tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post8093693485366485320..comments2024-03-28T18:55:27.201-04:00Comments on The Heath Post: 1976GoHeathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-50922086640971764222023-05-12T21:41:31.565-04:002023-05-12T21:41:31.565-04:00EX-TRIPLET GRILLI, NOW MY ALL-TIME-FAVORITE EX-TRI...EX-TRIPLET GRILLI, NOW MY ALL-TIME-FAVORITE EX-TRIPLET, RETIRES THE SIDE! Down go the Yankees! Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-15567227035641579822023-05-12T21:38:46.563-04:002023-05-12T21:38:46.563-04:00And still Figueroa pitches on, striking out LeFlor...And still Figueroa pitches on, striking out LeFlore to end the top of the ninth. Oh, my! Evansville, sports and internet, HOORAY!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-59024022883869867872023-05-12T21:37:26.774-04:002023-05-12T21:37:26.774-04:00OH, MY GOSH, SUTHERLAND SINGLES HOME MEYER AND VER...OH, MY GOSH, SUTHERLAND SINGLES HOME MEYER AND VERYZER! <br /><br />4-3, Tigers ...Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-8846549405528735972023-05-12T21:36:20.692-04:002023-05-12T21:36:20.692-04:00Wild Figueroa pitch! Triples on second and third!Wild Figueroa pitch! Triples on second and third!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-28585939671585931462023-05-12T21:35:48.427-04:002023-05-12T21:35:48.427-04:00Houk sends up, as scheduled, Gary Sutherland (not ...Houk sends up, as scheduled, Gary Sutherland (not an ex-Triplet). He's going to end up a career .243 hitter, and he's going to be done in Detroit in 1976 after hitting just .205 through 42 games. According to my baseball cards, Houk could've gone to Bill Freehan or Ben Oglivie, among other Tigers (not to mention ex-Triplets Bruce Kimm and Chuck Scrivener). But, no, here comes Sutherland ...Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-84329055757976007872023-05-12T21:31:27.197-04:002023-05-12T21:31:27.197-04:00Veryzer--as previously reported, another former Tr...Veryzer--as previously reported, another former Triplet--<i>also singles</i>, and now we have Tigers on first and second, with two out and Detroit trailing, 3-2. Will Billy Martin continue to stick with busy Ed Figueroa?Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-88266716290058150582023-05-12T21:29:31.041-04:002023-05-12T21:29:31.041-04:00Staub advances to third and then comes home on sac...Staub advances to third and then comes home on sacrifices, but now there are two outs. Houk sends out a pinch-hitter, ex-Triplet Dan Meyer, and he singles!<br /><br />EVANSVILLE!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-46144370423433191222023-05-12T21:27:53.583-04:002023-05-12T21:27:53.583-04:00Rusty Staub leads off, and "Le Grande Orange&...Rusty Staub leads off, and "Le Grande Orange" (from the French Canadians when he was with the Expos) comes through! A double!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-54814671281893361262023-05-12T21:25:39.370-04:002023-05-12T21:25:39.370-04:00And now back to Toby Wright for one last number be...<a href="https://youtu.be/Zh1seXedHVg" rel="nofollow">And now back to Toby Wright for one last number before the top of the ninth (even if the Tigers tie it up, I've run out of Toby Wright videos). It's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"!</a>Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-84611367874722260302023-05-12T21:23:26.349-04:002023-05-12T21:23:26.349-04:00Hiller's out, and Houk moves on to former-Trip...Hiller's out, and Houk moves on to former-Triplet, Steve Grilli. Lou Piniella bunt sacrifices Munson in to make it 3-1, but then my old Evansville peep gets out of the inning.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-5004285319609759162023-05-12T21:19:39.998-04:002023-05-12T21:19:39.998-04:00Thurman Munson singles ... Chris Chambliss singles...Thurman Munson singles ... Chris Chambliss singles, scoring White ... 2-1, Yankees, and no out ...Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-47721062497671420792023-05-12T21:18:43.795-04:002023-05-12T21:18:43.795-04:00I don't know why Ralph Houk gave Dave Roberts ...I don't know why Ralph Houk gave Dave Roberts the hook a couple of innings ago. He seemed to be doing great. But, anyway, Hiller is the one who gave up the Nettles homer and now has walked Roy White to start the home eighth ...Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-34462440430509504722023-05-12T16:50:30.938-04:002023-05-12T16:50:30.938-04:00"Saturday Night"! I honestly don't t...<a href="https://youtu.be/5Mk5FfVZsFU" rel="nofollow">"Saturday Night"!</a> I honestly don't think I've ever heard this song and not loved it.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-79614523493343356512023-05-12T16:46:01.717-04:002023-05-12T16:46:01.717-04:00Figueroa is still going strong. In the eighth, he ...Figueroa is still going strong. In the eighth, he gets in a little trouble when LeFlore reaches on a two-out error, and then Johnson gets on on a hit by pitch. But then Figueroa retires hot Horton, and it's still 1-1 going into the bottom half.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-86978501336993117472023-05-12T16:39:40.201-04:002023-05-12T16:39:40.201-04:00Now, not no. Toby, not Tony.Now, not no. Toby, not Tony.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-25450732140860250372023-05-12T16:39:18.117-04:002023-05-12T16:39:18.117-04:00Now here's Toby Wright with "You Are the ...<a href="https://youtu.be/4Gu2ndHn-Xo" rel="nofollow">Now here's Toby Wright with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life."</a>Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-60910969853315311282023-05-12T16:38:37.645-04:002023-05-12T16:38:37.645-04:00This game was scoreless after five innings. Then R...This game was scoreless after five innings. Then Ron LeFlore singled, stole a base and came home on Alex Johnson's single in the sixth, and then Graig Nettles homered in the seventh. <a href="https://www.backtobaseball.com/playballregularseason.php?page=54&IDindex=NYA197605110&date=May+11%2C+1976" rel="nofollow">So now it's 1-1, headed to the eighth inning.</a>Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-47060396760051614312023-05-12T14:56:42.782-04:002023-05-12T14:56:42.782-04:00No here's Tony Wright with "50 Ways to Le...<a href="https://youtu.be/VyMfe3UtNLk" rel="nofollow">No here's Tony Wright with "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."</a>Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-11032356195736271922023-05-12T14:53:53.945-04:002023-05-12T14:53:53.945-04:00The other thing I want to say about the 1976 Tiger...The other thing I want to say about the 1976 Tigers is that four of their starters in this game--LeFlore, Thompson, Wockenfuss and Veryzer--were former Evansville (Indiana) Triplets. I'm sorry to say that I have very little family history with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evansville_Triplets" rel="nofollow">the late Triplets of famous Bosse Field</a>. They didn't come to be until 1969, not long before my parents, younger brother and I took off for Chicago and then Paducah. (Most of my family's Evansville-baseball lore had to do with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evansville_Braves" rel="nofollow">the later Evansville Braves, also of famous Bosse Field</a>. My dad talked about having a widow aunt who rented rooms in her home, near the stadium, to Braves, and I swear I thought the big one he always mentioned was Eddie Mathews. But it turns out Mathews never played in Evansville, and now I feel like my whole life has been a lie. Maybe he said Del Crandall.) But in the years since the Triplets' disappearance, I have come to hold that element of Evansville history in fond esteem. ("Tito Puente's gonna be dead, and you're gonna say, 'Oh, I've been listening to him for years, and I think he's fabulous.'") So I'm rooting for LeFlore, Thompson, Wockenfuss and Veryzer in particular in this game at Yankee Stadium.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-43045918502780242602023-05-12T13:31:38.866-04:002023-05-12T13:31:38.866-04:00Now here's Yankee Stadium organist Toby Wright...<a href="https://youtu.be/uEqZzkn1ftY" rel="nofollow">Now here's Yankee Stadium organist Toby Wright with "I Can See Clearly Now."</a>Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-59682417903669225192023-05-12T13:27:51.389-04:002023-05-12T13:27:51.389-04:00None of the 1976 big-league Tigers will be around ...None of the 1976 big-league Tigers will be around for the 1984 party, but several of the studs-to-be are already in or very soon to be in Detroit's organization. Of the top 12 in <i>Baseball Reference</i> WAR for the 1984 Tigers, catcher Lance Parrish came in the 1974 draft; second baseman Lou Whitaker and third baseman Tom Brookens came in 1975, and shortstop Alan Trammel and pitchers Jack Morris and Dan Petry are coming in the June 1976 amateur draft.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-59058156473211507272023-05-12T13:21:34.642-04:002023-05-12T13:21:34.642-04:00There are remnants from the last World Series: Hor...There are remnants from the last World Series: Horton, reliever John Hiller, catcher Bill Freehan and outfielder Mickey Stanley were on both the 1968 and '76 Tigers. And Horton, especially, is a key guy on both. He was the April 1976 A.L. player of the month, even.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-45410657793763416312023-05-12T12:43:46.235-04:002023-05-12T12:43:46.235-04:00Since winning 103 games in 1968, the Tigers have b...Since winning 103 games in 1968, the Tigers have been in fairly steady decline: 90 wins, 79, 91, 86, 85, 72 and 57 in the successive seasons since. It is going to be a pretty steady ascent to 104 wins in 1984: 74 wins, 74, 86, 85, 84, 60 (of 109 games in strike-shortened 1981), 83 and 92 from 1976 through ’83.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-16757321390800793812023-05-12T12:43:11.767-04:002023-05-12T12:43:11.767-04:00Yankees haven't made the post-season since 196...Yankees haven't made the post-season since 1964, and really haven't come close.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-40045406929449462602023-05-12T12:42:10.813-04:002023-05-12T12:42:10.813-04:00He did seem to pitch a lot. Between 1976 and 1978...He did seem to pitch a lot. Between 1976 and 1978, he started 101 games for the Yankees, and went 55-30.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.com