By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Dan Logan was the most physically imposing player on the 1981 Rochester Red Wings, but opposing pitchers were not intimidated that June.
The 6-foot-7, 227-pound Logan was in the middle of an 0-for-11 offensive slump when he entered the batter’s box in the top of the fourth inning on June 28 in Syracuse. Opportunity was ripe for a breakthrough, with Cal Ripken Jr., Tom Chism and Mike Hart loading the bases on an error, hit by pitch and walk, respectively.
Logan, anticipating a fastball, connected with Steve Baker’s first pitch and launched it over the right field wall for a grand slam to tie the game at four. The homer tied Cal Ripken for the team high with 14 and helped lift the Red Wings to a 6-4 victory over the Chiefs.
“I was just trying to get a hit,” Logan remarked to the Democrat and Chronicle. “I wasn’t thinking home run. If you think that way, you could mess up your swing.”
The Trion, Ga. native also singled in the game, going 2-for-5. Tom Eaton singled to drive in a run while Ripken added an RBI double, saddling Syracuse with a deficit after the Chiefs led 4-0 in the second inning.
Mike Boddicker enjoyed the run support after three singles, a walk and a balk contributed to a difficult second frame. Boddicker allowed just eight hits and the four runs, striking out six batters in his sixth win of the season.
“We’ve had tough luck on the road this season,” Red Wings manager Doc Edwards acknowledged. “We’d get down early in some games and then we wouldn’t fight back. That’s why this was a real good one to win.”
Logan recorded 23 home runs and 73 RBI in the 1981 season, tying Ripken for the home run lead. Rochester went 69-70 in the regular season but made the Governor’s Cup semifinals.
Logan played two more seasons with the Red Wings, hitting 30 more homers before he called it a career. He led the 1982 squad in average (.288), home runs (19) and RBI (68) as they lost in the Governor’s Cup Finals.
Red Wings 6, Chiefs 4
| Rochester | AB | R | H | BI | Syracuse | AB | R | H | BI | |
| Tom Eaton | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Kelvin Chapman | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Dallas Williams | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Creighton Tevlin | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Cal Ripken | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Ramon Lora | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tom Chism | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Charlie Beamon | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Mike Hart | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Greg Wells | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Dan Logan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Geno Petralli | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Floyd Rayford | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Marv Thompson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Shelby | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dave Baker | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bobby Bonner | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Domingo Ramos | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals | 37 | 6 | 9 | 6 | Joe Cannon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 33 | 4 | 9 | 3 |
Rochester 000 500 001- 6
Syracuse 040 000 000- 4
E- Ramos. LOB- Rochester 9, Syracuse 10. 2B- Beamon, Petralli, Rayford, Ripken. HR- Logan (14). SB- Chapman, Bonner. S- Ramos. SF- Tevlin.
| Rochester | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||
| Mike Boddicker (W, 6-6) | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||
| Jeff Schneider (S, 9) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Syracuse | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||
| Steve Baker (L, 5-9) | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Jack Kucek | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Ken Schrom | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
Balk- Boddicker, Schneider. HP- By Baker (Chism). Time- 2:36. Attendance- 2,817.
Also on this day: Rochester recorded 20 base hits in an 11-3 rout of Miami in 1960. Jerry Buchek went 4-for-5… The Red Wings blasted four home runs, including Scott Ullger’s three-run homer, in a 7-4 victory over Richmond in 1987… Red Wings pitchers combined to allow eight hits and one run in 14 innings over a 7-1, 10-0 doubleheader sweep of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 1994… Rochester starter Nick Blackburn extended his scoreless streak to 41 innings with a seven-inning, seven-hit performance as the Red Wings blanked Durham 12-0 in 2007.
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