Jon Matlack

On August 19, 1980, I was glued to the television set, which on this night was dialed to KAKE 10 in Wichita, a channel that oftentimes carried Royals games broadcast by an independent station out of Kansas City.  This was an exciting time to be a Royals fan.  With a record of 76-42, the team was walking away with the AL West crown and George Brett was making national headlines with his quest for .400.  Brett, who had eclipsed .400 for the first time two days earlier by going 4-for-4 against Toronto, carried a .404 average and 30-game hitting streak into the Tuesday night game, the second of a three-game series in Arlington.

Taking the mound for the Rangers on this night would be Jon Matlack, a 9-year veteran of the major leagues, the majority of those years having been spent with the New York Mets.  Not quite 10-years-old at the time, I didn't know anything about Jon Matlack.  But, judging from Brett's career .455 batting average against Matlack, it's safe to assume he knew a thing or two about him.

The Royals wasted no time getting to Matlack when U.L. Washington scored on a two-out single by Amos Otis in the top of the first.  Matlack gave up three hits in the inning, but not to Brett, who was 0-for-1.

Matlack was a first-round draft pick by the Mets in 1967 and the 4th player selected overall.  In 1972 he broke north with the Mets out of spring training and finished the season 15-10 with a 2.32 ERA, good enough for NL Rookie of the Year honors.  He also has the distinction of having been the pitcher whom Roberto Clemente tagged for his 3,000th and final hit before his untimely death in 1972.

The summer of 1980 was brutally hot, and on what was surely an uncomfortably warm Tuesday evening in Texas, Matlack was settling in nicely after a choppy first inning.  He retired 10 Royals batters in row before allowing a lead-off single to Willie Aikens in the fifth.  Aikens would stay at first, however, as the next three batters went down weakly against Matlack.  Brett was 0-for-2.

The Mets advanced to the World Series in 1973 by besting the Reds 3-games-to-2 in the NLCS.  Matlack was the Game 2 winning pitcher in Cincinnati, blanking the Reds on just 2 hits in the complete game victory.  In the Fall Classic, Matlack started three games, pitching a total of 16 2/3 innings and allowing 4 earned runs against the A's, who would ultimately win the Series, their second of three consecutive championships.

Matlack walked Brett in the 6th but receiver Jim Sundberg promptly threw him out on a stolen base attempt.  The 30-year-old lefthander from West Chester, Pennsylvania remained in total control as he cruised into the top of the ninth with a 4-hitter intact and a 3-1 lead.

Selected to the NL All-Star squad in each of the years 1974-1976, Matlack led the league with seven shutouts in '74 and six in '76.  As part of a complex trade involving four teams, Matlack joined the Rangers for the 1978 campaign, during which he won 15 games while tossing a career-high 270 innings.  Though elbow surgery limited his action to 13 games in 1979, he was in good repair for 1980.

Standing on the mound with a 2-run lead in the ninth, Matlack needed to get through the 2, 3, and 4 Royal hitters (Washington, Brett, McRae) before celebrating.  A fly ball error charged to Rangers shortstop Dave Roberts put Washington on first with Brett at the plate representing the tying run.  George Brett hit 24 home runs in the 1980 regular season, his personal best at that stage in his career, but he would not go yard on this occasion.  While I don't remember this particular at-bat, just as I don't remember any of the details about the game, I do remember witnessing Brett's 30-game hitting streak coming to an end.  After his last at-bat, an unassisted ground out to first base, the fans in Texas demanded a curtain call.  Brett was hesitant at first but ultimately obliged.  Said Matlack after the game: "The hell with George Brett."

With one out in the ninth, the Royals weren't done, and neither was Matlack, though he would be after McRae doubled home Washington.  The Rangers would go through three pitchers in the 9th in an effort to stop the bleeding, but to no avail.  With three runs in the ninth, the Royals would go on to win the contest 4-3. 

Matlack received a no-decision for what was largely an impressive performance.  Does that make his outing a success or a failure?  I'll let the sabermetricians debate that, but Matlack did put an end to Brett's hitting streak, which was no small triumph.  However, because the Rangers lost the game, he wasn't 100% successful in meeting his primary objective.  Of course, no one player has absolute control over the outcome of the game, even if it is the pitcher who statistically shoulders the wins and losses on the team's behalf.  It isn't necessarily fair; it's just the way it is.  As in life, success and failure isn't always so neatly defined.