June 1, 1984 - Hello June!

Game #621 - Oakland A's, 0 @ Chicago White Sox, 1

Tom Seaver was well past his prime in 1984, but in this game he pulled out some old Seaver magic to pitch one of the best games of this Statis Pro season.  It was certainly a dominant performance.  Only three runners reached base!  Tony Phillips doubled in the third, Bruce Bochte singled in the fifth, and Rickey Henderson drew a walk in the sixth.  That was all Oakland could muster while Seaver struck out six.

Meanwhile, the A's wasted an unusually masterful performance by Larry Sorensen.  The only run he allowed was a Vance Law solo blast in the bottom of the fourth.  It was one of only four hits for Chicago, though they did reach on five bases on balls.

Carlton Fisk comes off the DL in their next game, which has been a long time coming.

Winning Pitcher - Tom Seaver
Losing Pitcher - Larry Sorensen
Player of the Game - Tom Seaver, CG SHO, 2H's, BB, 6K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver

Game #622 - California Angels, 1 @ Cleveland Indians, 3

This was a battle of the lefties as Neal Heaton and Geoff Zahn faced off in this series opener.  Both pitchers were cruising until the bottom of the fourth.  Andre Thornton was on third with two outs when Brook Jacoby singled him home.  The game got tied by California in the top of the fifth when Heaton plunked Juan Beniquez with the bases loaded!  He got Brian Downing to ground out to Chris Bando to end the threat.

RBI doubles by Bando and Carmelo Castillo in the bottom of the fifth gave Cleveland all the runs they needed.  Tom Waddell and Ernie Camacho pitched a scoreless two innings of relief to give Cleveland the victory.

Winning Pitcher - Neal Heaton
Losing Pitcher - Geoff Zahn
Save - Ernie Camacho
Player of the Game - Heaton, 7IP, ER, 6K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson

Month in Review - May

Holy cow, May is in the books.  That's two months down.  I can't believe it.  It's taken over five years.  When I started this blog I had two kids and now I have three...with that third kid being five!  My blog is older than my last born!

I'd say the biggest story of the season so far is that none of the four playoff teams from the real 1984 are currently in first place.  The Tigers are closest, just a couple of games back of the Blue Jays.  Toronto has played extremely well but their bullpen will get exposed soon enough.  I predict Detroit will be in first by the end of June.

The Royals have been decimated by injuries, including 20 games to George Brett, but they get most of their starters back within the next week or so.  They've quietly risen up the standings to third place, though they're still five games below .500.  The Padres are showing a little more signs of life but still lag behind four teams in the NL West.  The Astros are still playing stellar ball and haven't come back down to earth yet.  I'm nervous about the Padres chances to duplicate their improbable World Series appearance.

The team that causes me the most stress is the Cubs.  They're dead last and ten games under .500.  The Cardinals might be the best team in either league, which isn't helping.  But, they're on a five game win streak right now and very soon will get both Rick Sutcliffe and Dennis Eckersley in their rotation.  They absolutely need them.

Other Guys Besides Joe Morgan Who Are Playing Way Over Their Heads:

Dion James, Brewers, OF
Gary Pettis, Angels, OF
Oil Can Boyd, Red Sox, P
Brad Gulden, Reds, C
Claudell Washington, Braves, OF
Pasquel Perez, Braves, P

Favorite Game In May?

There were a lot of fun games in May, but I'd have to go with the insane second game of a doubleheader on May 27 between Cleveland and the Blue Jays.  Cleveland scored five runs in the top of the eleventh...but Toronto tied it up and walked it off in the 12th!

Your MVP Race So Far:

American League
1.  Joe Morgan, A's, 2B
2.  Mike Young, Orioles, OF
3.  Dave Winfield, Yankees, OF

National League
1.  Darryl Strawberry, Mets, OF
2.  Claudell Washington, Braves, OF
3.  Tim Raines, Expos, OF

Your CY YOUNG Race So Far:

American League
1.  Doyle Alexander, Blue Jays
2.  Bud Black, Royals
3.  Dan Quisenberry, Royals

National League
1.  Alejandro Pena, Dodgers
2.  Rick Rhoden, Pirates
3.  Dwight Gooden, Mets

ALL STATIS PRO TEAM THROUGH MAY:

P - Alejandro Pena, Dodgers
C - Lance Parrish, Tigers
1B - Alvin Davis, Mariners
2B - Joe Morgan, A's
3B - Wade Boggs, Red Sox
SS - Cal Ripken, Orioles
OF - Darryl Strawberry, Mets
OF - Mike Young, Orioles
OF - Claudell Washington, Braves

I'm An Awesome Manager Of...

The St. Louis Cardinals.  They have the best record in Statis Pro right now and they are running away in the NL East.  They have a lot of versatility on the bench and the bullpen and all cylinders are firing right now.

I'm A Terrible Manager Of...

The Chicago Cubs.  Despite ending the month on a five game win streak, during May they lost THIRTEEN in a row.  I buried their playoff hopes deep in the woods where nobody will find them.  I'm sorry Punky Brewster.

Looking Forward

At the end of April I predicted it would take three to four years to finish May...and I was just about dead right!  It took nearly three and a half on the nose.  That seems to be the going pace, so I'll predict February of 2021 to be done with June...which is so far away yet will get here so quickly...

May 31, 1984 - Goodbye, May

Game #619 - Chicago Cubs, 9 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 2

The Phillies raced out to a quick 2-0 lead when Joe Lefebvre launched a two-run dong in the bottom of the first off starter Dick Ruthven.  Keith Moreland responded in the top of the second with a solo tater to cut the lead in half.

It would remain 2-1 until the top of the seventh.  Charles Hudson was on cruise control but seemingly hit a pot hole because the wheels came off.  Pinch hitter Henry Cotto hit a two-run single and then scored on a Ryne Sandberg triple.  The Cubs would score five total runs in the inning and would add three more over the next two innings to give Chicago their fifth win in a row.

Winning Pitcher - Dick Ruthven
Losing Pitcher - Charles Hudson
Player of the Game - Henry Cotto, 1-1, Sac Fly, 3RBI, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Mike Schmidt

Game #620 - Montreal Expos, 3 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 9

This game was tic for tack through the first four innings, with the Expos holding a slim 3-2 lead.  But the Pirates pushed the Expos overboard in the fifth.  That's when they plated six runs, including a bases-clearing double by Marvelle Wynn.  Jose DeLeon scattered four hits and five walks over eight innings pitched and logged the victory.

Winning Pitcher - Jose DeLeon
Losing Pitcher - Steve Rogers
Player of the Game - Lee Lacy, 3-5, RBI, 2R's, SB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

May 31, 1984 - You Only Have To Win By One

Game #617 - Kansas City Royals, 4 @ Minnesota Twins, 3

This was a real back and forth game.  In the top of the first Onix Concepcion reached on a single.  He stole second base and reached third on a George Brett fly out.  He proceeded to score on a passed ball by Tim Laudner.  Kansas City returned the favor in the bottom of the second when Tim Teufel scored on a wild pitch by Mark Gubicza.

Minnesota pulled ahead three to one when Tom Brunansky went deep for a two run bomb in the third.  But KC tied it up again in the fifth.  In a huge two-out rally, Willie Wilson tripled, scored on a Concepcion double, and then two batters later Hal McRae singled home Concepcion.  That would turn out to be the deciding run as Dan Quisenberry held the Twins scoreless over the final two innings.

Winning Pitcher - Mark Gubicza
Losing Pitcher - Rick Lysander
Save - Dan Quisenberry
Player of the Game - Hal McRae, 3-4, 2B, 2RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Kirby Puckett

Game #618 - St. Louis Cardinals, 1 @ New York Mets, 2

This looks like a pitcher's duel on the screen, but in reality these two teams combined for 24 hits...yet only produced three runs!  The winning run came in the bottom of the sixth when Keith Hernandez knocked Jerry Martin home.  Jesse Orosco pitched a perfect ninth inning to notch the save.

Winning Pitcher - Ron Darling
Losing Pitcher - Dave LaPoint
Save - Jesse Orosco
Player of the Game - Keith Hernandez, 3-5, RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

Rest in Peace - Don Baylor

I've been putting this one off for a couple of weeks, but it's time to recognize and appreciate the greatness of Don Baylor.

He passed away about a month ago from multiple myeloma.

Baylor had a heck of a career in Major League Baseball.  He got his start with my favorite team, the Baltimore Orioles, before going to the Angels where he really excelled.  He won the American League MVP in 1979 for California.

In 1983 he came to the New York Yankees as part of George Steinbrenner's obsession with overloading the team with veteran guys who should be designated hitters.  I've had him batting fifth for most of this Statis Pro season in the DH spot.

The end of Baylor's playing days were quite interesting too.  He played on three straight World Series teams:  The Red Sox (1986), the Twins (1987), and the Athletics (1988).  He would go on to coach in the bigs, including as the first manager for the Colorado Rockies.

I was a kid in the 1980's, and one of my very distinct memories of watching baseball back then was Baylor's enormous biceps and how he would lean into inside fastballs to take the hit by pitch.  When I played little league I was terrified of being plunked and there was Baylor, taking one on the arm all of the time, and making it look like it hurt the ball more than himself.

We went to a lot of games as a kid, and my dad would often bring his nice camera.  Here are a few pics he got of Baylor in his last season at Rangers game in old Arlington.  Rest in Peace Don Baylor - thank you for being such an awesome figure in the history of baseball.

May 31st, 1984 - The Guld and the Beautiful

Game #616 - Atlanta Braves, 2 @ Cincinnati Reds, 5

Before the game started I thought this would be a blowout in the Braves favor.  Pascual Perez was going against Frank Pastore, who might be the worst starter in the NL.  But as I've said before...THAT'S WHY YOU PLAY THE GAME!

Atlanta was the first to score, though.  In the top of the third Claudell Washington doubled home Gerald Perry, and then in the fourth Rafael Ramirez doubled home Glen Hubbard.  Pastore settled down after that and pitched through the sixth only giving up those two runs.

The Reds got their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth on an unlikely homer from Ron Oester.  It was Oester's first dong of the year.  Then in the bottom of the sixth Perez got into trouble.  He loaded the bases and up stepped catcher Brad Gulden, who is hitting about sixty points above his real 1984 average.  What did he do?  CLUTCH DOUBLE.  2 RBI, and all of a sudden the Reds were up 3-2!

The Reds got two more insurance runs off Pete Falcone and Ted Power, John Franco, and Bill Scherrer pitched three innings of scoreless relief to give Frank Pastore his first victory of the season.  Brad Gulden earned his FIFTH player of the game honors, which is kind of crazy.

Winning Pitcher - Frank Pastore
Losing Pitcher - Pascual Perez
Save - Bill Scherrer
Player of the Game - Brad Gulden, 1-4, 2B, 2RBI, R, threw out Gerald Perry on the steal attempt
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Perez

May 30, 1984 - Rangers Ruin Brett's Return

Game #615 - Kansas City Royals, 1 @ Texas Rangers, 7

George Brett spent the last twenty games on the disabled list, so it was a lot of fun to have him back in the KC lineup.  He responded by being the typical George Brett; he went 2-4 with a double.  But the Rangers recorded six straight hits in the bottom of the first, mostly off Charlie Liebrandt's pitcher card or infield hits, and those dinks and dunks led to a five run deficit the Royals never recovered from.

Frank Tanana mowed down the depleted Royals offense.  Though Brett is back they still have several of their stars on the DL.  Tanana lasted eight innings and only gave up one run while striking out three.  He had to work extra hard, too, because the Texas infield committed three errors in the game.

Winning Pitcher - Frank Tanana
Losing Pitcher - Charlie Liebrandt
Player of the Game - Frank Tanana
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett