Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game One Hundred Seven

13 Comments

MINNESOTA 11, CALIFORNIA 3 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Monday, August 3.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 3-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-second), scoring twice and driving in five.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs.

Pitching star:  Dan Schatzeder pitched 5.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with no strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Brian Downing was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twentieth) and two walks.  Devon White was 2-for-2 with an RBI.  Bob Boone was 2-for-4 with a run.

The game:  California took a 2-0 lead in the second, but Gaetti's two-out two-run single in the third tied it 2-2.  It stayed 2-2 until the sixth, when a bases loaded walk to Gene Larkin and a Sal Butera sacrifice fly put the Twins ahead 4-2.  Downing homered in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-3, but the Twins scored four times in the seventh to take control of the game.  Gaetti hit a three-run homer in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with a run, raising his average to .322...Tom Brunansky was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI...Twins starter Joe Niekro pitched 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks with one strikeout...California starter Mike Witt lasted 6.2 innings, but allowed seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and four walks with two strikeouts...Larkin was the DH, with Roy Smalley on the bench...Randy Bush started in right field, with Brunansky moving to left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup.  Bush batted leadoff.  With Downing leading off for California, this had to be a matchup of two of the slowest leadoff men in the history of the game.  That, however, is not what this game is known for (see below).

Record:  The Twins were 57-50, in first place by two games over Oakland.  This was an important series, as the Angels entered it just 1.5 games behind the Twins (2.5 after this game).  That, however, is not what this game is known for, either (see below).

What this game is known for, as you may know, is that this is the infamous Joe Niekro emery board game.  Niekro had given up a couple of runs in the second, but retired the side in order in the third.  He got Gus Polidor to ground out to shortstop leading off the fourth.  Tim Tschida came out to check Niekro after that and, well, the rest is history.  Oddly, the b-r.com play-by-play makes no mention of the incident, and neither does the box score there.  It simply notes "Dan Schatzeder replaces Joe Niekro pitching".  If you didn't know, you'd assume that either this was a really quick hook or Niekro must have been injured.  This seems like it would be a good time and place to share memories about that game, if anyone is inclined to do so.

[ed: Here's the incident in all its glory]

13 thoughts on “1987 Rewind: Game One Hundred Seven”

  1. Butera's face as he wanders around suggests he knew something was up. The camera's too tight to give complete context, but it looks like Niekro tries to hand off something to Butters Sr. just before he gets caught tossing away the emery board.

    I love the organist playing "London Bridge" in the background near the end of that clip, which is a moment of commentary that would be lost in today's ballparks. Also, the glimpse of Dick Such, who hasn't moved an inch from the bench, is an image that speaks volumes.

    1. When I was a kid, I remember someone giving an interview where they said Hrbek was trying to subtly put his foot over it when it fell to the ground, however this angle doesn't seem to support that.

      1. I love how Hrbek doesn't seem to react at all to the emery board. That's staying in character!

  2. Thanks for adding the video. That's John Rooney as the lead announcer. I'm not sure I recognize the other voice--was that Harmon?

  3. For anyone interested, here are a couple contemporaneous news items on the incident:

    From the LA Times: Embarrassing Night for Niekro and Angels: Twins' Pitcher Ejected when Emory Board is Found; Minnesota Romps, which includes Gene Mauch's perspective on the incident that night.

    From the New York Times (Warning: Murray Chass): Niekro is Suspended for 10 Days, which details the American League's response to similar scuffing incidents in then-recent memory.

    And finally, Niekro's appearance on Late Night with David Letterman:

    1. Interesting interview. Even if not 100% convincing, I had never heard a defense of his actions.
      (Using it for sharpening his fingernails during the innings to keep his knuckleballing grip.)
      Not that having the materials on the mound wasn't against the rules in the first place.
      And perhaps with time he's admitted to doctoring the balls as well as his fingernails.

  5. In was sitting down the first base line/outfield at this game. The folks around me didn't have any idea what transpired other than what we picked up on my pocket transistor radio. The "you're outta here!" sign was pretty obvious though.

    I'm guessing I made it to all three games this series. It was about an hour drive from El Segundo to the Big A, and I had some clever work hour shuffling to make it there.

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