On this day in 1977 the Brewers and Mariners played a Sunday matinee at County Stadium. Cecil Cooper batted cleanup for the Crew and entered the ninth having a quiet day, having gone 0-for-3 with a sac fly.
That changed quickly in his final at bat, though. The Brewers trailed by two runs in the bottom of the ninth but Jamie Quirk and Charlie Moore singled and Robin Yount walked to load the bases. Don Money struck out for the second out, but Cooper came to the plate and belted a grand slam to give the Crew a walkoff, 8-6 victory.
The slam was only Cooper's ninth home run as a Brewer and both the first grand slam and walkoff of his career. Mike Caldwell also picked up his first of 102 Brewer wins in the game.
With help from the B-Ref play Index and Brewerfan.net, we'd like to wish a happy birthday to:
- Huntsville Stars teammates Drew Gagnon and Brooks Hall, who both turn 23.
- 2008-09 Brewer Jason Kendall, who turns 39.
- 1998-99 Brewer Mike Myers, who turns 44.
- UW-Madison alum Rodney Myers, who turns 44. He played nine MLB seasons as a member of the Cubs and two other teams.
- 1976 Brewer Steve Bowling, who turns 61.
Today is also the 16th anniversary of a 1997 trade that sent pitcher Ricky Bones to the Royals, ending his Brewer career. We covered that event in this space last year.
It's also the 42nd anniversary of Marty Pattin pitching a complete game shutout against the Twins in 1971 despite allowing eleven hits. We covered that event in this space two years ago.