When Senators righthander and future Hall of Famer Walter Johnson struck out Indians pitcher Stan Coveleski on July 22, 1923, to become the first man in MLB history to reach 3,000 career punchouts, there was no celebration. At least, there’s no record of such in the nation’s newspapers, which dutifully reported Johnson’s achievement with a short Associated Press story in their sports pages but provided nothing beyond that. If the game stopped so the fans at Cleveland’s Dunn Field could applaud, or so that Johnson’s teammates could congratulate him, there’s no indication. Instead, the founding of one of the game’s most exclusive clubs happened and passed with little to no fanfare.
CC Sabathia's Final Milestone Secures His Place in Baseball History
