Fourth of July - baseball is the best!

It could only be better if there were two games for the price of one

Happy Fourth of July! Baseball is the best! With a nod to the great Sarah Langs, July 4^th holds a special place in MLB history. Since this post dropped on July 4^th it’s only fitting that I write about why July 4^th is such an important date for baseball. Traditionally the 4^th of July is seen as the halfway point of the MLB season even though the teams have played more than 81 games. There was an adage that if your team was in first place on July 4^th that was tantamount to winning the pennant. I think that one went out of the window a while ago.

I looked at the overall records of teams on July 4^th and the Cubs, one of baseball’s oldest teams have played in the most July 4^th games with an 117-96-3 record on the date. That’s 216 games in 155 years. The Cubs were founded as the White Stockings in 1870 and are an original (1876) National League franchise. The only way they could play 216 games in 155 years is – doubleheaders! Before 1980, July 4^th was always a day where often two games could be seen for the price of one!

There are many memorable occurrences on and around July 4^th Here are four for the fourth!

The first recorded game on July 4^th in MLB history

The White Stockings (now Cubs) played the Rockford Forest Citys on July 4, 1871 and that same day the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cleveland Forest Citys 22-9 according to CBS Sports. Two teams named the Forest Citys? Jayson Stark where are you? 1870 was the first year that Independence Day was recognized as a National Holiday.

In 1871 there were no games played on Independence Day, the only time that has happened since was the strike year of 1981, aside from the pandemic season of 2020 when also there were no MLB games played for reasons I don’t understand.

Officially as an NL franchise the Cubs did not play their first July 4^th game until 1885, but they were still being called the White Stockings as they were not called the Cubs until 1903.

Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech

Even non-baseball fans have seen Lou Gehrig’s tearful heartfelt July 4^th,1939 speech in front of adoring fans at Yankee Stadium. I feel like we were shown that speech in school most likely because the teacher was a Yankee fan.

Dave Righetti’s no-hitter

“Spaghetti” Righetti (I always cringed at that nickname), was a starting pitcher for the first four years of his MLB career. His final year as a starter was 1983, and he tossed a no-hitter in a 4-0 victory on July 4^th vs. the archrival Boston Red Sox. Righetti then went on to become an excellent relief pitcher notching 252 saves, only starting four games over his final 12 seasons.

When I think of Righetti, I always remember him chucking the baseball from the mound over the right field fence after allowing Blue Jays George Bell to hit a game tying grand slam in the bottom of the 9th to tie the score at 10-10 on June 20, 1986. Too bad that wasn’t done two weeks later, on July 4^th! What an arm!

The Niekro Brothers face off

HOF right-handed pitcher Phil Niekro and his brother Joe won 539 games combined and tied for the NL league in wins in 1979 with 21 each for the Braves and Astros respectively. Phil, the older brother by nearly five years, and Joe, faced off on July 4^th, 1967, Joe was a rookie with the Cubs at the time and big brother Phil bested him tossing a complete game (Joe lasted only three innings), as the Braves won 8-3. It was the first time two brothers squared off in the modern era since Jesse and Virgil Barnes faced off in the 1920s. The Niekros would face each other as starters on eight other occasions.

Mets-Braves play an all-time crazy game July 4^th, 1985

This was the season before the Mets won it all and they were a good team that would eventually lose the NL East to the WS winning St. Louis Cardinals. On July 4^th, 1985, through two rain delays and six hours 10 minutes of playing time, the Mets finally beat the Braves 16-13 in 19 innings. Braves pitcher Rick Camp who was a 0.60 career hitter, launched an 18^th inning home run to tie the game which is the latest in the game a pitcher hit a home run in MLB history. That’s a record that will stand forever unless Shohei Othani does something else incredible! The game ended at 4:01 AM EDT and those that stayed were treated to a fireworks show as promised although that was on July 5^th.

A bonus one that I had completely forgotten about

On July 4, 2001, 50 people were stranded for two hours on a Ferris wheel at Detroit's Comerica Park and eventually had to be rescued via fire department cherry-picker. They did receive a free dinner, tickets to another game and autographs from the team for their inconvenience. That Ferris wheel is still there. The Tigers are in Cleveland today so a repeat will not be happening today.

When I was a kid I remember July 4^th doubleheaders being played by the Mets. I also recall Banner Day where fans would line up with their homemade banners and parade around the warning track in front of the outfield fence. None of those took place on July 4^th but I’d love to see a return to July 4^th doubleheaders as a nod to tradition. Why not play a backyard wiffleball game today before or after watching or listening to your team play on July 4^th and make a twin bill of your own?!

My best to all of you and your families for a Happy Independence Day.

About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and now Substack.com.