The Catbird Seat

Almanac Edition · every October 3 at once · from the makers of Tearing Up the Pea Patch

OCTOBER 3 · 550 GAMES ON THE RECORD · 1874–2022

On this date in 1982, St. Louis beat the Cubs 5–4 in 14 innings while being out-hit 17 to 13.

The Committee has looked at all 550 major-league games played on October 3, from 1874 to 2022, and this is the one that does not behave.

Also on this date

1991-10-03	Minnesota at the White Sox	12–13	11.7
1991-10-03	Minnesota at the White Sox	12–13	11.7	282 min
1885-10-03	The Boston Braves at BFN	18–0		by 18
1948-10-03	Detroit at Cleveland	7–1	9.0	74,181 paid

Unfair afternoons — won while out-hit

1920-10-03	The Philadelphia Athletics at the Washington Senators	8–6	9.0	hits 7-15
1925-10-03	The Philadelphia Athletics at the Yankees	8–9	8.8	hits 18-11
1923-10-03	The Washington Senators at the Philadelphia Athletics	8–12	8.5	hits 15-9

The Mirror Game — a line score this date shares with another day

1898-10-03	LS3 at the Cubs	1–2	10.8	00000010000 / 00000100001
1898-10-03	The New York Giants at Philadelphia	3–0	9.0	200000010 / 000000000
1902-10-03	The New York Giants at the Boston Braves	0–6	8.5	000000000 / 00600000x

By the decades

1870s 4 · 1880s 39 · 1890s 35 · 1900s 59 · 1910s 63 · 1920s 20 · 1930s 11 · 1940s 21 · 1950s 1 · 1960s 21 · 1970s 25 · 1980s 71 · 1990s 59 · 2000s 45 · 2010s 47 · 2020s 29

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THE CATBIRD SEAT is set by the Committee on Playing Rules of Tearing Up the Pea Patch, a Macguffin Co. game, Commissioner F. McCoy presiding. Almanac editions are compiled from the record by the Committee’s engine and read by no one before you; a surprising fact in them is a lead, not a verdict. The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at www.retrosheet.org. Wire service (RSS)