30 Years Ago Today
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:43 pm
Every fan of every team has a moment, or should I say, THE moment that defines their team for them.
For Yankee fans it could be Chambliss' HR in 1976 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS6HGwoRrkY
Or Jeter's flip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApoJk9X7Vto
For Dodger fans it could be Gibson's HR http://youtu.be/0toCMwEBwLo
Or Koufax's Perfect Game http://youtu.be/9uozLFsEPu8
For me, a Cubs fan, my one moment happened 30 years ago today.
I've been to or seen on TV thousands of Cubs games in my life.
There have been team highs http://youtu.be/KuNGNEf4kvE ( 1984 Division Win)
and team lows http://youtu.be/hiTS2ZU4HzA (Garvey HR)
Great HR's http://youtu.be/7wDrw76ieTs (G Hill)
and Great Opening Days http://youtu.be/J_o4A4tCC0s (Fukudome)
But the one day and one moment (two really) that I always fall back on happened of Saturday June 23rd, 1984.
The Cubs were playing the Cardinals in Wrigley in a game that was broadcast on TV as the Game of the Week.
The Cubs won 12-11 in extra innings.
Willie McGee was 4 for 6 with a HR and 6 RBI
But this is the Sandberg Game.
Ryne Sandberg was 5 for 6 with 7 RBI. He hit two game tying HR's off HOF closer Bruce Sutter in the bottom of the 9th and 10th innings.
Here is the second HR http://youtu.be/4A2WGUrobS0
There were two outs and St Louis had a two run lead, Costas was giving the final credits when Sandberg tied it up. I love Sutter's instant reaction as the ball leaves Sandberg's bat.
Here is the longer version with Harry Caray's call. You can see the two HR's at 11:30 and 33:40 http://youtu.be/34mz7wQKTB0?t=11m20s
This game changed a lot of things for the Cubs and Sandberg.
The Cubs were a couple of games out of first place at the time, but this win was the game that made fans believers that Chicago could win. After that game, Wrigley became the place to be that summer and things haven't changed since.
After the game, St Louis manager Whitey Herzog called Sandberg "the greatest player I have ever seen".
From that point on and for the next 13 years, Sandberg was the face of the Cubs and he went on to complete his HOF career.
What's your moment?
For Yankee fans it could be Chambliss' HR in 1976 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS6HGwoRrkY
Or Jeter's flip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApoJk9X7Vto
For Dodger fans it could be Gibson's HR http://youtu.be/0toCMwEBwLo
Or Koufax's Perfect Game http://youtu.be/9uozLFsEPu8
For me, a Cubs fan, my one moment happened 30 years ago today.
I've been to or seen on TV thousands of Cubs games in my life.
There have been team highs http://youtu.be/KuNGNEf4kvE ( 1984 Division Win)
and team lows http://youtu.be/hiTS2ZU4HzA (Garvey HR)
Great HR's http://youtu.be/7wDrw76ieTs (G Hill)
and Great Opening Days http://youtu.be/J_o4A4tCC0s (Fukudome)
But the one day and one moment (two really) that I always fall back on happened of Saturday June 23rd, 1984.
The Cubs were playing the Cardinals in Wrigley in a game that was broadcast on TV as the Game of the Week.
The Cubs won 12-11 in extra innings.
Willie McGee was 4 for 6 with a HR and 6 RBI
But this is the Sandberg Game.
Ryne Sandberg was 5 for 6 with 7 RBI. He hit two game tying HR's off HOF closer Bruce Sutter in the bottom of the 9th and 10th innings.
Here is the second HR http://youtu.be/4A2WGUrobS0
There were two outs and St Louis had a two run lead, Costas was giving the final credits when Sandberg tied it up. I love Sutter's instant reaction as the ball leaves Sandberg's bat.
Here is the longer version with Harry Caray's call. You can see the two HR's at 11:30 and 33:40 http://youtu.be/34mz7wQKTB0?t=11m20s
This game changed a lot of things for the Cubs and Sandberg.
The Cubs were a couple of games out of first place at the time, but this win was the game that made fans believers that Chicago could win. After that game, Wrigley became the place to be that summer and things haven't changed since.
After the game, St Louis manager Whitey Herzog called Sandberg "the greatest player I have ever seen".
From that point on and for the next 13 years, Sandberg was the face of the Cubs and he went on to complete his HOF career.
What's your moment?