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From Out Of The Hazy Past

 

We all know how age affects memory, but occasionally something happens to drive the point home. I recently recalled listening to an A's broadcast when I was a child that ended with the most exciting play I can ever recall. This led me off on a search of the internet and then Baseball Reference to see if my mind was just playing tricks of me; I love Baseball Reference.

 

What is the most exciting one play in baseball? The walk-off home run must be high on the list, and almost all the candidates I can think of involve a game ending play; the bang-bang play at the plate, the last pitch of a no-hitter/perfect game, etc., but what is the rarest, most exciting way for a game to end? I believe we KC fans have been privileged to witness this twice.

 

My Google search (it had “Ed Charles” in it) led to this obscure article, http://www.allbusiness.com/sports-recreation/sports-games-outdoor-recreation-baseball/8926623-1.html

 

Yes, the walk-off steal is my choice for the most exciting play of all. As a single play in a game, I think it must be the rarest of all. According to this article, it has happened only 35 times in baseball's history. Many here will remember Brett's walk-off steal in '76, but it was the memory of another walk-off steal by another KC franchise's 3B that led me to this topic. Sure enough, there on page 12 of the article, I found proof that the broadcast I remembered had indeed occurred.

 

Ed Charles         Kansas City Athletics 4,          August 8, 1962                      Minnesota Twins 3

Then I was off to Baseball reference, and I was not disappointed. There I found the complete box score and play-by-play for the game in question. This is how Charles' walk-off steal came to happen.

 

Bottom of the 9th, Athletics Batting, Tied 3-3, Bill Pleis facing 3-4-5
                  Bill Pleis replaces George Banks pitching and batting 9th           ---      71%  E Charles       Single to LF           1--      82%  N Siebern       Fielder's Choice /Sacrifice Bunt; Charles to 2B    O      12-      85%  J Tartabull     Bunt Groundout: 3B-2B/Sacrifice; Charles to 3B; Siebern to 2B                   Ray Moore replaces Bill Pleis pitching and batting 9th; Wayne Causey pinch hits for Bobby Del Greco batting 6th           -23      83%  W Causey        Intentional Walk    O      123      66%  G Cimoli        Strikeout    R      123     100%  J Azcue         Charles Steals Hm

I believe the Twins tried to get Charles at 2B and failed, leading to Tartabull's sac bunt. When Cimoli was batting, the Twins had the infield and outfield pulled in and the tension was unbearable. Cimoli promptly K'd, leaving it up to Jose Azcue.........or so everyone thought. The Twins returned to a normal defensive alignment, and I have to believe they might have relaxed a bit.

 

Meanwhile, out on 3b, Charles was not satisfied to watch the light hitting catcher try to drive him home. I can't find the info on the count when Charles stole home, but I do remember going absolutely insane when it happened. Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one ever suspects the walk-off steal of home.

 

The most amazing discovery I made in this exploration of the past was that I was only 7 years old when this happened! I remember that game better than I remember people I met last week. At least I have my memories from my youth, even if I don't remember why I walked over to the refrigerator and other little things in my daily life.

 

I don't know if it's just a coincidence, but both Brett and Charles played 3B; maybe they had some particular insight into the situation that allowed them to pull off this extremely rare feat. Whatever the case, KC fans have been privileged to witness 2 of the 35 walk-off steals in history, a disproportionate percentage given the amount of time MLB has been in KC. Just one more reason it's special to be a fan of KC baseball. Now, where the hell did I put my keys?

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Happened to me in a high school game.

I was up, and our best basestealer was at 3B. Here’s the thing though. First, I was one of our team’s better hitters. I was tops on the team in OBA (I drew a ridiculous number of walks). Second, we were down by three. So one run wasn’t going to cut it.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, he STOLE ON HIS OWN! He didn’t do it on the manager’s sign, he didn’t bother to let me know. Had I swung at the pitch, I would have taken his head off.

He was out by a mile and it ended the game. To this day I have no idea what he was thinking.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jan 26, 2009 11:53 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I was the best base stealer on my team during the summer American Leagion season

Once while I was on third with 1st and 2nd empty, my coach gave me the steal sign with a RHB at the plate. I wasn’t sure that the batter saw the sign, so I only went about 1/2 way. The catcher made a bad throw back to third and I ended up scoring on the overthrow.

To this day, I’m still not sure why I was given the sign in the first place. Maybe I wasn’t gritty enough.

by Top Ramen on Jan 26, 2009 1:22 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

 it has happened only 35 times in baseball’s history.

Saw one of those myself when I was a youth. Thanks for bringing it back to mind.

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 3:10 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I Always Liked

Agee, and that was undoubtedly his best year.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jan 24, 2009 3:23 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

And that was his best month. He had a 19-game hitting streak, hit 11 home runs, and booked that dash-off steal of home. I saw most of that on WOR-TV, and it probably was the best run I had the chance to follow closely until Barry Bonds put on a show for all of 2001.

Agee’s most famous game, however, was the previous October.

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 3:45 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Which was, to bring this back full circle, the only game of the World Series that year not to feature Ed Charles.

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 4:10 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I Was Always

Happy for him getting his ring.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jan 24, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Another view of the same moment —

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 4:21 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Jerry Grote - catching

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jan 24, 2009 4:45 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Mets Top Dodgers, 2-1, as Agee Steals Home In 10th

Too bad the Star hasn’t put its archives between 1922 and 1991 online yet. Must be something similar about Charles’ steal.

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 5:37 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

From the article you mentioned:

Carew surprised the Indians with a 10th inning game-winning steal against reliever Ed Farmer on September 1, 1972.

Excellent. Any distress for Ed Farmer is all right with me.

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 3:17 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

It Was Supposed

To have posted the entire 9th inning PBP.
Bottom of the 9th, Athletics Batting, Tied 3-3, Bill Pleis facing 3-4-5
                  Bill Pleis replaces George Banks pitching and batting 9th
          —- 71% E Charles Single to LF
          1— 82% N Siebern Fielder’s Choice /Sacrifice Bunt; Charles to 2B
   O 12- 85% J Tartabull Bunt Groundout: 3B-2B/Sacrifice; Charles to 3B; Siebern to 2B
                  Ray Moore replaces Bill Pleis pitching and batting 9th; Wayne Causey pinch hits for Bobby Del Greco batting 6th
          -23 83% W Causey Intentional Walk
   O 123 66% G Cimoli Strikeout
   R 123 100% J Azcue Charles Steals Hm
        1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Twins 3, Athletics 4.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jan 24, 2009 3:27 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I was in 10th Grade and remember it quite clearly

that is one of my finest sport memories.

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jan 24, 2009 4:42 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Here he is in KC

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 4:43 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Stealing home: a lost art in major league baseball

Makes the point that steals of home became less common when pitchers began commonly to work from the stretch with a runner on third. I think I read that first somewhere in Bill James, probably in the Historical Abstract, but in this article the point is made by Rickey Henderson.

by 2X2L on Jan 24, 2009 5:01 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Great post.

I loved the memory stuff.

About 15 years ago I saw a Reds-Cubs game at Wrigley Field. I was a big fan of Herm Winningham at the time. But that is another story….

Anyway, I had few beers, and the game was not close, and so by the late innings my friend Tom and I were able to move into the good seats. I was a few rows back from the Reds on-deck circle, and as I mentioned I had drank a few. Herm goes to warm up. I yell to him “Herm! I’m your number one fan.” There were not many people around and I am sure he heard me. Nice memory.

A few years back I looked up the game at Baseball Reference. It was nice seeing the boxscore. I remembered it pretty well. Good times.

Over the last few years I’ve gotten into the habit of printing off the box scores of the MLB games I go see live and stapling my ticket to the print off. I don’t know why I started doing this. I guess I collect stuff.

www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage

by James Quinn on Jan 24, 2009 11:40 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Obligatory Royals connection

Can’t let this thread slip away without mentioning —

Ed Charles’ celebration pictured above was his last moment as a professional player, because he retired after the 1969 season. And that decision, leaving the Mets in need of yet another 3rd baseman, led to one of Cedric Tallis’s great Royals trades.

by 2X2L on Jan 25, 2009 11:12 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

HF: The following season, with Nolan Ryan on the mound, you stole home in the fourth inning, scoring the game’s only run in a 1-0 Royals win. It was just the second time since WWII that the only run in a game was scored on a steal of home. How does an attempted steal of home compare to an attempted steal of second or third?

AO: Stealing home is different. It is unusual. Stealing home against Ryan was more important because it was Nolan. After that, he always threw as hard as could when he faced me. In that game, John Mayberry, a left handed batter, was up with a 3-2 count. They changed the pitch from a curve to a fastball. It was low and inside to Mayberry and I scored easily.

Full interview here.

by 2X2L on Jan 25, 2009 11:54 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

What a great post.

This is great writing, and research, and really reminds me why I love baseball so much. The essentials are so simple, and then there are crazy things like walk-off stealing home.

by Sean O Se on Jan 25, 2009 6:17 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Another Thing That

Jumps out at me is that Norman F. Siebern was asked to bunt with no outs. Siebern was a monster in ‘62, his peak year. His 25 HR’s and .907 OPS (.308/.412/.495) were far and away the best on the A’s that year, but Hank Bauer called for a sac bunt to bring up……………Jose Tartabull (.277/.321/.329)? Now that’s playing the game the right way!

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jan 25, 2009 8:37 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Here, surrounded by Cardinal fans,

that Glenn Brummer steal of home during the 82 season is ALWAYS remembered as sorta the signature play for that 82 team. Dude was a slow backup catcher, and I’m sure his career total of steals would be in the single digits…

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Jan 26, 2009 11:23 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Yup. Check out the first comment here.

Don’t know why Brett’s steal isn’t listed there, though.

by 2X2L on Jan 26, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Really great post

Interesting stuff. I miss the steal of home, you almost never see it now. It is a tremendously exciting play. I want to say Mike Sweeney did it once (not a walk-off steal, but still, an amazing feat for someone like Sweeney)

Here is my write-up on Ed Charles, the 2nd Greatest Kansas City Athletic of All-Time

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jan 26, 2009 11:55 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Sweeney’s in the 6th, put the Royals ahead 2-1 in The Bronx. Neifi Perez and Blake Stein took it from there.

by 2X2L on Jan 26, 2009 12:04 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Oops, not The Bronx.

by 2X2L on Jan 26, 2009 12:11 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

You could always depend

On Neifi and Blake Stein.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jan 26, 2009 12:53 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

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