Today in 1985: Bret Saberhagen threw a five-hit shutout in Game 7 to give the Royals their first World Series championship. Saberhagen was 2-0 in the Series with a 0.50 ERA, and was named the MVP. He also won his first of two Cy Young Awards that year. #MLB #Royals

Walter Johnson was not 100% sure of his skills. In his 1st contract, he asked for a train ticket home if he didn't make the team. He won 417 games (second to Cy Young) and set MLB records of 531 complete games and 110 shutouts. Was one of the first 5 players in the Hall of Fame.

Today in 1991: The Twins' Kirby Puckett made an incredible catch to rob the Braves' Ron Gant of a two-run home run in Game 6 of the World Series. Then in the 11th inning, he launched a game-winning homer to force a Game 7, one which the Twins won, 1-0. #MLB #Twins #WorldSeries

Baseball never had a commissioner until the Black Sox scandal of 1919, when players of the Chicago White Sox were accused of fixing the World Series. Baseball needed a leader to restore its image. They turned to Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a federal judge who had a reputation for fighting big corporations. In his first major act, Landis banned eight White Sox players from baseball for life for their involvement in with a New York gambler, and kept that ban even after the players were acquitted in a Chicago trial. He served as baseball commissioner for 24 years until his death. He was then elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. #mlb #baseball @baseballhall

Today in 1986: Bill Buckner's error in the 10th on a slow grounder to first allowed Ray Knight to score the winning run in Game 6 of the World Series. The Mets would beat the Red Sox in the decisive Game 7 to prolong the Curse of the Bambino. #MLB #Mets #RedSox #WorldSeries

Some fun Cy Young facts: his real name is Denton True Young. "Cy" is short for cyclone which referred to the speed of his pitches. He started 815 games, threw 749 complete games and won 511 games--all MLB records. He even umpired four games. In the early days, when an umpire didn't show, a reserve catcher or a pitcher used the day before would be called upon to ump the game. #MLB #baseball

A sad day today in 1972: Jackie Robinson, the player that integrated baseball, died at age 53 from heart disease. After a 10-year career with the #Dodgers, he became the Vice President for Personnel at Chock Full O'Nuts, the first African American to be named a VP of a major U.S. company.

Today in 1993: Joe Carter hit one of the most famous walk-off homers in #MLB history, giving the #BlueJays the 1993 World Series. Carter is one of only two players in MLB history to end a World Series with a home run. The other is Bill Mazeroski.

Born today in 1931: Jim Bunning. Only person to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (1996) and be a U.S. Senator (1999-2011 from Kentucky). A 9-time All-Star who won 224 games in his career. Pitched a perfect game in 1964 for the #Phillies and another no-hitter in 1958.

A sad day today in 2024: Fernando Valenzuela passed away. Anyone around in 1981 will remember how Fernandomania engulfed the baseball world, packing MLB stadiums everywhere. As a rookie, he won his first eight starts, all complete games. Five were shutouts. His ERA in those games: 0.50. He became the first pitcher to win both Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same season. #MLB #baseball #Dodgers