April 23, 1972
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by Bob Hulsey
The "rally cap" became popular in the 1980s with the 1986 Mets credited for starting the fad. The practice involved turning your baseball cap inside-out or wearing it in some other off-beat way in a desperate attempt to spur your team into a thrilling comeback. Had baseball fans been paying attention, the trend might have started a decade earlier.
The Astros were playing a Sunday matinee at Candlestick Park in San Francisco before 40,821 fans on April 23, 1972. Houston had won five straight after losing the first two games of the year. Larry Dierker took the hill against righthander Steve Stone, looking for a series sweep.
Stone balked home a run in the first inning and Johnny Edwards doubled home Doug Rader in the fourth for a second Houston run. The Giants scored in the fifth on a grounder and tied it in the sixth on a leadoff homer by Chris Speier. A sacrifice fly by Bobby Bonds plated Tito Fuentes to put San Francisco on top, 3-2.
In the top of the eighth, a solo homer to left by Bob Watson off Jim Barr tied it for the Astros. But the Giants stormed back for four runs in the bottom half. Bonds drove home Fuentes again with a single then, after George Culver came in to relieve Dierker, Dave Kingman walloped a three-run shot to give San Francisco a seemingly safe 7-3 lead.
A Steal In The Bullpen
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Kittle searched the stands in vain, trying to find the thief but couldn't locate his cap. Frustrated and angry, Kittle turned to hear the voice of a young fan.
"Excuse me, mister," said the boy. "Would you like my cap?"
It was a red cap with a white letter "M" stitched on it. It was too small to wear but, thinking of his balding head in the midday sun, Kittle agreed to take it. He went back to the bullpen and retrieved a pair of baseballs as trade for the lid. He then returned to his seat with the red cap perched gingerly on top of his head.
Time For A Rally
Kittle probably thought he would hold it there for three quick outs then return to the safety of the Astros clubhouse. It was not uncommon for the Houston bullpen to surrender games late and the offense to have no answer, particularly on the road. But 1972 would be a different year. At long last, they had the sort of offense that could respond.
Batting ninth, pinch-hitter Norm Miller opened with a double off Jerry Johnson who had come in to pitch for Barr. Roger Metzger drew a walk. Cesar Cedeno then slashed a double that drove in both, cutting the Giants' margin to 7-5. A passed ball on Fran Healy moved Cedeno to third and Jim Wynn coaxed a base on balls.
The defending West Division champions then turned to Don McMahon from the Giants bullpen. Houston fans remembered McMahon as a crafty veteran who had pitched for the Colt .45s a decade earlier. Now 42, the righthander was pitching for his seventh big league team and still doing well.
Lee May, acquired by Houston that winter in the trade that sent Joe Morgan to Cincinnati, belted McMahon's pitch over the fence in left-center for a three-run homer to put the Astros back in front.
More To Follow
But the Orange Crush wasn't finished. Watson singled to left and, after Rader stuck out, Tommy Helms (another part of the Morgan trade) singled to center, moving Watson to second. Giants Manager Charlie Fox returned to the mound and called in lefthander Johnny Morris to replace McMahon.
Edwards then grounded to Speier at short but the throw went awry, loading the bases. Jesus Alou became the pinch-hitter for pinch-hitter Miller and singled to right for two runs. Houston's lead was now 10-7.
Metzger grounded out third-to-first while Edwards trotted home and Alou advanced to second. Cedeno followed with a single up the middle for his fifth hit of the day, his second hit of the inning and his third RBI of the afternoon to go with two stolen bases. He moved up to second on the throw home as Alou scored. Moments later, Wynn followed with another single to bring Cedeno in to cap the ten-run outburst. May's fly out to right ended the explosion with the Astros ahead, 13-7.
Fred Gladding, with plenty of time to get loose under Kittle's eye, walked in to get a 1-2-3 ninth that finished off the disheartened Giants. Culver, who had surrendered the three-run bomb to Kingman back in the eighth, came away the victor. Gladding, under the rules at the time, got the save despite the six-run cushion.
It is unknown what Kittle did with the little red cap after that but it would have made for a nice talisman. The Astros went on to get their first winning season at 84-69, though finishing a distant second place in the West to the Cincinnati Reds. And, in an unAstro-like manner, they finished with a better record on the road (43-33) than at home (41-36),
DayGame Played on Sunday, April 23, 1972 (D) at Candlestick Park
HOU N 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 10 - 13 17 2 SF N 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 4 0 - 7 7 2
BATTING
Houston Astros AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Metzger ss 5 2 2 1 1 0 3 4 Cedeno cf 6 2 5 3 0 0 1 0 Wynn rf 4 1 1 1 2 0 4 0 May 1b 5 1 1 3 1 3 13 0 Watson lf 5 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 Rader 3b 5 1 0 0 0 2 1 2 Helms 2b 5 1 2 0 0 1 2 5 Edwards c 5 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 Dierker p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Culver p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Miller ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Alou ph 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 Gladding p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 45 13 17 12 4 7 27 14
FIELDING - DP: 1. Helms-Metzger-May. E: May (1), Rader (1).
BATTING - 2B: Edwards (3,off Stone); Miller (1,off Johnson); Cedeno (4,off Johnson). HR: Watson (2,8th inning off Barr 0 on 0 out); May (2,9th inning off McMahon 2 on 0 out). IBB: May (1,by Stone). Team LOB: 9.
BASERUNNING - SB: Cedeno 2 (4,2nd base off Stone/Rader,2nd base off Barr/Rader).
San Francisco Giants AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Speier ss 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 4 Fuentes 2b 5 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 Mays cf 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 Bonds rf 3 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 Kingman 3b 2 2 1 3 2 0 1 4 Henderson lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 Howarth 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 10 0 Rader c 3 0 1 1 1 0 7 0 Healy c 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Stone p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Rosario ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Barr p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Arnold ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Johnson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 McMahon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Morris p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 34 7 7 7 4 2 27 11
FIELDING - E: Speier 2 (3). PB: Healy (2).
BATTING - 2B: Fuentes 2 (3,off Dierker 2). HR: Speier (1,6th inning off Dierker 0 on 0 out); Kingman (2,8th inning off Culver 2 on 0 out). SF: Bonds (1,off Dierker). Team LOB: 5.
BASERUNNING - SB: Kingman (2,2nd base off Dierker/Edwards).
PITCHING
Houston Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR Dierker 7 6 6 6 3 1 1 Culver W(1-0) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Gladding SV(2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 9 7 7 7 4 2 2
Dierker faced 3 batters in the 8th inning WP: Dierker (1).
San Francisco Giants IP H R ER BB SO HR Stone 5 5 2 1 2 5 0 Barr 3 4 1 1 0 1 1 Johnson 0 2 4 4 2 0 0 McMahon L(0-1) 0.1 3 3 3 0 1 1 Morris 0.2 3 3 0 0 0 0 Totals 9 17 13 9 4 7 2
Johnson faced 4 batters in the 9th inning BK: Stone (1). IBB: Stone (1,May).
Umpires: Bruce Froemming, Ed Vargo, Paul Pryor, Harry Wendelstedt
Time of Game: 3:02 Attendance: 40821
Starting Lineups: Houston Astros San Francisco Giants 1. Metzger ss Speier ss 2. Cedeno cf Fuentes 2b 3. Wynn rf Mays cf 4. May 1b Bonds rf 5. Watson lf Kingman 3b 6. Rader 3b Henderson lf 7. Helms 2b Howarth 1b 8. Edwards c Rader c 9. Dierker p Stone p ASTROS 1ST: Metzger singled to right; Cedeno singled to pitcher [Metzger to second]; Wynn flied out to center [Metzger to third, Cedeno to second]; May was walked intentionally; Watson struck out; Stone balked [Metzger scored, Cedeno to third, May to second]; Rader struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 1, Giants 0. GIANTS 1ST: Speier flied out to right; Fuentes grounded out (second to first); Mays grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Giants 0. ASTROS 2ND: Helms was called out on strikes; Edwards flied out to left; Dierker grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Giants 0. GIANTS 2ND: Bonds grounded out (pitcher to first); Kingman walked; Henderson grounded out (first unassisted) [Kingman to second]; Howarth grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 1, Giants 0. ASTROS 3RD: Metzger grounded out (third to first); Cedeno singled to right; Cedeno stole second; Wynn walked; May struck out; Watson grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 1, Giants 0. GIANTS 3RD: Rader singled to pitcher; On a bunt Stone forced Rader (pitcher to shortstop); Speier grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first) [Stone out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Giants 0. ASTROS 4TH: Rader reached on an error by Speier [Rader to first]; Helms popped to shortstop in foul territory; Edwards doubled to right [Rader scored (unearned)]; Dierker grounded out (third to first); Metzger singled to left [Edwards out at home (left to catcher)]; 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 0. GIANTS 4TH: Fuentes grounded out (second to first); Mays grounded out (shortstop to first); Bonds flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 0. ASTROS 5TH: Cedeno grounded out (pitcher to first); Wynn made an out to second; May struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 0. GIANTS 5TH: Kingman walked; Henderson struck out; Kingman stole second; Howarth walked; Dierker threw a wild pitch [Kingman to third, Howarth to second]; Rader grounded out (second to first) [Kingman scored, Howarth stayed at second]; ROSARIO BATTED FOR STONE; Rosario flied out to right; 1 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 1. ASTROS 6TH: BARR REPLACED ROSARIO (PITCHING); Watson grounded out (shortstop to first); Rader grounded out (shortstop to first); Helms singled to center; Edwards singled to center [Helms to second]; Dierker made an out to third; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 1. GIANTS 6TH: Speier homered; Fuentes doubled to left; Mays reached on an error by May [Fuentes to third, Mays to first]; Bonds hit a sacrifice fly to center [Fuentes scored]; Kingman made an out to second; Henderson grounded out (pitcher to first); 2 R, 2 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 3. ASTROS 7TH: Metzger flied out to left; Cedeno singled to center; Cedeno stole second; Wynn grounded out (shortstop to first); May was called out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 3. GIANTS 7TH: Howarth made an out to second; Rader flied out to right; Barr reached on an error by Rader [Barr to second]; Speier grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Giants 3. ASTROS 8TH: Watson homered; Rader flied out to center; Helms grounded out (shortstop to first); Edwards flied out to center; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 3, Giants 3. GIANTS 8TH: Fuentes doubled to right; Mays singled to center [Fuentes to third]; Bonds singled to second [Fuentes scored, Mays to second]; CULVER REPLACED DIERKER (PITCHING); Kingman homered [Mays scored, Bonds scored]; Henderson popped to third in foul territory; Howarth struck out; Rader walked; ARNOLD BATTED FOR BARR; Arnold made an out to shortstop; 4 R, 4 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 3, Giants 7. ASTROS 9TH: JOHNSON REPLACED ARNOLD (PITCHING); HEALY REPLACED RADER (PLAYING C ); MILLER BATTED FOR CULVER; Miller doubled to center; Metzger walked; Cedeno doubled to center [Miller scored, Metzger scored]; Healy allowed a passed ball [Cedeno to third]; Wynn walked; MCMAHON REPLACED JOHNSON (PITCHING); May homered [Cedeno scored, Wynn scored]; Watson singled to left; Rader was called out on strikes; Helms singled to center [Watson to second]; MORRIS REPLACED MCMAHON (PITCHING); Edwards reached on an error by Speier [Watson to third, Helms to second, Edwards to first]; ALOU BATTED FOR MILLER; Alou singled to right [Watson scored, Helms scored, Edwards to third]; Metzger grounded out (third to first) [Edwards scored (unearned), Alou to second]; Cedeno singled to center [Alou scored (unearned), Cedeno to second (on throw)]; Wynn singled to right [Cedeno scored (unearned)]; May flied out to right; 10 R (7 ER), 8 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 13, Giants 7. GIANTS 9TH: GLADDING REPLACED ALOU (PITCHING); Speier grounded out (shortstop to first); Fuentes flied out to left; Mays grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 13, Giants 7. Final Totals R H E LOB Astros 13 17 2 9 Giants 7 7 2 5