Stunning Dunning, Umpire Baiting, and Nate Colbert

Felix Hernandez' history-making grand slam on Monday night put him in exclusive company, as he became the first American League pitcher in 37 years to hit a bases-loaded home run. The last man to perform the feat was Steve Dunning, a name with which many of you are not familiar, or have already forgotten. For me, Dunning's name always brings a smile to my face, mostly because of his nickname, "Stunning Steve." Baseball people called him Stunning Steve Dunning not only because it rhymed, but because he had a dazzling fastball that at one time made him one of the top pitching prospects in the game. In fact, he was just about as highly touted as Hernandez was when "King Felix" first joined the Mariners. And just like Hernandez, Dunning had to settle for a no-decision in his grand slam game. Dunning couldn't hold a 5-1 lead for the Indians, giving up five runs on ten hits through four rocky innings against the American League West champion A's.

After Dunning won The Sporting News' 1970 College Player of the Year award, the Indians made him their No. 1 choice in the June draft that spring. Foolishly, the Indians rushed the Stanford product to the major leagues right away, completely bypassing the usual minor league apprenticeship, thereby making the same mistake the Rangers would commit three years later with left-hander David Clyde. On June 14, Dunning made his big league debut. He pitched reasonably well, lasting five innings while giving up two runs to the light-hitting Brewers. Dunning picked up the win, supported capably by Bob Miller's four innings of shutout relief.

The highlight reel didn't end there; unfortunately, the highlights just came too few and far between for Stunning Steve. He would win only three of his remaining 12 decisions in 1970, flatlining with an era near 5.00. He pitched a bit better in 1971, striking out 132 in 184 innings, but also walking over 100 men along the way. (Throughout his career, a lack of control would remain Dunning's biggest pratfall.) The highpoint to his season, other than his grand slam against Diego Segui, came on April 18, when he one-hit Ted Williams' Washington Senators. After the game, Williams held little back in proclaiming that Dunning's "going to be some pitcher some day."

Dunning became only a journeyman pitcher. In the spring of 1973, the Indians gave up on the wild right-hander, trading him to the Rangers, where he became part of Mike Shropshire's infamous "Seasons in Hell" teams. A subsequent trade sent him to the White Sox, though he never actually appeared in a game for Chicago. Then came trades to the Angels, Expos, Cardinals (another team he never played for), and finally Charlie Finley's A's, with whom he ended his seven-year vagrancy in 1977.

Even though Dunning's career ended in obscurity and disappointment, he'll always have that grand slam--and Ted Williams' endorsement--to fall back on...

I have no idea what Carlos Beltran said to home plate umpire Brian Runge during Tuesday night's game between the Mets and Mariners, but it sure does seem like Runge baited the player, prolonging an argument that likely would have ended quickly. There's absolutely no doubt that Runge later bumped manager Jerry Manuel (I saw the replay twice, and there's no question that Runge initiated contact), an incident that should bring swift discipline from the Commissioner's Office. If MLB officials are going to punish managers for pushing or shoving umpires (and they absolutely should), then umpires should be disciplined for making similar contact with managers, as Runge clearly did. A fine would appear to be the minimum appropriate punishment; a suspension of a game or two would more suitably fit the crime...

 
Former major league slugger Nate Colbert will visit Cooperstown this weekend, headlined by an appearance at the Hall of Fame on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The featured guest in a Hall of Fame "Legends Event," Colbert will discuss his ten-year career with the Astros, Padres, Tigers, Expos, and A's, most notably his five home runs in a 1972 doubleheader against the Braves. With his powerful but compact swing, Colbert emerged as very good player for some dreadful Padres teams. For example, during that same 1972 season, he drove in 111 runs, representing a stunning (there's that word again) 23 per cent of San Diego's runs scored that summer. That still ranks as the highest single-season percentage for any player, relative to his team, in major league history.  And to think that Nate accomplished that while wearing those horrific yellow-and-brown double-knits that made the Padres the bane of the early 1970s fashion industry.