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Walking Wounded Go Above the Call of Duty in Comeback Win
Some victories become legendary. The Clippers miracle comeback to defeat the Greenwich Dodgers in 12 innings became an instant classic. The shorthanded Clips overcame brutal heat and controversial calls during the rollercoaster 10-9 victory on June 3, 2003, at Greenwich High School.
Down to their last out, the Clips rallied to tie the score with two outs in the bottom of the 9th on a two-run single by Todd Matthias with the bases loaded. Then Todd completed the comeback with a homer to leadoff the 12th. Amazingly, Todd planned to bunt for a hit, but he was talked out it by Clips player-manager Tom Dixon.
The Clips not only rallied three times with the 19-hit attack against the Dodgers pitching ace Sean Darling, they overcame three umpire rulings that cost them six runs on defense and at least one on offense. Yet the skeleton crew hung together and battled down to the final out after escaping major Dodgers threats in the 9th and 11th innings.
“This was a total team victory,” Tom said. “Everyone contributed, and we stayed upbeat while picking each other up. We could have allowed the umpires to get us down. But all of the players showed their mental toughness and teamwork.”
The disputes centered on the home plate ump’s decision to change the ground rules that both teams agreed upon before the game. The foul territory to the left of the first base dugout and 10 feet in front of the fence down the right field line was considered in play.
But a popup caught by Clips first baseman Howard Parks in that location was ruled a dead ball by Miguel the ump in the bottom of the 3rd. Instead of the third out, the Dodgers batter doubled in a run to cut the Clips lead to 2-1. Miguel the home plate ump decided that the dead ball territory now would be determined by an invisible line extending from the edge of the dugout down to the outfield fence.
After a scoreless first two innings, the Clips put up a two spot in the top of the 3rd. Erik Anderson drove in the first run on a single that also brought home Mike McGivney after an error by the Dodgers center fielder. While the Dodgers notched two in the 5th to take a 3-2 lead, the Clips countered with two in the top of the 6th thanks to a two-run double by Darren Adler.
The ump struck again in the bottom of the 6th, however. With the Clips leading 4-3, the Dodgers capitalized thanks to an extra out. So after Parks caught another pop up that should have been an out, six runs were able to cross before the frame mercifully ended.
The Clips now faced a 9-4 deficit with three innings to go. Yet they scored five runs in those final frames despite some setbacks while starting pitcher Mark Allegra shut down the Dodgers. After notching one run in the 7th on a run-scoring single by Tony Carione to bring home Larry McGivney who had walked, the rally ended when a line-out to first resulted in a double play with runners on first and second.
A two-out rally produced two runs in the 8th to trim the gap to 9-7. Jerry Ronaghan doubled home Tom, who had singled, and Jerry scored following Mike’s third single of the game. But the Clips lost another run because the inning ended due to another bizarre call by the home plate ump. With runners on first and third and two outs, Mike was called for runner’s interference while standing on second base, even though he is allowed to stand there. Mike’s ejection left the Clips with nine players, some of whom coped with injuries.
Undaunted, the Clips managed to tie the game after almost blowing a bases-loaded opportunity with none out. Two consecutive batters struck out before Todd smacked the opposite field single to left field to drive in the two runs and knot the score at 9-9.
The extra innings provided extra drama as the heat worsened the players' fatigue. Mark pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the 9th thanks to two strike outs. Jerry came out of the bullpen to prevent the Dodgers from pushing across the winning run in the 11th. With runners at the corners and one out, the Dodgers hot a shot to third. Howard made a nice play to throw out the runner at home before the next batter flew out. Howard had moved from first base during the pitching change and was playing the hot corner for the first time in five seasons.
The tension extended down to the final pitch of the game. With the Clips clinging to the 10-9 lead, the Dodgers put runners on first and second with two outs. But Jerry induced the next batter to hit a high chopper to shortstop. Once Darren's throw settled safely into Tom’s glove and he stepped on second base to end the wild contest, all of the Clippers celebrated their achievement.
While Mark struggled at times, his 10-inning gutty performance gave the Clips the chance to rally. Mark struck out 11 and only allowed 10 hits. Jerry picked up the win with the two innings of scoreless relief. Jerry also smacked three hits and drove in a run with the double.
Erik, Mike, and Tony each garnered three hits, while Darren ended up with two base knocks, including the double, and two RBI. Erik and Tony also walked twice, and Larry singled and walked twice.
Men in Blue Should Feel Black and Blue After Blown Calls
At the pregame conference at Greenwich High School, both teams and the ump agreed that the area to the left of the dugout would be in live ball territory up to the fence that runs down the right field line at Greenwich High School.
But Miguel refused to call the third out when Clips first baseman Howard Parks caught a fly ball in that area in the bottom of the third. So the Dodgers batter doubled home the runner on second base to cut the Clips lead to 2-1. Clips player-manager Tom Dixon argued to no avail. Miguel first said this area was a dead ball.
He claimed that both teams agreed that the determination would be based on an invisible line from the left edge of the dugout down the right field line. Yet the field umpire, who is his son, supported the views of both teams regarding the pregame conference. Then Miguel said he was allowed to change the ground rule since he is the head ump. Ugh?
Things went from bad to worse in the 6th. Miguel again ruled that Howard’s catch of a pop up to the left of the dugout was a dead ball. This extra out allowed the Dodgers to notch six runs and take a 9-4 lead.
The Clips bailed out the ump with the late-game rally. But a bizarre decision cost the them at least one run in the 8th. Miguel called Mike McGivney out for runner’s interference while standing on second base. With runners on first and third and two outs, Mike took off and stopped at second base while the ball was skied 30 feet to the right of the base. After the Dodgers second baseman lost the ball in the sun, the shortstop bumped into Mike while he was standing on the base.
Miguel ruled Mike out for the third out, even though the ball was too far way for the shortstop to catch. Miguel stated that Mike should have left the base after running there from first during the fly ball. The ump did not care as Tom pointed out that Mike was entitled to the base and would have been tagged out if he ran past it. Compounding his mistake, Miguel ejected Mike for arguing over the highly questionable call.
Needless to say, both teams filed complaints with the league regarding this pair of umpires. Not surprisingly, there had been many complaints about them, ranging from Miguel’s nasty attitude to their lack of knowledge regarding the rules. Fortunately, justice was served. The pair not longer works league games.
Dynamic Duo’s Artistry Creates Picture-Perfect Double Plays
The double play is called the pitcher’s best friend. The twin killing became best buddies for Clippers in their 14-4 first-round playoff upset of the Somers Orioles on Sept. 7, 2003. The Clips not only turned four DPs, all of the 6-4-3 plays ended innings.
Shortstop George Garcia and second baseman Julio Fernandez performed like a well-oiled machine in performing the wizardry at Somers High School. They combined on a magnificent play to end the Orioles bases-loaded threat in the 6th inning with the Clips leading 10-4. George stayed with a tough hopper and fired a bullet to Julio, who executed a terrific turn and throw to just nip the batter at first base for the third out.Julio, the Clips starting shortstop most of the season, moved over to second when George came aboard in order to improve the infield defense. Pitcher Scott Perlman and their teammates certainly were thankful for Julio’s sacrifice for the good of the team.
