September 17 Dwight Gooden leads Mets to 108th victory

This Day in Baseball - The Daily Rewind

September 17, 1968 Detroit clinches the American League pennant with a 2 - 1 win over the Yankees. Detroit is ahead 1 - 0 when Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey phones Tiger general manager Jim Campbell with the news that the Sox have beaten the Orioles, clinching the pennant for the Tigers. Campbell keeps the score off the radio and the scoreboard, fearing the news will send fans rampaging onto the field.

Don Wert singles home the winner in the 9th and the fans tear down the left field screen as Campbell suspected.

September 17, 1912 - Casey Stengel of the Dodgers makes an impressive major league debut against the Pirates. The likable Brooklyn outfielder from Kansas City collects four hits, drives in two runs and swipes a pair of stolen bases in the 7 - 3 win.

September 17, 1979 - The Royals' George Brett collects his 20th triple of the season in a 16 - 4 romp over the Angels. Brett becomes the 6th player ever and the first since Willie Mays in 1927, to collect 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs in the same season. He will finish with totals of 42, 20 and 23.

September 17, 1985 Dwight Gooden strikes out 16 batters for the second straight start to tie the major-league record of 32 strikeouts in consecutive games, but balks home the winning run in the 8th inning of a 2 - 1 loss to the Phillies. It is Gooden's 5th straight outing with 10 or more strikeouts.

September 17, 1986 - The Mets clinch the National League East title with a 4 - 2 win over the Cubs at Shea Stadium as Dwight Gooden tosses a 6-hitter. The Mets will win 108 games this season, most in the National League since the 1975 Reds.