Rest in Peace - Joe Beckwith

 

I was sad to hear Joe Beckwith passed away from cancer recently.  Prayers for his family and fans, he was a heck of a reliever.

June 19, 1984 - O's Fly Past the Red Sox

Game #842 - Baltimore Orioles, 6 @ Boston Red Sox, 5

This one was a real back and forth affair, so let's jump right in!

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the second.  That's when Storm Davis ran into a heap of trouble.  With two men on and just one out, Jackie Gutierrez doubled home Rich Gedman, moving Marty Barrett to third in the process.  Wade Boggs was up next, and he singled home Barrett.  Dwight Evans walked to load the bases with still just one out.  Mike Easler grounded out, but it plated Gutierrez.  Jim Rice grounded out to Cal Ripken to end the damage, but Boston was now up 3-0.

The Orioles rebounded in the third.  Ken Singleton hit a solo homer and Eddie Murray later singled  home Jim Dwyer.  That pulled Baltimore back within one run, 3-2.  Murray got another RBI single in the fifth to tie the game up.

Storm Davis had really settled down by that point, and in the bottom of the seventh he recorded his first strikeouts of the game, getting Mike Easler and Jim Rice to whiff in consecutive at-bats.  But Tony Armas doubled and then Gedman tripled, giving Boston the lead again.  Marty Barrett bounced an easy grounder to Rich Dauer, but the usually sure-handed O's second basemen booted it, allowing Gedman to score and giving Boston a two-run lead!

Baltimore was still in it, though.  John Henry Johnson had relieved Rich Gale in the seventh, and was still on the mound in the top of the eighth.  He allowed a lead-off walk to Cal Ripken, who then moved to third on Eddie Murray's third single of the game.  Pinch-hitter Todd Cruz replaced Wayne Gross, and plated Ripken with a single.  That brought the Orioles within one run of the Bo-Sox.  Johnson got two outs, but with two men still on and Dauer up at the plate, he hit a redeeming double that scored Murray and Cruz to give Baltimore their first lead of the game!  Sammy Stewart worked two and one-third innings of relief to earn the win in a very competitive ballgame.

Winning Pitcher - Sammy Stewart

Losing Pitcher - John Henry Johnson

Player of the Game - Eddie Murray, 3-4, 2RBI, R

Hall of Famers in the Game - Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

June 19, 1984 - Two Braves One Hit Short of the Cycle

Game #841 - San Francisco Giants, 7 @ Atlanta Braves, 11

Long time readers of this Statis Pro blog know I'm excited for two things to happen in this season that have yet to transpire:  a cycle and/or a no-hitter.  We've come close on both accounts, but two Braves nearly completed a cycle in this game.

The first player, as most could hazard a guess, was Dale Murphy.  He walked in the first inning, smoked a two-RBI double in the second, and laced an RBI triple in the fourth.  When he singled to lead off the sixth I was legitimately excited for his next at-bat, as Dale has a huge HR range on his player card.  Alas, in the seventh inning, he grounded out to Manny Trillo.  So close!  Just a homerun short.

I wasn't even aware during the game there was a second Atlanta player going for the cycle too.  Backup catcher Alex Trevino, who had a decent real 1984 season but has been abysmal in the Statis Pro league, had himself a game.  He grounded out in the first inning, but launched a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the third.  In the fourth inning he singled, and then he doubled in the sixth.  He was going to need a miracle "Z" fast action card for his missing triple, though, because that option doesn't exist on his player card.  Instead, he too grounded out to Trillo in the seventh.

We're still waiting for that first cycle!!!

Winning Pitcher - Rick Mahler

Losing Pitcher - Jeff Robinson

Player of the Game - Dale Murphy, 3-4, 2B, 3B, 4RBI, R, BB

June 18, 1984 - White Sox Deep-Six the Mariners

 

Game #840 - Chicago White Sox, 9 @ Seattle Mariners, 5

Seattle starter Mike Moore got into trouble right out of the gate.  He walked Harold Baines and later Greg Walker singled.  Ron Kittle stepped to the plate after that and sent a three-run homer into the cheap seats for an immediate 3-0 lead.  

Chicago added four more off Moore in the top of the third.  Baines launched a solo shot and a few batters later Carlton Fisk went big fly for the second three-run homer of the game for the Pale Hose.

White Sox starter Floyd Bannister had a smooth game except for the bottom of the fourth.  He got touched for three runs off home runs by Steve Henderson and Jim Pressley.  He got into another jam in the bottom of the eighth when reliever Al Jones made his Statis Pro season debut to end the uprising with  one and a third innings pitched of scoreless relief.

Winning Pitcher - Floyd Bannister

Losing Pitcher - Mike Moore

Player of the Game - Harold Baines, 3-4, 2B, HR, BB, RBI, 2R's

Hall of Famers in the Game - Harold Baines, Carlton Fisk

Rest in Peace - Catching Up on the Past Year

We've lost some absolute legends since I was posting regularly last summer - here's a chance for us to catch up and remember these tremendous ball players and managers from the 1984 season who are gone but live on in the game and our memories.  

Claudell Washington

Tom Seaver

Jay Johnstone

Joe Morgan

Phil Niekro

Tommy Lasorda

Don Sutton

Ron Johnson

Joe Altobelli

June 18, 1984 - Hiatus Ends with a Walk-Off Homer!

 

Game #839 - Kansas City Royals, 5 @ Oakland A's, 7

If anybody is actually reading this...hello!  It's been almost a full calendar year since I last flipped a Fast Action Card for this 1984 season.  There are two main culprits.  First, I'm in the middle of a doctoral program, with about a year still to go.  Second, I've been seeing somebody else.  And by somebody else, I mean a different baseball simulator!  (My wife and I are about to celebrate 18 years of marriage!)  Last summer I purchased Out of the Park Baseball...and oh man, that thing is addictive.  I took my Orioles to three World Series championships over the span of thirty years.  But today...I got the itch to return to my first favorite.

I still love you Statis Pro!

Let's jump into the action.  In the top of the first the Royals jumped on Oakland starter Steve McCatty for two runs, including an RBI double from Darryl Motley and an RBI triple from Jorge Orta.  The A's cut the lead by one in their half of the inning when Dwayne Murphy singled home Rickey Henderson.

It was still a 2-1 game in the top of the fifth when George Brett launched a solo homer to pad the K.C. lead.  But in the bottom of the seventh, with one out, Dave Kingman cranked a double off starter Larry Gura.  Three batters later he scored on a Bill Almon single.

It was still 3-2 in favor of the Royals in the bottom of the eighth.  Gura was pitching on fumes, and with two outs and runners on second and third, K.C. finally went to the bullpen.  Dan Quisenberry was unavailable, so it was up to Joe Beckwith.  He promptly gave up a go-ahead home run to Dave Kingman!!!

The Royals went from up one to down two as they headed into the top of the ninth.  Steve McCatty was still chugging along, but he gave up two runs on a Hal McRae pinch-hit triple and a Willie Wilson single before finally getting yanked.  Chris Codiroli got Motley to ground out.

The game was now tied in the bottom of the ninth, and Beckwith was looking to get three quick outs after his offense bailed him out from the previous blunder.  But Tony Phillips led off with a single.  Beckwith retired the next two batters, so with two outs Rickey Henderson stepped up to the plate...and blasted a walk-off homer!!! Oakland wins!!!

Winning Pitcher - Chris Codiroli

Losing Pitcher - Joe Beckwith

Player of the Game - Rickey Henderson, 3-5, HR, 2RBI, 2R's

Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Rickey Henderson

I'm going to try and crank out a couple of games a month in what little free time I have right now.  The next post will be an update for all the 1984 players who have passed in the last year.  Thanks for reading!