Oct. 15
1917 - The Chicago White Sox won the World Series when the New York Giants left home plate uncovered and Eddie Collins dashed home with third baseman Heinie Zimmerman chasing him in helpless pursuit.
1925 - Kiki Cuyler’s bases-loaded double in the eighth inning gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 9-7 victory over Walter Johnson and the Washington Senators in Game 7 of the World Series, capping a comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
1946 - Enos Slaughter scored from first on Harry Walker’s double to give the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 victory and the World Series title in the seventh game against the Boston Red Sox.
1981 - Dave Righetti, Ron Davis and Goose Gossage combined on a 4-0 shutout of the Oakland A’s to give the New York Yankees their 33rd American League pennant.
1986 - The Boston Red Sox capped one of the greatest comebacks in history by defeating the California Angels 8-1 to win the American League pennant after trailing three games to one in the playoffs.
1986 - Ray Knight keyed a three-run ninth to tie the score and the New York Mets won their third National League pennant by beating the Houston Astros 7-6 in 16 innings in the longest postseason game.
1988 - With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Kirk Gibson hit a two-run, pinch homer to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Oakland in Game 1 of the World Series. Gibson, who did not start because of a strained left knee, limped around the bases as the Dodgers won one of the most dramatic games in series history.
1997 - The Cleveland Indians survived another brilliant effort by Mike Mussina and claimed their second pennant in three years, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 on an 11th-inning homer by Tony Fernandez to win the AL championship series 4-2.
2003 - The Florida Marlins took their third game in a row, winning the NLCS with a 9-6 victory over Chicago in Game 7. Florida became just the ninth team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series.
2007 - With their 21st win in 22 games, the Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 to sweep the NL championship series and advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
2008 - Jimmy Rollins homered in the first inning, Cole Hamels pitched his third gem of the playoffs and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the bumbling Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 to win the NL championship series 4-1 for its first pennant since 1993.
2011 - Nelson Cruz and the Texas Rangers finished off the Detroit Tigers to become the American League’s first repeat champion in a decade. Cruz set a postseason record with his sixth home run of the series, Michael Young hit a pair of two-run doubles in a nine-run third inning, and the Rangers romped to a 15-5 win in Game 6 of the ALCS. Cruz had 13 RBIs in the series, another postseason record, and was selected MVP.
2016 - Miguel Montero snapped an eighth-inning tie with the third pinch-hit grand slam in postseason history, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 in their NL Championship Series opener.
2017 - Justin Turner hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs and a 2-0 lead in the NL Championship Series.
Oct. 16
1909 - The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series as rookie Babe Adams registered his third victory by beating the Detroit Tigers 8-0 in the seventh game.
1912 - Fred Snodgrass dropped a fly ball in the 10th inning that helped the Boston Red Sox score two runs and take the World Series from the New York Giants.
1962 - With the tying and winning runs in scoring position, San Francisco’s Willie McCovey hit a hard line drive at second baseman Bobby Richardson for the final out and the New York Yankees won 1-0 in Game 7 for their 20th World Series title.
1969 - The New York Mets won their fourth straight game from the Baltimore Orioles with a 5-3 triumph behind Jerry Koosman and took the World Series in five games.
1975 - Tony Perez broke an 0-for-15 slump with two home runs to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 5 of the World Series.
1983 - Eddie Murray hit two homers and Scott McGregor pitched a five-hitter to give Baltimore a 5-0 victory, their fourth straight, over the Philadelphia Phillies and the World Series in five games.
1985 - The Kansas City Royals captured the American League pennant with a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7, capping a comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
1999 - Pedro Martinez dominated for seven shutout innings while the Red Sox roughed up Roger Clemens in sending the New York Yankees to their most lopsided loss in postseason history, 13-1 in Game 3 of the AL championship series.
2000 - Mike Hampton pitched a three-hitter and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 to win the NL championship series 4-1. The Mets joined the 1997 Florida Marlins as the only wild-card teams to make the World Series.
2001 - In a matchup of pitchers who have combined for seven Cy Young Awards and 457 victories, Randy Johnson threw a three-hit masterpiece as Arizona beat Greg Maddux and the Braves 2-0 in Game 1 of the NL championship series.
2003 - Aaron Boone hit a pennant-winning homer leading off the bottom of the 11th in New York’s 6-5 win over Boston in Game 7 of the ALCS. Mariano Rivera pitched three scoreless innings in relief for the win.
2005 - The Chicago White Sox, behind Jose Contreras’ five-hitter, beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 to win the ALCS in five games, their first pennant since 1959.
2007 - Jhonny Peralta hit a three-run homer to help Cleveland defeat Boston 7-3 in Game 4 of the ALCS and move within one win of reaching the World Series. Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit consecutive homers for Boston, only the second time in postseason history.
2008 - The Boston Red Sox pulled off the major leagues’ biggest postseason comeback in 79 years, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7 on J.D. Drew’s two-out single in the ninth to stave off elimination in the AL championship series. Boston trailed 7-0 with two outs in the seventh, then rallied when David Ortiz’s three-run homer followed Dustin Pedroia’s RBI single. Drew hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Coco Crisp tied it with a two-out RBI single.
2014 - Travis Ishikawa hit the first homer to end an NL Championship Series, a three-run drive that sent San Francisco to a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5. Pinch-hitter Michael Morse homered leading off the eighth against Pat Neshek, who replaced Adam Wainwright to start the inning, to tie it 3-all.
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Oct. 17
1911 - The Philadelphia Athletics scored twice in the 11th to beat the New York Giants 3-2 in Game 3 of the World Series. Frank Baker hit a home run in the ninth inning off Christy Mathewson to tie the score 1-1. Baker was tagged with the nickname “Home Run” for his exploits.
1960 - The National League formally awarded franchises to the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc., headed by Joan Payson and a Houston group headed by Judge Roy Hofheinz, Craig Cullinan and R.E. Smith.
1979 - Willie Stargell’s two-run homer gave the Pirates a 4-1 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles and the World Series in seven games.
1987 - The Minnesota Twins overpowered St. Louis 10-1 in the opening game of the first indoor World Series. Dan Gladden’s grand slam capped a seven-run fourth inning.
1989 - Minutes before Game 3 of the World Series between Oakland and San Francisco, an earthquake hit the Bay Area. The game was postponed and the series resumed 11 days later.
1996 - The Atlanta Braves had the biggest blowout in postseason history, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 15-0 in Game 7 of the NL championship series to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
1999 - The New York Mets outlasted Atlanta with a 4-3 victory in 15 innings, cutting the Braves’ lead to 3-2 in the NL championship series. Robin Ventura’s grand slam-turned-single drove home the winning run and gave the Mets the win in the longest postseason contest in baseball history.
2005 - The NL championship series shifted back to St. Louis after Albert Pujols’ dramatic two-out, three-run homer in the ninth inning rallied the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over Houston in Game 5.
2017 - Aaron Judge ignited a rousing rally with a home run, then doubled during a four-run eighth inning to spur the unflappable New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 6-4 and tie the AL Championship Series 2-2.
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