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1988: In a scene straight from the movie “The Natural,” Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers hobbled from the dugout in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium and pinch-hit a come-from-behind game-winning two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland A’s. The Dodgers went on to win the Series in five games.

1968: Al Oerter of West Babylon, N.Y., became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in the same event when he won the discus throw in 216 feet 6 inches at the Mexico City Games. His streak started at the 1956 Melbourne Games in Australia. Carl Lewis of the United States won four straight gold medals in the long jump between 1984 and ’96.

1892       On the last day the season, Charles Bumpus Jones goes the distance in his first major league start, allowing no hits in the Reds’ 7-1 victory over the Pirates at Cincinnati’s League Park. The 22 year-old right-hander becomes the first major league rookie to throw a no-hitter.

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1892       On the last day the season, Charles Bumpus Jones goes the distance in his first major league start, allowing no hits in the Reds’ 7-1 victory over the Pirates at Cincinnati’s League Park. The 22 year-old right-hander becomes the first major league rookie to throw a no-hitter.

1917       The White Sox win the World Series in six games when they beat the Giants at the Polo Grounds, 4-2. When the New York infielders leave home plate uncovered in the fourth inning, Eddie Collins scurries home, scoring the eventual winning run with Giants’ third baseman Heinie Zimmerman chasing him with the ball toward the plate.

1917       A letter signed by 24 members of the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox and manager Pants Rowland contains complaints concerning not receiving their full winner share after beating the New York Giants. The written request, which will be discovered as a tattered document more than 40 years later among boxes stored at the Hall of Fame library, may explain the ‘Black Sox’ motivation for fixing the Fall Classic two years later.

1923       At the Polo Grounds, the visiting Yankees score five runs in the eighth inning, beating the Giants in Game 6 of the Fall Classic, 6-4. The victory over their crosstown rivals gives the franchise its first World Championship.

1925       The Pirates become the first team to win a World Series after being down three games to one when the Bucs beat Washington and Walter Johnson in Game 7, 9-7. Kiki Cuyler’s bases-loaded double in the eighth inning proves to be the difference.

1946       In Game 7 of the World Series, the Cardinals beat the Red Sox, 4-3, when Enos Slaughter streaked home from first on Harry Walker’s single. The play surprises everyone, including cut-off man shortstop Johnny Pesky who hesitates, as legend has it, throwing the ball home.

1964       In the Game 7 loss to the Cardinals, Bobby Richardson establishes a World Series record, playing in thirty consecutive Fall Classic games. The Yankees second baseman shares the record for the most hits (13), RBIs (12), and runs scored (8) in a seven-game series (1960).

1964       In his final postseason game, Mickey Mantle hits a three-run homer to the opposite field off right-hander Bob Gibson, his third dinger of the series. The Sportsman’s Park bomb, in the 7-5 loss to the Redbirds in the Fall Classic finale, extends the Mick’s World Series record to 18.

1964       The Cardinals hang on to defeat the Yankees in Game 7 at Sportsman’s Park, 7-5, to capture their seventh Fall Classic, becoming the first team with a losing record (39-40) at the All-Star break to be World Champs. Bob Gibson, who struck out 31 batters in 27 innings during his three starts, is selected as the World Series Most Valuable Player.

1964       The Boyer brothers both hit home runs in Game 7 of the World Series, Ken for the Cardinals and Clete for the Yankees. Both siblings accomplish the feat in their last at-bat of the Fall Classic.

1968       Orioles right-hander Roger Nelson is selected first by the Royals in the American League expansion draft. The Pilots then choose first baseman Don Mincher from the Angels as their franchise’s first choice.

1969       In Game 4 of the Fall Classic at Shea Stadium, Tom Seaver and the Mets beat the Orioles in ten innings, 2-1. The game features an outstanding run-saving diving catch of Brooks Robinson’s sinking line drive with two on in the ninth inning by right fielder Ron Swoboda and a controversial play in the tenth when J.C. Martin unquestionably gets in the way of Pete Richert’s throw, without the umpire not calling interference on the baserunner.

1969       During the third inning of Game 4 of the Fall Classic, Earl Weaver becomes the first manager to be thrown out of a World Series game in 34 years. The ‘Earl of Baltimore’, who had previously been warned by umpire Shag Crawford, is quickly ejected after he protested a strike call from the bench.

1970       Brooks Robinson is selected as the World Series Most Valuable Player after batting .429 (9/21) and driving in six runs during the five-game set against Cincinnati. The Orioles’ third baseman becomes the first player to be named the MVP in the Fall Classic, an All-Star game (1966), and for his league (AL-1964).

1972       In his last appearance at a major league ballpark, Jackie Robinson, speaking before Game 2 of the World Series nine days before his death, urges baseball to hire a black manager. The first African- American skipper will not be hired until 1975 when the Indians employ Frank Robinson to run the team.

1981       With Dave Righetti, Ron Davis, and Goose Gossage combining to shut out Oakland, 4-0, the Yankees sweep the A’s to capture their thirty-third American League pennant. The Bronx Bombers will face the Dodgers in the World Series for the third time in the past five Fall Classics.

1982       Willie McGee becomes the third rookie to hit two home runs in same World Series game. Going deep off Brewers starter Pete Vuckovich in the fifth and seventh innings in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, the Cardinals’ center fielder joins Charlie Keller (1939) and Tony Kubek (1957), who also accomplished the feat in the third game of their respective Fall Classics.

1986       In the longest postseason game ever played (4 hours and 42 minutes), the Mets clinch their third National League crown, beating Houston in sixteen innings at the Astrodome, 7-6. Trailing 3-0, Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight spark a ninth-inning rally which sends the game into extra innings.

1986       After being down three games to one in the ALCS, the Red Sox pull off one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history by defeating the California Angels 8-1 to win the American League pennant.

1988       In his only plate appearance in the Fall Classic, a limping Kirk Gibson, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of Game 1, sends a two-out, 3-2 back-door slider from future Hall of Fame relief ace Dennis Eckersley over the right field fence, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the A’s. The round-tripper marks the first time a World Series game is ever decided on a come-from-behind home run in the final inning.

1996       The Devil Rays name Jamie Reed as the club’s head trainer. The 37 year-old Annapolis, Md native, formerly the assistant trainer for the Orioles, is the first on-field major league hire for the new expansion team.

1997       Major League Baseball approves a resolution creating a 16-team National League and a 14-team American League for the upcoming season. The plan puts the expansion Devil Ray in the AL Eastern Division, and the NL’s newest team, the Rockies, will play in the circuit’s Western Division.

1997       Thanks to an 11th-inning homer by Tony Fernandez the Indians defeat the Orioles, 1-0, to win the American League Championship Series in six games. It is the Tribe’s second pennant in three years.

2001       The Yankees beat the A’s 5-3 to win the ALDS. The Bronx Bombers become the first team ever to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home.

2001       After losing their first playoff appearance to the Mets in 1999, the Diamondbacks win their first postseason series, beating the Cardinals in only their fourth year of existence. Tony Womack’s two-out game-winning hit in the deciding fifth game of the NLDS gives Arizona the 2-1 victory.

2002       Kirk Gibson signs a three-year deal to become Detroit’s new bench coach. The aggressive former outfielder joins the staff of the newly hired skipper, Alan Trammell, a former 1984 World Champion Tiger teammate.

2003       Steve Bartman, the Cubs fan who deflected a foul ball in Game 6 of the NLCS, releases a statement explaining his actions. During a weepy apology, the 26 year-old human resources company worker asks Chicago fans to redirect their negative energy into positive support for the team during Game 7 of the championship series.

2007       The Rockies record their 21st victory in 22 games, beating the Diamondbacks 6-4 to complete a four-game sweep of the NLCS. The Coors Field’s triumph over the number one seed in the National League playoffs advances Colorado to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.

2008       In Game 5 of the NLCS, the visiting Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5-1, to win their first pennant since 1993. Southpaw Cole Hamels, the series MVP, hurls his third postseason gem, and Jimmy Rollins starts the Philadelphia attack with a leadoff home run to start the game.

2011       With another home run in the Game 6 clincher, a 15-5 Ranger rout of Detroit, Nelson Cruz sets a new record for the most round-trippers in a postseason series with six. The Texas right-fielder, who ended the regular season in a slump, is named the ALCS Most Valuable Player for his outstanding contribution to his team’s success in the championship series.

2012       The Reds sign Dusty Baker to a two-year contract extension, giving their 63 year-old manager another chance to take the team beyond the first round of the playoffs. Cincinnati has participated in the postseason in two of the last three years, including this season’s heartbreaking loss in the NLDS, losing the previous three contests at home in a five-game series to San Francisco.

2014       The Royals become the first team to win eight consecutive postseason games when they swept the Orioles in the ALCS with a 2-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City, after winning the wild-card game over the A’s, continued their winning ways by beating the Angels in the first three games of the best-of-five ALDS series.

2017       Twenty-nine years later to the day, Justin Turner follows Kirk Gibson into franchise folklore when he hits a postseason walk-off three-run home run in the 12th inning of the LA’s 4-1 victory over the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLCS. In 1988, a hobbled Kirk Gibson, in his only Fall Classic appearance, came off the bench to hit one of the most memorable round-trippers in World Series history, giving the Dodgers a come-from-behind victory against the A’s in Game 1.