Today in 1987: The Potato Game, one of the great baseball pranks to ever take place during a game. And it ended one player's career. Dave Bresnahan was a backup catcher for the Williamsport Bills, the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. His team was playing a doubleheader against the Reading Phillies on the next-to-last day of the season, and he knew he'd be playing in one game. He and his teammates thought up a stunt that would be quite unique. Bresnahan took a potato and put it in one of his extra gloves in the dugout. During the fifth inning when a Reading runner reached third, he told the umpire his catcher's mitt had broken. Time was called and Bresnahan ran to the dugout. He returned with his other mitt, but also with the potato hidden inside. On the next pitch, a ball, he tried to pick the runner off third. But instead of throwing the baseball, he purposely threw the potato wildly into left field. Thinking he would score easily, the runner trotted toward home, only to see Bresnahan with the baseball in his mitt, tagging out the runner to end the inning. The umpires were baffled. As the Bills team ran to the dugout, the third base umpire went into left field, only to discover what had happened. He yelled to his fellow umpires, "It's a (bleeping) potato." The umpires ruled the runner at home safe. Bresnahan's manager was furious with him. He fined him $50. His teammates took up a collection to help him pay the fine. However, the manager cut him from the team. The next day (the last game of the season), the Bills admitted any fan for $1 who came to the game with a potato. It ended up being the last game Bresnahan would ever play. He got some offers the following season, but decided to go embark on a new career. #MLB #MiLB #PotatoCaper #PotatoGame

On 8/4/1982, Joel Youngblood became the only MLB player to ever get a hit for 2 different teams in 2 different cities on the same day. Playing for the Mets, he singled in the 3rd inning of a day game against the Cubs at Wrigley. During the game, he was traded to the Expos. Several cab rides and a plane flight later, he made it to the Expos night game in Philadelphia by the 7th inning. Almost immediately, was asked to pinch hit. He singled. Both hits were against future Hall of Famers: Ferguson Jenkins and Steve Carlton. #mlb #baseball #Expos #Mets

On 6/23/1917, Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth walked the 1st batter. He argued the call, punched the umpire and was ejected. Ernie Shore came in to pitch. The runner was caught stealing. Shore retired the next 26 batters. It was ruled a shared no-hitter. Ruth got suspended for 10 games #mlb #baseball #RedSox

Today in 1941: Joe DiMaggio started his 56-game hitting streak. It ended on July 17. During his streak, Joe hit .408, scored 56 runs and only struck out 5 times. The Yankees went 41-13-2 during that stretch. Two games ended in a tie when they were called due to darkness. Those two games were played over later in the season, but the stats from the ties counted. #MLB #Yankees #baseball

Today in 1984: a Harold Baines homer in the bottom of the 25th inning ends the longest game in AL history. It took 8 hours and 6 minutes over 2 days for the White Sox to beat the Brewers, 7-6. Tom Seaver pitched the top of the 25th to get the win. Then he started the regularly-scheduled game, going 8.1 innings for his second victory of the day. The 25-inning game began on May 8 but had to be suspended after 18 innings due to the AL rule that no inning could start after 1 a.m. local time. #MLB #WhiteSox #baseball

Today in 1968: Oakland's Catfish Hunter pitches a perfect game against Minnesota. The Hall of Fame pitcher was a member of 5 World Series championship teams and won 224 games. He became baseball's first free agent. After winning the 1974 Cy Young award, he was declared a free agent when Oakland owner Charlie Finley failed to make certain payments called for in his contract. 22 of the remaining 23 teams (all but the Giants) expressed interest in Hunter. Hunter signed with the Yankees for $3.25 million over five years. Hunter helped lead the Yankees to three straight pennants and back-to-back World Series titles in 1977-78. He passed away at the early age of 53 from ALS. #MLB #Yankees #baseball #ALS @alsassociation

Today in 1959: The Dodgers and the Yankees played an exhibition game in the L.A. Coliseum to honor Roy Campanella. It drew the largest crowd (93,103) in MLB history to that point, and helped Campy defray the costs of treatment. Roy was paralyzed in an early morning accident in Long Island in 1958 when he lost control of his car on a patch of ice and hit a telephone pole. He suffered a broken neck and a damaged spinal cord. Campy was a 3-time MVP for the Dodgers, a 5-time All-Star and blasted 242 career home runs. He helped lead the Dodgers to their first World Series title in 1955. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969. #MLB #Dodgers #baseball #HallofFame

Born today in 1931: Willie Mays, one of the greatest to ever play the game. So much is made of the offensive prowess of the "Say Hey Kid": 660 homers, 2 MVPs, 3000+ hits. But he was also an incredible defensive player. He is the MLB career leader for putouts by an outfielder. 7095 Willie Mays 6788 Tris Speaker 6468 Rickey Henderson 6363 Max Carey 6361 Ty Cobb 6089 Richie Ashburn 5664 Steve Finley 5637 Barry Bonds #MLB #Giants #baseball #SayHey

Today in 1982: Jim Eisenreich, a rookie outfielder for the Twins hitting .309, left the game at Fenway in the middle of an inning. He suffered from twitching and it became uncontrollable when Boston fans continuously taunted him. When the team returned to Minnesota, Jim checked into a hospital for treatment. Doctors diagnosed him with Tourette's Syndrome. He tried several comebacks the next few years, but could never control his symptoms. He retired from baseball in 1984. Over the next two years, doctors found a way to treat his Tourette’s, and Jim returned to baseball in 1987 with Kansas City. He was named the MVP of the 1989 Royals, a team that featured Bo Jackson and George Brett. After his comeback, he went on to play 12 more years in the big leagues, and batted over .300 in 5 of those seasons. He now has a foundation that helps children with Tourette’s Syndrome. #MLB #baseball #Royals @TouretteAssn

Born today in 1972: Chipper Jones. Spent his entire career (1993-2012) with the Atlanta Braves. Was the overall #1 pick in the 1990 MLB draft. An 8-time All-Star , 1999 NL MVP and NL batting champ in 2008. Had a .303 lifetime average and 468 career home runs. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. Fun Fact: one of Chipper's sons is named Shea, named after Shea Stadium because of Chipper's success in that stadium. #MLB #Braves #baseball @RealCJ10

Today in 1981: the longest game in professional baseball took place. The Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings of the International League played to a 2-2 tie through 32 innings before play was suspended at 4:07 a.m. At that time, there were 19 fans remaining at the game. Pawtucket's owner game them lifetime passes to the team's games. The game featured former Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Wade Boggs. 25 of the 41 players in the game went on to the major leagues. The game was completed on June 23rd with Pawtucket's Marty Barrett scoring the winning run in the 33rd inning. The two teams used 14 different pitchers who threw over 800 pitches and used 160 baseballs. #MLB #MiLB @PawSox @RocRedWings #longestgame

You sent us some other great Chris Berman nicknames. Do you have others? Joaquin The Dog Andujar Jim Two Shilouttes on Deshaies Jose Game Winning Uribe Wally Absorbine Joyner Ron Born In The US Cey Kirt What Is That Manwaring Fettuccine Alfredo Griffin Bruce Eggs Benedict Bobby We All Live In Ayala Submarine Greg Gagne With A Spoon More to come!

Today in 1966: The Braves play their 1st game in Atlanta in front of 50,671 fans. Braves catcher Joe Torre hits the first homer in Atlanta history, but the #Braves lose in 13 innings to the Pirates, 3-2 on a Willie Stargell homer. Tony Cloninger pitches all 13 innings for Atlanta

Today in 1966: Emmett Ashford became the first African American umpire in major league history. He worked third base in the Washington Senators home opener. He had trouble getting into the stadium. Vice President Hubert Humphrey was throwing out the ceremonial first ball, and the Secret Service didn’t believe Ashford’s story that he was an umpire. Emmett umpired for five years in the American League. #MLB #baseball @MLBUA @UmpsCare

Today in 1981: Fernando Valenzuela makes his first MLB start when starter Jerry Reuss pulls a calf muscle. Fernando threw a five-hitter and the Dodgers beat the Astros, 2-0. He won his first eight starts, all complete games. Five were shutouts. His ERA in those games: 0.50. Fernandomania engulfed the baseball world, packing stadiums everywhere. He became the first pitcher to win both Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same season. #MLB #baseball #Dodgers

Today in 1969: Saves become an official statistical category in major league baseball. It was the first new major statistic since the RBI was added in 1920. Bill Singer records the first official save in history as the Dodgers defeat the Reds, 3-2. #MLB #baseball #Dodgers