This Date in Baseball-Week Ahead
Oct. 24
1911 — The World Series between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics was resumed after six days of rain, and Chief Bender beat Christy Mathewson 4-2 to give the A’s a 3-1 lead.
1963 — Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first unanimous winner of the Cy Young Award. Koufax won the pitchers’ Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and ERA (1.88). Koufax set a record for shutouts by a left-handed pitcher with 11, that stands to this day. The previous record of nine shutouts had been held by Babe Ruth for nearly 50 years.
1981 — The Los Angeles Dodgers came back to beat the New York Yankees 8-7 in a sloppy 3½-hour marathon and tied the World Series 2-2. The Yankees blew a 6-3 lead. On one play, Reggie Jackson lost the ball in the sun and it bounced off his shoulder for a two-base error.
1985 — Danny Jackson’s five-hitter cut St. Louis’ lead to 3-2 in the World Series as the Kansas City Royals took Game 5, 6-1. Willie Wilson’s two-run triple highlighted a three-run second inning and chased starter Ken Forsch.
1987 — Kent Hrbek’s grand slam highlighted a 15-hit barrage as the Minnesota Twins pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 11-5 at the Metrodome to force the World Series to a seventh game.
1992 — The Toronto Blue Jays took baseball’s championship outside the United States for the first time, beating the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 11 innings in Game 6 of the World Series.
1994 — Atlanta’s Greg Maddux became the first pitcher to win three straight Cy Young Awards, unanimously sweeping the NL honor. Maddux was 16-6 with a 1.56 ERA, the third-lowest in 75 years.
1995 — Eddie Murray singled home pinch-runner Alvaro Espinoza in the bottom of the 11th inning, to give the Cleveland Indians a 7-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the World Series.
1996 — The New York Yankees took a 3-2 lead over the Atlanta Braves in the World Series after Andy Pettitte outpitched John Smoltz for a 1-0 win in the last game played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
2000 — Benny Agbayani hit a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as the New York Mets handed Orlando Hernandez his first postseason defeat, beating the Yankees 4-2 to cut their World Series deficit to 2-1. The Mets also ended the Yankees’ record 14-game winning streak in the World Series.
2004 — Boston’s Curt Schilling became the first starting pitcher to win a World Series game for three different teams, as the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2, for 2-0 lead in the Series. Schilling, the fifth pitcher to win a World Series game with a team from both leagues, had won with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993, and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
2005 — Scott Podsednik homered in the bottom of the ninth inning and Paul Konerko hit the 18th grand slam in World Series history in Chicago’s 7-6 win over Houston in Game 2 of the World Series.
2007 — Boston set a record for runs and victory margin in a World Series opener as the Red Sox flattened the Rockies 13-1. Boston finished with 17 hits, becoming the first club to hit eight doubles in a Series game since 1925.
2012 — Pablo Sandoval became the fourth player to hit three home runs in a World Series game, connecting twice against Justin Verlander and once off Al Alburquerque to lead the San Francisco Giants over the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in the series opener.
Oct. 25
1911 — Fred Merkle’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly scored Larry Doyle to give the New York Giants a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. The victory cut the A’s lead in the Series to 3-2.
1978 — Gaylord Perry of the San Diego Padres becomes the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues. Perry wins the National League award with a 21-6 record and a 2.72 ERA.
1981 — Steve Yeager and Pedro Guerrero hit back-to-back homers in the seventh inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees and take a 3-2 lead in the World Series.
1986 — The New York Mets rallied for three runs with two outs in the 10th inning against the Boston Red Sox and pushed the World Series to a decisive seventh game. The tie-breaking run scored on Boston first baseman Bill Buckner’s error on Mookie Wilson’s slow grounder.
1987 — The Minnesota Twins, behind Frank Viola, won their first World Series championship by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 in Game 7, becoming the first team to win four home games.
1997 — Cleveland’s Chad Ogea beat Florida with his arm and bat to force a Game 7 in the World Series. Ogea allowed a run on four hits over five innings and got two hits with two RBIs and a run scored in a 4-1 victory over the Marlins. Ogea drove in the first two runs of the game with a bases-loaded single in the second.
2003 — Florida’s Josh Beckett threw a shutout to lead the Marlins to a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Pitching on three days rest, Beckett, who was named MVP of the series, allowed five hits in Game 6 as Florida won its second title in seven seasons.
2005 — Geoff Blum homered in the top of the 14th inning in his first World Series at-bat to help the Chicago White Sox defeat Houston 7-5 in Game 3. At 5 hours, 41 minutes, it was the longest game by time in Series history and matched the longest in innings. The Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers also went 14 innings in Game 2 of the 1916 World Series.
2016 — Corey Kluber got the Cleveland Indians off to a great start and Roberto Perez finished off the Chicago Cubs for a 6-0 win in Game 1 of the World Series. Kluber pitched neatly into the seventh inning and Perez hit two home runs.
2017 — George Springer hit a two-run drive in the 11th inning and the Houston Astros won a thrilling home run derby at Dodger Stadium, beating Los Angeles 7-6 to tie the World Series at one game apiece. The teams combined for a Series record eight homers.
Oct. 26
1911 — Danny Murphy of Philadelphia had four hits as the Athletics beat the New York Giants 13-2 to win the World Series in six games. The A’s put the game out of reach with a seven-run seventh inning.
1940 — Detroit outfielder Hank Greenberg won the American League MVP with Cleveland pitcher Bob Feller finishing second. Greenberg hit .340 with 41 home runs and 150 RBIs. Greenberg, who won the award in 1935 as a first baseman, became the first player to win the MVP again playing a different position.
1977 — Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees became the first American League relief pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Lyle posted a 13-5 record with 26 saves and a 2.17 ERA in a league-leading 72 appearances.
1982 — Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies became the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, taking National League honors. The 37-year-old lefthander led the league in wins (23), innings pitched (295.2), strikeouts (286) and shutouts (6). Carlton also won the award in 1972, 1977 and 1980.
1985 — Dane Iorg’s two-run single and a disputed call by first base umpire Don Denkinger in the ninth inning gave the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and tied the World Series after six games. St. Louis scored its run on a bloop single by Brian Harper in the eighth inning.
1991 — Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett homered off Charlie Leibrandt to give the Twins a 4-3, 11-inning win over the Atlanta Braves and force a Game 7 in the World Series.
1996 — The New York Yankees won their 23rd World Series by beating the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in Game 6. The Yankees scored three runs off Greg Maddux in the third inning. John Wetteland, who allowed a run in the ninth, hung on to get his fourth save of the series and capture Series MVP.
1997 — Edgar Renteria ended one of the most thrilling Game 7s, singling with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Florida Marlins their first World Series championship with a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. The 5-year-old Marlins became the youngest expansion team to win a championship.
2000 — The New York Yankees became the first team in more than a quarter-century to win three straight World Series championships, beating the New York Mets 4-2.
2002 — The Anaheim Angels overcame a 5-0 deficit to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 and force a Game 7 in the World Series.
2005 — Jermaine Dye singled home the only run in the eighth, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 1-0 to win their first World Series title in 88 years. Chicago’s sweep, its eighth straight postseason win and 16th in 17 games overall, made it the second team to go through the postseason 11-1 since the extra round of playoffs was added in 1995, joining the 1999 Yankees.
2008 — Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years to homer in the World Series, Ryan Howard drove in five runs and the Philadelphia Phillies romped over the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 to move within one win of their first championship since 1980.
2013 — Third baseman Will Middlebrooks tripped Allen Craig for a game-ending obstruction call on Jon Jay’s ninth-inning grounder, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a bizarre 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox and a 2-1 World Series lead.
2018 — LA Dodgers beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in the longest game, by time (7 hours, 20 minutes) and innings, 18, in World Series history.