ChiSox Freeze out O's in Twin Bill; Lose Getaway Game

April 17, 1982 (Game#1)
CHICAGO -- Four White Sox batters took advantage of the "Hawk" (the wind in Chicago for you foreigners) blowing out at 33 mph, including Greg Luzinski (1) in the 7th with the bases loaded. Tony Bernazard (1), Tom Paciorek (1), and Harold Baines (1) also hit big flies in a 10-4 Chicago win. Benny Ayala (1) went yard for the Orioles. Britt Burns (1-0) got the win. LaMarr Hoyt (3) hurled 3 IP for the save.

April 17, 1982 (Game #2)
CHICAGO -- The Pale Hose swept the twin bill with a 4-2 win. Paciorek went 3-3 and Luzinski (2) hit a 2-run bomb. More fascinating was watching the thermometer plunge from 30 to 13 during the course of the game as the winds continued to howl out of the west. At game's end the wind chill was an inhumane -8. Oh, the memories this brought back from my days growing up in the Windy City!! Kudos to Dave Koch for his weather accuracy as I looked back at actual weather that day in Chitown, and also for being consistent with both games of the double dip.

April 18, 1982
CHICAGO -- ChiSox third-sacker Jim Morrison committed 5 errors opening the gates for a 7-2 Orioles win in he getaway game. He was removed in the 4th inning, and it was later determined he had suffered frost bite from the night before. Meanwhile, Scott McGregor (2-1) was sold through 9 complete o the hill for Baltimore. Dan Ford (1) and Gary Roenicke (3) each provided 2-run home runs to the O's attack.

Brewers Coral Rangers 2-1

The Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers had a good ole fashioned shootout at

County Stadium that saw two of the 3 games go into extra frames before a decision was made.  Both teams traded extra inning victories (game 1 going to Milwaukee in 10 innings and game 3 to the Rangers in 10 innings)  while the odd game out went to the Brewers in a landslide.  Milwaukee improves to 6-3 on the season while Texas drops to 3-5.

Game 1 - 10 innings
Milwaukee 4  Texas 3
WP - Rollie Fingers (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
LP - Paul Mirabella (0-1, 11.25 ERA)
GWRBI - PH Robin Yount 10th inning

Game 2 
Milwaukee 11  Texas 2
WP - Bob McCLure (1-0, 7.2 IP, 2.35 ERA)
LP - Frank Tanana (0-2, 9.00 ERA)
HR - Cecil Cooper (2)
         Ted Simmons (1)
          Larry Hisle (1)
          Don Money (3)

Game 3 - 10 innings
Texas 5  Milwaukee 3
WP - Danny Darwin (1-0, 1.04 ERA)
LP - Rollie Fingers (1-1, 2.84 ERA)
HR - Ted Simmons (2)
         Don Money (4)

April 9, 1982 (CA 1: MN 2)
Twins go into the series against the Western Division leading Angels with a one game winning streak.  Al Williams vs Angel Moreno.  The Angles get on board first with a Brian Downing Double that scored Baylor.  Baylor lead off the inning with a single and Decineces popped up to Wilfong..  Gaetti hit a two run homer down the left field line (352 feet) in the bottom of the 8th to give the Twins a 2-1 lead.  In the bottom of the 5th Hrbek singled to right and Gaetti followed with a single to right to put runners on first and second.  Vega lined to the pitcher and Hrbek was caught off 2nd and Gaetti was caught off first for a triple play.  The Twins were almost demoralized by that play.  But Gaetti came back to hit the big go ahead homer in the 8th.

MVP. Al Williams, GWRBI: Gaetti

April 10, 1982 (CA 14: MN 1)
This was all Angels.  Let's go by the numbers.
2b: Boone, Downing and Burelson
3b: Carew (2)
HR: Baylor, Clark

Enough said.

Kison: 1 ER, 2 hits, 1 BB, 6K

MVP: Kison, GWRBI: Carew

April 11, 1982 (CA 9: MN 7): 7th Heaven for the Angels
The Twins were leading 2-0 until the skies opened and the heavens sang.  The Angels scored 9 runs in the 7th, which was enough to hold onto the win, as the Twins scored 5 in the last 3 innings.

Eisenreich homered in the bottom of the third to bring the game to 2-0.  That awful 7th the Angels sent 14 batters to the plat scoring 9 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks.    Burleson singled scoring Downing.  Fred Lynn doubled scoring Boone.  Carew singled scoring 2 take the lead 4-2.  Decinces hit a 417 foot grand slam and Downing hit a solo HR to make it 9-2.

On defense, Engle had 3 poor plays to lead the Twins horrific fielding.

The rookies Hrbek and Gaetti are starting the season well.  If they continue this play, they might be in contention for rookie of the year, unless of course Cal Ripken, Jr outshines them both.  Hrbek is batting .294 with a .368 OBP, while Gaetti is hitting .286/.348/.476.

MVP: Decinces, GWRBI: Carew

Stros Hurlers Blank Braves Twice; Take series 2 of 3

April 9, 1982
ATLANTA -- Houston's Don Sutton exited the game with a 6-2 lead. Frank Lacorte (0-1) walked 5 in the 7th  and gave up 5 of the 6 runs Atlanta tallied. The Braves added 3 more in the 8th and went on to an 11-8 win. Dale Murphy led the offense with 3 RBI. Steve Bedrosian (1-0) earned the win in relief.

April 10, 1982
ATLANTA -- Verne Ruhle (1-0) scattered 6 hits over 9 complete innings of shutout ball as Houston won 3-0. Ruhle fanned 4 and walked none. Bedrosian started and had a no hitter going through 7, but tired in the 8th and yielded a pair of runs on a Craig Reynolds hit. Terry Puhl (1) added a solo homer in the 9th.

April 11, 1982
ATLANTA -- Nolan Ryan (1-0) made it back-to-back shutouts for the Stros, fanning 8 and allowing just 2 base knocks. Phil Garner (1) and Alan Ashby (1) each went yard to lead the offense in a 5-0 whitewashing.

Defending Champ Halos Start Hot

April 6, 1982
OAKLAND -- Doug DeCinces (1) homered with one of his 2 hits and scored twice as the Angels spoiled Oakland's home opener 3-2. Ken Forsch (1-0) started and went 6 innings for the win. Don Aase (1) notched the 2-inning save.

April 7, 1982
OAKLAND -- Geoff Zahn (1-0) dazzled and frustrated Athletics hitters with his slow stuff, allowing just 6 base knocks in a 2-0 CG whitewashing. Rod Carew and Bobby Grich paced the Halos offense with a pair of hits each.

April 8, 1982
OAKLAND -- Reggie Jackson (1) victimized his old mates with a home run and double to drive in 3 in an 8-5 win. Brian Downing also had 3 RBI and Decinces added 3 hits. Mike Witt (1-0) tossed 6.1 IP for the W. Aase (1) recorded his second save. Davey Lopes had 3 hits for Oakland.

1982 Season Coming Soon (Jan. 2017)

he 1982 Major League Baseball season. Making up for their playoff miss of the year before, the St. Louis Cardinals won their ninth World Series championship, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers, four games to three.

World Series:

Suds Series

The St. Louis-Milwaukee World Series played on another rivalry – Anheuser Busch / Miller Brewing – and became known playfully as the “Suds Series”. The series was a strong contrast – while Milwaukee hit 216 homers, St. Louis hit only 67. Paul Molitor opened the series with 5 hits in game 1, and the Brewers clobbered the Cards, 10-0. After that, the series lead changed hands 3 more times, as the Cards won the next 2, the Brewers won games 4 and 5, and the Cardinals drove off elimination by winning games 6 and 7. Darrell Porter was named MVP of the series, becoming only the 2nd player to win the LCS and WS MVP awards in the same season.

Awards and honors

• Most Valuable Player
  • Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers, SS (AL)
  • Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves, OF (NL)
• Cy Young Award
  • Pete Vuckovich, Milwaukee Brewers (AL)
  • Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
• Rookie of the Year
• Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles, SS (AL)
• Steve Sax, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2B (NL)

Statistical leaders

American League National League Type Name Stat Name Stat AVG Willie Wilson KC .332 Al Oliver MTL .331 HR Reggie Jackson CAL Gorman Thomas MIL 39 Dave Kingman NYM 37 RBI Hal McRae KC 133 Dale Murphy ATL Al Oliver MTL 109 Wins LaMarr Hoyt CHW 19 Steve Carlton PHI 23 ERA Rick Sutcliffe CLE 2.96 Steve Rogers MTL 2.40 SO Floyd Bannister SEA 209 Steve Carlton PHI 286 SV Dan Quisenberry KC 35 Bruce Sutter STL 36 SB Rickey Henderson OAK 130 Tim Raines MTL 78

All-Star game

• All-Star Game, July 13 at Olympic Stadium: National League, 4–1; Dave Concepción, MVP

Events

• On May 6, 1982, Gaylord Perry of the Seattle Mariners became the fifteenth pitcher to win three hundred games when Seattle defeated the NY Yankees 7–3 at the Kingdome.
• On May 30, Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles plays the first of what would become a record-breaking 2,632 consecutive games by starting at third base against the Toronto Blue Jays.
• On October 3, the San Francisco Giants eliminated the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers from playoff contention in favor of the Atlanta Braves. This was one of the few times a defending champion was eliminated on the final day of the regular season.
• For the first time since 1959, no pitcher pitched a no-hitter.

California Wins 1981 World Series for Its Second Chamionship in Three Years

The California Angels completed an unlikey season in which they rode a strong first half in the strike-depleted year to a berth in the playoffs. They were matched against a Cardinals teams that similarly took advantage of a surprisingly strong first half to get invited to the post season dance.

Game 1

The pitching matchups featured Mike Witt for the Angels and Larry Sorensen for the Cards. The Angels jumped off to a 3-run lead on the strength of 5 bits in the first inning, but would not score again until the 7th. Meanwhile, Ken Oberkfell

of the Cards homered in the 5th and Dane Iorg doubled a run in the 6th to make the score 3-2 headed into the 7th. After a scoreless top of the 7th for the Cards, the Angels continued their "death by a thousand cuts" attack. The first four batters of the inning singled off P Mark Littell, and his replacement Jim Kaat allowed another two singles. When the damage was tabulated, the Angels led 6-2. George Hendrick of the Cards homered in the top of the 8th to brinf the game within 2, but Angels stopper Don Aase (you'll hear that name again) came in to forestall further damage. Angels held on to win 6-4, with Mike Witt the winner and Sorensen the loser. Don Aase got his first save.

Game 2

Bob Forsch took the mound for the Redbirds, with Steve Renko his opposite number. Angels once again kicked off the scoring early, as Grich, Baylor, and Carew strung together singles in the bottom of the first to give the Halos a 1-0 lead. Renko stymied the Cardinals bats until the 4th, when the Cards got two runners on. Little-used reliever Mickey Mahler bailed out an exhausted Renko to get out of the inning without a run scored. In the bottom of the 4th Angels pinch hitter John Harris doubled in pair to give the Angels a 3-0 lead. No other runs were scored in the game. The Cards threated in the ninth, as pinch hitter Gene Roof reached on an error with the top of the order due up. Fireman Aase again came in to hold te lead, and picked up his second save of the series. Mickey Mahler was credited with the win, Forsch the loss.

Game 3

With the Cards looking to get back in the series, they sent left John Martin to the hill to oppose Angels lefty Geoff Zahn. Grich hit a homer in the top of the 1st, and it looked like the Angels were at it again. However, the Cards got to Zahn for two runs in the bottom of the 1st on run-scoring hits by Sixto Lezcano and Ken Oberkfell. In the top of the 5th, the Angels added two runs on three hits, and added another in the 6th to chase Martin. The Cardinals scored in the bottom of the 5th as well, but headed into the 7th the Angels led 4-3. Disco Dan Ford hit a homer for the Angels in the top of the 7th to strect the lead to 5-3, but the Cards got a runner on in the bottom of the 7th with one out. With the tying tun at the plate in the form of PH Gene Roof, Don Aase was once again summoned from the Angels pen. He ended the threat without damage in the 7th and went on to hold the Cards scoreless for the remainder of the game to pick up his third save of the series. Zahn got the win and Martin the loss.

Game 4

With the Cards now desperate to stay in the series, Carlos Martinez took the hill opposed by Angels JJ Jefferson. Angels were off to the races again, as they led off the game with four straight hits to score three runs and chase

Martinez for the wild man Joaquin Andujar. Little did the Angels realize that such an auspicious beginning was going to be invalidated emphatically soon. St Louis scored a run in the bottom of the second, but Angels were still looking OK until the wheels came off in the bottom of the third. The Cardinals leveraged a Sixto Lezacano grand slam to score 5 in the inning, and now led 6-3. A Keith Hernandez homer and Darrell Porter triple spearheaded a 6-run Cardinals 4th, and the game was in garbage time. Cardinals added three more runs on the bottom of the 7th to win going away 15-3. Cardinals reliever Bob Shirtey took the wind and Jefferson the loss. Needless to say, Aase did not get a chance to go for his fourth save of the series.

Game 5

Could the Cards rebound to get back in this series? Larry Sorensen and Mke Witt reprised their Game 1 matchup to find out. Angels again led off the scoring, as CF Fred Lynn walked, was sacrificed to second, and scored on a single by SS Rick Burleson. Angels added another run in the 4th as Brian Downing singled, then scored on a double by Lynn. In the 5th the Angels scratched out another run on a Burleson single, a balk, and a Don Baylor single. Now 3-0 Angels. The Cardinals struk in the bottom of the 6th, as Sixto Lezcano doubled in a run and subsequently scored on SS Garry Templeton's single. 3-2 Angels after six as the tension built. After a scoreless Angels 7th, Keith Hernandez singled for the Cards in the bottom of the inning. With slugger George Hendrick due up, the Angels went to the well one more time for relief ace Don Aase. Aase induced a Hendrick fly out to end the threat. St Louis threatened again in the 8th, but despite three singles could not get a run in. Keith Hernandez doubled in the 9th to put the tying run on with two out, but Aase once again shut down Hendrick to give the Angels the series win. Aase did pick up his 4th save of the series, no doubt tying a record, and Witt won his second game at the expense of Sorensen.

Despite the lopsided final outcome, the games were all close and it was an exciting series. Thanks to Bruce Thomas for managing St Louis and doing an excellent job.

Bobby Grich hit .421 for the series, and Mike Witt got credit for 2 of the 4 wins. Nonetheless, the series MVP has to go to Don Aase. He held the Cardinals scoreless in 7 mostly high leverage innings, and didn't allow any inherited runners to score either. In an ironic twist, the 9th inning of Game 5 was his last regardless of outcome as he hit his usage limit.

See you all next season.

Bill