By Paul Casey Gotham
****Remember, try this without research. Make like Wally, and release your inner James Joyce. Show us your stream of consciousness as you try to decipher the answer.
Let’s see. Where do I start? Not many major leaguers come from northern New York state. Yeah, my hometown is known for the Eisenhower Lock and hockey. Sheesh, you couldn’t imagine how a town that small can have a hockey arena, but it did. The local high school used to win plenty of state titles. I stayed in the 315 when I went to college. Not many D1 baseball schools in Upstate New York, but I found one. We had a funny nickname for a landlocked place. There aren’t many dolphins in Onondaga Lake. I was teammates at that college with a guy who went on to pitch a perfect game for the Reds in ’88. I hold the record for most strikeouts to start a game. I also hold the record for the most at-bats without an extra-base hit. My name got some ink a few years back. Seems that ESPN did a spoof on me. Something comparing the Bambino, The Goat and me. You see, after I retired I became a broadcaster for one of the six teams for which I pitched. I got the nod to do road games. They lost 23 of their first 30 road games. At the same time, they were five games over .500 at home. I was blamed for the curse. Those media types will do anything to stir up a little controversy. The crazy thing is as a rookie I was traded for a guy that finished second in voting for the 1979 NL Cy Young award. He won 221 career games. I won 84. Go figure.
Who am I?
Holy crap … Who thinks these things up anyway? That guy has “issues”. And he’s totally obsessed with upstate NY. Wonder why?
Okay … this is difficult and I’ve got to hit the road. But, the mystery pitcher was teammates IN COLLEGE with lefty Tom Browning who was the guy who pitched a perfect game for Cinci in 1988. What college???? Who the heck knows that??? Let’s focus on “former-pitcher-current-broadcasters” who played in that era …. maybe we can narrow it down to 3 or 4 guys. I’m gonna hit the road and ponder this. In the meantime, maybe a few of you guys familiar with upstate NY college baseball can bring us home on this.
LeMoyne College is the school. I think we need Smitty on this one.
The only pitcher turned broadcaster that I’m coming up with right now is Mike Krukow. Well, there’s also Orel Hershiser, but I know it’s not him. He had more than 84 wins for sure, and I know we need to focus on a local guy. Come to think of it, I would guess that Krukow had more than 84 wins, but what the heck…is it Mike Krukow?
It’s not Mike Krukow. He won 124 career games and went to Cal Tech. Geez…didn’t know he was that smart. Incidentally, I lived within walking distance of LeMoyne College when I lived in Syracuse for a few years. Dolph Schayes was my landlord.
Okay … I’m back. Lots of former pitchers from that general era who are now broadcasters: Jeff Brantley (worked for ESPN), Steve Stone (White sox), Tom Candiotti, Mark Gubicza, Paul Splittorf, Jim Deshaies (of my “new hometown” Houston Astros), Ron Darling (but he went to Yale), Mike Krukow, Dennis Eckersley, John Smoltz, Don Sutton, Jim Palmer. That’s all I can think of right now … there’s probably a handful of others.
Well … we can rule out the Hall of Famers or guys that might make it … Eckersley, Smoltz, Sutton, Palmer. It’s not Darling (Yale), Stone (won more than 84 games), Candiotti and Krukow (same reason). Add Splittorf to that list as well … and he’s a bit older plus really only played with KC, if memory serves correct. That leaves Brantley, Gubicza and Deshaies. I believe Brantley is from the south and played college ball at Mississippi State … He was on a great college team with Rafael Palmero, Will Clark and Bobby Thigpen if I’m not mistaken. Gubicza? Probably won more than 84 games and I doubt if he pitched for as many as six teams … long career mostly with KC. That leaves either Jim “Two Silhouettes On” Deshaies …. or a former pitcher to be named later. Much later.
The other thing in the back of my mind is that Casey, our devious and deranged author of this post, wouldn’t put something out there this difficult if there wasn’t a buried, subliminal reason he thinks I should get it. I know absolutely nothing about upstate NY college baseball, but I do live in Houston now and watch the Astros all the time. So for that reason, I’m guessing it’s Jim Deshaies. He certainly was a journeyman pitcher and i woulda guessed he had somewhere around 90-100 wins. Maybe he only tallied 84. Casey … you were trying to get inside my head with this one, weren’t you???? Gotcha! 😉
Holy crap – I have such a church laugh working right now. 🙂
I believe this a LeMoyne question and it is Tom Browning.. Jim Deshaises also pitched for LeMoyne and Wally mention him already. I think we just named the entire LeMoyne baseball hall of fame!
Jim Deshaies it is. Just looked him up. Nice work, Wally. You’ve now officially proven that any Who Am I? advantage I previously had was due more to my ability to look stuff up on the internet. You are the king of trivia.
Got lucky … this is more like playing Clue … using a process of elimination more than any trivia knowledge … and also trying to imagine the head games Casey might be playing 🙂
Although remembering that Darling went to Yale and Brantley to Miss State … I suppose that’s knowing some trivia. By the way, how about that college team with those four guys??? They went to the CSW but didn’t win it. (Thigpen probably blew a key save in the semi’s. Just my weekly poke at WhiteSox relievers) 😉
Teamwork! Great teamwork, I tell ya.
Wally – you can call it luck. I call it when opportunity meets preparation. You were going with the pitch, spraying hits around. One of ’em was bound to fall in. Then Chas comes along with the sac bunt (it’s LeMoyne) and moves you 90 feet. A passed ball later, and Smitty gets the RBI ground out. Manufacturing a run is so much better than the long ball. One thing – Smitty? You”believe” this is a LeMoyne question? Was it the Onondaga or Dolphin reference that gave it away.
This was a great history lesson for the readers who did not comment -and there were a few who did not chime in.
Casey.. Okay the “I believe” part was a little light and I probably should have announced my presence with authority on this one. I happened to check the site with my phone and I barely got past the Onond– and I was sprinting the bathroom so I could type out a response. For those that aren’t aware – my employer frowns on us being on the internet at work. They even track our computers… a story for another day.
To my excitement there wasn’t any responses.. Here was my chance to sneak in and answer the question – after all – who nobody suspects the Spanish Inquisition.
But then my phone wasn’t cooperating. Still no responses.. I tap on the space for the Name… goes to the top of the page. ” Are you #$#(&#*$ kidding me? ” I think I may have kicked the stall and I am sure people were wondering what they hell I was doing. In fact, now that I look back on it – I am surprised HR wasn’t knocking on the door.
But I digress… after all I was trying to get my inner-Wally on.. Not that Wally!! Anywho I look – 3 messages.. Are you kidding me ???? I finally get the message typed.. Now the website.. Hurry!! Finally!! It loads up…. at it is #7 on the list.. And it was weak!! Uggh, the humanity!
Here it was… Bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded and down by 3. I get the biggest 3-0 fastball… the juiciest fastball anyone could ask for. I knew it was either Tom Browning or Jim Deshaises – I am in..
A fastball right down the middle…….. and I hit a RBI grounder.. I am switching the iPhone.
LeMoyne, but That’s all I know. Let me go read what else has been posted. Hometown was in 315 area code, which probably puts it in watertown area.