1980 was obviously a magical season for Phillies fans. A first-ever World Series title, the MVP for Mike Schmidt and the Cy Young for Steve Carlton.
And part of the lore that makes the legend is the now-famous "Buffet Incident" in Pittsburgh on August 10. For those who are too young to remember, or for those who love hearing the story again, here's what happened:
The Phillies had just lost the opener of a Sunday doubleheader to the Pittsburgh Pirates, part of what would be a four-game sweep by the Buccos. The Phils, who entered the weekend series just three games behind the first-place Montreal Expos, had now fallen six games back, and stood just three games above .500 at 55-52.
Manager Dallas Green had seen enough. Storming into the clubhouse after the game, Green started berating his entire team, criticizing their play and their "playboy" mentality about baseball. As he steamed and stormed around the clubhouse, Green spotted the post-game meal, spread out on buffet tables.
Venting a season's worth of frustration with his prima-donna players, Green trashed the buffet tables, flipping them over and sending their contents all over the floor. Properly motivated (or, perhaps, furious at their meal being ruined), the Phils won 11 of their next 18 games to end a homestand just 2-1/2 games back in the NL East.
Although Green seemed satisfied, there was one member of the Phillies organization who was not, especially when the Phils went 3-6 on that aforementioned homestand, losing two of three each to the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers. And that person was general manager Paul Owens.
Paul Owens was an old-fashioned baseball man who spent his brief playing career in the minor leagues in Class D. He became the player-manager of his club in Olean, NY, then became part of the Phillies system when the Phils became the affiliate in Olean. After managing at Class C, Owens became a scout, and then became the director of the Phillies' farm system. In June of 1972, Owens, nicknamed "The Pope" due to his likeness to Pope Paul VI, was named the team's general manager.
In short, Owens had gotten to the GM spot the way most men had done since the days when the GM was created: he had worked his way through the system, learned the game inside and out from the inside, and advanced through the ranks. His MBA (Masters of Baseball Administration) came, not from Harvard or Yale, but from Olean, Bakersfield, Reading, and all points on the baseball globe.
And so, when the Phils left the Vet to head west for another of those patented West Coast Swings, they began with a four-game set in San Diego against the Padres, the last-place team in NL West. The Phils took the first two games of the series before dropping the nightcap of a Saturday doubleheader and Sunday's (August 31) game, in which the Phils gave up big innings in both contests that put the games out of reach.
Owens was not happy. Traveling with the club, he, too, stormed into the clubhouse at Candlestick Park after the team's next game in 'Frisco. But he wasn't interested in tipping over tables.
Instead, Owens lashed out at his team for their indifferent and sloppy play. For their laziness. For wasting their considerable talent on being a third-place team and an also-ran. No one knows, with any certainty, if what happened next was planned, or the result of just going with the flow of passion emanating from a man who had given his life to the game.
As he ranted, Owens, who was known to loosen his tie almost as soon as he'd knotted it, peeled off his sport coat and rolled up his sleeves. Getting in the face of just about every player in the room, Owens challenged his team. To a fight.
He dared any player in the room who disagreed with him to step forward, and then step outside. It is highly likely, in this era of free agency, player privilege, and Harvard MBAs running teams, that this was the last time a general manager ever challenged his team to a fight. In a room filled with big contracts (for their time), big stars, and even bigger egos, Owens was willing to go to the mat for what he believed in.
Not a single player took him up on the offer, despite having 20+ years and being in top physical shape on Owens.
What the team did do, standing at 69-60, is go 22-11 to win the NL East on the season's penultimate day over the Montreal Expos. Defeated the Houston Astros in what is still, arguably, the greatest playoff series in baseball history. And knocked off the Kansas City Royals to win it all.
Much credit has been given to Dallas Green's buffet table tossing for righting the ship. But the truth was that Green's show was a temporary kick in the pants. It was Paul Owens, challenging his players to fight against him, that got the players to fight for him and for the fans in Philadelphia.
It took the life's passion of the man they called The Pope to instill that same passion for winning in his team. The same passion that Phillies fans possess, and that we try to instill in those who have since come and gone from the club.
Order up!
Showing posts with label WABAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WABAC. Show all posts
Friday, September 3, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
WABAC, 1984: The Trail Of Cheers
In the days of just two divisions in each league, and in the days before expansion to 28 teams, the National League teams played a very simple schedule: 18 games against divisional opponents (90 games in total), and 12 games against teams from the other division (72 games in total). Every team in the NL East made two trips out west to play the California trio of the Giants, Padres, and Dodgers.
Most of those trips consisted of three, three-game series. On the rare occasion when they didn't, a four-game series was scheduled for the return visit.
This schedule was in place from 1969 through the 1992 season.
And in the 24 seasons' worth of road trips made by NL East teams out west, only once in those 24 seasons' worth of road trips, spanning 288 such trips by NL East clubs, did an NL East team win all of the games (8, 9, or 10) of such trips.
The season was 1984. The Phillies were coming off a World Series appearance against the Baltimore Orioles. But in the off-season, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, and Pete Rose all had left the club, and newcomers like Juan Samuel had been brought in to fill the void.
Through May 10, the Phils had gotten off to a rocky start. Standing at 13-16, the Phils were already two games into an 11-game road trip, having lost five in a row and 10 of their last 12. They had gone from being 1/2-game up in NL East to four games back of the Cubs (who would go on to win the division). They'd just dropped their first two games of their road trip at the Astrodome.
And, so, on May 11, the Phils traveled to San Diego to face the Padres for a three-game weekend set, followed by a Monday-Wednesday set in Los Angeles, and concluding with another weekend set at Candlestick Park. Many times over the years, the West Coast Swing (as it was generally called by the media and fans) had resulted in a mixed bag of results, especially in the Phils' glory days from 1976-1981.
Game 1, May 11: PHILLIES 6, Padres 4 ... The Phils trail, 4-2, heading into the eighth. But Mike Schmidt hit a 2-run shot (his 10th) off Goose Gossage in the eighth, and Sixto Lezcano hit a two-run shot off Dave Dravecky (his 5th) in the ninth to make a winner of Al Holland.
Game 2, May 12: PHILLIES 3, Padres 2 ... Len Matuszak hit his fourth homer of the season, a two-run blast in the ninth off Andy Hawkins to break a 1-1 tie, then Al Holland held off a Padre rally in the bottom of the ninth to give Bill Campbell the win in relief of Marty Bystrom, who went seven.
Game 3, May 13: PHILLIES 8, Padres 3 ... Juan Samuel drove in three, and John Denny scattered four hits over seven innings as the Phils scored in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th to even their record at 16-16.
Game 4, May 14: PHILLIES 3, Dodgers 2 ... More late-inning heroics as the Phils, trailing 2-0 heading into the ninth, get three straight hits off Jerry Reuss to plate one run, then turn a sacrifice and an intentional walk into two more runs on an error by 1B Franklin Stubbs and a hit batsman (Matuszek) by Tom Niedenfuer as the Phils turn to Al Holland to finish the game.
Game 5, May 15: PHILLIES 12, Dodgers 1 ... The Phils unleashed an 18-hit attack, headed by Len Matuszak's four RBI. The Phils hit three homers (Schmidt, Matuszak, Aguayo), and Jerry Koosman got his 3rd win with seven innings of one-run ball.
Game 6, May 16: PHILLIES 7, Dodgers 2 ... Steve Carlton's grand slam off Fernando Valenzuela highlighted a five-run fourth inning as the Phils romped in the series finale at Chavez Ravine. Lefty gave up a run on six hits in seven innings to even his record at 2-2.
May 17 .. off day as the Phils traveled up the coast to 'Frisco to close out the road trip.
Game 7, May 18: PHILLIES 1, Giants 0 ... Juan Samuel tripled home Ivan DeJesus in the top of the seventh accounted for the game's only run. Marty Bystrom went seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, and Al Holland pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to record his 8th save.
Game 8, May 19: PHILLIES 6, Giants 2 ... Tim Corcoran's three-run, pinch-hit double highlighted a four-run seventh inning that broke open a 2-2 game. Al Holland entered the game in the eighth with the bases loaded and two out, getting Al Oliver on strikes to end the threat. Holland had a Brad Lidge-like ninth, giving up three hits but no runs as Bob Brenly lined into a double play to assist Holland's ninth save.
Game 9, May 20: PHILLIES 7, Giants 4 ... Juan Samuel hit a three-run homer as part of a five-run second inning as the Phils made Charles Hudson a five-game winner (5-2). Larry Andersen earned his first save of the season and Mike Schmidt hit his 12th dinger of the season in the ninth.
Ten days. Nine games. Nine wins. It had never happened before, and it hasn't happened since. In part, the three-team, three-series "West Coast Swing" died with the advent of three-divison play and the addition of teams in Colorado and Arizona.
Yes, the Phils still take long road trips, and they often play the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers on those trips. But those teams are usually ducked in as part of the trip, not the entire trip itself. Gone are the days of those fun trips west, followed a week or two later by return visits to the Vet by those same three teams.
But in 1984, for one glorious, ten-day stretch, the Phils did what no one else has ever done, sweep nine games on a West Coast Swing. The Phils ended their trip at 22-16, and returned home on May 22 to face the Dodgers. They won that game, 3-1, to fashion a 10-game winning streak.
It would be the only highlight for the remainder of the season. From then on, the Phils could never get a long, sustained level of quality play. They'd win two, then lose three. Win four, lose three. Split every other game for a week or ten days. With just nine games left, the Phils were 81-72, eliminated days earlier from the NL East race.
In a microcosm of things to come, the 1984 Phils lost their last nine games to finish at 81-81. Little did we know it at the time, but that wonderful road trip spelled, officially, the end of an era that began during the 1975 season, and ran for almost ten seasons ... the greatest stretch of baseball ever played in the city of Philadelphia.
That Phillies dynasty spent its last performing a miracle in May of 1984. It would be almost ten more years before we would see anything approaching that level of baseball again.
Order up!
Most of those trips consisted of three, three-game series. On the rare occasion when they didn't, a four-game series was scheduled for the return visit.
This schedule was in place from 1969 through the 1992 season.
And in the 24 seasons' worth of road trips made by NL East teams out west, only once in those 24 seasons' worth of road trips, spanning 288 such trips by NL East clubs, did an NL East team win all of the games (8, 9, or 10) of such trips.
The season was 1984. The Phillies were coming off a World Series appearance against the Baltimore Orioles. But in the off-season, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, and Pete Rose all had left the club, and newcomers like Juan Samuel had been brought in to fill the void.
Through May 10, the Phils had gotten off to a rocky start. Standing at 13-16, the Phils were already two games into an 11-game road trip, having lost five in a row and 10 of their last 12. They had gone from being 1/2-game up in NL East to four games back of the Cubs (who would go on to win the division). They'd just dropped their first two games of their road trip at the Astrodome.
And, so, on May 11, the Phils traveled to San Diego to face the Padres for a three-game weekend set, followed by a Monday-Wednesday set in Los Angeles, and concluding with another weekend set at Candlestick Park. Many times over the years, the West Coast Swing (as it was generally called by the media and fans) had resulted in a mixed bag of results, especially in the Phils' glory days from 1976-1981.
Game 1, May 11: PHILLIES 6, Padres 4 ... The Phils trail, 4-2, heading into the eighth. But Mike Schmidt hit a 2-run shot (his 10th) off Goose Gossage in the eighth, and Sixto Lezcano hit a two-run shot off Dave Dravecky (his 5th) in the ninth to make a winner of Al Holland.
Game 2, May 12: PHILLIES 3, Padres 2 ... Len Matuszak hit his fourth homer of the season, a two-run blast in the ninth off Andy Hawkins to break a 1-1 tie, then Al Holland held off a Padre rally in the bottom of the ninth to give Bill Campbell the win in relief of Marty Bystrom, who went seven.
Game 3, May 13: PHILLIES 8, Padres 3 ... Juan Samuel drove in three, and John Denny scattered four hits over seven innings as the Phils scored in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th to even their record at 16-16.
Game 4, May 14: PHILLIES 3, Dodgers 2 ... More late-inning heroics as the Phils, trailing 2-0 heading into the ninth, get three straight hits off Jerry Reuss to plate one run, then turn a sacrifice and an intentional walk into two more runs on an error by 1B Franklin Stubbs and a hit batsman (Matuszek) by Tom Niedenfuer as the Phils turn to Al Holland to finish the game.
Game 5, May 15: PHILLIES 12, Dodgers 1 ... The Phils unleashed an 18-hit attack, headed by Len Matuszak's four RBI. The Phils hit three homers (Schmidt, Matuszak, Aguayo), and Jerry Koosman got his 3rd win with seven innings of one-run ball.
Game 6, May 16: PHILLIES 7, Dodgers 2 ... Steve Carlton's grand slam off Fernando Valenzuela highlighted a five-run fourth inning as the Phils romped in the series finale at Chavez Ravine. Lefty gave up a run on six hits in seven innings to even his record at 2-2.
May 17 .. off day as the Phils traveled up the coast to 'Frisco to close out the road trip.
Game 7, May 18: PHILLIES 1, Giants 0 ... Juan Samuel tripled home Ivan DeJesus in the top of the seventh accounted for the game's only run. Marty Bystrom went seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, and Al Holland pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to record his 8th save.
Game 8, May 19: PHILLIES 6, Giants 2 ... Tim Corcoran's three-run, pinch-hit double highlighted a four-run seventh inning that broke open a 2-2 game. Al Holland entered the game in the eighth with the bases loaded and two out, getting Al Oliver on strikes to end the threat. Holland had a Brad Lidge-like ninth, giving up three hits but no runs as Bob Brenly lined into a double play to assist Holland's ninth save.
Game 9, May 20: PHILLIES 7, Giants 4 ... Juan Samuel hit a three-run homer as part of a five-run second inning as the Phils made Charles Hudson a five-game winner (5-2). Larry Andersen earned his first save of the season and Mike Schmidt hit his 12th dinger of the season in the ninth.
Ten days. Nine games. Nine wins. It had never happened before, and it hasn't happened since. In part, the three-team, three-series "West Coast Swing" died with the advent of three-divison play and the addition of teams in Colorado and Arizona.
Yes, the Phils still take long road trips, and they often play the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers on those trips. But those teams are usually ducked in as part of the trip, not the entire trip itself. Gone are the days of those fun trips west, followed a week or two later by return visits to the Vet by those same three teams.
But in 1984, for one glorious, ten-day stretch, the Phils did what no one else has ever done, sweep nine games on a West Coast Swing. The Phils ended their trip at 22-16, and returned home on May 22 to face the Dodgers. They won that game, 3-1, to fashion a 10-game winning streak.
It would be the only highlight for the remainder of the season. From then on, the Phils could never get a long, sustained level of quality play. They'd win two, then lose three. Win four, lose three. Split every other game for a week or ten days. With just nine games left, the Phils were 81-72, eliminated days earlier from the NL East race.
In a microcosm of things to come, the 1984 Phils lost their last nine games to finish at 81-81. Little did we know it at the time, but that wonderful road trip spelled, officially, the end of an era that began during the 1975 season, and ran for almost ten seasons ... the greatest stretch of baseball ever played in the city of Philadelphia.
That Phillies dynasty spent its last performing a miracle in May of 1984. It would be almost ten more years before we would see anything approaching that level of baseball again.
Order up!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The WABAC Machine Coming Soon
For those of you under the age of 30, the term "WABAC Machine" probably means that internet website you can go to where you can find all of the now-defunct websites that ever existed.
However, the "WABAC Machine" is a tribute to one of my favorite cartoons, "Sherman and Peabody", which was part of the early 1960's classic, "The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show". Now and again, I'll step in to the WABAC Machine to visit some classic games and memories from Phillies history.
Our first trip in the WABAC Machine will be September 1, when we travel back 30 years to San Francisco, where a man known as "The Pope" makes a challenge that will turn the season around.
However, the "WABAC Machine" is a tribute to one of my favorite cartoons, "Sherman and Peabody", which was part of the early 1960's classic, "The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show". Now and again, I'll step in to the WABAC Machine to visit some classic games and memories from Phillies history.
Our first trip in the WABAC Machine will be September 1, when we travel back 30 years to San Francisco, where a man known as "The Pope" makes a challenge that will turn the season around.
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