December 7, 1995: The Tino & Nellie Trade

December 7, 1995: The New York Yankees send pitcher Sterling Hitchcock and 3rd baseman Russ Davis to the Seattle Mariners for 1st baseman Constantino "Tino" Martinez and pitchers Jeff Nelson and Jim Mecir.

Davis and Mecir were incidental. Hitchcock pitched well for the Mariners, and then pitched against the Yankees for the San Diego Padres in the 1998 World Series. Nelson turned out to be a key reliever for the Yankees over the next few years.

The key was Martinez. He had already become a star for the Mariners, and was a big reason why they beat the Yankees in the 1995 American League Division Series. And, with Don Mattingly retiring, the Yankees needed a new 1st baseman.

December 7, 1995 was Martinez's 28th birthday -- and his daughter, Victoria, was born the same day. He had started his career wearing Number 14, in honor of Lou Piniella, a former Yankee star and a friend of the family in their shared hometown of Tampa, Florida. But when Piniella became the Mariners' manager, Martinez knew he had to give the number up. He switched to 23. When he became a Yankee, that was the number worn by the outgoing Mattingly. He knew he didn't want the backlash that would have come from wearing 23. He saw that 24 was available, and that the next-lowest number was much higher, so he took 24.

Broadcaster John Sterling called the lefty slugger "The Bamtino." He did far more for the Yankees than Donnie Baseball. Blasphemy, you say? No, it's not, and I'll give you 4 reasons why: 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. In 1997 -- oddly, not one of the Yanks' Pennant years -- he had 141 RBIs, and his 44 homers were the most by a Yankee between Roger Maris (and Mickey Mantle) in 1961 and Alex Rodriguez in 2005.

The Tampa native hit 339 home runs in his career, 192 as a Yankee. And he hit 2 of the most dramatic homers in Yankee history, the grand slam that won Game 1 of the 1998 World Series, and the homer that sent Game 4 of the 2001 Series to extra innings.

Tino was the 1st player of the Joe Torre Dynasty to get a Monument Park Plaque, although his Number 24 remains in circulation. As much as anyone else, he was one of the player who got the Yankees over the hump in 1996, and kept them there into the dawn of the 21st Century.

*

December 7, 1995 was a Thursday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Atlanta Hawks, 104-102 at The Omni in Atlanta. David Robinson had 31 points and 17 rebounds.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 112-103 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Vin Baker had 32 points and 15 rebounds.

* The Denver Nuggets beat their arch-rivals, the Utah Jazz, 124-119 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 51 points.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the expansion Toronto Raptors, 96-88 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland, Oregon.

* And the Detroit Pistons beat the other expansion team, the Vancouver Grizzlies, 93-84 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver. The Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001.

And there were 8 games in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 7-3 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played to a tie, 3-3 at the Miami Arena.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 7-5 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-3 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-3 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center).

November 11, 1889: Washington Is Admitted As the 42nd State

November 11, 1889: Washington is admitted to the Union as the 42nd State. It is the only State named after a President, George Washington. It is also the only State with a green State Flag, and the only State with a State Flag with the face of a real person on it, rather than a representation of some principle or other.

Other States have been named after people, but not Presidents:

* Delaware: Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a colonial administrator.

* Pennsylvania: William Penn, its founder.

* Georgia: King George II of England.

* Maryland: St. Mary, mother of Jesus.

* South Carolina and North Carolina: King Charles I of England.

* Virginia: Queen Elizabeth II of England, "the Virgin Queen."

* New York: James, Duke of York, brother of King Charles II of England. James succeeded his brother, becoming King James II.

* Louisiana: King Louis IX of France, a.k.a. St. Louis, "the Crusader King." The City of St. Louis, Missouri was also named for him.

Washington was in the Northwest. It had been acquired as part of the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It has become known for its rainy climate; but, when the weather is good, it is known for its outdoor activities: Bicycling, camping in its forests, climbing Mount Rainier, riding the ferry from Seattle (including to Victoria, the Provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada), skiing in the Winter.

Its largest city, Seattle, is particularly known for the U.S. Navy base in nearby Bremerton; the accompanying aviation industry, as the birthplace of aircraft manufacturer Boeing; the computer industry, as the birthplace of Microsoft; and the coffee industry, as the birthplace of Starbucks. The State Capitol is Olympia.

Politically, Washington tends to vote Democratic. However, as with neighboring Oregon, and fellow Pacific Coast State California, the further inland you get, the more conservative people get. This is particularly true of "The Palouse": Eastern Washington (including Spokane), Eastern Oregon, and Northern Idaho, the State's Panhandle. The highest-ranking politician produced by the State has been Thomas S. Foley, who was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995.

That political divide is evident in the 2 major colleges with sports programs: The University of Washington, in Seattle, is generally thought of as liberal; while Washington State University, in Pullman, 288 miles to the east, is considered conservative. The annual Thanksgiving weekdn football game between "U-Dub" vs. "Wazzu" is known as the Apple Cup, named for the State's best-known agricultural product.

Seattle was home to the 1st American team to win the Stanley Cup, the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans. But after their league failed in 1926, the city, and therefore the State, didn't return to the major leagues until 1967, when the NBA expanded to include the Seattle SuperSonics. 

After decades with the Pacific Coast League, with teams called the Siwashes, the Turks, the Giants, the Purple Sox, the Indians, the Rainiers and the Angels, baseball tried the Seattle Pilots in 1969, but they were bankrupt and failed after 1 season. When the Kingdome opened in 1976, the NFL expanded to the Seahawks, and MLB expanded to the Mariners.

The Sonics won the 1979 NBA title, but were moved in 2008. There were new stadiums for the Mariners in 1999 and the Seahawks in 2002. The Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. The Sounds won the MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019.

The Seattle Sounders played in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1983, and MLS expanded to include a new Sounders team in 2009. In 2021, the NHL expanded to include the Seattle Kraken, and the movement to bring in an expansion or moved team to become the new Sonics remains strong.

*

November 11, 1889 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. Basketball was 2 years away from being invented. Hockey barely existed. There was 1 college football game on this day: Lehigh University beat Penn State, 106-0 at the Athletic Association's Grounds in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Lehigh coach Jake Robeson mercifully offered to stop the game with 5 minutes left on the clock, and it remains the worst loss in Penn State football history.

This was a long time ago: Teams would sometimes play 2 games in less than 1 week, and Penn State had played Lehigh's nearby arch-rival, Lafayette, just 2 days before, and lost that, 26-0. They did play 2 other games that season, and win both, also against Pennsylvania teams, Swarthmore and Bucknell. Penn State was not yet the power that it would become, and, because of the diversion of the schools' footballing prowess, Penn State have not played Lehigh since 1942, and Lehigh haven't beaten them since 1936.

October 22, 2001: 116 Wins and No Pennant

October 22, 2001: Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez hit home runs, backing the pitching of Andy Pettitte, and the Yankees win Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, 12-3 over the Seattle Mariners, and take their 38th Pennant.

The Mariners had beaten the Yankees in the 1995 AL Division Series, before losing the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians. Still, it helped to save Major League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, by convincing people to vote to approve a new ballpark. Safeco Field (now named T-Mobile Park) opened in 1999. In 2000, the M's got back to the ALCS, but, this time, the Yankees beat them.

In 2001, the M's got off to a 20-4 start, and were 9 games ahead of the rest of the AL Western Division. By May 17, they were 31-9, and 12 games up; by June 16, 52-14, and 20 games up. Their fans were going into Internet chat rooms with screen names like "Seattle Mariners 2001 World Champions."

The All-Star Game was set for Seattle that year, on July 10. The Mariners were 63-24, leading the Division by 19 games, and had 8 players selected for the game: Pitchers Freddy Garcia, Jeff Nelson and Kazuhiro Sasaki; designated hitter Edgar Martinez, 1st baseman John Olerud, 2nd baseman Bret Boone, center fielder Mike Cameron, and, in right field, Ichiro Suzuki.

With his first name, and former Mariner ace Randy Johnson's number on his back, "ICHIRO" and 51, he had a cannon of a right arm and would finish the season leading the AL in batting at .350, hits with 242 (presaging 2004, when he would set a new major-league record with 262), and stolen bases with 56.

Though he had played in Japan's Pacific League for 9 seasons, and the game in question was played on his 28th birthday, he was named the AL's Rookie of the Year, and became only the 2nd player, after Fred Lynn in 1975, to win either League's Rookie of the Year and its Most Valuable Player awards in the same season.

On August 5, 2001, the Cleveland Indians accomplished a historic 12-run comeback, defeating the Seattle Mariners 15-14 in 11 innings, after trailing 14-2 in the 7th inning. This remarkable victory, known as the "Great Return," tied a major league record for the largest comeback in a game, featuring five runs with two outs in the ninth inning.

But Mariner fans shook it off. The team won its 100th game on September 5, over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, having lost only 40. When MLB paused after the terrorist attacks on September 11, the Mariners were 104-40, and in the 5th game of what turned into a 7-game winning streak. They clinched the Division on September 19, 5-0 over the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, with Jamie Moyer pitching a shutout.

On October 5, they beat the Texas Rangers at home, 6-2, to win their 115th game of the season, breaking the AL record set by the Yankees in 1998. On October 6, they won their 116th, beating the Rangers, 1-0, on a shutout by Joel Piñeiro, tying the major league record set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs.

They could have set a record with a 117th win the next day, but lost, 4-3. Like the August 5 loss to Cleveland, it didn't seem like a sign at the time. M's fans went into the ALDS, also against Cleveland, full of confidence that this would be the year for their 1st-ever Pennant and World Championship.

But the Indians won Game 1 in Seattle, 5-0. The Mariners bounced back in Game 2, 5-1. Then, the Indians won Game 3 in Cleveland, 17-2, one of the biggest blowouts in postseason history. The Mariners won Game 6-2, to send it back to Seattle, where they won Game 5, 3-1. This was the first time all season that they had really been tested. Maybe it would help them.

But the Yankees had been tested time and time again, including coming from 2-0 down at home to take 3 straight ALDS games from the Oakland Athletics. And, having beating the M's in the ALCS the season before, they weren't going to be intimidated by 119 wins (counting the ALDS). After all, in 1998, counting the postseason, they'd won 125, and a lot of them were still there in 2001.

Again, the home teams fell short in this series. The Yankees stunned the Northwesterners by winning 4-2 and 3-2 in Seattle. But in Game 3 in The Bronx, the Mariners won, 14-3. Game 4 was scoreless through 7 innings, but each team scored a run in the 8th. With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, closer Sasaki gave up an infield single to Scott Brosius, and Alfonso Soriano then hit a game-winning home run, 3-1 New York.

After the game, the Mariners' manager made a bold statement to the media: "We're going home for Game 6." He was, essentially, making a guarantee. He was tempting the ghosts of Yankee Stadium. He should have known better, because he was one of them: His name was Lou Piniella, and he had played on the Yankees' 1976-81 dynasty.

Game 5 was put away early. The Yankees scored 4 runs in the 3rd inning, with 2 coming on a Bernie Williams home run. Paul O'Neill added a solo homer in the 4th. The Yankees tacked on 4 more runs in the 6th, and it was 9-0.

Yankee Fans chanted, "One sixteen!" "O-ver-RA-ted!" and, for Ichiro -- I'm sure most of them didn't realize it was his birthday -- "SAY-o-NA-ra!" (Japanese for "Goodbye.")

The Mariners did score 3 in the top of the 7th, but the Yankees came back with 3 in the bottom of the 8th, and won, 12-3. For the Yankees, it was their 5th Pennant in the last 6 years, and a tremendous lift for the City of New York after the events of last month.

For the Mariners, it was a crushing defeat. They had tied an all-time major league record with 116 wins, but had totally flopped against the Yankees. They did reach the postseason again for 21 years. With the Washington Nationals winning one in 2019, the Mariners became the only active team in Major League Baseball never to have won a Pennant.

*

October 22, 2001 was a Monday. NFL Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch was born. Also on this day, tennis had its "royal wedding": Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi got married at their home, in Agassi's hometown of Las Vegas. The private ceremony happened in their courtyard, where they exchanged vows barefoot in jeans, with only their mothers and a Nevada judge present. Between them, they have a son, a daughter, and 30 Grand Slam singles titles (Steffi 22, Andre 8).

This was also the day that ESPN premiered its show Pardon the Interruption. I have a separate entry for that date.

The National League Pennant was also decided on this date. The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, to win the Pennant in record time, their 4th season of existence. Randy Johnson outpitched Tom Glavine, and Erubiel Durazo hit a home run.

And on ABC Monday Night Football, a rivalry was played out: The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 10-9 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

October 8, 1995: The Mariners Save Baseball In the Northwest

October 8, 1995: Thanks to a 2-run double off Jack McDowell by Edgar Martinez, the Seattle Mariners become only the 4th team in major league history to overcome a 2-game deficit to win a 5-game series, when they dramatically come from behind to beat the New York Yankees in 11 innings, 6-5 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

This was the last game as Yankee manager for Buck Showalter, mainly because he let starting pitcher David Cone throw 147 pitches, rather than trust a reliever warming up, a young Panamanian named Mariano Rivera.

"147 pitches." Brian Cashman, then an assistant to general manager Gene Michael, would have a brain aneurysm if he read those words today.

It was also the last game as a major league player for Don Mattingly: Although he only said he was taking the 1996 season off, we knew he wouldn't be back for 1997.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner subsequently moved Michael to an oversight role, hired Joe Torre as manager, and hired Bob Watson as general manager. Watson soon made the trades to bring Mariners Tino Martinez and Jeff Nelson, and Chicago Cub catcher Joe Girardi, to New York. The Last Baseball Dynasty is about to begin.

And that's the 1st reason why it's a good thing that the Yankees lost: If the Yankees had won, they might have beaten the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, and they might have beaten the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. But there's no guarantee. And there's certainly no guarantee that, without the changes made in the 1995-96 off-season, the Yankee Dynasty that we know, from 1996 to 2003, would have happened.

Seriously: If the Yankees hadn't lost to the Mariners, do you think they would have traded for Mariners Tino and Nellie?

It was more than that: By winning this series, the Mariners saved Major League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest. A ballot measure to fund the building of a new ballpark passed, and Safeco Field opened in 1999. (It was renamed T-Mobile Park in 2018.)

If the Yankees had won, then the measure might not have passed, and, today, the Mariners would likely be playing their home games in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. At least, with the area's nautical tradition, they wouldn't have to change their name: They could be the Tampa Bay Mariners.

The Mariners lost the ALCS to the Indians, and Cleveland had its 1st Pennant in 41 years. The Indians lost the World Series to the Braves, and Atlanta had its 1st Pennant in 30 seasons of trying. Each set of fans had waited a long time, through close calls and many awful seasons in awful stadiums, with sparse crowds.

At least Braves fans had Hank Aaron for some of that. Aside from Bob Feller for the first couple of years of the drought, what did Indians fans have? The young Rocky Colavito, the unfulfilled promise of pitchers Herb Score and Sam McDowell, a Cy Young season from Gaylord Perry, the end of Frank Robinson's playing career, and the too-soon trades of Dennis Eckersley and Joe Carter?

With 25 years of hindsight, it is better that the Yankees lost. Seattle, Cleveland and Atlanta fans had waited a long time for what they got in October 1995. The Yankees would take stock, make the necessary adjustments, and win much more.

In 2010, the MLB Network listed this game at 15th on their list of MLB's 20 Greatest Games -- limited in scope, due to the availability of surviving videotape, to 1975 onward.

*

October 8, 1995 was a Sunday. The National League's pair of Division Series had already been decided. But there were NFL games on this day:

* The New York Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-21 in overtime at Giants Stadium.

* The New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills, 29-10 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Redskins, 37-34 in overtime at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots, 37-3 at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-16 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Stadium).

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 19-16 at Tampa Stadium.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-24 in overtime at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in the Miami suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers, 34-24 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Cleveland Browns, 38-20 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Carolina Panthers, 37-21 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Houston Oilers, 23-17 in overtime at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Seattle Seahawks, 34-14 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the next day, on Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Diego Chargers, 29-23 in overtime at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* Except for the expansion Panthers, the entire NFC West had a bye week: The San Francisco 49ers, the St. Louis Rams, the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.

The NBA season hadn't started yet. But the NHL season just had, and there were 2 games played. The Florida Panthers beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 at the Miami Arena. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

October 7, 2000: The Old Wembley Finale

October 7, 2000: The last event is held in the 77-year history of the original Wembley Stadium in London. The England national soccer team loses to Germany, 1-0. The last goal in the stadium is scored by Dietmar Hamann, who was, at the least, playing for an English club at the time, Liverpool.

Paul Scholes of Manchester United and England (left)

and Marco Bode of Werder Bremen and Germany

Liverpool had been the club at which Kevin Keegan rose to stardom. He had also played in Germany, for Hamburger SV, before returning home, and starring for Southampton and Newcastle United. He had managed several teams, including nearly taking Newcastle to the 1996 Premier League title. So after Glenn Hoddle was properly fired as England manager, Keegan, known as Mighty Mouse for being short but talented, was named manager.

But after this match, the media cornered him in the bathroom of the dressing room, and he resigned. And so, Wembley's history as the home of English football ended with "Keegan quits in the toilet." (In England, "the toilet" is the entire rest room, not just the bowl.) Although Keegan has had a few managing jobs since, he has never again managed any national side.

One more note: The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 3 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich. In 2024, the Stade de France outside Paris will make it 4.

It was demolished in 2002, and delays meant that the new Wembley Stadium did not open until 2007.

*

October 7, 2000 was a Saturday. This was also the day the TV show Queen of Swords premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was also the day of Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Benny Agbayani's 13th inning home run ends the longest LDS game ever played to that point, 5 hours and 22 minutes. The dramatic round-tripper by the Mets outfielder, who (like a previous Met, Sid Fernandez) wears Number 50 because he's from Hawaii, the 50th State, gives the Mets a 3-2 victory, and a 2-games-to-1 series advantage over the San Francisco Giants.

In the other NLDS, the St. Louis Cardinals do the Mets a huge favor, completing a 3-game sweep over the team in the Mets' heads, the Atlanta Braves. The Cards win, 7-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

In the American League Division Series, the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees, 11-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum) in Game 4. This ties the series up. But the Yankees win the series the next day. The other ALDS was wrapped up the day before, with the Seattle Mariners sweeping the Chicago White Sox.

On the same day, the Columbus Blue Jackets bring the NHL back to Ohio after 22 years, and give the State capital its 1st-ever major league team, unless you count Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, or the Columbus Bullies who won the only titles of the 1940-41 American Football League.

Their 1st game is at home against the Chicago Blackhawks, who win, 5-3 at Nationwide Arena, still the Jackets' home. Their 1st goal is scored by Bruce Gardiner. I have a separate entry for this game.

It is also the night of the 1st game for another expansion team, the Minnesota Wild. They open on the road, at the America West Arena (now the Footprint Center) in Phoenix, and lose to the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes play to a tie, 3-3 at the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (now the Lenovo Center).

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators, 3-1 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* And the Colorado Rockies and the Edmonton Oilers play to a tie, 1-1 at the Skyreach Centre, as the Northlands Coliseum was then known, in Edmonton.

And there was college football on the day, including the following games:

* Number 1 Florida State were upset by Number 7 Miami, 27-24 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Hurricanes won the Big East Conference title. Florida State still won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

* Number 2 Nebraska beat Iowa State, 49-27 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.

* Number 3 Virginia Tech beat Temple, 35-13 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.

* Number 4 Kansas State beat their arch-rivals, Kansas, 52-13 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Number 5 Clemson beat North Carolina State, 34-27 at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 6 Michigan lost to Purdue, 32-31 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue won the Big 10 Conference title.

* Number 8 Ohio State beat Number 24 Wisconsin, 23-7 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 10 Oklahoma beat Number 11 Texas, 63-14 in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners went on to win beat Kansas State for the Big 12 Conference title, and Florida State in the Orange Bowl, and won the National Championship.

* Number 12 Florida beat Louisiana State, 41-9 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators went on to beat Auburn for the Southeastern Conference title, but lost the Sugar Bowl to Miami.

* Number 13 Washington beat Number 23 Oregon State, 33-30 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Washington won the Pacific-10 Conference title, and beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl.

* Number 15 Auburn were upset by Number 20 Mississippi State, 17-10 at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi.

* Number 18 Southern California were upset by Arizona, 31-15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 19 Georgia beat Number 21 Tennessee, 21-10 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Tennessee still ended up going to the Cotton Bowl, but lost it to Kansas State.

* Number 25 Notre Dame beat Stanford, 20-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame went to the Fiesta Bowl, but lost to Oregon State.

* Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) beat arch-rival Nevada, 38-7 at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Whitney, Nevada.

* In a battle between service academies, Air Force beat Navy, 27-13 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Army lost to New Mexico State, 42-23 at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

October 4, 1995: The Jim Leyritz Game I

October 4, 1995: Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium. It begins at 8:06 PM, with Phil Rizzuto throwing out a ceremonial first ball. It includes the 1st of 44 postseason starts by Andy Pettitte; and home runs by Ken Griffey Jr. and Vince Coleman for the Seattle Mariners; and, for the Yankees, Ruben Sierra, Don Mattingly (leading ABC announcer Gary Thorne to yell: "Aw, hang onto the roof! Goodbye, home run!"), Paul O'Neill and, at 1:22 AM, in the bottom of the 15th inning, through raindrops, Jim Leyritz, off Tim Belcher. Yankees 7, Mariners 5.

It is the 1st postseason walkoff homer at Yankee Stadium since Chris Chambliss won the Pennant 19 years earlier. The Yankees lead the M's 2 games to none, and need just 1 win in Seattle to take the series. But they won't get it.

*

October 4, 1995 was a Wednesday. All 4 Division Series had their Game 2s played on this day:

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Former Dodger hero Orel Hershiser pitched 7 1/3rd innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and was supported by a home run from former Baltimore Oriole hero Eddie Murray.

Also on this day, The Drew Carey Show, set in Cleveland and starring comedian Drew Carey, a Cleveland native, airs the episode "Nature Abhors a Vacuum." In it, Drew (playing a fictionalized, less successful version of himself) remarks on the Indians' having reached their 1st postseason in 41 years, "Finally, it's everyone else's team that sucks!"

In the National League, the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-4 at Coors Field in Denver. The Rockies had done well to make the Playoffs in only their 3rd year of play, but the Braves were too strong for them.

And the Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Reds would win this series, but, through 2022, have not won a postseason series since.

October 2, 1995: The Seattle Mariners Win the AL West Playoff

October 2, 1995: In a 1-game playoff for the American League Western Division title, Seattle Mariners southpaw Randy Johnson throws a 3-hitter and beats the California Angels, 9-1 at the Kingdome. It is the 1st postseason berth in the Mariners' history.

The 6-foot-10 pitcher known as the Big Unit finishes the season with an 18-2 record to establish a new AL mark for winning percentage by a lefthander, of .900, surpassing the record set of .893 by Ron Guidry in 1978. (Guidry still has the mark for lefty AL pitchers winning at least 20 games.)

Tony Philips of the Angels hits the game's only home run. But it's also the only run the Angels score. It's only 1-0 Mariners going to the bottom of the 7th, but Mark Langston collapses, and the Mariners capitalize, led by a 2-run double by Luis Sojo. This was the 1st big postseason hit for the future Yankee. There would be more.

The Angels led the Division by 11 games on August 9, and 6 games on September 12. But a pair of 9-game losing streaks, and a 7-game winning streak by the Mariners, doomed the Halos to one of the worst collapses in major league history.

The Angels were established in 1961, as the Los Angeles Angels. They became the California Angels in 1965, moved to Anaheim in 1966, and were usually good but never reached the Playoffs until winning the AL West in 1979. But they lost the AL Championship Series to the Baltimore Orioles.

They won the Division again in 1982, but blew a 2-0 lead to the Milwaukee Brewers. The won again in 1986, but blew a 3-1 lead to the Boston Red Sox. They didn't reach a Game 163 again until 1995, and thought they had the Division wrapped up, but they went downhill, and the Mariners went on a tear.

The Angels' inability to win a Pennant was beginning to be called "The Curse of the Cowboy." Gene Autry, Western movies' "Singing Cowboy," was their 1st owner, and still owned the team at this point. There seemed to be no reason why he would put a curse on his own team, but maybe he was the one who was cursed.

In the midst of the illness that would end his life the next year, Autry sold the Angels to the Walt Disney Company in 1997. Disney changed the team's name to the Anaheim Angels. The team finally won their 1st Pennant in 2002, and then won the World Series, ending the curse. But maybe they've started a new one: They've been to the Playoffs a few times since, but still have only the 1 Pennant.

But that's 1 Pennant more than the Mariners have: Established in 1977, they've gone 0-3 in ALCS play.

*

October 2, 1995 was a Monday. There was only one other score on this historic day: On ABC Monday Night Football, the Buffalo Bills beat the Cleveland Browns, 22-19 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

September 14, 1990: The Griffeys, Father & Son, Back-to-Back

September 14, 1990: The California Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim) in Anaheim, California. But nobody remembers the result. This is one of the few games where what someone on the losing team did. In this case, two someones, together.

George Kenneth Griffey was born on April 10, 1950 in Donora, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh. The greatest baseball player ever to come from that town was Stan Musial. Ken's father, Joseph, known as Buddy Griffey, had played on a racially integrated team with Stan the Man.

Ken had a pretty good career, lasting from 1973 to 1991. He batted .296, made 3 All-Star Games, and was the starting right fielder on the Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine" team that won the 1975 and 1976 World Series.

George Kenneth Griffey Jr. was born on November 21, 1969, also in Donora -- on Musial's 49th birthday. While his father played for the Reds, the family lived in suburban Beckett Ridge, Ohio. From 1982 to 1986, Ken Sr. played for the New York Yankees. During that time, there was an incident where Ken Sr. and Jr. were sitting together in the dugout, when Ken Jr. was told to leave the dugout, while a white player's son was allowed to practice on the field. From that time onward, Ken Jr. swore he would never play for the Yankees.

Like several other Reds players' sons, Ken Jr. went to Archbishop Moeller High School, a Catholic school in a northern, suburban part of Cincinnati. Among the other baseball players produced by the school are Buddy Bell (son of Reds star Gus Bell) and his sons David and Mike; and future Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin and his brother Stephen, who also played for the Reds. Another brother, Byron Larkin, is the all-time leading basketball scorer at Cincinnati's Xavier University. John Boehner, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is also a Moeller graduate.

Ken Jr. was drafted by the Mariners in 1987, and he had no problem playing for them. He made his major league debut on April 3, 1989. On August 29, 1990, the Mariners signed Ken Sr., making the Ken Griffeys the 1st father and son to be MLB teammates. On August 31, they played together for the 1st time, and the Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-2 at the Kingdome. Both went 1-for-4.

That would have been an entry for this blog -- if what happened 2 weeks later had not happened. Yes, the Mariners lost this game in Anaheim. But here's how that game began. Angels starter Kirk McCaskill walked Harold Reynolds, then gave up a home run to 40-year-old Ken Griffey Sr. In the very next at-bat, he gave up a home run to 21-year-old Ken Griffey Jr. Father and son, back-to-back home runs.

Ken Sr. played his last major league game on May 31, 1991. Ken Jr. would go on to become the Mariners' greatest player ever, then signed with his hometown Reds, playing for them from 2000 to 2008. For his career, he batted .284, collected 2,781 hits, including 630 home runs, and was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

*

September 14, 1990 was a Friday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Tim Leary, in a rare good start for the Yankees, was the winning pitcher, advancing to 9-18 on the season, falling to 9-19. Don Mattingly doubled as a pinch-hitter.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 at Shea Stadium. Pat Combs went the distance, outpitching Sid Fernandez. Dale Murphy hit a home run for the Phils, and Howard Johnson hit one for the Mets.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Barry Bonds hit 2 home runs. He was not yet using steroids.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 7-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-7 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Cal Ripken Jr. went 1-for-5.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, in one of that old ballpark's last games. Jack McDowell pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and 3 relievers completed the 4-hit shutout. Sammy Sosa, not yet a star -- and, presumably, not yet using steroids -- hit a home run.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Nolan Ryan pitched 8 innings, striking out 11, but was not involved in the decision. Robin Yount went 2-for-4, and drove in the Brewers' only run with a solo home run. Paul Molitor went 1-for-4. Juan González won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. It is not known whether he had begun using steroids.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5.

And the high school football season began in New Jersey. My Alma Mater, East Brunswick in Middlesex County, lost to Cherokee of Burlington County, 23-6 at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick.

September 3, 1978: The Goose Gossage Game

September 3, 1978: A nice Sunday afternoon on Labor Day Weekend at Yankee Stadium. Strange, but I remembered this game as being 4-0 with Catfish Hunter pitching a shutout and then running out of gas in the 9th inning. But it was Jim Beattie starting and going 8 innings, with Sparky Lyle taking over for the 9th, up 4-2 over the Seattle Mariners.

Chris Chambliss had driven in 3 runs with a triple, and Reggie Jackson had gone 2-for-4. Now, they just needed Sparky, the previous season's American League Cy Young Award winner, to get 3 outs.

But Sparky didn't have it, and allowed a single to Bruce Bochte, a single to Dan Meyer, and a double to Bill Stein to make it 4-3, runners on 2nd and 3rd, and nobody out.

And the Boston Red Sox had already won, beating the Oakland Athletics, 11-6 at Fenway Park. Jim Rice had 3 hits, including a home run; while Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn and Rick Burleson each had 2. Rice had 4 RBIs, Fisk 3, Lynn 2.

So the Yankees, having been 14 games behind the Red Sox on July 20, but came into this game 5½ back, needed this one to keep pace.

Manager Bob Lemon brought in Rich Gossage. The Goose faced Tom Paciorek, and struck him out. He faced Bob Robertson and struck him out. He faced Julio Cruz, and struck him out, too. He struck out the side. On WPIX-Channel 11, Phil Rizzuto nearly "Holy Cow"ed himself to an early grave. The Yankees remain 5½ games out in the AL Eastern Division, with 28 to play, including 7 against the Sox.

Gossage had gotten off to a rough start with the Yankees, after being the big free-agent signing of the 1977-78 off-season. Manager Billy Martin didn't trust him, angry that team owner George Steinbrenner had signed him despite having Lyle as the closer. But when Billy was fired, Lemon, who had been a Hall of Fame pitcher, was brought in, and he straightened the team out, including showing Gossage that he trusted him. Things were considerably smoother after that.

Over the next 44 days, Gossage became the 1st pitcher in the still relatively-new Divisional Play Era to get the final out in a Division title clincher, a Pennant clincher, and a World Series clincher. He developed his trademark biker mustache, and a reputation as the most dominant relief pitcher of the next few years.

*

September 3, 1978 was a Sunday. Czech hockey player Michal Rozsíval was born.

These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-5. Lee Mazzilli hit 2 home runs.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Wayne Nordhagen hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 9th to win it for the South Siders. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4.

* The California Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell went 1-for-3.

* This was still the age of Sunday doubleheaders. The Chicago Cubs swept one from the Houston Astros, 3-2 and 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Rookie Paul Molitor went 0-for-5.

* The Minnesota Twins swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians, 12-3 and 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Over the 2 games, Rod Carew went 5-for-7 with a walk.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock did not play. Nor did Johnny Bench. Pete Rose went 2-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 and 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* And the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres were, oddly, not scheduled.

It was also the opening weekend of the NFL season, and these games were played:

* The New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins, 33-20 at Shea Stadium.

* The Washington Redskins beat the New England Patriots, 16-14 at Schaefer Stadium (later Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 16-14 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Houston Oilers, 20-14 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31-24 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Buffalo Bills, 28-17 at Rich Stadium (now Highmark Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Cleveland Browns beat the San Francisco 49ers, 24-7 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-23 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions, 13-7 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Chicago Bears beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 17-10 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders, 14-6 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Seattle Seahawks, 24-20 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* The night before this day -- and, given where each team was at the time, it seems an odd choice for a season-kickoff game -- the New York Giants beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 19-13 at Tampa Stadium.

* And the night after this day, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Baltimore Colts, 38-0 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

August 11, 1994: The Strike of '94 Begins

August 11, 1994: With the Major League Baseball Players Association going on strike at Midnight, what turn out to be the last games of the season are played.

This includes the unintentionally early last baseball game at Mile High Stadium in Denver, which had hosted minor-league baseball from 1948 to 1992. The Colorado Rockies lose to the Atlanta Braves, 13-0. Greg Maddux pitched a 3-hit shutout. David Justice hits the stadium's last home run.

The Rockies moved into the new Coors Field when baseball resumed the following April. Mile High Stadium continued to host the NFL's Denver Broncos, as it had since 1960, through the 2000 season, when its replacement opened next-door, on the site of the McNichols Sports Arena.

The last game to end is at the Oakland Coliseum, with the host Athletics losing, 8-1 to the Seattle Mariners. Randy Johnson, outpitching former Met Ron Darling, closes it out by striking Ernie Young out at 9:45 PM Pacific Time – 12:45 AM on August 12, Eastern Time. Eric Anthony of Seattle hits the last home run… until Raul Mondesi of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 25, 1995, 257 long days and many broken hearts later.

The A's trailed the Texas Rangers in the American League Western Division by 1 game; the Mariners, by 2. The Rangers actually had a terrible record, 52-62, but it was good enough, at the time, to lead the Division. With the 3-Division setup debuting this season, they could have become the 1st team ever ton win a Division title with a losing record. Through the 2021 season, that still has not happened.

*

August 11, 1994 was a Thursday. These other games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-7 at Yankee Stadium. This game went to extra innings, and I thought at the time that the players looked like they wanted to keep playing, and not go on strike. Each team scored a run in the 12th inning. Ed Sprague hit a home run off Joe Ausanio to lead off the top of the 13th. Danny Tartabull hit a home run for the Yankees. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5 with a walk.

The Yankees had the best record in the American League, 70-43, and were leading the American League Eastern Division by 6 1/2 games over the Baltimore Orioles. This was probably Mattingly's best chance to win a title, and it was over.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Ricky Jordan singled Billy Hatcher home with the winning run in the bottom of the 15th inning. So, between them, the 2 New York teams played 28 innings, and neither won.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 8-6 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 4-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Zane Smith pitched a 5-hit shutout. Despite this defeat, at 74-40, the Expos had the best record in MLB, leading National League Eastern Division by 6 games over the Braves.

The only 2 times that franchise ended a season in 1st place under the Montreal Expos name were in 1981 and 1994, both tainted by a strike. During the strike-affected off-season, the Expos would break up their team to save money. Just 10 years later, they moved, becoming the Washington Nationals.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Ramón Martínez pitched a 7-hit shutout. The Dodgers were leading the NL Western Division, while the Reds were leading the NL Central. They would face each other in the Playoffs the next season, with the Reds sweeping, but not this season.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 8-6 at the Astrodome in Houston. Derek Bell went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Tony Gwynn also went 3-for-5. The Astros were only half a game behind the Reds in the NL Central.

* The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians were among the teams not scheduled. The White Sox, who hadn't won a Pennant since 1959 or a World Series since 1917, were leading the AL Central. The Indians, who hadn't even been in a Pennant race since 1959, hadn't won a Pennant since 1954, and hadn't won a World Series since 1948, were just 1 game behind the ChiSox. Both got screwed by the strike. At the time, the White Sox were the one team that concerned me, as a Yankee Fan, with possibly being a better team.

July 29, 1989: Rickey Henderson Has No At-Bats -- But 5 Stolen Bases

July 29, 1989: Rickey Henderson has one of the strangest statistical lines in baseball history: No hits, no at-bats, but he draws 4 walks, steals 5 bases, and scores 4 runs.

He led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a walk, stole 2nd base, stole 3rd base, and scored when the pitcher, Randy Johnson, mishandled Carney Lansford's ground ball. Henderson led off the 3rd inning with a walk, stole 2nd, and scored on Lansford's double.

Again in the 5th, Henderson was the 1st batter of the inning, and drew a walk, and stole 2nd. Lansford grounded out, and Dave Henderson flew out. But, again, Henderson scored on an error, when 3rd baseman Jim Presley made a bad throw on Mark McGwire's grounder. Henderson came to bat again in the 6th, drew a walk, and was part of a double steal in which Stan Javier stole 3rd base. Lansford doubled both of them home.

In the 9th inning, Tony Phillips was moved from shortstop to left field, taking Henderson out of the game, and Mike Gallego was put at shortstop, taking Henderson's place in the batting order. But Gallego never got to bat, so he didn't have an official at-bat, either.

None of it did much good: Henderson's Oakland Athletics lost to the Seattle Mariners, 14-6 at the Oakland Coliseum. The M's scored 8 runs in the top of the 1st inning, before the A's could even come to bat. They got the runs on 5 singles, a double, 4 walks and a wild pitch. Oddly, no home runs, and no errors: All 8 runs were earned. Storm Davis pitched to 8 batters, and got exactly 1 of them out. Johnson got his 8th career win. He went on to win 303. Nevertheless, the A's went on to win the World Series.

Henderson was baseball's greatest base stealer, with 1,406. He collected over 3,000 hits, 3,055. His lifetime batting average is not very impressive, .279; but all those walks pushed his on-base percentage to .401. His slugging percentage is .419, and his OPS+ is 127. He had a surprising amount of power, with 297 home runs despite spending the majority of his career in the pitching-friendly Coliseum. And he is baseball's all-time leader in runs scored, with 2,295; and is 2nd (and formerly 1st) all-time in walks, with 2,190.

Baseball statistician Bill James once said, "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall-of-Famers."

In the 19th Century, 2 players were credited with 7 stolen bases in a game, but the definition of "stolen base" was different then. By today's definition, the record is 6, and it's been done 5 times: Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia Athletics did it twice, quickly, on September 11 and 22, 1912; Otis Nixon of the Atlanta Braves did it on June 16, 1991; Eric Young Sr. of the Colorado Rockies did it on June 30, 1996; and Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays did it on May 3, 2009.

*

July 29, 1989 was a Saturday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees traded for Henderson in the 1984-85 off-season, but he didn't help them reach the Playoffs, and they traded him back to the A's earlier in 1989.

In this game, Chuck Cary, who didn't do much else for the Yankees, pitched a complete game; while Jimmy Key, who would go on to help the Yankees re-establish themselves, didn't get out of the 4th inning. Don Mattingly went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Bob Geren also had 3 hits, while Jesse Barfield, Steve Sax and Alvaro Espinoza each had 2.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 10-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Montreal Expos beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. On the same exact day as Henderson's unusual achievement, there was an even more bizarre occurrence: Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals, the closest thing the National League then had to a Rickey Henderson, was called out twice for interference on the base paths. Dennis Martínez pitched an 8-hit shutout.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Barry Bonds, who would eventually decide that he needed to use steroids, appeared as a pinch-hitter for the Pirates, and did not reach base. Mike Schmidt, who never decided that he needed to use steroids, had recently retired after hitting 548 home runs for the Phillies.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Mike Smithson pitched 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and Rob Murphy pitched a perfect 9th.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Gary Pettis singled Doug Strange home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-0 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Luis Aquino pitched a 3-hit shutout. George Brett went 0-for-4. Cal Ripken went 2-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 8-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Robin Yount went 3-for-4. Paul Molitor went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* And the California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

July 21, 1988: The Buhner-Phelps Trade

July 21, 1988: The New York Yankees trade outfielder Jay Buhner, pitcher Rick Balabon, and a player to be named later, who turned out to be pitcher Troy Evers (that part of the trade was completed on the following October 12), to the Seattle Mariners for 1st baseman/designated hitter Ken Phelps.

Balabon had poor control, and Evers was injury-prone. Neither ever reached the major leagues. Balabon was 24 and Evers 26 when they threw their last pitches in "organized ball." So, whatever they were (and are) as human beings, as ballplayers, they were no great loss to the Yankees.

The key was Buhner. At the time of the trade, Jay Campbell Buhner was 23 years old, going on 24. He was a righthanded hitter, born in Louisville, Kentucky, and grew up in the Houston suburb of League City, Texas. He had a very good season at Triple-A Columbus in 1987, and had played 7 games for the Yankees late that season. Thus far in 1988, he had come to the plate 76 times for the Yankees, batting .188, hitting 3 home runs, with 13 RBIs.

I was there at the old Yankee Stadium when he hit his 2nd major league home run (I previously thought it was his 1st), a grand slam that gave the Yankees an 8-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on June 11. From May 15 to July 6, he had been the Yankees' regular center fielder, as Claudell Washington had gone into decline.

It's important to remember that Buhner was righthanded, and that Yankee Stadium was not conducive to righthanded power hitting. It was much better for lefthanded hitters. With Don Mattingly having a bad back, and other injuries hitting the team, the Yankees needed a good lefthanded DH/pinch-hitter.

At the time of the trade, Kenneth Allen Phelps was 33 years old, going on 34. He was a lefthanded hitter, born and raised in Seattle. He debuted with the Kansas City Royals, having a 3-game "cup of coffee" in their 1980 Pennant season. He played 21 more games for them in 1981, and 10 for the Montreal Expos in 1982, before his hometown Mariners (keeping in mind that they weren't his hometown team while he was growing up, they didn't play their 1st game until he was 22) got him in 1983. By 1988, he had already had 3 seasons of at least 24 home runs, and in his last 2 seasons, he'd gotten 64 and 68 RBIs. These are decent totals.

But his highest batting average at that point was .259 in 1987. He was a one-dimensional player: He didn't really hit for singles, doubles or triples; he didn't hit to the opposite field; he wasn't much of a baserunner, being kind of a chubby guy who stole 10 bases in his entire career; and as for his fielding, well, there's a reason he was frequently a DH. (Well, 2 reasons: The Mariners had a pretty good 1st baseman in Alvin Davis.)

After the trade? Here's what Phelps did for the Yankees: Batted .224 for the rest of 1988, with 10 homers and 22 RBIs; continued to not hit well in 1989, and was traded on August 30 to the Oakland Athletics for Scott Holcomb, a 21-year-old pitcher who hadn't yet reached the majors -- and, as it turned out, never would.

Phelps wouldn't do much for the A's, either, and in 1990 they traded him to the Cleveland Indians, and that was it for him in the majors. Lifetime batting average: .239. Home runs: 123 -- not exactly a big total for a guy known for his power, especially since he played with short right-field porches at the Kingdome and Yankee Stadium.

Here's what Buhner did for the Mariners: 14 seasons, 307 home runs, 4 postseason berths.

The trade loomed pretty large to Yankee fans who watched the team fall apart in 1989, after 4 years of close-but-no-cigar contention, and begin 4 years of doldrums. Buhner's bat would have been a big help, wouldn't it?

It got worse after the 1995 American League Division Series, when the Yankees lost to the Mariners, with Buhner batting .458 with a homer and 3 RBIs in those 5 games. You'll notice that the Seinfeld episode in which Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) yells about this trade to George Steinbrenner (Larry David), "The Caddy," aired on January 26, 1996, less than 3 months after that series.

How could The Boss make this moronic trade? How could the Yankees as an organization have let such a stupid thing happen? Believe it or not, it was totally justifiable at the time.

Although the Yankees stayed in the AL Eastern Division race most of the way in 1988, they had a bunch of injuries. In the June 11, 1988 game I mentioned, the only player in the lineup who could hit and was playing his preferred position was Dave Winfield. It was so bad that Billy Martin, in perhaps his last masterstroke as a manager, put Rick Rhoden, a decent-hitting pitcher, in as the DH -- ahead of catcher Joel Skinner and shortstop Rafael Santana, forced into starting by injuries to others.

So bringing in a lefty bat with power was necessary. Whereas the Yankees had Winfield, Jack Clark, Gary Ward, and even Rickey Henderson to provide power from the right side. (Yes, Henderson: Despite playing most of his career in parks not conducive to righthanded power, he hit close to 300 homers.) For the 1988 Yankees, Jay Buhner was surplus to requirements.

At the time of the trade, Phelps had already had 3 seasons of at least 24 home runs, and in his last 2 seasons he'd gotten 64 and 68 RBIs. He had a lefty swing that was tailor-made for Yankee Stadium. If he had been 22 instead of 34, and had started out in the Yankee system, and had tailed off the same way, today he'd be thought of in the same vein as his contemporaries Steve Balboni, Dan Pasqua and Kevin Maas, guys who were great prospects but flamed out quickly. But he was brought in at age 34 (for all intents and purposes), and his reputation was dragged down.

Still, the Yankees traded something they didn't seem to need for something that looked like something they did need.

And, as I said, Buhner hadn't proven much. He had made a grand total of 99 plate appearances in the major leagues. His batting average as a Yankee was .199; on-base, .255; slugging, .319; OPS+, 58. For comparison's sake: Rhoden, the pitcher who was the DH in that game, then had an OPS+ of 60. In other words, in July 1988, you could be blunt and say that Jay Buhner stunk; or you could be charitable and say he wasn't ready for the major leagues.

Well, what about what he did afterward? Huh? The Yankees could have used that, couldn't they? Here's his career totals: BA, .254. OBP, .359. Slugging, .494. OPS, .852. OPS+, 124. Hits, 1,273. Doubles, 233. Triples, 19. Home runs, 310. RBIs, 965.

Decent stats, sure. The fact that his 1995, '96 and '97 HR & RBI stats were 40 & 121, 44 & 138, and 40 & 109 makes it look worse for the Yankees.

But as a wise man once said, Statistics are like bikinis: What they reveal can be great, but what they don't reveal is more important. Let's look beyond those basic stats:

His highest batting average for a single season was .272, in 1993. People who say that Phil Rizzuto doesn't belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame cite his .273 lifetime batting average. Well, Phil Rizzuto had a higher lifetime batting average than "good hitter" Jay Buhner -- and could run, and could field.

Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson are Yankee Hall-of-Famers who were criticized for striking out too much. Well, Mickey's highest single-season strikeout total was 126; Reggie's top total as a Yankee wasn't much more, 133; Buhner led the AL in strikeouts in 1996 with 159 and in '97 with 175.

And let's keep in mind: The Yankees were nowhere near contention for the next 4 seasons, 1989 through '92. And the Yankees traded for Jesse Barfield after this. Would Buhner have given the Yankees much more than Barfield at that time? Would having Buhner in those 4 seasons have helped much? I doubt it.

Yeah, but Buhner helped the Mariners reach the postseason 4 times, right? Well, look at his teammates: Ken Griffey Jr., future Hall-of-Famer; Edgar Martinez, also a HOFer; Tino Martinez, who was traded away after 1995 but consistently put up All-Star-quality numbers, including in 1995; Alex Rodriguez, you know his story; Mike Cameron, All-Star; John Olerud, wasn't a Mariner for long but played very well for them. And that's not even considering their pitching: Randy Johnson, Aaron Sele, Jamie Moyer, eventually Freddy Garcia. Buhner was never the most, or the 2nd-most, or even the 3rd-most important player on his own team.

And look at Buhner's decline:

1997 Age 33, 665 plate appearances, OPS+ of 132
1998 34, 286, 109
1999 35, 343, 105
2000 36, 430, 127
2001 37, 53 100

Wow, his appearances really dropped. And so did his production. Injuries. And he was famously bald. Steroids? As far as is publicly known, he was clean... but he does fit the profile. Remember, he didn't just go from 430 plate appearances to 53; that 2000 season was the anomaly for Buhner after 1997.

Let's be honest here: If Jay Buhner was the Yankees' right fielder from 1993 to 2001, you know the Yankee Haters would claim that his decline "proves" that he was using performance-enhancing drugs.

If Buhner had been the Yankees' right fielder from 1989 (a year in which Winfield was out the entire way with an injury) through 1992, instead of former Toronto Blue Jay slugger Jesse Barfield (who gave the Yankees 3 decent seasons, but was hurt, and really came to the team at the wrong time in its history), the Yankees wouldn't have traded Roberto Kelly to the Cincinnati Reds for O'Neill. Kelly might well have been traded for somebody -- Bernie Williams was on the way up, and became the Yankees' regular center fielder until 2006 -- but he wouldn't have been traded for O'Neill.

O'Neill became one of the cornerstones of the new Yankee dynasty, playing well and doing so consistently, playing while hurt, pushing himself to come through in big moments. No, he wasn't a Hall-of-Famer, but he was a better all-around player than Buhner: He could hit for average (batting .300 6 times), he could hit to the opposite field, he was a decent baserunner (stole double figures 5 straight seasons, including 22 at age 38 in his final season), and he was a much better-fielding right fielder than Buhner.

Nobody says Kelly for O'Neill was a bad trade -- unless, of course, they're a Cincinnati Reds fan, or a major Yankee hater. So don't think of the 1988 trade as Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps. Think of it as Jay Buhner for Paul O'Neill.

Would you make that trade? I'd make it in a New York minute.

Today, Buhner is still living in the Seattle area, living off his baseball earnings, acting as an official spokesman for a local car dealership, and indulging in his passion for fishing. Can't fault him for any of that. Phelps, who actually is from near Seattle, is living near Phoenix, broadcasting for a minor-league team.

*

July 21, 1988 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Rickey Henderson and Don Mattingly hit home runs in support of Rick Rhoden, but relivers Tim Stoddard and Cecile Guante blew it in the bottom of the 9th. George Brett had homered earlier for the Royals.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 6-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0 at the Astrodome on Houston. Nolan Ryan pitched a 3-hit shutout, striking out 9.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* The New York Mets were supposed to play the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium, but got rained out. In a doubleheader the next day, the Mets swept, 6-1 and 5-1.

* And the Baltimore Orioles, the California Angels, the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers, the Minnesota Twins and the Oakland Athletics were not scheduled to play.