October 5, 2001, 20 years ago: At what was then known as Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park), Barry Bonds hits his 71st and 72nd home runs of the season, to set a new major league single-season record… which we now know is bogus. The 1st-inning homer, his 71st, is off Dodger pitcher Chan Ho Park.
But the Dodgers win the game, 11-10, and, to make matters worse, the Dodgers' win both clinches the National League Western Division and eliminates the Giants, still their arch-rivals, from Playoff eligibility.
Bonds will raise his total to 73*. With teammate Rich Aurilia's 37 (as far as I know, his were legit), they set a (tainted) NL record for homers by teammates, 110. The major league record remains 115, by Mickey Mantle (54) and Roger Maris (still the legit record of 61) in 1961.
Ned Williamson, who played for the team now known as the Chicago Cubs, hit 27 home runs in 1884, thanks to a short left-field fence at the team's home ballpark. That remained a record through Major League Baseball's "Dead Ball Era," until 1919, when Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox hit 29.
For the 1920 season, Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees, and blew past his own record to hit 54. He raised the record to 59 in 1921, and 60 in 1927. That record stood until Maris hit 61 in '61. That record stood until Mark McGwire cheated his way to 70 in 1998. Bonds raised it to 73 in 2001.
*
October 5, 2001 was a Friday. These MLB games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bernie Williams hit 2 home runs, but it wasn't enough: Roger Clemens started the season 20-1, but fell to 20-3.
* The New York Mets lost to the Montreal Expos, 8-6 at Shea Stadium.
* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Sox won the opener, 5-0. Frank Castillo (7 innings) and Willie Banks combined on a 3-hit shoutout. The Sox won the nightcap, 7-5. Trot Nixon hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 20-3 at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Marlins scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st. The Braves scored 10 in the bottom of the 1st, and it was downhill from there.
* The Toronto Blue Jays swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians at the SkyDome in Toronto. (It's now named the Rogers Centre.) The Jays won the 1st game, 5-0. Roy Halladay pitched a 2-hit shutout. The Jays won the 2nd game, 4-3. Alex Gonzalez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. (That's the Alex Gonzalez whose error helped sink the 2003 Cubs, not the one whose home run off Jeff Bleeping Weaver helped sink the 2003 Yankees. Both of them helped lift up the 2003 Marlins.)
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. (The stadium was renamed American Family Field this year.) Albie Lopez pitched a 3-hit shutout.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 4-0 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Jason Jennings allowed 4 hits but no runs over 6 innings, and the Rockie bullpen didn't allow a hit.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Anaheim Angels, 6-2 at Edison International Field in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, California. In 2004, the ballpark was renamed Angel Stadium of Anaheim, and the team was renamed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The "of Anaheim" was dropped in 2016.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Safeco Field in Seattle. (The ballpark has been renamed T-Mobile Park.) Jamie Moyer won his 20th game against 6 losses, and the M's won their 115th game of the season, a new American League record. They would tie the major league record of 116, set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs. Neither of those teams won the World Series.
* A game was supposed to be played at Comerica Park in Detroit, but were rained out. It was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Kansas City Royals won the opener, 8-3. The Detroit Tigers won the nightcap, 2-1. Randall Simon won the game in the 11th with a sacrifice fly.
* Another rainout happened at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, setting up a doubleheader the next day. The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Cincinnati Reds, winning the 1st game 2-1, and the 2nd game 5-1.
It was midweek for football. The NBA season hadn't started yet. The NHL season had, and 3 games were played:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Carolina Panthers, 3-1 at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena (now the PNC Arena).
* The New York Islanders beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2 at the Ice Palace (now the Amalie Arena) in Tampa. The Isles trailed 2-1 in the 3rd period, but Mark Parrish scored twice to tie it and win it.
* And the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators, 4-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.