I occasionally stumble onto a fun story that we can connect to our beloved Ironpigs….
It was June 23, 1984. NBC had chosen to nationally televise a game between long time rivals the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley field. The Cubs were playing well this season, and as a team that had been pretty bad over the years, the league hadn’t really taken them seriously yet. That would change with this game. The Cardinals were ahead by one run enterering the bottom of the ninth inning and pitching was their ace closer, Bruce Sutter. To bat was a young Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg tied the game with a home run over the left field ivy to tie the game at 9. The Cardinals responded with two runs of their own in the top of the 10th inning. Sutter remained in the game with a 2 run lead and again faced Sandberg, this time with a runner on base. Sandberg again took Sutter deep to tie the game. The Cubs went on to win the game in the 11th inning.
Although St. Louis’ Willie McGee had already been named the NBC Player of the Game, it was Sandberg’s feat that played the ultimate role.
The Cubs would win the Division that year with a record of 96 wins – 65 losses. They went on to lose to the Padres in the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals would finish in third place, 12.5 games back.
In 1984 Sandberg would earn his 1st All Star game selection, his 2nd Gold Glove, his 1st Silver Slugger Award and was named the National League MVP. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2005. He is currently the manager of our Lehigh Valley Ironpigs.
Bruce Sutter was named the National League’s Rolaid’s Relief Man of the Year in 1984. Sutter’s 45 saves in 1984 led the league and he boasted a 1.53 ERA. He also made his last All Star game selection that year. Sutter retired in 1988 and was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2006. He is currently a consultant to the Phillies minor league system.
When I heard about this game, my first thought was of these two baseball legends finding themselves together here in the Lehigh Valley. Is there any animosity between the aged warriors of the diamond? Could the young, up and coming Sandberg have played a role in the decline of a star more senior to him at the time? I doubt it. I could imagine there might be a little nudging and friendly banter but nothing that could host bad feelings.
Either way, the 2011 Ironpigs lineup, whoever might end up there, will have an advantage over teams in the past. They, we, have two baseball legends here to help. Here’s looking to being above .500!
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Sehr nett, Kommandant.
Ich versuche 🙂
Dan, think of Thomson and Branca, those classic foes in 1951, touring for years on the autograph circuit together… it’s all good!!
If Sutter hasn’t run into Ryno yet, he might… tomorrow (27) at the banquet at DeSales! 🙂
I’m a Cardinals fan and I remember watching that game. Sandberg went 5-6 with 7 RBIs that day. The Cubs traded Sutter to the Cardinals on 12/9/80 and the Phillies traded Sandberg to the Cubs on 1/27/82. They missed being teammates by 13 months. Phillies broadcaster and former player Gary Matthews was in left field for the Cubs that day, Larry Bowa was at shortstop, current Norfolk Tides batting coach Richie Hebner was 1-3 and Leon Durham, who the Cubs obtained from the Cardinals in exchange for Sutter, played first base that day. I believe Durham is still the batting coach for the Toledo Mud Hens.
In a bit of speculative news, is it possible we could see a Cy Young Award winner on opening day this year? The Yankees just signed 37 year old Bartolo Colon. The contract has a clause that says he can opt out of the contract if he doesn’t make the Yankees out of spring training, but if he would decide to accept a minor league assignment he’d be pitching for SWB in April. Colon was the 2005 Cy Young winner when he went 21-8 for the Angels. He was 2-1 1.93 in winter ball this year.
If memory serves me, Colon made an appearance at CCP with Pawtucket..
You’re right. I forgot about that. August 26, 2008. He got roughed up a little but the PawSox still won 11-4. Brandon Watson hit a 3-run homer off Colon in the 2nd inning. One of J.A. Happ’s worst outings with the Ironpigs.
I have that game on DVD. I can’t decide what I enjoy most — watching Ryno as a pup, listening to Bob Costas’ gleeful reaction to that second home run, or seeing the Wizard in his prime. Much as I loathe the Cardinals, I’ve always had a soft spot for Ozzie Smith. Growing up in a split household (Mom was a Cardinals fan; Dad was a Cubs fan), I probably saw as much of him as I did of Sandberg.
I can’t watch that game right now. I’m trying to stay mad at the Cubs, and it’s nearly impossible to do that when I’m looking at the ivy and remembering how I felt watching games on WGN as a kid. I wish Ricketts would hurry up and fire Hendry. Spring training hasn’t even started yet, and I already miss the boys in the Friendly Confines….
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