October 28

Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 28.

[edit] Events

• 1953 - Red Barber resigns from the Brooklyn Dodgers broadcast booth and takes a job with the rival New York Yankees.
• 1954 - Major League Baseball owners vote down the sale of the Philadelphia Athletics to a hometown syndicate. A week later, Arnold Johnson will buy a controlling interest in the Athletics from the Mack family for $3.5 million and move the team to Kansas City.
• 1958 - In San Francisco, construction begins on the new ballpark for the Giants. The rocks in the area resembled candlesticks.
• 1961 - Workers break ground on a new ballpark in Flushing Meadows, Queens, NY. Shea Stadium will become the home of the expansion New York Mets in 1964.
• 1968 - Future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals wins his first Cy Young Award. Gibson is a unanimous choice after dominating hitters with a 22-9 record and an ERA of 1.12 during the "Year of the Pitcher."
• 1979 - The New York Yankees replace fired manager Billy Martin with Dick Howser, the head coach of the Florida State Seminoles and a former coach with the Bronx Bombers. In 1980, Howser will lead the Yankees to 103 victories but will be fired in turn after failing to advance in the ALCS.
• 1981 - Behind the solid pitching of Burt Hooton, the Los Angeles Dodgers complete a World Series comeback, defeating the New York Yankees, 9 - 2, in Game 6. The Dodgers had trailed the Series two games to none before bouncing back to win four straight games. Pedro Guerrero drives in five runs for Los Angeles, who avenge two six-game World Series defeats to the Yankees in 1977 and 1978. It is the third time this postseason Los Angeles comes from behind to win a series: they were 0-2 behind Houston in the NLDS and 1-2 behind the Expos in the NLCS. Guerrero, Ron Cey and Steve Yeager share the Series MVP Award.
• 1988 - San Diego trades Keith Moreland and Chris Brown to the Tigers for pitcher Walt Terrell.
• 1989 - The Oakland Athletics complete a sweep in the World Series with a 9 - 6 win over the San Francisco Giants. Rickey Henderson's home run supports starter and winner Mike Moore. Dave Stewart is named Series MVP after winning the first and third game of the Series, which was interrupted by an earthquake.
• 1995 - The Braves win their first World Series since moving to Atlanta with a 1 - 0 shutout of Cleveland in Game 6. Pitchers Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers combine on a one-hitter and David Justice hits a home run in the 6th inning for the only run. Jim Poole is the losing pitcher.
• 2001:
  • In the World Series, Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches a three-hit shutout to defeat the Yankees, 4 - 0, taking a 2-0 advantage in the Series. Matt Williams becomes the first player in World Series history to hit home runs with three different teams. He homered in the Fall Classic for the Indians in 1997 and the Giants in 1989, prior to doing so for Arizona today.
  • Curt Schilling, who named his son Gehrig, receives the Roberto Clemente Award for his contributions to numerous charities, including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, which is better known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease". The Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher, who won the World Series opener yesterday, was selected due his outstanding baseball skills combined with devoted work within the community.
• 2002:
  • The New York Mets, after being unable to get permission to talk to manager Lou Piniella from Seattle, and deciding not to wait ten days after the World Series for the availability of San Francisco skipper Dusty Baker, give Art Howe a four-year, $9.4 million deal to manage the team. Howe managed the Oakland Athletics to two AL West titles in 2000 and 2002 with his teams winning 383 games during the last four seasons, matching Joe Torre's total for the Yankees. A day later, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will name Piniella as their team's new skipper, signing him to a four-year contract. As compensation to sign Piniella away from Seattle, Tampa Bay will send All-Star outfielder Randy Winn, who hit .298 with 14 home runs and 75 RBI, to Seattle for minor leaguer Antonio Perez.
  • The Florida Marlins do not renew the contract of John Routh, the 43-year-old man who has been known as mascot "Billy the Marlin", since Florida's first game in 1993. Although Billy will return next season, a new person will be hired to wear the 35-pound costume as the team seeks to increase the mascot's visibility by changing the overall role of the character.
• 2007:
  • The Red Sox win their second Championship of the decade, with their sweep of the Rockies in the 2007 World Series. Colorado had won 21 of 22 games entering the Series before falling flat. They lose Game 4 by a 4 - 3 score, thanks to 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Jon Lester. Mike Lowell is named World Series MVP.
  • The Uni-President Lions win Game 7 of the 2007 Taiwan Series, 4 - 2, for their fifth title. They beat the La New Bears, who had beaten them in the 2006 Series in a sweep. Nelson Figueroa wins his third game of the Series to earn MVP honors in leading the Lions to the title, while the bottom of the batting order paves the way in this contest with some clutch hitting.
• 2009 - The Philadelphia Phillies win Game 1 of the 2009 World Series, 6 - 1, over the New York Yankees, as Cliff Lee outpitches CC Sabathia in a duel of former Cy Young Award winners. Chase Utley hits a pair of homers. It is the latest starting date in the history of the Fall Classic.
• 2010:
  • The Nippon Pro Baseball amateur draft is held. Six of the twelve teams pick Tatsuya Oishi of Waseda University, with the Seibu Lions winning bargaining rights. Four teams choose Oishi's teammate, Yuki Saito, with the Nippon Ham Fighters winning bargaining rights. A third Waseda hurler (Yuya Fuki) is chosen by the Hiroshima Carp after their bid for Oishi fails; it is the first time a Japanese college has three pitchers chosen in the first round.
  • In Game 2 of the 2010 World Series, the Giants rout the Rangers, 9 - 0, but the score is only 1 - 0 in the 7th when Texas starter C.J. Wilson leaves with a blister on his finger. Matt Cain and two relievers combine on a four-hit shutout. Texas has allowed 20 runs in the first two World Series games in franchise history, setting a major league record.
• 2011:
  • The SK Wyverns win Game 3 of the 2011 Korean Series, 2 - 1, against the Samsung Lions. In all three games so far, neither team has scored more than two runs. Today, SK left fielder Jae-sang Park is the star, with a solo homer and a throw which retires a runner at home.
  • The St. Louis Cardinals win the 11th title of their history by defeating the Texas Rangers, 6 - 2, in Game 7 of the World Series. Texas takes a two-run lead in the top of the 1st, but Series MVP David Freese ties the score with a two-run double in the bottom of the inning. Chris Carpenter then keeps the Rangers from adding to their score, while Allen Craig hits a 3rd-inning homer off Matt Harrison. The Cards add two runs without getting a hit in the 5th and, typically, St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa uses four relievers to get the last 9 outs. It is an unlikely title for a team that was 10 1/2 games out on August 25th and twice was down to its last strike in Game 6.
• 2012:
  • The Giants complete a four-game sweep of the Tigers in the World Series with a 4 - 3, 10-inning win in Game 4. Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young and Buster Posey all homer as the two teams are tied, 3 - 3, after 9, then Marco Scutaro drives in Ryan Theriot for the winning run in the top of the 10th. Sergio Romo ends the game by striking out Cabrera, picking up his third save. It is the Giants' second Championship in three years. Pablo Sandoval, author of a three-homer performance in Game 1, is named World Series MVP.
  • In Game 2 of the 2012 Japan Series, Hirokazu Sawamura outduels Masaru Takeda, 1-0, to give the Yomiuri Giants another win over the Nippon Ham Fighters. All the scoring comes in the bottom of the first on a leadoff homer by Hisayoshi Chono. The Fighters rally in the 9th, getting men on the corners against reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi, but Scott Mathieson relieves and gets pinch-hitter Tomohiro Nioka to end it.

[edit] Births

• 1859 - Art Sladen, outfielder (d. 1914)
• 1863 - Tommy Tucker, infielder (d. 1935)
• 1864 - Dan Dugdale, catcher (d. 1934)
• 1867 - Bill Wilson, catcher (d. 1924)
• 1875 - Bert Miller, pitcher (d. 1937)
• 1877 - Joe Adams, pitcher (d. 1952)
• 1877 - Vive Lindaman, pitcher (d. 1927)
• 1879 - Benny Bowcock, infielder (d. 1961)
• 1879 - Frank Smith, pitcher (d. 1952)
• 1883 - Frank Lange, pitcher (d. 1945)
• 1884 - Chet Chadbourne, outfielder (d. 1943)
• 1886 - Ed McDonald, infielder (d. 1946)
• 1887 - Fred Ankenman, minor league executive (d. 1979)
• 1890 - Doc Lavan, infielder (d. 1952)
• 1892 - Bill McCabe, infielder (d. 1966)
• 1894 - John Bischoff, catcher (d. 1981)
• 1896 - Frank Okrie, pitcher (d. 1959)
• 1896 - Roxy Snipes, pinch hitter (d. 1941)
• 1899 - Percy Jones, pitcher (d. 1979)
• 1900 - Johnny Neun, infielder, manager (d. 1990)
• 1903 - Hank Boney, pitcher (d. 2002)
• 1904 - Liz Funk, outfielder (d. 1968)
• 1904 - Joe O'Rourke, pinch hitter (d. 1990)
• 1906 - Ed Clough, outfielder (d. 1944)
• 1907 - George Hennessey, pitcher (d. 1988)
• 1910 - Makoto Hosaka, stadium company president; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1996)
• 1914 - Johnny Rigney, pitcher (d. 1984)
• 1916 - Ed Levy, outfielder (d. 2008)
• 1917 - Joe Page, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1980)
• 1920 - Artie Wilson, infielder (d. 2010)
• 1925 - Luis Marquez, outfielder (d. 1988)
• 1926 - Rudy Rufer, infielder (d. 2010)
• 1931 - Gair Allie, infielder
• 1935 - Bob Veale, pitcher; All-Star
• 1938 - Mario Pelaez, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 2011)
• 1942 - Alfredo Mariscal, minor league pitcher
• 1951 - Joel Serna, minor league infielder and manager
• 1954 - Gary Rajsich, infielder
• 1954 - Sammy Stewart, pitcher
• 1955 - Dick Cooke, minor league player; college coach
• 1960 - Mark Knudson, pitcher
• 1961 - Bob Melvin, catcher, manager
• 1964 - Lenny Harris, infielder
• 1965 - Larry Casian, pitcher
• 1966 - Tim Bogar, infielder
• 1966 - Juan Guzman, pitcher; All-Star
• 1967 - Allen Liebert, minor league catcher
• 1969 - Kirk Bullinger, pitcher
• 1969 - Noriyoshi Omichi, NPB outfielder
• 1972 - Zeke Zimmerman, minor league catcher
• 1973 - Morne Mackay, South African national team infielder
• 1974 - Tom Bernhardt, minor league outfielder
• 1974 - Braden Looper, pitcher
• 1974 - Roman Yatsyuk, Extraliga pitcher
• 1977 - Chin-Feng Chen, outfielder
• 1979 - Bobby Cramer, pitcher
• 1979 - Xiaofan Lin, China Baseball League outfielder
• 1981 - Nate McLouth, outfielder; All-Star
• 1982 - Jeremy Bonderman, pitcher
• 1982 - Anthony Lerew, pitcher
• 1982 - Takehiko Oshimoto, NPB pitcher
• 1983 - Esmailin Caridad, pitcher
• 1983 - Angel Garcia, minor league pitcher
• 1983 - Donell Linares, minor league infielder
• 1986 - Josh Thole, catcher
• 1988 - Michael Johnson, minor league infielder
• 1988 - Corban Joseph, infielder
• 1989 - Tyler Bream, minor league infielder
• 1989 - Mami Kuroiwa, Japanese womens' national team catcher
• 1994 - Ugueth Urbina Jr., minor league pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1879 - Jimmy Hallinan, infielder (b. 1849)
• 1904 - Sam Field, catcher (b. 1848)
• 1907 - Ted Kennedy, pitcher (b. 1865)
• 1911 - George Taylor, outfielder, manager (b. 1853)
• 1925 - Willy Wilson, pitcher (b. 1884)
• 1937 - Gus Shallix, pitcher (b. 1858)
• 1937 - Jesse Whiting, pitcher (b. 1879)
• 1942 - Dan Coogan, infielder (b. 1875)
• 1943 - Otto Briggs, Negro League outfielder (b. 1891)
• 1948 - Roy Ellam, infielder (b. 1886)
• 1952 - Bob Lawson, pitcher (b. 1876)
• 1965 - Walter Barbare, infielder (b. 1891)
• 1969 - Dave Callahan, outfielder (b. 1888)
• 1969 - Joe Rullo, infielder (b. 1916)
• 1970 - Wedo Martini, pitcher (b. 1913)
• 1979 - Mel Ingram, pinch runner (b. 1904)
• 1983 - Ray Sanders, infielder (b. 1916)
• 1987 - Pete McClanahan, pinch hitter (b. 1906)
• 1988 - Dave Tyriver, pitcher (b. 1937)
• 1993 - Cal Koonce, pitcher (b. 1940)
• 1993 - Bob Seeds, outfielder (b. 1907)
• 1996 - Joe Samuels, pitcher (b. 1905)
• 2011 - Ricky Adams, infielder (b. 1959)