BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1989 After spending nearly three months in first place, Baltimore's playoff hopes end on the next-to-last day of the season when they suffer their second consecutive one-run loss to Toronto, allowing the Blue Jays to clinch first place in the A.L. East. Frank Robinson's young group of players, known as the "Why Not?" Orioles improved in the standings by 32½ games from their last-place finish last season.

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1989 In the ninth inning of a 2-0 three-hit loss to Nolan Ryan and the Rangers, Angels shortstop Dick Schofield strikes out looking, becoming the right-hander's 300th victim of the season. It is the sixth time the 'Ryan Express' has reached the plateau, but the first since striking out 341 batters in 1977.

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1990 Kansas City infielders Frank White, playing in his last major league game after spending his entire 18-year career with the Royals, and fellow Royals third baseman George Brett establish a new mark when they appear in their 1,914th game together, the most by any American League teammates.

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1990 In front of 42,849 fans, the original Comiskey Park hosts its last game, with the White Sox edging the Mariners, 2-1. The final regular-season won-loss record at the old ballpark is 3,024-2,926 (.508).

1992 With his seventh-inning line-drive single over second base, his fourth hit in the Angels Stadium contest, 39-year-old George Brett collects his 3000th career hit, becoming the 18th player to reach the milestone. The Royals third baseman's celebration of the moment is short-lived when he is picked off and tagged by first baseman Gary Gaetti after stepping off the base to savor the accomplishment.
Brett missed two games of the series and his playing status was in doubt before the game.

 

1995 Albert Belle becomes the first player in major league history to hit fifty home runs and fifty doubles in the same season. The left fielder accomplished the amazing feat in just 143 games due to a strike-shortened season, far exceeding any of the prior 40 and 40 marks achieved by just a dozen players in major league history.

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1998 After doctors removed a tumor nine months ago, former Royal reliever Dan Quisenberry dies of brain cancer at 45. In 1983, 'Quizo,' known for his outstanding control, became the first closer to record 40 saves, ending the season with 45.

1999 Mets' shortstop Rey Ordonez plays in his 96th consecutive game without committing an error, breaking Cal Ripken's major league record for errorless games in that position. The flashy infielder will finish the season, extending the mark to 100 games.

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1999 The largest regular-season Candlestick Park crowd, 61,389 fans, watch the Giants lose to the Dodgers, 9-4, in their last game at the 'Points.' Former franchise greats help mark the occasion with Juan Marichal tossing the ceremonial first pitch and Willie Mays throwing out the ballpark's final pitch.

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1999 For the twenty-third time this season, Diamondback fireballer Randy Johnson K's at least ten batters to tie Nolan Ryan's 1973 major league record for the most double-digit strikeout games in a season. The tall left-hander whiffs 11 Padres in seven innings in a 5-3 victory to bring his season-ending total to 364, which ranks fourth all-time.

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2000 In the highest-scoring game in A's franchise history, Oakland defeats the Rangers 23-2 to remain a half-game ahead of the Mariners for the Western Division lead as Seattle scores the most runs ever against the Angels, 21-9, assuring the team at least a tie for the American League wild card.

2001 With a third-inning double against Milwaukee, Rockies' first baseman Todd Helton becomes the first player in major league history to have consecutive 100 extra-base hits seasons. Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Chuck Klein also had two 100 extra-base hits seasons but did not accomplish the feat in successive years.


2004 Thanks to Bernie Williams's ninth-inning two-run homer, the Yankees beat the Twins, 6-4, to clinch their seventh straight American League East Division title. Their 100th victory makes the club the fourth team in history (Braves 1997-99; Orioles 1969-71; A's 1929-31) to have three consecutive 100-win seasons.

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2005 The Devil Rays announce the team will buy out the last year of manager Lou Piniella's $13 million, a four-year contract he signed in 2002. The agreement, which pays 'Sweet Lou' $2.2 million of the $4.4 million deal, allows the 62-year-old skipper to seek employment with another team.

2005 Mariner outfielder Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first player in baseball history to collect 200 hits each of his first five seasons in the big leagues. The Japanese native, who was last season's AL batting champ, joins Willie Keeler (1894-1901), Wade Boggs (1983-89), Chuck Klein (1929-33), Al Simmons (1929-33), and Charlie Gehringer (1933-37) as the sixth major leaguer to have reached this plateau for at least five consecutive seasons.

 

2005 Albert Pujols's home run, a seventh-inning grand slam against the Reds, makes him the first Cardinal in the 114-year history of the team to hit 40 home runs in three consecutive seasons. His 200th career blast makes him the third-youngest to reach the milestone, following Mel Ott and Eddie Mathews.

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2005 Delta Air Lines names one of its Boeing 757s' Big Papi' in honor of the Red Sox designated hitter. David Ortiz attends the dedication ceremony at Logan International Airport, including unveiling of the newly lettered Song Plane jet.

2006 In the Mets' 13-0 rout of Washington at RFK Stadium, Julio Franco, tying a career-high, drives in five runs, becoming the oldest major leaguer in history to accomplish the feat. The 48-year-old first baseman, with three hits, falls a triple short of completing the cycle.

2006 Five years and two cities after Frank Robinson, then the vice president in the commissioner's office in charge of on-field discipline, agrees to manage the MLB-owned Expos for a season, the franchise, now known as the Washington Nationals, will have a new skipper. Jim Bowden, the team's G.M., announces the search for a replacement for the 71-year-old Hall of Famer will begin after tomorrow's season finale against the Mets at RFK.

2007 With the help of New York losing 6 out of their seven last games (all at home) and squandering a seven-game lead with 17 to play, the Phillies clinch the NL. East title for the first time in 14 years by beating the Nationals on the last day of the season, 6-1. The Mets' colossal failure down the stretch is considered by many to be the worst collapse by a team in baseball history.

2007 With 13 victories in the last 14 games, the Rockies beat the Diamondbacks to force a one-game playoff with the Padres to determine the National League wild-card team. One strike away from clinching a postseason berth yesterday, San Diego loses again today to the Brewers, ending the season with the same record as Colorado, 89-73.

2007 Jimmy Rollins triples to become the fourth big leaguer to record 20 stolen bases, 20 homers, 20 triples, and 20 doubles in a season. The Phillies shortstop and MVP candidate joins Frank Schulte (1911 - Cubs), Willie Mays (1957 - Giants), and Curtis Granderson (2007 - Tigers) as the only players in major league history to accomplish the feat.

2008 With its 1-0 tiebreaker win over the Twins, thanks to Jim Thome's seventh-inning homer, the White Sox become the first major league team to defeat three different opponents in three days. Chicago beat the Indians on the last scheduled day of the regular season to necessitate playing a previous rainout with the Tigers, won by the Southsiders 8-2, making today's game with Minnesota necessary to determine the A.L. Central divisional championship.

2009 Ricky Nolasco, en route to the Marlins' 5-4 victory over Atlanta in the season's finale, sets a franchise record with 16 strikeouts. The 26-year-old right-hander's performance includes whiffing nine consecutive batters, one shy of the major league record set by Tom Seaver with the Mets in 1970.

2009 The Phillies clinch their third straight division title with a 10-3 victory over Houston. If the team wins the World Series this year, the reigning World Champions will become the first National League team to win two consecutively since the Reds won Fall Classics in 1975-76.

2009 Francisco Rodriguez becomes the fourth pitcher in the game's history to yield two walk-off grand slams in the same season when Justin Maxwell goes deep, giving Washington a dramatic 7-4 victory over the Mets at Nationals Park. Last month, Everth Cabrera of the Padres also hit a game-ending four-run round-tripper, making K-Rod Rodriguez the only major leaguer to surrender two game-winning bases-loaded homers to a pair of rookies.

2011 The Red Sox do not pick up their option on Terry Francona's contract, severing ties with their manager for the past eight seasons. The former Boston skipper, who was at the helm for the team's 2004 and 2007 World Championships, could not halt the club's historic collapse in September, losing a certain playoff spot to Tampa Bay when the club, after posting a meager 7-20 record in the final month of the season.

2012 The Braves win for the 23rd straight time in a game started by Kris Medlen when they beat New York in the regular-season home finale at Turner Field, 6-2. The 26-year-old right-hander's streak surpasses the major league mark shared by Carl Hubbell (Giants, 1936-37) and Whitey Ford (Yankees, 1950-53).

2012 David Price becomes the first 20-game winner in franchise history when he goes seven innings in the Rays' 6-2 win over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The 27-year-old southpaw, the youngest American League pitcher to win 20 since Johan Santana reached the milestone with Minnesota in 2004, will edge Tigers ace Justin Verlander for the AL Cy Young Award.

2012 En route from Baltimore to Tampa Bay to play the Rays, the Orioles' charter makes an emergency landing in Jacksonville (FL) because of smoke on the plane. The cause of the fire is not immediately known, but there are no reported injuries.

2012 After beating Boston earlier in the day, the Orioles secure a postseason berth when Texas beats the Angels in the second game of a twin bill. Baltimore, whose last playoff appearance occurred in 1997, clinches, at the very least, one of the two American League wild-card spots.

2013 The Mets extend manager Terry Collins' contract for another two years, adding a club option for 2016. During his three-year tenure with New York, the 64-year-old skipper, who has also managed the Astros and Angels, has guided the team to a 225-261 record, the lowest winning percentage (.463) of his major league managerial career.

2013 In a one-game tiebreaker to determine the AL's second wild-card team, Rays' ace David Price allows just seven hits en route to a complete-game 5-2 victory over the Rangers in Arlington. After winning its last seven contests of the regular 162-game season, Tampa Bay will take on the Indians for the Wild Card spot in the playoffs, and Texas will miss the postseason for the first time since 2009.

2014 In a one-game winner-take-all Wild Card Game, the Royals tally two runs in the bottom of the twelfth for an 8-7 walk-off win over the A's, thanks to Salvador Perez's single that plates Christian Colon. Kansas City had been trailing, 7-3, before rallying with three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth in the Kauffman Stadium contest to force extra innings.

2018 At Angel Stadium, Khris Davis goes 0-for-2 in the A's 5-4 loss to Anaheim. The Oakland DH finishes the season with a .247 BA for the fourth consecutive season.

2020 The Twins extend their postseason losing streak to 18 games, the longest in North American professional sports history when the Astros sweep the best-of-three Wild Card Series. Minnesota set the mark yesterday, surpassing the Chicago Blackhawks, an NHL team that lost 16 straight playoff games from 1975 to 1979. The 1986-95 Red Sox held the previous MLB mark, losing 13 consecutive postseason contests.)

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On this day 1972 - Roberto Clemente doubles for his 3,000th and last hit.
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The 3 men with President Obama all share a few things in common. Minnie Miñoso, Pedro Sierra and Jim Robinson played professional baseball in the Negro Leagues, broke barriers and shared their stories in our film. Jim Robinson passed away #otd 4 yrs ago at 90.
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OCTOBER 1 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1901 Jimmie Reese, infielder and coach (LA Angels Hall of Fame)


1919 Bob Boyd first baseman (NgL All-Star 1947, 48, 49; first black player to sign with Chicago WS)


1934 Chuck Hiller MLB second baseman (first NL player in history to hit a grand slam HR in World Series play, 1962)


1940 John Schuerholz Jr. HOF executive (GM Kansas City Royals, World Series 1985; GM Atlanta Braves World Series 1995)

1945 Rod Carew HOF infielder (18 x MLB All Star; AL MVP 1977; 7 × AL batting champion; Minnesota Twins, California Angels), born in Gatún, Panama Canal Zone


1955 Jeff Reardon pitcher (4-time MLB All Star; Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins)


1963 Mark McGwire MLB 1st baseman, coach (12-time All Star, Oakland A's, St. Louis Cardinals), born in Pomona, California


1964 Roberto Kelly outfielder and coach (NY Yankees; MLB All Star 1992-93)

1984 Matt Cain pitcher (SF Giants; perfect game 2012; MLB All Star 2009, 11-12), born in Dothan, Alabama


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This Day in Baseball History
October 1st​

1903 In the first World Series game ever played, Pirates' hurler Deacon Phillippe beats Cy Young and the Pilgrims, 7-3, at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. Pittsburgh right fielder Jimmy Sebring hits the first Fall Classic home run.

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1924 Jimmy O'Connell, who will be out of baseball at the age of 23, is banned from the World Series by Kenesaw Mountain Landis after admitting to the commissioner his attempt to bribe Philadelphia shortstop Heinie Sand to "go easy" during their season-ending series against the Giants. The New York outfielder implicates future Hall of Famers Frank Frisch, George Kelly, and Ross Youngs, but his teammates deny throwing the game, avoiding punishment.

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1932 In Game 3 of the World Series, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig become the first teammates to hit multiple homers in the same postseason game when their four round-trippers account for six runs in the Yankees' 7-5 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. On the same date, 78 years later, the feat is accomplished again when a pair of Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Will Myers, go deep twice in the second game of the 2020 NL Wild-Card series.

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1932 Eighteen-year-old Joe DiMaggio makes his professional debut at the end of the San Francisco Seals campaign, playing shortstop for the Pacific Coast League team. Next year, the future Yankee superstar will hit .340 with 169 RBIs and 28 home runs in his first full season in the PCL.

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1932 In the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, baseball lore has Babe Ruth pointing to the outfield, predicting that he will hit a home run on the next pitch before he takes Cubs pitcher Charlie Root deep for the second of his two home runs in New York's 7-5 victory at Wrigley Field. Although no definitive proof exists, the 'Bambino' continued to embellish the account of his 'Called Shot' throughout his lifetime, with the Chicago right-hander who threw the pitch denying the Yankee slugger had ever made the gesture to his dying day.

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1933 Babe Ruth gives up 12 hits and five earned runs, going the distance to beat the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, 6-5. The 38-year-old Sultan of Swat's performance on the mound, a ploy to attract fans to a meaningless game, will be his last appearance as a pitcher, a position in which the future Hall of Fame slugger will post a 94-46 career record.

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1944 Dixie Walker, an outfielder on the seventh-place Dodgers, wins the National League batting crown with a .357 batting average, finishing ten points higher than runner-up Stan Musial. In 1947, the 'People's Cherce's younger brother, Harry 'the Hat,' will also lead the Senior Circuit, hitting .363 in the year when he is traded, after playing ten games for St. Louis, to Philadelphia.

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1944 The Browns, for the first and only time in their history, clinch the American League pennant when they beat the defending world champion Yankees at Sportsman's Park, 5-2. A pair of two-run homers hit by Chet Laabs, an All-Star outfielder in 1943 who has seen limited duty this season due to his job at a wartime defense plant, provides most of the team's offensive output.

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1946 The Dodgers and Cardinals, who finished the season with a 96-58 record, play the first game of a best-of-three series to determine the National League's championship, marking the first time in major league history a playoff is needed to send a team to the World Series. St. Louis wins today's Sportsman's Park contest, 4-2, and will clinch the pennant in Game 2, beating Brooklyn at Ebbets Field, 8-4.

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1949 Alex Kellner becomes the first 20-game winner for the A's since Lefty Grove accomplished the feat in 1933 when he goes the distance in Philadelphia's 7-4 victory over Washington at Griffith Stadium. The 24-year-old southpaw's success will be short-lived when he leads the American League with 20 losses next season.

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1949 "I like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee." - JOE DiMAGGIO, on the day he is honored at Yankee Stadium
The Bronx Bombers stage a Joe DiMaggio Day at the Bronx ballpark, showering the future Hall of Fame outfielder with an unprecedented haul that includes two cars, a boat, three hundred quarts of ice cream, and a cocker spaniel. The superstar tells the capacity crowd, including his mother and brother Dom, a member of the visiting Red Sox, "I like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee."

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1950 In the season's finale, Pee Wee Reese, ignoring the second base ump's directive to slow down when his outfield fly becomes stuck between the screen and the right-field wall, continues sprinting around the bases, crossing home plate with the tying run. Due to an odd ground rule, the Dodgers shortstop's unusual inside-the-park homer will be the only run Robin Roberts gives in the Phillies' pennant-clinching 4-1 victory at Ebbets Field.

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1950 After they retire today, Burt Shotton of the Dodgers and the A's Connie Mack will become the last managers to wear street clothes. Although no edict explicitly mandates a skipper to wear a uniform, there is now a rule that states that a person not wearing a uniform, except medical personnel, isn't allowed on the field of play during a game.

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1950 In the season finale, in the first of his six consecutive 20-win seasons, Robin Roberts becomes the first Phillies right-hander to win twenty games since Grover Cleveland Alexander accomplished the feat with 30 victories in 1917. The complete-game, ten-inning 4-1 Ebbets Field victory over the Dodgers hurled by the Whiz Kid from Springfield (IL) clinches Philadelphia's first NL pennant since 1915.


1951 The Giants' 3-1 victory over the Dodgers in the first game of the National League playoffs is the first major league contest to be televised coast-to-coast. CBS, who obtained rights to the game, transmits the picture from Ebbets Field but has to get the signal from ABC, who had made arrangements with WOR-TV, the New York station carrying Brooklyn's regular-season games.

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1955 The Sporting News select Cardinal outfielder Bill Virdon and Indian fireballer Herb Score as the Rookie of the Year of their respective leagues. The Redbird flychaser, easily identified by his eyeglasses, receives 57 of the 92 writers' votes to get the NL nod, while the Tribe's 22-year-old right-hander, who compiled a 16-10 record while establishing a freshman record for strikeouts with 245, garners 71 of 103 ballots cast for the Junior Circuit honors.

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1955 After losing the first two contests in the Bronx, the Dodgers even the World Series at a pair of games apiece when they defeat the Yankees at Ebbets Field, 8-5. Brooklyn will make it three victories in a row tomorrow with a 5-3 win over the Bronx Bombers, but it will take a dramatic Game 7 for the 'Bums' to capture their first World Championship.

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1961 Willie Mays hits his 40th home run when he goes deep off Lew Burdette in the Giants' 8-2 victory over Milwaukee in the opener of a twin bill at County Stadium. The 'Say Hey Kid' is the eighth player to reach the mark this season, a major league first, joining Roger Maris (61), Mickey Mantle (54), Harmon Killebrew (46), Orlando Cepeda (46), Jim Gentile (46), Rocky Colavito (45), and Norm Cash (41) in accomplishing the feat.


1961 In front of 9,868 fans, Wrigley Field hosts its last professional baseball game when the Angels, moving to Dodger Stadium next year, drop an 8-5 decision to the Indians. In addition to being the home for the American League expansion team, the 36-year-old ballpark, which will be torn down in five years to make room for an eventual public playground and senior center, housed the PCL's Angels from 1925 through 1957 and served as the setting for the 1960 television series Home Run Derby.

1961 Roger Maris surpasses Babe Ruth's single-season home run mark, hitting his 61st homer off Tracy Stallard's 2-0 fastball for the game's only run in the Yankees' 1-0 victory at the Bronx ballpark. Sal Durante, a 19-year-old fan who caught the ball in his palm standing on his seat in Section 33, gives the historic horsehide to the outfielder a few weeks later after accepting $5,000 from Sam Gordon, a Sacramento (CA) restaurant owner.

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1964 In the event of a tie at the end of the season, National League president Warren Giles flips a coin to determine the different possible playoff pairings, including six possibilities - two with two teams, three with three, and one with four. If Cincinnati prevails, the team will play the Cardinals at home thanks to the Reds' president and general manager, Bill DeWitt, winning the first toss.

 

1964 The smallest crowd ever to attend a game at Fenway Park watches the Red Sox, en route to their sixth consecutive losing season, beat the Indians, 4-2, to snap a six-game slide. The crowd of 306 paid patrons is less than half of the previous low at the Boston ballpark when only 674 fans showed up for a game against Kansas City last season.

1967 At Fenway Park, on the last day of the season, Carl Yastrzemski collects four hits to help the Red Sox beat the Twins, 5-3, and clinch the American League pennant by one game over Minnesota and the Tigers. Yaz's remarkable streak of getting ten hits in his final 13 at-bats enables the Long Island (NY) native to win the Triple Crown (.326, 44, 121).

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1967 On the last play of the regular season, Dick McAuliffe, representing the tying run, grounds into a 4-6-3 double play, dashing the Tigers' hopes of clinching a tie for the pennant. The twin killing marks only the second time this season the Detroit shortstop has made two outs in one at-bat, and he will not hit into another DP all of next season.

1967 For the second consecutive season, an American Leaguer wins the triple crown when Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski (.326, 44, 121) follows Frank Robinson's performance last season, leading the loop in batting average, homers, and RBIs. The feat will not be repeated for 45 seasons until Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers leads Junior Circuit in the top offensive categories in 2013.

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1969 Luis Tiant, a winner of 21 games last year, loses his twentieth this season when the Indians drop a 4-3 decision to the Yankees on the last day of the campaign. The right-hander's demise may have resulted from leading the league in walks (129) and home runs (37) allowed, contributing to his ERA rising from 1.60 to 3.71.