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This Day in Baseball History
October 8th

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35 Fact(s) Found
1904 Jimmy Barrett becomes the first major leaguer to play 162 games in a season, 57 years before the schedule expands from 154 contests to 162. The Tigers outfielder accomplished the unusual feat because Detroit played ten tie games during the season.
1908 In a make-up contest necessitated by Fred Merkle's baserunning blunder on September 23, Three Finger Brown outduels Christy Mathewson, 4-2, as the Cubs win the National League pennant by one game over the Giants in one of the most dramatic pennant races of all time.
1915 The Phillies take Game 1 of the World Series when Grover Cleveland Alexander throws a complete game, beating the Red Sox at the Baker Bowl, 3-1. Unfortunately for the franchise, the triumph will be the team's last victory in the Fall Classic for 65 years.
1922 Behind Art Nehf's complete-game five-hitter, the Giants repeat as World Champions, sweeping the Yankees in five games, including one tie. George Kelly's two-run single fuels the three-run eighth inning, contributing to the team's 5-3 comeback victory at the Polo Grounds.
1927 In the bottom of the ninth of Game 4, Pirates right-hander Johnny Miljus loads the bases with no outs but strikes out Lou Gehrig (swinging) and Bob Meusel (looking). The 32-year-old Pittsburgh hurler, facing Tony Lazzeri with two outs and a 0-1 count, throws a wild pitch, and Earle Combs races home with the winning run to give the Yankees the Fall Classic sweep of the Bucs and its second world championship.
1929 In front of 50,000 fans at Wrigley Field, surprise starter Howard Ehmke establishes a new World Series record, striking out 13 Cubs en route to a 3-1 A's victory in Game 1 of the Fall Classic. The mark will last 34 years until Dodger hurler Carl Erskine fans 14 Yankees in 1953.
1939 In the top of the tenth, Yankee outfielder Joe DiMaggio scores from first base when Reds' catcher Ernie Lombardi lies in a daze at home plate after being run over by 'King Kong' Charlie Keller. The Bronx Bombers score three runs thanks to 'Lombardi's Swoon,' winning the game, 7-4, to complete the World Series sweep and become the first club to win four consecutive Fall Classics.
1940 With the Reds' 2-1 victory over the Tigers in Game 7 of the Fall Classic, Bill McKechnie becomes the first manager to win a World Series with two different teams. The 'Deacon' also piloted the Pirates to a World Championship, beating Washington in seven games in the 1925 Fall Classic.
1948 Facing only thirty batters, Gene Bearden, a 28-year-old rookie southpaw who posted a 20-7 record, blanks the Braves on five hits, giving the Indians a 2-0 victory in Game 3 of the Fall Classic. The Tribe takes a 2-1 lead in the World Series in front of 70,000 hometown fans at Cleveland Stadium.
1953 Birmingham bans Jackie Robinson's Negro-White All-Stars from playing in the city. After Robinson gives in and drops the team's white players, city officials allow the team to play.
1956

"The Yankees have all the hits." - MEL ALLEN, baseball broadcaster, describing Don Larsen's Fall Classic perfect game without jinxing the outcome.

Don Larsen pitches the first perfect game in World Series history, defeating the Dodgers, 2-0, in Game 5 of the Fall Classic at Yankee Stadium. The 27-year-old right-hander, who had a poor start in Game 2 because of a lack of control, throws only 97 pitches, striking out pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell, taking the third strike for the final out.

1957 Club President Walter O'Malley makes it official, announcing the Dodgers will play in Los Angeles next season. The club's departure from Brooklyn corresponds with the massive social shift in the borough that finds many of its former residents leaving for the suburbs of Long Island.
1959 Chicago's speed and quickness aren't enough to overcome Los Angeles' hitting and pitching when the team drops a 9-3 decision, losing the World Series in six games to the Dodgers, who win their first championship representing the City of Angels. In the Comiskey Park, LA's Chuck Essegian sets a record with his ninth-inning shot off Ray Moore to become the first player to hit two pinch-hit homers in the Fall Classic.
1961 In Game 4 at Crosley Field, Whitey Ford blanks the Reds for five innings to extend his World Series consecutive scoreless inning streak to 32, breaking Red Sox hurler Babe Ruth's previous record of 29.2 innings. Hector Lopez and Clete Boyer provide the offense, driving in two runs each in the Yankee 6-0 victory.
1962 In Game 4 of the World Series, Chuck Hiller's seventh-inning grand slam off Marshall Bridges proves to be the difference in the Giants' 7-3 victory at Yankee Stadium. The infielder's bases-loaded homer, the first by a National Leaguer in the history of the Fall Classic, helps to even the series at two games apiece.
1966 The Orioles collect only three hits off Claude Osteen, but Paul Blair's fifth-inning 430-foot home run proves to be the difference when Baltimore beats the Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series, 1-0. Wally Bunker throws a six-hitter, winning the first Fall Classic game ever played in Baltimore.
1967 Boston's Ken Brett becomes the youngest player ever to pitch in the World Series when he appears in relief against the Cardinals in Game 4 of the Fall Classic. The 19-year-old Red Sox rookie southpaw, the older brother of future Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett, tosses a scoreless eighth inning, yielding a walk in the team's 6-0 loss at Busch Stadium.
1972 After being drilled by a pitch in Game 2 of the ALCS, Bert Campaneris, 3-for-3 on the day, hurls his bat at Tiger pitcher Lerrin LaGrow, resulting in the ejection of both players from the game. In addition to levying a $500 fine, MLB suspends A's shortstop for the rest of this series and five games to start next season, but he will be permitted to play in the World Series.
1973 In Game 3 of the NLCS, the Mets post a 9-2 victory over the Reds at Shea Stadium in a contest best remembered for the brawl ignited when Bud Harrelson took exception to Pete Rose's slide at second base to break up a double play. After the fight, the Mets, fearing a forfeit due to their fans' rowdy behavior, send an emissary, consisting of Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Cleon Jones, Tom Seaver, and Rusty Staub, out to left field to quell the crowd's unrest.

1977 In Game 4 of the NLCS played at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, Dodger hurler Tommy John goes the distance and beats Steve Carlton and the Phillies, 4-1. The LA southpaw considers this pennant-clinching performance the best game he has ever pitched in the major leagues.
1983 In front of 64,494 fans at Veterans Stadium, the Phillies win the NLCS behind the pitching of Steve Carlton and the power of Gary Matthews' three-run homer, 7-2. Philadelphia will take on the Orioles in the Fall Classic to become known as the I-95 World Series.
1986 Mike Scott tosses a five-hitter and ties a playoff record with 14 strikeouts, beating the frustrated Mets, who accuse the Astros' right-hander of scuffing the ball in their 1-0 defeat in Game 1 of the NLCS. A Glenn Davis home run in the second inning off Dwight Gooden accounts for the lone run in the Astrodome contest.
1995 Thanks to a two-run Edgar Martinez's 11th-inning double that scores Ken Griffey, Jr. from first base, the Mariners become the fourth team to overcome a two-game deficit to win a five-game series, dramatically beating the Yankees in a 6-5 walk-off victory. The winning run, hit, and decision (Randy Johnson) in the Kingdome contest are all accomplished by future Hall of Famers.

1995 After dropping the series' first two games, the Mariners make a dramatic comeback in Game 5 to beat the Yankees with a 6-5 extra-inning victory to capture the ALDS. Ken Griffey Jr. ties a major league record by hitting his fifth home run in the postseason series, an eighth-inning round-tripper off David Cone, equaling Reggie Jackson's mark established in 1977.

(Ed. Note: Reggie Jackson went deep five times in the World Series, including three on consecutive pitches in Game 6 against the Dodgers. (-LP)
2000 At Shea Stadium, the Mets blank the Giants, 4-0, to win the NLDS in four games. Bobby Jones, sent to the minors earlier in the season to work on his mechanics, retires the side in order eight of the nine innings, allowing only a fifth-inning double to Jeff Kent. The one-hitter is only the sixth in postseason history.

2002 The Tigers select their former All-Star shortstop Alan Trammell (1977-1996) to manage the faltering franchise. The California native had been a coach with the Padres for the last three seasons.
2006 In the inaugural season in their new ballpark, the Cardinals beat the Padres, 6-2, at Busch Stadium to take the NLDS playoff three games to one. The Redbirds advance to the championship series for the third consecutive season when Chris Carpenter earns his second victory in the best-of-five series.
2007 With a 6-4 victory at Yankee Stadium, the Indians advance to the ALCS for the first time since 1995. The Tribe's win ends the Bronx Bombers' season and begins speculation of the impending firing of New York skipper Joe Torre, who was chastised in the press yesterday by owner George Steinbrenner for the team's first-round woes.
2007 A 6-4 defeat to the Indians in Game 4 of the ALDS at the Stadium proves to be Joe Torre's final game with the Yankees. The veteran skipper, who won 1,173 games and made the postseason every year during his 12-year tenure with the team, rejects a $5 million, one-year contract to return as manager, a deal many believe to be structured to oust the popular pilot without upsetting the fans.
2008 The Cubs exercise Rich Harden's $7 million option for next year, the day after tests reveal the 26-year-old hurler has a sound pitching shoulder. The hard-throwing right-hander, obtained from the A's in a July deal, compiled a combined record of 10-2, posting a 2.07 ERA in 25 starts for his two teams.
2009 After dropping the series' first two games, the Mariners make a dramatic comeback in Game 5 to beat the Yankees with a 6-5 extra-inning victory to capture the ALDS. Ken Griffey Jr. ties a major league record by hitting his fifth home run in the postseason series, an eighth-inning round-tripper off David Cone, equaling Reggie Jackson's mark established in 1977.
2010 Although the Astros finish ten games under .500, the team exercises the 2012 option on manager Brad Mills' contract and adds a club option for the following season. After a dismal 17-34 start and the loss of veterans Roy Oswalt to the Phillies and Lance Berkman to the Yankees, the first-year skipper pilots Houston to a 59-52 record after June 1.
2011 Redbird right-hander Chris Carpenter outpitches Roy Halladay, throwing a three-hitter to beat the Phillies 1-0 in the deciding Game 5 of NLDS. The wild-card Cardinals plate the game's only run in the first frame when Skip Schumaker doubles home Rafael Furcal, who led off the Citizens Bank Park contest with a triple.
2018 Cleveland's season-ending Game 3 loss to the Astros in the ALDS on Indigenous Peoples' Day marks the last time the Chief Wahoo logo appears on the team's uniform. The caricature, first used in 1954, frequently adorned the Indians' hats and jerseys for over half a century.
2018 Brock Holt becomes the first player to hit for the cycle in a postseason game when he hits a ninth-inning home run in the Red Sox's 16-1 rout of the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. The Boston infielder collected a single and triple in the team's seven-run fourth frame and added a double in the eighth inning during the Bronx ballpark contest.
35 Fact(s) Found