Opening Day 1988 (Found in My Basement)

Since today is opening day for most of Major League Baseball, I thought now would be the perfect time to share this 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates Official Magazine and Scorecard from the Pirates home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies that I attended on April 11, 1988.

Why yes that is 1987 National League Rookie Pitcher-of-the-Year Mike Dunne on the cover.

The Pirates starting line-up on this day was:

LF Barry Bonds
2B Jose Lind
CF Andy Van Slyke
3B Bobby Bonilla
1B Sid Bream
RF R.J. Reynolds
C Mike LaValliere
SS Al Pedrique
P Doug Drabek

While Bonds hit a home run and the Pirates won, what I remember most about the game (box score here) was the incredible performance by the legendary Vicente Palacios. In the top of the 6th, the Phillies loaded the bases with no outs against Drabek. Jim Leyland brought in Palacios who retired the next three batters without allowing a run. Three Rivers Stadium was rocking!

Now, the fun part. Check out some of the pictures and ads from the scorebook.

I wish I owned that Starter jacket.

I really liked John Saunders.

A car phone for less than $20 a month? What a deal!

I'm pretty sure I have the exact same sweater today that Mike Diaz wore more than 15 years ago.

Are Quinn and Banana selling popcorn at PNC Park today? (Sorry, that was mean. I spent many, many mornings listening to B-94 and regularly tried to win cases of pop on Thirsty Thursdays.)

Let's Go Bucs!

Your 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates

I recently found the 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates Official Magazine and Scorecard. There’s some neat facts and advertisements in the magazine including the following:

* The most expensive seats, Club Box seats, were $9.50. General Admission was $3; Youth General Admission (14 and under) was $1.

* There is an advertisement for Elby’s Family Restaurants. Are they still around or are they now Big Boy?

* In the game notes section, Darnell Coles was Pittsburgh’s top hitter during Grapefruit League play. Not mentioned in the game notes section is the nickname my brother and I had for Coles, which was “Darn It” Coles. We would say Darn It Coles after he struck out or grounded out. That happened a lot.

* While I recognize most of the names on the Pirates roster, I do not remember infielder Dave Hostetler. Thanks to Baseball Reference, I learned that Hostetler played 8 games for the Pirates in 1988, going 2-for-8 with 3 strikeouts. I guess that’s why I don’t remember him.

Rafael Belliard is listed as 5-6 and 150 pounds; John Cangelosi is listed as 5-8 and 150 pounds. I am guessing that there is not a pair of teammates that weighed less over the past 30 years. Compare that to Walter Young who played 14 games for the Orioles in 2005. His listed weight is 322 pounds!

There are beer advertisements for Busch, Iron City, Rolling Rock and Stroh’s/Stroh Light.

There is an advertisement for B-94’s Quinn & Banana. If only there were more radio stations today that have Thirsty Thursdays, Stupid Human Telephone Tricks and Friday Morning Joke Off.