Later that day Dr. King gave his iconic “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple. The next evening Dr. King was felled by an assassin’s bullet as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel. The repercussions of this horrific act sent shock waves throughout the nation. President Lyndon Johnson declared April 7, 1968, a National Day of Mourning while many events around the country were canceled or postponed.2

From its earliest days, baseball has served the American people in their times of need. From benefit games for bereaved families to operating during World War II when fascism threatened the world, the sport has stood tall. Its cathartic nature was never more evident than in the inspirational games played in New York after the 9/11 attacks.

The start of the 1968 baseball season was just days away when Dr. King was assassinated. The opening games were postponed after Pittsburgh Pirates players Roberto Clemente and Dave Wickersham informed general manager Joe L. Brown that they would not play on April 8 or April 9, the latter being the day of Dr. King’s funeral. In a statement on behalf of the Pittsburgh players, they said: “We are doing this because we white and black players respect what Dr. King has done for mankind.”3 In St. Louis, Bob Gibson and Orlando Cepeda conveyed similar sentiments to the Cardinals’ front office.

Soon after, Commissioner William Eckert pushed all of the games back to April 10. Even with this show of solidarity from the major leagues, the players wanted to do more to honor the revered civil rights leader. This included contacting Joseph Peters, who had recently been named sports project director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The players’ goal was to put on a benefit baseball game in Dr. King’s honor. Possibility became reality when Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley offered the use of his ballpark. The initial plan was to hold the MLK tribute game there in March of 1969, but the time frame was not conducive to the massive amount of logistics involved with coordinating this type of event.

With the advantages of another year of planning, the game was scheduled for March 28, 1970, at Dodger Stadium. The teams were designated as the East and West All-Stars. Each major-league franchise provided two players for the game. The rosters were assembled geographically from the six-team divisions that baseball had instituted the previous season, not by their specific leagues.

The players were picked by the Southern California Sportscasters’ Association and the Los Angeles-Anaheim Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Joe DiMaggio was named manager of the East All-Stars. He had recently resigned from his dual positions of coach and executive vice president for the Oakland A’s. DiMaggio’s coaching staff included Satchel Paige, Stan Musial, John McNamara, and Billy Martin.

Former Brooklyn Dodger Roy Campanella was the skipper for the West squad. It was the first time he had been to Los Angeles since his benefit game at the Coliseum in 1959.  Campanella’s well-respected coaches were Elston Howard, Sandy Koufax, Don Newcombe, and Don Drysdale.4

DiMaggio and Campanella drew on star-studded rosters. As of 2024, 16 players on the two teams – Henry Aaron, Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Lou Brock, Reggie Jackson, Al Kaline, Willie Mays, Joe Morgan, Tony Oliva, Frank Robinson, Ron Santo, Tom Seaver, Willie Stargell, Cepeda, Clemente, and Gibson – had been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The funds that were raised from the game were earmarked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and for the establishment of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta. The night before the game, comedian Bill Cosby hosted a dinner party at Warner Brothers Studios. The attendees included Dr. King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, civil rights leaders Ralph Abernathy and Andrew Young, and the ballplayers and their guests.     

The next day, 31,694 fans passed through the turnstiles at Dodger Stadium.5 In addition to the pregame presentations, excerpts of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech were broadcast over the PA system. Jackie Robinson, a civil rights activist and a close friend of Dr. King, was in the stands.6 A number of entertainment figures were also there, including Sammy Davis Jr., Danny Kaye, Anthony Quinn, and Greg Morris.

With a little over a week left until Opening Day and most teams in spring training in Florida or Arizona, many of the players had come long distances to commemorate Dr. King. Mays had left the San Francisco Giants in the midst of their goodwill tour of Japan, traveling 12,000 miles round trip to play in the game. Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, a reporter asked him about the long trek. “Too important to pass up,” Mays responded. He added, “At last baseball players can show their feelings about the late Dr. King, and his work, through the medium of this game.”7

Seaver, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, was the East’s starting pitcher. He was asked about flying to California while the New York Mets, coming off an improbable World Series championship, were training in Florida. Seaver responded, “If Dr. King could give his life for a cause he believed in, the least I could do was to give one day for it.8

When Boston Red Sox first baseman Ken Harrelson broke his leg nine days before the game, the Mets’ Donn Clendenon, a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta and a close friend of Dr. King’s, volunteered to take his place. Clendenon, the MVP of the 1969 World Series, said he would get to the game by any means possible, “even if I have to hitchhike.”9

Coretta Scott King threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Bench, who was catching for the West. The pregame observances concluded with veteran pitcher Mudcat Grant’s rendition of the national anthem. Emmett Ashford – the first Black umpire in American or National League history – was behind the plate.10

Seaver tossed three scoreless frames to start the game. Houston Astros right-hander Don Wilson shut out the East for the first two innings before Lew Krausse replaced him in the third. Krausse had been traded from Oakland to the Seattle Pilots during the 1969-70 offseason.11 Former Dodger Ron Fairly, now with the one-season-old Montreal Expos, blasted Krausse’s first pitch over the right-field wall, just inside the foul pole, giving the East a 1-0 lead. In the second inning Ron Santo planted one of Krausse’s offerings into the left-field stands, making the score 2-0.

Gibson followed Seaver and put up three more goose eggs. The East team plated three additional runs in the eighth inning off Mudcat Grant. Kaline started the rally with an infield hit. After an out by Tommie Agee, consecutive doubles by Brock and Clemente followed by Ken McMullen’s single wrapped up the scoring for DiMaggio’s squad.

The West scored its only run in the bottom of the eighth. Willie Davis, about to begin his 11th season with the Dodgers, singled off Phillies lefty Grant Jackson. Davis took second on a long fly to left by Aaron before racing home on Ken Berry’s pinch-hit double to center.

The game ended with the East on top 5-1. McMullen and Santo each had two hits for the winners. Sal Bando collected a pair of singles for the West in the loss. 

The Coca-Cola Company awarded the “Player’s Player Award” to Fairly in recognition of his home run. Coretta Scott King made the presentation to Fairly during a postgame ceremony. In addition, each player received a bronze medallion emblazoned with Dr. King’s image. The personalized inscription inside the box read, “For Your Participation in the Cause of Human Dignity.” The medals were sanctioned by SCLC president Ralph Abernathy and sponsored by Coca-Cola.   

The proceeds from the game netted $30,000 for the SCLC and the King Memorial Center/Library.12

After the game, Campanella told the press, “It was a heckuva day. Although we couldn’t score many runs. It was a beautiful day.”13 The two managers received Lucien Piccard watches courtesy of American Airlines, engraved with the same phrase as the King medals.14

Bowie Kuhn had replaced Eckert as commissioner in 1969. An excerpt from his statement read, “I take this opportunity to commend the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for organizing this Classic and to thank the players for their participation, entirely voluntary, to this cause.”

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bill Marston and copy-edited by Len Levin. I would like to thank Alice Schock from the Art, Music, and Recreation Department of the Los Angeles Public Library for providing me with numerous articles on the game. I would also like to thank Kurt Blumenau, Gary Belleville, and John Fredland for their assistance with this article.

Photo credit: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and the following:

Fletcher, Michael A. “When Baseball Organized an Early ‘All-Star’ Game to Remember Martin Luther King,” Andscape, January 15, 2018, https://andscape.com/features/mlb-baseball-organized-east-west-classic-1970-remembering-martin-luther-king-jr/.

Francis, Bill. “1970 Game Honored Legacy of Martin Luther King,” National Baseball Hall of Fame, https://baseballhall.org/discover/east-west-classic-1970. Accessed August 2024.

Lukas, Paul. “More on the 1970 East-West Baseball Classic,” UniWatch, March 29, 2021, https://uni-watch.com/2021/03/29/more-on-the-1970-east-west-baseball-classic/.

Markusen, Bruce. “MLK, Baseball Supported Each Other in Quest of Civil Rights,” National Baseball Hall of Fame. Accessed August 2024.

Steverson, Bryan. “Journey to Justice: The Converging Paths of Jackie Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Jackie Robinson: Perspectives on 42 (SABR, 2021), https://sabr.org/journal/article/journey-to-justice-the-converging-paths-of-jackie-robinson-and-dr-martin-luther-king-jr/.

Various issues of Jet magazine from 1970.

Notes

1 They were negotiating for a fair hourly wage and safer conditions after two employees were crushed to death in a refuse truck malfunction.  

2 Three days later Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law in honor of Dr. King.

3 Kevin Blackistone, “More Than a Ballplayer: After MLK Shooting, Roberto Clemente Halted MLB Opening Day 1968,” Washington Post, March 28, 2024. 

4 Pioneering Black players Joe Black and Larry Doby were at the ballpark in uniform that day but were not officially listed as coaches for either team.

5 Because of network scheduling issues, there was no live TV coverage. The game was rebroadcast the next day on KTLA in Los Angeles. 

 [6] In September of 1962, Robinson had spearheaded the fundraising drive to rebuild three Black churches that had been burned to the ground in Southwest Georgia. Robinson along with his wife and family, were also seated near Dr. King when he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington in August of 1963.

7 Tom Verducci, “The Greatest (Forgotten) Game Ever Played: MLB’s 1970 Exhibition to Honor MLK,” Sports Illustrated.com, January 18, 2021, https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/01/18/martin-luther-king-day-baseball-hall-of-fame.

8 Dick Couch (Associated Press), “Baseball Stars Converge on Los Angeles for East-West Tilt,” Rushville (Indiana) Republican, March 28 1970: 3. 

9 “This Is Some Team!” Los Angeles Sentinel, March 26, 1970: B3.

10 The other umpires were Don Denkinger, Stan Landes, and Mel Steiner.

11 Three days after this game, on March 31, a federal bankruptcy referee approved the sale of the Pilots to a group of investors from Milwaukee. The Pilots were rebranded as the Milwaukee Brewers for the 1970 season.

12 $30,000 in 1970 is the equivalent of about $243,000 in 2024.

13 Charles Wells, “Game of Winners,” Los Angeles Citizen News, March 30, 1970: 13.

14 Representative John Tunney, “Congressional Record Proceedings and Debates of the Congress, Volume 116, Part 19, July 23, 1970, 25697.

In the final Opening Day at Crosley Field, Cincinnati’s Jim Merritt faced Montreal’s Joe Sparma for the 2:30 P.M. first pitch. Merritt’s spring training had been curtailed by a broken right elbow; fortunately for, Merritt, he pitched with his left arm. Attempting to retrieve his son’s kite the day before leaving for spring training, Merritt fell off the roof of his California home. He was the Reds’ winningest pitcher in 1969 (17-9), and notched two wins against the expansion Expos.  Massillon, Ohio, native and former Ohio State quarterback Joe Sparma was a new addition for the Expos, joining the NL’s Canadian entry after going 6-8 with the Tigers in 1969. 

Although the ballpark was on its way out, Crosley Field’s final opener marked several debuts.  Thirty-six-year-old Sparky Anderson debuted in what would be the first of his 4,030 games as a major-league manager. The Reds tendered Anderson only a one-year contract, and Hertzel noted, “Sparky is here on a win-or-else basis.”2 Anderson was not the only addition to the Reds dugout. Six rookies made the big-league squad, and two would start on Opening Day. Bernie Carbo, the 1969 American Association most valuable player, earned the starting assignment in left field after Alex Johnson’s trade to the California Angels. Dave Concepcion would start at shortstop, and his manager’s optimism was obvious. Anderson gushed that Concepcion “could be the outstanding shortstop in baseball within a couple of years. . . . He can do things with a glove that are absolutely unbelievable.”3 Aside from his rookie additions, Anderson adjusted the lineup, making Bobby Tolan the leadoff hitter and dropping Pete Rose to the third spot. Anderson justified the switch: “I want a little more speed at the top of the order.”4

After pregame entertainment sponsored, as always, by the Findlay Market Association, the game got underway in drizzly, 48-degree weather. Merritt induced a grounder from Gary Sutherland  to Concepcion, then struck out Rusty Staub looking and Ron Fairly swinging. Sparma allowed only a two-out double to Rose, but otherwise escaped the season’s first inning unscathed. In fact, both pitchers put zeros on the scoreboard through the first three innings. The only blemish to Merritt’s pitching line was a leadoff walk to Bob Bailey in the second, but Johnny Bench threw out Bailey attempting to steal second base. Before the season, Bench noted, “I’d like to improve defensively behind the plate.”5 The Reds catcher was off a good start. Expos third baseman Coco Laboy’s one-out error permitted Lee May to reach base in the Reds’ second, but grounders by Carbo and Concepcion ended the inning. Merritt singled against his opposite number to lead off the home third, and Rose later walked, but Tony Perez stranded two baserunners with an inning-ending strikeout. The Montreal Gazette’s Ted Blackman deemed Sparma’s effort “satisfactory” through three innings.6

Again facing the top of the Expos order in the fourth, Merritt achieved another three-up, three-down inning to match the result from the first inning. Sparma, however, would not hold serve facing the Reds in the home half. Bench led off by doubling into center field. May, who enjoyed a successful spring by batting .397,7 worked the count full before blasting the payoff pitch over the scoreboard in left field. May’s shot certainly received notice. Anderson later opined, “May hit that one into the wind. No man should be that strong. But he is.”8 Third-base coach Alex Grammas added, “I’ve never seen a ball hit that hard.”9 The Reds led 2-0.

Carbo followed May to the plate. Although he grounded out in his first major-league at-bat, his second ended much differently. With 15 family members in attendance,10  Carbo sent Sparma’s third pitch of the at-bat into the bleachers. Carbo surprised himself with his home-run ball. “I felt I hit it pretty well,” the rookie said. “Then I couldn’t believe it was a home run. My first thought was, ‘Oh, My God.’”11  In the excitement of the moment, Carbo streaked around the bases, prompting commentary from fellow outfielder Rose, who offered that “Bernie was so excited when he hit that one out he forgot to give it the home-run trot. He must have circled the bases in 14 seconds.”12  The Reds mobbed Carbo when he returned to the dugout. With none out in the fourth, the Reds had opened a 3-0 lead.

Sparma regained enough composure to strike out Concepcion in the next at-bat, before Merritt grounded to first baseman Fairly for an unassisted out. After taking Sparma’s pitch for ball one, leadoff hitter Tolan hit a hard line drive into the right-field bleachers to make the score 4-0.  Tommy Helms grounded out to shortstop Bobby Wine to end the frame, but the damage was done. 

If the Expos intended to rally in the top of the fifth, their effort ended meekly. Merritt retired the side in order with a strikeout, groundout and fly out to keep Montreal scoreless and hitless. Sparma’s afternoon did not improve in the home fifth as nature provided an assist to the Reds. Leading off, Rose sent a fly ball into center field. With the wind carrying the ball, Adolfo Phillips misjudged the play and tripped as the ball sailed out of his reach. The result was a triple for Rose. Sparma next walked Perez, then struck out Bench for the first out. Phillips correctly judged May’s ball for the second out, but the fly scored Rose for a 5-0 Reds lead. The RBI was May’s third of the game. Sparma walked Carbo to extend the inning before striking out Concepcion for the second time. That strikeout was Sparma’s final action of the day.

Before the game, Anderson said he expected six innings of work from Merritt.13  With the Reds starter also keeping the Expos hitless through six innings, Merritt clearly exceeded his manager’s expectations. In the Expos’ seventh, Sutherland popped up to May at first base, but Staub ended the no-hit bid by driving Merritt’s slider 390 feet against the right-center fence for a triple.14  Merritt insisted the no-hitter was not on his mind. “No, I wasn’t thinking about the no-hitter at all. I’ve never been this close before but I told myself a long time ago that if I ever did, I wouldn’t start worrying about it until there was only one more batter to get out.”15  Fairly’s checked-swing single into center field brought home Staub for the first Expos run. Montreal would get no closer than 5-1 as Bailey’s grounder to Concepcion and Laboy’s popup to May ended the visitors’ seventh.

Merritt continued his mastery of the Expos during the final innings. Phillips and John Boccabella hit consecutive popups to start the eighth inning. After walking Wine, Merritt struck out Ron Brand looking to end the inning. Sutherland led off the Expos’ ninth by singling into center field and advanced to second base when Staub’s groundball allowed May an unassisted out at first base. Fairly’s ball landed in Tolan’s glove before Carbo ended the game (and his successful debut) by hauling in Bailey’s fly ball. With the game over, the Reds surrounded Merritt in celebration.

After the game, Merritt’s performance was the topic of discussion. He gave this self-assessment: “I had fantastic control. That was the biggest thing I had going for me.”16  His catcher may have had the best perspective for judging his batterymate.  Bench said, “This is early in the year but his control was pure July.”17  Reds pitching coach Larry Shepard noted, “Jim stayed ahead of the hitters. That’s the secret of going the route.”18  With his one-year contract combined with high expectations, Anderson started his major-league managerial career on the hot seat. For one day, Merritt and his teammates allowed their manager an easy afternoon. Anderson said of the game, “I just sat on the bench and enjoyed a nice relaxed time.”19

This article was published in “Cincinnati’s Crosley Field: A Gem in the Queen City” (SABR, 2018), edited by Gregory H. Wolf. To read more articles from this book at the SABR Games Project, click here.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted baseball-reference.com, retrosheet.org, and The Sporting News, April 11, 1970.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197004060.shtml

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04060CIN1970.htm

Notes

1 Bob Hertzel, “Reds Change a Few – They Spell Pennant,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 6, 1970: 2.

2 Ibid.

3 George (Sparky) Anderson, “‘We Will Be Tough to Beat,’” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 6, 1970: 2.

4 Ibid.

5 Earl Lawson, “Sing in Las Vegas? It Sounds Good to Bench,” The Sporting News, April 18, 1970: 3.

6 Ted Blackman, “Reds Big Guns Shell Expos,” Montreal Gazette, April 7, 1970: 42.

7 Bob Hertzel, “Reds Win, 5-1, Behind Merritt,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 7, 1970: 33.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Earl Lawson, “Reds Parlay Power, Merritt for Go-Go Getaway,” The Sporting News, April 18, 1970: 9.

11 Bill Ford, “Carbo’s Jitters Didn’t Last Long,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 7, 1970: 33.

12 Lawson, “Reds Parlay Power.”

13 Lawson, “Reds Parlay Power,” 10.

14 Blackman, “Reds Big Guns”; Hertzel, “Reds Win.”

15 Blackman, “Reds Big Guns.”

16 Hertzel, “Reds Win.”

17 Ibid.

18 Lawson, “Reds Parlay Power”: 9.

19 Ford, “Carbo’s Jitters.”

It had been a long wait. The last time County Stadium hosted a major-league game for a hometown team was September 22, 1965, when the Milwaukee Braves lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-6, but on Tuesday, April 7, 1970, the Milwaukee Brewers inaugurated a new era by hosting the California Angels. Milwaukee once again was major league!

It had been an exciting offseason for Milwaukee baseball fans as former Braves minority owner Bud Selig continued his efforts to purchase the financially struggling Seattle Pilots and move them to Milwaukee. The Pilots ownership gave Selig permission to buy the team on March 16, 1970, but the state of Washington filed an injunction to stop the sale. However, on April 1 federal bankruptcy referee Sidney Volinn ruled that the Pilots were bankrupt, clearing the path to move them to Milwaukee. The relocation happened only a week before the Brewers’ home opener, denying Selig the opportunity to change the team’s colors to navy blue and red, similar to those of his favorite childhood team, the American Association’s Milwaukee Brewers. The team was forced to use the Pilots’ uniforms, with the word “Brewers” covering up the previous name.

Another issue the Brewers organization faced because of the short time before the home opener was ticket sales. The Brewers sold about 2,650 season tickets, and 15,700 for the home opener by the time the ticket office closed on Sunday, April 5. The only single-game tickets being sold were for the first two games against the Angels. Only on Friday, April 10, did all single-game tickets go on sale. The Brewers recognized the support of the fans who bought season tickets for the Chicago White Sox games that were played in Milwaukee in 1969, giving them the opportunity to renew their seat locations for the Brewers’ season.

On the 7th the weather cooperated with clear skies and temperatures in the upper 50s on a fairly windy afternoon. A paid attendance of 36,107 (the final number announced by the Brewers after complimentary and unpaid admissions was 37,237) saw the Brewers get pounded by the Angels, 12-0.

The Angels’ 24-year-old right-hander Andy Messersmith had his fastball working as he struck out 11, giving up only four hits and walking four.

The Angels jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Leadoff hitter Alex Johnson tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jim Spencer. They added three runs in the third with a two-out uprising. Sandy Alomar singled and stole second, then Jim Fregosi walked. Bill Voss hit a fly ball to left that Danny Walton misplayed into a two-run triple. Voss scored the third run on a wild pitch by Brewers starter Lew Krausse, giving California a 4-0 lead.

After the Brewers failed to score with the bases loaded in the third, the Angels scored four runs in the top of the fourth against Milwaukee’s new pitcher, John Gelnar. Jim Spencer reached second base on an error by center fielder Russ Snyder, and scored on a double by Roger Repoz. Jose Azcue doubled in Repoz to make it 6-0. Aurelio Rodriguez’s single scored Azcue and chased Gelnar to the showers. George Lauzerique entered and struck out Messersmith, but consecutive singles by Sandy Alomar and Jim Fregosi drove in Rodriguez with the fourth and final run of the inning for an 8-0 lead. The inning also saw Alex Johnson ejected for shouting at plate umpire Ed Runge from the on-deck circle.

The Angels added three more runs in the seventh inning off the Brewers fourth pitcher of the day, Bob Meyer. Voss walked to lead off the inning and Jay Johnstone, who had replaced Johnson in left field, sacrificed him to second base. Spencer singled, driving in Voss, and Repoz tripled to bring in Spencer. Meyer got the second out by striking out Azcue, but Rodriguez singled in Repoz to make the score 11-0.

The Angels  scored a final run in the top of the eighth. Fregosi led off with a double and went to third on an error by Brewers right fielder Steve Hovley. John Morris’s wild pitch enabled Fregosi to score.

The Brewers did have one good performance on the field. Hovley, who had been called up by the Pilots for the second half of the 1969 season, went 3-for-3 with two singles and a double.

The really great performances, however, took place in the stands as Milwaukee celebrated its return to the major leagues. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who attended the game, commented, “It’s exactly like I expected, one of the best baseball towns in the country. I was confident that the enthusiasm would be here. It’s just tremendous.”1

A number of former Milwaukee Braves were also there. Fred Haney, who had piloted the club to its only World Series championship, in 1957, later served as the Angels’ first general manager and still worked as a consultant to the club. He noted, “This is still my town. Baseball should have never left here, and it should have been back sooner. I still can’t understand why the White Sox didn’t move up here as fast as they could.”2 Eddie Mathews was excited: “It’s the greatest thing that has happened; just to live here and feel the enthusiasm is a real thrill.”3 Former shortstop Johnny Logan said, “This is tremendous thing for the kids. They can look forward someday to playing here as a Brewer and not have to think in terms of playing for the Cubs or the White Sox.”4

But the Brewers were disappointed in their performance. Manager Dave Bristol commented, “These fans were great. They were just dying for something good to yell about, but we let them down.”5

This article appears in “From the Braves to the Brewers: Great Games and Exciting History at Milwaukee’s County Stadium” (SABR, 2016), edited by Gregory H. Wolf. To read more stories from this book at the SABR Games Project, click here.

Photo credit

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel archives.

Notes

1 “Fans’ Enthusiasm Pleases Kuhn,” Milwaukee Sentinel, April 8, 1970.

2 Chuck Johnson, “Haney Proud at Opener: This Is Still My Town,” Milwaukee Journal, April 8, 1970.

3 “Homecoming for Ex- Braves,” Milwaukee Sentinel, April 8, 1970.

4 Ibid.

5 Cleon Walfoort, “Angels Tread on Brewers.” Milwaukee Journal. April 8, 1970.

The Philadelphia Phillies planned to open the 1970 season at the new Veterans Stadium in South Philadelphia but site delays forced the club to open its home schedule at the oldest ballpark in the major leagues, 61-year-old Connie Mack Stadium, on April 6, 1970. A crowd of 15,918 attended the home opener between the Phillies and Cubs and watched as the new-look Phillies, sporting new uniforms designed to usher in a new era in Phillies baseball at Veterans Stadium, shut out the Cubs 2-0. Chris Short pitched a five-hitter against former Phillies prospect Ferguson Jenkins.

In addition to stylish new white and maroon uniforms, the Phillies debuted a new, young lineup that included two flashy rookies, Larry Bowa at shortstop and Denny Doyle at second base. Only two Phillies played the same position on Opening Day 1970 as they did on Opening Day 1969, pitcher Chris Short and Larry Hisle in center field. The new-look Phillies hoped a fresh look and youthful lineup would be the start of a special rebuild in Philadelphia after finishing fifth in the National League East in 1969 with a 63-99 record. The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin expressed as much in an April 6, 1970, column: “While Bowa and Doyle may not be aware of it, they are assuming a double burden starting tomorrow – of putting an untimely end to Philadelphia’s reputation as the city of losers and reviving lagging fan interest in the National League Phillies.”1

The Cubs on the other hand entered 1970 with a strong veteran lineup that finished the 1969 season in second place with a 92-70 record, eight games behind New York’s “Miracle Mets.” The Cubs’ second-place finish was their highest since they won the National League pennant in 1945. The club was expected to compete for the pennant in 1970.

Opening Day 1970 was also Phillies skipper Frank Lucchesi’s first game as a major-league manager. He was a veteran manager, having spent 19 years guiding squads in the minor leagues, but was awestruck on this day. “I came to the park early,” he told Evening Bulletin reporter Ray Kelly, “and went out and looked around the empty stands. Then I stood in the dugout and thought what an honor it was to be in the same place where Mr. Connie Mack managed those great Athletics teams. It made me feel humble.”2 Lucchesi’s first Opening Day in the big leagues was the last in history for the aged ballpark but the Philadelphia fans made it a memorable one.

The 15,918 fans made it sound as though the ballpark was filled to capacity when the opening lineups were announced. The famous Philadelphia fans erupted and left an indelible impact on the Phillies players. Veteran pitcher Chris Short simply said, “It was unbelievable.” Phillies third-base coach George Myatt said he had never experienced anything like the ovation in his 35 years in baseball. Phillies pitcher Joe Hoerner, acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason, said, “I actually got goose pimples. Third baseman Don Money said, “After that kind of reception there was no way we could lose.” Lucchesi said he choked up. “I shed a tear or two,” he said. “Let’s face it, these people gave me, a complete stranger, an ovation and I hadn’t even managed a ballgame yet.”3

Phillies starting pitcher Chris Short was off his mark in the first inning but made it through unscathed. He walked Don Kessinger to open the frame and surrendered a single to center by Glenn Beckert. When Billy Williams grounded out to first, Kessinger and Beckert moved up. Ron Santo popped to second base. Short then walked Ernie Banks to load the bases but got out of the inning when Johnny Callison grounded to first base.

The Phillies’ rookie double-play combination led off the home half of the first inning. Larry Bowa popped out to shortstop. Denny Doyle singled to right but was tagged out at second trying to stretch his hit into a double. Next up, Larry Hisle doubled to right field but the scoring threat ended when Deron Johnson popped out to third.

Both Short and Cubs starter Fergie Jenkins set their opponents down in order in the second inning.

Short held the Cubs scoreless in the third inning, then the Phillies broke the ice in the home half of the frame. Don Money led off with a double to left and took third on Short’s grounder to second. Money held third as Bowa grounded to second. Then Doyle tripled to center, scoring Money. Larry Hisle grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

The score remained 1-0 from the fourth through the top of the seventh inning, though the Phillies threatened in the sixth. With one out, Denny Doyle got his third hit, a single to left, and went to second on Hisle’s single. But Doyle was caught attempting to steal third as Deron Johnson struck out, completing an inning-ending double play.

In the bottom of the seventh, Tony Taylor singled through shortstop with one out. After Tim McCarver flied out to left, Money doubled to center, scoring Taylor. Short’s groundball ended the frame. Money’s RBI gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead going into the eighth inning.

Down two runs, Cubs manager Leo Durocher had Cleo James pinch-hit for Jenkins, who had thrown 94 pitches over seven innings and given up the two runs, eight hits, and one walk. Short retired James on a groundball to shortstop. Kessinger popped out to first and Beckert grounded out to second to end the inning. The Phillies failed to plate a run in the bottom of the inning.

Christ Short made short work of the Cubs’ hitters in the top of the ninth inning and sent Williams, Santo, and Banks down in order to cap his shutout, achieved in a brisk 2 hours and 7 minutes. He threw 128 pitches and gave up five hits and two walks. He struck out three.4

Little fanfare was made of the final home opener at Connie Mack Stadium. The Inquirer and the Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers, only recapped the game and included short stories about players and coaches. Leading up to the game, more coverage was given to when the new Veterans Stadium in South Philadelphia would open for business. Although the ballpark was behind schedule, it was expected that Phillies games would be played at the Vet as early as May. This didn’t happen and the opening was pushed back a year, to April 10, 1971. As the season progressed, a sense of nostalgia built for the old ballpark, culminating in festivities at the final Phillies home game on October 1, 1970.

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author accessed Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com, and SABR.org.

NOTES

1 Ray Kelly, “Bowa, Doyle Key to Phils New Image,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, April 6, 1970: 27.

2 Ray Kelly, “Lucchesi: ‘I Shed a Tear,'” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, April 8, 1970: 72.

3 Kelly, “Lucchesi: ‘I Shed a Tear,'”: 65.

4 Philadelphia Phillies 2, Chicago 0, retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04070PHI1970.htm.

The 1:35 P.M. game started under cloudy skies and with the temperature a blustery 48 degrees.1 The 34,249 fans represented the Bucs’ largest Opening Day crowd since 1948.2 New York opened the scoring quickly. Center fielder Tommie Agee singled and scored on left fielder Cleon Jones’s two-out double to right. Art Shamsky then drove Jones home with a single to spot the Mets an early two-run lead. The Pirates cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the first. Matty Alou led off with a double. After third baseman Richie Hebner struck out, Alou scored on Roberto Clemente’s single.

In the second inning the Bucs tied the score. First baseman Al Oliver tripled deep to the 436-foot mark in right-center and later scored on catcher Jerry May’s sacrifice fly to right field.

Meanwhile, another wall marker looked conspicuous in left-center field. The bricks around the 406-foot mark appeared newer than the rest of the surrounding masonry. Before Opening Day, the Pirates had removed the original section of wall over which Bill Mazeroski hit his walk-off home run to win the 1960 World Series over the New York Yankees. The Bucs relocated the historic patch of wall to decorate the Allegheny Club at Three Rivers Stadium, which would host its first Opening Day in July.3

By the third inning the cloudy skies prompted the umpires to order that the lights be turned on. It seemed to help the Mets. Agee’s second single opened their half of the inning. After stealing second base, he moved to third on shortstop Bud Harrelson’s ground out. The Mets reclaimed the lead, 3-2, when third baseman Joe Foy drove Agee home with the game’s second sacrifice fly.

Both pitchers gained control over their next three frames. Seaver allowed a harmless double by Hebner in the third inning before retiring the next seven batters through the fifth inning. Blass survived his next 10 outs by scattering two doubles and an intentional walk around a couple of clutch strikeouts and a groundout to close the top of the sixth inning.

As the home half of the sixth inning began, the sun suddenly broke out and so did the sunglasses for the Mets.4 The shades did not seem to help Agee as Alou tripled past him to the same spot as Oliver’s triple in the second. The Mets brought the left side of the infield in to choke off the tying run. But Clemente again teamed with Alou by punching a single to left past the drawn-in infield to tie the score at 3-3.

The score remained tied over the next four innings. Seaver scattered three singles in the seventh and eighth frames before yielding to right-hander Ron Taylor. Taylor retired the Bucs in order in the ninth, sending the Mets to their first extra innings on Opening Day.

Meanwhile, Blass continued his effectiveness, pitching through 10 innings. The Mets nearly broke the tie in the top of the 10th except for an inning-ending play at the plate. Agee opened the frame with his third hit of the game. Harrelson sacrificed him to second. After Foy popped out to the catcher, Cleon Jones, who hit .340 in 1969, came to the plate with first base open and rookie Mike Jorgensen on deck.

Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh elected to pitch to the veteran. The strategy nearly backfired. Jones checked his swing, bouncing the ball into the hole at second base. Mazeroski fielded the ball as he neared the foul line in shallow right field. Conceding first base to Jones, Maz snapped off a laser strike to the plate without breaking stride. May easily tagged out Agee trying to sneak home on the fielder’s choice.5 In the bottom of the 10th, Taylor again retired the Pirates in one-two-three fashion.

Ten complete innings exhausted Blass, who struck out nine Mets while giving up nine hits and two walks. After pinch-hitter Bob Robertson flied out for Blass in the 10th, Chuck “Twiggy” Hartenstein came on to pitch the 11th.

At this point it all fell apart for the Bucs. Jorgensen opened the inning with a hard single to left field. Ron Swoboda tried to sacrifice him to second but bunted weakly in front of the plate. May pounced on the ball from his catcher’s position, but his throw to second pulled shortstop Gene Alley off the base. The only error for either team placed runners on first and second with no outs.

Mets manager Gil Hodges ordered second baseman Wayne Garrett to try another sacrifice. Garrett’s bunt to the pitcher moved both runners into scoring position. With first base open, the Pirates intentionally walked catcher Jerry Grote to set up a double play or a force out at home.

With Taylor due to bat, lefty Ken Boswell came to the plate to pinch-hit. The Bucs countered with left-hander Joe Gibbon to face Boswell. A chorus of boos swelled as Hodges sent former Pirate Donn Clendenon to pinch-hit for Boswell.6 The cat-and-mouse game paid off for the Mets as Clendenon silenced his former fans on the first pitch. His single to center chased home Swoboda and Jorgensen with the go-ahead runs. The double play the Pirates sought came one batter too late as Agee ended the inning grounding into the twin killing, Mazeroski to Oliver.

Earlier in the game, an inebriated fan stumbled into right field to talk to Clemente.7 The ejected drunk possibly inspired some youths to also trespass in the final inning. Though it was still sunny, the cold afternoon and extra innings wore on the teens, who had played hooky to attend Opening Day.8 Once the Mets took a 5-3 lead in the 11th, many fans began to throw debris and names at the Mets right fielder, Swoboda. “I can stand the names they called me,” Swoboda smirked, “but do you know what a beer bottle does to a head? It’s not like in the movies, where they just bounce off.”9 As more trash surrounded Swoboda, umpires asked public-address announcer Art McKennan to warn fans to refrain from tossing objects onto the field.

The littering continued as Clemente drew a walk to start the 11th against the new Mets pitcher, left-hander Tug McGraw. McKennan pleaded a second time as left fielder Willie Stargell leaned on his bat to watch five grounds-crew members haul out brooms and boxes to clean the right-field warning track. (During the cleanup, no one noticed a teen race across the field to the center-field fence.) He scaled the batting cage stored against the 457-foot mark to easily hop over the 12-foot brick wall.10

Once play resumed, McGraw faced the two left-handed hitters Hodges assigned to him, Stargell and Oliver. McGraw induced them both to foul out to third baseman Foy. With two outs, several teens took turns pouring onto the field. At first just a couple jogged untouched toward the batting-cage exit. Soon, security appeared, which spurred more teens to take the challenge. Groups of two or three randomly outraced the panting guards to the batting cage. Eventually the cage collapsed, forcing the final escapees to scale the chain-link fence surrounding an adjacent light tower.11

After nearly two dozen youngsters bolted over the wall, plate umpire Augie Donatelli directed three police officers to patrol the warning track for the final out.12 At this point, McGraw struck out Alley to end the game and the shenanigans.

In 1962 Forbes Field hosted the first win by the expansion Mets. It now commemorated the Mets first win on Opening Day. Until 1970 the Mets stood as the only team without any Opening Day success. Even the four expansion teams from 1969 had recorded inaugural Opening Day victories.13 As for the Pirates, they had now played their final opener at Old Lady Forbes.14 They would play 41 more games in the historic ballpark before moving to their new home, Three Rivers Stadium, on July 16.

Fans missed Forbes Field more as each year passed. With its real grass, Schenley Park blossoming beyond its ivy-covered walls, and its cultural location in the Oakland suburbs, Forbes Field remained a gem in the minds of older Pirates fans. Three Rivers, conversely, stood downtown across the river from Point Park. This location led to a clever question about the cold, concrete cookie-cutter: why was Three Rivers Stadium so irrelevant? Because it was ‘beside the Point’!15

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, I also used the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for box score, player, team, and season pages, pitching and batting game logs, and other material pertinent to this game account.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT197004070.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04070PIT1970.htm

Notes

1 The Miley Collection, April 7, 1970. New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates. Historic Radio Broadcasts (1926-1993) Complete Game Broadcast Recordings, Baseball Direct. baseballdirect.com/product/baseball-audio/audio-broadcasts/audio-1970s/audio-.

2 “Crowds Are Up in Both Majors at ’70 Openers, Forbes Field Packed,” The Sporting News, May 2, 1970: 34.

3 Major Flashes-National League, “Memento from Maz,” The Sporting News, April 25, 1970: 26. In 2010, this wall subsequently adorned the background of Mazeroski’s statute outside the right-field entrance to the Pirates’ PNC Park.

4 The Miley Collection, April 7, 1970.

5 Roy McHugh, “Abe Keeps ’Em Honest,” Pittsburgh Press, April 8, 1970: 72.

6 Major Flashes-National League, “Donn Ignores Boos,” The Sporting News, April 25, 1970: 26.

7 Phil Musick, “Swoboda Survives Bottle Barrage – Barely: He Has Better Luck Than Batting Cage,” Pittsburgh Press, April 8, 1970: 72.

8 The Pirates traditionally played daytime openers around this time. Many youths often came down with “Buc Fever” to excuse their absence from school and explain some of the mischief.

9 Musick.

10 The Miley Collection, April 7, 1970.

11 The author attended this game, representing the passive cohort of teens who witnessed our hooky-playing classmates challenge and win all their races to the wall against the park police.

12 “How Not to Control a Crowd,” The Sporting News, April 25, 1970: 16.

13 National League Box Scores, “Mets Leave Record Book With First Opening Win,” The Sporting News, April 25, 1970: 36.

14 David Cicotello and Angelo J. Louisa, Forbes Field, Essays and Memories of the Pirates’ Historic Ballpark, 1909-1971. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2007), 9.

15 The convergence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers forms a “point” where the Ohio River originates. The triangle created by these three rivers forms “The Point,” short for Point Park. It is “Beside the Point” at which Three Rivers Stadium stood, hence creating this local pun enjoyed around the Pittsburgh area.

Cubs fans at Wrigley Field for 1970’s home opener welcomed Chicago’s North Side ballclub after the team went 1-3 in its first four games of the season. Southpaw Ken Holtzman pitched a complete game and led the home team to a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on April 14.

But the 36,316 Tuesday-afternoon attendees may have had other matters on their minds, as the world waited anxiously for news regarding the three-man Apollo 13 crew stranded in space: Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert.1

The plan had been for Lovell and Haise to land on the moon in the lunar module, conduct their moonwalking excursions, and dock with Swigert orbiting in the command module for the return trip home. NASA, however, scrapped the moon landing because an oxygen tank had exploded in the service module, forcing the trio to find refuge in the lunar module, which was designed for two astronauts.2

There had been good news from NASA that morning. In the latest of a series of complex, improvised operations designed by engineers and astronauts at NASA’s Mission Control, Apollo 13’s crew directed their spacecraft around the moon to “slingshot” it and gain speed, then fire the spacecraft for nearly 4½ minutes. The maneuver adjusted their course toward Earth. But another danger had emerged. Carbon dioxide levels were rising, which forced NASA engineers to create a device that the crew could construct from the equipment on board to lessen the gas.

The Cubs hosted two dignitaries atop the Land of Lincoln’s political spectrum, Governor Richard Ogilvie and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, in addition to ex-Cubs Lou Boudreau and Gabby Hartnett – the former threw the ceremonial first pitch to the latter.3

Milton Berle, the vaudeville and nightclub comedian turned B-movie star turned TV’s first icon, served as the “emcee” for the pregame festivities, which included putting away the wisecracks and asking the crowd to pray for the safe return of the Apollo 13 astronauts. An Associated Press photo captured the 61-year-old Berle with Ernie Banks and Ron Santo holding their Cubs hats over their heads and bowing their heads for the solemn moment.4

Apollo 13’s ordeal was a somber backdrop that made the game less a distraction and more an afterthought.

Phillies starting pitcher Chris Short had shut out the Cubs on April 7. It was his first game after a back injury limited him to only 10 innings in 1969. In this rematch a week later, however, Chicago tagged the lefty for three runs in the bottom half of the first frame. After bunt singles by Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert put runners on first and second, Short retired Billy Williams on a fly ball to left fielder Tony Taylor and struck out Santo.

With two down, however, Banks answered the hopes of Cubs fans with a double, knocking in one run and pushing Beckert to third. In the 18th season of a 19-year career, Banks joined with fellow future Hall of Famers Williams and Santo to comprise the Cubs’ heart of the order. Jim Hickman worked the count for a walk and Johnny Callison, a longtime Phil who had come to the Cubs in a November 1969 trade, got the second double of the inning, sending Beckert and Banks across the plate to give Chicago a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, Chicago readied to expand its lead. With one out, Santo walked and Banks followed with the second hit in his 3-for-4 day. Hickman singled to left, sending Santo to third. It would have been a bases-loaded scenario, but Banks took a wide turn around second base. Taylor fielded the ball and fired to third baseman Don Money. Money tossed it to second baseman Denny Doyle, who was covering third, and Banks was the second out.

Callison’s grounder to Doyle with Short covering first base extinguished the Chicago threat.

The Cubs increased their lead to 5-0 in bottom of the seventh. Dick Selma, who had pitched in 36 games for the Cubs in 1969 and joined the Phillies in the offseason trade that sent Callison to Chicago, relieved Short and gave up a leadoff double to Kessinger; Beckert’s sacrifice moved his teammate to third base. Williams, hitless in 19 at-bats to begin the season, singled to bring home Kessinger. Williams then advanced to third on Santo’s single and scored on a wild pitch by Selma.

It seemed like an easy path to victory when the Cubs took the field with a five-run lead in the top of the ninth. Philadelphia did not go quietly, though.

Taylor led off with a single, but Tim McCarver’s groundball to Beckert forced him out at second base with shortstop Kessinger covering. Money’s triple scored McCarver, breaking up Holtzman’s shutout. John Briggs’s single sent Money home, which put the tally at 5-2.

The rally stalled briefly when pinch-hitter Sam Parrilla, whose major-league career consisted of 11 games in 1970, struck out. But Holtzman gave up a home run to Ricardo Joseph, pinch-hitting for rookie shortstop Larry Bowa, which brought the Phillies within a run of tying the game.

The score stayed at 5-4; Doyle’s groundball to Santo at third base was the last at-bat.

Cubs manager Leo Durocher admitted that Joseph, who hit .273 in 99 games during the 1969 season, prompted worry about Holtzman, who went 17-11 in 1970: “There’s no way he would have faced Joseph if he had been the tying run,” the manager said.5

A victory on Opening Day should have been a positive experience for Cubs fans, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Apollo 13. But there were several fistfights in the stands. After the final out, “hundreds of young men,” as the Chicago Tribune reported, went on the field.6 Three intruders wrestled Beckert to the ground; one threw a punch at him after he freed himself.7 But the crowd dispersed, and no arrests were made.8

Holtzman was a member of the Illinois National Guard at the time. Tribune scribe Richard Dozer joked, “He was armed with ball and glove – altho [sic] sidearms may have been a better order of the day.”9

Apollo 13’s command module splashed down in the South Pacific four days later. When the astronauts had separated from the service module, they saw the effect of the explosion. “There’s one whole side of that spacecraft missing,” said Lovell.10

The drama and danger did not sway NASA from its continued mission of landing on the moon and gathering data. The NASA administrator, Dr. Thomas O. Paine pledged, “The public has learned from the casualty of Apollo 13 that the business of exploring space is indeed always risky. But there are always men who are willing to accept these risks to explore new areas.”11 NASA ended Project Apollo with Apollo 17 in December, 1972.12

Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon starred as Lovell, Haise, and Swigert in the 1995 movie Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard. It introduced the story of NASA’s finest hour to generations too young to remember the crisis or who were not yet born when it happened. Older generations were reminded of this extraordinary American tale.

The film included a tangential, real-life incident. Swigert had forgotten to file his taxes before the April 15 deadline, but he deserved an extension because he was out of the country.

On April 19 President Nixon gave the Medal of Freedom to the Apollo 13 operations team in Houston. In his remarks, the president acknowledged the flight’s tremendous resonance: “The three astronauts did not reach the moon but they reached the hearts of millions of people in America and in the world.”13 After the ceremony, he flew to Honolulu with the astronauts’ families to meet the space voyagers and present the medal. “I hereby declare that this was a successful mission – a great mission,” said Nixon.14

Sports fans are prone to calling their exemplars “heroes” because of athletic exploits. But the Apollo 13 astronauts – along with NASA’s Mission Control staff – truly earned that label in mid-April 1970. Opening Day and other baseball matters seemed less important as the world stood on the precipice of losing the first voyagers in what William Shatner had called the final frontier in his narration for the opening of Star Trek.15

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Laura Peebles and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the Sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for pertinent material and the box scores noted below.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04140CHN1970.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN197004140.shtml

Notes

1 NASA had benched Ken Mattingly for Swigert two days before the launch on April 11. It was a precaution because Charlie Duke, a member of Apollo 13’s backup crew, had the measles but Mattingly never had them as a child. Hence, he was not immune. Because of Duke’s proximity to the crew and Mattingly’s possible exposure, NASA played it safe and substituted Swigert lest Mattingly get sick in space. Mattingly was the Command Module pilot on Apollo 16. He also flew on two Space Shuttle missions.

2 “The Apollo 13 Accident,” NASA, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html (last accessed March 26, 2022). An insider’s account of Apollo 13 can be found in the 1994 book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.

3 Tom Bergstrand, “Time Out: Brisk Home Opener for C-C-Cubs,” Moline (Illinois) Daily Dispatch, April 15, 1970: 49.

4 Berle became the host of NBC’s comedy-variety program Texaco Star Theater in 1948, which is largely considered the starting point for television’s escalation to becoming a mass medium.

5 Richard Dozer, “Outlast Phils in Rebellious Home Opener,” Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1970: Section 3, 1.

6 Dozer.

7 Cooper Rollow, “Cubs Demand Police Help to Curb Unruly Crowds,” Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1970: C1.

8 Rollow.

9 Dozer.

10 “The Apollo 13 Accident.”

11 Ronald Kotulak, “Apollo 13 Crisis Won’t Slow U.S. Space Exploration, Says NASA,” Chicago Tribune, April 18, 1970: 2.

12 There were six moon landings in Project Apollo.

13 “Operations Team Gets Medal First,” Honolulu Advertiser, April 19, 1970: 3.

14 Gene Hunter, “Apollo 13, Lucky You Come Hawaii,” Honolulu Advertiser, April 20, 1970: 15.

15 As of the publication of this article in 2022, the deaths of Russia’s three-man Soyuz 11 crew in 1971 are the only ones above the Kármán line, which is considered the separator between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. It’s 62 miles above Earth. Soyuz 11 had launched on June 6 and docked with the Salyut 1 space station, where the crew stayed until June 29, then returned to the Soyuz capsule and headed for reentry. The recovery team found cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev dead. The conclusion was a fall in air pressure, which caused oxygen deprivation. Thomas O’Toole, “Valve Mishap Blamed for Soyuz Deaths,” Washington Post, October 29, 1973: A1.

On this day, the “distinguished performances”2 of veteran Kansas City pitcher Moe Drabowsky and rising offensive star Lou Piniella paced the Royals to an 8-6 victory over the Brewers. The 34-year-old Drabowsky, who had pitched for the Milwaukee Braves in 1961, was a force in the Kansas City bullpen. The Royals’ left fielder, Piniella, had won Rookie of the Year honors in 1969, and after only five games in 1970 he was batting .389 and had an OPS of .984. He had a good day at the plate this day, but his baserunning made history in a negative way, being thrown out or picked off at every base, a “cycle” of sorts.

In the top of the first, Piniella reached on an error by Brewers third baseman Max Alvis, loading the bases with two outs. (Ed Kirkpatrick and Amos Otis had walked.) Luis Alcaraz followed Piniella with a double to left field. Kirkpatrick and Otis scored easily, but Brewers outfielder Danny Walton threw to shortstop Ted Kubiak, who relayed a strike to catcher Jerry McNertney and Piniella was gunned down at the plate for the third out of the inning. The Royals led 2-0.

In the second inning, the Brewers’ Wayne Comer reached on a two-base error by right fielder Pat Kelly and scored on a single by Alvis, cutting the Kansas City lead to 2-1. In the Kansas City third, Kelly singled, stole second, and went to third on a single by Kirkpatrick. Kelly scored on Otis’s single. Bob Oliver struck out, then Piniella drove a pitch 415 feet into the left-field bleachers,3 driving in three runs. It was his first home run of the season. The Royals now led 6-1.

Milwaukee’s Steve Hovley drove in Tommy Harper with a double in the bottom of the third, but Kansas City came right back against reliever John Gelnar in the fourth on a two-run single by Otis. In the bottom of the inning, Greg Goossen hit a home run, and at the end of four innings, the Royals led 8-3.

Piniella’s next at-bat came in the fifth inning, and he hit a leadoff single to right. The next batter, Luis Alcaraz, grounded back to the third Brewers pitcher, George Lauzerique, who threw to second, forcing Piniella.

Brewers catcher Jerry McNertney drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth and Danny Walton followed with his fourth home run of the early season, cutting Kansas City’s lead to 8-5.

In the top of the seventh inning, Piniella singled to left field with one out. Alcaraz followed with a single to right field, moving Piniella to third. With Royals shortstop Jackie Hernandez batting, Piniella was picked off by McNertney, who fired to third baseman Max Alvis for the tag. In the home half, Milwaukee got a run when Hovley singled to right field, went to second on a wild pitch by reliever Roger Nelson, advanced to third on a fly ball by McNertney, and scored on a single by Danny Walton. Drabowsky relieved Nelson, and after walking pinch-hitter Russ Snyder, he retired the last seven Brewers batters he faced to earn his first save of the season.

Piniella came up to bat once more, in the top of the ninth. With Bob Oliver on first (hit by pitch) and no outs, Piniella grounded to second baseman Tommy Harper, who threw him out at first. Thus the Kansas City outfielder had been thrown out at every base in this game. But the Royals held on to beat the Brewers, 8-6.

Despite its oddity – he was the first player to be thrown out at each base in a game – Piniella’s baserunning drew little attention. Neither the Milwaukee Journal4 nor the Kansas City Star5 mentioned it.

The game lasted 3 hours and 5 minutes, and there were four errors committed in this contest, three by Milwaukee.

Piniella had hit a home run and two singles, and he raised his batting average to .435 and his OPS to 1.157. He went 3-for-5 with one run scored and three runs batted in. In his last 20 at-bats, he had 10 hits. Teammate Amos Otis was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Pat Kelly, Luis Alcaraz, and Ellie Rodriguez added two hit each. Kansas City had 11 singles among its 13 hits. Bill Butler pitched five innings for the win and Lew Krausse took the loss for Milwaukee, lasting only three innings.

The next season, on August 3, 1971 (a Kansas City 7-5 loss to Oakland), Piniella made three outs on the bases. He was thrown out in the fourth and eighth innings trying to stretch a double into a triple. In the fifth inning he singled and went to second on an outfielder’s throw to the plate. The next batter singled, and Piniella was thrown out at the plate trying to score. Sweet Lou had gone 4-for-4 in the game but had made three base-running outs in that game. The only at-bat in which he was not thrown out running was his first, when he singled to left with two outs and was stranded when Chuck Harrison struck out.

Sources

In addition to the sources mentioned in the notes, the author consulted baseball-reference.com and retrosheet.org.

Notes

Widely regarded as baseball’s hardest thrower, Ryan faced pressure to emerge as a front-line starter in 1970. He had fanned more than a batter an inning thus far in his brief career, but struggled mightily with his control and sported a lackluster 12-13 lifetime slate with a 3.42 ERA as a spot starter and reliever. He gave glimpses of his limitless potential in the Mets’ unlikely run to the World Series title the previous October, holding the Atlanta Braves to three hits over seven frames to win the deciding Game Three in the NLCS and then earned a save in Game Three of the World Series by tossing 2⅓ scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles.

On a mild Saturday afternoon, 23,500 spectators came to Shea Stadium to see their beloved Mets take on the Phillies. The previous afternoon, staff ace and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver had blanked the Phils on eight hits to improve the record of skipper Gil Hodges’ squad to 4-4. It was the Phillies’ sixth straight loss after beginning the season with three wins. First-year manager Frank Lucchesi was already in crisis mode and called a team meeting before this weekend game to demand better results.

As Ryan warmed up, he could tell he was rusty. He hadn’t pitched since April 2, when he fanned nine in six innings in an exhibition game hurling for the Mets’ Class-A Visalia farm team against the Washington Senators’ Burlington squad,3 then left the team to complete his required two-week military duty in the National Guard.4 During the spring Ryan had bothered by nagging injuries, but seemed to overcome chronic blistering of his fingers by taking the advice of the club’s press secretary and former featherweight boxer Lou Napoli who suggested the hurler soak his digits in olive brine.5

Leadoff hitter Denny Doyle greeted Ryan with a single to left. The 1969 MVP of the Pacific Coast League, Doyle had made his professional debut against Ryan four years earlier in the Class-A Western Carolinas League. “I was trying to keep it outside,” said Ryan, “but it had part of the plate and he just reached out and stroked it.”6 Ryan loaded the bases on two walks sandwiched around two punchouts, then ended the threat by whiffing Larry Hisle.

The Mets gave a rude New York welcome to Phillies starter Jim Bunning, in search of his 210th big-league victory. The future Hall of Famer and US Senator from Kentucky yielded singles to the first three batters he faced, the final of which, by Joe Foy, led to two runs. Right fielder Ron Stone bobbled the ball and then “fired it into the dirt” near second base, reported sportswriter Joseph Durso.7 The ball bounced into short left field for a second error, enabling Bud Harrelson to score and Foy to reach third. Two batters later, the Phillies’ third miscue resulted in another run. Foy was trapped in a rundown on Art Shamsky’s infield grounder. Catcher Tim McCarver heaved the ball over third baseman Don Money’s head and Foy crossed the plate.

Spotted a three-run lead, Ryan looked anything but comfortable in the second, issuing two one-out walks, then fanned the side in the third. His teammates mauled Bunning in the bottom of the frame and threatened to blow the game open. With two on via singles and no outs, Shamsky blasted a double off the right-field wall (“missing home run by inches,” noted Durso8) to drive in another one and sent Bunning to the showers. Reliever Barry Lersch did some nifty pitching, loading the bases with an intentional walk with one out, then retired weak-hitting Jerry Grote and Ryan.

Ryan led off the fifth by issuing his fifth and six walks of the game and then suddenly something changed with his delivery. “I got my rhythm about the fifth inning,” he said, “and everything fit into place after that.”9 He found his groove and got locked in, retiring the next three hitters, two by strikeouts, giving him 11 for the game. Through five innings, Ryan had already tossed 107 pitches (26, 22 17, 15, and 27 in each inning, respectively),10 but Hodges gave his right-hander a long leash to prove himself. “[Pitching coach] Rube Walker and I studied him real closely from the sixth inning on,” said Hodges. “The later it got, the better a pitcher Nolan was getting to be. He didn’t have to rely on his fastball.”11

The Mets tacked on three more runs by the long ball to put the game out of reach with an unhittable Ryan on the mound. Ken Boswell, who missed the previous two games nursing a sprained ankle, led off the sixth with a solo shot. Notoriously woeful at the plate, Ryan got into the hit parade by lining a one-out single in the eighth, earning a standing ovation from the Mets faithful. Tommie Agee followed with a blast off reliever Lowell Palmer for the final two Mets tallies.

Ryan fanned the side for the third time, in the bottom of the sixth. With 14 punchouts through six innings, Ryan had tied the club record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game that he himself had set in 1968 and Seaver had tied the next year. He was also well within reach of Steve Carlton’s major-league record of 19 strikeouts from the previous September against the Mets in a game he lost, 4-3.12

The Express kept rolling, but it changed tracks. “I lost the good zip on the fastball in the seventh inning,” declared Ryan, adding that “after the fifth or sixth innings I started getting the ball over better.”13 Over the final three frames Ryan faced the minimum nine batters, displaying excellent command of his heater and swooping roundhouse curve and changeup. He breezed through the seventh, working around Agee’s second error in center field, and benefiting from a 6-4-3 inning-ending twin killing.Setting the side down in order in the eighth, Ryan whiffed Johnson for his record 15th punchout of the game; that strikeout also tied the team record for the most in a game, set by Jerry Koosman in a 10-inning no-decision in 1969.14

Ryan’s Mets strikeout record did not last long. Four days later, on April 22 in Shea Stadium, Seaver hurled a brilliant two-hitter, tying Carlton’s major-league record with 19 strikeouts while setting a new big-league record with 10 consecutive strikeouts in a 2-1 decision over the San Diego Padres.

“There was never any serious thought of taking (Ryan) out, even though we realized he had pitched more than the normal amount,” Hodges said.15 Ryan, making his 30th career start, had completed only five games and had never tossed a shutout. He quickly dispatched Hisle, Stone, and Larry Bowa to complete the 7-0 victory in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

“I’ve never thrown so many changeups, and with such great success,” said Ryan, seemingly surprised by his performance. “They were particularly good against left-handers. And my curveball was working well.”16 Ryan’s gem was the fifth one-hitter in franchise history; it was also the fifth consecutive game the Mets blanked the Phillies.17

“When you consider how little work I’ve had and how long I’ve gone since pitching, I’m awfully proud of this shutout,” Ryan said about his first of 61 shutouts in his Hall of Fame career.18

The Phillies raved about Ryan’s heater. “He’s number 1,” McCarver said when asked to compare Ryan to other hard throwers. Quite a compliment given that McCarver was Bob Gibson’s and Steve Carlton’s batterymate with the St. Louis Cardinals until the catcher’s trade to the Phillies in the offseason.19 Quipped Bowa, who also debuted professionally in 1966 and faced a 19-year-old Ryan in Class-A ball, “He throws a lot harder now than he did then. He had no breaking ball at all then.”20 Hisle claimed Ryan’s wildness made him more effective because batters needed to be loose at the plate.21

Ryan was not yet ready to emerge as one of the best pitchers in baseball despite starting the season with a one-hitter, losing a two-hitter, and fashioning a three-hitter in his first three starts of the season. He was marred by inconsistency — his 6.6 walks per nine innings were the highest in the majors for any hurler with more than 50 innings. He finished the season with a 7-11 slate and a 3.42 ERA in 131⅔ innings, riding out the last three weeks of the season in the bullpen.

Acknowledgements

The essay was edited by Len Levin and fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also accessed Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com, and SABR.org.

 baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197004180.shtml

retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04180NYN1970.htm

Notes

1 Dana Mozley, “Ryan 1-Hits Phils, 7-0; K’s Record 15,” (New York) Daily News, April 19, 1970: 134.

2 Allen Lewis, “Phils Limited to One Hit as Mets Win, 7-0,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 19, 1970: Section 3, 1.

3 Red Foley, “Tom’s Tuneup a 2-0 Rhapsody,” (New York) Daily News, April 3, 1970: 87.

4 Red Foley, “Twins Club Kooz, 6-2, Spoil Gil’s 46th Birthday,” (New York) Daily News, April 5, 1970: 131.

5 Mozley.

6 Lewis.

7 Joseph Durso, “Phils Get Single. Ryan Gives Leadoff Hit, Then Sets Club Strike-Out Mark,” New York Times, April 19, 1970: 177.

8 Ibid.

9 Mozley.

10 Pitch counts come from Mozley.

11 Ibid.

12 Carlton and the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Mets, 4-3, on September 15, 1969, at Busch Stadium despite the left-hander’s 19 strikeouts.

13 Lewis.

14 Jerry Koosman held the San Diego Padres to four hits over 10 scoreless innings on May 28, 1969, but emerged with a no-decision in the Mets’ eventual 1-0 win in 11 innings at Shea Stadium.

15 Mozley.

16 Ibid.

17 The other Mets one-hitters were thrown by Al Jackson (twice), Jack Hamilton, and Seaver. The Mets blanked the Phillies in their final three games (September 26-28) of the 1969 season. Koosman tossed a four-hitter; Seaver a three-hitter, and then Gary Gentry, Ron Taylor, and Ryan combined on a four-hitter. Seaver and Ryan continued the streak in 1970.

18 Mozley.

19 Lewis.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

Although it would certainly not rank in history with the adventures of Apollo 13, the game that featured San Francisco Giants’ lefty reliever Jim Johnson’s one win during his brief major-league career had many bizarre and memorable moments.

The Cincinnati Reds came into the game on a roll, winners of four straight and holding a 3½-game lead over the visiting Giants and Atlanta Braves in the National League West Division. It was in 1970, under their first-year Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, that the Reds would be dubbed the Big Red Machine. (Cincinnati won the National League pennant but fell to Baltimore in the World Series.) 

The game featured four future Hall of Famers (Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Tony Perez).1 The Reds were moving into a new ballpark, and venerable Crosley Field would be their home field for just over two months more, until its game of June 24, also against the Giants, was played.2

The game marked only the third appearance on the mound for Johnson, an All-American while pitching for Western Michigan University, where as of 2023 he still ranked first in the Broncos’ history in ERA (1.34) as well as win percentage at .900 (18-2).

After a tough major-league debut against Atlanta in the Braves’ home opener, Johnson was more effective in his second outing in Houston. That game, an 11-9 Giants win, featured the ejection of his roommate Gaylord Perry, who was tossed from the contest while arguing a balk called against Johnson. It proved to be the only time that Perry was tossed from a game for arguing a call in his Hall of Fame career.3 Johnson’s first major-league strikeout came in the April 16 game, against a fellow alumnus of Western Michigan, Astros pitcher Jim Bouton.

As the April 18 game began, the spectators included Johnson’s in laws, John and Ruth Wagner, who made the seven-hour trip from their home in Muskegon, Michigan to see their son-in-law in action.  While this game will be forever remembered by the Wagner clan, the same could also be said for a handful of other participants in this bizarre contest.

Jim McGlothlin got the start for the Reds but left after 3⅔ innings with a pulled groin muscle.4 McGlothlin was replaced by Ray Washburn with the Giants holding what proved to be a short-lived 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Reds scored seven runs to give themselves a seemingly comfortable 8-3 lead. San Francisco starting pitcher Frank Reberger walked leadoff batter Tony Perez. Catcher Bench doubled to right field, scoring Perez from first base. First baseman Lee May singled to center, scoring Bench and making it 3-3.

Bernie Carbo, the left fielder, walked. Dave Concepcion sacrificed and put May and Carbo in scoring position. Reberger struck out Washburn, and then walked Pete Rose intentionally. Reberger struck out second baseman Tommy Helms, but the strikeout pitch was wild, May scored, the Reds were ahead, 4-3, and the bases were still loaded.

After Reberger had thrown two balls to Bobby Tolan, Giants manager Clyde King called on Johnson to enter the fray. Johnson completed a walk to Tolan (charged to Reberger), forcing in a run. Perez came to bat for the second time in the inning. Johnson threw a wild pitch and Rose scored. Perez then singled to center and Helms and Tolan scored. It was a rare situation where one could say that four inherited runners had all scored. None of the runs were charged to Johnson. Bench reached on an error, but May grounded out to end the inning. The score stood Reds 8, Giants 3.

Neither team scored in the fifth, a quiet inning in which the only baserunner was Carbo, who walked.

Before the start of the game, Cincinnati pitchers had been very effective at the beginning of the season, allowing but 2.09 earned runs per game while the relievers had allowed two runs in 27⅔ innings. The staff suffered a huge bump in ERA during this game.

In the Giants’ sixth, Washburn walked Mays, McCovey, Ken Henderson, and Al Gallagher, forcing in a run. King called on Tony Cloninger to relieve, and catcher Russ Gibson grounded into a pitcher-to-catcher-to-first double play. But Bob Heise singled to left and picked up his second and third RBIs of the game. The Reds still had the lead, 8-6. Steve Whitaker pinch-hit for Jim Johnson and walked. Bobby Bonds walked. The bases were loaded again.

Ron Hunt is probably remembered most by baseball fans for his penchant for getting hit by a pitch; he led the league seven years in a row in this painful department. This time Hunt hit a grand slam to the screen in left field – the first and only one of his career. His six RBIs in the game were also a career best.

“A home run was the last thing on my mind,” Hunt said afterward. “After I hit it, I didn’t think it was going over the fence. I watched the outfielder [Carbo] and he acted like he was going to catch it.”

“You even hit it against the wind,” said Johnson, listening in. You don’t know your own strength.”5 It was 10-8, Giants. Johnson was gone, but he was the pitcher of record.

Mike McCormick relieved and the 1967 Cy Young Award winner quickly stopped the bleeding as he allowed but one run the remainder of the game, while the Giants’ bats added six more tallies to make the final score 16-9. The Giants scored their 16 runs on just 10 hits, thanks to the generous Reds pitching staff walking 15 batters.6

Before the Reds’ Hal McRae had been retired for the game’s final out, 23 walks had been issued by both teams’ pitchers, a total that at the time was just one shy of the National League record for two teams in a game. In Johnson’s 1⅓ innings pitched, he gave up one of those walks, as well as one hit. 

Despite the fact that Johnson was credited with the win, and pitched respectably in this wild contest, the game was the last that Johnson pitched in a major-league uniform. When Juan Marichal was activated to the roster after recovering from a reportedly severe allergic reaction to penicillin during the Giants spring-training jaunt to Japan, Johnson was sent down to Phoenix.   

After completing his 1970 season with the Triple-A Phoenix Giants, Johnson surprisingly retired at the age of 24, beginning a career in education in which he became superintendent of schools in North Muskegon.

Johnson didn’t just face a bunch of no-names during his brief three-game major-league career. Of the 24 batters who had plate appearances against him, five (Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez) became Hall of Famers. Johnson also pitched to two-time NL batting champ Tommy Davis as well as Rico Carty, who topped all NL hitters in batting average in 1970.

The final hitter Johnson faced during his final game with the Reds was the all-time hits leader in baseball history, Pete Rose. His last hit allowed (by Perez) and his last out (Rose) were to a pair of superstars.

“My father was on Cloud Nine for years after that game,” Jim Johnson’s wife told the author. “He often said, that other than the birth of his three children, it was the biggest thrill of his life,” added Mary Wagner Johnson Moyes. 

Johnson succumbed to pancreatic cancer in December of 1987 at the age of 42, a proud possessor of one major-league victory on April 18, 1970.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Baseball-Reference.com.

Sources

Much of the information on this game came from the Cincinnati Enquirer and the San Francisco Examiner of April 19, 1970. Also used were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, the Western Michigan University Media Guide and interviews in August 2021 with Jim Johnson’s wife, Mary.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197004180.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04180CIN1970.htm

Notes

1 As the all-time leader in base hits, Pete Rose undeniably had the statistics to ensure induction had it not been for his being banned for life because of his gambling. A fifth Hall of Famer working the game was Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson. 

2 Riverfront Stadium, one of many “cookie cutter” stadiums built in this era, served as the Reds home for 32 years until the Reds moved into Great American Ball Park to begin the 2003 season.

3 Gaylord Perry, Me & the Spitter (New York: Signet Classic, 1974), 181.  

4 Bob Hertzel, “Giants Rout Reds, 16-9, in Pitchers’ Nightmare,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 19, 1970: 45.

5 Jim McGee, “Those Amazing Giants, a Walkathon Victory,” San Francisco Examiner, April 19, 1970: C1.  

6 Bob Heise took full advantage of the number of Giants baserunners aboard as he was credited with a career-high five RBIs, two more than his previous high of three in a game. Backup catcher Russ Gibson equaled his career high with three RBIs.

The game began with Seaver taking control from the first pitch. Jose Arcia, the San Diego leadoff batter, flied out to center field. Seaver struck out the next two batters, Van Kelly and Cito Gaston, to close out the top of the first. In the bottom of the first inning, the Mets jumped out to the lead. Bud Harrelson singled, and when Ken Boswell doubledto the left-field corner, the speedy Harrelson scored when Al Ferrara did not field the ball quickly.

The Padres tied the game in the top of the second, Ferrara, when the cleanup batter, led off with a towering home run over the left-field fence. To many in the crowd it was not a vintage Seaver performance so far.3 After giving up the home run, Seaver got Nate Colbert to hit a foul pop to first baseman Art Shamsky. Then Dave Campbell lined out to left field, and Seaver struck out Jerry Morales for the third out and his third strikeout of the game.

Seaver continued his dominance in the third inning as he collected two more strikeouts. After walking Bob Barton to start the inning, he struck out Mike Corkins and Kelly. Neither even swung at the third strike. Seaver now had five strikeouts and he was just warming up.

The Mets went ahead in the bottom of the third inning. Tommie Agee led off with a single and Harrelson hit a triple to right field that barely missed going out of the park. Agee scored and the Mets had the lead. Seaver had all the runs he would need.

Gaston led off the Padres’ fourth and struck out looking. Ferrara walked. Colbert flied out to center field.Campbell singled to left, but Seaver finished the inning by striking out Morales on a fastball. He now had seven whiffs.

Seaver continued to befuddle the Padres in the fifth inning. Barton fanned and Corkins was caught looking. The third out was a grounder to third base.

By the top of the sixth inning, Seaver had yielded just two hits and had nine strikeouts. Since the Mets led by only one run, he would really have to bear down to ensure that they kept the lead.4 After catcher Jerry Grote caught a foul popup, Seaver got Gaston to fly out to right field, then struck out Ferrara to end the inning and get his 10th strike out of the game.

By now the afternoon shadows were starting to creep over home plate.The rest of Shea Stadium was still in the bright sun and the shade around home plate presented problems for the Padres hitters.5 They were flailing at Seaver’s fastball and things would not improve as he showed no signs of slowing down.

Seaver struck out the Padres in order in the top of the seventh inning. Colbert swung at a third strike, and Campbell and Morales were both caught looking. Johnny Podres, the Padres minor-league pitching instructor, was in the dugout. Podres, who had once struck out eight batters in a row for the Los Angeles Dodgers, observed that Seaver “had perfect rhythm, and I don’t think he’ll ever throw that hard again. It’s amazing, as hard as he was throwing he was still hitting the spots. If you didn’t swing, it still was a strike.”6

After Barton struck out looking to lead off the eighth inning, Ramon Webster pinch-hit for pitcher Corkins and struck out. Next, Ivan Murrell pinch-hit for shortstop Arcia, and he was quickly dispatched by Seaver. With just one inning left, Seaver had 16 strikeouts.

When the Padres came to bat in the top of the ninth inning, Seaver and the Mets were still holding on to a one-run lead. As Seaver took the mound, the crowd was excited and there was a buzz throughout the stands. When Kelly led off and struck out swinging for Seaver’s eighth strikeout in a row, the crowd made it sound as if Shea Stadium was filled to capacity.7Seaver then caught Gaston on a called third strike for the second out.

Ferrara, who had homered for the Padres’ only run, now came to the plate. Ferrara said after the game: “The last time up,it was his best shot against my best shot.He challenged me and he won.”8Seaver struck out Ferrara for his 19th strikeout of the game and his 10th in a row.

Seaver finished masterfully. Over the last five innings, he allowed only three batters to make contact with the ball. He needed only 10 pitches to strike out the side in the ninth inning. “I might as well have played without a glove,” said shortstop Harrelson after the game.9

Besides the win, Seaver set a record of 10 strikeouts in a row. He also matched Steve Carlton‘s 19-strikeout game of the previous season. Carlton had lost that game to the Mets when Ron Swoboda hit two home runs.10

Seaver’s record of 19 strikeouts for a nine-inning game would stand for 16 years until Roger Clemens struck out 20 batters during the 1986 season. Seaver’s record of striking out 10 in a row still stood as of 2016 as the major-league record.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the Author also used the Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball-Almanac.com, and Retrosheet.org websites.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197004220.shtml

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04220NYN1970.htm

Photo credit: Tom Seaver, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

Notes