GaryMrMets
10-10-2003, 12:20 PM
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sd/news/sd_news.jsp?ymd=20031008&content_id=569102&vkey=news_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sdn
10/08/2003 6:15 PM ET
Memories of 1984 still fresh
Magical season put San Diego baseball on the map
By Mike Scarr / MLB.com
SAN DIEGO -- At first glance, the year does not seem that long ago. But as the calendar snaps forward, it's noted that nearly 20 years have passed.
The Padres made their first run to a pennant in 1984, a year that carried its own significance. Not only was it an Olympic year, a leap year and a presidential election year, but 1984 long had been affixed to the lexicon as a synonym for the future, thanks to George Orwell.
And just as the year became reality, so did the Padres' reach for the future during that season.
After toiling in relative obscurity since joining the National League in 1969, the Padres recorded the best record in their history at 92-70 in 1984, winning the NL West by 12 games over the Astros and the Braves as no other team in the division posted a winning record.
Manager Dick Williams joined the club in 1982 and after a pair of 81-81 seasons, Williams turned a club that was a mixture of veterans, youngsters and role players into a contender and did so without the benefit of a dominant starter.
Unlike the Padres' 1998 NL pennant-winning team, there was no Kevin Brown to shoulder the load and take the rest of the pitching staff along for the ride. Leading the staff in wins in 1984 was 28-year-old Eric Show who went 15-9, and posting the low ERA for the Padres that season was the 27-year-old Mark Thurmond at 2.97.
The staff veteran on Williams' club was actually closer Rich Gossage. The Goose saved 25 games for the Padres in '84 while going 10-6 with a 2.90 ERA. But what Gossage brought to the Padres in his 13th season of Major League Baseball was experience after spending three World Series campaigns with the Yankees.
Two other World Series veterans helped maintain focus throughout that season.
Steve Garvey played in 161 games at first base that season and did not commit one error. While hitting just eight homers during the regular season, Garvey led the club with 86 RBIs.
But equally responsible for providing veteran leadership to the Padres that season and often left out of discussions of that club was Graig Nettles.
The third baseman was 39 that year and had spent his previous 11 seasons with the Yankees, where he played in four World Series, winning two. Nettles came over in a trade at the end of Spring Training in 1984 and tied with Kevin McReynolds for the club lead in homers with 20.
The 24-year old McReynolds was joined in the outfield by another pair of youngsters. In left that season was the 23-year-old Carmelo Martinez and playing right field full-time for the first time in his career was a youthful Tony Gwynn, also 24.
While Martinez chipped in with 13 homers, Gwynn won his first batting title. Hitting an NL-best .351, Gwynn also led the league with 213 hits and led the club with 10 triples.
At the top of the lineup for Williams was Alan Wiggins. The second baseman scored 106 runs in 1984, tied with Tim Raines for second-best in the NL to Ryne Sandberg's 114. Wiggins also swiped 70 bases, which was third in the league.
Aside from Gwynn's batting title, the Padres of 1984 weren't best in any category, but they combined the perfect blend to produce the first divisional title in franchise history.
"It was a golden year," Garvey said of that club.
On the flip side of the NLCS coin minted for that year was the Cubs, who posted a league-best 96-65 record.
The Cubs were anchored by 1984 NL MVP Sandberg, who hit .314 with 19 homers and 84 RBIs. The second baseman also had 36 doubles and 19 triples while fielding his position at a .993 clip. Where the Padres did not have one player with at least 90 RBIs, the Cubs had three, led by veteran third baseman Ron Cey's 97 and club-leading 25 homers.
But perhaps the player that most defined the Cubs that season was the 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner.
Rick Sutcliffe appeared in 15 games with the Indians to open the season and then came over to the Cubs. All the big right-hander did was go 16-1 in Chicago with a 2.69 ERA while tossing three shutouts in 20 starts. Other members of the Cubs' pitching staff included Steve Trout and Dennis Eckersley, who won 13 and 10 games respectively, and Lee Smith, who was second in the NL with 33 saves.
What happened when the Padres and Cubs met for the NL crown surprised no one -- at least for the first two games.
The series opened at Wrigley Field on Oct. 2 and the Cubs raced out to a big lead, taking a 5-0 advantage after three innings and an 11-0 lead after five innings before settling on a 13-0 victory. The Cubs hit four homers in the game, including two by Gary Matthews and one by Sutcliffe, who went seven innings for the win.
In the second game, the Padres managed to get on the board, but not before the Cubs held a 3-0 lead. Trout held the Padres to just five hits over eight innings with Smith pitching the ninth for the save.
The Padres gained a measure of respect in the third game at San Diego, in essence winning one game for the fans. Garry Templeton delivered a two-run double in the fifth and McReynolds homered in the sixth as the Padres broke through with a 7-1 victory to avoid the sweep.
But Saturday, Oct. 6, is when the Padres put themselves on the map and added yet another to a long list of postseason disappointments for the Cubs.
It was a see-saw affair from the first pitch as the Padres took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first only to see the Cubs fight back for a 3-2 advantage in the fourth. After the Padres tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, they took a 5-3 lead in the seventh. But the Cubs knotted the game with two runs in the top of the eighth to set the stage for Garvey's heroics.
"We battled all night long," Gwynn said.
Garvey came into the game feeling sick but put together one of the great efforts in postseason history, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs. But it was his last swing of the night that put the stamp on the series.
With the game tied at 5-5 and Gwynn on base with a single, Garvey hit a fastball from Smith over the short fence in right field. The win not only gave the Padres a 7-5 win, but tied the series at two games apiece. The Cubs had left Chicago needing just one win to get to their first World Series since 1945.
Three days later, they were still looking.
In the early going, it appeared the Padres' luck had run out as Leon Durham and Jody Davis both homered and the Cubs took a 3-0 lead after just two innings. Fearing a repeat of the first game, Williams went to his bullpen early and brought in Andy Hawkins in the second and then Dave Dravecky in the fourth. Craig Lefferts followed in the sixth and Gossage appeared in the eighth as the Padres' bullpen held the Cubs scoreless the rest of the way.
After pulling within a run in the sixth, the Padres tied the game when Tim Flannery's ground ball went between the legs of Durham at first, allowing Martinez to score the tying run. Gwynn followed with a two-run double and Garvey drove in a run as the Padres rallied with four runs in the bottom of the seventh and went on to a 6-3 win and the NL pennant.
The club could not recapture the magic in the World Series as the Tigers dominated, winning four games to one. But their seemingly improbable comeback cemented by a pair of equally improbable wins captured a crown for a city and the team that was the '84 Padres.
Mike Scarr is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/images/2003/10/08/UBJ4UFWm.jpg
Goose Gossage (right) and Terry Kennedy celebrate their NLCS win in 1984. (AP)
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/images/2003/10/08/eUuCAaxR.jpg
Steve Garvey hit eight homers, drove in 86 runs and hit .284 in 1984. (Reed Saxon/AP)
10/08/2003 6:15 PM ET
Memories of 1984 still fresh
Magical season put San Diego baseball on the map
By Mike Scarr / MLB.com
SAN DIEGO -- At first glance, the year does not seem that long ago. But as the calendar snaps forward, it's noted that nearly 20 years have passed.
The Padres made their first run to a pennant in 1984, a year that carried its own significance. Not only was it an Olympic year, a leap year and a presidential election year, but 1984 long had been affixed to the lexicon as a synonym for the future, thanks to George Orwell.
And just as the year became reality, so did the Padres' reach for the future during that season.
After toiling in relative obscurity since joining the National League in 1969, the Padres recorded the best record in their history at 92-70 in 1984, winning the NL West by 12 games over the Astros and the Braves as no other team in the division posted a winning record.
Manager Dick Williams joined the club in 1982 and after a pair of 81-81 seasons, Williams turned a club that was a mixture of veterans, youngsters and role players into a contender and did so without the benefit of a dominant starter.
Unlike the Padres' 1998 NL pennant-winning team, there was no Kevin Brown to shoulder the load and take the rest of the pitching staff along for the ride. Leading the staff in wins in 1984 was 28-year-old Eric Show who went 15-9, and posting the low ERA for the Padres that season was the 27-year-old Mark Thurmond at 2.97.
The staff veteran on Williams' club was actually closer Rich Gossage. The Goose saved 25 games for the Padres in '84 while going 10-6 with a 2.90 ERA. But what Gossage brought to the Padres in his 13th season of Major League Baseball was experience after spending three World Series campaigns with the Yankees.
Two other World Series veterans helped maintain focus throughout that season.
Steve Garvey played in 161 games at first base that season and did not commit one error. While hitting just eight homers during the regular season, Garvey led the club with 86 RBIs.
But equally responsible for providing veteran leadership to the Padres that season and often left out of discussions of that club was Graig Nettles.
The third baseman was 39 that year and had spent his previous 11 seasons with the Yankees, where he played in four World Series, winning two. Nettles came over in a trade at the end of Spring Training in 1984 and tied with Kevin McReynolds for the club lead in homers with 20.
The 24-year old McReynolds was joined in the outfield by another pair of youngsters. In left that season was the 23-year-old Carmelo Martinez and playing right field full-time for the first time in his career was a youthful Tony Gwynn, also 24.
While Martinez chipped in with 13 homers, Gwynn won his first batting title. Hitting an NL-best .351, Gwynn also led the league with 213 hits and led the club with 10 triples.
At the top of the lineup for Williams was Alan Wiggins. The second baseman scored 106 runs in 1984, tied with Tim Raines for second-best in the NL to Ryne Sandberg's 114. Wiggins also swiped 70 bases, which was third in the league.
Aside from Gwynn's batting title, the Padres of 1984 weren't best in any category, but they combined the perfect blend to produce the first divisional title in franchise history.
"It was a golden year," Garvey said of that club.
On the flip side of the NLCS coin minted for that year was the Cubs, who posted a league-best 96-65 record.
The Cubs were anchored by 1984 NL MVP Sandberg, who hit .314 with 19 homers and 84 RBIs. The second baseman also had 36 doubles and 19 triples while fielding his position at a .993 clip. Where the Padres did not have one player with at least 90 RBIs, the Cubs had three, led by veteran third baseman Ron Cey's 97 and club-leading 25 homers.
But perhaps the player that most defined the Cubs that season was the 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner.
Rick Sutcliffe appeared in 15 games with the Indians to open the season and then came over to the Cubs. All the big right-hander did was go 16-1 in Chicago with a 2.69 ERA while tossing three shutouts in 20 starts. Other members of the Cubs' pitching staff included Steve Trout and Dennis Eckersley, who won 13 and 10 games respectively, and Lee Smith, who was second in the NL with 33 saves.
What happened when the Padres and Cubs met for the NL crown surprised no one -- at least for the first two games.
The series opened at Wrigley Field on Oct. 2 and the Cubs raced out to a big lead, taking a 5-0 advantage after three innings and an 11-0 lead after five innings before settling on a 13-0 victory. The Cubs hit four homers in the game, including two by Gary Matthews and one by Sutcliffe, who went seven innings for the win.
In the second game, the Padres managed to get on the board, but not before the Cubs held a 3-0 lead. Trout held the Padres to just five hits over eight innings with Smith pitching the ninth for the save.
The Padres gained a measure of respect in the third game at San Diego, in essence winning one game for the fans. Garry Templeton delivered a two-run double in the fifth and McReynolds homered in the sixth as the Padres broke through with a 7-1 victory to avoid the sweep.
But Saturday, Oct. 6, is when the Padres put themselves on the map and added yet another to a long list of postseason disappointments for the Cubs.
It was a see-saw affair from the first pitch as the Padres took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first only to see the Cubs fight back for a 3-2 advantage in the fourth. After the Padres tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, they took a 5-3 lead in the seventh. But the Cubs knotted the game with two runs in the top of the eighth to set the stage for Garvey's heroics.
"We battled all night long," Gwynn said.
Garvey came into the game feeling sick but put together one of the great efforts in postseason history, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs. But it was his last swing of the night that put the stamp on the series.
With the game tied at 5-5 and Gwynn on base with a single, Garvey hit a fastball from Smith over the short fence in right field. The win not only gave the Padres a 7-5 win, but tied the series at two games apiece. The Cubs had left Chicago needing just one win to get to their first World Series since 1945.
Three days later, they were still looking.
In the early going, it appeared the Padres' luck had run out as Leon Durham and Jody Davis both homered and the Cubs took a 3-0 lead after just two innings. Fearing a repeat of the first game, Williams went to his bullpen early and brought in Andy Hawkins in the second and then Dave Dravecky in the fourth. Craig Lefferts followed in the sixth and Gossage appeared in the eighth as the Padres' bullpen held the Cubs scoreless the rest of the way.
After pulling within a run in the sixth, the Padres tied the game when Tim Flannery's ground ball went between the legs of Durham at first, allowing Martinez to score the tying run. Gwynn followed with a two-run double and Garvey drove in a run as the Padres rallied with four runs in the bottom of the seventh and went on to a 6-3 win and the NL pennant.
The club could not recapture the magic in the World Series as the Tigers dominated, winning four games to one. But their seemingly improbable comeback cemented by a pair of equally improbable wins captured a crown for a city and the team that was the '84 Padres.
Mike Scarr is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/images/2003/10/08/UBJ4UFWm.jpg
Goose Gossage (right) and Terry Kennedy celebrate their NLCS win in 1984. (AP)
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/images/2003/10/08/eUuCAaxR.jpg
Steve Garvey hit eight homers, drove in 86 runs and hit .284 in 1984. (Reed Saxon/AP)