Fearing Rafael Ramirez

Rain Delay’s comment about Rafael Ramirez got me thinking (uh-oh!). Even though his numbers never were great, Ramirez had a knack for swinging at and hitting the worst pitches imaginable, at the most inopportune times. As a fan of the opposing team, I hated to see him come up in close situations because he was so unpredictable. In a given at-bat, Ramirez literally might do just about anything.

One game that stands out for me occurred when Ramirez played for the Houston Astros. His team faced the Dodgers on June 3, 1989. A friend and I watched the game on television, leaving with the score tied 4-4 in the eighth inning or so. I don’t remember the specifics (it’s been 18 years; cut a guy some slack), but I believe we went to dinner and possibly a movie. Wherever we went, we came home late and flipped on the TV to check the final score.

Slight problem there. The game wasn’t over yet.

In the 21st inning, the Dodgers had moved veteran first baseman Eddie Murray across the diamond (he’d played three games at third for the Orioles back in ‘78); inserted the previous night’s starting pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela, at first base; and brought Jeff Hamilton in from third base to pitch.

Hamilton actually had very good stuff — my recollection is that the Dodgers toyed with converting him at some point because he couldn’t hit much — and retired the Astros in order in the 21st. The following inning, though, with runners at first and second and two out, up stepped Ramirez.

I’m still working from memory here, but I believe that Hamilton jumped ahead of Ramirez, 0-2. Whatever the case, Hamilton then caught a little too much plate with a fastball; Ramirez reached out and hit a soft liner toward first base. The 6′2″ Murray would have caught it to end the inning. The 5′11″ Valenzuela jumped and had the ball tick off his glove and into right field.

Mike Davis (?) charged, fielded the ball, and made a strong throw to the plate, but Houston’s Bill Doran slipped in just ahead of Mike Scioscia’s tag to give the Astros a 5-4 victory. Valenzuela had slowed Ramirez’ drive just enough to give Doran time to score the winning run.

Incidentally, if you ever think your team is having a tough series, just remember what the Dodgers did in Houston that weekend. They lost the opener, 7-2, on Thursday; got shutout, 1-0, on Friday; lost in 22 innings on Saturday; and lost in 13 innings on Sunday courtesy of a sac fly off the bat of emergency reliever Mike Scott.

I don’t have to tell you who scored the winning run in that game, do I?