Steve Yeager--1974
The other day there was a large
crowd of scouts at the Cincinnati
Reds-Boston Red Sox spring
exhibition game. Crammed in behind
home plate, we got a little punchy
after the Sox posted 10 runs in the
first two innings.
Amidst watching the carnage,
Nationals scout Bill Singer jokingly
said, “It’s not the pitcher’s fault, it is
Ramon Hernandez’ fault.” The
comment raised a few chuckles
throughout the scout section, as I
chimed in, “Spoken like a true
pitcher.”
Then Singer went on to recount that
the Dodgers gave catcher Steve
Yeager a hard time after his major
league debut, when he called a 17-
hitter in his first start.
Sure enough the former hurler, who
was a member of the 1972 Dodger
rotation, was correct as Yeager first
squatted behind a major league plate
on August 2, 1972. And who was the
Yeager screwing up? It was none
other than future Hall of Famer Don
Sutton. The right-hander gave up
eight runs on 11 hits as he pitched
into the sixth inning before being
replaced by the hard-throwing Pete
Mikkelsen, who allowed six more hits
and three runs.
In the end the Dodgers would outlast
the Giants, scoring a 12-11 victory
over their rival, while they enjoyed a
good natured ribbing of rookie Steve
Yeager.
(3/2/09)
crowd of scouts at the Cincinnati
Reds-Boston Red Sox spring
exhibition game. Crammed in behind
home plate, we got a little punchy
after the Sox posted 10 runs in the
first two innings.
Amidst watching the carnage,
Nationals scout Bill Singer jokingly
said, “It’s not the pitcher’s fault, it is
Ramon Hernandez’ fault.” The
comment raised a few chuckles
throughout the scout section, as I
chimed in, “Spoken like a true
pitcher.”
Then Singer went on to recount that
the Dodgers gave catcher Steve
Yeager a hard time after his major
league debut, when he called a 17-
hitter in his first start.
Sure enough the former hurler, who
was a member of the 1972 Dodger
rotation, was correct as Yeager first
squatted behind a major league plate
on August 2, 1972. And who was the
Yeager screwing up? It was none
other than future Hall of Famer Don
Sutton. The right-hander gave up
eight runs on 11 hits as he pitched
into the sixth inning before being
replaced by the hard-throwing Pete
Mikkelsen, who allowed six more hits
and three runs.
In the end the Dodgers would outlast
the Giants, scoring a 12-11 victory
over their rival, while they enjoyed a
good natured ribbing of rookie Steve
Yeager.
(3/2/09)
