Don Denkinger

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Don Denkinger bigraphy, stories - American baseball umpire

Don Denkinger : biography

August 28, 1936 –

Donald Anton Denkinger ( born August 28, 1936) is a former Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1998. Denkinger wore uniform number 11, when the AL adopted uniform numbers in 1980. He is best remembered for an incorrect call he made at first base in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series.

The Call

Despite his long and illustrious career, Denkinger is probably best remembered by baseball fans for a blown call he made at first base in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, played on October 26. The St. Louis Cardinals led the Kansas City Royals by 3 games to 2. The Cardinals had taken a 1-0 lead in the 8th inning on a single by little-used backup catcher Brian Harper after pitchers Danny Cox (of the Cardinals) and Charlie Leibrandt (of the Royals) had battled back and forth all game long. Todd Worrell came into the game for the Cardinals in the 9th inning, first facing Jorge Orta, the leadoff batter for the Royals. Orta hit a slow roller to first baseman Jack Clark, who tossed to Worrell covering first base.

Denkinger was the umpire at first base and called Orta safe, even though television replays and photographs clearly showed that he was out by half a step. The Cardinals argued briefly, but Denkinger refused to reverse it. The Royals went on to win Game 6 by the score of 2-1.

Immediately after the call, the Cardinals still had a one-run lead with a runner on first and no outs. The next batter, Steve Balboni, popped up into foul territory and first baseman Jack Clark and catcher Darrell Porter, both failed to make the catch. Balboni then singled an 0-2 pitch into left field. The next batter, Jim Sundberg, attempted a sacrifice bunt, but Worrell threw to third base to force out Orta, the runner Denkinger called safe. Two pitches later, Porter had a passed ball that allowed the runners to move up a base. After the batter, Hal McRae, was walked, Dane Iorg singled, scoring two runs for the Royals win. The runner Denkinger called safe, Orta, did not score.

Game 7

As crew chief of the 1985 World Series umpiring unit, Denkinger was scheduled to work behind home plate in Game 7, a fact that further upset the Cardinals and manager Whitey Herzog. Some observers suggested that the presence of Denkinger behind the plate affected the Cardinals’ gameplay, as ace pitcher John Tudor got off to a terrible start, giving up five earned runs and four walks in only innings. Tudor was so disgusted by his performance, that he subsequently punched an electrical fan with his pitching hand. Todd Worrell (while being interviewed on ESPN Classic’s The Top 5 Reasons You Can’t Blame… about Don Denkinger’s involvement in the 1985 World Series) would later compare the idea of Don Denkinger working behind home plate to putting a stick of dynamite back there and lighting it.

The Cardinals made their frustrations clear throughout the game. ABC television cameras caught Herzog screaming and belittling Denkinger from the Cardinals’ dugout throughout the contest. Pitcher Joaquín Andújar exploded twice over Denkinger’s calls at the plate during the 5th inning, finally being ejected with Herzog after a heated argument over Denkinger’s strike zone. Herzog even went so far as to directly tell Denkinger that had he gotten "the call" right in Game 6, the Cardinals would not have been subjected to a seventh game in the first place. (Denkinger then replied that if the Cardinals were batting better than .120 in the Series, there would have been no need for a Game 7 either.) In the immediate aftermath of his meltdown, Andújar smashed a toilet in the Cardinals’ clubhouse. The Cardinals were completely demolished by the Royals as Kansas City would go on to win Game 7 in an 11-0 blowout, taking home their first and only World Series Trophy.

Career

Denkinger attended Wartburg College where he was on the wrestling team. He became interested in umpiring while serving in the Army from 1957 to 1959. He began umpiring in the minor leagues in 1960, joined the AL staff in April, 1969, and became an AL crew chief in 1977. In 1975, Denkinger was one of the first American League umpires to switch from the outside chest protector to the inside chest protector, which was used in the National League for decades before finally being adopted in the AL in the late 1970s. All umpires who entered the AL starting in 1977 had to use the inside protector; AL umpires on staff prior to 1977 were grandfathered and could continue to use the outside protector. Denkinger’s last game using the outside protector was Game 4 of the 1974 World Series.