This Day In Baseball History: August 14, 1998

August 14, 1998

               

                On this day in 1998, at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson becomes the oldest player in Major League history—at the age of 39—to steal 50 bases in one season. It was the fourteenth time (and would be the last time) in his career that Henderson stole at least 50 bases in one season. He would end the season with 66 thefts, leading the Major Leagues.

                Unfortunately for the A’s, the Tigers won the game 13-4.

Ranking the Remaining Ballparks from the Mid-1980s: Part 4

                Today, we continue with part four of our look at current ballparks that were in use in the mid-1980s. This time we go to the Midwest for ballpark #3.

#3. Kaufman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Home of: Kansas City Royals since 1973

Built in: 1973

Baseball Capacity: 37,903

Previous Names: Royal Stadium (1973-1993)

History: The city of Kansas City was awarded an expansion team in the American League for the 1969 season. The Royals played their first four seasons in Municipal Stadium, once home of the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League. A brand new stadium was built and ready for the 1973 season just as the Royals were in the midst of putting together a nucleus of players that would constantly contend for over a decade. During the ten-year period of 1976 and 1985, the Royals would win the American League West six times and make the playoffs seven times (the 1981 season had an additional round due to the players’ strike). They made two trips to the World Series, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games in 1980 and beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985. Some great players that played in Royals Stadium are George Brett, Hal McRae, Frank White, Bret Saberhagen, Dan Quisenberry, Bo Jackson, Mark Gubicza, David Cone, Johnny Damon, Lorenzo Cain, Erik Hosmer and Salvador Perez.

Charm: Although built during the era of the cookie-cutter stadiums, Kaufman Stadium doesn’t have the feel of the parks built in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Even though the outfield dimensions are symmetrical and the playing surface was Astroturf from 1973 until 1994. The giant scoreboard topped with the crown in centrefield has always been a landmark of the park. However, after the renovations of 2008, it changed from the old-school digital scoreboard to an HD version. My favourite feature of Kaufman Stadium has always been the waterfall and fountain display in the outfield.

Great Moments:

October 11, 1985: This was Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. The Royals had lost the first two game to the Toronto Blue Jays and were in danger of falling behind 3-0 in games, as they trailed 5-2 going to the bottom of the fifth. After scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth, George Brett hit a two-run homerun (his second homer of the game) to tie the game at five. In the bottom of the eighth, Brett singled and came around to score what would turn out to be the winning run on a bloop single by Steve Balboni. Brett was four for four in the game with two homeruns, three RBIs and four runs scored. The Royals would lose Game 4, but reel off three wins in a row to comeback and advance to the World Series.

September 30, 2014: For the first time in 29 years, the Royals were in the postseason. They finished in the first in the Wild Card standings which means they hosted the Oakland Athletics (who finished second) in the sudden-death Wild Card Game. The A’s were leading 7-3 going to the bottom of the eighth inning. The Royals scored three runs to narrow the deficit to one run, and then tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on a sacrifice fly to send the game to extra innings. Although Oakland scored in the top of the twelfth to take another one-run lead, the Royals scored two in the bottom half, hi-lighted by a single down the third-base line by Salvador Perez to send Kansas City to the American League Division Series.

October 27, 1985 : This was Game 7 of the World Series and although the outcome was never in doubt (The Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-0), the Royals won their first and only World Series on this night. Twenty-one year old Bret Saberhagen pitched a complete game, five hit shutout. It was the end of a brilliant season for Saberhagen. He won 20 games during the regular season, won the Cy Young Award and won the World Series MVP Award after winning both of his starts (Game 3 was the other). Just like the ALCS, the Royals were down in the Series three games to one, but managed to win three in a row to comeback and claim the Championship Crown.

This Day In Baseball History: The 1994 Players Strike

                August 12, 1994 was the day that the Major League Baseball Players Association voted to go on strike, an act that would eventually wipe out the rest of the regular season, the playoffs and the World Series. Owners lost an estimated $580 million in revenue and the players lost an estimated $230 million in salaries.

                But it was the fans who lost the most, with the players and ownerships, fighting over who cares what, doing what two World Wars couldn’t: cancel the World Series.

                Twenty-one years later, some fans still feel the hurt of the strike. Particuarly in Montreal where the Expos, who were in first place in the National League East at the time of the strike, are no longer playing in that city, having moved to Washington after the 2004 season, following a decade of poor attendance, blamed on the strike.

                I lived in Toronto for practically all of the last decade and most of this one, and I couldn’t believe that some people were still bitter about the strike. Most of those people would say that the strike soured them on baseball and they haven’t cared about it since.

                I would bring up the fact that the National Hockey League has gone on strike three times since then, including cancelling an entire season (2004-05) and yet they still watch hockey. Some didn’t have an answer to that while others quickly thought of lame excuses.

                When the strike ended on April 2, 1995, many fans refused to go to the games or even watch them on TV, thinking it would be some kind of payback to the greedy ballplayers and their owners. I wasn’t one of them. I welcomed the game back with open arms because, well—I love baseball.

                The game survives. There have countless times over the years when something or other was thought to be the ruin of baseball.

                As an example, there was the Black Sox scandal of 1919 when eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of purposely losing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds after being bribed by gamblers who were looking to fatten their pockets. While the players were found not guilty in court, they were banned from the game forever.

                Baseball had a black eye. But then Babe Ruth starts hitting homeruns and the people forgot about the gambling conspiracy and came to the park to watch the fat guy from Baltimore swat homers.

                Much the same in the mid to late 90s when it was thought the strike was the ruination of the game. But Cal Ripken breaks the record for consecutive games played. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa gave chase to the home run record. The Yankees started a new dynasty. The Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

                Real baseball fans will not be phased. They will watch the game and savour every moment of it. Even the steroids accusations of the past few years are not enough to kill the game. While the players will come and go, new heroes emerge and old ones retire, the game goes on, and nothing can stop it.