June 2, 1969...GAME 46 (SEA 13, CLE 5)

An almost 90 minute rain delay coupled with a 13 run offensive explosion by the Pilots combined to make the evening both enjoyable and frustrating. Seattle spotted Cleveland 5 runs in the first. By the time the rain hit in the third the score was 5-1 and most fans, not that there were a lot attending, decided to not return when the clouds cleared. What they missed was one of the finest offensive explosions the Pilots put together all year. 3 runs in both the fourth and fifth innings respectively gave the Pilots a 2 run lead that was never challenged. 1 run in the sixth helped out and 5 in the 8th made it a laugher. Both Mincher, and Rich Rollins had 3 hits apiece. Rollins and Whitaker had 4 RBI's each. Not wanting to risk hurting Barber's sore arm, Joe Schultz removed him from the game and Brabender took the hill after the rain ended. Newcomer John Gelnar tossed 4 innings of 1 hit ball to notch the "W" and Talbot handled the mop up duties in the 9th.

Bouton Bits: (Fred) Talbot is in rare form these days. Like he was telling us how it used to be in the sheet-metal shop of the industrial school he went to. When they were taught how to weld, the first thing they did was weld the door shut when the teacher left the room. the next thing they did was weld every tool in the place onto a metal tractor, which was kept in the center of the room. And for kicks, they heat a steel bar until it was red hot, let the color cool out of it and then ask the new boy to bring over the metal bar. All it would cost was the skin off his hand.

Why Baseball Didn't Make it in Seattle: The team agreed (against Bouton's suggestions) that they accept nothing less than $100 for personal appearances and autograph sessions. They also agreed to stand by the MLB rule that states that players should not sign autographs while in uniform and on the field. Bouton makes the case that they need to be more fan friendly and that the lesser known players should charge less or they would not receive any invites for personal appearances. In a related story the team was asked to participate in a clinic for underprivileged kids in D.C. Bouton said sarcastically, "Well, isn't there some way we can get these kids to kick in their lunch money or something to us ?" Surprisingly almost everyone laughed !