Tag Archives: Jack Morris

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 16

Cy Rigler (1882)
Jim Brown (1892)
Watty Clark (1902)
Earl Halstead (1912)
Stubby Overmire (1919)
Lefty Phillips (1919)
Dave Philley (1920)
Rube Walker (1926)
Billy Martin (1928)
Rick Reuschel (1949)
Rick Rhoden (1953)
Jack Morris (1955)
Tack Wilson (1956)
Mark Funderburk (1957)
Bob Patterson (1959)
Mitch Webster (1959)
Doug Brocail (1967)
Jim Mecir (1970)
Drew Maggi (1989)
Dietrich Enns (1991)

Cy Rigler was a National League umpire from 1906-1935.

Earl Halstead was a scout, a minor league general manager, and a minor league umpire.  He also invented the first pitching machine that could throw curve balls.

Lefty Phillips managed the California Angels from 1969-1971.

Dave Philley played five of his eighteen major league seasons in Philadelphia, three for the Athletics and two for the Phillies.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 16 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 16

Cy Rigler (1882)
Jim Brown (1892)
Watty Clark (1902)
Earl Halstead (1912)
Stubby Overmire (1919)
Lefty Phillips (1919)
Dave Philley (1920)
Rube Walker (1926)
Billy Martin (1928)
Rick Reuschel (1949)
Rick Rhoden (1953)
Jack Morris (1955)
Tack Wilson (1956)
Mark Funderburk (1957)
Bob Patterson (1959)
Mitch Webster (1959)
Doug Brocail (1967)
Jim Mecir (1970)
Drew Maggi (1989)
Dietrich Enns (1991)

Cy Rigler was a National League umpire from 1906-1935.

Earl Halstead was a scout, a minor league general manager, and a minor league umpire.  He also invented the first pitching machine that could throw curve balls.

Lefty Phillips managed the California Angels from 1969-1971.

Dave Philley played five of his eighteen major league seasons in Philadelphia, three for the Athletics and two for the Phillies.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 16 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 16

Cy Rigler (1882)
Watty Clark (1902)
Earl Halstead (1912)
Stubby Overmire (1919)
Lefty Phillips (1919)
Dave Philley (1920)
Rube Walker (1926)
Billy Martin (1928)
Rick Reuschel (1949)
Rick Rhoden (1953)
Jack Morris (1955)
Tack Wilson (1956)
Mark Funderburk (1957)
Bob Patterson (1959)
Mitch Webster (1959)
Doug Brocail (1967)
Jim Mecir (1970)
Dietrich Enns (1991)

Cy Rigler was a National League umpire from 1906-1935.

Earl Halstead was a scout, a minor league general manager, and a minor league umpire.  He also invented the first pitching machine that could throw curve balls.

Lefty Phillips managed the California Angels from 1969-1971.

Dave Philley played five of his eighteen major league seasons in Philadelphia, three for the Athletics and two for the Phillies.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 16 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 16

3 Comments

Cy Rigler (1882)
Watty Clark (1902)
Earl Halstead (1912)
Stubby Overmire (1919)
Lefty Phillips (1919)
Dave Philley (1920)
Rube Walker (1926)
Billy Martin (1928)
Rick Reuschel (1949)
Rick Rhoden (1953)
Jack Morris (1955)
Tack Wilson (1956)
Mark Funderburk (1957)
Bob Patterson (1959)
Mitch Webster (1959)
Doug Brocail (1967)
Jim Mecir (1970)
Dietrich Enns (1991)

Cy Rigler was a National League umpire from 1906-1935.

Earl Halstead was a scout, a minor league general manager, and a minor league umpire.  He also invented the first pitching machine that could throw curve balls.

Lefty Phillips managed the California Angels from 1969-1971.

Dave Philley played five of his eighteen major league seasons in Philadelphia, three for the Athletics and two for the Phillies.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 16 →

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: World Series Game Seven

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MINNESOTA 1, ATLANTA 0 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, October 27.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched ten shutout innings, giving up seven hits and two walks and striking out eight.  He threw 126 pitches.

Opposition stars:  John Smoltz pitched 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up six hits and a walk and struck out four.  Lonnie Smith was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  Obviously there was no score through nine innings, so we'll detail the threats.  In the second, the Twins got a pair of two-out singles.  With one out in the third, Rafael Belliard singled and Smith walked.  Gladden hit a one-out double in the bottom of the third but did not advance.

The Braves had a significant threat in the fifth.  Mark Lemke led off with a single, was bunted to second, and went to third on Smith's infield single.  But Terry Pendelton popped up and Ron Gant struck out to end the inning.

The big threat came in the eighth.  Smith singled and Pendleton doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  This was the famous Chuck Knoblauch deke play, where he fooled Smith by pretending to field a ground ball and throw to second.  Still, Atlanta had the middle of their order coming to bat.  But Gant grounded out, David Justice was intentionally walked, and Sid Bream hit into a 3-2-3 double play to keep the game scoreless.

The Twins had a threat of their own in the ninth.  Chili Davis and Brian Harper led off with singles.  Shane Mack hit into a double play, but pinch-runner Jarvis Brown was still on third with two out.  But pinch-hitter Paul Sorrento struck out and the game continued.

The Braves went down in order in the top of the tenth.  Gladden led off with a bloop double in the bottom of the tenth.  Knoblauch bunted him to third.  Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek were both intentionally walked, loading the bases.  With the outfield drawn in, pinch-hitter Gene Larkin then hit a fly ball to left-center, which fell for a hit and won the game and the series for the Twins.

WP:  Morris (4-0).  LP:  Alejandro Pena (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the eighth.  Al Newman then pinch-ran for Bush and stayed in the game at shortstop.  In the ninth, Brown pinch-ran for Davis and Sorrento pinch-hit for Newman.  Scott Leius came into the game in the tenth at shorstop.  Larkin pinch-hit for Brown in the tenth.

What a game.  If you've watched it, there's probably not much I can tell you about it that you don't know.  If you haven't, I probably can't do it justice.

Morris pitched about as good a game as you will ever see anyone pitch in that situation.

Gladden gets a lot of credit for aggressive baserunning in the tenth, and I guess he deserves it, but I remember thinking as I saw the ball dropping in that it should be a double.

I always think about how close Jarvis Brown came to being a World Series hero.  When he pinch-ran in the ninth, he came that close to scoring the deciding run.  But, of course, it didn't happen.

The Braves eighth was amazing.  Even with Smith's baserunning blunder, I still thought they would score at least once and probably win.  I can still remember how awesome that 3-2-3 double play was.

The only bench player the Twins had left was Junior Ortiz.  Had the game continued, there would've have been almost no moves for Tom Kelly to make beyond pitching changes.

I don't remember if the Twins had anyone warming up to come in to pitch the eleventh or if Morris would've gone back out there.

So, the Twins were World Series champions.  We'll do a couple of statistical wrap-up posts before we let go of 1991 Rewind.  Thanks for reading!

Record:  The Twins won the best-of-seven series four games to three.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: ALCS Game Four

MINNESOTA 9, TORONTO 3 IN TORONTO

Date:  Saturday, October 12.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBIs.  Dan Gladden was 3-for-5 with a stolen base (his second) and three RBIs.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and one walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Pat Borders was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Roberto Alomar was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.  Devon White was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.

The game:  With two out in the second Candy Maldonado singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Borders' RBI single.  The Blue Jays had a major threat in the third.  One-out singles by White and Alomar and a double steal put men on second and third with Joe Carter and John Olerud coming up.  But Carter struck out and Olerud grounded out, so the game remained 1-0.

The Twins took over in the fourth.  Puckett led off with a home run, tying the score.  The home run kicked off a rally.  Davis hit a one-out double.  With two down, Shane Mack walked, Pagliarulo delivered an RBI single, Greg Gagne was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Gladden stroked a two-run single to put the Twins ahead 4-1.

The Twins added to their lead in the sixth.  Brian Harper led off with a double and Pagliarulo scored him with a one-out double.  Gladden delivered an RBI single with two-out to make the score 6-1.  Doubles by Kelly Gruber and Borders cut the margin to 6-2 after six.  But the Twins got the run back in the seventh when Puckett got an infield single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on an error.

The Twins added single runs in the eighth and ninth.  In the eighth Gladden singled, went to third on an error, and scored on a sacrifice foul popup.  In the ninth Davis led off with a double and scored on a pair of fly balls.  Toronto got one run in the ninth on a walk to Rance Mulliniks and singles by Devon White and Alomar.

WP:  Morris (2-0).  LP:  Todd Stottlemyre (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Davis in the ninth, so he was the one who actually scored the ninth run for the Twins.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Morris bounced back from a less-than-stellar game one to pitch quite well in game four.  He threw 110 pitches.

Stottlemyre did not fare so well.  He surrendered four runs on seven hits and one walk in 3.2 innings.  He struck out three.

The Blue Jays again struggled with men in scoring position.  The stranded ten men and went 3-for-16 with men in scoring position.  The Twins stranded nine but went 4-for-13 with men in scoring position.

The Twins had won two consecutive road games to take a commanding 3-1 lead.  They were one win away from the World Series.  Could they put it away in game five?

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series three games to one.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: ALCS Game One

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MINNESOTA 5, TORONTO 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, October 8.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4 with a double.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5.  Chili Davis was 1-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs, and a stolen base.

Pitching stars:  Carl Willis retired all seven batters he faced, striking out two.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Joe Carter was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Kelly Gruber was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base.  John Olerud was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Roberto Alomar was 2-for-4.  David Wells pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out one.  Mike Timlin pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out two.

The game:  Gladden and Knoblauch started the first inning with singles.  A fly ball and a stolen base moved them to second and third with two out.  Davis then came through with a two-run single to put the Twins up 2-0.  Mack led off the second with a single, stole second, and scored on a Greg Gagne single.  Singles by Gladden and Knoblauch brought home Gagne to make it 4-0.  In the third Davis walked, stole second, and scored on Mack's double to put the Twins up 5-0.

The Blue Jays started their comeback in the fourth.  Alomar singled and Carter doubled, but Alomar was thrown out at the plate.  Carter went to third on the throw, however, and scored on a ground out to make it 5-1.

The Twins loaded the bases in the fifth but did not score.  In the sixth Toronto got five consecutive one-out singles, by Devon White, Alomar, Carter, Olerud, and Gruber, to cut the lead to 5-4.  The Blue Jays had men on first and second with one out, but at that point Jack Morris was replaced by Willis, who retired the next two batters to get the Twins out of the inning.  The Blue Jays had only one baserunner after that, a two-out single by Olerud in the eighth.  The Twins held on to take game one 5-4.

WP:  Morris.  LP:  Tom Candiotti.  S:  Aguilera.

Notes:  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the fifth inning and stayed in the game at third base.  Junior Ortiz came in to replace Brian Harper at catcher in the eighth.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Leius in the eighth, with Al Newman coming in to play third base in the ninth.

Morris pitched very well for four innings, got out of trouble in the fifth, but could not get out of the sixth.  Five consecutive singles sounds like bad luck, and maybe it was, but four of the five are described as line drives.  Willis really came in and saved the day, as he did so many times in the 1991 season.

I was a little surprised to see that the Blue Jays had gone with Candiotti as their game one starter.  Their other starters were Todd Stottlemyre, Jimmy Key, David Wells, and Juan Guzman.  But in 1991 Candiotti had a 2.65 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  He was really good that year, and you can see why Toronto started him in game one.

Both teams hit well with men in scoring position.  The Blue Jays were 3-for-8 and the Twins were 4-for-12.  Toronto stranded four men and the Twins stranded eight.

The Twins weren't a particularly strong basestealing team, but they stole four bases in this game.  They were 4-for-6.  Candiotti, a knuckleballer, being on the mound probably influenced that.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 1-0.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-six

MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 2 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, September 7.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-5.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4 with a double.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched 8.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks and striking out five.  Carl Willis struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Pascual Perez pitched six innings, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk and striking out two.  Matt Nokes was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

The game:  The Yankees took the lead in the first inning.  Leadoff batter Bernie Williams walked, stole second, was bunted to third, and scored on a two-out double by Nokes to make it 1-0.  The Twins put two on with one out in the bottom of the first, but Kent Hrbek hit into a double play.  Davis led off the second with a double, but was thrown out at third trying to advance on a short passed ball.  The Twins put two on with two out in the third but again could not score.

The Twins finally broke through in the sixth.  Larkin led off with a double and scored on Knoblauch's single, tying it 1-1.  The Twins again missed a chance, though, as Puckett reached on an error to put two on with none out and nothing came of it.

The Twins took the lead in the eighth.  Puckett hit a one-out single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Davis double.  The Yankees came right back to tie it in the ninth.  Their first two batters went out, but Nokes doubled.  Morris came out of the game and Rick Aguilera came in, but he gave up an RBI single to Roberto Kelly, tying the score at two and sending the game to extra innings.

In the tenth, Puckett again hit a one-out single.  He again went to second on a ground out.  Pedro Munoz pinch-hit and delivered a game-winning single, giving the Twins the victory.

WP:  Carl Willis (8-3).  LP:  Lee Guetterman (3-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Dan Gladden was out of the starting lineup.  Shane Mack went to left, with Larkin playing right.  Larkin batted leadoff.

The Twins made extensive use of the bench.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the seventh.  Al Newman then came in to play shortstop.  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Davis in the eighth.  He was officially the DH at that point, but Munoz pinch-hit for him when his spot in the order came up in the tenth.  Gladden came in for defense at the start of the ninth.  He went to left field, with Mack moving to right.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Puckett raised his average to .332.  Brian Harper was 0-for-4 and was batting .316.  Mack was 1-for-4 and was batting .308.

Aguilera officially pitched a third on an inning and was not charged with a run, lowering his ERA to 2.23.  Willis' ERA fell to 2.26.

Morris threw just 98 pitches in his 8.2 innings.

Steve Howe pitched a scoreless inning.  This was his first year with the Yankees, and it was a really good one--3-1, 1.68, 3 saves, 0.95 WHIP.  This, however, would be the last game he would pitch for the  Yankees this season.  I could not quickly find whether he was injured or if this was one of the numerous times he got into trouble.  He would go on to pitch very well in 1992, struggle in 1993, and pitch very well again in 1994, which was his last good season.

The White Sox defeated Texas 11-6, so the distance between them and the Twins remained the same.

Record:  The Twins were 82-54, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-eight

CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Tuesday, August 27.

Batting star:  Scott Leius was 2-for-3.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on eleven hits and one walk and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Greg Swindell pitched 8.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out six.  Albert Belle was 2-for-4 with a double.  Carlos Martinez was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Glenallen Hill was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Indians put men on first and second in the first inning but did not score.  The Twins got the scoring started in the third.  With one out, Leius singled, Greg Gagne doubled, and a sacrifice fly put Minnesota up 1-0.  Cleveland tied it in the fourth.  Mark Whiten and Mike Aldrete opened the inning with singles, putting men on first and third.  Martinez then hit into a force out to tie the score at 1-1.

The Indians put men on first and third with one out in the seventh but did not score.  In the eighth, however, Belle hit a one-out double and Whiten walked.  With two out, Martinez delivered an RBI single to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead.

The Twins threatened in the ninth.  With two out, Chili Davis and Kent Hrbek singled, putting men on first and second.  Randy Bush then grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Swindell (8-12).  LP:  Morris (15-10).  S:  Steve Olin (8).

Notes:  Gene Larkin was again at first base in place of Hrbek.  Hrbek pinch-hit for Brian Harper in the ninth.  Al Newman pinch-ran for Davis in the ninth.  Bush pinch-hit for Shane Mack in the ninth.

Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 and was batting .327.  Harper was 1-for-3 and was batting .313.  Mack was 0-for-3 and was batting .301.

The Indians stranded nine men and were 1-for-11 with men in scoring position.

Olin had started the season with Cleveland, but got off to a poor start and was sent back to AAA in mid-May.  He came back to the majors in mid-July and almost immediately took over the closer role.  He was the Indians closer for all of the 1992 season and had a fine year.  He probably would've remained in that role for some time to come, but as many of you know, he was killed that off-season in a boating accident.

Morris threw 122 pitches.  He pitched well, but unfortunately was not able to sufficiently pitch to the score.

The White Sox again lost, falling to Kansas City 3-2.  Oakland lost again as well, falling to Boston 6-4.

Record:  The Twins were 76-52, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago and Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eighteen

MINNESOTA 12, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, August 17.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-2 with three walks and three runs.  Chili Davis was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4.  Shane Mack was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on eight hits and no walks and striking out six.  He threw 113 pitches.

Opposition stars:  Jose Canseco was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirty-fourth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Harold Baines was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Athletics opened the game consecutive singles by Rickey Henderson, Dave Henderson, Canseco, and Baines, producing two runs.  A double play made it 3-0 in the top of the first.  The Twins got on the board in the second when Hrbek walked, went to third on a Davis single, and scored on a ground out.  Oakland got the run right back in the third when Canseco homered, giving the Athletics a 4-1 lead.

It was all Minnesota after that.  In the bottom of the third Dan Gladden led off with a walk and scored on Knoblauch's double.  Puckett followed with an RBI single, and singles by Hrbek and Harper brought home another run, tying the score 4-4.  The Twins had two out and nobody on in the fifth, but a walk to Hrbek, a single by Davis, and a walk to Harper loaded the bases.  Mack then unloaded them with a three-run double to give the Twins a 7-4 lead.

The Twins kept adding on.  In the sixth, again with two out and none on, singles by Knoblauch, Puckett, and Hrbek scored one run, a walk to Davis loaded the bases, and Harper delivered a two-run single to increase the lead to 10-4.  In the seventh, Mike Pagliarulo doubled, went to third on an Al Newman single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  The Twins finished the scoring in the eighth when a Hrbek walk, a Gene Larkin single, and a double play produced the team's twelfth run.

WP:  Morris (15-9).  LP:  Bob Welch (10-8).  S:  None.

Notes:  Newman was at shorstop, replacing Greg Gagne.  Gagne would play the next day, but then would miss two days and be used as a late-game replacement in three more before returning to the starting lineup August 24.

Larkin pinch-hit for Davis in the eighth.  Randy Bush pinch-ran for Hrbek in the eighth and stayed in the game at first base.

Puckett raised his average to .325.  Harper raised his average to .305.

Welch pitched 5.2 innings.  He was allowed to stay in the game long enough to allow nine runs on eleven hits and four walks.  He struck out one.  The Athletics had used six pitchers in the twelve-inning game the day before, so I assume Welch was simply being asked to take one for the team.  He threw one hundred pitches.  Eric Show pitched the rest of the game, going 2,1 innings while allowing three runs on five hits and two walks.

I know it was a different era, but there was still no real reason for Morris to pitch a complete game.  The Twins had used only four pitchers in the previous game, and one of them had only thrown six pitches.  The game was well in hand after six.  Yes, I know Morris didn't want to come out of games, but that's why you have someone called "the manager" who makes decisions that are in the best long-term interest of both the player and the team.  I'm glad that, for the most part, we've moved past that phony macho thinking in baseball.

By game scores, this was actually Welch's third-worst game of the season.  The worst was on May 5, when he allowed eleven runs (eight earned) on thirteen hits and two walks in 4.2 innings for a game score of two.  The second-worst was June 28, when he allowed nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits and three walks in three innings for a game score of five.  His game score in this game was eight.  Those three games probably went a long way to giving him an ERA of 4.58 for the season.

Knoblauch was 8-for-13 with two doubles and two walks over his last three games.

Canseco had three home runs in the two games of the series.

The White Sox lost to the Yankees 4-2, so the Twins were starting to put some space between themselves and second place.

Record:  The Twins were 70-48, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Chicago.