Not Guilty, and Banned Anyway

Not Guilty, and Banned Anyway (1921)

A Chicago jury took less than three hours to acquit the eight White Sox accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. Spectators hollered "Hooray for the clean Sox" while bailiffs pounded for order, then joined in. Jurors posed for photographs with the men they had just cleared and turned up that night celebrating at the same restaurant. The next day Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis answered, beginning "Regardless of the verdict of juries," and none of the eight played in the majors again.

Brooklyn Plays With a Lemon (1938)

Dodgers boss Larry MacPhail talked NL president Ford Frick into letting Brooklyn open a doubleheader with baseballs dyed dandelion yellow, red stitches and all. A color engineer named Frederic Rahr had built them for visibility after Mickey Cochrane was beaned the year before. Johnny Mize hit the only homer of the opener. Umpire George Barr shrugged that he could not see much difference. The white ball was back for the nightcap, and the Dodgers won that one too.

Bruton Empties the Bases. Twice. (1959)

Milwaukee's Bill Bruton came up with the bases loaded and tripled. Later he came up with the bases loaded and tripled again, off a different Cardinals left-hander. Only three men have done it since 1900, and Bruton is the only National Leaguer among them. He had built that swing himself as a young man, after noticing he popped up batting right-handed and lined the ball batting left.

The Pitcher Who Was Not Supposed to Hit (1991)

Up 11 to 1 on Milwaukee, Texas shuffled its defense and sent designated hitter Geno Petralli out to third base. That erases the DH, which is how reliever Mike Jeffcoat wound up batting in the ninth. He doubled home a run and came around to score. Manager Bobby Valentine said his only real worry was that Jeffcoat would hurt himself swinging. It was the first RBI by an American League pitcher since the DH arrived in 1973.