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

  Roberto Clemente was on a red-hot tear on this day in baseball, August 23, 1970: The Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder had a second consecutive five-hit game, making him the first modern-day major leaguer to have 10 hits in two  games. In the Saturday game of a weekend series against the L.A. Dodgers, Clemente had three singles, lined out twice, then capped his day with two more singles in an 11-0, 16-inning victory in which scored the winning run. The next day, Clemente had a home run, a double and three singles, good for 3 RBI and 4 runs scored.

Few players have made a huge first impression on their new team like Yoenis Cespedes, the much-traveled Cuban outfielder who was dealt to the Mets by the Tigers at the 2015 trading deadline and proceeded to carry the club right into the World Series. Cespedes brought a hot bat and rocket arm to New York, hitting over .300 with 17 homers and 42 RBIs in his first 41 games as a Met. But on this day in béisbol, Aug. 21, 2015, Cespedes absolutely sizzled at the plate with a monster game against the Rockies in Colorado. He bashed three home

Great teams don’t win without great shortstops, and the Big Red Machine of the 1970s — perennial postseason contenders and back-to-back world champs in 1975 and ’76 — don’t win without shortstop Dave Concepcion.  The Venezuelan defensive whiz was the backbone of the Cincinnati steamroller that has seen three players (Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez) make the Hall of Fame even with all-time hits king Pete Rose frozen out of consideration for now. On this day in béisbol, Aug. 20, 1988 Concepcion was in his final season of a 19-year career spent entirely with the Reds when he