The game in which he was immortalized with an eternal statue featured a pitching match-up between old timers David Wells and Jaime Moyer. They combined for a whopping 88 years and 307 days which is older than most of the trees in southern California.* This particular match-up between Wells and Moyer in 2007, in terms of collective ages, was the second oldest in baseball history.
*I cannot verify this.
The record was set 20 years earlier when two future Hall of Famers locked horns . . .
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The Pitchers: Hall of Famers Phil Niekro and Don Sutton
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A blistering paced 2:40 minute game.
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Both old guys featured in the decision. Niekro worked 7.1 innings for the win and Sutton threw 8 in the loss.
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Sutton gave up two HRs: one to Corey Snyder in the 5th inning and another to Brook Jacoby in the 8th. In late "1980s terms" Corey Snyder had the GWRBI.
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Ah, the 1980s. A simple time when kids collecting baseball cards held hope that the former Olympian would allow them to retire rich one day.
During that 1987 season Snyder would hit 33 HRs but strikeout almost 5 times as much he walked (31:166), compiling a not-so-stellar .273 OBP. It was 1987 . . . we didn't look at OBP.
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Sutton's battery mate was fellow Hall of Famer Bob Boone, pride of Crawford High School and father of former Padre Brett Boone. The AJM Mother-in-law went to HS with Bob Boone. I think she described him as arrogant. Not sure. Anyway, Boone was 39 when this game was played. Oldest battery mates? I'm going to go with . . . probably?
The Real Question
How could an AL game featuring designated hitters and the oldest sumbitchtes to ever play the game fly by in 2 hours and 40 minutes?
A fast paced AL ballgame featuring designated hitters becomes feasible when 10 of 18 starters have OPSs below .700 and of those 10, 7 are below .655.
The Angles' Bryan Downing was the one statistical beast featured in this battle between the California/Anaheim/ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Cleveland Indians. His 950 OPS far surpassed what anyone else was doing on these teams during the early months of the 1987 season.
At this stage of his career, Downing was already 37 and had been in the league for 14 years. The 1987 season was the only one in which Bryan Downing ever led the league in an offensive category when he walked 106 times. His OPS would finish at .886 after hitting 29 HRs and 29 doubles.
The Moral Of Our Incomplete Little Story
American League games can finish within a reasonable time frame if the right combination of flotsam are trotted out onto the field. For both teams.
Cory Snyder failed we children of the 80s. Forced to work, we lament the day we envisioned golden retirements, provided through cardboard commodities.
Decrepit, soft-tossing pitchers are capable of accruing many wins over their careers. It's easier said than done.
Brian Downing was pretty f*&#ing cool . . .
Well, he was cool in the 80s.
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