Historically significant baseball games I have attended #4

Who was playing? San Francisco Giants versus St. Louis Cardinals

Where did they play? Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, MO

When did they play? August 22, 1982

Did I know this game might be significant before it started? No

What happened? The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 in extra innings. The winning run was scored in the bottom of the 12th with two outs when Cardinal catcher Glenn Brummer stole home.

What do I remember? The Cardinals were playing well and were in a tight race for the National League East (old-style) Division title. The game was on a Sunday afternoon, and I went with my father, brother, and maybe somebody else (perhaps a friend of my brother). It was very sunny and hot, and we moved around a lot during the game to sit in different seats.

When the 12th inning came, we were sitting on the third base side. Either we were sitting in the sun and the field was in the shade, or we were sitting in the shade and the field was in the sun. Either way, there was both bright sunlight and dark shadows at the same time.

I remember being surprised when the base runner (Glenn Brummer) on third suddenly started running towards home plate. He slid in just as the pitch arrived, and the umpire called him safe. We were all very happy and cheering, but I remember having one worry - since there were two outs and also two strikes on the batter, if the pitch was a strike, then the run would not have counted. But the umpire made no signal other than safe at home, so the game was over.

Was there an aftermath? The Cardinals went on to win the National League East, the National League Championship Series (over the Atlanta Braves), and the World Series (over the Milwaukee Brewers).

Glenn Brummer's steal of home has gone down as the best-remembered moment of the Cardinals 1982 regular season. It has been the subject of many feature articles, blog postings, newspaper articles, and television programs. It has also been memorialized in a plaque that can be found in St. Louis. (See photo below)

At some point in my life, I heard a radio interview with the person in charge of making the World Series Championship rings every year for the winning team. When the radio host asked the ring-maker man who had the largest ring size of any player they had made a ring for, the answer was "Glenn Brummer."

Above, the World Series ring for the 2006 (not 1982) St. Louis Cardinals

Historically significant baseball games I have attended #3

Who was playing? Baltimore Orioles versus Seattle Mariners

Where did they play? Safeco Field, Seattle, WA

When did they play? July 15, 2005

Did I know this game might be significant before it started? Yes. The only reason I wanted to go was to have a chance to see someone get their 3000th hit.

What happened? Rafael Palmeiro, first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, got his 3000th hit, a double to left field in the 5th inning off Mariners pitcher Joel Pineiro.

What do I remember? The Orioles were in Seattle, and Rafael Palmeiro had 2999 hits. I convinced my daughter that we needed to go see the game. We sat out in the left field bleachers.

In his first two at-bats, Rafael Palmeiro walked and grounded out. At one point, he hit a long foul ball down the right field line, and the crowd groaned in disappointment. Finally, in the 5th inning, Rafael Palmeiro hit a line drive into left field that sliced towards the corner and barely stayed fair. Rafael Palmeiro ended up with a double. Everyone cheered and his team came out onto the field to surround and congratulate him. (Picture below)

One of the important things about sitting in the left field bleachers at Safeco Field is that you can not see the out-of-town scoreboard. At the same time the Orioles were playing the Mariners, the Cardinals were playing the Houston Astros in St. Louis. Throughout the game, my daughter and I took breaks to walk down to where we could get a look at the out-of-town scoreboard. Every time we checked, it seemed like the score was 2-2 - in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Finally, in the top of the 13th inning, we saw that Houston had gone ahead 3-2, and my daughter and I were very sad. But when we checked a little while later, we saw that the final score was 4-3 and the Cardinals had won. We both were very happy and started screaming and jumping up and down. The Mariners fans around us probably thought that we were crazy. When my daughter and I got home, we found out that Albert Pujols had hit a two-run home run to win the game.

Was there an aftermath? The Orioles won the game 6-3. They finished the season in 4th place in the American League East with a record of 74-88. Rafael Palmeiro had already testified to Congress (in March of 2005) that he had never used steroids. However, in August, 2005, he was suspended for ten days by Major League Baseball for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. It is now unlikely that Rafael Palmeiro will be elected to the Hall of Fame, even though, with his career numbers, he certainly deserves it.

Below: Rafael Palmeiro testifying before Congress: "I have never intentionally used steroids."

The St. Louis Cardinals finished in first place in the National League Central with a record of 100-62. They beat the San Diego Padres in the first round of the playoffs but ultimately lost to the Houston Astros in the National League Championship Series. Albert Pujols continues to play first base for the Cardinals. He has not been implicated in any steroids-related scandals.

Albert Pujols watching a home run he hit against the Houston Astros, just not the home run he hit on July 15, 2005.

Historically significant baseball games I have attended #2

Who was playing? Cleveland Indians versus Seattle Mariners

Where did they play? The Kingdome, Seattle, WA

When did they play? May 2, 1996

Did I know this game might be significant before it started? No. I was just looking forward to seeing the Indians play the Mariners, a rematch of the previous year's American League Championship Series.

What happened? Ken Behring, owner of the Seattle Seahawks, had been publicly demanding a new stadium for his football team. If not given one, he threatened to move the Seahawks to some other city where they appreciated and supported football. Behring claimed that the Kingdome would collapse in the event of an earthquake. King County owned the stadium, and their officials and engineers insisted that the Kingdome was completely safe, even though there had already been serious problems back in 1994 - collapsing ceiling tiles, cancelled baseball games, and two deaths during repair work.

On May 2, 1996, in the 7th inning of the Indians-Mariners game, Seattle was struck by an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale.

Ken Behring doing charitable work.

What do I remember? My friend Jeremy was visiting from New York, and we wanted to see the Indians play, mostly because they had Albert Belle. (For those of you too young to remember Albert Belle, just imagine Milton Bradley on steroids.)

Jeremy and I had seats pretty high up on the third base side. The box score shows that Albert Belle hit a home run, but I don't remember anything about that. All I remember is that Orel Hershiser pitched well for Cleveland until the 7th inning. Indians manager Mike Hargrove was walking out to the mound to replace Hershiser when the earthquake struck.

I remember how the entire row we were sitting in suddenly started rocking forwards and backwards and a little bit to the right. When I looked around to see what kind of moron was kicking the seats so hard, I saw that all the seats everywhere were doing the same thing. My next thought was that the building was spontaneously collapsing (it happens sometimes). Finally I either heard or thought the magic word - "earthquake" - and figured out what was happening. Jeremy later told me I had a big smile on my face. I remember mostly just wondering who was right - Ken Behring or the King County engineers.

The earthquake was over pretty quickly. It was very quiet, and there was no noticeable damage. Everyone evacuated the Kingdome in a calm and orderly fashion, except for one short, agitated woman who came shoving her way down the exit ramp - "There's an earthquake! Earthquake! Earthquake! Everyone out of my way! Earthquake! Earthquake!" We all stepped aside and let her go through and then continued our own evacuation.

Was there an aftermath? The game was obviously suspended at that point, and the Kingdome was declared safe by the engineers and inspectors in time for the next day's game. The two teams finished the suspended game (the Indians won) before playing their regularly-scheduled game (the Indians won that, too). I didn't go see the ending of the game, but I have enjoyed telling this story for many years.

Albert Belle shows the Boston Red Sox where his power comes from during the 1995 playoffs.

Historically significant baseball games I have attended #1

Who was playing? Los Angeles Dodgers versus St. Louis Cardinals

Where did they play? Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, MO

When did they play? October 14, 1985

Did I know this game might be significant before it started? Yes. It was Game Five of the National League Championship Series. The series was tied 2-2 (best of seven format).

What happened? Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied. Ozzie hit his first career left-handed home run off Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer to win the game. On the radio, St. Louis announcer Jack Buck intoned his now-famous line, "Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!"

The Cardinals went on to wrap up the National League Championship Series in Game Six in Los Angeles on a Jack Clark home run off, again, Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer.

Ultimately, the Cardinals lost the World Series to the Kansas City Royals in seven games after having been up three games to one.

What do I remember? It was warm for October and so muggy and humid that you could practically see the water hovering in the air. Back then, they still played important playoff games in the afternoon, so I got to miss school to go see the game. My father got excellent tickets - row 13 behind the first base dugout - and we sat right in front of Ron Glass, the actor who played Detective Harris on the television show Barney Miller.

At one point during the game, I turned around to stare at Ron Glass and I think he gave me a shrug of the shoulders and a sheepish grin.

When Ozzie Smith came up to bat in the ninth inning, I turned to my father and said, "Ozzie has never hit a home run left-handed." (Back then I knew a lot about baseball.) Right after that, as if on cue, the scoreboard operating people posted the same fact on the giant scoreboard out in right-center field. When Ozzie Smith hit his home run - a line drive that barely cleared the fence in right field - the ball struck a concrete pillar and bounced back onto the field, so, for a split-second, no one was sure if it was a home run or not.

Then the stadium erupted - still the loudest noise I think I have ever heard. My father and I high-fived each other and I turned to try to catch the reaction on Ron Glass's face, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. My father and I sprinted out of Busch Memorial Stadium and back to our parking space under the highway bridge as if we were lifted on a cushion of really humid, semi-visible air.

Click here for the box score.