September 12, 1985: "Baseball Thursday" In New York

Keith Hernandez

September 12, 1985: New York Times sports columnist George Vescey called it "Baseball Thursday In New York." It remains the only day in the joint 1962-present history of the Yankees and the Mets when both teams were at home on the same September day, and were both playing the team they were fighting for a Division Title.

After making the Playoffs 5 times in 6 years from 1976 to 1981, including 2 World Series wins, the Yankees fell apart in 1982. They were quickly rebuilt, and put up good teams in 1983 and '84, although the Baltimore Orioles ran away with the American League Eastern Division in the former, and the Detroit Tigers did so in the latter.

But in 1985, the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays battled it out for the Division lead all season long. On September 11 -- the day Pete Rose (officially) became Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader -- the Jays led the Yanks by 2 1/2 games, with the Yankees having 24 games left to play, the Jays 23, and the next 4 against each other at Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx.

The Mets won the World Series in 1969 and the National League Pennant in 1973, and were still a respectable 3rd place in the NL Eastern Division in 1976. Then they fell apart. A change of ownership in 1980 led to a rebuilding, and in 1984, they finished 2nd behind the Chicago Cubs.

In 1985, with the Cubs bitten by the injury bug, it would be the St. Louis Cardinals that fought the Mets for the Division title. When those 2 teams took the field at Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadow, Queens on September 10, they were dead-even, tied for 1st. On the 10th, the Mets won, 5-4. On the 11th, the Cards won, 1-0 in 10 innings.

That led into "Baseball Thursday," September 12. A 1:35 PM start at Shea saw Ed Lynch start for the Mets, and Joaquín Andújar for the Cardinals. The Mets tagged Andújar for 3 straight doubles in the bottom of the 1st, and knocked him out of the box in the 2nd. The Mets led, 6-0, pleasing most of the crowd of 46,295. (Big game, but 9,000 empty seats.)

But Lynch didn't have good stuff, either, and the Cardinals chipped away, closing to within 6-5 in the top of the 4th. In the top of the 9th, Willie McGee, a great runner and fielder but mainly a contact hitter rather than a power hitter, hit a home run to tie the game.

But Mookie Wilson singled to lead off the bottom of the 9th, got bunted over to 2nd by Wally Backman, and came home on a single by Keith Hernandez. Mets 7, Cardinals 6. Jesse Orosco was the winning pitcher; Ken Dayley, the losing pitcher. The Mets had taken 2 out of 3 from the Cards, and were now 1 game up on the Cards, with 24 games to play.

*

An even bigger crowd, 52,141 (about 5,000 short of a sellout), plowed into Yankee Stadium for the 7:05 start against the Blue Jays, the 1st game of a series of 4. Public-address announcer Bob Sheppard introduced Robert Merrill, the Brooklynese baritone who long graced the stage at the Metropolitan Opera. Merrill, as he had done so many times and would do so many more, would sing the National Anthems. As the Blue Jays were based in Canada, he began with "O Canada."

And boos rang down from the stands at Yankee Stadium. Seriously. The same building that had hosted Joe Louis' knockout of Max Schmeling in 1938 was now hosting the booing of the National Anthem of America's closest ally.

I was 15 years old, watching this game on WPIX-Channel 11, and I was sickened. There was no excuse for booing the song, just because the opposition was based outside the United States of America. I wonder what President Ronald Reagan thought of it. I wonder if the hyper-patriotism he inspired in many was a partial cause.

Each team started its ace: The Yankees, Ron Guidry; the Jays, Dave Stieb. Ernie Whitt hit a home run to give the Jays a 2-0 lead in the 3rd. They made it 3-0 in the 4th. The Yankees got on the board in the 5th, but the Jays took that run right back in the 6th. It was 4-1 Toronto at the 7th inning stretch.

With 1 out in the bottom of the 7th, Willie Randolph drew a walk. Bobby Meacham reached on an error by Jays shortstop Tony Fernández. Rickey Henderson walked, to load the bases. Bobby Cox, then managing the Jays in between his 2 tenures managing the Atlanta Braves, took Stieb out, and brought in Gary Lavelle.

Ken Griffey Sr. grounded to 3rd, and the Jays got a forceout at 2nd, but a run came home. Don Mattingly singled home a run. Cox took Lavelle out, and brought in Dennis Lamp. Dave Winfield grounded to Fernández, who made his 2nd error of the inning, allowing the tying run to score. And Ron Hassey, the Yankee catcher, hit a home run. Stan Clarke became the 4th Toronto pitcher of the inning, and he got Don Baylor to pop up, but it was 7-4 Yankees.

The Jays picked up a run in the 8th, but Brian Fisher closed it out in the 9th, and the Yankees had won, 7-5. Guidry had won his 19th game. The Yankees closed to within a game and a half of the Jays. Talk of a "Subway Series" between the Yankees and the Mets could be taken seriously for the first time.

Guidry finished the season with 22 wins; the Mets' Dwight Gooden, 24. Since 1985, the highest win total by a New York-based pitcher has been 21, which Andy Pettitte achieved in 1996 and 2003. The only other New York pitchers to win 20 in a season have been Roger Clemens with the Yankees, Frank Viola and R.A. Dickey with the Mets, and David Cone with both teams.

Ron Guidry

So both New York teams had beaten their main opponent for the Division title, at home, on the same day, in September.

*

The next night, before the 2nd game of the series, Sheppard prepared to introduce Merrill again, and this time, the St. John's University speech professor took no chances. Whether he wrote the message himself, or team owner George Steinbrenner did and Sheppard proudly went along with it, we may never know.

He reminded the fans that Canada was America's ally in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. (Canada did not get involved in Vietnam, and America's 2 wars in Iraq hadn't happened yet.) If that was too far back for them to remember, he reminded the fans that Canadian diplomats had helped get the American hostages out of Iran just a few years before. And as such, their Anthem should be respected.

Merrill: "O, Canada... "

50,000 or so Yankee Fans: "Boooooooo!"

There have been times when players, managers, executives and owners of the Yankees have disgraced themselves. This is one of the few times, and by far the biggest time, that Yankee Fans have disgraced themselves. Indeed, they disgraced the entire country they thought they were supporting.

Buck Martinez, a Blue Jays catcher (and later manager and broadcaster for the team), looked at the Jays' roster, noting its September expansion, and told the press, "Some patriots. They're booing 25 Americans and 3 Dominicans." Perhaps it was poetic justice that the Jays took the last 3 games of the series, leaving the Yankees 4 1/2 games back.

As October dawned, the Mets went to St. Louis, needing a 3-game sweep to stay in the race. They won the 1st 2, but the Cardinals won the 3rd, and that pretty much knocked the Mets out. The Yankees went to Toronto for the last 3 games of the regular season, needing a sweep to force a Playoff for the Division title. They won on Friday night, on a dramatic 9th-inning homer by their other main catcher at the time, Butch Wynegar, but lost on Saturday, and that clinched for the Jays. On Sunday, Phil Niekro won his 300th game, and the Yankees won a game that was, standings-wise, meaningless.

The Yankees ended 97-64, 2 games behind the Jays. The Mets ended 98-64, 3 games behind the Cards. The Kansas City Royals won the AL West, by 1 game over the California Angels. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL West, by 5 1/2 games over the Cincinnati Reds. The Royals beat the Jays in the AL Championship Series. The Cards beat the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. The Royals beat the Cardinals to win the World Series.

The next year, the Yankees finished 2nd, to their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox. The Mets won the World Series. They have never won another. The Yankees have won 5 over that stretch. The Jays won back-to-back World Series in 1992 and '93, the only titles they have ever won. The Cardinals won the Pennant again in 1987, but lost the World Series, and wouldn't win another World Series until 2006, wining it again in 2011, losing one in 2013.

Not until 1999, after the institution of the Wild Card, would both the Yankees and the Mets make the Playoffs in the same season. Not until 2000 would they play each other in the World Series, the Yankees having won the AL East, and the Mets, despite having a better record, only making the Playoffs as the Wild Card. And, of course, the Yankees won it. Not until 2006 would both teams win their Divisions in the same season. Both teams made the Playoffs again in 2015 and 2022.

But there has never been another day in New York like Baseball Thursday in 1985.

*

September 12, 1985 was, yes, a Thursday. These other MLB games were played that day:

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Eddie Murray went 2-for-4. Cal Ripken Jr. went 1-for-4. Wade Boggs went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.

* Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-6 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The night before, Pete Rose, the Reds' player-manager, had collected his 4,192nd hit, breaking what had long been accepted as Ty Cobb's record of 4,191. (There had already been a revision, which found Cobb's total to be 4,189, but Rose's record was still celebrated at 4,192, not 4,190.) He did not play in this game. Tony Gwynn did play for the Padres, going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The California Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 5-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4. Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners were not scheduled. Having 6 out of the 26 teams not playing is not surprising, since Thursday is often a travel day in baseball. Even the New York "doubleheader" sort-of reflect this, as it was the last game in the Mets-Cardinals series, and the 1st game in the Yankees-Blue Jays series.

July 9, 1969: Tom Seaver's Imperfect Game

July 9, 1969: The New York Mets host the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. The Mets had ranged from absolutely dreadful to merely mediocre over their 1st 7 seasons. But here, in their 8th season, and the 1st season of Divisional Play in Major League Baseball, came into the game just 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the National League Eastern Division. The day before, the Mets had beat the Cubs, 4-3.

The starting pitchers were Tom Seaver for New York, 13-3; and Ken Holtzman for Chicago, 10-4. Seaver, 24 years old, the 1967 NL Rookie of the Year and just named an All-Star for the 3rd time in as many seasons, breezed through the top of the 1st inning. Tommie Agee greeted Holtzman with a leadoff triple, and Bobby Pfeil doubled him home.

Holtzman got the 1st out in the bottom of the 2nd, but errors by 3rd baseman Ron Santo and shortstop Don Kessinger created RBI situations. Seaver, who had struck out the side in the top of the 2nd, helped his own cause by singling home Jerry Grote. And Agee doubled home Al Weis. It was 3-0 Mets. Cleon Jones hit a home run in the 7th, to make it 4-0.

That would be the final score, as Seaver kept sending the Cubs down. While he didn't have an overwhelming fastball, he had an array of pitches that all seemed to find the strike zone. As he got closer and closer to the achievement of not just a no-hitter, but a perfect game, the crowd of 50,709 got wilder and wilder.

In the 8th, Seaver got Santo to fly out, and struck out Ernie Banks and Al Spangler. They were his 10th and 11th strikeouts of the game.

The 9th inning began, and Shea Stadium hadn't been so loud since The Beatles played there. Three outs to go. Randy Hundley grounded back to Seaver. Two outs to go.

The batter was Jim Qualls. A 22-year-old rookie center fielder from Exeter, California -- 54 miles southeast of Seaver's hometown of Fresno -- was considerably less likely to break up the gem than were future Hall-of-Famers Banks, Santo and Billy Williams. But that's what he did, sending a looping single into short left-center field for a clean base hit.

Willie Smith was sent up to pinch-hit for pitcher Ted Abernathy, and Seaver induced a popup to 1st base. He then got Kessinger to fly to left to end it. Seaver had come very close to a perfect game, but had to settle for a 1-hit shutout.

This was the game that cemented Seaver as "The Franchise" to Met fans, and the game that served notice that the Mets' good start was not a fluke. They were not going to go away. A "Miracle" was in progress.

If there was a fluke, it was Qualls. It was the 12th hit of his major league career. There would be only 19 more.

*

July 9, 1969 was a Wednesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Stan Bahnsen started for the Yanks, Dave McNally for the O's. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Boog Powell singled off Ken Johnson, and Brooks Robinson singled him home. Earlier, Powell and Frank Robinson had hit home runs. Jerry Kenney, Ron Woods, Gene Michael (yes, the Stick) and Bobby Cox (yes, the future Braves manager) each got 2 hits for the Yankees, to no avail.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski hit a home run for the Red Sox. Al Kaline did not play for the Tigers.

* A doubleheader was split at at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies won the opener, 7-1. The St. Louis Cardinals won the nightcap, 5-3. Over the 2 games, Lou Brock went 4-for-9 with 2 RBIs, and Joe Torre went 4-for-8 with an RBI. Each of them homered in the nightcap.

* The Washington Senators beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-0 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington. Joe Coleman Jr. pitched a 4-hit shutout. His father, Joe Coleman Sr., was also a major league pitcher, going 52-76 from 1942 to 1955, including as an original Baltimore Oriole in 1954. Joe Jr. went 142-135 from 1965 to 1979, helped the Detroit Tigers win the 1972 American League Eastern Division title, and was a World Champion in his last season, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His son, Casey Coleman, was also a major league pitcher, going 8-13 from 2010 to 2014, including with the 2014 AL Champion Kansas City Royals.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Montreal Expos at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, 4-3 and 3-2. Jose Martinez won the 1st game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-6 with a walk. Willie Stargell went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run, and Rod Carew went 1-for-4, but it wasn't enough.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Pete Rose went 2-for-5, and Johnny Bench went 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4, including a single that drove in the Braves' only run.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 10-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* And a doubleheader was split at Sick's Stadium in Seattle. The Seattle Pilots -- a poorly-run franchise that went bankrupt, and were moved to become the Milwaukee Brewers during the following year's Spring Training, and were memorialized in Jim Bouton's 1970 book Ball Four -- won the 1st game, beating the California Angels, 8-0. Fred Talbot pitched a 3-hit shutout, and hit a grand slam home run. As Pilot manager Joe Schultz might have said, he zitzed 'em. As former Pilot pitcher Gary Bell might have said, he smoked 'em inside.

The Pilots had a promotion titled "Home Run for the Money": If a radio listener had his name drawn, he was assigned a certain hitter. If that hitter hit a home run in a certain inning, the listener won the jackpot. If the hitter in question hit a grand slam, there was a $25,000 bonus. Talbot's grand slam won $27,500 -- about $220,000 in 2022 money -- for Donald Dubois of Gladstone, Oregon.

Bouton and the other Pilot relievers decided to play a practical joke on Talbot. Talbot received a telegram, allegedly from Dubois, thanking him for helping him win the money, and saying that a check for $5,000 was in the mail. Since Talbot was making only $17,000 for the entire season, this was a big deal. It took 3 days without Talbot getting a check before Bouton slipped up and revealed to Talbot that he was behind the joke.

The Angels won the 2nd game, 5-0. George Brunet, soon to be traded to the Pilots (and, Bouton discovered, a man who never wore underwear), pitched a 5-hit shutout. John Gelnar was the losing pitcher. Bouton pitched 2 innings of relief, allowing 2 hits, but no runs and no walks, and struck out 3.