Baseballminutia

The All Star break is always a lull that upsets the rhythm of the season in my world, sometimes needed, sometimes loathed… I’m not a big fan of the event anymore so perhaps that plays into it? The All Star game is for kids and marketing, otherwise the players would prefer a 3-day break with no coaches and no laps around the field.

Instead some get that and others get to go on a vacation with Harold and Kruk.

I myself will be gearing up for the second half of the season by cleaning out my noodle and watching no sports for 3 days, after a month that saw countless World Cup games, a Stanley Cup and more baseball then most “regular” people see in a year it’s probably needed.

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to catch the A’s playing the Angels, a game that featured 4 Home Runs from the Angels and 4 from the A’s including a walk off from Frank Thomas. This is in a park that usually suppresses offense!!

Games like that get me thinking about the other games I’ve seen over the years and in the sprit of the All Star Break I’m going to list my top ten game experiences.

So here we go.

#10 – Some games are really more about the atmosphere then the events on the field, for me my trip to original Comiskey was one of those events. It was the last season for the stadium that spitballer Ed Walsh helped design, and it was 90 win team that was going to close it out. In a game against the Indians I witnessed my last glance at Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk, who at age 42 would catch fulltime and hit .285/.378/.451. A massive rainstorm delayed the game and showed the leaky parts of the stadium to the fans, my future wife learned of my disdain for ketchup on hot dogs and a fan rushed the field sliding into second base on a soaked tarp before being shown the door by Chicago’s finest. The smell of a wet summer night in a city with so much baseball history couldn’t stir the ghosts of any Indian greats and they went down to the White Sox for the last time ever in old Comiskey.

Game Played on Tuesday, July 24, 1990 (N) at Comiskey Park I

CLE A    0  0  0    0  0  2    1  0  0  -   3  7  0
CHI A    0  0  1    2  0  5    0  0  x  -   8 14  3

#9 – Some Parks were great others stunk. Learning that first hand is part of the experience. Making a bad park even worse is a tam that lacks charisma and talent. That’s where we find the 1984 Giants, a team that finished 66-96 and jettisoned Frank Robinson after game 106. Barely getting a million fannies in he mistake called Candlestick the Giants tried their best to make fans love the park.

Introducing the Croix De Candlestick a pin described as (The pin was handed out to only the best and most diehard of Giants fans. After an extra inning game at Candlestick, any fan that braved the elements and stayed for the whole game was given the coveted pin. Candlestick Park’s conditions past 10 o clock and the 9th inning at night were harsh and unforgiving. To own a Croix De Candlestick pin is a badge of honor that tells the world, “I love my Giants”) also enticing the fans to come to the park was perhaps the world worst mascot… The Crazy Crab.

Lucky for the fans in San Francisco the Crab was shelled after the season. My first game at Candlestick was a night game in the Spring… in short it was cold and it was two of the worst teams in the game.

In short it is more memorable for the stigma created for me (a transplanted Midwesterner) about the place they played baseball in San Francisco, making it by far my least favorite park ever.

Game Played on Thursday, April 19, 1984 (N) at Candlestick Park

CIN N    1  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   1  4  0
SF  N    2  0  0    0  0  1    0  0  x  -   3 11  1

#8 – The death of a dynasty can be a hard thing to swallow, but seeing it first hand sometimes help you realize that expectations and reality walk different paths in this game and the 1979 Reds were the first team to really teach me that. Nothing was the same in Reds country after the Pirates finally took down the machine in the 1979 playoffs, it was and example of the Pirates book ending their mid decade futility with their 1971 championship, cementing them as the 2nd best team in the National League for the decade and showing the Reds essentially the direction to the door to the cellar that they would traverse to in a few seasons.

The first game of the playoffs was the game I caught and it was Dave Parkers blast that killed the Reds and many Reds fans dreams of one last taste.

League Championship Series Game 1 Played on Tuesday, October 2, 1979
(N) at Riverfront Stadium

PIT N    0  0  2    0  0  0    0  0  0    0  3  -   5 10  0
CIN N    0  0  0    2  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  -   2  7  0

Cincinnati Reds       IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Seaver                 8     5   2   2   2   5   1
Hume L(0-1)            2.1   5   3   3   0   1   1
Tomlin                 0.2   0   0   0   1   1   0
Totals                11    10   5   5   3   7   2

#7 – Bo knows how to entertain, he showed some friends and me that in late August of 1990. A one-man wrecking crew in the field and at bat that day he was. It’s not often you get to see a man own the game so completely as Bo did that day. Before we blinked he was gone and yet that day still shines in my head. A Hr, Steal, 2 runs scored and 2 assists, it was like the hype that day at least.

But LaRussa’s team pulled it out anyway, making my friend very happy.

Game Played on Thursday, August 30, 1990 (D) at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

KC  A    0  0  0    2  0  0    2  1  0  -   5  9  2
OAK A    2  0  0    0  0  3    0  0  1  -   6 14  0

Kansas City Royals    AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
Jackson lf             3   2   2   1       1   0       4   2

HR: Jackson (22,8th inning off Eckersley 0 on 1 out).

BASERUNNING -
SB: Jackson (11,2nd base off Stewart/Steinbach).

#6 – Showdown – Sometimes you catch a great pitchers duel and sometimes the game flies so fast that you still remember like it was yesterday. I was lucky to catch a game in 1998 that featured two of the best pitchers in the past 20 years when I caught Curt Schilling vs. Greg Maddux in 1998. It’s pitchers duels like this that show us all what the game can be like when hitting is harder to generate and they show pretty clearly what a deadball or 1960’s era game would look like on the field and in the box score.

Game Played on Sunday, April 5, 1998 (D) at Turner Field

PHI N    0  0  0    1  0  0    0  1  0  -   2  5  0
ATL N    1  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   1  5  1

PITCHING
Philadelphia Phillies IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Schilling W(1-0)       9     5   1   1   1  15   1

Atlanta Braves        IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Maddux L(0-1)          8     5   2   1   1   6   0
Embree                 1     0   0   0   1   0   0
Totals                 9     5   2   1   2   6   0
Time:2:05

#5 – Ozzie’s best game at the dish? – The Wizard of Oz was known for his glove but it was his bat that amazed me on my first trip to Wrigley in 1993. Ozzie Smith must have liked Wrigley Field, aside from San Diego and St Louis Ozzie drove in more runs at Wrigley than any other park. He had back to back 4 hit games in the early 80’s there and 2 5 hit games there as well, the only 5 hit games in his career. I happened to catch the last one and it also was a classic Cubs nightmare game with over 20 runs scored by both teams, Harry leaned out of the window and we all sang with him. Ozzie topped the day off with 6 rbi’s. It was quite the display from the skinny little guy known for his glove.

St. Louis Cardinals 11, Chicago Cubs 10
Game Played on Thursday, June 17, 1993 (D) at Wrigley Field

STL N    0  0  1    4  3  0    2  0  1  -  11 17  0
CHI N    1  0  0    2  0  3    0  2  2  -  10 19  0

BATTING
St. Louis Cardinals   AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
O. Smith ss            5   1   5   6       0   0       2   2

#4 – Al East Playoffs 1972 – In 1972 the old Tigers team made it to the playoffs against the rising A’s dynasty. At the time I didn’t know they were a dynasty, nor that they were actually as good as they were. But I loved the Tigers and I was ready to experience my first cognitive World Series. Despite being 2 games down in the series I was confident the Tigers could take 3 in a row from the team in green. It was even more evident that they could when I left that day, for Joe Coleman (who was in the process of being destroyed by Billy Martin and Art Fowler) pitched a complete game and struck out a then record 14 A’s in a win that only took 2 hours and 27 minutes to complete. The cherry on the sundae was that Al Kaline got on 3 times that day.

League Championship Series Game 3 Played on Tuesday, October 10, 1972 at Tiger Stadium

OAK A    0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   0  7  0
DET A    0  0  0    2  0  0    0  1  x  -   3  8  1

Detroit Tigers        IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Coleman W(1-0)         9     7   0   0   3  14   0

#3 – World Series Game One 1976- Never been to a series game?

Sorry to hear that, this year will mark the 30th anniversary of my one time at the Series, and currently it sits at slot 3. Perched high above home plate I can still see Joe Morgan’s home run, hear the roar and feel the smile on my face. It’s been too long since Reds fans have felt that glow and only once in the past 30 years isn’t helping create a fan base for the future.

World Series Game 1 Played on Saturday, October 16, 1976 (D) at Riverfront Stadium

NY  A    0  1  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   1  5  1
CIN N    1  0  1    0  0  1    2  0  x  -   5 10  1
Time of Game: 2:10   Attendance: 54826

#2 – 1972 AL Clincher. My first taste of winning (as a fan) was achieved on a cool Detroit night in 1972, in a game that enabled the Tigers to increase their lead over the Red Sox by a game and a half with one game left. In a 3 hour contest The Tigers eked out a win against Luis Tiant and mid season pickup Woodie Fryman won his 10th game as a Tiger. Fryman would later break my heart as a Reds fan, but on this evening he was the Doyle Alexander of the 72 Tigers. As the last out was recorded fans streamed on the field and scaled the netting hanging behind home plate. My father unfortunately wouldn’t let me participate in any of the fun activities and we slipped into the Detroit noise in an attempt to get out of there before it got too crazy.

Game Played on Tuesday, October 3, 1972 (N) at Tiger Stadium

BOS A    1  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   1  4  1
DET A    0  0  0    0  0  1    2  0  x  -   3  9  1

PITCHING
Boston Red Sox        IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Tiant L(15-6)          6.1   7   3   2   3   4   0
Lee                    1.2   2   0   0   0   2   0
Totals                 8     9   3   2   3   6   0

Detroit Tigers        IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Fryman W(10-3)         7.2   4   1   0   4   5   0
Seelbach SV(14)        1.1   0   0   0   0   2   0
Totals                 9     4   1   0   4   7   0
WP: Fryman (5).
Time of Game: 3:06   Attendance: 50653

#1 – 1971 All Star Game – Words can do this justice, it’s to this day the greatest collection of talent I have ever seen anywhere at anytime, the Killebrew Home Run landed a few rows in front of me and until the other day this game held the record for Home Runs in a game that “I” attended. The Jackson Home Run left the field faster than any ball ever seen hit, this include the rocket Vlad hit ion Thursday and a bomb off the facing at the GAB I saw Pujols smash in the first post all star game in 2004.

The 1971 All Star Game proved to me that the game was bigger than I thought, it enticed me to find out more and it’s a major reason I can’t stop thinking about baseball every day of my life.

Maybe tomorrow’s game will do that for a kid somewhere and we’ll have to read him go on about it in 35 years?

Personally I think that would be great.

All-Star Game Played on Tuesday, July 13, 1971 (N) at Tiger Stadium

NL       0  2  1    0  0  0    0  1  0  -   4  5  0
AL       0  0  4    0  0  2    0  0  x  -   6  7  0

BATTING
National League       AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
Mays cf                2   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Clemente rf          2   1   1   1       0   1       1   0
Millan 2b            0   0   0   0       0   0       1   1
Aaron rf               2   1   1   1       0   0       0   0
May 1b               1   0   0   0       1   0       6   0
Torre 3b               3   0   0   0       0   1       1   0
Santo ph,3b          1   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
Stargell lf            2   1   0   0       0   2       2   0
Brock ph             1   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
McCovey 1b             2   0   0   0       0   1       4   0
Marichal p           0   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
Kessinger ss         2   0   0   0       0   0       1   1
Bench c                4   1   2   2       0   0       5   0
Beckert 2b             3   0   0   0       0   0       0   5
Rose rf              0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Harrelson ss           2   0   0   0       0   0       1   2
Jenkins p            0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Colbert ph           1   0   0   0       0   1       0   0
Wilson p             0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Ellis p                1   0   0   0       0   1       0   0
Davis cf             1   0   1   0       0   0       2   0
Bonds ph,cf          1   0   0   0       0   1       0   0
Totals                31   4   5   4       1   8      24  11

American League       AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
Carew 2b               1   1   0   0       2   0       1   2
Rojas 2b             1   0   0   0       0   0       1   1
Murcer cf              3   0   1   0       0   1       0   0
Cuellar p            0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Buford ph            1   0   0   0       0   1       0   0
Lolich p             0   0   0   0       0   0       0   3
Yastrzemski lf         3   0   0   0       1   0       0   0
F. Robinson rf         2   1   1   2       0   0       3   0
Kaline rf            2   1   1   0       0   1       2   0
Cash 1b                2   0   0   0       0   2       7   0
Killebrew 1b         2   1   1   2       0   0       4   0
B. Robinson 3b         3   0   1   0       0   0       1   3
Freehan c              3   0   0   0       0   0       7   1
Munson c             0   0   0   0       0   0       1   0
Aparicio ss            3   1   1   0       0   0       1   2
Blue p                 0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Jackson ph           1   1   1   2       0   0       0   0
Palmer p             0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Howard ph            1   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Otis cf              1   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Totals                29   6   7   6       3   5      27  12

FIELDING -
DP: 1. B. Robinson-Rojas-Killebrew.

PITCHING

National League       IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Ellis L(0-1)           3     4   4   4   1   2   2
Marichal               2     0   0   0   1   1   0
Jenkins                1     3   2   2   0   0   1
Wilson                 2     0   0   0   1   2   0
Totals                 8     7   6   6   3   5   3

American League       IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Blue W(1-0)            3     2   3   3   0   3   2
Palmer                 2     1   0   0   0   2   0
Cuellar                2     1   0   0   1   2   0
Lolich SV(1)           2     1   1   1   0   1   1
Totals                 9     5   4   4   1   8   3

Time of Game: 2:05   Attendance: 53559

In honor of the Fourth of July and the hold it has as a holiday on our American consciousness I find myself dwelling on loyalty, not the concept, not the affect, just the presence of it in my life. Checking the calendar it’s July 4th 2006, and this summer celebrates many milestones for me and many of them seem to tug at the blanket of my existence that I wrap myself in.

Speaking of loyalty, today is the first day that the team I have rooted longest for in my life loses the player that best exemplified the organization that he played for, Steve Yzerman , “The Captain” is retiring from the Detroit Red Wings. Though now consider a “fringe sport” by many, I have to admit I’m a big hockey fan… real big. Growing up in Detroit you can’t help but be introduced to hockey, with that came the Red Wings. I first heard of them when Mr. Hockey was still in the house, so we have a long history. So goodbye Steve Y., you will be missed and the role you held for so many years in the organization will be never filled quite the same.

If the Red Wings are my longest held association with a sports franchise then Reds are my second, and this year celebrates my 30th anniversary as a Reds fan. It was 30 years ago that I found myself (a Tiger fan) in the Ohio River Valley, in the midst of the Reds best run in franchise history. My favorite player Al Kaline had retired after the 1974 season and the Tigers were drifting towards mediocrity, a state that was easy to ignore in the huge noise of the Reds success. In the end it was the Tigers who became the only victim of my newfound love and the strength of my 30 years as a Reds fan stands on the corpse of my first sports love the Tigers, so by default the red Wings became my longest held sports love, but still they stand in the shadow of the Reds.

On this fourth I find myself in Oakland, visiting a friend I’ve known for 30 years (there’s that loyalty thing again) also in town is my first love the Tigers, whom I’ll pay a visit to tomorrow down at the corporate dish where the A’s play. A match up like that harking me back 30 years to the mid 70’s to 1976, a year that was rich in events that still touch me and the game today. If you were lucky enough to be around during that era then the following might stir memories, if you weren’t then perhaps you’ll find some nuggets that you had never heard of.

1. The Great Eight – When the 1976 season started the Reds were the World Champions, their starting nine was a phenomenal group, a mixture of speed, and power vets and youngsters. At the season though they were just a good ball team, in retrospect some had to even make their mark in the game yet. This is evidenced by the Great Eights’ lifetime numbers up until the 1976 season.

Pete Rose     - 8221 ab - .310/.379/.432/.810
Tony Perez    - 5799 ab - .285/.348/.484/.831
Joe Morgan     - 5406 ab - .278/.396/.430/.826
Johnny Bench     - 5406 ab - .271/.342/.487/.829
Dave Concepcion    - 2399 ab - .256/.309/.344/.653
Cesar Geronimo  - 1681 ab - .255/.319/.365/.683
George Foster   - 1420 ab - .263/.320/.435/.755
Ken Griffey     - 776  ab - .298/.378/.409/.786

2. Free Agency era is ushered in. Marvin Miller wields a mighty bat and the players finally achieve the freedom they have pursued. Spring Training delayed as the owners lock the players out, On March 19th 1976, fans heave a collective sigh of relief as a settlement is reached. all 24 teams open camp, it would be the last year that baseball had an even division alignment, with 6 teams in each division.

3. 1976 is known as the year that Finely tried to sell off Vida Blue, Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers for a grand total of 3.5 million dollars. This deal was vetoed by Kuhn and caused a stir that is still debated to this day. But it was a move that Kuhn made in early April that shocked many people and eventually affected the AL East pennant race. On 4-2-76 Finely traded unsigned Ken Holzman and Reggie Jackson for Don Baylor (unsigned as well) Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell. This was a major trade that jolted the fans of both teams. Obviously it jolted Reggie as well and he decided to hold out, upsetting his new team and teammates. Eventually Reggie relented and joined the team. But he also got a 60 K raise out of it and upset his teammates, including Jim Palmer who quipped, “When is the Messiah coming?.” Eventually he did show, a month later and the Orioles who only scored 36 runs in 15 games in April needed him more then they wanted to admit, as they finished the month in last place 5 games behind the 1st place Yankees, they would finish 10 games back and in second place, leaving fans to wonder what if Reggie had shown up on time?

4. Mark Fidrych and Ron LeFlore. You can’t think of 1976 without touching on The Bird. 21 year old Fidyrch took the league by the storm, talking to the ball and completing 24 games at the age 21. Meanwhile Ron LeFlore a former felon in his 3rd year in major league ball was the lead off hitter for the American League in the All Star Game. Both were great stories for a team that had lost 107 games in the first year of Al Kalines retirement and the city of Detroit rode the Bird craze hard and fast. If you blinked you might have missed that year in Motown, it was something special and something that doesn’t happen very often, especially in this hitting era.

5. Bert Blyleven – Calvin Griffith the dinosaur of owners who ran the Minnesota Twins invented the trading dump of potential free agents when he couldn’t reach and agreement with Bert on a contract. Seeing the potential of losing an asset was shocking to the tight fisted Griffith, who shopped Blyleven to the highest bidder as the June 15th trade deadline loomed. Finally dealing him to Texas with Danny Thompson (who died of leukemia) for Roy Smally Jr., Bill Singer, Mike Cubbage, Jim Gideon and 250 K. This deal was noticed around the league and with the advent of the free agent era would soon become the way many teams would deal with the impending free agents on their teams throughout the years.

6. Here come the agents – Jerry Kapstein was a major player agent as the fee agent era started. He was a man that Reds GM Bob Howsam loathed enough to want to avoid, how bad did he loath him? Enough to deal two of his clients after the 1976 season, when he unloaded Tony Perez and Rawley Eastwick. An influential man in a changing time Kapstein caused a lot of owners to mumble under their breath, including this nugget uttered by Charlie O’ Finely “Kapstein kept me in the dark continuously, he never came to visit me once.” Somehow I found it hard to feel sorry for the old goat back then and I still can’t to this day. Go dance on your own dugout Charlie.

7. Reds Pass on Free Agents – Fresh off the 1976 title the free agent draft started, rather than pick players like most of the league the Reds decide to address their picks with a single statement and a stance that would hamstring the team in the early eighties as they faced a rebuild. the statement was this: “In fairness to the players who have won the World Championship for us two years in a row and considering how our organization is structured. We do not think it would right for the Cincinnati organization to get into the bidding contests that must come out of this draft.”

8. Charlie O’s reaction – As noted in Lords of the Realm, Marvin Miller’s greatest fear was that the market would open completely. It was Finley who suggested that very thing. Instead he watched his old players be picked up and noted “What the owners are doing is stupid, they are going to bankrupt themselves.” Over in Minnesota Griffith added, “Sports today are sick, if I’m going to stay in this I’m going to need a rich partner.”

9. Ted Turner in the House – 1976 is the year Ted Turner came to Atlanta, starting the slow change that would produce the team that we’ve been looking up at since 1991. It’s also the year that he was slapped with a tampering charge for messing with Gary Mathews, whose son is hitting .329 as I write this. The free agent season and the appearance of sharks like Ted caused the worst hot stove season for trades in years when only 14 transactions were made. Times were a changing.

10. Attendance record – 1976 was a year of great growth in attendance around the game. Nowhere was this more evidenced then in Cincinnati were the Reds lead both league in home attendance with 2,629,708, over 1.8 million went to see them on the road. Alas that still is the Reds highest attendance, and that gives them the distinction of being the only team in baseball that hit their attendance peak in the 70’s and the nearest team to them is the Dodgers whose 1982 season produced 3,608,881fannies in the seats. Only five other teams can claim to have attendance peaks in the 1980’s and their is a good chance that one of them (1988 Mets) might lose their title this season. One could only hope that a 30 year old attendance record could fall in Cincinnati some day, but if it takes only perfection to top 2.6 million then it’s not going to happen very soon.