Thursday, April 13, 2023

The Devil Rays!

Tampa Bay beats Boston 9-3 and their record is now 13-0.

I remember when the Braves started 13-0 in 1982.  We had been watching them on cable, and historically they were not good, and then in 1982 they started like this (home teams listed first):

San Diego 0 - 1 Atlanta
San Diego 4 - 6 Atlanta
Atlanta 6 - 2 Houston
Atlanta 8 - 6 Houston
Atlanta 5 - 0 Houston
Cincinnati 1 - 6 Atlanta
Cincinnati 5 - 8 Atlanta
Cincinnati 2 - 5 Atlanta (10 innings)
Houston 3 - 5 Atlanta
Houston 1 - 2 Atlanta
Houston 5 - 6 Atlanta
Atlanta 4 - 2 Cincinnati
Atlanta 4 - 3 Cincinnati

And just like that, they were 13-0.  They went 76-73 the rest of the way, but that 13-0 start was enough to win the division.

For those of you who used to watch TBS 41 years ago, and who may remember this team, here was the Braves' lineup on opening day -- April 6, 1982:

1.  Brett Butler, CF
2.  Glenn Hubbard, 2B
3.  Claudell Washington, RF
4.  Bob Horner, 3B
5.  Dale Murphy, LF
6.  Chris Chambliss, 1B
7.  Bruce Benedict, C
8.  Rafael Ramirez, SS
9.  Rick Mahler, P
Manager:  Joe Torre

7 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this post. It is, of course, right up my alley ...

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  2. We did not have cable at this point, and I was not yet of driving age. So while I occasionally got to watch cable at your house (when my mom was nice enough to drive me over to your house), my primary WTBS (and MTV, etc.) connection was my neighborhood friend, Rodney. Rodney and especially Rodney's mom were among those Sudden Braves Fans (thanks to WTBS's arrival into homes outside of Georgia). I mean, I think Rodney and Rodney's mom were still primarily Cardinals fans because of the local radio affiliates and St. Louis's proximity to Paducah, but they went absolutely cuckoo for these Braves.

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  3. I honestly remember Rodney's mom the day after the Braves clinched their division title. I was at their house after that next game, and I remember her telling me how badly they had played in the afterglow of their championship. I wonder if the facts bear out that memory.

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  4. Anyway, I feel like I saw bits of about a half dozen of the Braves first 13 games over at Rodney's house--probably fewer. My first favorite of these guys was Claudell Washington because he was a former A. Dale Murphy was the biggest star, but I figured Chris Chambliss, over from the championship Yankees, was the guy who was making it all go. And as Rodney and his mom were particular Bruce Benedict fans (Rodney had started catching in Little League), I felt it my obligation as the neighborhood liberal to align myself with Rafael Ramirez.

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  5. So, again, 2023 me so appreciates your putting up this 1982 post, which was a nice lark before returning to 1976.

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  6. Tampa Bay lost to Toronto on Friday night, and thus did not go 14-0.

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  7. In the history of baseball, no fan has ever said: "You know, I really wish that the TV announcers would interview a manager (or a player) while the game is taking place."

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