BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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OCTOBER 23 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1832 William Hulbert Baseball HOF executive (President Chicago White Stockings; National League 1877-82), born in Burlington Flats, New York (d. 1882)

1886 Lena Blackburne infielder, manager, coach (Chicago White Sox; discovered rubbing clay to take the shine off baseballs)


1920 Vern Stephens shortstop (8 x MLB All Star; AL HR leader 1945; 3×AL RBI leader; St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox


1931 Jim Bunning HOF pitcher (9 x MLB All-Star; perfect game 1964; no-hitter 1958; Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies) and politician


1965 Al Leiter pitcher (Florida Marlins, NY Mets)


1974 Dani Tyler softball infielder (Olympic gold 1996


1980 Pedro Liriano

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This Day in Baseball History
October 23rd​

1910 Jack Coombs wins his third game of the World Series when he goes the distance to beat the Cubs at Chicago's West Side Grounds, 7-2. In addition to winning Game 5 to give Philadelphia the world championship, the A's right-hander also had complete-game victories in Games 2 and 3 of the Fall Classic.


1945 Dodger President Branch Rickey announces that the team has signed two black players, shortstop Jackie Robinson and pitcher Johnny Wright, to play with Brooklyn's Triple-A team in Montreal. The 26-year-old Negro League infielder will be the first black player in organized baseball since 1884.

 

1951 The Associated Press selects Giants skipper Leo Durocher as the Manager of the Year. Under his leadership, the Giants rallied from a 13½ game deficit in mid-August to win the pennant, beating the Dodgers in a three-game playoff series best remembered for Bobby Thomson's fabled home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the deciding game at the Polo Grounds.


1952 The Pacific Coast League announces its teams will play a reduced 176-game schedule next season. However, the PCL clubs will continue to play 180 contests next season, similar to the past two years.

1958 The Associated Press names Danny Murtaugh as its major league Manager of the Year. In his first full year in the Pirates' dugout, the team improved by 22 games, 14 games over .500, finishing in second place, eight games behind Milwaukee.

 

1973 Boston trades first baseman Ben Ogilvie to the Tigers in exchange for Dick McAuliffe. The former Detroit shortstop will hit only .210 in 100 games for his new team next season, but in 1975, the Hartford native will become the manager of the club's Double-A farm team, the Bristol Red Sox, located in his home state of Connecticut.

1985 After months of debate, King County Executive Randy Revelle and team owner George Argyros sign a new lease calling for the Mariners to play in the Kingdome through the 1996 season. The deal contains a provision that allows the M's to leave Seattle after the 1987 season if attendance stays below 1.4 million and season ticket sales fall under the 10,000 mark.

1986 In Game 5 of the World Series at Fenway Park, Bruce Hurst throws a complete game to beat the Mets, 4-2, earning his second victory of the Fall Classic and bringing the team within one win of ending their 68-year World Championship drought. New York will dash the Red Sox Nation's hopes with two come-from-behind wins at Shea Stadium.

 

1993 "Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life" - Tom Cheek, radio voice of the Blue Jays.
Thanks to Joe Carter's dramatic ninth-inning three-run homer over the left-field wall, the Blue Jays beat the Phillies 8-6 to win their second consecutive World Championship. The Toronto outfielder becomes the second player to end the World Series with a home run, joining Bill Mazeroski, whose Forbes Field's round-tripper beat the Yankees in 1960.


1993 Mike Piazza, the sixty-second round pick of the 1988 draft, is the BBWAA's unanimous choice for the Rookie of the Year award in the National League. The Dodger catcher is the first player to hit over .300 (.318), connect for more than 30 homers (35), and drive in at least 100 runs (112) in the Senior Circuit as a freshman since Wally Berger accomplished the feat in his initial major league season with the Braves in 1930.


1995 Former Astros GM Bob Watson is named the Yankees' new general manager, replacing Gene Michael. Watson will stay in the position for just two seasons, but during his tenure, the team will win its first World Series since 1978, establishing the groundwork for the very successful Bronx Bomber clubs of the late 1990s.

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1996 After the Yankees lose the first two games of the Fall Classic at the Stadium, David Cone limits the Braves to four hits and one run in six innings en route to New York's 5-2 win. The contest marks the first of 14 consecutive World Series victories en route to the Bronx Bombers' four titles in five years.

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1998 The Dodgers hire Davey Johnson to manage the second-place club, taking over the reins from Bill Russell. The former Mets, Reds, and Orioles skipper, who has finished first with every team he has ever led, will see his streak end in LA when he compiles a 163- 161 (.503) record.

 

2000 Although lacking big league managerial experience, Pirates hitting coach Lloyd McClendon is named the team's skipper, replacing the recently-fired Gene Lamont. During the new manager's five-year tenure in the Pittsburgh dugout, the struggling Bucs will compile a 336-446 (.430) record.

2002 The fans participating in the Major League Baseball and MasterCard promotion select Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak in 1995 as baseball's most memorable moment. Hank Aaron's 715th homer to pass Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, Mark McGwire breaking Roger Maris' single-season home run record, and Lou Gehrig's farewell speech round out the top five events selected by the fans.


2002 Joining Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson, Darryl Kile will become the third player to appear on the 2003 Hall of Fame ballot before the mandatory five-year waiting period. The 33-year-old Cardinal pitcher, a victim of heart disease, was found dead in his Chicago hotel room in June.

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2002 Joining Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson, Darryl Kile will become the third player to appear on the 2003 Hall of Fame ballot before the mandatory five-year waiting period. The 33-year-old Cardinal pitcher, a victim of heart disease, was found dead in his Chicago hotel room in June.

2002 In Game 4 of the World Series, the Angels intentionally walk Barry Bonds three times, setting a new record for a Fall Classic game. Halos' starting pitcher John Lackey, who issues all the free passes to the Giants' left fielder, does not factor in the decision in San Francisco's 4-3 victory at Pac Bell, which deadlocks the series at two.

 

2005 For the 14th time in World Series history, a walk-off home run ends the contest when Scott Podsednik's ninth-inning blast in Game 2 at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field beats the Astros, 7-6. Bill Mazeroski remains the only player to accomplish the feat in the seventh game of the Fall Classic.


2005 On the verge of the first World Series game in Texas, much to the Astros' chagrin, MLB rules Houston must play Game 3 of the Fall Classic with its Minute Maid Park roof open. The team had a much better record (38-17) in the enclosed ballpark during the regular season than in games started in the open air (15-11).

2006 Extending his scoreless streak to 24.1 postseason innings, dating back to 2003 with the Twins, Kenny Rogers blanks the Cardinals for eight innings when the Tigers beat the Cardinals 3-1 to even the World Series at a game apiece. The "Gambler's" recent playoff success comes under suspicion as TV cameras spot a dark substance on the right-hander's pitching hand in the first frame, which he claims to be only mud.

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2010 The Giants capture their twenty-first National League flag when they defeat the Phillies, 3-2, in Game 6 of the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park. The decisive blow is Juan Uribe's two-out tie-breaking home run off Ryan Madson in the eighth inning.

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2012 "I love Fidel Castro, I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that m**r is still here." - OZZIE GUILLEN, praising the Cuban dictator during an interview with Time magazine.
With three seasons and $7.5 million remaining on their skipper's four-year contract, the Marlins dismiss their controversial manager, Ozzie Guillen, who had verbal feuds with Nationals' rookie Bryce Harper and his players, including closer Heath Bell during a disappointing last-place finish. The 48-year-old Venezuelan-born skipper did not endear himself to the Miami fan base after praising Fidel Castro in an early-season interview, which led to a five-game suspension by MLB for his comments about the Cuban dictator.

2014 After aggressively trying to sign their manager to a third contract extension, the Rays announce Joe Maddon has exercised his contract's opt-out clause. During his nine-year tenure with Tampa Bay, a franchise perceived as perennial losers before his arrival, the popular skipper compiled a 754-705 record, leading the team to the playoffs four times, including winning two AL East titles and one appearance in the World Series.

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2015 The Royals win their second straight American League flag when they eliminate the Blue Jays in Game 6 of the ALCS played at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City scores the go-ahead run in their 4-3 victory in the bottom of the eighth inning when Lorenzo Cain races home from first base on Eric Hosmer's RBI single.

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2018 The Dodgers become the first team to use an all-right-handed lineup in a World Series game due to the dominance of Red Sox southpaw starter Chris Sale facing left-handed swingers, who batted a paltry .170 against him during the regular season. The strategy proves effective when Los Angeles pounds out five hits and scores three runs during the left-hander's four innings of work, but the team still loses Game 1 of the Fall Classic at Fenway Park, 8-4.

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OCTOBER 24 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1857 Ned Williamson, (Chicago White Stockings)


1929 Jim Brosnan player and writer (Long Season)


1950 Rawly Eastwick pitcher, 1975-81, 2X NL saves leader (Cincinnati Reds; Philadelphia Phillies, and 4 other teams)


1961 Rafael Belliard, infielder (Atlanta Braves)


1966 F. P. Santangelo outfielder (Montreal Expos)


1968 Ken Ryan pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies)


1969 Arthur Rhodes pitcher (Baltimore Orioles)
1973 Mike Matthews
1982 Macay McBride
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This Day in Baseball History
October 24th ​

1908 "Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back."
- JACK NORWORTH'S original lyrics.
Bill Murray introduces Take Me Out to the Ballgame, the immortal tune inspired by an NYC subway sign that read "Baseball Today – Polo Grounds." The songwriting team of Albert Von Tilzer (music) and Jack Norworth (words), who created Baseball's anthem, has never seen a game.

1911 After six days of rain, the World Series resumes with A's right-hander Chief Bender, beating the Giants and Christy Mathewson, 4-2, at Shibe Park. The victory, fueled by three consecutive two-baggers in the three-run fourth frame, gives Philadelphia a 3-1 game lead in the Fall Classic.

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1951 Larry MacPhail, the former owner of the Reds and Dodgers, suggests the concept of four new major leagues, including one on the West Coast. The Hall of Fame inducts the innovative baseball executive responsible for introducing night baseball and commercial air travel in 1978.

 

1972 Jackie Robinson, weakened by heart disease complications and diabetes, dies of a heart attack in his North Stamford (CT) home. The 53-year-old nearly blind baseball pioneer and social activist's death comes nine days after his appearance at the World Series, where he threw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium and urged the owners to hire a black manager, which does not occur until the Indians employ Frank Robinson in 1975.

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1985 In the bottom of the seventh in Game 5, Royals’ starter Danny Jackson becomes the first pitcher to throw an immaculate inning in World Series history. The 23-year-old southpaw needs only nine pitches to strike out Terry Pendleton (swinging), Tom Nieto (looking), and Brian Harper (swinging) en route to going the distance in the team’s 6-1 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

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1987 The Twins, amidst the deafening crowd noise of the hanky-waving fans in the Metrodome, stave off elimination when the team scores eight runs in the fifth and sixth frames of Game 6 to beat the Cardinals, 11-5. Minnesota's southpaw-swinging Kent Hrbek hits a sixth-inning grand slam off left-handed Ken Dayley to put the contest out of reach for the Redbirds.

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1992 In Game 6, Canada wins its first-ever World Series when the Blue Jays beat the Braves at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. Toronto's 41-year-old right fielder Dave Winfield's 11th-inning two-run double off Charlie Leibrandt proves to be the difference in the team's 4-3 victory.
Toronto's Cito Gaston becomes baseball's first Black manager to win a World Series

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2000 Orlando Hernandez (8-0, 1.90) loses his first postseason game when the Mets defeat the Yankees on Benny Agbayani's tiebreaking eighth-inning double, 4-2. New York native John Franco gets the win, ending the Yankees' record 14-game World Series winning streak.

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2000 The Commisioner's office fines Roger Clemens a reported $50,000 for throwing the jagged barrel of a shattered bat toward Met catcher Mike Piazza in the first inning of Game 2 of the World Series. Yankee manager Joe Torre and the right-hander both deny the incident was intentional.

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2002 The Giants take the lead in the Fall Classic when they demolish the Angels 16-4 in Game 5 played at Pac Bell. Jeff Kent leads the attack with two home runs and four RBIs and ties a World Series record by scoring four times.

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2006 After seven months of negotiations, the Players' Association and MLB officials agree on a five-year collective bargaining agreement. The longest accord in baseball history, ending in 2011, ensures the game will span 16 years without a work stoppage.

2007 In a 13-1 rout of the Rockies, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia becomes the second player and the first rookie to hit a leadoff home run in a World Series opener. The 24-year-old freshman, the 31st major leaguer to homer in his first Fall Classic appearance, joins Orioles' outfielder Don Buford, who went yard in 1969 as a leadoff batter in Game 1 off Tom Seaver of the Mets.

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2011 With the help of a mismanaged Cardinal bullpen, Mike Napoli gives his team a 3-2 Series lead when he hits a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning of the Rangers' 4-2 victory in Game 5 in Arlington. The Texas catcher, who bats eighth in the order, becomes only the second player to have four multi-RBI games in a World Series, joining Yankee legend Mickey Mantle, who accomplished the feat against Pittsburgh in 1960.

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2012 In the Giants' 8-3 victory over the Tigers at AT&T Park, Pablo Sandoval becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit three home runs in a World Series game. The San Francisco third baseman, with his first, third, and fifth-inning round-trippers in the opening contest of the Fall Classic, joins Yankees outfielders Babe Ruth (1926, 28) and Reggie Jackson (1977) and Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (2011) in accomplishing the feat.​

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2014 Paul Konerko and Jimmy Rollins are co-recipients of the Roberto Clemente Award, an honor bestowed on major leaguers for their commitment to the community. The former White Sox first baseman and Phillies shortstop have been heavily involved in improving children's lives by raising money, obtaining school supplies and back-to-school clothes, supporting juvenile diabetes and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis research, and funding the fight against child abuse, among many other charitable efforts.

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