Dave Dravecky's Comeback Game: 20 Years ago today
The Chronicle today published a letter to the editor from Dave Dravecky about his comeback game from cancer on August 10, 1989 - 20 years ago today.
For younger Giants fans, Dravecky was an excellent left handed pitcher who, at the time, was seen as the centerpiece of the trade that brought us Kevin Mitchell and Craig Lefferts in exchange for Mark Davis, Chris Brown, Keith Comstock, and Mark Grant back in 1989. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1988 and it was believed his career was over. He came back in time for the stretch run in 1989 and pitched a great game in Candlestick against the Reds, but in his second start back in Montreal, he collapsed on the mound when his arm broke mid-pitch. He never pitched again, and he later lost his arm.
I was at his first comeback game on August 10, 1989, and it was an incredible experience - I still consider it the best game I ever attended. If I recall correctly, a couple of other McCoven were there, too.
So, on the off-chance that Dave Dravecky ever reads this: thanks for the memories. Many, many Giants fans were and are inspired by your comeback, and we're still sad about what happened five days later in Montreal. You were a great pitcher and, though your time as a Giant was cut short, you were a great Giant, too.
over 2 years ago
jcb9
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I was at that game as well. Only about 11 years old then. I was lucky enough to have my parents be season ticket holders(they gave up their seats when the Giants moved to telephone park, they refused to pay the license fee). In all the games I saw (about 50 a summer) none was ever as emotional for me. Yes, playoff and WS games had all of the frantic crazy bombastic energy, but seeing Dravecky take the mound and the pulsing pride of the crowd was just an amazing and special moment – even for a kid my age. And thus, his injury a week later was equally devastating.
Of all the positive games I've attended, four stand out:
1. Brian Johnson’s dramatic HR in ‘97.
2. Snow’s HR against the Mets in the 2000 playoffs.
3. The game in which Hershiser gave up a run during his streak, only to have Tommy waddle out to protest, after which the umpire reversed the call and the runner didn’t score. Bulls**t!
4. The Dravecky comeback game. Sat in the upper deck behind home plate with my father. The ’Stick was rocking that day.
Noonan. Nooooonan!
by Giant Fan in Singapore on Aug 10, 2009 10:35 AM PDT reply actions
I WAS!
Actually I was 4 yo and my father (Bos/LA roots) wasn’t a huge Giants/Stick fan so I had no chance of going.
Minor White > Ansel Adams
by say hey nation on Aug 10, 2009 10:41 AM PDT reply actions
Another reason this game was important to me, by the way
It was the last game I went to before my family moved to the East Coast the next month. I was gone for the playoffs, gone for Loma Prieta, all of that – it wasn’t until 1996 that I got back. But I was there for Dravecky.
Brian Sabean wants to kick tires. I want to kick Brian Sabean.
Adopted Giant: Fred "OBP and UZR, Dammit!" Lewis
I wasn’t there, and I don’t remember the game. I was only 11. But, I remember the next game when he broke his arm. I still get emotional when I think about it.
I will probably cry when he throws out the first pitch tonight. I’m such a sissy.
I was in 6th grade, and I’ll never forget his comeback, and of course I was crushed by what happened in Montreal (I’ll never forget Clark sprinting in from first).
His two-hit shutout of the Cardinals in the ’87 NLCS is still one of my favorite Giants games ever.
Clark running to him will be an image I won’t forget. It always makes me emotional to see teammates show true concern and care like that.
Me too— I just watched that clip again- first time I’ve seen it in years- and I got almost as choked up as I remember being 20 years ago. I’m so glad he’ll be there tonight.
by oneflapdown on Aug 10, 2009 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions
I hate to ask, because it seems so morbid, but it’s a big memory for me too, so – is there a link for the clip?
Brian Sabean wants to kick tires. I want to kick Brian Sabean.
Adopted Giant: Fred "OBP and UZR, Dammit!" Lewis
I know what you mean; I felt kind of bad for searching for it. The pitch is at 2:35 of this clip.
by oneflapdown on Aug 10, 2009 12:03 PM PDT up reply actions
The thing that really stuck with me about Montreal was how he grabbed his arm as he went down. I remember later he said he grabbed it to see if it was still there, because it felt like someone had chopped it off with an axe.
Brian Sabean wants to kick tires. I want to kick Brian Sabean.
Adopted Giant: Fred "OBP and UZR, Dammit!" Lewis
The two lasting memories of watching that start that don’t come up often unless you talk to people who were actually there were:
a. that he had a no hitter going for a while (I think the first hit came in the 5th or the 6th?)
Pete Rose got ejected, and this being in the middle of when the betting scandal had just come to light he was booed mercilessly on his way out. My favorite line (which being in the upper deck I doubt he heard): “Going to see your bookie early, Rose?”
Even better, re: Pete Rose – before the game, as we were driving to Candlestick, KNBR was having a fund drive where people were offering to donate x amount of money to cancer-related charity if certain things happened in the game. One of the callers said he’d donate $100 if Pete Rose was ejected. As a 9 year old, that just seemed like an impossibly huge sum to me – and then it happened!
Brian Sabean wants to kick tires. I want to kick Brian Sabean.
Adopted Giant: Fred "OBP and UZR, Dammit!" Lewis
Dave Dravecky: Great Giant
The story of Dravecky’s comeback is nearly unbelievable. Others who remember better, please correct me, but I recall it like this:
Dravecky had some arm problems, and was eventually diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his upper left (pitching) arm. Surgery was required, during which more than 50% of his deltoid muscle was removed. Players who saw his arm afterward described a huge depression where the muscle had formerly been. Dravecky wasn’t sure he’d be able to comb his hair, much less pitch in the major leagues again. That he did so, at all, with any kind of result, defies the imagination. That he pitched successfully only adds to the awe of his recovery.
I was watching his next start (in Montreal) on a satellite feed. The arm snapping was unforgettable. The crowd mic, usually sitauted in the second deck near the announcers, clearly picked up the sound of the bone snapping in two.
The emotions of losing the 2002 World Series to the Anaheim Rally Monkeys was the only Giants event that has come close to equalling the sight of Dave Dravecky writhing in pain on the pitcher’s mound in Olympic Stadium.
Sergio Romo: striking out professional hitters since 2005. And winner of the 2012 NL Fireman of the Year Award!
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