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DAVE'S NO-NO
Q: Who pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees on the Fourth of July?
-- nDRedheadsx4@aol.com
A: The Yankee in question is Dave Righetti. On July 4, 1983, he no-hit the Boston Red Sox in front of a holiday crowd of 41,077 at Yankee Stadium. With two outs in the ninth, Righetti struck out Wade Boggs, who was hitting .357 at the time, to secure the no-no. He struck out nine and walked four in pitching the first regular season no-hitter for the Yankees since Allie Reynolds did it against the Red Sox on September 28, 1951. On a side note, third base for the Yankees that day was played by Bert Campaneris, who was appearing in his record eleventh no-hit game.
A: Cap Anson, baseball's first member of the 3,000 hit club, got his 3,000th hit on July 18, 1897 during his final playing season. Although there is a discrepancy about his career total because of five seasons he spent in the National Association, he finished the year with 81 more hits, bringing his final tally to 3,081 hits in 26 seasons. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.
A: The first home run in Diamondback history came in their very first game. On March 31, 1999, Travis Lee took Colorado Rockies starter Darryl Kile deep in the 6th inning. The home run also represented the first RBI and run scored in Arizona's brief history. Unfortunately, it didn't come in the Diamondback's first victory, as they lost the game 9-2.
Q: Who holds the record for most career grand slams?
-- Kelvin M. S. Jordan
A: The New York Yankees' Lou Gehrig holds the record for most career grand slams with 23. Gehrig also holds many other offensive records, including the American League RBI record (184), most years with 150 RBI (7), and most home runs in a game (4).