Vintage Fridays: Merv Rettenmund, 1971 Topps #393

This Day in Orioles History: August 15, 1970

Orioles 7, Athletics 1 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

I didn't realize until I started writing up these game summaries that most of these were away games. Oh well, I guess you're all getting a tour of the American League through the years.

Mike Cuellar went the distance, tossing an artful seven-hit, one-walk effort at a very solid Athletics squad. He struck out six in earning his seventeenth win of the 1970 campaign. The win allowed the Birds to maintain their eight-and-a-half game advantage over Ralph Houk's Yankees.

The lion's share of the Baltimore offense was supplied by Brooks Robinson, Andy Etchebarren, and Merv Rettenmund, who combined for eight of the team's twelve hits. "Etch" had three hits and drove in the first two O's runs, Brooksie homered, double, and scored three times, and Rettenmund hit safely three times, including a game-breaking three-run home run in the ninth.

I chose this game because I had a lot of fun with all of the familiar names in Oakland's half of the box score. The A's fielded three future big league managers that day: right fielder Felipe Alou (who had three of their seven hits), reliever Marcel Lachemann, and a weak-hitting utility player named Tony LaRussa (0-for-1 as a pinch hitter). For fans of Ball Four, there were no less than four ex-Seattle Pilots: Tommy Davis (a future Oriole), Don Mincher, Bob Locker, and losing pitcher Diego Segui (father of another future Bird, David Segui). As the cherry on top, Rettenmund's three-run blast was hit off of old Jim Bouton nemesis Dooley Womack. Dooley Womack!