July 9, 1980: National League wins All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium

“Here they have the All-Star Game, and they are holding it for the first time in Dodger Stadium, where more people see baseball games than anywhere else in the country,” wrote the Chicago Tribune’s Richard Dozer.1 The Chicago sportswriter noted that being close to Hollywood fit this game perfectly, because Steve Stone, a mediocre pitcher until this season, would be the American League’s starter.

Steve Stone said when you are a .500 pitcher, you don’t receive honors. “All of the sudden, I’m the player of the week, the pitcher of the month, and the All-Star starter,” Stone said.2 Before the start of the 1980 baseball season, the Orioles right-handed pitcher had a 78-79 lifetime record. “I used to go to the mound determined to avoid losing,” said the veteran hurler, who was six days away from his 33rd birthday. “Now, I go out to win. I know I’m going to win.”3

The starting pitcher for the National League was Astros ace J.R. Richard, who was 10-4 and owned a 1.96 ERA with 115 strikeouts in 110⅓ innings pitched. “My attitude has always been that I’ve got a job to do,” said Richard. “And it doesn’t matter who I am pitching against or what time of day it is.”4 The time of day was expected to help Richard and his blazing fastball. This All-Star Game was scheduled to start at 5:40 P.M., when the batters would be looking directly into a glaring sunset. In addition, Richard had a 7-2 lifetime career record at Dodger Stadium. But all was not good for Richard. He had been forced to leave nine of his 16 starts this season because of arm, shoulder, and back discomforts. “I called to ask J.R. if he was able to pitch and he said nothing was wrong and he’d be ready to go three innings,” said National League manager Chuck Tanner.5 To be safe, Astros manager Bill Virdon asked Tanner to remove Richard after two innings.

Would the AL finally win for the first time since 1971? Would it snap its eight-game losing-streak and 16 losses in the previous 17 midsummer classics? If things weren’t bad enough, three would-be starters were injured. “What could be worse for a manager than having George Brett, Jim Rice, and Paul Molitor on your bench and not be able to use them,” said American League President Lee MacPhail.6 The National League would also be minus a starter. Mike Schmidt was injured and would not play.

Before a Dodger Stadium record crowd of 56,088, the first batter of the game, Willie Randolph, grounded out, but Rod Carew followed with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on another groundout. With a runner on third and two outs, Reggie Jackson came to the plate. After falling behind, 3-and-1, Richard threw two sliders past Jackson to end the inning.

Stone took the mound in the bottom of the first knowing he had an advantage with the opposing batters having to face the sun. Throwing primarily fastballs, Stone retired the National Leaguers in order. In the top of the second, a walk and a base hit by Bucky Dent sandwiched two outs to put runners on the corners, but Richard struck out Stone to end the inning. In the bottom of the second, Stone once again worked a three-up-three down inning.

As requested, Chuck Tanner replaced Richard after two innings. “My arm feels great,” Richard said after his outing. “I could have thrown three innings, easily.”7 Willie Randolph greeted new pitcher Bob Welch with a single to lead off the inning, and then, with Carew at the plate, he proceeded to get picked off. “Nobody told me Welch had a good move,” Randolph complained after the game.8 The pickoff proved costly. Carew followed with a double down the left-field line and moved to third on a wild pitch. Then Fred Lynn struck out and Jackson walked, but Ben Oglivie struck out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Stone retired the National League in order. He had faced nine batters and retired all nine on just 30 pitches.9 “I couldn’t look at this lineup as a group,” explained Stone. “I had to face each one as a single entity. As a group, it would have seemed too big a task. But, one by one, I was able to handle each guy.”10 In the bottom of the fourth, Tommy John replaced Stone and, like Stone, he retired the National League in order.

The American Leaguers had put a baserunner on third base in the first three innings but failed to score. They went down in order in the top of the fourth, but in the top of the fifth they finally scored. After Welch retired the first two batters, Carew singled for his second straight hit and Lynn launched a 340-foot fly ball down the right-field line and into the seats for a home run. As Lynn trotted around the bases, the National Leaguers talked to one another. “I guess we can see the ball now,” said NL outfielder Reggie Smith.11

Tommy John retired the first two batters in the National League fifth to extend the National League’s streak to 4 1/2 innings without a baserunner. But according to the next batter, Ken Griffey, who had a .422 lifetime batting average against John, the streak was about to end. “I’m going up there and will hit a home run,” he told a teammate.12 And as he had predicted, he drove one over the 395-foot marking on the right-center-field fence to cut the American League lead to 2-1.

Jerry Reuss took the hill for the National League in the top of the sixth and struck out the side. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Ray Knight singled and Phil Garner reached base on a grounder mishandled by second baseman Randolph. “It was not an easy play but a play the Yankees second baseman had probably made many times in the past,” wrote Ken Nigro of the Baltimore Sun.13 “That ball was hit like a bullet. It shot by me,” said Randolph.14 George Hendrick followed with the third straight hit of the inning to advance the baserunners two bases and score Knight to tie the game, 2-2. Now with runners on first and third and one out, AL manager Earl Weaver called on White Sox reliever Ed Farmer to face Padres slugger Dave Winfield, who grounded a ball that Randolph mishandled for an error. Garner scored from third on the misplay for a 3-2 National League lead. “It was a difficult play,” Weaver said in defense of Randolph.15 “It came to me like a knuckle ball,” said Randolph. “I tried to short hop it, but the ball shot over me.”16

After Pirates pitcher Jim Bibby retired the American League in order in the top of the seventh, Ken Griffey, on his way to the game’s Most Valuable Player Award, began the National League seventh with his second straight hit. Reds shortstop Dave Concepción followed by grounding into a force out at second base, but a wild pitch, a passed ball, and another wild pitch by Dave Steib propelled Concepción around the bases for a 4-2 NL lead. In the top of the eighth, Cubs closer Bruce Sutter, who had allowed no runs and struck out five while pitching 3⅔ innings in the previous two All-Star Games, took the mound for the NL. “Having Sutter in there at the end of the game is like having an insurance policy,” said Cardinals All-Star first baseman Keith Hernandez.17 As expected, Sutter set the American League down in order in the top of the eighth, retired the junior circuit in the ninth inning, and struck out Lance Parrish for the game’s final out. Once again the National League prevailed, in a 4-2 win.

“It’s very disappointing when you lose, especially when you’re managing,” said American League manager Weaver. “We did everything we could to win, and there’s not much you can say except accept defeat.”18

“Even when behind I wasn’t worried,” NL manager Chuck Tanner said in the victorious team’s locker room. “I knew we had the bats to blow it open any time.”19

“My pitches weren’t moving well,” Tommy John said about his performance. “I was probably throwing a little harder than I should have. In an All-Star Game you get pumped up and you tend to throw balls a little harder.”20

In the National League’s locker room, Reuss handed Sutter the game ball. Sutter tossed it back. “You won it; you keep it,” Sutter said. Reuss then asked Sutter to sign it for him.21

Sources

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

https://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/1980-allstar-game.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1980/YAS_1980.htm

Notes

1 Richard Dozer, “Stone Adds Hollywood Touch to All-Stars,” Chicago Tribune, July 8, 1980: 6-1.

2 Ken Nigro, “Birds’ Stone Faces Astros’ Richard in All-Star Game Tonight in L.A.,” Baltimore Sun, July 8, 1980: C-7.

3 Dozer, 6-3.

4 Ross Newhan, “Richard Named Starting Pitcher for NL Tonight,” Los Angeles Times, July 8, 1980: 3-6.

5 Harry Shattuck, “Arm ‘No Problem’ for All-Star Starter Richard,” Houston Chronicle, July 8, 1980: 2-1.

6 Nigro, “Birds’ Stone Faces Astros’ Richard in All-Star Game Tonight in L.A.”

7 Harry Shattuck, “J.R. Shows He Can Still Hurl Fine,” Houston Chronicle, July 9, 1980: 2-1.

8 Ed Fowler, “Defense Key to NL Win,” Houston Chronicle, July 9, 1980: 2-1.

9 Baseball-Reference.com shows 30 pitches. According to Baltimore Sun sportswriter Ken Nigro, “Stone threw only 24 pitches and was ahead of almost every National League batter.” See “Stone Perfect, but NL Beats AL Stars, 4-2,” Baltimore Sun, July 9, 1980: C-5.

10 “Stone Perfect, but NL Beats AL All Stars, 4-2.”

11 Richard Hoffer, “NL’s Dominance a Matter of Talent, Not Luck – Smith,” Los Angeles Times, July 9, 1980: 3-10.

12 “Griffey, Reds Shine as NL Tops AL Again, 4-2,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 9, 1980: C-1. Before this game Griffey had a .422 batting average against Tommy John. During his career Griffey batted .431 against John.

13 Nigro, “Stone Perfect, but NL Beats AL All Stars, 4-2.”

14 Murray Chass, “National League Rallies to Win 9th Straight All-Star Game, 4-2,” New York Times, July 9, 1980: D17.

15 Richard Dozer, “NL Saves Its Best for Last,” Chicago Tribune, July 9, 1980: 5-5.

16 Chass.

17 Joseph Durso, “Pitching Credited for Triumph,” New York Times, July 9, 1980: D17.

18 Nigro, “Stone Perfect, but NL Beats AL All Stars, 4-2.”

19 Fowler, “Defense Key to NL Win.”

20 Chass, “National League Rallies to Win 9th Straight All-Star Game, 4-2.”

21 Richard Dozer, “NL Saves Its Best for Last.”