September 29

During the sixth inning of a 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto, Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon pulls Delmon Young out of the lineup for showing “blatant disrespect” for the game and the team by not running hard to first base. The 21 year-old outfielder responds with a profanity-laced tirade, claiming he was unfairly singled out and says he will not play in tomorrow’s season finale, making it the only game in the 162-game season he will miss.

Staving off what would have been one of the worst collapses in baseball history, the White Sox clinch their first American League Central title since 2000, beating the Tigers at Detroit’s Comerica Park, 4-2. The Pale Hose had watched their 15-game lead on August 1 shrink to only a game and a half over the rampaging Indians.

Jhonny Peralta sets a new club record for home runs hit by an Indian shortstop. The 24 year-old’s third-inning blast against the Devil Rays gives the Dominican his 24th round-tripper of the season, one more than Woodie Held hit in 1961.

Hours after MLB’s announcement of the franchise’s impending shift to Washington, D.C., the Expos played their final game in Montreal, a 9-1 loss to Florida before 31,395 enthusiastic fans at Olympic Stadium. As part of the ceremonies, the team commemorates their unfinished 1994 season by unfurling a banner that reads “1994 Meilleure quipe du Baseball/Best Team in Baseball,” a reference to the club’s 74-40 record before the work stoppage ended the season and the city’s hopes of playing in a World Series.

With the Braves beating the Mets 6-3, Bobby Cox becomes the ninth manager in baseball history to win 2,000 games. All of the other skippers who have reached this milestone are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, with the exception of Tony La Russa, who is still actively managing the Cardinals.

Jason Giambi homers in his first two trips to the plate in the Yankees’ 6-0 win over Tampa Bay at the Stadium. The pair of round-trippers gives the slugging outfielder a total of 40 for the season, and when added with Jeremy’s total of 20 home runs, hit with Oakland and Philadelphia, the Giambi brothers set the record for homers by siblings in the same season, topping the 59 hit by Joe (46) and Vince DiMaggio (13) in 1937.

On the last day of the season, the Braves use 24 players, with the Mets using 21 to tie the major league record for the most players employed in a nine-inning game. The Expos and the Cubs also combined to use 45 players on September 5, 1978.

Barry Bonds sets a new season mark for on-base percentage with a .582 OBP. The 38 year-old Giant left fielder, who became the oldest first-time winner of a batting title, hitting .370, easily surpassed the 1941 mark established by Ted Williams with a .553 OBP.

Astros’ starter Dave Mlicki gives up homers on three consecutive pitches to Fred McGriff, Rondell White, and Todd Hundley. The back-to-back-to-back homers, which come in the first inning with two outs, enable the Cubs to beat Houston at Wrigley Field, 6-2.

Mariners’ outfielder Ichiro Suzuki gets his 234th hit of the season, breaking ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson’s 1911 rookie record for the most hits in a season. The historic hit also ties the 1985 major league mark for singles in a season, established by Wade Boggs with 187, playing with the Red Sox.