On this Day . . . Ten-Ten

1945: The last time the Cubs played in the World Series, they ran into a Tiger. 'Prince Hal' Newhouser shut down the Cubs in the series, winning twice including 10 strikeouts in a Game 7 gem on this date in 1945. The Cubs are still working on returning to the top of the mountain.

1957: Another great pitching performance came in 1957, and it culminated in the Milwaukee Braves bringing a title to the Midwest. Burdette did one better than Newhouser, winning 3 games in the Fall Classic. The Braves shut out the Yankees 5-0 in the decisive final game.

1968: Mickey Lolich outduels Bob Gibson in game 7 of the 1968 World Series, for his 3rd win of the Series, clinching the title for the Tigers.

1978: Davey Lopes crushed a pair of dingers and the Dodgers cruise to an 11-5 victory in Game One of the 1978 World Series. Reggie Jackson homered for the Yankees, and would ultimately be the thorn in side of the Dodgers' sides in the series, which the Yankees won in 6 games.

1980: George Brett gets a little revenge on behalf of all those Yankee haters out there, demolishing a pitch from Goose Gossage into the upper deck to put the finishing touches on a Royals' three game sweep in the ALCS. The Phillies would eventually take care of the Royals in the World Series, but for the moment it was exaltation in the Paris of the Plains

1990: Dave Stewart continues his dominance when matching up against Roger Clemens, taking the Red Sox to task in the finale of the 1990 ALCS. It would be the 8th straight victory of Stewart over Clemens. The Rocket failed to launch, arguing with plate umpire Terry Cooney and getting tossed from the game after facing just 8 batters. 3 runs would be charged to his ledger. Stewart gave up just a single run in eight innings, and garnered MVP honors for the 4 game ALCS.
 

BIRTHDAYS!!!

Tenace the Menace, a pair of Phils; Tulo, Cutch, and Cespedes; young fireballer Jeurys Familia, old submariner Ziegler, and Kolten Wong, who is now neither young nor old, which may be confusing or comforting to him, depends on how he feels about that ....

On This Day (Heard Round the World)

1951: 

So there's the iconic event from October 3rd, here are some more....

1974: Cleveland announces that Ken Aspromonte has been relieved of his duties as manager, and replace him with Frank Robinson, the first African-American to ever hold the position. He would start his managerial career the following spring, calling his own number from time to time as DH.

1982: Robin Yount slams a pair of homers against Baltimore in the final game of the season, propelling Harvey's Wallbangers past the Orioles and into the playoffs. The 10-2 victory gave the Brew Crew first place in the AL East, and they carried that momentum all the way into late fall, winning the ALCS and pushing the Cardinals to the limit, dropping game 7 of the World Series to the Redbirds. (corrected)

1987: Rookie Catcher Benito "Benny" Santiago goes hitless for the Padres, snapping his 34 game hitting streak. This streak is still the longest by a Rookie in Major League History. Despite the O-fer, Santiago can't be too bummed, as the Padres snapped a different streak, a 9 game losing streak. Santiago caught the 1-0 shutout on the final day of the 1987 season.

2012: Another hitless game makes the list. Miguel Cabrera's final game of the year came and went without Miggy reaching base, but his season totals were enough to garner him the first Triple Crown in the American League since Yaz took home the honor in 1967.

Birthdays! 
Fellow Hall of Famers Dave Winfield and Dennis Eckersley tangled many times over the years, and Eck's greatest gift to Big Dave came in September of 1993, when he surrendered a single in the hole for Winfield's 3,000th hit. He is still, so far, the only member of the 3,000 hit club to get the hit against a Hall of Fame pitcher. And probably the only guy to get hit # 3000 against a guy with the same birthday!

Also born on this day, former All-Star Wil Cordero, and current guy I confuse with Felix Jose, Junior Felix.

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.