When SB let us know about this 'Head and Shoulders' promotion, where we were to pick out our team's top 10 All-Star moments, I knew one of them was going to about Cito and Mike Mussina. And Stacey at Camden Chat, of course, was going to write about it too, so we decided to put them up on the same day. Her view might be a little different than mine. So number 6 on our All-Star moments count down is the 1993 game.
With the Jays winning the 1992 World Series, Cito Gaston got the job of being manager of the AL team for the 1993 All-Stars.The Jays had 3 players voted on to the team by the fans: Joe Carter, John Olerud and Roberto Alomar. Cito didn't exactly endear himself to fans of other teams by adding 4 more Jays to the roster: Paul Molitor, Devon White, Pat Hentgen and Duane Ward. Cito, as always, was very loyal to his players.
The game played at the, then, nice, shiny, new Camden Yards in Baltimore. Baltimore had a pretty good team at the time too. Cal Ripken was voted on to the team by the fans, and Cito added Mike Mussina to the roster. Had he known how things were going to turn out I'm sure he would have picked someone else for the roster spot.
I got to ask Pat Hentgen about that game and not getting to pitch and he said this:
Yeah that was when Cito called us into the office prior to the All-Star game and said hey listen you guys are young, I got some other veteran guys that made the All-Star team, I'm going to pitch them and save you for back up incase we go extra innings. So you basically are not going to pitch. The way I see it you are young and you'll be back another one. I remember walking out of his office thinking, darn, I can't believe he is thinking that. But he was right. At that time, did I think I'd make another one? I wasn't so sure, I didn't know. You have a lot of doubt as a professional athlete. Not everyone is super super confident. He was right, I made another one and pitched in 94 and 97. That 93 one was a great experience.
Now Pat uses the term 'we', which, though he doesn't say it, suggests to me that Mike Mussina got the same talk. Mussina was in his second full season in the majors. Cito always had a preference to veteran players. Hentgen clearly was disappointed to be told that he wasn't likely to play in the game. Mussina would have the additional disappointment of not getting to play in the game in front of his home town fans, though he had played in the 1992 All-Star game. What would the chances of him getting into another All-Star game at his home field?
The game didn't go into extra innings and neither Hentgen nor Mussina were used. In Pat's case, it was barely noticed. In Mussina's?
The Baltimore fans wanted to see their pitcher in the game. That's very understandable. What isn't so easy to understand is that Mussina decided to get up and throw in the bullpen, in the 9th inning, without being asked to do so by Cito. He got up to turn the fans against Cito and it worked. It was a scummy thing to do. Cito's response:
"By standing up, he (Mussina) showed me he's a person with little class. Screw him. I just won't take him next year".
Cito lied, he did take Mussina to in the 1994 All-Star game and he used him in that game. But Oriole fans have never forgiven Cito and Cito never forgave Mussina. They still wear 'Cito Sucks' tee shirts. Cito even got death threats when when the team was in Baltimore. Very classy.
So who was wrong? Well, both of them. Cito should have used Mussina. It was his home field in front of his fans. The All-Star game should be for the fans. Cito wanted to save Mike in case of extra innings, but the AL was up 9-3 in the 9th, there was little chance of extras. I think he should
But, Mussina was also wrong and a jerk for showing up Cito like that. I guess his excuse is that he was young, but it was a classless thing to do. Once Mussina got up to throw, on his own, that 'little chance' that he might have come into the game, changed to no way in hell. There was no way Cito would be blackmailed into bringing him into the game. Mussina's best chance would have been to ask his manager Johnny Oates (who was a coach on the AL team) to ask Cito to bring him in. That would have been the right way to go about things, and it might have worked. Cito is a reasonable guy.
It all turned out about as poorly as it could have. Mussina didn't help much after the game, saying:
"It was the biggest ovation I ever got for never being in a game," Mussina said. "I knew I wasn't going to get into the game. There was nothing said. They [the fans] all wanted to see me pitch. They're die-hard Baltimore fans. They waited 35 years for this game."
Oriole GM Frank Robinson had the proper response:
"I'm disappointed in the fan reaction. I don't think it's right," said Robinson, who played in 11 All-Star Games and was honorary co-captain of this year's AL team. "I'd like to have seen Mussina get in. But there was no reason for that. It's an All-Star Game, an exhibition.
I don't think anyone came out of this looking good.
After the jump we'll look at how the Jays players did in the game.
How did the Jay players do in the game?
Roberto Alomar: Started the game, hitting lead off. He went 1 for 3 with a solo home run in the 3rd off Andy Benes.
Paul Molitor: Started the game, batting second. He went 0 for 1 with a walk.
Joe Carter: Started the game, hitting cleanup. He went 1 for 3 with a strikeout.
John Olerud: Started the game, hitting 5th. He went 0 for 2.
Devon White: Replace Ken Griffey in the top of the 6th. He went 1 for 2, with a double, run, RBI and stole base.
Duane Ward: Pitched the 9th (yeah, while Mussina threw in the bullpen). He got 3 quick outs, 2 strikeouts and a ground out.
The lone Oriole to play, Cal Ripken, went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.