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(AP) - On September 28th, 1992, the Batavia Muckdogs had the chance to do something that this franchise has never done, go to the BLB postseason. With a seven game lead in the wild card race over the Washington Bats, and a magic number of one, they faced the California Kodiaks at beautiful In-N-Out Field. The temperature was a lovely 64 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the darkening sky.
When the game kicked off there were only 14,145 in the stands in California but over 37,000 packed the seats back at Lawrence Stadium. The Batavia management had opened the stadium up for free that night and were broadcasting the game live over their outfield jumbo tron. All though the quality of the picture wasn't great, the energy in the stadium was electric and there was standing room only. Parking was a disaster, a few beers were spilled due to the crowded conditions, and two vendors ran out of hot dogs early, but nobody seemed to mind. They were here to get a chance to see history.
More than a few people from rival BLB teams would have laughed at the Muckdogs fans, but they didn't or couldn't understand the amount of pain this team had put them through since their '84 inaugural season. In the previous eight seasons Batavia had six 4th place finishes. With five of those finishes in the 70's wins range though it always gave them something to hope for. Maybe next year the pitching will come through, maybe next year the hitting will improve, maybe next year we'll get a solid FA agent or two...but in the end the hope would just slowly fade away. Then there was the draft. Chet Stephens, Mal Jones, and Pete Merner were all 1st round picks and just three of many selections that the fans could only shake their heads about. "Bustavia" had been born. So finally after years of "what ifs", the chance was finally here. The chance to turn a franchise around, the chance to get rid of the demons of the draft, the chance to play baseball late into October.
After the Muckdogs started out the game with three up and three down the fans back in Batavia went wild when Nathan Athey trotted out to the mound. Always the fan favorite and the "old man" of the Batavia staff at 32 years old, Athey has been with the team since his day one selection in the expansion draft. He was traded to Indy during the '88 season but quickly brought back in '89 due to an overwhelming fan letter write in. So even though there were some better rested pitchers manager Manny Lopez went with the righty from Texas instead.
"Who else would I want on that mound than Nathan," Lopez said after the game. "He is the leader of this staff and even though he might have lost a little over the past few seasons he has the young guys utmost attention and respect when he speaks. He is every cliche you can write down and then some."
Athey quickly went to work and sat down all three Kodiaks he faced, including a full count strikeout against Jose Compres to end the inning. He was feeling good as he trotted off the field and was greeted in the dugout by high fives and handshakes. Unfortunately his good will didn't rub off on any Muckdogs as they quickly bowed out of the second with another three quick outs.
As the rest of the game moved on it turned into a see-saw battle. In the bottom of the second inning Athey gave up a run on a Marv Curtis RBI single which sent Howard Haydon home. Then in the fourth Batavia finally got on the board with two runs. Jermaine Ednams was driven in by a Ruben Marin double, then Marin scored off recently acquired catcher Al Miller's single.
Batavia's 2-1 lead was quickly extinguished in the next inning when Athey gave up a home run to Shoko Tsuji with Curt Race on 3rd base. He was able to strike out Compres to end the inning but the damage had been done, after five innings Batavia trailed California 3 to 2.
The 6th and the 7th inning featured a whole lot of nothing. In the sixth Batavia once again went three up and three down, while California had four batters record three outs in a total of five pitches. In the seventh it was more of the same as Muckdogs 2B Helespontico Jarava reached base on a walk, but Athey struck out to end the inning.
Athey then turned around and recorded one more out before he was pulled from the game. As he slowly walked off the field the crowd back at Lawrence Stadium gave him a standing ovation. His line of 6.1 innings pitched with 6 hits and 3 earned runs wasn't spectacular but he kept Batavia in the game. When Basil Petrohilos emerged from the bullpen the cheering got even louder. The 23 year old flamethrower from Greece quickly sat down the next two Kodiaks and the inning was over.
In the 8th many of the Muckdogs faithful realized it was now or never, and when lead off man Wes Taylor doubled the crowd came alive. Joe Dominguez then popped out, but Jermaine Ednams singled to send Taylor to 3rd. An all around star player with blazing speed, Ednams was given the green light to take second by Lopez. He then swiped the base and in the process caused a wild throw which sent him to third and Taylor home. A single two batters later by Tauro Hidrogo sent Ednams home and the Muckdogs had taken a 4-3 lead. All though it was past midnight back in Batavia the stadium was rocking.
After California failed to generate anything in the 8th, and Batavia was shut out again, it all came down to the bottom of the 9th. The half inning where more men have become famous throughout the history of baseball than one can remember. The Muckdogs were just three outs away from the post season and when "House of Pain" came over the loudspeakers in Batavia the 37,000 fans let out a roar as they watched Ken Bayer slowly trot out onto the field. He is considered one of the most dominant closers in the game and his 20 saves and 0.33 ERA in his last 27 appearances were a big reason Batavia was where they were.
After a 1st pitch strike Howard Haydon stroked a single to get on first. Then Bayer got up 0-2 on Angelo Hernadez before he smacked another single. When Marv Curtis put down a sacrifice bunt there were suddenly runners at 2nd and 3rd with only one out. A single could end the game, and all though Batavia would have six more chances to secure the wild card nobody wanted to go that route. When Bayer got Artie Ward to ground out the moment was here. As In-n-Out Field let out a low cheer, "one more out" echoed through Lawrence Stadium as Roger Willis stepped up to the plate.
The first pitch was a foul ball, the second a swinging strike, and quickly the count was 0-2. Pitch three was a ball and pitch four was fouled off again. The count was now 1-2. The crowd was on their feet, the coach was sweating, and the GM was holding his breath. Bayer then reared back into his signature windup and went with old reliable. With his 14th pitch of the game he threw a 100 mph fastball that Willis had no chance of catching up too. Strike three.
The time was 9:36 pacific coast time on the 28th day of September, 1992. It was no longer just hopes and chances, the Batavia Muckdogs were finally postseason bound.
(AP) - On September 28th, 1992, the Batavia Muckdogs had the chance to do something that this franchise has never done, go to the BLB postseason. With a seven game lead in the wild card race over the Washington Bats, and a magic number of one, they faced the California Kodiaks at beautiful In-N-Out Field. The temperature was a lovely 64 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the darkening sky.
When the game kicked off there were only 14,145 in the stands in California but over 37,000 packed the seats back at Lawrence Stadium. The Batavia management had opened the stadium up for free that night and were broadcasting the game live over their outfield jumbo tron. All though the quality of the picture wasn't great, the energy in the stadium was electric and there was standing room only. Parking was a disaster, a few beers were spilled due to the crowded conditions, and two vendors ran out of hot dogs early, but nobody seemed to mind. They were here to get a chance to see history.
More than a few people from rival BLB teams would have laughed at the Muckdogs fans, but they didn't or couldn't understand the amount of pain this team had put them through since their '84 inaugural season. In the previous eight seasons Batavia had six 4th place finishes. With five of those finishes in the 70's wins range though it always gave them something to hope for. Maybe next year the pitching will come through, maybe next year the hitting will improve, maybe next year we'll get a solid FA agent or two...but in the end the hope would just slowly fade away. Then there was the draft. Chet Stephens, Mal Jones, and Pete Merner were all 1st round picks and just three of many selections that the fans could only shake their heads about. "Bustavia" had been born. So finally after years of "what ifs", the chance was finally here. The chance to turn a franchise around, the chance to get rid of the demons of the draft, the chance to play baseball late into October.
After the Muckdogs started out the game with three up and three down the fans back in Batavia went wild when Nathan Athey trotted out to the mound. Always the fan favorite and the "old man" of the Batavia staff at 32 years old, Athey has been with the team since his day one selection in the expansion draft. He was traded to Indy during the '88 season but quickly brought back in '89 due to an overwhelming fan letter write in. So even though there were some better rested pitchers manager Manny Lopez went with the righty from Texas instead.
"Who else would I want on that mound than Nathan," Lopez said after the game. "He is the leader of this staff and even though he might have lost a little over the past few seasons he has the young guys utmost attention and respect when he speaks. He is every cliche you can write down and then some."
Athey quickly went to work and sat down all three Kodiaks he faced, including a full count strikeout against Jose Compres to end the inning. He was feeling good as he trotted off the field and was greeted in the dugout by high fives and handshakes. Unfortunately his good will didn't rub off on any Muckdogs as they quickly bowed out of the second with another three quick outs.
As the rest of the game moved on it turned into a see-saw battle. In the bottom of the second inning Athey gave up a run on a Marv Curtis RBI single which sent Howard Haydon home. Then in the fourth Batavia finally got on the board with two runs. Jermaine Ednams was driven in by a Ruben Marin double, then Marin scored off recently acquired catcher Al Miller's single.
Batavia's 2-1 lead was quickly extinguished in the next inning when Athey gave up a home run to Shoko Tsuji with Curt Race on 3rd base. He was able to strike out Compres to end the inning but the damage had been done, after five innings Batavia trailed California 3 to 2.
The 6th and the 7th inning featured a whole lot of nothing. In the sixth Batavia once again went three up and three down, while California had four batters record three outs in a total of five pitches. In the seventh it was more of the same as Muckdogs 2B Helespontico Jarava reached base on a walk, but Athey struck out to end the inning.
Athey then turned around and recorded one more out before he was pulled from the game. As he slowly walked off the field the crowd back at Lawrence Stadium gave him a standing ovation. His line of 6.1 innings pitched with 6 hits and 3 earned runs wasn't spectacular but he kept Batavia in the game. When Basil Petrohilos emerged from the bullpen the cheering got even louder. The 23 year old flamethrower from Greece quickly sat down the next two Kodiaks and the inning was over.
In the 8th many of the Muckdogs faithful realized it was now or never, and when lead off man Wes Taylor doubled the crowd came alive. Joe Dominguez then popped out, but Jermaine Ednams singled to send Taylor to 3rd. An all around star player with blazing speed, Ednams was given the green light to take second by Lopez. He then swiped the base and in the process caused a wild throw which sent him to third and Taylor home. A single two batters later by Tauro Hidrogo sent Ednams home and the Muckdogs had taken a 4-3 lead. All though it was past midnight back in Batavia the stadium was rocking.
After California failed to generate anything in the 8th, and Batavia was shut out again, it all came down to the bottom of the 9th. The half inning where more men have become famous throughout the history of baseball than one can remember. The Muckdogs were just three outs away from the post season and when "House of Pain" came over the loudspeakers in Batavia the 37,000 fans let out a roar as they watched Ken Bayer slowly trot out onto the field. He is considered one of the most dominant closers in the game and his 20 saves and 0.33 ERA in his last 27 appearances were a big reason Batavia was where they were.
After a 1st pitch strike Howard Haydon stroked a single to get on first. Then Bayer got up 0-2 on Angelo Hernadez before he smacked another single. When Marv Curtis put down a sacrifice bunt there were suddenly runners at 2nd and 3rd with only one out. A single could end the game, and all though Batavia would have six more chances to secure the wild card nobody wanted to go that route. When Bayer got Artie Ward to ground out the moment was here. As In-n-Out Field let out a low cheer, "one more out" echoed through Lawrence Stadium as Roger Willis stepped up to the plate.
The first pitch was a foul ball, the second a swinging strike, and quickly the count was 0-2. Pitch three was a ball and pitch four was fouled off again. The count was now 1-2. The crowd was on their feet, the coach was sweating, and the GM was holding his breath. Bayer then reared back into his signature windup and went with old reliable. With his 14th pitch of the game he threw a 100 mph fastball that Willis had no chance of catching up too. Strike three.
The time was 9:36 pacific coast time on the 28th day of September, 1992. It was no longer just hopes and chances, the Batavia Muckdogs were finally postseason bound.