Mark McGwire Hits 300th Home Run

On June 25, 1996 Oakland Athletics slugger Mark McGwire hits home run number 300 for his career, he would end his career with 583 home runs.

In 1987, he broke the single-season home run record for rookies, with 49. Throughout his career Mark McGwire hit 49 or more home runs five times en route to hitting 583 career home runs. Four times McGwire led the league in home runs. For his career, McGwire averaged a home run once every 10.61 at bats, the best at bats per home run ratio in baseball history (Babe Ruth is second at 11.76).

1n 1998 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals McGwire and fellow National League central rival, Chicago Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa both encountered on a record-breaking home run season. McGwire and Sosa would both end up breaking Babe Ruth’s single season home run record of 61 home runs, as Sosa went on to hit 66 home runs and McGwire 70.

McGwire’s 70 home run season was a Major League record until 2002 when Barry Bonds broke the feat when he hit 72 home runs.

McGwire finished his career with a .263 career batting average, 1,626 hits, 1,167 runs, 1,414 RBIs to go along with his 583 home runs. His career on base percentage was .394, his career slugging percentage was .588 and his on base plus slugging was .982.

McGwire was the 1987 American League Rookie of the Year, and was a 12-time All-Star including six-straight appearances twice, from 1987-1992 and from 1995-2000. He was a two-time World Series Champion, once as a player with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and once as a coach with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. He won a Golden Glove at first base with the A’s in 1990 and won three Silver Slugger awards, two with the A’s in 1992 and 1996 and one with the Cardinals in 1998. McGwire also won the 1992 Home Run Derby and was given the Lou Gehrig Award in 1999.

Also in 1999 he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

McGwire also played for Team USA in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 helping Team USA earn a Silver medal. McGwire also helped the United States in international play during the Pan American Games and Intercontinental Cup in 1983 helping the USA earn a Bronze and Silver medals respectively.

In 1999, The Sporting News released a list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. The list had been compiled during the 1998 season and included statistics through the 1997 season. McGwire was ranked at Number 91.

In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their list and McGwire had been moved up to Number 84.

However, in the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, McGwire failed to attain election receiving 128 of the 545 cast (23.5 percent of the vote) in 2007, 128 of 543 (23.6) in 2008, 118 of 539 (21.9) in 2009, 128 of 539 (23.7) in 2010, 115 of 581 (19.8) in 2011, 112 of 573 (19.5) in 2012, and 96 of 569 (16.9) in 2013.

McGwire had a Hall of Fame career based on his stats and accomplishments but because of his trouble with performance enhancing drugs (PED) his call to the hall might come in to questioning.

United States Football League Debuts

On March 6, 1983, the USFL, United States Football League, plays their first game. The game featured the Washington Federals and Philadelphia Stars.

Three of the elite USFL quarterbacks from left: Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly and Steve Young.

The USFL which featured 12 teams in its first year of play, 1983, expanded to 18 in its second year of play.

However the USFL, after three years of play had most of their teams fold due to going into severe debt not being able to fill their stadiums.

Some teams like the Oakland and Los Angeles franchises suspended operations for a year, in 1986, hoping to rebuild capital.

Finally four teams merged into two during 1986,, the Denver and Jacksonville franchises merged to play in Jacksonville and the Houston and New Jersey franchises merged to play in New Jersey.

With all of these changes the USFL was doomed and were never able to get back on track with competing against the NFL, and closed their doors a year later in 1987.

The "Heidi" Game

On Nov. 17, 1968, one of the worst moments in sports broadcasting took place. 

The New York Jets were facing the Oakland Raiders in an AFL battle. The Jets held a 42-29 lead against the Raiders and seemed to be in good shape.

However, NBC made the controversial decision to switch off the game in the final minutes and start showing "Heidi" instead.

What fans on the east coast missed was an exciting comeback by the Raiders. They scored two touchdowns in the last minute to win the game 43-42.

This game would lead to new measures to make sure nothing like this would happen again.

In the late 1960s, few professional football games took longer than two and a half hours to play, and the Jets–Raiders three-hour time slot was thought to be adequate. A high-scoring contest, together with a number of injuries and penalties for the two bitter American Football League rivals, caused the game to run long. NBC executives had ordered that Heidi must begin on time, but given the exciting game, they decided to postpone the start of the film and continue football coverage. As 7 p.m. approached, many members of the public called NBC to inquire about the schedule, to complain or opine, jamming NBC's switchboards.

As NBC executives were trying to call the same switchboards to implement their decision, the change could not be communicated, and Heidi began as scheduled. The movie preempted the final moments of the game in the eastern half of the country, to the outrage of viewers who missed two Oakland touchdowns that turned the game around.

The Heidi Game led to a change in the way professional football is shown on network television; games are shown to their conclusion before evening programming begins. To ensure that network personnel could communicate under similar circumstances, special telephones (dubbed "Heidi phones") were installed, with a connection to a different telephone exchange from other network phones. In 1997, the Heidi Game was voted the most memorable regular season game in pro football history.

The Knicks Open Up The Garden

On Nov. 11, 1946, the New York Knicks play their first game at Madison Square Garden.

Although the Knicks have played at Madison Square Garden since 1946, the location of the Garden has changed, twice before the Knicks began playing basketball in 1879, and 1890 before its location change in 1925 where the 1946 Knicks played.

The 1925 Garden was located on Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Manhattan on the site of the city's trolley car barns. It was the first Garden that was not located near Madison Square. 

The Knicks would call this location their arena for home games, although if there was an important college game, they played in the 69th Regiment Armory.

Then in February 1968 the Garden moved to its current location, where it has been renovated three times in 1991, 2011, and 2012. 

The Garden is now the oldest active major sporting facility in the New York metropolitan area and is the oldest arena in the National Hockey League and the second-oldest arena in the National Basketball Association (after the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California). 

 The current configuration at the Garden has been host to several Knicks NBA Finals games including in 1970: when the Knicks won the NBA championship at Madison Square Garden.

The Garden was also host for the Knicks in the NBA finals in 1972, 1973, 1994 and1999: when the San Antonio Spurs won their championship at Madison Square Garden.

Foles' Eagles Fly By Raiders

OALAND, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders were looking to get back to the .500 mark with a win on Sunday over the Michael Vick-less Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Raiders second consecutive week against a franchise from Pennsylvania would look much different than their first week, when they edged out the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Raiders would get behind early as former Arizona Wildcat, and current backup quarterback for the Eagles, Nick Foles would have an impressive day. Foles would light up the Raiders secondary in the first quarter to the tune of a 21-3 lead, with three passing touchdowns, two on back-to-back plays to Riley Cooper, in which the Raiders first round draft pick DJ Hayden was burned both times.

The Raiders did have opportunities to pull closer to the Eagles, with a 66-yard pass from Terrelle Pryor to Rod Streater on their second drive, posting up a first and goal down just 7-0, but the offense would stall in the red zone and would settle for a Sebastian Janikowski field goal.

But settling for field goals wasn’t the worst of what the Raiders offense had in store for its fans on Sunday. Running back Darren McFadden would once again hit the sideline with an injury, a hamstring issue, and would not return to the game, making Rashad Jennings, once again the workhorse to the carry the load.

Jennings would have a decent day, carrying the ball 15 times for 102 yards and a score, but most of those came late in the game once the Eagles were up big.

After Jennings score, the Raiders were down 21-10, but the Eagles offense kept on pushing as Foles would hit another former Pac-12 product in former Stanford tight end Zach Ertz for his fourth touchdown of the game.

The Raiders would settle for another field goal late in the first half to pull within 15 at 28-13, but that was as close as they would get for the rest of the game.

The second half started and it was the Eagles who go the ball rolling quickly, not the Raiders. Foles continued to impress as he tossed three more touchdowns in the second half, one of which was a 46-yard pass to former Cal wide receiver DeSean Jackson, on a play in which Raiders defensive back Mike Jenkins was also called for defensive holding.

Foles seven touchdown passes on the day tied an NFL record, that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning also reached this year in week one of the season. Foles now joins George Blanda, Sid Luckman, Y.A. Tittle, Joe Kapp and the previously mentioned Manning in the seven-touchdown club.

"A couple people came up to me and said that I tied the record with seven touchdowns," said Nick Foles. "It's a great honor. Hats off to our guys for doing a great job."

Just to put this in perspective, the Jacksonville Jaguars through eight games in the 2013-2014 campaign have scored seven touchdowns on offense all season, and those seven touchdowns are more than the Raiders have accounted for through the passing game all year as well.

"When a quarterback has seven touchdowns, we have to sit there and take that personal," said Tracy Porter. "We can't give a guy seven touchdowns in a game, let alone put up 49 points on us. It was flat-out embarrassing that we allowed that to happen."

Down 48-13 the Raiders struggled to get anything going, as they were held without a score in the third quarter.

Then it was time for the backups, as both teams brought in their back up quarterbacks. For the Eagles it was another Pac-12 product in former USC rookie quarterback Matt Barkley, and for the Raiders it was a Penn State rookie, Matt McGloin.

While Barkley would only complete one pass, McGloin would lead the Raiders to s score, albeit in garbage time. The score for the Raiders came on a Jeremy Stewart rush up the middle for two-yards after McGloin had moved the offense 71-yards.

The final score was 48-20 in favor of the Eagles as the Raiders drop to 3-5, and the Eagles raise their record to 4-5 on the season.

"It's embarrassing," said Pryor. "I hate losing. It's not acceptable to me and I don't like it. All the guys in here agree with me. We have to do something about it instead of tanking it."

The next game for the Raiders comes on the road as they travel to face their second NFC East opponent in as many weeks as the New York Giants (2-6) open their doors to host the silver and black.

The matchup will be the twelfth between the two teams, and the Raiders first game in the new MetLife Stadium. The Raiders lead the all-time matchup 7-4, however the Giants have won the last two meetings in 2005 in Oakland and 2009 in New Jersey.

The game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 10 with a 10 a.m. kickoff.

Raiders End Bye Week Drought In Win Over Steelers

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry goes back several decades, and it was reignited Sunday, Oct. 27 when the Silver and Black hosted the Black and Yellow to a matinee kickoff at the O.Co Coliseum.

Right from the get go the game was exciting as on the first play of scrimmage, Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor busted off a 93-yards quarterback option run for a touchdown. Giving the Raiders an early 7-0 lead after Sebastian Janikowski added on the extra point.

TOD FIERNER / Courtesy - Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor broke NFL history on Sunday, Oct. 27 rushing for a 93-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. Pryor's play broke the NFL record for longest rush by a quarterback.

"I was very surprised, because it's never open like that," Pryor said. "Very surprised. But with the game plan, the way they put things together, it doesn't surprise me that sometimes it may happen like that."

"You have to understand the beast that's playing quarterback," Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. "You have to understand what he brings to the game and that that's a part of their game and that they can do that. Once a guy like that gets in front of the whole defense, he's a legit 4.4. It's real. It just looks slow because he's 6-6, but he was moving."

The run by Pryor was the longest in Raiders franchise history and longest quarterback run in NFL history.

The Raiders offense would continue to pour it on against the Steelers as Darren McFadden tacked on a touchdown to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Steelers would put their first points of the game on the board with a Shaun Suisham field goal to start the second quarter. But the Raiders would answer that with their third touchdown of the game, a direct snap to McFadden in which he opted to run for the touchdown although he was looking for Pryor in the end zone.

The Raiders 21-3 lead would hold into the half as Suisham missed the first of two errant field goals on the day.

The second half saw the Raiders defense step up and get to Ben Rothelisberger several times, as they hit Big Ben five times separate times for sacks.

"We are becoming a football team," said Charles Woodson. "I think we have some good players that have been assembled on this team, and we're learning how to play together. We're learning each other and what each other's strengths and weaknesses are. We're just making some plays out there."

The Steelers would miss out another field goal attempt in the third quarter as Suisham missed another kick wide right with 5:49 to play in the third quarter. But the Steelers would make a game of it over the final 20 minutes.

The fourth quarter saw the Steelers punch in two touchdowns, the first on a short pass from Rothelisberger to Emmanuel Sanders, and the second on a Le’Veon Bell touchdown run with 1:27 left to play. Down 21-16 the Steelers would opt to go for the two-point conversion to pull within three points, and they were successful as Sanders rushed it in for the conversion, putting the score at 21-18.

The Steelers luck would run out though as they were not able to convert on the onside kick attempt as the Raiders ran down the majority of the clock, giving just 18 seconds to the Steelers to make a hail mary pass from their own three-yard line.

Rothelisberger would hit his favorite target on the day in Sanders, but he was well short of the end zone being tackled for a 33-yard gain.

The final score was 21-16 in favor of the Raiders, making it their first win after a bye week in ten seasons. The win also improves their record to 3-4 on the season.

The Raiders next game on the schedule comes at home as they face their second opponent from Pennsylvania in as many weeks when they host the  Philadelphia Eagles (3-5) on Nov. 3. Kick off is scheduled for 1:25 p.m.

Athletics Sweep Giants In "Battle of the Bay" World Series

On Oct. 28, 1989, the Oakland Athletics finish off a sweep of the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 World Series, also known as the Battle of the Bay. The series would be the longest series in terms of length of days from start to finish of any World Series in history, due to the Loma Prieta earthquake, which occurred on Oct. 17 before Game 3, and caused a 10-day disruption of play.

The 1989 World Series saw the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants battling it out for Major League Baseballs World Series championship for the first time ever.

The first game of the series saw the Athletics throw out Dave Stewart in front of a sold out crowd in the east bay against the Giants Scott Garrelts.

Oakland took the lead in the bottom of the second when Dave Henderson walked, advanced to second on a Terry Steinbach single, and scored on another single by Tony Phillips that moved Steinbach up to third.

Walt Weiss then sent a soft ground ball toward first, but Giants first baseman (and NLCS MVP) Will Clark threw the ball low and to the right of catcher Terry Kennedy. Steinbach knocked the ball out of Kennedy's mitt, scoring the second run of the inning. Kennedy was charged with an error, and Phillips advanced to second. Rickey Henderson then drove in Phillips on a single to right field; the second inning ended with Oakland leading 3–0.

A's designated hitter Dave Parker tattooed a solo home run to lead off the third off of Garrelts, and Weiss added a lead off home run of his own leading in the fourth. Oakland starter Stewart dominated the Giants, allowing five hits in a complete game, handing the A's a one-game edge in the Series. "We ran into a buzz saw," said Giants first baseman Will Clark, of Stewart's pitching.

Game two was also in Oakland and in front of another sell out crowd. The Athletics threw out their number two starting pitcher Mike Moore as he faced off against the Giants Rick Reuschel.

Oakland got off to a fast start; Rickey Henderson led off the bottom of the first with a walk. Henderson promptly stole second, and scored one pitch later when Carney Lansford hit a double to right field. The Giants scored their first run of the Series in the top of the third; José Uribe reached first on a fielder's choice, advanced to third via a Brett Butler single, and scored on a Robby Thompson fly ball.

The A's regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Dave Parker drove a line shot off the wall that was both an inch from being foul and an inch from being a home run. Jose Canseco, who drew a walk earlier that inning, scored on the play. Parker stood at the plate for a moment to watch the flight of the ball, and started to run as soon as the ball hit the wall; Giants right fielder Candy Maldonado appeared to throw Parker out at second, but second base umpire Dutch Rennert called Parker safe. After Dave Henderson walked and Mark McGwire struck out, Terry Steinbach hit a three-run home run off Reuschel to left field, scoring both Parker and Henderson. The Giants had no answer for Oakland's relievers, and the A's won 5–1 and took a 2–0 lead in the Series.

During a pre-game interview on ABC, Oakland Athletics manager Tony LaRussa mentioned that he thought that Terry Steinbach was going to hit a home run, which he did in the fourth inning, forcing Reuschel to leave the game, and the Giants to dig deep into their bullpen.

Just as the two Bay Area teams were getting ready for Game 3 in San Francisco the Loma Prieta earthquake hit.

The Loma Prieta earthquake struck on October 17, 1989 at 5:04 p.m. Game 3 was scheduled to start at 5:35 p.m. at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and thousands of people were already in the stadium when the quake occurred. Because of the coincidence of timing, it was the first major earthquake in the United States ever to be broadcast by live television. Experts credit the timing of the Series as a lucky break that prevented massive loss of life in the city; key in reducing the loss of life was the fact that many people had left work early or were staying late to participate in after-work group viewings and parties, reducing the traffic that would otherwise have been on the collapsed freeways (initial expectations were that hundreds of people had died in the collapse of Interstate 880 in Oakland; the final death toll from that event was 42). A Goodyear Blimp that had been covering the game was used to coordinate emergency efforts.

At the time the earthquake hit, the announcing team for ABC Sports, Tim McCarver, Al Michaels, and Jim Palmer immediately grabbed what they perceived to be the armrests; it turned out that they grabbed each others' thighs, leaving each of them with bruises; recounting this incident years later, Michaels would boldly admit his strong belief that had the earthquake lasted much longer than 15 seconds, he would have been killed. The ABC Sports team remained in their broadcast booth and appeared composed once a backup generator restored power. By contrast, the broadcasting team in the CBS Radio booth next door, consisting of Jack Buck, Johnny Bench, and John Rooney, ran out as soon as the earthquake started. Bench ran to a spot underneath a steel grate, to which Buck quipped, "If you would have moved that fast when you played, you wouldn't have hit into so many double plays." The ESPN live coverage of the Series (ESPN and ABC at the time produced separate broadcasts) was interrupted during then-television analyst Joe Torre's pre-game report on the field. Their equipment van was the only one with a generator, and they continued their live coverage with Chris Berman and Bob Ley. Separately from the broadcast, Peter Gammons and Oakland Athletics pitcher Bob Welch were walking by Marina Middle School in order to get a residency pass when they spotted a slightly unshaven man with a white wind-breaker waiting in line for his pass, who turned out to be Joe DiMaggio, who was concerned over the status of his sister, Louise. Gammons shared this story during a 1999 Sports Center Flashback special chronicling the 1989 World Series.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, ABC aired a rerun of Roseanne (and later, The Wonder Years) before Ted Koppel began anchoring news coverage from Washington, with Michaels acting as a de facto reporter. The Goodyear Blimp (which was already aloft for the game) provided video of structural damage and fires within the city. The ABC opening for this telecast (leading up to Al Michaels informing the viewers of the earthquake) was used at the beginning of a 1990 television movie (documenting the Loma Prieta earthquake) called After The Shock.

As for the Series itself, Fay Vincent decided to postpone Game 3 (although he didn't tell anyone before doing so, resulting in an umpire protest) initially for five days, resulting in the longest delay in World Series history. It was postponed for another five days (until October 27) because of delays in restoring transmission links. Then San Francisco mayor Art Agnos wanted to wait a month before resuming it, with Vincent responding to Agnos by telling him that he might move it elsewhere if the delay would be that long.

Players for the Oakland Athletics returned home, but had to travel via San Jose, adding an extra 90 minutes because some roadway sections of the Bay Bridge had collapsed. Not long after returning, Jose Canseco (still in full uniform) and his wife Esther were spotted filling up their car at a self-service gas station. As noted in his later book Juiced, Canseco noted that someone wrote an article portraying him as forcing his wife to pump the gas, but that in reality, she told him to let her do it because if people saw him in his full uniform, it would cause a scene.

After rescheduling Game 3, to Oct. 27 the two teams were ready to do battle back in San Francisco. But with the long delay the Athletics were able to put Stewart, their Game 1 started back on the mound.

At the start of Game 3, some emergency responders who had aided during the earthquake, including police officers and firefighters, were honored and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Dave "Hendu" Henderson just missed hitting three home runs for the A's as his first inning shot bounced off the top of the wall for a double.

Giants catcher Bill Bathe became the fifth National League player in World Series history to hit a home run in his very first at-bat. His teammate Matt Williams noticed him wobbling when the earthquake started. Apparently, he was looking in the stands for his family.

When Game 3 was originally scheduled for October 17, the scheduled starting pitchers were Bob Welch for the A's and Don Robinson for the Giants. Meanwhile, Ken Oberkfell was slated to start at third base for the Giants, with Matt Williams moving over to shortstop instead of the benched José Uribe. Also, Pat Sheridan was slated to take over for Candy Maldonado in right field for the Giants. Maldonado told ESPN that he was in the clubhouse getting ready when the earthquake hit. The first person he saw in the midst of all of this was his teammate, Robinson, who told Maldonado that he sensed that an earthquake was occurring.

This game set a record for most combined home runs hit in a World Series game with seven, as well as tying a record for most home runs hit by a single team, five, in a World Series game (the New York Yankees won Game 4 of the 1928 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, which like this series, would end in a sweep).

Up three games to none the Oakland Athletics threw out their Game 2 starter in Mike Moore to finish off the sweep of the Bay Area rivals the San Francisco Giants.

At the time, October 28 was the latest end date for a World Series, even though the series only lasted the minimum four games. (This record was tied in 1995, and has since been topped by the terrorism-delayed 2001 World Series which ran from October 27 through November 4 and the 2009 World Series which ran from October 28 through November 4 as regularly scheduled.) The World Series now regularly ends around this time because there is an extra round of playoffs. After Nell Carter sang the National Anthem, Willie Mays threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The A's led from the first batter of the game on as Rickey Henderson's leadoff home run set the tone. Kevin Mitchell's homer would bring the Giants closer as they cut an 8–0 deficit to 8–6 in two innings. But it would prove to be too little too late for San Francisco as they would lose 9–6.

This was also Candlestick Park's final World Series game. The Giants' three subsequent National League pennants have come since their move to AT&T Park, in 2002, 2010 and 2012.

Out of respect for the Loma Prieta earthquake victims, the Oakland Athletics chose not to celebrate their World Series victory with champagne, as is normally customary for the winning team in the World Series.

The 1989 World Series title was the most recent for the Oakland franchise. The Giants have had more recent success winning the 2010 World Series over the Texas Rangers and the 2012 World Series over the Detroit Tigers in a sweep.

Yankees Beat Mets In All New York World Series

On Oct. 26, 2000, the New York Yankees defeat the New York Mets four games to one to win their third straight World Series championship. Making them one of only two teams to win the World Series three consecutive times. The other only other team besides the Yankees to do complete the feat was the Oakland Athletics from 1972-1974. The MVP of the World Series was New York Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter.

The Yankees would go on to do the unthinkable and make the World Series in 2001, bidding for the firs time in Major League history that a team would win four consecutive World Series trophies. But it was the Arizona Diamondbacks who would win the World Series, keeping the record for most consecutive World Series championships at three.

The World Series championship in 2000 was the Yankees twenty-sixth and last until they won No. 27, in 2009.

For the Mets, it was the last time they visited the World Series, and the last time the team won a Wild Card berth.

Since 2000, the Mets have made the playoffs just once, in 2006, when they won the East Division Title and won their NLDS matchup. However, for the Mets they were eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the NLCS.

Mays Plays His Final World Series

On Oct. 14, 1973, the MLB World Series featured the New York Mets and the Oakland A's. Willie Mays was at the end of a stellar career in 1973 and was used as a pinch hitter in Game 2 in Oakland.

 

Mays was substituted and played in center field for the Mets when he had his last Major League hit Oct. 14, 1973. It was an RBI single and the Mets won the game 10-7. Mays had two at-bats that night.

Mays retired after the 1973 season. His Mets lost the World Series in seven games. He quit playing pro baseball after 22 great years with a career average of .302, garnering 3,283 hits and 660 home runs. 

Some of his other accomplishments include 24 consecutive All-Star game appearances. He was the All-Star game MVP in 1963 and 1968. He also earned 12 consecutive Gold Glove awards, two National League MVP awards in 1954 and 1965, the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year award, winning the 1971 Roberto Clemente Award, and setting a record for most home runs in a game with four on April, 30, 1961.

Mays also helped the New York Giants in winning a World Series in 1954.

The San Francisco Giants retired his no. 24 jersey, and Mays was named to the MLB All-Century Team and the MLB All-Time team.

Mays was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot he appeared on in 1979 with 94.7 percent of the vote.

Athletics Fall To Tigers In ALDS Game 5

Mojo in Oaktown runs out as Oakland falls to Detroit in yet another Game 5 in the ALDS

OAKLAND, Calif. – In a rematch of Game 2 the Oakland Athletics sent out rookie pitcher Sonny Gray for the pitching duties to matchup against the former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander in a winner take all Game 5 of the ALDS.

Verlander was bringing in 22 consecutive innings of scoreless ball against the A’s, while Gray was only making his second postseason start of his career, in what was also his second of the series.
The pitching matchup proved to be similar from Game 2 as Gray and Verlander were un-hittable through three full innings, with Gray allowing just one walk to Prince Fielder. But for Gray the wheels began to spin like a truck in mud. He continued to pound the zone with fastballs and gave up back-to-back hits to Torii Hunter and a home to Miguel Cabrera in the top of the fourth inning.

TOD FIERNER / Courtesy -- Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera (right) hit a two-run home run in he fourth inning off of Oakland Athletics Sonny Gray. Cabrera’s two-run home run would prove to be all the Tigers would need to clinch their second straight ALDS title at the O.Co Coliseum on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013.

The home run for Cabrera was his first since Sept. 17, also his first extra base hit in the same time span.

“He didn’t have the leg driving he normally does, and I surprised he pulled it for a home run,” said Oakland A’s Manager Bob Melvin. “But I guess you can’t be surprised when Cabrera hits a home run.”

Gray would continue to get in trouble in the inning after he got Fielder to ground out, he allowed back-to-back singles to Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta before walking Alex Avila to load the bases. After a mound visit by pitching Coach Curt Young, Gray would get Infante to ground out to escape what would have been instantaneous danger.

Gray would again come out to pitch the fifth and sixth innings, but would be pulled in the sixth after allowing back-to-back hits to Martinez and Peralta again. Gray would leave the game to a standing ovation from the crowd, as Melvin also gave the youngster a round of applause on his way to the mound.

Reliever Dan Otero would come in and get out of the inning, but only before allowing one of the two inherited runners from Gray to score pushing the score to 3-0 in favor of the Tigers.

TOD FIERNER/ Courtesy -- Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander proved to be too much for the Oakland Athletics to handle in Game 5 of the ALDS on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. Verlander was dominant pitching a perfect game until the sixth inning, a no-hitter until the seventh inning and eventually pitching eight scoreless innings in the 3-0 win.

In the other dugout it was Verlander who continue to stifle the Oakland offense as he took his perfect game bid into the sixth inning before walking Josh Reddick with one out. Reddick would advance to second on a fly ball from Stephen Vogt, the hero from Game 2, but he would be left at second as Coco Crisp flied out to end the inning.

Otero would work a clean inning, allowing two hits to Fielder and Martinez, but not allowing any runners to score, keeping the score at 3-0.

“Since he came up for his, look at his numbers, they have been fantastic,” said Oakland Manager Bob Melvin. “We used in a number of roles, and he’s been a guy we really leaned on late in games. And he was the first guy we called on tonight to come in and stop the rally.”

Verlander would continue to dominate with the no-hit bid still in tact but would give up a single to Yoenis Cespedes with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The fans would go crazy as Cespedes rounded first base, only to trot back to pound fists with first base Coach Ty Waller. However for the A’s fans and Cespedes, he would be left on-base as Verlander would strike out Seth Smith, for his eighth strikeout of the night.

Then it was Sean Doolittle’s turn to get some action as he came in from the bullpen. Doolittle would work a one-two-three inning, giving the A’s fans some hope that their team could work around the 3-0 deficit.

The bottom of the eighth inning saw Brandon Moss strike out for his third time in the game and Alberto Callaspo ground out to Fielder at first before Reddick got on-base for the second time in the game, this time with a single up the middle.

Still with a bit of hope in their pocket the A’s fans rose to their feet hoping that Vogt would get a clutch hit. However, it was Verlander who would have the last laugh as he recorded strikeout number 10 on the night.

“Justin was locked in tonight,” said Tigers Manager Jim Leyland. “I don’t know how he is locked in against a certain team, but he was.”

The top of the ninth brought in Australian closer Grant Balfour to face the Tigers top of the line up.

Balfour would strike out Austin Jackson, earning his third strikeout of the game, and Divisional Series record of 13, a record that Oakland’s Moss tied with his three in the game. Balfour would continue to do what he did throughout most of the season, get batters out as he got Hunter to fly out to Crisp in center for the second out. Then it was time to face Cabrera, who only had two hits after the first inning of each game in the series. Balfour would get Cabrera swinging, breathing one last breath of life into the stands of the O.Co Coliseum.

Down 3-0 and with the top of the lineup due the Tigers brought in closer Joaquin Benoit for Verlander, as well as their defensive replacements as Peralta and Cabrera went to the dugout in favor of Jose Iglesias and Ramon Santiago respectively.

“You feel relieved when Verlander doesn’t come out,” said Melvin. “But Benoit has been doing well too.”

“Verlander told me he was dead tired after the eighth inning,” said Leyland.

With the fans on their feet and chanting “Let’s Go Oakland,” Crisp started off the inning against Benoit with a ground out to second, bringing up Donaldson who had been slumping in the series, holding just a .150 average in the series into the at-bat against Benoit would strike out swinging.

Down to there last out former Stanford Cardinal product, and first year A’s shortstop Lowrie would step into the box to face Benoit, looking to give the Oakland fans some sort of miracle. But like Donaldson he had been slumping in the series, bringing a .105 average into the at-bat, but he would come through, hitting a double to left-center field.

That brought up one of the two hottest hitters for the A’s in the series, Cespedes, the player who broke up Verlander’s no-hit bid earlier in the game. Once again the fans jumped to their feet to cheer on their slugger.

Once again the fans chanted “Let’s Go Oakland,” as Cespedes took a pair of uninhibited hacks at pitches from Benoit.

With a two-ball and two-strike count Benoit would hit Cespedes on the inner leg, bringing the tying run to the plate in Seth Smith, who would work the count, but would eventually fly out to right field, ending the Oakland A’s season.

“I was worried when Smith came in,” said Leyland. “I wasn’t very comfortable.”

“Our fans were just waiting to get into a frenzy, we just needed to get some base runners, and let our fans pull us the way we did last year,” said Melvin.  “We just didn’t get any consistency, until the last inning.”

TOD FIERNER / Courtesy -- The Detroit Tigers celebrating on the field at the O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. after recording the final out of the 2013 ALDS.

But you wouldn’t have noticed that the game was over by the way the Oakland fans stayed and cheered on the team again raining down chants of “Let’s Go Oakland,” as the Detroit Tigers rushed the field to celebrate on the infield.

The A’s loss to the Tigers makes it 10 consecutive playoff losses to the Tigers dating back to 2006 when they lost to the Tigers in the ALCS. The last six losses coming in the last two ALDS matchups from 2012 and 2013.

For the Tigers, they head to Boston to face the Red Sox in the ALCS.

Orioles Sweep Dodgers

On Oct. 9, 1966, the Baltimore Orioles win the World Series as they sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to none. 

The Orioles pitchers threw 33 consecutive scoreless innings, which became a World Series record. The record spanned from the fourth inning in Game 1 through the completion Game 4.

The Baltimore Orioles pitching staff only allowed just two earned runs and finished with a team ERA of 0.50. The two runs scored by the Dodgers in the series were scored in innings two and three of Game 1.

The Orioles became the first non-Yankee American League team to win the World Series since the 1948 Cleveland Indians. The Orioles also became the last of the original eight American League teams to win a World Series at all. 

The Orioles had played in the Fall Classic as the St. Louis Browns in the 1944 World Series, in which they were also the last of the original eight AL teams to participate in a World Series.

Frank Robinson became the first non-pitcher from a winning World Series team to win the World Series MVP trophy.

Bobby Richardson had won the World Series MVP for the Series-losing New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series.

Since their first World Series title in 1966 the Baltimore Orioles have won two more World Series titles, in 1970 and 1983 while going to the World Series five more times including three straight appearances from 1969-1971.

Cubs Win 116 Games

On Oct. 4, 1906, the Chicago Cubs picked up win 116 of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The win moved the Cubs record to 116-36. That still stands as the best winning percentage ever. The Cubs failed to win the World Series, however, as they lost in six games. They would recover to win the World Series in 1907 and 1908.

Since 1906 only one team was reached as many wins as the Cubs, the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won 116 games but lost 46 compared to the 1906 Cubs who only lost 36. The reason for the discrepancy in games is because of the addition of more teams and more games to the regular season.

Since the record-tying performance with 116 wins by the Mariners in 2001, no team has gotten close to breaking the record. The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals have the most wins in the last decade with 105. In 2002 the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees tied for the leagues best record with 103 wins apiece.

Inside Warriors Media Day

OAKLAND, Calif. – Last Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, the Golden State Warriors hosted their Media Day at the team’s practice facility in down town Oakland.

GEROME WRIGHT / Courtesy
Golden State Warriors players Andre Iguodala (left) and Klay Thompson (right) talked to media during the teams media day on Friday, Sept. 27, 2013.

The biggest story however wasn’t about the offseason acquisition of super star Andre Iguodala; it was over the undrafted free agent Seth Curry, younger brother of Warriors star guard Stephen Curry.

GEROME WRIGHT / Courtesy
Golden State Warriors guards and brothers Steph (left) and Seth Curry were in jerseys for the Warriors media day on Friday, Sept. 27, 2013.

The two brothers, sons of former NBA three-point sniper Dell Curry, look to be on the floor together when the Warriors suit up for the first game of the season come Wednesday, Oct. 30 when the Warriors host the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I don't think the Warriors would sign him if they didn't think so either," said Steph Curry. "Maybe they paid more attention to him because he's my brother, but nobody's going to throw money and an opportunity at somebody if they don't think he's got an opportunity to make the team out of camp and help the team down the road."

When healthy, the younger Curry, Seth is just as good a shooter as Steph, although the billing might be hard to fit. In his final season at Duke, the senior, Seth averaged 17.5 points on 46.5 percent shooting from the field.

His brother Steph, in his final season at Davidson, as a junior, averaged 28.6 points on 45.4 shooting.
While the numbers look different in terms of scoring, older brother Steph was the main option at Davidson whereas younger brother Seth was one of a few options under Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

Seth, who likely would have been drafted if he opted for an earlier surgery date, has no regrets on waiting until after the season was done.

"It was definitely disappointing," said Seth Curry. "The biggest thing was just not being able to go through the draft process. It was tough because I had surgery right after the season. I wasn't able to get in front of teams and work out and compete against guys in my draft class. But it was out of my control."

However, Seth will be looking to fill one of just a few open spots on the Warriors roster. With Kent Bazemore back, recently acquired free agent Toney Douglas in the mix, and drafted Nemanja Nedovic in the running too, Seth will have his hands full.

However if Seth doesn’t make the Golden State roster, the road might not take him too far, as the Warriors NBA D-League affiliate is in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The Tarps Are Coming Off In Oakland

Your wish is my command!

Those are a few words Oakland Athletics fans would have never expected to come from the front office of the East Bay’s baseball franchise, the Oakland A’s. However, your wish is being granted.
No the ownership group didn’t decide on a location in Jack London Square for a new stadium to keep the team in Oakland, but they did agree to take the tarps off of the third deck of the coliseum, minus the tarps that cover Mt. Davis. Of note, the third deck already has a few sections behind home plate that are called the “Value Deck” where you can purchase a ticket that includes free food and beverages. Those seats will now be apart of the “View Level” seating which is the entire bowled section of the third deck.

Here is a tweet from the Oakland Athletics official twitter handle @Athletics – Due to strong demand, additional View Level seating is now available for #Athletics ALDS games #OAKtober http://atmlb.com/188XA4y - 12:44 PM - 17 Sep 2013.

Last year the A’s ownership group noted they would take off the tarps on the third deck if the team made the ALCS, although the note was made after the team was already down 0-2 to the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. The team would push a Game 5 at home, but would eventually lose to those same Tigers, who ended up losing in the World Series to the San Francisco Giants, the A’s cross bay rival.

My assumption is, if the A’s move on beyond the American League Divisional Series to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) or the World Series the tarps will remain off, and possibly more tarps will be coming off of Mt. Davis, in an attempt to gain more revenue.

So what does this mean?

First off, it means more seats for people looking to go to a playoff game in the Bay Area.
The current capacity, and will be for the remainder of the regular season of the O.Co Coliseum is 35,067 plus standing room only tickets. For the ALDS and likely the Wild Card game or other series in the playoffs, the attendance figures will be bumped up to near 44,000 seats plus standing room only.

Secondly, it means that the fans and fan base that supports the A’s is growing in numbers and their voices are beginning to be heard. Well at least their dollars are willing to seen.

The seats in the third deck are starting at $35 for the ALDS and will continue to increase if the team extends its post-season run.

Third, this means the A’s are giving their fan base a shot as packing the house, like it used to be in the early 2000’s and before that, a few more times once the post season begins.

So A’s fans, and baseball fans alike, now is your chance to get tickets, which went on sale Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 10 a.m.

To purchase tickets online you can visit www.OaklandAthletics.com/tickets, you can also visit their box offices at the O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif.

With less than two weeks until the post season begins, it’s time to put on your rally cap and root for your team. The playoffs are upon us.

Plank Reaches 300

On Sept. 11, 1915, Eddie Plank, playing for the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League, collects win 300 in his career, making him the first left-hander to reach the 300-mark. 

 In his career, Plank went 326-194 with a 2.35 ERA and won 20 or more games in eight different seasons. One of the winningest lefties to ever play in the major leagues, Plank won as many as 26 games in a season but was the first player to reach 300 wins without leading the league in wins at least one time.

Plank, won 305 games in the American League for the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Terriers making him that league's winningest left-handed pitcher. He would help the Athletics to World Series titles in 1911, and 1913.

In addition, he was the winningest pitcher left or right-handed in the American league until 1921, when Walter Johnson, who finished his career with 417 wins, surpassed him. Plank is still one of the most winningest pitchers of all-time, he is now ranked no. 13 with his 326 wins. 

He also has the most career shutouts by a left-hander in MLB history with 69. His 69 shutouts also put him in the top five in baseball history for most shutouts, only behind the likes of Johnson, Pete Alexander, Christy Mathewson and Cy Young in that order. 

The next closest left-handed pitcher with shutouts is Warren Spahn with 63; he is sixth on the list for most shutouts all-time. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay leads all active major league pitchers with 20 shutouts, in 16 seasons.

McGwire Has Another 50 Home Run Season

On Sept. 10, 1997, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire joins Babe as only players to hit 50 home runs in two consecutive years.

McGwire had his first of two back-to-back 50 plus home run seasons in 1996 with the Oakland Athletics as he hit 52 home runs to lead the American League in home runs. In 1997 he started the year with the Athletics, and had hit 34 home runs in 105 games but was traded to the Cardinals, where he finished off another 50 plus home run season, with 58 total. He had hit an amazing 24 home runs in 51 games with the Cardinals down the stretch.

McGwire would go on to collect four consecutive 50 plus home runs seasons as in 1998 with the Cardinals he would hit 70 home runs, and in 1999 again with the Cardinals he would hit 65 home runs.

McGwire is only tied with former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa, as Major Leaguers who had four consecutive years of 50 plus home runs.

McGwire finished his career with a .263 career batting average, 1,626 hits, and 1,167 runs, 1,414 RBIs to go along with his 583 home runs. His career on base percentage was .394, his career slugging percentage was .588 and his on base plus slugging was .982.

McGwire was the 1987 American League Rookie of the Year, and was a 12-time All-Star including six-straight appearances twice, from 1987-1992 and from 1995-2000. He was a two-time World Series Champion, once as a player with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and once as a coach with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. He won a Golden Glove at first base with the A’s in 1990 and won three Silver Slugger awards, two with the A’s in 1992 and 1996 and one with the Cardinals in 1998.

McGwire also won the 1992 Home Run Derby and was given the Lou Gehrig Award in 1999.
Also in 1999 McGwire was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

McGwire also played for Team USA in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 helping Team USA earn a Silver medal. McGwire also helped the United States in international play during the Pan American Games and Intercontinental Cup in 1983 helping the USA earn a Bronze and Silver medals respectively.

In 1999, The Sporting News released a list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. The list had been compiled during the 1998 season and included statistics through the 1997 season. McGwire was ranked at Number 91.

In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their list and McGwire had been moved up to Number 84.

However, in the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, McGwire failed to attain election receiving 128 of the 545 cast (23.5 percent of the vote) in 2007, 128 of 543 (23.6) in 2008, 118 of 539 (21.9) in 2009, 128 of 539 (23.7) in 2010, 115 of 581 (19.8) in 2011, 112 of 573 (19.5) in 2012, and 96 of 569 (16.9) in 2013.

Currently McGwire is the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, after being the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2010-2012.

McGwire had a Hall of Fame career based on his stats and accomplishments but because of his trouble with performance enhancing drugs (PED) his call to the hall might come in to questioning.