Alex Wood almost cracks game score leaderboard
During the broadcast tonight, Joe Davis and Orel starting talking about game scores. Orel was wondering if the current game score by Alex was close to the brilliant game that Clayton pitched. Joe correctly said no because Wood only had five strikeouts. At the time Wood had a game score over 80 which is excellent but it was still the 8th inning. By the time the 8th inning had ended it had dropped below 80 because of the Mesoraco home run. Orel was acting like Wood had already pitched his complete game shutout but seemed to forget he still had five outs to go.
Anyway for those who don’t know (like Orel) how a game score is calculated here it is:
Game Score – This is a value created by Bill James that evaluates how good a pitcher’s start was.
Start with 50 points. Add 1 point for each out recorded, (or 3 points per inning). Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th. Add 1 point for each strikeout. Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed. Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed. Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed. Subtract 1 point for each walk.
Stan Williams shows up for the first time so I can tell my little Stan Williams story. It actually involves his son. In 1975 my High School Herbert Hoover of Glendale beat Stan Williams Junior’s team at Dodger Stadium to win the CIF Baseball Championship. The game involved a matchup between Stan Williams Junior and our ace Chuck McMichael. Chuck had not given up a run during the playoffs and would outpitch Stan to give Hoover the victory.
Here is an excellent recap of the history of Chuck who actually worked as a scout for the Dodgers in the 1980’s. Chuck was the first fireballing lefty I ever faced in baseball. He was two years older than me and basically struck out everyone he faced. His dad was an ump in every league I played in.
I had expected to follow Chuck’s career as he went from high school phenom to major league star but injuries derailed that career. Instead, he went into scouting and has had a long career and was just a step away from the GM job in Atlanta.
Player Date Rslt IP H ER BB SO GSc Sandy Koufax 1960-08-11 W 3-0 9.0 2 0 1 13 95 Don Sutton 1967-06-27 W 9-0 9.0 2 0 0 11 94 Fernando Valenzuela 1984-08-05 L 1-2 10.0 2 1 6 10 88 Ramon Martinez 1998-04-05 W 1-0 8.0 1 0 1 7 86 Tommy John 1972-08-08 L 1-2 9.0 3 1 4 13 86 Bob Welch 1985-08-03 W 2-0 9.0 2 0 3 5 85 Don Drysdale 1962-08-19 W 5-1 9.0 3 0 1 7 85 Stan Williams 1961-05-22 W 2-1 10.0 4 1 3 8 85 Jerry Reuss 1980-05-26(1) W 4-0 9.0 4 0 0 5 84 Claude Osteen 1971-04-23 W 3-0 9.0 5 0 0 6 83 Sandy Koufax 1964-08-12 W 4-1 9.0 5 1 1 10 82 Pedro Astacio 1992-09-29 W 5-0 9.0 3 0 2 2 81 Ramon Martinez 1990-09-15 W 3-0 9.0 6 0 1 7 81 Bill Singer 1969-06-22 W 5-0 9.0 5 0 3 7 81 Tim Belcher 1988-09-16 L 0-1 8.0 3 0 1 7 80 Claude Osteen 1967-06-26 W 3-0 9.0 5 0 2 5 80
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/16/2017.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 
Wood really has it working.
Pitching , check. Going about as good as it gets. The Claude Osteen of 2017.
Fielding, check. Starting the double play with that ball he nabbed on the mound was sweet.
This should be worth some points!
Hitting, check. He nailed one yesterday for the RBI and walked too.
This should be worth some points too!
Stan Williams was the pitching coach for the Mariners when the team was making it’s playoff runs.
Stan was also the pitcher who Pete Richert relieved when Richert made his rookie debut
I remember this game so vividly. On April 12, 1962 I was one month shy of my tenth birthday.
I was sitting in the kitchen listening to the radio by the stove and keeping score, with help from Vin.
My parents and sister had gone across the street to visit neighbors.
I was in the house alone, the only light on in the house was the bulb on the fan hood over the stove, shining on the score sheet of my program from a recent visit to Dodger Stadium.
From the outset of the broadcast, Vin was excited that Richert was now with the team and was ready to see him perform.
Williams faltered early and Richert was brought into the game.
Richert struck out the first batter he faced, Vada Pinson, to end the second inning.
In the third, Richert struck out four batters. Frank Robinson, Gordy Coleman, Wally Post, and John Edwards. John Roseboro had the third strike on Coleman get by him and Coleman made it to 1B.
Then Richert struck out Tommy Harper for the first out of the fourth inning.
Richert got the first twelve batters he faced out, a record for a rookie debut at the time.
Richert earned the win in this game.
Vin was excited! So I thought that the next great pitcher had arrived!
Of course, Richert is part of one of your favorite trades.
Richert, FRANK HOWARD, Ken McMullen, Dick Nen, and Phil Ortega for
Claude OSteen, John Kennedy, and $100,000
Richert played on four World Series teams. One with the Dodgers and three with the Orioles.
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This is great. I’m pretty sure that was on the back of a Pete Richert baseball card so I remember reading about the feat. They sure gave up a lot for Claude Osteen. Maybe it was the 100,000:)
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