Cubs Historic Photo: 23rd In A Series
by Al Yellon on Feb 3, 2010 8:00 AM CST
in History
45 comments
Once again, you may not think there are enough clues to figure out when this was taken. Your hint: the uniforms of all three principals in this photo are a clue, as well as the crowd.
Your first clue is the Phillies road uniform. Though the Phillies wore this numbering style from 1970-1991, the only years they wore it on a gray road uniform (rather than light blue) were 1970-71-72 and 1989-90-91. The Cubs uniform doesn't match their early 1970's style, nor 1989, so it has to be either 1990 or 1991.
It's obviously a cold day -- look at the coats on the fans in the seats. So it's likely an early-April game.
But the clue that gives it away is the identity of the umpire. That's Harry Wendelstedt, who was an NL umpire from 1966-1998. There is only one Phillies/Cubs game in 1990 or 1991 where Wendelstedt was the plate umpire. That was Opening Day, April 10, 1990. (If you're wondering why only 7,791 showed up at Opening Day for a defending division champion, the scheduled opener on April 9 had been rained out -- this was a hastily rescheduled makeup game on an off day, and before 1993 the NL announced only turnstile count, not tickets sold.)
The play in question is in the bottom of the eighth. With Mark Grace on first and Ryne Sandberg on second with one out in a 1-1 tie, Luis Salazar singled. Sandberg tried to score and was thrown out -- that's what you see here. Grace took third on the play. The next hitter, Marvell Wynne, singled him in with the eventual winning run in a 2-1 Cubs win.
That was about as good as it got in 1990. The Cubs fell under .500 at 6-7 and never had a winning record that year after that. They finished 77-85, fourth in the NL East, but Sandberg had arguably his best year, hitting 40 homers to lead the NL and driving in 100 runs, posting a .913 OPS (best of his career, and fourth in the league). He finished fourth in MVP voting.
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Rain was a constant theme that year.
Rained during the All-Star Game at Wrigley that year, too. But, IIRC, Ryno did become the only player to win the Home-Run Derby in his home park that year, too, on his way to 40 homers.
I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player. I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am. - Ryne Sandberg
That was a weird weather week, the week of the ASG.
The HR Derby (the first one of its kind) was held on a sunny, very cool day (only in the upper 60’s) with the wind howling in. Hardly anyone hit HR.
Then there was a two-hour rain delay during the ASG — it poured. Game didn’t end till after midnight.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Julio Franco - the young Julio Franco - was MVP that night.
And the NL had 2 hits. Just an odd night all around.
I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player. I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am. - Ryne Sandberg
I wish they'd still announce the attendance by turnstile count.
It would be nice to know how many are ACTUALLy there.
"Fasten those seatbelts"-Pat Hughes
We liked the turnstile count
because we have an attendance pool every game we go to. Before 1993 you used to be able to make a pretty good estimate based on the center field bleachers, the grandstands and the upper deck, if you could see the upper deck. Now you have to guess based on the last seats in the last rows all the way down the lines and in the 500 level because if it’s a lousy day and there are scattered empty seats they are likely to be no-shows which will be counted anyway. If those last seats are taken you have to try to estimate standing room. Or something like that.
One of Lee Elia's 15%
That kind of makes the game more fun, doesn't it?
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Oh yeah,
we enjoy it a lot. When the kids were little, winner got the souvenir of choice. In these hard times, and now that the kids are grown, the winner still gets a souvenir — an official Cubs souvenir scorecard pencil.
After 1993, before the Cubs started selling out every game, there were some games when our estimates would all be around, say 25,000 and the announced attendance would be maybe 32,000 and we would groan and complain loudly that we knew for a FACT (or so we thought) that there weren’t even 30,000 in the ballpark, let alone 32,000. We had to change our estimating techniques, obviously.
One of Lee Elia's 15%
Most of the time these days...
… you can get pretty close, at least between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Yep, much closer than pre-1993.
We always start with the number 41,000 and add or subtract a couple hundred or thousand from there, depending on standing room. For instance, on Aug. 11 of last season our guesses were 42,000, 41,921, 41,852, and 41,589. Total was announced as 41,477,
Then on Sept. 30, our estimates were 31,408 and 31,460 (only 2 of us at the game and we were able to buy 2 500 level seats, unobstructed, and could see the ballpark was no where close to full). Announced attendance was 34,362. I have that number circled on my scorecard with a note that says “NO WAY!”
One of Lee Elia's 15%
by waiting4cubs on Feb 3, 2010 10:45 AM CST up reply actions
Helpful hint.
The Cubs won’t ever announce 42,000 or more. The fire codes won’t let them put that many people in the park.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Great! Thanks!
But do I share this information with my family and friends??? I don’t win too many of these pools and can use the edge.
One of Lee Elia's 15%
by waiting4cubs on Feb 3, 2010 10:51 AM CST up reply actions
I won't tell them.
But you have to make sure they don’t read this thread!
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
I think they're all
otherwise occupied today and away from computers … I can only hope.
One of Lee Elia's 15%
by waiting4cubs on Feb 3, 2010 10:55 AM CST up reply actions
1989-1992 for Sandberg
He became the first ever 2nd baseman to hit at least 25 HR’s in 4 consecutive seasons from 1989-1992. Rogers Hornsby and Jeff Kent never accomplished the feat. Chase Utley hasn’t yet. Alfonso Soriano did that from 2002-2005 as a second baseman with the Yankees and Rangers.
"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray
23rd picture in the series
and number 23 trying to score. Intentional or coincidence, Al?
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings. ~Earl Wilson
I thought about that after I posted it.
Strictly coincidence — but a cool one.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
This is not the photo that changed Darren Daulton's life
From Darrendaulton.com -
Beginning with an experience in Wrigley Field in Chicago that forced him to examine his life in a new light, Darren shares the details of his own awakening and finding his truer self. The book explains Darren’s new beliefs…
For more enlightenment go to the SI site and make sure to read the second page.
There are those who dedicate themselves to a sense of honor, a life of courage, and a commitment to something greater than themselves. The Few. The Proud.
Well, you know me.
I had to figure out what this was. Here’s what Daulton said about what happened at Wrigley Field:
At 44, Daulton is not nearly the same guy he was at 24 or even 34. “I didn’t have my first out-of-body experience until I was 35,” he says. Curiously, the epiphany occurred at one of baseball’s holiest shrines — Wrigley Field. “I hit a line-drive just inside the third base line to help win a game,” he recalls. “The strange thing was I didn’t hit that ball. I never hit balls inside the third base line!”
Daulton played in six games at Wrigley after he turned 35, in 1997 — two with the Phillies, four after he went to the Marlins. He got hits in four of those games, but his team won only two of them — on May 20 with the Phillies, in which Daulton’s two hits had nothing to do with the scoring.
And then there was this 4-3 Marlins win over the Cubs on August 27, 1997 where Daulton did drive in the decisive run. The PBP there says it was “a line drive to deep SS”. That’s probably it, although it wasn’t “down the 3B line”.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Then he was right
in that he indeed did not hit a line drive inside the 3rd base line. So when I forget things instead of saying I go into “memory warp” I can claim I’m really existing in the 5th Dimension, or traveling with Bill Haley and the Comets?
One of Lee Elia's 15%
by waiting4cubs on Feb 3, 2010 10:26 AM CST up reply actions
Saw enough of him
down on earth — at Clark and Addison, where life is all too real all too often.
One of Lee Elia's 15%
by waiting4cubs on Feb 3, 2010 10:47 AM CST up reply actions
and HWSNBN
I’m sure he lives there too…
Now only 12,859 on the "Cubs Season Tickets Waiting List"...
Why were the 1990 Cubs so mediocre?
I was 10 that year and it’s the first season I remember with any clarity. From what I can recall, the lineup was pretty good — Sandberg, Dawson, Grace, etc. I know Walton was a bust.
Any thoughts on this BCBers?
Pitching.
Mike Bielecki, who had a great year in 1989, was awful in 1990, and Rick Sutcliffe got hurt again, making only five starts. Mike Harkey had a decent rookie year, but the Cubs’ only solid starter in 1990 was Greg Maddux, and even he regressed a little bit from his great 1989 season.
The pitching staff allowed the second-highest run total in the National League.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
huh
Maddux regression in 1990 and 1991 is interesting. I wonder what happened between ’91 and ’92 to make him what he was for the rest of his career, and what happened between ’89 and ’91?
I think it's just a case of "getting it" as a pitcher...
His 1989 season wasn’t that far out of line with his 1988-1991 seasons. But in 1992, he was only 26 years old. So perhaps he just finally came into his prime as a pitcher in 1992 and figured it out.
Didn't Walton put on a lot of weight
after his Rookie of the Year season? We called him LBJ, as in Lard Butt Jerome. Then last year when Soto’s weight seemed to go up after his ROTY season, as his BA went down to a slim .218, we diagnosed him as having “LBJ Syndrome.” Not this year though! May his BA go up 2 points for every pound he lost!
One of Lee Elia's 15%
by waiting4cubs on Feb 3, 2010 10:19 AM CST up reply actions
Yep
Walton thought he had the world by the ass, went on the banquet circuit and was never the same.
I'm singing, "GO CUBS GO! GO CUBS GO!" -- DrCrawdad on Jun 12, 2009 7:23 AM CDT
Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! -- Homer J. Simpson
by Shanghai Badger on Feb 3, 2010 11:31 AM CST up reply actions
IIRC, Walston also tried to become more of a power hitter after his weight gain
instead of a singles/doubles hitter.
I was at the game in ‘89 when his hitting streak stopped. I think the Cubs played the Reds at night and that’s when it ended. To add insult, the Reds won, too. :(
"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse
Dwight Smith finished second to him in ROY
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
Bullpen Troubles
Mitch Williams and Les Lancaster regressed from their 1989 performances. Paul Assenmacher was the Cubs best reliever that season. Assenmacher was a good setup guy, but he wasn’t the guy you wanted to be your best relief pitcher as a closer.
"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray
Bad pitching, mediocre offense...
The lineup had only three good hitters (the three you mentioned), and Grace didn’t even have that great a year (110 OPS+). No other starter had an OPS+ above 88. The result was an offense that was basically league average.
But as Al noted, it was the pitching that really killed us. Specifically, the bullpen and the back end of the rotation killed us. We had 2.5 good starters (Maddux, Harkey, and Boskie had half a season that was solid). But Bielecki, Nunez, and Wilson were awful that year. And aside from our lefty specialist, the bullpen was pretty bad too. Well, I guess Williams was mediocre that year.
Basically, we had a down year from Grace, and Walton, Dunston, and Smith returned to reality. That brought our offense down from best in the league to just above league average. And we lost Sutcliffe from the rotation and Bielecki and the bullpen returned to Earth as well, dropping us from a slightly above average pitching team to second-worst.
As much fun as 1989 was....
the simple fact is that the Cubs caught lightning in a bottle that year. The core of the team (Sandberg, Grace, Dawson, Maddux, Sutcliffe, Dunston) were good players for the Cubs for a long time of course, but the supporting cast in ’89 really made the difference, and most of those guys never really approached their ’89 performance again, at least with the Cubs. Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith, Mike Bielecki, Mitch Williams, Les Lancaster, Curtis Wilkerson, Mitch Webster, Lloyd McClendon, etc. These guys were all huge contributors in 1989. Just one of those amazing years that will happen sometimes when you least expect it.
The bigger disappointment was 1991, however. The Cubs still had the core of the ‘89 team together, and they got free agents Danny Jackson, George Bell, and Dave Smith. The Cubs were huge favorites to win big in ’91, but of those three FA’s, only Bell had a decent year, then he was traded the next year to the White Sox for an unknown Dominican outfielder. (S.S.)
"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004
If Sutcliffe and Bielecki had been close to their 1989 form...
… the team would have at least had a winning record.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
I remember 1991 a lot better
Jackson was just horrible, and Smith got hurt (right?).
I’ve said this before: The past 10 years obviously didn’t end the championship drought, but they were a LOT more fun than the ’90s. Granted, the Cubs were terrible in three seasons between 2000-2009, but two of those years were at the beginning of the decade, and 2002, at least, was fun at times because of Prior.
Other way around.
Smith had been a very good closer for Houston, but he turned out to be pretty much washed up by ’91. He was terrible, and the Cubs blew so many late-inning leads that year it was like a broken record, day after day. Then they tried Paul Assenmacher at closer and he was just like LaTroy Hawkins. Very effective setup guy, horrendous as closer. And IIRC, Danny Jackson got hurt in his second or third start of the year, and did basically nothing for the Cubs. He was a one-and-done signing.
"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004
Yeah, although the late-90s had their moments too...
KWood’s 20K game, Sosa in his steroid prime, “The Shooter” helping us to back to the playoffs.
It wasn’t just that the early-to-mid 90s were bad, but they were also devoid of any reason for hope/excitement.
The 1990's...
this was the decade that the Tribune Co. really became who they really were: corporate bottom-line guys. They basicaly decided that going forward, (I think after winning in 1989 with a very low payroll for that time, because of all the young players) they were going to go on the cheap, fill the ballpark, and maximize profits, and try to win with young players and cheap, B-list free agents to try to repeat 1989. Win by having guys overachieve, and overall, keep the ballpark full and the dollars flowing. I never thought about that until years later, but 1989 really reversed the direction that the Trib operated. In the mid-80’s, after 1984, they actually spent fairly liberally for the time, to keep the ‘84 group together and those guys got hurt and never came close to the ’84 performance again except for Sandberg. But after that, it was all on the cheap, and winning in 1989 only reinforced that this was the direction they were going to go. The one playoff appearance in the 1990’s was just like ’89: great performances from unlikely sources. Just lightning in a bottle again. But it kept the ballpark full.
"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004
very true ...
the ’93-95 stand out as unusually dull.
Casey Stengel said something
like — his teams were successful because he got good performances from his support players.
One of Lee Elia's 15%
so you are ready to give them up so those of us waiting can move up a spot in line?
sarcasm
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
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