May 15, 1984 - Creased

All the 1985 Topps cards I feature on this blog are from my very first set I received as a kid.  I love these cards, and played with them all the time in my youth.  These two cards to the right show the dangers inherent with frequent contact.  I still remember the moment on our living room floor when I knelt down, only to discover too late that Tom Terrific was a casualty to my clumsiness.  I was pretty tickled to see two of my worst conditioned cards get displayed for the same post...

Game #439 - Kansas City Royals, 1 @ Chicago White Sox, 6

There were two main themes in this game:  home runs and pitching.  On the offensive side, the Pale Hose launched four homers.  The first came in the bottom of the second, when Ron Kittle went big fly with the bases empty.  Vance Law belted one of his own in the fourth.  In the sixth inning scrappy Rudy Law, not known for his power, crushed a two run blast.  And finally, in the bottom of the eighth, Ron Kittle provided his own encore with his second solo shot.

Tom Seaver, meanwhile, was as terrific as his namesake.  He went the distance by only allowing four hits and two walks.  The lone run he surrendered came in the fourth, when Frank White tripled home Jorge Orta.

Winning Pitcher - Tom Seaver
Losing Pitcher - Frank Wills
Player of the Game - Tom Seaver, CG W, 3K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tom Seaver

Game #440 - Boston Red Sox, 3 @ Cleveland Indians, 6

The Indians started things off strongly by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first, assisted by stolen bases from Brett Butler and Julio Franco and an error at first base by - you guessed it - Bill Buckner.  Boston tied things up in the fourth, though, with a sacrifice fly from Rich Gedman and an RBI single from Buckner.  Cleveland pulled away for good in the sixth when they posted four more runs, aided in part by a Gedman passed ball.

Winning Pitcher - Rick Sutcliffe
Losing Pitcher - Al Nipper
Save - Ernie Camacho
Player of the Game - Brett Butler, 2-4, 2R's, SB, RBI, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

May 15, 1984 - Junior Comes Through

Game #438 - California Angels, 3 @ Baltimore Orioles, 4

You know what I like about Thanksgiving breaks?  More time for Statis Pro!!!  Even better, I got to play with my favorite team...

Storm Davis allowed two runners in the top of the first inning but escaped the jam without allowing a run.  Geoff Zahn wasn't so lucky.  He gave up a lead off homer to Gary Roenicke and two batters later Cal Ripken Jr. parked a two run bomb of his own.

The Angels did score two runs in the third, though.  The bases were loaded and Gary Pettis, who is hitting so far above his talent level this season I can't make heads or tails of it, roped a single to plate Bobby Grich and Fred Lynn.

The Orioles never relinquished their lead as Tom Underwood pitched a perfect ninth to save the day for Baltimore.

Winning Pitcher - Storm Davis
Losing Pitcher - Geoff Zahn
Save - Tom Underwood
Player of the Game - Cal Ripken Jr., 2-4, HR, 2B, 3RBI's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray

May 14, 1984 - Balls

Game #437 - Montreal Expos, 2 @ San Diego Padres, 5

The very first baseball autobiography I ever read was Graig Nettles' Balls.  That book was hilarious, and was seen as a big middle finger aimed at George Steinbrenner, which is how Nettles found himself out of New York and joining the Padres.

Nettles was no laughing matter in this game.  In the bottom of the first inning, with the Padres already up one, he lined a double that scored Tony Gwynn.  In the bottom of the fifth he was the hero again, because the Expos had just tied the game at two apiece.  Nettles ripped another double to plate Gwynn again as well as Alan Wiggins.  For an encore, Graig lined a single in the seventh that scored - guess who - Tony Gwynn.  That was pretty much it in this one, San Diego won 5-2.

Winning Pitcher - Mark Thurmond
Losing Pitcher - David Palmer
Save - Craig Lefferts
Player of the Game - Graig Nettles, 3-3, 2 2B's, 4RBI's, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tony Gwynn, Goose Gossage

May 14, 1984 - Keystone State Success

Game #435 - Philadelphia Phillies, 3 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 0

We had a good pitching match-up for this game, as future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton faced Alejandro Pena, who was pretty filthy in the real 1984.

The Phillies scored first in the top of the second inning.  Joe Lefebvre was plated by an Ivan DeJesus double.  Lefebvre scored again in the fifth, this time courtesy of Len Matuszek.  And their final run came in the ninth, when rookie Juan Samuel launched a solo homer.

When Philadelphia was on the field it was all Steve Carlton.  Despite surrendering eleven hits and three walks, he fanned eight Dodgers and went the distance for a complete game shutout.

Winning Pitcher - Steve Carlton
Losing Pitcher - Alejandro Pena
Player of the Game - Joe Lefebvre, 4-4, 2 doubles, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton

Game #436 - Houston Astros, 1 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 4

The Pirates have been hot as of late, and of course there's no better team in the NL West than the Astros, so this game was bound to be exciting.  It was a pitcher's duel through the first five innings, as both Bob Knepper and John Candelaria were hanging goose eggs on the scoreboard.

Houston drew first blood, though, when Bill Doran scored on a Phil Garner single in the sixth.  The Pirates answered back in a big way, though.  Jim Morrison rocked a three-run home run in the bottom half of the inning, scoring Tony Pena and Jason Thompson along with himself.  Johnny Ray added a solo shot in the seventh while Kent Tekulve and Rod Scurry preserved the victory over the last two innings.

Winning Pitcher - John Candelaria
Losing Pitcher - Bob Knepper
Save - Rod Scurry
Player of the Game - Jim Morrison, 2-4, HR, 3RBI's

May 14, 1984 - One-run squeekers

Game #433 - Seattle Mariners, 4 @ Detroit Tigers, 3

When you play thousands of games from a season three decades prior, some will be fun, and some will be stinkers.  This was the former!

Detroit jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first off Seattle starter Mike Moore when Chet Lemon roped a double but then scored on an error by centerfielder Barry Bonnell.  The Mariners tied it up in the fourth, though, when cult hero Ken Phelps launched a homer.

In the top of the fifth Jack Perconte scored Spike Owen on an RBI single.  He then stole second and crossed home plate himself on an RBI double by Alvin Davis.  Chet Lemon brought the Tigers back within one in the bottom half of the inning with a solo shot into the leftfield stands.

Each team scored another run in the sixth, but Edwin Nunez and Mike Stanton combined for three innings of shutout relief to preserve the win for Seattle.  It's their fifth in a row!

Winning Pitcher - Mike Moore
Losing Pitcher - Jack Morris
Save - Mike Stanton
Player of the Game - Nunez, 2IP, 0R's, 1H

Game #434 - Oakland A's, 5 @ New York Yankees, 6

What would you say if I told you the A's scored the first five runs of this ball game...and lost?

(Sorry, that's a very "30 for 30" way to start a recap.  Rest in peace, Grantland)

That being said, the A's did score the first five runs and lost!  Four of those came in the first inning, which included a three-run jack by Dave Kingman. But New York clawed back.  They plated two runs in the fourth when Roy Smalley homered.  They picked up another in the fifth and two more in the sixth off a Toby Harrah triple. The game-winning RBI came in the seventh.  Don Baylor doubled with one out, and then Butch Wynegar doubled him home for the eventual win.  Weak sauce, Oakland bullpen.  Weak sauce.

Winning Pitcher - Jay Howell
Losing Pitcher - Bill Caudill
Save - Dave Righetti
Player of the Game - Roy Smalley, 2-4, HR, 2RBI's, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan, Dave Winfield

Rest in Peace

Sad news to report - Garry Hancock, who played parts of the 1984 season on the Oakland A's, passed away this month.

May 14, 1984 - You Complete Me

Game #431 - Kansas City Royals, 7 @ Chicago White Sox, 0

The Royals have stunk quite a bit lately, so I decided at the start of the game I would try and "manufacture" some runs.  In the top of the second Daryl Motley led off with a single.  I had Frank White bunt him over to second.  With one out, Greg Pryor, playing for the injured George Brett, doubled him home!  My strategy worked!

The score stayed 1-0 until the top of the seventh, when KC put up three more runs, including a two run homer by Pat Sheridan.  They put up three more in the eighth and the Royals cruised to a 7-0 victory.  Mark Gubicza went the distance, only allowing three hits and two walks while pitching the shutout.

Winning Pitcher - Mark Gubicza
Losing Pitcher - LaMarr Hoyt
Player of the Game - Gubicza, he had six strikeouts too.

Game #432 - Boston Red Sox, 6 @ Cleveland Indians, 3

This game was ugly.  Why?  Here are a few reasons:

• The Red Sox committed four errors and somehow still won.  The Indians had two as well, both by Julio Franco.
• Rich Gedman hit into three double plays...and the Red Sox still won.
• Oil Can Boyd gave up nine hits, but over nine innings.
• Jerry Willard whiffed in all four at-bats.

Winning Pitcher - Oil Can Boyd

Losing Pitcher - Bert Blyleven

Player of the Game - Boyd, CG, 9K's

Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Bert Blyleven

May 14, 1984 - Just Another Manic Monday

Game #340 - California Angels, 9 @ Baltimore Orioles, 1

I had to do a double-take when I checked my records, but this game was the first time this season Brian Downing earned "Player of the Game" honors.  I couldn't believe it, because he's had a heck of a season.  Gary Pettis has four for some reason, but Downing is only at one.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Angels scored a run in the top of the first when Rick Dempsey allowed a passed ball that plated Fred Lynn.  Mike Flanagan had to strike out the side to get out of the jam without further damage.  Baltimore picked the run back up in the second when Floyd Rayford cranked a solo bomb to tie things up at one apiece.

Tommy John and Flanagan continued their lefty-centric battle into the top of the seventh.  That's when California scored two more runs, including a balk by Flanagan.  Luis Sanchez and Doug Corbett kept the Orioles in check for the remainder of the game, while the Angels offense sent twelve batters to the plate in the top of the ninth, ending the Orioles hopes for a comeback.

Winning Pitcher - Tommy John
Losing Pitcher - Mike Flanagan
Save - Doug Corbett
Player of the Game - Brian Downing, 4-6, 3 doubles, run, RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Reggie Jackson, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray