Oct 23

NLCS Game Six & ALCS Game Seven, 2023

Arizona at Philadelphia, 2:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS. The Phillies lead the series three games to two.

RHP Merrill Kelly (1-1, 3.00 ERA postseason) goes for the Diamondbacks and RHP Aaron Nola (3-0, 0.096 ERA postseason) pitches for the Phillies. Preview here.

Texas at Houston, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: Fox. The series is tied at three games apiece.

The Rangers give the ball to RHP Max Scherzer (0-1, 11.25 ERA postseason). The Astros hand their ball to RHP Cristian Javier (2-0, 1.69 ERA postseason). Preview here.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1945 Dodger President Branch Rickey announces that the team has signed two black players, shortstop Jackie Robinson and pitcher Johnny Wright, to play with Brooklyn’s Triple-A team in Montreal. The 26-year-old Negro League infielder will be the first black player in organized baseball since 1884.
  • 1952 The Pacific Coast League announces its teams will play a reduced 176-game schedule next season. However, the PCL clubs will continue to play 180 contests next season, similar to the past two years.
  • 1993
    “Touch ’em all Joe, you’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life” – Tom Cheek, radio voice of the Blue Jays.

    Thanks to Joe Carter’s dramatic ninth-inning three-run homer over the left-field wall, the Blue Jays beat the Phillies 8-6 to win their second consecutive World Championship. The Toronto outfielder becomes the second player to end the World Series with a home run, joining Bill Mazeroski, whose Forbes Field’s round-tripper beat the Yankees in 1960.

  • 2005 For the 14th time in World Series history, a walk-off home run ends the contest when Scott Podsednik’s ninth-inning blast in Game 2 at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field beats the Astros, 7-6. Bill Mazeroski remains the only player to accomplish the feat in the seventh game of the Fall Classic.
Oct 22

ALCS Game Six, 2023

Texas at Houston, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: FS1. The Astros lead the series 3-2.

The Rangers send out RHP Nathan Eovaldi (3-0, 2.29 ERA postseason) to face the Astros’ LHP Framber Valdez (0-2, 11.57 ERA postseason).

Here’s a preview of the potential series-ender.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1845 The first known box score appears in the New York Morning News. Alexander Cartwright’s notation detailing the game comes a month after some of his fellow Knickerbockers wrote the first set of rules.

  • 1910 After three straight defeats and trailing Philadelphia by a run in the ninth, the Cubs tie the score, winning 4-3 in ten innings for their only World Series victory. The A’s will easily take the Fall Classic in five games.
  • 1960
    “But immortality is nontransferable. The papers said that the other players, and even the umpires on the field, begged him to come out and acknowledge us in some way, but he never had and did not now. Gods do not answer letters.” – JOHN UPDIKE

    The New Yorker magazine publishes Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu, an article by 28-year-old John Updike chronicling Ted Williams’ last game in the major leagues. The future Pulitzer Prize-winning author, among the 10,000 fans at the fabled game, ends the much-celebrated baseball essay with, “Gods do not answer letters,” as an explanation of the superstar not acknowledging the Fenway faithful after homering in his final major league at-bat.

  • 1975 In a fitting finish to one of the most classic World Series ever played, the Reds beat the Red Sox in a thrilling Game 7 victory, 4-3. Future Hall of Fame infielder Joe Morgan’s ninth-inning bloop single into center field, scoring Ken Griffey, proves to be the decisive hit in the Fenway Park contest.
  • 2011 In the Cardinals’ 16-7 rout of the Rangers in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, Albert Pujols hits three homers, drives in six runs, and collects five hits, equaling three World Series records. ‘Prince Albert’, who also set a Series mark with 14 total bases, connects on fastballs from three different Texas pitchers, joining Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for the most round-trippers in a World Series game.

  • 2016 The Cubs win their first pennant since 1945, blanking the Dodgers 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Game 6 of the NLCS. Kyle Hendrick, who goes 7⅓ innings, and Aroldis Chapman combine to face the minimum 27 batters, allowing only two hits and one walk, making it the first time this has occurred in the postseason play since Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
Oct 21

NLCS Game Five, 2023

Philadelphia at Arizona, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS. The series is tied at two games apiece.

It’s a rematch between the Zac(k)s, as the Phillies send out RHP Zack Wheeler (2-0, 2.37 ERA postseason) to face the D-Backs’ RHP Zac Gallen (2-1, 4.96 ERA postseason). They met in Game One and Wheeler and the Fightin’ Phils came out on top.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1975 “Isn’t this great? Isn’t this great? This is the best game I’ve ever played in. Isn’t this great? People will remember this game forever. Isn’t this great?” – PETE ROSE, sharing his enthusiasm with teammates, opponents, and umpires.

    In the bottom of the 12th inning of Game Six at Fenway Park, Red Sox’s backstop Carlton Fisk hits one of the most dramatic home runs in major league history, forcing a seventh game with the Reds. In 2002, this event, seen by 75.9 million viewers, will be chosen as one of baseball’s most memorable moments.

  • 1980 In front of 65,838 fans at Veterans Stadium, the Phillies win their first World Series ever in the 98-year history of the franchise by defeating the Royals, 4-1, in Game 6. Winning pitcher Steve Carlton limits Kansas City to four hits in seven innings, and Tug McGraw hurls the last two frames to pick up the save.
  • 2006 In the first matchup of rookies to start Game 1 of the World Series, Anthony Reyes bests Justin Verlander as the visiting Cardinals beat the Tigers at Comerica Park, 7-2. The 25-year-old right-hander allows two runs and four hits, striking out five Redbirds in eight innings.
  • 2014 During Game 1 of the World Series, Laurence Leavy, known as the Marlin Man, is approached by a Royals representative, who informs him that the Kansas City owner is upset with his bright orange Miami jersey diverting attention from the home team on national television. After being offered various inducements, including autographed memorabilia and an opportunity to sit in the luxury boxes at Kauffman Stadium, the workers’ comp attorney refuses to remove his colorful garb, choosing to remain in his $8,000 seat behind home plate.
Oct 20

ALCS Game Five and NLCS Game Four, 2023

Houston at Texas, 2:07 PM PDT, TV: FS1 The series is tied at two games apiece.

RHP Justin Verlander (1-1, 1.42 ERA postseason) pitches for the Astros and LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-0,2.08 ERA postseason) takes the ball for the Rangers.

Philadelphia at Arizona, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS. Philadelphia leads the series two games to one.

LHP Cristopher Sánchez (0-0, 0.00 ERA postseason) pitches for the Phillies and LHP Joe Mantiply (2-0, 9.00 ERA) goes for the D-Backs.

Today in baseball history:

  • 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 not fare well 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 Albert “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. Red 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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, help 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.
Oct 19

NLCS Game Three & ALCS Game Four, 2023

Philadelphia at Arizona, 2:07 PM PDT, TBS. The Phillies are up two games to none in the series.

LHP Ranger Suárez for the Phillies and RHP Brandon Pfaadt for the Diamondbacks.

Houston at Texas, 5:03 PM PDT, TV: FS1. The Rangers are up two games to one in the series.

RHP José Urquidy goes for the Astros and LHP Andrew Heaney pitches for the Rangers.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1949 In one of their best trades in franchise history, the White Sox obtain future Hall of Famer Nellie Fox from the A’s in exchange for catcher Joe Tipton. The hard-nosed second baseman will lead the league in hits four times, winning the 1959 American League MVP during his 14-year tenure with the team.
  • 1969 Three days after capturing the world championship, the Mets appear on The Ed Sullivan Show and sing “You Gotta Have Heart,” an inspiring song from the Broadway play Damn Yankees. The show’s host, concerned that some of the ball players imbibed too many mai tais following rehearsals at a nearby Chinese restaurant, brings in a choir to back up the performers, out of sight from the audience.

  • 1981 Dodger outfielder Rick Monday dashes the first Canadian pennant hopes with a ninth-inning two-out dramatic home run to beat the Expos, 2-1, in the NLCS’s deciding game. The series marks the first and last time in franchise history Montreal makes it into the postseason until 2012, when the Washington Nationals, the team’s new name and home for the past seven seasons, finishes first in the National League East Division.
  • 1993 The Dodgers trade future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez to the Expos for second baseman Delino DeShields, who will hit .241 during his three seasons with Los Angeles. The 21-year-old Dominican right-hander will win 55 of 88 decisions in his four-year tenure with Montreal before being dealt to Boston before the 1998 campaign.
  • 2006 For a new generation, the term “the Catch” may conjure up memories of Endy Chavez’s NLCS Game 7 leaping catch when he grabs a ball with his outstretched glove destined to be a Scott Rolen two-run home run and starting an unbelievable double play. The Shea Stadium heroics are overshadowed in the ninth inning when Yadier Molina hits a two-run homer and Carlos Beltran, with the best HR ratio (11/81) in postseason history, looks at a third strike with the bases loaded with Mets, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 victory and the pennant.
Oct 18

ALCS Game Three, 2023

Houston at Texas, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: FS1

RHP Cristian Javier (1-0, 0.00 ERA postseason) pitches for the Astros and RHP Max Scherzer (0-0, 0.00 ERA postseason) takes the ball for the Rangers for the first time in the playoffs after sitting out a month with shoulder issues.

Today in baseball history

  • 1950 After spending half a century managing in the major leagues, Connie Mack retires as skipper of the A’s. The 87-year-old manager, who has the most wins and losses in the game’s history, will be replaced by Jimmy Dykes, after compiling a 3731-3948 (.486) record during his 50 years in the dugout.
  • 1960 “Resigned, fired, quit, discharged, use whatever you damn please. I’ll never make the mistake of being seventy again” – CASEY STENGEL, announcing his dismissal from the Yankees for being too old to manage.
    Five days after losing to the Pirates in Game 7 of the World Series, the Yankees fire Casey Stengel, believing he’s too old to manage. During his twelve-year tenure with the Bronx Bombers, the ‘Old Perfesser’ compiled an 1149-696 (.623) record while capturing ten AL pennants and seven World Championships.

  • 1977 After homering in his last at-bat yesterday and drawing a walk in his first at-bat, Reggie Jackson hits three more on each first pitch he sees in the Yankees’ 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in the Bronx, giving him three homers on three consecutive pitches off three different pitchers. “Mr. October’s” heroics in Game 6 of the Fall Classic assure the team of their twenty-first World Championship and first since 1962.
  • 2004 After 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 471 pitches, the Red Sox outlast the Yankees, 5-4, in Game 5 of the league championship. Boston’s DH David Ortiz, who is the first player in baseball history to hit two walk-off home runs during the postseason, ends the longest game in ALCS history at 1:22 a.m. with a two-out single into center scoring Johnny Damon from second in the 14th inning at Fenway Park.
  • 2012 At Comerica Park, the Tigers win their second American League pennant in seven years when they beat the punchless Yankees, 8-1, to complete a four-game sweep. The contest marks the first time the Bronx Bombers have failed to win a game in a best-of-seven series since they dropped four straight to the Reds in the 1976 Fall Classic.
Oct 17

NLCS Game Two, 2023

Arizona at Philadelphia, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS

RHP Merrill Kelly (1-0, 0.00 ERA postseaaon) takes the mound for the Diamondbacks and RHP Aaron Nola (-0, 1.42 ERA postseason) does the same for the Phillies.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1971 At Memorial Stadium, behind Steve Blass’s complete-game four-hitter, the Pirates beat Mike Cuellar and the heavily favored Orioles to capture their fourth world championship in franchise history. Immediately after the Game 7 victory, 21-year-old rookie Bruce Kison and his champagne-soaked best man Bob Moose take a helicopter to a waiting Lear Jet to attend his wedding in Pittsburgh, where he arrives 33 minutes late.

  • 1989
    “Well, I don’t know if we’re on the air or not and I’m not sure I care at this particular moment but we are. Well folks, that’s the greatest open in the history of television, bar none. We’re still here. We are still as we can tell on the air, and I guess you are hearing us, even though we have no picture and no return audio. And we will be back, we hope, from San Francisco in just a moment.” – AL MICHAELS, the ABC-TV play-by-play announcer, reacting to the Bay Area earthquake.

    As the Giants and A’s get ready to play Game 3 of the World Series, the massive 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake hits the Bay Area, causing 63 deaths. Commissioner Fay Vincent quickly postponed the Candlestick Park contest, ordering the ballpark’s evacuation.

  • 2003 Early editions of the New York Post include an editorial claiming the Yankees couldn’t get the job done against the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS. However, the Bronx Bombers rally to beat their arch-rival in 11 innings, 6-5. (Trust a Murdoch paper to get the facts wrong.)
Oct 16

ALCS Game Two & NLCS Game One, 2023

Texas at Houston, 1:37 PM PDT, TV: Fox

RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-0, 1.32 ERA postseason) pitches for the Rangers and LHP Framber Valdez (0-1, 10.38 ERA postseason) takes the ball for the Astros. The Rangers lead the series 1-0.

Arizona at Philadelphia, 5:07 PM PDT, TBS

The first game of the series is a matchup of Zac(k)s, as RHP Zac Gallen (2-0, 3.19 ERA postseason) goes for the D-Backs and RHP Zack Wheeler (1-0, 2.08 ERA postseason) pitches for the Phillies.

Before we get to the events of this date earlier in baseball history, here’s a bit of current news which is historical in itself: the Giants have formally interviewed Alyssa Nakken for their vacant managerial job. She’s believed to be the first woman ever to be considered for an MLB manager’s position. She’s been a full-time coach for the Giants since January of 2020, and she coached first base in April of 2022. She was an outstanding softball player at Sacramento State, a three-time All-Conference first baseman and a four-time academic All-American.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1912 Fred Snodgrass’ 10th inning two-base error of pinch-hitter Clyde Engle’s routine pop fly in center field sets up the tying run en route to the 3-2 Red Sox victory over the Giants and a World Championship for Boston. The play, which becomes infamously known as “Snodgrass’ Muff,” is followed by his spectacular catch of a long drive hit by Tris Speaker, but the 20-year-old outfielder historically becomes known as the goat in the Fall Classic.
  • 1969 The Mets, thanks to Ron Swoboda’s double and two Oriole errors in the eighth inning, win their fourth straight World Series game to become World Champions. Jerry Koosman tosses a five-hitter, beating Baltimore 5-3 in Game 5, in a contest best remembered for manager Gil Hodges winning the ‘shoe polish’ argument.

  • 1983 The Orioles win their fourth straight contest against the Phillies and take the World Series in five games. Scott McGregor pitches a five-hit complete game in the 5-0 victory at Veterans Stadium, and Eddie Murray hits two home runs.
  • 1999 In a game slated to be a battle between the respective aces of each team, the Red Sox crush the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS, 13-1. The dream pitching duel between Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens at Fenway Park doesn’t materialize when the ‘Rocket’ fails to get out of the third inning, giving up five earned runs on six hits.
  • 2020 The sixth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS was the best of times and the worst of times for Will Smith, the Dodgers catcher, who smacks a three-run homer off Will Smith, the Braves reliever. The Globe Life Field matchup marks the first time in postseason history that features a hitter facing a pitcher with the same first and last name.
Oct 15

ALCS Game One, 2023

Rangers at Astros, 5:15 PM PDT, TV: Fox

LHP Jordan Montgomery (1-0, 3.27 ERA postseason) pitches for the Rangers and RHP Justin Verlander (1-0, 0.00 ERA postseason) goes for the Astros. Here’s a preview of Game One.

The Rangers added Max Scherzer and Jon Gray to the ALCS roster. To make room, Brock Burke and Matt Bush were left off. The Astros’ right-hander Ronel Blanco was added to their roster, replacing outfielder Jake Meyers.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1917 A letter signed by 24 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox members and manager Pants Rowland contains complaints about not receiving their full share after beating the New York Giants. The written request, discovered as a tattered document more than 40 years later among boxes stored at the Hall of Fame library, may explain the ‘Black Sox’ motivation for fixing the Fall Classic two years later.
  • 1923 At the Polo Grounds, the visiting Yankees score five runs in the eighth inning, beating the Giants in Game 6 of the Fall Classic, 6-4. The victory over their crosstown rivals gives the franchise its first World Championship.
  • 1946 In Game 7 of the World Series, the Cardinals beat the Red Sox, 4-3, when Enos Slaughter streaked home from first on a long single into the left-center gap by Harry Walker, who stayed a first to avoid making the last out before the run score. The play surprises everyone, including cut-off man shortstop Johnny Pesky who hesitates, as legend has it, throwing the ball home.
  • 1988
    “In the year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.” – VIN SCULLY, commenting on Kirk Gibson’s dramatic World Series walk-off home run.

    In his only plate appearance in the Fall Classic, a limping Kirk Gibson, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of Game 1, sends a two-out, 3-2 pitch from relief ace Dennis Eckersley over the right-field fence, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the A’s. The round-tripper marks the first time a World Series game ends on a come-from-behind home run in the final inning.

  • 2017 Twenty-nine years later, Justin Turner follows Kirk Gibson into franchise folklore when he hits a postseason walk-off three-run home run in the 12th inning of LA’s 4-1 victory over the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLCS. In his only Fall Classic appearance, a hobbled Kirk Gibson came off the bench in 1998 to hit one of the most memorable round-trippers in World Series history, giving the Dodgers a come-from-behind victory against the A’s in Game 1.
Oct 12

NLDS Game Four, 2023

Braves at Phillies, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS

RHP Spencer Strider pitches for the Braves and LHP Ranger Suárez goes for the Phillies. The Phillies lead the series 2-1.

MLB attempts to explain the Dodgers’ poor performances in the postseason.

Today in baseball history

  • 1929 The A’s, trailing 8-0 during Game 4 of the World Series, erupt for ten runs in the seventh inning off three Cub pitchers en route to a 10-8 victory. Chicago’s Hack Wilson becomes one of the game’s goats when he loses two balls in the sun in center field.
  • 1949 Vin Scully, working his first broadcast ever, does the play-by-play when Maryland defeats Boston University at Fenway Park, 14-13. The football assignment marks the start of a 67-year career in the broadcast booth for the Hall of Fame baseball announcer, who becomes the iconic voice of the Dodgers.
  • 1986 The Angels, ahead 5-4 and one strike away from going to the World Series, see their lead vanish when Dave Henderson, who had Bobby Grich’s fly ball bounce over the fence off the heel of his glove, hits a two-run homer off Donnie Moore, putting the Red Sox ahead, 6-5. California will tie the Anaheim Stadium contest in the bottom of the frame, but Boston will prevail, scoring the deciding run in the 11th inning on a Henderson sac fly.
  • 2003 Thirty-five years after creating controversy with his non-traditional rendition of the song, Jose Feliciano sings the Star-Spangled Banner at the Marlins’ NLCS game against the Cubs at Pro Player Stadium. The singer’s gospelized version of the national anthem sung before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series at Tiger Stadium caused such a flap that some radio stations stopped playing his records on the air.