May 30 in Tigers and mlb history:
1894 - Bobby Lowe of the Boston Beaneaters becomes the first player to hit four home runs in one game, in a 20 - 11 win over the Reds in the second game of a doubleheader. Lowe hits two of his homers in the 3rd inning.
1925 - Rogers Hornsby is named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, replacing Branch Rickey, who remains as general manager. Hornsby will be the only player-manager to win the Triple Crown, which he does by topping a .400 batting average for the third time in four years, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI.
1927: In his first appearance of the season, Walter Johnson pitches the last shutout of his major league career, number 110, in a Washington Senators 3 - 0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
1935 - Babe Ruth makes his last major league appearance. He plays only the first inning of the opener of a doubleheader between the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Phillies pitcher Jim Bivin retires Ruth on an infield grounder in the Babe's final major league at-bat.
1937 - Hank Greenberg enjoys the only five-hit game of his career. He?s 5-for-5 with a walk, four runs, two homers, and five RBIs.
1944 Tigers pitcher Dizzy Trout does something quite rare for a hurler: Belt a walk-off home run.
1956 - Mickey Mantle hits a home run that comes within a foot-and-a-half of leaving Yankee Stadium. It hits the face of the upper deck in right field, 370 feet from home plate and 117 feet in the air. Mantle also becomes the first player in major league history to hit 20 home runs by the end of May as the Yankees beat the Washington Senators.
1967 - New York Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford announces his retirement from baseball because of an elbow injury. His final appearance was a start in Detroit on May 21, but he lasted just one inning for the Yankees. He finishes his major league career with a 236-106 record.
1970 - All-Star voting is returned to the fans, as computerized punch-card ballots appear in stores and ballparks coast to coast. Since 1958 the All-Star squads had been selected by managers, coaches, and players.
1980 Former star Tigers fireman John Hiller announces his retirement. After missing the 1971 season with a heart attack, Hiller comes back and pitches for the Tigers the rest of his career finishing 15 seasons with Detroit with 125 Saves including his 1973 season of 38 saves in 65 games and 60 games finished with 125 IP and a 1.02 whip.
1982 - Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles begins his major league record consecutive games played streak by starting at third base (his position for the first 27 games during the streak), appearing eighth in the batting order against the Toronto Blue Jays.
2011: The Tigers beat the Twins, 7 - 6, on a controversial 8th-inning double by Alex Avila. Avila hits a low line drive down the third base line that rolls into foul territory; two fans stretch over the railing and attempt to grab the ball, which goes past them, skips on the concrete base of the stands, and bounces into another group of fans, hitting one in the chest, before ending its run back in foul territory. Umpire Gary Darling calls fan interference and sends runner Jhonny Peralta, who was on first base, all the way home, ruling that the first spectators deflected the ball's trajectory and that Peralta would have otherwise scored. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire comes out to argue but loses the argument, is ejected, and Peralta's run is the deciding one in the game.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ed_Rakow
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rakowed01.shtml?redir
Ed Rakow 1964-1965.
from Baseball Reference
