Braves: 1982 Atlanta Braves Retrospective

[selmaborntidefan]

September 20, 1982
Houston Astros 4 (W: Smith, 4-4)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Garber, 7-9)
82-68
2nd place
3 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 21, 1982
Houston Astros 5 (W: Ruhle, 8-13; SV: Knepper, 1)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Camp, 11-10)
82-69
2nd place
3 games behind

BRAVES LOSE TO HOUSTON AGAIN;
DOWN 3 WITH 11 TO PLAY;
CARLTON MAKES CARDS PAY - AGAIN

The Houston Astros have been a bona fide contender the last three seasons and while this year has seen them have a less-than-stellar season that require some retooling, they can still have a major say in which team wins the NL West division flag. Tonight, the Astros beat the second-place Atlanta Braves for the fifth straight time, 5-3, and put Atlanta's pennant hopes in serious jeopardy. After falling behind early, 1-0, thanks to an RBI triple by Claudell Washington, Houston battered Atlanta starter Rick Camp for 3 runs and reliever Bob Walk for two more to take a 5-1 lead after five innings. The Braves did not give up, closing the gap to 5-3 and bringing the tying run to the plate in both the seventh and ninth innings, but neither Washington, Dale Murphy, nor Rafael Ramirez, who made his 36th error of the season, could come through when they Braves needed it. Ramirez's error led to two Houston runs and the Astros got two more on Danny Heep's double.

The gap in the NL West remained at three games because the Los Angeles Dodgers were shut out by John "The Count" Montefusco and reliever Luis DeLeon, 3-0, in San Diego and gave up the game-winning run on a suicide squeeze by Montefusco himself. The Dodgers only gave up four hits to the Padres, but two of those followed a walk in front of the squeeze and led to two of San Diego's three runs. Ron Gardenhire led off the 10th inning with a solo game-winning home run to give the Mets a 2-1 win in the first game of a doubleheader against the Expos. Montreal returned the favor by taking the nightcap, 5-1, when a Chris Speier homer ignited a four-run inning. A two-out RBI single by Jody Davis in the 7th scored the game's only run and Fergie Jenkins and two relievers scattered six hits as the Cubs beat the Pirates, 1-0, to give Fergie his 276th career win. Gary Redus had two runs and two RBIs to lead the Reds to a 6-5 win over the Giants.

Ten years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals let Steve Carlton go in a dispute over a measly $10,000, and the lefty legend has made them pay dearly. Since his departure for Philadelphia, the Phillies have four first-place finishes to the Cardinals' zero, have won a World Series, and tonight Carlton beat St. Louis for the 35th time as he scattered 9 hits and struck out 14 in Philadelphia's must-win 5-2 triumph over the Redbirds. The Phillies are 4 1/2 behind with 11 to play, and they don't face the Cardinals again. Carlton's record against his old mates is an impressive 35-10 over the last 11 seasons.

Jim Rice's 10th inning RBI single scored Glen Hoffman with the game's winning run and ended Milwaukee's six-game winning streak as the Red Sox kept their fading division title hopes alive with a 4-3 win over the Brewers. Julio Cruz singled home pinch-runner Paul Serna in the bottom of the 9th and Serna's slide at home jarred the ball loose from Carlton Fisk to score the winning run in Seattle's
5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. Leading the division by one game and with the score tied at one in the 9th, three straight one-out singles by the California Angels scored pinch-runner Gary Pettis and downed the Kansas City Royals, 2-1, and lifted their lead in the AL West to two games. The ejection of Lou Whitaker for throwing his helmet after he was caught attempting to steal home in the first apparently angered the Detroit Tigers severely. His replacement, Mike Laga, went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs, part of a 16-hit barrage the Tigers unleashed on four Orioles pitchers en route to an 11-1 blowout win in Baltimore. The Yankees and Indians split a meaningless doubleheader. Tim Conroy got his first major league win by going the distance and scattering five hits in Oakland's 6-1 win over the Texas Rangers. Dave Stieb pitched his league-leading 17th complete game and won his 15th of 29 decisions in front of just over 5,000 Minnesota fans as the Toronto Blue Jays down the Twins, 5-1, thanks largely to two RBIs each by Willie Upshaw and Garth Iorg.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 22, 1982
Houston Astros 3 (W: Smith, 54; SV: LaCorte, 6)
Atlanta Braves 2 (L: Garber, 7-10)
82-70
2nd place
3 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 23, 1982
TRAVEL DAY
82-70
2nd place
3 games behind

TIME TICKS DOWN FOR ATLANTA

The Atlanta Braves have ten games to go. So do the Los Angeles Dodgers, who as everyone is quick to point out, are the defending World Series champions. And the Dodgers are in the catbird's seat with a three-game lead and seven straight home games, including two against the Braves. Atlanta hosts San Diego for their final homestand of the year and then head to the West Coast for seven straight games against the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants, who by the way are only one game behind Atlanta and with a hot streak could launch themselves past both teams into the NLCS. San Diego is technically not eliminated yet, but the problem is that even if they won out, the fact the Giants and Dodgers and Braves all play each other is likely to keep them from being able to move into first. Then again, with the right combination, we could have a three-way or even a four-way tie in the NL West.

Let's get it right out here: the Atlanta Braves, whatever happens, have had a successful season. The problem is that because of how they got here, it will be remembered more as a choke job than a successful season unless by some chance they sneak in and win the division title. That 13-0 start that seems ancient history now was the catalyst, but the Braves undid that by that 2-19 streak that included 11 straight losses in August. Indeed, had the Braves merely gone 7-14 in that span, they'd probably already have clinched the West and begun to set their rotation for the NLCS. What appears to be interesting in the evaluation is how the two teams have gotten to this point.

The Braves have almost obliterated the NL East with the conspicuous exception of the Pirates. The Braves are 35-25 against the other teams in the Eastern division (39-33 as a whole) while the Dodgers have had their problems, going 37-35 against the division, a six-game advantage for Atlanta. The Braves pick up another two games in the matchups against Houston and Cincinnati in the West. So the Braves enjoy an 8-game lead over Los Angeles until you take into account the teams on the West Coast, who have beaten Atlanta so badly to this point that that 8-game margin in the Braves' favor turns into a 3-game deficit in the standings. And those facts are why it simply does not seem possible that the Braves can win the division when down 3 with ten to play. The Dodgers have a much better pitching staff (it's not even close) and a much better offense, and they're playing at home.

It will take nothing short of a miracle for the Braves to win. The same is true only much more seriously where it concerns the Phillies, who are 4 1/2 behind with 11 to play (the Cardinals have ten games left). With no more games against the Cardinals, let's just say the Phillies are done, we're just awaiting the official notice. But the other two divisions offer potential races that will draw attention.

The AL West has been the almost exclusive domain of the Kansas City Royals since 1976. Just four days ago, it still was as they were tied atop the division with the California Angels. But an all-important sweep - and a pending three-game series to determine the winner IN Kansas City later this week - provides an interesting backdrop. This one is far from settled, and the spoiler role may well be played by either the Texas Rangers or Oakland Athletics. Which does beg a question...would Billy Martin, who is about to be given the heave-ho in Oakland, would he lay down for his old buddy, Royals Manager Dick Howser? And then there's a wild one in the AL East.

Earl Weaver is leaving after this season. Harvey Kuenn has just begun and boy have the returns been fantastic. And wouldn't you know it, the two teams play no less than SEVEN of their last TEN games against each other.

I don't know how that one will turn out, but it may well be fun watching it.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 24, 1982
Atlanta Braves 11 (W: Dayley, 5-6; SV: Bedrosian, 11)
San Diego Padres 6 (L: Griffin, 0-1)
83-70
2nd place
2 games behind

BRAVES RALLY ON TWO RAMIREZ HOMERS TO BEAT PADRES;
44TH COMEBACK WIN FOR BRAVES

The Braves absolutely had to win tonight. They did.
The Giants absolutely had to win tonight. They did.
The Dodgers did not have to win tonight, not yet anyway. Which is good because they didn't.

Trailing the San Diego Padres, 6-2, after three innings, the outlook was bleak for the Atlanta Braves' chances of a division title. But with just two swings of the bat, Rafael Ramirez, who entered tonight's game with only 11 career home runs in over 1,000 career at bats, launched two home runs into the night and went 3-for-3 with 5 RBIs to lift Atlanta to an 11-6 triumph over the Padres that saw the Braves score 9 runs in the middle innings while battering six Padre pitchers for 16 hits. Claudell Washington went 3-for-5 and Ken Dayley, who lost his starter's spot and spent six weeks in the minors, got his fifth win with two innings of shutout relief.

The night did not begin well for Atlanta as starter Pascual Perez gave up a leadoff single to speedster Alan Wiggins and then a double to Juan Bonilla. Back-to-back sacrifice flies scored both runners, and the Padres took the field for the first time leading, 2-0. Ramirez began his stellar evening with a one-out walk in the bottom of the first, moved to second on a single by Dale Murphy, and then moved up one base each on a sacrifice fly and passed ball by catcher Terry Kennedy that plated the shortstop and cut the Padres lead to 2-1. But the Padres extended their lead in the top of the second when rookie Tony Gwynn singled with one out, stole second, and scored on a single by Tim Flannery. An error by Jerry Royster on Dave Dravecky's bunt put two runners aboard for Wiggins, whose bunt plated Flannery and gave San Diego a 4-1 lead. Three straight two out singles by the Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the second when Kennedy committed a second passed ball, allowing Mahler to score and cut the deficit to 4-2.

If you think the bottom of the second for the Braves sounded eerily similar to the bottom of the first, you won't be shocked to hear that the Padre third mimicked the Padre second, either. Gene Richards singled with one out and moved to third on Tony Gwynn's two-out single that saw the rookie advance to second on the throw to third. The Braves walked Flannery intentionally, loading the bases for Dravecky, whose batted ball to Ramirez resulted in a two-run error that gave San Diego a 6-2 lead. Mahler retired Wiggins to end the inning. And the game settled into a normal rhythm until the fifth. That's when Ramirez led off the inning with a solo shot that cut the lead to three runs, and when Dravecky walked Murphy and gave up a single to Bob Watson that put runners at the corners with nobody out, Dravecky got the hook in favor of Mike Griffin, who was just called up at the start of the month. Griffin was largely successful as he got Terry Harper to hit into a double play that scored Murphy and cut the San Diego lead to 6-4 and then Griffin retired Glenn Hubbard on a pop out after giving up a base hit to Royster. But the bottom of the sixth would prove his undoing.

Matt Sinatro walked to lead off the sixth and pinch-hitter Ken Smith, batting for Dayley, singled to put two on with nobody out. Washington then singled Sinatro home to narrow the gap to 6-5, and Luis DeLeon came on to put out the fire. He got Ramirez to fly out to right field, but Smith scored on the play to tie the game at six. A single by Murphy moved Washington to third, and the tall, thin outfielder raced home on a fielder's choice ground out by Chris Chambliss to give the Braves their first lead of the game. DeLeon retired Harper on a grounder, but the Braves now had the lead and momentum as Steve Bedrosian took the hill. The rookie righty retired the Padres in order, and in the bottom of the inning, the Braves put the game away.

Royster singled and moved to third on a single by Hubbard, bringing on Floyd Chiffer to pitch. Sinatro's bunt scored Royster and moved Hubbard to second and gave the Braves an 8-6 lead. Bedrosian's productive ground out moved Hubbard to third with two outs and then Washington plated Hubbard with a single. With the score 9-6, Washington stole second and moments later, Ramirez ended the night's scoring with his second shot of the night, a two-run homer that put the Braves ahead by the final margin of 11-6. Bedrosian got to the 9th before giving up two singles, but the outcome was never in doubt as he got Richards out on a fielder's choice grounder to end the game.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, hosted the Giants and took a 2-0 lead into the fifth before Jeffrey Leonard's single and steal, a walk, and a double by Chili Davis tied the contest. Then in the 8th, Davis scored the winner when he singled, moved to second on a walk to Jack Clark and scored on an RBI single by former Brave Darrell Evans. Greg Minton got his 29th save, and the Giants moved to within 3 games of first.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 25, 1982
Atlanta Braves 12 (W: Moore, 3-1; SV: Garber, 29)
San Diego Padres 6 (L: Eichelberger, 7-14)
84-70
2nd place
1 game behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 26, 1982
San Diego Padres 3 (W: Lucas, 1-10)
Atlanta Braves 2 (L: Camp, 11-11)
84-71
2nd place
1 game behind

BRAVES LOSE ON FREAK PLAY; TIED WITH GIANTS;
BOTH TRAIL LA BY 1 AS SHOWDOWN BEGINS;
DOUBLE PLAY HELPS O'S TOPPLE BREW CREW

The start of the baseball season belonged to the Atlanta Braves, who churned out a 13-0 record at the start. The last two months have belonged to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who managed to turn a 10.5 game deficit into as much as a 4-game lead before Atlanta closed the gap.

Wouldn't it be something if the San Francisco Giants wind up winning it all?

Below the radar all season long, the Giants, who were 13 games behind on July 17, rode a walk by Joe Morgan, RBI double by Jack Clark, and two-run homer by Darrell Evans to a 3-2 win over the Dodgers, completing a three-game sweep and extending their winning streak to five games as they tied the Atlanta Braves in second place just a solitary game behind the first place Dodgers. It is the first Giants sweep in Dodger Stadium since 1967. Since July 17, the Giants are 20 games above .500 at 42-22 and have shaved 12 games off their largest deficit. The Giants tied the Braves after Atlanta blew a 2-1 seventh inning lead and lost, 3-2, after rookie Tony Gwynn drew a walk to lead off the 9th against starter Rick Camp and later scored on Joe Pittman's RBI single. The Braves had the tying run at second with one out in the bottom of the inning and even brought Dale Murphy to the plate as the winning run, but the slugger grounded out to third to end the game and give Gary Lucas his first win of 1982.

But that wasn't even the worst part of the game for the Braves, who ultimately lost on one of the most bizarre plays you'll ever see. Gene Richards lifted a fly ball to Terry Harper in left, who caught the ball on the foul line, went four steps, and then went over the fence into the San Diego bullpen, where he dropped the ball. Umpire Ed Vargo ruled the ball "fair" (since Harper caught it in fair territory), and Richards circled the bases while Harper was stunned for a "home run" yet was also an unearned run at the same time.

And wouldn't you know it, the Braves head to the West Coast for the last week and start against these same Giants.

Ferguson Jenkins allowed 7 hits over 8 innings and capped a five-run rally in the first inning with his own two-run double as the Cubs thumped the Cardinals, 6-1, and giving Jenkins his 277th career win. But the magic number for the Cardinals still dropped to two when Mookie Wilson's two-run RBI with two outs in the 7th lifted the Mets to a 6-4 win over second place Philadelphia. Larry McWilliams tossed a five-hitter while Jason Thompson and Jim Morrison socked homers in Pittsburgh's 3-0 win over the Expos that leaves Montreal all but dead in the NL East. Nolan Ryan struck out 11, the 144th time in his career he has struck out at least ten batters, and notched his 16th win in Houston's 4-0 win over Cincinnati that saw the Astros score all of their runs on a pair of two-run doubles.

With rookie Bob Scube on third base in the 8th inning of a 3-2 game, rookie John Shelby fielded Cecil Cooper's attempt at a sacrifice fly and threw Scube out at home on one bounce, completing a double play and preserving Baltimore's lead. Adding two insurance runs in the 9th, the Orioles toppled the Brewers, 5-2, cutting Milwaukee's lead in the AL East to two games. Larry Parrish smashed a three-run homer to highlight a four-run first that propelled the Texas Rangers to a 7-5 win over first-place California, 7-5. Mike Heath's run scoring single with two outs in the 8th lifted Oakland to a 5-4 win over Kansas City, the Royals' 9th loss in their last ten games. Jim Rice's two out triple in the 7th gave Boston a lead they never surrendered in a 5-2 Red Sox win over the New York Yankees. Ron Washington went 4-for-4 and Gary Gaetti socked his 25th homer in Minnesota's 2-1 edging of the Chicago White Sox. Scoring two runs on Detroit errors was enough as the Cleveland Indians edged the Tigers, 4-3. Dave Stieb topped Floyd Bannister, who recorded his league leading 200th strikeout but was hurt by three errors in Toronto's 6-2 win over Seattle.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 27, 1982
Atlanta Braves 7 (W: Niekro, 16-4)
San Francisco Giants 0 (L: Martin, 7-9)
85-71
1st place
TIED

BRAVES SHUT OUT GIANTS TO MOVE BACK INTO FIRST;
CARDS CLINCH FIRST POSTSEASON SINCE '68;
ANGELS MAGIC NUMBER IS 2

Rafael Ramirez hit his fourth home run in the last seven games, Chris Chambliss keyed a five-run uprising with a two-run double, and 43-year-old Phil Niekro went the distance allowing only two hits and striking out five as the Atlanta Braves downed the San Francisco Giants, 7-0, ending the Giants' five-game winning streak. The Giants also made three errors, including two by pitcher Renie Martin, disappointing their largest home crowd of the season. Combined with the Dodgers' 6-1 loss at the hands of Mario Soto and the Cincinnati Reds, the Braves moved into first place in the NL West with six games to go. The outcome was never in doubt as Ramirez socked a solo home run in the third inning to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead. Dale Murphy then drew a walk, moved to second on an errant pickoff throw, stole third and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Chambliss to push the Atlanta lead to 2-0. An inning later, the game ended early for all intents and purposes.

Jerry Royster led off with a single, stole second, and moved to third on Glenn Hubbard's attempted sacrifice bunt. When the attempt to nail Royster at third failed, Hubbard himself was aboard, giving the Braves runners at the corners with nobody out. Bruce Benedict singled Royster home to make it 3-0 and then Hubbard and Benedict both moved ahead a base when Martin balked. Niekro struck out for the first out of the inning and after an intentional walk to Claudell Washington loaded the bases, Martin gave way to reliever Andy McGaffigan. But an error by shortstop Johnnie LeMaster scored Hubbard and Benedict to make it 5-0 and after Dale Murphy struck out, Chambliss hit his two-run double to close out the scoring as well as the Giants. San Diego's 7-3 loss to Houston officially eliminated the Padres.

Rookie Willie McGee's three-run inside-the-park home run sent Busch Stadium into a tizzy and pushed the Cardinals out to a 4-0 first inning lead that proved to be all the runs St Louis would either score or need as the Cardinals beat the Expos, 4-2, in a game with the start delayed 63 minutes by rain. As word reached the stadium and broadcasters that the Cubs were blowing out second place Philadelphia, 8-1, everyone realized the Cardinals would clinch their first-ever NL Eastern Division title with a win. Bruce Sutter got his 36th save as he retired three possible future Hall of Famers - Andre Dawson, Al Oliver, and Gary Carter - to seal the division title. In the clubhouse afterwards, McGee was asked who the Cardinals would rather face in the NLCS and showing the enthusiasm of a rookie as opposed to the experience of a veteran who would have more sense than to answer that, McGee said he wanted to face Atlanta simply because right now the Giants were the hottest team in baseball and had momentum. McGee got the first necessary step in his wish when Atlanta won hours later.

With tonight's 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals, the California Angels can clinch the AL West for the second time in four years with a win tomorrow. The Royals took an early 1-0 lead on U.L. Washington's first inning home run and later extended the lead to 2-0 when Hal McRae scored on Bombo Rivera's RBI single. But striking out five and allowing no further runs, Angels starter Tommy John weathered the rough beginning and thanks to Don Baylor's RBI double that broke a 2-2 tie in the 7th, John lifted his record to 14-12.

The Orioles and Brewers had their last off day of the season as the two teams head into the final six games of the year with the Brewers holding a two-game lead. The two teams will close out the season with a four-game series against each other.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 28, 1982
Atlanta Braves 8 (W: Perez, 3-4)
San Francisco Giants 3 (L: Laskey, 13-12)
86-71
1st place
1 game ahead

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 29, 1982
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Garber, 8-10)
Los Angeles Dodgers 3 (L: Forster, 5-6)
12 innings
87-71
1st place
2 games ahead

BRAVES' BULLPEN HOLDS IN LA'S 8TH STRAIGHT LOSS;
ATLANTA IN DRIVER'S SEAT, UP 2 WITH 4 LEFT;
KC KEEPS HOPES ALIVE WITH 6-5 WIN OVER ANGELS

If the Atlanta Braves win the Western Division title on Sunday, remember this game and remember this name: Terry Harper. The part-time backup outfielder called up to the big leagues to stay in July socked his first homer of the season to tie the game at one in the fourth and saved his best for last, an RBI single with two on and nobody out in the 12th after the Dodgers walked slugger Bob Watson that broke a 2-2 tie. The Atlanta bullpen, a fright show at times this year, tossed the final 6.1 innings and scattered six hits while giving up two runs, which means they did their jobs adequately. The first run surrendered by the bullpen, courtesy of two singles and a stolen base that scored Bill Russell in the 7th, tied the game but did not cause them to lose the game. The second came in the 12th when they allowed Ken Landreaux to score on a double play that cleared the bases and brought Steve Garvey to the plate with a chance to tie the game. He flew out to center, and Gene Garber's stellar last 4 innings resulted in his 8th win of the year. With four games left, the Braves are in the driver's seat, leading both the Dodgers and Giants by two games.

Home runs by Jeff Leonard and Chili Davis powered the Giants to a 6-1 win over the Astros, keeping their hopes still alive if flickering. Two early doubles by Jason Thompson drove in two runs before he was forced to leave the contest with a jammed right wrist suffered on a slide as the Pirates topped the second-string Cardinals, 7-3. Steve Carlton tossed his six shutout and 18th complete game of 1982 as Philadelphia beat Montreal, 4-0, to give the 37-year-old lefty his 22nd win. He's a shoo-in for the National League Cy Young Award, and he looks to be the oldest pitcher to ever lead a league in strikeouts. Four Bill Buckner hits, including a home run, snapped the Mets' four-game winning streak as the Cubs topped New York, 4-1. Terry Kennedy's 10th inning single scored Broderick Perkins and Alan Wiggins, turning a 2-1 extra inning deficit into a 3-2 San Diego win over Cincinnati.

California's magic number remains two after the Royals rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the seventh inning with a four-run inning capped by U.L. Washington's two-run single with the bases loaded that led to a 6-5 win for Kansas City. But Kansas City now has to rely upon the lowly Texas Rangers to keep California from clinching the division flag. One out from the chance to win the contest with no rebuttal in the bottom of the 9th, reliever Mark Clear gave up a three-run home run by Ned Yost, his first of the season, that pushed the Brewers on to victory over the Red Sox, 6-3. Ken Griffey went 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs as the Yankees trounced the Indians, 13-6. John Wockenfuss led off the bottom of the 9th against Baltimore with a game-winning solo home run off Tippy Martinez, giving the Detroit Tigers a 3-2 win and seriously damaging the Orioles' division title hopes. Brad Havens got his tenth win by scattering 9 hits and Gary Ward had 4 RBIs as the Twins routed the Blue Jays, 8-0. Four Oakland errors assured their defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers, 5-3. Harold Baines's 24th homer and Greg Walker's two-run triple lifted the White Sox to a 6-5 triumph over the Mariners.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 30, 1982
Los Angeles Dodgers 10 (W: Hooton, 4-7; SV: Beckwith, 1)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Camp, 11-12)
87-72
1st place
2 games ahead

LA BLASTS BRAVES; 1 DOWN WITH 3 TO GO;
PRUITT'S 2-OUT HIT KEEPS SF ALIVE;
O'S RALLY WITH 4 INNING FINAL FRAME;
LeFLORE ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

Four batters into the game, the Atlanta Braves were quickly out in front of the Dodgers, 2-0, thanks to singles by Rafael Ramirez and Chris Chambliss sandwiched around an RBI double by Dale Murphy. Four innings into the game, the Braves were down, 4-2, mostly due to a three-run Dodger third that included three singles, a sacrifice bunt, an error by Claudell Washington, and a wild pitch by Atlanta starter Rick Camp. Four innings later, the game was all but over as Los Angeles against tore into Atlanta's erratic bullpen for six more runs, torching Steve Bedrosian for four runs on three hits in just 1/3 of an inning and closing the gap in the NL West race to one game with three to play with a 10-3 final score that ends the season series in favor of the Dodgers, 11-7. And wouldn't you know it, the Dodgers have to face their arch nemesis, the San Francisco Giants, whose dramatic rally from a 5-0 deficit at the Seventh Inning Stretch keeps them just one game behind and a possibility at facing St Louis themselves.

While the Atlanta-Los Angeles game was largely void of any drama, there was plenty to go around, particularly among the second-place pennant contenders. The Giants were down to their last out with the bases loaded and trailing, 6-5, when journeyman Ron Pruitt laced a 3-1 delivery from Dave Smith into centerfield for his first hit of 1982, scoring both Jeff Leonard and Darrell Evans to save San Francisco's season in a 7-6 win that saw the Giants not only fall into a 5-0 hole but give up the lead again on Harry Spilman's ninth inning solo homer. The Giants are now 20-6 in their last 26 games with a season-ending series with LA on tap.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers' magic number is two, but Baltimore will not go down without a fight, either. The Orioles trailed the Tigers in Detroit by scores of both 4-0 and 5-1, and even entered the 9th inning down, 5-2. But four hits and two walks led to four Oriole runs, and John Flinn finished the Tigers off in the 9th to complete his fifth inning of relief and earned a 6-5 win. Baltimore now trails Milwaukee by three games - with a four-game series between the two to decide the AL East winner. Wille Mays Aikens smashed two home runs, the second a grand slam, and had 7 RBIs to keep the Kansas City Royals alive with an 11-4 drilling of the Oakland Athletics. Frank White also homered while going 2-for-4 and scoring three times. The Royals remain two behind the idle Angels.

In other games, Milwaukee drilled two homers but were blown out in Boston, 9-4. Andre Thornton hit his 32nd homer of the year, but it wasn't enough to keep the Yankees from beating Cleveland, 7-5. Rookie Kent Hrbek staked his claim for Rookie of the Year with his 23rd home run, but the Twins, who raced out with two runs in the top of the first gave up four in the bottom of the first, and the Blue Jays held on to give Luis Leal his 12th win, 6-4. Lee Smith got his 17th save when Willie Hernandez failed, staving off a Mets comeback in the Cubs' 3-1 win at Shea. Manny Trillo scored on a Garry Maddox double to give the Phillies a 5-4 win over the Expos. The Cardinals played a bunch of reserves and pulled their starters early with the division already clinched, helping the Pirates to a 7-2 win in Pittsburgh that saw Manny Sarmiento win his 9th. The Reds beat the Padres, 6-4.

Ron LeFlore, the fleet base stealer discovered while serving time for robbery in Jackson State Penitentiary, was arrested at his North Side of Chicago condominium and charged with possession of drugs. LeFlore, whose story inspired the 1978 movie-of-the-week "One In A Million," starring LeVar Burton, did not deny having drugs, but he denied having a drug problem. An average at best fielding outfielder, LeFlore has stolen 455 bases in his major league career that helped him secure parole for his 5-15 year robbery sentence in 1974. LeFlore's stolen bases rank him 33rd all-time in that category.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

October 1, 1982
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Niekro, 17-4)
San Diego Padres 0 (L: Show, 10-6)
88-72
1st place
1 game ahead

SEASON BARRELS TO CLIMACTIC ENDING WITH THREE DIVISIONS STILL UNDECIDED;
NIEKRO LEADS ATL TO 4-0 WIN WITH HOME RUN AND THREE-HIT SHUTOUT;
MONDAY'S GRAND SLAM LIFTS LA TO WIN;
O'S SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER FROM MILWAUKEE

The 1982 baseball season began with the Atlanta Braves in San Diego with a win, and the Braves hope it ends in San Diego with a division title. With a one-game lead on the second-place Dodgers, the Braves control their own destiny, and tonight they turned it over to their 43-year-old ageless wonder, Phil Niekro, the only member of the Braves team who was also a member of their 1969 division title. Saying this was the kind of weekend he had longed for his entire career, Niekro went out and tossed a three-hit shutout and practically won the game by himself, smashing a two-run clinching home run off San Diego starter Eric Show to give the Braves a 3-0 lead in a game they eventually closed out with a 4-0 win. It was Niekro's first home run since July 28, 1976.

Needing a win desperately - both teams - the Dodgers and Giants took a scoreless tie into the 8th until Rick Monday, whose solo shot won the LCS for Los Angeles last year in Montreal, drilled a grand slam for the only runs of the game and gave the Dodgers a 4-0 win. The California Angels clinched at least a tie for the division title with - can you believe this? - a 4-0 win over the Texas Rangers, keyed by Fred Lynn's 20th home run of the season. Four Kansas City home runs kept the Royals' dwindling chances alive as they beat Oakland, 12-7. But the fun of the day was in Baltimore, where the Orioles - who cannot lose or they're finished - blew out the Milwaukee Brewers in both ends of a doubleheader, 8-3 and 7-1, to close the gap to one game in the AL East. The Orioles clobbered Brewer pitching for no less than 28 hits on the afternoon.

Two games to go and three divisions undecided.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

October 2, 1982
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Perez, 4-4; SV: Garber, 30)
San Diego Padres 2 (L: Montefusco, 10-11)
89-72
1st place
1 game ahead

BRAVES CLINCH TIE FOR DIVISION TITLE;
ANGELS WIN 2ND TITLE IN 4 YEARS;
DODGERS ELIMINATE GIANTS
ORIOLES FORCE WINNER-TAKE-ALL WITH BREWERS

A truly wild day and night of baseball leads to the wildest of them all: tomorrow, the winner of the Milwaukee at Baltimore series wins the division and faces the California Angels while the results of the two NL West games on the West Coast will determine whether the Braves face the Cardinals or have a one-game playoff against the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine on Monday.

The most important news is that home runs by Fred Lynn, Reggie Jackson, and Bobby Grich - all free agent signings - propelled the California Angels over the Texas Rangers, 6-4, and clinched their second AL West division title in four years. While the Royals did rally to beat the Athletics, it wasn't enough to prevent the clinch. Baltimore, meanwhile, blasted 18 hits off of three Brewers pitchers and chased 11 runs across the plate in an 11-3 rout that sets up winner-take-all matchup tomorrow between future Hall of Fame hurlers Don Sutton of Milwaukee and Jim Palmer of Baltimore.

Joining the Royals with an early winter and the Brewers as victims of a blowout, the San Francisco Giants' competitive season ended courtesy of a 15-2 shellacking at the hands of the Dodgers, who now must win tomorrow and hope the Padres knock off the Braves. The Giants, however, do have incentive: they can return the favor with a win over LA. And that brings us to baseball's freshest Horatio Alger story, the Atlanta Braves.

Thanks to a Chris Chambliss solo shot off of John Montefusco and effective pitching from Pascual Perez and Gene Garber, the Braves beat the Padres, 4-2, to clinch at least a tie for the division title. Win tomorrow and they're in. Lose tomorrow, and their hopes ride on the Giants to beat LA or to win a one-game playoff. It's been one hell of a baseball season, and it's sad to see it end tomorrow.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

October 3, 1982
San Diego Padres 5 (W: Lollar, 16-9; SV: Dravecky, 2)
Atlanta Braves 1 (L: Camp, 11-13)
89-73
1st place
1 game ahead
NL WEST DIVISION CHAMPIONS

BRAVES LOSE BATTLE BUT WIN THE PENNANT;
BREWERS WIN FIRST AL TITLE IN TEAM HISTORY;
EARL WEAVER MANAGES LAST GAME;
DOES WILLIE WILSON DESERVE AL BATTING TITLE?

On October 3, 1951, Bobby Thompson drilled a three-run home run to left field that crushed the pennant hopes of the Dodgers and is now the most famous home run in baseball history. Thirty-one years to the day later, future Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan drilled a three-run home run to right field that crushed the pennant hopes of the Dodgers in a case of "deja vu all over again". And while this home run will not go down into history near as famous as the predecessor, the end result is similar if not the same. An upstart team that was three games out on September 22 wound up finishing in first on October 3, and the Dodgers were victims both times.

To be fair, the Atlanta Braves are not by any stretch undeserving NL West champions. Their season ended the exact same way it began, with a pitcher named Rick on the mound and the Atlanta offense scoring one run on four hits in Jack Murphy Stadium against the Padres. The run, just like on April 6, was scored in the fifth inning. The difference, of course, is that this time the Braves lost. Rookie Tony Gwynn strode to the plate with the Padres trailing, 1-0, courtesy of Terry Harper's solo home run and ignited a rally by leading off the inning with a single. Two singles later, the bases were loaded, and Atlanta starter Rick Camp lost the strike zone, walking opposing pitcher Tim Lollar with the bases loaded to tie the game. Rookie speedster Alan Wiggins then laced a triple that scored all three runners ahead of him, and Wiggins himself scored on a Gene Richards sacrifice fly. The scoring was over, and the Padres held on the rest of the way to triumph, 5-1. At that point, Atlanta began mentally preparing for a trip 125 miles up the Coast and a one-game playoff because the Dodgers were tied at two in the seventh. But Morgan smacked a Tom Niedenfuer delivery into the seats in right to give the Giants the lead, and although a pair of doubles in the 8th closed the margin to two and brought up both Steve Garvey and Rick Monday as the tying runs, Greg Minton allowed nothing more, as the defeat sent the Dodgers home along with the Giants until the spring of 1983. The Braves will face the St Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, the first-ever appearance for the Cardinals and second for the Braves, who won the first NL West title in 1969. The city from whence the Braves came is celebrating just as loudly.

The Milwaukee Brewers, mired in sixth place with a 23-24 record that ended the managerial reign of Buck Rodgers, were on the verge of blowing the pennant with a four-game losing streak to end the season at the hands of the preseason favorite Baltimore Orioles. And they were facing future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, who despite missing a chunk of the season still had a stellar record of 15-4. But two early home runs by Robin Yount and stellar pitching by (probably) another future Hall of Famer in Don Sutton, the Brewers took an early lead and then absolutely torched the Oriole bullpen for a five-run ninth that capped a 10-2 rout that gave the Brewers the win and their first pennant in team history as well as the first for the city of Milwaukee since, well, the Braves in 1958. It also rubbed salt into the wound of the final game managed by Oriole legend Earl Weaver.

Yount wound up going 3-for-4 with 4 runs and 2 RBIs, but he wound up losing the batting title in a way that may cause an investigation by the league. Willie Wilson won the batting title - barely - by sitting out the season's final game after saying he would play. The only way Robin Yount was going to win the batting title was to put on a stellar performance, which of course, he did. Wilson, of course, would have been playing had the Royals not been eliminated from the pennant race yesterday. And Wilson claims his Manager Dick Howser was the one who had him sit. And that's where the whiff of scandal arises.

Wilson began the final day of the 1982 season with a batting average of .332 while Yount had one of .328. Wilson's story is that Howser and General Manager John Schuerholz told him to sit since the pennant was lost and take the batting title as a consolation. They noted Yount could only beat Wilson if the Milwaukee shortstop went 4-for-4. And the Kansas City dugout kept in touch with the press box throughout the game for updates on Yount. When the probable MVP went 3-for-3, that's when things got weird. Yount was at the plate in Baltimore at the same time as the Royals-Athletics game was in the bottom of the 9th with two outs and Mark Ryal was at the plate. Ryal called time out, walked out of the batter's box, and went to the dugout to adjust his glasses, wasting a couple of minutes. When Ryal returned to the batter's box, Oakland Manager Billy Martin went to the mound to chat with pitcher Dave Beard and wasted another couple of minutes by having the Oakland athletic trainer come out to the mound with a towel and "administer aid" to the "ailing" pitcher. At one point, Martin was seen looking at his old friend Howser with "well?" Martin even admitted after the game that he was buying time for Howser to see if Wilson needed to come up to the plate. Yount then put a fright in everyone by leading off the 8th inning with a triple, bringing him precariously close to passing Wilson. In fact, had Yount not flied out to right in the fifth inning, he would have been leading. The Royals then made the assessment that it was unlikely Yount would bat again and even if he did, it was unlikely he would get a hit. Ryal grounded out to short to end the 1982 baseball season for Kansas City, and the postgame press conference ensued. That's where Howser flat out lied by saying it had nothing to do with the batting title only to reverse course when told Martin had said it did. The two teams were wrong: because Milwaukee tore into the Baltimore bullpen for a five-run 9th inning, Yount batted again. Incredibly, he was hit by a pitch, negating any attempt at winning the batting title. The Royals, of course, will insist that Willie Wilson is a legitimate batting champion, but the actions of both Martin and Howser beg a rather obvious question: if they were willing to go to such lengths to ensure Wilson won the batting title, would Wilson have been served an easy pitch down the middle to ensure he got a hit and won it if necessary? And what does that say about the situation or the ethics of the managers or the game?

Playoff previews begin tomorrow.