#19: The Greatness of Ken Holtzman

We continue the "25 Greatest Oakland A's Wins" weekly countdown with a return to Wednesday, October 16, 1974, and game 4 of the 1974 World Series.  

The World Series of 1974 was a California face-off that featured two teams at different points in their lifespans. On one side there was the Oakland A’s, coming off of two World Series titles, and they were looking to cement their place in history as one of the greatest teams of all time. The 1974 season was a time of change for the Oakland A’s. Their great manager, Dick Williams left after winning the 1973 World Series because he could not get along with the A’s owner, Charlie Finley. The recently deceased Alvin Dark took over for the A’s in 1974.  Dark had previously managed the Kansas City A’s in 1965 and was fired over a disagreement with Finley over player discipline. The A’s players were becoming increasingly antsy with Finley, Reggie Jackson went to court with Finley over salary arbitration and won, winning an extra $35,000 in salary. This was just one example of the ongoing battle between players and ownership, and with free agency beckoning, there would be more to deal with. Despite all this, the A’s would easily roll to 90 wins and win the AL West with 6 games to spare over the Texas Rangers. The A’s would dominate the Baltimore Orioles in 4 games to win the pennant and advance to their third straight World Series.

The Dodgers on the other hand, were looking at the genesis of a new shiny era of Dodgers baseball. After the glory days of the 1960s with legends like Don Drysdale, and Sandy Koufax, there was bound to be a time of rebuilding once those legends had to hang it up. This happened during the 1967 and 1968 seasons, as the Dodgers would finish in 8th place and 7th place, respectively. In the early 70s, the Dodgers returned to winning ways, winning over 85 games between 1969-1973 but they did not win the division in any of those seasons. In 1974, the Dodgers finally seemed to have found the ingredients to put themselves over the top as they won 102 games and outlasted the Cincinnati Reds who won 98 games to win the 1974 NL West. Led by their longtime, legendary manager, Walter Alston, the Dodgers certainly had a winning pedigree. And like the A’s, the Dodgers would roll in the Championship Series as they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in 4 games. Led by crafty pitching of Andy Messermith and Don Sutton to go along with the young hitting of Bill Buckner (Yes, that Bill Buckner), Steve Garvey, and Steve Yeager, the Dodgers were the big favorite to win the 1974 World Series.

The World Series would start at Dodgers Stadium, the first three games would all end with the final score of 3-2, the A’s would win the first 3-2 contest (you can watch that full game HERE, Vin Scully on the broadcast) behind a first inning home run from Reggie Jackson and the great relief work from Rollie Fingers. The Dodgers would win game 2, largely due to Don Sutton’s 8 innings of shutout ball. The series would head to Oakland in Game 3, and Catfish Hunter’s brilliance would set the table, Walter Alston’s crafty managing kept the game from getting out of hand and allowed the Dodgers to bring the game back into the fold thanks to two home runs, one by Bill Buckner (that drove Hunter out of the game) and Willie Crawford. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, these were both solo home runs and Rollie Fingers would pick up the 5-out save to salvage another 3-2 A’s win and extend the series to 2-1 in favor of the A’s.

The stakes would be high for game 4. The Dodgers needed Andy Messersmith to bring home a win that would ensure the series would go back to Los Angeles. The A’s would send Ken Holtzman out to try and bring the series firmly in control of Oakland. Holtzman would start the game quite well. He’d nullify a Bill Buckner double in the top first by striking out Jim Wynn and the hottest hitting Dodger, Steve Garvey. Holtzman would retire the side in order in the second and would foil a squeeze play in the third to end the inning and looked quite comfortable. Messersmith looked comfortable as well, as he’d scatter a couple hits but would nullify them quite easily. This was until the bottom of the third, the bottom of the order was up for Oakland, and the defensive master Dick Green would groundout to start the inning, and the pitcher Ken Holtzman was coming to the plate for the first time. Holtzman was definitely a capable hitter (he even doubled off of Messersmith in game 1) but Messersmith was definitely far from nervous. Messersmith would throw a first pitch ball to Holtzman and on the second pitch, Messersmith would live his biggest nightmare. Messersmith would throw what appears to be a high fastball to Holtzman, and he took a huge rip at it, the ball soared into the marine layer but not even mother nature could knock down that ball as it flew over the head of the left fielder, Buckner and now it was 1-0 A’s. It was as if Holtzman said to his hitters, if you’re not gonna give me run support, I’ll do it myself!! 

A pitcher hitting a home run on the biggest stage is certainly something great. You can watch Holtzman’s home run HERE. (Monte Moore is on the call, “THERE SHE GOES!”)

Holtzman went back out for the top of the fourth, and he retired Jim Wynn to begin the inning. Then Steve Garvey would continue his good series by lacing a clean single into right field to get a one-out baserunner for the Dodgers. Holtzman would then walk Jim Ferguson to make it runners on first and second with one out. Holtzman would answer by burying Ron Cey on three pitches to make it two outs. Then came Bill Russell (no relation to the greatest NBA Champion of all time and fellow USF Don), and with a 3-1 count, Russell lined a ball into the right-center field gap. Garvey would score easily, and Ferguson followed Garvey to do the same. Before the crowd knew it, Russell was into third with a 2-run triple to make it 2-1 Dodgers. Steve Yeager would not be able to extend the lead as he fouled out to A’s catcher, Ray Fosse to end the inning.

Messersmith would face the minimum in the bottom of the fourth by nullifying a Captain Sal Bando walk by striking out Reggie Jackson and forcing Joe Rudi to ground into a double play. Holtzman would then answer with a one-two-three inning in the top of the 5th. The bottom of the 5th is where the A’s would start to make some noise. Singles by Claudell Washington and Ray Fosse created a promising situation for the A’s.  Alvin Dark would order a sac bunt which was successfully executed bringing a second and third base situation with one out. Ken Holtzman would step up to the plate next, this time, he wouldn’t be able to come through as he struck out in a six pitch battle. With two outs, Bert Campaneris would be the last hope in the inning and he flied out to left, to end the inning with no damage done.

Holtzman would keep the score still after a Jim Wynn leadoff double. Holtzman would force Garvey and Ferguson to give the hot corner some action which Sal Bando dealt with for two outs. Now to the bottom of the 6th, and this is where the A’s would bring another ring into their crosshairs. It all started with the speedy Billy North singling to lead off the inning. Messersmith was well versed in the threat known as Billy North on the basepaths and he threw over to first but a rare Steve Garvey error allowed North to hustle on over to second and with a 1-2 count. Captain Sal would single to right field and North would score easily to tie the game and bring an unearned run to Messersmith’s scorecard. Reggie Jackson would walk to add to the chaos of the inning. Dark then put the bunt sign on and Joe Rudi would oblige, bringing Jackson and Bando to second and third with one out. Walter Alston asked Messersmith to walk Claudell Washington to load the bases and face the lighter hitting, Ray Fosse. Alvin Dark would counter by pinch hitting Jim Holt for Ray Fosse. And Jim Holt would take Dark off the hook for his rally killing bunt in the 5th by singling to right. Bando would walk home, and Jackson put the afterburners on and scored to make it 4-2 A’s. The breakthrough was on and the Las Vegas oddsmakers were looking like the true chumps as the underdog A’s were winning again. Dark would pinch run with Herb Washington the “designated runner” for Jim Holt and the A’s were looking to really close the book on the Dodgers. Dick Green would then beat out a double play in the next at bat and that would make the score 5-2 A’s.

Holtzman got another one-two-three inning in the top of the 7th including a strikeout of Steve Yeager. Walter Alston would pinch hit for Andy Messersmith as his day on the mound was over in disappointment. His replacement Mike Marshall would only allow one hit in his two innings of relief work. Holtzman would come out for the top of the 8th, a three run lead and Rollie Fingers waiting in the bullpen sure seemed to be an imposing mountain for the Dodgers to climb. Holtzman showed no signs of fatigue by striking out Davey Lopes. He’d then get Bill Buckner to groundout on the first pitch, Jim Wynn would continue his good day by forcing a walk. Steve Garvey would then single to left field, showing his contact hitting prowess to make it first and second with two outs. Alvin Dark would then come out of the dugout and take the ball from Holtzman and he’d make the move for the closer, Rollie Fingers. Ken Holtzman’s line read: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO. This would produce a game score of 64, so all in all a great day for Holtzman on the mound on the biggest stage. Let’s also look at his day at the plate, 1 for 3 with a solo home run. Not too shabby.

Rollie Fingers would strikeout Joe Ferguson to end the Dodgers threat in the 8th. The A’s were now three outs away from a commanding 3-1 series lead in the World Series. Leading off the top of the 9th would be Ron Cey who would single to center. Fingers would silence the threat by striking out Bill Russell, then Alston would pinch hit with Von Joshua for Steve Yeager. that move did not produce anything as Joshua grounded to Dick Green who flipped to Campy and he fired it to Gene Tenace at first and the ballgame was over. The A’s had won! Rollie Fingers had completed the four-out save, one night after completing a 5-out save. And more importantly, the A’s had made it 3-1 in the series. The next night, the A’s would try to clinch the title in front of their home fans....

As we all know, the A’s won the World Series in 5 games! Rollie Fingers rightfully was named MVP.

Sadly, this would be the end of the A’s winning ways, Finley would refuse to pay for his big time stars and prolong the dynasty and after 1975, the A’s would not find the postseason for another 6 years. The Dodgers would battle with the Big Red Machine for the NL West crown for the next few years, they’d then return to the World Series in 1977, 1978, and 1981. They’d face the Yankees in all three of those World Series, and they’d win their only title with that core group of players in 1981. Reggie Jackson was a thorn in their side in all those World Series ironically.

The greatness of Ken Holtzman should not be underestimated, his home run in game 4 was the final turn of momentum in this World Series and his great pitching performance was the nail in the Dodgers coffin. Another underrated piece of the A’s 1970s Dynasty, he rarely got the headlines of guys like Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter but no one disputes his value.

Next week, Win #18. Stay tuned!

-- Wes

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#20: Sacrificing For A Pennant

We pick up the "25 Greatest Oakland A's Wins" weekly countdown with win #20, and a return to October 12, 1972, for Game 5 of the 1972 American League Championship Series.  

Back then, there was no division series and the championship series was a best of 5 series, rather than today's best of 7 series format. Played at Tiger Stadium, Game 5 would decide who’d represent the American League in the World Series. It had been a long, and hard fought series between the Oakland A’s and the Detroit Tigers. Both teams embodied a blue collar mindset, and the baseball was rough and ragged.

The 1972 A’s were led by the Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams. Williams was known for being a tough, disciplinarian manager who could wield any cast of characters into a force to be reckoned with. Williams was also known for his instinctive ability to manufacture runs. That ability would take center stage in this game for the pennant.

The Tigers were led by enigma known as Billy Martin. He grew up in Oakland and later managed the A’s in a time known as “Billy Ball” but before that time, Billy Martin was managing the Detroit Tigers. Executing the lessons he learned from the legendary Yankees manager, Casey Stengel during his playing days, Martin was a brilliant tactician. However, Martin was more known for a fiery temper that made him difficult to work with for many executives and players.

The teams embodied the personalities of their managers and these ingredients came to a halt in game 2.  After a hard-fought, tightly contested, walk-off win for the A's in game 1, the Tigers frustrations started to show in game 2 after the A’s scrapped to a 5-0 lead in the game. In the 7th inning of game 2, Tigers reliever, Lerrin LaGrow’s first pitch drilled the A’s Cuban shortstop, Bert Campaneris who glared at LaGrow and threw his bat at the Tigers pitcher.  The bat narrowly missed LaGrow. Campaneris had really carried the A’s that day and what would ensue was a bench clearing brawl. Incredibly, the man who wanted to fight Campaneris the most was the Tigers manager! Martin was restrained by 3 umpires. Campaneris and LaGrow would be suspended for the rest of the ALCS.

PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS

The A’s left Oakland with an impressive 2-0 series lead, but the Tigers would claw back in game 3 behind a complete game shutout from Joe Coleman. In game 4, the A’s suffered a devastating loss that seemed to spell the worst. Catfish Hunter and Mickey Lolich would pitch gems for both of their respective teams. In the 10th inning, the relievers would decide the game. In a 1-1 game, the A’s jumped ahead to a 3-1 lead behind clutch hits from Gonzalo Marquez, Ted Kubiak, and Reggie Jackson.  With the score at 3-1, Jackson hit a bloop single with two outs and Ted Kubiak on third. However, Kubiak thought there was one out in the inning and for that reason he started tagging up. This cost the A’s a run and would become the first culprit of a huge calamity to end game 4.  In an earlier play in the game, A’s regular second baseman, Dick Green was injured as Norm Cash slid into second base to break up a double play. Green had to come out of the game. Because the A’s were running out of healthy players, Dick Williams had to move the regular catcher, Gene Tenace to second base. As the old baseball adage goes, the ball always finds you, and in the bottom of the 10th with the A’s three outs away from the World Series, the bases were loaded and a ground ball to Sal Bando at third appeared to be a double play ball. However, Gene Tenace botched the entire play and dropped the ball.  A run scored to make it 3-2. The next batter would walk to tie the game, and then Jim Northup hit the ball over the outfield with the outfield playing in and the game was over. Now the series was tied at 2-2 with the deciding game 5 being played in Detroit (the format at the time was a 2-3 format, rather than today’s 2-2-1) the next day.

PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS

And that brings us to game 5 on October 12, 1972!  On the mound for the A’s would be the veteran, Blue Moon Odom. Odom was nicknamed “Blue Moon” in grade-school because the shape of his head seemed to resemble the moon. And before the 1972 season in his hometown of Macon, Georgia, Odom was shot twice by a burglar but luckily the bullets only really grazed him and he reported to Spring Training on time. Odom was the veteran of the A’s solid rotation, and he had an impressive season going 15-6 with a 2.50 ERA. He had pitched a complete shutout against the Tigers in game 2 and without a doubt, Dick Williams felt good with Odom starting and if need be, Vida Blue was relatively rested in the bullpen.

On the mound for the Tigers would be the journeyman, Woodie Fryman who was roughed up in game 2 and was looking to redeem himself for his club. As the game started out, the Tigers took the early lead in the bottom of the first when with one out A’s catcher, Gene Tenace allowed a passed ball that sent the runners from first and second, to second and third, respectively. Still with one out, Dick Williams put the corners infielders in and the middle infielders back. Bill Freehan hit a ground ball to the shortstop, Dal Maxvil who tossed the ball to first and the Tigers baserunner on third scored to make it 1-0 Tigers. The next Tigers batter would line out, and Blue Moon Odom would definitely escape the first inning relatively unscathed.

Fryman would not get his shutdown inning. Reggie Jackson led off the inning with a walk and with Sal Bando coming to the plate, Jackson would flash some of his youthful 5-tool talent that he was blessed with by stealing second base. Sal Bando would fly out deep to right, and Jackson would tag from second and head to third, safely. With one out, Mike Epstein would take a pitch right on the wrist and would take first base. With runners on the corners and one out, Gene Tenace would strikeout looking to make it two outs in the inning. Next up was the light hitting Dick Green who was honestly more in there for his tidy glove rather than his bat. And because of this, Dick Williams decided to get ultra aggressive in this pivotal elimination game and he called a gutsy double steal. Epstein took off for second and Tony Taylor, the Tigers second baseman took the throw from the catcher, realizing that the throw was going to be short, he fired it back home seeing Reggie Jackson take off from third and Jackson’s speed and takeout slide was just enough. Jackson was safe and it was 1-1, but Jackson would tear his hamstring on the slide. The injury would take Jackson out of the World Series, if the A’s go onto win.

It must be said how impressive Reggie Jackson’s talent really showed in that half inning. The greater baseball public remember Reggie Jackson in pinstripes hitting clutch home runs and becoming “Mr. October” but his best years clearly came in Oakland. And in that half inning, he showed plate discipline (he ended his career setting the all-time strikeout record), great speed/instincts on the base paths, and most importantly: real grit (and his attitude would be the thing that critics would harp on him the most later on in his career). The last part is what is highlighted the most, to put yourself in harms way in such a big game just goes to show how much Dick Williams had influenced his players and got them to buy into his daredevil style.

Runs would prove to be few and far between in this game until the top of the fourth. George Hendrick, who replaced Reggie Jackson was leading off the inning and he hit a grounder to the shortstop. What seemed to be a relatively routine out for the Tigers turned out to be an unthinkable blown call that favored the A’s. The play was listed as an error on the shortstop but the umpire said that the Tigers first baseman, Norm Cash pulled his foot off the bag. Cash argued like crazy but the damage was done. A little bit of insight from youtube comments (I don’t usually put a lot of stock into youtube comments but I figured it was interesting enough), the first base umpire that game was John Rice and oddly enough, he resigned the next year in 1973 after a Chicago bookmaker was busted and Rice’s name was on his Christmas card list. For all I know, it’s not true, and even if it is, you can take it with a grain of salt, but I figured it was worth noting.

That blown call would prove to be a huge lift for the A’s, as Dick Williams would call for a sacrifice bunt from Captain Sal Bando to move the runner over to second base with one out. And after a Mike Epstein strikeout, Gene Tenace would provide a two out, single through the 5.5 hole (between the shortstop and third baseman) and George Hendrick rounded third and headed for home. Duke Sims, the Tigers left fielder would make the throw home and it was right on the money. It’s not clear whether the catcher, Freehan ever had possession of the ball but Hendrick’s hard slide into his blocking leg was rough enough to dislodge the ball and as a result the A’s had taken a crucial 2-1 lead.

Blue Moon Odom would complete the shutdown inning in the bottom half of the inning and then would pitch a clean inning in the 5th. He was then replaced by Vida Blue, who was used in the season as a starter but with his poor season, Dick Williams had him in the bullpen. It’s not clear why Odom was pulled from the game, the only thing I can think of is that Dick Williams’ instincts told him that Vida Blue needed to come in right away in this win or go home game. Odom’s pitching line read: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K’s. And in total, Odom received a Game Score of 62, anything over 50 is considered a quality start (however, achieving an official QS by today’s standards is pitching 6 innings and giving up no more than 3 runs).

The A’s would not tally on anymore runs but luckily for them, Vida Blue didn’t need anymore support as he shutdown the Tigers. Vida Blue would allow only 3 hits in relief (never more than one in any inning he pitched), and as if he was trying to prove to Dick Williams that he should have been in the playoff rotation, he made his point known with this performance. To end the ballgame, the tying run was on first base, but that didn’t matter as Blue got Tony Taylor to fly out to center and that was it…. The A’s had won the American League Pennant for the first time since 1931 when they were in Philadelphia, and the first time since moving to Oakland.

PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS

The victory was for many reasons a masterpiece by A’s manager, Dick Williams. Timely plays of manufacturing and what turned out to be a tremendous instinctive decision to put in Vida Blue were the highlights of this game. The most interesting thing about this game was actually what happened after. Two things were really quite interesting about the A’s postgame celebration.

First, Reggie Jackson was away from the team who were celebrating as he was beside himself because he knew he couldn’t participate in the World Series because of his torn hamstring. In an interesting, as well as an ironic action, Tigers manager Billy Martin went over to the A’s clubhouse to console Reggie Jackson. This is ironic because years later in 1977 when Reggie Jackson was signed by the Yankees, Billy Martin was the manager, and throughout their time together they never got along. This was most highlighted by this explosive exchange, seen here.

Second, apparently Vida Blue started to tease Blue Moon Odom during the celebration and actually said that he “choked,” it didn’t take long for things to get serious. Teasing ended with Odom and Blue starting to fight. This was not the first fight of the 1970s A’s and it would be far from the last. 

There’s only one highlight video of this game that I found here. If anyone has any footage, please share it with us!

Next week, Win #19. Stay tuned!

-- Wes

Get your Champion Gear at www.Section148.com

#21: The Squeeze

Pleasant surprises in baseball are always a welcomed sight. We continue our "25 Greatest A's Wins" weekly countdown with win #21, and a return to October 1, 2003 for Game 1 of the 2003 ALDS.  

This game proved to be one of the greatest pleasant surprises any A’s fan could ask for. In one of the better playoff victories of the Moneyball era, this game was one that has long since been remembered because of the tremendous ending.

The 2003 season was another winning year for the A’s. Ken Macha’s club had won 96 games and won the AL West without any .300 hitters or any guys with over 30 home runs. Ironically, the A’s finished the year with a losing record on the road but never suffered a losing month. Heading into the postseason, the A’s would have to compete without one of their fabled “Big 3”, Mark Mulder, who suffered a hip injury against the Red Sox in late August. Ken Macha would go with a 3 man rotation of Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Ted Lilly during the division series.

For the Red Sox, 2003 was the first season that new age baseball thinker, Theo Epstein took the reigns as GM. This was after Billy Beane famously turned down Owner John Henry’s offer to become the highest paid executive in all of sports and returned to Oakland. The Red Sox had set a record for team slugging percentage in 2003, and were widely known for their impressive lineup. The lineup included Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, and Johnny Damon, to name a few. In the rotation, the Red Sox had their longtime ace Pedro Martinez at the helm once again, to go along with Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield. Kevin Millar’s battle cry of “COWBOY UP!” became the slogan of the 2003 Boston Red Sox.

Game 1 would be a contest between Tim Hudson and Pedro Martinez. A pitcher’s duel was expected. Three batters into the game, Todd Walker, who said before the series, “We’re gonna go into Oakland, kick some ass and then we’ll take it from there” came to the plate.  Walker's strong words were validated early on as he took Hudson deep into the right field seats to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. Pedro Martinez looked strong in the early going only allowing one hit through two innings. After Hudson danced out of trouble in the top of the 3rd, Pedro started to encounter some trouble. The 9-hitter, Chris Singleton started the rally with a one-out double. Mark Ellis followed with a walk, and then Erubiel Durazo made Pedro pay by lining a double into right. Singleton scored easily and Mark Ellis scored all the way from first to give the A’s a 2-1 lead with Durazo standing on second. After Eric Chavez flew out, the former MVP Miguel Tejada lined a single into center, and the usually slow running Durazo was able to score from second because of the weak throwing arm of the center fielder, Johnny Damon. Tejada would then get caught in a pickle to end the inning with the A’s in front 3-1 after three.

Hudson would go onto complete the shutdown inning by retiring David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, and Bill Mueller in order. Then came the top of the 5th, Hudson would get Trot Nixon to start the inning with a flyout but next came Jason Varitek who would crush a 1-0 pitch into the right field seats to make the score 3-2. Hudson stopped the bleeding there in the 5th. Hudson and Martinez would achieve clean innings up until the top of the 7th. Hudson erased a Varitek walk with a double play from Johnny Damon. This was then followed by a single from Nomar Garciaparra which prompted Ken Macha to make the move for Ricardo Rincon the lefty, who would face Todd Walker. Rincon would fall behind Walker early in the count at 2-0. Walker would take advantage and in a huge way by taking Rincon deep and putting the Red Sox up 4-3 in the 7th. Rincon would get Manny Ramirez to fly out and end the inning, but the damage had been done. Rincon did not do his job and that was to get Todd Walker out.

With the lead, Pedro Martinez was looking to go as deep into the game as he could. He’d run into some trouble in the bottom of the 7th, as the A’s would load the bases up for Eric Chavez who miserably disappointed by fouling one off to the catcher who ended the inning. In the top of the 8th, Rincon would meekly walk David Ortiz, then he’d get Kevin Millar to strikeout, followed by a Bill Mueller double to make it runners on second and third with one out. With Red Sox manager Grady Little pinch hitting the righty, Dave McCarthy, Macha made the move to the submarining Chad Bradford who was hoping to Houdini the A’s out of this jam. Little countered the move by pinch hitting again, as he took McCarthy out of the on deck circle and brought in Adrian Brown. Brown proved to be no match for Bradford as he struck out swinging. The A’s would intentionally walk Jason Varitek to load the bases to set up the force play and Bradford would face Johnny Damon in a critical situation. Damon would get something to hit on 2-1, but Damon grounded to Eric Chavez who stepped on third to end the inning.

Grady Little would bring in Mike Timlin to pitch the 8th for the Red Sox. Pedro Martinez had thrown 130 pitches total just to get through 7 innings, his line read: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, and 3 K’s. He definitely wasn’t at his best that night and the A’s did a good job of making him work. Timlin would face the 4-5-6 hitters and he’d set them down in order with two strikeouts.

Ken Macha would bring the A’s closer, Keith Foulke in to pitch the 9th and keep the deficit from increasing. He’d face Nomar, Walker, and Manny. And on twelve pitches, he’d get all three to flyout and send the game to the bottom of the 9th.

The Red Sox were using a closer by committee and brought in their own submariner, Byung-Hyun Kim. Ramon Hernandez would lead off and get into a quick 0-2 hole.  Having to protect, Hernandez flied out as a result. To play the matchup, Ken Macha brought in Billy McMillon to pinch hit for Jermaine Dye. McMillon took four straight balls and now the tying run was on first with one out. 

Macha would take McMillon out and use Eric Byrnes to pinch run since he’s the much faster runner. Chris Singleton would get hit by a pitch to make the situation, runners on first and second, one out, and the score 4-3 Red Sox in the bottom of the 9th. 

Mark Ellis came up next, and unfortunately he couldn’t come through and struck out. The A’s were down to their last hope and that guy would be Erubiel Durazo. Grady Little once again played the matchup and brought in the veteran Alan Embree. Durazo would get the count to 1-1, and he would take a big hack and he delivered. He smoked a pitch into left field! Eric Byrnes scored easily to tie the game, and Chris Singleton hustled to third. Unbelievable drama had unfolded and Eric Chavez was coming up with the winning run on third. Chavez would then groundout to shortstop and wouldn’t be able to come through. It was time for extra innings.

Keith Foulke stayed in the game in the 10th inning, and he’d sit down Ortiz, Millar, and Mueller in order on 7 pitches. The Red Sox were being extra aggressive and Foulke took advantage. In the bottom of the 10th, the Red Sox brought in another reliever, Scott Williamson. He’d face the minimum by overcoming a Scott Hatteberg one out walk, by completing the strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play, getting Terrence Long to strikeout and throwing out Hatteberg at second.

In the top of the 11th, Macha stayed with Keith Foulke for the third consecutive inning. He’d thrown 19 pitches up to that point, and he wanted him to give just a little more. A 10 pitch at bat with Gabe Kapler would start the inning, but Foulke got him to strikeout. He only needed 4 pitches to retire Varitek on strikes, two outs. Then came Johnny Damon. Damon would force a walk, with Foulke possibly showing signs of fatigue. Damon would steal second to force the issue and bring the go ahead run to second, and Foulke would intentionally walk Nomar Garciaparra to face Damian Jackson who replaced Todd Walker in the 9th as a defensive replacement. Foulke would expose the lighter hitting Jackson as he struck him out on 6 pitches, and as a result the A’s were out of the inning. In total, Foulke threw 51 pitches and didn’t allow a single hit in his 3 innings of relief. A tremendous effort from the closer who was being stretched out in this pivotal playoff game.

The bottom of the 11th was up next for the A’s, and Grady Little brought in one of his starters, Derek Lowe. Lowe was slated to start Game 3 for the Red Sox, but Little figured he could get an inning or two out of him. Leading off was Ramon Hernandez, who forced a 6 pitch walk. Eric Byrnes was up next, and he weakly struck out. Chris Singleton would then groundout to short. The Red Sox would get the force at second, but Singleton would beat out the relay throw to make it one out with the winning run on first. Then Singleton took a walking lead and broke on Lowe’s first pitch to Mark Ellis to steal second. Ellis would not be able to be the hero as he struck out to the end inning.

In the top of the 12th, Ken Macha brought in his 5th starter, Rich Harden. He’d face the middle of the order for the Red Sox, and Harden would make things difficult on himself by walking Manny Ramirez on 7 pitches. He’d make things even more difficult with the count at 0-2 to David Ortiz. Harden threw a wild pitch to the backstop and Ramirez would advance to second putting the go ahead run at second. Harden would put Ortiz away on the next pitch to make it one out with Mr. "Cowboy Up", Kevin Millar coming to the plate. Millar would take a strike and then he’d go for it all on the next pitch, but luckily for the A’s all he could do was hit a pop fly on the infield to Eric Chavez to made it two outs in the inning. Harden would intentionally walk Bill Mueller to face Gabe Kapler. Harden would get behind in the count at 2-0 but Kapler could only groundout to Eric Chavez who stepped on the bag at third to end the threat and send the A’s to the bottom of the 12th.

It was getting very late in Oakland, and the worn out bullpens had certainly held firm. Derek Lowe would face the 2-3-4 hitters for the A’s. And just like in the 11th, Derek Lowe walked the leadoff hitter, this time it was the 9th inning hero, Erubiel Durazo. Eric Chavez would come up next, and he’d hit into a force out but would importantly beat the relay throw to keep the threat alive. With one out, and the winning run on first, Miguel Tejada came up and weakly grounded out to third, Bill Mueller could not get Chavez at second so he settled by getting Tejada at first to make it two outs. The next couple of plays were really incredible, Hatteberg walked, in his own trademark fashion, and Eric Chavez boldly stole third and made it runners on the corners with two out and Terrence Long coming to the plate. On the first pitch, Hatteberg used his veteran instincts to take off for second and the Red Sox didn’t even throw over to second, since they didn’t want to risk any errant throws that would end the game. With first base open, Lowe went on to walk Terrence Long to load the bases.

Ramon Hernandez was the next man. Hernandez took a strike to start the at bat. The infield was playing back with it being two outs and Ramon Hernandez being the catcher and all. There was no way the A’s were doing anything other than swinging away, since they’re the A’s after all. There’s just no way. Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek wanted the next pitch inside to Hernandez, the pitch was a fastball of the 86 mph variety which was typical from Lowe. The ball ended up on the outer part of the plate and then Hernandez brought the bat head down and there it was. Hernandez was laying down a bunt for a squeeze play. He got the bunt down as the ball went right down in the direction of third, Bill Mueller had no chance to throw out Hernandez at first or Chavez at home. The A’s had won the game on a walk-off squeeze play from their catcher! No one would have ever guessed. Watch it here.

This goes hand and hand with the amount of criticism the A’s received after their postseason exit in 2002, the whole thing about them not manufacturing runs in the playoffs. This criticism and league-wide reputation played a big part in why Hernandez was able to execute this play due to the element of surprise.

Most importantly, the A’s had taken a 1-0 series lead with all the momentum in the world against the notoriously snake-bit, Boston Red Sox. The A’s would then light up the knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield to win Game 2 behind Barry Zito. With the A’s ahead in the series 2-0 heading to Boston, the house of horrors struck the A’s. Game 3 included many unfathomable plays including a runner not touching home plate, base running obstruction that wasn’t called and then the gaming ending a walk-off home run from Trot Nixon in extra innings. After game 3, Barry Zito and Tim Hudson went out to a Boston bar.  About 12 hours before Game 4 where Tim Hudson would be making his start a fight would break out at the bar. Tim Hudson started swinging haymakers and had to be held back by all of the bouncers on duty at the bar. Fast forward to Game 4, Tim Hudson had to come out of the game after pitching just one inning. The official story goes that Tim Hudson did not come out of the game because of the bar fight, but I think we can all draw our own conclusions. The A’s would lose that game in heartbreaking fashion. And then I was in attendance for Game 5 in Oakland, and we all know what happened.

The defeat in the 2003 ALDS doesn't diminish how great the Game 1 victory was and there’s no doubt it deserved a place on this list of top 25 Greatest Wins!

Next week Win #20. Stay tuned!

-- Wes

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#22: The October Bash

The 1988 World Series brings a lot of different words from A’s fans who lived to see it all. The words you most often hear are usually along the lines of “disappointing” and “shocking”. Most of these words are brought up because of the vivid memory of Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run on one leg in game 1. For those who aren't familiar, the A’s were the heavy favorites going into the 1988 World Series, because the A’s were absolutely dominant in the regular season winning 104 games with a well-rounded team full of rising stars like Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. This combined with the Dodgers losing their star slugger, Kirk Gibson, presumably for the entire World Series made the A’s a safe bet. Little did the A’s know, Kirk Gibson would end up playing a large role in the fall classic as early as game 1.

The A’s had a 4-3 lead heading into the 9th inning with their Hall of Fame closer, Dennis Eckersley coming into save the game like he had done so many times that season. Long story short, Gibson would limp into the on deck circle and somehow, on one leg, he drove a backdoor slider into the right field bleachers for a walk-off home run that has now been replayed at least 100 times every single October.

The rest of the games during this series are often forgotten, the common thought is that Kirk Gibson’s walk-off inspired the Dodgers and sunk the A’s as a result. Game 2 went the way of Dodgers as well, thanks to a complete game shutout from Dodgers starting pitcher, Orel Hershiser. The A’s were heading back to Oakland in a 2-0 hole, and needed a change in momentum with their backs against the wall.  

We continue our "25 Greatest A's Wins" weekly countdown with win #22, and a return to Tuesday, October 18, 1988 for Game 3 of the World Series for a October Bash! 

On the mound for the A’s was that night was the recently deceased, Bob Welch. RIP! Welch would be facing his former team in Game 3 as the Los Angeles Dodgers had traded him the previous offseason for shortstop, Alfredo Griffin. Welch would face Griffin two times in the night, striking him out in the first at bat, and retiring him on a sacrifice bunt in the second at bat. Welch had been a big part of Dodgers folk lore during his 10 seasons with the Dodgers, including this legendary battle with Reggie Jackson in the 1978 World Series seen here. He’d win a ring with the Dodgers in 1981, though in the game he started, he was removed in the first inning without recording a single out. You can see it here!

In this game 3 of the World Series, Welch would pitch well but throw too many pitches, as he was removed in the top of the 6th. Welsh struck out eight, walked three, and only gave up one run. It would be a battle of the bullpens, with Dodgers starter, John Tudor leaving in the bottom of the second inning due to an injury which would end John Tudor’s career, unfortunately. After Welch’s departure it was a 1-1 game, with the A's only run coming from Ron Hassey’s RBI single in the 3rd. For the Dodgers, their run came from a 2-out RBI double from Franklin Stubbs.

In the top of the 6th, Welch had departed with the bases loaded and no one out. A’s manager, Tony La Russa, who’s known by many as the Father of the Modern Day Bullpen showed why in this inning.  La Russa looked to the lefty and long reliever, Greg Cadaret to get the first out. Facing current Angels manager and lefty, Mike Scioscia, Cadaret needed only two pitches to get Scioscia to foul out, one out. 

La Russa then took the ball from Cadaret and brought in the magician, Gene Nelson. Nelson was known for getting his team out of these kind of jams and is one of the unsung heroes of the great A’s teams of the late 80s. Facing Jeff Hamilton, righty on righty, Nelson himself only needed two pitches to induce a weak ground ball. The A’s third baseman, Carney Lansford took the ground ball and tossed it to catcher, Ron Hassey to complete the second out of the inning. The A’s were one out away from getting out of a bases loaded and no outs jam. 

With two outs the A’s put the infield back to medium depth with Alfredo Griffin coming to the plate. Griffin would only last two pitches before weakly grounding out to Mark McGwire who stepped on the bag and completed the total Houdini - keeping the score at 1-1, and saving the A’s in this series in all likelihood. This mixing and matching of relief pitchers would become a staple of Tony La Russa’s style, much to the dismay of fans who wanted to get the game over before the 3 hour mark, but no one could deny its effectiveness.

For the Dodgers, their manager Tommy Lasorda probably didn’t realize this but due to the injury of his starter, he lucked into the effectiveness of using multiple pitchers in short spurts. MLB Network’s Brian Kenny will tell you how effective this can be, because of how statistics show that hitters struggle the first time they see a pitcher, and by the third time, they hit the pitcher very well since hitters will have made the adjustments by then. Lasorda used Tim Leary for 3.2 IP, he only gave up one earned run, then Lasorda brought in Alejandro Pena who gave the Dodgers 3 innings of shutout ball. I’m sure Brian Kenny has studied this game many times dreaming of more games like this.

Gene Nelson would give the A’s one more inning of relief. Nelson worked around one 2-out double and completed the 7th with no runners coming across the plate. Once again, the score was still 1-1. In the 8th, Rick Honeycutt (the former Dodger at that time, and current Dodgers pitching coach) was the A’s setup man and would take his usual role after Gene Nelson gave up a leadoff single to the switch-hitting, John Shelby. Honeycutt was a lefty who really didn’t care what side of the plate you hit from. This was clear as Lasorda pinch hit for Mike Davis with right-hander, Dave Anderson.  Dave Anderson would strikeout swinging on 5 pitches. Then Honeycutt faced lefty Mike Scioscia, and just like Scioscia had done in his last at bat, he fouled out to the third baseman, Carney Lansford. Jeff Hamilton was next up.  Honeycutt faced little resistance and Hamilton struck out swinging. Honeycutt looked masterful against his former team.

With the A’s continuing to struggle against Alejandro Pena, La Russa decided to keep with the hot hand of Honeycutt and let him pitch the top of the 9th and hold off from putting in Dennis Eckersley. Honeycutt would need to keep it scoreless, especially with the Bash Brothers coming up in the bottom of the 9th. Honeycutt would face Alfredo Griffin, Steve Sax, and Tracy Woodson.  He retired all three in order (with Griffin curiously striking out from a bunt foul ball with two strikes). Honeycutt’s night was sensational, and while usually everyone wants to talk about Eckersley, Honeycutt’s value cannot be understated.

Now came the bottom of the 9th inning. With the A’s dangerous part of the order coming up, Lasorda decided to bring in his closer, Jay Howell. Jay Howell has no relation to current Dodgers reliever, J.P. Howell but he does have quite a story connected to him. Jay Howell was part of the trade in the offseason between the A’s and the Dodgers with Alfredo Griffin and Howell going to the Dodgers for Matt Young and Bob Welch. Howell would spend three seasons with the A’s from 1985-1987 and in that time he made two all-star games. The Dodgers immediately made him their closer and recorded 21 saves to go along with 38 games finished for the Dodgers in 1988. In the 1988 NLCS, there was a bit of controversy involving Howell. In game 3 against the Mets, Howell came into the game and the umpire noticed a substance on his glove. It turned out it was pine tar, and the umpire went onto eject Howell from the game as the Dodgers would go onto lose that game. MLB suspended Howell for three games, but the Dodgers were able to win the pennant without him and still get to the World Series. This night would be his first time pitching since the pine tar incident.

Howell would face the 1988 AL MVP, Jose Canseco for the first batter of the inning. Swinging at the first pitch, Canseco would hit a pop fly to the second baseman for the first out of the inning. Then came Canseco’s fellow bash brother, Mark McGwire. An 8 pitch at bat would ensue between the two, but it would be Mark McGwire who’d win the day. With a 2-2 count, Howell threw McGwire a high fastball on the inner half of the plate and the former USC Trojans star crushed it! The ball flew like a line drive that never showed signs of dying until it was over the fence in left-center, and as a result sent the Coliseum into a frenzy with Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” coming on in the background.  The A's win!!! 

The legendary Vin Scully is on the call and he captures the moment brilliantly. Notice how many bashes McGwire does as he crosses home plate, I don’t think there’s ever been a scenario where someone has done that many bashes in a 60 second interval since then. Watch it here...

It was only the second postseason walk-off home run in Oakland A’s postseason history (more on the other walk-off later). A’s fans thought that McGwire’s blast was just what they needed to turn the tide in the series. And on the surface, it certainly looked like it was just what the doctor ordered! Sadly, the A’s would not be able to capitalize on it. The next night, the A’s would fall short in a 4-3 game. Howell would face McGwire once again in the 7th but this time Howell won the battle as McGwire hit an infield fly. Howell would throw 2.1 IP to earn the save and make the series 3-1. 

In game 5, Orel Hershiser would completely own the A’s in the 5-2 clincher, throwing another complete game. Orel Hershiser, in my opinion, deserves a lot more credit for helping the Dodgers win the 1988 World Series. In the NLCS, Hershiser threw 8 innings in game one, 7 innings in game 3, he picked up the save in game 4, and on two days rest, Hershiser pitched a complete game shutout in the deciding game 7 to send the Dodgers to the World Series. In the World Series, Hershiser threw a complete game shutout in game two, and a complete game in the clinching game 5. In total, he threw 42.2 IP (keep in mind, there were only two rounds back then, no division series) with 32 SO, and a 1.07 ERA during the entire 1988 Postseason. In the season, he threw 15 complete games and rightfully won the NL Cy Young Award. You think Giants' Madison Bumgarner’s performance was epic? Orel Hershiser put the Dodgers on his back and rightfully won the MVP in both the World Series and the NLCS.

Just had to give respect to a man who hasn’t received as much respect as he should due to Kirk Gibson’s heroic performance. Mark McGwire’s walk-off homer was one that provided hope in the series, but would stand alone, as one may question this game’s placement on this list. I’ll leave that up to you guys, since this list is not supposed to end debates, but merely continue them.

Next week Win #21. Stay tuned!

-- Wes

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