April 4, 1989. Opening day at Wrigley Field. I'm in the upper deck with my buddy watching the Cubs go into
the ninth inning leading the Phillies 5-4. On the mound is Mitch Williams, the Cubs' new closer acquired in the offseason.
Well, three dinky singles later and the bases are loaded with no outs and Mike Schmidt is at the plate. I, along with about 30,000 fans, was thinking "oh no, here we go again, the Cubs are gonna' blow it." Schmidt, who hit about half of his career 548 career home runs against the Cubs, quickly goes ahead in the count 2-0. Williams, who had already earned the nickname "Wild Thing" with the Texas Rangers, is looking shaky, but Cubs' skipper Don Zimmer gives no indication that he is thinking of going to the bullpen. This is gonna' be all Williams. He'll either be the hero or the goat.
The left-hander recovers, and then, on a 2-2 pitch, throws a nasty slider down and in and Schmidt swings and misses. Strikeout number one.
Chris James up next. Now Williams is throwing nothing but fastballs. Strikeout number two.
Everybody in the stands is standing. Clapping. Cheering. Hollering. Journeyman Mark Ryal is at the plate.
First pitch: fastball at the letters, swinging strike.
Second pitch: fouled back out of play.
Third pitch: high and outside, 2-1.
Fourth pitch: fouled off.
Fifth pitch: high and outside, 2-2.
Sixth pitch: the high heat, Ryal swings and misses. Ballgame over. Cubs win!
I've been to scores of MLB games before and since. I don't think I ever heard a crowd as loud as when Williams blew that fastball past Ryal for strike three. It was a great game (three future hall of famers - Schmidt, Andre Dawson, and Ryne Sandberg), and the start of a memorable season. And, as Casey Stengel might have said, you can look it up:
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