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This Day in Baseball History
October 7th

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29 Fact(s) Found
1904 Jack Chesbro gets his 41st win of the season when the Highlanders beat Boston in New York, 3-2. Happy Jack's win total is considered the modern-era major league mark for the most victories in a season.
1905 Fred Odwell hits his ninth and final home run of the season, an inside-the-park round-tripper of Cardinal right-hander Buster Brown at Robison Field, making the Reds' outfielder the National League's home run champion. 'Fritz' hit just one last year as a rookie, and after leading the majors this season, he will not hit another round-tripper for the remainder of his career, a span of 154 games.
1911 In their last game played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, the Red Sox beat the Senators, 8-1. Anticipating a cancellation due to the cold, damp weather and a muddy field, only 850 patrons attended the 82-minute contest, but Boston owner John I. Taylor kept his promise of having a "Kids' Day," giving free admission to hundreds of children attending the season finale.
1925 Before Game 1 of the World Series at Forbes Field, Commissioner Landis orders the Pirates and the Senators to wear black armbands in memory of former Giants legend Christy Matthewson, who died of tuberculosis this morning at Saran Lake (NY). Although the practice will become common, this marks the first time in major league history that teams have altered their uniform to acknowledge a fellow ballplayer's passing.
1935 In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6, the Tigers win their first World Series in franchise history when Goose Goslin singles home Mickey Cochrane to give the team a dramatic 4-3 walk-off victory over the Cubs. Tommy Bridges goes the distance, giving up 12 hits, to win the Navin Field.
1939 In Game 3 at Crosley Field, Charlie Keller becomes the first rookie to hit two home runs in the same World Series game. The 22-year-old outfielder's round-trippers in the first and fifth innings, both off starter Junior Thompson, help the Yankees beat the Reds, 7-3.
1950 Rookie hurler Whitey Ford, with ninth-inning help from Allie Reynolds, beats the Phillies, 5-2, as the Yankees complete the World Series sweep of Philadelphia's 'Whiz Kids.' Jerry Coleman wins the Babe Ruth Award as the series MVP.
1952 In the decisive Game 7, the Yankees beat the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, 4-2, to win their fourth consecutive World Championship. Gil Hodges finishes the Fall Classic hitless in twenty-one at-bats, which prompted some Brooklyn fans to gather at local churches asking for divine help for their beloved first baseman.

(Ed. Note: Joe Black takes the loss in his third start of the Series. The 28-year-old right-hander appeared only twice as the starting pitcher in the regular season, making 54 appearances in relief for the Dodgers. - LP)

1961 The Yankees win Game 3 of the World Series, beating the hometown Reds at Crosley Field, 3-2. The decisive blow is Roger Maris' home run leading off the top of the ninth inning off Cincinnati starter Bob Purkey.

1964 Bob Uecker, who had been shagging out in left field, tries to catch batting practice balls with a tuba when an unsuspecting member of a Dixieland band leaves it unattended. Much to the delight of the crowd, the comedic Cardinals backup catcher is successful in two of his six attempts to snag a fly ball in the mouth of the instrument, but the owner, who is not amused, asks the team for $250 to cover the cost of repairing the dented brass.
1969 The Cardinals trade Curt Flood, Byron Browne, Joe Hoerner, and Tim McCarver to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Dick Allen, Jerry Johnson, and Cookie Rojas. When Flood refuses to report to Philadelphia, St. Louis sends Willie Montanez and a minor leaguer to complete the trade, but the outfielder continues his courageous challenge to the reserve clause, which will have a dramatic impact on the game.
1977 The Dodgers rally for three runs with none on and two outs in the top of the ninth to take a one-run lead in their eventual 6-5 victory over the Phillies at Veterans Stadium in Game 3 of the NLCS. The game appears to be over when LA's Davey Lopes is picked off first base for the final out, but a throwing error by Gene Garber advances him to second base, from where he will score the decisive run on Bill Russell's single.
1978 In Game 4 of the NLCS, Ron Cey scores in the 10th inning on Bill Russell's two-out game-winning single, giving the Dodgers a 4-3 victory over the Phillies and their second consecutive National League pennant. Cey, who walked after the first two batters were retired, advanced into scoring position when Garry Maddox misplayed Dusty Baker's fly ball in center field.
1981 The first postseason game outside the United States occurs in Montreal when the Expos beat the Phillies in Game 1 of NLDS, 3-1, at Olympic Stadium. The franchise will not make playoffs again for 31 years, appearing in the postseason as the Washington Nationals in 2012.
1981 After jumping to catch Manny Trillo's liner for the last out of the NLDS clincher, Warren Cromartie borrows a Canadian flag from an Expo fan sitting in the stands and begins waving it near the Phillies' dugout. The remaining Veteran Stadium crowd, already disappointed by Philadelphia's season-ending 3-0 loss to Montreal, does not react kindly to the outfielder's patriotic gesture.
1984 In a game best remembered for Cubs' first baseman Leon Durham's seventh-inning error on an easy ground ball, the Padres win the NLCS when Tony Gwynn's seventh-inning two-run double breaks a 3-3 tie en route to a 6-3 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium. Chicago had a 2-0 game advantage and a 3-0 lead in the decisive Game 5 but could not end their thirty-nine-year World Series appearance drought.
1988 The Yankees replace manager Lou Piniella, who had taken over for the fired Billy Martin in June, with Dallas Green. The former Phillies' skipper compiles a 56-65 record (.463) before being fired in August after calling George Steinbrenner' Manager George' due to the team's meddling with the team.
1995 In Game 4 of the ALDS, Edgar Martinez's eighth-inning grand slam breaks a 6-6 tie with the Yankees at the Kingdome. The Mariner DH's round-tripper, considered by many the biggest in franchise history, is the difference in Seattle's eventual 11-10 victory, forcing a decisive Game 5.

1995 With a 10-4 victory over Colorado, the Braves win their Division Series behind the solid pitching of Greg Maddux and the power provided by Fred McGriff's two home runs. The eventual World Champs will sweep Cincinnati in the NLCS before beating Cleveland in the Fall Classic
2000 Benny Agbayani's 13th-inning home run ends the longest LDS game ever played, five hours and 22 minutes. The dramatic round-tripper by the Mets outfielder, who was voted the 36th greatest athlete from Hawaii by Sports Illustrated, gives New York a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 series advantage over the Giants.

2001 On the last day of the season, Rickey Henderson bloops a double down the right-field line off Rockies' hurler John Thomson to become the 25th major leaguer to collect 3000 hits. Tony Gwynn, playing in his last major league game and a member of the 3000 hit club, meets the Padres’ outfielder at home plate in front of a sellout crowd at Qualcomm Park.
2001 Barry Bonds extends his major league record for home runs in a season to 73 as he drives a 3-2 first-inning knuckleball off Dodger Dennis Springer over the right-field fence. The blast also secures two more major league records for the Giants' left fielder when he surpasses Babe Ruth (1920 - .847) with a .863 season slugging percentage and bests Mark McGwire (1998 - one HR every 7.27 AB) by homering in every 6.52 at-bats.
2005 The White Sox complete a three-game postseason sweep of the Red Sox, defeating the defending World Series champion in Game 3 of the ALDS, 5-3. The Fenway Park victory marks the first time the Pale Hose have won a postseason series since 1917.
2006 Three years after enduring a 119-loss season, the wild-card Tigers upset the much-favored Yankees to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 1987. After beating New York 8-3 to take the ALDS 3 games to 1, the Detroit players start spraying champagne on fans at Comerica Park, who have suffered through 12 consecutive losing seasons and a tough month of September before the team wins their first postseason series in 19 years.
2006 The Mets defeat Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, 9-5, to complete a three-game sweep in the NLDS. The Dodgers have won only one postseason game in 13 attempts since beating the A's in the 1988 World Series.
2007 George Steinbrenner makes it clear if the Yankees do not get past the first round of playoffs against the Indians, Joe Torre's job, the longest-tenured manager under the Boss's ownership, will be in jeopardy. Trailing the ALDS 2-0, the team responds for their popular skipper with a come-from-behind 6-4 victory over the Tribe at the Stadium.
2010 With only 17 instances of a manager getting tossed in postseason history, two occurrences happen on the same day when umpires eject Rays' Joe Maddon and Twins' Ron Gardenhire from different ALCS games. Against Texas, the Tampa Bay skipper gets the heave-ho in for arguing a check swing with home plate ump Jim Wolf, and the Minnesota pilot suffers the same fate with Hunter Wendelstedt for arguing balls and strikes in the seventh in the contest against the Yankees.
2018 At 20 years and 293 days, Ronald Acuña Jr. becomes the youngest player in MLB history to hit a postseason grand slam, going deep off Walker Buehler in the second inning of the Braves' 6-5 victory over the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLDS. Yankee legend Mickey Mantle previously held the record being 21 years, 349 days old, when he went deep with the bases loaded in Game 5 of the 1953 World Series.

2018 Uni-President Lions pitcher Ryan Verdugo throws nine perfect innings, but the southpaw does not leave the mound a winner in the scoreless contest against the Chinatrust Brothers. When third baseman Kuo Fu-Lin leads off the ninth inning with a walk-off home run, the former Kansas City Royal hurler will earn his perfect game, the first in the Chinese Professional Baseball League's history.
29 Fact(s) Found