Rooker's Game 5 World Series gem lives on

By Joe Starkey, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Sunday, August 23, 2009

When Jim Rooker's teammates heard he was chosen to pitch Game 5 of the 1979 World Series, they did what came naturally: They razzed Rooker like crazy.

"We said, 'Well, we might as well start packing our hunting gear," remembers then-rookie catcher Steve Nicosia.

Pirates pitcher Jim Rooker threw the game of his life, holding the Baltimore Orioles to three hits and a run over five innings in Game 5 of the 1979 World Series. (Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Pirates)

Little did Nicosia know that Rooker, of all people, was the first one packed. Hey, the Pirates were down, 3-1, so why not get a head start on hunting season if they lost Game 5?

The game was played Oct. 14 at Three Rivers Stadium. The series has been commemorated all weekend with a team reunion at PNC Park.

"If we lost, (teammate Bruce) Kison and I were headed out to Colorado to go elk hunting with (ex-teammate) Rich Gossage," Rooker says. "Everybody, of course, was expecting me to lose."

Rooker was 37, nearing the end of his career. He hadn't started since Sept. 25, and his only appearance since then was a one-inning cameo in Game 1.

Manager Chuck Tanner chose the left-handed Rooker over Kison, a right-hander who had been battered in Game 1. The Orioles had scored 17 runs in the previous two games, including a 9-6 victory in Game 4, when they scored six eighth-inning runs to erase a 6-3 deficit.

Three of the Pirates' veteran leaders — first baseman Willie Stargell, right fielder Dave Parker and reliever Kent Tekulve — sat together in the clubhouse late into the night, discussing the team's predicament.

Stargell's take was that if they were going to lose, they were at least going to show everybody how the Pirates played the game.

When they got to the ballpark the next morning — it was a Sunday afternoon game — players were stunned to learn that Tanner's mother, Anna, had died. Nobody knew whether to approach their beloved manager, who decided he would stay with the club.

Tekulve chokes up when he remembers Tanner addressing the team.

Tanner's recollection: "I said, 'Well, we're in a little bit of trouble, because my mother said she'd see every game. But she just went upstairs to help us, so don't worry about a thing. We got 'em.' "

Bill Mazeroski, the Pirates' 1960 World Series hero, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in front of 50,920 fans. Rooker threw the game of his life, holding the Orioles to three hits and a run over five innings.

"He hadn't pitched much, so his arm was fresh," Nicosia says. "He pitched the best five innings of anyone for us that year. He stuck the bats right up Baltimore's rear end."

Rooker had determined he would set up Baltimore hitters with off-speed pitches, then surprise them with inside fastballs.

"I figured they thought I had a bad arm," he says.

That thought was confirmed years later by Ray Miller, who was the Orioles' pitching coach at the time but later worked for the Pirates when Rooker was a team broadcaster.

"Their scouting report said, 'Don't worry about him; he has a bad arm and will try to get you out with sinkers,' " Rooker says. "Well, one time I busted Eddie Murray's (butt) inside — I was throwing 91-92 mph — and he says, 'Sore arm, my (butt)!' "

Still, the Pirates trailed, 1-0, when Rooker left after 74 pitches. That's when their bats finally came alive in a 7-1 victory. Bert Blyleven pitched four shutout innings for the win, one that sent the Series back to Baltimore, where the Pirates made history.

Thirty years later, Rooker, 67, revels in the memory. He lives in Jacksonville, Fla., but still owns "Rook's East Side Saloon" in Ambridge and has authored three children's baseball books - "Matt the Bat," "Paul the Baseball," and "Kitt the Mitt."

His seven grandchildren inspired the books.

"My next one will be called 'Fletcher the Catcher,' " Rooker says. "They're all basically rhymes, 13 or 14 verses."