California Love

For the first time ever, four teams from California have made the Major League Baseball Playoffs.

Sorry San Diego.

Three Wins

Jerome Williams beat the Oakland Athletics for the third time this weekend. While not uncommon for a pitcher to beat a team three times in a season, the manner in which he did it was unique.

Williams pitched for three teams this season: Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and Philadelphia Phillies. His wins against the A's came while on a different team, thus becoming the first pitcher to beat a team three time in a season while being on a different team each time.

The Finger

We often see baseball players (and the general public) use the middle finger as an obscene hand gesture, but have you ever thought to yourself where "the bird" first appeared? While it's not clear how it originated in America,  we do know that the first documented appearance of the finger in the United States was in 1886 when Old Hoss Radbourn, a baseball pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters, was photographed giving it to a member of the rival New York Giants. That's another first brought to you by baseball!

Check out the finger, back row, far left.

Interesting Matchup

Today marks the anniversary of the following article, published in the September 1, 1926 edition of The Washington Post:

More information on this game can be found in Jeffrey Goldberg's Atlantic article.