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Rickey For 50: Today in Sports History

On June 1st, 1982, Rickey Henderson became the fastest player to reach 50 stolen bases in a season. Henderson stole two bases against the Boston Red Sox in a 3-2 win to cross the milestone we rarely see today in a full season. In fact, no player reached 50 stolen bases in 2025. Only six players have reached 50 stolen bases since 2021, those being Ronald Acuña Jr., Esteury Ruiz, Corbin Carroll, Elly De La Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, and Brice Turang. But that’s across a full season. Rickey did it by June 1st. He finished the 1982 season with 130 stolen bases, the most ever in a single season.

Athletics

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Mother's Day, Perfect

On Mother's Day 2010, Oakland lefty Dallas Braden walked into the Coliseum hungover. The 26 year old had spent the previous night drinking with friends to numb the pain, his mother, Jodie, had died of melanoma when he was 17, and Mother's Day was a hard date on his calendar. He arrived at the ballpark late, skipped his usual two hours of scouting reports, and barely had time to play catch with catcher Landon Powell before first pitch. Then he retired all 27 Tampa Bay Rays he faced. May 9, 2010. Athletics 4, Rays 0. Perfect gam. Only the 19th in MLB history. 109 pitches. Six strikeouts. Zero baserunners. The Rays had the best record in the AL at the time. Braden had a career ERA above 4.00. The catharsis came at the end. Braden's grandmother, Peggy Lindsey who had raised him after his mother's death was in the stands. After the final out, she made her way down to the field. He hugged her, kissed the Saint Christopher medallion he wore around his neck, and the two stood at home plate crying together. "We got Mother's Day back," Braden said afterward. The journeyman lefty pitched the game of his life on the day that mattered most. Besides the final day at the Coliseum when I was with my whole entire family this was the most emotional I've ever been watching an A's game. Gets me every time.

@zach

Manaea Throws a No-Hitter: Today in Sports History

On April 21st, 2018, Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea threw a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox, leading the A's to a 3-0 victory. The 26-year-old completed the game with 108 pitches, throwing 10 strikeouts and allowing two walks. Manaea nearly lost his no-hitter twice, but the umpires ruled in his favor. In the top of the 5th inning, shortstop Marcus Semien fumbled a pop-up. It was ultimately ruled an error, not a hit, but Manaea responded with a strikeout against Jackie Bradley Jr. The Red Sox were temporarily awarded a hit in the sixth inning when Andrew Benintendi reached first base on a chopper up the right side, avoiding a diving Matt Olson in the process. However, after a lengthy huddle by the officiating crew, it was determined that Benintendi had run out of the baseline while avoiding Olson, ruling him out and keeping history intact. The Red Sox were 17-2 when they were no-hit. It was the best record in MLB history for a team that was no-hit (with a minimum of 5 games played in a season).

@zach

Eckersley Traded to Oakland: Today in Sports History

On April 3rd, 1987, reliever Dennis Eckersley was traded by the Chicago Cubs alongside utility Dan Rohn to the Oakland Athletics for three prospects. Eck was already an established All-Star as he entered the back half of his career, but his best days would come in Oakland. He helped capture a World Series in 1989, was named to four more All-Star games, and won the 1992 MVP and Cy Young. Across 9 seasons, the Hall-of-Famer threw to a 2.74 ERA and 145 ERA+. The return for Chicago saw Brian Guinn, Mark Leonette and Dave Wilder toil in the minor leagues for some seasons. None of them ever made the majors.