Your weekly blasts from the past are here! Knowing that right now you’re struggling to contain your enthusiasm, we’ll get right to this week’s stories.
One-Hit Shutout in Debut
April 26, 1902: In his major league debut, 22-year-old right-hander Addie Joss of the Cleveland Blues tossed a complete game, one-hitter in defeating the St. Louis Browns, 3-0. The uncredited wire service reporter seemed unimpressed by Joss, writing that the Browns were plagued by “poor hitting” and “bad luck.” Joss would go on to enjoy a nine-year career with the Blues and their successor, the Cleveland Naps, posting a 160-97 record with a 1.89 ERA and an all-time best 0.968 WHIP, while also becoming the fourth pitcher in baseball history to throw a perfect game. He died in 1911 after collapsing on the field during a spring exhibition game. In 1978, the Veterans Committee waived the ten-year minimum major league career requirement and elected him to the Hall of Fame.
Heading for Barcelona
April 27, 1971: “I tried. A year [and] one half was too much. Very serious personal problems mounted every day. Thanks for your confidence and understanding.”
That was the wording of a telegram received by Washington Senators president Bob Short. It was sent from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The writer was his center fielder, Curt Flood, who was getting ready to board a flight to Barcelona, Spain. This was Flood’s retirement from baseball.
Flood enjoyed a stellar career with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1958 to 1969, including seven Gold Glove Awards, three All-Star appearances, and two World Series championships. After the 1969 season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in a multi-player deal, with the key figure coming to St. Louis being Dick Allen. Flood refused to report to Philadelphia. In a letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn dated the following Christmas Eve, he began, “After twelve years in the Major Leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes.” Flood sued Major League Baseball, challenging the reserve clause, and ultimately lost. He moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, and sat out the 1970 season, hence the reference in his telegram to “a year [and] one half.”
Short saw an opportunity to grab some headlines and generate enthusiasm for his Senators. He offered Flood, now a free agent, a $115,000 contract to play for 1971. He also engineered a trade with the Detroit Tigers to obtain Denny McLain, who won 31 games for the world champions in 1968 but was a mere shadow of his old self by 1970. Sport ran a famous photo of Flood and McLain posing with manager Ted Williams in spring training. Williams looks grim, like he’s having difficulty hiding his unhappiness with these roster additions.
The man who fought the commissioner (Flood v. Kuhn), the last 30-game winner, and the last .400 hitter.
OF Curt Flood, P Denny McLain, and manager Ted Williams of the Washington Senators. (Spring training, 1971.) #MLB pic.twitter.com/pe4Hp8A0S5
— Alex Cheremeteff (@AlexCheremeteff) July 24, 2018
Indeed, in his autobiography, Williams cited the McLain trade as one of the reasons for his resignation after the team had moved to Texas. McLain was 10-22 in his lone season as a Senator, and Flood was 7-for-35 for Washington before being benched and then calling it quits. Short told Associated Press, “He was somewhat disappointed that he hadn’t come around as expected. . . I know his attitude, conduct and whole manner around the club has been a pleasure to the front office and I know to the manager. We only would have liked him to hit better earlier.”
Billy IV
April 28, 1985: “I just can’t understand all these teams changing managers the way they do. The lack of stability is alarming. . . It’s startling to me how many teams changed managers this year.”
That was New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, speaking to Associated Press after announcing that Yogi Berra would be returning as Yankees manager on October 25, 1984. Two months later, the Yankees made a splash by acquiring Yogi’s son, Dale Berra, in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the man who “just can’t understand” all the managerial changes fired Yogi after a 6-10 start, making his 13th managerial change in his 11 years as principal owner. Hence, “Billy IV,” as the papers called it, was the return of Billy Martin to the Yankee manager’s seat for the fourth time, not to be confused with “Billy 4,” the Bob Dylan song from the Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid soundtrack. Since the end of Billy III in 1983, Martin had been working as a Yankees scout, although it seemed that his duties consisted of relentlessly criticizing Yogi to Steinbrenner and lobbying for the managerial job back. Martin would lead the Yankees to a second-place finish in 1985, after which he was fired again.
Part of Steinbrenner’s motive for the change was to seize the narrative in a city where the New York Mets, with young stars like Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, had captured its imagination, but the press found the prospect of Billy IV mostly boring. Martin had “become a tired, old act – worn out and beaten,” wrote Phil Pepe of the New York Daily News. “He no longer motivates, no longer inspires. Now he breeds fear and tension and contempt. He stifles the atmosphere in the clubhouse.” The previous week, Berra told Pepe, “It’s not fun anymore. It’s tough to manage when you’re in the dugout and every move you make, you’re wondering what he’s going to say about it. The players are uptight, and you can’t play the game when you’re uptight.”
A “Dopey” Game
April 29, 1899: This game between the Pirates and St. Louis is unremarkable, but is noted here because I’m often amused by what passed for sports reporting during its infancy. This was the take by an uncredited reporter for the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette: “The game in some respects was a very brilliant one, and in other respects it was somewhat dopey, both teams taking a hand at the latter business.” Why am I reminded of the Family Guy parody of Tim McCarver?
The writer continued, “[Bill] Hoffer pitched a gilt-edged article of ball for the local team, and victory should have crowned his efforts, but unfortunately, his fellow players could not successfully connect with the curves served by Left Hander [Cowboy] Jones.” Since I brought up the subject, St. Louis won, 2-1.
Count ‘Em – Four!
April 29, 1922: At Braves Field, the New York Giants defeated the Boston Braves, 15-4, on the strength of four inside-the-park home runs. There were two by George Kelly and one each by Dave Bancroft and Ross Youngs. AP reported that Kelly’s home runs were both “misjudged flies” by right fielder Walton Cruise. Watching his batters dart around the bases must have given Giants manager John McGraw a dose of overconfidence. Giants baserunners were unsuccessful in five stolen base attempts.
Manager Becomes Answer to Trivia Question
April 29, 2011: For better or worse – I say worse – social media is part of our lives. It was part of Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen’s life, too. So much so that, after being ejected from a game by umpire Todd Tichenor two days earlier, he commented about it on Twitter, known today as X. For that, he was suspended for two games and fined by MLB, becoming the first baseball player, coach, or manager disciplined for using social media. Said a contrite Guillen, according to the AP, “I will continue to Twitter. I just won’t tweet during the game.” I wonder if MLB can suspend some of the nasty folks I encounter on social media?
Count ‘Em – Four! (Waitaminnit – Didn’t I Say This Already?)
April 30, 1961: At County Stadium, Willie Mays hit four home runs against the Milwaukee Braves, tying a major league record that still stands today and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 14-4 triumph. He was the ninth major leaguer to accomplish the feat. The victims were Braves pitchers Lew Burdette (twice), Seth Morehead, and Don McMahon. Only Moe Drabowsky was able to retire Mays, whose eight RBI were one short of another record. Mays entered the game in a 0-for-7 “slump” and admitted to United Press International that he didn’t think he’d come out of it on this evening. Instead, he had what he called “the greatest day I ever had.” There was a total of 10 home runs hit between the two teams, setting a National League record. Also connecting were the Giants’ Jose Pagan twice, his first two in the majors, Felipe Alou, and Orlando Cepeda, and Milwaukee’s Henry Aaron twice.
Restless Farewell
April 30, 1980: Pirates pitcher Bert Blyleven walked out on the team and returned home to Anaheim because he was frustrated by how manager Chuck Tanner handled him. The Pirates of that era had a strong bullpen, and Tanner never hesitated to use it, believing it was better to bring in a reliever too soon than too late. It was a big reason why the Pirates won the World Series the previous year. However, Blyleven was “frustrated” because he wasn’t reaching “a lot of personal goals,” specifically wins, shutouts, and complete games. He cited examples where he was pinch-hit for, despite pitching well, when the Pirates were losing or tied. The last straw for Blyleven was his most recent start, when he was pulled with two outs in the sixth inning after giving up four runs. He demanded a trade and felt that he couldn’t pitch for Tanner again.
“I can’t manage for one player’s personal goals,” Tanner told Dan Donovan of The Pittsburgh Press. “If I did that, I’d be letting the other 24 players down. I manage to win.”
Blyleven returned to the team two weeks later. He finished 1980 with an 8-13 record, 3.82 ERA, two shutouts, and five complete games. The Pirates traded him to Cleveland after the season. His final season was 1992. For his career, he was 287-250 with a 3.31 ERA, 242 complete games, and 60 shutouts. He got his wish; he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2011 on the strength of his numbers. But should a player who deserts his team as Blyleven did be in the Hall of Fame? I think not.
This Week’s Feel-Good Story
April 30, 2017: On a Sunday morning, Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli reported to Marlins Park for an afternoon game against the Miami Marlins, complaining of discomfort in his right foot, “discomfort” being a new word in baseballspeak for God knows what. The Pirates didn’t want to go into the game with just one healthy catcher. Their Triple-A and Double-A teams had games in Pennsylvania that afternoon, too far for any of their catchers to make it to Miami on time. Thus, the call went to the Single-A Bradenton Marauders, who had a game in nearby Port Charlotte, and catcher John Bormann, 24, who had never played above High-A. Bormann and a Bradenton coach made the three-hour trip in two hours and 15 minutes. Bormann sat as Chris Stewart started behind the dish for Pittsburgh. Later, with the Pirates trailing, 10-3, in the ninth inning, manager Clint Hurdle decided to give the young Marauder an at-bat. Bormann struck out against Jarlín García, but, as Pirates pitcher Chad Kuhl told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “He’s a major leaguer forever now.” It was the only major league appearance for Bormann, whose playing career ended two years later.
One Day, Two Milestones
May 1, 1991: In Arlington, Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers hurled the seventh no-hitter of his career, breaking his own record and defeating the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0. Meanwhile, in Oakland, the Athletics’ Rickey Henderson stole the 939th base of his career, surpassing Lou Brock to gain the top spot on MLB’s all-time stolen base list, as the A’s defeated the Yankees, 7-4.
Ryan, then 44, is the oldest pitcher ever to toss a no-hitter. The veteran right-hander broke his own record here, too, having no-hit Oakland the previous year at age 43. “It was a downer of a day physically,” Ryan told T.R. Sullivan of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “A no-hitter was the furthest thing from my mind when I came to the ballpark.” He was suffering from a stiff back, sore bones, and a bloody middle finger on his throwing hand.
“He had one of his worst warmups ever in the bullpen,” said Rangers manager Bobby Valentine. “[Pitching coach] Tom House told me his back was stiff, every bone was killing him, he feels like he’s getting old, don’t leave him out there too long.” The Blue Jays came close to getting a hit only twice. After the game, Valentine broke out a bottle of Dom Perignon that he was saving for a World Series celebration that never came during his tenure with Texas.
In Oakland, in the bottom of the fourth inning, Henderson reached first base on an error. Next, he advanced to second base on an infield hit. One out later, Henderson took off for third as the crowd roared. He slid headfirst into the bag and into the record books, beating a one-hop throw from catcher Matt Nokes. Time was called, and Henderson ripped the base from the ground and held it over his head as the crowd stood and cheered. He was greeted by his mother, Brock, manager Tony La Russa, and teammate Dave Stewart. After Brock congratulated him, Henderson, never known for his modesty, took the microphone, thanked a few people, and famously proclaimed, “Lou Brock is a symbol of great base stealing, but today I am the greatest of all time!”
Ryan’s no-hitter was the final one of his career. Henderson kept on running through the 2003 season and finished with 1,406 stolen bases. It seems unlikely that either record will ever be broken, at least not in our lifetimes. As I write this, Starling Marte is the leader among active players with 361 steals. If I had to guess, however, I can see Henderson’s record falling before Ryan’s, given how pitchers are used today. The active leader in complete games is Justin Verlander with 26. Only nine active pitchers have more than seven complete games. Unless baseball drastically changes its philosophy on how long starters can go in a game, most of today’s pitchers will be hard-pressed to end their careers with seven complete games, let alone seven complete-game no-hitters. Think about that.
