What happened today in team history?
1968 – Longest shutout in history
In a game between the Houston Astros and New York Mets, the longest shutout in MLB history is finally broken when the Astros’ Norm Miller crosses home in the 24th inning to give the Astros the 1-0 win. The over six hour game in the Astrodome still holds the record to this day.
1991 – Baggy’s first
The crowd for a game between the Astros and Atlanta Braves is shocked when Astros’ rookie Jeff Bagwell hits his first homer of his career, helping lead to a 3-1 win for the Astros. Bagwell was never thought to be much of a power threat while in the minors, but that wouldn’t be the case once he reached the bigs, finishing with 449 career home runs.
What else happened on this day?
1915
After being named the “Naps” since 1903, Cleveland baseball makes a name change and play their first game as the new Cleveland Indians.
1928
Massachusetts passed a rule that allowed them to play baseball on Sunday night’s, something that was commonly banned around the league for a long time. The only state that still didn’t allow Sunday games at the time was Pennsylvania.
1947
A 28-year-old Jackie Robinson officially breaks the color barrier and becomes the first African-American baseball player in MLB history. Years after his retirement, in 1997, his famous “42” number would get retired around the league by every team and in 2004, the MLB started a tradition known as “Jackie Robinson Day” where every player in the league wears a number 42 jerseys in their game.
1990
ESPN’s new show, “ESPN Sunday Night Baseball”, debuts for the first time with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan behind the desk.