October 17, 1999: The Robin Ventura Game

October 17, 1999: The New York Mets edge the Atlanta Braves in a 15-inning thriller at Shea Stadium‚ 4-3‚ to move within 1 game of Atlanta in their National League Championship Series. 

Japanese pitcher Masato Yoshii started for the Mets, and didn't get out of the 4th inning. Greg Maddux pitched 7 innings for the Braves, but left with the game tied, 2-2. John Olerud had hit a home run for the Mets.

Robin Ventura's grand slam home run in the rain in the bottom half of the 15th wins it‚ but his Met teammates mob him before he can reach 2nd base. He never completes his round of the bases, and so he gets credit for a single instead of a home run. It becomes known as the Grand Slam Single.

The Braves leave a postseason-record 19 players on base in the contest. The Mets use 9 pitchers in the game‚ with rookie Octavio Dotel getting the win. No "Heartbreak Dotel" in this game.

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October 17, 1999 was a Sunday. In the American League Championship Series, Game 4 was played at Fenway Park in Boston. The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox‚ 9-2‚ to take a 3-games-to-1 lead. The Sox fans, angry about the calls, threw garbage onto the field in the 9th, for about 5 minutes. until the umpires got the public-address announcer to ask the fans to stop or else the game will be forfeited. I have a separate entry for this event.

These NFL games were played:

* The New York Jets lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 16-13 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots, 31-30 at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The St. Louis Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons, 41-13 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Cleveland Browns, 24-7 at Alltel Stadium (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the New Orleans Saints, 24-21 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Buffalo Bills, 20-14 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 17-3 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings, 25-23 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Chicago Bears, 20-16 at Soldier Field in Chicago. This was the 1st time the Eagles ever beat the Bears in Chicago, going back to their founding in 1933.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers, 31-10 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Arizona Cardinals, 24-10 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Seattle Seahawks, 13-10 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).

* The Carolina Panthers beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-29 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco.

* On ABC Monday Night Football, the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys, 13-10 at Giants Stadium.

* And the Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a bye week.

Also on this day, the Staples Center opened in Los Angeles. The home ever since of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks, the 1st event is a concert by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. It was renamed the Crypto.com Arena in 2021. The Clippers plan to move into the Intuit Dome in Inglewood for the 2024-25 season. 

The NBA season didn't start for another 16 days. There were 2 NHL games played that day. The New York Rangers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden. And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-2 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.