May 17, 2012

Dodger Fan Hal McRae and My Favorite Baseball Meltdown EVER

I was perusing the Sons of Steve Garvey blog today and always enjoy their wittier posts. Today was no exception with a post on a rough exchange between Will Clark and Jeff Pearlman.

As I read through Delino’s comments on the aftermath, I thought back to a famous blowup from the early 1990s featuring Hal McRae when he was managing the Royals. I actually remember the SportsCenter story on this and the video that was played on every broadcast that fateful evening. I was living in a fraternity house and my suitemates came and grabbed me from my bedroom to see the carnage in all its glory.

My favorite moments include:
1. McRae’s 360 degree spin as he hurls the phone across the room (unfortunately, it hit a reporter and drew blood).
2. The reporters leaving the room, a staff member closing the door, and McRae’s appearance out in the hall to continue berating reporters.
3. McRae’s last stand – his triumphant stament of “put that in your %#?! pipe and smoke it!” before storming back into his office and slamming the door.

In an interview with the St Petersburg Times in 2002, McRae shared his boyhood love for the Dodgers:

We were all Dodgers fans,” McRae said. “Everybody in Avon Park was a Dodgers fan. When the Dodgers were in the World Series, at my grade school when the game was on school was out. They felt we needed some heroes, and [Jackie Robinson] was the guy.

Enjoy.

Dodgers Ask Fans to Crown L.A.’s All-Time Relief Pitcher

So the Dodgers have been working to get their “all-time” team together as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. They’ve got their short list of relief pitchers up for voting as follows (courtesy of the Dodgers Press Release):

* Jim Brewer, who appeared in an L.A. Dodger record 474 games out of the bullpen, pitched in Los Angeles from 1964-75. Brewer also pitched in three different World Series (1965, ’66, ’74) and was named to the NL All-Star Team in 1973. In a Dodger uniform, Brewer was 61-51 with an ERA of 2.62 and 126 saves. Hailing from Broken Arrow, OK, the left-handed screwball specialist recorded six straight seasons with double-digit saves (1968-74).

* Eric Gagné was the most dominating relief pitcher in baseball over three seasons, saving 52, 55 and 45 games in 158 chances (96.2 %) from 2002-04. Gagné won the 2003 National League Cy Young Award with an amazing 1.20 ERA while going a perfect 55-for-55 in save opportunities. Most impressively, his consecutive saves streak of 84 games, which lasted from Aug. 14, 2002 until July 3, 2004, set a Major League record that may not ever be broken. Gagné also spawned a ninth-inning Dodger Stadium phenomenon, as the Dodger faithful couldn’t wait until the first few guitar licks from “Welcome to the Jungle” were played so they could stand up and scream while the Canadian closer charged in from the bullpen to electronic signs that proclaimed “Game Over.” Gagné’s 161 saves as a Dodger are first in franchise history.

* Mike Marshall only pitched in Los Angeles for two-and-a-half seasons, but left an indelible mark on the franchise by winning the 1974 Cy Young Award and leading the Dodgers to the NL pennant that season. Marshall appeared in a Major League record-106 games that season, going 15-12 with a 2.42 ERA and 21 saves. In the postseason, Marshall went on to allow just one run in 12.0 innings (seven games). The Michigan native was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 1974 and ’75, finishing 129 games over those two years.


* Ron Perranoski
was a vital part of four World Series teams in Los Angeles, first as a hard-nosed reliever and then as a pitching coach. Perranoski was the glue for an exceptional Dodger pitching staff in the early and mid 60′s, helping the Dodgers to World Series championships in 1963 and ’65. In 1963, Perranoski finished fourth in the NL MVP voting after going 16-3 with a 1.67 ERA and 21 saves over a league-leading 69 appearances. After coming out of the bullpen in Los Angeles from 1961-67, Perranoski returned to Dodger Stadium, first as a player in 1972 and then as Tommy Lasorda’s pitching coach from 1981-94. In the 14 seasons he was the pitching coach, Perranoski’s teams were first or second in the league in ERA nine times. Overall, the left-hander was 54-41 with a 2.56 ERA and 101 saves for the Dodgers in eight seasons.

* Jeff Shaw has the distinction of being the first player Tommy Lasorda traded for while acting as the General Manager in 1998. Shaw appeared in two All-Star games for Los Angeles (1998, 2001) and saved 129 games in a Dodger uniform from 1998-2001, which ranks him second on the all-time Dodger list, behind Gagné. In his four years as the closer at Dodger Stadium, Shaw finished in the top-10 in saves each season.

* Todd Worrell burst onto the National League scene in 1986 and won the NL Rookie of the Year Award for the Cardinals, so he was already a well-known name by the time he made his way to Los Angeles in 1993. After overcoming injury in ’93 and ’94, Worrell then saved 32, 44, and 35 games over the next three seasons and was the closer on the Dodgers’ 1995 and ’96 playoff teams. His 127 saves set an All-Time Dodger record in 1997, that has since been broken by Shaw and Gagné. The California native and Biola graduate’s best season came in 1996, when he went 4-6 with a 3.03 ERA and a league-leading 44 saves in 72 games. Worrell also finished tied for fifth in the Cy Young voting that season.

vote now at http://www.dodgers.com/anniversary.

Dodgers Bloggers Get Love from the National Media

Yup, it’s true.  Eamonn Brennan from the Fanhouse at AOL.com picked up part of our friend Erin’s post at Beantown West. 

Anyway, well done, Dodgers bloggers (Doggers?). A nation turns its lonely, monitor-scorched eyes to you.

Apparently Eamonn didn’t pick up Erin’s wit, however, as he writes of Alyssa Milano visiting our suite. Ahhh…if only this was truly the case!

Alyssa: if you’re reading this, the local Dodger blogger community would welcome your attendance at our next game!

Tommy and the Pope (Seriously!)

This just in from the front office at the Dodgers:

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush have invited Hall of Fame Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda to attend the arrival ceremony of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, it was announced today.  Lasorda will attend the arrival ceremony tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the South Lawn of the White House, as well as a private dinner hosted by President and Mrs. Bush later that evening at the White House.

So as many of you know, I (along with a stellar collection of some of my fellow Dodgers bloggers) had the opportunity to meet Tommy last Friday and hear his hilarious takes on past Dodger greats and not-so-greats.  What do you think the odds are that he’ll break into a speech to the Pope on the ”intelligence” levels of former players Steve Sax and Ken Landreaux as Tommy did with us?  Check out the video that our friends Steve Sax and Orel shot if you’re in for a laugh.

 

Oh, maybe he’ll give the Pope and the Prez his patented “God Bless Tommy Lasorda and God bless the Los Angeles Dodgers” exit speech!  That would be so sweet.  Maybe our buddy Josh Rawitch over at the Dodgers can hook it up so a few of us Dodgers bloggers can attend the dinner as well (we’ll work for Dodger Dogs).

 

Photo Credit: SpeakingofSports.com

Spreading the Hits Around

Ok, so I’m sure the way the Dodgers lost last night’s game was not how many were expecting, bu until Saito blew the save, this was looking like it was going to be a really nice shared victory.  It’s worth noting that every starter except one had at least one hit in the game, and the guy who didn’t add a notch on his belt wasn’t who you thought it would be – it was Raffy!  Furcal still played great, including an amazing defensive play with DeWitt to save a sure run with two men on in the third.

One interesting stat I learned from Vin tonight while driving home: excluding tonight’s performance, in 2008, Dodger pitchers have a 4.50 ERA in night games and a 1.50 ERA in day games.  Just something to keep an eye on.

One other interesting offensive stat from this hitting-deprived team: James Loney has quietly gone about establishing a nice little 13-game hit streak.  Go James!


Photo: Courtesey of ProFantasySports.com