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This Day In Sports…May 9, 1995, 30 years ago today:
Cleveland Indians pitcher Orel Hershiser tosses a scoreless first inning—and has an 8-0 lead when he returns to the mound for the second. The Indians had just tied a major league record—one they had set themselves in 1954—by scoring eight runs before recording a single out in an eventual 10-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Cleveland got home runs from Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga and Paul Sorrento, the latter one a grand slam. Royals starter Doug Linton gave up all eight runs—plus the Indians’ other two in the second. In fact, manager Bob Boone left Linton in all the way through the fifth.
The record was broken in 2003 when the Boston Red Sox rang up 10 first-inning runs with no outs in a 25-9 mashing of the Florida Marlins. But for the 1995 Indians, the beginning against Kansas City was a good omen. It was a strike-shortened 144-game campaign, and Cleveland still managed to win 100 games, the only team to get to the century mark in a season shorter than 154 games. The Indians won the American League Central by a whopping 30 games over the Royals.
The end of the season provided exhilaration for Cleveland, while it was one of the most painful sports episodes in Seattle history. The Mariners, coming off what is still their biggest moment ever, took on the Indians in October in the American League Championship Series. The M’s had trailed by as many as 13 games in the AL West in early August, but they finished the regular season in a tie with the California Angels.
Seattle routed the Angels 9-1 in a one-game playoff to make the postseason for the first time in its history—then fell behind the New York Yankees in the best-of-five AL Divisional Series two games-to-none. The Mariners won the next two, and in the decisive Game 5, Edgar Martinez’s 11th-inning double brought home Ken Griffey Jr. for a wild 6-5 victory, setting off the biggest celebration the Kingdome had ever seen.
The M’s won the first game of the ALCS over Cleveland and could taste their first World Series. But Seattle’s collective heart would be broken when the Indians won the series in six games. Cleveland advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1954 but lost to the Atlanta Braves four games-to-two. The Indians returned to the Fall Classic in 1997 and fell to the Florida Marlins, and they haven’t been back since. Cleveland has not won the Series in 77 years.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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