Blue Monday by Danny Gallagher

Author:Danny Gallagher [Gallagher, Danny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459741898
Publisher: Dundurn
Published: 2018-09-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Monday, Blue Monday, and That Hit

Rick Monday had become an elder statesman, a journeyman, an ancient mariner, by the time spring training began in 1981 in Vero Beach, Florida. There had been speculation that Monday, because he was no longer being used as a full-time player, might call it quits following the 1981 season. Even he was starting to get the message.

Teammates and officials suggested that the affable, eloquent grey eminence might be better suited for a position as an announcer on radio or television. Monday even approached Dodgers general manager Al Campanis to tell him that the 1981 season could possibly be his last. Campanis, acting on a hunch, told Monday to wait.

“With that tremendous voice, we knew he was going to be an announcer,” recalled Dodgers pitching coach Ron Perranoski in 2016.

All through the 1981 regular season and for much of the playoffs, Monday was a highly- paid spectator on the bench — $280,000 per annum — as evidenced by the 130 at-bats he accumulated during 66 games of the strike-fragmented regular season. At 35, he had grown accustomed to handing out advice to younger players about the intricacies and nuances of the game.

Monday was used to part-time duty and to holding down a spot on the bench, and he had begun to develop a quasi-stooped posture. Nevertheless, on occasion he could still rise up and make significant contributions.

In the deciding game of the National League Division Series against the Houston Astros, Monday had faced feared fireballer Nolan Ryan. On an 0–2 count, tough against any pitcher, let alone Ryan, Monday managed to get his bat around quickly enough to slap a single into right, scoring what would become the winning run in a 4–0 Los Angeles victory propelled by Jerry Reuss’s complete-game five-hitter.

“When you see Ryan out there, you might be better going to the dugout and checking out the menu for the restaurant after the game,” Monday told me, chuckling.

So what happened to Monday in the first three games of the NLCS against the Expos, given his splendid contribution against the Astros? He was benched. He made one appearance, a pinch-hit effort that led to an out in Game 2. He did not appear at all in either Game 1 or Game 3.

So much for having been a hero in the Houston series: Monday’s reward was one at-bat in the first three games against the Expos. But the tide was about to turn.

After the Expos established the 2–1 series lead in Game 3, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda had told reporters he expected to put Monday into the lineup for Game 4. He did, and Monday went 1-for-4, prompting Lasorda to leave his veteran in the lineup for the deciding Game 5. Once again, fate called upon Monday to become the man in the clutch, much as he had been in the deciding game against Houston.

His moment came in the top of the ninth inning of Game 5. It sent the Dodgers to the World Series and broke the hearts of baseball fans all across Canada.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.