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This Day in Baseball History
October 12th

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35 Fact(s) Found
1907 At Detroit's Bennett Park, right-hander Mordecai 'Three Finger' Brown throws a 2-0 shutout, beating the Tigers to capture the World Championship for the Cubs. Although Game 1 ended in a 3-3, 12-inning tie, Chicago becomes the first club to sweep a Fall Classic when the team wins the next four games.
1916 In front of a record crowd of 43,620 fans at Braves Field, Red Sox right-hander Ernie Shore three-hits the Robins in Game 5 of the World Series, 4-1, to capture the team's fourth World Championship in the 13-year history of the Fall Classic. As it did last season, Boston plays its Fall Classic home games in their crosstown National League rival's larger ballpark, allowing more fans to attend the game than if played at Fenway Park.
1920 At Cleveland's League Park, the Indians' hurler Stan Coveleski blanks the Robins on five hits, 3-0, to win the franchise's first World Championship. The Tribe gives up only eight runs in the Fall Classic, taking the best of nine series five games to two.

(Ed. Note: An expectant first-time mother, Kathleen Daly Chapman, whose husband, Ray, was fatally hit by a pitch during the season, received a full World Series share from the club. In 1928, the shortstop widow died from ingesting poison, predeceasing the couple's daughter, Rae-Marie, a victim of a measles epidemic the next year while living with her grandmother.- LP)

1923 In front of the largest crowd in baseball history, 62,430 fans are on hand to see Casey Stengel hit his second World Series home run. The round-tripper proves to be the difference when Giants hurler Art Nehf outduels Yankees' starter Sam Jones in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, 1-0.
1929 Trailing 8-0 in Game 4 of the World Series, the A's erupt for ten runs in the seventh inning off three Cub pitchers en route to a 10-8 victory. Chicago's Hack Wilson becomes one of the game's goats when he loses two balls in the sun in center field.
1948 The Yankees surprise their fans and a skeptical press when they name Casey Stengel to replace Bucky Harris as the team's manager. In his previous stints as the skipper with the National League's Braves and Dodgers, the 'Old Perfesser' had never finished higher than fifth place.
1949 Vin Scully, working his first broadcast ever, does the play-by-play when Maryland defeats Boston University at Fenway Park, 14-13. The football assignment marks the start of a 67-year career in the broadcast booth for the Hall of Fame baseball announcer, who becomes the iconic voice of the Dodgers.
1954 Although a group comes forward to keep the team in Philadelphia, the American League owners approve the sale of the A's to Arnold Johnson, a Chicago businessman planning to shift the team to Kansas City next season. The last-minute deal to keep the franchise in the 'City of Brotherly Love' includes Charlie Finley, who will eventually buy the team after moving to KC, taking the club to Oakland in 1968.
1958 Willie Mays makes his first appearance in New York since the Giants moved to San Francisco when his barnstorming NL All-Stars beat Mickey Mantle's American League All-Stars, 6-2. Before the game, the 'Say Hey Kid,' who thrills the Yankee Stadium crowd of 21,129 with a 4-for-5 day at the plate, bests 'The Mick' in a home run hitting contest, 2-1.
1963 At the last game featuring major leaguers played at the historic Polo Grounds, the Latin stars from the National League beat their AL peers, 5-2, in the first and only Hispanic Major League All-Star Game. Future Hall of Famers Luis Aparicio, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, and Juan Marichal are on hand to see Vic Power, a native of Puerto Rico, honored as the number-one Latin American player during a pregame ceremony before the postseason exhibition.
1965 Larry Bowa, who did not make the baseball team during his first three years in high school, signs as an amateur free agent by Philadelphia. The persistent infielder, who made the C. K. McClatchy squad as a senior, will be given the Phillies' starting shortstop position in 1970 by Phillies' skipper Frank Lucchesi, an admirer of the 24-year-old's fiery personality.
1967 Lou Brock becomes the third player in major league history to accomplish a trio of thefts in a World Series contest. The three stolen bases during the Cardinals' 7-2 victory over Boston in Game 7 gives the speedy St. Louis left fielder seven for the series, establishing a new Fall Classic mark.

(Ed. Note: Next season, in the team's seven-game loss to the Tigers, Brock, again, steals seven bases to equal his own record. - LP)

1967 Boston's Impossible Dream ends when Cardinals' ace Bob Gibson throws a three-hitter, his third complete game in the Fall Classic, beating the Red Sox, 7-2. The team's slogan for the season, based on the hit song from the musical "Man of La Mancha," became popular as the ninth-place team from last year won the AL flag on the last day of the campaign in a pennant race involving four teams and came up one game short from being the World Champions.
1969 Al Weis's timely ninth-inning hit, combined with the two-hitter tossed by Jerry Koosman and Ron Taylor, enable the Mets to even the Fall Classic with the Orioles at one game apiece. New York will win the next three games, all played at Shea Stadium, to finish their amazing season with a World Championship.
1972 After clinching the pennant with a 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the ALCS, Blue Moon Odom and Vida Blue give new meaning to the term Swingin' A's when the starting pitcher and the game's closer begin to brawl in the clubhouse. Odom, who left after five innings having allowed a run on two hits, takes exception to the universal choke sign made by Vida Blue when the reliever used the gesture to answer his own question, "How come you starters can't finish what you begin."
1972 In Game 5 of the ALCS, the A's clinch their first American League pennant since 1931 by beating Detroit at Tiger Stadium, 2-1. Oakland's Blue Moon Odom goes the first five innings, giving up one run on two hits, and Vida Blue shuts down the opponents for a four-inning save.
1982 In Game 1, Brewers' leadoff batter Paul Molitor becomes the first player to collect five hits in a World Series game. The third baseman's 5-for-6 Fall Classic performance helps Milwaukee rout the Cardinals, 10-0, the largest shutout margin since the Yankees blanked the Bucs 12-0 in 1960.

1983 At Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, the Orioles even the series at one game apiece when they defeat the Phillies, 4-1. In a battle between rookie pitchers, 26-year-old Mike Boddicker throws a three-hitter, besting 24-year-old Charles Hudson when John Lowenstein paces the Birds' offense with three hits, including a fifth-inning home run.
1986 The Angels, ahead 5-4 and one strike away from going to the World Series, see their lead vanish when Dave Henderson, who had Bobby Grich's fly ball bounce over the fence off the heel of his glove, hits a two-run homer off Donnie Moore, putting the Red Sox ahead, 6-5. California will tie the Anaheim Stadium contest in the bottom of the frame, but Boston will prevail, scoring the deciding run in the 11th inning on a Henderson sac fly.
1987 The Twins win their first American League pennant in 22 years, beating Detroit at Tiger Stadium, 9-7. Minnesota, posting the worst road record (29-52) in history for a playoff team, won two of three games in the Motor City to capture the best-of-7 ALCS in five games.
1997 With a complete-game performance at Pro Player Stadium, Livan Hernandez strikes out 15 Braves in the Marlins' 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS. The rookie right-hander, also the winner in Game 2 for the eventual World Champs, is named the MVP of the NL's championship series.
2001 Tom Kelly retires as the Twins' skipper. During his 15-season tenure, the longest among current managers, he won two World Series titles and compiled a record of 1140-1244 for the small-market team.

2003 With his team losing three consecutive playoff games and on the brink of elimination in the NLCS, Marlins starter Josh Beckett sends the series back to Chicago, striking out 11 Chicago batters en route to tossing a two-hit 4-0 shutout at Pro Player Stadium. Florida will complete their stunning comeback by winning the final two games at Wrigley Field, including the infamous Game 6 that will make Steve Bartman an instant villain in the Windy City.
2003 Thirty-five years after creating controversy with his non-traditional rendition of the song, Jose Feliciano sings the Star-Spangled Banner at the Marlins' NLCS game against the Cubs at Pro Player Stadium. The singer's gospelized version of the national anthem sung before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series at Tiger Stadium caused such a flap that some radio stations stopped playing his records on the air.
2005 Doug Eddings's controversial call, which he appears to signal the third out of the ninth inning, but A.J. Pierzynski takes first base as the home plate ump belatedly rules the catcher had trapped the swinging strike. Chicago will take advantage of the incident when pinch-runner Pablo Ozuna steals second and scores the winning run on Joe Crede's double, tying the ALCS at one game apiece with a 2-1 victory over the Angels.

2007 In a move commended by environmentalists, the Devil Rays, which had decided to phase out all free parking, continues to extend its offer to all vehicles transporting four or more passengers. The decision exemplifies Tampa Bay's continued approach to the greening of Tropicana Field and its team operations.
2009 The Phillies rally for three runs in the top of the ninth, beating the Rockies 5-4 in Game 4 of the division series to advance to the NLCS. For the second consecutive night at Coors Field, Huston Street, Colorado's reliable closer, gives up runs in the final frame and takes the loss.

2009 The Cubs file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Wilmington, Delaware. The anticipated short-term move will allow the club's owner, the Tribune Company, to sell the team in an $845 million deal to the family of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.'s founder, Joe Ricketts.
2010 The Rangers, behind the complete-game effort by Cliff Lee, beat Tampa Bay, 5-1, in the decisive Game 5 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field for the team's first playoff series victory in franchise history, the last major league club to accomplish the task. Texas, who will take on the Yankees for the AL flag, lost three previous playoff appearances with first-round losses to the Bronx Bombers in 1996 and 1998-99.
2012 Twice within a strike of reaching the NLCS, the Nationals suffer the worst collapse in a winner-take-all baseball postseason game when they are stunned by the visiting Cardinals. After his team takes a 6-0 advantage in the third inning and clings to a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth, Washington's closer Drew Storen gives up four runs in the final frame, resulting in the eventual devastating 9-5 loss at Nationals Park.
2013 Anibal Sanchez becomes the second person to strike out four batters in an inning in the postseason, whiffing Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Victorino (who reaches base on a passed ball), David Ortiz, and Mike Napoli in Detroit's 1-0 ALCS victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The 29-year-old right-hander, whose first-frame feat matches Cubs right-hander Orval Overall's total in Game 5 of the 1908 Fall Classic, is also the first Tiger hurler to accomplish the feat in franchise history, including the regular season.
2013 For the first time in baseball history, two playoff games on the same day end with a score of 1-0. In Game One of the ALCS, the Tigers blank the Red Sox with the lone run scoring on Jhonny Peralta's sixth-inning sac fly, and Jon Jay's fifth-frame sacrifice fly at Busch Stadium provides the only tally the Cardinals needed to take a 2-0 game advantage to LA in the NLCS.
2015 The Cubs homer six times en route to an 8-6 victory over the Cardinals at Wrigley Field in Game 3 of the NLDS. Chicago's sextet of round-trippers, including long balls from Kris Bryant, Starlin Castro, Dexter Fowler, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Jorge Soler, sets the postseason mark for home runs by one team in a game.
2018 Brandon Woodruff becomes the first southpaw-swinging reliever to hit a postseason home run off a left-handed pitcher when he drives a Clayton Kershaw fastball 407 feet over the centerfield wall in the Brewers' 6-5 win over the Dodgers Game 1 of the NLCS. The 25-year-old right-hander, the first Milwaukee pitcher to homer in a postseason game since Lew Burdette accomplished the feat against the Yankees in the 1958 World Series, throws two perfect innings of relief for the victory in the Miller Park contest.

2023 In the Phillies' 3-1 victory over Braves in Game 4 to win the NLDS, Nick Castellanos, with solo shots in the fourth and sixth innings, becomes the first player to hit multiple homers in consecutive postseason games. Yesterday, the Philadelphia outfielder contributed two round-trippers in the team's 10-2 rout of Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park.
35 Fact(s) Found