My son and I made one of our irregular pilgrimages to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington last night, and the stars were aligned so that we (and 32,423 other sweltering fans) would be a part of two significant milestones on Dollar Hot Dog Night.

Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez — the long-time Rangers star who now crouches behind the plate for the Houston Astros — was catching his 2,227th major league game Wednesday, eclipsing the previous record set by Carlton Fisk.

We were sitting near the left field foul pole as the crowd rose to its feet to pay tribute to this beloved ex-Ranger as a montage of career highlights played back on the scoreboard. It was hard to catch Rodriguez' exact reaction from our viewpoint, but we could see him pausing to wave to the fans, and it's hard to imagine that he didn't get at least a little choked up at this semi-spontaneous demonstration of respect and sportsmanship. It was quite a moment.

We also got to see Rangers shortstop Omar Vizquel tie a record for the most hits by a Venezuelan-born major leaguer (now held by Vizquel and Luis Aparicio) at 2,677. His achievement was duly noted by those in attendance, but it was definitely overshadowed by the 37-year-old Astros catcher, who maintains a special connection with Rangers fans.

It all reminded me of the only other time I'd ever seen a major league record (of sorts) in person.

Forty-six years ago this month, on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Polo Grounds in New York, veteran outfielder Jimmy Piersall came to bat playing for the hapless New York Mets in their second season.

I watched as Piersall slugged a home run in the fifth inning of the first game of a double-header against the Phillies. (Okay, I didn't really remember what inning it was; I had to look that up!) What happened next, though, was unforgettable, even to a 10-year-old kid.

Piersall began running around the bases backwards. (You can see a photo at The Ultimate Mets Database)

He did run in the correct direction (from home plate to first base, etc.), but he was facing backwards as he awkwardly trotted around the diamond on the occasion of his 100th career home run. It's something that I don't think anyone before or since has attempted.

Piersall reportedly boasted that his stunt would get more publicity than the 400th home run hit by fellow Mets veteran Duke Snider. He was right; it was front-page news.

According to the box score from The Baseball Almanac, the home team went on to blank the Phillies 5-0, one of just 51 games the Mets would win during that dismal but oh-so-colorful season.

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