October 18, 2010: The Boone Logan Game

October 18, 2010: Game 3 of the American League Championship Series is played at the new Yankee Stadium. This wasn't the most damaging late-season or postseason bullpen screwup by Joe Giradi, who managed the New York Yankees from 2008 to 2017. But it was the ugliest.

Cliff Lee (there must be a reason why he kept changing teams, despite apparently being so good) shut the Yankees out on 3 hits over the 1st 8 innings. But it was still only 2-0 in favor of the Texas Rangers, after Josh Hamilton hit a home run off Andy Pettitte back in the 1st. The Yankees could still have won it.

Instead, Girardi took Kerry Wood out after he'd pitched a scoreless 8th, and brought in Boone Logan, because he was a lefthanded pitcher, to pitch to Hamilton. What the Yankee skipper forgot is, A, Logan was a terrible pitcher; and, B, Hamilton could hit the ball 400 feet without even thinking about it (possibly with pharmaceutical help).

Hamilton hit another homer, and before Logan, David Robertson and Sergio Mitre could finally stop the bleeding, the Rangers ha taken an 8-0 lead. That was the final score, and the Rangers led the series, 2-1. They went on to beat the Yankees in 6 games, including Logan having a part in blowing the next night's game, and won their 1st Pennant.

In 4 seasons as a Yankee, 2010 to 2013, Logan went 16-7, with an ERA of 3.27 and a WHIP of 1.347, the last 2 being much too high for a relief pitcher. He also blew 34 games, including 2 games in this series. He might have been the most damaging pitcher in Yankee history.

Hamilton was an even wilder baseball story. At the age of 18, in 1999, the native of Raleigh, North Carolina was chosen by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the 1st pick in the MLB Draft. At 20, he was a rising baseball prospect. Then he was in a car accident, and got hooked on painkillers. At 25, he had thrown his life away, having twice been suspended for entire season due to drug use.

Then, with help, he turned his life around. At 26, he made his major league debut. At 27, in 2008, he became an All-Star with the Texas Rangers, won the American League’s RBI title, and thrilled fans at the All-Star Game's Home Run Derby at the old Yankee Stadium – making everyone forget that Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins won it.

At 29, he led the Rangers to the 1st Pennant in team history, won the batting title, and was named the AL's Most Valuable Player. At 30, he led them to another Pennant, although they lost the World Series both times. At 33, by then with the Los Angeles Angels, it looked, despite his rough start, like he had an outside shot at the Hall of Fame.

Then he suffered a nasty injury, and relapsed on painkillers. At 34, back with the Rangers, he played his last game, finishing with a .290 lifetime batting average and exactly 200 home runs. At 38, he was arrested for beating one of his three daughters. At 41, he pled guilty to a lesser charge. As of October 18, 2022, he is not involved in baseball in any capacity.

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October 18, 2010 was a Monday. It was a travel day in the National League Championship Series. The San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies were tied, 1-1. The Giants went on to win the series in 6 games, and sweep the Rangers in the World Series, 4 straight.

On Monday Night Football, the Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 30-3 at EverBank Field (now TIAA Bank Field) in Jacksonville, Florida.

The NBA season didn't start until November 1. There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto. John Tavares scored the winning goal with 1:34 left in overtime.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Dallas Stars, 5-4 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-2 at the CONSOL Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

* And the Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 at the United Center in Chicago. Patrick Sharp scored the winning goal with 1:10 left in overtime.