October 11, 1997: The Lenny Webster Game

October 11, 1997: Game 3 of the American League Championship Series is played at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The Baltimore Orioles waste a masterful pitching performance from Mike Mussina, as the Cleveland Indians score a run in the bottom of the 12th inning when Marquis Grissom steals home on a botched bunt attempt. Baltimore catcher Lenny Webster fails to chase after the ball‚ which he is sure was tipped and fouled off by batter Omar Vizquel.

Mussina gives up only 3 hits and 1 run in 7 innings‚ while striking out 15 Indians, still an ALCS record. Orel Hershiser holds Baltimore scoreless through 7 innings‚ allowing only 4 hits‚ as the Indians win‚ 2-1, which is also the lead they now hold in the series.

Webster was was one of the unluckiest players in baseball history. Debuting with the Minnesota Twins in 1989, he got there too late to be a member of their 1987 World Champions. He was with them during their 1991 World Series-winning season, but did not make the postseason roster. He did receive a World Series ring. He was with the Montreal Expos in 1994, when they had the best record in Major League Baseball at the time the Strike of '94 hit.

He was with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1995, 2 years after they won a National League Pennant. He was with the Orioles in 1997, when they came closer to winning a Pennant than they have in any season since 1983. He was with the Boston Red Sox in 1999, when they reached the ALCS, but was not included on the postseason roster. He returned to the Expos for the 2000 season, which turned out to be his last.

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October 11, 1997 was a Saturday. Game 4 was played in the National League Championship Series. The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 4-0 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Denny Neagle pitched a 4-hit shutout. The series was tied, 2-2. But the Marlins won the next 2 games, to win the Pennant.

These notable college football games were played:

* Number 1 and defending National Champion Florida were upset by Number 14 Louisiana State University, 28-21 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 2 Penn State beat Number 7 Ohio State, 31-27 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

* Number 3 Nebraska beat Baylor, 49-21 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

* Number 4 Florida State beat Duke, 51-27 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Florida State went on to beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

* Number 5 North Carolina beat Wake Forest, 30-12 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Number 6 Michigan beat Northwestern, 23-6 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan, led by Charles Woodson, the 1st purely defensive player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, went on to win the Big 10 Conference title.

* Number 8 Auburn beat Louisiana Tech, 49-13 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama.

* Number 9 Tennessee beat Number 13 Georgia, 38-13 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. Led by quarterback Peyton Manning, Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference title, but turned down the automatic berth in the Sugar Bowl, to set up what could have been a National Championship Game with Big 12 Conference Champions Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Their gamble did not pay off: Nebraska beat them, 42-17, and were crowned National Champions in the poll of the football coaches, conducted by United Press International (UPI).

It was the 3rd National Championship in 4 years for coach Tom Osborne's Cornhuskers, after not winning one since 1971, with some heartbreaking defeats in between.

* Number 10 Washington beat the University of California, 30-3 at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

* Number 15 Washington State had the week off. They went on to win the Pac-10 Conference title. Michigan beat them in the Rose Bowl, and were crowned National Champions in the poll of the football writers, conducted by the Associated Press (AP). This was the last "split title" before the takeover by the Bowl Championship Series.

Led by quarterback Ryan Leaf, "Wazzu" edged UCLA for the Pac-10 title, and UCLA ended up beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

* Number 16 Stanford were upset by Arizona, 28-22 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

* Notre Dame beat the University of Pittsburgh, 45-21 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* In a rivalry game, Texas beat Oklahoma, 27-24 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* In something of a rivalry game, West Virginia beat Maryland, 31-14 at Byrd Stadium (now SECU Stadium) in the Washington suburb of College Park, Maryland.

* Two nights earlier, Rutgers had lost to Syracuse, 50-3 at the new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey. I was there. It was awful. Rutgers finished 0-11, their closest call being the next week, 37-35 at Army. Syracuse went on to lose the Fiesta Bowl to Kansas State.

* Speaking of whom: Among the service academies, Army had the week off, and Number 19 Air Force beat Navy, 10-7 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

The NBA season hadn't started yet. There were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-5 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Washington Capitals, 3-1 at the US Airways Arena (formerly the Capital Centre) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Florida Panthers, 5-3 at the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Phoenix Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche played to a tie, 3-3 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Edmonton Coliseum (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known).

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center).

May 25, 2008: Omar Vizquel Breaks the Record for Games Played at Shortstop

May 25, 2008: The Florida Marlins sweep a doubleheader from the San Francisco Giants, 8-6 and 5-4 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is a bad day for veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel, as he goes 0-for-7 with a walk for the Giants over the 2 games.

But it is still an important day for him, as he plays in his 2,582nd and 2,583rd career games as a shortstop. That ties and then breaks the record for most games played at the position, set by Luis Aparicio.

Both men were from Venezuela. Aparicio starred in the major leagues from 1956 to 1973, mostly for the Chicago White Sox. His slick fielding, contact hitting and quick baserunning were emblematic of the "Go-Go White Sox" won won the American League Pennant in 1959. In 1966, with the Baltimore Orioles, he won the World Series for the only time in his career. He was a 13-time All-Star and a 9-tie Gold Glove winner, collecting 2,677 hits and stealing 506 bases. In 1984, Aparicio became the 1st native of South America elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Vizquel debuted with the Seattle Mariners in 1989, and was best known for his fielding with the Cleveland Indians. He helped them win the AL Pennant in 1995 and 1997. He collected 2,877 hits and stole 404 bases. He last played in 2012, with the Toronto Blue Jays.

He had the misfortune to play the same position, in the same League, at the same time as Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra, before Ripken and "A-Rod" each switched to 3rd base. As a result, he only made 3 All-Star Games, but he won 11 Gold Gloves.

Vizquel became eligible for in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. As of 2022, he has not been elected, due to allegations of domestic violence. He remains the all-time leader in games played at shortstop, with 2,709. Jeter is now 2nd, with 2,674.

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May 25, 2008 was a Sunday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to come from behind, making a winning pitcher of Edwar Ramírez in relief of Chien-Ming Wang. Derek Jeter went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The New York Mets lost to the Colorado Rockies, 4-1 at Coors Field in Denver. Aaron Cook outpitched John Maine.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves, 9-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Micah Owings outpitched Tom Glavine.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat he Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City royals, 3-1 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Jason Bay singled Chris Gomez home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Ramón Vázquez singled Jarrod Saltalamacchia home with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-1 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros 15-6 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. The Phils scored 5 runs in the 6th inning and 6 in the 7th. Geoff Jenkins, Pat Burrell and Chase Utley hit home runs.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 12-9 at Petco Park in San Diego. Each team scored a run in the 9th. Each team scored 2 in the 11th. Finally, in the bottom of the 18th inning, Adrián González hit a game-winning home run.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. This one needed "only" 10 innings, before Andre Ethier singled Juan Pierre home with the winning run.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 the McAfee Coliseum (as the Oakland Coliseum was then known). David Ortiz cheated his way to a home run.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 1 and 2. The Detroit Red Wings went on the beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 103-84 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.