This Weekend in Baseball History

October 22nd, 2016: The Cubs win their first pennant since 1945, as Kyle Hendricks and Aroldis Chapman shut out the Dodgers 5-0 in the sixth and final game of the NLCS.

October 22nd, 2011: Albert Pujols becomes the third player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game -- joining Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson -- in the Cardinals 16 - 7 win over the Texas Rangers, in Game 3 of the World Series. The Cardinals superstar connected for hits in his final five times up: two singles and those three historic home runs. His six RBIs on the night also ties a World Series record.


October 22nd, 2001: Home runs by Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez and strong pitching by series MVP Andy Pettite (who took a shutout into the 7th inning) are the keys to a 12-3 win over the Seattle Mariners as the Yankees win the American League Championship series in five games. The pennant was the Yankees' 38th. The Mariners joined baseball's only other 116-win team as a postseason dud. The 1906 Chicago Cubs lost the World Series to the crosstown White Sox in six games.


October 22nd, 2000: The Yankees edge the Mets, 6-5, in the second game of the World Series. The game is remembered by Roger Clemens throwing the barrel of a shattered bat at Mike Piazza, as the Mets catcher runs to 1st base.


October 22nd, 1986: Gary Carter smacks a pair of home runs as the Mets beat the Red Six 6-2 at Fenway Park and tie the World Series at two wins each.


October 22nd, 1975: A night after Carlton Fisk's dramatic 12th inning walk-off homer, the Reds bounce back to beat the Red Sox 4-3 in the seventh game of the World Series. Joe Morgan drives in Ken Griffey with the go-ahead run with two out in the top of the 9th.


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 five 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, and 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. That 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 major league baseball and went onto become one of its most dynamic and inspirational stars -- combined with an activism that placed him among the most important Americans of the 20th century, dies of a heart attack. He was just 53.


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 Street and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two-year r
Read more

Another Yankee Trade

Image
Yankee fans: here's a last look at shortstop Trey Sweeney .  The 2021 first round draft choice was part of the three player trade with the Dodgers that brings reliever Victor Gonzalez and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas to New York. Now seeking to rebuild their pitching depth after dealing for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, the Yanks deemed Sweeney expendable.  While the Louisville native showed promising power in his three seasons with the organization -- he batted only .248 to go with his 36 career homers -- Brian Cashman has committed to Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza as his young middle infielders.  So Sweeney became a trade chip. ( My images of Trey Sweeney are from the Somerset/Binghamton AA games on July 15th and September 19th, 2023. )
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 00
Read more