Today in Baseball History: August 3rd

2006 On August 3, 2006, Phillies" infielder Chase Utley goes 3-for-6 against the Cardinals to extend his hitting streak to 35 games. The streak will be stopped the next day against the Mets. Utley hit in every game during the month of July, and raised his batting average 40 points during the streak.

2000 Kevin Mitchell of the Sonoma County Crushers is expelled for the rest of the season from the independent Western Baseball League for punching the owner of an opposing team. The former National League MVP allegedly hit Solano Steelheads owner Bruce Portner, who had come on the field after a brawl had ended which was caused by a pitch thrown behind Mitchell.

1997 Knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro, former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda, second baseman Nellie Fox, and Negro League shortstop Willie Wells are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

1989 On August 3, 1989, the Cincinnati Reds set a major league record by piling up 16 hits in the first inning. The Reds score 14 runs - helped in part by 12 singles - on the way to an 18-2 destruction of the Houston Astros.

1987 Twins pitcher Joe Niekro is caught with a file on the mound and is ejected during Minnesota's 11-3 win over the Angels. He will be suspended for ten games by American League president Bobby Brown, who doesn't buy Niekro's story that he had been filing his nails on the bench and stuck the file in his back pocket when the inning started.

1986 Willie McCovey, Bobby Doerr, and Ernie Lombardi are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

1982 The White Sox sweep a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, 1-0, and 14-2, prompting Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to fire manager Gene Michael and replace him with pitching coach Clyde King. King is the Yankees' third manager this season.

1980 Al Kaline, Duke Snider, Chuck Klein, and Tom Yawkey are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

1980 On August 3, 1980, Al Kaline, Chuck Klein, Duke Snider, and Tom Yawkey are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Kaline collected 3,007 hits and hit 399 homers in his career spent with the Detroit Tigers. Snider belted 407 homers and batted .295 in an 18-year career, spent mostly with the Dodgers. Klein starred in the 1930s, when he won an MVP Award, the Triple Crown, and a batting title for the Phillies. Yawkey was the popular longtime owner of the Boston Red Sox.

1960 On August 3, 1960, the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers make an unusual trade when they announce the swap of their managers. Cleveland's colorful general manager, Frank "Trader" Lane, sends Joe Gordon to the Tigers for Jimmy Dykes.

1957 Listening to the radio, Pirates manager Bobby Bragan hears he has been fired and replaced by Danny Murtaugh.

1948 On August 3, 1948, former Negro leagues star Satchel Paige makes his first major league start. The 42-year-old future Hall of Famer pitches seven innings and earns the win as the Cleveland Indians defeat the Washington Senators, 5-3. A crowd of 72,434 attends Paige's first start.

1937 On August 3, 1937, the New York Yankees hold "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium. A crowd of 66,767 shows up to salute Gehrig, who hits a home run in the first game of the doubleheader. The Yankees earn a 7-2 win in the first game, followed by a 5-3 victory in the nightcap.

1933 On August 3, 1933, the New York Yankees are shut out for the first time in 309 games. Hall of Famer Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia A's blanks New York, 7-0. The shutout marks the first scoreless game for the Yankees since August 2, 1931.

1914 On August 3, 1914, New York Yankees catcher Les Nunamaker becomes the only major league player in 20th century history to throw out three base stealers in one inning. Nunamaker eliminates a trio of Detroit Tigers in the second inning.