cone in 1999, the latter a perfect game, both for the Yankees.

Had instant replay been available in 2012, the Cardinals would have appealed Beltrán's line drive, and there would have been very little drama for Santana going into the 9th inning. Given his injury history -- the 2-time Cy Young Award winner with the Minnesota Twins had already missed the entire previous season, and notable chunks of the 2 before that -- he probably wouldn't even have been left in, with relievers trying to finish the shutout.

In the 9th inning, he got Holliday to fly to center, and Allen Craig to fly to left. David Freese, whose home runs had been key to the Cardinals winning the previous year's World Series, took Santana to a full count, before he struck out swinging.

The Mets had won, and they had their "no-hitter," officially the 1st in New York Mets history. Their fans celebrated as if they had just won the Pennant.

It was the 136th win in Santana' career. He would win only 3 more, later that season, reaggravated an injury, and never pitched another regular-season professional game.

Indeed, prior to his 33rd birthday, he was 133-69 for his career. After it, he was 6-9. When acquired in 2008, Met fans thought he was going to make the difference. The only difference he made was in their no-hitter history -- and even that carries a massive asterisk.

On April 29, 2022, 60 years after the franchise debuted, the Mets finally got a legitimate no-hitter, although it took 5 pitchers to do it.

*

June 1, 2012 was a Friday. Football was out of season. In the NBA, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals was played. The Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat, 101-91 at the TD Garden in Boston, to close to within 2 games to 1. But the Heat would win the series in 7 games, and then beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.

In the NHL, the Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 1 and 2, and the Los Angeles Kings would go on to beat the New Jersey Devils in 6 games.

And these other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit. CC Sabathia was the winning pitcher, defeating Casey Crosby, who was making the 1st of what turned out to be only 3 major league appearances.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 637th career home run. Curtis Granderson went 2-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs against his former team. Derek Jeter went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Quintin Berry and Delmon Young each had 3 hits for the Tigers.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins, 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Kyle Kendrick outpitched Mark Buehrle. Hunter Pence went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Héctor Luna went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Carlos Ruiz went 3-for-4. Jimmy Rollins went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. David Ortiz hit his 391st * career home run.

* The Tampa Bay Rahs beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. David Price pitched 7 1/3rd innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and 3 relievers completed the 7-hit shutout.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-4 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Felipe Paulino pitched 3 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and 3 relievers completed the 3-hit shutout.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 4-1 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 13- 3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-1 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 4-2 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

* And the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals were rained out at Nationals Park in Washington. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 21. The Braves won the opener, 4-0. Ben Sheets pitched 6 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Kris Medlen and Chad Durbin finished the 6-hit shutout. The Nats won the nightcap, 5-2.

April 17, 1889: Four Balls for a Walk

April 17, 1889: A new season begins in what would later become known as Major League Baseball. Each of the 2 leagues then in operation, the National League and the American Association, institutes a rule lowering the number of called balls required for a base on balls, or a "walk," to 4.

The Russian-born comedian Yakov Smirnoff worked his learning about baseball into his routine: "You have four balls, and you walk? If you have four balls, you walk proud!"

No, a walk wasn't always four balls. The original "Knickerbocker Rules" of 1845 did not specify a base on balls at all. They did, however state that if a batter missed three pitches, and the last one was caught, the batter was out. If the last pitch wasn't caught, the ball was in play, and the batter had to run. In 1858, the strike zone was invented and the called strike was added, and the strikeout rule has remained relatively unchanged since.

In 1887, the number of strikes for an out was changed to four, with the intent of increasing offense. But, like some other changes in baseball history, it changed things a little too much, and it was changed back to three the following season.

The National Association of Base Ball Players created the called ball in 1863, originally as a sort of unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty: "Should the pitcher repeatedly fail to deliver to the striker fair balls, for the apparent purpose of delaying the game, or for any other cause, the umpire, after warning him, shall call one ball, and if the pitcher persists in such action, two and three balls; when three balls shall have been called, the striker shall be entitled to the first base; and should any base be occupied at that time, each player occupying them shall be entitled to one base without being put out." Note that this rule in effect gave the pitcher 9 balls, since each penalty ball could only be called on a third offense.

In 1869, the rule was modified so that only those baserunners forced to advance by the batter going to first base could advance. In other words, if there were a runner on second base, but not one on first base, the batter would take first, but the runner on second had to stay put. This rule has remained in effect ever since.

From 1871 through 1886, the batter was entitled to call "high" or "low," i.e. above or below the waist; and a pitch which failed to conform was "unfair." Certain pitches were defined as automatic balls in 1872: Any ball delivered over the batter's head, that hit the ground in front of home plate, was delivered to the opposite side from the batter, or came within one foot of him.

In 1880, the National League changed the rules so that eight "unfair balls" instead of nine were required for a walk. In 1884, the NL lowered the number of balls required for a walk to six. The American Association followed suit in 1886, but the NL bumped it back up to seven.

In 1887, the NL and the AA agreed to abide by some uniform rule changes, including, for the first time, a strike zone which defined balls and strikes by rule rather than the umpire's discretion, and decreased the number of balls required for a walk to five. In 1889, both leagues agreed to four balls for a walk. Therefore:

1845-62: Not applicable

1863-79: 9

1880-83: 8

1884-85: 6 in the NL, 8 in the AA

1886: 7 in the NL, 6 in the AA

1887-88: 5

1889-present: 4

In 2017, Major League Baseball approved a rule change allowing for a batter to be walked intentionally by having the defending bench signal to the umpire. The move was met with some controversy.

*

April 17, 1889 was a Wednesday. Only 2 games were played, both in the AA. The St. Louis Browns, the team that would become the Cardinals, beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1 at American Park in Cincinnati. And the Kansas City Cowboys beat the Louisville Colonels, 7-4 at Eclipse Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The NL began its season on April 24.

April 1, 1996: An Umpire Dies On the Field

April 1, 1996: Umpire John McSherry dies of a heart attack while officiating at the Opening Day game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Montreal Expos, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. He was 51 years old, and listed at 325 pounds. The game was called and postponed.

McSherry had just begun his 26th season as a National League umpire (the 2 Leagues have had a combined umpiring crew since 2000), and was one of the most respected "men in blue." He officiated in 12 postseasons, including the 1977 and 1987 World Series, plus 3 All-Star Games.

Opening Day is a big deal in Cincinnati, perhaps more so that in any other Major League Baseball city. Because it was home to the 1st openly professional baseball team, the 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings -- the current Reds team dates to 1882 -- it was traditional for them to start the day before the rest of the National League teams, and have a parade before the game.

Reds owner Marge Schott was a Cincinnati native, and loved the Opening Day tradition. She expressed concern that the children in the stands saw a man die, which was a reasonable concern. But she made it sound like the tradition was more important than a man's life, saying, "Snow this morning, and now this. I don't believe it. I feel cheated. This isn't supposed to happen to us, not in Cincinnati. This is our history, our tradition, our team. Nobody feels worse than me."

Eventually, the controversies, including several incidents of bigotry, piled up, and the other MLB team owners forced her to sell the team in 1999. She died in 2004.

The game was restarted the next day, with the statistics already tallied thrown out. The Reds won, 4-1.

McSherry was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York – the same cemetery as Babe Ruth.

*

April 1, 1996 was a Monday. These other MLB games were played that day:

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Shea Stadium. Todd Hundley and Bernard Gilkey hit home runs for the Mets; John Mabry and Willie McGee for the Cards.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-8 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins, 4-0 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. It took the Pirates 3 pitchers, starting with 6 2/3rds innings from Paul Wagner, to pitch a 3-hit shutout against a weak Marlin team.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mark Grace singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. For the Padres, Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4 with a walk, and Rickey Henderson went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-6 at... Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The extra stands that the Raiders demanded at the Oakland Coliseum, known as "Mount Davis" for their owner, Al Davis, weren't quite finished, so the A's had to play their 1st 6 "home games" of the season on the road, at the 9,000-seat Cashman Field, home to a Class AAA team.

* The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians were snowed out at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The game was made up the next day, and the Yankees won, 7-1. Making his debut as the Yankees' regular shortstop, Derek Jeter hit his 1st major league home run, and made a fancy defensive play. Bernie Williams also hit a home run, and David Cone was the winning pitcher.

* The Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals were rained out at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The game was made up the next day, and the Orioles won, 4-2. Cal Ripken went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

* The Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies opened the season against each other at Coors Field in Denver the next day, as scheduled, and the Rockies won, 5-3.

* The California Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers opened the season against each other at Milwaukee County Stadium the next day, as scheduled, and the Brewers won, 15-9.

* One game was played the night before, as ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball season-opener. The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4, but did draw 2 walks. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-6, his single driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning. Randy Johnson struck out 14 batters in 7 innings, but was not involved in the decision.

Football was out of season. No games were scheduled in the NBA, but the Final of the NCAA Tournament was held, at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at what was then known as the Continental Airlines Arena. Kentucky beat Syracuse, 76-67.

This is the only time the NCAA Final Four has ever been held in New Jersey, and the only time it's been held in the New York Tri-State Area since 1950. And it's the last time the Final Four has been held in a venue with fewer than 40,000 seats. I have a separate entry for this event.

There were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Hartford Whalers, 3-2 at the Miami Arena.

* The Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators played to a tie, 1-1 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario. (The town was absorbed into Ottawa proper in 2001.)

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.