October 27, 1985: The Cardinal Meltdown

October 27, 1985: Some baseball teams have a meltdown that lasts an entire season. For some, it lasts a few weeks. For some, one week is enough. The St. Louis Cardinals had a meltdown in just 5 innings, at the absolute worst time: In Game 7 of the World Series.

The Kansas City Royals rout the Cardinals, 11-0, to win their 1st World Championship, and the 1st All-Missouri World Series since the Cardinals-Browns matchup of 1944.

They become only the 6th team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and win the Series. (Only the 2016 Chicago Cubs have done it since.) Series MVP Bret Saberhagen pitches the shutout, while Cardinals ace John Tudor allows 5 runs in just 2 1/3 innings.

The Royals had won the American League Pennant, but lost the World Series, in 1980; and had won the AL Western Division, but lost the AL Championship Series, in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1984. This time, the Royals were crowned.

The Cards were still upset over the blown call by 1st base umpire Don Denkinger, which they believed cost them Game 6. And, 37 years later, despite 5 Pennants and 3 World Series wins, they and their fans are still upset about it.

According to Baseball-Reference.com,if the right call had been made, giving the Cardinals an out, they would have had an 87 percent chance of winning the game. Even with the call blown, they had an 66 percent chance -- just under a 2/3rds chance. They still should have won it. And they still could have won Game 7.

Whitey Herzog wasn't the first postseason manager to, as they say in English soccer, lose the plot, and let it carry over to his players. He certainly hasn't been the last. He could have told his players, "We got screwed, but if win tomorrow night, we're the World Champions. So let's forget tonight's result, and get it done tomorrow night.

Instead, Whitey was still fuming, and his team followed his lead, and allowed it to affect their performances and their minds for Game 7.

To make matters worse, for Game 7, Denkinger was the home plate umpire. Tudor believed that Denkinger was "squeezing" him, shrinking the strike zone. After being lifted from the game‚ Tudor punched an electric fan in the clubhouse, and severely cut his hand.

Herzog replaced him with fellow 20-game winner Joaquín Andújar. The Dominican, for whom English was a second language, was once quoted as saying, "You can sum up the game of baseball in one word: Youneverknow." He also thought Denkinger was squeezing him during Kansas City's 6-run 5th inning, and ended up waving his arms and screaming at Denkinger, who ejected him. Herzog also argued, and was also tossed.

The Cardinals finished the World Series with a .185 team batting average‚ lowest ever for a 7-game Series. There's the reason they lost: They didn't hit.

The Cardinals had won the World Series in 1982, then traded Keith Hernandez to the New York Mets the next year. The Cards lost the World Series in 1985, and again in 1987, blew a 3-games-to-1 lead in the 1996 National League Championship Series, got swept by the formerly "cursed" Boston Red Sox in the 2004 World Series, and also lost in the Playoffs in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005. St. Louis fans began to speak of a "Curse of Keith Hernandez." But they won the World Series in 2006, just 24 years after their last Series win, so that put an end to "curse" talk.

It took the Royals 29 years to even reach the Playoffs again, and I began to wonder if they were cursed. But they won the Pennant in 2014, and went all the way in 2015, so if they were cursed, the curse was broken.

In other baseball news on this day, Billy Martin was fired by the New York Yankees for an unprecedented 4th time (not counting all those firings in 1977 that didn't take), and was replaced by former Yankee outfielder Lou Piniella‚ who had been the team's hitting instructor since retiring as a player in 1984. Billy would be hired a 5th time in 1988, and fired before June was out.

UPDATE: The Royals have a team Hall of Fame. From before their 1st Pennant in 1980, they have inducted 1st baseman John Mayberry Sr., 2nd baseman Cookie Rojas, shortstop Freddie Patek, general manager Cedric Tallis and manager Whitey Herzog.

From the 1980 American League Pennant, but not the 1985 title: center fielder Amos Otis, pitchers Paul Splittorff and Steve Busby.

From their 1985 World Champions: 3rd baseman George Brett, designated hitter Hal McRae, 2nd baseman Frank White, left fielder Willie Wilson; pitchers Dennis Leonard, Larry Gura, Dan Quisenberry, Bret Saberhagen and Mark Gubicza; manager Dick Howser, general manager Joe Burke, scout Art Stewart, owners Ewing and Murial Kauffman, groundskeeper George Toma, and broadcaster Denny Matthews.

From between their titles: Left fielder Bo Jackson, pitchers Jeff Montgomery and Kevin Appier, and catcher Mike Sweeney.

From their 2014 Pennant and their 2015 World Champions: Through the 2025 season, only Stewart, Matthews, left fielder Alex Gordon and manager Ned Yost.

Patek, Mayberry, Herzog, Otis, Splittorff, Busby, Brett, White, McRae, Wilson, Leonard, Quisenberry, Gubicza, Ewing Kauffman, Stewart, Toma, Jackson, Montgomery, Sweeney, Gordon and Yost have been elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. So have 1970s catcher Darrell Porter, 1970s pitcher Al Hrabosky (probably more due to his association with the Cardinals), 1980s catchers John Wathan and Jamie Quirk, 1980s outfielder Jim Eisenreich, 1990s catcher Mike MacFarlane, 2000s pitcher Jeff Suppan, and 2014-15 general manager Dayton Moore.

*

October 27, 1985 was a Sunday. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the New Orleans Saints, 21-13 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The New York Jets beat the Seattle Seahawks, 17-14 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Buffalo Bills, 21-17 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The New England Patriots beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 32-14 at Tampa Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-21 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Cleveland Browns, 14-7 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-21 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Green Bay Packers, 37-10 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27-9 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* It wasn't a good day for the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, either: They lost to the Houston Oilers, 20-10 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-10 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, 28-14 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And, the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 34-21 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

There was only 1 game in the NBA: The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors, 116-99 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. There were 5 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 7-4 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at the Winnipeg Arena.

October 20, 1982: "That's a Winner!" In St. Louis

Bruce Sutter (left) hugs Darrell Porter

October 20, 1982: Game 7 of the World Series was played at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. It concludes the "Suds Series": Not only were the teams involved playing in the American cities best known for producing beer, but one was named the Milwaukee Brewers; while the other, the St. Louis Cardinals, was owned by August Anheuser Busch Jr., a.k.a. Gussie Busch, also the owner of Anheuser-Busch Brewing, producers of Budweiser.

For the Cardinals, it was their 17th Pennant, their 13th since entering the National League, but their 1st in 14 years. They were managed by Dorrel Norman Elvert Herzog. "Whitey" Herzog, or "The White Rat," was from near St. Louis, in New Athens, Illinois. He had been a mediocre infielder, and then managed the Kansas City Royals to 3 straight American League Western Division titles, but couldn't get them to the Pennant.

This was his 1st, with a team designed to take advantage of Busch Stadium's artificial turf and deep outfield. His "Whiteyball" was reminiscent of past Cardinal titlists, including the 1934 "Gashouse Gang" and the Billy Southworth teams of the 1940s.

For the Brewers, it was their 1st Pennant ever, coming from 2 games to none down in the AL Championship Series to beat the California Angels, 3-2. It was the 1st Pennant for any Milwaukee team since the 1958 Braves. They were managed by a Milwaukee native, former AL batting champion Harvey Kuenn, and had power hitters like "Stormin'" Gorman Thomas, Cecil Cooper, Don Money and Ben Oglivie, plus contact hitters like former Cardinal catcher Ted Simmons, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, who was nicknamed "The Ignitor." They were known as "Harvey's Wallbangers."

At first, it looked like a wipeout: The Brewers won Game 1, 10-0. Ted Simmons, the Brewers' catcher, hit a home run against the team with whom he'd built his Hall of Fame credentials. Mike Caldwell, owner of one of the best curveballs of that era, pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Bob Forsch. Molitor became the 1st player ever to get 5 hits in a single World Series game.

And when the Brew Crew jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning in Game 2, with the next 3 games -- if they were all to be necessary -- in Milwaukee, it looked like the Cardinals were in deep trouble.

But the Cards came back, tying the game at 4-4 in the 6th, on a 2-RBI double by Darrell Porter. The Brewers were without their Hall of Fame reliever, Rollie Fingers: The 1981 AL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner, who'd helped the Oakland Athletics win 3 straight World Series in the 1970s, had a back injury that caused him to miss not just the last month of this season and the entire postseason, but the entire 1983 season.

Pete Ladd was forced to take the closer role, and in the bottom of the 8th, he walked Steve Braun with the bases loaded, and the Cardinals won, 5-4. There would be a relief pitcher ending up in the Hall of Fame who was this game's winning pitcher, but it was Bruce Sutter of the Cardinals, rather than Fingers.

Bill Haller was the home plate umpire. He was retiring, and this was his last time behind the plate. This made him the last home plate umpire to wear the "balloon" chest protector. When he umpired at 1st base in Game 7, it made him the last umpire to wear a tie as part of his uniform.

Each team's ace started Game 3 at Milwaukee County Stadium: Joaquín Andújar for the Cardinals, and former Cardinal Pete Vukovich, the 1982 AL Cy Young winner, for the Brewers. Andújar was backed by 2 home runs and 2 great defensive plays by Willie McGee, who probably should have been awarded the NL's Rookie of the Year. The Cardinals won, 6-3.

The Brewers scored 6 runs in the 7th inning to take Game 4, 7-5. Behind Caldwell and a home run by Yount, they won Game 5, 6-4. The only had to take 1 of the 2 remaining games in St. Louis to win their city's 1st World Championship since 1957.

But the Cardinals, already up 7-0, including a home run by Porter, exploded for 6 runs in the bottom of the 6th, including a home run by Keith Hernandez. They won, 13-1.

Game 7 was played on Hernandez's 29th birthday. As in Game 3, the starters were Andújar and Vuckovich. With 1 out in the bottom of the 6th, the Brewers led, 3-1, with Oglivie having hit a home run. They were 11 outs from the title.

But Vukovich was dealing with a shoulder injury, which would limit him to 14 innings in 1983, missing all of 1984, and retiring after 1986, right before his 34th birthday. He gave up a single to Ozzie Smith, and a double to Lonnie Smith (no relation).

Kuenn pulled him for Bob McClure. Instead of Fingers, the 1970s A's hero who ended up making a difference in this Series was Gene Tenace, who drew a walk to load the bases. Mike Ramsey (no relation to the 1980 Olympic hockey Gold Medalist of the same name) was sent in to pinch-run for Tenace. And then Hernandez singled both Smiths home to tie the game, and George Hendrick singled Ramsey home to give the Cards the lead.

Porter drove in another run in the 8th, and was named the Series' MVP. Sutter came on to close the game out, and did so by striking out the powerful Thomas. The final score was 6-3. On KMOX, the flagship station of their powerful radio network, Cardinal broadcaster Jack Buck said, "Sutter from the belt, to the plate, a swing and a miss! And that's a winner! That's a winner! A World Series winner for the Cardinals!"

This "pitch invasion" did not result in any injuries,

unlike the one in Moscow earlier in the day.

This was also the only World Series ever broadcast by Dick Enberg, and the 11th and last for Tony Kubek, both on NBC. (Enberg had been a regular announcer for the team then known as the California Angels, while Kubek had previously been a star shortstop for the New York Yankees.)

The Cardinals won their 9th World Series, a total surpassed only by the Yankees. Since then, if you combine their Philadelphia and Oakland titles, it has been matched by the Athletics, although the Cards have now made it 11.

As far as I know, Hernandez is the only player ever to appear on the winning side of a World Series-winning game on his birthday.

Porter had been a member of the Kansas City Royals team that lost the 1980 World Series. Ironically, he would be a member of the Cardinal team that lost to the Royals in the 1985 World Series.

The next season, Herzog, also the Cardinals' general manager, had had enough of Hernandez's ego and cocaine use, and traded him to the New York Mets. This turned out to be a great move for the Mets, and a bad one for the Cards. They won the Pennant in 1985 and 1987, but lost the World Series each time; while Hernandez cleaned up his act, and led the Mets to win the 1986 World Series.

The Cardinals didn't make the Playoffs again until 1996, blowing a 3-1 NLCS lead to the Atlanta Braves. In 2004, they won the Pennant, but got swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox. In Game 3, pitcher Jeff Suppan, not used to running the bases, made a blunder at 3rd base. It probably didn't matter as far as determining the outcome, but someone noticed that Suppan wore Number 37, which had been Hernandez's number with the Cardinals.

That, and the team's inability to win a Series since 1982 led to talk of a "curse" on the team, "The Curse of Keith Hernandez." But such talk ended when they won the 2006 World Series, ending the "drought" at 24 years.

The Brewers should have been so lucky: After their 1982 Pennant, they have never won another. In 1998, the Brewers moved to the National League, into its Central Division, where they play the Cardinals several times a season. In 2008, they won the NL Wild Card, but lost the NL Division Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2011, they won the Division and got to the NLCS, but lost to the Cardinals, who won another World Series. From 2018 to 2021, they made 4 straight postseasons, including winning the NL Central in 2018 and 2021, but failed to win the Pennant, losing the 2018 NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7.

UPDATE: The Cardinals have a team Hall of Fame. From their 1982 World Champions, they have inducted team owner August "Gussie" Busch, coach Albert "Red" Schoendienst, scout George Kissell, broadcasters Jack Buck and Mike Shannon, manager and general manager Whitey Herzog; 1st baseman Keith Hernandez, 2nd baseman Tom Herr, shortstop Ozzie Smith, center fielder Willie McGee; and pitchers Bob Forsch and Bruce Sutter.

From their 1985 World Champions: Busch, Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, Herzog, Herr, Smith, McGee, Forsch; left fielder Vince Coleman, pitcher John Tudor, and former pitcher turned broadcaster Al Hrabosky. From their 1987 Pennant: All of those, plus 2nd baseman José Oquendo.

After losing the 1987 World Series, the Cardinals had some near-misses. In 1996, they blew a 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves. In 2000, they lost the NCLS to the New York Mets. In 2001, they lost the NL Division Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2002, they lost the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants. In 2004, they won the Pennant, but were swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox, who not only ended an 86-year title drought (by means both fair and not), but avenged Series defeats to the Cardinals in 1946 and 1967. In 2005, the Cardinals lost the NCLS to the Houston Astros, who thus won their 1st Pennant in team history. Finally, in 2006, the Cardinals won another World Series.

Elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame from this period, but not the one before or the one after, have been 1st baseman Mark McGwire, center fielder Ray Laknford, shortstop Édgar Rentería and pitcher Matt Morris.

Busch, Herzog, Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, Adamie, Hernandez, Herr, Smith, McGee, Porter, Forsch, Sutter, 3rd baseman Terry Pendleton, left fielders Bernard Gilkey and Kerry Robinson, right fielder Andy Van Slyke, catchers Tim Pagnozzi and Mike Matheny; pitchers Mark Littell, Danny Cox, Todd Worrell, Ricky Horton, Lee Smith, Alan Benes, his brother Andy Benes, and Rick Ankiel; and coach Lee Thomas were elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Busch, Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, Herzog, Sutter, Hernandez, Herr, Smith, Van Slyke, Cox, Worrell, Gilkey, Smith, Lankford, 2nd baseman Ken Oberkfell, 3rd baseman Gary Gaetti (after having been on the opposite side of the 1987 World Series, with the Minnesota Twins) were elected to the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.

*

October 20, 1982 was a Wednesday. This was also the day of the Luzhniki Stadium disaster, at a soccer game in Moscow. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was midweek for American football. The NBA regular season wouldn't start for another 9 days. There were 8 games played in the new National Hockey League season:

* The New Jersey Devils, having debuted on October 5, lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 7-4 at The Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.

* The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-5 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals played to a tie, 3-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota North Stars, 5-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-0 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. 

June 27, 1973: The Sabotage of David Clyde

June 27, 1973: David Clyde, the 1st overall pick in the recent Major League Baseball Draft, makes his major league debut, for the Texas Rangers. The Dallas-area team was desperate for attendance, and chose the 18-year-old lefthanded pitcher from the Houston area, and sent him to the majors without one single minor-league warmup appearance.
 
The Rangers got what they wanted: A sellout crowd of 35,698 coming out to see the much-hyped Texan, and a win, as Clyde pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on just 1 hit, and striking out 8. He outpitched a future Hall-of-Famer, Jim Kaat. Alex Johnson got 3 hits, while Dave Nelson, Toby Harrah, Vic Harris got 2 each. The Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3. Not really noticed in all the hype: Clyde walked 7 batters in just 5 innings.
 
The plan was to have Clyde pitch his 1st 2 professional games in the majors, and then season him in the minors. But the Rangers' owner was Bob Short. He had moved them from being the Washington Senators after the 1971 season, and was also the owner who moved the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles in 1960. He was bankrupt, and there was talk that the American League would take over the franchise, possibly moving it back to Washington.

So Short got greedy, seeing not a Number 32 but a big fat dollar sign on Clyde’s back. He was kept on the big-league roster for the rest of the season, and he went 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA. In 1974, he went 3-9, 4.38 ERA. And he developed shoulder trouble. And a drinking problem.

He spent the 1975, '76 and '77 seasons in the minor leagues, except for 1 losing major league appearance in '75. He was left unprotected in the 1977 expansion draft, but he was already seen as damaged goods, and neither the Seattle Mariners nor the Toronto Blue Jays wanted him. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians, and went 8-11 for them in 1978, and 3-4 in 1979. He was traded back to the Rangers for 1980, but released after Spring Training.

He signed with his hometown Houston Astros, and went 6-0 in Class AA, but 4-10 in Class AAA. The Astros did not bring him up, and released him. He threw his last professional pitch at the age of 26, and finished with a major league record of 18-33, an ERA of 4.63, and a WHIP of 1.530.

Was it worth it? The interest he generated is sometimes credited with saving major league baseball in the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex," as Short found a buyer willing to bail him out, oilman Brad Corbett. In 1980, Corbett sold the team to another oilman, Eddie Chiles. In 1989, Chiles sold the team to another oilman, George W. Bush.

In 1994, because he was running for Governor of Texas, Bush put his controlling interest in the team into a blind trust. In 1998, because he was about to launch a campaign for President of the United States, he sold the team completely, to Tom Hicks. Hicks went bankrupt in 2010, and the team was bought by a group that included former star pitcher Nolan Ryan.

Although their competitive history has been rather checkered, the Rangers have never again been in danger of being moved.

But the effect on Clyde was terrible. His 1st manager, Whitey Herzog, called him "one of the best young lefthanded pitchers I’ve ever seen," but wrote in his memoir that he was often forced to leave Clyde in the game much longer than usual, because fans wanted to see the "phenom" pitch. Former teammate Tom Grieve, later a major-league general manager, said that keeping Clyde in the roster was the "dumbest thing you could ever do to a high school pitcher."

Clyde eventually recovered from his alcoholism, and ran his father-in-law’s lumber business. He has said that it gave him peace of mind following the crash of his career.

*

June 27, 1973 was a Wednesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 4-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dave McNally allowed 10 hits, but kept the shutout.

* A doubleheader was split at Shea Stadium. The New York Mets won the opener, 7-6. The Mets scored 7 runs in the 1st inning, and hung on for dear life. Ted Martínez went 4-for-4. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 7-1. Mike Schmidt, in his rookie season, hit 2 home runs, and had 5 RBIs. Willie Mays, in his last season, did not play in the opener, but went 2-for-4 in the nightcap.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 15-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Lou Brock went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Joe Torre went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Ted Simmons went 3-for-4 with 5 RBIs. Ken Reitz went 4-for-6 with 2 RBIs. José Cruz Sr. went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Willie Stargell went 1-for-2 before leaving the game due to injury.

* The Detroit Tigers swept a doubleheader from the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-3 and 5-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline made only one plate appearance that day, pinch-hitting in the 2nd game, and did not reach base.

* In the 1st game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1. Since Wrigley did not have lights until 1988, the 2nd game was called due to darkness in the top of the 13th inning, with the score tied, 3-3. The game was completed the next day, and Bob Bailey's RBI single in the top of the 18th inning gave the Expos a 5-4 win.

* The Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jerry Reuss outpitched Fred Norman. Pete Rose went 3-for-4. Johnny Bench did not play.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. The A's won in the bottom of the 9th when Bill North reached on an error by Royal shortstop Fred Patek. Catfish Hunter outpitched Paul Splittorff. Gene Tenace hit a home run. Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Dave Rader hit 2 home runs. Willie McCovey did not play. Hank Aaron only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Indians won the 1st game, 4-2. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4, but left the game due to injury, and did not play in the 2nd game. Despite this, the Red Sox won it, 16-7.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres were not scheduled.