On this day in baseball history, June 18, the following noteworthy events occurred.

Reggie Jackson & Billy Martin Dugout Beef:

On this day in 1977, the Yankees took on the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. With the Yankees trailing the Sox 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth, Fred Lynn singled, then Jim Rice hit what should’ve been a single, but it appeared Reggie Jackson in Right Field wasn’t hustling hard enough, and a Jim Rice made it to second base. Billy Martin, the Yankees fiery no-nonsense skipper who wasn’t on board with Reggie being a Yankee initially, pulled Reggie right away.

The cameras caught everything, and right when Reggie entered the dugout, Martin got in his face right away, and the two instantly were at each other’s throats. Martin tried to go after Jackson while walking away, but his coaches restrained him. While the Yankees would lose the Game and this altercation would never be forgotten, whatever remaining beef between Reggie and Billy wouldn’t stop the Yankees from winning the World Series that year.

Don Sutton Wins 300th Game:

On this day in 1986, Don Sutton became the 19th pitcher in baseball history to reach 300 career Wins, which sealed his ticket to one day being inducted into the Hall of Fame. The 41-year-old went the full nine innings, walking none, only allowing three hits and one run.

References:

  1. Gotsulias, Stacey. June 18, 1977: When Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin clashed at Fenway via Sporting News: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/reggie-jackson-billy-martin-dugout-fight-fenway-park-june-18-1977-yankees-red-sox/g2yz28ldc4121tv1ev1cevg2p
  2. TEXAS RANGERS VS CALIFORNIA ANGELS JUNE 18, 1986 BOX SCORE via Baseball Almanac: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198606180CAL