Gettysburg Times - October 15, 1980

McBride, Boone Heroes

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP)— Bake McBride is a likely hero. Bob Boone isn't. At least not this year.

But Boone, the Phillies' crippled catcher, shared the credit with McBride for the Phillies 7-6 triumph over the Kansas City Royals in the first game of the 1980 World Series.

McBride's three-run homer in the third keyed a five-run rally that turned a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead the National League champions never lost.

McBride with his .309 average and 87 RBI, won a lot of games for the Phiilies in their drive to the NL pennant. Boone struggled through a .228 season, went home rnost nights with the boos of the fans ringing in his ears.

But it was Boone who started the Phiilies' comeback with an RBI double in the five-run third. And it was Boone who doubled across a fourth inning ran

"Bob Boone is catching ... because he's been swinging the bat much better in the last 10 days." said Phillies manager Dallas Green.

Boone said his improved hitting lately involved a lot of mechanics.

"When you are hitting well. there are a lot of little things that go into the mechanics. Within the last couple of weeks my hitting has come around."

Boone played despite a bruised left foot that might have kept a lot of players on the bench. He said that after the NL clincher in Houston Sunday the left foot was swollen like an egg. The trainer taped it and kept the swelling down.

"You put pain out of your mind when you get to the World Series." said Boone. "I've waited too long to get here to worry about that now."

Boone, of course, didn't win this first game by himseif. McBride. a clutch hitter all season, provided the key blow with his three-run shot over the right field fenee.

McBride said he had been worried that he might be drained from the nerve wracking playoff series. He admitted feeling drained, but he didn't play like it.

"You have to be excited when you hit a home run that wins a game." McBride said. "But I don't want to get into the habit of hitting home runs. It's fouled up my swing before."

Green said he was impressed with the American League champion Royals.

"They kept clawing at vou." said the Phillies' manager.

Reliever Tug McGraw, who pitched two scoreless innings and earned a save, said, "My strongest desire now is to prove Howard Cosell wrong. "He said they went to the well too often with me in the Houston series. He doesn't know that much about baseball."

McGraw has worked in eight of the last nine Phiihes games, which obviously prompted Cosell's remark on television during the NL playoffs.

McGraw said he'd be ready to pitch again tonight.

Bob Walk, the first rookie to pitch an opening game of a World Series in 28 years, worked seven innings and was credited with the victory.

Walk, who gave up eight hits and six runs, insisted he wasn't nervous before the game, but felt shakey after it started. He fell behind 4-0.

"I didn't have my usual velocity." he said. "What lifted everybody up was the five-run rally in the third. I saw what those guys (the offense) were doing and I said to myself. "I've got to do my part.' "

Program Record Set

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP)— Philadelphia baseball fans set an unofficial World Series record Tuesday night by purchasing 32,800 game programs before the first pitch by the Phillies' 1950 manager Eddie Sawyer.

That left vendors emptyhanded during the game, and Phillies' officials frantic about programs for Game Two of the series.