October 3, 1951, 70 years ago: David Mark Winfield is born in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1,200 miles northwest of the Polo Grounds, where Bobby Thomson was writing his name into baseball history. For Dave Winfield, it would happen years later.
He was a star athlete at Saint Paul Central High School, which also produced Super Bowl-winning Giants receiver Stacy Robinson, pioneering pilot Amelia Earhart, Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz, Best Buy founder Richard Schulze (no relation), and photographer and Shaft director Gordon Parks. Can you dig it?
By the time Dave was a senior at Central, he was 6-foot-6. He got a baseball scholarship at the nearby University of Minnesota, and also played basketball there, leading them to the 1972 Big 10 Championship.
He wore Number 31 back then, too.
He played the outfield and pitched for Minnesota, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1973 College World Series, but they lost in the Semifinals to the eventual champions, a University of Southern California team that included future All-Stars Fred Lynn and Steve Kemp.
Dave was drafted by 4 teams, in 4 leagues, in 3 sports: The San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, and the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association. He hadn't even played football in college, but his hometown Vikings chose him.
He chose baseball, and never played game in the minor leagues, going straight to the Padres. That's how bad the team was at the time. They almost moved to Washington, D.C. after that season.
He debuted on June 19, 1973, at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium and SDCCU Stadium). Batting 7th, playing left field, and wearing Number 31, he grounded to short in the 1st inning, did that again in the 3rd, grounded to 2nd in the 6th, and led off the 9th with a single and later scored, going 1-for-4, with all at-bats off Jerry Reuss. It wasn't enough: The Houston Astros beat the Padres, 7-3.
In 1974, his 1st full season, he hit 20 home runs, despite San Diego Stadium not being noticeably friendly to hitters. In 1975, after playing all 3 outfield positions, he was settled in as the Padres' regular right fielder. In 1977, he made his 1st All-Star Game. In 1979, he won his 1st Gold Glove, batted .308, hit 27 doubles, 10 triples and 34 home runs, and led the National League with 118 RBIs, 333 total bases, and, not that anybody knew about this stat at the time, an OPS+ of 166. He finished 3rd in the NL's Most Valuable Player voting.
He looked good. The Padres' uniforms, not so much.
He made another All-Star Game and won another Gold Glove in 1980. But despite the Padres' owner, McDonald's boss Ray Kroc, spending freely on big players, they couldn't make the Playoffs in an NL Western Division dominated by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds. Dave wanted to play for a winner.
So on December 15, 1980, he signed with the New York Yankees, for $23 million over 10 years. At the time, it was the biggest contract in baseball history. Established Yankee star Reggie Jackson, remembering that, when he arrived 4 years earlier, he was not exactly welcomed by established Yankees who weren't making as much money, made a conscious effort to let Winfield know that he was happy they were on the same team.
The black armband worn during the 1981 season
was in memory of former Yankee star and coach
Elston Howard, who died late in 1980.
In the strike-shortened season of 1981, Dave played mostly left field, batted .294, hit 13 home runs and had 68 RBIs, and made another All-Star Team. He thrilled fans with his baserunning, his long, powerful legs allowing him to get from 1st base to 2nd to 3rd in only 15 strides.
The Yankees won the American League Eastern Division. In Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against the Oakland Athletics, Dave made a great catch to rob Tony Armas of a home run. The Yankees swept the A's, to win the Pennant.
But, infamously, he went just 1-for-22 in the World Series, and was blamed by many, including Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, for the Yankees' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 1 hit was a single in the 5th inning of Game 5 -- oddly, against the same pitcher against whom he got his 1st regular-season hit, Jerry Reuss.
With Steinbrenner not re-signing Reggie, Dave became the Yankees' top hitter starting in 1982. He began a run of seasons with these RBI totals: 106, 116, 100, 114, 104, 97 and 107. He also began a string of 4 straight Gold Gloves. He hit a career-high 37 home runs in 1982. In 1984, he decided to focus on contact hitting rather than power, and batted .340, falling just short of the AL batting title, which was won by another Yankee, Don Mattingly.
But the Yankees fell apart in 1982, and didn't get close in 1983 or 1984. They did get close, but fell short, in the Division races of 1985, '86, '87 and '88. This led George Steinbrenner to (unfairly) tag Dave as "Mr. May," hire a criminal to dig up dirt on him, and finally exile him to the California Angels in the 1990 season, after Dave had missed all of 1989 with a back injury.
Dave finally won a World Series as he got the game-winning hit for the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6 in 1992, collected his 3,000th career hit with his hometown Minnesota Twins, and retired with the Pennant-winning Cleveland Indians of 1995. His final totals: a .283 batting average; 3,110 hits including 540 doubles, 88 triples and 452 home runs; 1,883 RBIs, a 130 OPS+, 12 All-Star berths and 7 Gold Gloves.
But it has also been worn by some good players; all of these were former or future All-Stars, regardless of what they did as Yankees: Bob Wickman, Frank Tanana, Lance Johnson, Ian Kennedy, the execrable Vazquez, Rafael Soriano, current wearer and future Hall-of-Famer Ichiro Suzuki, and a man who should one day join Big Dave and Ichiro in the Hall of Fame, Tim Raines, a contributor to the 1996 and 1998 World Champions. Now, it belongs to outfielder Aaron Hicks.
So why hasn't Dave gotten his number retired and his Plaque? Could there still be a grudge held by George Steinbrenner's children, after all this time?
In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 94th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, in his 1st year of eligibility. He is regarded as perhaps the best athlete to have played baseball in his generation.
Dave Winfield resides in California with his wife Tonya, and three children, Shanel and twins David II and Arielle. Happy Birthday, Big Man.
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October 3, 1891, 130 years: Ruth Cleveland is born in New York, the daughter of former President Grover Cleveland. She caught diphtheria in 1904, and died just a few weeks after her 12th birthday, sending the nation into mourning.
In 1921, as Babe Ruth was in the initial phase of his home run craze, the Curtiss Candy Company renamed its Kandy Kake bar the Baby Ruth. Ruth sued for use of his name without his permission. In one of the great pieces of bullshit artistry in American history, Curtiss claimed that the bar was named for Ruth Cleveland, who was, in her time, known as Baby Ruth. A court upheld this claim, even though Baby Ruth had already been forgotten and Babe Ruth was one of the most famous men in America.
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October 3, 1915: For the last time, a team officially calling New Jersey home plays a Major League Baseball game. Two, in fact: The Newark Peppers play a doubleheader against the Baltimore Terrapins at Harrison Park, losing the opener 9-5, and winning the nightcap 6-0, behind the shutout pitching of Ed Reulbach, for his 20th win of the season. The ballpark seated 21,000, but no attendance figure is listed in the box score.
The team played in the Federal League: In 1914 as the Indianapolis Hoosiers, winning the Pennant; and in 1915 in Newark. Actually, in Harrison, across the Passaic River from downtown Newark. Harrison Park was bounded by Middlesex Street (now Angelo Cifelli Drive, north, third base); South 3rd Street (east, left field); Burlington Street (south, right field); and South 2nd Street (west, first base). There were (and are) railroad yards skirting the southeast corner of the property. Oil tanks were visible behind the right-center field seating, adjacent to the rail yards.
The Peppers were managed by Hall-of-Famer Bill McKechnie, and featured Hall-of-Fame outfielder Edd Roush, plus utilityman/wisenheimer Germany Schaefer and pitchers Reulbach and George Mullin. They finished 80-72, only good enough for 5th in the League. The League folded after the season.
Harrison Park burned down on August 23, 1924. Given the construction of ballparks at the time, it may have been an accident. Given the nature of North Jersey, it may not have been one. We may never know. The site is roughly across the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) tracks from current soccer stadium Red Bull Arena.
Aside from 14 "home games" played by the Brooklyn Dodgers at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City in 1956 and 1957, and despite the bipartisan efforts of Governors William Cahill (Republican, 1970-74), Brendan Byrne (Democrat, 1974-82) and Tom Kean (Republican 1982-90) to get a ballpark built at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, the State of New Jersey has never hosted another Major League Baseball game.
October 3, 1916: The Brooklyn Robins (forerunner of the Dodgers) beat their arch-rivals, the New York Giants 9-6 at Ebbets Field, and clinch the Pennant.
October 3, 1925: Christopher Francis Haughey (pronounced "HOY") is born in Astoria, Queens, New York City. A pitcher, Chris debuted on his 18th birthday, a September call-up necessitated by World War II, in 1943. He pitched 7 innings of relief for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, and, well, pitched like a teenager: 5 hits, 10 walks, 6 runs (but only 3 earned). The Reds won, 6-1.
"Bud" Haughey never appeared in the major leagues again, and I have no record of what he did after this, although he is still alive, 1 of 13 surviving former Brooklyn Dodgers. A 3rd baseman also making his debut for the Dodgers that day, however, did, although we remember him as a 1st baseman: Gil Hodges.
October 3, 1927: William Womble Harrington is born in Sanford, North Carolina. A pitcher, he went 5-5 for the Athletics from 1953 (in Philadelphia) to 1956 (in Kansas City). He continued pitching in the minors until 1961. I have no record of what happened to him after that, only that he is still alive at age 89. He is 1 of 4 living former Philadelphia Athletics.
October 3, 1931, 90 years ago: Glenn Henry Hall is born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Like Georges Vezina, Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante, Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur, he is a contender for the title of "greatest goaltender in hockey history." But only Glenn Hall is known as "Mr. Goalie."
Because of the expansion of the schedule, which ran from 50 games at the start of Hall's career in 1951 to 70 at the end of it in 1971, people were amazed at how many games Brodeur could play: At least 67 games in 13 separate seasons, topping out at 78 out of 82 in 2006-07.
From October 6, 1955 until November 7, 1962, a period stretching 7 years and 502 games, Glenn Hall never missed a single game. Never missed a single minute. And he played without the padding of today's goalies. Without even a mask. In a league that had Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe and Frank Mahovlich. (He was a teammate of Bobby Hull for most of his career, so he was spared that famed 118-miles-an-hour slapshot.) A back injury finally ended his run.
To put that streak in perspective: When it began, few people outside the American South had ever heard of Elvis Presley; when it ended, the Beatles and Bob Dylan had released their 1st albums (although America didn't yet know about the Beatles).
Hall won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 1956. He won the Vezina Trophy as most valuable goalie in 1963, 1967 and 1969. He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1961. He appeared in 13 All-Star Games.
In 1968, he helped the expansion St. Louis Blues reach the Stanley Cup Finals, and despite their getting swept by the Montreal Canadiens, he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Playoffs. He got the Blues into the Finals again in 1969 and 1970, but were swept for a 2nd and a 3rd time. Hall was the goalie that Bobby Orr beat with his Flying Goal to win the 1970 Cup for the Bruins.
Hall had his Number 1 retired by the Blackhawks, was elected to the Hall of Fame, and won another Cup as goaltender coach of the Calgary Flames in 1989, having coached Mike Vernon. This means he's unofficially connected with Vernon's other Cup, with the 1997 Detroit Red Wings, the team with whom Hall began his career.
Hall had his Number 1 retired by the Blackhawks, was elected to the Hall of Fame, and won another Cup as goaltender coach of the Calgary Flames in 1989, having coached Mike Vernon. This means he's unofficially connected with Vernon's other Cup, with the 1997 Detroit Red Wings, the team with whom Hall began his career.
He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. In 1998, The Hockey News released a list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. Hall came in at Number 16, trailing only Sawchuk and Plante among goalies. (Roy and Brodeur were still active.) In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players. He is still alive, and living on a farm in Alberta.
Also on this day, Robert Ralph Skinner is born outside San Diego in La Jolla, California. A left fielder, he and Dick Groat both played for the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1964 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They are 2 of 11 surviving members of the 1960 Pirates, and 2 of 16 survivors of the 1964 Cards.
Also on this day, Robert Ralph Skinner is born outside San Diego in La Jolla, California. A left fielder, he and Dick Groat both played for the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1964 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They are 2 of 11 surviving members of the 1960 Pirates, and 2 of 16 survivors of the 1964 Cards.
Bob Skinner was a 3-time All-Star, and managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968 and '69 and his hometown San Diego Padres in 1977. He won another ring as a coach with the 1979 Pirates. His last coaching job was with the 1988 Atlanta Braves. He was elected to the San Diego Hall of Champions, the city's sports hall of fame.
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October 3, 1941, 80 years ago: The Maltese Falcon premieres, starring Humphrey Bogart as San Francisco private investigator Sam Spade. It was the 3rd film version of Dashiell Hammett's mystery novel, following the 1931 film of the same title (with Ricardo Cortez as Spade) and the 1936 film Satan Met a Lady (Warren William).
October 3, 1941, 80 years ago: The Maltese Falcon premieres, starring Humphrey Bogart as San Francisco private investigator Sam Spade. It was the 3rd film version of Dashiell Hammett's mystery novel, following the 1931 film of the same title (with Ricardo Cortez as Spade) and the 1936 film Satan Met a Lady (Warren William).
There have been many parodies, including a 1969 episode of the British spy series The Avengers, a 1988 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a 2001 episode of Charmed, and a 2012 episode of Castle.
Also on this day, Ernest Evans (no middle name) is born in Spring Gully, South Carolina, and grows up in Philadelphia. Because he did a great impression of rock and roll pioneer Fats Domino, and was fat himself, his friends nicknamed him Chubby Checker. Ironically, his real voice is so distinctive, and his biggest hit song so iconic, that his own voice became one of the most imitated in music history.
In 1960, he covered Hank Ballard's song "The Twist," and, thanks to his appearance on the Philadelphia-based ABC show American Bandstand, the song hit Number 1. He recorded several other songs based on The Twist and other dances, and "The Twist" came back in 1962 and hit Number 1 again -- the only recording in the Rock and Roll Era (1955 to the present) to hit Number 1, drop off the chart completely, and return to the top spot.
He's also credited with being the 1st rock singer to get grownups to dance along with teenagers' records, thus helping make rock respectable. Though some would say that's a bad thing -- and some of those who would say that are rock fans! And that "Woo, woo, yeah!" may have inspired The Beatles on a song or two. He is still alive, but, in spite of his influence, he has never been elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
What does he have to do with sports? His daughter, Mistie Bass, plays for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. Both Ken Burns' Baseball and Billy Crystal's 61* included "The Twist" in telling their stories about the 1961 Yankees and the Mickey Mantle & Roger Maris home run record chase. I have taken to calling Carlton Fisk's waving as his home run headed for the foul pole in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series "The Fenway Twist."
October 3, 1946, 75 years ago: The Cardinals beat the Dodgers 8-4 at Ebbets Field, and sweep the Playoff for the Pennant, 2 games to none. This is the 1st time the Dodgers have lost a Playoff for the Pennant. It will not be the last.
October 3, 1947: The Yankees' Floyd "Bill" Bevens takes a no-hitter into the bottom of the 9th in Game 4 of the World Series. He gets to within 1 out of the 1st World Series (and thus the 1st postseason) no-hitter ever. But 10 walks put him in danger, and Harry "Cookie" Lavagetto pinch-hits a double-off the right-field wall at Ebbets Field, and the Dodgers win, 3-2.
Instead of the Yankees being up 3 games to 1, the Series is now tied. This becomes known as The Cookie Game.
Two days later, Al Gionfriddo will rob Joe DiMaggio with an amazing catch to preserve the Dodgers’ lead in Game 6, but the Yankees win the Series in Game 7. By a weird twist of fate, neither Bevens, nor Lavagetto, nor Gionfriddo will ever play again.
Bobby Brown, the Yankees' 3rd baseman, died on Mach 25, 2021, the last surviving player from this game. For the Dodgers, Ralph Branca was the last survivor.
Floyd Clifford Bevens (1916-1991) was called "Bill" because, in a minor-league game, he caught a popup after it bounced off the bill of his cap. He said, "I'm lucky it didn't bounce off my nose!" Harry Arthur Lavagetto (1912-1990) was called "Cookie" because he was signed by the owner of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks, whose nickname was Cookie.
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Floyd Clifford Bevens (1916-1991) was called "Bill" because, in a minor-league game, he caught a popup after it bounced off the bill of his cap. He said, "I'm lucky it didn't bounce off my nose!" Harry Arthur Lavagetto (1912-1990) was called "Cookie" because he was signed by the owner of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks, whose nickname was Cookie.
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October 3, 1952: Game 3 of the World Series. Yogi Berra and Johnny Mize hit home runs, but Preacher Roe is otherwise masterful, and Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese execute a double steal that results in a passed ball by Yogi and the winning run. The Dodgers win, 5-3, and lead the Series, 2-1.
Also on this day, Bruce Charles Arians is born in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, but he grew up in York, Pennsylvania. A quarterback at Virginia Tech long before Michael and Marcus Vick, he was the 1st white player at that school to be the roommate of a black player: James Barber, father of twins and NFL stars Tiki and Ronde.
He never played in the NFL, but has quite a resume as a coach, including at Virginia Tech, Alabama, and as head coach at Temple from 1983 to 1988; and with 6 different NFL teams. He won a Super Bowl ring as the Pittsburgh Steelers' receivers coach in the 2005 season, and another as their offensive coordinator in 2008. In 2012, he was named offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, but when Chuck Pagano had to step aside for health reasons, he became interim head coach, leading them to a 9-3 record.
That led the Arizona Cardinals to offer him the job as head coach, and he got them into the Playoffs in 2014 and 2015, including winning the NFC West in 2015. He became the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. With Tom Brady as his cheating quarterback, he won Super Bowl LV. His son Jake Arians was briefly a placekicker for the Buffalo Bills.
October 3, 1961, 60 years ago: The CBS sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show premieres. Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) is a writer for a New York-based TV variety show hosted by Alan Brady (Carl Reiner). Also writing for it are Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) and Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam). Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon) was Brady's brother-in-law and producer.
Rob lives in nearby New Rochelle, Westchester County, with his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) and their son Richie (Larry Matthews). The pilot episode, "The Sick Boy and the Sitter," has the Petries attending a party at Brady's house, but Laura keeps calling the house to check with the sitter about Richie's condition.
Before The Dick Van Dyke Show, there had been "house comedies" and "workplace comedies." This was the 1st TV show to go back-and-forth between its subject's home life and work life. The show ran for 6 seasons.
The 1st season's opening showed still photos from the show. The 2nd season showed a new opening, with the gifted physical comic Van Dyke tripping over an ottoman after coming home to find Laura and Richie visited by Sally and Buddy. Sometimes, the opening would show him stopping himself, and stepping around the ottoman, and these 2 openings would vary for the rest of the show's run. Occasionally, the opening would show him stepping around the ottoman, and tripping anyway.
Reiner also created The Dick Van Dyke Show, and wrote for it, based on his own experience having written for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, along with, among others, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and his brother Danny Simon, and Selma Diamond. When Caesar created the later series Caesar's Hour, the same writers came with him, and Larry Gelbart and Woody Allen were added.
So, essentially, Alan Brady was (hopefully, a very exaggerated version of) Sid, Rob Petrie was Carl, Laura Petrie was Carl's wife Estelle Reiner, and Richie is their son, actor and now director Rob Reiner. Though I don't think anybody ever called Richie, or Larry Matthews, a "meathead."
Earle Hagen wrote the theme song, and also the "Fishin' Hole" theme to The Andy Griffith Show, and "Harlem Nocture," and the themes to Make Room for Daddy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy, That Girl and The Mod Squad.
Indians owner Ted Bonda knew that, racial history aside, Frank was qualified for the job: He had already been the Captain of the Baltimore Orioles teams that had won 4 Pennants between 1966 and 1971, and that he had already been considered for 2 different managerial posts. One was the Yankees': After George Steinbrenner was unable, for complicated legal reasons, to hire Dick Williams to replace Ralph Houk, he was convinced by team president Gabe Paul to consider Robinson, who was then playing for the Angels, but their owner Gene Autry wouldn't let him go.
Now, Frank was playing for the Indians, and Bonda knew that if he didn't hire him as manager, somebody else might, and he didn't want to lose him So he did the right thing for history, as well as the right thing for his team. He signed Frank at a salary of $175,000 to do both jobs -- $890,000 in today's money.
As it turned out, Frank wasn't nearly as good a manager as he was a player. He would manage the Indians, the Giants (making him the 1st black manager in each League), the Orioles and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals franchise, managing them during their move. Only once, in a career that lasted from 1975 to 2006, did he take a team into a genuine Pennant race, the 1989 Orioles missing the AL East title by 2 games. But he still deserved the chance.
October 3, 1976: Hank Aaron plays his last game. In his last at-bat, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers at County Stadium, where he had previously played for the Milwaukee Braves, he singles off Dave Roberts of the Tigers -- the same pitcher who, for the Houston Astros, had given up his 712th and 713th career home runs. But the Tigers win the game, 5-2.
Hank retires with 3,771 hits and 2,174 runs scored, both 2nd at the time only to Ty Cobb; a .305 batting average, a 155 OPS+; and with these all-time records: 755 home runs, 2,297 RBIs, 6,856 total bases, and 1,477 extra-base hits (624 doubles, 98 triples and 755 homers). Only the home run record has been broken, and that dubiously.
The Brewers retire his Number 44 on this day, even though he only played 2 seasons for them. It's more of a recognition for his contribution to baseball in Milwaukee, which was 14 seasons counting his tenure there with the Braves. The Atlanta version of the Braves will retire Number 44 for him on their next Opening Day.
On the same day, On the last day of the season, the Kansas City Royals' George Brett and Hal McRae and the Twins' Rod Carew are separated by .001 for the AL batting title -- and their teams are playing each other. Brett, who goes 3-for-4, edges his Royals teammate for the crown with the deciding hit, an inside-the-park home run, a line drive that outfielder Steve Brye misplayed, leading McRae to believe the lack of effort was intentional and racist. (Carew's thoughts on this are unrecorded.) The final totals: Brett .333, McRae .332, Carew .331.
October 3, 1978: Game 1 of the ALCS at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (Now Kauffman Stadium.) The Royals have added former St. Louis Cardinals reliever Al Hrabosky, a.k.a. the Mad Hungarian, a blazing lefty with a wild-man act that many find intimidating (and others find annoying). They and their fans think he will make the difference, so that they can finally win the Pennant, even if they have to face the Yankees in the Playoffs for the 3rd year in a row -- which they do.
But the Yankees score 3 runs on Dennis Leonard, a Brooklyn native who'd given them fits in the 1976 and '77 ALCS. They're up 4-1 with 2 out in the top of the 8th, and manager Whitey Herzog gets Hrabosky up. Even Phil Rizzuto, broadcasting the game on WPIX-Channel 11, buys into the hype: Seeing him warm up, he says, "Uh-oh, the Mad Hungarian!"
When Lou Piniella singles, sending sending Mickey Rivers to 2nd, the White Rat, knowing the next 5 batters are lefties -- Reggie Jackson, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Roy White (a switch-hitter but weaker on the right side) and Brian Doyle -- brings Hrabosky in.
The Yankees' struggles against Paul Splittorff and Larry Gura in those last 2 ALCS gave rise to the famous but erroneous notion that, "The Yankees can't hit lefthanded pitchers, especially in the postseason." (They'd won 21 World Series by this point, so they must have scored off some lefties.) This was especially pointed out the year before, when Reggie couldn't touch Splittorff, and then-manager Billy Martin held him out of Game 5 until Herzog brought in the righthanded Doug Bird to relieve in the 8th, and then sent Reggie in to pinch-hit, working an RBI single.
Hrabosky does his thing, then gets on the mound, and pitches to Reggie. The ball leaves his bat in Kansas City, and lands in St. Louis. Rizzuto says, "Oh, that's gone! That is gone! Holy cow!" Reggie is, after all, Mr. October.
The Yankees win, 7-1. Having gained at least a split in K.C., they won the Pennant in New York, and won the World Series. Hrabosky was never the same pitcher: The Royals gave him 1 more year, and then traded him to Atlanta, and then they won the Pennant, with new reliever Dan Quisenberry; while Hrabosky threw his last big-league pitch at age 33. Today, he's a Cardinal broadcaster, and if you remember him as a player, as I do, well, you're old, too.
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October 3, 1981, 40 years ago: The Milwaukee Brewers and the Montreal Expos clinch their 1st-ever postseason appearances. Milwaukee beats the Detroit Tigers 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium to wrap up the 2nd-half title in the AL East, while Montreal edges the Mets 5-4 at Shea Stadium to win the NL East's 2nd playoff spot.
October 3, 1962: The Giants beat the Dodgers in a Playoff for the National League Pennant again -- this time on the West Coast, and at the Dodgers' home. At Dodger Stadium, San Francisco wins the rubber game, beating Los Angeles, 6-4 as Don Larsen (yes, the hero of 1956 bedevils the Dodgers again) gets the win in relief of Juan Marichal.
This is the 3rd and last time the Dodgers have lost a Playoff for the Pennant, all on October 3. They did, however, win one in 1959, against the Milwaukee Braves, but that was on a September 29.
Thanks to the extended season, Maury Wills sets a major league record for the most games played in a season, appearing in 165 games. This was the year he stole 104 bases, setting a new major league record. However, like Roger Maris' 61 home runs the season before, he didn't break the old record in 154 games, so his achievement and Ty Cobb's 96 steals in 1915 were listed as separate records. As with Babe Ruth's 60 homers in 1927 and Maris' 61 in '61, there was never actually an asterisk in the
record book.
There are 9 players still alive from this game, 58 years later: For the Giants, Marichal, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and Felipe Alou. (Matty Alou has died. Jesus Alou is still alive, but did not play in this game.) For the Dodgers: Wills, Tommy Davis, Frank Howard, Larry Burright, Tim Harkness.
October 3, 1964: The Yankees score 5 runs in the 8th inning, and beat the Indians 8-3 at Yankee Stadium, finally clinching a hard-won AL Pennant, their hardest since 1949, with just 1 game to spare. Bobby Richardson, Elston Howard and Joe Pepitone have RBI singles in the inning, and Mickey Mantle draws a bases-loaded walk. Pete Mikkelsen is the winner, in relief of Al Downing. The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics 7-0, but it does them no good, as they are eliminated.
This is the 3rd and last time the Dodgers have lost a Playoff for the Pennant, all on October 3. They did, however, win one in 1959, against the Milwaukee Braves, but that was on a September 29.
Thanks to the extended season, Maury Wills sets a major league record for the most games played in a season, appearing in 165 games. This was the year he stole 104 bases, setting a new major league record. However, like Roger Maris' 61 home runs the season before, he didn't break the old record in 154 games, so his achievement and Ty Cobb's 96 steals in 1915 were listed as separate records. As with Babe Ruth's 60 homers in 1927 and Maris' 61 in '61, there was never actually an asterisk in the
record book.
There are 9 players still alive from this game, 58 years later: For the Giants, Marichal, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and Felipe Alou. (Matty Alou has died. Jesus Alou is still alive, but did not play in this game.) For the Dodgers: Wills, Tommy Davis, Frank Howard, Larry Burright, Tim Harkness.
October 3, 1964: The Yankees score 5 runs in the 8th inning, and beat the Indians 8-3 at Yankee Stadium, finally clinching a hard-won AL Pennant, their hardest since 1949, with just 1 game to spare. Bobby Richardson, Elston Howard and Joe Pepitone have RBI singles in the inning, and Mickey Mantle draws a bases-loaded walk. Pete Mikkelsen is the winner, in relief of Al Downing. The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics 7-0, but it does them no good, as they are eliminated.
October 3, 1971, 50 years ago: Wilfredo Cordero Nieva is born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. A multi-position player, the man usually known as Wil Cordero was a teammate of Darrin Fletcher's on those ill-fated 1994 Expos. He did reach the postseason with the 1999 Indians, and closed his career as an original member of the Washington Nationals in 2005. He is now a coach.
October 3, 1974: The Cleveland Indians hire Frank Robinson, currently playing for them, as the 1st black manager in Major League Baseball. It has been almost 2 years since a dying Jackie Robinson, making his final appearance at a ballpark during the World Series, announced to the crowd he wanted to see a black manager. Frank, no relation, said his only regret was that Jackie didn't live to see the day.Indians owner Ted Bonda knew that, racial history aside, Frank was qualified for the job: He had already been the Captain of the Baltimore Orioles teams that had won 4 Pennants between 1966 and 1971, and that he had already been considered for 2 different managerial posts. One was the Yankees': After George Steinbrenner was unable, for complicated legal reasons, to hire Dick Williams to replace Ralph Houk, he was convinced by team president Gabe Paul to consider Robinson, who was then playing for the Angels, but their owner Gene Autry wouldn't let him go.
Now, Frank was playing for the Indians, and Bonda knew that if he didn't hire him as manager, somebody else might, and he didn't want to lose him So he did the right thing for history, as well as the right thing for his team. He signed Frank at a salary of $175,000 to do both jobs -- $890,000 in today's money.
As it turned out, Frank wasn't nearly as good a manager as he was a player. He would manage the Indians, the Giants (making him the 1st black manager in each League), the Orioles and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals franchise, managing them during their move. Only once, in a career that lasted from 1975 to 2006, did he take a team into a genuine Pennant race, the 1989 Orioles missing the AL East title by 2 games. But he still deserved the chance.
October 3, 1976: Hank Aaron plays his last game. In his last at-bat, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers at County Stadium, where he had previously played for the Milwaukee Braves, he singles off Dave Roberts of the Tigers -- the same pitcher who, for the Houston Astros, had given up his 712th and 713th career home runs. But the Tigers win the game, 5-2.
Hank retires with 3,771 hits and 2,174 runs scored, both 2nd at the time only to Ty Cobb; a .305 batting average, a 155 OPS+; and with these all-time records: 755 home runs, 2,297 RBIs, 6,856 total bases, and 1,477 extra-base hits (624 doubles, 98 triples and 755 homers). Only the home run record has been broken, and that dubiously.
The Brewers retire his Number 44 on this day, even though he only played 2 seasons for them. It's more of a recognition for his contribution to baseball in Milwaukee, which was 14 seasons counting his tenure there with the Braves. The Atlanta version of the Braves will retire Number 44 for him on their next Opening Day.
On the same day, On the last day of the season, the Kansas City Royals' George Brett and Hal McRae and the Twins' Rod Carew are separated by .001 for the AL batting title -- and their teams are playing each other. Brett, who goes 3-for-4, edges his Royals teammate for the crown with the deciding hit, an inside-the-park home run, a line drive that outfielder Steve Brye misplayed, leading McRae to believe the lack of effort was intentional and racist. (Carew's thoughts on this are unrecorded.) The final totals: Brett .333, McRae .332, Carew .331.
Also on this day, only 9,155 fans come out to the Oakland Coliseum to witness the end of an era. The California Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 1-0. Nolan Ryan and Mike Torrez go the distance. Having already lost Jim "Catfish" Hunter to a legal wrinkle, and having traded away his best player, Reggie Jackson, A's owner Charlie Finley goes on to make absolutely no effort to re-sign Rollie Fingers, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, Bert Campaneris, or even the recently acquired Don Baylor. He also looks to trade Vida Blue, this time without the interference of Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.
This was also the last game in Oakland uniforms for future Hall-of-Famers Billy Williams, the great Chicago Cub left fielder, who retires; and Willie McCovey, who heads back across the Bay and re-signs with the San Francisco Giants.
Over the next 3 seasons, the A's would lose 299 games, and play before a total of 1,329,361 home fans -- an average of 5,471 fans per game. Their attendance had never been good, and the Coliseum had already been nicknamed the Oakland Mausoleum. Finley's cheapness and stubbornness had blinded him to what needed to be done, and one of the best teams in baseball history became a joke franchise.
This was also the last game in Oakland uniforms for future Hall-of-Famers Billy Williams, the great Chicago Cub left fielder, who retires; and Willie McCovey, who heads back across the Bay and re-signs with the San Francisco Giants.
Over the next 3 seasons, the A's would lose 299 games, and play before a total of 1,329,361 home fans -- an average of 5,471 fans per game. Their attendance had never been good, and the Coliseum had already been nicknamed the Oakland Mausoleum. Finley's cheapness and stubbornness had blinded him to what needed to be done, and one of the best teams in baseball history became a joke franchise.
Also on this day, Quincy, M.E. premieres on NBC. Jack Klugman plays a medical examiner for the County of Los Angeles, helping the police solve murders. A doctor can't be a slob, like Klugman's previous character, Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple. But Dr. Quincy (his first name is never revealed, though the initial R. is) is still a gambler, a womanier, and a man who enjoys a drink. The series runs for 7 seasons.
October 3, 1977: CBS airs an episode of Match Game 77 with this question: "Count Dracula said, 'Today, I am going to the big-league baseball game, because today is (Blank) Day!'" Obviously, the answer was "Bat Day."
October 3, 1978: Game 1 of the ALCS at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (Now Kauffman Stadium.) The Royals have added former St. Louis Cardinals reliever Al Hrabosky, a.k.a. the Mad Hungarian, a blazing lefty with a wild-man act that many find intimidating (and others find annoying). They and their fans think he will make the difference, so that they can finally win the Pennant, even if they have to face the Yankees in the Playoffs for the 3rd year in a row -- which they do.
But the Yankees score 3 runs on Dennis Leonard, a Brooklyn native who'd given them fits in the 1976 and '77 ALCS. They're up 4-1 with 2 out in the top of the 8th, and manager Whitey Herzog gets Hrabosky up. Even Phil Rizzuto, broadcasting the game on WPIX-Channel 11, buys into the hype: Seeing him warm up, he says, "Uh-oh, the Mad Hungarian!"
When Lou Piniella singles, sending sending Mickey Rivers to 2nd, the White Rat, knowing the next 5 batters are lefties -- Reggie Jackson, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Roy White (a switch-hitter but weaker on the right side) and Brian Doyle -- brings Hrabosky in.
The Yankees' struggles against Paul Splittorff and Larry Gura in those last 2 ALCS gave rise to the famous but erroneous notion that, "The Yankees can't hit lefthanded pitchers, especially in the postseason." (They'd won 21 World Series by this point, so they must have scored off some lefties.) This was especially pointed out the year before, when Reggie couldn't touch Splittorff, and then-manager Billy Martin held him out of Game 5 until Herzog brought in the righthanded Doug Bird to relieve in the 8th, and then sent Reggie in to pinch-hit, working an RBI single.
Hrabosky does his thing, then gets on the mound, and pitches to Reggie. The ball leaves his bat in Kansas City, and lands in St. Louis. Rizzuto says, "Oh, that's gone! That is gone! Holy cow!" Reggie is, after all, Mr. October.
The Yankees win, 7-1. Having gained at least a split in K.C., they won the Pennant in New York, and won the World Series. Hrabosky was never the same pitcher: The Royals gave him 1 more year, and then traded him to Atlanta, and then they won the Pennant, with new reliever Dan Quisenberry; while Hrabosky threw his last big-league pitch at age 33. Today, he's a Cardinal broadcaster, and if you remember him as a player, as I do, well, you're old, too.
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October 3, 1981, 40 years ago: The Milwaukee Brewers and the Montreal Expos clinch their 1st-ever postseason appearances. Milwaukee beats the Detroit Tigers 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium to wrap up the 2nd-half title in the AL East, while Montreal edges the Mets 5-4 at Shea Stadium to win the NL East's 2nd playoff spot.
For the 1st time ever, a postseason game will be played outside the U.S. For the 1st time since 1959, a 163rd game will be played in Milwaukee.
Also on this day, the Houston Astros lose 7-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Astrodome, but back into the 2nd-half NL West title when the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium. The Reds had the best overall record in MLB this season, but didn't win the NL West in either half. The St. Louis Cardinals had the best overall record in the NL East, but they didn't win it in either half. So, perhaps unfairly, both the Cards and the Reds are on the outside looking in.
Also on this day, Zlatan Ibrahimović (no middle name) is born in Malmö, Sweden to a Muslim Bosniak father and a Croatian Catholic mother. Judging by his attitude, though Zlatan (usually called by just his first name, sometimes "Ibra") is "a self-made man who worships his creator."
In terms of trophies won, the striker is one of the most successful soccer players of his generation. With Ajax Amsterdam, he won 2 League titles. With Juventus of Turin, Italy, he won 2 League titles, though both were revoked due to a scandal. (He had nothing to do with it the scandal, but he did benefit from it.) With another Italian club, Internazionale Milano, he won 3 League titles. With Barcelona, he won another League title. With Inter's rivals A.C. Milan, he won another League title. And with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), he won 4 straight League titles, and in 2015 also the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue, the 1st-ever French domestic Treble. So that's 13 League titles in a span of 16 seasons.
But while his undeniable talent, even at age 40, is the reason teams keep acquiring him, there's a reason why teams keep letting him go, and it's not because they need the money. (The clubs involved are all among the wealthiest in the world.) And it's not because he misses 5 shots for every goal he scores. And it's not because he's an unrepentant diver.
It's because he's a first-class jerk. He's known to have purposely injured 6 different teammates in training, and 5 opponents in games. He got into a shouting match with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola and threw a box across the room. He constantly berates referees, and has especially criticized those in France.
It's because he's a first-class jerk. He's known to have purposely injured 6 different teammates in training, and 5 opponents in games. He got into a shouting match with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola and threw a box across the room. He constantly berates referees, and has especially criticized those in France.
In March 2015, he called France "this shit country." After the season, they sold him to Manchester United, pretty much the only club that both could afford him and would still have him, not caring about his attitude, because their entire club has that attitude.
At this point, only Man U fans and the kind of fanboys who follow a player from team to team (you know, the kind who were Cleveland Cavaliers fans until 2010, then Miami Heat fans until 2014, then Cavs fans again, and now Los Angeles Lakers fans, all because of LeBron James), still like him.
Even Swedes don't like him much, and it's not because he's an ethnic Yugoslav: The national team has won nothing with him, getting no closer than the Round of 16 at the 2006 and 2018 World Cups. While they qualified for Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 mainly because of his goals, they didn't even make the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and crashed out of Euro 2016 in the Group Stage. This led to his fanboys to say, "It won't be a World Cup without Zlatan." Tell that to the Spanish (2010) and the Germans (2014).
At this point, only Man U fans and the kind of fanboys who follow a player from team to team (you know, the kind who were Cleveland Cavaliers fans until 2010, then Miami Heat fans until 2014, then Cavs fans again, and now Los Angeles Lakers fans, all because of LeBron James), still like him.
Even Swedes don't like him much, and it's not because he's an ethnic Yugoslav: The national team has won nothing with him, getting no closer than the Round of 16 at the 2006 and 2018 World Cups. While they qualified for Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 mainly because of his goals, they didn't even make the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and crashed out of Euro 2016 in the Group Stage. This led to his fanboys to say, "It won't be a World Cup without Zlatan." Tell that to the Spanish (2010) and the Germans (2014).
Ibra played for the L.A. Galaxy in 2018 and 2019, and is now back at AC Milan.
Also on this day, Christine Ebersole and Mary Gross make their debuts on Saturday Night Live, as the show climbs out of the hole it dug for itself in the 1979-80 season, after the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" were replaced.
But the episode is best remembered for the fake documentary "Prose and Cons," showing prisons as the new center of American literary production, based on the Jack Henry Abbott murder case. It is highlighted by Eddie Murphy's poem:
Images, by Tyrone Green:
Dark and lonely
on the a Summer night.
Kill my landlord.
Kill my landlord.
Watchdog barking.
Do he bite?
Kill my landlord.
Kill my landlord.
Kick in his window.
Break his neck.
Then his house
I start to wreck.
Got no reason.
What the heck?
Kill my landlord.
Kill my landlord.
C-I-L-L
my landlord.
But the episode is best remembered for the fake documentary "Prose and Cons," showing prisons as the new center of American literary production, based on the Jack Henry Abbott murder case. It is highlighted by Eddie Murphy's poem:
Images, by Tyrone Green:
Dark and lonely
on the a Summer night.
Kill my landlord.
Kill my landlord.
Watchdog barking.
Do he bite?
Kill my landlord.
Kill my landlord.
Kick in his window.
Break his neck.
Then his house
I start to wreck.
Got no reason.
What the heck?
Kill my landlord.
Kill my landlord.
C-I-L-L
my landlord.
October 3, 1984: Soccer Bowl '84 is played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. Playing Soccer Bowl '83 in Canada (albeit all the way across the country in Vancouver) didn't help the Toronto Blizzard the year before, and playing on their actual home field doesn't help them now, as they lose 3-2 to the Chicago Sting.
The Blizzard -- who won the North American Soccer League title in 1976, as "Toronto Metros-Croatia" -- trailed 2-0 after 70 minutes, but scored twice in 3 minutes to equalize. But Patricia "Pato" Margetic, the Argentine striker who'd scored the Sting's 2nd goal, scores in the 82nd to win it.
Attendance at the 21,739-seat Varsity Stadium is just 16,842. No one knows it yet, but this is the last game that the original NASL will ever hold.
The Sting, who had also won the title in 1981, had already announced that this would be their last season in the League, as they had already been admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League -- which played soccer in arenas on hockey rinks covered with artificial turf, with the boards ensuring the ball wouldn't go out of bounds unless it went over the boards, resulting in higher scores. It was exciting, but it was a bastardized version of the sport, something that no one would have called "The Beautiful Game." Instead, it was called "pinball soccer."
Clive Toye, who built the New York Cosmos' dynasty, and also the Sting's '81 champs, was now running the Blizzard, and made postgame comments that Sting coach Willy Roy and striker Karl-Heinz Granitza -- both Germans, and the latter would later honor his Chicago experience by running a bar in Berlin named State Street -- were "cheats," and that the Sting were "unworthy champions."
During the ensuing off-season, NASL President Howard Samuels died, and Toye was named interim President. Then the Cosmos folded, due to striker/part-owner Giorgio Chinaglia's mismanagement. Without the flagship franchise, the League was doomed, no matter what Toye did, and he did try.
The Blizzard -- who won the North American Soccer League title in 1976, as "Toronto Metros-Croatia" -- trailed 2-0 after 70 minutes, but scored twice in 3 minutes to equalize. But Patricia "Pato" Margetic, the Argentine striker who'd scored the Sting's 2nd goal, scores in the 82nd to win it.
Attendance at the 21,739-seat Varsity Stadium is just 16,842. No one knows it yet, but this is the last game that the original NASL will ever hold.
The Sting, who had also won the title in 1981, had already announced that this would be their last season in the League, as they had already been admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League -- which played soccer in arenas on hockey rinks covered with artificial turf, with the boards ensuring the ball wouldn't go out of bounds unless it went over the boards, resulting in higher scores. It was exciting, but it was a bastardized version of the sport, something that no one would have called "The Beautiful Game." Instead, it was called "pinball soccer."
Clive Toye, who built the New York Cosmos' dynasty, and also the Sting's '81 champs, was now running the Blizzard, and made postgame comments that Sting coach Willy Roy and striker Karl-Heinz Granitza -- both Germans, and the latter would later honor his Chicago experience by running a bar in Berlin named State Street -- were "cheats," and that the Sting were "unworthy champions."
During the ensuing off-season, NASL President Howard Samuels died, and Toye was named interim President. Then the Cosmos folded, due to striker/part-owner Giorgio Chinaglia's mismanagement. Without the flagship franchise, the League was doomed, no matter what Toye did, and he did try.
But when the time came to prepare for a 1985 season, only 2 teams -- the Blizzard and the Minnesota (formerly Fort Lauderdale) Strikers -- were still interested in playing, and the League folded. North America was without a "first division" in soccer for 11 years, setting the sport in the United States back a generation. The damage was incalculable.
October 3, 1995: Former football star, sportscaster and actor O.J. Simpson is found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. A little more than a year later, in a civil suit, a jury will find him liable for their deaths.
On the same day, for the 1st time ever, a postseason MLB game is played in the Mountain Time Zone. The Colorado Rockies had won the NL Wild Card in only their 3rd season, and host the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NL Division Series at Coors Field in Denver. But a Chipper Jones home run in the 9th inning gives the Atlanta Braves a 5-4 win.
Also, for the 1st time in 41 years, a postseason game is played in Cleveland. Tony Peña homers to left field in the 13th inning, to give the Indians a 5-4 win over the Red Sox in Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Jacobs Field. It is Cleveland's 1st postseason game victory since the clinching Game 6 of the 1948 World Series -- 47 years.
Of more interest to Yankee Fans: After 14 seasons, Don Mattingly finally plays in a postseason game. It is also the 1st postseason game in the history of the Seattle Mariners, not counting last night's 1-game Playoff for the AL Western Division title.
The Yankees win, 9-6, in front of a rapturous crowd of 57,178, the largest paid attendance in the 33-season history of the post-renovation original Yankee Stadium. David Cone gives up 2 home runs to Ken Griffey Jr., but is backed up by home runs by Wade Boggs and Rubén Sierra. Mattingly goes 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Peña would later manage the Royals from 2002 to 2005, and coach with the Yankees from 2006 to 2017. On a few occasions, when Joe Torre or Joe Girardi was thrown out of a game, or was unable to manage on a given day, Peña stood in. This remains the closest any minority has ever come to being the manager of the New York Yankees.
October 3, 1996, 25 years ago: Seinfeld airs the episode "The Bizarro Jerry." Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has a new boyfriend (Tim McKay) that she breaks up with and stays friends with, as she had with Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) a few years earlier. But he's an exact opposite to Jerry, personality-wise.
He even has friends that look like, but have the opposite personalities of, George (Jason Alexander and Kyle T. Heffner), Kramer (Michael Richards and Pat Kilbane), and Newman (Wayne Knight and Mark S. Larson). Even his apartment is a mirror image of Jerry's. Alas, it doesn't work out.
Also, Jerry dates a woman (Kristin Bauer) with everything going for her, except she has "man hands."
*
He even has friends that look like, but have the opposite personalities of, George (Jason Alexander and Kyle T. Heffner), Kramer (Michael Richards and Pat Kilbane), and Newman (Wayne Knight and Mark S. Larson). Even his apartment is a mirror image of Jerry's. Alas, it doesn't work out.
Also, Jerry dates a woman (Kristin Bauer) with everything going for her, except she has "man hands."
*
October 3, 2001, 20 years ago: Barry Bonds walks 3 times, breaking Babe Ruth's major league record of 170 bases on balls in a season, established in 1923. Astros' reliever Nelson Cruz gives up the historic walk in the 6th, and the Giants left fielder will finish the season with 177 walks.
Also on this day, 24 days after the 9/11 attacks, The West Wing airs the special episode "Isaac and Ishmael." The White House gets locked down due to a potential terrorist threat, which is resolved a few hours later (but within the hour for the viewer). Among those locked in is a high school civics class, which ends up talking with all the staff, except Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), who's handling the perceived threat.
President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), as usual (but without help from his speechwriters, which is unusual), says it best: "We don't need martyrs in this country, we need heroes. A hero would die for his country, but he'd much rather live for it."
The episode airs prior to the start of the show's 3rd season. The World Trade Center and the
Pentagon are not mentioned. Toward the end of the season, the Bartlet Administration
foils a plot to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge, making us think that, in their
world, they stopped "their 9/11." This episode makes it seem as though there
was one, anyway. Or maybe
it was a response to events in their world that had previously happened. The
attack on the USS Cole was mentioned as having happened in their world, and
Osama bin Laden was previously mentioned by name.
October 3, 2004: The last day of baseball's regular season is a sad one, and not just for the 22 teams that didn't make the Playoffs. For 2 reasons: One planned, one not.
The unplanned reason: Blue Jays television announcer John Cerutti is found dead in his SkyDome hotel room. The death of the 44-year old Albany native, who had pitched for the Jays and the Tigers, is due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He pitched his way to a career record of 49-43, was the winning pitcher in the 1st game at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in 1989, and pitched for the Jays in that season's ALCS.
The planned reason: At the site of the franchise's 1st regular season game in 1969, the Montreal Expos, who are scheduled to move to Washington, D.C. next season, play the last game in their 36-year history, losing to the Mets at Shea Stadium, 8-1. A crowd of 33,569 attends the memorial service, but most are rooting for the Mets.
The Expos' last starting lineup: Brad Wilkerson, 1B; Jamey Carroll, 2B; Val Pascucci, RF; Terreml Sledge, LF; Ryan Church, CF; Einar Diaz, C; Brendan Harris, 3B; Josh Labandeira, SS; and John Patterson, P. Patterson is the losing pitcher, while Tom Glavine wins it.
David Wright and Todd Zeile hit home runs for the Mets. The last play in Expo history is a groundout to 2nd base, Kazuo Matsui to 1st baseman Mike Piazza, induced by reliever Bartolome Fortunato. That last Expo batter is a defensive replacement in center field, who will go on to join the Mets and make Shea history in another way, with his glove: Endy Chavez.
October 3, 2015: Gary Sanchez makes his major league debut, on the next-to-last day of the regular season. Wearing Number 73, he pinch-hits for Greg Bird, against Oliver Drake, in the bottom of the 9th inning of the 1st game of a rain-forced doubleheader. He hits a weak popup that is caught by 3rd baseman Manny Machado. It has little effect on the outcome, as the Orioles beat the Yankees 9-2.
The Yankees were hoping he'd turn into a good player, and sometimes, he is. Sometimes, he isn't.
The Yankees were hoping he'd turn into a good player, and sometimes, he is. Sometimes, he isn't.
October 3, 2017: The American League Wild Card Game is held at Yankee Stadium II, and I go into it sure that, somehow, Yankee manager Joe Girardi is going to mess it up. Or that his players will mess it up before he gets the chance.
Sure enough, the Minnesota Twins tag Luis Severino for 3 runs before the Yankees even get up to bat, including home runs by Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosario. Girardi takes Severino out after getting only 1 out, making this the shortest start in Yankee postseason history.
But the Yankees answer in the bottom of the 1st, with a game-tying 3-run homer by Didi Gregorius, 1 of 41 pitches they make Twins starter Ervin Santana throw. Brett Gardner homers to make it 4-3 Yanks in the 2nd. The Twins tie it in the 3rd, but by the 4th, thanks to a homer by rookie sensation Aaron Judge, it's 7-4 New York.
The Yanks get 3 1/3rd scoreless innings from David Robertson, and 2 from Tommy Kahnle. Aaron Hicks draws a bases-loaded walk in the 7th to make it 8-4, and Aroldis Chapman slams the door to keep the score that way.
For the 1st time in 5 years, the Yankees had won a postseason round. I was stunned. Very pleased, but stunned.
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