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This Day in Baseball History
October 20th

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28 Fact(s) Found
1910 A's starter Jack Coombs, pitching with one day of rest, throws a six-hit complete game, beating the Cubs, 12-5, to give Philadelphia a commanding 3-0 lead in the World Series. 'Colby Jack' also collects three hits and drives in three runs in the West Side Park contest.
1931 Frankie Frisch, the Fordham Flash, is selected as the National League's Most Valuable Player. The Cardinals' second baseman (.311, 4, 82) is considered the World Champion Redbirds' on-field leader.
1931 Mickey Mantle, the 'Commerce Comet,' is born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. The newborn's dad, a lead miner known as Mutt, names his son after Mickey Cochrane, not realizing the major league catcher's real name is not Mickey but Gordon. The future Yankee outfielder is glad his father was unaware of this fact.


1992 Pinnacle Mickey Mantle #1 Father and Son

1964 Three days after resigning as manager of the World Champion Cardinals, Johnny Keane replaces Yogi Berra as the Yankees' field boss. The new skipper of the Bronx Bombers will fare poorly next year, leading the aging team to their first losing season since 1925, finishing 27 games behind the Twins with a 77-82 record. 
1964 Red Schoendienst, a favorite former player, is named the Cardinals' new manager, replacing Johnny Keane, who resigned the day following the team's Game 7 Fall Classic victory over New York. Albert will compile a 1,041-955 record for the Redbirds during 12 full seasons and two stints in 1980 and 1990 as interim skipper, capturing a World Championship in 1967 and an NL pennant in 1968.
1969 Joining the AFL's New York Jets and the Apollo 11 astronauts, the Mets become the third group honored with a ticker-tape parade on Broadway this year. The World Champions attend three rallies throughout the Big Apple, with hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers enjoying the day-long festivities.

1972 After hitting only five home runs in the regular season, Gene Tenace goes deep for the fourth time in the World Series, hitting a three-run homer off Jim McGlothlin in the second inning of the A's 5-4 loss to the Reds in Game 5. The Oakland catcher, who will be named the MVP of the series, ties the major league mark for round-trippers in a Fall Classic shared by Babe Ruth (Yankees, 1926), Lou Gehrig (Yankees, 1928), Duke Snider (Dodgers, 1952), and Hank Bauer (Yankees, 1958).
1982 On his 29th birthday, Keith Hernandez hits a game-tying two-run sixth-inning single off Bob McClure, helping the Cardinals capture their ninth world championship in franchise history and the first since 1967, beating Milwaukee at Busch Stadium, 6-3. The Brewers, playing in their first World Series, cannot hold on to a Game 7 lead, giving up five unanswered runs.

(Ed. Note: Hernandez and McClure, who lived in homes 100 feet from one another growing up in Pacifica (CA), were teammates in Little League and Terra Nova High School baseball teams. -LP)
1987 🇻🇪 Twins right-hander starter Les Straker becomes the first Venezuelan to pitch in the World Series. At Busch Stadium, the Ciudad Bolivar native blanks the Cardinals for six innings on four hits before being removed for a pinch-hitter.
1988 The Dodgers become World Champions when Orel Hershiser limits the opposition to four singles in Game 5 of the World Series and beats the A's, 5-1. The right-hander, who also won Game 2, is named the Most Valuable Player of the Fall Classic.

1990 With ninth-inning help from southpaw closer Randy Myers, the Reds complete their World Series sweep, beating the heavily favored A's at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 2-1. Cincinnati scored their runs thanks to a bases-loaded grounder and a sac fly in the eighth inning, with Jose Rijo earning his second win of the four-game series.

1992 In Game 3 of the Fall Classic, the Blue Jays would have turned the second triple play in World Series history for not a missed call. After Devon White makes an outstanding grab in center field, Braves' batter Terry Pendleton makes an out for passing Reggie Sanders, who is tagged on the foot by third basemen Kelly Gruber trying to return second, with a video clearly showing Atlanta made the third out, but umpire Bob Davidson sees it differently.

1993 Calling balls and strikes during Game 4 at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, Charlie Williams becomes the first black umpire to work home plate during a World Series. The game becomes memorable as the Blue Jays win the 15-14 marathon, which takes a record four hours and 14 minutes to complete.
1994 Receiving all 28 first-place votes, Raul Mondesi (.306, 16, 56) is named the National League's Rookie of the Year. The Los Angeles right fielder, who easily outdistanced Astros' hurler John Hudek and Braves' outfielder Ryan Klesko, is the third consecutive Dodger to win the award.
1996 Andruw Jones becomes the fourth rookie in baseball history to hit two home runs in the same World Series game when he goes deep twice in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. The Braves' center fielder joins Charlie Keller (1939 - Yankees), Tony Kubek (1957 - Yankees), and Willie McGee (1982 - Cardinals) in accomplishing the feat.

2000 Major League play-by-play broadcasters and color commentators select Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton as the recipients of the Hank Aaron Award. The honor recognizes the Blue Jays and Rockies' first basemen as the best overall hitters in each league.
2000 The Blue Jays and Carlos Delgado agree to a record four-year $68 million contract. The Toronto first baseman's average salary of $17 million is the richest in major league history.
2002 Twenty-year-old Venezuelan right-hander Francisco Rodriguez becomes the youngest pitcher to win a World Series game. With just 15 days of major league experience, K-Rod throws 37 pitches, retiring nine consecutive batters in three innings to pick up the victory when the Angels outslug the Giants in Game 2 of the Fall Classic, 11-10.
2004 After dropping the first three decisions, the Red Sox win their fourth consecutive ALCS game to win the American League pennant, beating the Yankees in the Bronx, 10-3. Johnny Damon's two home runs, including a grand slam and Derek Lowe's solid pitching performance, helped Boston join the 1942 Maple Leafs and the 1975 Islanders as the only teams in the history of professional sports to overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win a seven-game series. 
2008 The Cubs and Jim Hendry agreed to a four-year contract extension. The deal, which will expire in 2012 and extend into the club's new ownership tenure, is the general manager's reward for the team's best regular-season showing in more than sixty years en route to its second consecutive National League Central title.
2008 Two storied franchises, the NFL Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees, form a partnership to handle concession and merchandise sales at the clubs' new stadiums. Legends Hospitality Management, LLC, founded in cooperation with Goldman Sachs and CIC Partners, envisions expanding its services to other professional franchises and college programs.
2009 The Brewers hire Rick Peterson as their pitching coach to improve the club's woeful starting pitching, which posted a 5.37 ERA last season. The 54-year-old pitching guru, known for his focus on motion analysis, is reunited with bench coach Willie Randolph and skipper Ken Macha, his former managers with the Mets and the A's, teams he toiled for in a similar role.
2010 Ted Lilly signs a three-year, $33 million deal to remain with the Dodgers. The 34-year-old southpaw, obtained from the Cubs in early August, compiled a 7-4 record with a 3.52 ERA in 12 starts for LA, including victories in the first five starts for his new team.
2012 The Red Sox select John Farrell as their new manager to replace the fired Bobby Valentine, who let go the day after the season ended after piloting the club to a last-place finish in his only year in the Boston dugout. The team's new skipper, who spent the previous two seasons managing the Blue Jays, is obtained from Toronto by sending infielder Mike Aviles north of the border as compensation for the opportunity to hire their former pitching coach.
2012 After agreeing to pay $8 million of the remaining $21 million owed to Heath Bell, the Marlins deal their disappointing closer to the Diamondbacks in a three-team trade in which Miami obtains 22-year-old minor league shortstop Yordy Cabrera, acquired by Arizona along with Cliff Pennington from the A's for outfielder Chris Young. The D-Backs, who picked his $6.5 million option earlier in the day, plan to use the 35-year-old right-handed reliever to set up closer J. J. Putz.
2015 Tying a major league record set by Astro outfielder Carlos Beltrán in 2004, Daniel Murphy goes deep in his fifth consecutive postseason game. The Mets second baseman’s two-out third-inning solo shot off Kyle Hendricks contributes to the team’s 5-2 victory in Game 3 NLCS victory at Wrigley Field.
2017 After capturing consecutive NL East titles during his two-year tenure with the team, the Nationals unexpectedly dismisses Dusty Baker after he fails to lead the club past the division series for the second time. After averaging 96 wins under their veteran skipper, Washington will finish next season with an 82-80 record, finishing in second place under new manager Dave Martinez. 
2020 Rays' skipper Kevin Cash becomes the first to play in the Little League World Series and manage a major league team in the Fall Classic. Playing for Tampa's Northside team, the former big-league catcher went 2-for-7, with a double and two runs scored in the 1989 Williamsport tournament.
28 Fact(s) Found