May 13 in sports history: A father-son MLB magic number

1942: Todd Stottlemyre was a decent hitter for a pitcher, finishing his career with a .207 batting average. But he hit only one homer in 242 big-league at-bats. In a 6-5 win over the Cubs on this date, Boston Braves knuckleballer Jim Tobin tripled  Stottlemyre's career total for dingers. 

Tobin, nicknamed "Abba Dabba," homered in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings. In his first at-bat, in the third, he flied out to deep right field. As a pinch-hitter the previous day, Tobin also homered. 

After the game, Tobin teased his catcher, Ernie Lombardi, who also boarded in the pitcher's home. 

"You'll be playing every day and I'll be out only every fourth game or so, but I'm going to get just as many homers as you do," Tobin told Lombardi, according to The Associated Press.

Tobin finished the season with six homers; Lombardi, 11.

1952: And then there's the truly epic pitching performance by Ron Necciai of the Bristol (Tennessee) Twins in a Class D Appalachian League game. In a 7-0 win over Welch, the Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguer pitched a no-hitter and struck out 27, shattering the league record for a game by six. Accounts of the gem were published in scores of newspaper sports sections.

"Rocket Ron," the local newspaper called the 6-foot-5, 185-pound right-hander, who reportedly battled a stomach ulcer during the game. 

"I am just learning to pitch," Necciai told a reporter afterward, adding, "Before the game started, I just didn't think I had it."

The 19-year-old was converted from a first baseman into a pitcher the previous year. His 27-strikeout performance gave him 77 K's in 31 innings. In his next game, Necciai fanned 24.

Necciai made it to the big leagues with the Pirates later that season, finishing with a 1-6 record. But he never pitched again in the majors.

HITTERS' PARADISE

1911: In a 19-5 demolition of the Cardinals, the New York Giants scored a major-league record 10 runs before a hitter was retired in the first. Fred Merkle drove in six of the Giants’ 13 runs in the inning. "Three St. Louis twirlers went to the mound," according to a wire service account, "but they could not stop the swatfest."

1958: With a pinch-hit double to left in a 5-3 win over the Cubs, the Cardinals' Stan Musial joined the 3,000-hit club. "I'm glad that's over with," he told reporters.

1958: In a 16-9 rout of the Dodgers, Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer of the Giants each had four extra-base hits. In upping his season average to .427, Mays swatted two homers, two triples and a single; Spencer belted two homers, a triple and a double. The pair combined for 10 RBI and 28 total bases.

1989: In a 10-8 win over the Blue Jays, Minnesota's Kirby Puckett tied a major league record with four doubles. "I really don't feel like I'm in a groove yet," the future Hall of Famer told the Minnesota Star-Tribune.

1994:  On a ridiculous hitting streak, Angels outfielder Tim Salmon went 5-for-5 against the Mariners to give him 13 hits over three consecutive games. In those three games, he was 13-for-15, an .867 average. In his last seven games, he hit .632 (24-for-38), with three homers, three doubles, a triple and 14 RBI.

"To tell you the truth," he told the Los Angeles Times, "I can't believe it myself. I'm just zeroed in right now.  The ball looks so big."

TIGER'S STREAK ENDS

2005: Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1-ranked golfer, missed the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship, ending his record streak of 142 consecutive cuts made. Needing a par on No. 18 to keep the streak alive, Woods missed a 15-foot putt.  "I made some silly mistakes out there," he said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Woods won 36 tournaments during the streak.

Happy birthday ...

• Former NBA star and eccentric Dennis Rodman, who won five titles with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.  (59)
• Professional soccer player Abby Dahlkemper, member of the 2019 U.S. Women’s World Cup Championship team and the 2013 NCAA champion UCLA Bruins. She plays for the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL (27).
• P.K. Subban of the New Jersey Devils and 2013 winner of the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman (31).
• Tyrann Mathieu, a safety for the Super Bowl champion Chiefs (28).
• Barry Zito, 2002 Cy Young Award winner with Oakland and two-time World Series champ with San Francisco. Zito made headlines in 2006 when he signed a seven-year deal worth $126 million with the Giants that, at the time, was the highest-ever pitcher contract (42).
• Willson Contreras, Cubs catcher and member of the 2016 World Series champion team as a rookie. He set the record for the longest home run in a postseason game when hit a 471-foot shot during the 2017 NLCS (28).

R.I.P.

1999: Golfer Gene Sarazen, winner of 38 PGA TOUR events including seven majors. "The Squire" was the first golfer to win the “grand slam,” with wins in each of the four majors. He was 97.

2013: Former NFL running back Chuck Muncie, a first-round pick for the  Saints in the 1976 draft, who rushed for  6,702 yards and 71 touchdowns during his pro career. After a stint in prison on a drug conviction, Muncie founded the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation. He died of a heart attack at age 60.

May 12: Not-so-perfect no-hitters