TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

October 25, 1986 — “If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words, but more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.” – Vin Scully, describing the aftermath of the play after a long silence.

One strike from defeat, the Mets score 3 runs to win the game, they will tie the game on a wild pitch (which should have been a pass ball) and then, Mookie Wilson hits a slow roller that gets by Bill Buckner‘s, and amazingly the Mets win Game 6, knotting the Fall Classic at three games apiece. This event was selected as one of baseball’s 30 most memorable moments.

In the top of the 10th the Red Sox had scored 2 runs off Mets reliever Rick Aguilera’s on a Dave Henderson home run, and Marty Barrett singled in Wade Boggs with two outs.

There is a lot of controversies that surround this game. The Red Sox were up 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th with the AL future MVP and Cy Young award winner on the mound. But in the top of the eighth, the Red Sox had Dave Henderson on second with one out. Manager John McNamara sent rookie Mike Greenwell to pinch hit for Roger Clemens in an effort to match Greenwell, a left-handed batter, against the Mets’ dominant short-relief man Roger McDowell even as righty slugger Don Baylor sat on the bench; Greenwell struck out and the Sox scored no runs that inning. It was initially said that Clemens was removed from the game due to a blister forming on one of his fingers, but both he and McNamara dispute this. Clemens said to Bob Costas on an MLB Network program concerning the 1986 postseason that McNamara decided to pull him despite Clemens wanting to pitch. McNamara said to Costas that Clemens “begged out” of the game.

Dave Stapleton had become the late-inning replacement for Bill Buckner, in fact, in 1986 he appeared at first base in each of the 7 Red Sox victories at first base. It is reported Bill Buckner insisted on being on the field.

This game is called by Ken Coleman and Joe Castiglione

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This day in baseball has a deeper dive into every event from October 25

October 25, 1917 – The Yankees hire Miller Huggins as manager. New York was an also-ran franchise for most of the first 15 years of their existence, but became a dynasty under Huggins, who led the team from 1918 until his death in 1929. The club won their first 3 championships under Huggins, including the famed 1927 Murderer’s Row team led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

October 25, 1937, Casey Stengel is named the manager of the Boston Bees. Stengel replaces another Hall of Famer, Bill McKechnie, who guided the Bees to a fifth-place finish in 1937. Stengel will manage Boston over the next six seasons, never finishing higher than fifth place…

October 25, 1973 — It’s all over for Willie McCovey and the San Francisco Giants. McCovey’s mighty bat will no longer terrorize Giants’ foes but will be still in action—for the San Diego Padres. The 35-year old McCovey, who has been bothered with arthritic knees the past couple of years, was traded to the Padres Thursday for left- handed pitcher Mike Caldwell. 24, a fastball specialist. The Giants also gave up Bernie Williams, a .313 hitter with their Phoenix farm club in the Pacific Coast League. McCovey, a 6-foot-4 slugger whose booming drives amazed fans because of their distance, began his National League career with San Francisco 14 years ago. The only time he was not in a Giants’ uniform was when he performed a brief stint with Tacoma in the PCL early in his career. “McCovey has given the Giants a great many years of service,” San Francisco Manager Charlie Fox said in Casa Grande, Ariz., where he* was playing in a golf tournament, “but there comes a time when you have to give way to the young people.” But the likable Willie doesn’t feel that his days are over. “I’m just 35 and I can still play three or four more years on the field,” McCovey said. “I feel in pretty good shape and stay in good shape.” Besides, he said, the warmer weather in San Diego will probably be better for his legs. And, he added, San Diego has promised him a hefty pay hike. “I’m over $100,000 but I’m not going to say how far,” he said.

October 25, 1978 — The BBWAA selects Gaylord Perry (21-6, 2.72) as the recipient of the National League Cy Young Award. The Padres right-hander, who copped the honor with the Indians in 1972, becomes the first hurler to win the prestigious pitching prize in each league.

October 25, 1987 — In a World Series in which neither team lost a game in its home park, the Minnesota Twins win the World Championship behind starter Frank Viola was in perfect pitch for Game 7 of the World Series. Viola allowed six hits in eight innings and pitched Minnesota to a 4-2 victory Sunday over St. Louis and was named the most valuable player of the 1987 Series. “This is the happiest moment of my life,” he said. “I’m thinking of all my teammates, my friends, and my family.” Viola won the first game of the Series, 10-1, allowing five hits. But he struggled in Game 4 at St. Louis, allowing six hits and five runs in 3’3 innings. The Twins, who finished sixth in the American League West last season, left St. Louis trailing 3-2, and Viola was hoping to get one more turn under the friendly Teflon ceiling at the Metrodome. “I was happy to have another chance,” he said. “I ended the season on a much better note than if I had ended it on Game 4. I would have had a bitter taste in my mouth for a long time.”

Viola, who struck out seven, joined a list of great seventh-game World Series pitching performances. There was some concern over Viola pitching on three days’ rest. Viola was 2-2 in his previous five starts on three days’ rest, and his earned run average on those starts was 5.64. “I felt great tonight,” he said. “I had a real good fastball and a good change-up. I could have pitched on two days’ rest. I have all winter to rest.” Viola was 2-1 in the Series with a 3.72 ERA. He is the 15th pitcher to win the World Series MVP, but just the third in the past 19 seasons. Pitchers won the award 12 times in the first 14 years after the award was started in 1955. Viola left the game in the eighth inning. He allowed two runs in the second inning when the Cardinals got four singles. “It’s great just to win the World Series, but to win the MVP makes it just that much more special,” he said.

The franchise’s last championship came in 1924 as the Washington Senators.

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October 25, 2003 — As the World Series heads back to Yankee Stadium, pitcher Josh Beckett, on three days’ rest, throws a complete game shutout, allowing just five hits, to give the Florida Marlins their second World Championship in 11 seasons with a 2 – 0 victory over the New York Yankees. Beckett is named Series MVP. This is the 100th and last World Series game ever played at Yankee Stadium, as the Marlins become the first opposing team to win a Series championship on the field at the famed ballpark since 1981, when the Los Angeles Dodgers did it. When the Yankees return to the Fall Classic in 2009, they will have moved into New Yankee Stadium.

October 25, 2000 — Mike Piazza becomes the first player to hit a World Series home run at both Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium. The backstop’s third-inning homer off Denny Neagle will account for the only two runs the Mets will score in a 3-2 Game 4 defeat to their cross-town rivals, Derek Jeter homers for the Yankees.

October 25, 2007 — Hideki Okajima becomes the first Japanese-born player to pitch in the World Series. The former Nippon Ham Fighters hurler comes out of the bullpen in relief of Curt Schilling and retires seven straight Rockies, including Kazuo Matsui, making it the first time Japanese natives have faced one another in the Fall Classic.

October 25, 2012 — The 2012 NPB draft is held. Only one team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, take the biggest name as Shohei Otani (timed at 99 mph in high school) is widely expected to go to the US, making it a wasted pick if he doesn’t sign; the Fighters will wind up signing Otani, however. On the other hand, four teams put in for Shintaro Fujinami, with the Hanshin Tigers winning the lottery. Three teams take Nao Higashima, with the Softbank Hawks getting his rights.

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