Magic Royals moments: 1979, Willie all the way

Willie Wilson terrorized opponents with his speed in the late 1970s and 1980s. His inside-the-park homer leading off the bottom of the 13th inning gave the Kansas City Royals a 9-8 victory over the New York Yankees on June 9, 1979.

By Phil Ellenbecker
  In Philip Roth's "The Great American Novel," Angela Whittling Trust asks Luke Gofannon what he loves most in the world, even more than her.
  "Triples," he says.
  Yes, triples in baseball are a lot of fun, more so than the endless homer highlights we see every night during the summer on "SportsCenter." And the Kansas City Royals gave their fans an eyeful of triples in the late 1970s, leading the league in that category from 1975 to 1980.
  Yet probably more fun than triples are inside-the-park homers, and Royals fans were treated to their share at this time thanks to one man, Willie Wilson.
  I remember thinking every time Wilson hit a ball into the gap that he could possible circle the bases. Noted baseball analyst Bill James said Wilson may have been the fastest man ever to play major league baseball.
  The excitement of seeing Willie heading out of the batter's box, pumping his legs around the base paths and heading for home reached a fever pitch on the afternoon of Saturday, June 9, 1979, with the Royals and New York Yankees at Royals Stadium featured on NBC's "Game of the Week." (Remember that?)
  With the game in extra innings, Wilson led off the bottom of the 13th with an inside-the-parker to left-center field, giving K.C. a 9-8 victory before a crowd of 38,025. (See it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaK1lF1G8iI).
  Wilson punched a high, inside fastball from Ken Clay to the opposite field and reached the turf between left fielder Roy White and center fielder Mickey Rivers. The ball rolled to the wall, and when White overthrew cutoff man Mickey Stanley in short left, Wilson was home free and crossed the plate standing up.
  "Was he flying?" NBC color man Tony Kubek said to Joe Garagiola.
  "He just might have set a record, Joe, going from home to home," Kubek added, also noting that Wilson didn't get a good break coming out of the box because he thought the ball was going to be caught. And he also noted that Wilson could go from first to third in 10.2 seconds.
  It was a wild finish to a wild game, typical of the contests the two teams staged throughout the late '70s. The lead changed hands three times, and twice the teams were tied before Willie decided it.

Marty Pattin nailed down the Royals' victory with three innings of shutout relief.

  The Yankees took a 5-0 lead after three innings off Larry Gura. Chris Chambliss hit a two-run homer in the second. Three runs scored on a Lou Piniella single in the third, the third when Amos Otis' throw from center went into the dugout after third baseman Todd Cruz failed to cover third. (George Brett, normally the Royals third sacker, was playing first this day).
  The Royals surged into a 6-5 lead after six. They broke through with three runs in the fourth off Tommy John on Al Cowens' single and Darrell Porter's two-run homer. The Royals tied the game in the sixth on John Wathan's two-run triple off Ray Burris, who'd just relieved John. Fred Patek followed with an RBI single that put the Royals ahead.
  Piniella, who went 3-for-7 on the day with four RBIs, tied the game at 6 in the seventh when his single off Renie Martin, who'd just replaced Gura, drove in Mickey Rivers. Brett's double off Jim Kaat put K.C. back ahead in its half of the seventh.
  Graig Nettle's two-out double off Al Hrabosky scored Willie Randolph and regained the lead at 8-7 for New York in the top of the ninth.
  The Royals pushed the game into extra innings by manufacturing a run in the bottom of the ninth. Wilson drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on U.L. Washington's sacrifice bunt and went to third on Otis' fly out off Ron Davis, who'd come in for Kaat. Brett's single drove in the tying run.
  After Hrabosky set the Yanks down in the 10th, Marty Pattin came on and blanked the Yankees the next three innings. New York got runners to second in both the 11th and 12th on sacrifice bunts, but Pattin squeezed out of the inning with strikeouts both times.
  Facing the Yankees' 3-4-5 hitters, the Duck got Munson, Piniella and Nettles on a  pair of fly outs and a pop-up in the 13th, setting the stage for Wilson's finishing theatrics.
  Pattin improved to 3-0 in a season in which he went 5-2. He went 4-0 the next year, his final in the big leagues, giving him a 43-39 record in a seven-year stint with K.C. that closed his 13-year career.
  Brett led the Royals' 17-hit attack on the day, going 4-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Wathan was 3-for-6 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Wilson was 3-for-6 with three runs scored and Washington 2-for-5.
  Other big hitters for the Yankees besides Piniella were Chambliss (3-for-5, two RBIs), Randolph (2- for-5, three runs) and Rivers (2-for-6, two runs).
  With the win the Royals were in second place in the American League West, three games out of first behind California. The Yanks were fourth in the AL East, five games behind Baltimore.
  And that's where the two teams stayed, as each finished out of first for the first time in four years. The Angels won the West by three games over the Royals, while the Orioles finished 13 games ahead of the fourth-place Yanks.
  And after 1979 Whitey Herzog was out as Royals manager, fired after 4 1/2 years. Herzog didn't get along with owner Ewing Kauffman, Whitey and Ewing's wife Muriel more or less despised each other, and things came to a head that year.
  The Royals and Yankees, both under new management, resumed their accustomed spots atop the divisions next season in one final hurrah for their great rivalry of the era.

Wondrous Willie

  It was 1979 when Wilson truly burst upon the scene as a Royals force. Wilson batted only .217 in his first full season of 1978, although he finished fifth in the league in stolen bases with 46 in only 198 at-bats. As he began to take Herzog's advice and slap at the ball to take advantage of his speed, he broke through with a .315 average next year and led the AL in stolen bases with 83.
  He also began to establish himself as a terror on balls hit into the gaps, with five of  six homers in '79 contained inside the park. He finished his career with 12 or 13 career inside-the-park homers, depending on the source.
  Wilson hit better than .300 all but one season during 1979-84, led by a league-leading .332 in 1982. He finished his 17-year career with a .286 average and 668 stolen bases, 12th best all time. Five times he led the AL triples.
  Wilson's 12 inside-the-park homers (or 13) were the most of anybody who played from 1950 on.
  (Editor's note: Info on Wilson's 12 career inside-the-park homers comes from an article by Derek Bain at seamhead.com. Info on his '79 inside-the-parkers, and on inside-the-parkers hit after 1950, came from an article by Mil Chipp at sabr.org.)
  The Royals are lucky some NCAA I school didn't snap Wilson up for football. At Summit, New Jersey, High, Wilson rushed for 3,639 yards his junior and senior seasons and "had been one of the greatest schoolboy athletes in New Jersey history and had become a larger-than-life legend," according to a New York Times article by Dave Kaplan.
  To read about and see what a legend Willie was in high school, check out http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/watch-willie-wilsons-high-school-football-highlights-are-just-epic/. As Dayn Perry put it in the article, "You could not tackle Willie Wilson at any point from 1971-73."
  And chances are you could not throw Wilson out on the bases if he hit the ball into the gap from about 1979 on.
   

Magic Royals moments, 1977: Damn Yankees, again

Freddie Patek was inconsolable and alone in the Kansas City Royals dugout after the New Yankees handed them a 5-3 defeat in Game 5 of the 1977 American League Championship Series. Patek grounded into a double play, ending the game, after the Royals entered the ninth inning leading 3-2.

By Phil Ellenbecker
 I don't recall seeing shortstop Fred Patek crying in the dugout after the Kansas City Royals dropped the fifth game of the 1977 American League Championship Series. Perhaps I was off crying some place away from the TV after the game.
  I can certainly empathize with Freddie Joe's heartbreak, because I felt it myself. This was the Royals' year, 1977. There was a rough patch in the middle of summer, when the Chicago White Sox — the "Southside Hitmen" with their bloviating fans chanting "na na na na" — threatened K.C.'s AL West supremacy.
  But the Royals restored their roar in August and September and won the division going away with a club record 102 wins. And when they won two of the first three games of the ALCS with the next two scheduled at Royals Stadium, it looked like they could be headed to the World Series in their ninth year of existence and second trip to the postseason.
  But thanks in part to what I thought were a couple of questionable decisions by Royals manager Whitey Herzog, and in part to the Yankees just being the Yankees, it was the Yankees who moved on, giving Reggie Jackson a chance to permanently establish himself as Mr. October. But his October should have ended Oct. 8.
  My first beef with Whitey came up Oct. 7 when he started a yet-unproven Larry Gura (8-5, 3.13 ERA that year) in Game 4 over Jim Colborn, who'd won 18 games and pitched a no-hitter in '77 for the Royals. But Herzog had a hang-up this series about starting right-handers against the Yankees' predominantly left-handed hitting lineup, and about using Colborn against the Yanks period. In fact Colborn didn't pitch at all against New York in 1977. Probably with merit — he went 4-11 with a 4.34 ERA in his career against the Yanks.
  But I'd have taken my chances with Colborn. Gura gave up four runs, all earned, in two innings as the Yankees won 6-4.
  But of course it wasn't Gura's fault or Herzog's fault. It was all John Mayberry's, just ask Whitey. Big John showed up late for the game, feeling the effects of a long night of partying with his family, and he admittedly had a poor game, striking out twice and committing two errors before Herzog got him out of there. (But why did Whitey start him if he was in such bad shape?)
  Whitey had a case, but I'm not sure Mayberry cost the Royals the game as much as Gura's shaky outing did. And besides, Whitey is one of the biggest crybabies and excuse makers ever.

Royals manager Whitey Herzog turned to stud horse starter Dennis Leonard to close out the Yankees with Kansas City ahead 3-2, but Leonard was out after two batters and New York went on to win 5-3.

 Herzog's next questionable call came with the Royals leading 3-2 entering the ninth inning of Game 5. Since the Royals skipper didn't have a closer he could trust after Doug Bird had been used (and even Bird couldn't be trusted), he called on ace starter Dennis Leonard (20-12, 3.04) to finish off the Yanks. But it wasn't long before Herzog had him out of there after Leonard surrendered a leadoff single to Paul Blair and walk to Roy White.
  On came Larry Gura, and in came Blair on Mickey Rivers' single, bringing on Mark Littell. White scored on Willie Randolph's line-out sacrifice fly to center, putting the Yankees ahead. After Thurman Munson grounded out, Rivers scored on an error by George Brett that made it 5-3.
  With a reliable closer on the mound in Sparky Lyle (second in the AL in '77 with 26 saves), the Yankees put the Royals away in the bottom of the ninth. Lyle coaxed a double-play ball by Patek to end the game, sucking the guts out of what had been looking to be a wondrous season for the Royals.
  I remember feeling good at the time when Herzog called on Leonard. Close it all out with the big kahuna, even though he'd pitched in relief only one time all season and was known as a guy who usually took a couple of innings to hit his stride. I liked it.
  In retrospect it looked like a grandstand move by the White Rat that failed miserably. Whitey was somewhat of a showboat who liked to make himself look good.
  (By the way, regarding that conventional wisdom on Leonard as a slow starter? The facts don't really hold that up. According to baseballreference.com, Leonard's ERA by innings was fairly balanced throughout his career — 3.62 through the first three, 3.61 the next three and 3.96 innings seven through nine. In 1977, his ERA by innings, first through sixth, was 1.95, 4.14, 3.41, 1.75, 2.08 and 2.73, so he did get stronger as he went along that year.).
  (And regarding the Royals' closer situation that year, despite not having a go-to guy they led the league in overall saves with 42. Bird led with 14, followed by 1976 closer Mark Littell with 12 and Gura with 10. Bird had his moments but was somewhat inconsistent, and Herzog had trouble figuring out whether to use him as a starter or reliever.)

Game 7 got off to a rambunctious start when George Brett, after tripling to center field in the first inning, came up swinging after Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles kicked Brett in retaliation for Brett's hard slide. Moving in to break up the dust-up are Royals third base coach Chuck Hiller and Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry.

  The 1977 ALCS games were perhaps the most fiery of in a series of heated contests between the Royals and Yanks in the late '70s. Hal McRae set the tone in Game 2 when he went way out of the base path and took out second baseman Willie Randolph with a rolling block on a double-play attempt, allowing Patek to score from second (with McRae waving him around while tangled up with Randolph).
  The fireworks were rekindled early in Game 5 when in the bottom of the first Brett tripled to center field and came up swinging at third baseman Graig Nettles after Nettles kicked him, thinking Brett was a bit overaggressive on his slide.The two were separated by third base coach Chuck Hiller and pitcher Ron Guidry as the benches emptied, before things settled down. No players were thrown out.
  McRae scored on Brett's hit and Brett scored on Al Cowens' ground out, giving K.C. a 2-0 lead. Munson singled in Rivers off starter Paul Splittorff in the third. In the bottom of the inning a leadoff double by McRae and single by Cowens made it 3-1 Royals before Mike Torrez, in relief of Guidry, struck out Amos Otis and John Wathan to get out of the inning.
  Torrez and Lyle blanked K.C. the rest of the way, while Splittorff held the Yanks in check until yielding a leadoff single in the eighth to Randolph and giving way to Bird. Lou Piniella and Jackson stroked consecutive singles to score Randolph and make it 3-2, and Bird needed Steve Mingori to get him out of the inning.
  Then came the heartbreaking ninth. Damn. The Royals should have been in the 1977 World Series. And Reggie Jackson shouldn't have been.
  Oh, and by the way, before the Los Angeles Dodgers made Reggie look so good in the '77 Series, Jackson went 2 for 16 against the Royals in the ALCS (.125) with no extra-base hits. His RBI single in Game 5 was the only run he drove in.
The White Rat
  You might think by reading the above that I had no use for Whitey Herzog. Not entirely true. I think Whitey was great for the Royals and exactly what they needed to get over the hump and assume dominance of the AL West in the late 1970s. He was a great regular season manager who knew how to make full use of his roster.
  But he was also full of himself and tended to overmanage, shortcomings that tend to show up in the postseason. Great managers don't necessarily have the most success in the postseason, Casey Stengel excepted. Let the record show that Whitey Herzog had as many World Series titles, and so did Earl Weaver, as Ned Yost has.

Magic Royals moments: McRae in '77, a doubles machine

Hal McRae's doubles in 1977 stuck out like so many line drives into the gap at Royals Stadium. He had 54 that year, the most in the major leagues in 27 years and more than anybody would hit for 16 more years.



By Phil Ellenbecker
  Since the 21st century came around, 50 doubles have been hit in a season 35 times, the highest mark being Matt Carpenter's 55 in 2013.
  Which makes what Hal McRae did in 1977 seem more amazing.
  Hal McRae led the American League with 54 doubles in '77. That was a big deal. This was a remarkable feat, for its time. I would argue that it’s as significant as any player had in the 1970s. I can’t back that, but I can tell you this:
  McRae’s doubles total was the most  in the AL since George Kell had 56 in 1950. That’s 27 years. The closest anybody had come in the meantime was Frank Robinson with 51 in the NL in 1962; in the AL it was Fred Lynn’s 47 in 1975.
   McRae’s 1977 doubles total was more than anybody in the majors since Stan Musial with 53 in 1953.
  Nobody in the AL hit as many doubles in a season until John Olerud belted 54 in 1993. That’s 16 years.
  Nobody in the NL hit that many until Mark Grudzielanek had 54 in 1997.
  So for a span of 43 years, Hal McRae had the highest double total for one year of anybody in the major leagues.
 And in the 1970s, Pete Rose with 51 in 1978 was the only other player to collect 50 doubles.
 Now, McRae didn’t come close to setting the single-season record for doubles. That's the 67 by Earl Webb in 1931. But McRae is tied for the 24th best single-season mark of all time. And in relative terms, you could say that for one year, McRae ruled in doubles as nobody had for quite some time.
  In addition to his doubles output, McRae hit .298 with 11 triples, 21 homers, 104 runs and 91 RBIs on a team that went 102-60, best in Royals history, and won the AL West by eight games. About the only downer was a heartbreaking five-game loss to the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.
  The number of McRae's doubles is impressive enough, but what I also remember about McRae's doubles is how he hit them. Lots of doubles are would-be homers that bounce off the wall. That's not how I remember McRae's. I remember line drives into the gaps, a hitting style ideally suited to the spacious dimensions of Royals Stadium.
   I also remember singles turning into doubles. McRae and George Brett specialized in taking advantage of outfielders lollygagging after a ball, then stretching ordinary hits into two-baggers.
  Hustle. Speed. Line drives. Singles, doubles, triples, all over the park. Rat-a-tat-tat. In fact, the Royals led the league in doubles and triples each year from 1976-78 as they won three straight division titles.
  That was Royals baseball in the late 1970s. That was Hal McRae.

Magic Royals moments, 1976: By George, they almost did it; and the making of a legend

George Brett has rounded third and is headed for home after a three-run homer that tied the score 6-6 in Game 5 of the 1976 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. The Yankees won 7-6 to capture the pennant and eliminate the Royals in their first trip to the postseason.

Headlines and photos proclaim the tumult and shouting after Chris Chambliss' leadoff homer in the ninth inning of Game 5 gave the Yankees their first pennant since 1964.

By Phil Ellenbecker
  A couple stories back, I presented the case for George Brett as a coming superstar by recalling his six straight three-hit games from May 8-13 in 1976.
  I now present my personal memory, and probably many others', of when it appeared George truly had the touch of greatness. That came on Thursday night, Oct. 14, Game 6 of the 1976 American League Championship Series, when Brett brought the Royals back from the dead and on the cusp of the World Series in their first year in the postseason, in their eighth year of existence.
  Didn't quite happen. Damn you, Chris Chambliss, who unloaded a homer off Mark LIttell leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, on the first pitch, giving the New York Yankees a 7-6 win and their first pennant since 1964.
  Yankees fans, who'd earlier delayed the start of the ninth inning by tossing debris onto the field, marked the occasion by this time taking to the turf and swarming Chambliss. He was forced to make like a fullback and barrel over the intruders in an attempt to get around the bases, before being forced to plow his way into the dugout after reaching third base. Police later escorted him to home plate, but they found it had been pulled out of the ground.
  Such high drama didn't seem in the offing heading into the eighth inning, with New York leading 6-3 and Yankees fans getting ready to unleash 12 years of pent-up frustration at seeing their once-proud franchise shut out of the postseason.
  Then Brett shut them up. After Al Cowens and Jim Wohlford started the inning with back-to-back singles off starter Ed Figueroa and Grant Jackson, Brett flattened out on an inside, over-the-shoulder fastball from Jackson on the first pitch and uncorked a three-run homer down the right-field line.
   "And-you-can-hear-the-qui-et-of-this-crowd," How-ahd Co-sell staccatoed into the ABC microphone as Brett, who'd hit just seven homers during the regular season, stepped into the dugout after circling the bases.
  And by George, all of a sudden we had a brand new ballgame. But the Royals, who'd twice rallied from one-game deficits in forcing a fifth and final game (best of five in championship series then), failed to capitalize on the momentum of Brett's homer. Grant retired John Mayberry, Hal McRae and Jamie Quirk in order to close out the eighth.
  Littell, who'd emerged as the Royals closer with 16 saves and a 2.08 ERA in his first full season and came on with one out in the seventh inning for Andy Hassler, retired the side in order in the Yankees half of the eighth. That made it five straight batters he'd gotten out. But he couldn't get the sixth.
 On Chambliss' game winner, the ball sailed over the reach of the 5-foot-11 Hal McRae. Later, Royals manager Whitey Herzog said the ball would have been caught if the regular K.C. right fielder, 6-1 Al Cowens, had been in place. Cowens had to move to center after Amos Otis was sidelined for the series in the first game, spraining an ankle running out a grounder in his first at-bat.
  Could Cowens have caught it? I'll chalk this up as another another lame excuse by crybaby Herzog. Two inches wouldn't have made a difference.
  As noted by ABC color commentator Reggie Jackson, who'd be joining the Yankees next season, Brett was atoning for an earlier error when he turned hero with his homer in the eighth. The Yankees had made it 6-3 in the sixth when Brett's error on Carlos May's grounder allowed Chambliss to score.
  (Chambliss was 3 for 4 on the night with two runs scored and three RBIs. He batted .525 in the series with five runs and eight RBIs.)
  The night got off to a promising start for the Royals when Brett doubled and Mayberry homered in the top of the first inning.
  But the Yankees came back in their half when Mickey Rivers tripled leading off, Roy White singled him in and Thurman Munson followed with another single, prompting Herzog to summon Paul Splittorff. White then scored on Chambliss' sacrifice fly.
  The Yankees took control with two runs apiece in the third off Splittorff and the sixth off Hassler. The Royals had taken a 2-1 lead in the second when Buck Martinez singled in Cookie Rojas.
  As it turned out, when he stepped up in the eighth Brett was only beginning to torment the Yankees in their own stadium and produce postseason heroics. The homer was the first of his 10 in the postseason, nine of them in the ALCS. He belted three, all of them solo and two of them leadoff, in his first three at-bats in the third game of the 1978 ALCS at Yankee Stadium. They went for naught, though, as the Yankees won 6-5 and went on to win the next game and advance to the World Series for the third straight year.
  (Trivia: Did you know Brett, normally the No. 3 hitter in the Royals batting order throughout his career, was the leadoff hitter in this game? Brett batted leadoff 134 times in his career, including 39 in 1978.)
  Brett's crowning moment as a Yankee killer came in Game 3 of the 1980 ALCS at the House that Ruth Built, with his three-run homer off Goose Gossage in the seventh inning that gave the Royals a 4-2 win and sent them into the World Series for the first time.
  And then there's the infamous Pine Tar Game homer, again in Yankee Stadium and again off Gossage, on July 24, 1983. Brett's two-run shot in the ninth appeared to have won the game but was disallowed, at Yankees manager Billy Martin's behest, by umpire Tim Tim McClelland for what was ruled an excessive use of pine tar.
  AL President Lee MacPhail ruled in favor of the Royals' protest, and K.C. completed the win when the suspended game was resumed Aug. 18.
  (More trivia: Who was the batter who singled with two out both times to give George Brett the chance to hit his most famous homers? Answer: U.L. Washington. The toothpicked wonder kept the inning alive in Game 3 of the 1980 ALCS, and in the Pine Tar Game.)
 

Back in the day, Roger Craig could hum, baby

Roger Craig helped the Dodgers win World Series with both Brooklyn (1955) and Los Angeles (1959).

Roger Craig, with his wife Carolyn, his wife of 62 years, is shown at age 83 in 2013 at his home in Borrego Springs, Calif. After his pitching career he went on to enjoy fame as a pitching coach and manager. 

By Phil Ellenbecker
  When we think of Roger Craig, we probably first think of split-finger fastball, as in the foremost teacher and proponent of the pitch made famous and mastered by Bruce Sutter.
  Or we think of Craig, who made the expression "humm baby" part of the baseball vernacular as San Franscisco Giants manager, as a sad-sack pitcher for the New York Mets — as the openingday pitcher for that woeful team headed toward a 40-win season in 1962 who had consecutive 20-loss seasons.
  Yet a look at the record shows Craig was a pretty darned good pitcher and somebody who played an important part in world championships for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1955 and 1959), and for the St. Louis Cardinals (1964).
  Craig was called up to the Dodgers in midseason 1955 after going 10-2 at Triple-A Montreal. With Brooklyn he was 5-3 with a 2.77 ERA in 21 games, 10 of them starts.
  With the Dodgers just having tied the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series — the third time the two teams had faced each other in the past four years — Craig was summoned to start Game 5 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. He allowed two runs, both earned, on four hits and five walks in six innings while striking out four as he got the victory, and the Dodgers moved ahead with a 5-3 decision.
  Craig surrendered to Clem Labine, with the Dodgers leading 4-2, after giving up a leadoff homer to Bob Cerv and a walk to Elston Howard at the start of the seventh inning. The Yankees also got a leadoff homer from Yogi Berra to start the eighth, but Jackie Robinson singled in Carl Furillo in the bottom of the inning as the Dodgers held on.
  Brooklyn took the seventh game behind Johnny Podres in Yankees Stadium after New York had tied it, giving the Dodgers their first win Series win over the Yankees in six tries.
  Craig didn't fare so well in his next two World Series. He started one game and pitched two, taking the loss in Game 3, and had a 12.00 ERA in six innings as Brooklyn fell in seven games to the Yankees in 1956. That year Craig compiled his most wins with a 12-11 record and 3.71 ERA.
  In the 1959 World Series, Craig started two games, was the Game 1 loser and had an 8.68 ERA in 9.1 innings. The Dodgers won 4-2 over the Chicago White Sox.
  Although he faltered in the Series, Craig did much to get the Dodgers there after encountering arm problems and struggling in 1957 and '58 and getting sent back to the minor leagues. Brought up from Spokane in '59, he went 11-5 with a 2.06 ERA with the big club. He missed the ERA title because he was 1 1/3 innings short of the 154 needed to qualify for the National League title; the Giants’ Sam Jones led with a 2.83 mark. Craig finished in a seven-way tie for the NL lead in shutouts with four.
  The Dodgers won 17 of their final 22 regular-season games, with Craig tallying four victories and a September ERA of 1.01. In the regular-season finale, Craig pitched a complete game and won 7-1 as Los Angeles clinched a first-place tie with Milwaukee. L.A. then swept Milwaukee 2-0 in the tiebreaker playoff, with Craig sitting out.
  Craig got to pitch in one more World Series toward the end of his career, and he made it count. He was the winning pitcher for St. Louis in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium in 1964, tossing 4 2/3 shutout innings and giving up only two hits, as the Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees 4-3. That tied the Series at 2-2 en route to the Cardinals' seven-game ouster of the vaunted Bronx Bombers, who were making their last Series appearance until '76 after 14 trips in the past 16 years.
  Craig was summoned in the first inning after starter Ray Sadecki was roughed up for two doubles and two singles in the first four batters, bringing in two runs. Elston Howard greeted Craig with an RBI single, but he retired the next seven batters, striking out the side in the second, and after back-to-back walks in the third squeezed out of the inning by picking off Mantle.
 He again struck out the side in the fourth, back-to-back to get out of the inning after yielding a walk and a single. The Yankees went 1-2-3 as Craig closed out his stint in the fifth. Mantle whiffed ending the inning, giving Craig a total of eight strikeouts.
  "Game 4 was the key game," Cardinals shortstop Dick Groat told Danny Peary in "We Played the Game." "We had to win it."
  Of Craig's third-inning rubout of Mantle, Groat said, "He had the best pickoff move in the league besides Elroy Face. And we picked off Mantle at second. That may have been the biggest play of the Series because it prevented them from scoring again."
 Ron Taylor shut out the Yankess over the final four innings, and Ken Boyer's fifth-inning grand slam made the difference.
  Rescued from the hapless Mets in a November 1964 trade for George Altman and Bill Wakefield, Craig went 7-9 for the Cards in 1964 in 39 games, 19 of them starts, with a 3.25 ERA. St. Louis, which hadn't won a pennant since 1946, came from seventh place in late July to win the pennant on the final day of the season.
  Craig pitched two more seasons in the major leagues and finished his career with a 74-98 record and 3.83 ERA in 12 seasons.
  Craig then went on to become famous as a split-finger sorcerer, first as a pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers, helping them win the 1984 World Series, and then as manager with the San Francisco Giants for seven seasons. He led them to an NL West title in 1987 and into the earthquake-shaken 1989 World Series, where they lost to Oakland in four games.
Other notes on Craig
  -- Craig holds the distinction of starting the last game ever for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the first game for the New York Mets.
 On Sept. 29, 1957, he allowed two runs, both earned, in seven innings in a 2-1 loss at Philadelphia. Future Hall of Famer but yet unproved Sandy Koufax finished up. Koufax was 5-4 with a 3.88 ERA in '57.
  On April 11, 1962, Craig allowed five runs, all earned, in three innings in the Mets' debut as they fell 11-4 at St. Louis.
  -- How bad was it for Craig with the Mets?
  He went 10-24 in '62 and 5-22 in '63, leading the league in losses both years. That two-season defeat total was the highest recorded by any major league pitcher since the early 1930s. Over a 90-day span from May 4 to Aug. 4 of 1963, Craig lost 18 straight decisions, tying for the most ever in the National League.
  Yet Casey Stengel  trusted him enough, or had nobody better, that Craig compiled 27 complete games in those two years — 13 in '62, 14 in '63, five more than he had in any other year.
  -- Maverick yet visionary owner Bill Veeck proved his prescience when he told Craig: "Roger, I've watched your career, and someday you're going to be a good pitching coach, or manager, after all you've gone through with the Mets."
  Editor's note: Information for this article was gleaned from the following: the biography by Rich Shook from the Society for American Baseball Research's Biography project (http://sabr.org/bioproj); an article by Steve Treder on the Baseball Analysts' website (http://baseballanalysts.com); and an article by Scott Miller at the espn.com website.

Magic Royals moments: 1972, Rojas nearly the star of All-Stars

 

 

Cookie Rojas was a four-time American All-Star after joining the Kansas City Royals in 1970 and did much to establish the team's credibility.

Rojas (right) is shown heading the dugout after hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning of the 1972 All-Star Game, driving in Carlton Fisk (left). Rojas' shot gave the American League a 3-2 lead, but the NL went on to win the game in 10 innings, 4-3. (screen grab from http://www.uni-watch.com/2016/12/27/a-look-back-at-the-1972-mlb-all-star-game/ photo clip from all-star game)

By Phil Ellenbecker
  There weren't too many good things to root about with the Kansas City Royals in their first couple of years. One was Amos Otis, probably their first legitimate star player. Another was Cookie Rojas. Cookie wasn't exactly a star, but he was an All-Star, a five-time All-Star, including four straight years with the Royals from 1971-74.
  It was his appearance in the 1972 Midsummer Classic to which we draw attention for the next installment in this series.
  Remember how thrilled and proud you were as a Royals fan when Eric Hosmer, on the strength of a homer and two RBIs, won the 2016 All-Star Game MVP award? Well, Rojas was likely in the running for the same honor in 1972.
  That's because when Rojas pinch hit for Rod Carew in the top of the eighth inning that Tuesday night, July 25, in Atlanta Stadium, with two out and Carlton Fisk on first, Octavio delivered a homer off Bill Stoneman. That gave the American League a 3-2 lead. And it appeared Rojas had won the game — which would have given the AL two straight wins in the series for the first time since 1959. It was also the first time a foreign-born player hit an All-Star Game homer.
  But the NL tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and went on to win 4-3 in the bottom of the 10th. That gave the NL 10 wins in the past 11 games and began a string of 11 straight wins on top of the senior circuit's nine straight from 1962 to 1970.
  So Cookie, who in a 16-year career spent seven years with the Phillies before eight with the Royals, was denied a chance to be the hero — and make his parents very proud, at least I think. I recall reading once that Cookie's parents were in attendance and seeing their son play for the first time. But I couldn't find confirmation for this online. But it makes a good story, and I don't think I could make this up. Let's go with it.
  By the way, Joe Morgan won the MVP award after singling in Nate Colbert with the winning run in the 10th. It was Morgan's lone hit in four trips to the plate, so it's safe to say whoever drove in the winning run was up for the game's MVP.
  Rojas and Otis came to the Royals in the 1970 season in a pair of steals pulled off by general manager Cedric Tallis that helped make the team respectable ahead of schedule, placing second in the AL West in 1971 in their third year of existence. Freddy Patek, John Mayberry and Hal McRae were three other mainstays who came aboard in trades where the other team either got little in return, and/or players coming off successful seasons who were ready to go in the tank.
  For the whole story behind Cedric Tallis' magic, go here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-royals-of-sir-cedric/
  The success of those deals is reflected in All-Star Game appearances. Otis was a five-time All-Star and Patek was selected three times, while McRae and Mayberry were picked twice each.
  Otis almost entered the All-Star spotlight himself in 1970. It was ttis who fielded the ball in center field and threw home on the single by Jim Hickman that drove in Pete Rose with the winning run — a play made famous by Rose barreling over AL catcher Ray Fosse and dislodging Fosse’s shoulder from its socket. (Some say the play ruined Fosse's career, but it really didn't. He played eight more years and made one other All-Star team.)
 Otis was the Royals' lone All-Star in 1970. He was joined as an All-Star by Rojas in '71, and those two were joined next year by Patek, Lou Piniella and Richie Scheinblum.
 Other notes on Rojas, from his Society for American Baseball Research biography:

•   He was one of a handful of major leaguers who played every position in his career including pitcher.
•   After considering retiring following the 1970 season, at the age of 32 in 1971 he had arguably the best season of his career, batting .300, leading AL second basemen in fielding percentage with a .991 mark, and he finished 14th in MVP voting.
•   Hall of Fame Royals broadcaster Denny Mathews said of Rojas: “He brought the element of experience, class and big-league smarts to the team. That really helped the expansion team at the time.”
•   Of his own worth, Cookie said of his career: “I came in with a reputation of not being able to hit and I developed a reputation as a winning player who would do anything and play anywhere to help you win, who could not only contribute with his bat and glove but with the experience he passed along to the other players.

Magic Royals moments: 1969, out of the gate; 29 innings, 2 Ws

TOP PHOTO: Lou Piniella went 4 for 5 and scored the first run in Kansas City Royals' history in their 4-3, 12-inning victory over Minnesota on opening day in 1969, Tuesday, April 8. Piniella singled in the game-winning run in a 17-inning win by the same 4-3 count the next day.  MIDDLE: Moe Drabowsky was the winning pitcher in the opener with one inning of relief and threw 4 2/3 innings of shutout relief on three hits in the second-game win. BOTTOM: Dave Wickersham gave way to Drabowsky in the opener after pitching five innings of shutout relief, allowing four hits and walking none.


By Phil Ellenbecker
 If you were a Kansas City baseball fan in 1969 starving for real baseball after a one-year hiatus — even if you'd had to put up with the Kansas City's A's previously — then you had to have been sated after the Kansas City Royals began playing for real.
 The Royals broke in with back-to-back extra-inning victories over the Minnesota Twins at Municipal Stadium — both by 4-3 margins. K.C. won in 12 innings before 17,688 on Tuesday, April 8. The next night the Royals went five innings better, winning in 17 innings before 13,171.
 Moe Drabowsky was the winning pitcher in the season opener, but probably the biggest hero for the Royals was Dave Wickersham, who pitched five scoreless innings of four-hit ball, walking none, before giving way to Drabowsky in the 12th.
 Joe Keough brought home the winning run when he singled off Dick Woodson, making his major league debut, to bring in Joe Foy. Foy and Chuck Harrison had singled with one out and advanced to second and third on Joe Grzenda's wild pitch. Grzenda came on to start the12th for Ron Perranoski, who'd turned yeoman relief of his own with 5 1/3 winnings of one-hit, shutout ball.
 Lou Piniella went 4 for 5 for the Royals, kick-starting a season in which he won American League Rookie of the Year honors. Piniella, batting leadoff, scored the first run in Royals history when he doubled to start the first and came home on Jerry Adair's single.
 The Twins tied the game in the second on Graig Nettles' homer off Royals starter Wally Bunker. They went ahead 3-1 in the sixth when Rod Carew scored on Harmon Killebrew's ground out and John Roseboro doubled in Cesar Tovar.
 The Royals knotted the game at 3 in their half of the sixth on back-to-back singles by Jim Campanis and Piniella that plated Ellie Rodriguez and Jackie Hernandez. Rodriguez triggered the rally with a two-out double, and Hernandez reached on an error by Killebrew at third.
 After that Wickersham and Perranoski took over. Wickersham, who was beginning the last season of a nine-year major league career, allowed only one runner to reach scoring position in his five-inning stint. Perranoski, meanwhile, retired the Royals in order in the seventh through ninth and three of four batters the next two frames.
 Hawk Taylor pinch hit for Wickersham in the bottom of the 11th and grounded out. Chuck Manuel, future manager of at the Indians and 2009 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, pinch hit for Perranoski in the 12th and grounded out.
  As in the opener, the Royals' second-night win was keyed by stellar relief, which they needed all of. First, Steve Jones shut out the Twins for two innings after starter Roger Nelson had been pinch hit for in the fifth. Next, Bill Butler allowed only one hit, one walk and no runs over the eighth through 12th innings. Drabowsky followed with 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball on three hits before yielding to Tom Burgeier with two out in the 17th.
 The Royals made a winner of Burgmeier when Piniella singled in Hernandez with two outs in the bottom of the 17th. Hernandez walked and advanced to second on Burgmeier's ground out to second before scoring on Piniella's hit to left field.
 The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the second. Carew singled in George Mitterwald and Ted Uhlaender scored on an error by Hernandez. The Royals answered in the fourth. Consecutive singles by Ed Kirkpatrick, Foy and Harrison off starter off Jim Kaat scored the first run. Foy, after stealing third, tied the game on Campanis' sacrifice fly.
 Minnesota retook the lead in the fifth when Carew doubled, advanced to third on Tony Oliva's ground out and stole home. It was the first of seven home swipes on the season by Carew, tied for second-most all time behind Ty Cobb's eight in 1912.
 Foy singled in Adair with two out in the eighth, which sent the game into extra innings for a second straight night after both teams went out in order in the ninth.
 K.C. advanced runners to scoring position in the 11th, 12th and 16th innings but could get no farther than second base.
 Butler and Drabowsky kept the Twins out of scoring position until the 17th, when Mitterwald reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on a walk to Roseboro. Burgmeier was then summoned and got the third out when Uhlaender popped out to catcher Campanis.

Notes from first two games

•  Here was the Royals' opening-day lineup and batting order: 1. Lou Piniella, center field; 2. Jerry Adair, second base; 3. Ed Kirkpatrick, lf; 4. Joe Foy, 3B; 5. Chuck Harrison, 1B; 6. Bob Oliver, RF; 7. Ellie Rodriguez, catcher; 8. Jackie Hernandez, shortstop; Wally Bunker, P.                         
• Oliver, Piniella, Hernandez, Rodriguez and Bunker were in the 1970 opening-day lineup. Adair and Kirkpatrick were back with the club while Foy and Harrison were gone. Harrison had one last season in his five-year major league career, with K.C. in 71.
•  After starting the season in center field, Piniella was back in center the next two games and in the ninth game, but those four were the only in Piniella's career at that position.
•  Campanis' father was Al Campanis, the Dodgers' executive whose racially charged comments on ABC's "Nightline" in 1987 led to the end of his career.
•  Don Denkinger, the umpire whose blown call in the 1985 World Series helped the Royals capture the title, was the third-base ump for the Royals' opening game in 1969 and was at second the following day.
•  The Royals' attendance their first two home games couldn't compare to what the Athletics drew in the first two games at Municipal in 1955. The A's drew 32,147 on opening day (17,688 better than the Royals) and 21,168 the second game (plus 7,997 over the Royals).
•  After sweeping the Twins in their first series ever, the Royals traveled to Oakland to meet the former team from K.C. and split four games with the A's.

Magic Royals moments: 1976; Brett, the Royals take off

How locked in was George Brett, early in his third full year in the major leagues, from May 8-13 in 1976? He collected three hits in each of six games, going 18 for 26 during this span for a .692 average. His batting average rose from .277 to .396 en route to his first of three American League batting titles.

By Phil Ellenbecker
  After rallying for a second-place finish behind the Oakland A's in 1975, the Kansas City Royals broke through and took the American League West title the next year, holding off the team from the city that stole the A's from Kansas City in 1968.
  That breakthrough year also signaled the true emergence of a superstar in the making in George Brett, who'd given a glimpse of things to come by hitting .282 his rookie year of 1974 and by hitting .308 next year and leading the American League in hits and triples. The teachings of Charlie Lau were shining through.
  It was perhaps the games of May 8-13 in 1976 when Brett showed he was truly something special.
  Brett got three hits on May 8. And three hits again on May 9, and May 10. And May 11, 12 and 13. Six straight three-hit games. (The only other player to accomplish this feat since 1901, according yahoo.com: Brooklyn's Jimmy Johnston in 1923.) Brett's average during the streak climbed from .277 to .396.
  That was Brett's high point of the season, but he was still up at .365 on June 15; at .371 on June 19; eventually tailing off to .331 on Sept. 26 before closing at .333 to beat out Hal McRae for the batting title by decimal points, on the last day of the regular season in a controversial finish. (After the game, McRae claimed that the Twins conspired to give Brett the title by letting a fly ball drop for an inside-the-park homer on Brett's final at-bat.)
  That was the first of three batting titles Brett won in separate decades, and his eruption from May 8-13 was the launching point. He went 18 for 26 during this span for a .692 average, with 16 singles, a double and homer.
 During his streak the Royals went 5-1. It'd be nice to say this was the surge that sent K.C. into first place on its way to a first division title, but the fact was the Royals just treaded water during this time, as the Texas Rangers went 5-2 and remained in first place in the AL West. The Royals picked up a half-game during this time and moved within 2 games.
  It'd also be nice to say Brett's hits played a prominent role in the Royals' victories. Maybe so, maybe not. In the first four games of the streak Brett either scored or drove in a run off three of his hits, with two leading indirectly to runs. In the last two games five of his hits figured directly in the scoring and one indirectly. But both of those games were blowouts, so the hits weren't vital.
  Nevertheless, 18 for 26 is 18 for 26.
  Also of note is where the hits went. The play by play at retrosheet.com gives the direction for all but three of them. Nine singles went to left, or the opposite field; three singles went to center; two singles and a double to right. And note, all but three of the hits were singles.
  So this indicates that Brett had yet to discover his power stroke. He hit seven homers in '76 and 11 in '75, although he did lead the league in  triples in both years. He passed the 20-homer mark three of the next four years.
  Here's a game-by-game rundown of the streak (first two on the road, last four at home):
May 8: 3 for 5, 1 run in a 6-3 win at Baltimore
  First inning: Brett singled to right with one out after Amos Otis singled, went to second on John Mayberry's ground out and to third on Hal McRae's single. McRae was caught stealing to end the inning.
  Fourth: Grounded out leading off.
  Sixth: None out, singled to left after Otis singled leading off, moving Otis to third; scored on Mayberry homer, giving Royals a 5-0 lead.
  Eighth: Singled to left after Otis singled for third time; Otis scored on Mayberry's sacrifice fly, giving Royals their final 6-3 margin.
May 9: 3 for 5, 1 run, 1 stolen base in 7-4 win at Baltimore
  First: One out, Brett singled Tom Poquette to second; McRae singled in Poquette with two out, Brett moving to third; Al Cowens grounded to end the inning.
  Third: Brett singled to left with one out, stole second and advanced to third on an error by catcher Elrod Hendricks; after Mayberry flied out and McRae walked, Brett scored on Cowens' single, putting Royals ahead 2-1 in a five-run inning that gave them a 6-1 lead.
  Fourth: Singled to center with one out; put out on Mayberry's double-play grounder.
  Sixth: Flew out to left leading off.
  Ninth: Out at second leading off.
May 10: 3 for 5, a double, caught stealing once in 5-4 loss to Minnesota
  First: One out, lined out to third.
  Third: Two out, doubled to right; Mayberry grounded out; Royals were tied 1-1 after Otis' homer coming before Brett's at-bat.
  Fifth: One out, singled to left; caught trying to steal second as Mayberry struck out to end the inning; Twins led 4-3.
  Eighth: Singled to right leading off; forced at second by McRae for second out; Royals still down 4-3.
  Ninth: Royals tied the game on a triple by Freddie Patek and double by Cowens; with one out and runners at first and second, Brett grounded out to third and Mayberry flied out.
  The Twins scored in the 10th and won 5-4.
May 11: 3 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 walk in 6-3 win over Minnesota
  First: Two out, walked; Mayberry grounded out. Twins led 1-0 after one.
  Fourth: One out, singled to left; went to third on Mayberry single; left stranded after McRae and Cowens made out. Twins led 3-0.
  Fifth: Royals tied the game at 3-3 on a double by Poquette and a homer by Otis with two out; Brett followed with a single to left; Mayberry flied out to end the inning.
  Seventh: One out, single to left scores Buck Martinez, puts Royals ahead 4-3; McRae singled in Otis to make it 5-3.
  The Royals added an insurance run in the eighth for the final margin.
May 12: 3 for 5, 3 runs, 2 RBIs, reached once on an error, 1 stolen base in a 17-5 win over Minnesota
  First: One out, singled to center, moving Otis to third; stole second; Brett and Otis scored on Cowens' double, the start of a seven-run inning off Joe Decker.
  Second: Led off with a single to center; scored on a McRae single, the start of a four-run inning vs. Decker and Vic Albury.
  Third: One out, reached on an error by first baseman Rod Carew, Poquette scored; scored on a double by McRae; Royals now lead 14-0.
  Fourth: Grounded out to end the inning, the first scoreless inning for the Royals in the game.
  Sixth: Two out, singled in White to make it 16-4.
  Eighth: Jamie Quirk pinch hit for Brett.
  Besides Brett, other big bats in this 22-hit barrage included Poquette, 3 for 6, 4 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, a double and a triple; Mayberry, 2 for 5, 2 runs; McRae, 2 for 2, 2 runs, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs and a double; Cowens, 2 for 4, 2 runs, 4 RBIs and 2 doubles;  and Bob "Scrap Iron" Stinson, 3 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs.
May 13: 3 for 4, 4 runs, a homer, 1 RBI, and a walk in a 13-2 win over the Chicago White Sox
  First: Two out, single to left; after a single by Mayberry, two runs scored on McRae's two-run triple to right; Cowens followed with a triple to left, giving the Royals a 3-0 lead.
  Third: One out, solo homer, 4-0 Royals.
  Fifth: After Otis' leadoff double, grounded out to second, moving Otis to third; Otis scored on Mayberry's single, the start of a three-run inning that gave the Royals a 7-0 lead.
  Sixth: Walked with two out; scored on Mayberry's two-run triple, expanding Royals' lead to 9-2; they led 10-2 at the end of the inning.
  Eighth: Singled to left leading off; scored on a three-run double by Cookie Rojas, 13-2 Royals.
  Mayberry went 3 for 4 in the game with 3 runs, 3 RBIs and a triple; McRae was 3 for 4 with 3 runs, 3 RBIs, a double and a triple; Cowens was 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Lots of clout out of the 4-5-6 hitters in the lineup, behind Brett at No. 3. (Brett was in the No. 3 spot for each game of the streak.)
  The beneficiary of all this offensive largesse was Dennis Leonard, who pitched a complete-game seven-hitter. He carried a shutout into the seventh inning as he improved to 2-1 en route to a season in which he went 17-10, the second of eight straight double-digit seasons including three 20-win seasons. (From 1975-1981, Leonard had 130 wins, most by any right-handed major league pitcher.)
  As can be seen from the last two games of this streak, the Royals were capable of blistering the ball all over the park like a pinball game, with Brett and McRae in the middle of a lineup of line-drive hitters. The Royals led the AL in doubles and triples and were second in hitting in '76. Illustrative of their attack was the opening inning of the May 13 game, when after back-to-back singles by Brett and Mayberry, McRae and Cowens followed with consecutive triples to opposite corners of the park.
  The 17-5 and 13-2 pastings of the Twins and White Sox were the first of six games in which the Royals hit double digits in runs scored this season. On May 24 and 26 they routed the Texas Rangers 14-11 and 14-2 in consecutive games, the latter the first game of a doubleheader. (They lost the nightcap 5-4 in 10 innings.) On June 7 and 15, and Aug. 13, they bludgeoned Detroit 10-0, 21-7 and 15-3. On Sept. 12 they whacked the Twins again, 16-6.
 So how was the May 8-13 surge by the Royals and Brett greeted by the Kansas City faithful? Not overwhelmingly. An average of 11,336 fans turned out at Royals Stadium for the four home games during the streak, topped by 13,657 for the last one on May 13. For the season the Royals drew 1,680,265, an improvement of 500,000-plus over 1975 and 300,000-plus over their previous best in 1973.
  The Royals' attendance, as they continued to establish themselves as an American League power, climbed to 1,852,603 in '77 and topped 2 million for the first of three straight seasons starting in 1978. With the size of their stadium probably holding them back, they ranked third in the AL in attendance from 1976-80 except for '79, when they ranked fourth.

Sources

Box scores, play-by-play and other information came from various sources on the Retrosheet (retrosheert.org) and Society for American Baseball Research's Biography Project and Games Project websites (sabr.org), as well as baseballreference.com   

Brett's streak: https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/mlb/news/george-brett-streak-three-hit-games-may-1976/1kbf4owoxqxsn1nqu0s1gtqvp9

Consecutive three-hit games: https://sports.yahoo.com/blackmon-collects-3-plus-hits-040621265.html

Magic Royals moments: A fan's personal history

By Phil Ellenbecker
  Hi, I've been a Kansas City Royals fan since the time I started following sports on a regular basis, which is the year 1969, which was the year of their inception. So you could say I've grown up with the Royals.
  Not that I can say i've always been a die-hard fan, following every game and sticking with them through thick and thin. I've been more a fair weather fan, which means lots of foul weather a lot of these years. But there have been a lot of great moments, too, and the Royals have been a big part of my sporting life, so I'd like to take this opportunity to take a look at my most memorable Royals moments and games. This is not a definitive look at their greatest moments, although some certainly qualify. Some have been done to death, some cannot be done to death enough. It's just a personal look at what it's been like to follow the Royals through the years.
  Most of the details in these accounts came from retrosheet.com and baseballreference.org, which are the greatest contributions ever to the internet.

Gno, Gno White Sox, '59: Gnatty dread invades Comiskey

Various methods are deployed in an attempt to eradicate gnats that took over the pitcher's mound at Comiskey Park in Chicago on June 2, 1959. The one that worked was a fireworks bomb (lower right picture), planned to be set off after the game, that was brought in by White Sox owner Bill Veeck.

Hoyt Wilhelm shook off the swarm of gnats and pitched a complete-game seven-hitter as he led the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 victory. Wilhelm had a string of 22 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings snapped two batters after the gnats left the premises.


By Phil Ellenbecker
  Previous and future stories in this series cover the triumphs of the 1959 Chicago White Sox. Triumphs on the baseball field, over opposing teams. This game deals with a loss on the field, to an opposing team. But this one's too hard to resist.
  For one thing, it does represent a triumph — not over an opposing team, but on the field, over a force of nature.
  For another, it involves one of the most irrepressible, colorful owners in the history of baseball, if not the most, and if not the best owner in the history of baseball.
  On June 2, 1959, in a game won by the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 before 12,482 fans at Comiskey Park, White Sox owner Bill Veeck beat the gnats. And in typical fashion, with fireworks. Veeck always liked to put on a good show, with midgets as actual players and dressed up as Martians, and with exploding scoreboards, with grandstand managers and various other off-the-wall ideas. And in this case he put the show to a practical purpose.
  According to a story by Michael Clair at the MLB Cut 4 section of mlb.com, taken from the Associated Press account of the game, three batters into the June 2 game at Comiskey Park, Orioles pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm was swarmed by a cloud of gnats. The game was stopped for 16 minutes in an attempt to clear the field of the pests, with the snapping and waving of a towel by an Orioles coach, insect repellent, bug bombs, lit pieces of paper.
  "There was a cloud of gnats over the mound so thick that they were flying in my mouth," Wilhelm said. "I never should have pitched a ball until they cleared away."
  When all else failed, Veeck decided to bring out the heavy ammo — in the form of fireworks he'd planned to set off after the game. "Veeck had a fireworks bomb placed on the mound," the AP reported. "The explosion was deafening, the white smoke suffocating.
  'The gnats gave up."
  But Wilhelm was apparently a little shook up. He'd already walked Nellie Fox and was at 2-0 on Earl Torgeson when the gnats intervened. After they'd left, Wilhelm walked Torgeson, hit Sherm Lollar with a pitch and surrendered his first run in 22 1/3 innings when Fox scored on Larry Doby's fielder's choice grounder.
  "I was so gooed up with ointment and stuff," Wilhelm said, referring to the insecticide. "I had to keep using resin and dirt on my hands to keep from losing the ball."
  But "Old Sarge" settled down after that and allowed only one run the rest of the way in running his record to 8-0. Wilhelm -- the future Hall of Famer and 21-year major leaguer who'd held the record for games pitched before being eventually passed by five latter-day relievers -- finished his only year as a regular starter with a 15-10 record and an American League-leading 2.19 ERA.
  The Orioles, on the cusp of becoming an AL contender with second- and third-place finishes the next two years, moved within a half-game of Cleveland for first with their win over the White Sox on June 2, but they eventually faded to sixth with a final record of 74-80.
  The White Sox, meanwhile, were one game out of first after the loss in a tight race that had all eight teams within six games of the top. Two days later the "Go Go Sox" were in first place; they stayed between two games down and one game up until July 28, took first for good that day, and wound up with their first pennant in 40 years with a final record of 94-60.
  As for the gnats, Veeck, never at a loss for words and never one to take himself too seriously, had the appropriate perspective:
  "Since I probably will be accused of having something to do with those bugs, I might as well say now I have them in a bottle and have been training them for several years for just such an occasion."

Go Go All the Way, '59: Sept. 24, ChiSox clinch 1st flag since '19

By Phil Ellenbecker
  On Wednesday, Sept. 24, 1919, the Chicago White Sox clinched their second American League pennant in three years with a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Browns. Chicago was seemingly bound for a second World Series title in three years.
  But it was not to be, as the White Sox fell to the Cincinnati Reds in a Series marred by the Black Sox Scandal in which eight Chicago players were implicated for game fixing. Thence followed many years in the desert for the Pale Hose.
  It took 40 years, but on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 1959, the White Sox clinched their next American League pennant with a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
  And the echoes of the celebration of that long-sought flag were felt 365 miles away, as air-raid sirens sounded in Chicago to mark the victory that night in Cleveland.
  In fitting fashion, Gerry Staley finished off the clincher for the White Sox, in relief of Early Wynn, with Luis Aparicio turning a double play to end the game.
  It was Wynn who was the ace of the White Sox in '59, earning the major leagues' Cy Young Award in 1959 (only one winner between leagues back then). And he did it with a lot of help from Staley, who tied teammate Turk Lown for the AL lead in saves with 15. And it was with a lot of defensive help from Aparicio that Wynn, Staley and many others led the major leagues with a team ERA of 3.29. Aparicio was one of three White Sox, along with Nellie Fox and Sherm Lollar, winning AL Gold Gloves in '59.
  With the Sox clinging to a 4-2 in the ninth inning this Tuesday, Cleveland loaded the bases with one out against Bob Shaw on a singles by Jim Baxes, Jack Harshman and Jimmy Piersall, with the hits by Baxes and Piersall not clearing the infield. Piersall finished a 3-for-5 night.

Jerry Staley (top, who combined with teammate Turk Lown to lead the American League in saves in 1959 with 15 each, nailed down the 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sept. 22, 1959, that clinched the pennant for the Chicago White Sox. Shortstop Luis Aparicio (bottom) turned the double play that ended the game and gave the Pale Hose their first pennant in 40 years. Aparicio, one of three Gold Glovers in '59 for the Sox, also doubled and scored the game's first run.
  
  Staley was summoned at that time, and with his first pitch he threw a low, outside sinker that Vic Power slammed to Aparicio's left. "Little Louie" grabbed it, stepped on second and threw to Ted Kluszewki at first for for the twin killing that ended the game and the ChiSox's 40 years of misery.
  And let the celebration begin, way back in Chitown, although it was accompanied by a Cold War-era scare. From a Chicago Tribute article by Bob Secter:
  "Fire Commissioner Robert J. Quinn ordered a celebratory five-minute sounding of the city's air-raid sirens. The late-night wail, at a time when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's threat to bury America was still fresh, frightened tens of thousands of area residents. Many rushed to the streets. Others herded hysterical children to shelter. 'We had seven children under 9 and woke them all up when the sirens screamed," said Mrs. Earl Gough of the South Side. "We said Hail Marys together in the basement.'
  "Quinn apologized but also argued that the incident provided 'a very good test' of the area's readiness, which he found wanting. Mayor Richard J. Daley claimed Quinn acted in accordance with a City Council proclamation that 'there shall be whistles and sirens blowing and there shall be great happiness when the White Sox win the pennant.'"
  The White Sox, last in the major leagues in '59 in home runs, used the long ball to take a 4-1 lead after 5 1/2 innings. Doubles by Aparicio and Billy Goodman gave them a 2-0 lead in the third, and Al Smith and Jim Rivera slugged back-to-back solo homers in the fourth.
  The Indians chased Wynn in the bottom half of the fifth when Rocky Colavito cut the margin to 4-2 on a sacrifice fly. Shaw came on to get the final out and held the Tribe in check until they threatened in the last half of the ninth.
  The ChiSox, who took the lead for good in the AL on July 28, led by 4 1/2 games after their Tuesday night triumph and finished the season 5 ahead of Cleveland with a final mark of 94-60, best in the major leagues. They lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Go Go All the Way in '59: Aug. 30, ChiSox make a statement sweep

By Phil Ellenbecker
  Having won the first two games of a showdown series with the Cleveland Indians, and increasing their American League lead over the Tribe to 3 1/2 games, the 1959 Chicago White Sox had a great chance to establish a foothold atop the league with a Sunday doubleheader on Aug. 30 at Municipal Stadium.
  The ChiSox took full advantage by sweeping Cleveland 6-3 and 9-4 before a crowd of 66,586, second-highest of the season in Cleveland next to the 68,680 for a Sunday twin bill against the reigning world champion New York Yankees on June 21.
  (Municipal had the largest capacity in the major leagues at 74,000.)
  With the pair of wins Chicago further established its superiority this year over the Indans. The Pale Hose had a 15-7 record in head-to-head matchups.
  The Sox took the opener behind ace and workhorse Early Wynn, who improved to 17-9. Wynn yielded to  Gerry Staley after the Indians pulled within 5-3 n the eighth inning. Staley picked up his 11th save.
  It was Wynn who got the Sox going on offense when he homered with one out in the sixth with Chicago trailing 2-0. Wynn's blast opened the door to a five-run inning that made the difference. Luis Aparicio followed in "Go Go Sox" fashion by beating out an infield single and stealing second. After Nellie Fox walked, Jim Landis doubled home Aparicio. Cleanup hitter Ted Kluszewski drew an intentional walk, and when Sherman Lollar was hit by a pitch Fox scored to make it 3-0.
  (Kluszwewski, one of the top sluggers in the game earlier in the decade, now on the last legs of his career, was acquired Aug. 29 from Pittsburgh for Harry "Suitcase" Simpson and minor leaguer Robert Sagers in hopes of adding punch to the Pale Hose' power-hungry lineup. He gave them a moral boost if not a significant impact on the field. “When we got Ted, we all thought it was a very, very good thing for us, because he gave us a strong left-handed hitter with a good reputation," pitcher Billy Pierce said. "We never thought he was past his prime but that he would help us. We were very glad to have him on our ballclub."*
  Billy Goodman singled in Landis after the walk to Klu, bringing an end to Cal McLish's day after he'd flirted with history earlier. He was perfect through three innings, retired the first 10 White Sox batters and 12 of the first 13.
  (McLish, full name Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish, had his best year in 1959, going 19-8. As for his name, “Until I came along, my dad never got to name any of the kids. So I suppose he was into the firewater and he named me," McLish said. John McLish, who worked as a farmer, was part Choctaw and Lulu was part Cherokee. Cal’s name has always been a bit of a mystery. Even though his father was a staunch Democrat and Calvin Coolidge was a Republican from Vermont, Cal took pride in being named after the 30th president. The reason behind the Julius Caesar portion of his name is unknown, at least to Cal. Tuskahoma, a Choctaw word meaning red warrior, is also the name of a tiny community in the southeast part of Oklahoma {McLish was born in Anadarko, Okla.}.*
  Earl Torgeson drew a walk to bring in the final run of the White Sox's breakthrough sixth.
   The White Sox put the tying run at the plate in the eighth when Minnie Minoso singled, bringing in Staley, and Tito Francona beat out a grounder to first. But Staley then retired Rocky Colavito, George Strickland and Woody Held in order and went 1-2-3 in the ninth to slam the door on the Tribe.
  (Francona, father of World Series-winning manager Terry Francona, had his best season in 1959, finishing fifth in AL MVP voting with a .363 batting average, 20 homers and 79 RBIs. He fell one at-bat shy of the batting title, won by Harvey Kuenn with a .353 mark.)
  Held had given Cleveland the early lead with a homer leading off the bottom of the fifth inning. Ed Fitz Gerald made it 2-0 when he singled, moved to second and third on McLish's sacrifice and Jimmy Piersall's ground out, and scored on Vic Power's single.
  Wynn gave up three runs, all earned, while striking out five and walking three in his seven innings.

Billy Goodman, the American League batting champion with Boston in 1950, went  3 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs in the second game as the Chicago White Sox swept the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 30, 1959, giving Chicago a 5 1/2-game lead over the Tribe in the AL.

Barry Latman was the winning pitcher in the nightcap of the Aug. 30 twin bill.

Let's win two  After having to struggle a bit to get past the Indians in the opener, the White Sox pounced on the Tribe in the nightcap, taking a 5-0 lead through three innings and keeping Cleveland at bay from there.
  Goodman led the ChiSox, going 3 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs. Al Smith was 2 for 5 with a two-run homer, three RBIs and two runs scored.
  (Goodman, the AL batting champion in 1950 with a .354 average, was acquired by the White Sox from Baltimore in a seven-player trade in December 1957. He hit .300 for his career.)
  Barry Latman did enough on the mound to improve his record to 8-5, which is where he finished the season after starting 0-2 and being banished to the bullpen. He faced the minimum nine batters the first three innings before surrendering a three-run homer to Rocky Colavito in the fourth and a solo shot to Held in the fifth, which cut the margin to 7-4.
  Turk Lown came on after the fifth and blanked the Tribe the rest of the way in earning his 12th save. (Lown {2.89 ERA} and Staley {2.24} each finished with 15 saves, tying for the American League lead).
  The White Sox opened a 3-0 lead in the second when Smith singled in Kluszewski and two runs scored on Latman's sacrifice fly. The margin went to 5-0 the next inning on Goodman's two-run single. Smith's two-run homer made it 7-3 in the top of the fifth. Sacrifice flies by Fox and Sammy Esposito added single runs in the eighth and ninth.
  The Indians were never closer than 3 games of the Sox the rest of the way and finished 5 shy of Chicago at 89-65. The White Sox had the major leagues' best record of 94-60.
*—From Society for Baseball Research's Biography Project (http://sabr.org/bioproject

Go Go All the Way in '59: Aug. 29, A Shot from Donovan's Arm

Dick Donovan's five-hit shutout of Cleveland on Aug. 29, 1959, gave the Chicago White Sox a 3 1/2-game lead on the Indians in the American League, and the Tribe were no closer than three games the rest of the season.

By Phil Ellenbecker
  The Chicago White Sox entered their game at Cleveland on Aug. 29, 1959, with a 1 1/2-game lead on the Indians in the American League after Bob Shaw pitched the ChiSox to a 7-4 victory to open a three-game make or break weekend series at Municipal Stadium.
  Dick Donovan then gave the Pale Hose a further booster toward winning their first pennant in 40 years with a five-hit shutout of the Tribe on Saturday, and at 3 1/2 games back Cleveland could pull no closer than three games the rest of the way.
  Donovan walked three and struck out four in going the distance and improving his record to 8-6. Although he and Billy Pierce weren't as effective in '59 (9-10 and 14-15 respectively) as in other years during this span, together with Shaw and Early Wynn they gave Chicago a starting foursome capable of shutting down the opposition on any given night, as this game showed. The White Sox's AL-leading 3.77 ERA was a major reason they copped the flag.
  The Indians' only threat to score came in the second inning. They put runners at second and third when Jim Baxes walked, Woody Held singled after George Strickland struck out, and the two advanced on Jim Landis' error in center.
  But Donovan escaped when, after an intentional walk to Ed Fitz Gerald, pitcher Jim Perry hit into a fielder's choice.
  Donovan didn't allow any more than one base runner in an inning after that, and nobody got into scoring position.
  The White Sox, meanwhile, as they did so often this season, did just enough on offense to get by.
 After Perry had shut out Chicago through six innings on three hits, the White Sox scratched out an unearned run in the seventh when Landis beat out a grounder to short, went to third on Earl Torgeson's single to left and scored when Gold Glover Minnie Minoso erred on Torgeson's hit.
  (Minoso, a fan favorite in Chicago throughout the '50s, was in his second year with the Tribe after being dealt to Cleveland in December 1957).
  The Sox gained 2-0 insurance in the eighth when Jim Rivera scored on Nellie Fox's sacrifice fly. Rivera led off the inning with a single, was advanced by Donovan's sacrifice bunt and moved to third on Luis Aparicio's infield single before crossing the plate after Fox's fly out to center.
  Landis (3 for 4) and Aparicio (2 for 4) got all but two of Chicago's hits.

 

Go All the Way in '59: July 28, No more looking back

By Phil Ellenbecker
  The date of July 28 is significant in the 1959 season of the Chicago White Sox because it represents the day the Pale Hose moved into first place in the American League, not to sink back below for the rest of the season.
  And even better, it came against their dreaded nemesis throughout the 1950s, the New York Yankees, as Chicago prevailed 4-3 on a Tuesday before 43,829 at Comiskey Park.
  Before that day the White Sox had been jockeying for the top position with Cleveland, trailing for the most part — in first for 15 days, tied five other days, but never up for more than four days.
  But with the win over the Yankees on July 28, the ChiSox had first place all to themselves en route to clinching their first AL pennant in 40 years.
  Billy Pierce bested Ralph Terry as both turned in complete games. Pierce moved over the .500 mark at 12-11, scattering 10 hits and striking out eight while walking none and allowing two earned runs.
  It was appropriate that Pierce, although not in one of his best years, was on the mound for such a symbolic, get-over-the-hump occasion. The 5-foot-9 southpaw had been such a mainstay for the White Sox throughout the '50s, twice a 20-game winner, only for him and his teammates to come up short year in and year out.
  Pierce had to withstand a ninth-inning, two-run rally by the Yankees to come away with the win. With Chicago leading 4-1 coming in, Hector Lopez singled leading off for the Yankees and went to second when Elston Howard reached on an error by Luis Aparicio (Gold Glover and AL fielding leader at shortstop that season), and Lopez scored on Fritz Brickell's single. After Pierce got Marv Throneberry to fly out, Howard made it 4-3 on a sacrifice fly by Don Larsen, the strong-hitting pitcher batting for Terry.
  But Pierce struck out Bobby Richardson, always one of the toughest players to fan, to end the game. 

Billy Pierce, a stronghold on the mound throughout the 1950s for the Chicago White Sox, scattered 10 hits and pitched a complete-game as they took first place for good in the American League with a 4-3 victory over the vaunted New York Yankees on July 28, 1959.

  Al Smith's two-run homer in the eighth, with Nellie Fox aboard after a single, proved to be the difference in the game. The homer was Smith's 10th in a 17-homer year.
 (Smith, the ChiSox's No. 3 hitter in their lineup, and cleanup hitter Sherm Lollar (22 homers) were the only Chicago players in double figures homers, as the White Sox were last in the major leagues with 97 in 1959.)
  Through seven innings the game had been a taut pitcher's duel. Fox and Smith also figured as the White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first, as back-to-back singles by Aparicio and Fox and a walk to Smith preceded  Lollar's double-play grounder that scored Aparicio.
  The Yankees tied it in the fourth on a double by Mickey Mantle and single by Yogi Berra. However, further damage was prevented with the help of Lollar throwing out fellow catcher Berra trying to steal second. One out later Howard singled and Brickell doubled, but Pierce struck out Throneberry to get out of the inning, beginning a string in which Pierce retired 13 of 15 batters.
  Coming into the fourth, Pierce had retired 10 of 11.
  (Berra, who had 30 career stolen bases, was 1 for 4 trying to steal in 1959.)
  Chicago retook the lead in the fifth when Pierce singled for the second time in the game, advanced to second on a  wild pitch and scored on Fox's single.
  The following day the two teams were tied 4-4 after 5 1/2 innings when the game was called by rain. Early Wynn threw a six-hitter to beat the Yankees on Thursday, the second in a six-game win streak that pushed the White Sox lead to three games, their biggest cushion of the year so far.
  While the Sox maintained the lead, the Yankees staggered home in third with a final mark of 79-75, their lowest finish since 1948 and lowest win total since 1925. It was only second time in the 1950s the Yanks finished out of first.

 
 

Go Go All the Way in '59: May 1, Hop on the bus with gutsy Gus

By Phil Ellenbecker
  Trading popular, effervescent outfielder Minnie Minoso to Cleveland in December 1957 wasn't too popular with Chicago White Sox fans.
  But they couldn't' complain too much about what they got in return — a bona fide bulldog of an ace pitcher in Early Wynn, of whom it was said he'd knock down his grandma if she crowded the plate.
  And ChiSox fans had to have been happy with the yeoman effort "Gus" turned in Friday, May 1, 1959, as he pitched a one-hit shutout.
  And not only that, when his teammates didn't back him with any scoring, Wynn took matters into his own hands with a solo home run leading off the bottom of the eighth inning, giving Chicago a 1-0 win before 13,022 at Comiskey Park.
  Wynn struck out 14 Red Sox in outdueling Tom Brewer but didn't exactly dominate. In fact, he needed those strikeouts and his tenacity, because Boston had runners in scoring position in all but three innings. With a runner at second base in both the second and third, Wynn fanned two batters to wiggle out. With runners at first and second in the fifth he got Don Buddin looking to close out the inning. He struck out Gene Stephens and Ted Lepcio back-to-back with a man at second in the eighth.
  Gus finished with a gust by striking out two in a 1-2-3  ninth, including Bill Renna to end the game.
  Pete Runnels got Boston's only hit with a single to center with one out in the first, but he was caught stealing by Sherm Lollar to end the inning.
  Lollar, who would win a Gold Glove this year, otherwise had kind of a rough night as the Red Sox stole two bases and he was assessed a passed ball. And he had his hands full handling Wynn, who issued seven walks and threw a wild pitch.

Early Wynn pitched a one-hitter and provided all the game's scoring with an eighth-inning homer as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Boston Red Sox 1-0 in May 1, 1959. Wynn went on to win the Cy Young Award that year.

  But this was a typical Wynn outing. He led the league in walks in 1959 and in one other year, finished second three other years and was fourth all time. He had a way of making it tough on himself but finding a way, right to the end. In his final season, 1963, he was stuck at 299 career victories through four outings and three starts before finally getting the magic No. 300 (the first to reach that figure since Lefty  Grove in 1941) in his fourth start of the season. And that's where Wynn stayed, ending his career that year with no more wins.
  So how much help did Wynn get from his hitters on May 1, 1959? Not much. In fact Chicago didn't get a runner into scoring position until Wynn himself doubled leading off the sixth, but after a walk to Luis Aparicio, Brewer got out of the threat and carried a shutout into the eighth before Early unloaded.
  Brewer, in fact, had a tidier outing than Wynn, allowing one fewer base runner as he held the White Sox to five  hits while walking only one.
  It must be noted that Wynn didn't have to face Ted Williams this game, although Ted might have had problems anyway. Plagued by a stiff neck in spring training, Williams didn't see any game action until May 12 en route to by far his worst season ever — a .254 average with 10 homers and 43 RBIs in 103 games in his next-to-last season.
  Wynn improved to 3-1 with his second straight win on his way to his best stretch of the season — four wins in five starts with four-hit and five-hit complete game efforts on top of his May 1 gem. The May 1 win kept the  White Sox one game behind Cleveland in quest of their first American League pennant in 40 years, which they would eventually attain.
  As for Wynn himself, he went on to a 22-10 record with a 3.17 ERA in winning the Cy Young Award (only one award between the two leagues back then). He led the league in wins, innings (255.7) and starts (37). He was third in the MVP voting. Teammate Nellie Fox won the award.
  Boston finished the season fifth at 75-59, 19 games back.