July 18, 1921: The Home Run King

1921 was the only season that the Yankees

wore white caps while Babe Ruth was with them.

July 18, 1921: The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-1 at Navin Field in Detroit. That ballpark would be renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938, and Tiger Stadium in 1961.

Most of the game is not especially noteworthy. Carl Mays went the distance for the win, outpitching Howard Ehmke. Ty Cobb, then in his 1st season as manager of the Tigers, only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not get a hit. Wally Pipp hit a home run off Ehmke in the 3rd inning. In the 8th, Babe Ruth hit a home run off Bert Cole.

It was Ruth's 36th home run of the season, making it more likely that he would break the single-season record of 54 that he set the year before. And he would, raising the record to 59, and again to 60 in 1927.

It was the 139th home run of Ruth's career. This made him the sport's all-time leader.

One hundred and thirty-nine. How quaint it now sounds. But until this point, home runs were rare. You've heard the expression "change the game"? Babe Ruth changed the game of baseball as much as any man after its pioneer era did.

Meet the previous record-holder, with 138. This is Roger Connor -- no middle name. He was born on July 1, 1857 in Waterbury, Connecticut, 30 miles southwest of Hartford, 130 miles southwest of Boston, and 90 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. Mostly a 1st baseman, he appeared in the major leagues from 1880 to 1897, including from 1883 to 1894 with the New York Giants.

Oddly, given his record status, he never led a League in home runs, topping out at 17 in 1887. But in 1885, he led the National League in batting average (.371), hits, total bases and slugging percentage. He led the NL in slugging percentage and doubles once each and triples twice. He topped 100 RBIs in a season 3 times, including a League-leading 130 in 1889. He helped the Giants win Pennants in 1888 and 1889.

His lifetime stats include a .316 batting average; 2,467 hits including 441 doubles, 233 triples, and the aforementioned 138 home runs; and a 153 OPS+. I don't have any way of saying he rose above the poor fielding equipment of his era, but he was a good baserunner, stealing 244 bases, topping off at 43 in 1887. So he wasn't a one-dimensional player.

Connor lived until January 4, 1931, age 73, having lived his entire off-season life in Waterbury. He would have been aware of Ruth's accomplishments to that point, but I can find no evidence that they ever met. In contrast, when Lou Gehrig hit home runs in 4 consecutive at-bats in a game in 1932, he was introduced to Bobby Lowe, the only man to do it previously, with the Boston Beaneaters (forerunners of the Braves) in 1894. (Lowe lived until 1951. In between him and Gehrig, Ed Delahanty had hit 4 home runs in a game, but not in succession, for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1896.)

Lou Gehrig (left), age 29; and Bobby Lowe, age 67

It took until 1976 for Connor to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, by which point Ruth's record, eventually extended to 714, had been broken by Hank Aaron.

As for the pitcher who gave up the record-breaking round-tripper? Bert Cole was then 25, from San Francisco, and in his 1st season in the major leagues. He remained there until 1927, with a career record of 28-32, and returned to the Pacific Coast League. In his last season of professional baseball, 1935, with the San Francisco Seals, he was a teammate of Joe DiMaggio. He died in 1975.

Cole isn't remembered today. Despite being in the Hall of Fame, neither is Connor, really. Ruth, of course, is. So is Roger Maris, who raised the single-season home run record to 61 in 1961; Mark McGwire, who did so dubiously to 70 in 1998; Aaron, who raised the career record to 755; and Barry Bonds, who dubiously raised the single-season record to 73 in 2001 and the career record to 762.

As Art LaFleur said, playing the Babe's ghost in the film The Sandlot, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."

*

July 18, 1921 was a Monday. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 12-1 at the Polo Grounds. Art Nehf went the distance for the win, supported by a home run by Johnny Rawlings. Casey Stengel went 0-for-1 as a defensive replacement.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) lost to the Chicago Cubs, 8-1 at Ebbets Field. Zack Wheat went 1-for-4.

* The Boston Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 14-8 at Braves Field in Boston. Rogers Hornsby hit a home run for the Cards.

* The Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Both games ended 9-5.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 3-2 at League Park in Cleveland. Tris Speaker went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 and 4-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Sad Sam Jones walked Hervey McClellan with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, to decide the 1st game. Over the 2 games, Eddie Collins went 2-for-8 with a walk.

* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. George Sisler went 0-for-4.

May 14, 1996: Dwight Gooden's No-Hitter

May 14, 1996: For the 2nd time in 72 hours, following Al Leiter pitching the 1st no-hitter in Florida Marlins history, a former Met finishes off a no-hitter. This one really hurts Met fans, because it's something they never could have imagined 10 years ago when they were heading toward an "inevitable" World Championship, or even 2 months ago: Dwight Gooden pitching a no-hitter… for the Yankees.

Pitching for the Mets, at the ages of 19 and 20, Gooden was one of the best pitchers anyone had ever seen. At 21, he was less than that, but still very good, and a World Series winner. At 22 and 23, he was still one of the best pitchers in baseball, but had already become addicted to alcohol and cocaine and gone through rehab once.

At 24, he missed half the season due to injury. At 25, he was really good again. But the injuries and the substance abuse piled up. At 26, 27 and 28, when he should have been at his peak, he was just another pitcher. At 29, he was busted for drugs again. At 30, he sat out the entire year with a suspension.

At 31, he was signed by the Yankees, as team owner George Steinbrenner was a sucker for 2 things: A redemption story, and anything that made the Mets look bad. Gooden came into the game of May 14, against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium, with a record of 1-3 and an ERA of 5.67. It was becoming clear that the only reason he was in the rotation was that his former Mets teammate, David Cone, who was supposed to be the Yankees' ace, would be out with an injury until September.

On this night, he would be facing a team that had beaten the Yankees in the previous season's Playoffs, the Seattle Mariners. Their lineup no longer had Tino Martinez, whom the Yankees had obtained in an off-season trade, but it had Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, and a not-quite-21-year-old Alex Rodriguez. And if that wasn't enough, Gooden was pitching knowing that his father was scheduled for heart surgery the next morning.

And the Yankees had trouble backing him up. It took them until the top of the 6th inning to score. Wade Boggs led off with a single, Joe Girardi singled (and was probably wondering why Mariner starter Sterling Hitchcock, part of the Tino trade, was still pitching despite a shutout to this point), Paul O'Neill advanced the runners with a groundout, Rubén Sierra was walked intentionally, Tino got Boggs home with a sacrifice fly, and Jim Leyritz singled home Girardi. At this point, Yankee Legend turned Mariner manager Lou Piniella was so flustered, he brought Michael Jackson in to pitch. (Not that one.)

Gooden began the game with a walk, and walked another batter in the 1st inning. Good fielding helped him get out of it. He walked a batter in the 2nd, and another in the 3rd. Tino made an error in the 6th. But the man once known as "Doctor K" for his many strikeouts, and now, usually, as just plain "Doc," kept getting out of it, without allowing a run, or even a hit.

Gooden took the mound for the top of the 9th, with only a 2-0 lead, and a famous "short porch" behind him in right field. He still had to worry about winning the game first, and making history second. He walked A-Rod. He got Griffey to ground out to Tino, unassisted, which advanced Griffey to 2nd. He walked Edgar. Now, the tying runs were on base. With Buhner up, he threw a wild pitch. Now, the tying runs were in scoring position.

Gooden struck Buhner out. It was only his 5th strikeout, to 6 walks -- but no hits. The game fell into the hands of Paul Sorrento. He popped up to short, and the Yankees' rookie shortstop, Derek Jeter, caught it for the last out.

Ballgame over: Yankees 2, Mariners 0. Dwight Gooden had pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees.

This was the 1st indication that this season, the 1st of the post-Don Mattingly era, might be something special.

I had the chance to go to this game. I had the time, the money, and the day off. I decided against it, because I didn’t want to mess with rush hour traffic (road and subway) in New York. I chose instead to see the game the following Saturday afternoon. The Yankees lost that game to the Milwaukee Brewers, and a broken water main in Times Square meant it took me ages to get back to Port Authority. That'll teach me.

Gooden finished the season 11-7, with a 5.01 ERA. Manager Joe Torre left him off the postseason roster, due to exhaustion.

Dan Gooden, Dwight's father, survived the surgery, performed in their hometown of Tampa, but never fully recovered, and died the following January 12, at the age of 69.

After pitching for Cleveland, Houston and Tampa Bay, Gooden returned to the Yankees in 2000, appearing in 1 game each of the AL Division Series and Championship Series. He did not appear in the World Series -- against the Mets -- but the Yankees won it. Gooden then retired, just short of his 36th birthday.

His career record was 194-112. His ERA was 3.51. He struck out 2,293 batters. It wasn't just the substance abuse that shortened his career: It was multiple injuries, too, injuries that had nothing to do with amber liquid or white powder. He might have stayed totally clean, and still not made the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Mets elected him to their team Hall of Fame. But he won 2 World Series with the Yankees, 1 with the Mets. He has appeared at both teams' Old-Timers Day celebrations.

UPDATE: In 2024, the Mets retired Gooden's Number 16.

*

May 14, 1996 was a Tuesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 9-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Andy Ashby outpitched Paul Wilson, who had an RBI single in his own cause. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and a stolen base. Jeff Kent hit a home run for the Mets.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. José Canseco was with the Red Sox that season, and he singled John Valentin home to win the game in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Curt Schilling pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Russ Springer finished a 6-hit shutout. Pete Incaviglia hit a home run. Barry Bonds went 0-for-1 with 2 walks before leaving the game due to an injury.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. John Smoltz outpitched Paul Wagner. Javy López went 4-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Florida Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-5 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-0 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Ken Hill pitched a 4-hit shutout. Mickey Tettleton hit 2 home runs.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then known as the Network Associates Coliseum). Cal Ripken went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* And the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers were rained out at Milwaukee County Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 16. The Brewers swept, 9-7 and 3-2.

Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks 94-81 at the United Center in Chicago. Michael Jordan scored 35 points. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 98-87 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

And there were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Florida Panthers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Miami Arena. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-2 at the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.