On October 27 in Baseball History... 1954 - Former Yankees superstar Joe DiMaggio's and actress Marilyn Monroe's well-publicized stormy marriage ends in divorce. The famous movie star filed on the grounds of mental cruelty, just 274 days after the wedding.
1960 - Trying to jump ahead of the NL, the AL admits Los Angeles and Washington to the league with plans to have the new clubs begin competition in 1961. Calvin Griffith is given permission to move the existing Washington Senators franchise to Minnesota. League president Joe Cronin says the AL will play a 162-game schedule, with 18 games against each opponent.
1962 - The Tigers begin an eighteen-game tour of Japan. Detroit will compile a 12-4-2 record against their opponents from the 'Land of the Rising Sun'.
1972 - The Braves trade outfielder Rico Carty, who led the National League in 1970 batting .366, to the Rangers for hurler Jim Panther. The 28 year-old right-hander will post a 2-3 record with an ERA of 7.14 for Atlanta in his final season in the major leagues, and the traded outfielder will retire in 1979 finishing his 15-year career with a lifetime .299 batting average.
1980 - In a shocking announcement, Astros owner John McMullen fires president and GM Tal Smith, replacing him with Al Rosen, former GM of the Yankees. Smith will soon be named Major League Executive of the Year. The move prompts a rebellion among the Astros 20 limited owners (who together own over 60 percent of the club), and on Nov. 24 McMullen will give up his sole authority to run the club, accepting a position on the club's newly formed executive committee instead.
1985 - The Royals become the sixth team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the Fall Classic when series MVP Bret Saberhagen, who became a new dad yesterday, blanks the Cardinals on five hits, 11-0. Kansas City is the first team in World Series history to lose its first two games at home and then come back to win the World Championship.
1986 - In another dramatic comeback win, the Mets defeat the Red Sox, 8-5 to win Game 7 of the Fall Classic to become World Champions for the second time in the 25-year franchise history. Third baseman Ray Knight makes amends for an earlier error by hitting a home run which puts the Mets ahead for good in the seventh inning.
1989 - After a ten day delay due to the earthquake, the World Series resumes with the A's beating the Giants in Game 3, 13-7. Oakland joins the 1928 Yankees as only the second team in major league history to hit five home runs in a Fall Classic contest.
1991 - In a Game Seven that rivals any in World Series history, the Braves and Twins go scoreless through nine innings. Lonnie Smith is decoyed into pausing at second base to keep him from scoring the winner for Atlanta in the eighth. Gene Larkin's single over a drawn-in outfield in the 10th is the difference in the first extra-inning Game Seven in 67 years. Jack Morris, who pitches the 1-0 shutout, is named Series MVP.
1996 - In Game 6, the Bronx Bombers win their first World Series since 1978 beating the Braves in the Bronx, 3-2. The Fall Classic had begun with two stunning defeats to the reigning World Champs at Yankee Stadium, 12-1 and 4-0.
1998 - President Clinton signed a bill overturning part of baseball's 70-year-old antitrust exemption, putting baseball on a par with other professional sports on labor matters. The new law overrides part of a 1922 Supreme Court ruling that exempted baseball from antitrust laws on grounds that it was not interstate commerce. That exemption deprived baseball players of protections enjoyed by other professional athletes and that players' association blamed for contributing to baseball's eight work stoppages since 1972, including the disastrous 232-day strike in 1994-95.
1999 - The Yankees, behind the solid pitching of Roger Clemens, sweep their second straight Fall Classic beating the Braves, 4-1. Atlanta joins the New York Giants (1910-19) as the only teams to lose four World Series in a decade.
2000 - New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani thinks it is okay for children to take a day off from school to watch the Yankees' ticker-tape parade. His Honor, believing baseball can be an educational experience, has allowed his own kids, Andrew and Caroline, to miss classes in the past to watch the Bronx Bombers' postseason celebrations.
2000 - The Mets, this year's runner-up in the Subway Series, turn down New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's invitation to be part of the parade for the World Champion Yankees down the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan.
2002 - In the team's 42nd season, the Angels finally win a World Series title by beating the Giants, 4-1, in Game 7 at Edison Field. Garret Anderson's three-run double provides enough offense for John Lackey to become the first rookie to win a seventh game since 1909 when Babe Adams accomplished the feat for the Pirates.
2003 - The Red Sox announce Grady Little's contract will not be renewed. The manager, who won 188 games during his two seasons with Boston, was severely criticized for not removing a tiring Pedro Martinez in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the ALCS, giving the Yankees an opportunity to tie the score in their eventual extra-inning pennant-winning victory.
2004 - Under the moon’s reddish tint caused by a lunar eclipse, the Red Sox exorcised 86 years of agonizing losses by winning their first World Series since 1918. In one of the most dominating Fall Classic performances, Boston, who never trailed during the four games, blanks the Cardinals, 3-0, to complete the sweep.
2004 - After a 10-day Overstock.com on-line auction and 240 bids, Barry Bonds' 700th home run ball goes for $804,129. Steve Williams, who came up with the milestone ball in SBC’s left field bleachers on September 17, announced he was quitting his day job as a broker's assistant, but hadn’t decided what to do with the windfall.
2006 - At the new Busch Stadium, the Cardinals beat the heavily favored Tigers, 4-2, in Game 5 of the Fall Classic to win their first world championship since 1982. With a 83-78 record, St. Louis, who lost 10 of their last 14 regular season games, won less games than any World Series champion in baseball history.
2006 - After leading the Padres to two consecutive NL West titles, Bruce Bochy, with a year left on his contract, leaves San Diego, to become the manager of the division rival, San Francisco Giants. The 51-year-old skipper, who compiled a 951-975 (.494) record during his 12 seasons in the Friars dugout, signs a three-year deal worth approximately $6 million.
2007 - In the first Fall Classic game ever played in Colorado, Daisuke Matsuzaka becomes the first Japanese starting pitcher in World Series history, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits in 5.1 innings, to get the win against the Rockies in the 10-5 Red Sox Game 3 victory. After paying $51.1 million for the rights to negotiate with the right-hander, Boston obtained 'Dice-K' from the Seibu Lions signing the World Baseball Classic MVP to a 6-year deal worth $52 million.
2008 - After playing in drenching steady rain until the middle of the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park, Game 5 of the World Series is suspended making it the first Fall Classic contest to start and not be played to completion. The 2-2 tied game between the Rays and hometown Phillies, who are one victory away from a world championship, will resume tomorrow at the point the rain delay stopped play.
2009 - General manager Ed Wade announces Brad Mills has agreed to a two-year contract, with a team option for the third, to become the Astros' manager, replacing Dave Clark who served as interim manager when Cecil Cooper was fired in September. The 52-year-old, who for the past six seasons has been Terry Francona's bench coach with the Red Sox, has never managed in the majors, but spent 11 seasons as a minor league skipper with the Cubs, Rockies and Dodgers.
2011 - In Game 6, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 10-9 in 11 innings to even the World Series at three games each. David Freese drives in two runs with a triple with two outs in the 9th to tied the game at 7-7. Josh Hamilton's two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning gave the Rangers a 9-7 lead but St. Louis scores two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 9-9. St. Louis wins it in the bottom of the 11th on a lead off walk off home run by David Freese.
2012 - The San Francisco Giants take a three game lead in the 2012 World Series as they shutout the Detroit Tigers 2-0 before a crowd of 42,262 at Comerica Park.
2013 - The San Diego State University baseball team continues their tradition in which every player dons a costume during a late-October intra-squad scrimmage. The Aztec's third annual Halloween Game at Tony Gwynn Stadium, which is open to the public, features team members dressed as the Jamaican Bobsled Team, social media apps, a Leprechaun, as well as Captain America and Captain Underwear.
2013 - The Red Sox win the first World Series game to ever end on a pickoff, beating the Cardinals, 4-2, in Game 4 of the Fall Classic. Kolten Wong, a 23 year-old rookie pinch-running for Allen Craig, is caught off first base by Boston closer Koji Uehara, ending the Busch Stadium contest with the dangerous Carlos Beltran at the plate.
2015 - Michael Conforto becomes the third player to accomplish the World Series Triple Crown, playing in the Little League World Series (2014 Redmond LL, WA), the College World Series (2013 Oregon State) and the MLB World Series (2015 Mets). The two other major leaguers who have participated in the rare event are Jason Varitek (1984 Altamonte Springs LL, FL, 1994 Georgia Tech, and the 2004 Red Sox) and Ed Vosberg (1973 Tucson LL, AZ, 1980 University of Arizona, and the 1997 Marlins).
2015 - The Chicago White Sox claimed Jacob Turner from Chicago Cubs on waivers.
Baseball Birthdays on October 27... 1856 - Hoffman, Hickey
1858 - Mulvey, Joe
1866 - Healy, John
1869 - Pedroes, Chick
1876 - Dougherty, Patsy
1877 - Kuhns, Charlie
1878 - Barry, Shad
1889 - Emerson, Chester
1890 - Allen, John
1894 - Bold, Charlie
1896 - Huber, Clarence
1900 - Proctor, Red
1901 - Smith, George
1902 - Keesey, Jim
1904 - Bennett, Frank
1917 - Patrick, Bob
1918 - Albosta, Ed
1919 - Richmond, Don
1922 - Kiner, Ralph
1922 - Rice, Del
1933 - Green, Pumpsie
1936 - Stange, Lee
1940 - Valle, Hector
1945 - Lum, Mike
1946 - Austin, Rick
1949 - Burton, Jim
1952 - Vuckovich, Pete 1952 - Flores, Gil
1952 - Travers, Bill
1953 - Washington, U.L.
1953 - Bonnell, Barry
1960 - Nieto, Tom
1960 - Shepherd, Ron
1961 - Swift, Bill
1962 - Dunne, Mike
1962 - Bell, Terry
1963 - Bell, Eric
1963 - Roberts, Bip
1965 - Moore, Bobby
1970 - Swann, Pedro
1971 - Forster, Scott
1972 - Radke, Brad
1973 - Johnson, Jason
1974 - Stark, Dennis
1977 - Masaoka, Onan
1980 - Jimenez, Kelvin
1983 - Clevlen, Brent
1983 - Prado, Martin
1985 - Waldrop, Kyle
1986 - Beato, Pedro
1986 - Niese, Jon
1987 - Jackson, Jay
1987 - Paulsen, Ben
1988 - Rivera, T. J.
1989 - Tejada, Ruben
1990 - Perez, Carlos
1990 - Wheeler, Jason
1995 - Mejia, Francisco
Baseball Deaths on October 27... 1915 - Hoffman, Hickey
1921 - Kuehne, Bill
1928 - West, Billy
1936 - Black, Dave
1945 - Hannifin, Jack
1945 - Shafer, Taylor
1951 - Brock, John
1951 - McElveen, Pryor
1955 - Griffith, Clark
1959 - Koestner, Elmer
1959 - Perry, Scott
1967 - Bailey, Bill
1969 - Jamieson, Charlie
1973 - Tate, Bennie
1977 - Littlejohn, Carlisle
1977 - Lynn, Red
1978 - Walberg, Rube
1979 - Wiedemeyer, Charlie
1980 - Loftus, Frank
1984 - Helf, Hank
1988 - Steiner, Ben
2006 - Niekro, Joe
2008 - Goetz, John
2008 - Levy, Ed
2010 - Fodge, Gene
2013 - Erautt, Eddie