Today in Baseball History: May 4th

1984 On May 4, 1984, Dave Kingman of the Oakland A's hits a ball through the roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Kingman's fly ball goes through a drainage hole in the roof and never returns to the playing field. The umpires award Kingman with a ground rule double.

1982 On May 4, 1982, Jim Eisenreich leaves a game at Fenway Park after fans cruelly taunt his extreme twitching, which is caused by Tourette's Syndrome. The Minnesota Twins' rookie will eventually retire before making a successful return in 1987.

1981 On May 4, 1981, Ron Davis of the New York Yankees strikes out eight consecutive batters in a game against the Oakland A's. Davis, a hard-throwing reliever, ties Nolan Ryan's American League record for most consecutive strikeouts in a game.

1975 On May 4, 1975, Bob Watson of the Houston Astros scores the one millionth run in major league history. Watson scores the run on Milt May's three-run homer, as part of the Astros' 8-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants in the first game of a doubleheader at Candlestick Park.

1966 On May 4, 1966, Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants establishes a new National League record for most career home runs. The "Say Hey Kid" hits his 512th home run, surpassing the total of former New York Giants great Mel Ott. Mays' blast against Claude Osteen, which puts him fourth on the all-time list, helps the Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1.

1954 On May 4, 1954, the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by using a whopping 42 players in an 11-inning marathon. The Phillies win the game, 14-10.

1946 On May 4, 1946, Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators collects six straight hits before having his streak ended by Steve Gromek of the Cleveland Indians. Travis' performance marks one of the few highlights of his career after World War II, where he suffered frozen feet.

1943 On May 4, 1943, Commissioner Ford C. Frick demonstrates that the revised balata ball is livelier than the previous year's ball by bouncing it on a carpet in his office. The major leagues had turned to the balata ball because of wartime restrictions on the supplies used to make standard baseballs.

1910 On May 4, 1910, President William Howard Taft attends two games in one day. After watching part of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds at Sportsman's Park, he travels cross-town to watch the remainder of the game between the hometown Browns and the Cleveland Spiders.