Cleveland's Finest. Vince McKee

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      It was the first time I ever had to step on an airplane when I flew to Sarasota, Florida, where the rookie league was located for the Texas Rangers. It was a kind of shock just getting into an airplane for the first time. I was the type of guy who was large in size and, because my parents were divorced when I was a young age, I had to become a man pretty quick. I knew I had a lot of confidence in my ability when I got there, so it worked out good.

      Barker showed signs of brilliance at times, but he also struggled with command before being traded to Cleveland in 1979. Revealing how friendly and welcoming the Indians were to him, Barker received the nickname “Big Donkey” from Cy Buynak, the Indians’ clubhouse manager:

      We had great times, and we would have parties all of the time with our families. We had a lot of team unity back then. On the road, we would have a group of eight to ten guys go out to dinner together. I got traded to Cleveland after the 1978 season, when I was traded with Bobby Bonds. The first time you get traded, you’re kind of shocked in the beginning and feel like the other team didn’t want you. Then I started thinking about it and realized that the team trading for you really wanted you. I also realized that I had more of an opportunity to become a starting pitcher in Cleveland because in Texas they had four All-Stars in their starting rotation. They had Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Bert Blyleven, and John Matlock. It would have been very hard to break the rotation. I was happy to be here because it was someone who wanted me. I was happy to play in the major leagues and I didn’t care where. Cleveland gave me the opportunity to start, and that’s why I still live here today. I love this city.

      The Indians were happy to have Barker, who went on to win 19 games in 1980—a breakout season after they won only six games in 1979. Barker explained what made the 1980 season special:

      I played winter ball in Puerto Rico after the 1979 season and concentrated on my pitching and getting command of all my pitches. We had a pretty decent team in 1980, and everything started working for me. I was able to throw a lot more strikes, as I threw over 240 innings. I had over 180 strikeouts with only 80 walks. It was a great ratio for a power pitcher. I believe that it was the concentration level and everything finally clicking. I was becoming a major league pitcher instead of a major league thrower. I started getting better and better at my control, and that, with my work ethic, turned everything around.

      Barker was off to a good start in 1981 and was proving the Indians’ faith in him to be correct. Later that year, on May 15, 1981, Barker took to the mound, just as he had done on previous game days, in front of a crowd of 7,290 fans at Cleveland Municipal Stadium:

      It was a normal spring day with some sprinkles and coolness in the air. I didn’t do anything different from my normal routine. I ate a little food, but not much because I didn’t like to eat a lot on the days that I pitched. I laid around the house and relaxed a bit before leaving to pick up my brother from the airport. I left my house around 4 p.m. to pick him up, but his plane was late and I had to wait. When he finally arrived, we had to speed to the ballpark. When I finally got there, I had trainer Jimmy Warfield put some heat on my arm real quick so I could rush out and warm up. Once I got out there and starting stretching, I was fine. We didn’t realize right away that when I was warming up I was throwing almost all fastballs.

      Cleveland’s opponents for the game were the struggling Toronto Blue Jays, led by manager Bobby Mattick. Taking the mound for the Jays was Luis Leal, who at that point in the season was a modest 2–3. Barker had come into the contest with a record of 2–1. The balmy 49-degree Cleveland spring weather was perfect for a pitcher’s duel. Behind the plate calling the balls and strikes was Rich Garcia, with Greg Kosc, Don Denkinger, and Jim McKean handling the calls on the base paths. Pitchers and umpires don’t really mix, but Barker knew Rich Garcia and was familiar with his strike zone:

      I knew Richie before that game; he was a good umpire who called a good game. Over time, you get to know the umpires and you can tell their strike zones. Most of them keep the same strike zones and some don’t. Being a pitcher, you don’t become friendly with umpires, but you know who they are and remain cordial with them. There are a lot of good umpires, but there are also a lot of bad ones.

      The fans in the stands—who just wanted to kick back and watch some baseball—had no idea what a special moment they were in store for. Little did anyone know that Lenny Barker was about to catch the attention of not only the fans in the stadium but also of baseball fans nationwide. The battery mate for Barker that evening was Ron Hassey, who went on to catch another perfect game later in his career with pitcher Dennis Martínez in 1991. Barker looked back at working with Ron Hassey, stating,

      I felt really comfortable with Ron Hassey. He was a guy who was an All-American third-baseman out of Arizona. He was able to make a successful transition from third base to catcher. It was amazing to see how he progressed. He actually was a pretty darn good catcher who did a good job and called a great game. He worked hard back there and was the only catcher to catch two perfect games, so he must have done something right. We also had Bo Díaz, who was an All-Star in 1981. He was a pretty good catcher who caught for me down in Venezuela numerous times. I was used to both, and they were both excellent catchers. Sometimes you get a relationship with a certain guy who you feel comfortable with. The manager can tell when you get in a groove with a certain guy, and they will keep that tandem working together.

      All eyes were on Barker from the first pitch. As he wound up to throw, the seal of history was about to be broken in epic fashion. Barker managed to get each of the first two batters to ground out to shortstop Tom Veryzer. The third out came when George Bell grounded out to first-baseman Mike Hargrove. A rather routine trip through the top of the order became a common occurrence as the night went on. Len walked (no pun intended) through what he felt during the early part of the game: “It started off feeling like a normal game, and I was throwing nothing but fastballs early. The guys behind me made a couple of incredible plays in the first inning. As we got later in the game, I started striking out batters at a good pace.”

      In the bottom of the first inning, a leadoff single by Rick Manning got the Tribe off to a good start. After second-baseman Jorge Orta popped out to the shortstop, Mike Hargrove reached first base on an error by first-baseman John Mayberry. André Thornton wasted no time hitting a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Manning from third, giving the Indians an early 1–0 lead. Moments later, Ron Hassey singled and the lead grew to 2–0. Harrah ended the inning with a called third strike from Leal. The score, and the Indians’ lead, was more than Barker was going to need. Barker said that the early lead helped him to relax and focus going into the second inning: “It helps out for sure. In tight games, you can make one bad pitch and lose a game. We didn’t average a lot of runs back then, so every time we got up on a team it was nice. It made it easier to pitch, but still a two-run lead is not a huge lead. When you’re pitching well and have a lead like that, you can get your team a win.”

      Mike Hargrove played first base the night of the perfect game.

      Facing Barker to lead off the top of the second was cleanup hitter—and the person responsible for the first inning error—John Mayberry. His fly ball to center field started the inning off for the Indians right-hander. After Upshaw grounded out to second base, Garcia flew out to center field, which ended the second inning in the same way as the first: perfect for Barker.

      After a bottom of the second that saw the Indians fail to add to their lead, Barker took the mound to face the bottom of the Blue Jays order. Back-to-back ground outs by Bosetti and Ainge set the table for a fly out by Martínez that ended the inning. Barker had made it through the Blue Jays lineup once without allowing a single hit or base runner. At the top of the fourth, after the Indians failed to score again, Barker began his warm-up tosses to prepare to face the top of the СКАЧАТЬ