OnlyBucs

Surgnbuck wrote: ↑Tue Oct 08, 2024 3:31 pm Luis Tiant was a legend when I was a kid. Just like Carmen Ronzonni in Bad News Bears "Breaking Training", many of us imitated his delivery.

If a young pitcher came to a major league team today with that wind-up, the first thing they'd do is change him, and that's a shame. Baseball has always had characters who did quirky things, and had lots of success doing it their way. We don't see that much anymore as everyone is formed from a cookie cutter. I miss the oddities that made the game so much more fun.

Tiant threw 57 innings for the Pirates when he was 40.

"Luis Tiant was a legend when I was a kid."

I had a dream about Tiant. I was a rookie, and he was throwing batting practice. I hit a few liners, and was feeling pretty good. The guys in the dugout were nodding their approval. Then Earl growled, "Show him the good one now!" Luis went into the windup, and the ball zipped across the plate while his back was still turned to me. Then pitches started coming from every direction, as I flailed at the air. The dugout collapsed in laughter.

Fernando Valenzuela, 63, RIP. He was a masterful pitcher for a while, and then a battler for a long time:

https://www.mlb.com/news/fernando-valenzuela-dies

If you weren't around then, you can't understand how big he was.

I was stationed in Southern California, and got to watch him pitch. However, I didn't get to see him during his rookie season in 1981 when Fernandomania was off the charts.

RIP, you looked to the sky your entire career, and now you're there.

Rudy May, a fine pitcher, was part of a true rarity - a ten-player, mid-season deal between the Orioles and Yankees. Orioles got catcher Rick Dempsey, starters May and Scottie McGregor, relievers Tippy Martinez and Dave Pagan. The Yankees got catcher Elrod Hendricks, starters Ken Holtzman and Doyle Alexander, and relievers Grant Jackson and Jimmy Freeman.

Just remembered this about Fernando: Lee Tunnell came up to the Pirates in September, 1982. He drew his first start in Los Angeles against Fernando, who was 17-10. Fernando threw a complete game, one run, eleven strikeouts. Tunnell threw seven innings of shutout ball, and the Pirates won, 1-0.

Babe Adams wrote: ↑Fri Oct 25, 2024 11:37 pm Just remembered this about Fernando: Lee Tunnell came up to the Pirates in September, 1982. He drew his first start in Los Angeles against Fernando, who was 17-10. Fernando threw a complete game, one run, eleven strikeouts. Tunnell threw seven innings of shutout ball, and the Pirates won, 1-0.

That was Willie Stargell night at Dodger Stadium. They had a giant, inflated balloon that looked like a baseball, Stargell swung and hit the ball, it was released, and floated out of Dodger Stadium. How cool was it that the Dodgers would honor him like that?

Lee Lacy hit a solo HR in the top of the first. Stargell was nursing an injury, and the house was upset he didn't even at least pinch hit.

I should know. I was at the game with fellow classmates in the Marines, as we were attending Ground Radio Technician Course in 29 Palms CA at the time. This wasn't my first time seeing Fernando pitch, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I missed out on the 1981 Fernando mania at it's finest. Needless to say, the crowd wanted to see Stargell come up to face Valenzuela. It was really something, Fernando at the early stage of his career at the top of the game, Stargell at the end of his. What a moment that would have been if Pops could only have come out and faced him that night.