Minnesota at Oakland (4:08 p.m. EDT), Game 1 of their ALDS. Brad Radke, who missed 2 1/2 months with a pulled groin, will try to stop the Athletics, led by Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez who each batted over .400 against the Twins this season.

SO LONG

Hal McRae was fired as manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday, one day after the team finished a miserable 55-106 season. It was the second straight season of 100 or more losses for the Devil Rays, and the worst record for the team since it began play in 1998. ... Detroit manager Luis Pujols was dismissed after the Tigers had their worst season in six years. Pujols, who replaced Phil Garner in April after an 0-6 start, led the Tigers to a 55-106 finish, tied for the worst record in the major leagues. His winning percentage of .355 is the lowest for a manager in club history.

FEWER FANS

Average attendance in the major leagues dropped 6.1 percent this year, its second straight decline and the biggest decrease since the season after the 1994-95 strike. This year's average of 28,168 was the majors' lowest since 1996 and was down from 30,012 last year, according to figures compiled by the commissioner's office.

SLOWING OFFENSE

Home runs in the major leagues declined for the second straight season and scoring was at its lowest level since 1993. The drop coincides with baseball's push to have umpires call a larger strike zone, the one defined in the rule book. Scoring dropped to 9.24 runs a game this year, its lowest level since a 9.20 average in 1992, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, baseball's statistician. Just three years ago, bulked-up batters sent 10.58 runs across the plate each game.

HOT TICKETS

The Seattle Mariners drew a major league-high 3,540,658 fans this season, an average of 43,712 per game. The New York Yankees were second, drawing a team-record 3,465,807, an average of 43,323.

EMPTY SEATS

The Montreal Expos drew a major league-low 812,545 fans this season, an average of 10,031 per game. This was actually an increase from last year.

SPEAKING

"It's not a surprise. ... The only thing I regret is we didn't win more games," Hal McRae on being fired as manager of the Devil Rays on Monday.

SEASONS

Oct. 1

1903 - The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox, 7-3, in the first World Series game ever played. Jimmy Sebring hit the first series home run. Deacon Phillippe was the winning pitcher and Cy Young the loser.

1932 - Babe Ruth, as legend has it, called his home run against Chicago's Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the New York Yankees 7-5 at Wrigley Field. Ruth and Lou Gehrig each hit two homers for the Yankees.

1946 - For the first time in major-league history, a playoff series to determine a league's championship was played between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Cardinals took the first game 4-2 as Howie Pollet held the Dodgers to two hits, a homer and an RBI-single by Howie Schultz.

1950 - The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NL pennant on Dick Sisler's three-run homer against Don Newcombe in a 4-1 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers on the season's final day.

1961 - Roger Maris hit his 61st home run against Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The homer eclipsed Babe Ruth's 34-year-old single-season home run record. The Yankees won, 1-0.

1978 - The Cleveland Indians beat the New York Yankees 9-2 on the last day of the season to force a one-game playoff between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox won their eighth straight game with a 5-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

1988 - Tony Gwynn went 2-for-3 to raise his league-leading batting average to .313 but suffered a hand injury in a 6-3 victory over Houston. Gwynn, is the first NL batting champion to win the title with an average below .320. Larry Doyle's .320 average was the lowest.

2000 - Detroit's Shane Halter became the fourth major leaguer to play all nine positions in a game, and capped his adventure by scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Tigers over Minnesota 12-11.

Today's birthdays: John Thomson, 29; Mark McGwire, 39.

Oct. 2

1908 - Addie Joss of the Cleveland Indians pitched a perfect game, defeating the Chicago White Sox, 1-0.

1916 - Grover Alexander pitched his 16th shutout and 33rd victory of the season, allowing only three Boston Braves hits for a 2-0 triumph.

1920 - The only tripleheader in this century was played, with the Cincinnati Reds defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first two games. The Pirates won the nightcap, which was called after six innings because of darkness.

1938 - Bob Feller struck out 18 Detroit Tigers to set a single-game record that stood until Steve Carlton broke it in 1969.

1968 - Bob Gibson set a World Series record by striking out 17 Detroit Tigers in Game 1.

1978 - In a one-game playoff for the AL East title, Bucky Dent hit a three-run homer off Mike Torrez to lead the New York Yankees to a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

1986 - Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets became the first pitcher in baseball history to strike out 200 batters in each of his first three seasons as he fanned seven en route to an 8-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1991 - The Toronto Blue Jays clinched the AL East title and became the first team in history to draw 4 million fans in one season.

1995 - The Seattle Mariners, behind Randy Johnson's three-hitter, beat California 9-1 in a one-game playoff for the AL West title.

2001 - Albert Pujols of St. Louis went 3-for-4 to set an NL rookie record with 353 total bases in a 5-1 victory over Milwaukee.

2001 - Sammy Sosa became the first player in major league history with three 60-homer seasons, but the Reds held on for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Sosa hit a solo shot in the first inning.

Today's birthdays: Doug Nickle, 28; Scott Schoeneweis, 29; Eddie Guardado, 32.