October 23
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
| Sources | |
| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 23.
Events[edit]
- 1910 - Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Jack Coombs wins his third game of the World Series, beating the Chicago Cubs, 7 - 2, as the Athletics take the championship in five games. Eddie Collins helps Coombs with three hits, including two doubles.
- 1920 - The Chicago grand jury indictment adds the names of former featherweight boxing champ Abe Attell and baseball players Hal Chase and Bill Burns as go-betweens in the 1919 World Series scandal. Ed Cicotte, Joe Jackson, Lefty Williams and Happy Felsch sign confessions, which they will later recant.
- 1923 - Babe Ruth makes a postseason appearance in a New York Giants uniform as the Giants defeat the minor league Baltimore Orioles, 9 - 0. Ruth hits a home run over the right field roof at the Polo Grounds. The game is a benefit for destitute former Giants owner John Day.
- 1935 - Gabby Hartnett is selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America as the National League MVP, with Dizzy Dean the runner-up.
- 1945 - Branch Rickey announces the signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. The 26-year old Negro League star will be the first black player to play in Organized Baseball since 1899 and the first in the majors since 1884, paving the way for integration.
- 1951 - Leo Durocher of the New York Giants is selected Manager of the Year by The Associated Press.
- 1952 - The Pacific Coast League announces its teams will play 176-game schedule next season.
- 1974 - The Cubs trade sweet-swinging Billy Williams, a fixture at Wrigley Field for 16 years, to the Oakland Athletics for second baseman Manny Trillo and pitchers Darold Knowles and Bob Locker.
- 1979 - Billy Martin is involved in a barroom altercation with Joseph Cooper, a Minnesota marshmallow salesman. Cooper requires 15 stitches to close a gash in his lip. The fight will result in Martin being fired as Yankees manager for the second time.
- 1981 - Los Angeles beats the Yankees, 5 - 4, in Game 3 of the World Series, narrowing the Yankees' lead to 2-1.
- 1984 - Rick Sutcliffe, who was 16-1 for the Cubs after arriving from Cleveland two days before the June 15 trading deadline, is a unanimous choice as National League Cy Young Award winner.
- 1985 - John Tudor pitches a five-hit, 3 - 0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-1 lead in the World Series.
- 1986 - At Fenway Park, Bruce Hurst's complete game victory gives the Boston Red Sox a 4 - 2 win and 3-2 lead in the World Series against the New York Mets. Hurst scatters 10 hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
- 1991 - Mark Lemke hits his second triple of the night in the 9th inning and then scores on a close play on Jerry Willard's sacrifice fly for Atlanta's 3 - 2 win over the Twins.
- 1993 - In one of the most dramatic endings in World Series history, Joe Carter hits a three-run, 9th-inning home run off Mitch Williams for an 8 - 6 win and Toronto's second straight World Championship. Paul Molitor, who hits .500 (12 for 24), is named Series MVP while Lenny Dykstra of the Phillies, who hit .348 with four home runs, did everything except pitch. Following the 2010 season, a panel of experts at the MLB Network will vote this game the 14th greatest of the past fifty years.
- 1996 - At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the Braves jump to a 6 - 0 lead, but the Yankees mount the biggest comeback in their long World Series history with a three-run home run by Jim Leyritz that ties the game in the 8th inning. After Bernie Williams is intentionally walked with runners on first and second base in the 10th, Steve Avery walks Wade Boggs to bring in the deciding run.
- 1997 - The Florida Marlins move within one win of their first World Series title as Moises Alou hits his second three-run home run of the Series against Cleveland Indians pitcher Orel Hershiser. Rookie Livan Hernandez pitches into the 9th inning of Game 5 and Florida holds off the Indians, 8 - 7.
- 1998 - Davey Johnson is hired as the manager of the Dodgers. The former Mets, Reds and Orioles skipper has finished first with evey team he has managed, but will fail to do so in Los Angeles.
- 2005 - The Chicago White Sox crash two of the more dramatic home runs in recent World Series history to score a 7 - 6 victory against the Houston Astros and take a two-games-to-none lead in the Series. Paul Konerko, who hit 40 homers in the regular season, and Scott Podsednik, who hit none, provide the fireworks. Konerko, the ALCS MVP, hits a grand slam in the 7th inning to give the White Sox a 6 - 4 lead. After the Astros tie the score in the 9th against Chicago closer Bobby Jenks, Podsednik smacks a 2-1 pitch from Houston closer Brad Lidge into the bleachers in right-center field to trigger a boisterous celebration.
- 2010 - The Brother Elephants complete a sweep of the Sinon Bulls in the 2010 Taiwan Series. Jim Magrane allows one run in nine innings for his second victory of the Series, winning Taiwan Series MVP honors. It is the fourth straight year an American pitcher takes that honor, following Nelson Figueroa (2007) and Luther Hackman (2008 and 2009). Jui-Chen Chen becomes the youngest Taiwan Series-winning manager at age 35. Ssu-Chi Chou's three-run homer is the big blow in the finale, a 6 - 1 win.
- 2011 - The Rangers tie the World Series at two games each with a 4 - 0 shutout of the Cardinals in Game 4. Derek Holland is masterful, pitching 8 1/3 innings while giving up only two hits, and Mike Napoli hits a three-run homer in the 6th.
- 2012 - Ozzie Guillen is fired after one tumultuous season as manager of the Miami Marlins. Guillen managed to infuriate local fans by praising Fidel Castro in an early-season interview, then picked fights with opponents such as Nationals rookie Bryce Harper, and his own players, most notably closer Heath Bell, while leading his team to a disappointing last-place finish. Guillen had three years and $7.5 million remaining on his contract.
- 2013 - The Red Sox jump on the Cardinals early, scoring five runs in the first two innings, to cruise to an 8 - 1 win in Game 1 of the World Series. Mike Napoli hits a bases-clearing double in the 1st and the Sox add two more runs in the 2nd in spite of Carlos Beltran robbing David Ortiz of a grand slam with a great catch. Jon Lester pitches 7 1/3 scoreless innings for the win while Adam Wainwright takes the loss.
- 2014 - The Lamigo Monkeys win their second Taiwan Series in three years, topping the Chinatrust Brothers 4 games to 1. In the finale of the 2014 Taiwan Series today, Lamigo starter Mitch Talbot allows three first-inning runs but Chao-Hao Tseng and three relievers shut out Chinatrust the rest of the way. Lamigo rallies off Chung-Cheng Chiang for a 8-3 win, with three hits apiece from Yen-Wen Kuo and Hao-Jan Huang. De-Long Yu is named Taiwan Series MVP.
- 2015:
- In a nail-biting Game 6 of the ALCS, the Royals defeat the Blue Jays, 4 - 3, to return to the World Series. After a 45-minute rain delay, Lorenzo Cain scores all the way from first base on a single by Eric Hosmer in the 8th for the winning run. Jose Bautista drives in all three Toronto runs with a pair of homers, but the Jays are undone by their inability to cash in runners in scoring position throughout the game. For the Royals, Ben Zobrist and Mike Moustakas, with the assistance of a fan, hit solo homers to give the Royals an early 2 - 0 lead.
- Newly appointed Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto names Scott Servais, who was his understudy when he was GM of the Angels, as the team's manager for 2016.
- 2016 - For the first time, video replay is used in a Japan Series for plays at home. With a 1 - 1 tie in the 6th inning of Game 2 of the 2016 Japan Series, Ryosuke Kikuchi of the Hiroshima Carp singles and Kosuke Tanaka races home from second. Nippon Ham Fighters C Shota Ono tags him at the plate and Tanaka is ruled out. On replay, though, Tanaka is called safe, starting a four-run frame for Hiroshima. Yusuke Nomura and three relievers combine to hold the Fighters to four hits as the Carp go up, two games to none.
- 2017:
- The Mets hire Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway to be their new manager, replacing Terry Collins.
- The British Baseball Hall of Fame announces its class of 2017: executive Don Smallwood, pitcher Nick Carter and national team star Ian Young.
- 2018 - While two of the best pitchers in the majors face off on the mound in Game 1 of the World Series in Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale, the contest turns out to be a high-scoring affair, with Boston prevailing, 8 - 4, over the Dodgers. Andrew Benintendi has 4 hits to lead the Red Sox attack while Eduardo Nunez hits a key three-run homer in the 7th and Craig Kimbrel closes out the win.
- 2019:
- The Softbank Hawks win their third straight Japan Series, sweeping the Yomiuri Giants to become the first team since the 1990-1992 Seibu Lions to pull off a three-peat. In Game 4 today, Series MVP Yurisbel Gracial hits a three-run homer and 38-year-old Tsuyoshi Wada shuts out Yomiuri over the first five innings in a 4 - 3 victory.
- The Cubs hire former C David Ross, one of the heroes of their conquest of a World Series title in 2016, to succeed Joe Maddon as the team's manager.
- The Nationals win their record-tying eighth straight game this postseason by crushing Houston, 11 - 3, in Game 2 of the 2019 World Series. After both teams score twice in the 1st, the game settles down with no more scoring until the 7th, when Kurt Suzuki homers off Justin Verlander to start a six-run inning that gets the rout going. Stephen Strasburg is the winner.
- 2020 - The Dodgers win Game 3 of the World Series, 6 - 2 over the Rays, behind an outstanding performance by Walker Buehler who gives up just 1 run on 3 hits and strikes out 10 in 6 innings. Justin Turner hits a 1st-inning homer off Charlie Morton, and the Dodgers keep adding to their lead with clutch hits, scoring five of their six runs with two outs.
- 2021 - The Braves defeat the Dodgers, 4 - 2, in Game 6 of the NLCS to reach the World Series for the first time since 1999. The big blow comes from NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario who blasts a three-run homer inside the right field foul pole off Walker Buehler in the 4th.
Births[edit]
- 1832 - William Hulbert, executive; Hall of Famer (d. 1882)
- 1860 - Jack Jones, pitcher (d. 1936)
- 1869 - John Heisman, college coach (d. 1936)
- 1870 - Mike Sullivan, pitcher (d. 1906)
- 1881 - Lave Winham, pitcher (d. 1951)
- 1882 - Birdie Cree, outfielder (d. 1942)
- 1886 - Lena Blackburne, infielder, manager (d. 1968)
- 1889 - Hugh Bedient, pitcher (d. 1965)
- 1889 - Owen Conway, infielder (d. 1942)
- 1889 - Jack Mills, infielder (d. 1973)
- 1892 - Bull Barbour, infielder (d. 1948)
- 1894 - Rube Bressler, outfielder (d. 1966)
- 1905 - Felton Snow, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 1974)
- 1907 - Barney Brown, pitcher/outfielder; All-Star (d. 1985)
- 1907 - Lee Grissom, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1998)
- 1910 - Billy Sullivan, catcher (d. 1994)
- 1917 - Bones Sanders, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1961)
- 1918 - Hosea Allen, pitcher (d. 1948)
- 1918 - John Brown, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1999)
- 1920 - Vern Stephens, infielder; All-Star (d. 1968)
- 1922 - Ewell Blackwell, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1996)
- 1922 - Chi-En Tseng, CPBL manager; Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2012)
- 1922 - Willie Wells Jr., infielder (d. 1994)
- 1924 - Pedro San Martin, infielder (d. ????)
- 1925 - Aart Wedemeijer, Hoofdklasse umpire (d. 2017)
- 1929 - Bruce Barmes, outfielder (d. 2014)
- 1930 - Solly Drake, outfielder (d. 2021)
- 1931 - Jim Bunning, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2017)
- 1933 - Jake Striker, pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1937 - Bob Allen, pitcher
- 1937 - Cecil Butler, pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1939 - George Williams, infielder (d. 2009)
- 1942 - Chuck Gismondi, college coach (d. 2019)
- 1944 - Jim Rittwage, pitcher
- 1949 - Greg Thayer, pitcher
- 1952 - John Poff, outfielder
- 1952 - Randy Tate, pitcher (d. 2021)
- 1953 - Bo McLaughlin, pitcher
- 1954 - John Castino, infielder
- 1954 - Don Lyle, minor league outfielder
- 1956 - Luis Silverio, outfielder
- 1957 - Dwight Lowry, catcher (d. 1997)
- 1957 - Ricky Carriger, minor league pitcher
- 1958 - Chris Lein, minor league pitcher and coach; scout
- 1959 - George Hinshaw, outfielder
- 1959 - Rip Rollins, minor league pitcher-outfielder
- 1961 - Jim Presley, infielder; All-Star
- 1965 - Al Leiter, pitcher; All-Star
- 1966 - Chris Estep, minor league outfielder
- 1967 - Efrain Nieves Sr., Puerto Rican national team catcher
- 1968 - Mun-sook Jeon, South Korean womens' national team outfielder
- 1969 - Phil Geisler, scout
- 1971 - Carlos Burguillos, minor league outfielder
- 1972 - Giomar Guevara, infielder
- 1973 - Takayuki Shimizu, NPB outfielder
- 1975 - Todd Belitz, pitcher
- 1975 - Sheng-Hsien Feng, CPBL infielder and manager
- 1975 - Kazuo Matsui, infielder
- 1975 - Casey Myers, minor league catcher
- 1975 - Todd Sears, infielder
- 1975 - Sam Tibbits, Australian national team catcher
- 1976 - Romeil Agladius, Croatian national team catcher
- 1976 - Hernando Arredondo, minor league infielder
- 1976 - Letticia Horstman, Dutch womens' national team infielder
- 1976 - David Riske, pitcher
- 1977 - Jon Hamilton, minor league player
- 1978 - John Lackey, pitcher; All-Star
- 1978 - Vladimir Timakov, Russian national team outfielder
- 1979 - Ramon A. Castro, infielder
- 1979 - Bud Smith, pitcher
- 1980 - Brett Evert, scout
- 1980 - Pedro Liriano, pitcher
- 1981 - Ben Francisco, outfielder
- 1981 - Edgar Martinez, minor league pitcher
- 1981 - William Saavedra, Cuban league infielder
- 1982 - Denny Bautista, pitcher
- 1984 - Julio Pinto, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Sam Demel, pitcher
- 1987 - Felix Doubront, pitcher
- 1987 - Kyle Gibson, pitcher; All-Star
- 1987 - Pat Reardon, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Garrett Buechele, minor league infielder
- 1989 - David Vidal, minor league infielder
- 1990 - Yucary De La Cruz, minor league infielder and manager
- 1991 - Yong-joo Kim, KBO pitcher
- 1993 - Dayanaris Flores, Puerto Rican womens' national team catcher
- 1993 - Cristofer Ogando, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Zach Thompson, pitcher
- 1994 - Eduard Pinto, minor league outfielder
- 1994 - Exequiel Talevi, Argentinian national team infielder
- 1994 - Haifan Yang, China Baseball League pitcher
- 1998 - Dylan Carlson, outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1912 - Piggy Ward, outfielder (b. 1867)
- 1918 - Jimmy Williams, manager (b. 1847)
- 1937 - John Singleton, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1940 - Harry Krause, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1943 - Heinie Peitz, catcher (b. 1870)
- 1947 - Cy Rheam, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1949 - Bill Burdick, pitcher (b. 1859)
- 1961 - Howard Millard, minor league executive (b. 1891)
- 1962 - Elbert Norman, infielder (b. 1897)
- 1965 - Ed Fitzpatrick, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1965 - Otis Lawry, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1965 - Ted Odenwald, pitcher (b. 1902)
- 1965 - Chick Shorten, outfielder (b. 1892)
- 1966 - Rex Cecil, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1966 - Fred Fussell, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1966 - Jack Peerson, infielder (b. 1910)
- 1968 - Jack Bliss, catcher (b. 1882)
- 1969 - Monk Dubiel, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1970 - Sherry Robertson, infielder (b. 1919)
- 1971 - Jesse Petty, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1971 - Woody Upchurch, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1977 - George Gerken, outfielder (b. 1903)
- 1983 - Buck Crouse, catcher (b. 1897)
- 1986 - Paul Gehrman, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1986 - Doc Wingo, catcher (b. 1912)
- 1992 - John Grimsley, umpire (b. 1933)
- 1992 - Lou Rochelli, infielder (b. 1919)
- 1993 - Marv Blaylock, infielder (b. 1929)
- 1993 - John Wells, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1993 - Steve Wylie, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1995 - Sol Mishkin, minor league infielder/outfielder and manager (b. 1905)
- 1996 - Bob Grim, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1930)
- 2000 - Benny Culp, catcher (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Hank Wyse, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1918)
- 2003 - Al Corwin, pitcher (b. 1926)
- 2004 - Jim McDonald, pitcher (d. 1927)
- 2007 - Don Nicholas, pinch hitter (b. 1930)
- 2008 - Dave Melton, outfielder (b. 1928)
- 2009 - Rafael Castro, minor league pitcher (b. 1991)
- 2013 - Mario Picone, pitcher (b. 1926)
- 2014 - John Bramlett, minor league outfielder (b. 1941)
- 2014 - Pete Catalano, minor league outfielder (b. 1925)
- 2014 - Randy Cooper, minor league outfielder (b. 1929)
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Are you a Stathead, too? Subscribe to our Free Newsletter
This Week in Sports Reference
Find out when we add a feature or make a change
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.