May 5th, 1993: Philadelphia Phillies (19-6) vs San Francisco Giants (17-10)
Swifter Than a Tartar's Bow
An Introduction…
I’m the guy who drafted Randy Wolf with his last pick in every fantasy season till his retirement. Now that the 2021 season has begun, my attention has returned to the current Phillies, but as too the heartbreak of being a fan of this franchise has also begun, I’ve decided once more to go back in time and revisit the greatest season of baseball of my childhood, the 1993 Phillies. Thanks to the internet and more specifically the saint who runs the ClassicPhilliesTV youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWb6dGkCnKBlrQLJAjZ-4-w), I’m going back and watching every 1993 Phillies I can find just like if it was 28 years ago (but with the internet)... Previously I attempted to go day for day with every Phillies game in the month of June, which was a bold idea but proved to be futile. Now the plan is to start from the beginning of the season and attempt 1 game recap per week until we get to game 5 of the 1993 World series and then decide if I really want to torture myself with game 6. Come along for the ride to reminisce about the legends of John Kruk, Mitch Williams, and Darren Daulton, to mix the knowledge we have now, with jokes of how dumb things were then.
Where We Last Left Our Intrepid Heroes (and Villains)
On a west coast swing of the California teams , the Phillies have gone 5 and 1 with the only loss on their record coming from Tom Candiotti on May 1st. Last night the Phillies took a 2-1 lead into the 9th inning with Curt Schilling on the mound, entering the inning he had thrown 100 pitches, and Mitch Williams was rested, but Jim Fregosi stuck with his starter, who then gave up a game tying home run to Giants Third Baseman (and current manager of the Kia Tigers of KBO league) Matt Williams. In the 12th inning, Dave Hollins hit his third home run of the season to help secure the victory (with a Mitch Williams save) over the NL West leading San Francisco Giants. They continue to lead the NL East, thanks to timely hitting and great starting pitching.
The San Francisco Giants, after a relatively slow start (they were 11-8 last time we saw them), are starting to round into the powerhouse they will become in 1993, winning 6 of their last 8. Their new coach Dusty Baker, has the benefit of having Will Clark and Matt Williams in the infield and the ultimate weapon Barry Bonds, patrolling left, but what Baker showcases in his first year, and subsequently with every team he’s coached since, is his ability to garner great performances out of unknown players. Baker, who was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and essentially adopted by Hank Aaron, is one of the best nurturers of talent in coaching history, all five teams he’s been hired to coach eventually made the playoffs during his regime. He was promoted from First base Coach to Manager during the 1992 offseason after the new ownership group led by Peter Macgowan (you can read more about that sale in the April 26th post) fired Jim Craig, who at that point was the winningest coach in franchise history. Dusty rewarded their trust by taking an early lead in the most difficult division in the league, the NL West.
Today’s Game:
It is Wednesday, May 5th, 1993, with the Phillies visiting what is possibly the only stadium in America worse than the Vet, San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. This uncomfortable monstrosity, built in 1958, became home to the Giants in 1960, and was infamous for it’s terrible conditions for playing baseball. The entire stadium was essentially a big wind tunnel, and the sea air from the bay made the air thick with dew, and at night it quickly became very cold. It’s so bad, the Giants are thinking about going to all day games in the 1994 season except for Friday nights. Some nicknames for the field found on Wikipedia, “Windlestick” “The Quagmire” “The Cave of Winds” and “The Ashtray by the Bay”, help paint the picture. Candlestick famously was the home of the 1989 World Series game between the Oakland A’s and the Giants that was postponed due to an earthquake (for ten days to make sure the building was still structurally sound). It’s also one of the locations used in the 1996 thriller The Fan where Wesley Snipes played a San Francisco Giant whose teammate in the film is a young actor named John Kruk. Today’s game is brought to you on Sportschannel where we get a nice change of pace with Andy Musser and Ken “Tek” Tekulve for all nine innings. Tek adds to the Candlestick Park discourse, “It’s nice during the day, but when the sun goes down, it turns into a house of horrors.”
Watch for yourself at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd4w_7nWZ8k
The Line-up
CF Lenny Dykstra .
2B Mickey Morandini
1B John Kruk
3B Dave Hollins Batting .346 on road trip
C Darren Daulton 2 for last 27
RF Jim Eisenreich 11 for last 18
LF Milt Thompson
SS Mariano Duncan
SP Danny Jackson
On the Mound:
Pitching for the visiting Phillies is key free agent acquisition Danny Jackson, who though only 2-0 for the season with a 3.56 ERA, has been exactly what the Phillies needed, with the team going 5-0 in Jackson’s starts. A big wrestling fan, Jackson fit right in with the Macho Row crew (despite being a pitcher) with his goofy antics, particularly his affinity for ripping off his jersey and screaming. According to Kruk’s autobiography, “ After the game in the clubhouse Danny peeled his shirt off all of a sudden and started flexing, saying ‘Pump us up’ and we were looking at each other like, damn, look at this guy. Then he went out his next start and pitched a shutout. So he just kept doing it.” (this is the game Kruk is referencing). Kruk also mentions “If it works for (Jackson), let him do it. He makes enough money to be able to buy new shirts”
Pitching for the home team San Francisco Giants is former number 2 overall pick, Billy Swift. Swift, a Portland, Maine native (where he was named to the New England Sports Hall of Fame) came to the Giants in the trade that sent 1989 MVP Kevin Mitchell to the Seattle Mariners in the 1991 offseason. Swift started his career as a starting pitcher, but was converted to a reliever later to some success before the trade to San Francisco where he was stretched back out into a Starter. In his first season with the Giants (1992), the conversion was a great success as he would lead the National League in ERA with a 2.08. Yet there are still looming questions if Swift will be able to handle the workload of a highly competent starter for the full season of 1993. In 1995, Swift would sign a huge deal with the Rockies and like most pitchers would find that pitching in Denver was easier said than done, after a last hurrah in Seattle in 1998, Swift would retire with a 94-78 record with a 3.94 FIP and 22.5 WAR accumulated. For more information about Swift, check out the SABR.org profile on him, and read about his amazing college career, his run in the olympics, and his business savvy. Also according to Wikipedia, Billy Swift’s career stats are eerily similar to Bill Swift of the 1920’s and 1930’s. So that’s cool.
Highs (Hopes) and Lows
LOW- Small ball- Bottom 2nd
In his first of what is now 28 years of professional Baseball managing, Dusty Baker decides to play a little small ball in the second inning. After a Barry Bonds double (who is hitting a cool .405 for the 1993 season so far) to start the inning, Baker sends out his 6 hole hitter Robby Thompson to bunt over Bonds with no outs in the inning. To quote Billy Beane in the film version of Moneyball “they’re giving you an out, just giving to you. Take it. Say thank you”. Yes, Barry Bonds is now at third base, but why give up the chance for your hitter, take the bat right out of their hands? This was not in the thought process of most coaches in 1993, and the next hitter grounded out to score Barry Bonds to make it 1-0 GIANTS, so maybe Baker was right?
LOW- Will Clark is Good- Top 3rd (the whole game)
Will Clark is entering this game in the midst of a slump to start the season, the 5 time all star and 4 time top 5 MVP finisher (including being a runner up for the award in 1989), is slashing a replacement level .202/.282/.288 over the first month of the season while hitting one (1) Home Run and knocking in 10. His season turns around today, with 2 hits and 2 runs scored, while continuing his above average defensive play. In the third inning, he robbed the Phillies of runs with a nifty catch on a Darren Daulton line drive with two men on base. This catch may have caused a certain Phillies fan (me) to say under their breath “fuck you Will Clark”.
Over the rest of the season Clark will slash .302/.387/.469 with 135 wRC+ (weighted Runs Created).
HIGH- Tying it up- Top 4th
The Phillies open up the fourth frame with a couple of singles from Jim Eisenreich and Milt Thompson, but after a ground out and a subpar sac bunt attempt from Danny Jackson, they remain on 1st and 2nd base, respectively. But “the Dude” Lenny Dykstra comes through with an RBI single to score Mariano Duncan to tie up the game.
LOW- Tires Loosening- Bottom 4th
Sloppy glovework from John Kruk and Dave Hollins lead to Will Clark to score to make it 2-1 GIANTS.
Royce Clayton then hits a ball in “the perfect spot” says Tek, that is right between Morandini and Duncan at 2nd and short to score Bonds 3-1 GIANTS. The next batter hits another ball weakly through the infield, “perfectly placed for the second time”, adds Tek, to score another Giant 4-1 GIANTS. With the pitcher Billy Swift up to bat, one out, and men on first and third, Baker decides to try another sacrifice bunt. Jackson fields the ball and easily throws out Swift at first, but the Giants runner at third then decides to try to score, and gets thrown out at home for the double play and ends the inning.
4-1 GIANTS.
LOW- Tires come off- Bottom 5th
After retiring one Giant, giving up a single to another, throwing a wild pitch, and walking a Giant, Manager Jim Fregosi finally decides to lift Danny Jackson from the game and replace him with Bob Ayrault who promptly allows 7 runs to cross the plate (2 are attributed to Jackson, the other 5 to Ayrault) after 2 singles from Matt Williams and Barry Bonds (4 for 4 on the day raising his average to .435), a walk, a triple and finally a home run by Royce Clayton. The inning (and game essentially) ends with the Giants ahead 11-1
mids- Some positivity- Top 8th
To add some happiness for the occasion, Darren Daulton hits a monster home run in the 8th inning to narrow the score to 11-2.
It’s Daulton’s 6th home run of the year. 11-2 GIANTS
Wild Rides
In an almost cruel punishment, Dusty Baker decides to use his closer against the Phillies in the 9th even with a nine run lead. Beck is 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA, 1.56 FIP, 21 strikeouts, 0.82 WHiP and 7 saves on the year over 16 ⅓ innings. He retires the Phillies 1-2-3 to secure a San Francisco Giants victory.
Final: Philadelphia Phillies 2 (19-7) San Francisco Giants 11 (18-10)
Words of Wisdom from Musser and Tek
“The worms are going to have a tough day if this keeps up” Musser is talking about Billy Swift’s ability to induce grounders (Swift led the NL in double plays in 1992), and it’s one of my favorite baseballisms.
“Sporadic but timely scoring” Musser on the Phillies offense so far this season as they haven’t been setting the world on fire with their bats, but they’re still winning.
“Sometimes when it goes bad, it goes completely ugly” Tek perfectly describes the 7 run inning by the Giants.
“Matt Williams could be comeback player of the year this year. He was awful last year.” Musser doesn’t not spare feelings on air.
Final Conclusions
Maybe it was a good thing, the Braves ended up topping the Giants in the West in 1993, because I don’t think that NLCS would have been fun for the Phillies. If you enjoyed this wonderful blast from the past please feel free to share, like, or comment on it. The hope is to have more people watching 93 Phillies games on youtube and talking about it. So hit me up @Kevin_Seamus on twitter or @loudphilliesguy on Instagram. Next game available is May 8th against the Cardinals, it’s the day before Mother’s Day, so anything could happen (because 93 fans know exactly what occurs on Mother’s Day, I’m pumped).
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