This Day In Baseball - The Daily Rewind

Oct. 12, 1972 -- In game 5 of the American League Championship Series the A’s, win 2-1 over the Detroit Tigers. The deciding run comes in the second inning with Mickey Lolich on the mound,  Mike Epstein on first, and Reggie Jackson on third when A’s Manager Dick Williams flashes the sign for a double steal. Reggie bounded down the third base line on the delayed steal as Tiger’s shortstop Dick McAuliffe  cut off the throw to second and fired it back to A’s Catcher Bill Freehan. Reggie and Freehan collided and Jackson was called safe at the plate. Sal Bando, A’s Captain, recalled that “Reggie had an unusual way of sliding. He would jump up, then leave his feet."Whether it was the slide or the collision, this time it would result in a torn left hamstring that would force Reggie to leave the game and keep him from appearing in the ’72 World Series. Jackson is the only player to ever steal home in league championship play. After the chaos of that hard fought series Dick Williams was quoted as saying that he sl

October 11, 1999 -- With the American League divisional Series between Boston and Cleveland tied at two games apiece, the Red Sox send Bret Saberhagen out to face Charles Nagy. In an eruption of runs, both starters find themselves out of the game by the third inning and the game tied at 8. With the season on the line, Sox manager Jimy Williams summons his ace, Pedro Martinez from the bullpen. The electrifying move sent shockwaves through Jacob’s field since Martinez was removed from Game 1 after 4 innings due to a strained back, and all expected they had seen the last of Pedro’s incredible 1999 season. Martinez was masterful, striking out eight and walking three despite having neither his fastball nor changeup at his disposal. Throwing hiscurveball almost exclusively, Martinez and the Red Sox won the rubber match of the ALDS 12-8 in what is cited as one of Martinez’s greatest appearances. Also memorable in this game was the Indians strategy to intentionally walk shortstop Nomar Garciapara to face outfielder

October 10, 2004 The Boston Globe reports growing concern for Curt Shillings ailing right ankle. With two days to go before game one of the American league Championship series against the Yankees in the Bronx, Schilling was downplaying the injury and all but guaranteed he would make every scheduled start the rest of the way. Concerns would grow more serious with each passing game leading up to the famous “Bloody Sock” of Game 6.October 10, 1956 - Pitcher Johnny Kucks sets down the Brooklyn Dodgers, 9 - 0, as the New York Yankees win the World Series in seven games. Yogi Berra hits a pair of two-run home runs and Bill Skowron hits a grand slam. It's the seventh and final time Brooklyn and the Yankees meet in the Series. In the future, it will take a jet, not a subway, to get these two teams together, as the Dodgers will move to Los Angeles in 1958.October 10, 1973 - Tom Seaver hurls the Mets into the World Series for the second time in four years with a 7 - 2 victory over Cincinnati in Game Five of the Nat

October 9, 1996 - Bernie Williams hit a home run in the 11th inning to give the New York Yankees a 5 - 4 victory over Baltimore in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees were also aided by an assist from a young fan, which proved to be a game changer. The O’s held a 4-3 lead when Derek Jeter hit a ball to deep right field. Right fielder Tony Tarasco positioned himself to make the play when 12 year old Jeffrey Maier reached out and deflected the ball into the stands and Umpire Rich Garcia called the hit a home run.  Garcia later admitted that there was spectator interference, though he maintained the ball was not catchable despite overwhelming visual evidence to the contrary.October 9, 1910 - Nap Lajoie, in a batting race with Ty Cobb, collected eight hits for Cleveland in a season-ending doubleheader with the St. Louis Browns. The hits were somewhat tainted; however, as St. Louis third baseman Red Corriden played back as Lajoie bunted safely six times. Regardless, Cobb was awarded the

October 8, 1956 - Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitched the only perfect game in World Series history for a 2 - 0 triumph over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sal Maglie, the opposing pitcher, gave up five hits. This would be the only post season no hitter until Roy Halladay’s gem for the Phillies against Cincinnati on October 6th 2010.October 8, 1973 - Rusty Staub's two home runs powered the New York Mets to a 9 - 2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. Pete Rose of the Reds and Bud Harrelson of the Mets scuffled at second base in the fifth inning after Rose slid hard into the base. The benches cleared and when the dust settled, the 140 pound Harrelson ended up on losing end of both conflicts.October 8, 1989 - The Oakland Athletics beat Toronto 4 - 3 in Game Five of their AL division series to advance to the World Series for the second straight year. Rickey Henderson, who hit .400 with eight stolen bases, was named Series MVP.October 8, 2009 - The Los Angeles Angels open their fourth Di

October 7, 2001 San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds extends his major league record for home runs in season to 73 as he drives a 3-2 first inning knuckleball off Dodgers pitcher Dennis Springer over the right field fence. The blast also secures two more major league records for Bonds; as he surpassed Babe Ruth’s .847 slugging percentage in 1920 with a .863 season slugging percentage and crushed Mark McGwire’s 1998 mark of one HR every 7.27 at bats by homering in every 6.52 at-bats.October 7, 1936 - The Brooklyn Dodgers fire future Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel. Thirteen years later, Stengel will be hired by the New York Yankees and will lead the team to five straight World Championships. Stengel will eventually conclude his Hall of Fame career with the cross-town New York Mets.October 7, 1969 - The St. Louis Cardinals trade outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in a blockbuster deal involving slugging first baseman Dick Allen. Flood will refuse to report to the Phillies and will take baseball t

October 6, 1926 - Babe Ruth hits three home runs to lead the Yankees to a 10 - 5 victory over St. Louis in Game Four of the World Series. Ruth's final bomb of the day carried deep into the never-before reached centerfield bleachers, far beyond the 430-foot mark. Estimated at 530 feet, it is the longest home run in World Series history. If all this weren't enough, this also is the game during which the Babe makes good on his alleged pre-game promise to hit a home run for the bedridden young Johnny Sylvester.October 6, 1945 – William Sianis, a Chicago bar owner and his goat attend Game Four of the World Series at Wrigley. Cubs owner, P.K. Wrigley ordered that the pair leave because the goat stunk. As they were being escorted from the park Sianis was heard saying "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more. The Cubs will never win a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field.", The Chicago Cubs lose to Detroit 4 – 1, and Detroit would go on to win the World Series prompting Sianis

October 5, 2007 The Cleveland Indians can thank a bug infestation at Jacobs Field for helping them defeat the New York Yankees, 2 - 1 in 11 innings, and take a 2-0 lead in the ALDS. The bugs are at their worst in the eighth inning, when a flustered Joba Chamberlain gives up the tying run on a wild pitch. The bugs descended upon Jacobs Field in the eighth inning of Game Two like a Biblical plague come to destroy the New York postseason. Indian Pitcher Fausto Carmona pitched through the swarm unaffected  for the win.October 5, 1921 - New York is host to the first one-city World Series since 1906 and the Polo Grounds is the site for all nine games. Carl Mays of the Yankees needs 86 pitches to set the Giants down on five hits, four of them by Frankie Frisch, as Babe Ruth drives in the first run of the Series in the opening inning of the 3 - 0 Yankees win.October 5, 1929 - New York Giants Mel Ott and Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies go into a head-to-head doubleheader tied at 42 home runs apiece. In the op

October 4, 1955 - The Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series with MVP Johnny Podres beating the New York Yankees, 2 - 0 in Game Seven. This would be the fifth time the two teams met in the series over a nine year period and the first World Series televised in color. In 1957, the Dodgers would relocate to Los Angeles making this the Brooklyn team’s only World Series victory.October 4, 1922 - For the first time, the entire World Series will be broadcast over the radio. Writer Grantland Rice does the announcing of the New York Giants-New York Yankees Series for station WJZ in Newark, NJ, whose signal is relayed to WGY in Schenectady, NY.October 4, 1961 - Whitey Ford tosses his third straight World Series shutout. Home runs by Elston Howard and Bill Skowron, give the Yankees a 2 - 0 win in Game One of the 1961 World Series against Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium.October 4, 1967 - At Fenway Park, St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Lou Brock collects four hits, two stolen bases, and two runs as St. Louis defeats the “Imp

October 3, 1951 - Bobby Thomson hits a three-run home run off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the New York Giants a dramatic 5 -- 4 playoff victory and the National League pennant. Seeing the ball disappear over the fence, Thomson hopped crazily around the bases, then disappeared into the mob of teammates who had gathered at home plate. The stunned Dodger players trudged off the field - all except Jackie Robinson. No doubt knowing of "Merkle's Boner" 43 years earlier, he watched to be sure Thomson touched every base before he, too, headed for the clubhouse. The blast would become known in baseball lore as the Shot Heard 'Round the World.October 3, 1976 - Hank Aaron singles in his last major-league at bat and drives in his 2,297th run as the sixth-place Brewers lose to the Tigers 5 - 2.October 3, 1999 - On the final day of the season, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hits his 65th home run, moving past Ted Williams and Willie Mc

October 2, 1978 - Bucky “Bleeping” Dent's unlikely home run helps the New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox in a dramatic one-game playoff at Fenway Park. Trailing by two runs in the seventh inning, Dent smacks a three-run shot against pitcher Mike Torrez into the screen above the Green Monster. The Yankees hold on for a 5 - 4 victory en route to face the Royals in the ALCS and the Dodgers in the World Series. Dent would go on to hit .417 with 7 RBI in a six-game Yankee triumph over LA. October 2, 1963 - Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers sets a World Series record by striking out 15 batters in Game One against the New York Yankees, beating the record set by Carl Erskine 10 years ago on this day. The Dodgers win the game, 5 - 2, behind Koufax' six-hit pitching performance.October 2, 1968 - In one of the most memorable World Series performances ever, Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals strikes out 17 Detroit Tigers. Gibson sets the World Series record for most strikeouts in a single game, s

October 1, 1967 – The brilliant and brief Major League managerial career of Roberto Clemente began and ended on this day. Filling in for interim manager Danny Murtaugh, Clemente puts up stratospheric – if statistically insignificant – numbers as Pittsburgh's player-manager. The Pittsburgh Press reports: "Baseball’s only undefeated ‘manager’, Roberto Clemente, climaxed his greatest season ever by smashing his 23rd homer, a triple and driving in three runs while managing the Bucs before 28,244 fans on PrizeDay."October 1, 1932 - Babe Ruth, as legend has it, calls his home run against Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game Three of the World Series, won by the New York Yankees 7-5 at Wrigley Field. Root contended to his dying day that this was not the case; he claimed Ruth held up his bat to indicate he had one strike left.October 1, 1961 - Roger Maris hits his 61st home run of the season against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium eclipsing Babe Ruth's 34-year-old single

September 30, 1972 Roberto Clemente doubles off the Mets' Jon Matlack to become the eleventh major leaguer to collect 3000 hits. On hand for the event was Clemente's hero, Willie Mays, now a New York Met, who called Clemente "The Greatest". Sealing the mutual admiration Clemente was quoted saying ""Willie Mays is the greatest player I've ever seen. I never saw Joe DiMaggio play, but if Joe DiMaggio was better than Willie Mays, he belongs in heaven." Sadly, the Pirate right fielder's 3000th hit would be his last, as he would die on New Year's Eve in a plane crash while attempting to bring relief aid to earthquake-stricken Managua, Nicaragua.September 30, 1945 Hank Greenberg hits a pennant-winning grand slam on the final day of the season. The Tiger left fielder's ninth-inning 4 run bomb beats the Browns 6 - 3 clinching the American League flag for Detroit over the second-place Senators.September 30, 1962 Willie Mays' 47th home run, an 8th-inning blast off Dick F

September 29, 1954 - Willie Mays makes his famous running catch off the bat of Vic Wertz in game one of the World Series. In the eighth inning with a 2-2 tie and men on 1st and 2nd, Wertz slammed a 420 foot shot to the cavernous center field of the Polo Grounds. Mays was playing shallow, since Giants pitcher Don Liddle was a groundball pitcher, and had to turn his back to the infield sprinting for the outfield wall. Mays made an over the shoulder catch and a quick turn firing the ball to the infield holding Larry Doby at 3rd base and preserving the tie. As much as has been made of the catch, Mays himself did not consider it the best defensive play he ever made.September 29, 1974 - Lou Brock steals his 118th and last base on the final day of the season setting the record for steals in a single season. Ricky Henderson would break that record in 1982 with 130 thefts.September 29, 1978 - Jim Rice doubles and singles against the Toronto Blue Jays in Fenway Park. Rice is the first American Leaguer to amass 400 tota

September 28, 1920 - A grand jury indicts eight members of the Chicago White Sox on charges of fixing the1919 World Series in the "Black Sox Scandal." It is the black eye on the sport that would lead to the banning of eight players. Eddie Cicotte and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson both confessed to accepting money from gamblers. Cicotte's second pitch of Game 1 of the 1919 World Series hit the Reds leadoff batter, which was the pre-arranged signal to the gamblers that the players had accepted the fix. Jackson and Cicotte would both recant their confessions after key evidence went missing from the Cook County courthouse. Years later, the missing confessions would reappear in the possession of Comiskey's lawyer.September 28, 1941 - Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox goes 6 for 8 in a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics to finish the season with a .406 batting average. No player has batted .400 since.September 28, 1974 - Nolan Ryan pitches his third of seven career no-hitters, strik

September 26, 1961 In New York's 159th game, Roger Maris rips a Jack Fisher fastball into the RF seats at Yankee Stadium for his 60th home run. New York beats Baltimore 3 - 2. There are fewer than 8,000 fans on hand to view this historic event. The legitimacy of the record would be a hot topic of debate since the American League had been expanded from 8 to10 teams and the number of games played was increased by 8.September 26, 1998 Mark McGwire sends two balls the distance, collecting homers number 67 and 68 of the season. McGwire now stands alone as the single season home run king.. 48,212 fans would be on hand at Busch Stadium to witness McGwire's assault on history and the Cards lose 7 - 6 to Montreal.September 26, 1971 Willie Mays hits his 646th and last home run as a member of the San Francisco Giants. It comes in the Giants' 12-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium. September 26, 1955 - The Red Sox beat the Yankees 8-1 as Ted Williams goes 1-for-20. Williams finishes the seaso

September 25, 1954 -- A crowd of 14,175 faithful Fenway fans pay tribute to retiring Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams who is playing his last game at home. The Splendid Splinter's retirement will only last until May when his divorce is finalized with his contract being excluded from the settlement. His true retirement from playing would come in 1960, which inspired an article by John Updike titled "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu". Updike accurately described the fans relationship with Williams when he said "The affair between Boston and Ted Williams has been no mere summer romance; it has been a marriage composed of spats, mutual disappointments, and toward the end, a mellowing hoard of shared memories." It was here that Updike referred to Fenway Park as "a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark".September 25, 1965 -- At age 34, Willie Mays becomes the oldest player to slug 50 home runs in a season. The Giants center fielder was also the youngest to accomplish the feat hitting 51 homers in 195

September 24, 1998 Red Sox reliever Tom Gordon records his 42nd consecutive save establishing a major league record. Boston clinches the AL wild card spot behind a pair of homers and four runs scored by Nomar Garciaparra. Author Stephen King would later write a novel titled The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, referring to his outstanding 1998 season with Boston and solidifying Gordon’s place as a New England folk hero.September 24, 1931 Lefty Grove wins his 31st, beating the Red Sox 9 - 4, his 11th straight win over the Red Sox stretching back to May 26, 1930. Since July 25, 1930, Grove's record is 46 - 4, the best 50 decision streak in the century.September 24, 1940 - George Caster of the Philadelphia Athletics allows six home runs in one game against the Boston Red Sox. One of these bombs came courtesy of Jimmie Foxx and it would be the 500th of his career.September 24, 1979 Pete Rose singles in the Phillies' 7 - 2 loss to the Cardinals giving him 200 hits in a season for the 10th time. He breaks the maj

September 23, 1908 Giants Pitcher Christy Mathewson and Cubs P Three Finger Brown battlein one of the most controversial game ever played. The score is 1-1 with two outs in the last of the 9th, when Fred Merkle's failure to touch second after an apparent game - winning hit by Al Bridwell costs the Giants a 2 - 1 win. The ump calls Merkle out and rules the game a tie.The base running gaffe, referred to as “Merkle's Boner”'is often blamed for the Giants loosing the pennant.September 23, 1905 Eighteen year old Detroit rookie Ty Cobb, hits his first home run, an inside - the park blow, off Cy Falkenberg, in an 8 - 5 loss at Washington.September 23, 1965 - A 20-game winner in 1964, Larry Jackson loses his 20th game of 1965,as the Phillies sweep a twin bill from the Cubs. Jackson is the first pitcher since Murry Dickson of the 1951-1952 Pirates to follow a 20 - win season with 20 losses.September 23, 1983 Steve Carlton becomes the 16th pitcher in major league history to win 300 games and the Phillies in

September 22, 1968 - Cesar Tovar plays one inning at each position for the Minnesota Twins, becoming only the second major leaguer in history to do it; Bert Campaneris of the Oakland Athletics was the first. He started the game on the mound, ironically facing Campaneris as the leadoff hitter. Scott Sheldon and Shane Halter later became the only other two men to accomplish this feat.September22, 1911 - Cy Young, at age 44, beats the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1 - 0, for his 511th and final major league victory.September22, 1993:Pitcher Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers faces just three Seattle batters before hurting his right elbow. Ryan finishes his career with 324 wins, 5,714 strikeouts and seven no hitters.September22, 1969 - Willie Mays hits the 600th home run of his career. The historic homer off Mike Corkins of the Padres proves to be the game-winner in a 4 - 2 Giants victory at San Diego Stadium.September22, 1990 - Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs steals his 300th base in an 11 - 5 loss to the New York Mets, Joi