Baseball history unpacked, October 2

... on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a lighthearted Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review select scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history*.

Today in baseball history:

• 1908 - Addie Joss of the Cleveland Naps tosses a perfect game against the Chicago White Sox. The future Hall of Famer wins a 1-0 decision over Ed Walsh in one of the greatest pitching duels in major league history. Joss strikes out only three batters, while Walsh fans 15. (2,3)
• 1920 - With the last two games rained out, fans get their money’s worth in Pittsburgh as the Pirates and Reds, battling to determine 3rd place, play the century’s only tripleheader. Starting at noon, the Reds win the first, 13-4, to clinch third place. The Reds win game two as well, 7-3, with a number of players at odd positions: the Reds put catcher Ivey Wingo at 2B, with pitchers Rube Bressler, Dutch Ruether, Fritz Coumbe, and Hod Eller at field positions. The Pirates take the finale, 6-0, called after six innings because of darkness. The only “tribill” played this century is played in five hours. Clyde Barnhart, who made his major league debut ten days earlier, doubles in the first two games, and singles in the third, the only player to hit in all three games. (1,3)
• 1932 - The Yankees win their 12th consecutive World Series game and sweep the Fall Classic for the third time. The Bronx Bombers bang-out 19 hits, clubbing the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 13-6. (1)
• 2001 - Slugging Sammy Sosa becomes the first player in baseball history to slug 60 home runs in three seasons. The Cubs’ outfielder connects off Lance Davis in the first inning of the team’s 5-4 loss to Cincinnati at Wrigley Field to reach the milestone. (1)
• 2006 - Chicago’s veep and GM Jim Hendry announces that the Cubs have declined to renew Dusty Baker’s contract to return as the team’s manager. During his four-year reign in the northside dugout, the 57-year-old skipper compiled a 322-326 record, including a 66-96 campaign last season. (1)
• 2012 - For the first time in fifty years, teams with 100+ losses face one another when the 54-106 Astros beat the 60-100 Cubs at Wrigley Field, 3-0. The last time clubs with triple-digit defeats met occurred during the final weekend of the 1962 season with the Mets playing Chicago at the same Windy City ballpark. Bud Norris and four relievers hold Chicago to four hits (two by Starlin Castro) in the contest of sad-sack clubs. (1,3)
• 2012 - Seven years after being beaned on the first pitch he saw in his only career plate appearance, derailing a promising career, Adam Greenberg gets a chance to bat again in the major leagues. The Miami Marlins send him up to pinch-hit in the sixth inning against the Mets’ R.A. Dickey. He strikes out on three pitches from the knuckleballer, but the crowd cheers wildly as his story of perseverance has made him a hero to many. (3)
• 2018 - The Rockies defeat the Cubs, 2-1, in 13 innings in the Wild Card Game. After scoring off Jon Lester in the furst, the Rockies’ bats go quiet, while the Cubs tie it with two outs in the eighth when Javier Baez doubles off Adam Ottavino, scoring pinch-runner Terrance Gore. However, the Cubs, whose bats have gone stone cold of late, waste a number of other chances. Tony Wolters, the Rockies’ third catcher of the game, drives in Trevor Story with a two-out single off Kyle Hendricks in the 13th for the go-ahead run, and Scott Oberg preserves the win as Colorado will continue its travels, moving to Milwaukee, WI for Game 1 of the NLDS, its fourth city in four games. (3)
• Cub birthdays: Scott Stratton, Tom Angley, Bill Serena, Dave Beard, Hector Villanueva, Matt Walbeck, Rafael Lopez.

SimNews:

Kyle Hendricks vs Stephen Strasburg in Game 1 (best of five), tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT. All game video and related material is available commercial-free, 24/7, at the BCB Media Center.

Sources:

• (1) — The National Pastime.
• (2) — Today in Baseball History.
• (3) — Baseball Reference.
• (4) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (5) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (6) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.

*We vet each item as much as time allows. Please let us know if an item is in error, especially if you have a source. Thanks for reading!