This I Remember

I’ve gone to two season openers in my life, 1971 and 1988. The second one I try not to think about too much; it was all wrapped up with the politics of building a new stadium. Ah, but the other one… I was all of eighteen, bright-eyed and pretty much clueless in the ways of the world (see: stadium politics). Chuck Tanner was starting his first full season as White Sox manager, with Johnny Sain as his pitching guru. Comiskey Park looked to be pretty full that April 9th with the Twins visiting. According to the box score, this had to be one of the few times Tony Oliva or Harmon Killebrew didn’t put one into the bullpen or upper deck in left. Newly acquired reliever Vicente Romo worked out of jam in the top of the ninth, the score tied at two; Romo struck out Cesar Tovar with one out and then got Rod Carew to fly out to center. A single; bunt; wild pitch; and pinch-hit single by Rich McKinney sent 43,000-plus White Sox fans home quite happy. Romo would appear in 45 games for the Sox that year. This was his second appearance and only win. Guess who turns 79 today. Yup, Vicente Romo. What are the odds?