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October 26
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's October 26 Daily Highlights
October 26 Daily Highlights →
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October 26, 2005, the Chicago White Sox defeat the Astros, 1-0, to earn their first World Series title since 1917. The victory gives the Sox a four-game sweep of Houston, whose making their first trip to the Fall Classic. Jermaine Dye, the Series MVP, delivers the game-winning hit in the eighth which is the only run scored in Game 4. Dye single to center field off Brad Lidge to score Willie Harris who had singled earlier in the inning, moving to second on a Scott Podsednik sacrifice bunt and moved to third base on a Carl Everett groundout, setting up the heroics from Dye. Former Astro farmhand Freddy Garcia blanks Houston over 7-2/3rds innings and relievers Cliff Politte, Neal Cotts and Bobby Jenks polish off the t1-0 shutout. White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe makes two defensive gems to clinch the title .
The Chicago White Sox become the second team in Major League history to never relinquish first place during the regular season (to the New York Yankees of 1927) and then steamroll their way through the post season by dropping just one game. Ending the 88 year championship drought was over as the “Curse of the Black Sox” was finally lifted.
The four game sweep over Houston had a 6 run scoring differential, the lowest in World Series history, indicating that pitching was at a premium in this series and for the second consecutive year, an American League team sweeps its National League opponent.
Tadahito Iguchi becomes the first Japanese native to win a World Series ring the second baseman left the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks to sign as a free agent with Chicago prior to the start of the championship season.
White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen becomes the first foreign-born manager to win a World Series. The 41 year-old Venezuelan is also the youngest pilot to ever win a World Championship and Garcia also becomes the first Venezuelan starter to win a World Series game.
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Todays Trivia . . .
Which former Braves player was the first to have ten home runs and ten doubles by the end of April?
Hint: #1 When his team visited the White House in Washington, DC following their World Series victory, he presented the president with a team jacket (though it likely would have been more appreciated by the next president).
Hint: #2 He hit a home run in his first major league at bat.
Quote of the day:
“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.
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — October 26, 1997 World Series Game 7 Cleveland Indians at Miami Marlins
🎧 CLASSIC BROADCASTS — MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
⚾ Games, 2785 total
🧑 Player Pages we are now over - 5,226total
📰 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 5,226 as of October 22.
Members can listen to these gems:
Todays Podcast
October 26 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 26
October 26, 1931 — Charles Comiskey dies at age 72. The Chicago White Sox owner and pioneer player never recovered from the betrayal of the 1919 World Series.
October 26, 1940 – Detroit Tigers outfielder Hank Greenberg is named the American League MVP with Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller finishing second. Greenberg hit .340 with 41 home runs and 150 RBI, while Feller posted a 27-11 record with a 2.61 ERA. Having won the award in 1935 as a first baseman, Greenberg becomes the first player to win the MVP again playing a different position.
October 26, 1950 — Walter O’Malley succeeds Branch Rickey as president of the Dodgers. O’Malley, who had offered to buy Rickey’s share of the club to become majority owner, is forced to pay more money when ‘the Mahatma’, in a final act of defiance about being told to leave the organization, offers his share of the team to a friend for a million dollars, a deal the new president believes, but can’t prove, to be as “fraudulent as a four-dollar bill.”
October 26, 1971 — Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics wins the American League Cy Young Award by a 98-85 margin over Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers. Blue was 24-8 for Oakland, posting 301 strikeouts, eight shutouts and a 1.82 ERA, becoming the youngest pitcher to win the award.
October 26, 1977 — Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees becomes the first American League reliever to win the Cy Young Award. Lyle led the league with 72 appearances, posting a 13-5 record with 26 saves and a 2.17 ERA.
October 26, 1979 — Commissioner Bowie Kuhn notifies Hall of Famer Willie Mays that if he accepts a position with the Bally Manufacturing Corporation, owner of several gambling casinos, he must disassociate himself from major league baseball. Mays, a part-time coach and goodwill ambassador for the Mets, will relinquish his duties upon accepting Bally’s job offer.
October 26, 1982 – Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies becomes the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, taking National League honors. The 37-year-old lefthander, who led the National League in wins (23), innings pitched (295.2), strikeouts (286) and shutouts (6), was a previous winner in 1972, 1977 and 1980. ‘Lefty’, given up by the Cardinals for Rick Wise, in one of the worst trades in baseball history in 1972.
October 26, 1985 — In Game 6 of the World Series, Don Denkinger’s controversial ninth-inning call at first base enables the Royals to beat the Cardinals, 2-1. The play, in which Jorge Orta is called safe, when it appears first baseman Jack Clark’s throw to Todd Worrell, covering the bag, clearly beats him, gives Dane Iorg the opportunity to hit a two-run walk-off single and to extend the Fall Classic to a decisive Game 7 that Kansas City will win to capture its first World Championship.
October 26, 1991 — Kirby Puckett prevents two Atlanta runs with a leaping catch in the 3rd inning and then lofts a sacrifice fly in the 5th to give the Twins the lead in Game 6 of the World Series. The Braves tie it in the 7th, but Puckett turns out the lights in the 11th with a home run to force a seventh game.
October 26, 1995 — In the World Series, pitcher Orel Hershiser allows just two runs over eight innings and reliever Jose Mesa survives a two-run home run by Ryan Klesko in the 9th inning to give the Indians a 5 – 4 win over the Braves in Game 5.
October 26, 1996 — After two stunning defeats at home, 12-1 and 4-0 losses, to start the series, the Yankees win the next four games to clinch their first World Series since 1978 and their 23rd World Championship overall with a 3-2 victory in the Bronx over the defending World Champs Atlanta Braves. Joe Girardi’s RBI triple keys a three-run rally against Greg Maddux. John Wetteland is named Series MVP after posting his fourth save.
The Fall Classic victory will be the first title of four in five years for the Bronx Bombers.
October 26, 1997 – Edgar Renteria ends one of the most thrilling Game 7 in World Series history, singling with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning scoring Craig Counsell to give the Florida Marlins their first World championship with a 3 – 2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
The five-year-old Marlins become the youngest expansion team to win the Fall Classic. Pitcher Livan Hernandez wins the Series MVP award. Following the 2010 season, a panel of experts at the MLB Network will vote this game the 13th greatest game of the past fifty years.
October 26, 1999 — Chad Curtis leads off the tenth inning with his second home run of the game, giving the Yankees a dramatic 6-5 walk-off victory over the Braves, and a commanding 3-0 lead in the World Series. The outfielder becomes the 11th player to end a Fall Classic game with a round-tripper when he goes deep off Atlanta reliever Mike Remlinger.
October 26, 2000 — In Game 5 at Shea Stadium, the Yankees win their third consecutive World Series, their fourth title in five years, and record their 26th World championship, by defeating the Mets, 4 – 2. Luis Sojo’s 9th-inning two-out, tie-breaking single off starter Al Leiter is the decisive hit.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter becomes the first player to win the All-Star Game MVP and the Series MVP honors in the same season. The Yankee shortstop hit .409, and his nine hits included two doubles, a triple, and a pair of home runs.
Joe Torre becomes only the fifth manager to win four World Series championships, joining Hall of Famers Joe McCarthy (7), Casey Stengel (7), Connie Mack (5) and Walter Alston (4) .
Milestones October 26
🎙️ Did you know?
Birthdays:
Notable: Steve Rogers
Passings:
Notable: Bill Bevens
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: JERMAINE DYE
Ans. In his 1st 25 G in 2000 for KCR, Dye had 11 HR & 12 2B. Dye had played for ATL in his 1st year, 1996.
#1 Dye’s CHW was won the 2005 WS and visited the White House on 13-Feb-2006. President Bush accepted the gift, but it’s President Obama who is the avid White Sox fan.
#2 Debut HR = 17-May-1996, 5th inning off CIN’s Marcus Moore.
Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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