The first part of our day was spent getting ready. We packed up the remainder of Eric's things as he would be moving out of the dorms and into a fraternity house with the start of summer classes. We spent some time playing Strat, and in the late afternoon we headed north on the 82 mile drive to Milwaukee County Stadium.
Even though this was the first game on our trip, it was probably the one we were least excited about. In a very real sense, the trip was not just about seeing various teams play, but even more so about seeing them play at different stadiums. We were VERY excited about seeing four of the six stadiums we'd go to. The Cardinals would be playing in one of the other two games. And then there was this game.
No disrespect to Milwaukee fans is intended. I'm sure if I had grown up in Milwaukee, I would have great memories of County Stadium and would remember it fondly. As an outsider who visited it though, it was pretty non-descript. There was nothing wrong with it per se, I just remember thinking that there was really nothing in particular to commend it. I take that back; the bratwursts were the best ballpark brats I'd ever had! In retrospect, I should have had greater respect for the history of the stadium...it was after all, where the great Hank Aaron played the majority of his career (1954-65 & 1975-76).
It was kind of neat for two Cardinals fans who had grown up in the 80s to visit the site where the Redbirds had played in the 1982 World Series, the last that they had won at the time! Especially memorable was rookie Willie McGee's classic performance in game three, when he hit two home runs off former Cardinal Pete Vuckovich, and squelched a ninth inning Brewers rally with a great defensive play.
As for tonight's game, the Oakland A's were visiting the Brewers. Oakland was the three-time American League champion from 1988-1990, and a truly dominant team winning an average of 102 games per season. I can remember wondering in the midst of their run how long it would be until someone in the AL would be able to dethrone them.
In the midst of a dynasty, it often seems as if it will go on forever. The reality is though, that all dynasties come to an end, and 1991 would be the year that would happen for the A's as they went 84-78. But in 1992, the A's would bounce back, winning 96 games and taking the AL West once more.
Mark McGwire led the charge for the A's. It would be his sixth straight season as an all star, as he finished fourth in the MVP voting with 42 home runs and 104 RBIs. Despite having a down season, Jose Canseco would be elected to his fifth all star game. One of the most dominant players in baseball from 1986-1991, just a couple months after we saw him play, Canseco would be traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Jeff Russell, Ruben Sierra and Bobby Witt.
The A's were star-studded, even if we didn't get to see them all shine. Nine time all star Goose Gossage was getting close to the end of a Hall of Fame career. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was on the disabled list at the time, so we didn't get to see him play. Relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley would win both the Cy Young Award and the MVP, going 7-1 with 51 saves. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see him this night either. DH Harrold Baines was a six-time all star, including the previous season.
With all of the all stars in their lineup though, the hitting star that evening for Oakland would be second baseman Mike Bordick. He went 4 for 5 on the night to raise his season batting average to .340. He would finish the season hitting .300 and would (believe it or not) actually show up in the 1992 AL MVP voting.
The Brewers, even with Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, managed only four hits, and fell at home to the mighty A's 6-1. We made the (relatively) easy drive back to campus, less than 90 miles away and settled in for a good night's sleep. Have another game to go to tomorrow!
Miles Driven Today: 164 miles
Total Miles Driven: 485 miles
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| Due Up: Canseco, Baines & McGwire. Back in 1992, we thought they might all end up in Cooperstown. Alas, none of them did until Baines entered in the class of 2019. |
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| But the Brewers did have two players now in the Hall, including centerfielder, Robin Yount. |
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| Not many photos from Milwaukee; not a whole lot to see. But the ballpark brats sure were great! |
Athletics
6
33-24
Won 1
1st
|
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 R H E
- -
- - -
- - -
- - - -
Athletics
2 0 0
0 0 0
0 3 1
6 15 1
Brewers
0 0 0
0 0 0
1 0 0
1 4 1
W: K Campbell (2-0), L: R Robinson (0-2)
|
Brewers
1
29-26
Lost 1
3rd, 5½ GB
|
BATTING
Oakland Athletics AB
R H RBI BB SO BA
OPS Pit PO A
Details
L Blankenship LF 6 0
1 1 0
1 .253 .723
20 1 0
J Browne 3B 5 1
1 0 0
1 .250 .575
20 0 2 2B
J Canseco RF 4 1
2 1 0
0 .253 .790
24 4 0 SF
H Baines DH 3 0
2 1 2
0 .219 .592
23 0 0 CS
M McGwire 1B 4 0
1 1 0
1 .277 1.067 13
10 1 SF
T Steinbach C 3 1
1 0 1
0 .260 .761
14 2 1
J Quirk C 1 1
1 0 0
0 .263 .643
3 0 0 2B
W Wilson CF 3 0
0 0 2
2 .251 .663
26 4 0
M Bordick 2B 5 1
4 1 0
0 .340 .776
15 3 2 2B
W Weiss SS 5 1
2 1 0
0 .286 .619
12 2 5
2·CS
K Campbell P 0 1
R Honeycutt P
0 0
R Gossage P
1 0
Totals 39 6
15 6 5
5 170 27 12
BATTING
2B:
M Bordick (5, off D Plesac);
J Quirk (2, off D Plesac);
J Browne (1, off R Robinson).
SF: M McGwire (4, off R Robinson);
J Canseco (3, off M Fetters).
TB: M Bordick 5;
J Canseco 2; H Baines 2; J Browne 2;
W Weiss 2; J Quirk 2; M McGwire; L Blankenship;
T Steinbach.
RBI: H Baines (20);
L Blankenship (16); M McGwire (47);
J Canseco (39); W Weiss (2);
M Bordick (22).
2-out RBI: M Bordick.
Team LOB: 13.
With RISP: 6 for 19.
FIELDING
DP: 1. M Bordick-M McGwire.
E: W Weiss
(1).
BASERUNNING
CS:
H Baines (2, 2nd base by J Austin/B Surhoff);
W Weiss 2 (2, 2nd base by R Robinson/B Surhoff, 2nd base by B Ruffin/B Surhoff).
Milwaukee Brewers AB
R H RBI BB SO BA
OPS Pit PO A
Details
P Listach SS 4 0
0 0 0
2 .282 .672
18 3 2
K Seitzer 3B 4 0
1 0 0
0 .303 .769
16 0 1
P Molitor DH 3 0
0 0 1 0
.319 .892 11
0 0
G Vaughn LF 4 0
0 0 0
0 .196 .680
8 2 0
R Yount CF 4 1
1 0 0
0 .277 .757
17 1 0
D Hamilton RF 4 0
2 0 0
0 .262 .680
17 3 0
2B,CS
B Surhoff C 2 0
0 0 1
0 .200 .498
14 5 3
GDP
F Stubbs 1B 2 0
0 0 1
0 .190 .648
8 4 1
J Gantner 2B 2 0
0 0 0
0 .229 .565
4 8 0
S Fletcher PH-2B 1 0
0 0 0
0 .316 .793
3 1 0
R Robinson P
0 1
B Ruffin P
0 0
J Austin P
0 0
J Orosco P
0 0
M Fetters P 0 0
D Plesac P
0 0
Totals 30 1
4 0 3
2 116 27 8
BATTING
2B: D Hamilton (4, off K Campbell).
TB: D Hamilton 3; R Yount;
K Seitzer.
GIDP: B Surhoff (4).
Team LOB: 5.
With RISP: 0 for 2.
FIELDING
DP: 2. B Surhoff-J Gantner 2.
E: P Listach (9).
BASERUNNING
CS: D Hamilton (3, 2nd base by K Campbell/T Steinbach).
PITCHING
Oakland Athletics IP
H R ER BB SO
HR ERA BF
Pit-Str GB-FB GmSc
IR-IS
K Campbell, W (2-0) 6 1
0 0 3
2 0 2.16
22 79-44 7-8
69 -
R Honeycutt, H (10) 1 2
1 1 0
0 0 3.86
4 10-9 1-1 0-0
R Gossage 2 1
0 0 0
0 0 3.10
7 27-19 3-3 0-0
Totals 9 4
1 1 3
2 0 33
116-72 11-12 0-0
Milwaukee Brewers IP
H R ER BB SO HR ERA
BF Pit-Str GB-FB
GmSc IR-IS
R Robinson, L (0-2) 5 9
2 2 3
1 0 6.62
26 94-55 2-11
39 -
B Ruffin 1 1
0 0 0
1 0 6.67
3 11-7 1-0 0-0
J Austin 1 0
1 1 2
1 0 2.95
4 23-10 1-0 0-0
J Orosco 0.1
1 2 1
0 1 0
5.27 3 13-7
0-0 1-1
M Fetters 1 1
0 0 0
0 0 0.00
5 15-11 1-2 2-2
D Plesac 0.2
3 1 1
0 1 0
4.80 5 14-13
0-1 0-0
Totals 9 15
6 5 5
5 0 46
170-103 5-14 3-3
J Austin
faced 1 batter in the 8th inning.
Balks: None.
WP: None.
IBB: None.
HBP: None.
OTHER
Umpires: HP - Larry Barnett, 1B - Greg Kosc, 2B
- Gary Cederstrom, 3B - Al Clark.
Time of
Game: 3:17.
Attendance: 15,056.
Field
Condition: Unknown.
Weather: 73° F, Wind 12mph in from Leftfield,
Cloudy, No Precipitation.
Blasphemy! Milwaukee County Stadium was a far more interesting stadium than Busch Stadium I ever could have been! Busch was one of those identi-kit round bowls with Astroturf that blighted baseball in the 1970s and 1980s, along with Three Rivers, Riverfront, and Veterans and, with a dome, the Astrodome itself.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, MCS was the Stadium I grew up going to as a kid. It was never -- and could never be -- one of those multimedia experiences the way stadiums these days are. By 1991, the Stadium was showing its wear. It was built in the early 1950s for the Braves, so it was 40 years old by time you saw it. It was of a different era.
And yes, you brought up 1982 which brought back bad memories for me. I attended Game 5 of that World Series. I still hate Willie McGee.
Also, it was a photogenic stadium. After all, it stood in for Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the movie Major League.
DeleteFive years late, but thanks for the comments! And as I said, I should have had more respect for the stadium's history!
Delete