Elias Sports Bureau

Sometimes, the most dangerous hitter in the lineup NEVER gets to swing.

On May 22, 1962, Roger Maris set a Major League record by drawing four intentional walks (among five walks total) for the New York Yankees in an extra-innings win over the Angels. Reportedly after the game Maris called teammate Mickey Mantle, who was at the hospital recuperating from injury, and jokingly told him to hurry back to work, since he was sick of getting Mantle’s intentional passes.

The strategy spoke volumes: just one season removed from his record-setting 61-home run campaign, opposing pitchers decided that pitching to Maris was an inferior option than simply putting him on first base.

Twenty-eight years later to the day, Andre Dawson raised the bar even higher. Playing for the Chicago Cubs on May 22, 1990, Dawson received five intentional walks, still the MLB record for the most intentional passes ever issued to one player in a single game. The strategy worked for the first four such walks, as the next man up made the third out of the inning each time. After Dawson’s fifth pass in the 16th inning, Dave Clark came through with the game-winning hit for the Cubs.

With intentional walks easier to issue than ever before, will anyone ever match the Hawk’s IBB mark? Do we even want them to?

Before Shohei Ohtani was rewriting the two-way playbook, there was Babe Ruth.

On May 20, 1919, Ruth delivered one of the earliest examples of baseball dominance from both the mound and the batter’s box. Pitching for the Boston Red Sox against the St. Louis Browns, Ruth tossed a complete-game victory and launched the first grand slam of his career in a 6-4 win. It was one of nine times that Ruth earned a win and hit a home run in the same game.

At the time, Ruth was in the middle of baseball’s most famous career transformation. The 1919 season marked the first year he eclipsed 500 plate appearances as he shifted away from pitching and toward becoming the sport’s most feared slugger. It also proved to be his final season starting more than one game on the mound.

More than a century later, the game is once again witnessing a player capable of starring as both an elite pitcher and hitter. Ohtani has gone deep in seven games he’s won as a pitcher, including an epic three-homer performance in last year’s NLCS clincher. But long before Ohtani, Ruth showed baseball what true two-way greatness could look like.

On this day in 2019, Chris Wondolowski didn’t just break the MLS all-time scoring record — he obliterated it.

Entering the match one goal shy of Landon Donovan’s all-time mark of 145, Wondolowski delivered a masterclass against the Chicago Fire, scoring all four goals in a 4-1 victory for the San Jose Earthquakes.

“Wondo” tied Donovan’s mark in the 21st minute, and he netted the record-breaker three minutes into the second half. Because these historic goals apparently weren’t enough, Wondolowski added two more in the 74th and 76th minutes to leave the pitch with 148 career goals. That day marked the first and only time he would score as many as four goals in an MLS match.

He retired after the 2021 season with 171 career goals in 413 matches — still the most in MLS history — averaging roughly one goal every 2.5 games. Fittingly, his final goal came in his final MLS appearance on Nov. 7, 2021.

Earlier this month, Wondolowski was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, ensuring his place among the all-time greats in American soccer history. And his record-setting performance on the pitch that day is a perfect reminder of why he belongs there.

On May 15, 1941, the New York Yankees lost 13–1 to the Chicago White Sox, with Joe DiMaggio driving in New York’s only run on an RBI single in the first inning.
The Yankees fell to 14–15 on the season and sat six and a half games out of first place. Not exactly the start of history.

But that day marked the beginning of something unforgettable.

“The Yankee Clipper” would go on to hit safely in 56 straight games from May 15 to July 16, the longest hitting streak in Major League history. His batting average jumped from .306 to .375. Across nearly 250 plate appearances he struck out just five times, and he did not strike out at all over the final 32 games of the streak.

The Yankees rose with him, going 41–13 with two ties during that stretch to take over first place. The season ended with a World Series title and an MVP award for DiMaggio.

Will 56 ever be matched? The closest any active player has come in recent years is a 30 game streak by Freddie Freeman in 2016, and no player has ever come within 10 games of the record.

Decades later, 56 still stands. So does the legacy of number 5.

Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

#56

Adam Scott, the ageless Australian, returns this week at the PGA Championship, extending one of the most remarkable streaks in modern golf. His appearance marks his 99th consecutive major championship start (and 100th overall), a run that began at the 2001 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes. It stands as the second-longest streak in men’s major championship history, behind only Jack Nicklaus’ 146 straight appearances from 1962 to 1998.

Nearly 25 years later, the consistency is staggering: 74 made cuts, no withdrawals, 35 top-20s, 20 top-10s, nine top-5s, and a green jacket from the 2013 Masters. He’s averaged 71.87 strokes across 344 rounds along the way.

For some perspective, Scott’s streak began before the pro debuts of LeBron James, Miguel Cabrera, Ben Roethlisberger, and Sidney Crosby—and even before some current PGA TOUR players were born.

The next longest active streak, by Jordan Spieth, stands at 51 majors, putting into context just how rare Scott’s run has been. In a sport defined by volatility, he’s been a constant.

Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Mizuho Americas Open tees off today, and all eyes will be on defending champion Jeeno Thitikul ⛳👀

Last year, Thitikul set the tone early with a bogey-free 64 in her opening round, then finished the week the same way, closing at 3-under without a single bogey on Sunday to claim the title. Just last month, she climbed to No. 1 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings before slipping from the top spot after the Chevron Championship.

Now she returns looking to reclaim both the trophy and the top ranking 🏆

Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Some legends leave their mark as players. Others redefine the game from the sideline.

On her birthday, we’re celebrating Dawn Staley — one of the very few to do BOTH at the highest level.

A Hall of Fame point guard, Staley won three Olympic gold medals, earned six straight WNBA All-Star selections, and became the only person in basketball history, men’s or women’s, to win multiple Naismith Player of the Year and multiple Naismith Coach of the Year honors. Staley didn’t just master the game, she mastered teaching it, leading the South Carolina Gamecocks to three national titles after a decorated playing career of her own.

The best players do not always become the best coaches. Dawn Staley is one of the rare exceptions. Today, we wish her a very happy birthday!🎂

Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Two milestones. One date. One impossible standard.

On May 1st, Rickey Henderson made history—twice.

In 1991, he stole his 939th base, passing Lou Brock to become MLB’s all-time leader in that category.

Then, on May 1st the very next year, he did it again—swiping his 1,000th career base and becoming the first (and still ONLY) player to reach FOUR DIGITS! 😮

Henderson retired with 1,406 stolen bases, a record that is likely to stand for many years to come, considering no active player is within 1,000 of his total.

Speed didn’t just define Rickey. It rewrote the record books. ⚡️

Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On April 30, 1939, Lou Gehrig took the field for the 2,130th and final game of his legendary consecutive games streak—one of the most iconic marks in baseball history. Gehrig sadly would never play another game, with the New York Yankees announcing his retirement later that year.

Gehrig’s legacy was not just his durability. He remains one of the most dominant hitters in Yankees franchise history, ranking 1st in RBIs, 2nd in hits, and 3rd in both runs and home runs, while posting a .340 batting average, second-best among Yankees with 500+ at-bats.

On September 6, 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. passed Gehrig, playing in his 2,131st consecutive game—and didn’t stop there, extending the record to 2,632.

Today, that durability lives on through , who recently reached 800 consecutive games—the longest active streak in the majors.

From Gehrig to Ripken to today’s game—the streak evolves, but the standard never changes.

Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

A century later, the legend still stands.

On April 27, 1926, Mel Ott made his major-league debut at just 17 years old, the youngest player ever to appear for the Giants franchise. Ott would hit .383 that year and racked up 209 hits with New York as a teenager over his first three seasons.

At 20, Ott became the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to hit for the cycle, a record that still stands today. He is also the youngest to reach 100 home runs of the 1000+ players to reach that milestone, doing so at age 22.

And when it was all said and done? Ott finished his 22-year career with 511 home runs and a .304 batting average, making him one of just nine players with 500+ homers and a .300 average.

100 years later, greatness like this doesn’t age. ⚾️

Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

⛳️ Major season is underway!

The first major of the LPGA season “teed off” yesterday with the start of the Chevron Championship at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas.

Last year’s tournament delivered a five-player playoff for the title, the largest playoff field in LPGA major history. Mao Saigo clinched the win with a birdie on the playoff hole, securing her first LPGA Tour victory.

Saigo began the tournament five strokes back after the opening round before completing the comeback. She celebrated in traditional fashion with a dive into the pond bordering the 18th hole.

A reminder that in majors, no lead is safe and no deficit is final.

Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect