2004: The Year of the Comeback
By Tom Singer / MLB.com
• A complete look at the Year in Review 2004
Comeback.
In one word, that was the year in Major League Baseball. It was a year of resolve, of dreams, of magic. A year that individual and team heroics reminded us all why we love this game, for its gifts of both lightning strikes and sustained drama.
Roger Clemens came back from The Short Goodbye to add to his Cy Young Award collection in a new league. The Boston Red Sox, going where no men had gone before, came back from an 0-3 hole in the American League Championship Series to stun the Yankees on their way to that long-overdue World Series title.
In between, the Houston Astros, who had a losing record as late as Aug. 22, stormed into the playoffs with 31 wins in their last 39 games, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays needed little more than a month to become the first team ever to rise from 18 games below (10-28 on May 19) to over .500 (36-35 on June 26).
Personal reappearing acts were also all the rage. The Angels' Troy Glaus and the Philles' Pat Burrell, both deemed lost for the season with injuries to shoulder and wrist, respectively, came back to help their teams down the stretch. Jim Crowell came back to pitch for the Phillies on 2,415 days' rest -- the elapsed time between big-league appearances on Sept. 27, 1997, and May 6, 2004. Meanwhile, Eric Gagne merely came back to earth, his saves streak ending at 84 on July 5.
Oh-four had it all. Streaks: 10 winning streaks of nine-plus games. Slides: Three years after winning a World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks lost a Major League-worst 111 games. Sensations: A library's worth, but one example captures both the season's flavor and the game's grip.
On May 12, in the seventh inning of a game at Dodger Stadium, Alex Cora stepped into the box to face Cubs right-hander Matt Clement. After the count reached 2-1, Clement had to make 15 more pitches. Cora fouled off the first 14, then deposited No. 15 in the right-field pavilion.
The escalating duel was showcased the next night on "NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw," with the newscaster characterizing the at-bat to his audience as "a moment that transcended sports."
It was a season jammed with transcendental moments. Breaking it down, for the time capsule ...
A Day in the Life
May 28: The opening of Memorial Day Weekend is memorable, all right, as Cleveland's Casey Blake, Philadelphia's Tomas Perez, San Francisco's Barry Bonds, and the Pirates' Rob Macowiak and Craig Wilson -- the latter two in a twin-bill sweep of the Cubs -- all hit walk-off homers. Wait, there's more: Paul Konerko of the White Sox and Tony Graffanino of the Royals end games with walk-off singles.
June 11: Snake eyes. The Cardinals' Reggie Sanders steals his 11th base, hits his 11th double and clouts his 11th homer, all on ... check the date.
July 4: Patriotic zeal. Or Zeile. The Mets' Todd Zeile improves his lifetime average on this date to .525, which makes perfect sense considering his family tree is said to include President John Adams (who, incidentally, died on July 4, 1826 -- probably more information than you need to know).
July 21: Bookend blasts. Oakland's Mark Kotsay homers on the game's first pitch, and Seattle's Bucky Jacobsen homers on the game's last pitch. It's been done before, but not since Sept. 13, 1990, by Eric Yielding of the Astros and Barry Larkin of the Reds.
Aug. 8: Shaken, not stirred. In Detroit, Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield becomes the first pitcher in 64 years to allow six homers -- and the first in 72 years to win despite such generosity.
Sept. 1: A game for the aged. Twins left-hander Terry Mulholland and catcher Pat Borders comprise MLB's first game-starting battery of 41-year-olds since June 3, 1945, when Curt Davis started for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was caught by Clyde Sukeforth.
Sept. 15: Why we play the games. Seattle right-hander Ryan Franklin pits his 3-15 record and 5.30 ERA against the Angels' MLB-leading .286 team average, and comes away with a complete-game two-hitter.
Sept. 19: The Colorado Rockies (to the Dodgers) and the Denver Broncos (to Jacksonville) both lose, 7-6.
Sept. 30: With apologies to Shakespeare, all the world's actually a diamond. The following is verbatim, from an Associated Press report (nationalities added): "The Dodgers tied it in the bottom half off Chin-hui Tsao (Taiwan) when Hee-Seop Choi (Korea) doubled, took third as Tsao threw wildly to first on Cesar Izturis' (Venezuela) sacrifice bunt and scored on Jayson Werth's (U.S.) forceout. Yhency Brazoban (Dominican Republic) blanked the Rockies in the 11th."
This Never Happened Before ...
A 300-game winner (Roger Clemens) pitched against a 600-homer hitter (Barry Bonds), on April 7 in San Francisco.
A team opened a season by starting left-handers in each of its first four games (Royals: Brian Anderson, Darrell May, Jeremy Affeldt, Jimmy Gobble).
Two left-handed winners of 233-plus games opposed each other (and lived up to the billing, with the Mets' Tom Glavine crafting a 1-0 victory over Arizona's Randy Johnson on May 12 in Bank One Ballpark).
Teammates struck pinch-hit grand slams in consecutive games (the Dodgers' Robin Ventura and Olmedo Saenz, on Sept. 7-8).
The New York Yankees were shut out by 22 runs (by the Indians, on Aug. 31).
Two batters with the same name hit home runs against each other (Arizona's Luis Gonzales and Colorado's Luis Gonzales, April 6 in the BOB).
Grandson (David Bell, June 28) and grandfather (Gus Bell, 1951) and son (Daryle Ward, May 26) and father (Gary Ward, 1980) made hitting for the cycle a family matter.
... Or at Least Not in a Long Time
Both starting pitchers stole bases in the same game (the Cubs' Greg Maddux and St. Louis' Jason Marquis, on May 10, last done in 1950, by the Cubs' Bob Rush and the Braves' Warren Spahn).
Two closers with 250-plus saves on their resumes blew them in the same game (Anaheim's Troy Percival and the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, on May 11, last done by St. Louis' Dennis Eckersley and the Mets' John Franco on April 4, 1996).
A pitcher did not bat in the ninth spot in the starting lineup (Montreal's Tomo Ohka on May 30, last done by the Cards' Matt Morris on Sept. 27, 1998).
There were four active members of the 500-Homer Club (Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro, last seen in 1973 with Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew and Frank Robinson ).
Two perfect-gamers opposed each other (David Wells and Randy Johnson on June 23, only the eighth such matchup since 1900).
A trio of teammates hit their first Major League home runs on the same day (Expos Ryan Church, Valentino Pascucci and Brendan Harris, last done on April 28, 1946, by New York Giants Bill Rigney, Buddy Blattner and Jess Pike).
A game ended on consecutive bunts (Aaron Miles and Royce Clayton squared around for back-to-back run-producing 10th-inning singles in the Rockies' 9-8 victory over Detroit on July 2, only the second such finish since 1965; the Angels' Shawn Abner and Luis Sojo similarly tricked the White Sox on Sept. 14, 1995.).
A pitcher uncorked four wild pitches in one inning (the Angels' Kevin Gregg, in the eighth inning against Seattle on July 25, but he can relax: the only other pitchers to do so, Walter Johnson in 1914 and Phil Niekro in 1979, won 715 games between them).
Ballplayers Say the Darnedest Things
"When you get hit by a 95 mile-an-hour fastball in the head, a headache isn't out of the question." -- Scott Rolen
"Things like this never happen. Very, very seldom do they happen." -- Carlos Pena, after a six-hit game
"My motto is: I'm fat, you're ugly, and I can diet." -- David Wells
"We're not hitting. You run across those days, weeks and years sometimes." -- Marlins manager Jack McKeon
"Lousy. Like I got hit in the head with a bat." -- Mets catcher Vance Wilson, upon being asked how he felt the day after ... getting hit in the head with a bat
"I lost my starting job in May, my dog died two weeks ago and I blew out my knee." -- Braves infielder Mark DeRosa
"It's a dud, just like the Cubs were." -- Police spokesman Pat Camden, after the shell of a hand grenade was found in Wrigley Field's right field
"You have him up there because you think he's a good guy to stay out of a double play. Well, he did that." -- Padres manager Bruce Bochy, after his pinch-hitter, Kerry Robinson, grounded into a triple play against the Braves
"We thought Barry would enjoy seeing lots of strikes." -- Publicist Rachael Vizcarra Banvard, explaining why Barry Bonds' surprise 40th birthday party was held in a bowling alley
"Why do you think I was irritated enough with the way things were going to hit something like that? It wasn't because I was mad at the pizza guy for not delivering the pizza on time." -- Kevin Brown, after sucker-punching a clubhouse wall
How'd He Do That?
Tampa Bay speedster Carl Crawford had five triples in the first five games coming out of the All-Star break. He would finish the season with 19.
From May 11 to July 17, David Wells issued a grand total of one walk.
Cleveland fireplug Ronnie Belliard hit six of his 12 home runs against White Sox pitchers.
Carlos Delgado's two home runs off Jorge Sosa on July 31 gave him an ongoing streak of five consecutive homers against the Tampa Bay right-hander.
On June 2, Vladimir Guerrero saw 12 pitches from Boston pitchers, swung at 10 of them and had nine RBIs.
The Best of Human Drama
Eric Gagne vs. Barry Bonds, April 16, SBC Park
Afforded by a 3-0 lead the rare luxury of challenging Bonds with a man on in the ninth inning, Gagne blisters six triple-digit fastballs at the slugger. Bonds somehow manages to swing early on a 101-mph heater to splash No. 5 way foul into McCovey Cove. He straightens out No. 6, another 100-mph job, for a two-run homer. Gagne goes on to close out a 3-2 victory for his 66th straight save.
Gagne: "I was facing the best hitter ever. It was my greatest moment in baseball."
Bonds: "That guy was just throwing straight cheddar."
Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn: "All of us who were at this game tonight will forever remember that confrontation and the outcome."
Derek Jeter vs. Concrete, Wood and Steel, July 1, Yankee Stadium
In the top of the 12th inning of what already is a Yankee Stadium classic, with Red Sox on second and third and two outs in a 3-3 tie, Trot Nixon hits a foul pop into the seats down the third-base line but Derek Jeter refuses to give him another hack. He sprints to the railing, dives headlong into the stands and comes out with a bloodied face -- and the ball. The Yankees score twice in the bottom of the 13th for a 5-4 victory.
Alex Rodriguez: "It's the greatest catch I've ever seen. It was unbelievable ... It was hard to watch."
George Steinbrenner: "Jeter is a great leader and an inspiration for all of our nation's youth. This was the most exciting game I've ever seen in any sport."
Associated Press: Jeter is "Captain Courageous."
Feats
Ken Griffey Jr. becomes 20th member of the 500-Homer Club (June 20 at St. Louis, sixth inning, off Matt Morris).
Eric Gagne sets his consecutive-saves record at 84 (July 3 at Anaheim).
Randy Johnson, three months after becoming the fourth pitcher to reach 4,000 strikeouts, gets punchout No. 4,137 to pass Steve Carlton and set a record for left-handers (Sept. 15 against Colorado, seventh inning, Vinny Castilla).
With homer No. 661, Barry Bonds passes Willie Mays for third place on the all-time list (April 13 against Milwaukee, seventh inning, off Ben Ford) and cracks the private 700-Homer Circle (Sept. 17 against San Diego, third inning, off Jake Peavy).
Ichiro Suzuki eclipses George Sisler's 84-year-old record of 257 hits, on his way to finishing with 262 (Oct. 1 against Texas, third-inning single off Ryan Drese).
Baseball Is Still a Funny Game
We're in a pain delay: Before the season opener of the Angels' Provo rookie-league team, local businessman Kevin Williams threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He came down on his foot awkwardly and broke his leg, and the game had to be delayed 30 minutes so an ambulance could cart him off to the hospital.
Let's go to the videotape: A game in Seattle had to be delayed because John Olerud, due to bat, was locked in the team's video room and couldn't get out without help.
By jove, he's got it: Luis Rivas, implored by the Twins to focus on hitting to the opposite field, got so good at it in batting practice that he bounced a screaming line drive off the left wrist of first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. Said manager Ron Gardenhire: "We don't know whether to be happy or really sad. Luis hit the ball good the other way, and Mient got killed."
Where there's smoke, there's a really lousy cook: The Associated Press reported that Kauffman Stadium's "pressbox was so filled with smoke, people went around opening windows. Someone had put hotdogs in a microwave intending to heat them for eight seconds but mistakenly set the timer for 80 minutes."
And the goalposts came down: Reporting on a Royals rout, Dan Daly of the Washington Times wrote, "Not only did they set a club record for runs in their 26-5 trampling of the Tigers, they also had 347 yards passing and enjoyed a huge edge in time of possession."
But It Sure Isn't Science
And to wrap up, a reminder that one man's crystal ball is just another man's empty fishbowl.
He certainly knew something: "We still believe we're going to win the World Series," said Johnny Damon after the Red Sox fell 8 1/2 games behind the Yankees with a loss in the Bronx on July 1. Four months later, Boston began its offseason-long celebration of the team's first World Series championship since 1918.
He certainly didn't: "I don't know if anybody will ever hit 50 [homers] in a season again. Pitching's different -- better, deeper," left-hander Jimmy Key said back in 1989. Since then that figure has been topped 18 times.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Eh... I'm not big fan of the Sox (Yankee fan), but I'm happy that they finally won it. Now we just have to hear "The Curse was Reversed" crap for the next 10 years until it's washed away... except for the idiot drunk fans who hang on to everything ever, like winning the 1918 World Series, despite not even being born yet.