Flashback Friday: 18 K's for Ryan Anderson ('98)
Last
week, Flashback Friday looked back to a great Gil
Meche performance, a playoff victory over Rockford in game two of a 1998 Midwest League first round series. In that story, there was an allusion to an incredible performance by Ryan Anderson in a game one loss at Rockford on September 8.
This week, we thought it would be a good idea to look back at The Next Unit's 18 strikeout performance.
Below is the story from the 9/9/98 edition of the Appleton Post-Crescent.
There are no quotes in the article because it appears to have been
written from whatever the Cubbies faxed up to the PC offices after the game or
from whatever the guys in the PC
bullpen gleaned from the radio broadcast.
Rattlers
face must-win situation
ROCKFORD,
IL - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher Ryan Anderson struck out 18 batters
Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough as the Rockford Cubbies beat Wisconsin 3-2
in the first game of the Midwest League quarterfinals.
The
Rattlers must win today's 6pm game at Fox Cities Stadium to stay alive in the
best-of-three series. If
necessary, a deciding third game would be played there Thursday night.
Anderson
was dominating for most of the game, throwing a perfect game for 6-1/3 innings
and striking out a league-record tying eight straight batters at one point.
In the ninth, however, the Cubbies' Tony Schrager singled and Jaisen Randolph
reached on a fielder's choice.
Mike Amrhein then homered to tie the game 2-2 and end Anderson's
evening.
In the 10th, Rockford put the first two batters on base and bunted
them into scoring position.
After Lesli Brea's walk loaded the bases, Schrager hit a high chopper
behind third base. Victor
Martinez's throw home was late, allowing the winning run to score.
Wisconsin opened the scoring in the seventh inning against Rockford pitcher Mike
Meyers, who retired 15 straight batters at one point.
In the seventh, Claudio Liverziani doubled and came home on Greg Connors'
single to center. Connors
then scored on a pair of groundouts.
Wisconsin had a chance to score in the first inning when Jermaine Clark led off
with a double to left and stole third.
Clark, however, was thrown out trying to score on Mike Marchiano's
grounder to third.
BOX
SCORE
Wisconsin
AB R
H BI
Clark, 2b
4 0
1 0
Valera, ss
3 0
0 0
Marchiano, lf 3 0
0 0
Silvestre, dh 4 0
0 0
Liverziani, 1b 4 0
0 0
Connors, rf 4 1
1 1
Eady, pr 0
0 0
0
Maynard, c
0 0
0 0
Martinez, 3b 4 0
1 1
Hargrove, cf 3 0
0 0
Totals
32 2
4 2
Rockford
AB R
H BI
Schrager, 2b 5 0
2 1
Randolph, cf 4 1
1 0
Amrhein, dh-3b 4 1
1 2
Meadows, lf 4 0
0 0
Santiago, 1b 3 0
0 0
Hinske, ph-1b 1 0
0 0
Abreu, 3b-ss 3 1
0 0
Lisanti, c
2 0
0 0
JSmith, ss
2 0
0 0
Johnson, ss 1 0
0 0
Salazar, ph 0 0
0 0
Totals
33 3
5 3
R H
E
Wisconsin 000 000 200 0 -
2 4
1
Rockford 000 000 002 1
- 3
5 1
One out when winning run scored.
LOB - W 4, R, 6. E - Martinez, Randolph.
2B - Clark (1), Liverziani (1). HR - Amrhein (1). SH - Hargrove,
Lisanti. SB - Clark (1). CS - Eady.
IP H
R ER
BB SO
Wisconsin
Anderson
8.1 3
2 2
1 18
Brea, L 0-1 1.0
2 1
1 2
1
Rockford
Meyers
6.0 4
2 1
2 6
Polanco
2.0 0
0 0
0 2
Magers
0.2 0
0 0
0 1
Booker, W 1-0 1.1
0 0
0 1
1
T - 2:41, A - 606
NOTES:
This is the type of game that the Mariners were hoping Anderson would have in
the major leagues. This was the type
of game that allowed Baseball America to rate Anderson as one of the top
prospects in all of baseball for several years.
Unfortunately - due to injuries and multiple surgeries - things
didn't quite work out on the baseball diamond for Anderson.
The
18 strikeouts by Anderson in this game is a Timber Rattlers record.
As of the latest research, the Appleton Professional Baseball record for
strikeouts in a game is held by Tom Gordon, who struck out 19 in a game against
the Waterloo Indians in 1988. That
performance was covered in a Flashback
Friday in January of last year. Sorry to do this, but for some reason, I am
not being allowed to link directly to that January 15, 2010 Flashback
Friday. Click
on this link for the google search. Once you get there, click on the second
article.
The Mike
Meyers in this game for the Cubbies
is not to be confused with this Mike
Myers...or this Mike
Myers...or even this Mike
Myers.
The other Game Ones in the 1998 MWL Quarterfinals: @Clinton 9, Quad City 3;
Michigan 8 @West Michigan 7; Fort Wayne 9 @Peoria 2.
Rockford went on to make the Championship series after beating the Rattlers in
Game Three and sweeping their semifinals series with Fort Wayne.
West Michigan ended Rockford's run in the Championship series by
beating the Cubbies in four games.
Past Flashbacks:
October
8: In fair territory (1994)
October
15: Fans flock to see Foxes (1987)
October
22: New Park (1995)
October
29: Logo Decision (1994)
November
5: Ed Sedar, Pitcher (1985)
November
12: Abarbanel no-hitter (1966)
November
19: McCauley no-hitter (1972)
November
26: Monroe no-hitter (1975)
December
3: Conner, Smith no-hitter (1990)
December
10: Pomp & Circumstance (1940)
December
17: Opening Day (1940)
January
7: Matt Erickson: Year One (1997)
January 21: Gil Meche (1998, 1999)