BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1970 Alex Johnson becomes the first Angel to win a batting title when he edges Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski in the season's finale. The California outfielder captures the crown by beating out a high chopper to raise his average to .3289 in the fifth inning, finishing a minuscule .003 higher than Yaz at .3286.

1970 The Phillies beat the Expos in the final game at Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium in ten innings, 2-1. A post-game ceremony, which includes removing home plate to be delivered to Veterans Stadium by helicopter, is canceled when souvenir-hunting fans swarm onto the field and destroy the ballpark.

1973 A day after the regular season ends, the Mets, in front of only 1,913 fans at a cold and damp Wrigley Field, beat the Cubs, 6-4, in the first game of a scheduled make-up doubleheader, with the nightcap, an unnecessary contest for the final standings, officially canceled due to wet grounds. The Amazins', who spent two months in the cellar before winning 23 of their remaining 32 games, clinch the NL East with their 82nd victory, the lowest number of wins ever recorded to capture a title.

1973 The day after the season finale at Yankee Stadium, Mayor John Lindsay, who had approved the Bronx ballpark's renovation, ceremonially begins the project by scooping a pile of dirt from right field with a bulldozer. The on-field ceremony at the empty stadium includes Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig widows, who receive home plate and first base, respectively, as a tribute to their husbands.

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1974 Tom Seaver, whiffing 14 batters, becomes the first hurler in National League history to strike out 200 or more batters for seven consecutive seasons. 'Tom Terrific's' complete-game effort in his last start of the year isn't good enough to win when the Mets bow to Jim Lonborg and the Phillies, 2-1.

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1974 Mike Marshall establishes the major league mark for the most appearances by a pitcher when he throws two innings in the Dodgers' 8-5 victory over Houston at the Astrodome. With his 106 appearances, the right-handed reliever appears in 65% of his team's games this season.

1975 The Expos dismiss their first manager, Gene Mauch, replacing him with Karl Kuehl, the successful pilot of their top farm club, the Memphis Blues. During his seven-year tenure north of the border, Mauch, who will become the winningest big league manager to have never won a pennant, compiles a 499-627 (.443) record, never finishing higher than fourth place.

1978 On the last day of the season at Qualcomm Stadium, Ozzie Smith does his signature flip for the first time. The Padres shortstop, asked by the club to do it for Fans Appreciation Day, will continue his gymnastic prowess as a member of the Cardinals, with the somersault becoming an Opening Day tradition at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

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1978 On the last day of the season, the Indians, behind the complete-game effort of Rick Waits, defeat the Yankees in the Bronx, 9-2. The Tribe's victory prevents the Bronx Bombers from clinching the AL East flag, forcing a one-game playoff with the Red Sox, who have won 11 of their last 12, win their eighth consecutive contest, blanking the Blue Jays, 5-0, a few minutes later at Fenway Park.

1978 On the last day of the campaign, Expos' starter Ross Grimsley goes the distance, beating the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, 5-2, for his 20th win of the season. The 28-year-old southpaw's accomplishment marks the first time in franchise history

the only time the team has a 20-game winner in Montreal.​

1978 Eventual NL Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry becomes the third major league pitcher, joining Walter Johnson (1923) and Bob Gibson (1974) to record 3,000 career strikeouts. The 40-year-old future Hall of Fame right-hander fans future Braves' broadcaster Joe Simpson in the eighth inning to reach the milestone and strikes out the LA left fielder again in the tenth to finish the season with 3001

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1978 On the last day of the season, the Indians, behind the complete-game effort of Rick Waits, defeat the Yankees in the Bronx, 9-2. The Tribe's victory prevents the Bronx Bombers from clinching the AL East flag, forcing a one-game playoff with the Red Sox, who have won 11 of their last 12, win their eighth consecutive contest, blanking the Blue Jays, 5-0, a few minutes later at Fenway Park.
1978 On the last day of the campaign, Expos' starter Ross Grimsley goes the distance, beating the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, 5-2, for his 20th win of the season. The 28-year-old southpaw's accomplishment marks the first time in franchise history and the only time the team has a 20-game winner in Montreal.
1978 Eventual NL Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry becomes the third major league pitcher, joining Walter Johnson (1923) and Bob Gibson (1974) to record 3,000 career strikeouts. The 40-year-old future Hall of Fame right-hander fans future Braves' broadcaster Joe Simpson in the eighth inning to reach the milestone and strikes out the LA left fielder again in the tenth to finish the season with 3001.
1980 Amidst much media and fan pressure, the Red Sox fire their unpopular manager, Don Zimmer, who compiled a respectable 411-304 (.575) record during his five years in the Boston dugout. The Fenway Faithful never forgive 'Popeye' for the team's collapse in 1978, when a 14-game lead slipped away, ending in a one-game playoff for the American League pennant, a 5-4 loss to the Yankees, thanks to a legendary home run over the Green Monster hit by Bucky Dent.
1982 In his last game, A's shortstop Fred Stanley goes 1-for-3 in a 12-7 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. With 'Chicken' retiring, no active players who once played with the Seattle Pilots remain in the majors.
1982 Terry Leach, who goes the distance for New York, and Phillies right-hander John Denny each hurl one-hit shutout ball for nine innings in a game where the Mets score the contest's only run, thanks to a walk, a single, and a sac fly in the top of the tenth frame. The Veteran Stadium 1-0 victory marks the 13th one-hitter in franchise history, the first of which goes overtime.
1983
"He is Sinatra singing in a small smoky room. He is Picasso with a bat. He is age and time blended into the mellow autumn of his athletic years to the point where his presence alone is an inspiration to a team. He is No. 8. The Captain." - MIKE BARNICLE, Boston Globe columnist, commenting on Carl Yastrzemski's tenure with the Red Sox.

A sellout crowd gathers on a rainy afternoon at Fenway Park in tribute to Carl Yastrzemski, who spent 23 years in a Red Sox uniform after having the unenviable task in 1961 of replacing Hall of Fame legend Ted Williams. The team and fans honor the Captain, with Yaz Day giving the 44-year-old, who will finish his career with over 3,000 hits and over 400 home runs, an opportunity to say farewell to his admirers.

1984 Peter Ueberroth takes over the reins of major league baseball as the sport's sixth commissioner. The former L.A. Olympic president will immediately face a crisis when he needs to arbitrate the labor disagreement with the umpires' union, who have threatened to strike before the start of the League Championship Series.
1987 With the bases loaded, Gerald Perry, the runner on third, scores on a delayed steal of home when Braves' backstop Ronn Reynolds, who suffers a bruised and lacerated right hand on the play, drops the return throw from right-hander Danny Darwin. The other Astro runners, Jeff Blauser on first and Ken Oberkfell on second, also advance a base, making it a rare triple steal that will not occur again for another 21 years.
1988 In a 6-3 win over the Astros, Tony Gwynn goes 2-for-3 to raise his league-leading batting average to .313. The Padres' outfielder becomes the first National League batting champion to win the title with a percentage below .320. (Giants second baseman Larry Doyle hit exactly .320 in 1915).
1991 After the season finale, Detroit broadcaster Ernie Harwell, not renewed by team management and WJR, waves goodbye to the fans with the crowd responding to the 'Voice of the Tigers' for the past 32 years to a loud and lengthy standing ovation. The veteran play-by-play announcer will return to the Motor City in 1993, thanks to the warm invitation from new team owner Mike Ilitch, and will continue to do play-by-play until the end of the 2002 season.
1993 Mike Piazza plates Jose Offerman with a first-inning single to set a new team mark for runs driven in by a rookie with 107. The 24-year-old Dodgers catcher breaks the franchise record for rookie RBIs established by Del Bissonette, a freshman first baseman who played with Brooklyn in 1928.
1995 The Yankees and Rockies become the first wild-card teams in the new major league baseball playoff system. Both sides will lose in the first round of the new format, with Colorado bowing to the NL East's Braves in four games and the Bronx Bombers eliminated in extra innings of Game 5 in a classic ALDS against the AL West's Mariners.
2000 Joining Bert Campaneris (1965 A’s), Cesar Tovar (1968 Twins), and Scott Sheldon (2000 Rangers), Shane Halter became the fourth major leaguer to play all nine positions in a game. The infielder-by-trade doubles in the ninth, scoring the winning run in the Tigers’ 12-11 walk-off victory over the Twins at Comerica Park.
2000 In the season finale, Kazuhiro Sasaki sets the rookie record for saves by notching his 37th when he tosses 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in the Mariners' 5-2 victory over Los Angeles at Edison Field. The 32-year-old Japanese closer surpasses Todd Worrell's mark established in 1986 when the right-handed reliever played for the Cardinals.
2004 With the second of his two singles, a ground ball through the box, Ichiro Suzuki breaks the major league record for hits in a single season. The third-inning historic safety by the Mariner outfielder from Japan surpasses George Sisler's 84-year-old mark of 257 hits established in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns.

2005 The Royals, after a 10-1 drubbing by the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, establish a team record with their 105th defeat this season. Kansas City, which owns the worst record in the majors this year after losing 104 games last season, has reached the dubious century mark in three of the previous four seasons.
2006 Joe Mauer becomes the first catcher in the American League to win a batting title and lead the majors in hitting. The Twins backstop's .347 batting average outpaces Freddie Sanchez (.344) of the Pirates.
2006 Carlos Guillen, in the Tigers' 10-4 win over the Devil Rays, becomes the tenth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle. The Detroit shortstop stretches a single into a double in his last at-bat in the eighth inning to complete the rare event.
2006 Red Sox manager Terry Francona, knowing that the contest might be his right fielder's final game with Boston, replaces Trot Nixon in right field with two outs in the fifth inning on the last day of the season. The Fenway Faithful respond with a thunderous ovation when their regular right fielder for the past decade leaves the field.
2006 In the season's final weekend, the lowly Royals sweep a three-game series from the Tigers, a team needing only one victory to clinch the AL Central flag. After building a 6-0 lead in the season finale at Comerica Park, Detroit drops a 10-8 decision in 12 innings, losing first place to the Twins to become the wild-card team, opening on the road in the ALDS against the heavily-favored Yankees.
2006 This season, except for the years marred by work stoppages, marks the first time in baseball history that no starting pitcher in either league wins 20 games. The most victories in the National League is sixteen, accomplished by six hurlers, with Johan Santana and Chien-Ming Wang winning 19 games in the Junior Circuit.
2007 The NL playoff game ends abruptly in the bottom of the 13th inning at Coors Field as Matt Holliday of the Rockies scores on a bang-bang play at home on a shallow Jamey Carroll sac fly, the third and winning run given up in Trevor Hoffman's blown save. Colorado's 9-8 comeback victory, their 14th in their last 15 games, end the Padres season, who were one strike away two games ago from clinching a postseason berth.

2009 The Rockies' 9-2 win over Milwaukee assures the team of a wild-card berth in the postseason and puts the team in a position to win the N.L. West by sweeping the Dodgers this weekend in L.A. Although the club was 12 games under .500 on June 3, today's victory, their 91st - a club record - puts Colorado 23 games over .500, another first in the franchise's 17-year history.
2009 Tony La Russa moves past John McGraw into second place for the most games managed in major league history. With his 4,770 contests as a manager, the Cardinal skipper trails only Connie Mack, who amassed a total of 7755 during his 53 years in the dugout.
2012 Joining Billy Martin, Davey Johnson becomes the second major league manager to bring four teams to the postseason when the second-place Braves lose in Pittsburgh, allowing the Nationals to clinch the National League East Division. The 69-year-old skipper also led the Mets (1986, 1988), Reds (1994-95), and the Orioles (1997) to the playoffs.
2014 Brandon Crawford becomes the first shortstop to hit a postseason grand slam when he clears the bases in the fourth inning of the winner-take-all National League Wild Card Game, an 8-0 Giants' victory over the Pirates. The former UCLA Bruins infielder's four-run home run off Edinson Volquez quiets the enthusiastic PNC Park crowd, who has been a valuable asset to the home team during the season.

2015 The Yankees clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2012 when the team beats the Red Sox in the Bronx, 4-1. Their 10,000th regular-season victory guarantees a wild-card berth, placing the Bombers in the playoffs for the 52nd time in franchise history.
2015 Jose Abreu joins Albert Pujols (2001-02) as the second player in baseball history to hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs in his first two seasons. The Chicago White Sox's slugging first baseman singles with two outs in the seventh inning, picking up his 100th and 101st RBI of the season in the team's 6-4 loss to Kansas City at U.S. Cellular Field.
2017 The season ends with the largest amount of homers (6,105) and strikeouts (40,104) recorded in the game's history. Only 27 individual shutouts were recorded during the campaign, the fewest since 1878, along with 59 complete games, setting a record for the fewest for the third straight year.
2018 Two divisional tiebreakers are needed to determine the National League Central and West champs after Chicago, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Colorado won yesterday. The Brewers/Cubs and Rockies/Dodgers winners will advance to the NLDS, with the losers facing one another tomorrow in the wild-card game.
2020 Fernando Tatis Jr. and Will Myers become the second pair of teammates in history to hit multiple homers in the same postseason game, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's feat in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, exactly 78 years ago. Meyers' eighth-inning two-run blast proves to be the difference in the Padres' 11-9 comeback victory, forcing a deciding Game 3 in the NL wild-card series.
2023 Luis Arraez, an offseason acquisition from the Twins, captures the National League batting title, hitting .354 for the Wild-Card Marlins. The Miami leadoff hitter, who also won the AL crown in 2022 when he batted .316 for the Twins, joins DJ LeMahieu to become the second player since 1900 to win a batting title in both leagues.


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On th Road Today​

 

OCTOBER 2 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1913 Gene Benson outfielder (Negro League All-Star 1940, 45-46),


1920 Spec Shea pitcher All Star, World Series 1947; NY Yankees, Washington


1932 Maury Wills shortstop (7 x MLB All-Star; NL MVP 1962, World Series 1959, 63, 65; LA Dodgers),


1934 Earl Wilson pitcher, 1959-70, (Boston Red Sox (no-hitter 1962), Detroit Tigers (AL wins co-leader, 1967


1970 Eddie Guardado pitcher All Star 2002-03; AL saves leader 2002; Minnesota Twins


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This Day in Baseball History
October 2nd​

1908 Future Hall of Fame right-hander Addie Joss hurls second-ever perfect game, beating Ed Walsh and the White Sox on an unearned run, 1-0. The 79-pitch performance kept the Naps' pennant hopes alive, but in four days, the Tigers will cop the American League flag, edging Cleveland by a half-game because the existing rules do not require a team to replay a rained-out game from earlier in the season.

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1920 The Indians clinch their first American League pennant when they rout the Tigers at Navin Field, 10-1. Jim Bagby, who will have a 1-1 record in the Fall Classic for the eventual World Champs, notches his 31st victory.

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1920 In the only tripleheader ever played in the 20th century, the Reds take the first two games, 13-4 and 7-3, with the Pirates avoiding the sweep, winning the shortened finale 6-0, called after six innings because of darkness. Peter Harrison is the home plate umpire for all three games.

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1932 The Yankees win their twelfth consecutive World Series game and sweep the Fall Classic for the third time. The Bronx Bombers collect 19 hits, clubbing the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 13-6.

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1936 In Game 2, the Yankees even the World Series at a game apiece by routing the Giants at the Polo Grounds, 18-4. The lopsided win is the largest margin of victory in the history of the Fall Classic.

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1938 Tommy Thevenow, playing in his final game of a 12-year career, establishes the longest homerless streak in major league history. The 35-year-old Pirates infielder, who hit two round-trippers during his rookie season in 1924 with the Cardinals, makes another 3,605 plate appearances without homering again.

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1938 During the 3-2 loss to New York in the season finale at the Polo Grounds, Bees (Braves) outfielder Vince DiMaggio strikes out four times, extending his major league record to a season total of 129. Last month, Dom and Joe's older brother had surpassed Gus Williams' major league mark of 120 whiffs established by the Browns' outfielder in 1914.

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1938 At the Polo Grounds, Mel Ott singles home a run in the Giants' 3-2 victory over Boston in the season finale at the Polo Grounds. The 29-year-old Giants' right fielder, who will celebrate a birthday in the offseason, establishes the record for the most games played before a 30th birthday with 1,739, more than Robin Yount's 1,671 (Brewers, 1974-85) and Andruw Jones's 1,625 (Braves, 1996-2007)

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1938 Indians' fireballer Bob Feller fans eighteen Tigers, surpassing Dizzy Dean's 1933 mark to establish a modern major league record for strikeouts in a game. 'Rapid Robert,' who gives up seven hits and walks seven, loses the Cleveland Stadium contest, 4-1.

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1940 The Sullivans become the first father and son to have played in a World Series when Billy Jr. is the Tigers' backstop in Game 1 of the Fall Classic at Crosley Field. The Detroit catcher's dad, Bill Sr., appeared in the postseason in 1906, playing the same position for the White Sox when he went 0-for-21 in the Hitless Wonders' six-game triumph over the Cubs.

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1947 After scoring six runs in the bottom of the second inning in Game 3, the Dodgers hold on to beat the Yankees, 9-8, for their first victory in the Fall Classic. The Ebbets Field contest takes three hours and five minutes to complete, making it the making it the longest game ever played in World Series history.
In Game 3 of the Fall Classic, Yogi Berra hits the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history. In the seventh inning of a 9-8 loss to the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, the historic homer comes off Ralph Branca.


1949 With a combination of infielders consisting mostly of shortstop Eddie Joost, second sacker Pete Suder, and first baseman Ferris Fain, the A's establish a major league record for turning 217 double plays. The trio was the subject of a poem by Dick Armstrong, the Athletics' publicity director, titled "Joost to Suder to Fain," which remains popular in the franchise's folklore.

 

1952 Carl Erskine strikes out 14 Yankees in Game 3 to establish a new World Series mark. The Dodger hurler's performance bests the record of A's Howard Ehmke, who struck out 13 Cubs in Game 1 of the 1929 Fall Classic.

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1954 The Giants complete the World Series sweep of the Indians when Don Liddle beats Bob Lemon, 7-4. The Tribe, who had lost four consecutive games only once during the regular season, completed the campaign with a 111-43 record, establishing an American League mark for victories.

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1960 On the season's final day, Norman Cash singles as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of the Tigers' 2-1 loss to Kansas City at Municipal Stadium. 'Stormin' Norman,' a big man not known for his speed, will finish the year without having hit into a double play during his 428 plate appearances for Detroit.

1961 Two days before starting the World Series between the Reds and Yankees, the expansion Mets introduced Casey Stengel as the franchise's first manager. The introduction takes place at the Savoy Hilton in the same room where the Bronx Bombers held a press conference at the end of last season to announce the 70-year-old Old Professor's 'mandatory retirement. After 'retiring' from the Yankees last season, Casey Stengel agrees to manage the Mets, New York's National League expansion team. 'The Old Perfessor,' during his three-plus years in the Amazins' dugout, will compile a poor 175-404 (.302) record but will serve as the face of the new franchise, making the team lovable losers with a loyal fan base.

1963 In the Fall Classic opener, Sandy Koufax fans his 15th batter of the game when he strikes out pinch-hitter Harry Bright for the final out of LA's 5-2 victory over the Yankees. The Dodger lefty, who struck out the first five Bronx Bombers he faced in the game, surpasses Brooklyn's Carl Erskine's 1953 World Series mark of 14, also accomplished against New York.

1964 New York southpaw Al Jackson, who goes the distance, beats the Cardinals and Bob Gibson, 1-0, preventing St. Louis from pulling ahead in a four-team pennant race with two days remaining in the season.
After the last-place Mets beat the Redbirds again tomorrow, the team loses the season finale with their opponents clinching the NL flag one game ahead of the Reds and Phillies and three in front of the Giants.
1965 Los Angeles clinches the National League pennant on the next to last day of the season at Dodger Stadium when Sandy Koufax gets his 26th victory, defeating the Braves in the clincher, 3-1. The Dodgers, winning 14 of their last 15 games, finish the campaign with a 97-65 record, two games ahead of the second-place Giants.

1965 In the nightcap of a twin bill on the next-to-last day of the season, Mets rookie Rob Gardner, making his fifth career start, and Phillies veteran Chris Short match zeros, both going 15 frames in a game that ends in a scoreless tie after 18 innings at Shea Stadium. The 20-year-old southpaw, who eventually develops arm problems, compiles a 4-10 record along with an ERA of 4.79 during his two years with New York and wins just 14 games with six major league teams over eight seasons.

1966 The Yankees end the season with a 2-0 victory over Chicago, but the team still finishes in last place, a half-game behind the Red Sox. The tenth-place Bronx Bombers, who compiled a 70-89 record, 26.5 games behind Baltimore, become the first club in franchise history to finish in the American League cellar since 1912.

1966 Cardinals rookie Jim Cosman, making his major league debut on the last day of the season, hurls a two-hit complete-game shutout, blanking Chicago at Busch Stadium, 2-0. The 23-year-old right-hander, who didn't know of his assignment until twenty minutes before game time, makes his only start of the season, having pitched only in relief in 54 minor league appearances before today's contest.

1966 On the last day of the season, Sonny Jackson establishes a major league rookie record with his 49th steal, a mark that will last until Gene Richard (Padres) and Omar Moreno (Pirates) both surpass the accomplishment in 1977. The Astros shortstop will finish second in the Rookie of the Year balloting behind Tommy Helms of Cincinnati.
1968 "Someone should have warned us that he changed his clothes in a phone booth before he got to the park and took off the suit with the big S on it." - NORM CASH, Tiger first baseman commenting on Bob Gibson's commanding performance in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series.

Bob Gibson establishes a new World Series record by striking out 17 batters as the Cardinals defeat the Tigers in Game 1 of the Fall Classic, 4-0. The Redbird right-hander surpasses Sandy Koufax's mark of 15, which the southpaw established on this date five years ago against New York.

1969 In the final game of a disappointing season at Wrigley Field, a 5-3 victory over the Mets, the Bleacher Bums vent their frustration over the Cubs’ collapse, storming onto the roof of the team’s dugout chanting their cheers. After the last out, more fans join the mayhem, swarming onto the field, sliding into bases ahead of phantom tags while the organist plays Happy Days Are Here Again.

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1969 In front of 5,473 patrons, the Pilots play their final game in Seattle, a 3-1 loss to the A's. The American League's newest franchise attracted only 677,944 fans to Sick's Stadium in their only season, prompting the last-place club to move to Milwaukee, the nation's 12th largest city, when Bud Selig purchased the bankrupt franchise, renaming the team the Brewers.

1969 In the eighth inning of the Reds' 8-3 win at Atlanta Stadium, Pete Rose clinches the National League batting title when he beats out a bunt to third base for a hit in his last at-bat of the season. The day starts with the Cincinnati right fielder tied with Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente, who goes 3-for-4 against Montreal but finishes .005 of a point behind (.3447 to .3452), the eventual all-time hits leader.

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1972 Bill Stoneman throws the second of his two no-hitters when he holds the Mets hitless in the Expos' 7-0 victory at Jarry Park. The Montreal All-Star right-hander, who also accomplished the feat in 1969 against the Phillies in Philadelphia in his fifth major league start, becomes the first major league pitcher to toss a no-hitter in Canada.

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1974 On the last day of the season, in front of a few hundred fans, Billy Martin does not use a designated hitter, allowing starting pitcher Ferguson Jenkins to bat for himself. Although Fergie, en route to his 25th win of the season, gets a hit in the Texas 2-1 victory over the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium, the Rangers manager's refusal to use a DH prevents the employment of the position for the entire game, according to the rules.

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1974 In his final at-bat for the Braves after spending 21 seasons with the team, Hank Aaron homers off right-hander Rawly Eastwick in Atlanta's 13-0 rout of Cincinnati. The Hammer's last National League plate appearance yields his 3600th career hit and the Brewer-bound outfielder's career 736th round-tripper.

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1976 In his final start of the season, rookie right-hander Mark Fidrych earns his 19th victory, beating Milwaukee at County Stadium, 5-1. The five-hit complete game takes only one hour and 46 minutes to play.

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1976 Four years before the stroke that ends his career, 26-year-old J.R. Richard becomes a twenty-game winner on the last day of the season when he tosses a complete game in the Astros' 10-1 victory over San Francisco. James Rodney also enjoys a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4, including a two-run home run.

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1977 When Dusty Baker hits his 30th homer of the season against the Astros' J.R. Richard, the Dodgers become the first team in major league history to have four players hit 30 or more home runs. He joins Steve Garvey (33), Reggie Smith (32), and Ron Cey (30) to complete the foursome.

1978 In an American League East one-game playoff, Goose Gossage gets the save when Carl Yastrzemski pops out in foul territory for the final out in the Yankees' 5-4 comeback victory over the Red Sox. Light-hitting infielder Bucky Dent is the unlikely hero of the contest, hitting a three-run home run over the Fenway Park Green Monster off Mike Torrez.

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1981 New York's once-legendary center fielders, Giant Willie Mays, Dodger Duke Snider, and Yankee Mickey Mantle, are guests on the Warner Wolfe show. The appearance marks the first time all three Hall of Fame outfielders have been together on a television show.

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1982 Red Sox starter Brian Denman goes the distance, defeating Dave Righetti at Yankee Stadium, 5-0. The 26-year-old rookie right-hander's six-hit shutout will be his ninth and last appearance in a major league uniform.

1982 At San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, recording artist Vicki Carr and 43,077 fans sing an enthusiastic rendition of Happy Birthday before the Padres game with Atlanta, celebrating Ray Kroc's 80th birthday. The San Diego Chicken and Ronald McDonald pop out of a giant cake, surprising the team owner.

1983 Red Sox left fielder Carl Yastrzemski plays in his 3,308th and final game. After Boston's 3-1 victory over Cleveland, 'Yaz' takes one more "final lap" around Fenway Park and will stay to sign autographs on Yawkey Way for over an hour.

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1985 Commissioner Peter Ueberroth clarifies that Seattle is in self-imposed jeopardy of losing the Mariners, citing that the team is not required to stay in their present location if they are not wanted for the long term. The Commissioner refers to the King County Council's attempt to modify an agreement based on attendance made with owner George Argyros concerning the team's ability to exercise an 'escape clause' after the 1987 season.

 

1985 Darrell Evans becomes the first player to hit 40 home runs in both leagues in a season. The Tigers' first baseman, who had hit 41 with the Braves in 1973, goes deep off Blue Jays' hurler Dave Stieb to reach 40 on the last day of the season.'

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1985 The Galbreath family and Warner Communications sell the Pirates to the Pittsburgh Associates, a consortium of Pittsburgh officials and local businesses committed to keeping the team in the City of Bridges. At the time, New Orleans and Portland were making attractive offers to bring the franchise, which was doing poorly on and off the field, to their respective cities.'

1985 Mets sophomore Dwight Gooden pitches a 5-2 complete-game victory over the Cardinals and will become the seventh pitcher in baseball history to finish the season leading both leagues in wins (24), ERA (1.53), and strikeouts (268). Doc joins Walter Johnson (Senators - 1913), Grover Cleveland Alexander (Phillies - 1915, 1917), Dazzy Vance (Dodgers - 1924), Lefty Grove (A's -1930, 1931), Hal Newhouser (Tigers - 1945), and Sandy Koufax (Dodgers - 1963, 1965, 1966) in winning the major league pitching triple crown, but he will not follow the six legends into the Hall of Fame.

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1986 Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly establishes a new team record, collecting his 232nd hit of the season to break the 1927 mark set by Earl Combs. 'Donnie Baseball' will finish the season with a league-leading 238 hits.

1986 Facing his last batter of the season, Dwight Gooden registers his 200th strikeout when Luis Rivera looks at a third strike for the final out in the eighth inning of the Mets' 8-2 victory over Montreal at Olympic Stadium. The Mets' phenom becomes the first pitcher in baseball history to reach the coveted plateau in each of his first three seasons.

1988 During the season finale, Mets manager Davey Johnson receives an enthusiastic standing ovation from the Flushing Faithful when he comes to the mound to make a pitching change at Shea Stadium. With today's 7-5 win over the Cardinals, his NL Eastern Division champs secure their 100th victory.

 

1991 The Blue Jays, in front of 50,324 enthusiastic fans, clinch the American League East title with a 6-5 walk-off victory over California in the SkyDome's season finale. Toronto becomes the first sports franchise to draw four million fans in one season.

1995 In a one-game playoff for the American League West title, Mariners' southpaw Randy Johnson throws a three-hitter and beats the Angels, 9-1. The 'Big Unit' finishes the shortened season of 145 games with an 18-2 record to establish a new AL mark for a winning percentage of .900, surpassing the record set of .893 by Ron Guidry in 1978.

1999 Rick Reed strikes out 12 batters without issuing a walk, hurling a complete-game three-hitter in the Mets' 7-0 victory over Pittsburgh at Shea Stadium. The win puts New York into a tie for the NL Wild Card with the Reds with one game left in the season.

1999 Mariano Rivera, although he gives up two hits, pitches a scoreless ninth inning, earning his 45th save of the season when the Yankees beat Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field, 3-2. The New York closer records more saves (45) than hits allowed (43) during his sixty-six appearances on the mound this season.

1999 Vladimir Guerrero, in Montreal's 13-3 rout of Philadelphia at Veterans Stadium, hits two home runs, and his brother Wilton hits one round-tripper, making it the second time in their careers the siblings have gone deep in the same game. The Expos teammates also accomplished the feat last season in Cincinnati.

 

2001 Slugging Sammy Sosa becomes the first player in baseball history to slug 60 home runs in three seasons. The Cubs' outfielder connects off Lance Davis in the first inning of the team's 5-4 loss to Cincinnati at Wrigley Field to reach the milestone.

2002 Former Diamondback Alex Cabrera slams his 55th home run to tie the Japanese single-season home run mark. The 31-year-old Seibu Lion joins Sadaharu Oh (1964) and Tuffy Rhodes (2001) in the record book.

2004 Much to the chagrin of manager Ron Gardenhire and his players, the Twins' game against Cleveland, tied at 5-5 after 11 innings, is halted because the ground crew needs time to prepare the field for a University of Minnesota football game. The suspended Metrodome contest resumes before tomorrow's scheduled game, with the home team scoring a run in the bottom of the 12th frame, giving the team a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Tribe.

2004 Steve Finley hits a walk-off grand slam for the second time in his career. The center fielder's ninth-inning bases-loaded home run in the 7-3 win over the Giants at Chavez Ravine clinches the NL West title for the Dodgers.

2004 Jeff Kent hits two round-trippers to become the all-time home run leader of second basemen. The Astros infielder records his 278th dinger and 302nd overall to break Ryne Sandberg's major league record established in 1997.

2004 The Expos, an expansion team in 1969, win their last game representing the city of Montreal, beating the Mets at Shea Stadium, 6-3. The franchise, becoming the Washington Nationals next season, compiled a 2755-2943 (.484) record, appearing in one postseason during their 35-year tenure in the Canadian city.

2005 During the seventh inning of the season's final game, the Mets halt play for eight minutes as the Shea Stadium crowd pays tribute to Mike Piazza, their 37-year-old All-Star catcher, who will not return to the team next season. The centerfield scoreboard features a video montage highlighting many of the backstop's magic moments in a New York uniform.

2005 In the top of the sixth inning at Busch Stadium, Ozzie Smith emerges from the gate in the right-field wall in an open convertible. After touring the warning track, the former Cardinal shortstop removes the digit "1", his old uniform number affixed to the outfield wall, revealing a "0" to indicate the number of regular-season games scheduled at Busch Stadium.

2005 In a recorded message played at the start of the last regular-season game at Busch Stadium, Joe Buck, unable to attend due to calling an NFL game on national television, asks the crowd to honor his late father by singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" a cappella. A stirring rendition fills the ballpark when 50,000 voices join in unison to sing the national anthem, a fitting tribute to the late and beloved Cardinal broadcaster.

2005 Before taking the field, an emotional Jack McKeon tells his players he is managing the team for the last time. After applause and hugs for their 73-year-old skipper, the Marlins respond by rallying to tie the score with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and then defeat the NL East champion Braves in the next frame when Juan Pierre singles home to winning run in the Fish's 7-6 walk-off victory.

2005 The Brewers compile their first non-losing season since 1992, when the team finished the season with an 81-81 record. Milwaukee had a chance to finish with a winning record but dropped their last two games to the Pirates at PNC Park.

2006 Major League Baseball announces a record number of fans who attended big-league games this year. The season's ticket sales are 76,043,902, shattering the overall record for the third consecutive year.

2008 In the Rays' first-ever playoff appearance, the ten-year-old franchise defeats the visiting White Sox at Tropicana Field, 6-4. Tampa Bay's rookie third baseman Evan Longoria joins Gary Gaetti (1987) to become the second player to homer in his first two postseason at-bats.

2009 In the Rays' 13-4 rout of the visiting Yankees, B.J. Upton becomes the first player in the 12-year history of the franchise to hit for the cycle. The fleet center fielder's offensive output, which includes five hits and six RBIs, helps Tampa Bay deny CC Sabathia his 20th win this season, a feat not accomplished by a Bronx pitcher since Andy Pettitte posted a 21-8 record in 2003.

2010 The Royals exercise next year's $6 million option on David DeJesus, who had season-ending surgery on his right thumb. The 30-year-old outfielder batted .318 in 91 games for Kansas City before running into the Yankee Stadium wall on a play in July that became an inside-the-park home run for Derek Jeter.

2010 The Red Sox honored infielder Mike Lowell during a 20-minute pregame ceremony at Fenway Park. The 2007 World Series MVP, a 13-year big league veteran, recently slowed down due to a hip ailment, announced last month that he would retire at the end of the season.

2010 With seventy former players and coaches sitting on the infield, clad in white Braves jerseys in front of a sellout crowd, Atlanta honors Bobby Cox with a pregame ceremony. The Braves' longtime manager, who will remain with the team as a consultant, is given a 2010 Lexus LS460 from the club and an 11-night cruise from his current players during the moving tribute at Turner Field.

2012 For the first time in fifty years, teams with 100+ losses face one another when the 54-106 Astros beat the 60-100 Cubs at Wrigley Field, 3-0. The last time clubs with triple-digit defeats met occurred during the final weekend of the 1962 season with the Mets playing Chicago at the same Windy City ballpark.

2012 "I will never be a Hall of Famer and will never lead the league in strikeouts,"- R.A. Dickey, the opening lines of his autobiography. In his last appearance of the season, Mets' 20-game winner R.A. Dickey whiffs eight Miami batters to end the campaign with 230 strikeouts, the most in the National League. The 37-year-old knuckleballer did not foresee the possibility of this occurrence when he wrote the opening lines of Wherever I Wind Up, his autobiography released in March, unaware that he would accomplish the feat shortly.

2014 Tigers Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez go back-to-back off Orioles' right-hander Chris Tillman in the second inning of Game 1 of the ALDS, marking the second time in playoff history that players with the same surname have hit consecutive home runs. Frank and Brooks Robinson also accomplished the feat for Baltimore when they both went deep off Don Drysdale in Game 1 of the 1966 World Series.

2015 White Sox starter Chris Sale whiffs James McCann on a called strike for his 270th strikeout of the season, breaking the franchise single-season mark established in 1908 by Ed Walsh. The Chicago right-hander finishes his seven innings of work in the team's 2-1 victory over Detroit at U.S. Cellular Field with seven strikeouts to extend the record to 274.

2016 Unbeknownst at the time, Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton becomes the last player to be issued a four-pitch intentional walk when he gets a free pass in the top of the eighth inning off Nationals relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez in Miami's 10-7 loss in Washington. To speed up the game, implementing the strategic base-on-balls will become automatic next season, making it unnecessary to throw four balls out of the strike zone to walk a batter.

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UNDER THE WEATHER

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OCTOBER 4 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1910 Frankie Crosetti shortstop and 3rd base coach (record 17 World Series titles as player and coach; NY Yankees)

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1918 Red Munger (MLB All Star 1944, 47, 49; St. Louis Cardinals)


1928 Rip Repulski outfielder (MLB All Star 1956; World Series 1959


1943 Jimy Williams infielder (St. Louis Cardinals), coach (World Series Champ - Atlanta, 1995 & Philadelphia, 2008), and manager (Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox (AL Manager of the Year -1999), Houston Astros)


1944 Tony La Russa Hall of Fame manager (World Series 1989 Oakland A's, 2006, 11 St. Louis Cardinals; 4 × Manager of the Year; Chicago WS)


1949 John Wathan catcher and manager (Kansas City Royals)

1961 Mike Sharperson infielder (MLB All Star 1992; World Series 1988, 95)


1964 Mark McLemore player, 1986-2004 (California Angels, Texas Rangers, and 5 other teams), and broadcaster (Texas Rangers)

1967 Roger Pavlik pitcher (MLB All Star 1996; Texas Rangers

1978 Kyle Lohse pitcher (14th pitcher to beat all 30 MLB teams; Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals

1982 Jered Weaver pitcher (MLB All Star 2010-12; LA Angels)

1983 Kurt Suzuki catcher (MLB All Star 2014; Washington Nationals)

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Today in Baseball History
October 4th​

1906 The Cubs post their 116th victory when they beat Pittsburgh at Exposition Park, 4-0. Chicago, who sets a major league mark for wins, completes the season with an astounding .763 winning percentage.

1916 Reds right-hander Christy Mathewson faces Mordecai Brown of the Cubs in the career finale for each pitcher, marking the first time two future Hall of Famers have made their final appearance in the same game. Both Cooperstown-bound hurlers go the distance in Cincinnati's 10-8 victory at Chicago's Weeghman Park.

1924 A smiling Calvin Coolidge, becoming the first U.S. President to attend a World Series opener, shakes hands with Bucky Harris and hands him a baseball that the Washington skipper places in Senator's starter Walter Johnson's glove. In the Griffith Stadium contest, the Giants edge the hometown team in 12 innings, 4-3.

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1925 For the first time in the 50-year history of the franchise, the Cubs end the season in last place. The team, managed by Bill Killefer (33-42), Rabbit Maranville (23-30), and George Gibson (12-14), compiles a 68-86 record and finishes 27.5 games behind the first-place Pirates.

1925 Player managers Ty Cobb and George Sisler face one another as mound opponents, marking the first time both sides use a position player to pitch in relief in the same game, an oddity not occurring again until 2012. In the season finale, the Georgia Peach throws a perfect final frame for the Tigers' 11-7 victory over the Browns in the Sportsman's Park contest, with 'Gorgeous George' facing only seven batters in his two scoreless innings.

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