What A Game ! ! ! : Thursday, September 18th, 1969

Scores

CHI 3, PHI 0  W-Selma 11-14 L-Wise 11-15  Selma 11 K's.

NY 4, MON 3  W-Taylor 7-3 L-Waslewski 4-3  S-McGraw(24)  HR-Clendenon 2(24) Staub(30)

STL 6, PIT 3  W-Giusti 4-4 L-Blass 15-8  S-Hoerner(14)  HR-Torre(12)

LA 3, ATL 1  W-Singer 22-8 L-P.Niekro 15-13  HR-Kosco(16)  

CIN 11, SD 3  W-Maloney 19-10  L-J.Niekro 9-14  HR-Tolan(18)

SF 10, HOU 9 (11inns)  W-Herbel 6-3 L-Guinn 0-2  HR-Menke(8) Bonds(23) Hunt(2)  Fuentes 2-out walk-off single.


Two weeks and 68 games to go.

"Why can't you just trust me?!?"

This is where it gets good, ball fans! The Giants faced the Astros at Candlestick, needing a win to keep pace with the Dodgers. The Astros stink but can be dangerous in any given game. Add to that, the Giants had to send the sketchy Mr. Bolin to the hill; despite his 15-10 record, he isn't very reliable. The Astros countered with bullpen reclamation project Wade Blasingame.

"So what if it landed in the front row. I didn't want to hit Uecker!"

Bolin went straight out there and coughed up three singles, punctuated with an error by Ron Hunt. Two runs came across, and only a double play saved the inning for Bob. In the bottom of the first, the fumble-fingered Mister Hunt, known more for being hit with baseballs than for hitting them out of the park, belted his 2nd dinger to cut the score to 2-1. But, behold! Bolin settled down, and the Giants tallied 3 in the 4th and 2 more in the 6th to take a commanding 6-2 advantage. 

The immortal Julio Gotay.

Lookin' good for San Francisco, right? Wrong. Mr. Bolin, despite having advanced to a "C", suddenly remembered who he is after retiring the first two hitters of the 7th. He walked Menke, then hit Rader to put two on. Blefary singled Menke in. Then slump-encrusted Jim Wynn, demoted to the 7th spot in the order, cued one off the end of the bat and busted it down the line. "Safe!" screamed arbiter I.C.Poorlee, because it sounded that way. Rader scored to make it 6-4, but Wynn came up lame and had to depart. At least he got his first rbi of the month. He's day to day. Johnny "Johnny Angel" Edwards greeted new pitcher Ron Bryant, brought in to face the lefty, with a single to make it 6-5, and pinch hitter Julio Gotay knocked in the tying run off of Frank Linzy, although Edwards was gunned down at third to finally end the frame. 6-6!

Drunk with success?

It stayed that way until the top of the ninth when, with Don McMahon on the mound, Doug Rader led off with a single. Curt Blefary doubled, and Tommy Davis, who had replaced Wynn, singled Rader in to make it 7-6 as the home crowd groaned. Davis, giddy with success, took off for second, but was cut down by Dick Dietz, and the rally fizzled from there. Nonetheless, the Astros handed Fred Gladding a lead to protect in the bottom of the 9th.

Is this a confident face, or what?

Ron Hunt, swinging for the fences, struck out, reminding himself to choke up and smack singles. The canny veteran Willie Mays rose to the occasion and hit a mighty fly to left center, which fell and bounced off the fence as Willie motored into third with one out! Reluctant to put the winning run on intentionally, Astro skipper Harry Walker had Gladding pitch to Willie McCovey, who grounded to third. There was nothing Mays could do but get back to the bag and watch McCovey be thrown out for the second out. The air seemed to go out of the crowd. Jim Ray Hart was the last hope for San Franciso. He lined a clean single to center, scoring Mays and causing the home crowd to go wild. 7-7! Dick Dietz struck out, and extra innings (again!) were on tap in San Fran.

"Watch this!"

The joy was short-lived when an exhausted Mr. McMahon--done in not only from all the extra innings lately, but also from handing out sweepstakes prizes--gave up a two-run bomb to Denis Menke in the top of the 10th to give Houston a 9-7 lead. The crowd gnashed their teeth and rent their garments and called McMahon unkind names as Menke circled the sacks. Gladding, given a second chance to close it out, gave up a pinch single to Tito Fuentes to lead off the bottom of the 10th, but he was erased on a double play ball by fellow pinch hitter Bobby "Call me Melissa" Etheridge. Dark clouds blocked the sun as the Giants seemed done. But wait! Clyde King sent up a third straight pinch hitter, little Don Mason, who ripped a double! Up stepped Bobby Bonds, 0-for-5, all strikeouts. Harry Walker stroked his chin and eyed Ron Hunt, an on-base machine, on deck, and decided not to walk the flailing Mr. Bonds and put the tying run on base with Mays and McCovey lurking behind Hunt. BAM! Bonds launched a Gladding pitch into the left field stands and the fans lost their minds! 9-9! Hunt then made the third out, naturally, as Walker did violence to the Gatorade dispenser. 

"I'm too sexy for my shirt...so sexy that it hurts..."

Ron "Herbal Essence" Herbel, the last man in the Giants bullpen, was made to cut short his totally organic experience and enter the game in the top of the 11th. He disposed of Hector Torres, Marty Martinez and Joe Morgan in order. On came Skip Guinn for the Astros, the man with an e.r.a. above 12, the highest by far in the entire league. Hey, there just wasn't anyone else! He managed to retire Mays, but slap-hitter Willie McCovey dinked a single and was pinch run for by kid flyhawk Dave Marshall. Jim Ray Hart, the hero of the 9th inning, stepped up and the crowd went bananas. Come on, Jim! But he fanned, and everybody moaned. Last chance--Dick Dietz. He took pitch after pitch, fouled off a few, and finally worked a walk, putting runners on first and second for Tito Fuentes, who had stayed in the game at third. Guinn delivered. Fuentes swung and lofted a dying quail into left field. Marshall steamed around third and headed for home, arms and legs pumping as the crowd held its breath and left fielder Marty Martinez scooped up the ball and fired it home. In came the ball. In came Dave Marshall. Plate umpire "Hell" Enkeller leaned forward to get a good look and called Marshall....SAFE! Astro catcher Johnny Edwards spun on his heel in frustration and stared heavenward as the Giants poured out of the dugout to mob Marshall and Fuentes. 10-9 Giants in eleven innings! What a game. The Giants now welcome L.A. into Candlestick for a three game weekend series. Hang on to your hats!

16 HR for Montreal in 2 months, 8 for the Mets in 3.

In other news, Andy Kosco's 3-run jack in the bottom of the first inning sunk Phil Niekro and the Braves, as Bill Singer made it stand up the rest of the way. In Montreal, Donn Clendenon suddenly remembered how to hit home runs, and socked two of them, including a 2-run 9th inning heartbreaker. Nonetheless, a Cardinal victory over the Pirates mathematically eliminated the Mets. One reason I chose to play '69 NL was to see whether I could make them win it again; now I have my answer, a resounding "No!" I don't think anybody could. It was truly a miracle that such a light-hitting crew won a hundred games. But who cares about that? Bring on Dodgers-Giants!

 

Total Insanity At Shea! : Tuesday, June 24th, 1969

Scores!

CHI 4, PIT 3  W-Aguirre 2-2 L-Dal Canton 3-4  Beckert 2-out walk-off single.

MON 3, STL 2  W-Robertson 6-6 L-Carlton 10-4  S-McGinn(2)  HR-Bailey(4) Jones(8)

NY 12, PHI 11 (11inns)  W-McGraw 3-5 L-Palmer 0-1  HR-D.Johnson 2(8) Money(3) Swoboda(3)phGW  Money 4 rbi, Swoboda 1-out solo pinch hit walk-off HR.

NY 4, PHI 3 (12inns)  W-Ryan 1-0 L-Wilson 1-7  HR-Joseph(3) Agee(11) Dyer(1)ph  Money 5 hits, Garrett 0-out walk-off single.

LA 7, ATL 3  W-Osteen 7-3 L-Reed 6-5  HR-Haller(7) H.Aaron(22)

CIN 6, SD 3  W-Culver 6-1 L-Santorini 3-13 HR-Bench(9)  Tolan 4 rbi.

HOU 2, SF 0  W-Dierker 6-7 L-Marichal 6-7 HR-Wynn(11)  Dierker 1-hitter


In a season replay like this one, when it's all over, only a very few games stand out enough to be remembered when it's all said and done. In my 1967 AL, I remember Boston staying alive with a nail-biter win against the Tigers, and Don Mincher's total destruction of his former Twins teammates. In my '65 replay I recall Ron Perranoski going down in flames as the eventual champion Reds beat back the Dodgers in a September series. In '61 I remember Orlando Cepeda's quest for 60 HR going down to the last day, when he had to settle for 59. And when '69 NL is done, I think I'll remember the Mets sweeping the Phillies in a crazy doubleheader at Shea Stadium that may have finally set the Mets on the winning track. Fasten your seat belts. Here we go!

Sleepers Awake!

Game 1. Don Money pretty much sleep-walked through the season until I finally benched him recently in favor of lantern-jawed Terry Harmon. However, doubleheaders got Money back in there and he has done nothing but rake ever since. In the top of the first, he launched a 2-out 3-run bomb off of Gary Gentry to stake the Phils to a 3-0 lead.  The Mets came back in the bottom of the 1st with 2 off of Billy "Spark Plug" Champion. Top of the third, Phils take a 5-2 lead, only to see the Mets cut it to 5-4 in the bottom of the 3rd. By the end of the 4th, the game was tied 6-6 and both starters had hit the shower. The last two Mets runs were courtesy of not one, but two errors by Ric Joseph, doing an impression of a first baseman.

Even his mother doesn't remember him.

Enter Cal Koonce, whose first official act was to give up a single to Larry Hisle and a two-run shot to Deron Johnson for an 8-6 Phillies lead. The forgettable Al Raffo held the Mets in check for three innings. Then in the bottom of the 7th, a barrage of singles off of Turk Farrell resulted in 4 runs and a 10-8 Mets lead. Enter relief ace Tug McGraw to pitch the 8th. The Mets were feeling good.

He's happy.

Rich Barry had the audacity to collect a two-out single, followed by an rbi double off the bat of error-prone Ric "Chief" Joseph, making the Nez Perce tribe happy, and making the score 10-9. Up stepped Terry Harmon, who insulted Mr. McGraw by lining a single that scored Joseph with the tying run. 10-10! The Mets came right back against hapless Quaker reliever Billy Wilson. Tommie Agree rattled a double off the wall leading off the last of the 8th, and was immediately driven in on an Ed Kranepool single. 11-10 Mets and another chance for McGraw to nail it down. But no! Deron Johnson led off the top of the 9th with his second homer of the game, knotting it up again at 11. Good grief! 

He'll end this.

Somehow Mister McGraw kept the Phils off the board in the 10th and 11th, working 4 innings in all. As a converted starter, he could handle it. Lowell Palmer blanked the Mets in the 10th, and got Wayne Garrett leading off the last of the 11th. Manager Gil "Gill Man" Hodges bobbed up out of his tank and sent Ron Swoboda up the dish to hit. Palmer delivered his pitch and Swoboda killed it, sending it far over the wall for a crazy 12-11 win. How about THAT?!

Doctor No.

Game 2. After the two teams combined for 23 runs on 34 hits in the opener, they took the field in the nightcap for a very different kind of game. Through 8 innings, Grant Jackson and hard-luck Mets starter Jim McAndrew matched zeroes on the board, with just this one difference: Jackson had a no-hitter going through 8! In the top of the 9th, Don Money--who would end up going 7-for-11 for the two games--led off with a double down the line and was bunted along to third by Harmon. With the absurd Vic Roznovsky due up, Mike Ryan was sent to hit for him, and "Irish" lofted a sac fly to give the Quakers a slim 1-0 advantage. Nobody was happier about it than Grant Jackson.

It's gone!

With the pitcher's spot up first in the bottom of the ninth, Gill Man pulled third string backstop Duffy Dyer out of the seaweed and sent him to face Mr. Jackson. Nothing like sitting around on the bench for six hours or so and then being asked to break up a no-hitter in the 9th! But that's exactly what he did. Dyer drove a Jackson pitch out of the park for his first homer all season, good for a 1-1 tie. The crowd at Shea--and your Impartial Goddess--went completely insane. Ya gotta believe! 

Raw suckage.

With Tug McGraw totally used up, reliever Ron Taylor toed the slab for the Metropolitans in the top of the tenth. Joseph:HR. Briggs: double. Hisle: double. Johnson: single. Money: single. Luckily for New York, Briggs had brilliantly gotten himself picked off second, but the Phillies plated 2 on 5 hits before Taylor finally got them out. 3-1 Phils into the last of the tenth. Dyer's heroic home run was looking like it wouldn't be enough, and after all this, the Mets were staring down a split with the last place Philadelphians. 

He's got the moves!

Grant Jackson had lost his no-no, but still carried a 1-hitter and a two-run lead into the bottom of the tenth. "I scoff at namby pamby 2016 hurlers!" said Jackson as he took his warm-ups. One pitch--BOOM!--one run, on a mammoth shot by Tommie Agee, cutting it to 3-2. Jackson then fanned Jerry Grote and retired Ed Kranepool before surrendering a double to that man, Ron Swoboda. Out trudged whoever the f--- the Phillies manager was, making the signal to the bullpen for John Boozer, who had to be dragged off his bar stool and handed a glove and cap. Ed Charles, due up next, was called back to the Black Lagoon by Gill Man, and lefty-swinging Wayne Garrett hit for him. Two out, one run down. Boozer dealt, and Garrett hit a seeing-eye single, scoring Swoboda with the tying run! Holy heck! J.C Martin hit for the pitcher and also singled, but Boozer managed to retire Ken Boswell to end the frame. 3-3 after 10!

"Usher Man is strong"

Kid fireballer Nolan Ryan found himself summoned from the pen, and he disposed of the Phillies in the 11th, fanning two. Billy Wilson came on to stop the Mets in the bottom of the 11th, also fanning a pair. In the top of the 12th, Ryan fanned larry Hisle, but then gave up back to back singles by Johnson and Money. Fans were nervous, but Noley disposed of Cookie Rojas and Mike Ryan to end the threat! Bottom of the 12th: Billy Wilson walked Ed Kranepool to start things off. Ron Swoboda hit a worm-burner to Don Money at short, and it looked bad for a second for the Mets, but Money reminded his skipper--whoever he is--about why he had gotten benched, by booting the ball, leaving runners on the corners with nobody out. Gil Hodges scanned up and down his bench for a pinch runner for Kranepool, but found he had run through his roster and had to take his chances with Ed The Beer Truck. So be it. Up stepped Wayne Garrett, the hero of the 10th inning. He flailed at a Wilson delivery and sent the ball wobbling on an arc towards Mr. Money, who leapt, reached, and watched helplessly as the ball fell behind him on the grass for a walk-off hit. Mets sweep, Phillies weep. What a pair of games!

The Orsino Board allowed him his whimper of protest.

There was other action: The Cubs beat the Pirates again at Wrigley to move back ahead of them into second; Larry Dierker outdueled Juan Marichal at the Dome, 2-0, allowing only a single to lead off the second by Bob Burda; and the Expos rode a pair of solo homers to top Steve "Carlton your door man" Carlton and the Cardinals, but none of it could compare to the insanity at Shea.