By Robert Dominguez He was considered the best two-way player not named Babe Ruth.  And if times had been different, Martin Dihigo — the Cuban-born star who excelled as both a pitcher and position player but never got to strut his stuff in the U.S. major leagues — would have likely been the Roberto Clemente of his era as the biggest Latin American-born star to grace an MLB ballfield. On this day in béisbol, May 20, 1971, Dihigo died in Cienfuegs, Cuba, a few days before his 65 birthday, a proud and seemingly happy man revered in his homeland, lauded

By Robert Dominguez Not bad for an old guy. During the 2004 season, whenever the Atlanta Braves were in a late-inning pinch they often turned to an unlikely source for help — 45-year-old Julio Franco, who on this day in béisbol, May 18, delivered big-time. Batting in the eighth inning with the Braves losing 4-2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the grizzled veteran came off the bench, grabbed a bat and hit a game-tying, two-out, two-run homer to take the game into extra innings. Atlanta ended up losing in 11 innings, but it was a memorable night anyway for Franco, the

He was an unassuming designated hitter on a team loaded with two-way superstars, a late bloomer who let his bat do the talking for him all the way to Cooperstown. But even with sluggers Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Jay Buhner in the lineup, there’s no way the Seattle Mariners would have enjoyed their winning ways in the late 1990s and early 20s without Edgar Martinez. On this day in béisbol, May 18, 1998, Martinez had a homer hat trick, blasting three in a game against the Twins. It was an encore performance worthy of his stature as one

By Robert Dominguez Ivan Rodriguez only played one season with the Astros in a well-traveled career, but he managed to reach an out-of-this-world milestone for a catcher while wearing a Houston uniform. On this day in béisbol, May 17, 2009, the Hall of Fame backstop rocketed his 300th career home run in a game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The fourth-inning blast off Chicago pitcher Rich Harden helped Houston to a 6-5 win, but it also put “Pudge” into a rare stratosphere. Only six other players whose career was spent primarily as a catcher have more than 300 home

With one just one of his patented mighty righty swings, Miguel Cabrera moved a Tiger step closer to Cooperstown, became the most prodigious homer hitter from Venezuela, and passed another Detroit icon on the all-time list. On this day in béisbol, May 16, 2015, Cabrera slammed his 400th career home run in the first inning of an away game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The shot to deep centerfield made the Tiger first baseman baseball’s leader for homers hit by a Venezuela native, passing Andres Galarraga.  It also moved Cabrera ahead of Al Kaline, the Tigers Hall of Fame outfielder

Few players have left the game with a flourish like David Ortiz, who at 40 years old and in his final season of a Cooperstown-worthy, 20-year-career put up remarkable numbers in 2016 that belied his age. On this day in béisbol, May 14, 2016, Big Papi hit a big milestone in his capstone season that put him in the same rarified air of two of baseball’s greatest hitters. Ortiz, one of the most fearsome clutch hitters in history, also came through for the Red Sox yet again — twice.  Losing 5-4 at home against the Astros, Boston was down to

A decade after The Big Red Machine steamrolled the National League, one of its vital cogs was still making history. On this day in béisbol, May 13, 1985, Tony Perez celebrated an early birthday by becoming the oldest player to hit a grand slam. The Cuban slugger, a day before turning 43, was on his second go-round with the Cincinnati Reds when he stepped up to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 3-3 tie against the Phillies. With the bases full, Perez launched a home run that turned out to be the

Alfonso Soriano isn't the first name that comes to mind when listing superstar players of the early 2000s. But on this day in béisbol, May 12, 2014, the 38-year-old Dominican Republic native, on his second stint with the Yankees and in the final season of his career, tied a record that showed just how productive he was.  Facing Mets starter Bartolo Colon at The Stadium, Soriano’s second-inning single made him only the seventh player with 100 home runs, 500 RBIs and 500 runs scored in both leagues. The other six weren’t bad hitters: Hall of Famers Frank Robinson, Dave Winfield