Born today in 1926: Don Newcombe. Started his career in 1944 in the Negro Leagues and debuted with the Dodgers in 1949. He was the first black pitcher to start a World Series game (1949) and the first to win 20 games in a season (1951). In 1956, Don won the first Cy Young ever awarded, the same year he won the NL MVP. He became the first pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year, MVP and the Cy Young during his career. #MLB #baseball #Dodgers #NegroLeagues

Today in 1973: Ron Cey (3B), Bill Russell (SS), Davey Lopes (2B) and Steve Garvey (1B) played their first game together as the Dodgers infield. They would set an MLB record for longevity for playing together for 8 1/2 seasons until the end of 1981. Three of them came to the Dodgers playing a different position: Garvey came as a 3rd baseman; Russell and Lopes were both outfielders. #MLB #baseball #Dodgers

A couple of smooth moves by the man in black...

Babe Ruth made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium, known as "The House That Ruth Built," on June 13, 1948. It was the 25-year reunion of the 1923 Yankees team that captured the team's first World Series title. It was also "Babe Ruth Day" when the ballclub retired his #3 jersey. During the ceremony, the crowd of 49,641 fans sang "Auld Lang Syne" to him. The Babe passed away two months later. #MLB #Yankees #YankeeStadium #baseball

Right up the on the list of worst baseball owners ever

Today in 1939: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum opened its doors, coinciding with the game's Centennial Celebration. Many historians believe baseball was started on this Cooperstown site in 1839 by Abner Doubleday. By this time, 25 players had been elected to the Hall; the 11 living members were in Cooperstown to celebrate the occasion. #MLB #baseball @baseballhall

Less than two years after losing the most games in major league history, the Chicago White Sox are now in first place in the American League Central with a 36-31 record. #MLB #baseball #WhiteSox

Today in 1979: Sparky Anderson became manager of the Detroit Tigers after the team fired first-year manager Les Moss. Sparky had previously led the Reds to four National League pennants and two world championships in nine seasons. But he'd been let go after two straight second place finishes. He led the Tigers to their last World Series title in 1984, becoming the first manager to win championships in both leagues. Sparky was the only manager to refuse to manage replacement players during the 1995 players’ strike during spring training. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000. #MLB #baseball #Reds #Tigers

Whoa....

This gets me every time I see it...

A member of Congress laying out for the very impressive catch…

Today in 1988: Rick Rhoden of the Yankees became the first pitcher to start the game as the designated hitter since the DH was adopted 15 years earlier in 1973. He batted 7th and had an RBI with a sacrifice fly. He finished his career with a .238 average. #MLB #baseball #Yankees

Talk about a heads-up play...

Today in 1990: Nolan Ryan became the only pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter in three different decades. He tossed his sixth career no-hitter as a member of the Texas Rangers against the A's. He'd throw number seven in 1991. #MLB #baseball #Rangers

Truly remarkable...

Bo Belinsky made a splash as a rookie, winning his first 4 starts for the Angels in 1962, one being a no-hitter. But in 8 seasons, he only had 1 winning record. He wasn't an All-Star on the field, but off the field was another story. He dated many Hollywood stars: Ann-Margret, Tina Louise, Juliet Prowse, and Connie Stevens. He had a much-publicized engagement with Mamie Van Doren, then broke it off. He married Jo Collins, Playboy’s Playmate of the Year in 1965. That marriage ended in divorce, and later he married and divorced Weyerhaueser paper heiress Janie Weyerhaueser. #MLB #Angels

Today in 1944: Joe Nuxhall debuted for the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the youngest player in MLB history. He was 15 years and 316 days old. The game in 1944 was during World War II when young and old players sometimes filled in for players fighting overseas. He didn't make his second start until 8 years later. #mlb #baseball #Reds

In 2016, MLB named the batting titles after two of the best hitters in baseball history: Tony Gwynn (National League) and Rod Carew (American League). Gwynn had the highest batting average in the NL 8 times. Carew won the AL batting title 7 times. #mlb #baseball @RodCarew_29

How cool is Paul Skenes...

Been posting FunBaseballFacts for exactly three years now. It is a real joy to do this. I just want to thank you for the follow and for passing some of these facts on to your friends. Very much appreciated!