"What's Drysdale think? Oh, don't give me that stuff where guys always give it that, 'Oh, yeah, records are made to be broken. I was rooting for the kid.' Fat chance! Whose name you want in the record book, yours or someone else's?"

Although the speaker here must needs have remain anonymous, at the time the announcers of the San Diego Padres broadcasts were Dave Campbell, Jerry Coleman, Bob Chandler, and Ted Leitner. The announcers for the Dodgers games were the legendary Vin Scully, Ross Porter, and - Don Drydale.

Don, of course, had pitched for the Dodgers from 1956 to 1969. As anyone who knows the history of the team, that means Don began pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers and ended up with the Los Angeles Dodgers. And in Los Angeles they remain.

As a Dodger, Don achieved near legendary status ultimately making it into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He also had acquired the reputation of throwing bean balls - that is, balls tossed to deliberately hit the batter. Mickey Mantle, who was a friend of Don's, said that Don thought that tossing at the batter was funny. Before a Yankees-Dodgers game, Mickey said Don would walk up to him and start poking him in the ribs. "Where do you want it today?" Don would laugh. For his part Don stoutly maintained he never deliberately threw a beaner. Instead Don said he was an inside pitcher and if the batters kept crowding the plate, well, that's the way it goes.

After he retired from baseball, Don became a quite effective broadcaster (where he managed to modify his rather pronounced twang). But on September 28, 1988, Don was not in the booth but in the dugout. This game was the one that if the Dodgers could keep the Padres from scoring, the Dodgers' starting pitcher Orel Hershiser might be able pass Don in the number of consecutive scoreless inning pitched. Don had reached 58 consecutive scoreless innings on June 8, 1968, against the Philadelphia Phillies. But in the 5th inning the Phillies scored breaking the streak.

Orel Hershiser was born in Buffalo, New York, and the family moved around, and finally settled in New Jersey. When just a kid, Orel showed marked athletic ability. But it was in high school that he excelled at baseball and after pitching for Bowling Green in Ohio, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the expected stint in the LA farm system he came to the majors in 1983.

Orel did well in Los Angeles which surprised some who didn't look beyond his tall and lanky frame (Orel himself used to joke that when a kid he would be the last player picked since no one wanted anyone whose hands reached below his knees). In 1988 when the Dodgers won the World Series he was picked as the series Most Valuable Player (MVP). That year he also won both the Cy Young Award and the Golden Glove Award.

But now there was a glitch, though. If Orel could shut out the Padres in nine innings, then Orel would only tie Don at 58 innings. For Orel to break Don's record, the current game would have to go into extra innings. But for the games to go into extra innings, that would mean the Dodger's couldn't score any runs during the regulation nine innings either.

There were, though, some murmurings that Orel was such a nice guy he might just stop pitching if he tied Don's record and turn the mound over to a relief pitcher. Don, though, said later that if that had happened he would have told the young man to get his הינטן back in the game and keep pitching.

Yes, the game did go into extra innings and Orel did make it to the scoreless 59th in the bottom of the 10th. Orel finished out the inning and so he broke Don's record.¹

There was, though, yet another glitch.

And that's the Padres WON. Yes, the Padres won and the Dodgers lost. The Padres smacked two runs in the SIXTEENTH inning.

But there was some consolation. Since Orel only pitched through the 10th inning he wasn't the loosing pitcher.

Such competition as seen between Don and Orel makes it clear that baseball is a serious business. Still there is a place for lightheartedness and levity. Among some of the Delightful Drolleries of the Diamond we find:

Why do pitchers lift one leg when they pitch?

If they lifted both legs, they'd fall down.

What movie do pitchers hate the most?

Balking Tall.

What happens if it's in the middle of a game and the pitcher has to go to the bathroom?

They send in a relief pitcher.

And then there's

How many pitchers does it take to change a lightbulb?

One. But he needs three days rest afterwards.

References and Further Reading

"September 28, 1988: Orel Hershiser Pitches his 59th Consecutive Dcoreless Inning, Breaking Don Drysdale’s Record", Jake Rinloan, Society for American Baseball Research.

"Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres: September 28, 1988", Baseball Reference.

San Diego Padres - 1988 Media Guide, San Diego Padres, 1988.

"Drysdale Sets Consecutive Scoreless Inning Mark", Larry Schwartz, ESPN, November 19, 2003.

"Don Drysdale's 'Inside' Pitch", Dave Anderson, The New York Times, July 9, 1979

"Interview with Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, and Willie Mayes", Warner Wolf (interviewer), The Warner Wolf Show.