On 2 August 2001, RHP WOODY WILLIAMS was traded from his San Diego Padres to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for OF Ray Lankford.

The Richmond Braves signed C CHARLIE GREENE, 30, on 2 August 2001, nine days after his release from the San Diego Padres organization, where he batted just .137 with 1 home run and 10 runs batted in over 68 games while playing with their Triple-AAA affiliate, the Portland Beavers, of the Pacific Coast League. An 11-year veteran, he has spent time in the majors each of the last five seasons, suiting up for the Mets (1996), Orioles (1997-998), Brewers (1999), and the BLUE JAYS (2000).

RHP AARON MYETTE, of Surrey, British Columbia, outduelled Mike Mussina, as his Texas Rangers won their first series at Yankee Stadium in eight years, with a 12-2 win on Thursday, 2 August 2001. Myette earned his first career MLB victory for the Rangers as they matched their season high with 18 hits. He had been winless in his first 14 appearances in the majors, but showed no signs of nerves in his first game against the 2000 World Series Champions, holding the Yankees to just one hit before a two-run double with one out in the sixth knocked him out of the game. He was 0-3 with an 8.90 ERA in his first seven starts in the big leagues. Mussina gave up eight runs on nine hits and a season high three homers in four innings.

On Friday 3 August 2001, the Florida Marlins purchased the contract of OF CHAD MOTTOLA from their Triple-A CALGARY CANNONS club.

The MONTREAL EXPOS signed veteran OF RYAN THOMPSON to a minor league contract on 3 August 2001, assigning him to the OTTAWA LYNX. Thompson. The 33-year-old native of Rock Hall, Maryland, joins the Lynx from the Triple-AAA CALGARY CANNONS of the Pacific Coast League where he played until 2 July, hitting .312 with 19 HR and 68 RBI in 77 games. He began the 2001 season with a career .267 average over 1017 minor league games with 128 home runs and 501 runs batted in, and has played for the Mets, Indians, Astros and Yankees in the big leagues, compiling 44 HR and 150 RBI. He began his professional career with the BLUE JAYS organization at MEDICINE HAT in 1987 after being selected in the 13th round of the free-agent draft that summer, then joined the New York Mets organization in 1992 after being involved in a trade sending RHP DAVID CONE over for IF JEFF KENT.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays named GLENN EZELL as their Bullpen Coach on 4 August 2001, replacing Darren Daulton who resigned due to personal concerns.

GABE GROSS, the 21-year-old No. 1 draft pick, selected in the 15th round out of Auburn University, by the TORONTO BLUE JAYS this year, is off to an excellent start at Single-A DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS. He had hit .326 with 13 home runs and 65 RBI at Auburn this season and is currently batting .328 with 3 HR and 10 runs batted in over 18 games to 5 August 2001. The 6' 3", 205 pound outfielder drove in the winning run in the ninth inning recently against the Fort Myers Miracle, a day after striking out four times. "A lot of young players would not be able to bounce back from that the very next day," Dunedin Manager MARTY PEVEY said. "But Gabe came back and had an outstanding game. Good players go about their
business in the same way every day." Slated to play in the Arizina Fall League, Gross is still adjusting to playing right field after having played in left
field for much of his college years. "His arm strength is there, he just needs to work on reading the ball off the bat and his footwork, but that will come
with time," Pevey stated.

OF TONY PETERS launched a grand slam and scored three runs, and OF REED JOHNSON and OF RYAN FLEMING both homered and drove in two runs as their TENNESSEE SMOKIES pounded out 20 hits to crush the Orlando Rays, 15-3, on 5 August 2001, avoiding a sweep of their four-game series. Peters socked his 10th home run with two outs in the third, capping a six-run inning. Johnson homered leading off the bottom of the first and later laced an rbi single in the fifth. Fleming collected an RBI groundout in the sixth inning and smacked a solo shot with two outs in the eighth.

Kenny Lofton could barely talk and neither could the roughly 20,000 fans remaining until the very end, or the shocked Seattle Mariners. Stunned. Breathless. Amazing. This describes the Cleveland Indians impossible comeback from a 12-run deficit to win by a 15-14 margin in 11 innings. Many of the capacity crowd had headed out by the time the Mariners had opened a 14-2 lead in the fifth. JOLBERT CABRERA, with a broken-bat, one-out single, the 40th hit of the match, scored Lofton from second with the winning counter to end the 4 hour and 11 minute contest which for all intents and purposes appeared to be all but over when the M's led 12-0 three hours earlier. Lofton slid headfirst into home plate ahead of the throw from left field, jumping into the waiting arms of C Eddie Taubensee, as their teammates poured out of the dugout and onto the field and fans jumped around in the aisles and seats. "It's the turning point of the season," said Cabrera, after his Indians avoided another lopsided loss and crept to within one-half game of the first place Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. The Indians became the first team in 76 years to overcome a 12-run deficit to win. Last done in 1925 by the Philadelphia Athletics, and previous to that by the 1911 Chicago White Sox, who scored 13 runs in the eighth to outlast Cleveland, 17-15.

The Texas Rangers turned their third triple play in franchise history on Monday, 6 August 2001, doing it in the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox. With runners on first and second moving on the pitch, C Scott Hatteberg lined out to SS Alex Rodriguez who then flipped the ball to 2B Randy Velarde who forced 1B Brian Daubach for out # 2. He then proceeded to tag 3B CHRIS STYNES running from first base to complete the action. Velarde had previously turned an unassisted triple play on 29 May 2000, while with the Oakland Athletics against the New York Yankees. On his next at-bat, in the sixth, Hatteberg atoned somewhat by stroking a grand slam, his third homer of the current campaign and his second career slam and in so doing became the first player in MLB history to ever hit into a triple play and then follow up with a grand slam home run, as his Red Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers with a 10-7 victory.

C / 1B CRAIG WILSON is one of only 13 MLB players to homer five times as a pinch-hitter in a single season, through 13 August 2001. His record to this point is 8 home runs, 14 runs batted in over 75 at-bats for a .253 average.