AL Day 2: Niekro fans 6 in Yankees win

Phil Niekro

New York 4, Kansas City 2 – 45-year old Phil Niekro took a shutout into the 9th inning. He didn’t finish the job, but he did finish the game and notched 6 strikeouts in the process. Don Baylor homered for the Yankees, going 4-for-5 at the plate.

Boston 1, Toronto 0 – Jim Rice tripled and scored on a Tony Armas sac fly in the 4th inning. That proved to be the only run of the game as both the Jays’ Dave Stieb (7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H) and Boston’s Bobby Ojeda brought good stuff to the mound.  Ojeda picked up the shutout, striking out 7. The game ended when George Bell grounded into a 3-6-3 double play with a great play down the line by Bill Buckner.

Texas 5, Detroit 3 – A good day for knuckleballers, I guess, as Charlie Hough (W 1-0) went 7+ innings for the Rangers, keeping the Tigers off the board until the 8th. Jack Morris (L 0-1) pitched decently for the Tigers, going 7 innings. Unfortunately for him, the Rangers grouped all their hits together in 2 big innings. Alan Trammell went 3-for-4 with a double for Detroit in the loss.

California 3, Milwaukee 2 – The Halos overcame a 2-0 deficit, tying the game in the 5th and then going ahead in the 8th on a lead-off homer by Doug DeCinces. Rob Wilfong went 2-for-3 with a triple at the bottom of the lineup, while Mike Witt (W 1-0) went the distance for the win. Brewers’ starting pitcher Don Sutton had gone 1.1 shutout innings before leaving the game with an injury that will force his next start back a couple of days.

Oakland 5, Minnesota 4 (12 innings) – An AL West contest went into extra innings, finally ending when the A’s batted around in the 12th. It might have been a different game had the Twins’ Frank Viola (1.1 IP) not left the game with an injury after having retired the first 4 men he faced. His next start will be pushed back a few days.  Mike Davis had four singles for Oakland, who have now split their first two games of the season, as has Minnesota.

Chicago 3, Baltimore 1 – LaMarr Hoyt (W 1-0) went the distance for the win and yet another starting pitcher went down with an injury.  The O’s Mike Boddicker was still locked in a 1-1 tie in the 9th, but left after retiring DH Greg Luzinski on a fly out to center. Baltimore reports Boddicker will miss at least one start. Sammy Stewart didn’t fare well out of the pen, allowing the first 4 ChiSox to reach base.

Cleveland 10, Seattle 5 – Mark Langston (L 0-1) did what Mark Langston does, striking out 9 and walking 7 in a Seattle loss.  The Mariners took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the 7th, but the Tribe sent 11 men to the plate. Julio Franco had an MVP game for Cleveland, going 3-for-4 with a double, walk, 3 RBI and 3 SB.

STANDINGS
=========

AL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Cleveland Indians         1    0  1000   -    W 1
New York Yankees          1    0  1000   -    W 1
Boston Red Sox            1    1  .500   0.5  W 1
Toronto Blue Jays         1    1  .500   0.5  L 1
Baltimore Orioles         0    1  .000   1    L 1
Detroit Tigers            0    1  .000   1    L 1
Milwaukee Brewers         0    1  .000   1    L 1

AL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
California Angels         1    0  1000   -    W 1
Chicago White Sox         1    0  1000   -    W 1
Texas Rangers             1    0  1000   -    W 1
Minnesota Twins           1    1  .500   0.5  L 1
Oakland Athletics         1    1  .500   0.5  W 1
Kansas City Royals        0    1  .000   1    L 1
Seattle Mariners          0    1  .000   1    L 1

TEAM STARS
==========

     BATTER                        PITCHER                  
BAL  Eddie Murray                  Mike Boddicker           
     .667, 1 RBI                   0.00, 4 K               
BOS  Dwight Evans                  Bob Ojeda                
     .375, 1 HR, 2 RBI             1-0, 0.00, 7 K          
CAL  Rob Wilfong                   Mike Witt                
     .667                          1-0, 2.00, 3 K          
CHW  Marc Hill                     LaMarr Hoyt              
     .750, 2 RBI                   1-0, 1.00, 5 K          
CLE  Julio Franco                  Tom Waddell              
     .750, 3 RBI, 3 SB             1-0, 0.00, 3 K          
DET  Alan Trammell                 Doug Bair                
     .600                          0.00, 1 K               
KCR  Pat Sheridan                  Mike Jones               
     .500, 1 SB                    0.00, 2 K               
MIL  Robin Yount                   Don Sutton               
     .500, 1 HR, 1 RBI             0.00                    
MIN  Kirby Puckett                 Mike Smithson            
     .400, 2 RBI, 1 SB             1-0, 1.00               
NYY  Don Baylor                    Phil Niekro              
     .800, 1 HR, 2 RBI             1-0, 1.00, 6 K          
OAK  Mike Davis                    Bill Caudill             
     .500, 1 RBI                   1-0, 6.75, 3 K          
SEA  Dave Henderson                Dave Beard               
     .500, 1 HR, 2 RBI             0.00, 1 K               
TEX  Larry Parrish                 Charlie Hough            
     .333, 1 HR, 1 RBI             1-0, 3.86, 3 K          
TOR  Buck Martinez                 Jim Clancy               
     .571, 1 HR, 3 RBI             1-0, 4.00, 6 K          

LEADERS
=======

BATTING AVERAGE
 1. Baylor, Don (NYY)              .800
 2. Franco, Julio (CLE)            .750
    Hill, Marc (CHW)               .750
 4. Bando, Chris (CLE)             .667
    Murray, Eddie (BAL)            .667
 6. Trammell, Alan (DET)           .600
 7. Martinez, Buck (TOR)           .571
 8. Bell, George (TOR)             .500
    Davis, Mike (OAK)              .500
    Gantner, Jim (MIL)             .500
    Henderson, Dave (SEA)          .500
    Lynn, Fred (CAL)               .500
    Moreno, Omar (NYY)             .500
    Owen, Spike (SEA)              .500
    Pettis, Gary (CAL)             .500
    Sheridan, Pat (KCR)            .500
    Slaught, Don (KCR)             .500
    Young, Mike (BAL)              .500
    Yount, Robin (MIL)             .500

HOME RUNS
1. Bell, George (TOR)                2
2. Baylor, Don (NYY)                 1
   DeCinces, Doug (CAL)              1
   Easler, Mike (BOS)                1
   Evans, Dwight (BOS)               1
   Henderson, Dave (SEA)             1
   Hrbek, Kent (MIN)                 1
   Kingman, Dave (OAK)               1
   Martinez, Buck (TOR)              1
   Parrish, Larry (TEX)              1
   Phelps, Ken (SEA)                 1
   Thornton, Andre (CLE)             1
   Upshaw, Willie (TOR)              1
   Yount, Robin (MIL)                1

RUNS BATTED IN
1. Bell, George (TOR)                4
2. Franco, Julio (CLE)               3
   Martinez, Buck (TOR)              3
   Thornton, Andre (CLE)             3
5. Baylor, Don (NYY)                 2
   Boggs, Wade (BOS)                 2
   Collins, Dave (TOR)               2
   Easler, Mike (BOS)                2
   Engle, Dave (MIN)                 2
   Evans, Dwight (BOS)               2
   Gibson, Kirk (DET)                2
   Griffin, Alfredo (TOR)            2
   Henderson, Dave (SEA)             2
   Hill, Marc (CHW)                  2
   Iorg, Garth (TOR)                 2
   Jacoby, Brook (CLE)               2
   Owen, Spike (SEA)                 2
   Puckett, Kirby (MIN)              2
   Scott, Donnie (TEX)               2
   Slaught, Don (KCR)                2
   Teufel, Tim (MIN)                 2
   Upshaw, Willie (TOR)              2

STOLEN BASES
1. Franco, Julio (CLE)               3
   Garcia, Damaso (TOR)              3
3. Law, Rudy (CHW)                   2

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
 1. Atherton, Keith (OAK)          0.00
    Bair, Doug (DET)               0.00
    Beard, Dave (SEA)              0.00
    Boddicker, Mike (BAL)          0.00
    Camacho, Ernie (CLE)           0.00
    Codiroli, Chris (OAK)          0.00
    Jones, Mike (KCR)              0.00
    Ojeda, Bob (BOS)               0.00
    Schmidt, Dave (TEX)            0.00
    Sutton, Don (MIL)              0.00
    Waddell, Tom (CLE)             0.00

WINS-LOSSES
1. Caudill, Bill (OAK)             1-0
   Clancy, Jim (TOR)               1-0
   Hough, Charlie (TEX)            1-0
   Hoyt, LaMarr (CHW)              1-0
   Niekro, Phil (NYY)              1-0
   Ojeda, Bob (BOS)                1-0
   Smithson, Mike (MIN)            1-0
   Waddell, Tom (CLE)              1-0
   Witt, Mike (CAL)                1-0

STRIKEOUTS
1. Langston, Mark (SEA)              9
2. Ojeda, Bob (BOS)                  7
   Stieb, Dave (TOR)                 7
4. Clancy, Jim (TOR)                 6
   Niekro, Phil (NYY)                6

SAVES
1. Schmidt, Dave (TEX)               1
   Warren, Mike (OAK)                1


SCHEDULE
========

TOR   1-1   Alexander, D         (NR)
BOS   1-1   Boyd, O              (NR)

OAK   1-1   Krueger, B           (NR)
MIN   1-1   Butcher, J           (NR)

CHW   1-0   Seaver, T            (NR)
BAL   0-1   Flanagan, M          (NR)

SEA   0-1   Moore, M             (NR)
CLE   1-0   Blyleven, B          (NR)

DET   0-1   Petry, D             (NR)
TEX   1-0   Tanana, F            (NR)

NYY   1-0   Guidry, R            (NR)
KCR   0-1   Gubicza, M           (NR)

MIL   0-1   Haas, M              (NR)
CAL   1-0   Romanick, R          (NR)

AL Day 1: Jays Crush BoSox on Opening Day

George Bell

Toronto 16, Boston 8 – George Bell went deep twice, leading the Blue Jays to a 16-8 whacking of the Red Sox on Opening Day.  Jim Clancy (W 1-0) wasn’t particularly effective, but went the distance allowing 4 earned runs.  Toronto made four errors in the field leading to the other 4 runs.

Minnesota 5, Oakland 1 – Mike Smithson (W 1-0) went all 9 for the Twins, allowing one run on three hits. Minnesota picked up all five runs in the bottom of the 2nd, chasing Oakland starter Steve McCatty (L 0-1) after just 1 2/3 innings of work.

Not the greatest two games to kick off the American League, but we’ll just try and get something going on Day 2.

A virtual “who’s who” for the pitching match-ups coming up.  Check them out below.

STANDINGS
=========

AL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Toronto Blue Jays         1    0  1000   -    W 1
Baltimore Orioles         0    0  .000   0.5     
Cleveland Indians         0    0  .000   0.5     
Detroit Tigers            0    0  .000   0.5     
Milwaukee Brewers         0    0  .000   0.5     
New York Yankees          0    0  .000   0.5     
Boston Red Sox            0    1  .000   1    L 1

AL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Minnesota Twins           1    0  1000   -    W 1
California Angels         0    0  .000   0.5     
Chicago White Sox         0    0  .000   0.5     
Kansas City Royals        0    0  .000   0.5     
Seattle Mariners          0    0  .000   0.5     
Texas Rangers             0    0  .000   0.5     
Oakland Athletics         0    1  .000   1    L 1

TEAM STARS
==========

     BATTER                        PITCHER                  
BOS  Dwight Evans                  Mark Clear               
     .500, 1 HR, 2 RBI             9.00, 1 K               
MIN  Kent Hrbek                    Mike Smithson            
     .250, 1 HR, 1 RBI             1-0, 1.00, 1 K          
OAK  Mike Heath                    Chris Codiroli           
     .333                          0.00, 2 K               
TOR  George Bell                   Jim Clancy               
     .667, 2 HR, 4 RBI             1-0, 4.00, 6 K          

LEADERS
=======

BATTING AVERAGE
 1. Collins, Dave (TOR)            .800
    Martinez, Buck (TOR)           .800
 3. Bell, George (TOR)             .667
 4. Buckner, Bill (BOS)            .500
    Evans, Dwight (BOS)            .500
    Hatcher, Mickey (MIN)          .500
 7. Easler, Mike (BOS)             .400
    Iorg, Garth (TOR)              .400
    Moseby, Lloyd (TOR)            .400
10. Garcia, Damaso (TOR)           .333
    Murphy, Dwayne (OAK)           .333
    Upshaw, Willie (TOR)           .333

HOME RUNS
1. Bell, George (TOR)                2
2. Easler, Mike (BOS)                1
   Evans, Dwight (BOS)               1
   Hrbek, Kent (MIN)                 1
   Martinez, Buck (TOR)              1
   Upshaw, Willie (TOR)              1

RUNS BATTED IN
1. Bell, George (TOR)                4
2. Martinez, Buck (TOR)              3
3. Boggs, Wade (BOS)                 2
   Collins, Dave (TOR)               2
   Easler, Mike (BOS)                2
   Evans, Dwight (BOS)               2
   Griffin, Alfredo (TOR)            2
   Iorg, Garth (TOR)                 2
   Teufel, Tim (MIN)                 2
   Upshaw, Willie (TOR)              2

STOLEN BASES
1. Collins, Dave (TOR)               1
   Garcia, Damaso (TOR)              1
   Henderson, Rickey (OAK)           1

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
1. Atherton, Keith (OAK)          0.00
   Codiroli, Chris (OAK)          0.00
3. Smithson, Mike (MIN)           1.00
4. Clancy, Jim (TOR)              4.00
5. Hurst, Bruce (BOS)             7.94
6. Clear, Mark (BOS)              9.00
7. Johnson, John Henry (BOS)     20.25
8. McCatty, Steve (OAK)          27.00
9. Stanley, Bob (BOS)            45.00

WINS-LOSSES
1. Clancy, Jim (TOR)               1-0
   Smithson, Mike (MIN)            1-0

STRIKEOUTS
1. Clancy, Jim (TOR)                 6
2. Codiroli, Chris (OAK)             2
3. Atherton, Keith (OAK)             1
   Clear, Mark (BOS)                 1
   Hurst, Bruce (BOS)                1
   Johnson, John Henry (BOS)         1
   Smithson, Mike (MIN)              1
   Stanley, Bob (BOS)                1


SCHEDULE
========

TOR   1-0   Stieb, D             (NR)
BOS   0-1   Ojeda, B             (NR)

OAK   0-1   Burris, R            (NR)
MIN   1-0   Viola, F             (NR)

CHW   0-0   Hoyt, L              (NR)
BAL   0-0   Boddicker, M         (NR)

SEA   0-0   Langston, M          (NR)
CLE   0-0   Heaton, N            (NR)

DET   0-0   Morris, J            (NR)
TEX   0-0   Hough, C             (NR)

NYY   0-0   Niekro, P            (NR)
KCR   0-0   Black, B             (NR)

MIL   0-0   Sutton, D            (NR)
CAL   0-0   Witt, M              (NR)

American League: Opening Day Previews

Fenway Park

Coming Up:
Two games on the docket for the Junior Circuit’s first day; both divisional battles.

We kick things off in Beantown for an AL East contest between the improving Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox.  Starting pitcher Bruce Hurst will have the honors of throwing the first pitch of the season.

And in the Midwest, the Minnesota Twins play host to the Oakland Athletics to get things started in the AL West.

Pitching match-ups appear down below in the league rundown.

STANDINGS
=========

AL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Baltimore Orioles         0    0  .000   -       
Boston Red Sox            0    0  .000   -       
Cleveland Indians         0    0  .000   -       
Detroit Tigers            0    0  .000   -       
Milwaukee Brewers         0    0  .000   -       
New York Yankees          0    0  .000   -       
Toronto Blue Jays         0    0  .000   -       

AL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
California Angels         0    0  .000   -       
Chicago White Sox         0    0  .000   -       
Kansas City Royals        0    0  .000   -       
Minnesota Twins           0    0  .000   -       
Oakland Athletics         0    0  .000   -       
Seattle Mariners          0    0  .000   -       
Texas Rangers             0    0  .000   -       

TEAM STARS
==========


LEADERS
=======


SCHEDULE
========

TOR   0-0   Clancy, J            (NR)
BOS   0-0   Hurst, B             (NR)

OAK   0-0   McCatty, S           (NR)
MIN   0-0   Smithson, M          (NR)

Season Preview: #18 Oakland Athletics

Rickey Henderson

1984 sits somewhere between two positive eras for the Oakland Athletics.

They were the powerhouse of the mid-70s American League.

And then there were four division titles in 5 years from the late ’80s to early ’90s.

But this time?  ’84?  With a 40-year old Joe Morgan getting 116 games under his belt?  It’s not so great.

Interestingly, the 1984 Athletics finished tops in the AL in runs scored and dead last in runs allowed.

So, yes, you do have 25-year old Rickey Henderson (.293, 16 HR, 66 SB), Carney Lansford (.300, 14 HR), Dave Kingman (35 HR, 118 RBI) and Dwayne Murphy (33 HR).

But you also have Steve McCatty (8-14, 4.76), Bill Krueger (10-10, 4.75) and Larry Sorensen (6-13, 4.91).

Games with the ’84 A’s will be hard to get through.  I prefer games that are 4-2 and those will be few and far between when this team is on my scorecard.

Mostly I will spend their games rooting for Rickey to steal bases and Kingman and Morgan to fall on their faces.

#19 – Rickey Henderson, LF

Rickey Henderson

Where do we start here?

Born Christmas Day, 1958, in Chicago, Rickey Henderson went on to a Hall of Fame career.

Here are some career numbers and where they rank all-time.

• 1,406 Stolen Bases (1st)
• 2,295 Runs (1st)
• 2,190 Walks (2nd)
• 3,081 Games (4th)
• 3,055 Hits (22nd)
• 4,588 Total Bases (42nd)
• .401 On Base Percentage (53rd)
• 510 Doubles (53rd)
• 873 Extra Base hits (74th)
• 297 Home Runs (139th)
• 1,115 Runs Batted In (199th)

In 1984, Rickey finished 3rd in the American League with a .399 On Base Percentage, which is great and all.

But what we all remember Rickey for, of course, his stealing bases.  And while he “only” stole 66 bases in 1984, that was still tops in the league.

We must categorize that as a little bit of a disappointment for Rickey, as he had just stolen over 100 bases 3 times in the last 4 seasons.

Henderson made up for it in other parts of his game, however, hitting a then career best 16 homers in ’84.  He’d go on to hit 24 in ’85 and a career-best 28 in ’86.

Henderson led the league in stolen bases 12 times in his career.  Perhaps most amazing to me is that he had a 7 year gap between crowns, last leading the league with 66 in 1998 at the age of 39.

Are you kidding me?  39 years old and he leads the league in stolen bases with 66?  The same number he had when he led the league in 1984 at the age of 25?

Rickey Henderson was a freak of nature and entertaining as hell to watch.

#42 – Dwayne Murphy, CF

Dwayne Murphy

At 29 years old, Dwayne Murphy entered the 1984 season having had several very nice, if not necessarily spectacular, seasons in Major League Baseball.

A 15th round draft pick, he had spent all his years with the Oakland Athletics thus far, finishing 11th in MVP voting in 1981 after hitting just .251 with 15 HR.

His numbers the next two years slumped.

In ’82, he hit 27 homers, but batted just .238 and struck out 122 times.  On the bright side, he stole 26 bases for the second time in his career.

In ’83, he was all the way down to .227 with 17 HR.

But one thing Murphy always had even when his hitting slumped was a glove.

He took home Gold Glove awards for his play in center field every year between 1980 and 1985.

In ’84, the stars aligned.

Murphy hit a career best 33 HR, posting a .256 batting average.

Strat-o-Matic gave him a 1 in center field, making him a valuable card in the 1984 set.  Having a guy in that position with a 1 who can also crush 30+ homers is a rare thing, indeed.

Together with Rickey Henderson, Dwayne Murphy formed one of the better outfields in the 1984 season.