This Month in Major League Baseball History: June
Continuing our monthly series, this time we're looking at the month of June. Let's reflect on the top moments in MLB history on each day.
Welcome to summer. The baseball season has reached a point where you can start to tell what your team might actually be made of, and if the playoffs are possible. June is the month we start to see a few trades as well, some of which were historic enough to make this list.
June 1
1975: Nolan Ryan earns his 100th career win by throwing his 4th no-hitter, a 1-0 victory over the Orioles.
June 2
1941: Lou Gehrig dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the age of 37.
1942: Ted Williams enlists as a naval aviator and will leave following the season to join the military.
1990: Randy Johnson throws the first no-hitter in Seattle Mariners history. Johnson struck out eight, but also walked six.
June 3
2003: Derek Jeter is named the 15th captain of the New York Yankees.
2004: Julio Franco, at 45 years old, becomes the oldest player in major league history to hit a grand slam.
2017: Albert Pujols hits his 600th home run of his career, a grand slam off Ervin Santana. Pujols would finish his career with 703 home runs.
June 4
1974: The Cleveland Indians forfeit to the Texas Rangers after fans get out of control and run on the field. These events were a result of Cleveland running a “10 cent beer night” promotion. Fans could buy up to six beers at a time.
1986: Pirates rookie Barry Bonds hits his first career home run. Bonds, with much controversy, would slug 762 home runs across 22 seasons racking up 162.8 bWAR.
2016: The Padres trade James Shields to the White Sox. In return, the Padres receive pitcher Erik Johnson and a 17-year-old named….Fernando Tatis Jr.
June 6
1892: Benjamin Harrison becomes the first U.S. President to attend a major league game. The Reds beat the Washington Senators in 11 innings.
1941: The introduction of batting helmets. The New York Giants become the first team to wear plastic protective head gear.
June 8
1977: Nolan Ryan strike out 19 batters. This would be the fourth time in his career he would do so.
2005: Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest member of the 400 home run club at age 29. A-Rod would finish his career with 696 home runs, retiring in 2016.
2010: Top prospect Stephen Strasburg makes his highly anticipated debut. Seven innings, four hits, two runs, and 14 strikeouts. One of the most historic debuts in league history.
June 10
1944: Joe Nuxhall, 15 years, 10 months, eleven days, becomes the youngest player in major league history.
1972: Hank Aaron hits his 649th home run, moving him ahead of Willie Mays for second all-time. It was also his 14th grand slam, tying a National League record.
June 11
1938: Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer pitches his first of two consecutive no-hitters.
1990: Nolan Ryan pitches his sixth no-hitter extending his major league record.
June 14
1966: The Miami Marlins and St. Petersburg Cardinals play the longest game in organized baseball history to that point, a 29-inning, six-hour and fifty-nine minute victory for the Marlins.
1979: Willie McCovey of the Giants hits his 513th home run establishing himself as the NL all-time home runs leader for left-handed batters.
June 15
1925: Lou Gehrig pinch hits for Pee Wee Wanninger, starting his streak of 2,130 consecutive games. Poor Wally Pipp lost his job overnight.
1962: An event you’d tell your kids about. Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente both hit grand slams in a 9-8 Pirates victory.
1964: St. Louis Cardinals acquire Lou Brock from the Cubs for Ernie Broglio. Brock spent 16 seasons with the Cardinals rounding out his Hall of Fame career.
1992: Red Sox Jeff Reardon breaks Rollie Fingers care save record earning his 341 save in a 1-0 win.
June 17
1960: Ted Williams hits his 500th home run, the fourth player to do so – Babe Ruth, Jimmie Fox, Mel Ott.
2009: Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez catches his 2,227th game breaking Carlton Fisk’s record. Pudge finished his Hall of Fame career with 14 All-Star games, seven Silver Sluggers, 13 Gold Gloves, and a World Series.
June 19
2015: Alex Rodriguez hits a first inning home run off Justin Verlander for his 3,000 career hit.
2023: Marlins Luis Arraez has his third five-hit game of the month, pushing his average to over .400 after 67 games.
June 20
1988: Oakland slugger Mark McGwire hits a triple. Nothing special, however, McGwire would not hit another triple until 1999, which would be his last.
2007: Sammy Sosa hits his 600th career home run.
June 21
2002: Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo extends his hit streak to 35 games tied for the 10th longest in history.
2021: Mets starter Jacob deGrom extends his scoreless streak to 30 innings and lowers his ERA to 0.50.
June 23
1915: Ty Cobb steals home for the fifth, yes fifth, time in the month.
1950: In a game between the Tigers and Yankees, 11 home runs are hit setting a new record. The game-winning home run happened to be an inside the park homer.
June 25
1996: A’s Mark McGwire hits his 300th career home run.
2010: Edwin Jackson of the Diamondbacks throws a no-hitter on 149 pitches. Jackson played for 14 teams in his career never spending more than three years at a single stop.
June 27
1930: Jack Quinn, nine days shy of his 47th birthday, homers to become the oldest player to hit a home run. This record would not be broken until Julio Franco over 75 years later.
1993: Sadly, Anthony Young sets a new record losing his 24th straight decision as the Mets fall to the Cardinals.
June 29
1984: Pete Rose plays in his 3,309th game passing Carl Yastrzemski for most all time.
1986: Sparky Anderson becomes the first manager to win 600 games in each league.
June 30
1901: Cleveland’s Pete Dowling throws the first no-hitter in American League history.
Written by