This Weekend in Baseball History

October 23rd,  2015: The Royals win their second straight American League pennant with a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays to take the ALCS in six games. Lorenzo Cain scores the go-ahead run, racing home from first base on Eric Hosmer's single.


October 23rd, 2010: Juan Uribe's tie-breaking RBI single in the bttom of the 8th inning pushes the Giants past the Phillies 3-2 for an NLCS-clinching game six victory, and prevents the Phils from advancing to a third straight World Series.


October 23rd, 1996: Trailing 6-0 after 5 innings at Fulton County Stadium, the Yankees mount their biggest-ever post-season comeback; they tie the game on Jim Leyritz's three-run homer in the 8th, get strong relief pitching from Mariano Rivera, Graeme Lloyd and John Wetteland before scoring the winning run on Wade Boggs' bases loaded walk with two out in the 10th inning. The Yankees 8-6 victory over the Braves squares the World Series at two wins each.


October 23rd, 1993: Joe Carter's three-run 9th Inning homer off Mitch Williams lifts the Blue Jays from one run down to an 8-6 win over the Phillies in game six as Toronto wins their second straight World Series championship.

October 23rd, 1945: Jackie Robinson becomes the first Black player to sign a contract with a major league organization. He's assigned by the Dodgers to their Montreal farm club for the upcoming season.


October 24th, 2007: Dustin Pedroia becomes the first rookie ever to hit a lead off home run in the opening game of the World Series. He ignites the Red Sox offense en route to a 13-1 win over the Rockies and the start of a four-game sweep.


October 24th, 2000: Benny Agbayani's tie-breaking 8th inning single helps the Mets beat the Yankees 4-2, snapping the Bronx Bombers' record 14-game win streak in World Series games.


October 24th, 1992: The Toronto Blue Jays become the first Canadian team to win the World Series. Dave Winfield breaks a tie, driving in a pair of runners on an 11th-inning double to give Toronto the lead to stay in its game six victory.


October 24th, 1972: Jackie Robinson, who integrated baseball and went onto become one of its most dynamic stars, dies of a heart attack. He was just 53.


October 25th, 2009: The  Yankees win their 40th pennant and return to the World Series for the first time in six years. Johnny Damon singles in Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher as the Yankees take the lead for keeps in the 4th inning and roll to a 5-2 win over the Angels. Andy Pettite, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera keep the L.A. bats in check.


October 25th, 2003: Josh Beckett fires a five-hit shutout as the Marlins blank the Yankees 2-0 to win their second World Series in six seasons. Florida becomes the first opposing team to capture the Fall Classic in the Bronx since the Dodgers' 1955 Subway Series win.


October 25th, 1986: The Buckner game: entering the bottom of the 10th inning down by two, and facing elimination in the World Series, the Mets rally for three runs -- the game winner as Mookie Wilson's grounder spins between Bill Buckner as the deciding run comes home. The 6-5 win sends the Series to a seventh th and final game -- in which the Mets would again author a come from behind victory.


October 25th, 1979: Yankee manager Billy Martin makes headlines when he gets into a fight in Minneapolis with marshmallow salesman Joseph Cooper. Soon, he's fired for the second time as Yankee manager.


October 25th, 1965: The Cubs sign Leo Durocher as their new manager, ending a five year experiment with a "college of coaches,"  that produced four losing records in five seasons. Though they finish 10th in 1966, by 1967, Leo the Lip builds them into a contender.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Avenue and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two...
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore...
Read more

Spring Training Flashbacks: Subway Series, Florida Style - 2016

Image
It's a return visit to the Mets' Florida home in Port St. Lucie, this time for a 2016 showdown with the Yankees. (Below), Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman chat during batting practice. Aaron Judge and Rob Refsnyder have their game faces on in the dugout... though neither would be in the starting lineup. (Above) A couple of Brooklyn natives that made their mark in New York baseball -- Lee Mazzilli and John Franco. (Below) Mets pitcher Josh Smoker makes friends by signing a few autographs. (Above) Mets reliever Jeurys Familia; (Below) 2nd baseman Neil Walker (Above) Curtis Granderson, one of the select few players to star for both the Yankees and Mets, getting ready for his third summer at Citi Field. (Below) Aaron Hicks came to the Yankees in a trade the previous November. 3rd baseman Chase Headley enjoying the Grapefruit League vibe, even against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. (Above) Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes watches where he hit one... so does Joe Girardi from the visitor's dugou...
Read more