Fernando Valenzuela was arguably the best and certainly the most beloved pitcher to come out of Mexico, but the Brewers’ Teddy Higuera was an ace in his own right. The American League counterpart to the “Fernando Mania” that spread among L.A. Dodgers fans in the early 1980s, Higuera was easily overshadowed by Valenzuela’s heroics despite being one of the best pitchers in either league. On this day in baseball, September 6, 1987, Higuera threw his third consecutive shutout, beating the Minnesota Twins 6-0. The streak came during a year in which he won 18 games and followed his only 20-game

There were plenty of players who contributed to the Cleveland Indians’ history-making hot streak during the home stretch of the 2017 season, when they won 22 games in a row to pull away from the rest of the AL Central pack. But in a formidable lineup that boasted DH Edwin Encarnacion, SS Francisco Lindor and 1B Carlos Santana, it was Jose Ramirez who carried the team through its nearly month-long tear from late August to mid-September. On this day in béisbol, Sept. 3, 2017, the Dominican-born third baseman kept up his torrid hitting when he tied an MLB record with

The 1966 season turned out to be a pretty good one for Roberto Clemente, an all-around hitter who had his best power year and ended up winning the National League MVP award. On this day in béisbol, Sept. 2, 1966 the Pirates right fielder also marked a huge career milestone in the midst of his special season: his 2,000th hit. Facing fellow future Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins of the Cubs in the bottom of the fifth inning at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, Clemente rocketed an opposite-field, three-run jack into the upper deck in right to seal an eventual 7-5 win.

As a switch-hitting Gold Glover who manned the hallowed ground that is centerfield in Yankee Stadium during the team’s late-’90s dynasty, Bernie Williams was undoubtedly deserving of having his No. 51 retired by the team. But while his overall numbers fell a little short of being Cooperstown worthy, the Puerto Rico native received a tremendous honor nonetheless on this day in baseball, Sept. 1, 2011. Williams was among several players inducted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012 — contemporary and old-timers — who were honored at a ceremony in La Romana, Dominican Republic the following February.

He may have collected nearly 2,900 hits over his 24 years in baseball, but Omar Vizquel was in the lineup for one thing: his defense.  On this day in béisbol, August 31, 2004 the 11-time Gold Glove winner showed that he could swing a pretty good bat, too. Vizquel, 37, banged out six hits in seven at-bats that helped hand the Yankees a humiliating 22-0 defeat in New York. Vizquel had two doubles and four singles, knocked in four runs and scored three against three hapless Yankees hurlers. Batting in the ninth, the Venezuelan native was already 6-for-6 — a

It’s easy to be overlooked when you’re a middle infielder on a playoff-bound team that boasts future Hall of Famers Mike Piazza and Rickey Henderson, plus all-stars John Olerud and Robin Ventura.  But if Mets fans didn’t fully appreciate the type of all-round player they had in Edgardo Alfonzo, they undoubtedly did on this day in béisbol, Aug. 30, 1999, when the second baseman had one of the best games a Major Leaguer ever had. Alfonzo went 6-for-6 — a club record that included going deep three times — with 5 RBI and 6 runs scored, the latter tying an

Pedro Martinez has often said how much he loves and admires his older sibling Ramon Martinez, an outstanding pitcher who broke into the majors three years ahead of Pedro and helped set the stage for his little brother's Hall of fame career. But on this day in béisbol, Aug. 29, 1996, Pedro was hellbent on seeing his big brother and former mentor fail.  Ramon was the opposing pitcher in what turned out to be the one and only time the Dominican-born siblings faced each other during their long careers. Pedro, 23 at the time, was a rising star for the

David Wright may have been the face of the New York Mets in the 2000s, but Jose Reyes — the dynamic, Dominican-born shortstop with blazing speed — was the team’s heart. On this day in béisbol, Aug. 28, 2003, the switch-hitting rookie, just 20 years old, proved he had some pop in his toolbox, too. He became the youngest player ever to homer from both sides of the plate in a 3-1 win over the Braves in Atlanta. Batting right-handed, Reyes hit a solo shot on the fifth inning, then won the game with a two-run blast from the left