BREWERS 9, INDIANS 1
(1st Game)
Tuesday, August 22, 1978 at County Stadium
Game 1644 – 9/20/20
Milwaukee Brewers ace Mike Caldwell became the first pitcher of the SP78 Replay season to reach the 20-win mark, allowing just one run on eight hits and going the distance in a convincing 9-1 victory over the Indians, in the first game of a ‘Ladies Night’ doubleheader at Milwaukee.
Caldwell (20-4) found himself involved in a pitching duel early on with Tribe starter Sid Monge (0-5), with Monge allowing just two hits to Caldwell’s four over the first four innings. But while Caldwell stayed strong into the eighth, Monge fell apart in the fifth, coughing up four earned runs thanks to Gorman Thomas’ 22nd home run of the season, a grand slam that just cleared the short County Stadium wall in left. It was his first slam of the SP78 season, and the third of his five-year career.
Now backed by a comfortable four-run lead, Caldwell settled down and took control of the contest, throwing hitless ball over the next three innings, allowing just two batters to reach base, via a walk and an error. But he began to tire in the eighth, and with two out, Buddy Bell laced a single to right, and hot-hitting Ted Cox followed with a shot to the left-center gap, good for a double that sent Bell home with what would be Cleveland’s only run.
However, any thoughts of an Indians comeback had already been crushed one inning earlier, when the Brewers padded Caldwell’s lead with a five-run outburst, culminating in a 3-run home run by Larry Hisle, his 22nd, tying Thomas for the team lead. Robin Yount’s two-run double—after Cecil Cooper had singled, and Paul Molitor had reached base on Bell’s throwing error—accounted for the frame’s other two tallies, giving Caldwell plenty of insurance to work with.
For Caldwell, it was his first 20-win season, after seven years spent with the Brewers, Reds, Giants, and Padres; his previous best victory total was 14, accomplished during his first season with San Francisco in 1974. The complete game was his 19th of the year, also a career high, and his strikeout of Tom Veryzer in the fourth was his 100th of the SP78 campaign.
Said Caldwell after the game, “I didn’t think winning twenty would be that big a deal, but I must admit it feels pretty good, especially when I heard the crowd after that last out.” He then added, “I just wish I hadn’t lost those six…otherwise, we’d be in first place right now.”
Game Notes
• The game was played at night at site AZ18 in Peoria, Arizona, on the living room table while I listened to Sides 1 and 2 of The Who’s Quadrophenia LP.
• This was the 132nd game played at site AZ18, good for fourth place on the all-time games hosted list.
• This was the fourth game ever played on this date, and the first since 2016.
• The Brewers won the actual 1978 game by a slim 3-2 score, with Bill Castro earning the win over Jim Kern.
• I’d spent the morning and afternoon visiting three Zia Records stores in the Phoenix area, where I bought a total of 14 used albums, including the one I listened to during tonight’s twinbill.
• Cleveland outfielder Paul Dade was making his first appearance after coming off the 45-day disabled list the previous day; he’d been out of action for 17 years, dating back to 2003. He went 0-for-2 at the plate after taking over in center field for Rick Manning late in the game.
• Caldwell had run out of gas (in other words, his Pitcher Reduction points had reached zero, meaning all FAC results were taken directly off the batter card) after Gary Alexander had singled with two out in the ninth. But I kept him in, hoping he could earn a complete game, and he did when the next batter, Dade, hit an infield fly to Cooper at first base for the final out.
• This was Monge’s first start of the SP78 season, after 40 relief appearances; he’d started two games during the actual ’78 season.
• Because he was batting .339 for the month, Indians outfielder Cox earned a starting nod in right field for tonight’s game. He went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, boosting his August average to .357.
• Caldwell now has 19 complete games for the SP78 season, and I wondered if maybe that was too much for a pitcher to have at this point of an actual season. The answer was no: Caldwell finished 1978 with 23, so he’s right on track.
• Below is a photo of the game board, taken after the final out.
Statis Pro 1978 Replay 
After sitting on his ass for 17 years in his suburban Cleveland home, was Paul Dade a factor at all?
Unfortunately, not so much: he grounded to short as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, popped out to first for the final out in the ninth, and had no action in center field after taking over for Manning in the eighth. He didn’t play in Game 2.
But hey, he IS batting .209 for the season, with 12 stolen bases!
Did ladies night make a difference in Caldwell’s performance?
So 45 days of the actual 78 season equals 17 years of SP78 time. An interesting fact. Does Dade drive a Delorean?
He was wearing horse blinders, so no, it didn’t affect his performance.
As for your second question: my friend, the entire SP78 season is a DeLorean!
Oh, I forgot, the landscaping crew needs to work on the field.
That field is over forty years old…there’s bound to be a few rough patches in that hard grass that even the groundskeepers can’t keep up with.
Congrats to Mr. Caldwell, he was the guy I was hoping would accomplish the feat first! Guidry has the great ERA, but just seems to have trailed off a bit in the wins category. OK, now I’m pulling for G. Perry to be the only NL 20 game winner next!
I’m sure Guidry will reach 20 soon, but I too think it’s cool that Caldwell did it first…and that he did so in the actual 1978 season as well (win 20 I mean, not win 20 before Guidry). And Caldwell isn’t too far behind Guidry in the ERA department: 1.46 to 1.28. Guidry’s had a few tough starts of late (he’s 1-2 in August so far), but I also remember Caldwell getting roughed up by the Blue Jays a few years back, so I guess it’s been balancing out. And look out for Jon Matlack, sneaking up from the AL West!
And Perry may end up being the only NL’er to win 20; he has 16 now, with at least 5-6 more starts remaining. Actually, Steve Carlton and Pat Zachry have 15, so I guess they have a chance as well.
Never thought I’d see the day when The Commissioner would resort to ‘hash-tags’ – my gawd man – what is the world coming to?!!? (although it did lead me here to enjoy this fun exchange – thanks fan folk & fellas!).
Good lord, where the freak do you see hash tags? Trust me, if you see any that are NOT in front of a game number, then they’re not in any way endorsed by Statis Pro 1978 Replay, or any of its subsidiary companies. But I’m glad it brought you here to have some fun!
You musta’ toasted them! Think we determined that they were WordPress-generated so maybe the bloom is off of that vine? Only took me a month to investigate. Not real quick on the uptake anymore am I?! 😦 I did notice that (as is commonplace these days) my PWD here had been usurped and had to be re-created so who knows if that’s a clue to the abolition of your hash-tags but bottom-line – they are GONE now! So shortly, Brooklyn Beth will be in the process of updating my Web site and the new design/hosting platform is WP-based. I have no idea how that will effect my existing WP accounts but if you notice a hiccup or two that’s likely what’s going on. That’s all from the southern office for now. Play on Comish!! 🙂
Well, I’m glad they’re gone, from your end AND mine! And I don’t know what to think about your PWD, except with WP involved, who knows what might happen. If you have trouble getting back, let me know and I’ll try to help!