The Baseball Digest Archive

October 1979

Baseball Digest issues with an October cover date usually leaned heavily on playoff related material, and this one was no exception. There was a special twist to this particular issue; it was the 10th anniversary of the league championship series. So, the article which features the 10 most memorable playoff moments was exactly that - playoffs only, no World Series. The moments featured included many that you would expect: the Chris Chambliss 1976 walkoff, the 1973 Pete Rose/Bud Harrelson brawl, the uncharacteristic Garry Maddox error which opened the floodgates for the Dodgers in 1978. There were others that have fallen through the cracks in the years since, such as Bob Robertson’s home run spree in 1971, or the 1972 incident when Bert Campaneris hurled his bat at Lerrin LaGrow, or Bob Moose’s wild pitch which ended the 1972 NLCS. (What would you call that? A runoff?)

In keeping with the playoff theme, Joe Morgan’s choice for the game he will never forget is exactly what you would expect it to be - Game 7 of the 1975 World Series, in which The Big Red Machine finally won their first World Series and Morgan drove in what proved to be the winning run.

In this month’s edition of Debating An Evergreen Topic, the issue led with an article decrying the number of injured players. The headline describes it as “staggering.” The proof? In July of 1979 there were 55 players on the disabled list. That number seems almost quaint these days. I could be wrong, but I believe that at one point this season the Dodgers alone had 55 starting pitchers on the injured list. Of course, you can always count on an old timey Certified Baseball Grouch to have a hot take. Angels GM Buzzie Bavasi said “I hope it’s not because of guaranteed contracts, and that they’re using their injuries as an excuse to take a vacation.”

As for some of the other accomplishments discussed in this issue: The most unique pitching feat in WS history was one which will certainly never be duplicated. Jack Coombs of the A’s pitched back to back complete games in 1910. The most exclusive club in the majors was the 20 doubles/20 triples/20 home runs in the same season club. At the time it had only been achieved 4 times, by Frank Schulte, Jim Bottomley, Jeff Heath, and Willie Mays. In the years since 3 other players have achieved that feat - George Brett, Curtis Granderson, and Jimmy Rollins.

Finally, the issue closes with an article on Don Baylor (written by Peter Gammons) which mentioned that he was finally receiving the recognition that he had long deserved. He was often overshadowed by more high-profile teammates, but 1979 would prove to be his signature season. He won the MVP award that year, but to be perfectly frank that was largely due to the fact that at the time voters reflexively voted for whichever player had the most RBI’s. Fred Lynn probably deserved the award that year; if that vote were to be held today Baylor might not even finish in the top 5. He was a heck of a hitter, however, and the article mentions that even then he was the guy who would keep the clubhouse in line. Later on in his career practically every reference to Baylor would mention that he ran the clubhouse kangaroo court, and those intangibles were usually cited as a reason why he played for 3 different pennant winning teams in 3 consecutive seasons.

Reviewing Olympic Sports

Judo - There’s been a lot to cover, so I’ve had to delay my take on judo for a few days. Hope the suspense hasn’t been too much for you. Judo is another sport that I pretty much ignored this Olympiad. Perhaps I could get more into it if I understood the scoring rules a lot better, but there are only so many hours in a day and I’m not willing to make that sort of commitment. And the vagueness of what is a scoring move and what isn’t is a problem and we could likely be better served if the broadcasters would take the time to speak to us as if we’re all 4 years old and explain what it is we’re seeing. I find that in this sport the announcing crew assumes that the viewers are well versed in the rules and strategies of the sport, which is not the case during the Olympics. I watch it and attempting to figure out the scoring is a complete mystery to me unless a competitor literally knocks the other one out.

Marathon Swimming - This sport had a different vibe in Paris, and not just due to the E.coli in the Seine. The Seine also has a very strong current, and it was a physical challenge for the swimmers to fight that current. Their struggle was very evident as they fought to get around the buoys. Unfortunately, marathon swimming is not a particular compelling event on television. It is difficult to differentiate the competitors. Their numbers are on the swim caps, but the drone cameras don’t get close enough to allow us to make out the numbers. Even Rowdy Gaines frequently misidentified swimmers. If someone with his vast experience couldn’t make sense out of it, what chance did we have? I also can’t get past this. In the same way that marathon runners and road cyclists have stations where they can grab water, so do swimmers. If you have watched enough marathons you see that runners will toss their bottles aside, after which volunteers quickly pick up the litter. In the marathon swim, the water bottles are attached to long poles. The swimmer grabs the bottle and then discards it in the water after taking their drink. I doubt that volunteers are able to easily retrieve that trash. Knowing that pollution is already an issue in the Seine, watching that makes me feel uneasy.

Today’s Updates

More names have been added to the list of performers for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which is now less than 2 weeks away. Kelly Clarkson will perform with Foreigner. In addition, the Ozzy induction continues to add names. Even if he is ultimately unable to perform, he will be joined by lots of famous friends - Jack Black, Billy Idol, Steve Stevens, Jelly Roll, Zakk Wylde, Maynard James Keenan, Rob Trujillo, Wolfgang Van Halen… There will be a new WNBA champ. The Liberty eliminated the Aces yesterday and will await the winner of tomorrow night’s decisive game 5 between Minnesota and Connecticut to see who they will face in the finals. Vegas once again showed how difficult it is to sustain a dynasty. It sure looked like multiple years of extended playoff runs finally caught up with them. They looked spent… One talking point I’ve already grown tired of is the one that says MLB teams with the playoff bye are at a disadvantage because the few days off allegedly ruin their timing. That’s based on the results of the last two years even though by now we should know all about small sample sizes. No matter what playoff format is used there are always going to be upsets. It’s just the nature of the sport. What has happened in the past doesn’t “prove” anything. What have we seen so far this year? In Saturday’s game 1 results, the teams coming off the bye won 3 out of the 4 games. I guess they are not at such an insurmountable disadvantage after all.

Jay J. Armes

OK, I have a lot of retained knowledge of trivial topics from decades ago but contrary to popular belief there are the occasional tidbits that have slipped out of my mind, only to be reminded again if I see a news story. Such as when I saw an alert that Jay J. Armes has died, and suddenly the memories came crashing back. I had not thought of that man in decades, but as soon as I saw the headline on his obituary, I immediately thought “Oh yeah, THAT guy!”

Armes was a man who lost both of his hands in a childhood accident but that did not prevent him from becoming a famous private investigator. (His real name was Julian James Armas, which easily lent itself to changing his name to increase his fame. Jay J. Armes, the detective with a pair of prosthetic hands.) He is best known to people of my generation from the line of action figures that he inspired. It came complete with detachable hands, which could be replaced with all sorts of gadgets.

He didn’t get as far as he did in life without a real talent for self-promotion. He apparently embellished certain elements of his biography, but so what? That action figure was a lot of fun to play with, and he knew how to sell his story to a young audience. There was a profile on Armes in Dynamite magazine which came out in conjunction with the release of the toy line, and it was a compelling story for a young child. Armes was 92, and he lived quite a life.

TV Of the 21st Century - Better Things

This was one of the most enjoyable TV shows of recent vintage. It was a true auteur piece from Pamela Adlon. In addition to co-creating and starring in the show, she co-wrote every episode and directed almost all of them to boot. Adlon starred as a character similar to her real life self. Her character Sam was an actress raising three daughters as a divorcee while living next door to her aging mother.

It’s impossible not to compare her show to Louis C.K.’s. He was Adlon’s co-creator, although he had no involvement with the show following the scandal that put his career on pause. Like Louis’s show, she had the creative freedom to not be boxed into a 30 minute time slot. If she handed the network an episode which ran 43 minutes long, not a problem. FX would accommodate her. Similarly, if she had a plot idea which wouldn’t fill an entire episode, that wasn’t an issue either. Run that story line for 10 minutes and then after the commercial break pivot into another direction. Also, one thing that TV shows have lost in this era of short seasons is the possibility of a great tangent episode; the simple act of spending an episode on a plot that is not necessarily tethered to the overall story line. Adlon was able to that here; one of the very best episodes was one in which she attended a wedding in New Orleans. It was a half hour of pure joy, celebrating New Orleans in all its glory. It was perfect.

Sam was based to some extent on Adlon, but not completely. Sam was an actress like Adlon, but the sense was that she was more successful than the real life Adlon. She was well off enough to afford a magnificent house and sustain a high lifestyle, but it also acknowledged the reality that as a woman on the wrong side of 40, work was starting to dry up and she needed to take whatever she could get. Aging was a running theme; she was going through menopause over the course of the show and she was frequently shown sporting a large brace on her wrist. That extended to her mother as well, she was a feisty British woman with an air of snobbery who stubbornly denied her mental and physical decline.

The 3 daughters were all well drawn, in season 1 they ranged in age from very young to adolescent and the two older ones often drastically shifted from s***ty to loving within the same episode. The oldest, Max, was moody and temperamental, the middle, Frankie, was often self righteous. The youngest, Duke, was adorable, but by the final season was also growing into her sullen teenager phase. On a related note, one of my favorite vignettes from the show came in an episode in which Sam was helping Max move into her college dorm. They went grocery shopping and Max swept every box of ramen into their shopping cart along with every item of birth control that the store carried. (BTW, Mikey Madison, the actress who portrayed Max, has been receiving a lot of Oscar buzz for her starring role in the upcoming movie Anora. We knew her when.)

Beyond the regulars the show had a wonderful collection of recurring characters. Kevin Pollak as Sam’s brother. Diedrick Bader as her gay best friend. Her group of besties which included Cree Summer and Judy Gold and Judy Reyes. They all did magnificent work. It should also be noted that the show frequently included scenes of Sam preparing meals that looked as mouth watering as anything you will ever see on the Food Network.

The series finale was special. Two of the characters made major life changing decisions in the penultimate one, so the finale was used to simply say goodbye. It involved a wedding that Sam officiated, which also served as an excuse to bring most of the regular and recurring characters together one final time. (There was also a subplot involving a budding romance between Sam and a newly introduced character, which demonstrated that even though the show was over, these people’s lives would go on.) The series ended with Sam driving while singing along with “Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life” coming out of her car radio. This led into a montage of the other characters doing the same, and it quickly became clear that it was not the characters, it was the actors saying goodbye to the audience. What a perfectly joyful way to end a real gem of a series.

Originally Aired On: FX

Currently Streaming On: Hulu

Closing Laughs

That is all for today. Have a great day everyone and thanks as always for being a part of the Tending the Herd family. See you all again on Wednesday.