October 18
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
| Sources | |
| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 18.
Events[edit]
- 1910 - The Philadelphia Athletics pound the Chicago Cubs, 9 - 3, for a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Eddie Collins collects three hits, including two doubles and two stolen bases.
- 1924 - The Kansas City Monarchs stage a dramatic 9th-inning three-run rally to come from behind and defeat Hilldale, 3 - 2, in Game 8 of the Colored World Series. Kansa City takes a 4-3-1 lead in the best-of-nine series. Following the game, Hilldale manager Frank Warfield verbally assaults catcher Louis Santop, blaming his defensive lapse for the team's loss. Santop is reduced to tears by the tirade.
- 1932 - The Baseball Writers Association of America MVP awards are announced, with Jimmie Foxx winning in the American League and Chuck Klein in the National League.
- 1950 - Connie Mack, at age 87, retires as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics after 50 years, and Jimmy Dykes is named to replace him. Mack, together with Ben Shibe, founded the Athletics in 1901.
- 1955 - Ralph Kiner announces his retirement. The future Hall of Famer, who slumped to 18 home runs and a .243 batting average this year, leaves the game with 369 home runs in ten seasons.
- 1960 - Instituting a mandatory retirement age of 65, New York Yankees co-owners Dan Topping and Del Webb relieve manager Casey Stengel of his duties. He posted a 1,149-696 record for the Yankees, including ten American League pennants and seven World Championships.
- 1967 - The American League owners grant Charlie Finley permission to move the Kansas City Athletics to Oakland, California, in time for the start of the 1968 season. Kansas City is promised a new team by 1971, but when Senator Stuart Symington and Kansas City Mayor Ilus Davis threaten action against the move, AL President Joe Cronin reopens talks. The expansion deadline is moved forward to 1969, and will award new franchises to Kansas City and Seattle.
- 1972 - The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Oakland Athletics, 1 - 0, in Game 3 of the World Series. Cincinnati wins despite some successful strategy by the Athletics. In the 8th inning, with runners at second and third, Oakland manager Dick Williams apparently calls for Rollie Fingers to intentionally walk Johnny Bench, only to have Fingers whistle a third strike past the confused Reds catcher. Pitcher Blue Moon Odom strikes out 11 Reds, but Jack Billingham is the winner as the Reds win their first game of the Series.
- 1973 - New York Mets Jerry Koosman and Tug McGraw combine to pitch a three-hit, 2 - 0 shutout against the Oakland Athletics to take a 3-2 lead in the World Series .
- 1977 - Reggie Jackson becomes known as "Mr. October" when he hits three consecutive home runs in Game 6 of the World Series. Jackson leads the Yankees to an 8 - 4 victory and the World Championship over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jackson's three shots come on the first pitch off Burt Hooton, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough. He drives in five runs and earns Series MVP honors.
- 1988 - Mark McGwire's home run off Jay Howell in the bottom of the 9th inning gives Oakland a 2 - 1 victory over the Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series .
- 1992 - Ed Sprague's two-run home run in the 9th inning off Jeff Reardon in Game 2 gives Toronto a 5 - 4 win over Atlanta and evens the World Series.
- 1997 - The first World Series game ever played in Florida belongs to the Marlins. Moises Alou and Charles Johnson hit back-to-back home runs against Cleveland's Orel Hershiser to make a 7 - 4 winner of Livan Hernandez in Game 1.
- 2001 - Larry Dierker, who left the Houston Astros' broadcast booth to take over the dugout duties as the team's manager in 1997, resigns despite tying the Cardinals for the best record in the National League (93-69) and winning the Central Division. The team failed to win a playoff series in his five-year tenure, going 2-12 in postseason action. Overall, Dierker posted a 448-362 record for a .553 winning percentage while winning four division titles.
- 2004 - After 5 hours, 49 minutes and 471 pitches, the Boston Red Sox outlast the Yankees, 5 - 4, in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. The Red Sox, down three games to none at the start of the game, stage a remarkable 9th-inning comeback just to get to extra innings, when pinch-runner Dave Roberts steals second base with Mariano Rivera on the mound before scoring the tying run on Bill Mueller's single. Boston DH David Ortiz, who is the first player in history to hit two walk-off home runs during the postseason, completes the comeback win with a two-run shot in the bottom of the 12th. Less than 20 hours later, the teams will take the field for Game 5, the longest game in ALCS history.
- 2005 - Atsuya Furuta is hired as manager of the Yakult Swallows, becoming Nippon Pro Baseball's first player-manager in 29 years.
- 2007 - Joe Torre is out after 12 seasons as manager of the New York Yankees when he refuses to take a large pay cut to return in 2008. The Yankees have reached the postseason in all of Torre's seasons at the helm, and won the World Series four times.
- 2009 - The Phillies take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS by trouncing the Dodgers, 11 - 0, at Citizens Bank Park. Cliff Lee only allows three hits while striking out ten in eight innings, while the Phillies score early and often, building up a 6 - 0 lead after two innings to chase Hiroki Kuroda. Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino homer for the winners, while Ryan Howard hits a two-run triple in the 1st, driving in a run in his seventh consecutive postseason game.
- 2011 - After not homering for almost five months (missing significant time in that stretch due to injuries), Chin-Feng Chen goes deep in dramatic fashion. His grand slam provides all the offense for the Lamigo Monkeys as they beat the Uni-President Lions, 4 - 1, in Game 3 of the 2011 Taiwan Series. It will be their lone win in this year's Series, as they fall in five games.
- 2012:
- The Lamigo Monkeys beat the Uni-President Lions, 3 - 2, in Game 5 of the 2012 Taiwan Series, to win their first Taiwan Series. Chao-Hao Tseng gets the win over Jon Leicester, while Paul Phillips earns his third save of the Series. The Taiwan Series MVP goes to Lamigo shortstop Chih-Sheng Lin, the first non-pitcher to win in six years (Chin-Feng Chen was the last).
- The Detroit Tigers complete a four-game sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS with an 8 - 1 win at home. The Tigers build a 6 - 0 lead after four innings, chasing CC Sabathia, as Max Scherzer cruises to the win. Delmon Young, who is named series MVP, drives in the winning run for the fourth straight game while the Tigers homer four times. The Yankees were thoroughly outplayed, never leading once in the four games, scoring only six runs and batting a mere .157.
- The Cardinals take a 3-1 lead in the NLCS by beating the Giants, 8 - 3. The Cards break open a tight 2 - 1 game with a pair of runs against Tim Lincecum in the 5th, then add two runs in each of the next two innings to run away with the contest. Adam Wainwright is the winner.
- 2013 - The Cardinals are headed to the World Series after crushing the Dodgers, 9 - 0, in Game 6 of the NLCS. Michael Wacha defeats Clayton Kershaw for the second time, winning the NLCS MVP Award.
- 2015:
- In Game 2 of the NLCS, the Mets get to Jake Arrieta with three 1st-inning runs, one on a double by David Wright, and two on a homer by Daniel Murphy, to win, 4 - 1, over the Cubs. Rookie Noah Syndergaard is the winner.
- In the 2015 KBO semifinals, Dustin Nippert of the Doosan Bears throws a three-hit shutout in the opener against the NC Dinos. Byung-hun Min hits a solo homer and a three-run dinger in the 7 - 0 romp, while Sung-heon Hong also goes deep for his 100th career KBO postseason hit, something no one had done before.
- 2016:
- Toronto staves off elimination by winning Game 4 of the ALCS, 5 - 1, over Cleveland. Josh Donaldson homers off Corey Kluber in the 3rd to give Toronto its first lead of the series and the Blue Jays score three late runs to make a winner of Aaron Sanchez.
- Rich Hill pitches six scoreless innings to lead Los Angeles to its second consecutive shutout win over the Cubs, 6 - 0, in Game 3 of the NLCS. Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner hit homers off Jake Arrieta to lead the offence.
- 2017:
- The Yankees win their third straight game in the ALCS to take a three-games-to-two lead over Houston. Masahiro Tanaka baffles the Astros' hitters over seven innings, giving up just three hits and a walk, while the Yankees take a lead in the 2nd on an RBI single by Greg Bird and keep gradually adding to it until finishing with a 5 - 0 win.
- The Cubs avoid elimination by winning Game 4 of the NLCS, 3 - 2, over the Dodgers. All five runs are the result of solo homers: for Chicago, a monster blast that travels almost 500 feet by Willson Contreras, and two by Javier Baez, all against Alex Wood, and replies by Clay Bellinger and Justin Turner for Los Angeles. Jake Arrieta is the winner and Wade Davis gets credit for the save.
- 2018 - The Red Sox win the American League pennant by defeating Houston, 4 - 1, in Game 5 of the ALCS. David Price turns in a great performance, shutting out the Astros for the first six innings. All of Boston's runs score on long balls, a solo shot by J.D. Martinez in the 3rd and three-run homer by Rafael Devers in the 6th, both off Justin Verlander. Jackie Bradley, who had nine RBIs in the series, is named the winner of the ALCS MVP Award.
- 2019:
- The Yankees extend the ALCS with a 4 - 1 win at home over Houston in Game 5. All the scoring takes place in the 1st inning: George Springer scores on a wild pitch by James Paxton for the Astros, while D.J. LeMahieu hits a lead-off homer against Justin Verlander for the Yankees, followed by a three-run shot by Aaron Hicks. The two starters then pitch deep into the game as they give up no more runs, and Aroldis Chapman gets credit for the save.
- The German Bundesliga gives out its awards for 2019. Max Boldt of the Mainz Athletics wins his second MVP in the North in four years (he had taken a Triple Crown in between), having finished second in average and third in homers. 40-year-old Wayne Ough of the Solingen Alligators is named MVP in the South after finishing second in ERA and strikeouts and tying for third in wins, 23 years after his pro debut.
- 2020 - The Dodgers make it to the World Series for the third time in the last four years by defeating the Braves, 4 - 3, in Game 7 of the NLCS. Highlights include late-game homers by Kiké Hernandez and Cody Bellinger that put the Dodgers ahead, a home run-robbing catch by RF Mookie Betts, and an egregious baserunning blunder that erases two Braves runners, both in scoring position, on one play. Corey Seager goes hitless in this game, but his five homers and 11 RBIs in the series were key to the Dodgers overcoming deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to come out on top, and he is named NLCS MVP.
- 2021 - The Red Sox win Game 3 of the ALCS, 12 - 3 over Houston, thanks to another big performance by their hitters, as they have a 9 - 0 lead after just three innings. The big blow is a grand slam by Kyle Schwarber off Jose Urquidy in the 2nd, already Boston's third homer with the bases loaded this series. Eduardo Rodriguez pitches six innings for the win.
- 2022:
- The Yankees win Game 5 of the ALDS, 5 - 1, at home over the Guardians, thanks to homers by Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge in the first two innings, to back up five scoreless innings by Nestor Cortes. However, due to a pair of rainouts in the series, they have to immediately head off to Houston, TX where they will face the Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS tomorrow.
- For the first time, two different rounds of a postseason are played on the same day as Game 1 of the NLCS starts only one hour after the end of the ALDS. It is a pitcher's duel at Petco Park as the two teams combine for just four hits - but two of them are homers by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, who win, 2 - 0, over the Padres. Zack Wheeler, Seranthony Dominguez and José Alvarado combine on a one-hitter while Yu Darvish takes the loss.
- 2023:
- As host of the 2023 Pan American Games, Chile makes its Pan American Games baseball debut. As expected, they are little match for Mexico, losing 16 - 0 in a five-inning mercy rule no-hitter. Only a walk to José Hernández stops Wilmer Ríos, Faustino Carrera, Francisco Haro, Samuel Zazueta and Jesús Cruz from recording a perfect game. Fernando Villegas Jr. has three hits and three RBI.
- The Astros score five runs in four innings off Max Scherzer, returning from a month's lay-off, in winning Game 3 of the ALCS, 8 - 5 over Texas. A pair of two-run homers by Josh Jung makes the score closer, and Texas still leads the series, two games to one.
- 2024:
- In the ALCS, the Guardians once again manage to claw back from an early deficit, this one of 6 - 2 built on homers by Juan Soto, Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton. With the score tied 6 - 6 in the top of the 9th, closer Emmanuel Clase falters once again, however, giving up a pair of runs. The Yankees' 8 - 6 win brings them within one game of the World Series.
- The Mets avert elimination in the NLCS by scoring ten runs in the first four innings of Game 5, and go on to beat the Dodgers, 12 - 6. Pete Alonso leads the charge with a homer in the 2nd, scoring four times and driving in three runs, while the Mets batters do not strike out even once in the game.
Births[edit]
- 1845 - Jim Gifford, manager (d. 1901)
- 1848 - Candy Cummings, pitcher; Hall of Famer (d. 1924)
- 1859 - Cliff Carroll, outfielder (d. 1923)
- 1859 - Pat McManus, pitcher (d. 1917)
- 1863 - Frank Meinke, infielder (d. 1931)
- 1863 - Walt Wilmot, outfielder (d. 1929)
- 1867 - Al Mannassau, umpire (d. 1933)
- 1868 - Boileryard Clarke, catcher (d. 1959)
- 1869 - Frank Todd, pitcher (d. 1919)
- 1875 - Joe Delahanty, outfielder (d. 1936)
- 1876 - Charles Adams, owner (d. 1947)
- 1878 - Thomas O'Brien, minor league infielder (d. 1964)
- 1881 - Mike Donovan, infielder (d. 1938)
- 1881 - Hans Lobert, infielder, manager (d. 1968)
- 1884 - Burt Shotton, outfielder, manager (d. 1962)
- 1885 - Jack Gilligan, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1886 - George LeClair, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1887 - Moxie Meixell, outfielder (d. 1982)
- 1890 - Ted Reed, infielder (d. 1959)
- 1892 - Coonie Blank, catcher (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Bill Johnson, outfielder (d. 1950)
- 1894 - Dave Malarcher, infielder, manager (d. 1982)
- 1894 - Phil Morrison, pitcher (d. 1955)
- 1895 - Babe Pinelli, infielder (d. 1984)
- 1895 - Tom Sullivan, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1897 - Sumpter Clarke, outfielder (d. 1962)
- 1902 - Charlie Berry, catcher (d. 1972)
- 1903 - Yats Wuestling, infielder (d. 1970)
- 1906 - Wally Millies, catcher (d. 1995)
- 1908 - Andy Spognardi, infielder (d. 2000)
- 1909 - Orie Arntzen, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1910 - Skeeter Newsome, infielder (d. 1989)
- 1910 - Carlos Ratliff, minor league infielder and college coach (d. 1961)
- 1912 - Guy Curtright, outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1913 - Roy Cullenbine, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1991)
- 1915 - George Gick, pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1917 - Charlie Biot, outfielder (d. 2000)
- 1917 - Loy Hanning, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1918 - Fred Vaughn, infielder (d. 1964)
- 1920 - Don Ramsay, minor league catcher and manager (d. 2007)
- 1921 - Aquiles Martínez, Dominican national team infielder (d. 1948)
- 1926 - Gene Visich, AAGPBL player (d. 2012)
- 1927 - Marv Rotblatt, pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1928 - Keith Jackson, broadcaster (d. 2018)
- 1931 - Andy Carey, infielder (d. 2011)
- 1931 - Larry Novak, minor league outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1932 - Yoshio Kitagawa, NPB pitcher
- 1933 - Harvey Mulliniks, minor league pitcher
- 1935 - Howie Nunn, pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1938 - Bobby Knoop, infielder; All-Star
- 1942 - Vern Holtgrave, pitcher (d. 2023)
- 1942 - Willie Horton, outfielder; All-Star
- 1945 - Don Young, outfielder
- 1946 - George Greer, coach
- 1949 - Ed Farmer, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2020)
- 1949 - George Hendrick, outfielder; All-Star
- 1951 - Andy Hassler, pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1951 - Rudy Hernandez, infielder
- 1952 - Allen Ripley, pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1952 - Jerry Royster, infielder, manager
- 1953 - Hsin-Hsiang Lin, Chinese Taipei national team pitcher
- 1954 - Ed Pebley, minor league infielder
- 1957 - Tommy Thompson, minor league catcher and manager
- 1957 - Mike Walters, pitcher
- 1957 - Kazunori Yamamoto, NPB outfielder
- 1959 - Selwyn Young, college coach
- 1960 - Terry Clark, pitcher
- 1960 - Steve Kiefer, infielder
- 1960 - Dave Morrow, minor league catcher (d. 2008)
- 1963 - Jeff Wetherby, outfielder
- 1965 - Craig Faulkner, minor league catcher
- 1966 - Carlos Maldonado, pitcher
- 1966 - Hideyuki Mifune, NPB infielder
- 1966 - Alan Mills, pitcher
- 1967 - Jason Bryans, scout
- 1967 - Earnie Johnson, minor league pitcher
- 1968 - Ming-Hsiung Liao, CPBL outfielder
- 1969 - Jeff McNeely, outfielder
- 1970 - Doug Mirabelli, catcher
- 1972 - Francisco Calles, Mexican national team infielder
- 1972 - Chad Poeck, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Jason Camilli, coach
- 1975 - Alex Cora, infielder; manager
- 1975 - Shih-Ching Lu, CPBL infielder
- 1976 - Michael Tejera, pitcher
- 1977 - Mike Meyers, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Erik Lundqvist, Elitserien catcher
- 1979 - Ryan Dittfurth, minor league pitcher
- 1979 - Brady Williams, coach
- 1980 - Shane Komine, pitcher
- 1981 - David Murphy, outfielder
- 1982 - Carlos Pezzullo, Italian Baseball League pitcher
- 1982 - Ross Wolf, pitcher
- 1983 - Andrei Anashkin, Russian national team infielder
- 1984 - Lucas Montero, minor league player
- 1985 - Edgar Estanga, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Yessica Meza, Venezuelan women's national team pitcher
- 1988 - Joe Van Meter, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Carson Blair, catcher
- 1989 - Jorge Bucardo, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Brad Miller, infielder
- 1989 - Henry Perez, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Rayan Gonzalez, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Wataru Karashima, NPB pitcher
- 1990 - Julius Spann, Bundesliga pitcher-outfielder
- 1990 - Andrew Walter, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Kevin McGowan, pitcher
- 1991 - Adam Walker, NPB outfielder
- 1992 - Hudson Boyd, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Ronald Luna, minor league infielder
- 1994 - Alexis Rivero, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Carlos Sierra, minor league pitcher
- 1995 - Osvaldo Bidò, pitcher
- 1995 - Alexander Palma, minor league outfielder
- 1995 - Slava Shmelev, Russian national team pitcher
- 1996 - Patrick Sandoval, pitcher
- 1996 - Ben Onyshko, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Wei-Chen Pan, CPBL pitcher
- 1997 - Nan Du, minor league outfielder
- 1998 - Nick Frasso, minor league pitcher
- 1999 - Jordyn Adams, outfielder
- 1999 - Mark Harrison, Bundesliga pitcher
- 1999 - Chao-Ching Wan, CPBL pitcher
- 2000 - Shih-Chung Chen, CPBL outfielder
- 2001 - Chan-Le Wen, CPBL pitcher
- 2004 - Po-Chieh Wang, CPBL pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1876 - Michael McAtee, infielder (b. 1845)
- 1915 - Robert Ward, owner (b. 1851)
- 1918 - Tom Reilly, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1923 - Billy Long, umpire (b. 1861)
- 1927 - Elias Cope, umpire (b. 1844)
- 1932 - Mac MacArthur, pitcher (b. 1862)
- 1934 - Guy Morton, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1937 - Charlie Starr, infielder (b. 1878)
- 1940 - Mack Heller, infielder (b. 1910)
- 1945 - Monte Pfyl, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1946 - Jack McCallister, manager (b. 1879)
- 1949 - John Macklin, college coach (b. ~1884)
- 1955 - George Murray, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1955 - Charlie Shields, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1959 - Ralph Bell, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1960 - Irish McIlveen, outfielder (b. 1880)
- 1963 - Frank Emmer, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1963 - Stu Flythe, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1981 - Lou Ciola, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1982 - Bob Vines, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1983 - Willie Jones, infielder; All-Star (b. 1925)
- 1990 - Nick Etten, infielder; All-Star (b. 1913)
- 1996 - Elmer Klumpp, catcher (b. 1906)
- 2001 - Ferris Fain, infielder; All-Star (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Rip Tutor, scout (b. 1913)
- 2010 - Billy Raimondi, minor league catcher (b. 1912)
- 2011 - Tom Chandler, college coach (b. 1925)
- 2011 - Merritt Ranew, catcher (b. 1938)
- 2013 - Robert Mazer, owner (b. 1923)
- 2014 - Óscar Gil, Cuban league pitcher (b. 1964)
- 2014 - Lou Lucier, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2018 - Dick Cole, infielder (b. 1926)
- 2018 - Jim Ward, college coach (b. 1936)
- 2021 - Jim Crawford, minor league coach (b. 1938)
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.