June 12, 1983: After feeling ‘lower than dirt,’ Glenn Abbott returns to majors for first time in 20 months

Going into the 1982 season, Seattle Mariners starter Glenn Abbott elected to re-sign with the five-year-old expansion club, even though the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets offered him higher salaries than he would receive from Seattle’s three-year deal.1

So, when Abbott reported elbow soreness early in spring training, the club wanted to protect its investment and eventually sent him for surgery on March 30 at Seattle’s Providence Hospital to remove bone chips.2

But no one expected what happened next.

After a successful procedure, doctors predicted that Abbott would return to action by August. He instead took an arduous journey that kept him off a major-league mound for nearly another year, which made his “miraculous” return on June 12, 1983, all the more special.3

Before his third of four scheduled rehab starts with the Triple-A Salt Lake City Gulls on July 26, 1982,4 Abbott contracted a severe case of viral meningitis – inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Multiple doctors told him the recovery typically took 10 to 14 days, but the 31-year-old, an avid outdoorsman, felt “lower than dirt” as explosive headaches, hearing loss, and blurred vision kept him      bedridden for months. Abbott – and many others – wondered if he would ever have the strength to pitch again after losing nearly 25 pounds from his 6-foot-6 frame.5

“I didn’t think he’d ever be back pitching again,” said Seattle’s pitching coach, Frank Funk. “… I thought I’d be going to his funeral.”6

When the effects from the meningitis finally subsided, Abbott began his fight back to the major leagues during the winter. His rehabilitation was complicated by the resignation of Mariners trainer Gary Nicholson at the end of the 1982 campaign.7 Still, Abbott worked regularly with bullpen coach Steve Gordon – who indicated that physically Abbott was starting from “nothing,” but mentally had faith in his return.8

Abbott was briefly sidelined during spring training in 1983 with torn adhesions in his elbow,9 but he eventually built up enough strength to report to Triple A. After four tune-up appearances with Salt Lake City between May 22 and June 7,10 the Mariners recalled Abbott to the major-league roster to start against the Kansas City Royals on June 12, 1983.11

He and manager Rene Lachemann agreed that five successful innings would be an adequate result in his first big-league start since October 3, 1981, but Abbott exceeded expectations. He fired a complete game in front of 11,833 fans who turned out to the Kingdome for a batting helmet giveaway on a Sunday afternoon, and all nine players in the starting lineup collected at least one hit as the Mariners broke out of an offensive dry spell for an 8-1 victory.12

“Just getting back here is such a plus,” Abbott said after snapping Kansas City’s five-game winning streak. “When I came back, I didn’t know if I’d start, relieve, or get released. All the time I was out, I never really gave up hope. I can remember back to last spring when I couldn’t go on the mound and throw the ball to the catcher. … I guess there’s just a reason for everything. I tried to persevere. I wasn’t going to quit until I was flat down.”13

Abbott retired 15 of the final 16 Kansas City batters, including 10 straight to close out Seattle’s seventh complete game of the season and      his first big-league win since September 23, 1981. The soft-tossing righty threw 107 pitches, including 77 strikes, in his first nine-inning effort since September 16, 1980.

But in the earliest moments of the game, Abbott understandably struggled to get into a groove.

Abbott was quickly welcomed back to the majors with a 1-0 deficit after Willie Wilson’s leadoff single, Onix Concepción’s groundout, and Frank White’s RBI double. Seattle answered in the bottom with rookie Jamie Allen’s one-out double, Ricky Nelson’s groundout, and Dave Henderson’s RBI single to left.

In the fourth, Henderson was hit by a pitch and went to third on a single by former Royal Al Cowens, who advanced a base on Jim Maler’s fly out to left. Orlando Mercado followed with a high pop into shallow center. As Royals center fielder Joe Simpson (a Mariner for the previous four seasons), right fielder César Gerónimo, shortstop Concepción, and second baseman White converged, no one called for the catch. Gerónimo tried to make a last-second stab at the ball, but it dropped for an RBI double.

Abbott allowed one hit in both the second and fourth innings, but Kansas City had a rally brewing in the fifth after Greg Pryor walked with one out and Wilson reached on an error. Both players moved up a base on a weak infield grounder, but Abbott, in his first chance to escape a jam, struck out White on three pitches to end the threat and remind himself he could still pitch in the big leagues.

“I didn’t have the confidence I needed,” Abbott said, “until after the fifth inning.”14

Gerónimo, a 35-year-old reserve who came into the game      hitless in his previous 11      at-bats dating back to May 1, hit his second double of the game in the sixth.     It was the final hit for the Royals. He started in place of Amos Otis (routine day off), one of four regulars missing from Kansas City’s lineup. Third baseman George Brett, the future Hall of Famer who at the time was hitting .369 and led the AL in slugging percentage (.706), missed the game with a broken toe, while shortstop U.L. Washington (pulled groin) and catcher John Wathan (ankle) also sat out.

Seattle broke the game open in the sixth, loading the bases as Henderson singled, Cowens doubled, and Maler was hit by a pitch. After Mercado lined out to third, Todd Cruz flied out to center to score Henderson for a 3-1 lead. Julio Cruz walked, loading the bases again and ending Larry Gura’s start after 125 pitches.15

“I was just missing by a hair,” Gura said. “Bad luck. No luck. When I did make a good pitch, they fouled it off and wouldn’t put it in play. Right now, nothing is going right. No luck. They tell you when you’ve got a hitter [0-and-2] to bounce one in the dirt. I do that, and they hit the ball for a single or lay off it.”16

More earned runs were added to Gura’s ledger when reliever Vida Blue17 surrendered a two-run single to the first batter he faced, Steve Henderson. In the seventh, Nelson, Cowens, and Maler strung together singles for a 6-1 lead, and in the eighth, Henderson doubled with two outs and Allen followed with his fourth homer of the season to round out the best game of his single-year major-league career.18

Coming into the game, the 62nd of the season, Seattle’s offense had hit only .230 as a team, the lowest mark in the majors. Seattle’s 16 hits were the most the team had collected in a game since the Mariners      piled up 17 against the Boston Red Sox the previous September 3.19

“It should have happened a long time ago. That’s my feeling,” said Vada Pinson, Seattle’s hitting coach. “Now, it has happened, and this is the result. I’d like to see it every day.”20

Lachemann put it more simply: “A game like this sure makes my beer taste better.”21

Seattle had been shut out in three of its past five games and scored only a single run in the first two games of the series. The Royals also reversed course offensively after averaging six runs per game during their winning streak.

The victory prevented the Mariners (25-37) from getting swept at home for the first time in 198322 but was merely a blip of success on the road to a disappointing 60-102 record, the third-worst finish in franchise history to date.23 Kansas City fell to 28-25 and ended the season second in the AL West at 79-83.24

Abbott, who came to the Mariners as the 24th selection in the 1976 American League expansion draft, was the only remaining player from Seattle’s 1977 Opening Day roster by 1983,25 and his 40th win with the team tied him with Floyd Bannister for the most in franchise history.26 In addition, Abbott extended his franchise records for starts (133) and innings pitched (830⅔).27

Abbott had a 3-0 record and a 2.44 ERA after six starts, including a complete-game win over Dave Stieb and the Toronto Blue Jays on July 3. But his success eventually began to wane. The Detroit Tigers claimed him off waivers on August 23 after he had dropped to 5-3 with a 4.59 ERA. He became the fifth starter for the Tigers during the final 5½ weeks in the race for the AL pennant and pitched in 13 games for Detroit in 1984.28

After retiring, he enjoyed a lengthy coaching career and used his comeback story to give perspective to young players.

“You know, the worst that can happen when you go out there and pitch is you’re going to give up some runs,” Abbott said. “It’s not a life-or-death deal, and don’t treat it that way.”29

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Laura Peebles and copy-edited by Len Levin. Special thanks to Eric Vickrey for research assistance.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted the Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com, and Retrosheet.org websites for pertinent statistics and the box scores. He also used information obtained from The Sporting News, Seattle Times, Kansas City Star, Kansas City Post, and a variety of suburban Seattle newspapers.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA198306120.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1983/B06120SEA1983.htm

Notes

1 John McDonald, “M’s Abbott Would Just as Soon Forget ’82 Season,” Everett (Washington) Herald, November 26, 1982: 1B.

2 Abbott had started on Opening Day three times, the most for a Mariners pitcher until Randy Johnson started five straight from 1992 to ’96. Abbott was Seattle’s Opening Day starter in 1978, ’79, and ’81. Prior to Johnson, Mike Moore (1984-86) and Mark Langston (1987-89) also made three season-opening starts for the Mariners.

3 Mike Fish, “Comeback Pitcher Turns Royals’ Feast Into Four-Hit Famine,” Kansas City Times, June 13, 1983: C-4.

4 Abbott did not have eye-popping results in the first two of his four scheduled rehab starts with the first-place Gulls. On July 16 he allowed four earned runs on seven hits and a walk in five innings. Five days later, he surrendered six runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks. Salt Lake City made the Pacific Coast League playoffs after winning the South Division in the second half, but the Gulls were swept by the eventual champion Albuquerque Dukes in the first round.

5 Dan Weaver, “M’s Pitcher Knows What Its [sic] Like to Have Nails Driven in His Head,” Spokane (Washington) Chronicle, October 1, 1982: 13.

6 Fish.

7 The Mariners did not hire Nicholson’s replacement, Rick Griffin, until February 3, leaving Abbott “disappointed I was not given a rehab program.” Mark Wallace, “It’s The Moment of Truth for the Tall Arkansan,” Tacoma (Washington) News Tribune, June 12, 1983: B-11.

8 Recalled Gordon: “I would catch him every other day in December and he had nothing. He would stretch his arm for a half-hour, but it seemed like he could never air it out. When he did, he would experience tremendous pain the next day. His teammates, guys in this clubhouse, would come up to me and tell me that he would never be back, but somewhere in his mind, I know Glenn always believed he would be. He always had faith.” Steve Kelley, “Major Miracle: Abbott Back From ‘Walking Death,’” Seattle Times, June 13, 1983: D1.

9 Initially, Abbott feared he had developed more bone chips in his elbow, which would have likely ended his career. “[W]hen he went to spring training and had the elbow problem, I honestly thought he’d never pitch again,” manager Rene Lachemann said. “Give him credit. He battled back when a lot of people would have packed it in.” Associated Press, “Glenn Abbott: A Mariner Miracle,” Spokane Chronicle, June 14, 1983: 15.

10 Before joining Salt Lake City, Abbott started for the Mariners during an exhibition game against their Double-A affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts, on May 12. In four starts with the Gulls, Abbott went 0-2 with a 6.08 ERA, allowing 33 hits in 23⅔ innings, but Lachemann said that statistics did not matter during Abbott’s three-week rehab stint. “We told him when we sent him down we weren’t interested in numbers,” Lachemann said. “We were interested in how his arm bounced back. The report from [Salt Lake City manager] Bobby Floyd was that it was the Glenn Abbott of old.” Wallace.

11 Abbott took the roster spot of 22-year-old Gene Nelson, who had posted a 10.97 ERA in three starts between May 21 and June 5. Nelson, along with 19-year-old Ed Núñez and 23-year-old Mike Moore, had failed to record a win as the Mariners struggled to fill the final spot in a rotation led by rookie All-Star Matt Young, veterans Jim Beattie and Bob Stoddard, and 44-year-old future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry.

12 It had been nearly a year since every player in Seattle’s starting lineup recorded a hit. On July 24, 1982, all nine starters collected at least one hit during a 17-hit barrage in a 9-0 win at Cleveland. The last such occurrence at the Kingdome came earlier that month on July 7, when Todd Cruz’s only hit of the game was a walk-off single in an 8-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

13 Mike Fish, “Comeback Pitcher Turns Royals’ Feast Into Four-Hit Famine,” Kansas City Times, June 13, 1983: C-4.

14 Mark Wallace, “Mariners’ ‘Minor Miracle’ Man: Glenn Abbott,” Tacoma News Tribune, June 13, 1983: B-1.

15 Seattle’s offensive breakout was the latest chapter of midseason struggles for Gura, who had won 18 games for the Royals in 1980 and ’82. The loss was his eighth in nine starts after opening the season 4-0. He eventually led the majors in losses, finishing the campaign at 11-18. He became the first Royals pitcher to lead the league in losses since their inception in 1969 and fell one loss shy of matching the franchise record (Paul Splittorff’s 19 setbacks in 1974).

16 Mike Fish, “Mariners Pound Daylights Out of Ball; Gura Has Bad Luck to Show Up for Game,” Kansas City Times, June 13, 1983: C-1.

17 Blue – a six-time All-Star and the 1971 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner – had been a teammate of Abbott’s with the Oakland A’s from 1973 through 1976. On the final day of the 1975 season, they were part of the first four-pitcher combined no-hitter in American or National League history. Blue began the 1983 season, his 15th in the majors, in Kansas City’s rotation, but after going 0-3 in seven starts, he moved to the bullpen. Before his first relief appearance, on May 27, Blue had not pitched out of the bullpen since he recorded the final out of a 15-inning victory for the A’s on June 9, 1975. The 33-year-old Blue appeared as a starter and reliever until the Royals released him on August 5.

18 Combined with his double in the first and single in the third, Allen racked up a career-best seven total bases. In 86 career big-league games, he never had another with multiple extra-base hits.

19 The previous high for Seattle in 1983 was a 14-hit showing during an 8-1 win against the California Angels on April 12. For the Royals, it marked the fourth time of the season their pitchers had surrendered at least 16 hits in a game. Kansas City allowed 20 hits to the Boston Red Sox on April 13, 18 hits to the Detroit Tigers on May 14, and 16 hits to the Chicago White Sox on May 22.    

20 Pinson’s hope did not come to fruition as the Mariners had only one other game in 1983 with at least 16 hits – a 19-hit effort on September 5, which also came against the Royals. John McDonald, “It’s No Whopper; M’s Abbott Beats KC,” Everett Herald, June 13, 1983: 1C.

21 Associated Press, “Floundering M’s Find Some Offense to Help Abbott,” Longview (Washington) Daily News, June 13, 1983: D1.

22 The Detroit Tigers had swept the Mariners at Tiger Stadium in a three-game series April 22-24. Less than a week later, the Royals swept Seattle in a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium June 17-19, and the teams split a four-game series at the Kingdome September 26-29.

23 Seattle had finished 56-104 in 1978 and 59-103 in 1980. After a 76-86 record in 1982, optimism soared for the 1983 campaign. “Frankly, I don’t see why we can’t be a contender,” Lachemann said before the season. “We’ve got a lot more depth than we’ve ever had before. My feeling is this ball club has the talent and the ability to do it.” As Seattle’s struggles mounted, Lachemann was fired on June 25 and replaced by Del Crandall. Terry Mosher, “’83 M’s Will Look a Lot Like ’82 M’s,” Bremerton (Washington) Sun, April 4, 1983: 15.

24 The Chicago White Sox held a 20-game advantage over the Royals in the major leagues’ worst division.

25 Julio Cruz was also a link to the 1977 Mariners, but he was called up during the season to make his major-league debut.

26 Abbott had held the record with 39 career wins until Bannister passed him on September 6, 1982, by beating the Royals. Bannister signed with the Chicago White Sox before the 1983 season.

27 Abbott maintained the franchise record with 44 wins until Mike Moore surpassed him on August 26, 1986, with a win over the Baltimore Orioles. Abbott’s record of 904 innings pitched stood until Jim Beattie recorded the final out of his start on August 21, 1985, to move one-third of an inning ahead of Abbott. Abbott’s 146 starts remained atop the franchise leaderboard until Beattie made his 147th and final start with the Mariners on August 5, 1986. Moore surpassed Beattie’s record for starts on September 14, 1986.

28 Abbott was strong with the Tigers in 1983, going 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in seven starts, but Detroit finished six games behind the eventual World Series champion Baltimore Orioles.

29 Bob Hersom, “Scary Situation,” Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City), June 19, 2003: 1-C.