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DEL.ICIO.USBraves remember Gregg fondly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
It was the strike zone from a hitter’s darkest nightmare. Wide, wider and then absolutely outrageous. “If we win that game,” said Braves manger Bobby Cox, shaking his head Monday night at Turner Field while recalling Game 5 of the 1997 National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins, “we win everything. I mean, the pennant, the World Series, everything.”
Instead, the Braves were scorched out of the playoffs by fire, brimstone and Eric Gregg. Even so, when you listened to those in the home clubhouse who survived their version of hell that night nine years ago in south Florida, they claimed that the big fellow carrying an umpire’s clicker instead of a pitchfork was from heaven.
Said John Smoltz, the Braves’ ultimate historian, recalling Gregg, who died Monday evening at 55 after suffering a massive stroke on Sunday, “I don’t know anybody who ever had a problem with him as far as being approachable.”
Just last month, when Smoltz warmed up in the bullpen at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, all 400-something pounds of Gregg leaned over the railing to yell “Smoltzie” with a wave. That’s because among Gregg’s many jobs since he left the major leagues after the 1999 season was to pour beer at home games for the Philadelphia Phillies. Still, he remained the big (really, really big), jovial umpire to those who remembered. “I was surprised by his weight, but you knew he was trying hard to do his job every day,” said Chipper Jones, the Braves’ third baseman who was around for Gregg’s last five seasons calling a few balls and a lot of strikes.
Then there was Cox, not exactly in line to become head of the umpires’ union someday. Only John McGraw and Leo Durocher have been tossed more as a manager in history. “I don’t think Eric ever threw me out,” Cox said, easing into a chuckle and adding, “Well, he may have, but it probably was because I asked him to. I never had an argument with him.”
Not even on October 12, 1997, when Cox fumed from afar as Gregg’s strike zone grew wider than his waist. Two days later, the Braves were eliminated with barely a whimper at home. If you combine the Braves’ loss to that inferior Marlins bunch with the greatest collapse in the history of the World Series, when they came from ahead in 1996 to choke away a world championship to the New York Yankees, the Braves were rolling toward their yearly habit of October infamy.
“We had a great chance to do something special and be the Yankees,” said Smoltz, referring to how the pinstriped folks eventually won it all four out of five years through 2000. “You’re going to have to strap me up to something and transform me to convince me that we somehow didn’t win (against the Yankees in 1996). I’m still having a hard time with that.
“Then, in 1997, well, I hate talking about that game, because it looks like sour grapes, but we had every chance with the same strike zone with Greg Maddux pitching. Give that guy pitching against us (Monday night) incredible props.”
That guy pitching against the Braves Monday night was Livan Hernandez, now with the Washington Nationals and a loser 10 consecutive times in the regular season against the Braves entering Monday night’s game. He was just mediocre this time when he left the game after six innings with a 5-4 lead. Such definitely wasn’t the case for Hernandez during The Eric Gregg Game, when his rookie arm took advantage of every mile or three of that jumbo strike zone to fan 15 Braves hitters along the way to a 2-1 victory.
Cox shook his head again, saying, “We had runners at first and third that night, and (Hernandez) struck out the next three hitters on called outs. Nobody swung the bat, they were all balls.” Then Cox squinted, before adding in a hurry, “Really, I couldn’t tell from the dugout, because you have no idea where the pitches are. But (Fred) McGriff, (Ryan) Klesko, Chipper. They kept coming back and saying, ‘Bobby, those are unhittable pitches.’”
Yeah, but the Braves hitters didn’t give themselves a chance. They never adjusted to Gregg’s consistently huge strike zone. And the older Maddux could have emulated the younger Hernandez by throwing pitches to where Gregg was calling them.
Now Gregg is calling them Somewhere Up There. “I’ll always think of him with a smile on his face, having fun, doing the best that he could — you know, a guy who could take some teasing and give it right back to you,” Cox said. Then he sighed, chuckled and added, “Oh, I’ll still remember that crazy game, but I’ll remember all of those other things even more.”
Permalink | Comments (32) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves / MLB, Terence Moore
Comments
By Anne
June 5, 2006 10:57 PM | Link to this
So, how many of Bobby’s many ejections have come after he’s been asked to be tossed. With the way the Braves are going right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him asked to be tossed in the next couple of nights…
By gary
June 6, 2006 12:33 AM | Link to this
Game 5 in ‘97 was a day game. So it was an afternoon from hell. Check your facts, Terence.
By J-Baller
June 6, 2006 12:40 AM | Link to this
I was at that game. Started around 4, so you 2 compromise!
By gary
June 6, 2006 12:48 AM | Link to this
Can’t compromise the truth. In Terence’s world, the Leyritz homer was JUST beyond Andruw’s reach; in reality, it was well over the wall and Andruw had no shot at it. Journalists can’t fudge the truth like fans love to do.
By chopthis
June 6, 2006 01:02 AM | Link to this
I think it’s high time for a “Braves can hear footsteps” column, don’t you, Terence? The Nats are coming, the Nats are coming!
By gotigers72
June 6, 2006 03:54 AM | Link to this
Braves’ hitters never adjusted to Gregg’s strike zone? Come on now! That last pitch to McGriff was a foot outside! He could not have hit that thing if he had been able to swing a telephone pole. That was the worst abuse of the strike zone that I ever saw by a major league umpire. And in a playoff game to boot. At the press conference after the game, he kept referring to it as “My strike zone”. Funny, thought it was supposed to be baseball’s strike zone.
Good human being, which is what counts. Never a good umpire.
By Jeff in Chicago
June 6, 2006 03:59 AM | Link to this
The ‘97 playoff loss to the Marlin’s was more difficult to watch than the ‘91 Game 7 loss to the Twins or the ‘96 Leyritz home run game. The reason being, those games were lost to the other team. The Marlin’s game was lost to Eric Gregg. That was a travesty and probably caused, or at least contributed mightly, to Gregg not being allowed back into baseball after the Umpire resignation. I am sure he was a great guy and I am sorry to hear about his death, but that ‘97 playoff game was outrageous and an embarrasement to Gregg and to MLB.
Terence, how could the Braves hitters adjust to a strike zone that was calling pitches strikes that were literally 6 inches off the plate? The only adjustment that they could have made would have been for them to stride onto home plate just to be able to hit the ball, which would result in an automatic out. Why should the players have to adjust to the incompetence of an umpire who is calling the game according to his own variable definition of a strike????
By chopthis
June 6, 2006 04:47 AM | Link to this
“Really, I couldn’t tell from the dugout, because you have no idea where the pitches are.” I cannot believe that Bobby Cox said this! No one in baseball does more b*** at the umpires from the dugout over balls and strikes that he does. If “you have no idea where the pitches are,” Bobby, then you should shut up and do your job, and let the umpires do theirs. Then maybe you’d have more than one measly World Series ring to show for all your alleged brilliance.
By br
June 6, 2006 06:33 AM | Link to this
Hey come on, that strike zone was the exact same for the hitters who had to face Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Neagle every night…THE EXACT SAME! For once there was an umpire who actually had the gonads to call it BOTH ways, go figure!
By turning 2 on U
June 6, 2006 07:29 AM | Link to this
I saw that game and Gregg made a mockery of himself and the game of baseball. He should have been fired or suspended BUT…the union would have protected him. No one in their right mind can watch replays of that game and think differently.
Had Gregg been a college, HS or even a Little League umpire calling balls and strikes like that, he would have been fired right after the game.
I say, good riddance to guys like him. He may have been a great guy off the field, but perhaps he should have stayed off it for a living.
Sorry, but if you’ve played the game of baseball for any length of time, you know when to layoff pitches WAY outside. When the ump calls that a strike, it takes you out of your game…no matter how good a hitter you are. And you don’t dare start diving across the plate either because, as was once stated the movie “Field of Dreams”….”watch out for in your ear”.
By Dave
June 6, 2006 07:52 AM | Link to this
Nobody ever remembers who umpires a game. Gregg was an exception. He arrogantly said it is my strike zone it belongs to me and is my game. Luckily baseball stepped in and fired him and made the umpires call the strike zone their way. I am sorry he died, but he had no business being an umpire. He took over a game and ruined it for the rest of us and made a mockery of the game.
By br
June 6, 2006 07:55 AM | Link to this
turning 2 on U,
Well, waaaah! Like I said, Braves pitchers got away with pitches like that for years. Well, that night in ‘97 the Braves’ hitters got a taste of what the other hitters felt like…not too pleasant, was it?
By opieandy
June 6, 2006 08:22 AM | Link to this
Braves Remember Gregg Fondly?
Terence, are you deluding yourself, as usual?
Here are the quotes from Braves in reference to Gregg:
I dont know anybody who ever had a problem with him as far as being approachable.
I was surprised by his weight, but you knew he was trying hard to do his job every day,
I dont think Eric ever threw me out, Cox said, easing into a chuckle and adding, Well, he may have, but it probably was because I asked him to. I never had an argument with him.
Ill always think of him with a smile on his face, having fun, doing the best that he could — you know, a guy who could take some teasing and give it right back to you, Cox said. Then he sighed, chuckled and added, Oh, Ill still remember that crazy game, but Ill remember all of those other things even more.
Hardly “fond” memories. More like guys trying to be diplomatic when being quoted on someone’s death. Usually when someone dies, you hear ringing accolades, not remarks like “he was approachable.”
By opieandy
June 6, 2006 08:23 AM | Link to this
Braves Remember Gregg Fondly?
Terence, are you deluding yourself, as usual?
Here are the quotes from Braves in reference to Gregg:
“I don’t know anybody who ever had a problem with him as far as being approachable.”
“I was surprised by his weight, but you knew he was trying hard to do his job every day,”
“I don’t think Eric ever threw me out,” Cox said, easing into a chuckle and adding, “Well, he may have, but it probably was because I asked him to. I never had an argument with him.”
“I’ll always think of him with a smile on his face, having fun, doing the best that he could — you know, a guy who could take some teasing and give it right back to you,” Cox said. Then he sighed, chuckled and added, “Oh, I’ll still remember that crazy game, but I’ll remember all of those other things even more.”
Hardly “fond” memories. More like guys trying to be diplomatic when being quoted on someone’s death. Usually when someone dies, you hear ringing accolades, not remarks like “he was approachable.”
By EG
June 6, 2006 08:30 AM | Link to this
It was hot as hell that day and Gregg just wanted the game to go quickly. As you said, Maddux should have taken advantage of the situation more than he did.
By Deanna
June 6, 2006 09:12 AM | Link to this
We’ll miss you Mr. Gregg. It was always a joy to see you on the field.
By Robert
June 6, 2006 09:30 AM | Link to this
Does anyone find it ironic that Eric Gregg passed on the same day that Livan Hernandez beat the Braves again?
By br
June 6, 2006 09:32 AM | Link to this
Robert,
About as ironic as the Angels playing the Devil Rays tonight on 6/6/06.
By Jeff
June 6, 2006 09:50 AM | Link to this
The biggest problem i had with that day was that Gregg was punching out strike three before the ball hit the catchers glove. he wasn’t looking where the pitch was going, he was just thinking about what he was going to look like on sportscenter for the highlight. to make matters worse, i watched the game with a bunch of yankess fans who delighted in our loss, but being the rational sports fans they are, they too agreed that gregg called the pitch before it hit the glove. go back and watch it, it is ridiculous.
By Dave
June 6, 2006 09:54 AM | Link to this
My son gave me Eric Gregg’s book as a joke for Christmas one year, and the family wagered on how fast and the method of destruction it would receive.
The only more famous cheat at the hand of an umpire is Don Denkinger in the 1985 WS. Ask any knowledgable baseball fan about Eric Gregg and his legacy is that game with the Marlins.
He was an arrogant egomaniac. His legacy is what it is. Rest in peace.
By GT
June 6, 2006 09:56 AM | Link to this
That is the first time I heard someone say it was called the same way for both teams.
By Jim
June 6, 2006 09:58 AM | Link to this
BR..now THAT’S funny!
Eric Gregg’s death is ironic, because I had thought of him over the weekend—that called third strike to McGriff to end the game WAS a foot outside! I have been cursing him ever since then, and was overjoyed when he was told to stay away from baseball.
That said, God Bless his family and friends…I’m sure his passing has saddened many people.
By Greg
June 6, 2006 10:02 AM | Link to this
Sorry Eric Gregg is dead. I’m sorry he never recovered from firing himself during the umpire strike. But he was the worst home plate umpire I ever saw. The guy who said McGriff couldn’t have hit that pitch with a telephone pole was exactly right.
As for the statement that Maddux wasn’t smart enough to exploit Gregg’s strike zone against Florida that day. My response is, BS! Go back and look at the film. Maddux didn’t get the same calls as Hernandez. Maddog would have thrown the ball in the dugout if the umpire would give him the strike. He got nothing from Gregg that day. It was like MLB didn’t want the Braves in the Series and they ordered Gregg to make sure they didn’t make it. That game was a travesty. And as an umpire, Eric Gregg was a self-important clown.
By J. Elmo Fogg
June 6, 2006 10:18 AM | Link to this
My most vivid memory of that game was a pitch to Chipper Jones that went into the 10th row above the visitor’s dugout and hit an old lady sitting next to me. Her painful screams were drowned out by Gregg’s third strike call.
By Ed Smith
June 6, 2006 10:58 AM | Link to this
Long before the sorry job Eric Greg did behind the plate in the play off game, I had noticed him. He never gave the Braves a break and actually seemed to dislike Atlanta. The Braves rarely won when he was an umpire. I remember a game where he called a runner for the other team safe at first when everyone else in the stadium knew the runner was out by over a foot. He was not one of my favorite umpires. He was a nice fellow, off the field.
By Mac
June 6, 2006 11:24 AM | Link to this
Oh jeez, this is a non-story because Eric Gregg should have never BEEN a major league umpire to begin with… ergo his death should not have been newsworthy.
Don’t get me wrong, the fact that he died apparentely of an obesity-related illness… is sad. But as a baseball fan I mourn nothing about him at all. The poster above who said a little league umpire would’ve been fired for that travesty in the ‘97 NLCS is accurate. Gregg SHOULD be remembered for that game, and, professionally at least, selling beer and peanuts in the bowels of the Vet (before moving to the new stadium), he got what he deserved.
BTW, Terence, when you mention Maddux you totally forgot an ironic factoid about that game… The Marlins scored a run when a batter reached base who was hit by a pitch. But he leaned into the pitch and it CLEARLY was a strike—by ANYONE’S zone. But Gregg wouldn’t budge and gave the batter first base. And Maddux’s zone was NOT as wide. Just go watch the tape again to see.
By chopthis
June 6, 2006 12:37 PM | Link to this
Opieandy, in Terence’s defense, he probably didn’t write the headline for his column. Some sports copy editor who probably was in a bit too much of a hurry to properly discern diplomatic quotes from fond ones probably put the headline on it. Of course, this is not to imply that Terence isn’t way too much of a Braves fan to be an objective columnist. He’s a homer — just as bad as the Braves announcers — and the cold realization that the Braves’ run of division titles is done hasn’t hit the homers yet.
By TrueBlueBravesFan
June 6, 2006 03:57 PM | Link to this
I remember that 97 games like it was yesterday and there’s a fact to that strike zone that Moore chose to leave out. Greg was calling the strike much wider on the right handed batting box than on the left. This did not effect Maddox as much because most of the Marlins that were in the lineup were not Left-Handed hitting players. Think about it (Renteria, Sheffield, Conine, Devon White, Charles Johnson). The Braves on the other had a predominately left handed lineup (Mcgriff, Lemke, Klesko, Chipper, Kenny Lofton, Micheal Tucker). It was a huge disadvantage. It’s amazing the Braves were able to score 1 run. And yes the majority of the oversized strikezone was in the Right Handed batting box because Greg always lined up on that side of the Catcher. I remember the announcers even commenting on how the Marlins were exploiting it and Maddux not getting the benefit of the other side of the plate where he prefered to pitch. So don’t try and tell me that that was a fairly called baseball game.
By Steve
June 6, 2006 05:12 PM | Link to this
I wasn’t a big fan of the strike zone that day myself, but if you check the boxscore, you’ll find out that Maddux had a higher percentage of his pitches called strikes than Hernandez did. Go look it up.
By Robert
June 6, 2006 05:20 PM | Link to this
Unbelievable - 8-plus years after the fact and the fans still cant accept that the Braves got outplayed and outmanaged that day, like they always have in the playoffs.
If EVER there was a team that should’ve loved Gregg’s strike zone, it was the Braves - particularly Glavine and Maddux
The strike zone is the strike zone - it didnt cost the Braves the game - Cox and his players did
Fact of the matter is - in the mid 90’s, when Maddux was in his prime, I woulda loved to have Gregg ump every single one of his games
RIP Eric Gregg
By Tomas
June 6, 2006 07:29 PM | Link to this
somebody tell me the braves are planning to trade reitsma and Laroche
By Carroll
June 6, 2006 08:04 PM | Link to this
I’m sure Gregg is in heaven this very moment just by virtue of that 1997 playoff game. Clearly, God hates the Braves.