October 24
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 24.
Events[edit]
- 1908 - Baseball's anthem, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, is introduced by singer Billy Murray. The songwriting team of Albert Von Tilzer (music) and Jack Norworth (words), who created the tune, had never seen a game before composing the immortal number.
- 1911 - The World Series between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics is resumed after six days of rain, and Charles Bender beats Christy Mathewson, 4 - 2, to give the Athletics a 3-1 lead.
- 1939 - Joe DiMaggio is named American League MVP, with Jimmie Foxx the runner-up.
- 1951 - Larry MacPhail suggests there should be four major leagues, including one located on the West Coast.
- 1956 - The Associated Press names Cincinnati Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts as its National League Manager of the Year.
- 1963:
- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax is the unanimous winner of the Cy Young Award.
- Yogi Berra is named Yankees manager to replace Ralph Houk. He will lead an aging team to another AL pennant in a tumultous season, but will be fired after a seven-game World Series loss to the Cardinals.
- 1972 - Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson dies of heart disease at age 53. Robinson had become the first black major league player of the 20th century with the 1947 Dodgers.
- 1975 - The Cuban national team wins Gold at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City while Team USA takes the Silver Medal with a fine effort.
- 1981 - The Los Angeles Dodgers come back to beat the New York Yankees, 8 - 7, in a sloppy three-hour marathon and tie the World Series, 2-2. The Yankees blow a 6 - 3 lead. On one play, Reggie Jackson loses the ball in the sun and it bounces off his shoulder for a two-base error.
- 1985 - Danny Jackson's five-hitter cuts St. Louis' lead to 3-2 in the World Series as the Royals take Game 5, 6 - 1. Willie Wilson's two-run triple highlights a three-run 2nd inning and chases Cardinals starter Bob Forsch.
- 1986 - Bill Russell, at age 38, announces his retirement. He is the last member of the Dodgers' Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey 1970s infield and is second on the club's all-time list with 2,183 games played.
- 1987 - Kent Hrbek's grand slam highlights a 15-hit barrage as the Minnesota Twins pound the St. Louis Cardinals, 11 - 5, at the Metrodome to force the World Series to a seventh game. This remains the most recent World Series game to be played in the afternoon - albeit indoors.
- 1991 - The Atlanta Braves take the lead in the World Series with a 14 - 5 rout of the Minnesota Twins in Game 5. Atlanta blows open a 5 - 3 game with nine runs in the last two innings.
- 1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays take the major league baseball championship outside the United States for the first time ever, beating the Atlanta Braves, 4 - 3, in 11 innings, in Game 6 of the World Series.
- 1994 - Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves becomes the first pitcher in major league history to win three straight Cy Young Awards, unanimously sweeping the National League honor. Maddux posted a 16-6 record with a 1.56 ERA, the third-lowest in 75 years.
- 1995 - Eddie Murray singles home pinch-runner Alvaro Espinoza in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Cleveland Indians their first win in a World Series game in 47 years. The Tribe's 7 - 6 victory over the Atlanta Braves fittingly occurs in the first-ever Series game at Jacobs Field.
- 1996 - The New York Yankees lay claim to the last game played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Yankees, who finish the postseason with an 8-0 road record, are helped by poor Atlanta outfield defense and some great plays from their own outfielders as pitcher Andy Pettitte outduels John Smoltz, 1 - 0, in Game 5 of the World Series. The Braves will move into Turner Field in 1997.
- 1998 - The Yokohama BayStars pull off a 17 - 5 rout in Game 5 of the 1998 Japan Series to move within a game of the title. They set Japan Series records with 20 hits, 9 doubles and 12 extra-base hits this game. Takahiro Saeki has a record four extra-base hits.
- 2000 - Pitcher Orlando Hernandez, with an 8-0 record and a 1.90 ERA in his postseason career, loses his first postseason game as the Mets defeat the Yankees, 4 - 2, on a tie-breaking 8th-inning double by Benny Agbayani. New York native John Franco gets the win, ending the Yankees' record 14-game World Series winning streak. Also today, Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens is fined a reported $50,000 for throwing the jagged barrel of a shattered bat in the direction of Mets catcher Mike Piazza in Game 2.
- 2004 - At Fenway Park, Curt Schilling becomes the first starting pitcher to win a World Series game for three different teams. In addition to his Game 2, 6 - 2, victory for the Red Sox over the Cardinals today, his 8-2 lifetime postseason record includes wins for the Phillies (1993) and Diamondbacks (2001).
- 2007 - In a 13 - 1 rout of the Rockies, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia becomes the second player, and first rookie, to hit a leadoff home run in a World Series. The 24-year-old freshman, the 31st major leaguer to homer in his first Fall Classic appearance, joins Orioles outfielder Don Buford who went yard in 1969 as a leadoff batter in Game 1 off Tom Seaver of the Mets.
- 2009:
- The KIA Tigers win Game 7 of the 2009 Korean Series, beating the SK Wyverns, 6 - 5. Ji-wan Na homers twice, including the walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the 9th off Byung-yong Chae. Na is named Korean Series MVP.
- The Brother Elephants and Uni-President Lions duke it out for 17 innings in Game 6 of the 2009 Taiwan Series, setting a new Taiwan Series record for longest contest. At 6 hours and 14 minutes, it is also the longest contest (in duration) of any Chinese Professional Baseball League game, regular season or postseason, by over an hour. Records set include most players used by a club in a Taiwan Series game (22 by the Lions) and errors by both clubs (9). Elephants SS Sheng-Wei Wang ends it with a solo homer off Chien-San Kao to force a Game 7.
- 2011:
- At the 2011 Pan American Games, two unbeaten teams fall at the worst time - in the semifinals. The USA beats Cuba, 12 - 10, scoring 12 runs in the first four innings before surviving a late Cuban rally; it marks the best US offensive performance to date against Cuba. Brett Carroll and Matt Clark both score three runs, while Alexei Bell reaches base five times for Cuba. It will be the first time since the 1959 Pan American Games that Cuba will not play for the Gold Medal, and the first time since 1967 that a team other than Cuba will get the Gold in baseball.
- Canada tops hosts Mexico, 5 - 3, to clinch their best finish ever in baseball in the Pan American Games. Jorge Guzmán hits a three-run homer in the 1st, but Shawn Hill, Dustin Molleken and Chris Kissock shut out Mexico for the next 8 2/3 innings. A balanced Canadian attack leads the comeback, with Tim Smith going 3 for 5 with a run.
- Texas takes a three-games-to-two lead in the World Series with a 4 - 2 win at home over the Cardinals. Mike Napoli drives in two runs in the bottom of the 8th with a bases-loaded double off Marc Rzepczynski when manager Tony LaRussa doesn't have right-hander Jason Motte ready to come into the game because of a mix-up in communications with his bullpen.
- 2012:
- Pablo Sandoval becomes the fourth player in World Series history to hit three homers in a game, after Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols, in leading San Francisco to an 8 - 3 win over Detroit in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series. Barry Zito pitches 5 2/3 innings for the win, as Tigers ace Justin Verlander is the loser.
- The Samsung Lions beat the SK Wyverns, 3 - 1, in the opener of the 2012 Korean Series. The big star is Samsung 1B Seung-yeop Lee, who hits a two-run homer off Hee-sang Yoon in the 1st and later adds a two-run double. It marks a triumphant return to the Korean Series for The Lion King, who had spent nine seasons in Japan.
- 2013 - St. Louis evens the World Series with a Game 2 win over the Red Sox, 4 - 2, at Fenway Park, behind outstanding rookie P Michael Wacha. Trailing 2 - 1 after six innings, after a two-run homer by David Ortiz, St. Louis scores two runs in the 7th on a sacrifice fly combined with a pair of errors, and adds a third run on Carlos Beltran's single later in the inning. Boston had won nine straight World Series games before tonight's loss.
- 2014:
- The Royals take Game 3 of the World Series, 3 - 2, against the Giants thanks to a great bullpen performance, as four relievers keep the lead over the last four innings. Jeremy Guthrie is the winner over Tim Hudson, with Greg Holland recording the save.
- In a surprise development, long-time Rays manager Joe Maddon resigns after nine seasons at the helm, following the departure of GM Andrew Friedman by only a few weeks. The tandem is widely credited with turning the franchise's fortunes around.
- 2015 - Game 1 of the 2015 Japan Series features a 15-hit attack by the Softbank Hawks in a 4 - 2 win over the Yakult Swallows. Dae-ho Lee leads the way with three hits and Nobuhiro Matsuda homers off Masanori Ishikawa to start the scoring. Shota Takeda becomes the youngest Hawks pitcher to win a Japan Series opener, carrying a shutout into the 9th when he serves up a two-run homer by Kazuhiro Hatakeyama.
- 2017 - On an unseasonably warm day in Los Angeles, CA where the temperature is above 100 degrees at game time, the Dodgers defeat the Astros, 3 - 1, in Game 1 of the World Series as Clayton Kershaw is the winner over Dallas Keuchel. All four runs score as the result of long balls, and Justin Turner's two-run shot with two outs in the 6th is the difference maker after Chris Taylor and Alex Bregman trade solo shots.
- 2018 - The Red Sox take a two-games-to-none lead over the Dodgers in the World Series with a 4 - 2 win at Fenway Park. David Price gives up just three hits in six innings, and J.D. Martinez drives in two runs with a bases-loaded single off Ryan Madson with two outs in the 5th to provide the margin of victory.
- 2019:
- Two more manager spots are filled for the upcoming season as the Phillies hire former New York Yankees skipper Joe Girardi to replace Gabe Kapler and the Padres tab low-profile Rangers coach Jayce Tingler to take over for Andy Green and his interim replacement, Rod Barajas.
- The Astros fire Assistant General Manager Brandon Taubman a few days after he yelled highly offensive comments at female reporters during the team's clubhouse celebration after winning the ALCS. The Astros at first called the reports of Taubman's behavior a complete fabrication, before retracting in the face of numerous witnesses who corroborated the original story.
- 2020:
- Major League Baseball honors its best relievers as Liam Hendriks is the recipient of the Mariano Rivera Award in the American League, after saving 14 games with an ERA of 1.78 for the Athletics. In the National League, it is rookie Devin Williams who wins the equivalent Trevor Hoffman Award; while he did not have any save opportunities, he allowed just 17 baserunners in 27 innings and had an ERA of 0.33.
- Game 4 of the World Series is a real barnburner, as the Rays come back from a run down with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to score twice and win the game on a hit by substitute Brett Phillips off Kenley Jansen, on a play that features two separate errors. This comes at the end of a wild night, in which Justin Turner and Corey Seager both homer and collect four hits for the Dodgers, and four different players homer for Tampa, including Randy Arozarena with his record ninth long ball of the postseason.
- 2021:
- The Hoboken Pioneers win their first Belgian First Division title in nine years. After a year in which the league did not feature a champion, instead being a friendly competition, due to COVID-19, Hoboken sweeps the Brasschaat Braves in the best-of-three finals. In today's 15 - 5 win, Kenny Vandenbranden gets the victory with one unearned run in 4 2/3 innings of relief, while Dennis De Quint drives in five and Kevin Delgado scores five runs.
- The French Division I holds its first finals since 2019, having canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As in 2019, the Rouen Huskies defeat the Templiers de Sénart in the finals, this time three games to two. Yoimer Camacho throws 5 1/3 shutout innings and Esteban Prioul gets the win with 1 2/3 shutout innings to close out a 4 - 1 win. Louis Brainville scores two, while Martin Vissac drives in a pair. Shane Priest takes the loss in the 10th inning.
- 2022 - Yoshinobu Yamamoto repeats as Sawamura Award winner, leading the 2022 Pacific League in wins, ERA, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts and innings. He was the first pitcher to win consecutive Triple Crowns in Nippon Pro Baseball history.
- 2023:
- Arizona wins the NLCS by defeating the Phillies, 4 - 2, in Game 7, having won the last two games of the series at Citizens Bank Park. Five relievers combine to limit the Phils to one hit over the last five innings, with Ryan Thompson getting the win and Paul Sewald the save. Ketel Marte, who has 12 hits in the series including four doubles and a triple, is named the NLCS MVP.
- The Giants hire Padres manager Bob Melvin to be their new skipper, having earlier obtained permission from their rivals to interview him for the vacant position.
- Five of the twelve teams opt for Meiji University infielder Rui Muneyama with the top pick of the 2024 NPB amateur draft, the Rakuten Golden Eagles winning the lottery for his rights.
Births[edit]
- 1855 - Israel Durham, owner (d. 1909)
- 1857 - Dick Pierson, infielder (d. 1922)
- 1857 - Ed Williamson, infielder (d. 1894)
- 1858 - Sandy Griffin, outfielder, manager (d. 1926)
- 1858 - Bill Kuehne, infielder (d. 1921)
- 1859 - Jay Faatz, infielder, manager (d. 1923)
- 1861 - Charlie Jones, infielder (d. 1922)
- 1865 - Peter McNabb, pitcher (d. 1894)
- 1870 - Phil Routcliffe, outfielder (d. 1918)
- 1871 - Heinie Smith, infielder, manager (d. 1939)
- 1871 - Chief Sockalexis, outfielder (d. 1913)
- 1875 - Clyde Pinkerton, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1918)
- 1885 - George Brown, outfielder (d. 1955)
- 1885 - Del Young, outfielder (d. 1959)
- 1887 - Hugh High, outfielder (d. 1962)
- 1887 - Eddie Stack, pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1888 - Parson Perryman, pitcher (d. 1966)
- 1892 - Dick Niehaus, pitcher (d. 1957)
- 1895 - Al Pierotti, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1899 - Cuckoo Christensen, outfielder (d. 1984)
- 1900 - Ossie Bluege, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 1985)
- 1901 - Shigeyoshi Matsumae, executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1991)
- 1904 - Neal Rabe, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1962)
- 1904 - Harry Smythe, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1905 - Jack Russell, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1990)
- 1905 - Charlie Small, outfielder (d. 1953)
- 1906 - Pete McClanahan, pinch hitter (d. 1987)
- 1907 - Grant Bowler, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1908 - Ralph Onis, catcher (d. 1995)
- 1923 - Bill Cope, minor league infielder and manager (d. 2014)
- 1923 - Bill Mardo, writer (d. 2012)
- 1927 - Jim Greengrass, outfielder (d. 2019)
- 1927 - Cal Hogue, pitcher (d. 2005)
- 1928 - George Bullard, infielder (d. 2002)
- 1929 - Jim Brosnan, pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1931 - Hal Smeltzly, college coach (d. 2018)
- 1933 - John Angelus, college coach (d. 2016)
- 1933 - Bill Bell, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1936 - Hans de Bie, writer (d. 2020)
- 1937 - John Goetz, pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1940 - Sandy Johnson, minor league infielder
- 1944 - Johnny Jeter, outfielder (d. 2024)
- 1945 - Jose Stennett, minor league outfielder
- 1947 - Dean Burk, minor league pitcher (d. 2010)
- 1947 - Shigeyuki Onodera, Japanese national team outfielder
- 1950 - Rawly Eastwick, pitcher
- 1951 - Keith Madison, college coach
- 1952 - Omar Moreno, outfielder
- 1952 - Angel Torres, pitcher
- 1952 - Reggie Walton, outfielder
- 1955 - Ying-Chieh Kao, NPB outfielder
- 1956 - Ron Mazeroski, college coach (d. 2003)
- 1956 - Gary Serum, pitcher
- 1956 - Brian Wonnacott, Australian national team pitcher
- 1957 - Ron Gardenhire, infielder, manager
- 1957 - Bill Hayes, catcher
- 1957 - Ed Jurak, infielder
- 1958 - Hatsuhiko Tsuji, NPB infielder and manager
- 1959 - Mike Brewer, outfielder
- 1959 - Dave Johnson, pitcher
- 1959 - Junior Ortiz, catcher
- 1959 - Fujio Tamura, NPB catcher
- 1961 - Rafael Belliard, infielder
- 1961 - Danny Clay, pitcher
- 1961 - Steve Ziem, pitcher
- 1962 - Gene Larkin, infielder
- 1962 - Francesco Petruzzelli, Serie A1 catcher
- 1963 - Mark Grant, pitcher
- 1963 - Jason Jackson, minor league outfielder
- 1963 - Darryl Mitchell, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Rafael Perez, executive
- 1967 - Darryl Robinson, minor league infielder
- 1967 - F.P. Santangelo, outfielder
- 1968 - Ken Ryan, pitcher
- 1969 - Arthur Rhodes, pitcher; All-Star
- 1972 - Sean O'Brien, Canadian women's national team coach
- 1973 - Jason Lee, scout
- 1973 - Mike Matthews, pitcher
- 1974 - Corey Dillon, drafted outfielder
- 1974 - Wilton Guerrero, infielder
- 1974 - Garry Maddox II, minor league outfielder
- 1975 - Jong-kook Chea, KBO infielder
- 1977 - Ronnie Deck, minor league catcher
- 1977 - Rafael Furcal, infielder; All-Star
- 1978 - Chris Bootcheck, pitcher
- 1979 - Hunter Brown, minor league infielder
- 1979 - Rafael García, minor league pitcher
- 1981 - Min-Han Cheng, CPBL pitcher
- 1981 - Beltran Perez, pitcher
- 1981 - Omar Quintanilla, infielder
- 1982 - Stefan Haltmeier, Swiss national team pitcher
- 1982 - Macay McBride, pitcher
- 1983 - Chris Colabello, outfielder
- 1984 - Lucas May, catcher
- 1984 - Jose Pena, minor league player
- 1985 - Tyson Auer, minor league outfielder
- 1986 - Darren Byrd, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Bryan Woodall, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Remco Draijer, Hoofdklasse outfielder
- 1988 - Elvin Orozco, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Abner Abreu, NPB outfielder
- 1989 - Eric Hosmer, infielder; All-Star
- 1989 - Yi-Kun Huang, Taiwan national team outfielder
- 1989 - Gabriel Valladares, Chilean national team infielder
- 1990 - Horacio Acosta, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Tanner Banks, pitcher
- 1991 - Ted Gieschen, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1991 - Andreas Lastinger, Bundesliga catcher
- 1991 - Ayako Rokkaku, Japan women's national team infielder
- 1993 - Erdenebulag Baasanjav, Mongolian national team player
- 1993 - Juan Carlos Moncion, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Anthony Vizcaya, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Trey Amburgey, outfielder
- 1994 - Peter Strzelecki, pitcher
- 1994 - Taylor Widener, pitcher
- 1995 - Junpeng Chen, minor league infielder
- 1995 - Nick Gordon, infielder
- 1996 - Rafael Devers, infielder; All-Star
- 1996 - Julio Mendez, minor league infielder
- 1996 - Fausto Segura, minor league pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1996 - Chase Shugart, pitcher
- 1997 - Jake Sanford, minor league outfielder
- 1997 - Colin Selby, pitcher
- 1997 - Jeremy Voets, First Division pitcher
- 2000 - Mohamed Mikhail Ming Bin Tan Sabri, Singaporean national team outfielder
- 2000 - Simon Liedtke, Bundesliga infielder
- 2001 - Hyeon-seung Jung, KBO outfielder
- 2002 - Kuan Rong Shane Sebastian Lee, Singaporean national team outfielder
- 2003 - Ledy Alvarez, Ecuadorian national team infielder
- 2005 - Bartol Crnjak, Croatian national team infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1897 - Thomas Gorman, infielder (b. 1860)
- 1916 - Hi Ebright, catcher (b. 1859)
- 1925 - Jim Price, manager (b. 1847)
- 1931 - Pete Lamer, catcher (b. 1873)
- 1936 - Charles Bullymore, umpire (b. 1859)
- 1938 - George Borchers, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1941 - Emmett Rogers, catcher (b. 1870)
- 1944 - Pinky Swander, outfielder (b. 1880)
- 1948 - Harry Grabiner, General Manager (b. 1890)
- 1948 - Jack Thoney, outfielder (b. 1879)
- 1960 - Wilbur Fisher, pinch hitter (b. 1894)
- 1965 - John Dudra, infielder (b. 1916)
- 1969 - Jack Bentley, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1970 - Andy Oyler, infielder (b. 1880)
- 1971 - Howard Fahey, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1972 - Jackie Robinson, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1919)
- 1972 - Ron Sharpe, Baseball Australia Hall of Fame player (b. 1905)
- 1973 - Al Brazle, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1977 - Bill Lewis, catcher (b. 1904)
- 1977 - Dennis Simpson, infielder (b. 1904)
- 1985 - Masaichi Nagata, NPB owner; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1906)
- 1987 - Ray Sheppard, infielder (b. 1902)
- 1989 - Ollie O'Mara, infielder (b. 1891)
- 1990 - Jim Clark, infielder (b. 1927)
- 1993 - Johnnie Cowan, infielder (b. 1913)
- 1995 - Lyman Linde, pitcher (b. 1920)
- 1999 - Bob Benish, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1920)
- 2001 - Bill Mueller, outfielder (b. 1920)
- 2003 - Bruno Beneck, Italian executive; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1915)
- 2006 - Jack Radtke, infielder (b. 1913)
- 2012 - Lester Smith, owner (b. 1919)
- 2014 - Pat McGlothin, pitcher (b. 1920)
- 2018 - Benny Valenzuela, infielder (b. 1933)
- 2021 - Andrés Ayón, minor league pitcher and manager; Salón de la Fama (b. 1936)
- 2021 - Arnold Hano, author (b. 1922)
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