Baseballminutia

Im in too far, Im in way too deep over you.
I cant believe youre gone.
You were the first, youll be the last.

Where were you 34 years ago today?

I know where I was.

Tiger Stadium, watching the then old, old Tigers take on the A’s. It was great game; I sat behind the third base dugout and watched Joe Coleman strike out 14 A’s. At the time that was the AL Playoff record. Billy Martin managed the Tigers and he was trying his best to get a good combination of hitters in the contest, since Ken Holzman (a lefty) was going for the A’s, even going as far as switching Dick McAuliffe over to shortstop and starting and leading off Tony Taylor and starting Ike Brown (the other Brown on the Tigers) at first.

League Championship Series Game 3
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
BOX+PBP
WP: Coleman (1-0)
LP: Holtzman (0-1)
HRs: Freehan (1)

Starting Lineups:
Oakland Athletics             Detroit Tigers
1. Alou                rf        Taylor              2b
2. Maxvill             ss        Rodriguez           3b
3. Rudi                lf        Kaline              rf
4. Jackson             cf        Freehan             c
5. Epstein             1b        Horton              lf
6. Bando               3b        Stanley             cf
7. Tenace              c         I. Brown            1b
8. Green               2b        McAuliffe           ss
9. Holtzman            p         Coleman             p

Coleman had thrown 280 innings in 1972, 280 innings is a workhorse load. And that was only good for second on the Tigers that season since Mickey Lolich threw 327 innings himself (down from 376 in 1971).

Since the first strike in 1981 the list of 280 inning (or better) pitchers has dwindled to a list of zero. The last players to top 280 were Charlie Hough and Roger Clemens and since 81 only 8 guys have achieved the feat. It’s a part of the game that many of you out there probably don’t remember. Oh well… guess there’s always ESPN Classic.

INNINGS PITCHED          YEAR     IP
Steve Carlton            1982    295.2
Jack Morris              1983    293.2
Bert Blyleven            1985    293.2
Dave Stieb               1982    288.1
Charlie Hough            1987    285.1
Fernando Valenzuela      1982    285
Steve Carlton            1983    283.2
Roger Clemens            1987    281.2

Anyway, back to the game. And odd game it was too, Reggie Jackson was in center field, a position he had played more in 1972 then any other year in his career. A leg injury later in the series might have changed Reggie’s career path in the short term, he would only start 11 more games in centerfield the rest of his career after the 1972 season.

A full Tiger Stadium was always a treat; the steamed hot dogs and long shadows by the towering lights in the October will be forever etched in my mind, a playoff game shutout, 14 K’s and my first playoff game. The only thing that could enrich it would be a foul ball.

Which did come my way, for some reason the glove I had that day was a first baseman’s glove. This is ironic, for in my long Little League Career (8 years) I played every position…except for 1st Base. I don’t remember who hit the ball, but I remember that my glove was not prepared to catch a ball, it was already currently being used as the place I kept my 2nd hot dog. I raised my glove and the ball glanced off the wrapped dog and its yellow mustard streak that the vendor had slathered on moments prior to the smash. From my glove it caromed off my father’s chest and into the outstretched arms of the seething crowd behind us. That’s the closest I’ve ever come to a foul ball and still to this day the smell of steamed hot dogs reminds me of Tiger Stadium and that 1st baseman’s glove.

The win mounted a mini comeback for the Tigers who had dropped the first two in Oakland. The next day they eked out a 10 inning win and took the A’s to the fifth game and lost when McAuliffe playing shortstop (instead of Eddie Brinkman) made an error and eventually that runner scored the deciding run at a close play at the plate. The final score 2-1 confirmed that the series was a pitching match up of extreme quality (the A’s had finished 2nd in the AL in ERA and the Tigers 4th)it also left a sour taste in the mouths of many Tiger fans, who could see that the aging team was heading towards a rebuilding phase and had just missed their last chance at the golden ring with this crew.

PITCHING
Oakland Athletics     IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Holtzman L(0-1)        4     4   2   2   2   2   0
Fingers                1.2   2   0   0   1   1   0
Blue                   0.1   0   0   0   0   0   0
Locker                 2     2   1   1   0   1   1
Totals                 8     8   3   3   3   4   1

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

Meanwhile in the National League that same day the Cincinnati Reds were shellacking the Pirates 7-1, tying the series at two games each.

This game is highlighted by it being the last game that Roberto Clemente ever hit a home run in, taking Ross Grimsley deep leading off the 7th inning. This was at Riverfront, Clement had hit his last Pittsburgh tater on 9-2 against Sam McDowell of the Giants.

League Championship Series Game 4
PIT N    0  0  0    0  0  0    1  0  0  -   1  2  3
CIN N    1  0  0    2  0  2    2  0  x  -   7 11  1
WP: Grimsley (1-0)
LP: Ellis (0-1)
HRs: Clemente (1)

The Tigers and I broke up in the mid 70’s I was young, had moved to Cincinnati and fell in love with the Reds. This doesn’t mean that I forgot about the Tigers, I still have an eye for an old English D, I own two autographs, Eric Davis (for bringing the game back to me whilst I wandered) and Al Kaline for letting me learn to love the game watching a classy hall of fame player battle his baseball mortality.

Therefore tonight I will see if the draw of the past can rekindle that disappointment, or if the 20 years I lived in the Bay Area has secretly made me an A’s fan and tonight will be the night I come to terms with that reality. Whatever happens, I hope it goes seven.

Autumn means one thing to most baseball fans and that’s the post season. Yep, nothing like the post season, thank god for ESPN (Ughh… did I just type that?) Fox sports coverage of the game is the lamest infomercial for a media conglomerate that I have ever had to swallow in all my years of sports viewing. Never the less the games are still good as long as you can get past the constant celebrity sightings in the stands and the usual announcer hyperbole, awash in clichés and half truths. And now interviews with players and coaches whilst the game is being played in a sub screen tucked in the corner… what the hell is that? Are we so hungry for information that we will toss the game aside to pick the starters head in the media room while the game is still be being played?

Color me unimpressed.

Autumn also means that the weather is changing. Baseball is essentially a warm weather sport, this fact is highlighted throughout history by south of the border leagues, warm weather barnstorming, an extended schedule in the Pacific Coast League, winter leagues in California, and training camps in the south. Some facets of the myth of daytime baseball and memories of games in the sun can be in the WGN production teams tendency to scan the stands for woman to fill up the camera lens in-between pitches (I mean who cares about studying the players while the game is going on, that woman is hot!!) You get my point, baseball has its mythos concerning the day game in the sun factor and part of that mythos was pounded in three successive years in the 1980’s

1986 – Game six of the World Series is the last day game in series history

1987 – The Metrodome becomes the first indoor stadium to host a World Series

1988 – The Cubs install lights in Wrigley Field and host 18 night games.

Even prior to the game being played at night the players were not afforded the comfort of warm weather all the time and as the days get shorter and the leaves blow across the streets it was often time for the teams trainers to dig out some sweaters and try and keep the boys warm. So let’s check out some of those sweaters the boys wore back in the day, and let’s check out some of the photos from back then too.

Prior to synthetics and even shiny satin warmth for the player not on the field was usually obtained by the presence of a large, wool sweater, often marked with the team colors or logos.

The above are the sweaters for pitcher Elmer Steele, a pitcher for the Red Sox, Pirates and Dodgers. Elmer, like my father and grandparents was born and raised in Poughkeepsie NY. Elmer’s sweaters were recently being auctioned on the web for $13,200.

One of the great things about the sweaters worn back in the day is their elaborate collars and sometimes, garish stripes, buttons or lapels. Below is an example of four sweaters. The top two are Cincinnati Reds sweaters; the man on the left is Bob Ewing who was the Reds version of Aaron Harang 100 years ago, his sweater marks an era that pre-dates the popularity of the team sweater. On the right is Edd Roush in a one-color piece. Below on the left is Cy Young in 1905 with the Boston Americans. Cy has a stripped down version of the bulky sweater, one that would enable him to get his work in and still stay warm. Ewing’s on the other hand looks like a sweater to keep a pitcher warm in between innings. On the right is a version of the White Sox sweater, a simple white sweater with piping along the collar and a logo over the heart.

One thing is for sure those sweaters were bulky and they were needed. Below is a series of photos that attest partly to that statement. In the photo on the top left Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers (That’s pronounced EVErs, not EVers) with his Cubs sweater on, behind him are the team’s sweaters, so bulky it resembles a cloakroom more then a dugout. And what about those dugouts? They look inviting theses days, but there was a time that they were nothing more then a hole with a bench. The top right photo depicts the White Sox bench prior to an exhibition with the Cubs in 1910. The dugout is sparse and covered with what looks like Turk 182 has tagged it. The bottom left is Hall of Famer Pud Galvin in what looks like an early version of the warm up jacket. This card is dated from the late 1880’s when Pud was a member of the Pittsburgh Allegany’s. On his right is a combination sweater/dugout shot of a shivering Rube Oldring of the A’s with his sweater on and another draped over his non-pitching shoulder.

Sweaters were so popular that they were available through mail order and below is an example of an advertisement that appeared in Baseball Magazine in 1914.

Ahhh, the power of the celebrity… it’s hard to imagine that Buck Herzog was a name player. Even despite managing the Reds.

Speaking of Cobb check out this photo.

Image of Ty Cobb, baseball player for the American League’s Detroit Tigers, running from home plate in the direction of first base on the field at West Side Grounds, during a 1908 World Series game between the Tigers and National League’s Chicago Cubs. A baseball bat is falling to the ground in the foreground. Cubs catcher John Kling and an umpire are standing behind home plate.

First thing to note, this is a game from 98 years ago, and it’s the last time the Cubs won a World Series. It’s been so long since the Cubs won a World Series that the last time they did it their catcher didn’t wear shin guards, they didn’t play in Wrigley Field (Built in 1914) and the star on the team they defeated was Ty Cobb. And he retired in 1928 and has been dead for 45 years.

98 years is a long time, and speaking of time check out this little gem that the 1917 White Sox had to celebrate their championship that season.

This piece had a players face in every hour and Comiskey in the middle, until last season it was a symbol of the last time the White Sox had won it all. Now only the Cubs can look back into the days of sweaters for their last championship, and from what I’ve heard about the Wrigley dugout and from what I know about Chicago weather they might need those sweaters from time to time. Maybe they can dig a few out of the mothballs and see if any of the mojo from the past can help them get over the hump.