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October 18
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's October 18 Daily Highlights
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I Almost Threw Out My Keurig. It Wasn't Broken.
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Three Pitches, Three Swings, Three Home Runs
October 18, 1977 - Before Game Six of the 1977 World Series, Joe DiMaggio pulled up a stool next to Reggie Jackson in the Yankees clubhouse. DiMaggio was there to throw out the first pitch, and he’d been Jackson’s hitting coach in Oakland back in 1968. Now he told Reggie he thought he was a great ballplayer.
It was the boost Jackson needed. His first year in the Bronx had been a war with his teammates, the press, manager Billy Martin, and George Steinbrenner. But he was hitting .353 in the Series, and his last swing in Game Five had been a monster home run off Don Sutton at Dodger Stadium.
In batting practice, Jackson drove ball after ball into the right-field seats as the crowd chanted “Reg-gie! Reg-gie!” Willie Randolph asked him to maybe save a little for the game. “I’m feeling good,” Reggie said. “I mean I’m feeling great.”
The Yankees led three games to two, and 56,407 packed Yankee Stadium on a cool, clear night.
Jackson walked on four pitches in the second and scored on a Chris Chambliss homer. Then the show started.
Fourth inning, Thurman Munson on first. Burt Hooton’s first pitch was a fastball in, exactly what scout Gene Michael told Reggie to expect. Jackson drove it into the lower deck in right. Yankees up 4-3, and Hooton was done.
Fifth inning, Randolph on first. Elias Sosa’s first pitch, another fastball in. Jackson lined it into the first row in right. Back in the dugout he grinned at the TV camera, flashed two fingers, and mouthed, “Hi Mom! Two!”
Eighth inning, leading off against knuckleballer Charlie Hough. First pitch again. Jackson launched a towering drive into the blacked-out bleachers in dead center, roughly 450 feet away, and stood at the plate to watch it. “He threw me a Hit-Me knuckleball and I dropped a bomb,” he said later.
On ABC, Howard Cosell could barely contain himself: “Oh, what a blow! … He’s answered the whole world!” The crowd chanted his name until he came back out for a curtain call. In the dugout he held up three fingers: “That’s three, Mom!”
Three pitches. Three swings. Three home runs off three different pitchers. Counting Game Five, it was four homers on four straight swings. Only Babe Ruth had ever hit three in a World Series game before, and Jackson’s five homers in the Series still share the record.
The Yankees won 8-4 for their first title since 1962. Even Tommy Lasorda had to admit it: “I seen the greatest performance I ever seen in a World Series.”
Parts of this article can be found on SABR Games Project
SiriusXM, “Reggie Jackson Remember His 3-Homer Game in ’77 World Series,” YouTube video, 3:30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upyOTrEtDOk. Accessed January 29, 2014.
George A. King III, “The Homers That Made Reggie ‘Mr. October’ – The Jackson 3,” NYPost.com, http://nypost.com/2004/11/19/the-homers-that-made-reggie-mr-october-the-jackson-3/, accessed January 29, 2014.
TRIVIA Sponsored by Classic Baseball Broadcasts — Start you free trial here.
Todays Trivia . . .
Which Hall of Famer played football, boxed and played the saxophone in college?
Hint: #1 He bought and operated a dude ranch following his baseball career.
Hint: #2 His nickname had nothing to do with his complexion.
Hint: #3 He was the first Modern Era catcher to hit forty doubles in a season.
Quote of the day:
Tommy Lasorda had to admit it: “I seen the greatest performance I ever seen in a World Series.”
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — October 18, 1977 World Series Game 6 Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Yankees
🎧 CLASSIC BROADCASTS — MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
⚾ Games, 2785 total
🧑 Player Pages we are now over - 5144 total
📰 News Reels 3,369 total
This week we added 100 new games, bringing our total library to 2,785 also we keep adding new player pages we are up to 5,125 as of October 17.
I never can say what the best ones are but Ichiro was a good one!
Members can listen to these gems:
John D’acquisto interview2 (Passed Ball Show)
Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight: The Lary Sorensen Interview
Bob Elson Interviews Sid Luckman on October 18, 1980
Todays Podcast
October 18 highlights and Historic Days!
Brought to you by: This Day In Baseball
This day in baseball has a deeper dive into every event from October 18
October 18, 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 to take 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.
October 18, 1932 — The Baseball Writers Association of America MVP award to Jimmie Foxx winning in the American League. Foxx captured 75 of 80 first-place votes. Chuck Klein (.348, 38, 137), receiving all six first-place votes, is named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. The 27-year outfielder, who is the first Phillies player to win the award, led the Senior Circuit in hits (226), runs (152), home runs (38), and stolen bases (20).
October 18, 1972 — Johnny Bench, with runners on second and third base in Game 3 of the World Series, strikes out looking with a full count when a trick play dupes him. The Cincinnati slugger, believing he being given an intentional walk after the A’s manager Dick Williams visits the mound and catcher Gene Tenace returns to his position to call for a wide ball 4, is fooled when the A’s backstop quickly crouches behind home to catch a called strike three from Rollie Fingers.
Pitcher Blue Moon Odom strikes out 11 Reds, but Jack Billingham is the winner as the Reds win was their of the Series.
October 18, 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 .
October 18, 1980 – Umpires issue warnings to both clubs as Phillies pitcher Dickie Noles throws a pitch high and inside to 1980 AL MVP George Brett during Game 4 of the 1980 World Series.
The Royals tees off on Larry Christenson for 4 runs and 5 hits in the first. he was only able to get 1 before leaving the game.
Noles pitch came in bottom of second and the Royals will be outscore 10-4 from this point forward and the Phillies will capture game 5 & 6 to win their firs World championship.
October 18, 1988 — At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Mark McGwire goes deep off LA’s Jay Howell with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the A’s a 2-1 victory for its only win in the Series. With Kirk Gibson’s heroics in Game 1, ‘Big Mac’s’ walk-off home run marks the first time that two game-winning round-trippers occur in the same Fall Classic.
October 18, 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.
October 18, 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 2-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.
Milestones October 18
🎙️ Did you know?
Birthdays:
Notable: Ed Farmer
Passings:
Notable: Ferris Fain
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: MICKEY COCHRANE
Ans. Cochrane attended Boston University.
#1 During 1935–36, Cochrane vacationed/convalesced at a Wyoming ranch near Cody. However, 1937 onward: Cochrane owned the 4-K Ranch near Dean, Stillwater County, Montana, roughly 50 miles southwest of Billings.
#2 Cochrane disliked being called “Mickey” since at the time, it was a common nickname given to men of Irish descent and was often a derogatory term. His Scottish heritage made the Irish-derived nickname particularly ironic, and people close to him just called him Mike, even though Cochrane’s first name was Gordon. Teammates & sportswriters used “Black Mike” to describe his dark moods, nervous intensity & unyielding demand for excellence on the field.
#3 Cochrane hit 42 doubles in 1930, his personal best.
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Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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