July 17, 1979: Morganna, Mazzilli, and Parker raise the Kingdome roof as NL wins eighth straight

The 1979 All-Star Game was the first held in Seattle, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. Played before a sellout crowd of 58,905 in the Astroturf-carpeted Kingdome,1 it was the 50th midsummer classic and the second ever in a domed stadium.2

Home to the American League Mariners – in their third season as an expansion club – the Kingdome had been the site of more home runs than any other major-league ballpark in the first half of the season (131). That fact had players seeing how far they could hit home runs during batting practice the day before, in a ballpark whose outfield dimensions California Angels ace Nolan Ryan swore were shorter than marked: 316 feet down the lines and 410 feet to dead center.3

“If I ain’t startin’, I ain’t departin.’” In the weeks leading up to the July 17 game, dozens of newspapers across America repeated that quip, attributed to St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Garry Templeton.4 He was upset that baseball fans voted Larry Bowa to be the National League’s starting shortstop despite Templeton’s hitting over 50 points higher than Bowa. Templeton declined a spot as a reserve and said he’d rather spend the break with his family.5

Battered bodies, rather than bruised pride, told the story on the AL side. Angels first baseman Rod Carew, whose nearly four million votes set a new total vote record, was sidelined with torn ligaments in his right thumb.6 An Achilles tendon injury to Carl Yastrzemski, elected by fans to make his seventh All-Star game outfield start, limited him to playing first base. Fred Lynn – along with Yastrzemski and reigning AL MVP Jim Rice part of, the first trio of AL outfielders elected to start an All-Star Game from the same team – was out of manager Bob Lemon’s lineup until the last minute with a pulled groin muscle.7

Lemon’s presence in Seattle was even more surprising than Lynn’s. Four weeks before the All-Star Game, New York Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner had bumped Lemon from manager to general manager and rehired Billy Martin as his new skipper. Nevertheless, the Yankees allowed Lemon, who had led them to the 1978 World Series championship, the honor of leading the AL squad.

Hoping to snap the AL’s seven-game losing skid, Lemon tabbed Ryan as his starting pitcher. 8 Making his first All-Star Game start, Ryan was 12-6 with five shutouts, a 2.54 ERA, a league-leading 160 strikeouts, and a complete-game one-hitter over the Yankees in his most recent start.

NL manager Tommy Lasorda countered with southpaw Steve Carlton, one of four Philadelphia Phillies in the starting lineup. Ten years removed from his previous All-Star Game start, Carlton was 11-8 with a 3.50 ERA. He too had recently thrown a one-hitter against a New York team: the Mets, on the Fourth of July.

True to form, Ryan, who retired as baseball’s career leader in strikeouts and walks, with a K/BB ratio of 2.0, fanned the first two batters, Davey Lopes and Dave Parker, to start the game, then walked the third, two-time All-Star MVP Steve Garvey. Cleanup batter Mike Schmidt followed with a triple that ricocheted off the glove of a jumping Lynn as he hit the wall in right-center field, scoring Garvey. George Foster followed with an opposite-field double down the right-field line to put the NL up 2-0.

An infield popout by the AL’s first batter, Roy Smalley, brought George Brett to the plate and Morganna, a buxom blonde stripper, out of the stands. As Brett stepped into the batter’s box, Morganna, the self-proclaimed Kissing Bandit, gave the smiling bachelor a hug and a kiss, then pranced up the third-base line.9

Once his admirer was escorted off, Brett walked and scored on a double down the left-field line by AL RBI leader Don Baylor, who started for Yastrzemski in left field. One out later, Lynn, the AL home-run leader (24), crushed a 2-and-2 offering from Carlton into the right-center-field bleachers. Asked on-air a few innings later if he’d hit a “bad” Carlton fastball, Lynn replied, “He got the ball in more than he wanted to, and in this ballpark all you have to do is make good contact.” The next batter, Yastrzemski, hit one in the same direction, but it died in the glove of leaping center fielder Dave Winfield.

With former San Diego Chicken Ted Giannoulas cavorting on the NL dugout roof in a new chicken costume,10 NL catcher Bob Boone dropped a bloop single into center to lead off the second. Chop singles by speedsters Lou Brock, in his farewell season, and Lopes, both hit off a playing surface that NBC announcer Tony Kubek called the hardest in the majors, loaded the bases. Parker knotted the score at 3-all on a sacrifice fly to Chet Lemon, playing center field in place of Lynn, who’d reinjured his groin going after Schmidt’s triple.11

An inning later, Schmidt collected another opposite-field extra-base hit when he doubled to the right-center-field wall off Boston swingman Bob Stanley. Schmidt moved to third on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Gary Matthews and scored on a broken-bat groundout by Winfield. A groundball double play by the next batter, Boone, ended the inning.12

The AL took back the lead in the third. After singling with one out, Baylor took second on a wild pitch by Joaquín Andújar, who’d taken over for Ryan, and moved to third on a groundout. Andújar plunked Chet Lemon with a slow curve, putting runners at the corners, then surrendered a game-tying chop single to Yastrzemski. A throwing error by three-time Gold Glove third baseman Schmidt on Darrell Porter’s grounder allowed Lemon to score from second, giving the AL a 5-4 lead.

Neither side mustered any offense over the next two innings. Winfield broke the spell in the sixth with a one-out double up the right-center-field alley off hard-throwing rookie reliever Mark Clear. A bloop single to left by Gary Carter brought Winfield home with the tying run.

In the AL sixth, Yastrzemski’s single and Porter’s double put runners on second and third with nobody out against reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry. Treated to a standing ovation when his name was announced, Seattle’s Bruce Bochte pinch-hit a chopper over the drawn-in Bowa to bring in Rick Burleson, running for Yastrzemski, with the go-ahead run. At the end of a 10-pitch battle with side-arming lefty Joe Sambito, the Yankees’ Reggie Jackson grounded to Lopes, whose quick throw home caught Porter in a rundown.13 Sambito and lanky right-hander Mike LaCoss navigated the rest of the inning without further damage.

An inning later, Rice led off with a pop fly to right field that Parker lost in the Kingdome lights. Rice rounded second and tried to reach third, but Parker gunned him down, with Ron Cey applying the tag.

With the NL down 6-5, New York Mets switch-hitter Lee Mazzilli led off the eighth facing Texas Rangers closer Jim Kern, who finished the season’s first half with a minuscule 1.48 ERA. Batting left-handed, the bespectacled Brooklyn-born star known to Mets fans as Maz drilled a game-tying opposite-field home run into the first row of seats down the left-field line. Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter Jayson Stark called Mazzilli’s homer a 315-footer hit on a 316-foot-long-field.14 A fan had grabbed the ball just before it cleared the wall.

The NL’s seventh pitcher, split-fingered-fastball specialist Bruce Sutter, took the mound for the bottom of the eighth.15 Two batters later, a fan ran on the field to shake first baseman Pete Rose’s hand, then jogged across the infield before security guards ended his fun.16 With Brian Downing on second, Jackson on first and two out, Graig Nettles singled to right.

Parker, playing deep, grabbed the ball on a hop and threw a strike to Carter at the plate. The ball arrived a split second before Downing did. The muscular Angel tried to slide around to the inside of the plate, but never got there; Carter blocked him off. Describing Parker’s throw later, a grateful Lasorda said, “It looked like it was shot out of a cannon.”17

Back out for the ninth, Kern ran into trouble again. After Kern walked the bases loaded with two out, Lemon waved Yankees left-hander Ron Guidry out of the bullpen to face Mazzilli. Guidry had worked nine innings two days earlier, but told Lemon he could get an out or two if needed.

Mazzilli had other ideas. He drew a five-pitch walk from the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner to force in Joe Morgan and give the NL a 7-6 lead.18 Guidry, who’d warmed up three times during the game, admitted that he had nothing left when he came into the game.19

In the bottom of the ninth, Sutter retired the first two batters he faced, then walked Chet Lemon, bringing Burleson to the plate as the winning run. Three splitters later, Burleson went down swinging. After 3 hours and 11 minutes, the longest game in All-Star history ended with Sutter earning his second consecutive All-Star Game victory and the NL winning its eighth straight.20

Parker outpolled Mazzilli for the All-Star MVP Award, on the strength of his two outfield assists. Parker shared that he “got as much kick out of those two throws as anything I have ever done at bat.”21 The losing pitcher, Kern, summed up the feelings of many AL players and fans when he said, “I think the jinx is still there.”22

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kevin Larkin and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the Sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Nick Waddell’s SABR biography of Garry Templeton, Jon Barnes’s SABR biography of Bob Lemon and NBC’s television broadcast of the game. The author also examined the Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and Stathead.com websites for pertinent material and box scores.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/1979-allstar-game.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1979/B07170ALS1979.htm

Notes

1 During the NBC broadcast, play-by-play announcer Joe Garagiola called the crowd the largest to ever see a baseball game in the Pacific Northwest. NBC TV broadcast of the 1979 MLB All-Star Game, July 17, 1979, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMJK6CA6G3Y, accessed June 19, 2023.

2 The 1968 All-Star Game was held in Houston’s Astrodome.

3 Ryan, who surrendered four of the eight home runs he allowed in the first half of the 1979 season in the Kingdome, was right. According to Major League Baseball, the fences were 312 feet down each line, 405 feet to center field and 365 feet to the left- and right-center-field alleys. Associated Press, “Ryan Says Kingdome Is Even Smaller Than Its Markings Claim,” Louisville Courier-Journal, July 17, 1979: B7; “Mariners Ballparks,” MLB.com website, https://www.mlb.com/mariners/history/ballparks, accessed June 23, 2023.

4 “Templeton: If I ain’t startin’, I ain’t departin’,” Evansville Press, July 11, 1979: 26. The phrase was first reported as a comment Templeton made to Cardinals announcer Jack Buck after finding himself a distant third in preliminary vote tabulations. Many years later Templeton said it was Buck who crafted the original version of the rhyme as a question to him, asking “If you’re not startin’, you’re not departin’?” – to which Templeton answered yes. Dick Kaegel, “When People Ask Me What I Do, I Say, ‘I’m a Ballplayer,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 24, 1979: 2E; “Garry Templeton on His Career,” MLB Network video, February 11, 2021, https://www.mlb.com/video/garry-templeton-on-his-career.

5 Ironically, Templeton also came in second among NL shortstops, to Cincinnati Red Dave Concepción, in a New York Times survey of major-leaguers in which they were asked who should start at each position in the 1979 All-Star Game. Templeton wasn’t alone in his frustration with the selection process, with fans selecting starting position players for the 10th consecutive year. American League RBI leader and eventual MVP Don Baylor was so upset at coming in 14th among AL outfielders that he suggested Players Association executive director Marvin Miller lobby to take the vote back from fans. Cleveland Indians outfielder Bobby Bonds was so incensed with the fans selecting starters that he announced he’d refuse to attend if he was picked as an AL reserve. He wasn’t. “Poll Shows Players, Fans Struck by Same Stars,” Atlanta Constitution, July 17, 1979: 5-D; Hal Bock (Associated Press), “Fans Fan Disgruntled Stars, Send Their Favorites to Seattle,” Fort Myers (Florida) News-Press, July 13, 1979: C1.

6 Associated Press, “Carew Still Sidelined,” Lafayette (Louisiana) Advertiser, July 10, 1979: 12.

7 “Carew, Grich Won’t Start,” San Pedro (California) News-Pilot, July 10, 1979: 12. Significant injuries among NL starters were limited to a broken wrist that sidelined catcher Ted Simmons.

8 Even though the AL had implemented the designated hitter in 1973, Ryan also found himself batting ninth. It would be another 10 years before a DH appeared in an All-Star Game.

9 Days before the All-Star Game, Morganna’s manager, Bill Cottrell, began telling reporters that she would make an appearance at the All-Star Game. “Watch out for her pucker power,” he warned. Renowned for interrupting sporting events to deliver kisses to star athletes, Morganna had once before bussed Brett during a game, in August of 1977. Brett returned the favor a few weeks later when he climbed onstage at a Kansas City theater to plant a kiss on the unsuspecting Morganna, who was performing there. Associated Press, “Watch Out for Morganna,” Pensacola (Florida) News, July 12, 1979: 12; Associated Press, “Kissing Bandit Unstoppable,” Alexandria (Louisiana) Town Talk, August 23, 1977: 8; Charlie Smith, “Brett Evens Score with Morganna,” Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, September 18, 1977: 8E.

10 Giannoulas’s antics as the San Diego Chicken had ended in May, when he was fired by the San Diego FM radio station for whom the San Diego Chicken was created. A lawsuit decided in Giannoulas’s favor three weeks before the All-Star Game enabled him to resume performing in a chicken costume, but not that of the San Diego Chicken. In between innings throughout the game, the NBC telecast showed the costumed Giannoulas frolicking with players and umpires and on the bases.

11 In an on-air interview during the game, Lynn confirmed that he aggravated the injury. United Press International, “Parker Voted MVP Award as Nationals Walk to Win,” Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Sentinel, July 18, 1979: 46.

12 As Boone batted, NBC showed a taped interview with him in which his two young sons were at his side. With 10-year-old Bret looking on, 6-year-old Aaron said “hi” to his mom, who was due to deliver another Boone boy the next day.

13 Jackson was clad in a Yankees jersey he’d received within an hour of gametime. He’d forgotten to bring a jersey when he left his home in Oakland, California, and had to have one flown up the day of the game. In the meantime, he wore a Mariners jersey for the official AL team picture. Associated Press, “’Busy Morning’ Blamed for Forgotten Uniform,” Wilmington (Delaware) Morning News, July 18, 1979: 32.

14 Jayson Stark, “Guidry Walks In Winning Run,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 18, 1979: 1-C.

15 Sutter was the NL’s seventh pitcher of the game, tying an All-Star Game record. Three years later, the 1981 NL squad broke that mark, using eight hurlers in a game saved by Sutter, who came in for then-Houston Astro Nolan Ryan.

16 During the game, Rose wore a Phillies warm-up shirt rather than a regular jersey. Newspaper accounts of the game didn’t explain why. The most likely explanation is that he forgot to bring one and either couldn’t or didn’t attempt to get another one à la Reggie Jackson (see previous note). When Rose went out to first base in the bottom of the sixth inning, he became the first player to play five different positions in All-Star Games. Dick Young and Jack Lang, “Stripper Stuffing Outstruts Chicken,” New York Daily News, July 18, 1979: 51.

17 Joseph Durso, “A Battle of New York in Seattle,” New York Times, July 18, 1979: A19.

18 Mazzilli called this at-bat “the battle of New York: me against Guidry.” “A Battle of New York in Seattle.”

19 Guidry entered the All-Star break on a down note as well, giving up a walk-off three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth on July 15 to fellow All-Star Bobby Grich of the Angels. Associated Press, “Lemon’s Strategy Backfires,” Wilmington Morning News, July 18, 1979: 32.

20 “Guidry Walks In Winning Run.”

21 “Stripper Stuffing Outstruts Chicken.”

22 United Press International, “Parker Voted MVP Award as Nationals Walk to Win,” Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Sentinel, July 18, 1979: 46.