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This Day in Baseball History
October 24th

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17 Fact(s) Found
1908

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back."
- JACK NORWORTH'S original lyrics.

Bill Murray introduces Take Me Out to the Ballgame, the immortal tune inspired by an NYC subway sign that read "Baseball Today – Polo Grounds." The songwriting team of Albert Von Tilzer (music) and Jack Norworth (words), who created Baseball's anthem, has never seen a game.

1911 After six days of rain, the World Series resumes with A's right-hander Chief Bender, beating the Giants and Christy Mathewson, 4-2, at Shibe Park. The victory, fueled by three consecutive two-baggers in the three-run fourth frame, gives Philadelphia a 3-1 game lead in the Fall Classic.
1951 Larry MacPhail, the former owner of the Reds and Dodgers, suggests the concept of four new major leagues, including one on the West Coast. The Hall of Fame inducts the innovative baseball executive responsible for introducing night baseball and commercial air travel in 1978.
1972 Jackie Robinson, weakened by heart disease complications and diabetes, dies of a heart attack in his North Stamford (CT) home. The 53-year-old nearly blind baseball pioneer and social activist's death comes nine days after his appearance at the World Series, where he threw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium and urged the owners to hire a black manager, which does not occur until the Indians employ Frank Robinson in 1975.

NYT Jackie Robinson's New York Times Obituary

1985 In the bottom of the seventh in Game 5, Royals’ starter Danny Jackson becomes the first pitcher to throw an immaculate inning in World Series history. The 23-year-old southpaw needs only nine pitches to strike out Terry Pendleton (swinging), Tom Nieto (looking), and Brian Harper (swinging) en route to going the distance in the team’s 6-1 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

1987 The Twins, amidst the deafening crowd noise of the hanky-waving fans in the Metrodome, stave off elimination when the team scores eight runs in the fifth and sixth frames of Game 6 to beat the Cardinals, 11-5. Minnesota's southpaw-swinging Kent Hrbek hits a sixth-inning grand slam off left-handed Ken Dayley to put the contest out of reach for the Redbirds.
1992 In Game 6, Canada wins its first-ever World Series when the Blue Jays beat the Braves at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, 4-3. Toronto's 41-year-old right fielder Dave Winfield's 11th-inning double is the key hit in the team's victory.

(Ed. Note: Toronto's Cito Gaston becomes baseball's first Black manager to win a World Series. - LP)

2000 Orlando Hernandez (8-0, 1.90) loses his first postseason game when the Mets defeat the Yankees on Benny Agbayani's tiebreaking eighth-inning double, 4-2. New York native John Franco gets the win, ending the Yankees' record 14-game World Series winning streak.
2000 The Commisioner's office fines Roger Clemens a reported $50,000 for throwing the jagged barrel of a shattered bat toward Met catcher Mike Piazza in the first inning of Game 2 of the World Series. Yankee manager Joe Torre and the right-hander both deny the incident was intentional.
2002 The Giants take the lead in the Fall Classic when they demolish the Angels 16-4 in Game 5 played at Pac Bell. Jeff Kent leads the attack with two home runs and four RBIs and ties a World Series record by scoring four times.
2006 After seven months of negotiations, the Players' Association and MLB officials agree on a five-year collective bargaining agreement. The longest accord in baseball history, ending in 2011, ensures the game will span 16 years without a work stoppage.
2007 In a 13-1 rout of the Rockies, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia becomes the second player and the first rookie to hit a leadoff home run in a World Series opener. The 24-year-old freshman, the 31st major leaguer to homer in his first Fall Classic appearance, joins Orioles' outfielder Don Buford, who went yard in 1969 as a leadoff batter in Game 1 off Tom Seaver of the Mets.

2011 With the help of a mismanaged Cardinal bullpen, Mike Napoli gives his team a 3-2 Series lead when he hits a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning of the Rangers' 4-2 victory in Game 5 in Arlington. The Texas catcher, who bats eighth in the order, becomes only the second player to have four multi-RBI games in a World Series, joining Yankee legend Mickey Mantle, who accomplished the feat against Pittsburgh in 1960.
2012 In the Giants' 8-3 victory over the Tigers at AT&T Park, Pablo Sandoval becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit three home runs in a World Series game. The San Francisco third baseman, with his first, third, and fifth-inning round-trippers in the opening contest of the Fall Classic, joins Yankees outfielders Babe Ruth (1926, 28) and Reggie Jackson (1977) and Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (2011) in accomplishing the feat.

2014 Paul Konerko and Jimmy Rollins are co-recipients of the Roberto Clemente Award, an honor bestowed on major leaguers for their commitment to the community. The former White Sox first baseman and Phillies shortstop have been heavily involved in improving children's lives by raising money, obtaining school supplies and back-to-school clothes, supporting juvenile diabetes and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis research, and funding the fight against child abuse, among many other charitable efforts.
2018 Players from the 2004 Red Sox World Championship team throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the Fall Classic, with David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Keith Foulke, and Alan Embree doing the honors. The team did not reach out to their former ace Curt Shilling, best remembered for his bloody sock heroics that season, now well-known for expressing his views on Breitbart News, a far-right opinion and news organization.
2020 Randy Arozarena sets the record for most playoff home runs in a single postseason after going deep for the ninth time, belting a fourth-inning round-tripper in the Rays' 8-7 victory in Game 4 of the World Series against the Dodgers at Globe Life Field. The Tampa Bay DH surpasses the eight compiled by Barry Bonds (Giants, 2002), Carlos Beltran (Astros, 2004), Nelson Cruz (Rangers, 2011), and Corey Seager (Dodgers, 2020).

17 Fact(s) Found