1. While playing for the Boston Red Sox, Babe Ruth hit his first career home run against the New York Yankees on May 6, 1915. He was later traded to the Yankees for a mere $125,000.
2. On September 7, 1974, in a game against the White Sox, California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan became the first player to break the 100 mph barrier when one of his pitches was officially clocked at 100.8 miles per hour.
3. On May 30, 1894, Bobby Lowe, of the Boston Beaneaters, became the first Major League player to hit four home runs in a single game. The unlucky opposing pitcher was Elton Chamberlain of the Cincinnati Reds.
4. The first perfect game in American League history was thrown by Cy Young on May 5, 1904, when he led the Boston Red Sox to victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. One of the most consistent and durable pitchers the game has ever known, Cy Young won 511 games -- almost 100 more than any other pitcher in history. In 1904, he crafted one of the most amazing streaks of pitching excellence in baseball history. The right-hander pitched 24 1/3 innings without surrendering a hit, through May 11. Young had pitched two hitless innings at the end of a loss on April 25, seven innings of hitless relief on April 30, and a perfect game on May 5. Stretching his hitless streak to 24 innings against Detroit on May 11, Young finally gave up a hit to future Hall of Fame outfielder Sam Crawford in the seventh inning.
5. On March 7, 1941, the Brooklyn Dodgers rolled the Cleveland Indians 15–0. Pee Wee Reese and Joe Medwick wore a batting helmet designed by two Johns Hopkins doctors with the help of Larry MacPhail. The two Dodgers, victims of HBPs the previous year, pronounced the helmets satisfactory.
6. Ty Cobb stole home plate an amazing 54 times during his career. On four occasions, he went so far as to steal second, then third, then home plate in the same inning!
7. Before 1880, it took Nine balls to walk a batter!
8. Michael Jordan signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox in 1994 and was assigned to the team's minor league system. That summer he batted .202 with the Birmingham Barons, a class AA affiliate of the White Sox. Later in the year he batted .252 with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League.
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