I Was There When: Gator's 18 Strikeouts

I was there in 78 when Gators struck out 18 California Angels I was there when Ron Guidry struck out 18 batters against the California Angels I was there when Ron Guidry struck out 18 and the whole stadium was just electric that night I was there when I actually struck out 18 California Angels Ron Guidry was almost an afterthought to the Yankees in the mid-70s to a lot of people he didn't look like he had the stuff of being a successful starting pitcher in the major leagues being so thin and not particularly strong looking but how could he throw the baseball gosh the whole year that he had was an unbelievable season 25 and 3 I believe I was always great when you knew Ron was pitching that year because you just knew nobody could touch him it was like all you had to do is score a run or two and he knew you're going to have a win it was a very very odd evening I can remember leaving the bullpen I asked Sparky Lyle what was their earliest you've ever been in the game because I feel like tonight I really have nothing first-inning started off where the first guy I remember that off with a double down the line guy tried to bunt he fouled it off first strikeout which is in nothing next guy almost took my head off with a line drive and then I eventually struck out the next hitter but it's it was an inning where I threw maybe 25 pitches in the first inning something that I didn't normally do because everything was up I went back out for the second inning and you know ground ball base hit I struck out one guy so three strikeouts in two innings no big deal I did it quite often I went back out in the third inning and I struck out the side now I did that often also but there was nothing in there that led me to believe that I was going to have any special night from that point on it was just actually trying to get guys out to Louisiana white these people are getting what they came out for free tonight on this particular day he started setting down the angels with strikeout after strikeout after strikeout I just remember being a relief pitcher and sitting out there in that bullpen watching this guy deal he says you get a head of a guy I need to be you know walking back getting ready to throw them worth all this guy has no chance he knows what's coming he's still getting and they were swinging at pitches that they probably shouldn't be swinging at because the way that the game was going everything that they were taking four strikes they were swinging at low sliders and you throw high fastballs and they try to catch up and they couldn't as soon as you got two strikes and he threw that thing I mean it was you can see it in the hitters faces you know that they're walking away disgusted but they're disgusted because they knew what was coming the top-ranking bonus one in a minute get is now stuck on every angel in the batting order here's a two strike pitch and miss Rudy goes down swinging 13 strikeout for Ron Guidry top of the seventh Yanks in front for nothing Guidry wine and the pitch holy car number 15 I never counted the strikeouts and the two most surprised people in the whole ballpark were Munson and I when we sat down after the seventh inning because they flashed on the board that I had tied Whitey's record we didn't know what they were clapping at and we were talking about the game and I said well did you know what is somebody on the feeling and they said look at the board and when I when Thurman and I looked up at the board they had put 15 and we both looked at each other and he asked me he said you have 15 and I asked him I said I have 50 one ball two strikes the king the pranky go holy cow unbelievable the only guys I actually tried to strike out in the entire game were the guys in the ninth inning I got the first two and I think I gave up a base hit by ground ball games very you know I wound up with 18 but I really didn't try to strike out any body in the game other than the knife it's just something that happened that was the day that the fans began to stand with two strikes as though to as one encouraged strike three I think it was like the third fourth fifth inning that the two strike clapping started you know with electric and it was just amazing to be out there in that bullpen every time he got the two strikes you know the crowd it was just an electric night it started small and then you know when you get into double digits you know 10 11 more people are getting up and you you know and every time they do it if you strike out a guy then it you know they want more you had a full view of the stadium and the people chanting and every time you got two strikes it was and we saw that eighteen time I had never experienced anything like that I'm not a courtier of talent or anything like that but I've never seen a slider like that that day they just didn't have a chance it was an amazing thing with amazing athlete who could recruit some tremendous power I had the best view in the house since I was playing left field and had a very easy game since nobody had hit a ball up at the left field what a electric night it was just he was just so dominating that night that was the most dominating pitching performance I think I ever witnessed and I've seen a lot of them obviously because I just hung around so many years to see him strike out that many guys was just amazing to watch it from left you don't see to them it was a performance that I have I had never seen before nor had I ever seen it since those 18 strikeouts against California Angels was one of the probably the greatest performance that I've ever seen a pitcher had you you

Channel: New York Yankees

Views: 33,513

Rating: 4.9457994 out of 5

Keywords: Major League, Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, Baseball MLB, history, Yankees, pinstripes, Yankees On Demand

Id: oKyxSiTZjO8

Length: 8min 34sec (514 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 21 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/Forlurn]

You're posting too much today

[u/cablelayer1]

Love sports moments like this...

For me, The Twins winning the Series in 87 was awesome.

But my greatest baseball memory is watching this baby on t.v. with my dad.

August 18 the Cubs lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 2–1 in a 21-inning contest, the longest game ever played at Wrigley Field and in Cubs history (by time). The game had been suspended due to darkness at the end of the 17th inning the previous afternoon. The game lasted six hours and ten minutes.[1] Dusty Baker drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 21st.

[u/madazzahatter]

Me fucking too!

I went to this game with my old man and it was fucking awesome!

I so wish I had kept the stub, but at the time, we just thought it was just a great game.