The Day Mark Whiten and Lonnie Maclin Set Career Highs

Being a St. Louis Cardinals fan, there’s not much that I care to remember from the early 1990’s.  But there’s one thing that I’ll never forget, and that’s Mark Whiten’s four home run game on September 7th, 1993.
This was actually the second game of the day.  The Cardinals lost the first game 14-13 to the Cincinnati Reds.  In the top of the eighth, the Cardinals exploded for seven runs, turning a 9-6 deficit into a 13-9 lead.  They actually had runners at second and third base with one out with seven runs in, but for some reason, Stan Royer didn’t attempt to score on Tripp Cromer’s groundout to second, and then Luis Alicea struck out looking to end the inning.  Actually, I think I remember that exact scenario unfolding watching the Louisville Redbirds in 1989.  Anyway, Mark Whiten had a small part in the eighth inning action, drawing a bases loaded walk off of Scott Ruskin, scoring Gregg Jefferies, earning his first RBI on the day.

The Reds would score three runs in the bottom of the eighth off of a Dan Wilson bases loaded single and a Jack Daugherty sac fly.  Jefferies would single, steal a base, and advance to third on a sac fly in the top of the ninth, but he was stranded there after Jeff Reardon got Bernard Gilkey to pop out to second base to end the inning.  In the top of the ninth, Jacob Brumfield doubled with one out, and Hal Morris followed that with a walk.  Reggie Sanders then finished it off of Todd Burns with a triple to end the game.  Whiten quickly put his learnings from Pensacola Junior College to work, deducing that the Cardinals would need to score more than 14 runs if they were to win the nightcap.  He sat down between games with Lonnie Maclin and quickly went to work on a plan to do just that.

This is beautiful.  You can
see all four levels of seats
in old Cardinal Stadium.

WHOA THERE, HOSS.  Who the hell is Lonnie Maclin?  If you have to ask that, you’re not a true Cardinals fan.  At least a true Cardinals fan that doesn’t have the last name “Maclin”.  Maclin made his major league debut in the first game that day, getting his first career hit off of John Roper to lead off the sixth inning.  Unfortunately, his .333 average at that time would fall to .077 by the end of the season.  That’s what happens when you don’t get another hit in 10 more at bats.  September 7th, 1994 was the only day that he would ever start a major league game, and he got two starts that day.  But if there was ever a day to be on the field, it was this day.

In game two that day, Maclin would be inserted second in the lineup, between Geronimo Pena and Gilkey.  Whiten would hit down in the six hole between Gerald Perry and Tom Pagnozzi.  After Pena walked to lead off the game, he was thrown out at second off of Maclin’s grounder to short.  Maclin then proceeded to steal second, looking into the dugout and giving Whiten two thumbs up.  After a Todd Zeile walk and a Perry single, Whiten went to work.  He hit a grand slam to open things up that day.  Pagnozzi, still in awe of how beautifully the plan was working, could only muster a fly out to left to end the top half of the inning.  Cardinals 4, Reds 0.

The Reds would keep the momentum from the first game going in the bottom of the first.  Thomas Howard led off with a walk, followed by a double from Brumfield.  Morris then hit a sac fly, scoring Howard, and then Brumfield scored after stealing third and an error on the throw from Pagnozzi.  After that point, though, Bob Tewksbury was pretty much lights out.  He went the distance, allowing no more walks or runs, and only six more hits.  After the first inning, it was Cardinals 4, Reds 2.

The next three innings were scoreless affairs, with a Maclin strikeout and Whiten pop out sprinkled in, so let’s fast forward to the fifth inning.  In the top half of the frame, Tewksbury would lead off with his second walk of the day.  He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then Pena bunted him over.  That’s when Maclin summoned his inner Whiten and hit a sac fly to center field, scoring Tewksbury.  Brumfield would single off of Tewksbury in the bottom half of the inning, but that was it for the Reds.  Cardinals 5, Reds 2.

Mike Anderson relieved Reds starter Larry Luebbers to start the sixth inning.  Anderson promptly walked Zeile and Perry to start the inning.  That’s when Whiten decided to get halfway to the home run cycle, hitting a three run shot, giving him seven RBIs on the day to that point.  Rounding the bases, he gave a big salute to Maclin, as they were now over halfway to their goal of scoring more than 14 runs.  With tears in his eyes at the beauty of the unfolding plan, Pagnozzi grounded out to short.  Cromer and Tewksbury went down quietly as well, and the Reds failed to make any noise in the bottom of the frame.  Cardinals 8, Reds 2.

Anderson remained in the game to start the top of the seventh inning for the Reds.  After Pena struck out, Maclin fouled out to third base.  Shamed by this, Maclin hung his head and went back to the dugout.  Whiten, always a glass-two-thirds-of-the-way-full kind of guy, told him to keep his head up, and actually ordered some nachos for him from a vendor close by.  While this was happening, Gilkey and Zeile singled, setting up Perry for an RBI single.  Whiten, batting gloves still slathered in nacho cheese, deposited another ball over the wall, giving him three home runs and 10 RBIs on the day to that point.  While running around the bases, Whiten spelled out M-A-C-L-I-N, YMCA-style.

Surprisingly, Whiten’s third dinger of the day didn’t knock Anderson out of the game.  That came a batter later, when Pagnozzi singled.  Chris Bushing entered the game and retired Cromer to end the top of the inning.  Brian Dorsett would pinch hit and single for Bushing in the bottom of the inning, but that was it for the Reds.  Cardinals 12, Reds 2.

Rob Dibble entered the game in the top of the eighth for Cincinnati.  Tewksbury struck out before Pena swelled up and hit a home run.  Maclin was the next batter, but the only thing that he could do was ground out to second.  Maclin was no Whiten.  He knew it, Whiten knew it, the nacho vendor knew it.  At that point, Whiten autographed his cleats and gave them to Maclin (they weren’t actually his cleats; they were Jim Lindeman’s cleats from 1989 that fell behind the industrial washing machines).  The Reds couldn’t get anything going in the bottom of the eighth.  Cardinals 13, Reds 2.

Dibble remained in the game in the ninth.  Royer struck out to start the frame, but then Perry singled to center field.  Whiten came up and did the only thing he could do.  He hit a home run.  He rounded the bases cleatless, wanting Maclin to believe that he actually gave him his cleats an inning earlier.  Whiten now had four home runs and 12 RBIs on the day, and the plan that he and Maclin sat down and concocted had come to fruition.  They had scored more than 14 runs.  Whiten was the last baserunner of the day for either team.  The Cardinals won 15-2.

Whiten and Maclin both achieved career highs that day for RBIs in a game.  Maclin’s one RBI was the only RBI of his career.  Whiten’s 12 RBIs tied fellow Cardinal Jim Bottomley for most in a game in major league history.  He also tied the Padres’ Nate Colbert for most RBIs in a double header with 13.  His four home runs also tied several players for most in a game.

I would write a long paragraph about Maclin’s career, but I would do so at the risk of being too wordy.  He was actually drafted by the Reds in the 10th round of the amateur draft in January 1986, but didn’t sign.  The Cardinals drafted him in the third round of the June secondary draft that year, and he signed on to play for his hometown team.  It took him seven years to reach the majors.  He was there for a month, then spent the next eight years playing independent ball and in the Mexican league before finally calling it quits in 2003.

Whiten set career highs in 1993 in games played, at bats, runs, hits, home runs and RBIs.  He was also player of the week twice that season.  The first time was the week of July 18th when he hit .385 with three home runs and nine RBIs (this was in four games in the short week of the All Star game).  And of course, the second time was the week of September 12th, when he hit .321 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

And thaaat was a
70 MPH fastball.

Whiten would only play in 100 or more games one other time in his career – 1996.  After his time ended in St. Louis in 1994, he played for six different teams in six years.  In his final three seasons, he returned to Cleveland, which was the second team he played for, and he went to the post season the only time in his career in 1998.  He also pitched one inning for the Tribe that season.  Throwing the eighth inning of a 12-2 loss to the Oakland A’s on July 31st, he allowed one hit, one run, two walks, and a hit batter, and he also struck out the side.  He allowed a double to Jason Giambi, and struck out Mike Blowers, Miguel Tejada and Mike Neill.

With 105 career home runs, only three other players who have hit four home runs in a game have few than him.  Two of those players (Bobby Lowe and Ed Delahanty) accomplished the feat in the 19th century, and the other one did it in 1948 (Pat Seerey).  Of all of the players with 10 or more RBIs in a game, only Phil Weintraub and Norm Zauchin have fewer RBI’s than Whiten’s career total of 423.

Lastly, I would like to bring up the record for most RBIs in a game where a player accounted for all of his team’s runs.  That feat was accomplished by Mike Greenwell on September 2nd, 1996.  Greenwell knocked in all nine of the Red Sox’ runs in a 9-8, 10 inning victory over the Seattle Mariners.  Manning left field for the Mariners that day?  Mark Whiten.