Brooks and the 70 series; another sweep of the Reds
Can’t help but run the Brooksie story here from my book, “Tales from Orioles Nation.” After all, we were playing the Reds. So here goes. Oh, here’s a bold prediction: The 2014 Orioles will win it all.
“That ball is out of here boys. Forget it, forget it.”
“Another ball finds the magnetic glove.”
“Now that’s it, daddy.”
“Brooks Robinson, held to one hit in 1969, hits the jackpot in ‘70. From the taste of ashes to the taste of Champagne.”
All the above quotes are from the audio of the 1970 NBC production of the World Series videotape. It is narrated by the late Curt Gowdy. Simply, it’s incredible. All three Orioles World Series highlight films are available to the public. The 1966 tape, narrated by great O’s broadcaster Chuck Thompson, seems dated. The 1983 tape is narrated by Mel Allen. They are both average.
The 1970 DVD, however, rules. Who were those amazing writers? We can say this: they had a lot of material.
History tells us that the magical Birds from Baltimore won three World Championships. In 1966, maybe the O’s didn’t really deserve to ruin Sandy Koufax’s last year. In 1983, Baltimore had the weakest Orioles team dating back to 1979, but it was good enough to beat an aging Phillies team (“The Wheeze Kids”).
In 1970, there can be no question that the Birds deserved to win the big prize. After all, we should have never lost to the stinking Mets in ’69.
The 1970 World Champion Orioles are timeless. When my three boys see a homer leave the park, they yell, “That ball is out of here, boys. Forget it.”
Now what is that? I’m pretty sure they put a microphone on Reds coach Alex Grammas. Baseball Reference tells us that Grammas was born in 1926 and hails from Mississippi, which accounts for his deep Southern accent.
The powerful Reds staked an early 4-0 lead off Jim Palmer in Game One.
And then Boog Powell stepped in. I’m not certain what Grammas was muttering but it’s something like, “That’s a Mountain of a Man.”
And then Boog struck. Grammas could only say, “Forget it.”
In that game, the Orioles got a break. Cincinnati’s Bernie Carbo charged home on Ty Cline’s chopper at the plate. Maybe the call was incorrect, but Carbo was called out as catcher Ellie Hendricks allegedly tagged him.
We heard plenty from Sparky Anderson on the film: “There is no way he ever tagged him!” The umpire kept on calling Sparky “Daddy.”
It’s priceless stuff.
For Orioles fans, it was the Series that showed the world that Brooks Robinson was the greatest defensive third baseman in the history of the game. It inspired all those great quotes. From Frank Robinson: “When I was in the National League, I thought Brooks was in the same class as Ron Santo, Jim Ray Hart and Ken Boyer. When I played with him, I realized he was in a class by himself.”
Sports Illustrated correctly observed that Brooks’ play on what would have been a sure double from Lee May in Game One was one of the finest defensive plays in the history of the game.
Gowdy’s line on the film is also perfect: “It only seemed he didn’t have a chance.”
On that wicked liner that Johnny Bench hit in Game Five: “Fair or foul, Houdini on the hot corner makes sure.”
And when the last out was a routine grounder to Brooks at third, Brooks and Mike Cuellar hugged on the mound.
“Sweet Bird of Ecstasy,” Gowdy exclaimed.
What a great team.
What happened to the 2014 Reds? They just aren’t that good. So after the Orioles took 3 of 4 from the Twins, the not-so-good Reds came to town.
Tuesday’s game looked a little troublesome on paper. Matt Latos had been a hot pitcher in August. So our big homer team used the one-base hit (single) to score 4 runs in the first. Game over? Not quite. Suddenly hot, Jon Schoop, made it 5-0 in the second with a solo homer.
So Bud Norris pitches well and light’s out Darren O’Day comes in. Except an infield error leads to a stinking grand slam homer to Jay Bruce and now we are in trouble. Closer Zach Britton gets in some trouble but gets out of it in the 5-4 win.
Wednesday’s win went to Miguel Gonzalez. He actually went the distance in the 6-0 whitewash. Homers from Schoop, light-hitting David Lough and Chris Davis did the damage. Schoop’s two-run double settled matters.
Another big first inning opened the final game of the series. Nick Hundley followed Nelson Cruz in the homer parade. We had a six-run first. The Reds came all the way back to tie the game at 7-7. JJ Hardy got the big hit in the seventh. The Birds survived 9-7. The Orioles lead is 9.5 games.
Oh, the link for the book on the great Orioles: http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/bill-pemstein/tales-from-orioles-nation/paperback/product-21757959.html
