April 18, 1993: Revenge of the Beaned Guy

 April 18th, 1993: Philadelphia Phillies (8-3) at Chicago Cubs (6-5)

Revenge of the Beaned Guy

An Introduction…

I’m the guy who disliked the national anthem as a kid because I thought that it was in favor of the Atlanta baseball team.  It’s crazy, but the Major League Baseball season was actually played in 2020, and the Phillies have done everything they could do to try to ruin my fanhood. 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 27 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 1-2 game recaps 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)

For the first time all season the Phillies have lost two games in a row, after falling to the Cubs yesterday, thanks to a Sammy Sosa home run. With a quick 10-3 record to start the season , the Phillies have already started turning heads in the national media, but are still expected to fizzle out before the season’s end. Coach Jim Fregosi has run the team like a finely tuned drum even though he’s deciding to use multiple platoons. Fregosi  was previously the coach of the Chicago White Sox (when he replaced Tony LaRussa) and would only last three more years coaching the Phillies. Hard to believe a coach bringing a once in a generation team to the championship, and then getting fired so shortly after performing such a Herculean task in Philadelphia (does everyone see the joke I’m making right now?)

The Chicago Cubs are over .500 for the season, but are still trying to come together as a team after losing Greg Maddux and Andre Dawson in the offseason. They do have future superstar (and Baseball pariah depending on how you feel) Sammy Sosa in the outfield, extremely underrated always great Mark Grace at first, and although he’s injured to start the season, hall of famer Ryne Sandberg is still near perfect at 2nd base. 

 

Today’s Game:

It is Sunday April 20th, 1993 on whatever side of Chicago Wrigley Field is. Going into today’s contest the forecast calls for heavy winds heading right out of the ballpark.  Since it’s a Sunday (in 1993), today’s television broadcast is brought to you on WPHL-17 with hall of farmers Harry Kalas and Richie “Whitey” Ashburn for the majority of the game. If you don’t know how TV worked in the late 80’s and 90’s, when the big 3 networks did not broadcast shows, some production companies would sell full shows directly to local affiliates, depending on your broadcast area. WPHL-17 was Philadelphia’s local home of such tv shows like Star Trek: Next Generation, Married with Children, and Renegade. Due to the show having to be sold to each local area, tv shows had to do area specific commercials for their shows, which led to situations like Ed O’Neill showing up sitting on the Married With Children set in a full Philadelphia Phillies satin jacket shilling for his TV Show. The best example of the lunacy of this method is in The Larry Sanders Show as Larry (Garry Shandling) and Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) record each commercial while changing their outfits to regional specific affectations (dealer hats for Vegas, BBQ apron for KC, etc) back-to-back-to-back. 

Watch for yourself at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9lCb8ijoY4

The Line-up

CF Lenny Dykstra

2B Mariano Duncan

1B John Kruk

3B Dave Hollins

C Darren Daulton

RF Wes Chamberlain

LF Pete Incaviglia 

SS Kim Batiste

SP Danny Jackson

On the Mound:

Starting for the Phillies is Danny Jackson, who comes into today’s game with 0-0 record and 5.1 era after two starts this season.  Jackson, as has been mentioned in this space previously, was the booby prize for Phillies fans going into an offseason where they dreamed about the possibility of signing Doug Jones, David Cone, or Gregory Swindell. To quote Jayson Stark at the time, “They talked about David Cone, they delivered Danny Jackson.” The story (according to More than Beards Bellies and Biceps) goes that GM Lee Thomas approached Kruk, and Daulton while the players were eating at Ruth Chris’s with the idea of acquiring Jackson, with Daulton saying, “Yeah get that guy, he can throw”. 

Facing the Philadelphia 9 for the Cubs today, is Greg Hibbard who I incorrectly guessed the spelling for in the previous post (my bad Greg.) Hibbard is a sinker ball pitcher, who lives off of getting ground outs according to Whitey, and is coming off two pretty good starts to begin the season. He owns a 1-0 record with a 1.84 era over 14.2 innings of work.  Hibbard went to University of Alabama and was a 16th round pick of the Kansas City Royals, but was quickly traded to the Chicago White Sox where he made his debut and accumulated a majority of professional statistics. His best year came in 1990 where he went 14-9 with a 3.16 era over 211 innings pitched. In  the winter of 1992, he was selected by the Florida Marlins in the expansion draft but quickly traded away to the Chicago Cubs. Hibbard would leave the Cubs after the 93 season to join the Seattle Mariners on a 3 year 6.95 million dollar contract, where he would immediately get hurt and soon after retire.  Thanks to a random nbcsports.com article from May 2020 called “Remember that guy” I’m happy to report that Hibbard has spent most of his time coaching in the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers organizations respectively, most recently as pitching coach for the Double A Frisco RoughRiders. 

Highs (Hopes) and Lows

High- Top 1st- Kruk Rebounds

Most people would be surprised to know that (particularly after titling his autobiography, “I Ain’t an Athlete Lady”) John Kruk was actually a multi sport athlete in high school in West Virginia, I bring this up because Kruk had one of his worst games of his career yesterday going 0-5 with 2 strike outs and grounding into a double play, and decided to waste little time in rebounding from his previous failures. “What’d I go 0-5 today? Felt like 0-7” Kruk was quoted as saying to Harry Kalas yesterday. Kruk then destroys the second offering he sees from Hibbard and slams the ball 450 feet into centerfield for a two-run home run. 2-0 Phillies

High- This Game- Wind

As mentioned, it is very windy in the Friendly Confines today, and the Phillies hitters do a great job of taking advantage of such events. After Kruk’s home run, Wes Chamberlain would supply one of his own thanks heavily to a very fortunate gust of wind. Kruk would later hit a wind-assisted home run of his own in the 6th inning and once again Chamberlain would respond with a home run in the 8th (this a holy-Jesus-that-ball-was-destroyed variety). This power display from the Phillies right fielder and 1st basemen would help the Phillies put 8 runs with their four homers. It’s also the first time the Phillies have hit a home run in 6 days!

Typical 90’s- Bottom 4th- Headley’s Choice

The most important takeaway from the multiple books about the 1993 Phillies I’ve read about Dave Hollins, is that he’s borderline insane. Not like goofy crazy, like Kruk or Larry Andersen, but just this side of non-homicidal maniac. His exploits of calling his evil alter ego Mikey and destroying the team shower with a baseball bat while naked are well described in those books. Yet the story that most displays Dave Hollins’ eccentricity with its importance of this specific season is the proclamation of Headley’s Choice. The way that the story is relayed is such, Dave Hollins, like Chase Utley after him, was one of the more prolific hits-by-pitch batters in the National League, leading the category in the 1992 season, but he felt that his pitchers didn’t protect him by retaliating. Thus Hollins, also known as Headley (or Head, for being a headcase), approached the pitchers in the spring of 1993 with a choice, either, they would hit the first batter they faced after a Phillie got hit, or Hollins would hit the pitcher  (some stories vary on whether Hollins said that or if he would just ignore protecting a pitcher if there was a brawl). This edict first showed up in the Spring Training when extremely mild mannered Tommy Greene started a brawl with the St. Louis Cardinals after beaning a player in retaliation. Today’s game shows us an example of this type of event after Darren Daulton gets hit by a pitch in the 5th inning, Danny Jackson starts off the 6th by hitting Derek May in the back.  

High- 7th Inning- Larry Andersen’s Big Day

At 39 years old (one month from his 40th birthday), Larry Andersen is the 3rd oldest player in the major leagues, so most of his work constitutes him not picking up a baseball bat to hit. In his illustrious career, Andersen has appeared to bat 36 times before this day in 1993, and currently has a lifetime .111 when he is forced to step up to the plate in the top of the 7th. Andersen was brought in after Danny Jackson coughed up two runs to narrow the game to 6-2, but was allowed to bat only after Wes Chamberlain hit his 2nd home run of the game to expand the lead back to 8-2 before LA’s spot in the line-up. Thus this magical conversion of events led us to Larry Andersen smacking a single in front of a diving Sammy Sosa, making Larry Andersen a 1.000 hitter for the season. The best part of the at bat is hearing Whitey and Harry not to laugh and seeing 3rd base coach Larry Bowa bite his tongue from laughing while not giving Andersen any signs (since LA wouldn't know them anyway).

Hi- Top 7th- An Old Future Friend

Pitching against Larry Andersen in the 7th is future Phillie of little renown but in my heart, Dan Plesac. Plesac at this point is merely a relief pitcher in his career but he will soon morph into one of the last dinosaurs of Major League Baseball a LOOGY. LOOGY of course stands for (L)eft-handed (O)ne (O)ut (G)u(Y) (It’s the G.R.O.S.S. of MLB analytics), or a left handed specialist brought into only very specific situations. They became extremely popular in the late 80’s and 90’s thanks to guys like Tony LaRussa who didn’t create the idea but crafted perfectly the formula of when to disperse it upon an opponent. The idea of the LOOGY is now extinct in Pro Baseball with the recent rule change that requires each pitcher who enters the game to face at least three batters. Now like the Dodo bird and typewriters before it, the LOOGY is no more.

Low- Bottom 8th- Coughing Fits

After being dominant for the first two weeks of the season, the Phillies bullpen has started showing the cracks in the hull that will plague them for the rest of the season. After Danny Jackson left the game 6-2, the Phillies continued to cough up the lead. First a solo shot given up to Steven Buchele and then after two should be double plays, the Cubs scored again to make the lead 8-4 Phillies entering the 9th inning. 

Wild Rides

Even after giving up two runs in the 8th inning, manager Jim Fregosi attempts to give his closer the day off and leaves Mark Davis out to pitch the ninth. Davis rewards his coach’s confidence by immediately giving up a double and a walk before the Troggs’ start warming up for the entrance of Mitch Williams. Davis is able to retire one Cub on an adventure of a pop up to shortstop as the wind continues to mess with the Phillies. As Williams enters he is serenaded by boos from the Chicago faithful, Mitch was a former pitcher of the Cubs, so they know his schtick pretty well. Mitch is able to force a fly ball to Centerfield but once again the wind haunts the Phillies defense, and Lenny Dykstra completely biffs it and the ball drops in for a single to load the bases. Back-up Catcher Walbeck then sacrifices in a run to make 8-5 before Candy Maldonado slams a ball to deep left field to tie the game at 8-8. This one is going to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, the Phillies meekly go down in order. Cubs fans are real loud now, “Boy has the momentum turned in this game” says Harry. 

Mitch Williams stays on for the bottom of the 10th inning and gives up an infield single to start the inning. Mark Grace then bunts over third basemen Dave Hollins’ head, but Mitch Williams saves the play by throwing out Grace. Whitey is starting to come undone by the weirdness of this game. Mitch strikes out Derek May for the 2nd out and then throws a wild pitch to move the runner to 3rd base, “What’s going on here?” Whitey asks God. Sosa grounds out to end the 10th.

The 11th starts as well for the Phillies as the 10th ended with two easy outs before Mariano Duncan doubles deep to right field; this pushes the Cubs to walk John Kruk and bring Dave Hollins to the plate and face Bob Scanlan. Let’s take a moment in our time machine and go back even further to the 1992 season where two cellar dwelling baseball teams faced each other late in the season. It’s September 24th, 1992 now, and Paul Assenbacher hits Dave Hollins in the 8th inning to force in a run to tie the game 2-2. Obviously this wasn’t on purpose, because it cost the Cubs their lead, but it definitely pissed off Dave Hollins, and it’s quite possible when Mitch Williams didn’t reciprocate in the 9th inning, it really pissed off Dave Hollins. So when Hollins came up to bat in the 10th inning in a tie game, he really didn’t like it when Cubs pitcher Bob Scanlan hit him for the second time in the game. Hollins charged the mound, the benches cleared, and a large brawl ensued that would cost both Scanlan and Hollins four game checks. Do you think this is one of those things that Dave Hollins forgot? We go back to 1993, where Dave Hollins takes a 3-0 count and makes it a 3-2 count before fouling off three close pitches against Bob Scanlan. Fun fact Bob Scanlan was drafted by the Phillies and traded for Mitch Williams. Hollins then focuses his rage and crushes a three run shot to right field to make the score 11-8 PHILLIES.

With a new 3 run lead, there’s no way this could go wrong again for the Phillies bullpen right? Wrong, because out comes Jose De Leon, who is not very good at throwing baseballs, which is a bummer since it is his job. He manages to force one out in the bottom of the 11th but soon gives up a home run to the Cubs back-up back-up catcher (yes the 1993 Cubs decided to carry 3 catchers on their roster) to make it an 11-10 game now. Fregosi tries to let De Leon work through it, but after another single is hit, De Leon is yanked for David West. “What is going on here?” Whitey repeats. With the tying run on first and one out, Jim LeFebrve is forced to bat his closer Randy Myers with the game on the line, because he’s used all of his bench. LeFebrve calls for the relief pitcher to lay down a sacrifice bunt to move over the runner, thinking that’s the safest way to get through the spot in the line-up. Myers then bunts to David West who turns a double play to end this godforsaken game, and allows the Phillies to escape Chicago with at least one win in the series. 

 

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 11 (11-3) Chicago Cubs 10 (6-6)

Words of Wisdom from Harry and Whitey

“At Sacred Heart Hospital in Norristown” As Harry Kalas goes through the fan birthdays and announcements he mentions some one watching at this hospital. Which is the hospital I was born in! 

“He’s batting 1.000 this year”- Whitey, immediately after Andersen’s big hit

“Throws a lot like Pittsburgh’s Randy Tomlin” -Whitey. Whoever that is, Whitey I bet you’re right.

Final Conclusions

The Phillies do more than enough to win the game with their bats, but the wild and wacky wind at Wrigley wrecks the will of Whitey (this sentence barely makes sense but look at the alliteration) as the Cubs almost battle back. 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. The Phillies have a travel day tomorrow as they head back to Philadelphia to face off against the San Diego Padres on 4/20 (nice). 

April 17, 1993: Say It Ain’t Sosa

 April 17th, 1993: Philadelphia Phillies (8-2) at Chicago Cubs (5-5)

Say It Ain’t Sosa

An Introduction…

I’m the guy who has a backpack from college filled with every Philadelphia Inquirer Sports section from October 2008.  It’s crazy, but the Major League Baseball season was actually played in 2020, and the Phillies have done everything they could do to try to ruin my fanhood. 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 27 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 1-2 game recaps 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 Philadelphia Phillies have lost their second game of the season, putting their record at a very respectable 8-2 start. Manager Jim Fregosi is using multiple platoons to great success, but still as a sinkhole at short stop. They are first in the NL East, a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.  

The Chicago Cubs are at a less auspicious 5-5 start under the management of Jim LeFebrve. The Cubs came into the 1993 season with a lot of question marks after failing to secure the services of their staff ace and future Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux, as well as their best outfielder and future Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson. LeFebrve is “Baseball’s first new age coach” according to Sports Illustrated saying that “ The Cubs do not have coaches they have pitching and hitting coordinators” the italics and condescension there within are all SI’s. The 2021 Red Sox just hired Jaseon Varitek as game day coordinator, and Miami Marlins unofficially have deemed their hitting coach their offensive coordinator. 

Today’s Game:

It is Saturday April 17th, 1993 at the Friendly Confines in Chicago, Illinois. Though it is much sunnier than the previous day it is a balmy 45 degrees in April.  Today’s game is on Sportschannel (an offshoot of Prism) which means our hosts for all nine innings are the venerable Andy Musser and former relief pitcher Kent “Tek” Tekulve. The Cubs are wearing uniforms this season that for the first time in their history provide the names on the back of the jersey. 

Watch for yourself at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjx5U72ctgM

The Line-up

CF Lenny Dykstra 11 Runs in first 10 games 

2B Mickey Morandini

1B John Kruk Leads the NL in doubles

3B Dave Hollins

C Darren Daulton .306 Lifetime Average in Wrigley

LF Milt Thompson

RF Wes Chamberlain

SS Juan Bell

SP Curt Schilling

On the Mound:

Taking the ball for the Phillies is Curt Schilling who on the year is 2-0 with a 1.59 era. His last start was also against the Cubs and he silenced them to the tune of four hits and a complete game shutout. With Schilling’s Hall-of-Fame candidacy being discussed currently (in January 2021) I’d like to step away from his playing record and his utterly disgusting public record since retirement and take a look at what his teammates  and coaches thought of him. Jim Fregosi was quoted as saying “Curt Schilling is a horse on the days he starts and a horse’s ass the four other days.” This quote in some form is also attributed to Darren Daulton. Kruk would later say, “Curt wants to be one of us but we won’t let him.” Curt would defend himself and his position on the team by saying things like, “I like to read books and they didn’t.” 

Pitching for the Cubbies today is Jose Guzman, a Puerto Rican native whose pitching arsenal consists of a power sinker, a split finger, and a change-up according to Tek. Guzman was the 1991 Comeback player of the year for the Texas Rangers, and followed the award with his best year as a professional pitcher in 1992, going 16-11 with a 3.66 ERA and 3.2 FIP. His last outing was against the Phillies where he gave up 2 unearned runs over 6 ⅓ innings of work. His first start of the year against the Atlanta Braves was arguably the best start of his career, taking a no-hitter into the 9th inning. It wasn’t until the last hitter the Braves had left, Otis Nixon, came up to bat with two outs that Guzman gave up his first hit of the game. For the 93 season Guzman has a 0.00 Era, with batters hitting .103 against him. During his career Guzman was four times in the top 10 in k/9 and twice top 10 in K’s, which is pretty cool.  

Highs (Hopes) and Lows

Low and Lower- 1st Inning- A Bad Start

After Mickey Morandini busted out of a 0-13 mini-slump with a double, Guzman walks the bases loaded with two outs and Milt Thompson at the plate. This is very familiar territory because almost the exact same thing happened in the previous game. Sadly, just like yesterday (in 1993) Milt Thompson grounded out back to the pitcher to end the inning with zero runs scored. Schilling then adds to the woes by giving up a lead-off home run to Dwight Smith (who came in 2nd in NL ROY voting in 1989), making the score 1-0 CUBS.

Low- Bottom 2nd- Ghost of Baseball future

To start off the 2nd inning, Schilling once again gives up a home run to a Cubs outfielder, Tek says of the home runs, “two guys you don’t really expect to hit a lot of home runs”. The second Cubs outfielder is a tiny little Dominican by the name of Sammy Sosa, who at this point is at the start of his fifth season in the Majors and with that home run has a career total of 38. He will hit 571 from this point until his retirement in 2007. Sosa is the poster child of the steroid movement and is the guy every one points to when they say you could take any player and make them a super star with steroids. It’s interesting that Bonds and Clemens continually get close to the 75 percent vote rate while Sosa continually gets less and less votes for the Hall. The argument has shifted to they’re all cheaters, to well Clemens and Bonds were really amazing but also used steroids.   2-0 CUBS

Low with a High Kicker- Top 3rd- The argument against Moneyball

The most basic tenet of the Moneyball ethos particularly if you only saw the movie, is that walks are good. Getting on base is extremely important when attempting to score runs, and runs are the reason you win baseball games. Billy Beane looked at on base percentage as an indicator on how to create runs, while other talent evaluators were obsessed with batting average. The basic principle (without taking other numbers into account) being that if a guy hits .300, but has an on base percentage of .312 (Peak Ben Revere numbers) he’s not as productive as a guy who hits .268 but with an on base percentage of .420 (hello Bryce!). The argument that developed against this (once again very basic idea) was that if your best hitters are taking walks instead of swinging, you’re taking the bat out of the hands of your best players. Which is what occurs once more with the Philadelphia Phillies, for the fourth time in 2 games the Phillies loaded the bases, and in three of those occasions both Dave Hollins and Darren Daulton, the number 3 and 4 hitters in the line-up, were walked. The heart of the order and the players most expected to knock in runs by doing the “smart” thing and taking pitches. On this occasion, Guzman decides to do the Phillies a small favor and throw a wild pitch to allow a run for the away team. But Wes Chamberlain then grounds out to third base to end the inning, with the Phillies once again failing to take advantage of having runners on base. The law of averages does say that the rest of the Phillies will start hitting in those situation and scoring runs,  two games is a very small sample size, but still this has been annoying. 2-1 CUBS  

Low then Lower then Lowest- Bottom 5th- The Anger Never Goes Away

These games happened 27 going on 28 years ago, but that doesn’t stop me from getting angry at managers, pitchers, or most importantly umpires. With two on and no outs, 3rd Basemen Steve Buchele hit a slow roller to Phillies 2nd Baseman Mickey Morandini, who astutely tried to tag out the runner, Sammy Sosa, as he attempted to get to 2nd base. The fiendish Sosa, dodged the tag, by very obviously running out of the base path and continued to 2nd. Morandini then threw to first base to get the force out at first. Except the umpire didn’t call out Sammy Sosa for stepping out of the base path, because the Umpire was only looking to see if Morandini had made the tag (which he did not).

And since this is 1993, the umpire can’t look like an idiot and reverse his decision, because it would make him look like an idiot, and since since this is 1993, there’s no video review. Fregosi comes out and yells for ten minutes, but it doesn’t matter, the Cubs get an extra out and extra base runner. Unsurprisingly as these things go, the Cubs will go on to score four more runs in the inning to make it 6-1 CUBS. 

Low then a little High- Top 7th- Here we are again

The Cubs call to their bullpen and immediately load the bases by walking Phillies for the 5th time this series. For a change of pace, John Kruk the three hole hitter is up to bat, for a terrible twist, he then hits into a 1-2-3 double play. Like literally pitcher to catcher to first. Some solace is achieved when Hollins follows up with a double scoring two Phillies to tighten the game 6-3. Since I’m actually in 2021, it’s impossible for me to imagine a scenario where a Philadelphia Phillies team could possibly overcome a 5 run deficit. 

Wild Rides

The Chicago Cubs Closer Randy Myers is a perfect 8-8 on save attempts against the Phillies, and his only two saves this season are against Philadelphia. Dykstra walks to provide some excitement, but then Morandini strikes out on a bad pitch.

Let's go ump.

Kruk sacrifices Dykstra to second on a nubber in front of the plate, but the game ends when Dave Hollins strikes out. Randy Myers improves to 9 for 9 against the Fightins. The Phillies lose their first series of the season and their first consecutive games.

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 3 (8-3) Chicago Cubs 6 (6-5)

Words of Wisdom for Andy and Tek

“The Plate looks the size of a postage stamp and seems about 50 miles away” Tek is commenting on a Cubs pitcher who walks the bases loaded. I enjoy metaphors.

“Saves them a big sewing bill.” Musser talking about how Rockies decided not to put their player’s names on the back of their jersey. 

This isn’t a quote, but Jim Lefebrve wears batting gloves while he coaches… why?

Final Conclusions

The Phillies continually get the bases loaded, but fail to make the most of those opportunities and lose again 6-3 to the Cubs. 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. The final leg of the 3 game set is scheduled with Danny Jackson facing Terry Hibbert (whoever that may be), we’ll just have to see when I write it.

April 16, 1993: LeFebrve for more Cowbell

 April 16th, 1993: Philadelphia Phillies (8-1) at Chicago Cubs (4-5)

LeFebrve for more Cowbell

An Introduction…

I’m the guy who legitimately feels jipped by not being alive to root for an NL Champion Phillies team whose average age was 36 (RIP Joe Morgan).  It’s crazy, but the Major League Baseball season was actually played in 2020, and the Phillies have done everything they could do to try to ruin my fanhood. 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 27 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 1-2 game recaps 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 Phillies currently stand with a record of 8-1 which equals the best start in the (then) 110 year history of the team, matching the 1915 NL Champion Phillies (Whose four outfielders first names were, Dode, Beals, Possum, and Gavvy). They just finished sweeping the Cincinnati Reds and are starting a three game set at the friendly confines of Wrigley Stadium. Their third year manager, Jim Fregosi is using three platoons and depending on veteran leadership to help bring his team to the World Series. Fregosi was a 6 time all-star shortstop for the Los Angeles Angels and when asked by Tommy LaSorda one time if Fregosi ever faced LaSorda, Fregosi replied “No Tommy, that’s because I was in the majors … YOU were pitching in the minors.” 

The Chicago Cubs are currently 4-5 but four of their losses were one run games. They have also handed the Phillies their only loss on the season in an 11-7 slugfest. The 1992 offseason has left the Cubs without number 1 starter and future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and their number 1 slugger and future Hall of Famer Andre Daweson. Both departed the Windy City without even getting an offer from a penny pinching Cubs ownership group. Now to start the season, future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is on the injured list, and the pitching staff has been lackluster. Their second year coach Jim Lefebrve (pronounced Le Fever) is optimistic though, telling Sports Illustrated “Not signing Maddux and Dawson was a blessing”, for he has great hopes for newcomers Willie Wilson (the strike out victim of Tug McGraw in the 1980 World Series) and Candy Maldonado, but also has great faith in young outfielder Sammy Sosa to step up in Dawson’s absence. SI’s 1993 season preview also mentions that Lefebrve is “Baseball’s first New Age manager” without actually mentioning in what way he is other than the he didn’t hire coaches he hired co-ordinators. Some research brings up that Lefebrve was a hot name in coaching circles in the mid 80’s after being on the bench with Tommy LaSorda in Los Angeles and Tony LaRussa in Oakland. After playing for the Dodgers, Lefebrve spent some time in the far east playing in Japan where he befriended home run king Sadaharu Oh and studied Zen with him,  before returning to America and becoming a hitting guru. Lefebrve would get his first shot as coach of the Seattle Mariners before not getting re-signed and heading to Chicago. Despite finishing above .500 in both 1992 and 1993 Lefebrve would again not be retained and would only coach one more season in professional baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1998. According to an Los Angeles Times article about his hiring in Seattle, Lefebrve is the best managerial prospect since “Bobby Valentine” and is exceptional in that he actually talks to players about themselves. According to one relief pitcher, “(Lefebrve)’s talked to me more in two weeks than (former manager) Dick Williams did in two years”. The article also describes Lefebrve’s exit from LaSorda’s good graces (and hitting coach position) when LaSorda believed Lefebrve was going directly to ownership to try to take LaSorda’s job. Lefebrve thought that LaSorda was being paranoid and that LaSorda was telling hitters to ignore Lefebrve’s advice. This all came to a head in the parking lot of a Los Angeles Sports talk show, and ended when Lefebrve punched Tommy LaSorda and split his lip. LaSorda would tell the press he was sucker punched, Lefebrve agreed and said, “He’s right. It was the sucker who got punched”. 

Today’s Game:

It is Friday April 16th, 1993, in the Windy City of Chicago at the perennial home of the Cubs, Old Wrigley Stadium. At time of starting pitch the temperature is a balmy 44 with a wind chill that takes the tempertature all the way down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s important to note at this juncture that Chicago, while quite windy, was not called “the Windy City” because of weather patterns but because it was so politically corrupt. Today’s game is on Sportschannel (an offshoot of Prism) which means our hosts for all nine innings are the venerable Andy Musser and former relief pitcher Kent “Tek” Tekulve. 

Watch for yourself at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGWoiuwfC90

The Line-up

CF Lenny Dykstra

2B Mickey Morandini

1B John Kruk

3B Dave Hollins

C Darren Daulton

LF Milt Thompson

RF Wes Chamberlain

SS Juan Bell

SP Terry Mullholland

On the Mound:

For the visiting team, Terry Mulholland takes the mound coming off two starts where he gave up a combined 1 run in 17.2 innings. Terry was a first round draft pick in 1983 to the San Francisco Giants after an exemplary career at Marietta College in Ohio. Later in life mulholland bought Marietta’s baseball field a new lighting system and the College named the street on which the field sits, Mulholland Drive (no correlation with the David Lynch film).

Pitching for the home team is Mike Morgan who currently sits at 0-2 for the year with a 3.29 ERA and as of 1993 has a lifetime career of 83-114. A former 1st round pick (4th overall) of the Oakland A’s in 1979, Morgan was fast tracked to the majors as an 18 year old where he was unsurprisingly trounced to the tune of 2-13 record over 90 innings with a 6.15 era and a 5.56 FIP. He would then spend three years seasoning in the minors before returning to become the quintessential journey man starter nicknamed “The Nomad”. Morgan would retire in 2004 while playing for a then record 12 Major League Baseball teams. He made one all star team as a starter for the 1991 Los Angeles Dodgers which coincidentally was his first winning season as well. In 2001, along with 93 Phillie Curt Schilling, Morgan would win the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a relief pitcher. In the 7 game series, Morgan pitched 4 ⅔ innings without giving up a run to the New York Yankees. 

Highs (Hopes) and Lows

Low- Top 1st- Leaving men on.

The offense starts as it typically does through the first 9 games of the season, with the Phillies loading the bases with a John Kruk double and walks to Dave Hollins and Darren Daulton. Yet, uncharacteristically for the men in red, they are unable to take advantage of the situation when Milt Thompson grounds out to the pitcher leaving the game scoreless.

Low- Bottom 1st- Early Holes

Mulholland is coming off back to back gems and is the early leader in every pitching category in the NL, but as with the Phillies Offense in the first inning, Mulholland also uncharacteristically falters in the first inning. After giving up two dinkers to the Cubs lead off hitters (one of which should have been a fielder’s choice if not for Juan Bell), Mark Grace smashes a double down the first base line off of Kruk’s glove to score two runs.

So close

Grace is knocked in a batter later on another dinker that barely finds a hole between short and 3rd. 3-0 Cubs.

High and Lows- 2nd through 7th inning- Cruising

Following a very active first inning, both starting pitchers decide to put their respective cars int cruise control. Morgan would give up 2 hits and a walk in 59 pitches (after 21 in the first inning) silencing what has been one of the most potent line-ups in the NL. Mulholland would equal Morgan for the most part scattering 5 hits and 3 walks without giving up another run before making way for Mark Davis. 3-0 Cubs.

High- Top 8th- Close but no cigar

After finally getting Mike Morgan sent to the bench following a Lenny Dysktra single, the Phillies try to make their move. A Kruk single moves Dykstra to third, and Dave Hollins knocks in Nails in the next at bat to narrow it 3-1.

Daulton does his part with another single to load the bases once again for the Phillies, but for the second time today, the Phillies can do nothing in the situation and the rally is ended with a fly out from Eisenreich and a ground out from Wes Chamberlain. 3-1 Cubs

Wild Rides

The ride starts wild with a pinch hit double by back-up catcher Todd Pratt in his first at-bat of the season. The Phillies are then retired promptly with a strikeout to Pete Incavigla, a pop up from Lenny Dyskstra and a final strike out to Mickey Morandini to end the game 3-1. The Chicago Cubs Closer Randy Myers was 6 for 6 in save opportunities against the Phillies in 1992 and continues his dominance today.

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 1 (8-2) Chicago Cubs 3 (5-5)

Words of Wisdom for Andy and Tek

“According to our good friend Whitey Ashburn, that ivy doesn’t help a whole lot, even in July”  - Andy Musser, discussing with Tek how much it hurts when you go run into the Wrigley Field wall which is made of brick. The idea being that the vines are just as good as padding, but it’s still winter in Chicago and there is no ivy. 

“The writers down in Jim’s office this morning and asked ‘Jim how are you getting Mitch to do what he’s doing’ and Jim goes ‘shhhh’” - Tek, if Mitch Williams is rolling, no one mess with him.

“Todd Pratt got on the bus in a short sleeve shirt today… that’s a man that forgot to pack!”- Andy Musser

“Look at Lenny”- Musser

“Lenny saying that one was high” -Tek

“I believe those umpires would prefer Lenny didn’t exactly”- Musser

“Yeah usually those hand gestures aren’t really high on things they want to see you do up there” -Tek. Dykstra did not agree with a call in the ninth and visually made the ump aware of it. According to Macho Row Lenny would intimidate umps into giving him a better strike zone by blackmailing them about gambling? So I’m going to keep an eye on these situations, but mostly in my opinion Lenny was just a dick.

Final Conclusions

The Cubs put away the Phils 3-1 after a fluky first inning and a strong outing from “The Nomad” The Cubs remain the only team to beat the Phillies in the 1993 season.  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. The Phillies look to split the series tomorrow in Chicago as Jose Guzman takes on Curt Schilling.