This day in baseball: Molitor’s milestones
Posted: August 8, 2013 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: 3 000 hit club, Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Eddie Collins, history, Honus Wagner, Lou Brock, Major League Baseball, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Paul Molitor, sports, Ty Cobb 4 CommentsIn a 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on 8 August 1998, Twins DH Paul Molitor goes 5-for-5 with a stolen base. With this performance, he becomes just the fifth player in Major League history to collect 3,000 hits and 500 steals in his career. The other four players? Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, and Lou Brock. Pretty good company!
Photo source: ESPN.com
This day in baseball: Pittsburgh’s no. 21
Posted: April 6, 2013 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: 3 000 hit club, Baseball, history, Lou Gehrig, Major League Baseball, MLB, Opening Day, Pittsburgh Pirates, Roberto Clemente, sports 5 Comments
On 6 April 1973, Opening Day at Three Rivers Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates posthumously retired Roberto Clemente’s jersey number 21. Clemente died in a plane crash on 31 December 1972, on his way to Managua, Nicaragua to bring aid and supplies to earthquake survivors. As the first Latin American to be elected into the Hall of Fame, Clemente was also only the second player in history for which the five-year waiting period had been waived, following Lou Gehrig.
During his career, Clemente won four batting titles and won twelve consecutive Gold Glove awards. He was a twelve-time All Star and helped the Pirates win two World Series. On 30 September 1972, Clemente also accumulated his 3,000th hit, becoming the eleventh player in history to do so:
