Six Bruises and a Record

Six Bruises and a Record (1897)

John Grimes pitched three games in the major leagues, and the middle one made him immortal. On July 31, against Louisville, he hit six batters in nine innings. Nobody has matched it in the 129 years since. He got one more turn two days later, finished 0-2 for a club that lost 102 games, and never pitched in the majors again. He lived to be 94, which is a long time to be remembered for one afternoon.

The Biggest House in Baseball (1932)

Cleveland opened Municipal Stadium before more than 80,000, the largest crowd in major league history to that point, with Commissioner Landis, Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, and Tris Speaker on hand to bless it. Then Lefty Grove and the A's shut them out, 1-0, on a Mickey Cochrane single in the eighth. The day before, they had drawn about 6,000 at League Park. The new barn was too big. Home runs died in the gaps, the Depression ate the crowds, and by 1934 they were back in the small park.

Bobby Bragan Orders a Round (1957)

Pirates manager Bobby Bragan had feuded with this umpiring crew all summer. In the fifth at County Stadium his appeal got denied, so he looked at umpire Stan Landes and held his nose. Landes ran him. A few minutes later he strolled back out with an orange drink and a straw and offered each of the four umpires a sip. He told the AP it was his major league debut as a clown. Three days later Pittsburgh fired him and gave the job to a coach on his own staff, Danny Murtaugh, who won two World Series there.

Two Home Runs That Never Left (1972)

Dick Allen was having the best season of his life. At Metropolitan Stadium he hit two inside-the-park home runs off 21-year-old Bert Blyleven and drove in five in an 8-1 win. Chuck Tanner said afterward that Allen was the best player in baseball. He was not wrong. Allen took the MVP that fall with 37 homers and 113 RBIs. It has happened once since, in 1986. The winning pitcher was Bert Blyleven.