Baseball's Most Exciting Games, No. 3: The Tragedy of Donnie Moore

Game 5, 1986 ALCS: Boston Red Sox and California Angels

October 12, 1986, Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

California leads series 3-1

What if Donnie Moore hadn't give up that home run? What if, instead of hanging the 2-2 splitter that Dave Henderson hit out for the biggest Red Sox home run in 11 years, Moore instead threw a great splitter, or simply blew Henderson away with a fastball? What if Moore succeeded in the biggest stage of his life? Would that have changed what happened next?

But why stop at Moore?

What if Mike Witt had been able to finish the 9th? After all, it wasn't Moore who started the 9th inning, when the Angels had a 5-2 lead, needing just three outs to reach the promised land. That Witt, the Angels' ace. Witt had completely shut down the Red Sox in a complete game victory in Game 1, and he was doing it again in Game 5, the one that could put the Angels in the World Series. But Witt didn't finish the ninth. Instead, he gave up a one-out home run to Don Baylor that cut the Angels lead to 5-4. 

And while we're at it, what if Angels manager Gene Mauch hadn't stepped out of the dugout one batter later, with the Angels one out from winning? What if Mauch hadn't taken the ball from his ace to set up a lefty-lefty matchup for the final out? Going to Gary Lucas to face Rich Gedman was kind of an odd choice, because he wasn't the Angels closer, having gotten only two saves all year, and he had gotten lit up in Game 2 of the series. But Gedman had homered off Witt earlier in the game, and Mauch didn't want that to happen again. And it so was Lucas who pitched, and it was Lucas who hit Gedman on the first pitch he threw, his first hit batter in four years.

Excitement and exasperation

That was when Mauch turned to Moore, and, well, we saw what happened next. But what if Moore hadn't been pitching through pain all year? He hadn't told anybody, but he had an undiagnosed bone spur near his spine, the pain of which altered his pitching motion, which in turn led to elbow and shoulder pain. So he was getting pain shots for his back, cortisone shots for his shoulder, and was suffering migraines. Moore probably shouldn't have even been out there. But he was, and Henderson hit the home run, and the Angels were toast.

Except they weren't. Because that home run didn't end the game. It just seemed that way at the time. There was still the bottom of the 9th to play, and the Angels rather quickly tied the game again on a ground ball single by Rob Wilfong. And they weren't done, either, as a single and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out. 

So what if Doug DeCinces' fly ball had been hit a little deeper rather than right at Dwight Evans' glove in right? What if Bobby Grich's two-out line drive had been a foot higher rather than right at pitcher Steve Crawford? The Angels would have been celebrating, that's what. Henderson's home run would have been quickly forgotten.

Moore was still in the game in the top of the 11th, although he absolutely should not have been. That just seemed to be the way things worked back then - if the closer blows the game, he stayed in until the game was over. Just because it happened doesn't mean it was right. An exhausted Moore hit the leadoff batter, then gave up a single. Then Gedman came up to bunt and hit a bad one - in the air toward third - but DeCinces let it drop and threw poorly to first. That wasn't Moore's fault, was it? And then came Henderson - that man again. Instead of having a base open to put him on, Moore had to face him. And Henderson hit a sacrifice fly to give Boston the lead again.

The Angels had another chance, of course. But they went down weakly in the bottom of the 11th. But what if they had shown some fight once the series went back to Boston? Would anybody have remembered Game 5? But as it was, the Angels kept up the weak play. They got crushed in Games 6 and 7, and Boston celebrated. We know how Boston's season ended. But what of Donnie Moore?

Many Angels players had to fail for them to blow a 3-1 series lead and a 5-2 lead in Game 5. But it's convenient to blame the closer when things go wrong. He was the one who gave up the go-ahead home run, after all. It's inconvenient to remember all the other points of failure. So Angels fans placed the blame on Moore for the next few years. And he placed the blame on himself. 

Immediately after Game 5, Moore mentioned the injuries he had been playing through, then quickly dismissed them, as if even suggesting that he was hurt went against baseball's code. So he took the blame, took the verbal abuse from Angels fans, became a symbol of his team's failure. Because he was the one who gave up the home run. (It may also not be a coincidence that of all the people mentioned who failed for the Angels, Moore was the only one who was a black man.)

It's also convenient to blame the home run for what happened next, the quick end to Moore's career, and the sudden, tragic end to his life. It was an easy narrative: Player fails at the worst possible time, then spirals. But Moore had been violent toward his wife their entire marriage, through good times and bad. It's possible his ending had already been written. It's possible that a save in Game 5, and a World Championship a week or so later, would have changed nothing.

But it all happened. It should have been a great moment for the Red Sox, a franchise-defining home run. But because of what happened after - both on and off the field - it instead has become one of the tragic tails in baseball history. 

Game 5, 1986 ALCS Overall Rank: 3 Top 10 Swing: 278 Top play: Dave Henderson's game-tying home run (WPA of 73% for Boston) Loser's largest WE: 97 Entire bottom of the 8th, California up 5-2 Average LI: 1.57 Highest leverage moment: 6.39 (B9, 2 outs, bases loaded, tied 6-6, Bobby Grich batting for California)