[Westheim]

Today I would like to take a detour into the annals of the Portland Raccoons, if I may (or skip right past the quote), recounting a shortened version of one of my favorite games ever, the opener of the final series against the dastardly fiendish Canadiens, our bitter blood rivals, in the 2016 season, in which 38-year-old Raccoons legend Nick Brown (13-8, 2.25 ERA) faced off against battered and bruised Jesus Cabrera (0-2, 10.18 ERA).

POR: 2B Walter – 3B Nunley – SS McKnight – LF DeWeese – 1B Young – CF Sambrano – RF Richards – C Baca – P Brown
VAN: RF K. Evans – 3B Fellows – 1B Gilbert – C J. Martinez – 2B Lawrence – CF Petracek – LF Holland – SS Irvin – P Cabrera

This would probably be another one of those trying games. The Raccoons trying to figure out how to beat a beatable pitcher, and me back in Portland trying not to drink carbolic acid and walk off an open drawbridge. The Coons had two on with nobody out in the second inning after walks to Young and Sambrano, but Ron Richards and Alonso Baca struck out in full counts, with Brownie striking out even before a full count. And I wasn’t going to blame Brownie here…

Brown had issued a walk to Mike Fellows in the first inning, but Ray ******* Gilbert had hit into a double play, and Brown faced the minimum through four, with his turn coming up with Richards and Baca on second and first and no outs in the fourth. Bunting would probably not achieve much here, with Shane Walter not exactly an RBI machine. He was told to swing, which was wrong as it turned out. Cabrera whiffed him, and then Walter singled, which only loaded the bases with one out for Matt Nunley. Oh great, where’s the acid? Nunley lined out to Kurt Evans in right, but Richards made the dash for home and scored the first run of the game. […]

Brown reached 104 pitches in seven innings, issuing only another walk along the way […] and the score remained 1-0. It was the most horrendous, most horrible situation to be in. The top 8th saw three weak-*** grounders by the 3-4-5 batters against Cabrera. All were for outs.

Oberst von Lindenthal casually inquired to Brownie’s general state of consciousness as the anemic top 8th was in progress. Brown showed his teeth, indicating that biting was going to take place if anybody wanted to take the ball away from him. But… 104 pitches. With the next four, he walked the rookie Petracek. Holland bunted, but a pop by Irvin and a K to Steve Weisser on Brown’s 118th (!!) pitch ended that inning. The top 9th saw no runners against Aurelio Garcia […].

He was out there for the ninth inning, on 118 pitches, facing the top of the order in a 1-0 game. This was never going to work out… Pitches 119 and 120 were strikes to Kurt Evans, but then control evaded Brown and he walked him on four straight balls. Mike Fellows saw ball #5, then watched at a borderline pitch being called strike one. He gave the 1-1 a good whack up the leftfield line – foul. He gave the 1-2 as good a whack to left, but it bounced in front of Nunley, who made a bare-handed grab, zinged it to second, on to first – DOUBLE PLAY!!!!

Then the music stopped. The park fell dead silent. There was Ray Gilbert. The Coonkiller of the Year in 2012. 30 homers, 104 RBI. Right-handed batter. .977 OPS. Now, do we walk him? Brownie’s fingertips were blue already… Behind him was Jesus Martinez, batting .257 with two homers, but … but… but if the baseball gods really were going to give us this one, then we shouldn’t try to cheapen our way into it. This one had to be earned. Going the cheap route now would anger the baseball gods and Martinez would hit a walkoff homer. That’s how the game works. Oberst von Lindenthal went out there to feel Brown’s pulse, which resembled a jackhammer. As did mine as I was cowering on the couch at home in Portland, pressing my chocolate-smeared chin against my knees and rocking back and forth.

Nick Brown threw only one more pitch, his 129th of the game. Ray Gilbert didn’t get all of it, and sent a soft looper to right. Ron Richards was coming on leisurely, then saw that he had misjudged it and started to swing those paws harder and harder. He made a running catch. One instant later, Brownie was drowned in a huddle of teammates. 1-0 Brownies!!! Brown 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 9 K, W (14-8);

(has wet eyes) I remember it like it was yesterday …!

Meanwhile, after three straight days with relatively-recent Mets, we have to go backwards – yes, we have to. The Mets have not doled out #10 in more than a decade, and I don’t know why (MAYBE in honor of Nick Brown! …MAYBE!), but Rusty Staub wore #4 with the Mets initially, but had #10 later, especially in his second stint with the team.

I have no idea in which context this picture was taken. But I approve.