From Chapter 5:

1977-1982: Front Office Follies

1979

For once there seemed to be optimism for the future on and off the field. Acting General Manager Drew was off to a flying start, with advertising income from game programs, fence signs and radio ads already well above previous levels. The increase in season tickets sales was a positive sign, as the Rochester native felt his most important job was to bolster the Wings’ sagging image.

Down at the Red Wings’ training camp at Biscayne College, in the Miami suburb of Opa Locka, new manager Edwards was already touting his team. “I know we’ll be a contender. Then all it takes is a few breaks and you’re a pennant winner.” Pitching, the weakness of the ’78 club, was seen as the strength, as Edwards claimed to have 20 candidates for his nine-man staff. Breaking camp, the enthusiastic manager said, “This is the first time since I’ve been in managing that I’m sure I have a winner breaking camp. This will be a winning club.” Veteran reliever Earl Stephenson concurred: “With consistent pitching, we’ve got a pennant winner.... This isn’t a sixth place club.” The season would prove Stephenson’s closing statement to be ironically prophetic.

It was a veteran team, with only one Triple-A rookie on the roster. Fifteen players returned, while four came from other organizations: outfielder Benny Ayala (St. Louis), third baseman and ex-Wing Taylor Duncan (Oakland), pitcher Gerald Pirtle (Montreal) and designated hitter Ron Diggle (Milwaukee). Outfielder Carlos Lopez and pitcher Joe Kerrigan spent the previous year with Baltimore.

The team was projected to have power (four potential 20-home run hitters in Ayala, Duncan, Mark Corey and Tom Chism), speed (Lopez, catcher Willie Royster and second baseman Wayne Krenchicki) and defense (catcher Kevin Kennedy, the keystone duo of Krenchicki and shortstop Jimmy Smith, and a trio of powerful outfield arms in starters Ayala, Lopez and Corey.) Rounding out the starters in the infield were Chism (1B) and Duncan.

Yet any success would once again hinge on the pitching. Dave Ford was back for his third year with the Wings at age 22, although reluctantly, after a 7-3 performance in winter ball and a strong spring in the Orioles’ camp. He was the only established Triple-A pitcher in the rotation, which included returnees Jose Bastian (0-1 with the Wings in ’78), Jeff Rineer (9-5), Tony Chavez (6-11) and Dennis Blair (0-6). The bullpen was one of the most experienced in the league, as Pirtle, Stephenson, Kerrigan and John Flinn were all former major leaguers.

League observers picked the Wings for third; the consensus was that Rochester had the “best everyday lineup in league” but questionable pitching. Columbus, who after two consecutive seventh-place finishes with Pittsburgh, signed up with the New York Yankees, was the pre-season pennant pick. The Yankees returned to the IL after severing ties with Syracuse following the 1977 season.

The year was being celebrated as the 50th Anniversary Season of Silver Stadium. As its future was being debated, Silver Stadium welcomed the start of another season of Red Wing baseball, having seen 11,467,962 fans pass through its gates. To help mark the occasion, a 10-member committee (which included Blackmon, Labbruzzo and Democrat & Chronicle columnist Bob Matthews) appointed by Rochester Community Baseball named its All-Time Red Wing team. The selections and their stats as Red Wings:

Positional Players

Pitchers

The Committee also made selections in the following categories:

Manager: Joe Altobelli

Greatest personality: Morrie Silver

Greatest native son player (not necessarily a Red Wing): Johnny Antonelli

Greatest Red Wing graduate: Stan Musial

Greatest Moment: Estel Crabtree’s playoff home run in 1939

Despite the stadium’s golden anniversary, Rochester opened the season at Met Park in Norfolk. Ford hurled a complete game and the Wings pushed across eight runs in the fifth, sparked by a Corey grand slam, romping to a 13-1 victory. That offensive output proved out of the ordinary, as the team won only two of five on the opening road swing.

Anna Silver and Specs Toporcer were on hand to throw out first balls in the home opener against Charleston. The pre-game ceremonies were skipped when the game was delayed by problems with public address system, but 10,384 saw an exciting, 4-3 Red Wing victory, fueled by two runs in the eight, and steal of home by Lopez in the third. It was the largest opening day crowd since 1963. The festivities included an old-fashioned motorcade from downtown, the players riding in convertibles. Those in attendance saw, for the first time since 1961, flags for each of the International League teams flying on the roof of Silver. They would be arranged daily to reflect the league standings. Not yet completed were all of the outfield billboards, so the fans were treated to a crew painting the Wegmans advertisement as the game progressed.

The players returned to sporting solid navy blue caps with a “R,” as opposed to the red and white caps of past seasons. (Actually Labbruzzo had ordered dark blue hats with the number 50 stitched on the front in red to commemorate the 50th Anniversary. Someone who viewed them said the “idea wasn’t bad but [the] results were,” and the headwear were shelved.) It was a memorable start for the new regime, with most of the good will seemingly a result of the fresh outlook in the front office. Drew admitted that the team “made mistakes in the front office,” and that the goal was to erase the fans’ bad feelings toward the club, board of directors and front office.

The opening eight-game homestand drew over 25,000. Helped by hot starts by Ayala, Bianco, Krenchicki and Chism, as well as a team ERA just above three, the team sat in second place, but well off the pace of the Clippers, who won 11 of their first 12.

The exact anniversary of Silver Stadium was celebrated on May 3, the date on which the first game was played in 1929. George “Whitey” Kurowski, recently named Rochester’s all-time third baseman, was present, and the first 4,500 fans received souvenir replicas of the scorecard from the opener. The “birthday” game, a 1-0 loss to Richmond, was played without leading hitter Ayala, called up to Baltimore after hitting .355 in 17 games. Left-handed outfielder Joel Youngbauer was called up from Charlotte to take Ayala’s roster spot.

That same week it was disclosed that the “key operators” of the Rochester Lancers soccer franchise, the Red Wings, the recently-created Rochester Zeniths professional softball team, and the Rochester Americans hockey club had been meeting in secret for the past two months to discuss the need of a new stadium, methods of raising money and possible sites. A multi-purpose stadium was the obvious goal, with discussion that it could be domed. The Lancers were looking at a stadium that would seat between 40-45,000, while the Wings were more comfortable in the 15-20,000 range. Farrell stated that something would need to be done about Silver Stadium within five years.

On the diamond, the early results were encouraging. Although offensive production was less than anticipated, solid defense and better-than-expected pitching kept the team in every game. Unfortunately a seven-game road trip through Charleston and Columbus quickly sapped the optimism. After losing three of four in Charleston, including a 17-4 drubbing that dropped the team to .500, the team lost two in Columbus. More costly were the injuries suffered by Krenchicki (severely sprained ankle), Corey (pulled muscle) and Chism (fractured thumb). Krenchicki and Chism were expected out for at least a month. The trio joined Lopez and Doyle on the injured list. Combined with the recall of Ayala, the Wings were suddenly missing the first four hitters in their batting order.

Outfielder Art James was acquired on loan from the Chicago White Sox Triple-A farm club, and infielder Mike Eden signed as a free agent, but by mid-May there five players in the lineup who were not starters on opening day. The team was also sent into a state of shock by the May 12 death of farm director Clyde Kluttz. The circumstances made the team, according to one observer, a “lifeless, punchless bunch.” A Corey outburst in which he put his fist through a wooden partition, and an “unheard of” 11 a.m. workout on a day the team was to bus to Syracuse failed to rouse the club. By the time the losing streak, a stretch of missed cut-off men and bungled plays (43 errors in the first 31 games, including 11 already by usually steady gloveman Smith at short), ended at eight, the team was one game from the cellar.

The Red Wings returned home at 14-20, only to find their clubhouse burglarized and $2,000 of equipment and personal items missing. Bianco, who had already played five positions (1B, 2B, 3B, LF, RF) went down with the stomach flu and Corey was further disabled by a prostate infection. Over the space of the two-week plunge, the Orioles had sent their minor league hitting coach, pitching coach and acting farm director to view the slumping team. Baltimore also promised that Frank Robinson would appear, to work with a lineup that had only 17 home runs and hit into over 40 double plays.

The team had some good news when it was announced that Krenchicki and Chism would come back sooner than expected (the Wings were 3-11 without the pair), but not before the team suffered its 14th loss in 18 games, dropping it into the International League cellar. The team ERA soared from 2.76 to 4.18 during those period.

Edwards, who had given his players two pages of rules (including dress codes and curfews) at the beginning of the season — it was his philosophy that a disciplined and well-dressed team is a winning team — began to crack down even more with earlier curfews and 10 a.m. home workouts. The unsettled roster and juggled lineup led to confusion and uncertainty on the part of the players, which worsened as the team went through a series of roster moves in late May and early June. Taylor Duncan was released, and infielder Dave Machemer, a hustling, veteran leadoff hitter, acquired on loan from the Tigers’ organization. Pitcher Blair was traded for right-handed reliever Joe Fierbaugh, who had a 6.07 ERA for Triple-A Hawaii. Earl Stephenson, the last link to the 1976 team, was released and replaced by right-hander Nate Snell from Charlotte.

The team had a brief resurgence, winning three straight, but then Krenchicki was sent up to Baltimore, and Machemer recalled by Detroit after only 12 games and five positions. Doyle, disgruntled because he felt he belonged in the starting lineup all along, was installed at second base, and had 17 RBI in 18 games. But a lack of hitting (Corey was out again, with a strained back, and Lopez had tendinitis that ended his season, but not before his heart was questioned) caused the team to sink back into the basement.

A pessimistic mid-season evaluation of the team felt the playoffs out of sight with the team as it stood. Missing a leadoff hitter, a legitimate power hitter, and a dependable starter, the team was seen as a .500 squad at the very best. Farrell began to question the Orioles’ ability to bring a winner to Rochester, and the Milwaukee Brewers were discussed as an alternative.

There was some help available at Charlotte, most notably pitcher Mike Boddicker, who was setting league strikeout records, including 18 in one game. He was recalled and pitched a six-hit shutout in his debut. Shortstop Bobby Bonner became the third player called up from Double-A in 20 days when the hot-hitting Doyle broke his left wrist sliding into home. He would be the seventh position player to lose time to injuries. General Manager Drew was looking outside the organization, trying to help a team that at one point dropped 32 of 49 games.

The rumored source was the Triple-A Inter-American league, which, in its first year of existence, had folded on June 30. Tension and uncertainty became the rule in the clubhouse, as whispers stated the Wings were looking to add up to four players from the defunct league. The International League put a temporary moratorium on signing the free agents, which didn’t stop the Wings from adding players from other sources. Machemer returned from the Detroit organization (given a choice between Rochester and Evansville, in first place in the American Association, he chose Rochester, “because of the atmosphere and because of Doc”), and Bonner was sent down after eight days and four games. Pitcher Vic Bernal became the 30th player to don a Rochester uniform when obtained on loan from Hawaii. The team also added a non-player — the Red Wings Rooster — which made its non-playing debut in early July.

The malaise wasn’t limited to the players. A rule which prohibited the O’s from playing more than 19 days in a row put the annual exhibition game in limbo. Attendance was down 11,000, and budget cuts were made — the sales and parking staff was pared and the number two radio man let go. Farrell closed the left field bleachers in July. Even Joe Altobelli night, during which his number 26 was retired, the first Red Wing to be so honored, drew only 5,096, at the time the third-largest crowd of the season.

The exhibition game with the Orioles was ultimately canceled and the status quo continued in terms of injuries. At one point in July the Wings were down to nine regulars and were forced to activate assistant coach Tony Franklin as a pitcher and put catcher Royster in the outfield. The Wings had used seven second baseman, six left fielders, six right fielders, five first baseman and five third baseman through the first half of the season. By July 15, Rochester players had missed a total of 134 games due to injuries.

Pitcher Mike Wallace, catcher Larry Doby Johnson and utility man Wayne Tyrone became the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th players to don the red and navy when they joined the team in July. All three played for the league-leading Miami Amigos, the only U.S.-based team in the Inter-American League. Tyrone had been leading the league in homers when it folded, while Johnson topped the game-winning hit list. Wallace was a left-hander who had spent parts of seven years with the Phillies, Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers. With Krenchicki due back from Baltimore, and three players due back off the disabled list, the Wings at least expected to climb out the International League basement.

The injuries reached comic proportions in a July game which featured former Wing Boog Powell in a pre-game home run hitting contest. Designated hitter Chism hurt his hand in the exhibition, forcing Edwards, with no one available to DH, to have starting pitcher Snell hit for himself during the game. Snell twisted his back swinging and had to leave in the third inning.

The revolving door continued as outfielder Tommie Smith, another ex-Inter-American League player, was inked to a contract. Art James was sent back to the White Sox and pitcher Bastian returned to Charlotte. When reliever Flinn went to Baltimore, righthander Larry Jones, 10-3, 3.63 at Charlotte, was called up. The Wings had also planned to sell Diggle and Bianco to Mexican League clubs, but both refused to go.

A late-July doubleheader sweep against Charleston tied Rochester for seventh with the Charlies and put them within striking distance of sixth place. But the Wings could not match a season-high three-game win streak and fell back into the cellar. President Farrell announced late in the month that the Wings would honor their agreement with the Orioles through the 1980 season. He further stated that he wanted Edwards back in ’81, but not Baltimore if Rochester was to be saddled with their fourth straight uncompetitive team.

Acting Farm Director Tom Giordano, whose organization had just negotiated a $10,000 payment to the Wings due to the cancellation of the exhibition game, noted that the parent Orioles were also disappointed in the team. It was the most expensive club in 18 years, due to the high number of players moved on and off the roster.

Once again the Rochester-Baltimore affiliation was being scrutinized, but it was tempered by the realization that there were other factors at work. General Manager Drew was blunt in his assessment: “To ever see 300,000 here again, we need a refurbished or new stadium to give us a shot in the arm. The heydey is over. The last shot in the arm was 23 years ago when Rochester Community Baseball came along. We’re due for another. My choice is a refurbished stadium, but it’ll take city or county money.”

On the field there were doubts it could get worse, but it did. The dog days of August were particularly cruel. In one instance, a freak pre-game accident sidelined Krenchicki and Smith when a bat slipped from Chism’s grip during batting practice and hit both players. A nine-game losing streak, three short of the 1920 team record, put the team at 44-71, one game below the modern-day record for futility (26 games under .500 accomplished by the 1945 team). In one game, the Wings had three players doubled off first base on fly-ball outs.

After a season-high four-game win streak, at the end of which Doc Edwards was officially rehired, the Wings dropped 10 in a row, including eight straight in a home-and-home series with Syracuse. The defeats gave the team losing skids of eight, nine and 10 games for the year. Last place was clinched on Aug. 25, and Baltimore General Manager Hank Peters was quoted as saying, “I’m embarrassed for them.”

As the sorry season wound down, several players openly complained about Edwards. In an unusually loose “we don’t care” clubhouse, players expressed disbelief that Edwards had been rehired. Other complaints centered around rules that were not evenly enforced, along with the opinion that Edwards had perhaps promised too much from the team coming out of spring training. The Rochester skipper’s stock dropped sharply when the club showed no improvement after the July roster shakeup. Krenchicki, Chism (just short of the batting title), Corey and Rineer (despite 15 losses) were all called up to Baltimore at the end of August, and Edwards went down to Charlotte to view prospective players for 1980.

The Red Wings closed out their home schedule and the month of August with a loss that dropped their record at Silver to 31-41. The one pleasant surprise was the final-game crowd of 7,145. Stung by reports that the Wings would not top 200,000 in attendance for the first time since 1956, enough fans turned out to watch the meaningless game to push the season total to 200,013.

The team needed one win in Toledo to avoid have the worst winning percentage in team history (59-93, .3881 in 1942), but it was not to be. Kennedy, needing a hit in his last at-bat to push his batting average over .200, symbolized the whole season by flying out to end the game and the brutal season. The squad finished 53-86, 32 games out of first and 10 games from seventh. Rochester hit into 155 double plays, committed 148 errors, won only 22 of 67 road games, and compiled a team ERA of 4.33. It was enough to elicit a written apology by Edwards. In a Democrat & Chronicle guest columnist piece, the Rochester manager labeled 1979 “embarrassing,” but said he was looking forward to 1980.

There were few individual bright spots. Tom Chism closed the season with a team-high .312 average and 60 RBI. His 11 home runs were two short of Ron Diggle’s 13. Larry Doby Johnson hit .313 in his short stint, good enough to gather some interest for 1980. Joe Kerrigan was the leading pitcher at 10-6, while John Flinn had the low earned run average at 2.71. Larry Jones was 1-7 after his recall, but had a fine 2.98 ERA, the team scoring only 13 runs in his nine starts, with five of those tallies coming in his lone win.

Despite the disastrous season, in late November Rochester Community Baseball announced a loss of only $5,000, a turnaround of $76,000. “Baseball is alive in Rochester,” exclaimed Farrell, giving a good deal of the credit to Drew. Income was up $10,000 despite the attendance drop, and expenses cut by over $65,000. Drew warned, however, that the year’s outlays included no “significant” Silver Stadium repairs, and that major improvements would be necessary in future years.

Copyright © 1997 Brian A. Bennett. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system - except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper - without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, please contact Triphammer Publishing, P.O. Box 45, Scottsville, NY 14546-0045.