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This Date in Baseball – Mark McGwire Breaks Roger Maris’ 37-Year-Old HR Record, 62nd of the Season

 The Associated Press  |    Sep 8th, 2024 7:51am EDT

Sept. 8

1905 — The Pittsburgh Pirates stranded 18 runners in an 8-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds to set a National League record for men left on base.

1939 — With his 12-1 victory over the Browns in St. Louis, 20-year-old Bob Feller became the youngest modern-era player to win 20 games.

1940 — Joe Gordon of the New York Yankees hit for the cycle in a 9-4 win over the Boston Red Sox.

1940 — Johnny Mize of St. Louis hit three homers and drove in six runs in a 16-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of a doubleheader. Mize became the first player to hit three homers in one game four times in a career.

1955 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Braves 10-2 to clinch the National League pennant with a 17-game lead.

1958 — Roberto Clemente tied a major league record by hitting three triples in a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

1965 — Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City A’s played all nine positions but had to leave after a ninth-inning collision with Ed Kirkpatrick of the Angels. The Angels won 5-3 in 13 innings.

1972 — Ferguson Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3, for his 20th victory of the season. It marked the sixth straight year Jenkins had won 20 or more games.

1985 — Cincinnati’s Pete Rose inserted himself into the lineup when the Chicago Cubs named right-hander Reggie Patterson as the starting pitcher. Rose singled in the first inning and again in the fifth inning to tie Ty Cobb with 4,191 career hits. Rose was retired in his other at-bats and the game was called because of darkness after nine innings with the score tied 5-5.

1988 — National League president Bart Giamatti was unanimously elected to succeed Peter Ueberroth as the commissioner of baseball.

1992 — New York’s Danny Tartabull drove in nine runs as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 16-4. Tartabull went 5-for-5 with two homers and a double.

1993 — Darryl Kile pitched baseball’s second no-hitter in five days, leading the Houston Astros to a 7-1 win over the New York Mets. Kile struck out nine and walked one.

1996 — Todd Hundley of the New York Mets became the ninth player to hit 40 home runs this season, breaking the major league record set in 1961.

1998 — Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’ 37-year-old home run record, lining historic No. 62 just over the wall in left field with two outs in the fourth inning. McGwire’s shot off the Chicago Cubs’ Steve Trachsel set off a wild celebration in Busch Stadium.

2008 — Pinch hitting for Houston, Mark Saccomanno homered on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to help the Astros beat Pittsburgh. Saccomanno hit a solo shot in the fifth inning.

2015 — Alex Rodriguez ties Hank Aaron record of 15 seasons with 30 or more home runs.

2022 — By making their 324th start as a battery, P Adam Wainwright and C Yadier Molina of the Cardinals tie the all-time mark set by Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan of the Tigers in the 1960s and 1970s. Molina marks the occasion by going deep twice – his first long balls since May – but the Cards lose to the Nationals, 11 – 6. The pair will set the new record on the 14th.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/

Photo Credit: Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after hitting a home run against the Montreal Expos on September 27, 1998 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Mark McGwire hit record setting home runs 69 and 70 during this game. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)

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The Associated Press