Turning Points — Baseball Bench Coach

During the 1960s the World Series games were all played in the afternoon. My Dad would take a vacation week so that he and I could catch much of the action together. I distinctly recall one of our discussions. It was the fifth game of the 1968 Series between the Cardinals and the Tigers, and St. Louis was up 3 games to 1. Cards’ speedster Lou Brock, who had stolen 7 bases in the first four games of the Series, was thrown out attempting to steal second base by catcher Bill Freehan of Detroit. My Dad turned to me and said, “there’s the turning point of the Series”. He was indeed right; after the play the Cardinals scored just two runs in the next 3 games and the Tigers won the Series 4-3. From that point on, I’ve always looked for those turning points that changed the fortunes of ballclubs.

Adding a new player of course is one example. Probably the most important acquisition of a player in baseball’s history happened 100 years ago. Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee was in financial straits at the end of the 1919 season. He decided to sell the rights to his great slugger, George Herman Ruth, the “Babe”. Ruth was coming off a season where he had just set the all-time MLB season record for home runs (29). The Yankees purchased the rights to Babe Ruth on December 26, 1919, for the sum of $100,000. This single transaction involving the greatest player in baseball’s history changed the direction of both the rival Yankees and Red Sox for decades to come, and is commonly referred to as the “Curse of the Bambino.”

The purchase of Ruth frustrated many teams, especially National League squads that were also interested in him. However, at the time there was no mechanism in place to regulate player acquisitions between leagues. Prior to 1920 the American and National Leagues were run independently. The first Commissioner to preside over both leagues was elected in 1920, Judge Kinesaw Mountain Landis. One of Landis’ first edicts to establish order in baseball was to put in place a deadline of June 15 for any trades during the season. The June 15 trade deadline governed MLB acquisitions for over 60 years.

A June 15, 1964 trade at the deadline impacted the direction of two other great rivals, the Cardinals and the Cubs. The Cubs traded light-hitting outfielder Lou Brock (hitting .251 at the time) for Cardinals pitcher Ernie Broglio who was coming off some standout seasons. Brock turned the Cardinals season around batting .348 the rest of the way and leading the Cardinals to its 1964 World Series championship and two other championships (’67 Series and ’68 NL pennant) on the way to his HOF career. Broglio, on the other hand, went on the disabled list shortly after the trade and was never the same, leaving baseball after the 1966 season.

Today’s July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline has only been around since 1986. There have indeed been some momentous July 31 trades, including the 2004 four-team trade involving the Red Sox that triggered their long-awaited 2004 World Series championship. A lot of the big trades though have come at the end of August. MLB, until this year, has allowed trades prior to August 31 if the players involved cleared waivers. Among these, on August 31, 1992, Toronto received pitcher David Cone from the Mets en route to their first of two consecutive World Series titles. With the July 31 trade deadline looming in just two weeks, many teams are hoping for a turning point trade to boost them into the 2019 playoffs and perhaps the title.

Another big rivalry, the Reds vs. Dodgers in the 1970s, saw a division race turn on its head on a single play. On July 1, 1973, the Reds began play 10 games behind the NL West division-leading Dodgers and in fourth place. With 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and his team down 3-1, third-string catcher Hal King of the Reds hit a walk off three run HR. The Reds 4-3 victory started a streak where they went 60-25 down the stretch and captured the NL West flag. The King home run swung the momentum to the Reds in one chapter of the heated rivalry between the teams.

We saw a humorous momentum swing in the 2011 National League Division Series between the Philies and the Cardinals. The first two games of the five-series were split in Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. While the Philies were leading game three late in the game a squirrel appeared on the Busch Stadium playing surface that seemed to unnerve the Phillies. While the Phillies held on for a game 3 victory, the squirrel appeared the next day on the field in the Cardinals series-tying game 4. The Cardinals deemed their new live mascot the “Rally Squirrel”. When the series returned to Philadelphia for the series-deciding 5th game, the Philadelphia fans mockingly threw a stuffed squirrel into the Cardinals bullpen. The Cards kept the squirrel and got the last laugh, winning the NLDS, the 2011 NL pennant, and World Series behind its new mascot.

The fortunes of a team may also change in reaction to its manager’s fiery leadership. On June 29, 2008, Lou Pinella, manager of the Cubs and known for his on-field tantrums, was kicked out for contesting a check swing call in a game against the rival White Sox. Pinella’s nickname of “Sweet Lou” was based on his sweet swing as a hitter, but many jokingly referenced it in his managerial career for his less than sweet demeanor as a field manager. After the ejection Pinella’s Cubs went onto win the NL Central title in 2008 and Pinella was named manager of the year.

Just before this year’s All-Star break, we might have seen another Cubs team turnaround triggered by the actions of their manager, current skipper Joe Maddon. Although the Cubs have been in first place in the NL Central for much of the season, they finished the first half with a pedestrian 47-43 record. On July 4th against the Pirates, Maddon stormed out of the dugout protesting a pitch thrown at one of his star players, Javi Baez. Maddon though wasn’t charging at home plate umpire Joe West but rather Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. West tossed Maddon for attempting to incite a conflict between the two teams. The Cubs have won all 4 games against the Pirates since Maddon’s ejection and perhaps some second-half glory is to come.

What’s been your favorite baseball turning point?

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach