Bucky Dent in Fenway Park says it all. The Yanks prevailed in the one-game playoff for the 1978 AL Pennant, 5-4 on October 2. Ron Guidry went to 25-3 with the win, besting Mike Torrez. Reggie Jackson homered as well, and Goose Gossage got the save when Graig Nettles caught Carl Yastrzemski‘s popup.

The 232nd hit of the 1986 season that Don Mattingly stroked on October 2 gave him the new Yankee season record, as Earle Combs had recorded 231 back in 1927. Donnie would stretch the mark to 238, and hit .352. In this game the Bombers beat the Red Sox, 6-1.

The Yankees and the Red Sox broke a tie on October 2, 1949, that season’s final day, as the Yanks prevailed behind Vic Raschi, 5-3. In front of 70,000, the Yanks took an early 1-0 lead off Ellis Kinder, and added four tallies in the eighth against Mel Parnell and Tex Hughson, enough of a cushion to withstand a late Boston try. Some think this was the Red Sox team that stood the best chance of beating the Yanks until they finally did so in 2004.

Journeyman Chi Chi Gonzalez actually pitched pretty well in his lone emergency start for the 2022 Yankees on October 2, 2022, but long after he departed, rbi’s by Gunnar Henderson and Austin Hays in the seventh carried the visiting O’s to a 3-1 victory.

With Yankee fans anxious to see Harrison Bader play center in the Bronx, there is debate about the wisdom of the trade of Jordan Montgomerey to St. Louis to get him, but fans of the trade could point to the Yankee lefty’s outing on October 2, 2021, when he was reached for seven runs in three innings in a 12-2 loss to the Tampa Rays. Anthony Rizzo homered in the first in just about the only Yankee highlight of the day.

On October 2, 2023, the Yankees activated righthanders Jonathan Loáisiga, Albert Abreu, Luis Severino, and Tommy Kahnle from the 15-day injured list; activated lefthander Wandy Peralta from the 15-day injured list; activated lefty Anthony Misiewicz from the 7-day injured list; and activated left fielder Billy McKinney from the 10-day injured list. Continuing with a lot of paperwork that day, the Yankees recalled lefthander Matt Krook; righties Ron Marinaccio, Yoendrys Gómez, and Randy Vásquez; and center fielder Franchy Cordero from the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

On October 2, 2022, the Yankees designated righthander Jacob Barnes for assignment; and selected the contract of righty Chi Chi Gonzalez from the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

On October 2, 2021, the Yankees optioned righthander Albert Abreu to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and recalled shortstop Andrew Velazquez from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

It was inspiring that Laura Pettitte sang the National Anthem in Yankee Stadium on October 2, 2011, and that the [temporarily] retired Andy Pettitte threw out the ceremonial first pitch to the soon-to-be-retired Jorge Posada in Game 2 on the ALDS. But Freddy Garcia, starting in a spot most would have rather seen held by Pettitte, surrendered a two-run home run to Miguel Cabrera in the first inning, and four runs into the sixth inning overall. The Yanks failed to score against Max Scherzer, and the three runs they posted in the last two frames on Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher home runs and a Brett Gardner sac fly were not enough. The 5-3 Tigers win evened the series at a game apiece.

The Yanks made it two straight over the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium on October 2, 2012, but it wasn’t easy. Trailing 3-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, Curtis Granderson singled and a pinch-hitting Raul Ibanez, doing what was becoming a late-season habit, homered for the tie. Then with two down in the bottom of the twelfth, Raul followed a Francisco Cervelli single and Granderson walk with the game-winning single in the 4-3 victory.

The Yanks evened the 1996 ALDS with Texas at a game apiece by winning 5-4 on October 2 in 12 innings as Rangers third baseman Dean Palmer threw away a bunt.

On the same day two years later, the Bombers shut out the Rangers, 4-0, to sweep the Texas-based team, winning the 1998 ALDS in three straight. Paul O’Neill and Shane Spencer provided all the scoring with home runs, both in the top of the sixth inning.

October 2 Yankee World Series highlights: Whitey Ford outdueled Warren Spahn 3-1 in Game One of the 1957 Classic. It was the 54th Championship in all, and the 26th in which the Bombers would take part.

Although the Yanks lost a Series game to the Dodgers 9-8 on October 2, 1947, Yogi Berra hit the first pinch homer in World Series history.

Vic Raschi‘s masterful pitching was the difference in the 7-1 win over Carl Erskine as the Yanks tied the 1952 Series up on October 2. Raschi struck out nine Dodgers players in the win.

Sandy Koufax struck out the first five New Yorkers to come to bat, and 15 overall, in a 5-2 Dodgers win over the Yanks in Game One in 1963. John Roseboro‘s three-run home run was the difference.

Lefty Gomez coasted as the Yanks battered the Giants 18-4, and Tony Lazzeri hit the first Yankee grand slam in World Series play, on October 2, 1936.

Although shaky on the mound, Lew Burdette rode the Braves’ seven-run first inning to a 13-5 win over the Yanks on this day in 1958. Burdette, who chipped in with a three-run home run, beat the New Yorkers for the fourth consecutive time in World Series play.

The Yanks completed the sweep of the Cubs with a 13-6 win on October 2, 1932. Wilcy Moore got the win in relief, Tony Lazzeri hit two taters, and Earle Combs hit one.

Also on October 2, Herb Pennock outpitched Bill Sherdel of the Cards in a 2-1 win in Game One of the 1926 Series. Lou Gehrig scored Babe Ruth with an rbi single for the winner in the sixth.

In a 3-2 Dodgers win in Ebbets Field on October 2, 1953, Carl Erskine struck out 14 Yankees, including four each by Mickey Mantle and Joe Collins. Roy Campanella‘s eighth-inning solo shot was the winner.

The Pinstripers drove southpaw Karl Spooner from the mound in the first inning with five runs on two walks, two singles, and Moose Skowron‘s home run on this day in 1955. Whitey Ford went the distance for the 5-1 win.

The Yankees succumbed to Dodgers ace Whitt Wyatt in a 3-2 Brooklyn World Series win on October 2, 1941.

Returning to regular-season play, Red Sox rookie Brian Denman blanked the Bombers 5-0 on October 2, 1982, closing his season with a 3-4 record in nine starts. The shutout would be his last major-league game.

Bud Metheny‘s homer in the first of two on October 2 was the Yanks’ 100th of the 1943 season. They took both from the Browns, 5-1 and 7-6, for their 14th doubleheader sweep, an AL record.

The Yankees were eliminated from contention for the American League flag when they lost to the Red Sox 7-5 on October 2, 1948, as Bob Feller inched the Indians closer with an 8-0 blanking of Detroit.

When Bernie Williams walked in David Cone‘s 3-2 win over Tampa Bay on October 2, 1999, he became the first player since Stan Musial in 1953 to reach 200 hits, 100 runs, 100 rbi’s, and 100 walks in a season.

Leo “The Lip” Durocher made his playing debut as a pinch hitter for the Yankees in a 10-0 loss to the A’s on this day in 1925. Leo flied out against Stan Baumgartner.

The Yanks beat the Red Sox 7-6 on October 2, the last day of the 1921 regular season, behind Babe Ruth‘s 59th home run off Carl Fullerton.

And 39 years later, Mickey Mantle edged out Roger Maris in the 1960 home run title, 40 to 39, as October 2 was that season’s final day. The Yanks cruised to the Series on the strength of a 15-game winning streak, capped by an 8-7 win over the Red Sox on Dale Long‘s two-run ninth-inning jack in the regular-season finale.

Babe Ruth got the 11-5 win over the Yankees, and hit a double for his first big-league safety on October 2, 1914, right after being recalled by Boston from Providence. The New Yorkers did their part, kicking in with five errors.

Mel Stottlemyre won his 20th game of the 1965 season in a 6-4 win over the Red Sox in Fenway on October 2.

Back to postseason play for a bit, Orlando el duque Hernandez kicked in with perhaps the best three innings by a Yankee starter during the 2002 ALDS vs. Anaheim in Game Two on October 2. Taking over from Andy Pettitte losing 4-1, he retired nine of 10 as the Bombers rallied for a 5-4 lead. But Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus took him yard back-to-back leading off the eighth, and the Angels prevailed 8-6.

Alfonso Soriano stroked three singles and scored twice and Jason Giambi knocked in two in a 4-1 Yankee win over the Twins in Game Two of the 2003 ALDS on October 2. Andy Pettitte went seven for the win, and the Bombers evened the series at one game apiece.

Confident after their Bombers had recovered to win Game One on back-to-back-to-back home runs, Yankee fans were upset and concerned when the Indians tied the 1997 ALDS at a game apiece behind rookie Jaret Wright on October 2. Matt Williams homered and Omar Vizquel had three hits.

On October 3, 2017, the Yankees reassigned shortstop Tyler Wade to the minor leagues; and recalled first baseman Garrett Cooper, righthander Ronald Herrera, and catcher Kyle Higashioka from the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The team also signed free agent second baseman Oscar Sanabria to a minor league contract.

Doc White of the White Sox had his 45-inning scoreless streak stopped by the Highlanders in the first inning on this day in 1904, but he reverted to form and beat the New Yorkers 7-1. The Highlanders recovered to win the nightcap, 6-3.

Jim Turner of the Boston Bees won his 20th of the 1937 season on October 2; Bobo Newsom of the Browns did the same one year later; and Philly’s Chris Short earned his that day in 1966 in the first game of a doubleheader. In that same day’s second game, Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers posted his 27th. Oakland’s Bob Welch matched that 27-win number on October 2, 1990. The Mets’ Doc Gooden notched his 24th on this day in 1985; Ferguson Jenkins of the Rangers brought home win no. 25 in 1974; Phillie Pete (Grover Cleveland) Alexander raised the bar with his 30th in 1917; but not enough to match his 33rd, which he had posted on October 2, 1916.

Dodger Dusty Baker blasted his 30th homer on October 2, 1977, giving the Dodgers the first four-man tandem of 30-homer hitters ever, as Dusty joined Steve Garvey, Reggie Smith, and Ron Cey.

Charles Schultz, as fine a baseball fan as there ever was, successfully had his Peanuts cartoon published in nine newspapers on October 2, 1950, the first time it appeared.

Riding the best regular season record in history, the Indians were shocked to be swept by the Giants in the 1954 classic. New York won the fourth game, 7-4, as Don Liddle bested Bob Lemon on October 2.

Cleveland’s Addie Joss beat Ed Walsh and the White Sox 1-0 on October 2, 1908, throwing a Perfect Game. The game’s lone run scored on an Ossee Schreckengost passed ball. At 24-12 with a 1.16 era, it was Joss’s finest year.

When Houston’s Mike Scott struck out eight Giants in a 2-1 Astros victory on October 2, 1986, he joined Sandy Koufax and J.R. Richard as the only NL pitchers to record 300 K’s in a season.

The number 200 figures in two additional October 2 highlights affecting future or former Yankee players. Randy Johnson reached the century mark in wins for the second time in Arizona’s 10-1 victory over Colorado on this day in 2001. And Wade Boggs‘s safety on October 2, 1988 gave him 200 hits for the sixth straight season. With no. six, be broke a tie he had shared with Chuck Klein (1929-1933) and Charlie Gehringer (1933-1937).

 
Players Who Have Died This Day

There are three Yankee players who have died on October 2, starting with righthander Jumbo Brown (1918). In 80 games (22 starts) for the 1932-1936 New Yorkers, Brown won 19, lost 16, and saved two. In a 1925-1941 career spent largely with the Giants, Jumbo’s overall record was 33-31-29. Catcher Cy Perkins (1963) used 12 hits in 47 at bats for the 1931 Yankees to knock in seven runs, with no home runs. He caught for the Philly A’s from 1915-1930, and one year for the Tigers after the new York stint, with overall numbers of 30 home runs with 409 rbi’s. Righthander Casey Cox (2023) ended his career by pitching six games (one start) with 1972-1973 Yankees, to an 0-1 record with no saves. He had pitched with the 1966-1971 Senators, and the 1972 Rangers, in 308 games overall (59 starts), to a record of 39-42 with 20 saves.

The year 2020 saw two great players added to the six notable nonYankees to have died on October 2, but there is no doubt who stands tallest. St. Louis Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (2020) pitched in that Missouri city from 1959 through 1975, to a 251-174 record with six saves. Bob won two Cy Young Awards, one MVP, and was the MVP of two World Series as well. And lefty reliever Ron Perranoski (2020), who started just one of 737 games, posted a 79-74 record with 179 saves with LA from 1961 to 1967 and 1972; with the 1968-1971 Twins; and the 1971-1972 Tigers, plus one other stop. Before 2020, three outfielders and two infielders swelled the list of noteworthy nonYankee players to have died. Righty hurler George Bradley (1931) posted a 138-125-1 record from 1876-1884 throwing two years for the Blues and one each with six other clubs. Second baseman/third baseman Danny O’Connell (1969) reached 39 fences and drove in 320 runs from 1950-1962 playing with the Braves, the Giants, the Pirates, and the Senators; and outfielder Clyde Vollmer (2006) blasted 69 homers good for 339 rbi’s playing for the Senators, the Reds, and the Red Sox from 1942-1954. Next, we have two outfielders who hit lefthanded: Frank “Wildfire” Schulte (1949) threw with his right hand and he hit 92 long balls and knocked in 792 runs playing mostly with the Cubs from 1904-1918; while White Sox and Orioles outfielder Pat Kelly (2005) did it all from the left side in smacking 76 home runs and driving in 418 runs from 1967-1981. Finally, middle infielder Solly Hemus (2017) played mostly with St. Louis from 1949-1959, with two-plus years for the Phillies, and he hit 51 home runs and drove 263 in. Newest to the group is righthander Chuck Hartenstein (2021), who went 17-19 with 23 saves in 187 games (no starts) for the the 1966-1968 Cubs and the 1969-1970 Pirates, plus three other stops.

 
Players Born This Day

Slick-fielding shortstop Andre Robertson (1957), who played his only big-league ball with the Yanks from 1981 through 1985, is the first of five Yankee October 2 birthdays. Andre’s best work was with his glove, but he did hit five homers and drove in 54 runs. Purchased from Toronto in December 1979, Robertson was traded with Ken Griffey, Sr. to the Atlanta Braves for Claudell Washington and Paul Zuvella in June 1986.

Spec Shea (1920) debuted with the Yanks, and fashioned a 29-21 mark with three saves from 1947 through 1951 before finishing up with four years in Washington. The Yanks sent Spec to the Senators in May 1952 with Jackie Jensen, Jerry Snyder, and Archie Wilson for Irv Noren and Tom Upton.

John Gabler (1930) also started in the Bronx, as a 1949 amateur free agent. He posted a 4-4 record and one save in 1959 and 1960, and went to Washington in November 1960 when they selected him in the rule-V draft. And shortstop Joe Buzas (1919) notched six rbi’s in 30 games for the 1945 club, his only major-league service.

Received by the Yanks from Minnesota in a trade for catcher John Ryan Murphy prior to the 2016 season, switch-hitting outfielder Aaron Hicks (1989) was largely a disappointment in the Bronx his first year, though he improved in the season’s final months. A first-round pick of the Twins in 2008, Hicks had disappointing seasons in Minnesota in 2013 and 2014, hitting .192 and .215, respectively, but he improved to .256 in ’15. He had 20 home runs and 78 rbi’s for the Twins in 247 games, and had eight and 31 in 123 games for the Yanks in 2016, with a batting average of .217. But Aaron came out strong in 2017, with a slew of big hits and game-winning rbi’s, operating in a solid four-man outfield. Unfortunately, injuries ruined much of the rest of that year, but he was a solid cog on both offense and defense in 2018. But 2019 was a year-long injury fest, once he signed an eight-year deal, and he hasn’t been much better since. He was finally released in late May 2023, and since then had seven home runs and 31 rbi’s in 65 games with the Orioles once he signed as a free agent with them. In probably his swan song, Hicks stroked one more home run with five rbi’s in 18 games with 2024 Angels.

Also received by the Yankees before the ’16 season via trade, from the Dodgers, was lefthander Tyler Olson (1989), along with infielder Ronald Torreyes, for Rob Segedin. A seventh-round choice by Seattle in the 2013 amateur draft, Olson pitched to a 1-1 mark over 11 games with the Mariners in 2015. Sold to LA, the Yanks got him, and he pitched in one game for the parent club in 2016, before being lost on waivers to the Royals, then to the Indians, for whom he has been a solid bullpen performer in 112 games over 2017-2019, with a 4-2 record and one save.

Infielder Greg Pryor (1949) and lefty Paul Doyle (1939) are two birthdaying players who spent time with the Yanks, but not on the field of play. The February 1977 trade with the Texas Rangers that brought Pryor to New York was particularly fortuitous, because the Yankees received future World Series hero Brian Doyle and cash in that same swap, which cost them Sandy Alomar, Sr. Granted free agency in November 1977, Pryor hit 14 homers with 146 rbi’s for the White Sox and the Royals in the next 10 years. Southpaw Doyle (no relation to Brian, I believe) spent the 1960 season in the Yankee organization, and he won five, lost three, and saved 11 games with the Braves, the Angels, and the Padres from 1969-1972.

In the cup of coffee category, righty reliever Ryan Dull (1994) was taken off waivers from San Francisco in August 2019 and let go in September, having pitched to no record but about a 20 era over three games. Drafted by Oakland in 2012, he has pitched to an 8-9 mark with four saves in 167 games there before his Yankee start. Toronto grabbed him on waivers once the Yanks released him; Dull pitched one game with the 2019 Jays.

Other birthdays: Maury Wills (1932), with his 586 career steals; Earl Wilson (1934); Bob Robertson (1957); Ernest Riles (1960); Matt Wallbeck (1969); Eddie “Every Day” Guardado (1970); Scott Schoenweiss (1973); Doug Nickle (1974); Victor Santos (1976); Jose Morban (1979); Matt Reynolds (1984); Oswaldo Navarro (1984); Rafael Lopez (1987); Chad Smith (1989); Noel Cuevas (1991); Cam Bedrosian (1991); Jason Hursh (1991); Lance G. McCullers (1993), son of an identically named (minus the middle initial) big league pitcher with a 28-31 career mark, including 5-3 for the 1989-1990 Yankees; Alex Lange (1995); Kyle Wright (1995); and Oliver Ortega (1996).