As many of you know out there, I live right outside of Baltimore, meaning that I read the Baltimore Sun every morning. One of the really cool columns in the baseball section is the “Today In History” column, which highlights exciting events in Baseball history that happened on this day. (I am sure other papers run similar columns).
There were several events today that I wanted to highlight (If you have a copy of today's Baltimore Sun, they can be found on page 6Z):
“1946// The Washington Senators beat New York, 2-1, in the first night game at Yankee Stadium. The first ball was thrown out by General Electric president Charles E. Wilson.”
“1956// Dale Long of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a home run In his eighth consecutive game, a major league record. Long connected off Brooklyn's Carl Erskine at Forbes Field.”
“1968// The American League announced it would split into two divisions. The East division will consist of the Orioles, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, New York and Washington. California, Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota, Oakland, and Seattle would make up the West.
“2006// Barry Bonds hit his 715th, home run during the San Francisco Giants' 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies to slip past Babe Ruth and pull in behind Hank Aaron and his long-standing record of 755.”
I have a good feeling that the YES network will talk about the first night game tonight as night games started a new era in the history of baseball. It's also hard to believe its has been only 2 years since Bonds hit 715, doesn't feel much longer than that? I encourage all of you out there, if you have this column, to look at it in the morning. Baseball history never disappoints.
There is no doubt that baseball is an American past time, but where would it be without the Louisville Slugger? Check out this special on the “original American baseball bat.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/16586545?__source=bg|pst|bnjuneprem|053008|&par=bg