» July 1, 1919:
Going 5-for-5 in a 9-4 win over the Phils, Brooklyn's Ed Konetchy gets his 10th straight hit, tying Jake Gettman's record with Washington in 1897. Both will be topped by Walt Dropo in 1952.» May 1, 1950: The Red Sox bring up slugger Walt Dropo from their Louisville farm club to replace the injured Billy Goodman at 1B.
» May 25, 1950: The Red Sox outhit the Browns, 19–15, and out score to win, 15–12. Boston scores 10 runs in the last three innings. Walt Dropo drives in six runs, four with a grand slam in the 8th. It is his 10th home run since joining the Sox on May 3.
» June 8, 1950: In the most lopsided score in history, the Boston Red Sox annihilate the St. Louis Browns at Fenway Park, 29–4. Bobby Doerr has three home runs and eight RBI; Walt Dropo, two home runs and seven RBI, and Ted Williams, two home runs and five RBI, all collecting a round tripper in the 8th inning. Pitcher Chuck Stobbs walks four times in four innings, Al Zarilla adds four doubles, including two in one inning, and a single—with no ribbies—as the Sox set a major-league record with 58 total bases. Another mark is set of most extra bases on long hits (32) in a game, and the most extra bases on long hits in consecutive games (51). The Red Sox have 28 hits, with four players collecting four hits apiece, to total a record 51 for two days against the woeful Browns. Leadoff batter Clyde Vollmer goes to the plate eight times in eight innings, the only time this has happened in history. Boston has now scored 104 runs in their last seven games and a record 49 in two straight games.
» July 1, 1950: At Boston, Tommy Byrne takes the loss for the Yankees, but reliever Whitey Ford does little to help. In his ML debut, Ford throws four 2/3 inning, allowing seven hits, six walks, and five earned runs. Boston rolls, 13–4. Rookie Walt Dropo hits a grand slam for the Bosox to dump the Yanks into 3rd place.
» July 16, 1950: ML players connect for 37 home runs today for a new record. Leading the offense today is Cincinnati with two wins over the Giants, 16–4 and 11–10. In the AL, the Red Sox and Indians hit seven home runs in their doubleheader split: Moose Dropo collects three homers.
» August 15, 1950: The Red Sox defeat the Athletics 8–3 and 9–4 to begin a streak in which they reel off 27 of 30, propelling themselves back into the pennant race. Walt Dropo is hospitalized, however, after being beaned by the A's Hank Wyse.
» October 2, 1950: Dom DiMaggio of the Red Sox is the AL leader in steals with 15, the lowest figure ever recorded and a reflection of the emphasis on heavy hitting throughout the season. The younger DiMag made his contribution there as well, batting a career-high .328, tying for the lead with 11 triples, and leading the AL with 131 runs. His brother Joe led with a .585 slugging percentage despite his August slump. For the second straight year, two Red Sox tie for the top spot in RBIs, as Vern Stephens and Walt Dropo drive in 144 apiece. Last year, Stephens tied with Williams for the lead at 159. Dropo drives in his 144 in just 136 games, the first player to top 100 with more ribbies than games played.
» November 8, 1950: The Baseball Writers Association of America announces that slugging 1B Walt Dropo of the Boston Red Sox is the Rookie of the Year in the American League.
» April 2, 1951: Boston slugger Walt Dropo, the 1950 American League Rookie of the Year, breaks his wrist.
» June 2, 1951: The Red Sox send 1950 AL Rookie of the Year Walt Dropo to San Diego (PCL) to regain his form.
» September 14, 1951: Browns rookie Bob Nieman hits two home runs in his first two ML at bats, a record unequaled. They come against Mickey McDermott of the Red Sox, but Boston still wins 9–6. Boston has homers by Dom DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Walt Dropo.
» May 4, 1952: Boston 1B Faye Throneberry hits his 2nd grand slam of the season off Early Wynn of the Indians, but the Tribe wins, 9–6. The Red Sox have accounted for all four of the American League's grand slams thus far, as the infielder joins teammates Walt Dropo and Don "Footsie" Lenhardt.
» June 3, 1952:
In a blockbuster trade between Detroit and Boston, the Red Sox send Walt Dropo, Don Lenhardt, Johnny Pesky, Fred Hatfield, and Bill Wight to the Tigers for 3B George Kell, Hoot Evers, Dizzy Trout, and Johnny Lipon.
» July 14, 1952:
Tigers slugger Walt Dropo goes 5-for-5 against New York in an 8-2 win. All five hits are singles.
» July 15, 1952:
Walt Dropo continues his streak in game one going 4-for-4 against the Senators' Walt Masterson. In game
2 he gets 3 hits in his first 3 at bats to run
his streak to 12 straight hits. He goes 4-for-5 with 5 RBI, but Washington wins both games 8-2 and
9-8.
» July 16, 1952:
Walt Dropo gets two more hits, giving him 15 in four games, which ties the AL record.
» May 18, 1953:
The Tigers and Red Sox split a pair, with Detroit winning the opener 5–2 behind Ned Garver. Walt Dropo has a single, double and triple against his old teammates. His first inning single, off the Green Monster, drives in his American League-leading 26th run. The Sox win the nitecap, 8–5 behind Mel Parnell (5-0) and Ellis Kinder.
» December 6, 1954:
The Tigers trade 1B Walt Dropo with P Ted Gray and
OF Bob Nieman to the White Sox for 1B Ferris Fain
and Jack Phillips.
» June 23, 1958:
The White Sox bring former Cubbie Turk Lown back to Chicago, buying him from the Reds. Lown will prove a valuable addition, going 9–2 for the Sox in 1959. Tomorrow, the Reds will buy White Sox 1B Walt Dropo.
» February 14, 1959: The Orioles purchase veteran 1B Whitey Lockman from the San Francisco Giants, then trade him to the Reds in June for 1B Walt Dropo.
» October 23, 1993:
Mike Piazza is the unanimous choice for National League Rookie of the Year. Selected as a favor to a friend of Tommy Lasorda's on the 62nd round of the 1988 draft, Piazza is the first rookie since Walt Dropo in 1950 to hit .300, collect 30 homers, and 100 RBIs. No NL rookie has done that since Wally Berger in 1930.
» May 13, 1994: OF Tim Salmon leads the Angels to an 11-1 win over the Mariners with five hits, including two home runs. Salmon drive home five runs while scoring four himself. The five safeties give him 13 hits in his last 15 at bats, tying the American League mark for most hits in three games set by Joe Cronin in 1933 and tied by Walt Dropo in 1952.
» June 15, 1995: Mike Benjamin goes 1-for-5 to total 15 hits in his last four games, the 1st player to do so since Detroit's Walt Dropo in 1952. Benjamin, a career .185 hitter in seven seasons before his salvo, had just 13 hits between June 10, 1994, and June 11, 1995.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
