Friday, June 29, 2012

Eric Weiss post: Bob Lemon, Tommy John and the 1981 World Series

            I would first like to thank Ken for the opportunity to post this article on his blog, Radical Baseball.  Like Ken, I am a lifelong Yankee fan, although I am a few years younger than him.  My memories don’t go back to the 1960 World Series, one of Ken’s favorite topics.  Instead, among my first memories as serious Yankee fan are from the early 1980’s. 
                        I first started following the Yankees in the late 70’s, although, growing up on Long Island, I must admit I was a bigger Islander fan at that time.  The early 80’s Yankees teams are the first ones I followed on a day-to-day basis, which bring us to the 1981 World Series. 
                        As long-time fans may remember, the 1981 season was interrupted by a player’s strike.  After play resumed, the teams in first place in their division when the strike hit were declared “first half winners” and given a free pass into the playoffs.  They were to meet the second half (post-strike) division winners in a best of 5 series, with the winners to then meet in a best of 5 LCS (only four divisions, two in each league, at that time).
                        The Yankees and Dodgers won their “preliminary series” and met in the World Series.  The Yankees won the first two games of the World’s Series, but then lost four straight to the Dodgers, including the final game at home.  It was the first time ever that the Yankees had lost a series in six games.  It is that final game which I wish to focus on. 
                        In the 1981 World Series, there was no designated hitter.  Although the American League adopted the DH in 1973, Commission of Baseball Bowie Kuhn (perhaps the worst selection ever for the Hall of Fame) decided that the DH would not be used in the World Series.  It was not until 1976 that the DH was used in the World Series for the first time.  Series alternated between allowing the DH to be used in all games and not allowing a DH from 1976 through 1985.  In 1986, the present rule was adopted, which allowed the DH only in the home games of the American League team (this rule is now used for all interleague games). 
                        Therefore, in 1981, the Yankee pitchers had to hit in all games.  In game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees trailed three games to two, and had Tommy John as their starting pitcher.  Most current fans will recognize Tommy John through the surgery which now bears his name, and has extended the career of many pitchers.  In 1981, he was one of the Yankee’s better starting pitchers, with an excellent 2.63 era.  He won at least 20 games in both 1979 and 1980 for the Yankees.  Over his career, he would win 288 games, and is a marginal Hall of Fame candidate. 
                        In the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 6, with the game tied at 1, Graig Nettles hit a one-out double off the Dodger’s starter, Burt Hooton.  After Rick Cerone struck out, Dodger manager Tommy LaSorda had Yankee’s shortstop Larry Milbourne intentionally walked to get to the pitcher, John.  This is a fairly standard managerial move you see in many National League games.  Unfortunately for the Yankees, their manager, Bob Lemon, panicked and sent up a pinch-hitter (Bobby Murcer).  Although Murcer was a more-than-capable pinch-hitter, he lined out to right, ending the inning. 
                        I have argued with Ken many times about what a terrible managerial decision this was.  Ken has attempted to defend Lemon, stating that the Yankees needed to score runs, and this was their big chance (in the fourth inning with two outs?).  Hooton, while a decent pitcher, was not exactly Pedro Martinez, either.  I would also point out that this is not a “second-guess”, because I knew at the time the move was made, it would be a disaster. Watching the game live, John was shown on the bench looking very distressed and upset, yelling at his manager, as he also knew this was a bad decision and would probably cost the Yankees the game and the series. 
                        After Murcer made the third out, the Yankee’s bullpen promptly surrendered three runs in the top of the fifth, then four runs in the top of the six, and another in the top of the eighth, with the Yankees ending up losing the game 9-2.  Let’s take a closer look at Lemon’s poor decision.                      The first question I would ask is, who the heck ever pinch hits for their starting pitcher in the bottom of the fourth inning, with the score tied, when said starter has given up only one run and isn’t injured?  Until recently, this was an unanswerable question.   The establishment of Retrosheet as a database for play-by-play, as well as the excellent website baseballreference.com, which uses the Retrosheet data and allows advanced searches for situations such as this, enables me to find an answer.    
                            I ran the query on starting pitchers, at home, who gave up only one run in four innings, and then were removed from the game for a pinch-hitter.  I then looked at each such game, and removed the games where the starting pitcher was removed because of injury.  There were also a few games which were end of season games in which the manager was using several pitchers to get ready for post-season play where his team had already clinched.   I omitted those games as well.            
              Between 1918 (the start of the Retrosheet data) and 1981, I found only FOUR games in which the manager made this move.  That’s right, four in 64 years (there was one after 1981, in 1985).  These games occurred in 1940, 1955, 1963, and 1977.  Interestingly, the same manager was responsible for two of these games, Tommy LaSorda’s predecessor as Dodger manager, Walter Alston.  On June 12, 1955, he pinch-hit for Russ Meyer in the bottom of the fourth inning at Ebbets Field with the score tied at one.  The New York Daily News story on the 1955 game said that the move demonstrated the Dodger’s bullpen maneuverability, in that they had “the finest crew of relief pitchers in the circuit.”  Of course, Russ Meyer was no Tommy John (he would win only two more games after 1955, and in 1955, he had a 5.42 era), and, more importantly for our evaluation, the Yankees middle relief in 1981 was struggling big-time in the World Series. 
                        Let’s look at the Yankee bullpen through the first five games of the series.  In game 1, after Ron Guidry left with a 4-1 lead, Ron Davis walked the first two batters in the eighth, getting no one out. Lemon then brought in Hall-of-Fame reliever Goose Gossage, who allowed both of Davis’ runners to score, but finished and saved the game without further damage.  In game 2, John pitched seven shutout innings, leaving with a 1-0 lead.  Gossage pitched the last two innings, allowing no runs, the Yankees beating Hooton 3-0. 
                        In the first game in LA, Yankees starter Dave Righetti gave up three first inning runs, then was knocked out in the third inning.  His successor, George Frazier, gave up two runs in the fifth inning, losing the game, 5-4.  In game 4, Yankees starter Rich Reuschel was knocked out in the fourth inning.  The Yankees’ relievers in that game (Rudy May, Ron Davis, and George Frazier) then gave up six runs total in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, and the Yankees lost the game 8-7, with Frazier again taking the loss. 
                        In game 5, Ron Guidry pitched well, but game up two solo homeruns in the seventh inning, and lost 2-1.  Gossage pitched a scoreless eighth inning.  So going into game 6, back at Yankee Stadium, you have a situation where the entire Yankee bullpen (except for Gossage) has been totally ineffective, but John and Guidry have pitched well as starters (John also pitched two scoreless innings in relief in game 4, but allowed two inherited runners to score).  The situation which Lemon should most want to avoid is having to use his ineffective (non-Gossage) relievers. And he did exactly that by pinch-hitting for his (pitching effectively) starting pitcher in the freakin’ FOURTH INNING!  A move which had been made only 4 times in baseball history to that point. 
                        Not to alibi for Lemon (who was the Yankees manager when they won the 1978 World Series), but he had not managed in a non-DH game situation since 1972.  But by pinch-hitting for John in the fourth inning, he exposed the Yankee’s biggest weakness at that point (their ineffective bullpen, except for Gossage) and that move lost the game and series for the Yankees. 

6 comments:

Kenneth Matinale said...

1. Tommy John had a shaky top of fourth: three hits, one run, pitcher made final out; six hits in four innings.

2. 2. In the regular season Ron Davis had 83 SO, 73 IP.

3. Lemmon could be criticised for not using: Dave Righetti or Goose Gossage, assuming that Ron Guidry was to pitch game 7 the next day.

4. Burt Hooton had lost game 2 to John Wednesday, October 21, 1981 at Yankee Stadium 3-0. Bobby Murcer PH SH for John against Hooton.

5. Murcer PH regular season: 25 PA, .273 BA, .360 OBP, .682 SLG, 1.042 OPS. Murcer was a good PH choice who nearly hit HR.

6. Facing elimination is very different than the regular season games mentioned.

7. 1977 ALCS game 4 down in games 2-1 in a five game series: Billy Martin had Sparky Lyle replace Dick Tidrow with the Yanks trailing 5-2. Lyle finished the game: 5.33 shutout innings. Yes, it's different but Martin brought in his best relief pitcher in the fourth. Lyle won game 5 the next day by getting the final four outs.

Kenneth Matinale said...

Bobby Murcer career v. Burt Hooton: 37 PA, .382 BA, .432 OBP, .559 SLG, .991 OPS.

Tommy John pitching two more innings until he was due to bat again was not worth the opportunity of the Yanks breaking the 1-1 tie in the home fourth. After the shaky fourth maybe John would have needed to be relieved before he completed those two innings.

Yanks scored 22 runs in six games, 7 in game 4, which they lost. Here are the Yankee runs by game: 5, 3, 4, 7, 1, 2.

I had problem with Murcer PH at the time and I see no reason to change that opinion.

Kenneth Matinale said...

Correction: I had NO problem with Murcer PH at the time and I see no reason to change that opinion. Murcer almost hit a three run home run.

Unknown said...

The worst pitching change in World Series history. John was masterful vs. his former Mates and left in he would have at the most pitched the Yankees to a Gossage timed move - I am a Dodgers fan and knowing how good Tommy had been especially vs. the Dodgers when I saw Murcer coming up I felt we had our 1st Worlds Championship since 1965.

John’s era was 0.69 for the Series. Your relievers had been rocked by LA in nearly all the games they pitched. I remember how happy I was Lemon made that move. But looking back as a Tommy John fan thinking this was his last World Series and he was never on a winner he might of pulled the Yanks through and had been inducted into the Hall of Fame if he had been allowed to pitch after the 4th inning if game 6.

Kenneth Matinale said...

Hey, unknown, read my comments. Yours is embarrassing.

Max said...

I'm a few years late to this...but I was 14 at the time and a huge Dodger fan. I was happy that Lemon took John out. I'm watching that World Series right now... If it would have been the 7th or 8th inning...I would have understood but not the 4th. The Yankees bullpen was great in the regular season as someone pointed out...but Ron Davis couldn't throw a strike and the Dodgers owned George Frazier...he ended up losing 3 in that World Series. This wasn't the regular season and it showed.

I would have taken my chances with John against Hooton but I'll be forever happy Lemon made that choice. Gave 7 probably would have been Jerry Ruess against Guidry...I'm glad it didn't go there. If Murcer would have got a hit I still think the Dodgers would have won once John came out...unless Goose would have pitched 4-5 innings.