As 2 million runs approach, it all started with the Atlanta Braves
Baseball milestones are fun — especially when you don’t know how they’ll end. However, in this case, it all started from an Atlanta Braves ancestor.
While we’ve been a lot more immersed into the trials and triumphs of our Atlanta Braves this season, there’s an interesting major league baseball milestone that’s going to happen within the next couple of weeks.
Baseball’s two millionth run scored.
Immediately, you might be thinking “really?” The next thought might be “how do they know that?”
Admittedly, there are some fairly sketchy records in the history of this game — particularly when you reach back before 1900. That does lead to some differences of opinion on the subject.
- Elias Sports – the “official” record on this subject – thinks that run #2,000,000 will likely happen on Wednesday or Thursday this week (May 26-27).
- Baseball-reference.com has a few more runs tabulated — they are 97 higher. Thus by their reckoning, Wednesday might be the day.
There is some history, though, that identifies the very first major league baseball run scored.
Here’s the account, as given by David Waldstein of the New York Times (emphasis added):
In baseball’s official accounting, the first run scored in the lineage of today’s Major League Baseball came on April 22, 1876. According to new research this month conducted by Thorn, the run was plated by Tim McGinley, a catcher for the Boston Red Stockings, the forebears of today’s Atlanta Braves. Historians are not certain whether he batted right- or left-handed, but we know he scored in the top of the second inning at Philadelphia, as Boston beat the Athletics (no relation to the current club), 6-5, in the first game of the first season (as recognized by M.L.B.).
Huh. The Braves — then under the name Red Stockings — started it all. There’s a fun bit of trivia to hand onto.
The wild part about this story, though, is about the different ways that MLB handled the millionth run vs. this new 2 million milestone — it’s like night and day.
Run one million… Atlanta was involved here, too
Baseball’s millionth run came on May 4, 1975 — 99 years and 12 days after run #1. I suppose it says a lot that the second million will be completed just 46 years later, but having grown the sport to 30 teams, that’s the obvious reason for the accelerated pace.
In 1975, though, MLB heard about this million mark and immediately went into Marketing Mode. They got sponsors (Tootsie Roll and Seiko). They installed “countdown clocks” in every stadium. They promoted the heck out of it. The players actually bought into the fun, too.
MLB even set up a phone system by which “spotters” would be reporting live run-scoring details… just in case there might be an issue with determining who scored run 1,000,000.
That phone system turned out to be a vital necessity on May 4th.
You may already have known that Houston’s Bob Watson is credited with run 1,000,000. What you may not know is just how many other players were oh-so-close to the distinction.
According to various reports…
- In their 6th inning, the Indians had John Lowenstein on second base. A pickoff attempt failed (E1) to move him to third base with 1 out and (reportedly) 999,999 runs on the board. Two groundouts later, he was left stranded.
- The Yankees had the bases loaded with 1 out in their 4th inning. Future Brave Chris Chambliss was on third. A bouncer to first base resulted in a forceout at the plate. A strikeout then ended the inning, which stranded Thurman Munson at third.
- Here’s the play I wanted to see: in the second inning of the Twins/Royals game, speedy Rod Carew was on third with nobody out. A fly out to right field resulted in a double play — somehow, Carew was thrown out at the plate.
But it came down to a Houston/Giants game vs. a Reds/Braves game… yep, the Braves were involved (kinda).
Homering off the Braves knuckleballer
In San Francisco, Watson walked in the second inning. Pitcher John (“the Count”) Montefusco then also walked Jose Cruz. Watson had stolen second, but that became moot.
In Cincinnati, SS Davey Concepcion stepped in against Phil Niekro. In San Fran, it was Milt May against Montefusco.
Neither hitter was considered a slugger, but in both cities, anyone paying attention knew that the next run to score would be run 1,000,000.
Watson wasn’t one of those paying attention.
Both hitters homered within seconds of one another. Concepcion definitely knew the “score” and immediately bolted around the bases as if he was trying to beat out an inside-the-parker.
Watson only had to jog from second base to home — half the distance — but it was about third base that his own dugout yelled at him to get moving. The Astros and Reds didn’t know what was going on in each other’s game, but they both rightly figured that seconds might matter.
When Concepcion crossed the plate, he and his teammates celebrated — thinking he was the million-run man. Not quite.
The figuring later was that the difference might have been less than two seconds:
“I got to third base and our bullpen was right behind third and the guys were saying, ‘Run, run, run!'” recalls Watson, who had worked a walk against John Montefusco. “I think I beat Concepcion by like a second and a half.” “I was the million and one,” Concepcion says, laughing. “I was flying around the bases, but I didn’t have time to score before Bob. I think I missed by eight yards.”
Watson was awarded a supply of Tootsie Rolls (he donated them), a new Seiko watch, and $10,000 in the form of a million pennies. Then he had to donate his just-broken-in spikes to the Hall of Fame.
There are reasons to challenge this millionth run… new research arising from older games, the implication of Negro League contests now considered to be “major league” in quality, and several other factors.
Still… it’s reasonable to drive a stake into the ground somewhere to measure things like this. Such will also be the case with run #2 million this week.
Things like this — which amounts to “stats on steroids” — are fun to track, and especially so since this is a case where you have no idea who will achieve the milestone. In most other baseball stats, you know that (for instance) Hank Aaron is going to break Babe Ruth‘s homer record… it’s just a matter of “when”.
Next. Tough sledding ahead. dark
But one thing seems to be certain: your Atlanta Braves started it all… with run #1 in 1876. And it’s now part of their 150th franchise anniversary this season.