Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
The hottest item in the first half of the 1938 season was 23-year-old Cincinnati left-handed pitcher Johnny Vander Meer.
In his second Major League season, Vander Meer set a record that still stands -- and might never be matched -- when he threw back-to-back no-hitters for the Reds on June 11 and June 15.
The first came against the Boston Braves in Cincinnati. The second came at Brooklyn in the first night game ever at Ebbets Field. Overall, Vander Meer pitched 21 1/3 consecutive hitless innings, and the no-hitters were part of a streak of nine straight wins.