On October 4, 1964, the St. Louis Cardinals win a wild National League pennant race by defeating the New York Mets, 11-5, after dropping the first two games of the series. Bill White drives in a two runs with a home run, scoring future hall of fame Lou Brock, putting the Cardinals up 7-4 in…
The smallest crowd ever to attend a game at Fenway Park watches the Red Sox, en route to their sixth consecutive losing season, beat the Indians, 4-2, to snap a six-game slide. The crowd of 306 paid patrons is less than half of the previous low at the Boston ballpark when only 674 fans showed up for a game against Kansas City last season.
In the event of a tie at the end of the season, National League president Warren Giles flips a coin to determine the different possible playoff pairings, which includes six possibilities – two with two teams, three with three teams, and one with four teams. Reds’ president and general manager Bill DeWitt wins the first toss and chooses to play the Cardinals at home if Cincinnati prevails.
The Phillies lose their 10th straight game as Curt Simmons of the Cards beats Jim Bunning, 8 – 5. The Phils now trail by 2 1/2 games with just two to play, but have a glimmer of hope since the Cardinals have three games left against the 10th-place Mets.
In a rarity at Fenway Park, the Indians shut out the Red Sox in a doubleheader winning 5 – 0 and 3 – 0. Rookie Luis Tiant and Sam McDowell go the distance in applying the whitewash.
A total of 36 strikeouts, 19 by Pittsburgh batters, ties the National League record for whiffs in the Pirates’ 1 – 0 squeaker against the Reds in 16 innings. Jerry May’s squeeze bunt scores the lone run. The loss drops the Reds out of 1st place with three games left.
As a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium, Bill Roman hits his only big league home run in his first major league at-bat. The 25 year-old Tiger rookie first baseman will accumulate only 37 career plate appearances during a brief two-year stint in Detroit.
Masanori Murakami becomes the first player born in Japan to win a major league game. At Candlestick Park, the 20 year-old southpaw one-hits the Colt .45’s over three innings, and the Otsuki native gets the victory when Matty Alou, who hasn’t homered in two years, goes deep to give the Giants a dramatic walk-off 5-4 win in the bottom of the 11th inning.
At a press conference, the Mets announce Casey Stengel, the only skipper the franchise has ever known, will continue to manage next season. Although the expansion team has finished last in all three years of its existence, the ‘Old Perfessor’ is given a raise.
1964 – In the last game played at Colt Stadium, Jim Wynn singles home Rusty Staub for a 1-0, 12-inning triumph over Los Angeles . Bob Bruce is masterful, scattering five hits in the complete game victory. Bruce becomes the first 15-game winner in franchise history.
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