BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1985 "Go crazy, folks, go crazy." - JACK BUCK, Cardinals broadcaster's reaction to Ozzie Smith's unlikely home run during the 1985 NLCS against Dodgers. Ozzie Smith provides one of the most memorable moments in Cardinals' history by hitting a dramatic homer to win Game 5 of the NLCS. The round-tripper was the first left-handed home run of the Wizard's career, which spans 3,009 major league at-bats

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1986 After their dramatic come-from-behind 7-6 extra-inning win to stave off elimination in California, the Red Sox defeat the Angels again. Boston's 10-4 victory at Fenway Park evens the ALCS at 3-3.

1992 Canada gets its first pennant when the Blue Jays clinch the American League crown with a 9-2 victory over the A's in Game 6 of the ALCS. Toronto captures the World Series, beating the Braves in six games.

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1992 Francisco Cabrera's ninth-inning, two-out pinch-hit single drives in two runs, giving the Braves a stunning comeback victory, 3-2 over the Pirates in Game 7 of the NLCS. The backup catcher had only three hits during the regular season.

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1997 At Turner Field, Kevin Brown tosses an 11-hit complete game to capture the Marlins' first National League pennant. The flag, captured in only the fifth year of the team's existence, is clinched in Game 6 of the NLCS when Florida beats Tom Glavine and the Braves, 7-4.

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2000 Roger Clemens strikes out a record-setting 15 batters and one-hits the Mariners, 5-0, giving the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the ALCS. Al Martin's seventh-inning double broke up the Rocket's bid for a no-hitter in the Safeco Field contest.

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2002 Japan's Seibu Lions, ending the regular season with a record of 90-46-1, post the Pacific League's highest win total in 46 years. Alex Cabrera fails to hit a home run in the team's last five games and has to settle with tying the single-season home run record with 55, along with Sadaharu Oh (1964) and Tuffy Rhodes (2001).

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2003 Holding a 3-0 lead over the Marlins and needing only five more outs to go the World Series for the first time since 1945, the Cubs give up eight runs on five hits, three walks, and an error. The team appears to come apart after a fan, later identified as Steve Bartman, sitting along the left-field line at Wrigley Field, tries to snag a foul ball that was about to be caught by Chicago outfielder Moises Alou for the second out of the inning.

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2003 The Giants announced the renaming of Pac Bell to SBC Park. The new moniker will change again after the 2005 season due to the SBC merger with AT&T.

2005 After negotiations have broken down with their skipper, the A's interview five candidates to replace outgoing manager Ken Macha, apparently a top choice for many other teams. GM Billy Beane and his former field boss agree to a surprising new three-year deal a week later.

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2006 With a 6-3 victory in Game 4 of the ALCS, Jim Leyland's Tigers sweep the A's to win the American League pennant for the first time since 1984. Magglio Ordonez's dramatic walk-off three-run homer sets off a wild celebration at Comerica Park by the fans, who suffered through a historic 119-loss season just three years ago.\

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2006 Silas Simmons, the oldest former professional baseball player of all time, celebrates his 111th birthday. The 17th-oldest person in the country, born the same year as Babe Ruth, is joined by former players of the Negro Leagues and receives a 1913 Homestead Grays jersey with No. 111 stitched beneath his name from Steve Henderson of the Devil Rays at his home in the Westminster Suncoast retirement community in St. Petersburg.

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2010 In a widely anticipated hiring, the Braves sign Fredi Gonzalez to replace their long-time legendary manager Bobby Cox, who retired at the end of the season. Atlanta's new skipper, who served as the team's third-base coach from 2003-06, was unexpectedly fired in June by the Marlins, a move thought to be prompted by the benching of Hanley Ramirez for not hustling.

2015 In a game that includes the benches-clearing twice, the Blue Jays advance to the ALCS, defeating the Rangers, 6-3, in the decisive game 5. Toronto overcomes a one-run deficit, thanks to Texas's three straight errors to start the bottom of the seventh inning, followed by a three-run homer hit by Jose Bautista, who annoys his opponents with an exaggerated bat flip while admiring his third-deck shot at the Rogers Centre.

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2020 In the Dodgers' 15-3 victory in Game 3 of the NLCS, the team puts together the highest-scoring inning ever in a postseason game, scoring 11 runs against the Braves, collecting seven hits, three walks, and a hit batter during the 32-minute first frame at Globe Life Field. LA surpasses the mark the Cardinals established last season of deciding Game 5 of the NL Division Series, crossing the plate ten times in the first inning against Atlanta.

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Today In 1976: Chris Chambliss hits a walk-off HR to win the American League pennant for the New York #Yankees vs. the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, leading to the most chaotic home run trot in major league histor
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Today In 1974: Los Angeles #Dodgers relief pitcher Mike Marshall picks off Oakland #Athletics "designated runner" Herb Washington in #WorldSeries Game 2 at Dodger Stadium!
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October 15 Baseball Birthdays
1882 Charley O'Leary (Detroit Tigers), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1941)


1927 Bill Henry (Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds), born in Alice, Texas (d. 2014)


1945 Jim Palmer HOF pitcher (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1966, 70, 83; AL Cy Young Award 1973, 75, 76; no-hitter 1969; Baltimore Orioles), born in NYC, New York


1967 Carlos García infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Táchira State, Venezuela


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This Day in Baseball History October 15th​

1892 On the last day of the season, Charles Bumpus Jones goes the distance in his first major league start, allowing no hits in the Reds' 7-1 victory over the Pirates at Cincinnati's League Park. The 22-year-old right-hander becomes the first major league rookie to throw a no-hitter.

1917 The White Sox win the World Series in six games when they beat the Giants at the Polo Grounds, 4-2. When the New York infielders leave home plate uncovered in the fourth inning, Eddie Collins scurries home, scoring the eventual winning run with Giants' third baseman Heinie Zimmerman chasing him with the ball toward the​

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1917 A letter signed by 24 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox members and manager Pants Rowland contains complaints about not receiving their full share after beating the New York Giants. The written request, which will be discovered as a tattered document more than 40 years later among boxes stored at the Hall of Fame library, may explain the 'Black Sox' motivation for fixing the Fall Classic two years later.

1923 At the Polo Grounds, the visiting Yankees score five runs in the eighth inning, beating the Giants in Game 6 of the Fall Classic, 6-4. The victory over their crosstown rivals gives the franchise its first World Championship.

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1925 The Pirates become the first team to win a World Series after being down three games to one when the Bucs beat Washington and Walter Johnson in Game 7, 9-7. Kiki Cuyler's bases-loaded double in the eighth inning proves to be the difference.

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1946 In Game 7 of the World Series, the Cardinals beat the Red Sox, 4-3, when Enos Slaughter streaked home from first on a long single into the left-center gap by Harry Walker, who stayed a first to avoid making the last out before the run score. The play surprises everyone, including cut-off man shortstop Johnny Pesky who hesitates, as legend has it, throwing the ball home

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1964 In the Game 7 loss to the Cardinals, Bobby Richardson establishes a World Series record, playing in thirty consecutive Fall Classic games. The Yankee second baseman shares the record for the most hits (13), RBIs (12), and runs scored (8) in a seven-game series (1960).

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1964 In his final postseason game, Mickey Mantle hits a three-run homer to the opposite field off right-hander Bob Gibson, his third dinger of the series. In the 7-5 loss to the Redbirds in the Fall Classic finale, the Sportsman's Park round-tripper extends the Mick's World Series record to 18.

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1964 The Cardinals hang on to defeat the Yankees in Game 7 at Sportsman's Park, 7-5, to capture their seventh Fall Classic, becoming the first team with a losing record (39-40) at the All-Star break to be World Champs. Bob Gibson, who struck out a record 31 batters in 27 innings during his three starts, is selected as the World Series Most Valuable Player.

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1964 The Boyer brothers hit home runs in Game 7 of the World Series, Ken for the Cardinals and Clete for the Yankees. Both siblings accomplish the feat in their last at-bat of the Fall Classic.

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1968 Orioles right-hander Roger Nelson is selected first by the Royals in the American League expansion draft. The Pilots then choose Don Mincher, a first baseman from the Angels, as the franchise's first choice.

1969 In Game 4 of the Fall Classic at Shea Stadium, Tom Seaver and the Mets beat the Orioles in ten innings, 2-1. The game features a run-saving ninth-inning diving grab of Brooks Robinson's line drive with two on by Ron Swoboda and a controversial play in the tenth when J.C. Martin unquestionably gets in the way of Pete Richert's throw without the umpire calling interference on the baserunner.
The 1969 World Series catch

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1969 During the third inning of Game 4 of the Fall Classic, Earl Weaver becomes the first manager thrown out of a World Series game in 34 years. The 'Earl of Baltimore', who umpire Shag Crawford had previously warned, is quickly ejected after protesting a strike call from the bench.

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1970 Brooks Robinson captures the World Series Most Valuable Player Award after batting .429 (9/21) and driving in six runs during the five-game set against Cincinnati. The Orioles' third baseman becomes the first player to be named the MVP in the Fall Classic, an All-Star game (1966), and his league (AL-1964).

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1972 "I must admit, I am going to be tremendously more pleased and more proud when I look at the third-base coaching line one day and see a Black face managing in baseball." - JACKIE ROBINSON, Hall of Famer, baseball pioneer, and civil rights activist, remarks after receiving an award commemorating his breaking of the color line 25 years ago. In his last appearance at a major league ballpark, Jackie Robinson, speaking before Game 2 of the World Series nine days before his death, urges baseball to hire a black manager. The owners do not hire an African-American skipper until 1975, when the Indians employ Frank Robinson to run the team.

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1981 With Dave Righetti, Ron Davis, and Goose Gossage combining to shut out Oakland, 4-0, the Yankees sweep the A's to capture their thirty-third American League pennant. The Bronx Bombers will face the Dodgers in the World Series for the third time in the last five Fall Classics.

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1982 Willie McGee becomes the third rookie to hit two home runs in the same World Series game. Going deep off Brewers starter Pete Vuckovich in the fifth and seventh innings in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, the Cardinals' center fielder joins Charlie Keller (1939) and Tony Kubek (1957), each accomplishing the feat in the third game of their respective Fall Classics.

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1986 In the longest postseason game ever played (4 hours and 42 minutes), the Mets clinch their third National League crown, beating Houston in sixteen innings at the Astrodome, 7-6. Trailing 3-0, Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight spark a ninth-inning rally, which sends the game into extra innings.

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1986 After being down three games to one in the ALCS, the Red Sox pull off one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history by defeating the California Angels 8-1 to win the American League pennant. In Game 5, Boston was one strike away from elimination before rallying with four runs in the ninth inning en route to an extra-inning victory at Anaheim Stadium, bringing the series back to Fenway Park.

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1988 "In the year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened." - VINCE SCULLY, commenting on Kirk Gibson’s dramatic World Series walk-off home run.
In his only plate appearance in the Fall Classic, a limping Kirk Gibson, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of Game 1, sends a two-out, 3-2 pitch from relief ace Dennis Eckersley over the right-field fence, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the A's. The round-tripper marks the first time a World Series game ends on a come-from-behind home run in the final inning.

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1996 The Devil Rays name Jamie Reed as the club's head trainer. The 37-year-old Annapolis (MD) native, formerly the Orioles assistant trainer, is the first on-field major league hire for the new expansion team.

1997 After a vote during an afternoon conference call, the owners place the Devil Rays in the American League East Division, moving the Tigers to the AL Central to make room for the expansion team. The decision follows nine months of futile realignment efforts after the expansion Diamondbacks became a National League franchise in January.

1997 Thanks to an 11th-inning homer by Tony Fernandez, the Indians defeat the Orioles, 1-0, to win the American League Championship Series in six games. It is the Tribe's second pennant in three years.

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2001 The Yankees beat the A's 5-3 to win the ALDS. The Bronx Bombers become the first team to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home.

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2001 After losing their first playoff appearance to the Mets in 1999, the Diamondbacks win their first postseason series, beating the Cardinals in only their fourth year of existence. Tony Womack's two-out game-winning hit in the NLDS's deciding fifth game gives Arizona the 2-1 victory.

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2002 Kirk Gibson signs a three-year deal to become Detroit's new bench coach. The aggressive former outfielder joins the staff of the newly hired skipper, Alan Trammell, a former 1984 World Champion Tiger teammate.

2003 Steve Bartman, the Cubs fan who deflected a foul ball in Game 6 of the NLCS, releases a statement explaining his actions. During a tearful apology, the 26-year-old human resources company worker asks Chicago fans to redirect their negative energy into positive support for the team during Game 7 of the championship series.

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2007 The Rockies record their 21st victory in 22 games, beating the Diamondbacks 6-4 to complete a four-game sweep of the NLCS. The Coors Field’s triumph over the number one seed in the National League playoffs advances Colorado to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.

2008 In Game 5 of the NLCS, the visiting Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5-1, to win their first pennant since 1993. Southpaw Cole Hamels, the series MVP, hurls his third postseason gem, and Jimmy Rollins starts the Philadelphia attack with a leadoff home run to start the game.

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2011 With another home run in the Game 6 clincher, a 15-5 Ranger rout of Detroit, Nelson Cruz sets a new record for the most round-trippers in a postseason series with six. The Texas right-fielder, who ended the regular season in a slump, is named the ALCS Most Valuable Player for his outstanding contribution to his team's success in the championship series.

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2012 The Reds sign Dusty Baker to a two-year contract extension, giving their 63-year-old manager another chance to take the team beyond the first round of the playoffs. In two of the last three years, Cincinnati has participated in the postseason, including this season's heartbreaking loss in the NLDS, dropping the previous three decisions at home in a five-game series to San Francisco.

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2014 After winning the wild-card game over the A's, beating the Angels in the first three games of the best-of-five ALDS series, the Royals improved their playoff record this season to 8-0 when they swept the Orioles in the ALCS with a 2-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City has won 11 straight postseason games, counting the final three games of the 1985 World Series, second-best only to the 1927-1932 and 1998-1999 Yankees, who both won a dozen straight.

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2017 Twenty-nine years later, Justin Turner follows Kirk Gibson into franchise folklore when he hits a postseason walk-off three-run home run in the 12th inning of the LA's 4-1 victory over the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLCS. In 1988, in his only Fall Classic appearance, a hobbled Kirk Gibson came off the bench to hit one of the most memorable round-trippers in World Series history, giving the Dodgers a come-from-behind victory against the A's in Game 1​

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2020 In Game 5 of the ALDS, the Astros become the first team in postseason history to hit a leadoff and walk-off home run in the same game. George Springer led off the Petco Park contest with a homer in the bottom of the first, and Carlos Correa's ninth-inning game-ending round-tripper gave Houston a 4-3 victory over the Rays.

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The amount of bases Maury Wills touched when he had 200 hits and 100sb
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SF Giants Sluggers,Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda,Felipe Alou,Ed Bailey and Willie McCovey before a 1962 game at Candlestick Park
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Maury Wills gets back to 1st Base as Willie McCovey waits for the throw during a 1966 Dodgers-Giants game at Candlestick Park
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October 16 Baseball Birthdays​

1883 Will Harridge HOF executive (President American League 1931-59), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1971)

1900 Goose Goslin HOF left fielder (World Series 1924 Washington Sens, 1935 Detroit Tigers; AL batting champion 1928; MLB All Star 1936), born in Salem, New Jersey (d. 1971)


1921 Matt Batts catcher (Red Sox), born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 2013)


1941 Tim McCarver catcher (World Series 1964, 67; MLB All-Star 1966, 67 St. Louis Cardinals) and broadcaster (NY Mets, ABC, CBS, FOX), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2023)


1948 Leo Mazzone coach


1961 Billy Taylor pitcher, 1994-2001 (Oakland A's, and 3 other teams), born in Monticello, Florida


1981 Anthony Reyes pitcher St. Louis Cardinals


1992 Bryce Harper (7 × MLB All-Star; NL MVP 2015, 21; NLCS MVP 2022; All-MLB First Team 2021; Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies), born in Las Vegas, Nevada

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This Day in Baseball History October 16th​

1909 Behind the complete-game shutout thrown by Babe Adams, the Pirates beat the Tigers, 8-0, in the seventh and deciding game of the World Series. Pittsburgh wins its first Fall Classic in franchise history with the help of their rookie phenom, who also won Games 1 and 5.

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1910 American League president Ban Johnson declares Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb the league's batting champ after questioning Nap Lajoie's suspicious multi-hit performance in a season-ending doubleheader against the Browns. With the Georgia Peach sitting out the last two games of the season, hoping to hold onto his thin lead, the Cleveland second baseman, with the St. Louis shortstop playing deeper than usual, collected eight hits, six of which were bunts.

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1912 Fred Snodgrass' 10th inning two-base error of pinch-hitter Clyde Engle's routine pop fly in center field sets up the tying run en route to the 3-2 Red Sox victory over the Giants and a World Championship for Boston. The play, which becomes infamously known as "Snodgrass' Muff," is followed by his spectacular catch of a long drive hit by Tris Speaker, but the 20-year-old outfielder historically becomes known as the goat in the Fall Classic.

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1939 The City of New York swears in Lou Gehrig as a member of the Parole Commission, with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia on hand. Although the term is for ten years, the former Yankee slugger will eventually become too ill to sign his name and asks for a leave of absence next year.

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1949 Brooklyn does not renew Branch Rickey's contract as president of the Dodgers. The 'Mahatma' will join the Pirates as the team's executive vice president and general manager, with his son, Branch Jr., assuming the post of Pittsburgh's vice president and farm system director.