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A SEVEN DOLLAR BEER MUST TASTE TWICE AS GOOD
Q: What team has the highest attendance on an annual basis?
-- Shelly Nelson
A: Fans usually flock to games when ownership puts a winning team on the field, but recent trends show that team success may in fact not be the primary factor. The recent kings of attendance have been the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians. It is not a coincidence that attendance figures for these clubs skyrocketed when their new ballparks were built in the early '90s. The O’s drew 2.5 million fans to Memorial Stadium in 1991, the most in their history. The next year, their first in Camden Yards, that number grew by more than a million. Such a jump was not equaled before or since. Since then, they have averaged 3.4 million, tops in the American League. The effect of Jacobs Field is more difficult to measure, since attendance in Cleveland actually dropped in 1994. However, this was because the strike cut the season short, lowering attendance league-wide. Had the Indians played their full 162-game schedule, they would have drawn approximately 2.86 million, up from 2.18 million in 1993. Even with the shortened '94 and '95 seasons, Cleveland has averaged over three million people since The Jake opened, and led the AL in attendance the last two seasons.
Though last year attendance in Toronto dropped below two million for the first time since 1983, the Blue Jays at one time experienced an unprecedented surge in fan interest. Beginning in 1989, with the opening of Skydome, more than 3.7 million fans flocked to see the Jays every year until 1993. That five-year period, in which the Blue Birds actually had three seasons of four million-plus, will be tough for any club to match. It may not be evident from the tiny numbers of people showing up for Expos games, but Canadians have proven that they will come out to see a winning team.
National League attendance leaders Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Colorado have been at the head of the pack for different reasons. Atlanta was still playing in Fulton County Stadium in 1992 when they drew three million for the first time in their history. The year before, MVP Terry Pendleton and Cy Young winner Tom Glavine had initiated a worst-to-first miracle season that ended in the World Series. With the Braves using that season as a springboard to continued excellence, they have drawn three million in six of the last nine years.
The Dodgers were only sixth in attendance in 2000, but over the last two decades they have been the model of consistency. Since 1982, Dodger attendance has never dropped below 2.5 million in a non-strike year. They have also had 13 years of three million-plus.
Until last season, the Rockies had led the league in fan support every year since their franchise was created in 1993. Colorado fans, known for their love of pro sports, bombarded Mile-High Stadium ticket takers to the tune of 4.5 million in that inaugural year. Comparatively, the Devil Rays drew just over two million in their initial season. Even during the strike years, Colorado sold well over three million seats. Team success in St. Louis and a new park in San Francisco pushed them slightly ahead of the Rockies in 2000.
A: "The Barber" was the nickname of 1950s pitcher Sal Maglie. Born Salvatore Anthony Maglie, the righthander saw the most success with the New York Giants in the early ‘50s. He went 18-4 in 1950 despite starting only 16 games. Included in his 2.71 ERA was a streak of 45 consecutive scoreless innings, broken on September 13, 1950 by a 257-foot Gus Bell home run. The next season he earned his first of two All-Star appearances by going 23-6 and leading his team to a three-game playoff against the Dodgers. He pitched the first eight innings of that famous Game Three, but was replaced by Larry Jansen to start the ninth. Of course Jansen promptly picked up the win when Bobby Thomson hit a long drive….its going to be, I believe…..THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!! Ahem, excuse me. Maglie soon lost his effectiveness and was released by New York in 1955. He mounted somewhat of a comeback by going 13-5 and hurling a no-hitter for the Dodgers in 1956, but it would be his last hurrah.
Maglie's nickname came from his tendency to consistently throw inside. The joke was that his balls came so close to a batter's chin, they practically shaved him. Maglie made no bones about his head-hunting ways. "When I'm pitching," he declared, "I own the plate."
A: The term "rubber match" or "rubber game" can refer to the deciding game of a series of any length, not just three games. Game Seven of a World Series is an example. The term was borrowed from the card game bridge. In bridge, when the two sides have split the first two games, the third and deciding game has always been called the rubber game. The translation to baseball was easy, since most regular-season series are three games long.
NOTHING YOU CAN SAY CAN TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY GAETTI
Q: Has there ever been more than one triple play in a game?
-- Bob Hamel
A: Since the turn of the century, there have been almost 500 triple plays turned, working out to roughly five every year. The most any team has turned in a season is three. Before July 17, 1990, two had never been turned in the same game. That day, however, the Minnesota Twins completed two 5-4-3 TPs in the same game. In the fourth inning, with the bases loaded and Scott Erickson on the mound, Boston's Tom Brunansky hit a sharp grounder to third-baseman Gary Gaetti. Gaetti scooped it up easily, stepped on the third-base bag, then, rather than nail the go-ahead run at home, whipped a throw to second. Second baseman Al Newman brushed the base, then relayed to Kent Hrbek at first to complete the play. With Brunansky's tectonic plate-like speed, the throw beat him by a healthy margin.
The second triple play opportunity presented itself when Jody Reed smacked another grounder right at Gaetti with men on first and second. Once again, Gaetti-to-Newman-to-Hrbek resulted in a three-out play. Reed was actually a fast runner and would normally have beaten the play out, but he stumbled coming out of the box. Surprisingly, Sox manager Joe Morgan admitted later that he had started the runners early to avoid a double play. The Twin's defensive heroics went for naught, however, as Boston won the game 1-0 on a fifth inning unearned run.
A: The American League has dominated the World Series, winning 57 of the 96 matchups. The New York Yankees are largely responsible for this wide disparity, going 26-11 in Series play. The A's have also contributed, posting a 9-5 record. No National League team has double-digit wins. St. Louis has the most with nine. Of the senior circuit's 57 losses, the Dodgers lead with 12 and the Giants are just behind with 11.
In terms of individual Series games, the only NL team with a winning record is the Florida Marlins. Even the Cardinals are just 48-48 overall. In the AL, the A's, Yanks, Red Sox, Orioles, and Blue Jays are all over .500.
AN EIGHT-HOUR WORK DAY? WHAT CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT!!!
Q: What was the longest game ever?
-- MaceMan26
A: On May 8, 1984, at 7:30pm, the longest game in major-league history began. Over the course of two days and 25 grueling innings, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox duked it out for a record eight hours and six minutes. Both teams came within inches of victory on a few occasions, but their opponent always matched them blow-by-blow. Going into the eighth tied 1-1, Robin Yount and Ted Simmons scored for the Brew Crew. An aging Rollie Fingers could not hold the lead though, as rightfielder Charlie Moore's error opened the door for the Sox to tie it. Chicago then loaded the bases with one out in the 13th, but Marc Hill struck out and Dave Stegman fouled out to end the threat.
Because MLB rules prohibit an inning from starting after 12:59am, the game was called after the 17th and resumed the next day. Most returning fans thought the game would end quickly that next day, but instead it dragged on for another eight innings. Carlton Fisk ended an early ChiSox rally when he struck out with the bases juiced in the 18th. His failure in the clutch looked to be a crucial play, as Milwaukee tallied three runs in the 21st on Ben Oglivie's upper-deck home run. However, the resilient Sox refused to lose. Rudy Law reached on an error, Fisk redeemed himself by singling Law home, Marc Hill singled, Harold Baines walked, and Tom Paciorek singled home the tying runs. And so, the marathon continued.
In the 23rd, it was Milwaukee's turn to avoid a bullet. Chicago's Dave Stegman, who had been on first, stumbled as he tried to hold up at third after Paciorek's single was bobbled, then quickly recovered, by outfielder Rick Manning. As he lost his balance, Stegman brushed up against third base coach Jim Leyland. Since contact between coach and runner is prohibited, Stegman was called out. The next batter singled, but was later stranded. The Beer Men weren't so lucky two frames later when Baines mercifully ended the affair by jacking one over the center-field fence for a 7-6 win.
Tom Seaver, making his first relief appearance in eight years, got the win. He then pitched 8.1 innings in Chicago's regularly scheduled game that night, earning his second win of the day. Chuck Porter took the loss. Though it will still go down in the annals, it turned out that this game meant absolutely nothing to either team. Milwaukee and Chicago combined to finish 59 ˝ games out of first place.
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