Nobody Came to Get Him

Nobody Came to Get Him (1894)

Philadelphia batted around and around against Louisville's Jack Wadsworth, piling up 36 hits and 29 runs. Twenty-eight of the hits were singles. Sam Thompson alone went 6 for 7. Wadsworth never came out. Louisville had other pitchers sitting right there, and the next morning the hometown Courier-Journal said so in print, asking why anyone would let a man stand out there and take that. Somebody finally wrote down what everyone watching already knew.

Fired Seven Weeks Too Early (1964)

Gussie Busch had run out of patience, so on this day he fired general manager Bing Devine and handed the job to Bob Howsam. Devine had spent seven years assembling Bob Gibson, Curt Flood, Bill White, Tim McCarver, Ken Boyer, and in June, Lou Brock. Six weeks later that roster won the pennant on the final weekend and beat New York in seven games. The Sporting News named Devine Executive of the Year, the second straight season he took it. Busch spent the offseason firing the consultant who had talked him into it.

The Man Nobody Wanted (1974)

Rico Carty won a batting title in 1970, lost a full season to a knee injury, then bounced through three clubs in 1973 before Oakland released him. Nobody called. He went to Cordoba in the Mexican League, hit well over .350, and Cleveland bought his contract on this day. He started cold. Then he hit .363 over 33 games, stayed four seasons, and became one of the best moves the franchise made that decade.

Seven Times Two (2018)

Cole Hamels said afterward that he did not have his best stuff, and it did not matter. The Cubs turned seven double plays in nine innings to tie a major league record, joining only the 1942 Athletics and the 1969 Giants, both of whom lost. Chicago won 1 to 0 on a Kyle Schwarber homer. David Freese hit into the first double play of the night and grounded into the seventh to end it.