May 10th, 1993: Philadelphia Phillies (22-7) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (15-14)
Walk Like A Man
An Introduction…
I’m the guy who got dragged down by work and with an existential fear of starting something up again that I did not feel ready to finish. The Philadelphia Phillies in the meantime did something in 2022 that blew the minds of every one of their fans with a World Series run that could only be compared with a similar run (almost) thirty year previously so 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 30 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)
The Month of May has proven to be just as magical for the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies as the month of April was. In their previous game on Mother’s day against arguably the best relief pitcher in baseball at the time Lee Smith, the Phillies all around utility man Mariano Duncan hit a grand slam in the 8th inning to take the lead for the home town Phils, a lead they would not relinquish in 6-5 win and a 3 game sweep against the Red birds of St. Louis. The 93 Phillies are doing something almost no Phillies ever do, start the season well. They currently hold a 22-7 record and lead the NL East.
All is not well on the other side of Pennsylvania where the Pirates of Pittsburgh find themselves on the long long long drop from the top to the cellar where they will dwell for the next 20 years. Just 7 months previously the Pirates with their stalwart coach Jim Leyland took the Atlanta Braves to the absolute limit in a 7 games NLCS for the ages. The Pirates were one singular strike away from going to the World Series, when Sid Bream slid safely home to win the NLCS for the Pirates. Since that fateful night, the Pirates have lost their best pitcher, Doug Drabek, and best player Barry Bonds do the dreaded free agency. The aforementioned Jim Leyland (who is still kicking around as a special assistant with the Detroit Tigers) is especially grouchy in 1993 as the Pirates now have 8 rookies on their roster, but even worse the MLB has finally banned cigarette smoking in dugouts.
Today’s Game:
Tonight is Monday, May 10th 1993 at Veterans stadium, where it’s finally starting to feel like Spring in Philadelphia with nice 70 degree weather at opening pitch. Tonight we’re being broadcast on the Philadelphia Regional In-home Sports and Movies channel or PRISM, which is like if you had to pay for a single streaming app just to watch half of the Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers’ games, also they showed terrible moves. Since this is a PRISM joint, we’re stuck with Chris Wheeler for 9 innings with Jay Johnstone in the beginning and end and Garry Maddox in the middle.
Watch for yourself at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=namGfozYjKI
The Line-up
CF Lenny Dykstra .304 in his last 10 games .
2B Mickey Morandini
1B John Kruk
3B Dave Hollins
C Darren Daulton .432 OBP
RF Wes Chamberlain
LF Milt Thompson
SS Mariano Duncan
SP Danny Jackson
On the Mound:
Facing his former team today is Danny Jackson, who spent the second half of the 1992 season trying to be the perfect deadline acquisition for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It did not go as well as planned when he went a very respectable 4-4 in 15 starts with a 3.36 era down the stretch, but in his one postseason start against the Atlanta Braves, Jackson gave up 4 runs in 1.2 innings. Luckily for Jackson there’s no chance he’ll ever face the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS for a second straight year, right? Right? Danny Jackson is currently 2-1 with a 4.54 era for the year and most recently got shellacked by Barry Bonds’ new team the San Francisco Giants.
On the bump for the Pirates is Bob Walk, who is also facing his former team, in fact the team that drafted him in the 3rd round out of the College of the Canyons (the Mighty Cougars baseball field was also the filming location of that episode of The Office when Michael confronts his girlfriend’s cuckolded husband(parentheses inside a parentheses alert: terrible episode of The Office)). Walk had one of those magical rookie seasons in 1980 to greatly contribute to the World Champion Phillies, when he won his first six decisions en route to an 11-7 record with a 3.64 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) over 27 starts and 151.1 innings. Other Rookie Phillie pitchers who helped in Key seasons in comparison: Kyle Kendrick 10-4 with a 4.94 FIP over 20 starts and 121 innings in 2007 and Bailey Falter 6-4 with a 4.65 FIP over 16 starts and 84 innings last year. Bob Walk would even be called upon to start game 1 of the 1980 World Series where he pitched 7 innings of 4 run baseball over 113 pitches, which would be a phenomenal showing for a rookie in the World Series. BUT in a decision I can’t even remotely understand 43 years later Dallas Green brought Walk out for the 8th inning with a 7-4 lead to face the 3-4-5 hitters? Walk then gave up a double, a wild pitch, and a home run before Green finally pulled him for Tug McGraw (I know it was 1980 and the bullpen was not the same as it is today and that pitch count was not looked at in the same lens, but really?!?!?). Most recently in 1992, Jim Leyland pulled Bob Walk out of the cupboard in a pivotal game 5 of the NLCS against the Braves. Walk had been moved to the bullpen at the end of September and had even came into game 2 in relief 4 days previously, but Leyland called his number and Walk delivered arguably his greatest career start by silencing the powerful Braves to the tune of a complete game 3 hitter (5 walks). Nicknamed the Whirly Bird (with no context given), Walk is 3-2 with a 4.63 ERA in the 1993 season which is (spoilers) his last season in Major League Baseball. Even though Walk was 59-35 the previous 6 seasons (87-92), the 36 year old decided that coming dead last in era among qualified pitchers for the 1993 season was enough to call it quits. He currently works as an announcer for the Pirates and occasionally works with MLB on Fox and Peacock’s baseball coverage. And I can’t not add this wonderful bon mot from Bob Walk’s wikipedia “When Walk was a teenager, he attended a game at Dodger Stadium and threw a tennis ball from the stands at Houston Astros centerfielder César Cedeño. He was charged with battery but ultimately released after promising to the judge that he would not go to Dodger Stadium again” You’re welcome.
Highs (Hopes) and Lows
LOW- ugh Wheels- Bottom 1st
Spoilers: this game is a pitcher’s duel. Which means we get a lot of Chris “Wheels” Wheeler who of course PRISM trusts with 9 innings of coverage, because of the deal Wheels made with the devil in 1973 (no citation found). The thing about watching the Phillies in the 90’s is the juxtaposition between the greatness of Whitey and Harry kalas with the decreptitude of Wheels and whatever poor bastard they pair with him. Today it’s the late Jay Johnstone, who is legitimately entertaining, but just can’t pull Wheels out of whatever doldrums of boredom Wheels is in. It gets more grim when they switch out Garry Maddox who I love, but is just not very good on television, and is worse when paired with the over chummy over eager Wheels. Bob Walk gave up two walks in the first inning which sent Wheels into a “walk” a thon which set off this entire tirade.
LOW- Pizza Delivery- Commercial
The Pirates scored on a real boring Fielder’s Choice to make it 1-0, but more importantly is the Pizza Hut commercial that just appeared. Its entire thesis is that why would a customer (in this case a suburban mom) deign to drive to a pizza place and pick up a pizza when it can be delivered? And they dress up the mom in a delivery outfit and the car with a decal and all. Very cute. Fast forward 30 years and now Domino’s will actually give you three dollars if it means they don’t have to hire a delivery driver because it's impossible to hire a delivery driver (actually it’s impossible to pay someone adequately to want to be a delivery driver but I digress).
HIGH- Grasping for Grasps- Top 4th
Both Walk and Jackson are just moseying along through the first 4 innings as Wheels and Garry Maddox discuss the possibility of bases in the future being break away to protect players wrists. They bring in a prototype and it seems pretty stupid, this quote from the inquirer by the deputy commission in 1992 “The last thing you need is in the seventh game of the World Series to have the deciding run slide into third base with one out and have a controversial call because the base pops out, absent some really compelling reason to change, it’s not going to happen.” MLB never implemented the bases, but college baseball and softball use them and they’re for sale by Champions sports. Anyway Milt Thompson makes a pretty great catch on a long drive by Lloyd McClendon keeping the score 1-0 Pit.
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HIGH- Tying it up- Bottom 6th
The Phillies offense decides to wake up in the 6th inning against Bob Walk with a little help from Pittsburgh’s defense. John Kruk started it off with a single and was followed with a single by David Hollins, but the outfielder Lloyd McClendon missed his cut off allowing Hollins to advance to second to put runners in scoring position with no outs. An intentional walk to Daulton loads the bases for what should be a big inning, but Walk is able to get out of it by only allowing 1 run on a fielder’s choice by Wes Chamberlain, scoring Kruk. 1-1.
HIGH- Magic Mickey- Top 7
Danny Jackson is continuing to cruise into the 7th with Lloyd McClendon on first, when Mickey Morandini makes a great diving stop on a grounder up the middle and is able to retire McLendon at 2nd. This is 1993 so in the minute that follows it becomes very apparent to even the Phillies broadcasters that McClendon was safe at second, but as Wheels brings up “it’d be nice if you had replay as an umpire”. Yeah that would be nice.
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Lloyd McClendon has been mentioned a few times today which is as good a reason as any to mention Lloyd McClendon’s most famous baseball claim to fame. Which is of course when he was head coach of these same Pittsburgh Pirates, and after being tossed out of a game by an umpire, McClendon took 1st base and walked off the field.
Lloyd McClendon taking 1st base
Anyways, Jackson retired the side on his way to an 8IP, 1 run, 4 hit, 2 walk, and 6 K outing.
HIGH- Daulton Delight- Bottom 7th
Mr Greenlight himself Lenny Dykstra gets the party started in the 7th with a infield single thanks to a bad toss from the Pirates' 1st baseman. Mickey Morandini then hits a grounder up the middle which Pirates short stop Jay Bell field cleanly, Bell then attempts to tag Lenny Dykstra who slides on the inside of 2nd base under Jay Bell’s glove (it could be argued Dykstra is 3 feet out of the basepath). Jay Bell to make matters worse attempts to throw Mickey Morandini at first, not only is the throw 5 seconds late, Bell also air mails it into the first row of fans advancing the Phillie runners to 2nd and 3rd with 1 out.
An intentional walk to Kruk loaded the bases for Dave Hollins who grounded out with a play at the plate. Dykstra slides super high for some reason and gets tagged then goes ballistic about the call, throwing both his helmet and the Pirate’s catcher’s mask (breaking it).
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With the bases still loaded, the Phillies catcher Darren “Dutch” Daulton is up to bat, in 1993, he is the longest tenured Phillie on the ball club, for years his career as well as the Phillies teams have floundered continuously. But in 1992 Daulton put his career together and led the NL in Runs Batted In, something a catcher in the NL hasn’t done since (Salvador Perez is the only catcher to lead the league in RBIs in the AL since Daulton). Currently, in 1993, Daulton is slashing .250/.432/.523 with fantasy counting stats of 20 runs 6 home runs and 16 RBIs before stepping up to the plate against Bob Walk in the bottom of the 7th inning with the bases loaded…
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Wild Rides
With a relatively comfy four run lead, Fregosi sends out David West to face the bottom of the Pittsburgh batting order and he makes pretty quick work of them while surrendering one walk. Wheels mentions on the broadcast that up until there’s 2 strikes and 2 outs, the crowd is pretty quiet “it’s like they’re used to winning. They’re lining the exits. Ho Hum another victory”. The Phills at 23-7 have not only the best record in baseball it’s the best start in the history of the Phillies.
Final: Philadelphia Phillies 5 (23-7) Pittsburgh Pirates (15-15) 1
Words of Wisdom from Johnstone and Maddox (and Wheels)
“Fregosi will leave his starter in games”- Wheels with the understatement of the season. Fregosi loves to keep a starter out there. His belief is that trusting his pitcher will lead to better pitching. It’s a beautiful belief, right up there with Santa Claus.
Not a quote but an unbelievable catch by the Phanatic. That’s not an agile costume nor is it good vision wise. What a goddamn legend.
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Gary: Have you heard about these break away bases?
Wheels: No
Final Conclusions
I skipped the Mariano Duncan grand slam game because I didn’t get the research right and I apologize, so here’s the Daulton grand slam everyone forgot. 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 up is the second game of the 3 game keystone series against the Buccos.
