This Date in Baseball

"You've got to remember I'm 73." -TY COBB, his comment of why he would only hit .300 against today's pitching.

1931 Mickey Mantle, the 'Commerce Comet' is born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. The newborn's dad names his son after Mickey Cochrane not realizing the major leaguer catcher's real name is not Mickey but Gordon. The future Yankee outfielder is glad his father was not aware of this fact.
1964 Johnny Keane, three days after resigning as manager of World Champion Cardinals, replaces Yogi Berra as the Yankee's field boss.
1987 Twins right-hander starter Les Straker becomes the first Venezuelan to pitch in the World Series. At Busch Stadium, The Ciudad Bolivar native blanks the Cardinals for six innings on 4 hits before being removed for a pinch hitter.
1982 The Brewers, playing in their first World Series, are unable to hold on to a 3-1 lead in Game 7, as the Cardinals, thanks to Keith Hernandez's two-run sixth inning single, beats Milwaukee, 6-3.
1988 Dodger Orel Hershiser limits the A's to four singles in Game 5 of the World Series beating the A's, 5-1 as Los Angeles takes the Fall Classic, 4 games to 1.
1993 Calling balls and strikes during Game 4 at Philadelphia’s Veteran Stadium, Charlie Williams becomes the first black umpire to work home plate during a World Series. The game becomes memorable as the Blue Jays win the 15-14 marathon which takes a record four hours and 14 minutes to complete.

1994 Receiving all 28 first votes, Raul Mondesi (.306, 16, 56) is named the National League's Rookie of the Year. The Los Angeles rightfielder, who easily outdistanced Astro hurler John Hudek and Braves outfielder Ryan Klesko, is the third consecutive Dodger to win the award.
1990 The Reds complete their four-game World Series sweep over the heavily favored A's. Jose Rijo, with ninth inning help from Randy Meyers, wins his second game of the series.
2000 The major league play-by-play broadcasters and color commentators select Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton as the Hank Aaron Award recipients. The new award, established last year, recognizes the Blue Jay and Rockies first basemen as the best overall hitters in each league.
2000 Toronto signs Carlos Delgado to a record four-year $68 million contract. The Blue Jay first baseman's average salary of $17 million is the most in major league history.

2002 Twenty-year old Venezuelan righthander Francisco Rodriguez becomes the youngest pitcher ever to win a World Series game. With just 15 days of major league experience, K-Rod throws 37 pitches retiring 9 consecutive batters in three innings to pick up the victory as the Angels outslug the Giants in Game 2, 11-10.
2004 After losing the first three games of the ALCS, the Red Sox become the first team in baseball history to win a best-of-seven series by beating the Yankees at stadium, 10-3. Johnny Damon’s two home runs, including a grand slam in the fourth, and Derek Lowe’s solid pitching performance helps Boston to join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders as the only teams in the history professional sports to overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win a seven-game series.