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).

October 5, 2007: The Bug Game

October 5, 2007: Game 2 of the American League Division Series. This was the Bug Game. The Yankees are leading 1-0 in the 8th inning, on a Melky Cabrera home run.

Suddenly, a swarm of insects, identified as "Lake Erie Midges," descends on the field, and starts crawling all over Yankee reliever Joba Chamberlain, the young superstar of the season. He never recovered as a major league pitcher. The umpires, led by Bruce Froemming, refused to suspend the game until the bugs left. Joe Torre went along with this. Casey Stengel would not have. Billy Martin certainly would not have.

The Indians tied the game in the inning, and won the game in the 11th inning, and won the series in 4 games. The Yankees could have protested to the MLB office, but what good would that have done?

As I wrote at the time:

A loss due to bugs? This is the sort of thing that happens to Boston, to Chicago, to Philly. In fact, things like this could be expected to happen in Cleveland, but to Cleveland.

When the Yankees lose in a big situation, there's rarely a bizarre element to it. This was bizarre. This was "curse material."

The umpires should have stopped the game for "unplayable conditions" as if it was raining, or (as has happened in Cleveland) there was snow, or fog. Surely, Billy Martin would have lodged an official protest. As would George Steinbrenner, a Cleveland native, who would have expected this, if he were still alive. Can we really be sure that he is?

But then, what do you expect? The crew chief is Bruce Froemming, the longest, uh, serving, and in my book worst, umpire who has ever lived. This guy deserves to be left alone in a room for 15 minutes with Milton Bradley. He is that bad of an ump...

Andy Pettitte justified our faith in him. He was in trouble in every inning, and got out of every inning. I only heard that sixth on the radio, and I'm convinced I could hear John Sterling squirming. That inning should be replayed at every pitching clinic from big-league spring training down to Little League, to show every pitcher, and aspiring pitcher, on the planet that speed is one of the least important factors for a pitcher, that far more important are control and poise. We are right to worry about Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain in situations like this, because they haven't been tested. Andy is the test.

But I don't blame Joba. He was pitching under conditions that, as far as I know, no pitcher in the history of postseason play in Major League Baseball has ever had to face, and that goes back to the 1884 matchup of the National League Champion Providence Grays and the American Association Champion New York Metropolitans. (Like their much-later successors, known as the Mets for short. The Grays won, behind workhorse Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn.)

Joba lost his control inside that swarm, but he didn't lose his poise or his courage. And he took it like a man from the press. He's 22. He's more mature than a lot of ballplayers in their 30s prove to be. Whoever's managing this team next year, please, do not make him into a starter. He can be Mariano Rivera's successor.

Instead, Joba was turned into a starter, an idea that failed, and he became one of the least mature players in recent Yankee history.

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October 5, 2007 was a Friday. Game 2 of the other ALDS was played at Fenway Park. The Los Angeles Angels blew a 3-2 lead in the 5th inning, and Manny Ramirez took a Justin Speier pitch over the Green Monster in the 10th inning, giving the Boston Red Sox a 6-3 win.

And there were 6 NHL games played that night:

* The New York Islanders beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at the RBC Center (now the PNC Arena) in Raleigh.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Anaheim Ducks, 4-0 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. (Hey, that one still has its original name.)

* The Dallas Stars beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Hey, that one still has its original name, too.)

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1 at General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

Also, the football team at my alma mater, East Brunswick High School, beat J.P. Stevens, 23-14 at John E. McGowan Stadium in Edison, Middlesex County, New Jersey. 

June 24, 1994: Eddie Murray Breaks the Record for Games Played at 1st Base

June 24, 1994: The New York Yankees play the Cleveland Indians, at the Indians' new home, Jacobs Field in Cleveland. (It was renamed Progressive Field in 2007.) Terry Mulholland was given a 9-5 lead to work with, including home runs by Randy Velarde and Danny Tartabull.

Eddie Murray went 2-for-4 for the Indians. In so doing, he plays his 2,384th career game at 1st base, setting a new major league record. He surpasses Jake Beckley, who played in the major leagues from 1888 to 1907, batted .308 lifetime, and collected 2,938 hits. He died of heart disease in 1918, only 50 years old, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. Both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds have elected him to their team Halls of Fame.

This game was suspended in the top of the 8th inning, due to rain. It was resumed the next day, and Murray had 1 more at-bat, but did not reach base. The Yankees won, 11-6. Because the game had already become official with the conclusion of the 5th inning, Murray's milestone is registered as having occurred on June 24, not June 25.

Murray is best remembered as playing for the Baltimore Orioles. With them, he won the American League's 1977 Rookie of the Year award. He helped them win the AL Pennant in 1979, and then the World Series in 1983. Subsequently, in his 1984 Baseball Abstract, Bill James, wrote, "We have been saying for so long that Murray is going to become a great player that we have failed to notice that he has already become one."

He went on to win 3 Gold Gloves and make 8 All-Star Games, despite playing 1st base in the AL at the same time as Don Mattingly. He became of the overpaid, underperforming New York Mets of 1992 and '93, but had a career renaissance in Cleveland. On June 30, 1995, 6 days after he set this defensive record, he collected his 3,000th career hit. That season, he helped the Indians win the Pennant. The following season, he returned to the Orioles as a free agent, and hit his 500th career home run.

He was only the 3rd player, after Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, to collect 3,000 hits and hit 500 home runs. He retired with 3,55 hits, 504 home runs, and 2,413 games played at 1st base. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2003.

As of the conclusion of the 2021 season, the closest any player has come to Murray's total since Murray is Fred McGriff, with 2,239.

UPDATE: On July 6, 2026, Freddie Freeman played his 2,240th career game at 1st base. He turns 37 on September 12. If he keeps playing, and isn't moved to another regular position, he might surpass Murray by the end of the 2027 season. If he does, I will adjust this entry to reflect that he has become the all-time leader.

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June 24, 1994 was a Friday. These other Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-4 at Shea Stadium. Dave Clark went 2-for-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs for the Bucs. For the Mets, Joe Orsulak went 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Denny Neagle outpitched Dwight Gooden. No one could yet guess that they would be teammates, beating the Mets for the Yankees in the 2000 World Series.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Butch Henry pitched 6 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and Jeff Shaw and Mel Rojas completed the 6-hit shutout. Darren Fletcher went 2-for-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Tom Glavine outpitched Danny Jackson. Mark Lemke and Jeff Blauser hit home runs for the Braves, John Kruk and Pete Incaviglia for the Phils.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Cal Ripken went 2-for-5.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Brett Boone singled Reggie Sanders home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 16-4 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 10-3 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. Barry Bonds went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Texas Rangers beat the California Angels, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4.

* And the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.