Tag: toronto-blue-jays

Dave Winfield and Ron Kittle Gave Me a Great Birthday Present

It’s very hard to remember Major League Baseball games in the regular season. Sure, no hitters, perfect games and heroic individual offensive displays (think three or four home runs by the same player) are certainly memorable. There are literally thousands of games that I have born witness to either by viewing them or reading about them over the past 44 years. However, there are a handful of contests that stick out to me for extraordinary circumstances. One such game took place on my 14th birthday, June 29, 1987.

Thank you, Dave Winfield. Photo from Sports Illustrated

I had just graduated 8th grade. The New York Yankees got off to a wonderful start to begin the season but in typical 1980’s Yankee fashion, they faltered in the second half. Dare I say that this game on the night of June 29th was the high point of their season? The Yanks beat the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 15-14 but it was how they did it that made it such a classic. Two Yankees in particular gave me a 14th birthday to remember: Ron Kittle and Dave Winfield.

In the top of the first inning, Kittle, the 1983 American League Rookie of the Year for the Chicago White Sox, lifted a fly ball to right field that confounded the Blue Jay outfield. By the time the ball was retrieved and thrown in, Kittle, not exactly a burner, raced around the bases for a two run, inside the park home run. I’m telling you, that play felt like it took five minutes from beginning to end. That gave the Yankees an early 4-0 lead. It was the beginning of a slugfest for the ages as New York tacked on four more runs for an 8-3 lead after two innings. After the Blue Jays scored a run in the fourth inning, the Yanks scored three more times in the top of the sixth for an 11-4 lead. It was then Toronto’s turn to pile on the offense, scoring four runs in their half in the sixth and then pouring on six more to take a 14-11 lead going into the eighth inning. It was then that Winfield delivered the biggest blow, a grand slam that was the difference in the game, ending it at 15-14.

To show you that memories can be fuzzy, I thought this was the game that Yankee closer Dave Righetti, after giving up a late home run, threw the ball over the fence in frustration before being taken out of the game. Alas, that happened in June 1986. Nevertheless, on the day of birthday number 14, Dave Winfield, Ron Kittle and the Yankees gave me a night and a present to remember.

Dave Stieb, Pitching Master

I was watching the Yankees-Astros game Tuesday night when Michael Kay and David Cone were talking about pitchers. I wasn’t hearing the exact background but I did perk up when I heard the name Dave Stieb. For those who are unaware, Stieb was one of the great pitchers of the 1980’s, totaling 176 victories over his 16 year career, mostly with the Toronto Blue Jays. Perhaps more memorable was the fact that it seemed like once per season, he would lose a no hitter in the ninth inning.

Dave Stieb was a great pitcher in the 1980’s. Photo from the Toronto Sun

Dave Stieb twirled five one hitters over the course of his career, three of them coming with two outs in the ninth inning. Finally, on September 2, 1990, “Sir David” completed the elusive no-hitter, beating the Cleveland Indians 3-0. This string of brilliant outings came as no surprise. Stieb is a seven time All Star and finished in the top ten of the Cy Young voting four times. In 1982, he was named the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year as he led the American League in shutouts with five and complete games with 19. When the Blue Jays made their first playoff appearance in 1985, Stieb led the American League with a 2.48 ERA as Toronto finished one game short of the World Series. After four appearances with the Chicago White Sox in 1993, he didn’t pitch for four years and made a comeback with the Blue Jays at age 40. After 19 appearances in 1998, Stieb called it a career; he still holds the most victories by a pitcher in Jays’ history.

Stieb was one of the best pitchers of his era. He gets overshadowed by names like Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Jack Morris. However, if I had to win one game against any one of those great pitchers, I wouldn’t hesitate to give the ball to Dave Stieb.