BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1997 With the temperature hovering at 35 degrees, the coldest start of any postseason game on record, the Indians' bats come out smoking in Game 4 of the World Series, scoring three runs in the first and another trio of tallies in the third inning in their 10-3 rout of the Marlins at Jacobs Field. The two rookie starters, Cleveland's 21-year-old right-hander Jaret Wright and Florida's 23-year-old southpaw Tony Saunders, mark the sixth time two freshman hurlers have opposed one another in the Fall Classic.

2000 The Yankees extend their World Series winning streak to 14 consecutive games, defeating the Mets, 6-5, in a Game 2 contest overshadowed by Roger Clemens throwing the barrel of a shattered bat at Mike Piazza as the Met catcher runs to first. Due to the Rocket's beaning of the Mets' superstar in July, the eagerly awaited at-bat results in the confrontation of the two players and the emptying of both benches.

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2002 In Game 3 of the World Series, Giants' P.A. announcer Renel Brooks-Moon becomes the first woman to announce a championship game in any professional sport. The Bay Area native sends the scorecard from the Fall Classic contest to the Hall of Fame.

2003 In Game 4 of the Fall Classic, Alex Gonzalez's solo home run off Jeff Weaver in the bottom of the 12th gives the Marlins a 4-3 victory over New York and ties the series at two games apiece. The loss ends the Yankees' extra-inning World Series game-winning streak at seven.

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2006 The Spiezios become the first father-and-son combination in baseball history to have appeared in a World Series game as a player for the same franchise. Scott, the Cardinals' current second baseman, and his father, Ed, a third baseman for the 1967 club, played in the Fall Classic for winning Redbird teams.

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2007 Tony La Russa agrees to a two-year contract to continue as the Cardinals manager. During his 12-year tenure in St. Louis, the 63-year-old skipper has compiled a 1,055-887 (.543) record, including six Central Division championships, two NL pennants, and one World Series Championship.

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2007 Washington State native Mel Stottlemyre returns to the big leagues as the pitching coach of the Seattle Mariners, accepting a one-year contract to join skipper John McLaren's staff. The former pitching coach for the Yankees and Mets, who is receiving treatment for multiple myeloma, left the Bronx after the 2005 season, tiring of the criticism from owner George Steinbrenner.

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2007 Orioles' interim manager Dave Trembley has his contract extended through the 2008 season, with a club option for 2009. Since his horrific first game as skipper in June, losing to the Rangers 30-3, the team has a winning record and has not lost more than three in a row.

2008 Jack Zduriencik, the first non-GM to be selected as Baseball America Executive of the Year, is named the Mariners general manager, the eighth in franchise history. Due to his scouting savvy, the former Brewers vice president and special assistant for player personnel receives credit for Milwaukee's marked improvement.

2008 For only the third time in World Series history, and the first since 1997, when Jim Palmer faced Gary Nolan, both starting pitchers in Game 1 are under the age of 25. Cole Hamels, the 24-year-old left-hander, gets the victory when the Phillies beat the Rays and Scott Kazmir, their 24-year-old southpaw, at Tropicana Field, 3-2.

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2011 In the Cardinals' 16-7 rout of the Rangers in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, Albert Pujols hits three homers, drives in six runs, and collects five hits, equaling three World Series records. 'Prince Albert', who also set a Series mark with 14 total bases, connects on fastballs from three different Texas pitchers, joining Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for the most round-trippers in a World Series game.

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2013 Tim Lincecum agrees to a two-year $35 million deal to stay with the Giants. The 29-year-old fan favorite, a two-time Cy Young winner who pitched a no-hitter this year, has a 4.76 ERA over his last two seasons with San Francisco.

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2016 The Cubs win their first pennant since 1945, blanking the Dodgers 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Game 6 of the NLCS. Kyle Hendrick, who goes 7.1 innings, and Aroldis Chapman combine to face the minimum 27 batters, allowing only two hits and one walk, making it the first time this has occurred in the postseason play since Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

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Hank Greenberg was listed as 6’3, but man, he looked taller than that. Foxx was listed as 6.0”
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“Old Days”Jim Northrup leads a parade of happy Tigers back to dugout after his Grand Slam HR in game 6 of 1968 World Series vs the Cardinals in St.Louis.
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Barry Bonds hits a home run in the 2002 World Series.
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Hank Greenberg ended up with 1276 RBI in only 6096 plate appearances. That's a better average of RBI per PA than Manny, Foxx, Gehrig, Ruth, Williams, or DiMaggio.
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Barry Sanders, Cecil Fielder, Steve Yzerman, and Joe Dumars
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October 23 Baseball Birthdays
1832 William Hulbert 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), born in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania (d. 1968)


1920 Vern Stephens shortstop (8 x MLB All Star; AL HR leader 1945; 3×AL RBI leader; St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox), born in McAlister, New Mexico (d. 1968)


(1931-2017) Jim Bunning HOF pitcher (9 x MLB All-Star; perfect game 1964; no-hitter 1958; Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies) and politician (US Senator Kentucky 1999-2011; US Representative 1987-99), born in Southgate, Kentucky


1965 Al Leiter pitcher (Florida Marlins, NY Mets), born in Toms River, New Jersey


1974 Dani Tyler softball infielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Denver, Colorado


1980 Pedro Liriano born in Fantino, Dominican Republic


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This Day in Baseball History October 23rd
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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.

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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 to play in organized baseball since 1884.

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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.

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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 improves by 22 games, 14 games over .500, finishing in second place, eight games behind Milwaukee.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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2002 Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak in 1995 is voted as baseball's most memorable moment by the fans participating in the Major league Baseball and MasterCard promotion. 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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The Yankees Mickey Mantle playing 1st base in his final season 1968,during a game at Tiger Stadium
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1972: Gene Tenace drives in two runs and Catfish Hunter pitches 2 2/3 innings in relief as the A's beat the Reds 3-2 in Game 7 of the World Series. Tenace, the unlikely Series MVP, batted .348 with 4 HRs and 9 RBIs. Six games in the Series were decided by one run.
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Bob Gibson throws a pitch in the 9th inning of his 13th shutout of 1968.
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