Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - What a Game!: The Mariners' Initial Voyage (4/6/1977)

Episode Date: January 19, 2021

Kicking off a new series of episodes, D.C. looks back at the Seattle Mariners' first ever baseball game on April 6, 1977 in the Kingdome. They may not have played very well against the California Angels that day, but any team's first ever game is historic. After recapping the game itself, D.C. talks about some of the players who were a part of that history-making game, including both starting pitchers, Diego Segui and Frank Tanana. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you, J.M. and thank you for joining us today, gang. I am D.C. Lundberg at the helm of yet another episode of Locked-on Mariner's, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, brought to you by Built Bar. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program using whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariner's podcast or any program here on the Locked-on Podcast Network, or T-L-O-P-N-O-P-N-O-T-Lopin.

Today we're beginning a new series of episodes here on Locked-on Mariners. We're still going to talk about Classic World Series from time to time, but we're also going to talk about noteworthy and or interesting individual games, mostly regular season games. And this is more to showcase and discuss some individual players who played in the game, were going to talk about. This is also a good way to get some Mariner's content back onto the show while we delve into some baseball history during the offseason.

First half of each episode will be a recap of a game, and the second half will be a discussion on some of the players who had prominent roles in that game, or at the very least, appeared in the game. And what better way to kick off this new series than with the Mariner's first ever baseball game? Yes, it was not exactly the best of games for the M's, but as a very good game. As I said, this is more of a vehicle to talk about some of the individual players who appeared in the game. The date was April 6,97. 57,762 fans packed the kingdom on this Wednesday night to witness what the late great Dave Nehouse called the initial voyage of the Seattle Mariners. Their opponent was the California Angels who finished the 1976 season, fourth place in the American League West, with a 76 and 86th,

record. On the mound for the M's would be Diego Sigi. Sigey's first pitch to Angels' lead-off hater Jerry Remy was called a strike at the letters on the outside corner, and things were off to a promising start. Things quickly went awry, however, as Sigi walked Remy, who immediately stole second base. However, Bobby Gritch and Bobby Bonds both struck out, though Remy stole third base on the strike three pitch to Bonds. That brought up Don Baylor, one of the more feared our B-I men of his day, and he delivered. He smoked a double to right field, easily plating Remy, and giving California a quick one-nothing lead. Joe Rudy then struck out to end the inning,

so Diego Sigi does strike out the side in the Mariners' first half inning of play, but he does surrender that one run. Now the Mariners' offense comes up for the first time, facing one of the top left-handers in the American League, Frank Tenana. Designated hitter Dave Collins was the M's historic first batter, and he was caught looking at strike three. Jose Baez then comes up and collects the Mariner's first hit, a single to right field. However, he's immediately erased on a 463 double play hit by Steve Braun, giving Tenana a one, two, three inning. After the first man pops out on the top of the second, Diego Sighis surrenders back-to-back singles to future Mariner Bruce Bakhti and then Dave Chalk. Bakhti took third on Chalk's base hit.

Terry Humphrey then hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Bokti and sending Chalk to second. Two-nothing is the score now, but Diego Sigi retires the next two hitters to limit the damage. Leading off the bottom of the second for the M's was Leroy Stanton. He singles to center field, but was thrown out at second base trying to stretch his hit into a double. Bill Stein followed by hitting a double,

but the next two men, Dan Meyer, Rupert Jones struck out to end what could have been a pretty decent inning. If Stanton had been content with the lead-off single, he may have scored on Stein's double, who knows. Or at the very least, the Rupert Jones strikeout would have been the second out of the inning rather than the third, and the next hitter would have had a chance with runners on second and third rather than leading off the next inning. Tenana did escape some trouble here.

Diego Sagi, on the other hand, had another less than stellar inning in the third. With one out, Don Bailer walked, bringing up Joe Rueh. Rudy. Rudy proceeds to hit the very first home run in the history of the kingdom and in the process stretched the angel lead to 4-0. Tony Salita followed with a single, but that would be it as the next two hitters both made out. Bob Stinson, the scrap iron, leads off the bottom of the third for the M's, but he strikes out. Craig Reynolds follows with a single bringing up Dave Collins. Collins lines one back to Tanana, who snares it and throws on to first to double up Reynolds. doing again for Seattle, and this was the second time in three innings that they'd hit into an

inning-ending double play. Top of the fourth was another mess for the Mariners. Terry Humphrey led off by grounding to first baseman Dan Meyer, but he booted it, and Humphrey winds up at first. Jerry Remy then sacrifice Bunce him along to second. Bobby Gritch fouls out, then Bobby Bond's grounds to short. Craig Reynolds buffs this play, the Mariners' second error of the inning. Humphrey goes to third, bringing up powerful Don Baylor. Bonds steals second, but that proves to be academic, as Baylor walks to load up the bases for Joe Rudy, who had earlier hit the kingdom's first ever home run. And he would not face Diego Sigi, as Sigi was removed from the ballgame at this time

in favor of John Montague. Rudy smacked a double to left center field, scoring both Humphrey and Bonds. Don Bailer also tried to score, but he was thrown out to end the inning. The play was scored 8-6-2. Two more runs in for the Angels, both of them un-earned, and neither would have scored if it not for the M's sloppy defense. Already down 6-0-0 in the bottom of the fourth, they just could not get anything going on offense.

Steve Braun would hit a one-out single, but that was it as Tanana cruised through another pretty quick inning. Top of the fifth was more of the same. With reliever John Montague still on the mound, Bruce Bakhti drew a one-out walk, and then advanced to second on a good. ground out. Terry Humphrey drove him in on a single to right field and the angels were now ahead seven nothing. Jerry Remy grounded out and Montague was able to limit the damage to that lone run.

The bottom of the inning was also more of the same. The M's got one man aboard. Bob Stinson hit a two out single, but he was stranded. John Montague turned in the Mariners first one, two, three, three, inning in the top of the sixth and did so against California's two, three and four haters. No easy task. Bobby Gritch grounded out to third base. Bobby Bonds flew out to right, and Don Baylor also grounded out to third base. All three of these men were offensive threats. All three were all-stars at one point, and all three of them garnered Hall of Fame votes. Bobby Bonds was on the ballot 11 times before dropping below the 5% threshold. The bottom of the six was the first time the Mariners got the lead-off man aboard, but they got some help. Dave Collins grounded to third base

Dave Chalk, but he couldn't handle it. The play goes for an E5, and Collins winds up at first base. But that's where he'd stay. As Jose Baez flew out, Steve Braun popped out, and Leroy Stanton struck out. John Montague continued a strong relief pitching in the top of the seventh, striking out the first two hitters. Following a two-out walk to Bruce Bakhty, Dave Chalk fouled out to first base, and now it was time for the first seventh inning stretch in Kingdom history. In the bottom of the 7th, Frank Tenan has set the M's down in short order once again.

Two groundouts and a flyout. A two-out walk to Bobby Gritch was the only blip on John Montague's radar in the top of the 8th. And in the bottom of the frame, the Ms would have their second best chance to score. Craig Reynolds got things started with a one-out single. After a Dave Collins pop-out, Jose Baez would hit a single of his own, moving Reynolds along the second. Steve Braun walked, bringing up cleanup hitter Leroy Stanton, with the bases loaded. He would watch Strike 3 cross the plate to end the inning, however,

and Tenana escapes trouble in the first inning in which he had any sort of pressure. The Mariner sent Montague back to the hill for the top of the 9th to try to keep California from extending their lead. Things began well with a Don Baylor groundout. Joe Rudy then singled, and one more out later, Bruce Bakhti singled, sending Rudy all the way to third. With those runners on, Dave Chalk came up to try to really ice the game. as if they didn't have a comfortable lead already.

He'd ground out to shortstop Craig Reynolds, and that was that. A 7-0-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning was entrusted to Frank Tenana. He'd allow a lead-off double to Bill Stein, but then retire the next two men. Bob Stinson walked bringing up Craig Reynolds with runners at first and second. He'd fly out to center, ending the first game in Seattle Mayer's history with that final 7-0 score. Frank Tanana was brilliant. a complete game shutout, nine scattered hits, no runs, just two walks, and nine strikeouts. Diego Sigi did not have his finest day at the office, though his defense really let him down

in his final inning of work. Three and two thirds innings, five hits, six runs, four of them were earned. Three walks, three strikeouts, and that Joe Rudy home run. John Montague was pretty effective in his five and a third. Four hits, one run, which was earned. Three walks and three strikeouts. We'll talk about some more players in this game in a bit, but first this from betonline.ag. With the NBA and NHL regular seasons underway and also the football playoffs in full swing,

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Sign up for a free account today and use promo code Locked On for your sign up bonus. Hashtag bet online. If you've got a question or a comment, send it on over to Lockdown Meriters at gmail.com. I will reply to it on the air in a future mailbag episode. Questions and comments on any subject are welcome and encouraged. Once again, Lockedon Mariners at gmail.com is the place to send those messages to do keep them family appropriate, however, please. Locked on Mariners will continue upon the conclusion of this word from Bilt Bar. And here with that word from built bar, Locked on MLB host, Paul Sully Sullivan.

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Locked-on Mariners talking about the Mariners' first ever ballgame. I'm going to tell you about some of the players who participated in that ballgame in just a bit. But first of all, 2020 is mercifully over, gang. And it's time for a fresh start and perhaps a few more wins. If you're betting this year and want a few more wins, you have to listen to Locked-on Betts with your boy Q and Lee Sterling of Paramount Sports. They are picking college basketball, football, and NBA picks all winter long. Subscribe to Locked-on bets today, wherever you get your podcasts. And with that, time to talk about some of the players who were involved in the Mariners'

first ever ball game. We'll talk about both Mariners and Angels players, but we'll begin on the mound with the Mariners' first ever starting pitcher Diego Sagie. 1977 was his final MLB season. It was his age of 39 season. He started off in the rotation after a few poor starts was moved to the bullpen. He was kind of in and out of the rotation. He started seven games only, appeared in 40, with a 569 earned run average and a whip of 1.364.

He was also a member of the Seattle pilots in 1969. He appeared in 66 games that year. Eight of them were starts, pitched much better. 3.35 earned run average, kind of a similar whip, actually. 1.321, 142, and 1 3rds innings pitched. Most of his Major League career was, as a relief pitcher, he was kind of in and out of the rotation for a lot of teams, got some spot starts here and there.

As a starter, he was largely mediocre. In 1964, he led the American League in losses. For the Kansas City Athletics, 17 losses against 8.1. wins. 40 games, 35 of them were starts. His ERA was 456, which was above the league average. However, in 1970, with the Oakland Athletics, he had a 256 ERA that led the American League, best earned run average in the American League. 47 games that year, 19 of them were starts, and a whip of 1.222. His first game was in 1962 with the Kansas City Athletics, pitched for them through 1967, made the move to Oakland,

in 1968, spent one year as a Seattle pilot. He was drafted in the expansion draft and then was traded back to the Oakland Athletics after the 1969 season. Subsequently pitched a couple more seasons with Oakland, went on to the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. Last pitch for the Red Sox in 1975. Did not pitch in the majors at all in 1976. And then with the Seattle Mariners in 1977.

He is the father of future Mariners first baseman David Siggy. and his son Corey, Diego's grandson, Corey, played in the Baltimore Orioles system for a couple of years as an infielder. Corey Sigi threw the ceremonial final pitch in the kingdom, and he had one hell of an arm, ladies and gentlemen. It did not translate into professional success, however. Corey Siggy played three seasons in the Orioles chain, 2012, 2013, 2014, with a high batting average of only 211. John Montague relieved Diego Sigi in the Mariners' first ever game. 1977 was his age 29 season. He's 10 years younger than Diego Sigi.

Previous to his stint with the Mariners, he also lats pitched to the Major League in 1975 for both the Montreal Expos and Philadelphia Phillies, pitching a combined 15 ball games with the 6-3-5 earned run average. Montague actually started more games as a Seattle Mariner than Diego Sigi did. He pitched 47 games in 2000, pardon, me 1977, started 15 of them, pitched to a 429 earned run average. In 1977, he pitched 19 games to the Mariners.

Those were all relief appearances, and his ERA was much higher at 618. In 1979, he split the season between Seattle and the California Angels, a combined 551 to earn run average in 55 games played. ERA as a mariner in 41 of those games was 5-57. His final Major League season was at the age of 32, with California in 1980. The angel starting pitcher, Frank Tanana, we've discussed on the show a couple of times.

He's been a hall pass subject, and Taylor Blake Ward and I went in depth on Frank Tanana on one episode, which was not planned, but this man had a brilliant Major League career. 21 years, 240 and 236 record. He pitched on some very bad teams, however. 366 earned run average, 2,773 strikers.

A pretty low career whip at 1.270. Led the American League in strikeouts in 1975. Led the American League in WIP in 1976. Led the American League in, let's see, that strikeout to walk ratio, 75 and 76. But again, pitching on bad teams, he led the American League in losses in 1982, losing 18 ball games, but actually pitching, you know, relatively decently. His 4-21 earned run average is not going to blow anybody away. In fact, it was about league average, but that's certainly better than pitching to 18 losses.

The Mariners' first ever batter was their designated hitter that day, Dave Collins. He was an outfielder and first baseman by trade. And in 1977, his only season with the Mariners appeared in 120 ballgames, hit 239, on base of 29, and slugged 313. He mostly played left field for the Mariners. This was his third major league season. He had previously played two seasons with the Angels slashing 265, 337, 364 in 192 games. Following his one season with the Mariners,

he moved on to the Cincinnati Reds playing there through 1981, then one season in New York, two seasons in Toronto, a season in Oakland, a season in Detroit, three more back with Cincinnati, and he closed out his major league career with 99 games, with the 1990 St. Louis Cardinals. Overall, he had a pretty decent slash line. 272, 338, 351.

Not a lot of power for him, but he was a decent contact hitter who didn't strike out all that much. The Mariners' all-star representative this year was Rupert Jones, the original Mariner as he was the first player taken in the expansion draft. He had previously played 28 games

with the 1976 Kansas City Royals, 51 at bat's slashed 216, 259, 333. He had his first major league home run, double, and triple. His first year in Seattle, he slashed 263, 324, 454, 24 home runs for Rupert Jones, and 26 doubles. He had some power. He played two more seasons in Seattle through 1979, and his career numbers as a mariner, 257 average, 333 on base, 418 slugging. He spent one season as a New York Yankee, then three with the Padres, one with the Tigers,

and three with the Angels to close out his career in 1987. Overall, he slashed 250, 3.30, 416 in a 12-year Major League career. He made one more All-Star team as a San Diego Padre in 1982. It had a very good year. 283, 373, 425 slash line, 12 home runs, and 20 doubles. did not show as much power later in his career as he did with his first and third seasons with the Mariners. Craig Reynolds, the shortstop, was the Mariners' all-star representative in 1978. He spent two seasons in Seattle, 77 and 78, where he slashed a combined to 273, 311, 350.

In his first year, 1977, he hit 248, and this was the days where middle infielders were not expected to have a lot of power. So 12 doubles and four home runs may seem very underwhelming, but it was typical for the time period. His All-Star season, 1978 is Mariners' All-Star season, slashed 292, 336, 374, 16 doubles, which is a good total for a shortstop, seven triples, and five home runs. He drove in 44 runs as well. After the Mariners, he then spent the next 11 seasons as a Houston Astro, making the All-Star team once again in 1979, where he slashed 2,60. 25, 292, 333. He hit 20 doubles that season.

Did not walk a whole lot, but also did not strike out a bunch either. Overall, he played 15 seasons, 11 of them in Houston, as I mentioned, with an overall slash line of 256, 291, 345. Moving over to the Angels, they had some very talented players. Jerry Remy, their lead-off hitter, is now a Red Sox broadcaster, but he had a pretty decent Major League career before that. His first season, 1975, with the Angels. Hit 1977 was his last season with the Angels before moving on to the Red Sox.

He was an all-star in 1978, where he slashed 278, 321, 350. He hit 24 doubles that season and two home runs. Also drove in 44 runs. He, like Craig Reynolds, did not walk a whole lot, although he did walk more than Reynolds, but also did not strike out very much. The Angels Center feeler that day was Bruce Bakhty, who would play for the Mariners beginning in 1978 after signing as a free agent. He began his career with the Angels in 1974 and was traded to Cleveland in May 1977.

In 1978, his first year with the Mariners, his last 263, 342, 395. He was an all-star in 1979, where he hit 316 on base of 385 and slugging of 493. He hit 38 doubles that season and 16 home run. He played with the Mariners through 1982, did not play in the majors in 1983, and then closed out his career at 84, 85, and 86 with the Oakland Athletics. Overall, he had a slashed line of 282, 360, 396. Looking at the rest of the Angels starting lineup, Bobby Gritch, nobody talks about him, but he had a very, very good Major League career.

Bobby Bonds, the father, obviously, of Barry Bonds, had an outstanding major league career as well. And their cleanup hitter that day, designated hitter Don Baylor, one of the more feared RBI men of his day. He was a 1979 All-Star with those California Angels, played all-162 games. He led the American League in runs scored with 120, and also an RBI with 139. That 1979 season, he slashed 296, 371, 530. He hit 36 home runs that year, and 33 doubles. Overall, his slash line over 19 major league seasons was 260, 342, 436. He has 366 career doubles, 338 home runs, and 1,276 runs batted in. He was the 1979 American League MVP, the season he made the All-Star team.

And get this, gang, he was hit by a pitch 267 times in his Major League career, and he led the league in that category seven times. getting hit by 35 pitches in 1986. In an interview in 1987, he said, quote, getting hit is my way of saying, I am not going to back off. My first goal when I go to the plate is to get a hit. My second goal is to get hit, end quote. He finished his major league playing career with three World Series appearances.

In 1986 for the Red Sox, in 1987 for the twins, where they won, and in 1988 for the Oakland Athletes. He was also the first manager in the history of the Colorado Rockies, managing that team from 1993 through 1998 and took them to the postseason in 1995. He later managed two and a half seasons with the Cubs. Before his managerial stint, he was a very respected hitting coach, and later on, after his managing career, went back to being a hitting coach. He passed away on August 7, 2017, at the age of 68.

Well, gang, that's just about time. We'll go into another game of yesteryear on our next episode, but I'm not sure with game yet. However, joining me will be Punky Brewster, Sprocket, and four strips of crispy bacon. Also, tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of my tenure here on Locked-on Mariners. My first episode was published January 20th, 2020. Boy, 2020 dragged, didn't it? Anyways, please remember to download rate and subscribe to this program. Look for us on any podcasting.

you can happen to think of. Thanks for listening, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed looking back at the Mariners' first game and some of the players involved as well. I hope you'll join us for the next one, gang. It's January 19th, and today's magic number is 36. This is Joey Martin for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.