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This Day in Yankees History
October 6th

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16 Fact(s) Found
1926 In a 10-5 Game 4 victory over the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park, Yankee outfielder Babe Ruth becomes the first player to hit three home runs in a World Series game. History repeats itself when the 'Sultan of Swat' again goes deep three times against the Redbirds in St. Louis in the fourth game of the 1928 Fall Classic.
1941 In Game 5 of the Fall Classic, Tiny Bonham goes the distance, limiting the Dodgers to four hits to give the Yankees their 12th World Championship in franchise history. In one inning during the Bronx Bombers' 3-1 victory at Ebbets Field, the New York fireballing right-hander will need just three pitches to retire the side.
1943 Cardinal batterymates and brothers Mort and Walker Cooper decide to play Game 2 of the World Series on the day their dad, Robert, dies at his home in Independence. After limiting the Yankees to six hits and winning the game, 4-3, Mort heads to Missouri while his younger brother, Walker, who has a 1-for-3 day behind the plate with an eighth-inning single, will stay with the club until the Fall Classic is over.
1949 In Game 2 of the World Series, only one run is scored again, but Preacher Roe and the Dodgers win this contest at Yankee Stadium, 1-0. Gil Hodges' second-inning single drives in Jackie Robinson to even up the Fall Classic at a game apiece.
1952 At Ebbets Field, Billy Loes becomes the first pitcher in World Series history to commit a balk when the ball slips from his hand in the seventh inning of the Dodgers' 3-2 loss knots the Fall Classic at three games apiece with the Yankees. The advanced base leads to a run when Vic Raschi bounces a ground-ball single off the leg of the right-hander, who claims he lost the grounder in the sun.

(Ed. Note - Although Loes’ oft-quoted explanation of losing the ground ball in the sun has become legendary, there is some truth to his account of the play. According to his Brooklyn teammate Carl Erskine, the sun slotting through a space in the grandstand behind home plate could be blinding later in the afternoon. -LP)

1963 The Dodgers complete a four-game World Series sweep of the Yankees as Sandy Koufax wins his second game, 2-1. Frank Howard leads the offense with a home run and a single, the only two hits Whitey Ford gives up, and New York's first baseman Joe Pepitone's error (loses a thrown ball in the white-shirted crowd) leads to the decisive run in the seventh inning.
1978 Despite three solo home runs off Yankees' ace Catfish Hunter by Kansas City's third baseman George Brett, the Bronx Bombers win Game 3 of the ALCS, beating the Royals, 6-5.
1981 In Game 1 of the ALDS in Kansas City, Mike Norris throws a six-hit complete game, blanking the Royals, 4-0. Oakland's appearance in the playoffs makes Billy Martin the first skipper in baseball history to manage four franchises (Twins-1969, Tigers-1972, A's-1981, and Yankees 1976-78) into postseason play.
1985 On the last day of the season, Yankee knuckleballer Phil Niekro becomes the 18th and oldest player in major league history to win his 300th victory when he blanks the Blue Jays, 8-0. The forty-six-year and 188-days old pitcher, who will win 318 games, also surpasses Satchel Paige (46 years, 75 days) to become the most senior pitcher to throw a big-league shutout.
1995 In Game 3 of the ALDS, Bernie Williams becomes the first major leaguer to hit a home run from each side of the plate in a postseason game. The Yankee outfielder's second round-tripper, an eighth-inning shot batting left-handed off Bill Risley, is tossed back onto the field by a Mariner fan unaware of the historical value of the souvenir.
1997 After taking an early four-run lead in the Jacobs Field contest, the Indians hold on for the victory, beating the defending World Champion Yankees, 4-3, in Game 5 of the ALDS. The Tribe will beat Baltimore for the AL flag but will lose their second Fall Classic in three years when the team drops Game 7 in extra innings to Florida.

2003 Defeating the A's, 5-4, the Red Sox become the seventh team to win the last three games of a best-of-five playoff series. Other clubs to overcome a 0-2 deficit include the 1981 Dodgers (Astros-NLDS), 1982 Brewers (Angels-ALCS), 1984 Padres (Cubs-NLCS), 1995 Mariners (Yankees-ALDS), 1999 Red Sox (Indians-ALDS), and the 2001 Yankees (A 's-ALDS).
2005 Reds' outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. (.301, 35, 92) and Yankee first baseman/DH Jason Giambi (.271, 32, 87) are voted the Comeback Players of the Year in their respective leagues. The fans select the award winners for the first time by voting on MLB.com.
2007 In Game 2 of the ALDS at Jacobs Field, the Indians score the tying run on a wild pitch thrown by a bug-covered Joba Chamberlain. A rare infestation of insects (midges), which appeared en masse in the eighth inning, impacts the usually reliable rookie Yankees reliever, who suffers his first blown save of the season.

(Ed. Note: Joe Torre, then the Yankees’ manager, later revealed he regretted not requesting a longer pause in the game. - LP)

2010 At Citizens Bank Park, Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay throws the second no-hitter in postseason history when he beats the Reds, 4-0, in Game 1 of the NLDS. Don Larsen became the first hurler to accomplish the feat by throwing a perfect game in the Yankees' victory over Brooklyn in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
2020 In Game 2 of the ALDS, the Rays' pitching staff combine to fan 18 batters, becoming the first team to accomplish the feat in a nine-inning postseason game. Tampa Bay's accomplishment in their 7-5 victory over the Yankees at Petco Park surpasses the mark shared by five teams with 17 strikeouts.
16 Fact(s) Found