This Date In Royals History--1985 Edition: June 10
A bad hop helps Oakland defeat the Royals in 10 innings.
A tough break in the 10th inning handed the A’s a 2-1 win over the Royals in 10 innings at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday night.
With two outs and no one on in the bottom of the 10th, Mike Heath and Alfredo Griffin both singled off Royals closer Dan Quisenberry, with Heath taking third. Bruce Bochte hit a grounder to second baseman Frank White, but the ball took a bad hop, bounced off White’s glove, and ended up behind him. Heath scored the winning run on the play, which was scored an error.
“It took a funny hop, went off my glove, hit me in the face and got behind me. It was out of my control.”--White, quoted by the Associated Press, June 11, 1985
Certainly, the Royals offense deserved some blame for the loss as well. A day after getting shut out by California, Kansas City managed just one run in 10 innings. Oakland starter Tim Birtsas scattered seven hits over seven innings of work, but walked just one while striking out seven.
The Royals’ lone run came in the third inning. Greg Pryor doubled, moved up to third on Jim Sundberg’s fly ball, and scored on an Onix Concepcion single, giving Kansas City a 1-0 lead.
Kansas City missed a great scoring chance in the eighth. Willie Wilson led off with a single and stole second. Lonnie Smith walked. White put down a sacrifice bunt, but Steve Balboni popped up to shortstop. The A’s intentionally walked Pat Sheridan, and Jorge Orta’s fly ball ended the inning.
Royals starter Charlie Leibrandt somehow kept Oakland off the scoreboard for seven innings, despite allowing six hits and six walks in that time. He was helped by six strikeouts, a pickoff, and a double play.
But in the bottom of the eighth, after the Royals failed to score in the top of the inning, the A’s were able to tie the score. With one out, Dusty Baker singled. One batter later, Mickey Tettleton walked, and Heath singled to tie the score at 1-1. Dan Quisenberry entered the game in relief and retired Griffin to end the inning.
Quisenberry worked around a leadoff double in the ninth but could not escape the two singles in the 10th.
The Royals dropped to 28-26 with the loss. They also dropped to third place in the AL West, with Chicago a half-game behind California and Kansas City 1.5 games behind the Angels.
Box score and play-by-play:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK198506100.shtml
1985 baseball news: The saga of San Diego Padres second baseman Alan Wiggins continued, as team president Ballard Smith reiterated that Wiggins would not be allowed to play for the team ever again. Wiggins had been medically cleared by a drug-abuse panel following 30 days in rehab. Wiggins had reported to rehab after no-showing for San Diego’s game in Los Angeles on April 25. The panel, comprised of three doctors who were knowledgeable about drug abuse, had been created by MLB’s Joint Drug Agreement in 1984. Players Association director Don Fehr maintained that the agreement meant the Padres needed to reinstate Wiggins upon his being cleared. San Diego did have the option to send Wiggins on a minor league rehab assignment for 20 days, but the team had not decided if they would do so. Wiggins had also been arrested for cocaine possession in 1982 and suspended for 30 days then.
1985 baseball news: Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates radio broadcaster Bob Prince, just a month after his return to the booth, passed away after a battle with mouth cancer. Prince worked Pirates’ games from 1948 (taking over the play-by-play duties in 1955) through 1975, when he was unceremoniously fired by Westinghouse Broadcasting, which had taken control of the broadcasts in 1969. Prince finally returned to Pirates broadcasts in 1982, calling some TV games for local cable. Prince then returned to Pirates radio on May 3, 1985, calling two innings but receiving three standing ovations from the Pittsburgh fans. He was able to work just a few more games before his condition worsened, and he eventually lapsed into a coma before dying. Prince was 68 years old. He received the Ford C. Frick award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.
Today’s birthdays: Floyd Bannister (1955), Al Alburquerque (1986)