This Day in Baseball History

2002 - Homers for everyone!

A record 62 home runs are hit by 53 major league players, breaking the previous mark of 57 set on April 7, 2000.

Twelve of the 62 were in the Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox Game, with Dmitri Young, Magglio Ordonez and Sandy Alomar each going long twice in the contest. 

2005 - Suspensions are bigger in Texas

Commissioner Bud Selig suspends Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers for 20 games and fines him $50,000 for throwing a fit that sent a television cameraman to the hospital days earlier.

The suspension is the second longest ever handed out by Major League Baseball, with the longest being a 30-day penalty given to Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose in 1988 for pushing umpire Dave Pallone.

Rogers is suspended a day after teammate Frank Francisco was sentenced to a work program and anger management classes after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. Francisco threw a chair at an Oakland A's fan the previous September.

2000 - Marlins outfielder is a hero off the field

Florida Marlins' Mark Smith arrives back in the Sunshine State after hitting two homers in a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Expos earlier in the day.

On the drive home at night, he sees a car hit the freeway median and fly into the air. He turns around at the next exit to get back to the scene of the accident and records his first save.

With the vehicle filled with smoke, and the driver struggling to get out of the broken back window, Smith pulled the man to safety before the car exploded.

Birthdays

1964 - Jose Canseco

1974 - Sean Casey

1953 - Tony Armas

1915 - Hal Wagner

1986 - Brett Cecil

1981 - Angel Pagan

1980 - Nyjer Morgan