Mark McGwire powers his 52nd homer in the Cards 9–3 win over Florida. It is his 590th career dinger and his 494th as a first basemen, surpassing Lou Gehrig.
Albert Belle's 30th home run of the year helps the Orioles beat Tampa Bay, 3–1. Belle has now hit 30 homers in eight straight seasons.
Atlanta gets a 3-run home run from Brian Hunter and a 2-run homer from Bret Boone to edge the Reds, 8–7. Bret's brother Aaron Boone homers for the Reds, as does Sean Casey as the Reds lose for the 8th time in nine meetings with Atlanta. Their victory two days ago ended the Braves 10-game win streak.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 1, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
3, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (att. 37,009)
IN THE NEWS: The Orioles defeat the Devil Rays, 11-6, as 3B Cal Ripken hits the 400th home run of his big league career. Ripken is the 29th player to reach the mark.
IN THE NEWS: Terry Collins resigns as Angels manager and Joe Maddon is named interim for the remainder of the season. The Angels were 51-82 under Collins in 1999, with a 220-237 record since he took over in 1997. Maddon also served as interim manager at the end of the 1996 season, with a 8-14 record.
IN THE NEWS: The Reds defeat the Phillies, 9-7. They hit five home runs in the contest, giving them a major-league record 14 over the course of two games.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 5, 1999
New York Yankees
8, Anaheim Angels 3 at Anaheim Stadium (att. 35,481)
W: Ed Yarnall L: Mike Fyhrie
Cleveland Indians
15, Baltimore Orioles 7 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (att. 44,214)
W: Jim Brower L: Sidney Ponson
Kansas City Royals
6, Toronto Blue Jays 3 at Royals Stadium (att. 15,315)
W: Jay Witasick L: Kelvim Escobar S: Chris Fussell
Detroit Tigers
5, Oakland Athletics 4 at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium (att. 20,429)
IN THE NEWS: After losing the first game of a doubleheader to the Cubs, 2-1, the Reds come back to take the nightcap by a score of 10-3. Cincinnati slugs six home runs in the contest, including three by OF Greg Vaughn.
The Diamondbacks defeat the Brewers, 11-9, in a game which sees the two teams tie a major league record by using a total of 15 pitchers. Arizona uses eight hurlers, while seven take the hill for Milwaukee.
Two native Canadian pitchers oppose each other as starters for the first time in 26 years. Florida Marlin pitcher Ryan Dempster from British Columbia faces off against Dodger Eric Gagne who hails from Quebec. The two roomed together while competing on Canada's national baseball team. The battle is a draw with neither pitcher getting the decision, but the Marlins win, 2–1.
Colorado manager Jim Leyland confirms rumors that he will retire at the end of the season.
Mike Lieberthal's streak of 100 games without an error ends when he makes two against the Astros. Houston beats the Phils, 8–6.
The Cubs and Reds split a pair with Chicago taking game 1, 2–1 and the Reds coming back, 10–3. When the Cubs Brian McNichol pitches in game 2, he is the 25th pitcher the Cubs have used this season.
IN THE NEWS: The Padres defeat the Expos, 10-3, in a game where they are nearly allowed four outs in the 7th inning. When Montreal's Reggie Sanders strikes out for the 3rd out, the umpires don't notice and the players do not leave the field. Phil Nevin comes to the plate and runs the count to 2-1 against Expos P Ted Lilly before someone in the Montreal dugout points out the problem to home plate ump Jerry Layne.
In the Cubs 5–3 loss to the Reds, Sammy Sosa hits his 59th homer. Sosa has more homers than the Cubs have wins: 56. They've lost 31 of their last 39 games.
In Baltimore's 6–5 win over the Twns, Albert Belle drives in his 100th run, the 9th season in a row he's had 100+ RBIs. On the minus side, Cal Ripken, Jr. grounds into his 324th double play to top Carl Yastrzemski for the all-time lead.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
6, Minnesota Twins 5 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (att. 9,903)
W: Alberto Reyes L: Travis Miller S: Mike Timlin
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
5, Detroit Tigers 3 at Tropicana Field (att. 15,056)
W: Rolando Arrojo L: C. J. Nitkowski S: Roberto Hernandez
Cincinnati Reds
5, Chicago Cubs 3 at Wrigley Field (att. 34,976)
W: Scott Sullivan L: Kyle Farnsworth S: Danny Graves
IN THE NEWS: The Red Sox trip the Yankees, 3-1, as Pedro Martinez hurls an impressive one-hitter for his 21st victory of the year. Martinez strikes out 17 batters, the most Yankees ever fanned in a single game. DH Chili Davis' 2nd inning home run is NY's only safety. Chuck Knoblauch leading off the game gave the Yankees their only other baserunner he was caught stealing, so Martinez faces just one over the minimum.
The Indians score 12 runs in the 4th inning -- one short of the American League record for the inning -- on their way to a 14-6 win over the White Sox.
Umpires opposed to union chief Richie Phillips announce plans to form a new union and seek certification to represent all umpires.
The Rockies call up John Cangelosi from Sky Sox, where he has played the past month. The vet needs 12 days of ML service to reach his 10-year pension.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 10, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
5, Seattle Mariners 4 (12 inn.) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (att. 43,209)
W: Alberto Reyes L: Rob Ramsay
Cleveland Indians
14, Chicago White Sox 6 at Comiskey Park II (att. 19,132)
W: Bartolo Colon L: Kip Wells
Detroit Tigers
7, Toronto Blue Jays 6 at Tiger Stadium (att. 33,736)
W: Todd Jones L: John Frascatore
Kansas City Royals
7, Texas Rangers 3 at Royals Stadium (att. 14,234)
W: Blake Stein L: Esteban Loaiza S: Jeff Montgomery
Anaheim Angels
4, Minnesota Twins 2 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (att. 11,200)
W: Chuck Finley L: Brad Radke S: Troy Percival
Boston Red Sox
3, New York Yankees 1 at Yankee Stadium (att. 55,239)
IN THE NEWS: The Twins defeat the Angels, 7-0, as Eric Milton hurls the 3rd no-hitter of the season. The young lefthander fans 13 and allows just two walks in his masterpiece. There are just 11,222 fans to see the game, the third smallest crowd to witness a no-hitter in the majors since 1986. The 11:05 a.m. start time is to accommodate a University of Minnesota football game at the Metrodome and the Twins offer free admission to anyone attending the game in their pajamas.
The Athletics defeat the Devil Rays, 5-4, as Doug Jones records the 300th save of his career.
The Astros defeat the Cubs, 5-3, as Jose Lima becomes the 1st 20-game winner in the National League.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 11, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
4, Seattle Mariners 2 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (att. 47,903)
W: Doug Johns L: Freddy Garcia S: Mike Timlin
Cleveland Indians
4, Chicago White Sox 3 at Comiskey Park II (att. 34,400)
W: Dave Burba L: Jim Parque S: Mike Jackson
Toronto Blue Jays
9, Detroit Tigers 5 at Tiger Stadium (att. 40,269)
W: Paul Spoljaric L: Francisco Cordero
Kansas City Royals
9, Texas Rangers 6 at Royals Stadium (att. 24,683)
W: Jeff Suppan L: Rick Helling S: Jeff Montgomery
Minnesota Twins
7, Anaheim Angels 0 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (att. 11,222)
W: Eric Milton L: Ramon Ortiz
Boston Red Sox
11, New York Yankees 10 at Yankee Stadium (att. 55,422)
IN THE NEWS: Before a crowd of 50,027, the Red Sox finish their 3-game series at Yankee Stadium with a 4–1 win for a sweep. It is the first 3-game sweep at Yankee Stadium for the Red Sox since 1986.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 12, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
4, Seattle Mariners 1 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (att. 44,891)
W: Scott Erickson L: John Halama
Chicago White Sox
4, Cleveland Indians 3 at Comiskey Park II (att. 20,481)
W: Mike Sirotka L: Jaret Wright S: Bob Howry
Toronto Blue Jays
5, Detroit Tigers 3 at Tiger Stadium (att. 39,349)
W: Kelvim Escobar L: Jeff Weaver S: Billy Koch
Kansas City Royals
6, Texas Rangers 3 at Royals Stadium (att. 12,590)
W: Jay Witasick L: Aaron Sele S: Alvin Morman
Anaheim Angels
6, Minnesota Twins 3 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (att. 11,301)
W: Jarrod Washburn L: Joe Mays
Boston Red Sox
4, New York Yankees 1 at Yankee Stadium (att. 56,028)
IN THE NEWS: The Expos defeat the Dodgers, 3-0, behind Javier Vazquez' 1-hitter. Vazquez allows just a leadoff single to Mark Grudzielanek in the 4th inning, and a walk to Gary Sheffield in the same frame, while fanning 10.
The Royals lose a doubleheader to the Angels, 8-6 in the opener and 6-5 in the nightcap. In the second game, KC OF Mark Quinn makes a memorable major league debut. After making out in his 1st trip to the plate, Quinn doubles in his next at bat, then hits homers in his last two times up. He becomes just the 3rd player in history to hit two home runs in his 1st big league game. Bob Nieman (1951) and Bert Campaneris (1964) are the only others to accomplish the feat.
The Yankees rally with a pair of grand slams, just the 3rd time in club history, to beat the Blue Jays, 10–6. Bernie Williams ties the game with a slam in the 8th inning, and Paul O'Neill wins it in the 9th with another slam.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 14, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
13, Oakland Athletics 6 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (att. 40,789)
W: Mike Mussina L: Mike Oquist
Detroit Tigers
7, Chicago White Sox 0 at Comiskey Park II (att. 11,475)
W: C. J. Nitkowski L: Aaron Myette
Boston Red Sox
12, Cleveland Indians 3 at Jacobs Field (att. 43,203)
IN THE NEWS: The Phillies defeat the Astros, 8-6, as OF Doug Glanville gets five hits, including a double and home run, for the victors. The loss snaps the Astros 12-game win streak, a club record.
Baseball approves the sale of the Cincinnati Reds to Carl Lindner for $67 million, ending Marge Schott's 15-year reign as owner.
Baseball owners vote to merge the administrative operations of the American and National leagues. National League President Leonard Coleman, concluding his job had become irrelevant, announces his resignation effective after the World Series. He will become a senior adviser to Commissioner Bud Selig.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
Chicago White Sox
3, Detroit Tigers 1 at Comiskey Park II (att. 11,528)
W: James Baldwin L: Brian Moehler S: Keith Foulke
Boston Red Sox
6, Cleveland Indians 4 (13 inn.) at Jacobs Field (att. 43,224)
IN THE NEWS: In a 7–1 Kansas City win over Anaheim, Carlos Beltran collects his 100th RBI. He's the first rookie since Mark McGwire, in 1987, to reach that level.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 16, 1999
New York Yankees
9, Cleveland Indians 5 at Jacobs Field (att. 43,054)
W: Hideki Irabu L: Dave Burba
Kansas City Royals
7, Anaheim Angels 1 at Royals Stadium (att. 11,602)
IN THE NEWS: The Rockies pound out 20 hits on their way to an 18-10 victory over the Dodgers. OF Dante Bichette drives home seven runs for Colorado on a pair of home runs.
The Cardinals score nine runs in the 4th inning on their way to an 11-8 win over the Astros. Mark McGwire hits home run #56 on the season, and the 513th of his career. Big Mac passes Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews on the all-time list.
In a 9–3 win over Oakland, KC's prize rookie Carlos Beltran passes the 100 RBI and 100 runs scored mark, the first rookie to do so since Fred Lynn in 1975.
An incident that will help speed the firing of Orioles GM Wren occurs as the Orioles to travel. Cal Ripken is delayed in traffic and calls the team's traveling secretary to assure him that he'd be arriving at the airport within the next 10 minutes. At Wren's order, however, the plane takes off without Cal, who arrives at the gate a few minutes later and has to make his own travel arrangements. When Wren is fired after the season, part of the announcement reads: "In the opinion of management, there was no need for such an arbitrary and inflexible decision. In the meeting, Wren defiantly dismissed our concerns, characterized them as 'silly' and insisted he would invoke the same takeoff order no matter what the extenuating circumstances. The Orioles management cannot and will not abide having a GM operate in such an unreasonable, authoritarian manner and treat anyone this way, especially someone such as Cal who has done so much for the Orioles and for baseball." The O's defeat the Twins, 8–3, as Jesse Orosco preserves Mike Mussina's 15th win. For Orosco, it is major-league record 1,072 appearance. He had been tied with Dennis Eckersley.
IN THE NEWS: The Brewers beat the Cubs, 7-4, as Sammy Sosa hits his 60th home run of the year. He becomes the 1st major leaguer to hit 60 homers in two seasons.
The Rangers defeat the Devil Rays, 6-1. Tampa Bay P Jim Morris makes his ML debut by fanning Royce Clayton in the 8th inning. At 36, he becomes the oldest rookie pitcher since Diomedes Olivo (age 40) with Pittsburgh in 1960. Morris was a high school baseball coach and science teacher just four months ago when he tried out at the urging of his team.
IN THE NEWS: The Angels defeat the Devil Rays, 10-5, in a game marked by a confrontation between umpire John Shulock and TB C Mike DiFelice in the 3rd inning. Shulock was on his way out to the mound after being hit with a pitch from Devil Rays P Wilson Alvarez when he was intercepted by DiFelice. American League president Gene Budig will suspend Shulock for three games and fine him an undisclosed amount for his "overly aggressive behavior, display of temper, inappropriate remarks and physical contact."
IN THE NEWS: The Red Sox defeat the Blue Jays, 3-0, as Pedro Martinez fans 12 for his 22nd win. He joins Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to strike out at least 300 in both leagues, and breaks Roger Clemens club mark of 291 strikeouts.
IN THE NEWS: The Phillies score 11 runs in the 8th inning, with Rico Brogna driving in 3, on their way to a 12-3 win over the Brewers. The 10 hits and 11 runs in the frame tie the Milwaukee club record.
In Toronto's 14–9 win over Boston, Carlos Delgado fouls a ball off his right leg in the 8th inning resulting in a season ending fracture of the leg. Delgado has 44 home run, 134 RBI and tied George Bell's Blue Jays record for RBI in a season.
Mariners GM Woody Woodward announces his retirement. With more than a decade as GM, he had the longest tenure in the ML.
IN THE NEWS: The Athletics beat the Orioles, 9-6, in the 1st game of a doubleheader, ending Baltimore's 13-game winning streak. The Orioles take the nightcap, 12-4, as OF Albert Belle gets four doubles in a game for the 2nd time this season.
IN THE NEWS: The Astros defeat the Brewers, 9-4. Astros OF Bill Spiers is attacked by a fan in the 6th inning of the contest. His teammates leave the bench and bullpen to aid Spiers, who suffers a welt under his left eye and a bloody nose. He remains in the game, however. His assailant is charged with two counts of assault after being taken into custody.
The Indians swamp the Blue Jays, 18-4. OF Manny Ramirez drives home eight runs, on a single and two homers, for Cleveland.
The Rangers beat the Athletics, 12-4, as Texas OF Juan Gonzalez strokes three home runs. Gonzalez adds a single and drives home five runs for the Rangers.
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 24, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
1, Boston Red Sox 0 at Fenway Park (att. 32,930)
W: Mike Mussina L: Bret Saberhagen S: Mike Timlin
Kansas City Royals
7, Detroit Tigers 3 at Tiger Stadium (att. 39,030)
W: Jose Rosado L: Dave Mlicki
Minnesota Twins
6, Chicago White Sox 2 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (att. 11,308)
W: Joe Mays L: Aaron Myette
New York Yankees
4, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3 (11 inn.) at Yankee Stadium (att. 44,932)
IN THE NEWS: The Cardinals lose to the Reds, 7-5, despite Mark McGwire's 60th home run of the season. McGwire joins Sammy Sosa as the only players in history to reach the 60 homer mark twice. Big Mac will end the season with 147 RBIs on 145 hits, the only player in ML history (with 100 hits in a season) to have more ribbies than hits. Jay Buhner, in 1995, came closest with 121 RBIs and 123 hits (.984)
SCOREBOARD: SEPTEMBER 26, 1999
Baltimore Orioles
8, Boston Red Sox 5 at Fenway Park (att. 32,115)
IN THE NEWS: With each of the Tigers wearing the uniform numbers of all-time Detroit players at their position (OF Gabe Kapler, standing in for Ty Cobb, wears no number) the Tigers defeat the Royals, 8-2, in the last game ever played at Tiger Stadium. Rob Fick's grand slam in the 8th brings the capacity crowd of 43,356 to its feet. Luis Polonia and Karim Garcia also homer as Brian Moehler beats Jeff Suppan.
In the 2nd game of doubleheader with Milwaukee, the first three batters for Pittsburgh are: Adrian Brown (CF), Emil Brown (LF), and Brant Brown (1B). It's brown 'n serve as far as the Brewers go, downing the Bucs, 5–2.
IN THE NEWS: The Red Sox clinch the wild card in the American League, beating the White Sox, 6–2. Damon Buford and Nomar Garciaparra hit 2-run homers, while Nomar ends the game with a unassisted DP.