On June 11, 1972, Manny Mota and Willie Davis both hit inside-the-park home runs at Dodger Stadium during a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The inside-the-park homers both came off Pirates starter Bruce Kinson. Mota hit his in the third inning with one on and one out, while Davis’ homer came in the fifth inning with two outs and no one on base.
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, they ended up losing 7-5 after Roberto Clemente hit a home run of his own in the seventh inning. Pete Mikkelsen, who came on in relief of starter Al Downing with two outs in the fourth inning, took the loss after giving up three runs.
Mota went on to finish the season batting .323/.375/.434 with five home runs in 410 plate appearances. Davis hit .289/.317/.441 with 19 home runs in 654 plate appearances during the 1972 season.
Under manager Walter Alston, the Dodgers finished the season second in the National League West with a record of 85-70.
The Pirates were among baseball’s best teams that season, winning the NL East at 96-59 before losing in the NL Championship Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Their June 11 win against the Dodgers was their 21st win in their last 26 games.
Roy Campanella sets NL catcher home run record
Also on this day in Dodgers history but in 1957, Roy Campanella surpassed former Cubs and Giants backstop Gabby Hartnett to establish a new NL mark when he hits his 237th career home run as a catcher.
The historic homer came off Ray Crone in the seventh inning of Brooklyn’s 7-2 loss to the Braves at Ebbets Field.
That long ball was one of the 13 Campanella hit during his final season with the club as he finished the year batting .242/.316/.388. Over his 10 year career with the Dodgers, the Hall of Famer hit .276/.360/.500 with 242 career home runs.
The record for home runs from an NL catcher now belongs to Mike Piazza, who hit 419 over the course of his Hall of Fame career. As for Campanella, he now ranks fifth on the list, behind Piazza, Johnny Bench, Cary Carter and Joe Torre.
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