The day man first walked on the moon started like any other game day for Gaylord Perry, a 30-year-old right-hander in the middle of a season for the San Francisco Giants in which he'd go 19-14 with a 2.49 ERA.
But though Perry would eventually qualify for the Hall of Fame as a pitcher, he never quite got his due as a hitter, and that was about to change -- sort of.
First, a flashback to 1964, Perry's third season in the Major Leagues.
As Perry recalls, his manager, Alvin Dark, and a sportswriter for the San Francisco Examiner newspaper, Harry Jupiter, were watching Perry take his hacks during batting practice.
"I was good friends with Harry, and he and Alvin were watching me in the cage, and Harry said something like, 'You know, Perry isn't a bad hitter. He might hit a home run or two for you,' " Perry says.
"Of course, Alvin saw a whole lot that he liked in my pitching and saw a whole lot that he didn't like in my hitting, and he said, 'Mark my words. A man will land on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run.' "
More than five years later, Apollo 11 landed on the dark, cratered lunar surface at 1:17 p.m. PT. Down among the green hills of Earth, a Sunday crowd of 32,560 had settled into their seats at Candlestick Park on the San Francisco Bay to watch their hometown Giants hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And in the bottom of the third inning, a not-at-all-serious prophecy was fulfilled.
"Well, about the top of the third, over the loudspeaker, they were telling everybody to stand and give a moment of silent thanks for the astronauts who landed on the moon," Perry remembers.
"And I'd say 30 minutes later, Claude Osteen grooved me a fastball, and I hit it out of the park."
Perry pitched a complete game and got the victory, one of the 314 he'd notch over a legendary, colorful 22-year career that saw him log more than 5,000 innings, strike out more than 3,500 batters and wear eight uniforms.
His moonshot 40 years ago was the first of six career homers and, as he explains, the thing he's talked the most about to this day. More than the Hall of Fame. More than the 300 club. Heck, even more than the Vaseline.
Agreed. I'm not panicking. But for my own part, I don't think Boston is as good as the media paints them to be. They are, IMO, a mediocre team at best. But it could be that that mediocrity will still be good enough to get them into the postseason. The BoSox, Yankees, Angels, and Rangers seem to be the current class of the A.L.
Dammit! I missed it! Just saw the replay of the 9th inning catch. Wow!
Smoltz has had three out of four bad outings, and he's again getting pounded early. He was great in his day, but he doesn't seem to have anything left any more. We might as well pitch Matsuzaka for all the good it will do us.
I think the BoSox should dump Smoltz and Matsuzaka, or try to get something for them in a package deal. I'm really sick of their mediocrity. I think Buchholz should be given a second chance in the rotation (on a permanent basis) as he's young and has shown a bit of promise, despite a rough go of it last year.
Are there no more excellent pitchers in the game these days? It almost seems to be a thing of the past. If a pitcher wins fifteen games per year these days he's just about considered 'great.'
"Jee-sus, it's like Iwo Jima out there" - Roger Sterling on "Mad Men"
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