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- ⚾ Eddie Mathews & Hank Aaron hit 500th homerun
⚾ Eddie Mathews & Hank Aaron hit 500th homerun
Former teammates exactly a year apart topple the 500 hr mark
July 14, 1967 - Eddie Mathews of the Astros hit his 500th home run off San Francisco's Juan Marichal at Candlestick Park. Houston beat the Giants 8-6. Matthews would become only the 7th member of the 500 Club
Listen:
and exactly a year later . . .
Hank Aaron collected his 500th home run off Mike McCormick on July 14th 1968 as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. As Curt Simmons would say "Trying to throw a fastball past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster".
Aaron and Mathews were teammates in Atlanta and Milwaukee and set the record for most combined homeruns as teammates in MLB History with 863. Also when Aaron passed Babe Ruth in 1974, his manager at the time was Eddie Mathews.
Here is a quick list:
Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, Braves
Best combined home-run season: 1959. Total of 85; 46 for Mathews, 39 for Aaron
Years together: 1954-66
Combined home runs as teammates: 863
Worth noting: They’re the only duo on at the top of this list not to combine for at least 90 in one season. Power longevity is just amazing, starting when the franchise was in Milwaukee and continuing through the first year in Atlanta, which was Mathews’ final with the club. They hit the 30-homer mark 18 times and the 40-homer mark eight times
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Yankees
Best combined home-run season: 1927. Total of 107: 60 for Ruth, 47 for Gehrig
Years together: 1923-34
Combined home runs as teammates: 859
Worth noting: Think about this: In the 10 full seasons they played together (Gehrig played a total of 23 games in 1923-24), they combined to produce 13 seasons of 40-plus homers and 17 seasons of at least 30 homers. For those 12 years combined, Ruth and Gehrig hit 859 home runs.
Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, Giants
Best combined home-run season: 1965. Total of 91: 52 for Mays, 39 for McCovey
Years together: 1959-72
Combined home runs as teammates: 801
Worth noting: These two were nothing short of amazing for the Giants. Mays was part of the franchise’s shift from New York to San Francisco, and McCovey was brought to the majors in the club’s second season in California. In their 13 full seasons together (Mays, remember, was traded to the Mets in May 1972), they hit at least 30 home runs 14 times. Mays led the NL in home runs in 1962, 1964 and 1965. McCovey led the NL in home runs in 1963, 1968 and 1969.
Here is a treasure from the past:
Listen to part one of the game:
Todays featured Podcast: Rose runs over Fosse (listen to the broadcast below)
Did you know?
July 14, 1956 - Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox for a 4-0 victory at Fenway Park. This would be the first no hitter for the Sox since 1923 when Howard Ehmke would blank the Philadelphia A's. (Click Mel Parnell for a great interview)
TRIVIA
Who is the only major leaguer to play for the same franchise in three different cities in the Modern Era?
Hint: #1 He and a teammate hit more home runs as teammates than any other pair of players.
Hint: #2 Not long after retiring, he later landed a job as a major league manager and managed players who had recently been his teammates.
July 14, 1916 - Ernie Koob of the St. Louis Browns went the distance in a 17-inning 0-0 tie with the Boston Red Sox. Carl Mays went the first fifteen innings for the Red Sox and Dutch Leonard finished.
On July 14, 1940 Freddie Fitzsimmons of the Brooklyn Dodgers wins his 200th career game, a 4-hitter over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Freddy will win six games each from the Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies on the way to a 16-2 won-loss mark in 1940.
July 12, 1964 Baltimore Orioles Bob Johnson gets his 6th straight hit as a pinch hitter to set an American League mark, but the New York Yankees win, 4 – 3.
July 14, 1968, Houston Astros righthander Don Wilson strikes out 18 Cincinnati Reds during a 5-4 win. Wilson whiffs Johnny Bench for his 18th strikeout to tie, what was then, the major-league record held by Bob Feller and Sandy Koufax . Wilson (6-11) also ties the major-league record with eight strikeouts in a row, striking out the side in the first three innings; a one-out walk to Alex Johnson in the 1st is the only interruption. Wilson also fans the side in the 5th. It is part of a rain-soaked 6-1 nightcap that completes a doubleheader sweep in Cincinnati. Ron Brand scored Denis Menke for a 5-4, ten-inning victory in the opener.
July 14th 1970 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds scored on Jim Hickman's 12th-inning single after bowling over Cleveland's Ray Fosse at home plate to give the National League a 5-4 victory over the American League at Riverfront Stadium. The collision is often blamed for Fosse's shortened career, but the following year Fosse was again an All Star Catcher and also won a Gold Glove. (Game link above)
July 14, 1978 Texas Rangers pitcher Fergie Jenkins allows three solo homers - one to Fred Lynn and two to Dwight Evans - in beating Boston, 4 - 3. Bert Campaneris homers off Mike Torrez (11-5).
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July 14, 1987 Tim Raines caps a 3 for 3 performance in the 1987 All-Star Game with a 2-run triple in the top of the 13th inning, giving the National League a 2 - 0 victory.
July 14, 1992 Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. homers off Chicago Cubs hurler Greg Maddux, making it the first time in history a father and a son have hit All-Star home runs. His dad hit one off the New York Yankees' Tommy John in the 1980 All-Star Game. The American League pounds out a record 19 hits in defeating the National League by a score of 13 - 6 in the 1992 All-Star Game. It's the AL's 5th straight win. Griffey Jr., who strokes a single, double, and home run, is named the game's MVP, 12 years after his dad wons the same honor.
More games: 1963 Mets vs Colt 45s, 63 Kansas City A’s vs New York Yankees, 69 Mets vs Cobs, 1985 Yankees vs Rangers
Quote of the day:
"I've only known three or four perfect swings in my time. This lad has one of them." - Ty Cobb on Eddie Mathews
Milestones
Birthdays:Notable: Danny Walton | Debuts:Notable: Al Dark |
Final Games:Highlights: J.R. Richard | Passings:Notable: Jackie Jensen |
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