May 5 in Baseball History — Milestones, Debuts, Births & Deaths

This day in baseball ● On this day

May 5

The record for May 5 in baseball history — 8 milestones, 20 debuts, 8 final games, 55 births, 27 deaths and 1,228 games played.

Featured event · 1904

Cy Young's Perfect Game

Young retires all twenty-seven Philadelphia batters at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, the first perfect game of the modern era.

May 5, 1904Philadelphia Athletics @ Boston Red Sox

Milestones · May 5

1904

Cy Young's Perfect Game

Young retires all twenty-seven Philadelphia batters at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, the first perfect game of the modern era.

1917

Ernie Koob's No-Hitter

Ernie Koob threw a no-hitter for the St. Louis Browns against the Chicago White Sox on May 5, 1917, winning 1–0.

1925

Ty Cobb's Three-Home-Run Game, 1925

Ty Cobb hit three home runs for the Detroit Tigers against the St. Louis Browns on May 5, 1925.

1933

Pepper Martin Hits for the Cycle, 1933

Pepper Martin hit for the cycle for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 5, 1933.

1939

Sam Chapman Hits for the Cycle, 1939

Sam Chapman hit for the cycle for the Philadelphia Athletics against the St. Louis Browns on May 5, 1939.

1962

Bo Belinsky's No-Hitter

Bo Belinsky threw a no-hitter for the Los Angeles Angels against the Baltimore Orioles on May 5, 1962, winning 2–0.

1978

Pete Rose's 3,000th Hit

Pete Rose singles twice leading off for Cincinnati against Montreal for his 3,000th hit, at thirty-seven and with eight years still to play.

2021

John Means's No-Hitter

John Means threw a no-hitter for the Baltimore Orioles against the Seattle Mariners on May 5, 2021, winning 6–0.

Major-league debuts · May 5

1871

Doug Allison

Doug Allison made a major-league debut on May 5, 1871.

1871

Ross Barnes

Ross Barnes made a major-league debut on May 5, 1871.

1871

Davy Force

Davy Force made a major-league debut on May 5, 1871.

1871

Andy Leonard

Andy Leonard made a major-league debut on May 5, 1871.

1871

Al Spalding

Al Spalding made a major-league debut on May 5, 1871.

1871

George Wright

George Wright made a major-league debut on May 5, 1871.

1871

Harry Wright

Harry Wright made a major-league debut on May 5, 1871.

1874

Tommy Bond

Tommy Bond made a major-league debut on May 5, 1874.

1880

Old Hoss Radbourn

Old Hoss Radbourn made a major-league debut on May 5, 1880.

1883

Tip O'Neill

Tip O'Neill made a major-league debut on May 5, 1883.

1920

Clyde Manion

Clyde Manion made a major-league debut on May 5, 1920.

1926

Jack Russell

Jack Russell made a major-league debut on May 5, 1926.

1930

Tony Rensa

Tony Rensa made a major-league debut on May 5, 1930.

1934

Al Smith

Al Smith made a major-league debut on May 5, 1934.

1937

Chet Laabs

Chet Laabs made a major-league debut on May 5, 1937.

1964

Tom Kelley

Tom Kelley made a major-league debut on May 5, 1964.

2006

Russell Martin

Russell Martin made a major-league debut on May 5, 2006.

2008

Matt Joyce

Matt Joyce made a major-league debut on May 5, 2008.

2009

Brett Cecil

Brett Cecil made a major-league debut on May 5, 2009.

2012

Miles Mikolas

Miles Mikolas made a major-league debut on May 5, 2012.

Final major-league games · May 5

1928

Bill Haeffner

Bill Haeffner played a final major-league game on May 5, 1928.

1957

Windy McCall

Windy McCall played a final major-league game on May 5, 1957.

1963

Gil Hodges

Gil Hodges played a final major-league game on May 5, 1963.

1971

Camilo Pascual

Camilo Pascual played a final major-league game on May 5, 1971.

1985

Kiko Garcia

Kiko Garcia played a final major-league game on May 5, 1985.

2005

Bobby Higginson

Bobby Higginson played a final major-league game on May 5, 2005.

2007

Preston Wilson

Preston Wilson played a final major-league game on May 5, 2007.

2021

Sean Kazmar

Sean Kazmar played a final major-league game on May 5, 2021.

1,228 regular-season games played on May 5

2024

New York Mets at Tampa Bay Rays

New York Mets 6, Tampa Bay Rays 7.

2024

Miami Marlins at Oakland Athletics

Miami Marlins 12, Oakland Athletics 3.

2024

Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees

Detroit Tigers 2, New York Yankees 5.

2025

San Diego Padres at New York Yankees

San Diego Padres 4, New York Yankees 3.

2025

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals

Chicago White Sox 0, Kansas City Royals 3.

2025

Seattle Mariners at Athletics

Seattle Mariners 6, Athletics 7.

2025

Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals

Pittsburgh Pirates 3, St. Louis Cardinals 6.

2025

Houston Astros at Milwaukee Brewers

Houston Astros 1, Milwaukee Brewers 5.

2025

Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins

Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Miami Marlins 4.

2025

San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs

San Francisco Giants 2, Chicago Cubs 9.

2025

Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves

Cincinnati Reds 0, Atlanta Braves 4.

2025

New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks

New York Mets 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 4.

These are the 12 most recent of 1,228 games played on this date. The sections above lead with what made the day matter.

Born on this day

Bill Watkins

b. May 5, 1858 · Third baseman for the Indianapolis Hoosiers, 1884 to 1884.

Andy Oyler

b. May 5, 1880 · Third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, 1902 to 1902.

Gene Curtis

b. May 5, 1883 · Left fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1903 to 1903.

Charles Bender

b. May 5, 1884 · Connie Mack's pick for any game that had to be won: 212-127, a 2.46 earned run average, and 40 shutouts across sixteen seasons.

Henri Rondeau

b. May 5, 1887 · Left fielder across two clubs, 1913 to 1916.

Bruno Haas

b. May 5, 1891 · Pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, 1915 to 1915.

Bill Casey

b. May 5, 1905 · Catcher who batted .271 across seven clubs, 1930 to 1942.

George Dockins

b. May 5, 1917 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1945 to 1947.

Bob Cerv

b. May 5, 1925 · Left fielder who batted .276 across four clubs, 1951 to 1962.

Harley Grossman

b. May 5, 1930 · Pitcher for the Washington Senators, 1952 to 1952.

Chuck Locke

b. May 5, 1932 · Pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, 1955 to 1955.

Don Buddin

b. May 5, 1934 · Shortstop who batted .241 across three clubs, 1956 to 1962.

José Pagán

b. May 5, 1935 · Lost the 1962 World Series with San Francisco and won it with Pittsburgh nine years later.

Tommy Helms

b. May 5, 1941 · Was Rookie of the Year in 1966, won two Gold Gloves, and was traded for Joe Morgan.

Larry Hisle

b. May 5, 1947 · Led the American League in runs batted in in 1977, signed with Milwaukee, and tore his rotator cuff the next spring.

Dave Gumpert

b. May 5, 1958 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1982 to 1987.

Charles Nagy

b. May 5, 1967 · Pitcher who won 129 games with a 4.51 ERA across two clubs, 1990 to 2003.

Chad Bentz

b. May 5, 1980 · Pitcher across two clubs, 2004 to 2005.

Chris Duncan

b. May 5, 1981 · Left fielder who batted .257 for the St. Louis Cardinals, 2005 to 2009.

Austin Adams

b. May 5, 1991 · Pitcher across five clubs, 2017 to 2024.

Beau Sulser

b. May 5, 1994 · Pitcher across two clubs, 2022 to 2022.

Brian Serven

b. May 5, 1995 · Catcher across two clubs, 2022 to 2024.

Alejo López

b. May 5, 1996 · Second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, 2021 to 2023.

Eduardo Salazar

b. May 5, 1998 · Pitcher across three clubs, 2023 to 2025.

55 players were born on May 5; these are the 24 best known.

Died on this day

Peter Connell

d. May 5, 1892 · Third baseman across two clubs, 1886 to 1890.

Sam Moffet

d. May 5, 1907 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1884 to 1888.

John Riddle

d. May 5, 1931 · Catcher across two clubs, 1889 to 1890.

Steve Dunn

d. May 5, 1933 · First baseman for the St. Paul White Caps, 1884 to 1884.

Bill Anderson

d. May 5, 1936 · Pitcher for the Louisville Colonels, 1889 to 1889.

Lou Sylvester

d. May 5, 1936 · Left fielder who batted .243 across four clubs, 1884 to 1887.

Bill Wise

d. May 5, 1940 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1882 to 1886.

Otis Francis

d. May 5, 1940 · Second baseman for the Indianapolis ABCs, 1920 to 1920.

Ty LaForest

d. May 5, 1947 · Third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, 1945 to 1945.

John Godwin

d. May 5, 1956 · Third baseman for the Boston Americans, 1905 to 1906.

George Harney

d. May 5, 1959 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1923 to 1931.

Verne Clemons

d. May 5, 1959 · Catcher who batted .286 across two clubs, 1916 to 1924.

Eddie Cicotte

d. May 5, 1969 · Won 29 games in 1919 and was banned for life for helping to lose the World Series.

Bert Griffith

d. May 5, 1973 · Right fielder who batted .299 across two clubs, 1922 to 1924.

Tom McNamara

d. May 5, 1974 · Baseball figure for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1922 to 1922.

Bill Marshall

d. May 5, 1977 · Second baseman across two clubs, 1931 to 1934.

Joe Batchelder

d. May 5, 1989 · Pitcher for the Boston Braves, 1923 to 1925.

Tony DePhillips

d. May 5, 1994 · Catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, 1943 to 1943.

Cal Howe

d. May 5, 2008 · Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, 1952 to 1952.

Don Leshnock

d. May 5, 2012 · Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, 1972 to 1972.

Roy Wright

d. May 5, 2018 · Pitcher for the New York Giants, 1956 to 1956.

Del Crandall

d. May 5, 2021 · Caught 1,479 games for the Braves, won four of the first Gold Gloves, and lost two seasons to the Army.

Gerry Schoen

d. May 5, 2021 · Pitcher for the Washington Senators, 1968 to 1968.

Ray Newman

d. May 5, 2023 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1971 to 1973.

27 players died on May 5; these are the 24 best known.