Saturday, August 15, 2015

August 15, 1968: The Moon Man Slams The Cubbies

     On August 15, 1968, a Mike Shannon grand slam highlighted an 8-0 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The big blast off of Bill Stoneman came in the second inning, with the Redbirds already leading 4-0. One swing of the Moon Man's stick made it 8-0, and there was no looking back. While the Cubs burned up their bullpen, the Cardinals starter Nelson Briles pitched a gem, scattering seven hits, while striking out five. The grand slam was the first grand slam in Mike Shannon's career, and it was also the last. He hit a total of 68 home runs, and it is safe to say that big fly at Wrigley was a memorable one.

     This series was a wild one. It was a four game set that saw the Cubs take the first two, before the Cardinals bounced back and took the last two. The Cardinals' outfielders were harassed to no end by the "bleacher bums" at Wrigley. An article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune  proclaimed  the Cardinals outfielders" had been jeered, pelted with everything from flashlight batteries to crumpled beer cups and they still smiled and praised the raucous bleacherites." Lou Brock told reporters after the game he thought those fans were great for baseball, and it was nothing more than good clean fun. In the end the Redbirds outfielders got the last laugh, Brock and Curt Flood spread a sign across the outfield in the ninth inning that read "We're still  No. 1." And they were, as they left Wrigelyville 14 games up in the standings.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN196808150.shtml

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