October 31
From BR Bullpen
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| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 31.
Events[edit]
- 1900 - Ban Johnson writes a letter to National League president Nicholas Young seeking peace, based on parity as a major league for the American League.
- 1907 - For the first time in Japan, admission is charged for a game, as the semi-pro St. Louis team from Hawaii faces Keio University.
- 1931 - The St. Louis Cardinals release the last legal spitballer, pitcher Burleigh Grimes.
- 1953 - After touring Japan with the New York Giants, commissioner Ford Frick compares the level of Japanese play to that of Class-A minor league baseball.
- 1957 - Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees says the team returned fine money to players involved in the Copacabana night club fight on May 16th.
- 1960 - The San Francisco Giants acquire veteran shortstop Alvin Dark from the Milwaukee Braves and then sign Dark to a two-year contract as team manager. The Giants send infielder Andre Rodgers to the Braves as compensation for Dark.
- 1961 - A federal judge rules that Birmingham, Alabama laws against integrated playing fields are illegal, eliminating the last barrier against integration in the Southern Association. The circuit will choose to disband rather than abide the ruling and will be replaced in 1964 by the integrated Southern League.
- 1967 - San Francisco Giants pitcher Mike McCormick, the National League leader with 22 victories, is honored with the 1967 National League Cy Young Award. It is the first year in which a pitcher is honored in each league, instead of a single award.
- 1972:
- Cleveland Indians pitcher Gaylord Perry wins the American League Cy Young Award by a 64-58 margin over Wilbur Wood of the Chicago White Sox. Perry won 24 games for the fifth-place Indians.
- The Philadelphia Phillies send third baseman Don Money and two others to the Milwaukee Brewers for four pitchers, including Jim Lonborg and Ken Brett. More importantly, the deal opens up third base for a young infielder named Mike Schmidt, who will embark on a Hall of Fame career.
- 1973:
- Tom Seaver of the New York Mets wins the National League Cy Young Award, the first time the honor has gone to a pitcher with fewer than 20 victories. Seaver finished 19-10 and led the league in ERA (2.08) and strikeouts (251).
- The Houston Astros trade pitcher Jerry Reuss to the Pittsburgh Pirates for catcher Milt May. Reuss will finally put it all together in Pittsburgh and win 58 games in four seasons.
- 1977 - In a trade of pitchers, Cincinnati sends Woodie Fryman and Bill Caudill to the Cubs for Bill Bonham.
- 1979 - Mike Flanagan, who posted a 23-9 record for the Baltimore Orioles, is named the winner of the American League Cy Young Award by a comfortable margin over Tommy John of the Yankees.
- 1995 - Retired second baseman Ryne Sandberg announces that he will return to the major leagues in 1996. The ten-time All-Star signs a one-year contract to play for the Chicago Cubs.
- 2000 - According to rankings of the Elias Sports Bureau, Randy Johnson is named the top player for the 2000 season.
- 2001 - For the first time since the Philadelphia Athletics's Mule Haas hit a game-tying two-run home run in Game 5 of the 1929 World Series, a team comes from behind to tie a Fall Classic game in the 9th inning and goes on to win in extra innings. A two-out, two-run home run by Tino Martinez in the bottom of the 9th ties the game for the Yankees, and Derek Jeter hits a home run in the bottom of the 10th, giving them a 3 - 2 victory over Arizona to knot the World Series at two games apiece. Both homers come off Byung-Hyun Kim, who relieves Curt Schilling in the 8th inning. Mariano Rivera gets the win in relief for the Yankees. Following the 2010 season, a panel of experts at the MLB Network will vote this game the 12th greatest game of the past fifty years.
- 2005:
- Silver Slugger Award winners are announced in each league. In the American League Jason Varitek (C), Mark Teixeira (1B), Alfonso Soriano (2B), Alex Rodriguez (3B), Miguel Tejada (SS), Manny Ramirez (OF), Gary Sheffield (OF), Vladimir Guerrero (OF) and David Ortiz (DH) are the winners. In the National League Michael Barrett (C), Derrek Lee (1B), Jeff Kent (2B), Morgan Ensberg (3B), Felipe López (SS), Miguel Cabrera (OF), Andruw Jones (OF), Carlos Lee (OF) and Jason Marquis (P) are selected.
- Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein resigns, a stunning move that surprises the baseball world one year after he helped build Boston's first world champion since 1918. No replacement is named for Epstein, who reportedly told friends he might take a year off from baseball. He will return as general manager a few months later.
- 2007 - Danny Rios of the Doosan Bears wins the Korea Baseball Organization MVP award. He is the fourth straight pitcher to win the award and just the second foreigner to win it, following Tyrone Woods in 1998. Rios led the KBO in wins (22) and ERA (2.07).
- 2008 - The SK Wyverns win their second straight Korean Series, topping the Doosan Bears, four games to one. Kwang-hyun Kim tosses 6 1/3 shutout innings in the finale and Series MVP Jung Choi drives in one of two Wyverns runs.
- 2009 - The New York Yankees take the lead in the World Series by winning Game 3, 8 - 5, over the Philadelphia Phillies in a game in which six home runs are hit - three by each team. Andy Pettitte is the winner over Cole Hamels.
- 2010:
- In the finals of the 2010 Intercontinental Cup, Cuba beats the Dutch national team, 4 - 1, behind a gem by Miguel A. González (2 H, 0 R in 8 IP) before a late Dutch rally loads the bases in the 9th against the Cuban bullpen. It marks the first Cuban Gold in a major event since the 2007 Pan American Games, a record drought of five tourneys. Cuba second baseman Héctor Olivera Jr. is named MVP. The Netherlands win their second Silver Medal in an Intercontinental Cup. Meanwhile, the Italian national team tops host Taiwan, 4 - 3, in the Bronze Medal game. It is Italy's first medal ever in an event other than the European Championship and the first time two European nations have won medals in a global baseball competition.
- In Game 4 of the World Series, the Giants beat the Rangers, 4 - 0. San Francisco has the first starting all-rookie battery in a World Series game since Yogi Berra and Spec Shea in 1947 and both youngsters do well: Buster Posey homers while Madison Bumgarner tosses eight shutout innings of three-hit ball. The Giants become the first team since the 1966 Orioles to throw two shutouts in a Series.
- 2011:
- The Samsung Lions win the 2011 Korean Series behind rookie manager Jung-il Ryu. They top the SK Wyverns, 1 - 0, in Game 5 to take the Series. Woo-chan Cha tosses seven shutout innings and Seung-hwan Oh gets the final four outs to earn his third save and be named the Korean Series MVP. It is Oh's second Korean Series MVP Award, the fourth player to win the award multiple times. Bong-kyu Kang hits a solo homer off Brian Gordon in the 4th inning for the only score.
- Only three days after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title, manager Tony LaRussa announces his retirement after 33 seasons as a major league skipper. He is second on the all-time list in games managed, behind Connie Mack, and third in wins behind Mack and John McGraw. A decade from now, after gaining election to the Hall of Fame, he will return to managing with the Chicago White Sox.
- The Cleveland Indians acquire P Derek Lowe from Atlanta in return for minor league P Chris Jones and cash. Lowe led the major leagues with 17 losses last year.
- 2012:
- The Nippon Ham Fighters even the Japan Series at two games apiece in a 12-inning, 1 - 0 win. 20-year-old hurlers Ryosuke Miyaguni and Masaru Nakamura each toss seven shutout innings. Both the Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants load the bases in the 9th but fail to score. Finally, defensive sub Yuji Iiyama doubles off Giants closer Kentaro Nishimura to score fellow backup Takuya Nakashima.
- The Angels trade veteran starter Ervin Santana to the Royals for minor league reliever Brandon Sisk.
- 2013:
- The Rakuten Golden Eagles win Game 5 of the Japan Series to take a 3-2 lead with the series heading home for them. Wataru Karashima tosses five shutout innings and rookie sensation Takahiro Norimoto makes a rare relief appearance, going the next five innings in a 4 - 2 win and scoring the winning run in the 10th off Yomiuri Giants closer Kentaro Nishimura. Shuichi Murata drives in both Giants runs, while Ginji Akaminai drives in two for the victors, including the game-winner.
- Soo-bin Jung becomes the first player to lead off a Korean Series game with a homer, taking Rick Vanden Hurk of the Samsung Lions deep, but Jung's Doosan Bears score just one run the rest of the way, on a solo shot by Joon-seok Choi off Woo-chan Cha in the 5th. Doosan starter Dustin Nippert serves up a two-run homer to Tae-in Chae in the 6th and a three-run blast to Han-lee Park in the 7th in a 6 - 2 loss. The series is now tied at three wins apiece.
- The Nationals announce the hiring of Matt Williams as their new manager, replacing the retired Davey Johnson.
- 2014 - The Cubs fire manager Rick Renteria after only one season, opening a spot for hiring Joe Maddon in a few days.
- 2015:
- In Game 4 of the World Series, the Mets enter the 8th inning with a 3 - 2 lead at home thanks to a good start by rookie Steven Matz and two homers by another rookie, Michael Conforto. But the Royals manufacture one of their specialty late-inning rallies against Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia, with 2B Daniel Murphy committing a key error that lets in the tying run. The Royals score three in the inning, and Wade Davis then pitches two scoreless innings to seal the 5 - 3 win, putting Kansas City one win away from the second Championship in its history.
- The Doosan Bears win the Korean Series, four games to one, over the Samsung Lions to stop the Lions from becoming the first team to win five straight Korean Series. Hee-kwan Yoo, Dustin Nippert and Hyun-seong Lee combine to hold Samsung's potent offense to two runs while Doosan's offense explodes for 17 hits and 13 runs. Series MVP Soo-bin Jung has three hits, including a three-run homer, while Hyun-soo Kim has three hits and Jae-won Oh three RBI.
- 2017:
- The Dodgers force a Game 7 in the World Series with a 3 - 1 win over Houston in Game 6. The Dodgers manage to score twice against Justin Verlander in the 6th to negate a 3rd-inning homer by George Springer, then add an insurance run on a solo shot by Joc Pederson off Joe Musgrove in the 7th. Manager Dave Roberts once again leans heavily on his bullpen, removing Rich Hill after 4 2/3 innings, but four relievers keep the Astros off the board for the rest of the game, including closer Kenley Jansen who pitches the final two innings for his second save.
- While the World Series is going down to the wire, the Japan Series continues to be one-sided. With action moving to Yokohama, the Softbank Hawks keep winning, topping the Yokohama BayStars, 3 - 2. After Shota Takeda is yanked in the 5th, six relievers finish it off, with Shuta Ishikawa getting the win and Dennis Sarfate the save. Hiroaki Takaya's two-run single in the 4th is the big blow for the Hawks.
- The Lamigo Monkeys rout the Chinatrust Brothers, 19 - 3, in Game 3 of the Taiwan Series. 20-year-old shortstop Cheng-Fei Lin homers (the youngest player to do so in a Taiwan Series game, breaking Tai-Shan Chang's record, set in 1998) and drives in eight, setting a Series record for RBI in a game.
- 2018:
- The Softbank Hawks take a two-games-to-one lead in the Japan Series, their 11th straight Japan Series win at home. Nao Higashihama allows only one run, a Seiya Suzuki homer, in five innings, while Seiji Uebayashi hits a two-run shot off Yusuke Nomura and Alfredo Despaigne homers again. Suzuki now has three homers in the last two games but his Hiroshima Carp have lost both games.
- Hall of Famer Willie McCovey, one of the greatest stars in the history of the San Francisco Giants, dies at age 80. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1959 and the MVP Award in 1969.
- 2019 - The Royals announce that they have hired Mike Matheny as manager, to replace the recently retired Ned Yost.
- 2021 - Houston remains alive in the World Series with a 9 - 5 defeat of Atlanta in Game 5. The Braves take an early lead on Adam Duvall's 1st-inning grand slam off Framber Valdez, but the Astros come back twice, tying the game at 4 - 4 and 5 - 5, the latter on a bases-loaded walk to Martin Maldonado just before pinch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez hits a two-run single off A.J. Minter that gives the Astros the lead for good in the 5th.
- 2022:
- Justin Turner of the Dodgers is named the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award which recognizes on-field excellence combined with contributions to the player's community.
- Albert Pujols officially signs his retirement papers, bringing to an end a remarkable 22-season career that saw him collect over 3,000 hits, 700 homers and 2,000 RBIs. His next stop will almost certainly be in Cooperstown, NY when he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame in five years' time.
- 2023:
- The Orix Buffaloes take Game 3 of the Japan Series, 5 -4, to take a two-games-to-one lead over the Hanshin Tigers. Young Kohei Azuma allows one run in five innings, Yuma Tongu hits the first homer of the Series and Yuma Mune delivers a big two-run double in the 6th.
- The Rangers win Game 4 of the World Series, 11 - 7, to move within one game of their first ever championship. They score ten runs in the first three innings against opener Joe Mantiply and three relievers for Arizona, to run away with the game, with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien both hitting homers and driving in seven runs between them while Andrew Heaney pitches five innings of one-run ball for the win. Texas is now 10-0 in road games this postseason, which is unprecedented.
- A dominant pitcher in Germany for 20 years now, Enorbel Márquez finally wins his first MVP, taking Bundesliga-1 North MVP honors after going 8-5 with a 1.98 ERA and finishing second with 101 strikeouts (he was also second in wins and ERA). The South MVP is also a foreign-born pitcher, Jared Mortensen, who had a 11-0, 1.41 record, leading in wins and strikeouts while finishing second in ERA.
Births[edit]
- 1848 - J.P. Kelley, umpire (d. 1930)
- 1856 - Kick Kelly, catcher; umpire (d. 1926)
- 1862 - Hardie Henderson, pitcher (d. 1903)
- 1864 - Dan Bickham, pitcher (d. 1951)
- 1874 - Harry Smith, catcher, manager (d. 1933)
- 1876 - Ed Fisher, pitcher (d. 1951)
- 1882 - Bert Daniels, outfielder (d. 1958)
- 1886 - Alex Malloy, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1888 - Ed Burns, catcher (d. 1942)
- 1893 - Bill Herring, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1894 - Ken Crawford, infielder (d. 1976)
- 1894 - Ray O'Brien, outfielder (d. 1942)
- 1896 - Leo Dickerman, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1897 - Tony Rego, catcher (d. 1978)
- 1897 - Kettle Wirts, catcher (d. 1968)
- 1899 - Eugene Redd, infielder (d. 1955)
- 1900 - Cal Hubbard, umpire, Hall of Famer (d. 1977)
- 1901 - Roy Flaskamper, infielder (d. 1978)
- 1904 - Allyn Stout, pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1907 - Ray Treadaway, infielder (d. 1935)
- 1910 - Rainey Bibbs, infielder; All-Star (d. 1980)
- 1913 - Warren Huston, infielder (d. 1999)
- 1915 - Seiichi Hayashi, NPB outfielder (d. 1990)
- 1915 - Jane Jarvis, organist (d. 2010)
- 1916 - Bradford Bennett, outfielder (d. 1981)
- 1916 - Ken Keltner, infielder; All-Star (d. 1991)
- 1916 - C.C. Johnson Spink, writer (d. 1992)
- 1919 - Félix Machado, Venezuelan national team outfielder (d. 2008)
- 1919 - Eugene Tyler, outfielder (d. ????)
- 1920 - Faustino Valdés, pitcher (d. ????)
- 1921 - Ted Thoren, college coach (d. 2011)
- 1922 - Ralph Bogan, owner (d. 2013)
- 1924 - Dee Fondy, infielder (d. 1999)
- 1925 - Max Soriano, owner (d. 2012)
- 1926 - Wally Lammers, minor league infielder
- 1927 - Ruut Jongeling, Hoofdklasse player (d. 2013)
- 1934 - Carl Boles, outfielder (d. 2022)
- 1934 - Roger Sawyer, minor league pitcher
- 1937 - Jim Donohue, pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1937 - Dave Tyriver, pitcher (d. 1988)
- 1939 - Motoaki Horigome, NPB outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1939 - Ed Stroud, outfielder (d. 2012)
- 1941 - Ed Spiezio, infielder
- 1942 - Dave McNally, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2002)
- 1943 - John Hoffman, catcher (d. 2001)
- 1943 - Fred Klages, pitcher (d. 2023)
- 1943 - Bill Voss, outfielder
- 1951 - Dave Freisleben, pitcher
- 1951 - Lew Lerner, minor league pitcher
- 1951 - Geoffrey Martin, Australian national team outfielder
- 1951 - Dave Trembley, manager
- 1952 - Jan de Deyne, First Division infielder
- 1953 - Gil Stafford, college coach
- 1956 - Gary Miller, announcer
- 1957 - Ramón Pineda, minor league pitcher
- 1958 - Ray Soff, pitcher
- 1958 - Paul Zuvella, infielder
- 1960 - Mike Gallego, infielder
- 1961 - Chih-Ming Tsai, Chinese Taipei national team infielder
- 1963 - Fred McGriff, infielder; All-Star
- 1963 - Matt Nokes, catcher; All-Star
- 1963 - Mike Smith, pitcher
- 1964 - Osvaldo Duvergel, Serie Nacional pitcher
- 1964 - Mark Machtolf, college coach
- 1964 - Steve Rosenberg, pitcher
- 1966 - Brian Keyser, pitcher
- 1967 - Scott Bryant, minor league outfielder
- 1968 - Eddie Taubensee, catcher
- 1969 - Oreste Marrero, infielder
- 1969 - Damon Mashore, outfielder
- 1970 - Steve Trachsel, pitcher; All-Star
- 1972 - Chris Clemons, pitcher
- 1972 - Amilcar Estrada, Guatemalan national team player
- 1973 - Tim Byrdak, pitcher
- 1973 - Virgil Chevalier, minor league outfielder
- 1973 - David Dellucci, outfielder
- 1974 - Steve Cox, infielder
- 1975 - Tim Harrell, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Andy Beal, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Chris Cooper, minor league player (d. 2023)
- 1979 - Brandon Cashman, minor league player
- 1980 - Jeff Albert, minor league outfielder
- 1980 - Marcos Mendoza, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Chao-Hao Tseng, CPBL pitcher
- 1981 - B.J. Balajadia, Guam national team outfielder
- 1981 - Mike Napoli, catcher; All-Star
- 1981 - Jared Wells, pitcher
- 1982 - Alex Hinshaw, pitcher
- 1983 - Luis Mendoza, pitcher
- 1983 - Dennis van Hoof, First Division pitcher
- 1984 - Wladimir Sutil, minor league infielder and manager
- 1984 - Anthony Varvaro, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1985 - Javy Guerra, pitcher
- 1985 - Andy Parrino, infielder
- 1986 - Yung-Hsin Cheng, Taiwan womens' national team outfielder
- 1986 - Pei-Hsuan Chou, Taiwan womens' national team outfielder
- 1987 - Kai-Lun Chen, CPBL infielder
- 1987 - Yamaico Navarro, infielder
- 1987 - Pedro Rodríguez, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Tyson Gillies, minor league outfielder
- 1988 - Sam Perry, minor league infielder (d. 2013)
- 1989 - Ruben Fente, Division Honor pitcher
- 1989 - Scott McGough, pitcher
- 1990 - Po-Cheng Chi, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Lumarie Lourido, Puerto Rican womens' national team pitcher
- 1991 - Cédric De Smedt, First Division pitcher
- 1991 - Tony Kemp, outfielder
- 1991 - Fredo Olivares, Philippines national team catcher
- 1993 - Phoomwut Wutthikorn, Thai national team infielder
- 1995 - Miles Mastrobuoni, infielder
- 1996 - Cadyn Grenier, minor league infielder
- 2001 - Ronny Rincones, minor league pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1901 - John Cahill, outfielder (b. 1865)
- 1907 - Henry Gilroy, catcher (b. 1852)
- 1916 - Nick Young, manager, umpire, executive (b. 1840)
- 1918 - Charlie Hilsey, pitcher (b. 1864)
- 1922 - Dick Padden, infielder (b. 1870)
- 1928 - José Méndez, pitcher, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1885)
- 1933 - Charlie Loudenslager, infielder (b. 1881)
- 1936 - Deacon McGuire, catcher, manager (b. 1863)
- 1937 - Ed Walsh, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1940 - Sydney Eckstone, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1882)
- 1948 - Dick Redding, pitcher; manager (b. 1890)
- 1949 - Jack Lundbom, pitcher (b. 1877)
- 1956 - John Leighton, outfielder (b. 1861)
- 1966 - Elmer Johnson, catcher (b. 1884)
- 1968 - Ralph Glaze, pitcher (b. 1882)
- 1968 - Hub Perdue, pitcher (b. 1882)
- 1970 - Johnny Lucas, outfielder (b. 1903)
- 1974 - Buddy Myer, infielder; All-Star (b. 1904)
- 1976 - King Lear, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1978 - Larry Isbell, minor league catcher (b. 1930)
- 1981 - Fred Archer, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 1982 - Sheriff Blake, pitcher (b. 1899)
- 1983 - George Halas, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1991 - Dixie Parsons, catcher (b. 1916)
- 1995 - Jim Campbell, General Manager (b. 1924)
- 1995 - Cosme Pájaro, Colombian national team infielder (b. ~1909)
- 1997 - Sammy Hairston, catcher/infielder; All-Star (b. 1920)
- 1998 - Bob Thurman, outfielder (b. 1917)
- 2000 - Andujar Cedeno, infielder (b. 1969)
- 2000 - Kazuo Hattori, NPB outfielder (b. 1918)
- 2004 - Joe Mills, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1919)
- 2006 - Rocky Nelson, infielder (b. 1924)
- 2010 - Artie Wilson, infielder; All-Star (b. 1920)
- 2012 - John Hessler, minor league pitcher (b. 1957)
- 2013 - Johnny Kucks, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1932)
- 2014 - Brad Halsey, pitcher (b. 1981)
- 2014 - Dick Hendley, minor league catcher (b. 1926)
- 2014 - Dick Lloyd, minor league pitcher (b. 1960)
- 2014 - Jeremy Robinson, minor league pitcher (b. 1976)
- 2014 - Jean-Pierre Roy, pitcher (b. 1920)
- 2016 - Ricky Magdaleno, minor league infielder (b. 1974)
- 2017 - Bob Talbot, outfielder (b. 1928)
- 2018 - Willie McCovey, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1938)
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