Time to dial it back to another radically shortened season. It's
September 24th, 1981 in the Bronx, with the Yankees -- already assured of a place in the playoffs by having the division's best record before the two month-long strike -- hosting the Orioles. My friends and I got there early, in time to watch batting practice.
The Yankees are on the field here, as are a couple of Orioles -- notice the guy in the black jacket with orange accents.
And below, it's finally game time. What shaped up as a great pitching matchup didn't quite pan out -- while the Orioles Jim Palmer (seen on the mound facing Graig Nettles) threw a complete game, holding the Yankees to a run and four hits, his opponent Ron Guidry was lifted after two innings and took the loss in Baltimore's 5-1 victory.
What else do you notice? With some help from to baseball-reference.com, I know it's Palmer pitching to Nettles, with Bobby Murcer on deck. Doug DeCinces is playing 3rd base for the O's, while Rick Dempsey is catching. Click in the comments box if you've done some detective work and can fill in a few blanks.
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(That year’s World Series had a disappointing outcome.)