October 9, 1992: Tim Wakefield’s complete-game win keeps Pirates alive in NLCS

Rookie knuckleballer Tim Wakefield boosted the Pittsburgh Pirates to their third consecutive National League East Division crown in 1992 after getting called up in July to fortify a shorthanded starting rotation. With the Pirates trailing the Atlanta Braves two games to none in the NL Championship Series, Wakefield continued his late-season infusion, tossing a five-hit complete game in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 Game Three win on October 9 at Three Rivers Stadium.

The Pirates drafted Wakefield in June 1988 out of Florida Institute of Technology, where he set single-season school records for home runs and RBIs, primarily playing first base.1 After Wakefield hit .189 at Class A, a coach noticed him throwing a knuckleball during spring training in 1989.2 By August, Wakefield was pitching full-time,3 and he climbed rung-by-rung through Pittsburgh’s farm system over the next three seasons.

Wakefield began 1992 with Triple-A Buffalo. Two weeks into the season, Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland mentioned him as a call-up candidate for the major-league rotation.4 Sharpened by spring-training mentoring from veteran knuckleballer Charlie Hough of the Chicago White Sox,5 Wakefield had a 10-3 record in Triple A in July.6

In Pittsburgh, the Pirates were losing 19 of 31 games from June 23 to July 28 to turn a seven-game lead into a first-place tie with the Montreal Expos.7 Chronically one starter – or more – short of a functioning five-man rotation ever since John Smiley’s budget-minded spring-training trade to the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh turned to Wakefield shortly after shoulder tendinitis sent lefty Zane Smith to the disabled list in late July.8

On March 17 the Pirates traded Smiley, a 20-game winner in 1991, to the Twins for two prospects: left-handed pitcher Denny Neagle and outfielder Midre Cummings. Smiley had recently agreed to a $3.44 million contract for 1992, an increase of more than $2 million over his 1991 salary. Through the All-Star break in 1992, three starters took regular turns for Pittsburgh: Doug Drabek, Randy Tomlin, and Smith. A fourth starter, Bob Walk, had two stints on the disabled list with a groin injury and spent three weeks working out of the bullpen after returning from the disabled list in June.

On July 10, the Friday before the All-Star break, the Pirates added left-handed starter Danny Jackson by trading third baseman Steve Buechele to the Chicago Cubs. Smith, however, left his July 11 start against the Cincinnati Reds after six innings with shoulder stiffness, went on the disabled list on July 25, and started just three games after July. He had shoulder surgery in November 1992.

Because Wakefield had started for Buffalo on July 23, the Pirates called up Paul Wagner from Double A to start against the Braves on July 26. Wakefield’s July 31 major-league debut filled in what would have been Smith’s next start.

On July 31, two days before his 26th birthday, Wakefield made his big-league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals. A 146-pitch, 10-strikeout complete game led to another start, on August 5 against the New York Mets.9 Eight innings and 144 pitches later, 10 Wakefield had his second win and a long-term role in the Pirates’ rotation.

Wakefield started 13 games for Pittsburgh, winning eight of nine decisions and pitching four complete games.11 His 2.15 ERA led the staff. The Pirates went 42-15 from July 30 to September 29 and clinched the division with a week remaining in the regular season.12

For the second year in a row, the Pirates faced the NL West Division champion Braves in the NLCS. Atlanta had beaten Pittsburgh in seven games in 1991 before losing a seven-game World Series to the Twins. The ’92 Braves took over first in July and won the division by eight games over the Cincinnati Reds.13

The NLCS opened in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on October 6, and John Smoltz, owner of two wins over the Pirates in the 1991 playoffs, allowed just four hits in eight innings in a 5-1 win.14 An afternoon later, Atlanta racked up four second-inning runs off July trade acquisition Danny Jackson, and Ron Gant’s fifth-inning grand slam against Bob Walk made it a rout. The 13-5 win sent the Braves to Pittsburgh with a commanding two-game advantage.15

“Is it possible for someone else to be declared the NL East champ on a recount?” snooted an Atlanta columnist. “Are all the absentee ballots in? Could someone rustle up the dauntless Montreal Expos for a weekend series?”16

Pittsburgh’s Game Three hopes rested on Wakefield, whose down-the-stretch dazzle included a complete-game win over the Braves in August.17 A Friday night sellout crowd of almost 57,000 showed at Three Rivers Stadium.18 Eleven-year-old elementary-school student Christina Aguilera, known for singing the National Anthem at Pittsburgh Penguins’ hockey games, performed the “Star Spangled Banner.”19

Wakefield’s knuckleballs floated through home-plate umpire Steve Rippley’s strike zone, then dropped into catcher Don Slaught’s mitt. Otis Nixon fanned on three pitches to begin the game. It took just seven pitches – all knucklers – to retire the Braves in the first inning.

Reigning 1991 NL Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine won 19 of his first 22 decisions in 1992 but broke a rib while warming up for his August 19 start against the Expos.20 The 26-year-old lefty, who did not reveal the injury publicly until the season’s final week,21 went 1-5 with a 4.21 ERA in his last seven starts.

Pirates platoon first baseman Gary Redus led off the first by driving a full-count pitch to deep center.22 Nixon had robbed Pittsburgh’s Andy Van Slyke of a home run with a spectacular game-saving ninth-inning catch on July 25,23 but this time the Braves’ center fielder mistimed his leap. The ball landed on the warning track, and Redus had a triple.

With the infield in, shortstop Jay Bell hit a bouncer up the middle. Glavine jumped up, knocked the ball down, looked Redus back to third, and threw to first for the out. He then induced NL batting average runner-up Van Slyke and major-league OPS champ Barry Bonds – both hitting well under .200 in Pittsburgh’s NLCS play24 – to ground to first baseman Sid Bream, spoiling the leadoff triple.

Both Wakefield and Glavine worked around early-inning traffic. Pirates third baseman Jeff King started double plays to defuse a two-on, none-out jam in the second and a two-on, one-out threat in the third. Atlanta’s Terry Pendleton turned an around-the-horn double play of his own to end the Pirates’ second, and Glavine threw out Bell on a comebacker after Redus’s two-out double in the third.

Scorelessness prevailed until Bream, in his second season with Atlanta after six years at first base in Pittsburgh, batted with two outs in the fourth. After a 2-and-2 foul tip fell from Slaught’s grasp, Wakefield left a knuckler spinning over the plate. Bream hit it into the brown seats in right-center for a 1-0 Atlanta lead.

In the 1991 NLCS, the Braves had blanked the Pirates in their final three games in Pittsburgh, and the shutout string was 31 innings when Slaught led off the bottom of the fifth. A modest power threat with just four regular-season homers, Slaught jumped on Glavine’s first pitch, a hanging changeup,25 and pulled it into the seats in left-center, tying the game.

Back-to-back one-two-three innings in the fifth and sixth gave Wakefield seven straight outs after Bream’s home run, and the Pirates’ middle of the lineup finally clicked in the sixth. Van Slyke ripped a double into the right-field corner, and Bonds’ fly out to right-center sent him to third. With Glavine working off the plate and away, King lined a 2-and-2 changeup into the right-center gap for a double, bringing home Van Slyke for a 2-1 lead.

Pendleton’s groundout to end the sixth began a series of one-pitch at-bats for Atlanta. David Justice and Bream made first-pitch outs to begin the seventh, but Gant – the fourth Brave in a row to offer at Wakefield’s first pitch – swatted a high knuckler down the left-field line and off the façade above the seats. Gant’s second homer in two games made it 2-2.

Pittsburgh answered in its half of the seventh. Redus’s third hit was a one-out single to center. Bell lined a double off the left-field wall; Gant got the ball in quickly to hold Redus at third.

Braves manager Bobby Cox replaced Glavine, who had thrown 105 pitches, with left-hander Mike Stanton. Looking overmatched on two swinging strikes, Van Slyke fouled off a pitch, then drove a high fly ball to right. Redus scored the go-ahead run on the sacrifice fly.

Wakefield needed six more outs. He stuck up his glove to deny Mark Lemke’s line-drive bid for a leadoff single in the eighth. One out later, Nixon slapped an opposite-field double into the left-center gap. Jeff Blauser – who had homered off Doug Drabek in Game One – hit a fly to deep left, just feet outside the foul pole, before grounding to King for the third out.

In the ninth, the Braves went down in order, as Pendleton, Justice, and Bream took out-of-sync swings at knuckler after knuckler. Bream popped up to Bell to cap Wakefield’s 109-pitch effort.

“It was exciting to finally have a dream come true,” said Wakefield, who estimated that 90 percent of his pitches were knuckleballs. “A rookie taking part in the League Championship Series. I’m not an emotional person, but I may never have that chance again.”26

Atlanta’s 6-4 Game Four win pushed Pittsburgh to the brink of elimination,27 but the Pirates rallied for two wins to even the series.28 Wakefield threw another complete game – on 141 pitches – to beat Glavine and the Braves, 13-4, in Game Six.

Pittsburgh led Game Seven until there were two outs in the ninth, when pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera’s single drove in Justice and Bream for a dramatic 3-2 Atlanta victory.29 The Braves went to their second straight World Series; the Pirates, who lost Bonds and Drabek to free agency in the 1992-93 offseason, did not have another winning season until 2013.30

Wakefield struggled to a 6-11 record in 1993 and spent 1994 in the minors.31 The Pirates released him in 1995,32 and he signed with the Boston Red Sox.33 Wakefield pitched 17 seasons in Boston, winning 186 games, more than any pitcher in franchise history besides Cy Young and Roger Clemens, and earning World Series rings in 2004 and 2007.34

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Thomas J. Brown Jr. and copy-edited by Len Levin. SABR members Gary Belleville and Kurt Blumenau provided insightful comments on an earlier version of this article.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play. The author also reviewed game coverage in the Atlanta Journal-Atlanta Constitution newspaper; SABR Baseball Biography Project biographies of several players involved in this game, especially Bill Nowlin’s Tim Wakefield biography; and a recording of CBS’s television broadcast of the game, posted on YouTube.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT199210090.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1992/B10090PIT1992.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1AjGgXIUPU

Photo credit: Tim Wakefield, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Lyle Graves, “Pirates Draft Wakefield in Eighth Round,” Florida Today (Cocoa, Florida), June 4, 1988: 3C.

2 Luke Krneta, “New Pitch Redirects His Career,” Pittsburgh Press, April 26, 1992: D6.

3 Mike Zizzo, “FIT May Allow Glasgow Back if Grades Rally,” Orlando Sentinel, August 1, 1989: F-1.

4 Bob Hertzel, “Lamp Returns; Pirates Relieved: His First Game Helps Save Win,” Pittsburgh Press, April 21, 1992: C1.

5 Patrick Reusse, “Pirates Not Quite Ready to Knuckle Under,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 9, 1992: 1C

6 David Jones, “Wakefield Knuckles Down for Pirates Tonight,” Florida Today, July 31, 1992: 3C.

7 Associated Press, “Pirates Slide into East Tie,” Latrobe (Pennsylvania) Bulletin, July 29, 1992: 14.

8 Bob Hertzel, “Pirates Trade Smiley for Two Prospects,” Pittsburgh Press, March 17, 1992: C1. Paul Meyer, “Gleaton Is Sent to Buffalo to Make Room for Walk,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 11, 1992: 13; Chuck Johnson, “Pirates Rally, Then Fade,” North Hills (Pennsylvania) News Record, June 2, 1992: B1; Kevin Roberts, “Walk’s Return a Relief,” North Hills (Pennsylvania) News Record, June 23, 1992: B5; Associated Press, “Pirates Trade Dependable Buechele for Needed Lefty,” Indiana (Pennsylvania) Gazette, July 11, 1992: 12; Associated Press, “Walk Stymies Cubs Again,” Indiana Gazette, July 19, 1992: C-1; Associated Press, “Hurting Smith Worries Bucs,” Latrobe (Pennsylvania) Bulletin, July 20, 1992: 14; “Bisons Wallop Zephyrs with Eight-Run 6th: Buffalo Back Home After First Sweep in Denver,” Buffalo Times, July 24, 1992: B1; “Notebook: Bucs Keep Revolving Door Busy,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 27, 1992: 14; John Mehno, “Pittsburgh Pirates,” The Sporting News, August 3, 1992: 23; Paul Meyer, “Smith’s Status Worries Leyland,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 18, 1993: D-1.

9 Rick Hummel, “Cards Again Knuckle Under: Rookie Strikes out 10 in Pirates’ 3-2 Win,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1992. C1; Associated Press, “Wakefield Fans 10 in Bucs’ 3-2 Win Over Cards,” Indiana Gazette, August 1, 1992: 13.

10 Bob Klapisch, “Mets Knuckle Under,” New York Daily News, August 6, 1992: 71; Associated Press, “Wakefield Hurls Bucs to Sweep,” Indiana Gazette, August 6, 1992: 16.

11 Gordon Edes, “Desperate Pirates Unleash Secret Weapon: Wakefield Tries to Avert Wake With Knuckler,” South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), October 9, 1992: 5C; Paul Meyer, “Wakefield’s Big Job: Living up to ’92,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 22, 1993: B-1.

12 Kevin Roberts, “Pirates Three-Peat! Bucs Top Mets for Third Straight NL East Crown,” North Hills News Record, September 28, 1992: C1.

13 “How the West Was Won,” Atlanta Journal, September 30, 1992: D8.

14 Thomas Stinson, “Great Guns! Braves Roll 5-1: Smoltz, Stanton Shut Down Pirates in Playoff Opener,” Atlanta Journal, October 7, 1992: E1.

15 I.J. Rosenberg, “A Slammin’ Good Show!: Gant Triggers 13-5 Rout; Braves Take 2-0 Series Lead,” Atlanta Constitution, October 8, 1992: E1.

16 Mark Bradley, “Like Leaves in Autumn, Pirates Are Falling Again,” Atlanta Constitution, October 8, 1992: E1. The Expos, who finished second in the NL East, were the only team with a winning record against the Braves in 1992. They won 8 of 12 games and outscored Atlanta 57-35.

17 I.J. Rosenberg, “Braves Knuckle Under 4-2: West Lead Cut to 4½ with Loss to Wakefield,” Atlanta Journal, August 17, 1992: E1.

18 Frank Fitzpatrick, “Braves Knuckle Under to Bucs in Game 3: Wakefield Tops Glavine in 3-2 Duel,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 10, 1992: C1.

19 Aguilera later became a successful popular singer, with 1999’s “Genie in a Bottle” her first of five singles topping Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart. Associated Press, “PennDOT Bans All Tomahawks,” Scranton (Pennsylvania) Times, October 10, 1992: B-4; “Christina Aguilera,” Billboard.com, https://www.billboard.com/artist/christina-aguilera/. Accessed October 14, 2024.

20 I.J. Rosenberg, “Glavine Hid Rib Injury,” Atlanta Journal, October 1, 1992: E1.

21 Rosenberg, “Glavine Hid Rib Injury.”

22 The right-handed-batting Redus started the four NLCS games that lefties Glavine and Steve Avery pitched. Orlando Merced, a switch-hitter, was at first for all three of right-hander Smoltz’s starts.

23 Joe Strauss, “Catch This – 13 in a Row! Nixon’s Amazing Play Grabs 1-0 Braves Victory; Record Tied,” Atlanta Journal-Atlanta Constitution, July 26, 1992: F1.

24 Van Slyke began the night with a .172 batting average in 15 postseason games with the Pirates. Bonds had a .157 average in 15 postseason games, with only one extra-base hit in 51 at-bats.

25 Jeff Schultz, “Glavine’s Luck Continues to Be Bad,” Atlanta Journal-Atlanta Constitution, October 10, 1992: D5.

26 I.J. Rosenberg, “Pirates’ Wake-up Call: Rookie’s 3-2 Win Cuts Braves’ Lead in Series to One,” Atlanta Journal-Atlanta Constitution, October 10, 1992: D1; Fitzpatrick, “Braves Knuckle Under to Bucs in Game 3.”

27 I.J. Rosenberg, “Closing In on the Prize! Braves Lead 3-1 as Smoltz, Nixon Foil Pirates 6-4,” Atlanta Journal-Atlanta Constitution, October 11, 1992: E1.

28 I.J. Rosenberg, “Pirates Win in a Walk, 7-1: Avery Flops; Braves Need Win at Home,” Atlanta Journal, October 12, 1992: D1; I.J. Rosenberg, “It’s Now or Never! Braves Routed, 13-4; Smoltz to Pitch Finale,” Atlanta Journal, October 14, 1992: D1.

29 I.J. Rosenberg, “Unbelievable! Cabrera’s Pinch Single Caps 3-Run Rally in Ninth, Returns Braves to Series,” Atlanta Journal, October 15, 1992: E1.

30 The Braves lost the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games.

31 Paul Meyer, “Wakefield Tries to Rebuild Career by Knuckling Down in Minors,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 23, 1994: D-3.

32 Paul Meyer, “The Magic’s Gone,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 21, 1995: B-1.

33 Nick Cafardo, “Wakefield Gets a Shot in Minors,” Boston Globe, April 28, 1995: 50.

34 Peter Abraham, “Final Out Recorded: Wakefield Announces Retirement,” Boston Globe, February 18, 2012: C1.