1984 National League Championship Series
Encyclopedia
Game 1
Tuesday, October 2, 1984 at Wrigley FieldWrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in Chicago, Illinois
Bob Dernier
Bob Dernier
Robert Eugene Dernier, also known as "Bobby", was a center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs in the 1980s. The fleet-afoot 1984 Gold Glove Award winner was also nicknamed "The Deer" by The Wrigley Faithful. Dernier was the lead-off hitter Cubs' 1984 N.L. East Championship...
led off the game for the Cubs with a homer, and things went steadily downhill for the Padres as Chicago romped to a crushing 13–0 win in their first postseason game since 1945
1945 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. The team won the National League pennant with a record of 98-56, 3 games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. The team went on to the 1945 World Series, which they lost to the Detroit Tigers in seven games...
. Gary Matthews
Gary Matthews
Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. , nicknamed Sarge, is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball. He now serves as a color commentator for the Philadelphia Phillies. From through , Matthews played for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Seattle...
also homered in the first and added a three-run shot in Chicago's six-run fifth. Even starting pitcher Rick Sutcliffe went deep, while holding the hapless Padres to two hits over seven strong innings. The Cubs' overwhelming victory had Chicago's long-suffering fans dreaming of the franchise's first World Championship since 1908
1908 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Cubs winning their third consecutive National League pennant, as well as the World Series...
.
Game 2
Wednesday, October 3, 1984 at Wrigley FieldWrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago's offense was considerably more subdued in Game 2, though their pitching remained almost as strong. Dernier again opened the scoring for the Cubs in the first, singling to left and coming around to score on two groundouts. The Cubs got two more runs in the third, highlighted by Ron Cey
Ron Cey
Ronald Charles Cey |Washington]]) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics . Cey batted and threw right-handed...
's RBI double. San Diego got one back in the fourth when Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...
doubled and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin McReynolds
Kevin McReynolds
Walter Kevin McReynolds is a former Major League Baseball outfielder with a 12-year career from 1983 to 1994...
. But Chicago answered in the bottom of the fourth when Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg , nicknamed "Ryno" is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During a 16-year baseball career, he played from 1981–1994 and 1996–97, spending nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best...
doubled in Dernier. San Diego cut the lead to 4-2 in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Steve Garvey
Steve Garvey
Steven Patrick Garvey , nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman...
, but the Padres could get no closer against the strong pitching of Steve Trout
Steve Trout
Steven Russell Trout is a former major league baseball pitcher who played during the 1980s.He is the son of former major league pitcher Dizzy Trout. Teammates and friends often referred to him simply as "Sorenson" along with the fairly obvious nickname Rainbow Trout...
. Lee Smith
Lee Smith (baseball)
Lee Arthur Smith is an American right-handed former baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball for eight teams. Pitching primarily for the Chicago Cubs, with whom he spent his first eight seasons, Lee served mostly as a relief pitcher during his career...
came on with one out in the ninth to get the save, and the Cubs were just one victory away from the World Series.
Game 3
Thursday, October 4, 1984 at Jack Murphy StadiumQualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in San Diego, California, in the Mission Valley area....
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
The series moved to San Diego, and the Padres staved off elimination with a convincing 7–1 win. San Diego actually fell behind 1–0 in the second when Chicago's Keith Moreland
Keith Moreland
Bobby Keith "Zonk" Moreland is a former outfielder, catcher and infield in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres. In , the final year of his career, he played for the Detroit Tigers, then the Baltimore Orioles...
doubled and came home on Cey's single to center. But the Cubs would get no more off Padres starter Ed Whitson
Ed Whitson
Eddie Lee Whitson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher best remembered for his short and turbulent stint with the New York Yankees in the mid 1980s. He batted and threw right-handed.-Pittsburgh Pirates:...
, while San Diego's bats finally came to life with seven runs in the fifth and sixth. Garry Templeton
Garry Templeton
Garry Lewis Templeton, nicknamed "Jumpsteady", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets from 1976 to 1991...
knocked in two runs with a double in the fifth, and McReynolds essentially ended the game with a three-run homer in the sixth. Rich Gossage
Rich Gossage
Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1972-1994 for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. The nickname "Goose" is a play on his surname...
pitched a dominating ninth inning to wrap up the win for San Diego.
"It was the loudest crowd I've ever heard anywhere," said Gossage, a former New York Yankee. Gwynn agreed as well. Jack Murphy Stadium played "Cub-Busters", a parody of the theme song
Ghostbusters (song)
"Ghostbusters" is a 1984 song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks...
from the 1984 movie Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
. Cub-Busters T-shirts inspired from the movie were popular attire for Padres fans.
Game 4
Saturday, October 6, 1984 at Jack Murphy StadiumQualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in San Diego, California, in the Mission Valley area....
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
Game 4 proved to be the most dramatic of the series, and it left many Cubs fans dreading another harsh disappointment for the franchise nicknamed the "lovable losers." The Padres jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the third on a sacrifice fly from Gwynn and a run-scoring double from Garvey. The Cubs actually took the lead in the fourth on a two-run homer by Jody Davis and a solo shot by Leon Durham
Leon Durham
Leon "Bull" Durham is a former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 10 seasons. Durham played with the St. Louis Cardinals , Chicago Cubs , and Cincinnati Reds...
, who would suffer ignominy in Game 5. The Padres tied the game in the fifth on another RBI from Garvey, and took the lead in the seventh when Garvey singled in yet another run. A passed ball allowed a second tally in the inning to make the score 5–3 San Diego. The Cubs bounced back in the eighth to tie the game on an RBI single by Moreland and an RBI double from Davis.
With dominating closer Lee Smith on the mound for the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth, Gwynn singled to center with one out. Garvey then capped an extraordinary five-RBI game by launching a two-run walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
to right center field just over the glove of Cubs right fielder Henry Cotto
Henry Cotto
Henry Cotto is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball, from until . He also played one season in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants in , winning a world championship...
at the 370 sign. The series was now tied as the Cubs suffered one of their most devastating postseason losses ever.
Game 5
Sunday, October 7, 1984 at Jack Murphy StadiumQualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in San Diego, California, in the Mission Valley area....
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
As if to tease their fatalistic fans, the Cubs started out well in the final and deciding game of the series. Durham hit a two-run homer in the first and Davis added a solo homer in the second to give the Cubs a 3–0 lead. With National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
winner and Game 1 victor Rick Sutcliffe pitching brilliantly, the Cubs maintained their lead until the bottom of the sixth. Then disaster struck in a way that left many Cubs fans muttering about curses
Curse of the Billy Goat
The curse of the Billy Goat was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave a World Series game against the Detroit Tigers at the Cubs' home ground of Wrigley Field because his pet goat's odor was bothering other fans...
and other storied collapses in the franchise's history.
Chicago's downfall began innocently enough, with San Diego getting two sacrifice flies in the sixth to cut the Cubs' lead to 3–2. But the Padres' seventh proved catastrophic for Chicago. Carmelo Martínez
Carmelo Martinez
Carmelo Martínez Salgado is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a first baseman and outfielder, from 1983 to 1991. He also played one season in Japan for the Orix BlueWave in...
led off the inning with a walk, was sacrificed to second by Garry Templeton
Garry Templeton
Garry Lewis Templeton, nicknamed "Jumpsteady", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets from 1976 to 1991...
, and scored when Tim Flannery
Tim Flannery (baseball)
Timothy Earl Flannery is a former Major League Baseball player who spent eleven seasons with the San Diego Padres, from to . He is also the nephew of former Major League Baseball player Hal Smith.-Minors:...
's grounder trickled through Durham's legs for a crucial error. Alan Wiggins
Alan Wiggins
Alan Anthony Wiggins was a Major League Baseball second baseman and left fielder. He was the first baseball player known to die of AIDS.-Early career:Wiggins was born in 1958 in Los Angeles, California...
singled Flannery to second, and Gwynn doubled both runners home to give the Padres a 5–3 lead. Garvey followed with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 6–3. Steve Trout then replaced Sutcliffe on the mound and got out of the inning unscathed.
The Cubs got three baserunners over the final two innings against Gossage but could not score, and San Diego took home its first National League pennant. The Padres would go on to lose the World Series
1984 World Series
The 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, with the Tigers winning the series four games to one....
to the dominant Detroit Tigers
1984 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 1. The season was their 84th since they entered the American League in 1901 and their fourth World Series championship. Detroit relief pitcher Willie Hernandez won the Cy Young Award and was chosen as the...
in five games.
Composite box
1984 NLCS (3–2): San Diego PadresSan Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
over Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...