Dave Stewart received a text a text from a friend one April evening: "Turn on ESPN. Game 1 is on."
Even 32 years later, the mere mention of that 1988 World Series opener triggers Stewart's instant, seething rage. Stewart, that game's starter for the powerhouse Oakland A's, flipped on the TV and let those squashed memories unfurl. Even through burial attempts, his internal monologue is fresh.
"Mickey, he should have never hit home run off me here."
"Shoot, I held the hill before Canseco comes up. It's a Grand Slam and now we're up for two."
"Here we are now, Eck for the ninth inning, up a run. And if you're going to have anybody on the mound, other than me..."
Then the unpleasant part. A walk. Tension. Then, Kirk Gibson's famed walk-off swing, the hobbled strut and mimed chainsaw. Dennis Eckersley's slow, stunned turn. Stewart was steaming, but his fuse had already blown following a heated disagreement with then-A's manager Tony La Russa.
Stewart had gone eight innings, allowed three, struck out five. Eck was the man, of course. But, 32 years later, the steam is rising again. What-ifs abound.
"You know, I think what pisses me off about it... I had 14 complete games," Stewart said over the phone from his home in San Diego. "A lot of complete games are close games. I probably had something like 110 pitches going. But we were in an era where I had complete games where I'd have 121, 130, or 140 to finish the game. So what if he...what if he leaves me in the game? You know?"
Three decades later, Stewart can come to terms with his role in history.
"Shoot, I mean, it was a good game if I take myself out of it," Stewart said. "But it's almost like it happened yesterday, you know. So, it just doesn't go away and it's there. Just there."
Stewart wouldn't normally subject himself to this kind of emotional torture, but shelter-in-place restrictions afforded him the time. And, frankly, any distraction is welcome. The man with the impenetrable stare was nearly punctured by the worst this pandemic can bring, but is riding out the wave just like the rest of the nation. Other than indulging in painful baseball memories, what's been on his mind? Let's sit down with Smoke and talk modern baseball, his COVID-19 scare, and more.
