Allentown Morning Call - October 5, 1980
Phils were toast of the town
By Stan Schaffer, Of the Call-Chronicle
They were sitting at the long, wood-grained bar last night, straining their necks to the right as the bottom of the 11th inning between the Phillies and Expos rolled across the color TV screen.
The bar at the Brass Rail Restaurant on Hamilton Street was about as quiet as a bar could get under tense baseball viewing conditions. The patrons, like fans in other ' bars throughout Pennsylvania, held their breath and hoped their Phillies would take a big step toward the World Series.
Then it happened.
Tug McGraw stung Montreal with three strike outs. Earlier, Mike Schmidt hit a two-run homer that pushed the Phils ahead 6-4. The fans in the bar echoed the emotions of those displayed in Montreal – at least those of the winning Phillies.
It was 9: 15 p.m. The Phillies had captured the National League East for the fourth time in five years. It was Schmidt's 48th home run of the year and McGraw's firepower that catapulted the Philadelphia team into the National League playoffs. They'll play at home Tuesday and Wednesday at Veterans Stadium, and later in the week they'll be up against the Houston Astros or the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Western Division site.
For most of the 30 or 40 people hoisting glasses of amber brew amid a veil of thin blue smoke, the jubilation was apparent. They were jumping and cheering: "Hooray Phillies! " Some joyful fans bought each other drinks with the salute: "To the Phillies and the World Series."
"I knew they were going to win," said one patron as he turned to the man next to him. The man agreed.
But it wasn't always that way.
Earlier in the evening, tie scores, strike outs and the usual ups and downs of a baseball game raised questions.
"If they don't do It tonight, they never will," shouted one Phillies fan above the noise as he tended bar and listened to the game.
A foul ball is hit. The TV commentator says it makes one a little nervous. "A little nervous," shouts a fan as if the announcer could hear him.
"I don't believe it," shouts a fan as a ball pops out of a Phillie's glove. "C'mon ya turkey," yells another fan. Even the bartenders are close to the screen when they're not making the rounds. Emotions are running high.
"I know I'm right. I know the Phillies are going to win. I've been watching 'em for the last five years," says Irv Distler of Northampton. But Montreal was leading 4-3 at that point. The seventh inning had ended.
"Win or lose,, the Phillies give you a good show," shouts a fan to Distler's left. Then they continued talking about baseball strategy and the game delay because of the rain.
"Is it always this crowded?" one of the patrons asks the tall bartender who is wearing glasses.
"This is nothing compared to the World Series," he answers while serving another thirsty customer.
The bartender doesn't look too happy with the way the game is going. A fan heckles him about it, adding that "he's from Montreal." Another Phillies fan yells intermittently: "If the Phillies win, the bartender has to buy everybody a drink." But that man left shortly afterward.
McGraw finished stinging Montreal. The players left the field, and champagne flowed in the wake of victory.
The bartender, the one reportedly from Montreal, sat on a little stool near one end of the bar. He didn't look too happy. For him, it was all over.
Schmidt No. 48 – Phillies No. 1
Tug and Mike Show 2nd straight day
By Ted Meixell, Call Sports Writer
MONTREAL – Mike Schmidt has hit 283 home runs in his eight-year major league career. The 283rd and his 48th this season came in the top of the 11th inning yesterday on a 2-0 pitch from reliever Stan Bahnsen with Pete Rose on first base.
Later, he had this to say about it: "That was No. 1, my friends."
What was all the fuss over one homer? For openers, it gave the Phillies a 6-4 win over Montreal in perhaps the most bizarre divisional title game ever played, thus eliminating the Expos from the National League East race and giving the Phils their fourth crown in five years.
Secondly, it provided Schmitty with his 120th and 121st RBIs of the year and his team-leading 17th game-winner, thus reinforcing the Schmidt-for-MVP case.
Most important of all, perhaps, is that it may have silenced forever the Schmidt critics who say, "Yeah, but he never hits 'em when they count."
"The first one (division crown)," the always composed third baseman said in the riotous locker room, "is always hard to top. But this one is right up there with it, I'll tell you. What was it? A fastball, up, I guess. Either that or a slider that didn't break."
The Phils' second-teamers will no doubt face a collection of Expo rookies at 3:05 p.m. today in the now meaningless season finale. The big guys will rest and no doubt keep their eyes on the tube in the clubhouse to learn whether they'll be facing Houston or Los Angeles when the N. L. playoffs begin at 8:15 Tuesday night at Veterans Stadium.
For the second straight day, it was "The Tug & Mike Show." Tug (McGraw) came into a 4-4 ballgame in the bottom of the ninth and retired nine of the 10 Expos he faced – four on strikes – to gain the win. It was his fifth against four losses but, given its magnitude, the numbers meant little to him.
Only one man reached base against McGraw, but that doesn't mean he had it easy. That one was Jerry White, who singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th. (Earlier, White had driven in the Expos first three runs with a two-run homer in the third off Phillie starter Larry Christenson and a sacrifice fly in the seventh off Sparky Lyle.)
Rodney Scott sacrificed White to second and he moved to third on Rowland Office's grounder to first. With White poised 90 feet away with the potential game-winner, McGraw "Tugged" his belt and threw a 2-2 fastball past the menacing form of Andre Dawson.
The Phils took advantage of the reprieve – perhaps their 10th of the game – immediately. Rose bounced a single to right to lead off and, after Bake Mc Bride popped out, Schmidt put Bahnsen's third offering well back into the seats in left. McGraw retired the now dispirited Expos with a minimum of fuss in the bottom of the 11th and Phils' clubhouse manager Kenny Bush raced to pop open the champagne.
McGraw, who cautioned his teammates after saving Friday night's 2-1 victory, shouting, "Key down, key down. If we win tomorrow (yesterday), then we can go nuts,"... well, he went nuts. He leaped off the mound, pumping his arms furiously, and headed for the celebration.
"This one is the best ever," he said later. "I know I'm on a hot streak, but I don't keep track of stats. Today's ballgame, despite all the crazy things that happened, was one of the most outstanding head-to-head games I've ever seen. It was incredible. It showed two teams that just wanted to win so bad. I'm glad we won it this time."
Murphy's Law says, "If anything can possibly go wrong, it will." A corollary to it says, "If everything seems to be going right, you're overlooking something." The Phils found out just what Murphy meant on both counts yesterday, and that they came back to win anyway was a tribute to their collective courage.
First, the game, which was scheduled for a 2:15 p.m. start, never did get underway until 5:25 when a soaking, all-day rain finally let up. When the Expos trotted to their positions, water flew with every stride. Had the temperature (low '40s) dropped a few degrees, the game would've been played on ice skates – not spikes.
Although Montreal grabbed a 2-0 lead on White's homer, the Phils could easily have been well ahead by then. Expo starter Steve Rogers was wild at the start and walked two in the first inning, but Greg Luzinski fanned and Del Unser flied out. In the third, McBride hit his first of three singles and Schmidt rammed a double off the wall in left center, but Bake was cut down at the plate.
The Phils cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fifth on Rose's RBI-single, but that was all they got even though they loaded the bases with none out.
In the seventh, Philly went ahead 3-2 on a two-run single by the much-maligned Luzinski, but both he and Schmidt got caught rounding the bag too far for a double play that cut a potential big inning short prematurely.
Reliever Ron Reed had one out in the bottom of the seventh and got Chris Speier to hit an easy popup to second. But the sure-handed Manny Trillo dropped the ball and opened the gates for two unearned runs that put Montreal ahead 4-3. White's sac fly drove in the tying run and Scott's double to left produced the lead tally.
The Phils were down to their last out before another veteran who's had more than his share of problems – catcher Bob Boone – gained his day in the sun, even though there was no sun to be seen.
Rose led off with a walk and McBride forced him at second, before moving to second on Schmidt's grounder to third. (First base umpire Dick Stello blew the call on Schmidt, as replays indicated Mike had clearly beaten Larry Parrish's throw.)
Boone, who only entered the game in the eighth, shrugged off the bad call, the pressure and a confidence-sapping year-long slump and lined a single to right center to score McBride and send the game into overtime.
"I feel very happy about the win," a satisfied Boone said. "I don't really care too much about the hit. I just happened to hit one where nobody was for a change."
The Phillies proved yesterday that even Murphy isn't always right.
This afternoon Murphy's Law doesn't always hold. Murph will have to center all his efforts on the Houston Astros. They found out about him yesterday, too. But they didn't deal with him quite as well as the Phils.
Playoff announcers
NEW YORK (AP) The American Broadcasting Company announced yesterday that Oakland A's Manager Billy Martin and Baltimore Orioles' pitcher Jim Palmer will work as commentators during the network's coverage of the American League Championship Series.
ABC also announced that it's regular Monday Night Baseball team of Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell and Don Drysdale will work the National League Championship Series.
Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. Tuesday with the NL series in the home city of the East Division winner. It will continue at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday with the AL series at Kansas City, where the West champion Royals will host the East Division winner.