Leon Durham

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Groundball hit to Durham...RIGHT THROUGH HIS LEGS!!! Here comes Martínez, we're tied at three!

ABC's Don Drysdale calling Cubs first basemen Leon Durham's crucial error in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 5 of the 1984 NLCS.

The error became known as the "Gatorade Glove Play" because before taking his position in the field that inning, Gatorade was spilled on Durham's glove. Some Cub fans believe the Gatorade spilled on Durham's glove amounted to a curse, similar to the goat and Bartman curses of Cub lore.

The play would also turn out to be very similar, in style and effect, to Bill Buckner's much-discussed error in the 1986 World Series. The coincidental connection between these two events is that Durham had been moved from the outfield to first base during the 1984 season, replacing Buckner after the Cubs traded him to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Dennis Eckersley. Buckner's error, like Durham's, would be seen as turning a post-season series around. The same joke even circulated for both incidents: That they had been despondent, jumped in front of a moving truck, and "the truck went between their legs".

The Padres wound up winning the game 6-3 to reach the World Series for the first time ever. The Cubs had won the first 2 games of the series (1984 marked the last time that the League Championship Series was a best-of-five series) over the Padres. Incidentally, Durham went 3-for-20 in the NLCS, garnering two of his three hits in the final two games on home runs (his shot in Game 4 had given the Cubs a 3-2 lead). [4]

Coaching career

Durham previously served as the hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers' Triple-A affiliate the Toledo Mud Hens. On October 21, 2016, he was named the assistant hitting coach of the Detroit Tigers, after 17 seasons as a coach with the Mud Hens. [5] Durham is presently in his second year as the hitting coach for the Louisville Bats the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. [6]

In other media

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References

  1. "Sports People: Baseball; Durham suspended". The New York Times . September 23, 1989. p. 44.
  2. "MLB.com". MLB.com.
  3. "1984 National League Championship Series (NLCS) Game 5, Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres, October 7, 1984".
  4. "1984 National League Championship Series (NLCS) Game 4, Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres, October 6, 1984".
  5. "Tigers hire McClendon as hitting coach". MLB.com. October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  6. Louisville Bats (November 14, 2019). "Reds Announce Louisville Coaching Staff" . Retrieved November 23, 2019.
Leon Durham
Leon Durham Cardinals.jpg
First baseman / Outfielder
Born: (1957-07-31) July 31, 1957 (age 66)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 27, 1980, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 17, 1989, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Preceded by National League Player of the Month
May 1984
Succeeded by