On This Day . . .

Willie Mays makes "The Catch" in 1954.

1920: Ruth hits home run number 54 to demolish the single season record for HRs
1927: Ruth ties his own record for HRs in a season; he would break his own record the following day.
1934: Ruth hits his final homer in a Yankee uniform, his 659th with the Bombers, the 708th of his career.

1978: Jim Rice hits a double and a single in a game vs. Toronto, becoming the 1st major leaguer to amass 400 total bases in a season since Joe DiMaggio did it in 1936.

1986: The Flying Dutchman serves up home runs number 47, 48, and 49 in a game against his former club in Cleveland - setting the major league record for most homers allowed in a season.

2013: Henderson Alvarez surprises the Tigers, tossing a no-hitter in the final game of the season. Tigers starter Justin Verlander tossed a shutout of his own in opposition, but the bullpen coughed up a run in the bottom of the ninth with a wild pitch that scored Giancarlo Stanton. It was the 6th time in baseball history that a no-hitter ended in walk off fashion.

Birthday buddies! Long time teammates Craig Lefferts and Tim Flannery, fellow Padre Heath Bell, and un-fellow non-Padre Jake Westbrook.

Other notable moments - 
Stan Musial made his MLB pitching debut, retiring the one batter he faced in 1952.

John Paciorek plays in his first and only major league game for the Houston Colt .45s, goes 3 for 3, and finishes his MLB career with a perfect 1.000 average. He fails to qualify for the 1963 batting title, however....

Hall of Fame Manager Casey Stengel passes away in 1975, at the age of 85.

The Expos play their final game in Montreal in 2004 - it was announced hours earlier that the team would move to Washington, D.C.

In 2008, rookie Alexei Ramirez hits a grand slam for the White Sox, forcing a one game playoff. The Sox would win that game and advance to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.