October 11 - George Brett steals the show in Game 3 of the 1985 ALCS - This Day in Baseball - The Daily Rewind

Vintage Baseball Reflections

October 11, 1999 -- With the American League divisional Series between Boston and Cleveland tied at two games apiece, the Red Sox send Bret Saberhagen out to face Charles Nagy. In an eruption of runs, both starters find themselves out of the game by the third inning and the game tied at 8. With the season on the line, Sox manager Jimy Williams summons his ace, Pedro Martinez from the bullpen. The electrifying move sent shockwaves through Jacob’s field since Martinez was removed from Game 1 after 4 innings due to a strained back, and all expected they had seen the last of Pedro’s incredible 1999 season. Martinez was masterful, striking out eight and walking three despite having neither his fastball nor changeup at his disposal. Throwing hiscurveball almost exclusively, Martinez and the Red Sox won the rubber match of the ALDS 12-8 in what is cited as one of Martinez’s greatest appearances. Also memorable in this game was the Indians strategy to intentionally walk shortstop Nomar Garciapara to face outfielder Troy O’Leary. Twice they walked Nomar and twice O’Leary returned the favor with a homerun driving in 7 runs for the day.

October 11, 1985, George Brett steals the show in Game 3 of the 1985 American League Championship Series. Down 2-0 to Toronto in the series, Brett drove in or scored every Kansas City run, going 4 for 4 with a single, a double, and two home runs. When Brett wasn’t busy torturing Toronto pitcher Doyle Alexander at the plate, he was mystifying in the field making a back-handed stop at third base to throw out a runner at home, and recording the final out to give the Royals a much-needed 6–5 win; their first in a series that they would win in seven games