On October 28 in Baseball History... 1948 - On Lou Boudreau Day, held in his honor by the citizens of his hometown, Harvey (IL), the Indians skipper tells an audience his Indians were lucky to win the recent World Series. The Cleveland player-manager cites his infielders driving in more than 400 runs and the lack of injuries to key players as reasons why his "third-place" club excelled this season.
1951 - The Red Sox trade catcher Les Moss and flychaser Tom Wright to the Browns for backstop Gus Niarhos and outfielder Ken Wood. The deal will have little impact in Boston (6th place) and in St. Louis (7th place) as both teams will finish in the second division.
1953 - Red Barber resigns as a Brooklyn Dodger broadcaster and will take the 'catbird' seat with the rival New York Yankees. The 'Old Redhead' is reported to have left the team because he was upset with Brooklyn owner Walter O'Malley, who refused to support him when he failed to get a higher fee from Gillette, the sponsor of the 1953 World Series on television.
1954 - Major league owners vote down the sale of the Athletics to a Philadelphia syndicate. A week later Arnold Johnson buys a controlling interest in the Athletics from the Mack family for $3.5 million and moves the team to Kansas City.
1958 - On Candlestick Point, an area in which the rocks resembled candlesticks, construction begins on the Giants' new ballpark in San Francisco. The transplanted team will play their games at Seals Stadium until a new ballpark on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay is ready.
1961 - Ground is broken for the Flushing Meadow Stadium. The future home of the New York Mets will be known as Shea Stadium in honor of Bill Shea, a lawyer who helped to bring back the National League to the Big Apple.
1979 - Dick Howser replaces Billy Martin as the Yankee manager. The former Florida State baseball head coach, who spent the previous ten years as the team's third base coach, compiles a 103-59 record leading the team to an American League East championship, but the independent-minded skipper is fired by hands-on owner George Steinbrenner after being swept by Kansas City in the playoffs.
1981 - After losing the first two games, with the help of Pedro Guerrero's five RBIs and the solid pitching of Bert Hooton, the Dodgers defeat the Yankees, 9-2, to capture the World Championship in six games. It's the third time this postseason Los Angeles comes from behind to win a series (0-2 behind Astros in the NLDS and 1-2 behind the Expos in the NLCS).
1988 - The Padres trade Keith Moreland and Chris Brown to the Tigers for pitcher Walt Terrell, who will be dealt, along with a player to be named [Freddie Toliver], to the Yankees July. The mid-season swap will bring Don Schulze and Mike Pagliarulo to San Diego.
1989 - The A's complete the sweep of the Giants in the earthquake delayed Fall Classic with a 9-6 victory. Dave Stewart, who wins the series MVP, becomes the first hurler to win two games in both the LCS and World Series.
1995 - In Game 6, Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers combine on a one-hitter to defeat the Indians, 1-0, giving the Braves their third World Championship, the first since moving to Atlanta. David Justice's leadoff homer in the sixth inning off Jim Poole proves to be the difference.
2001 - Curt Schilling, who named his son Gehrig, receives the 2001 Roberto Clemente Award for his contributions to numerous charities, including ALS which is better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The Diamondback right-hander, who won the World Series opener yesterday, was selected due to his outstanding baseball skills combined with devoted work within the community.
2001 - With his seventh inning three-run shot off New York's Andy Pettitte, Matt Williams becomes the first player in World Series history to hit home runs with three different teams. The Diamondback third baseman homered in the Fall Classic for the Indians in 1997 and with the Giants in 1989.
2002 - The Mets, after being unable to get permission to talk to Lou Piniella from Seattle and deciding not to wait ten days after the World Series for the availability of Giant skipper Dusty Baker, give Art Howe a four-year, $9.4 million deal to manage the team. New York's new skipper led the A's to a pair of AL West championships (2000, 2002) with his teams winning 383 games during the last four seasons matching Joe Torre's Yankee total.
2002 - The Marlins do not renew the contract of John Routh, the 43-year-old man who has been 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.
2002 - Signing the veteran manager to a four-year contract, the Devil Rays name Lou Piniella as their team's new skipper. As compensation to sign 'Sweet Lou' away from Seattle, Tampa Bay sends their All-Star outfielder Randy Winn (.298, 14, 75) to Seattle for minor leaguer Antonio Perez.
2004 - Jermaine Dye is one of over 60 MLB players that was granted free agency on this date. Dye would go onto to sign with the Chicago White Sox and help lead them to win the 2005 World Series where he was named World Series MVP. 2007 - With a 4-3 win over the Rockies at Coors Field, the Red Sox, for the second time in four years, complete a four-game sweep to win the World Series. Terry Francona becomes the first manager to win his first eight games in the Fall Classic.
2007 - During the middle of Game 4 of the World Series between the Red Sox and the Rockies, si.com reports Alex Rodriguez has decided to opt out of his contract with the Yankees. The timing of the announcement and being a no-show at the game to receive the Hank Aaron Award, which honors the most outstanding offensive performer in each league, is severely criticized by fans and the media.
2009 - In Game 1, Chase Utley, en route to a record-tying five World Series homers, becomes the first left-handed batter in 81-years to hit two round-trippers off a southpaw in a Fall Classic game. The Philadelphia second baseman, who also set a postseason record by reaching base in 26 straight games with his first-inning walk, goes deep twice off Yankee southpaw CC Sabathia in the Phillies’ 6-1 victory in New York, to match Babe Ruth's performance in the fourth and final game of the 1928 series.
2010 - Prior to Game 2 of the World Series at AT&T Park, Tim Wakefield receives the Roberto Clemente Award, in recognition of his excellence as a ballplayer and his commitment to the community. The 44-year old Red Sox starter is actively involved with “Pitching in for Kids,” a nonprofit that provides grants to improve the lives of children across New England.
2011 - After being down by 10.5 games on August 25 for the NL Central Division lead, the Cardinals beat the Rangers at Busch Stadium, 6–2, in Game 7 of the Fall Classic to win their eleventh world championship in franchise history. In Game 6, the Redbirds had been down to their last strike in both the ninth and the 10th inning, but rallied to tie the score and eventually win the game on David Freese's lead-off, walk-off home run to centerfield in the 11th.
2012 - Marco Scutaro singles home the tie-breaking run in the 10th inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 to complete a four-game sweep and win their second World Series title in three years. Pablo Sandoval, who hit three homers in Game 1, is selected Series MVP. He goes 1 for 5 in Game 4, dropping his series average to .500 (8 for 16).
2012 - At a press conference held prior to Game 4 at Detroit’s Comerica Park, Clayton Kershaw is named the recipient of the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award, an honor given to a major leaguer who demonstrates the value of helping others by his action off the field. The Dodger right-hander and his wife, Ellen, founded the Kershaw Challenge which includes its cornerstone charity, “Arise Africa,” that helps the couple to build and sustain an orphanage in Lusaka, Zambia known as “Hope’s Home.”
2013 - In the fifth game of the World Series, Red Sox first baseman David Ortiz ties Billy Hatcher's 1990 World Series record, reaching base in his ninth consecutive plate appearance with a fourth-inning single to extend the streak that began in Game 3. 'Big Papi', the Fall Classic MVP, will hit .688 with a .760 on-base percentage in the six-game series, helping Boston to secure its third World Championship in the past decade.
2015 - The Chicago White Sox signed Junior Guerra as a free agent.
2016 - The Chicago White Sox claimed Rymer Liriano from the Milwaukee Brewers on waivers.
Baseball Birthdays on October 28... 1860 - Sladen, Art
1863 - Tucker, Tommy
1864 - Dugdale, Dan
1867 - Wilson, Bill
1877 - Adams, Joe
1877 - Lindaman, Vive
1879 - Smith, Frank 1879 - Bowc0ck, Benny
1883 - Lange, Frank 1884 - Chadbourne, Chet
1886 - McDonald, Ed
1890 - Lavan, Doc
1892 - McCabe, Bill
1894 - Bischoff, John
1896 - Snipes, Roxy 1896 - Okrie, Frank
1899 - Jones, Percy
1900 - Neun, Johnny
1903 - Boney, Hank
1904 - Funk, Liz 1904 - O'Rourke, Joe
1906 - Clough, Ed
1907 - Hennessey, George
1914 - Rigney, Johnny 1916 - Levy, Ed
1917 - Page, Joe
1920 - Wilson, Artie
1925 - Marquez, Luis
1926 - Rufer, Rudy
1931 - Allie, Gair
1935 - Veale, Bob
1954 - Stewart, Sammy
1954 - Rajsich, Gary
1960 - Knudson, Mark
1961 - Melvin, Bob 1964 - Harris, Lenny
1965 - Casian, Larry 1966 - Bogar, Tim
1966 - Guzman, Juan
1969 - Bullinger, Kirk
1974 - Looper, Braden
1981 - McLouth, Nate
1982 - Bonderman, Jeremy
1982 - Lerew, Anthony
1983 - Caridad, Esmailin
1986 - Thole, Josh
1987 - Lawrence, Casey
1988 - Joseph, Corban
1990 - Hanc0ck, Justin
1991 - Palka, Daniel
Baseball Deaths on October 28... 1879 - Hallinan, Jimmy
1904 - Field, Sam
1907 - Kennedy, Ted
1925 - Wilson, Willy
1937 - Shallix, Gus
1937 - Whiting, Jesse
1942 - Coogan, Dan
1948 - Ellam, Roy
1952 - Lawson, Bob
1965 - Barbare, Walter
1969 - Rullo, Joe
1969 - Callahan, Dave
1970 - Martini, Wedo
1979 - Ingram, Mel
1983 - Sanders, Ray
1987 - McClanahan, Pete
1988 - Tyriver, Dave
1993 - Seeds, Bob 1993 - Koonce, Cal
1996 - Samuels, Joe
2000 - Cedeno, Andujar
2011 - Adams, Ricky