February 10, 2010
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The night of nothing but homersby Geoff YoungSeptember 04, 2008 Dramatis personae House of Cleveland Joe Carter, center fielder, 1981 first-round pick of the Chicago Cubs Pete O'Brien, first baseman, received in trade with Texas for Julio Franco Cory Snyder, right fielder, 1984 first-round pick Andy Allanson, catcher, 1983 second-round pick Greg Swindell, pitcher, 1986 first-round pick House of Arlington Sammy Sosa, left fielder Rafael Palmeiro, first baseman, 1985 first-round pick of the Chicago Cubs, received December 1988 as gift from House of Wrigley Ruben Sierra, right fielder Julio Franco, second baseman, received in trade with Cleveland for Pete O'Brien Jeff Kunkel, shortstop, 1983 first-round pick Charlie Hough, pitcher, knuckleball specialist Minor characters Felix Fermin, Cleveland shortstop later traded to Seattle for Omar Vizquel Rick Leach, Texas outfielder, former University of Michigan quarterback Chad Kreuter, Texas catcher, current USC baseball head coach Kenny Rogers, Texas reliever, current Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Dave Clark, Cleveland outfielder Mark Salas, Cleveland catcher Mike Stanley, Texas designated hitter Brook Jacoby, Cleveland third baseman Bobby Valentine, Texas manager Doc Edwards, Cleveland manager Doug Jones, Cleveland reliever Setting House of Arlington, June 24, 1989; the House of Cleveland has come to town to play a game of baseball against the home team. Act IThe Saturday evening air at House of Arlington is warm and dry. Veteran right-hander Charlie Hough strides to the mound to do battle against the Cleveland Indians. This represents the 72nd game for each side. The Indians, as has been the case for most of the decade, are struggling. They haven't finished higher than fourth place in the American League's Eastern Division since 1968, when Tony Horton and Luis Tiant led them to 86 victories. Coming into Saturday's game, Cleveland is 33-38, tied for fifth place in the division, 8 1/2 games back of the Baltimore Orioles. Texas is 40-31, good for fourth place in the Western Division, but only 3 games back of the front-running Oakland Athletics. The Rangers have had a couple of down years, but aren't too far removed from a strong 1986 campaign that saw them finish second to the California Angels. The current bunch features some promising young talent, including first baseman Rafael Palmeiro; outfielders Sammy Sosa, Ruben Sierra and Juan Gonzalez; third baseman Dean Palmer; right-hander Bobby Witt; and left-hander Kenny Rogers. On this night, 41-year-old knuckleballer Charlie Hough takes the mound for Texas. He strikes out the side on 17 pitches in the first inning, including Cleveland's Joe Carter on three straight to end the frame; it is the only time Carter will fail to make contact. Hough's counterpart, 24-year-old left-hander Greg Swindell, likewise retires the side in order. After a second uneventful inning from Hough, the home team draws first blood in the bottom half. Sierra hammers the second pitch he sees from Swindell into the left-center field seats, giving Texas a 1-0 lead. The third inning unfolds in a fashion similar to the first. That is to say, nothing much happens, certainly nothing to hint at what follows. Act IIThe sparks begin to fly in the fourth. Dave Clark grounds to second to start the inning. Hough has retired 10 of the first 11 batters he's faced, five by strikeout. The only batter to reach base for Cleveland is catcher Mark Salas, who walked back in the second. After Clark's groundout, Carter steps to the plate and homers to left field. Two pitches later, first baseman Pete O'Brien follows with a home run to right. The Indians now lead, 2-1. The Rangers tie it in the bottom half, although they waste a golden opportunity to do much more damage. Sosa pushes a bunt up the first base line for a single to start the inning. After he is caught stealing, Palmeiro lines to center for the second out. Sierra then singles, and Julio Franco follows with an RBI double (of the 10 runs that will score tonight, this is the only one that doesn't result from a home run). Swindell walks the next two batters before fanning Mike Stanley to quell the threat. Hough, meanwhile, is back to his old tricks in the fifth. He retires the side in order on nine pitches. The Rangers give him the lead in the bottom half. Shortstop Jeff Kunkel, a once highly touted prospect who is still trying to get his career started at age 27, starts the inning with a homer to left. With one out, Sosa and Palmeiro (that's 1178 career home runs, if you're keeping score at home) each single, but Swindell retires Sierra and Franco to escape further damage. Texas has stranded a total five baserunners over the past two innings. Hough gets two quick outs to start the sixth. Carter then slams his second homer of the night to tie the game, 3-3. O'Brien strikes out swinging to end the inning. Swindell, for his part, breezes through the Rangers' 6-7-8 hitters in the bottom half. Two-thirds of the way through, the contest remains deadlocked. Act IIIThe seventh begins much as the sixth did, with two quick outs for Hough. He then walks the #7 hitter, Brook Jacoby, on four pitches, bringing up catcher Andy Allanson. This isn't necessarily a bad idea, as Jacoby is less than two years removed from a 32-homer campaign, while Allanson—who looks like a slugger—comes from the Manny Alexander/John McDonald school of hitting. Unfortunately for Hough and the Rangers, Allanson forgets that he's no hitter and proceeds to swat the second pitch he sees into the left field seats. The Indians have reclaimed the lead, 5-3. Texas has no answer in the bottom half. Sosa singles with two out but is left there when Palmeiro flies to right. In the eighth—and you'll forgive me if I repeat myself; it's only because the story dictates that I do so—Hough retires the first two batters before serving up a homer to Carter, his third of the night. At this point manager Bobby Valentine pulls Hough, who finishes with as good a line as anyone who gives up five home runs can: 7.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 HR, 2 BB, 9 SO. (Hough also has thrown 139 pitches, although presumably one doesn't concern oneself so much with the pitch count of a 41-year-old knuckleballer.) Valentine summons one of his most reliable relievers, southpaw Kenny Rogers. The rookie throws one pitch to O'Brien, who grounds to second for the final out. In the bottom half, Texas again squanders an excellent opportunity. Sierra leads off with a triple to right-center. Cleveland skipper Doc Edwards brings Doug Jones in, and Jones sandwiches two grounders around a strikeout to preserve the 6-3 lead. Cory Snyder begins the top of the ninth with a bang, homering to right on the first pitch he sees from Rogers. The side is then retired in order, bringing up the Rangers for one last gasp. Again, the home team puts two runners on base, but Palmeiro ground to second to end the game. Cleveland has won, 7-3, despite collecting only six hits—all home runs. A total of eight balls leave the yard on this night, leading to nine of the ten runs. Postscript
Geoff Young covers the San Diego Padres at Ducksnorts and is a regular contributor to Baseball Daily Digest. He has written three books about the Padres, the most recent being the Ducksnorts 2009 Baseball Annual. Feel free to send Geoff comments via email. Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Do you have a general question or comment for one of THT's writers? Send it in to our weekly mailbag We also welcome unsolicited op-ed pieces of approximately 500 words for consideration. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and consistency of style. Please include your whole name and location to be considered. If you have a comment about this specific article, please email the writer. Next Article: Broken: The leading man>> <<Previous Article: THT Daily: Replay | ||||
