Tracy Stallard, RIP: Acceptance (He surrendered Roger Maris's record-breaker)

[EasyAce]

By Yours Truly
http://throneberryfields.com/2017/12/08/tracy-stallard-rip-acceptance/

On the fiftieth anniversary of throwing the pitch Roger Maris smashed for his 61st home run of 1961,
I couldn’t resist writing of Tracy Stallard. I led off by saying that if we weren’t a society that tends to
think of defeat as a six-letter euphemism for mortal sin, Stallard would wear a T-shirt saying Maris
had to hit a record breaker to hit him at all.

Stallard, who died Thursday at 80, faced Maris seven times during his pitching career. Maris hit .143
against him with two strikeouts and no walks. The only hit Maris ever got against Stallard was the
record breaker. “Maybe,” I wrote then, “Stallard can forge it into a little quiet satisfaction, if he can’t
forge it into a gag about pitching greatness.”

That column, in which I also pondered (as I often do) the juvenility that attaches to baseball’s actual
or alleged goats, prompted a pleasant reply from Stallard’s nephew, Jeff Pope: I can assure you that
Tracy is totally at peace with pitching Maris’ 61st . . . We were disappointed that the Yankees organization
chose not to include Tracy in the Maris 50th anniversary celebration (I contacted them many times and
was turned down).

It would indeed have been a decent gesture, as was often made whenever the Giants had cause to
commemorate Bobby Thomson’s pennant-winning blast off Ralph Branca. As it would have been
pleasant to know whether, in their post-baseball lives, Stallard and Maris happened to meet and
forge a friendship similar to theirs.

At least it would have been untainted by subsequent unsavoury revelations. We know now that the
1951 Giants cheated their way to and possibly through that pennant playoff, by way of the telescope-
and-buzzer sign-stealing scheme Leo Durocher implemented when the Giants were double digits
behind the Dodgers in the race. Acquiring utility infielder Henry Schenz from the Cubs, and discovering
Schenz’s Wollensak telescope, Durocher’s fiendish mind went to work at once. The Giants stole the
pennant! The Giants stole the pennant!

There has never been anything unsavoury attached to Maris’s 61st, if you don’t count the active bids
by the Yankees’ powers that were to try to stop him from doing it, or the disgusting manner in which
too many fans and journalists demanded that only a “true Yankee” should have the honour of breaking
(so help me, they said it this way) ruthsrecord. Like the “true Yankee” acquired from the Red Sox who
set it in the first place.

All Stallard did in the bottom of the fourth on 1 October 1961 was throw Maris a nice, clean, shivering
fastball on 2-0, and all Maris did was line it into the right field seats. It wouldn’t be the last time Stallard
was on the wrong side of someone else’s historical feat.

On Father’s Day 1964, by which time Stallard became a Met, he was the starting pitcher in Shea Stadium
against the Phillies. Hall of Famer Jim Bunning picked that day to pitch the first perfect game in the
National League in the 20th Century, and the first in the regular season since Charlie Robertson of the
White Sox in 1922. If Stallard thought he was born to be a baseball history bridesmaid you couldn’t
blame him.

The shame was that Stallard pitched a solid game otherwise on the day Maris used him to enter the
record books—the final score was 1-0, Yankees. “People would come up with some crazy questions,”
Stallard told an interviewer in 1981 about post-career encounters with fans.

“There was one guy who asked me why I gave up Maris’ 61st home run,” he continued, “and I told
him because he hit 60 other home runs off somebody else.” Stallard as a Met was a teammate of the
man who surrendered number 60, Jack Fisher, when Fisher was one of the Orioles’ once-heralded
Baby Birds starting rotation.

“It was the last game of the season and, just because he was going for the record, didn’t mean that
I wasn’t going to pitch him any different than I normally would have,” said Stallard to that interviewer.
“Maris had [Yogi] Berra and [Elston] Howard hitting behind him and with the game at 0-0, I didn’t
want to walk him and have to pitch to those other guys with the go-ahead run on first.

“I had the count 2-0 on him and I came down the middle with a fastball. I was in the position where
I had to make him hit the ball. I gave him my best pitch but he met the ball well and lined it into the
rightfield stands. Actually, I hated the fact that I gave up the run more so than the fact I was the one
 he set the record off of.”

Maris died of lymphoma in 1985 at 51. He was actually stigmatised for chasing and breaking ruthsrecord.
The abuse he suffered for being a plain spoken, unpretentious, unglamorous Dakotan who dethroned
an all-time baseball idol may have been the only time a hero was turned into a goat for performing the
once unthinkable.

A Virginian who came up from that state’s coal fields, the likewise plain-spoken Stallard even had the
distinction of doing the unthinkable and embarrassing Howard Cosell on the air. We know it thanks to
Cosell’s own recollection in his memoir Like It Is.

“Of course I’ve been embarrassed,” wrote Humble Howard. “When a guest says to you, ‘Let’s see, do
I bullshit you or do you bullshit me,’ you better believe it’s embarrassing. That’s exactly what a pitcher
named Tracy Stallard said to me, live, on a local television show a number of years ago.” If the notoriously
media-averse Maris was aware of that, he must have allowed himself a quiet chortle.

Not bad for a guy like Stallard who was a high school phenom with two no-hitters on his resume, who
never quite found the handle in the Show, who retired at last in 1973 after several years trying in the
minors, and who went into the construction business while playing a healthy volume of golf in his post
baseball life.

He didn’t much like talking publicly about his connection to Maris, but if his nephew was right he didn’t
mind talking about it with fans. Just so long as they didn’t ask him why he surrendered the homer. His
nephew told me Stallard enjoyed signing autographs on items related to the historic bomb. Sometimes,
Stallard and Fisher together would autograph photos of Maris hitting it.

I hope the first to greet Stallard at the Elysian Fields were Maris and Bunning, offering a couple of beers
and hearty handshakes. And I hope Maris was kind enough to remind him, “The only way I could hit you
was to break that effing record!” It’s the least Stallard has earned to begin his eternal peace.


Stallard on the mound as Maris ran out Number 61 . . .
-----------------------------------------------------------
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[goatprairie]

The decision of Ford Frick to put an asterisk after Maris's homer number has to rank with the stupidest decisions ever made by pro sports big shots ever.
Whether Maris broke the record in 154, 162, or 362 games is of no consequence. His homer total, like any other statistic, was the record number of homers up to that time....no asterisk needed.
The homer total was no different than any other stat. If Maris's homer total needed an asterisk, then any other stat record set that year in 162 games needed an asterisk.
Frick was simply acting like an old idiot who viewed Ruth's homer total as sacred. The reality is Ruth's homer record was no more sacred than any other stat.
What Frick did  almost put the kibosh on Maris's homer record race for the sake of nostalgia over the old times.
And I'm speaking as someone who views Ruth as baseball's greatest player ever.

[EasyAce]

The decision of Ford Frick to put an asterisk after Maris's homer number has to rank with the stupidest decisions ever made by pro sports big shots ever.
Whether Maris broke the record in 154, 162, or 362 games is of no consequence. His homer total, like any other statistic, was the record number of homers up to that time....no asterisk needed.
The homer total was no different than any other stat. If Maris's homer total needed an asterisk, then any other stat record set that year in 162 games needed an asterisk.
Frick was simply acting like an old idiot who viewed Ruth's homer total as sacred. The reality is Ruth's homer record was no more sacred than any other stat.
What Frick did  almost put the kibosh on Maris's homer record race for the sake of nostalgia over the old times.
And I'm speaking as someone who views Ruth as baseball's greatest player ever.

@goatprairie
One bears in mind that Frick had once been a sportswriter and a ghostwriter for Babe Ruth.
Who may have been the greatest player of the pre-night ball/pre-World War II era but wasn't
quite the greatest all-around baseball player ever. But Frick's bias was allowed to run riot with
ruthsrecord.

[goatprairie]

@goatprairie
One bears in mind that Frick had once been a sportswriter and a ghostwriter for Babe Ruth.
Who may have been the greatest player of the pre-night ball/pre-World War II era but wasn't
quite the greatest all-around baseball player ever. But Frick's bias was allowed to run riot with
ruthsrecord.

I don't know if you were around at the time, but Maris faced tremendous hostility from not only old time baseball fans but also many members of the media who viewed him as an inferior player to Ruth and who had the effrontery to challenge Ruth's (to them sacred) record.
At the time there were still many old time ballplayers who claimed that modern players couldn't have played back in the day and cited the great stats by a number of players as proof. Joe Dugan of the Yankees was one played who claimed that.
Yeah, like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, etal couldn't have played in earlier times. Right.
And of course many media members readily swallowed the bilge that old time players could have replicated their stats in the modern era.
They were full of beans of course.  None of the old time greats would have replicated all their combined stats. For instance, Ruth would have hit a lot homers (maybe more) in the modern era, but he wouldn't have batted for average like he did.
There's no way Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler, or some of the other great players from the past were going to replicate their astounding averages in the modern era. Night games, better pitching, better fielding equipment would make that so.
Nevertheless, Babe Ruth is the greatest player in baseball history.

[EasyAce]

I don't know if you were around at the time, but Maris faced tremendous hostility from not only old time baseball fans but also many members of the media who viewed him as an inferior player to Ruth and who had the effrontery to challenge Ruth's (to them sacred) record.

@goatprairie
I was around at the time---enough to know how they pronounced ruthsrecord at the time, too.

At the time there were still many old time ballplayers who claimed that modern players couldn't have played back in the day and cited the great stats by a number of players as proof. Joe Dugan of the Yankees was one played who claimed that.
Yeah, like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, etal couldn't have played in earlier times. Right.
And of course many media members readily swallowed the bilge that old time players could have replicated their stats in the modern era.
They were full of beans of course.  None of the old time greats would have replicated all their combined stats. For instance, Ruth would have hit a lot homers (maybe more) in the modern era, but he wouldn't have batted for average like he did.
There's no way Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler, or some of the other great players from the past were going to replicate their astounding averages in the modern era. Night games, better pitching, better fielding equipment would make that so.

The key---the advent of night baseball. The players in Ruth's day would have seen a marked drop in their
statistics if they'd played night ball; and, concurrently, the players of the time of Mays, Aaron, Koufax, Mantle, et. al.
would have seen a spike in their stats if they had played in the pre-night ball era. Ruth would probably still
have finished with a lifetime batting average slightly above .300, but it's entirely possible that he wouldn't have
reached 714 home runs playing in the night ball era. He might have reached 600, which still would have put him
top of the heap until Willie Mays cracked 600. Great hitters would be great in any era, but it's very
doubtful that the inflated batting stats of the 1930s would have been inflated likewise in the night ball era.

One intriguing thought: In Ruth's own time, he collected a lot of doubles and triples by way of balls hit into
the old cavernous Yankee Stadium left center and center fields, deep enough that even a guy who ran like
a dump truck with a flat tire could have gotten those standing up. Would Ruth have done likewise in the night
ball era? His home runs might be fewer but he just might have picked up those extra base hits regardless.
Might.

Nevertheless, Babe Ruth is the greatest player in baseball history.

Of his era, yes. In baseball history . . . not quite. He was at best a middling outfielder with an average
throwing arm who also hurt his teams by insisting on trying to steal bases when he actually wasn't that
great a runner. (Especially ending the 1926 World Series.) Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle could beat
you more ways, and there's an argument that between the two Mays was just slightly better all around
even against a completely-healthy Mantle. You'd still want Ruth in your starting outfield, of course . . .
though if you had to settle for another right fielder, Roberto Clemente is a splendid pick.

[goatprairie]

After reading numerous articles about Ruth (including Bill Jenkinson's book "The Year Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs" I've come to the conclusion that Ruth was one of the most amazing athletes ever.
My view is Ruth, in the modern era, might have actually hit more home runs while not hitting as well for average.  You also have to remember he played about five seasons mostly pitching.
If Ruth had played in the modern era, the tougher pitching, night games, better fielding equipment would have lowered his batting average.
But faster pitching meant what he hit would have gone further.  In 1921 he hit 59 homers batting in the old Polo Grounds which had a 490 foot center field fence. The other dimensions to left and right center were pretty far as well. Pitchers mostly threw outside to Ruth. He still swung at them hitting many long 450+ foot  outs.
That was the year Jenkinson figured that if Ruth had played in many other ball parks, those long fly balls would have been homers. Jenkinson attempted to catalogue almost every one or Ruth's clouts, homers or just long fly balls.
He concluded that nobody to date has ever hit balls as far as Ruth hit them. Jenkinson even investigated many memorable long clouts by other players including Mickey Mantle's famous shot off the facade at Yankee Stadium. His view was Mantle's clout was descending and not rising at the time.
Since Ruth swung with an uppercut, ground balls that went for hits for many players in the old days because of small gloves wouldn't have hurt him so much. Nevertheless, a number of his fly ball hits would have been caught with better equipment. Plus, all the other factors would have shrunk his batting average. But Ruth had great reflexes and loved fast balls.
In the modern era he would have struck out more, hit for a lesser average, but he very well might have hit more homers.

[EasyAce]

After reading numerous articles about Ruth (including Bill Jenkinson's book "The Year Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs" I've come to the conclusion that Ruth was one of the most amazing athletes ever.

He was rather splendid at that. When he was young-young, it's said, he could haul it when he ran, but not
after he got to the Yankees.

My view is Ruth, in the modern era, might have actually hit more home runs while not hitting as well for average.  You also have to remember he played about five seasons mostly pitching.
If Ruth had played in the modern era, the tougher pitching, night games, better fielding equipment would have lowered his batting average.

I'm not entirely sure that the modern era pitching wouldn't have suppressed his home run total. But he wouldn't
have put up the batting averages he did put up with or without the improvement in the fielding equipment. The
visual factor would have put the crimp in him and his contemporaries.

But faster pitching meant what he hit would have gone further.  In 1921 he hit 59 homers batting in the old Polo Grounds which had a 490 foot center field fence. The other dimensions to left and right center were pretty far as well.

I saw the Polo Grounds. The first major league game I ever went to was when the Mets played there. (By that
time the park was so old and decrepit wags called it the Polio Grounds.) Two things I never forgot---a) They
divided the box seats with dangling chains; and, b) how far out center field actually was. (I was sitting with
my grandfather in the upper deck slightly off to the right of home plate. So help me you'd think a ball needed
to call a cab to get out that far. I have never seen a deeper center field anywhere. It was the doubleheader
against the Pirates in which the Mets won the nightcap when Marvelous Marv' Throneberry hit one out against
relief legend Elroy Face to win it in the ninth.)

Everything I've read about Ruth in the years he played in the Polo Grounds told me he was pretty much a dead pull
hitter who put the majority of home runs he hit there down the shorter right field line regions. Remember: they
built Yankee Stadium to accommodate his lefthanded power, and why not? You want to build your number one
gate attraction a park that would kill him at the plate or at least neutralise his power? Ruth probably picked up a lot
of those doubles and triples in the Polo Grounds hitting straightaway or to the left side. He might even have had
an inside-the-park home run or three if he hit one that landed and traveled under the clubhouse above
straightaway center field.

For all Ruth's power, it took until the year he died of throat cancer (1948) before anyone hit a homer into the bleachers
astride the center field clubhouse (463 feet from the plate or better), when Luke Easter did it in a Negro Leagues game.
Only three other men ever did it after that: Joe Adcock (Braves) in 1953, I think it was; Lou Brock, of all people (power
wasn't exactly his game), in 1962, and Hank Aaron the night after Brock's unlikely feat.

Funny story about the Brock blast---Brock had no idea how far the ball was traveling as he started gunning it around
the bases. He was a rookie at the time and swore that when he saw the second base umpire give the signal that
it was a home run, he thought the ump was telling him he had a shot at an inside-the-park job. Not until he crossed
the plate and plunged into a mob of teammates did Brock learn what he'd done, when Hall of Famer Ron Santo hollered,
"Did you see where that ball went? Man! I needed binoculars!"

[goatprairie]

He was rather splendid at that. When he was young-young, it's said, he could haul it when he ran, but not
after he got to the Yankees.
I'm not entirely sure that the modern era pitching wouldn't have suppressed his home run total. But he wouldn't
have put up the batting averages he did put up with or without the improvement in the fielding equipment. The
visual factor would have put the crimp in him and his contemporaries.
I saw the Polo Grounds. The first major league game I ever went to was when the Mets played there. (By that
time the park was so old and decrepit wags called it the Polio Grounds.) Two things I never forgot---a) They
divided the box seats with dangling chains; and, b) how far out center field actually was. (I was sitting with
my grandfather in the upper deck slightly off to the right of home plate. So help me you'd think a ball needed
to call a cab to get out that far. I have never seen a deeper center field anywhere. It was the doubleheader
against the Pirates in which the Mets won the nightcap when Marvelous Marv' Throneberry hit one out against
relief legend Elroy Face to win it in the ninth.)

Everything I've read about Ruth in the years he played in the Polo Grounds told me he was pretty much a dead pull
hitter who put the majority of home runs he hit there down the shorter right field line regions. Remember: they
built Yankee Stadium to accommodate his lefthanded power, and why not? You want to build your number one
gate attraction a park that would kill him at the plate or at least neutralise his power? Ruth probably picked up a lot
of those doubles and triples in the Polo Grounds hitting straightaway or to the left side. He might even have had
an inside-the-park home run or three if he hit one that landed and traveled under the clubhouse above
straightaway center field.

For all Ruth's power, it took until the year he died of throat cancer (1948) before anyone hit a homer into the bleachers
astride the center field clubhouse (463 feet from the plate or better), when Luke Easter did it in a Negro Leagues game.
Only three other men ever did it after that: Joe Adcock (Braves) in 1953, I think it was; Lou Brock, of all people (power
wasn't exactly his game), in 1962, and Hank Aaron the night after Brock's unlikely feat.

Funny story about the Brock blast---Brock had no idea how far the ball was traveling as he started gunning it around
the bases. He was a rookie at the time and swore that when he saw the second base umpire give the signal that
it was a home run, he thought the ump was telling him he had a shot at an inside-the-park job. Not until he crossed
the plate and plunged into a mob of teammates did Brock learn what he'd done, when Hall of Famer Ron Santo hollered,
"Did you see where that ball went? Man! I needed binoculars!"

My advice: read Jenkinson's book.

[DCPatriot]

"I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time."

Despite the profound truth of that saying, Mr. Stallard's baseball resume aside, it will never apply to him.   

Being known as a guy who gave up #61?   Where do I sign up? 

[EasyAce]

Despite the profound truth of that saying, Mr. Stallard's baseball resume aside, it will never apply to him.   

Being known as a guy who gave up #61?   Where do I sign up? 

@DCPatriot
What do you think the odds were at the end of the '61 season that the two pitchers who surrendered
Maris's 60th and 61st bombs would end up as teammates a few years later?

I'd be willing to guess they were about the same as the odds that Lou Brock and Hank Aaron would
hit home runs to the absolute rear end of the old Polo Grounds on back-to-back days.

[DCPatriot]

@DCPatriot
What do you think the odds were at the end of the '61 season that the two pitchers who surrendered
Maris's 60th and 61st bombs would end up as teammates a few years later?

LOL!  Would like to see that black cloud over them when they're interacting.

I'd be willing to guess they were about the same as the odds that Lou Brock and Hank Aaron would
hit home runs to the absolute rear end of the old Polo Grounds on back-to-back days.

How many feet from HP?   

[EasyAce]

LOL!  Would like to see that black cloud over them when they're interacting.

How many feet from HP?   

@DCPatriot
450 feet plus at the fences; 483 feet to absolute straightaway, the pillar that supported the clubhouse
above center field. It was the deepest center field in the National League. The foul lines
in the yard were 279 feet (left field foul line) and 258 feet (right field foul line). I guess you had
to see the field to believe it. (For those who wondered, now you know a major reason, too, why
Willie Mays's catch in Game One of the 1954 World Series was that spectacular . . .)



A few years ago, my son gave me a pair of paperweights sculpted like a pair of vintage old ballparks.
The Polo Grounds, and Fenway Park. I still have them on my desk.

[DCPatriot]

@DCPatriot
450 feet plus at the fences; 483 feet to absolute straightaway, the pillar that supported the clubhouse
above center field. It was the deepest center field in the National League. The foul lines
in the yard were 279 feet (left field foul line) and 258 feet (right field foul line). I guess you had
to see the field to believe it. (For those who wondered, now you know a major reason, too, why
Willie Mays's catch in Game One of the 1954 World Series was that spectacular . . .)



A few years ago, my son gave me a pair of paperweights sculpted like a pair of vintage old ballparks.
The Polo Grounds, and Fenway Park. I still have them on my desk.

That's a wonderful photo on many levels.

The Projects, adjacent, are startling.     I saw that catch 'live' on my grandmother's 13 inch B&W Admiral TV...sitting 3 ft in front of it on the floor...pounding my baseball glove with a ball.   

Talking baseball... one of life's pleasures.   

[EasyAce]

That's a wonderful photo on many levels.

The Projects, adjacent, are startling.     I saw that catch 'live' on my grandmother's 13 inch B&W Admiral TV...sitting 3 ft in front of it on the floor...pounding my baseball glove with a ball.   

Talking baseball... one of life's pleasures.   

@DCPatriot

Amen to that!

I mentioned earlier the Mets doubleheader I went to at the Polo Grounds. The Mets won the second game
when Marv Throneberry walked it off for a three-run homer off Elroy Face. There was a peculiar backstory
to that game:

Throneberry wasn't a starter in the game; I think he played the first game. Anyway, early in the game,
Mets third base coach Solly Hemus was ejected over an argument with an ump. Manager Casey Stengel
moved first base coach Cookie Lavagetto to third base and sent veteran Gene Woodling---whom Stengel
had managed as a Yankee but was now an elder Met---to coach at first. Midway through the game,
Stengel needed Woodling to pinch hit and needed a fresh first base coach. Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn,
also an Original Met, suggested Throneberry. Stengel nodded and sent Throneberry to the first base
coaching line.

The place went nuclear with applause, Throneberry having become the great anti-hero of the Mets.
And he stayed on the first base coaching line for the Mets until the bottom of the ninth, when the
Pirates had a 4-1 lead.

The Mets got something started against the Pirates. With Harvey Haddix opening the
bottom of the ninth for the Pirates, Ashburn led off with a base hit and Joe Christopher drew a
followup walk for first and second and nobody out. Face relieved Haddix and struck out Charley Neal
before Felix (Wrong Way) Mantilla singled home Ashburn to make it 4-2, Pirates. Frank Thomas
flied out as the crowd was chanting "We want Marv! We want Marv!" Sure enough, Stengel called
Throneberry back from the coaching line to grab a bat and pinch hit for Jim Hickman. Throneberry
hit one into the right field stands for the game, 5-4.

The place went batsh@t crazy.

[EasyAce]

I saw that catch 'live' on my grandmother's 13 inch B&W Admiral TV...sitting 3 ft in front of it on the floor...pounding my baseball glove with a ball.   

@DCPatriot
One of the prizes in my baseball library:

[DCPatriot]

@DCPatriot

Amen to that!

I mentioned earlier the Mets doubleheader I went to at the Polo Grounds. The Mets won the second game
when Marv Throneberry walked it off for a three-run homer off Elroy Face. There was a peculiar backstory
to that game:

Throneberry wasn't a starter in the game; I think he played the first game. Anyway, early in the game,
Mets third base coach Solly Hemus was ejected over an argument with an ump. Manager Casey Stengel
moved first base coach Cookie Lavagetto to third base and sent veteran Gene Woodling---whom Stengel
had managed as a Yankee but was now an elder Met---to coach at first. Midway through the game,
Stengel needed Woodling to pinch hit and needed a fresh first base coach. Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn,
also an Original Met, suggested Throneberry. Stengel nodded and sent Throneberry to the first base
coaching line.

The place went nuclear with applause, Throneberry having become the great anti-hero of the Mets.
And he stayed on the first base coaching line for the Mets until the bottom of the ninth, when the
Pirates had a 4-1 lead.

The Mets got something started against the Pirates. With Harvey Haddix opening the
bottom of the ninth for the Pirates, Ashburn led off with a base hit and Joe Christopher drew a
followup walk for first and second and nobody out. Face relieved Haddix and struck out Charley Neal
before Felix (Wrong Way) Mantilla singled home Ashburn to make it 4-2, Pirates. Frank Thomas
flied out as the crowd was chanting "We want Marv! We want Marv!" Sure enough, Stengel called
Throneberry back from the coaching line to grab a bat and pinch hit for Jim Hickman. Throneberry
hit one into the right field stands for the game, 5-4.

The place went batsh@t crazy.

I can only imagine, @EasyAce

Ashamed to admit, that the most historical game I attended...key word...was the game between the Orioles and the Blue Jays.

Tippy Martinez, a southpaw reliever with a twelve to six breaking ball that could make grown men cry...picked off the side in extra innings...only to see Len Sakota, the insulted catcher...end up pitching and hitting a walk-off.

! No longer available

I'm ashamed....because I left in the 8th inning.   

[DCPatriot]

http://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-24-1983-tippy-martinez-picks-three-blue-jays-one-inning

The 25,882 fans who ventured to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore on the evening of August 24, 1983, saw an exciting, extra-inning win by the home team in the midst of a tight pennant race. As a bonus, they also witnessed baseball’s version of The Twilight Zone.

The Orioles came into that Wednesday night game against the Blue Jays in second place, but just half a game behind Milwaukee. The Tigers and Blue Jays were only 1½ games out, while the Yankees trailed by a mere 3½ games. Only Boston (11 GB) and Cleveland (19½ GB) were out of the American League East race.

It was a typical hot summer night in Baltimore, and the game began in a typical fashion. A Garth Iorg sacrifice fly off Oriole southpaw Scott McGregor in the top of the third was matched by an Al Bumbry sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning off Jim Clancy. A Todd Cruz error in the fifth gave the Blue Jays an unearned run and another sacrifice fly, this one off the bat of Buck Martinez in the eighth, put Toronto on top 3-1 heading to the bottom of the ninth. At this point the game began to morph into a bizarre sequence of improbable events that only baseball can provide.

John Shelby laid down a bunt single with one out, but Gary Roenicke, pinch-hitting for Rich Dauer, struck out looking. Lenn Sakata, who had entered the game in the eighth at second when Dauer moved from second to third, drew a walk. With left-handed hitting catcher Joe Nolan due up, Toronto manager Bobby Cox brought in lefty Dave Geisel. Oriole skipper Joe Altobelli countered with the last player left on his bench, the right-handed hitting Benny Ayala, who promptly singled to score Shelby. Al Bumbry followed with a single to score Sakata, and the game was tied. Joey McLaughlin then relieved for the Jays and struck out Dan Ford to send the game into extra innings.

Extra innings presented a problem, however. Todd Cruz and Rich Dauer, the starting third baseman and second baseman respectively, were out of the game. Catcher Joe Nolan, for whom Ayala had pinch-hit, had himself pinch-hit for starting catcher Rick Dempsey in the seventh, and Altobelli was now without either of his backstops. With little choice in the matter, outfielder Gary Roenicke went to third for his first ever appearance at the hot corner, John Lowenstein went to second base where he hadn’t played since 1975, and Lenn Sakata, who had gone to second when Dauer replaced Cruz at third, went behind the plate. As it turned out, it seemed not to matter who was where when Cliff Johnson crushed reliever Tim Stoddard’s first pitch over the center field fence for his 20th homer of the season. Stoddard then gave up a single to Barry Bonnell, and Tippy Martinez was brought on to face Dave Collins, who was pinch-hitting for Jesse Barfield.

Everyone in Memorial Stadium knew that the Blue Jays would try to run, and indeed the switch-hitting Collins stepped into the left-handed batter’s box against the left-handed Martinez in order to give Bonnell an even better chance of stealing. Martinez had only a fair move to first, but Bonnell took such a huge lead that he was easily picked off, although the out was officially recorded as a caught stealing since Bonnell continued to second, stopped and was tagged out by first baseman Eddie Murray.

Martinez walked the speedy Collins, who was as anxious to run as had been Bonnell. He was just as quickly picked off. Willie Upshaw then hit a bouncer behind second that Lowenstein fielded, but on which he could make no throw. Upshaw had barely taken his lead when Martinez picked him off first.

The fans were cheering wildly, but the Orioles were still down a run. The craziness, however, had just begun. Cal Ripken, who would be the Most Valuable Player that year, led off with his 18th homer—on his 23rd birthday—to tie the score off McLaughlin, who then walked Eddie Murray. Second baseman Lowenstein grounded to first, moving Murray to second and Bobby Cox ordered an intentional pass to John Shelby, then brought in Randy Moffitt to face Roenicke. Third baseman Roenicke struck out, bringing catcher Lenn Sakata to the plate. As befitting the night, Sakata launched a three-run, game-winning home run for a 7-4 Baltimore victory.

“Our strategy,” said Sakata after the game, “was to keep throwing to first until the lights went out.”1 An unlikely hero in a season filled with unlikely heroes for the Orioles, Sakata had been booed only the night before when he made two errors at second base.2

The victory proved to be the beginning of an eight-game winning streak that propelled the Orioles to the division crown and ultimately the World Championship. Milwaukee maintained its half-game lead over the Orioles with a 1-0, 14-inning victory over California that night, but Tippy Martinez was again the victor on Thursday evening against Toronto when Baltimore scored two in the bottom of the tenth to win 2-1. Mike Boddicker’s 9-0, three-hit shutout on Friday over the Minnesota Twins moved the Birds a half game in front of Milwaukee, establishing a lead they would never relinquish as they won the division by six games.

Despite regular catcher Rick Dempsey's post-game remark that Sakata “looked good. I think he oughta start tomorrow,”3 the utility infielder appeared in only one other game during the win-streak, pinch-running for Rich Dauer in the top of the ninth in the Orioles’ 12-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on August 30th.

This game marked Lenn Sakata’s only appearance in the major leagues as a catcher and that explains how Tippy Martinez became the only pitcher in big league history to pick off three runners in a single inning. Those pick-offs explain how Martinez retired none of the batters he faced yet got credit for one inning pitched and the win. Sakata’s second of three homers on the season explains how a Cal Ripken extra-inning, game-tying home run, on his birthday no less, didn’t make Jim Henneman’s Evening Sun game story until the fourteenth paragraph.

Perhaps the Orioles 1984 Press Guide said it best: “No one who was there or who listened to that game on the radio will ever forget it.”4

[EasyAce]

http://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-24-1983-tippy-martinez-picks-three-blue-jays-one-inning

The 25,882 fans who ventured to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore on the evening of August 24, 1983, saw an exciting, extra-inning win by the home team in the midst of a tight pennant race. As a bonus, they also witnessed baseball’s version of The Twilight Zone.

The Orioles came into that Wednesday night game against the Blue Jays in second place, but just half a game behind Milwaukee. The Tigers and Blue Jays were only 1½ games out, while the Yankees trailed by a mere 3½ games. Only Boston (11 GB) and Cleveland (19½ GB) were out of the American League East race.

It was a typical hot summer night in Baltimore, and the game began in a typical fashion. A Garth Iorg sacrifice fly off Oriole southpaw Scott McGregor in the top of the third was matched by an Al Bumbry sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning off Jim Clancy. A Todd Cruz error in the fifth gave the Blue Jays an unearned run and another sacrifice fly, this one off the bat of Buck Martinez in the eighth, put Toronto on top 3-1 heading to the bottom of the ninth. At this point the game began to morph into a bizarre sequence of improbable events that only baseball can provide.

John Shelby laid down a bunt single with one out, but Gary Roenicke, pinch-hitting for Rich Dauer, struck out looking. Lenn Sakata, who had entered the game in the eighth at second when Dauer moved from second to third, drew a walk. With left-handed hitting catcher Joe Nolan due up, Toronto manager Bobby Cox brought in lefty Dave Geisel. Oriole skipper Joe Altobelli countered with the last player left on his bench, the right-handed hitting Benny Ayala, who promptly singled to score Shelby. Al Bumbry followed with a single to score Sakata, and the game was tied. Joey McLaughlin then relieved for the Jays and struck out Dan Ford to send the game into extra innings.

Extra innings presented a problem, however. Todd Cruz and Rich Dauer, the starting third baseman and second baseman respectively, were out of the game. Catcher Joe Nolan, for whom Ayala had pinch-hit, had himself pinch-hit for starting catcher Rick Dempsey in the seventh, and Altobelli was now without either of his backstops. With little choice in the matter, outfielder Gary Roenicke went to third for his first ever appearance at the hot corner, John Lowenstein went to second base where he hadn’t played since 1975, and Lenn Sakata, who had gone to second when Dauer replaced Cruz at third, went behind the plate. As it turned out, it seemed not to matter who was where when Cliff Johnson crushed reliever Tim Stoddard’s first pitch over the center field fence for his 20th homer of the season. Stoddard then gave up a single to Barry Bonnell, and Tippy Martinez was brought on to face Dave Collins, who was pinch-hitting for Jesse Barfield.

Everyone in Memorial Stadium knew that the Blue Jays would try to run, and indeed the switch-hitting Collins stepped into the left-handed batter’s box against the left-handed Martinez in order to give Bonnell an even better chance of stealing. Martinez had only a fair move to first, but Bonnell took such a huge lead that he was easily picked off, although the out was officially recorded as a caught stealing since Bonnell continued to second, stopped and was tagged out by first baseman Eddie Murray.

Martinez walked the speedy Collins, who was as anxious to run as had been Bonnell. He was just as quickly picked off. Willie Upshaw then hit a bouncer behind second that Lowenstein fielded, but on which he could make no throw. Upshaw had barely taken his lead when Martinez picked him off first.

The fans were cheering wildly, but the Orioles were still down a run. The craziness, however, had just begun. Cal Ripken, who would be the Most Valuable Player that year, led off with his 18th homer—on his 23rd birthday—to tie the score off McLaughlin, who then walked Eddie Murray. Second baseman Lowenstein grounded to first, moving Murray to second and Bobby Cox ordered an intentional pass to John Shelby, then brought in Randy Moffitt to face Roenicke. Third baseman Roenicke struck out, bringing catcher Lenn Sakata to the plate. As befitting the night, Sakata launched a three-run, game-winning home run for a 7-4 Baltimore victory.

“Our strategy,” said Sakata after the game, “was to keep throwing to first until the lights went out.”1 An unlikely hero in a season filled with unlikely heroes for the Orioles, Sakata had been booed only the night before when he made two errors at second base.2

The victory proved to be the beginning of an eight-game winning streak that propelled the Orioles to the division crown and ultimately the World Championship. Milwaukee maintained its half-game lead over the Orioles with a 1-0, 14-inning victory over California that night, but Tippy Martinez was again the victor on Thursday evening against Toronto when Baltimore scored two in the bottom of the tenth to win 2-1. Mike Boddicker’s 9-0, three-hit shutout on Friday over the Minnesota Twins moved the Birds a half game in front of Milwaukee, establishing a lead they would never relinquish as they won the division by six games.

Despite regular catcher Rick Dempsey's post-game remark that Sakata “looked good. I think he oughta start tomorrow,”3 the utility infielder appeared in only one other game during the win-streak, pinch-running for Rich Dauer in the top of the ninth in the Orioles’ 12-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on August 30th.

This game marked Lenn Sakata’s only appearance in the major leagues as a catcher and that explains how Tippy Martinez became the only pitcher in big league history to pick off three runners in a single inning. Those pick-offs explain how Martinez retired none of the batters he faced yet got credit for one inning pitched and the win. Sakata’s second of three homers on the season explains how a Cal Ripken extra-inning, game-tying home run, on his birthday no less, didn’t make Jim Henneman’s Evening Sun game story until the fourteenth paragraph.

Perhaps the Orioles 1984 Press Guide said it best: “No one who was there or who listened to that game on the radio will ever forget it.”4

@DCPatriot
The Jays eventually got even---with a little help from Oriole manager Buck Showalter being unable to find Zach Britton
with Edwin Encarnacion at the plate . . . ;)

[DCPatriot]

@DCPatriot
The Jays eventually got even---with a little help from Oriole manager Buck Showalter being unable to find Zach Britton
with Edwin Encarnacion at the plate . . . ;)

Only took 30 plus years!!!   

[EasyAce]

Only took 30 plus years!!!   

Well let's not get technical!