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Eric Show

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Eric Show
File:Eric Show BaseBallCard.jpg
Pitcher
Born: (1956-05-19)May 19, 1956
Riverside, California
Died: March 16, 1994(1994-03-16) (aged 37)
Dulzura, California
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
September 2, 1981, for the San Diego Padres
Last appearance
September 30, 1991, for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics
Win-Loss record101-89
Earned run average3.66
Strikeouts971
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Eric Vaughn Show (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈʃaʊ/; May 19, 1956 – March 16, 1994) was a Major League Baseball player who played for most of his career with the San Diego Padres. On September 11, 1985, Show gave up Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd career hit. Show played on the 1984 Padres team that won the National League pennant, and is the winningest pitcher in San Diego Padres history, but his career and life were affected by drug abuse.

Early life

Show was a native of Riverside, California.

Playing career

1981–1984

Show made his debut in late September of 1981, and the following year went 10-6 while splitting time between the starting rotation and bullpen. In 1983 he won 15 games. In 1984, he followed with a 15-9 record. However, he struggled in the postseason, going a combined 0-2 with a 12.38 earned run average in three games.

See also: 1984 National League Championship Series and 1984 World Series

"The Hit"

On September 11, 1985, Show became famous for giving up Pete Rose's 4,192nd hit, which at the time was believed to have surpassed Ty Cobb's all-time career record of 4,191 hits. (Cobb was later found to have a career record of 4,189 hits.) Show sat on the mound during the delay for festivities, an action which Padre Garry Templeton later said was "bush." Then he got into a dugout shoving match with left fielder Carmelo Martínez, over a ball that fell for a single and led to the game-winning run. Finally, Show refused to stay to answer the post-game questions, leaving his teammates to criticize him in his absence.

"I'm tired of hearing about his unlucky luck," said Tim Flannery. "That's been at the root of the problem all year. If something goes wrong, he quits. That's why runs aren't scored for him. Guys don't want to play for him. One guy got tired of hearing it."[citation needed]

Before the game, when Show had been asked about the possibility of giving up "The Hit", he responded: "I guess it doesn't mean as much to me as it does to other baseball enthusiasts. Don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not putting down Pete. It's a fantastic accomplishment. But in the eternal scheme of things, how much does this matter? I don't like to say this, but I don't care."[citation needed]

Graig Nettles said, "The Birch Society is going to expel Eric for making a Red famous." [1]

Later career

Show made his last appearance on the National League leaderboard in 1988, a season in which he went 16-11 with 13 complete games and pitched 234 2/3 innings. His effectiveness diminished significantly after that season and by 1990 he had lost his regular spot in San Diego's rotation. He signed with Oakland as a free agent the following year and was cut the following season. He also played in 1990-91 with the Mayaguez Indians of the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Controversial Moments

On July 7, 1987, Show hit the year's eventual MVP Andre Dawson in the left cheekbone with a fastball during a game. Dawson had homered in 3 of his last 5 plate appearances at that point, and the Cubs reacted with a bench-clearing brawl. Show and his manager, Larry Bowa, later denied that the pitch was purposeful, while Bowa acknowledged that he could understand why the Cubs would think it was.[2]

Personal life

In 1984, he revealed that he was a member of the far-right John Birch Society.[3] He was also a jazz musician.

He was once arrested by the police in downtown San Diego while yelling that someone was trying to kill him. Placed inside the police car, he kicked out the window and fled on foot. He was apprehended later that same day. Show additionally showed up at the Oakland A's training camp with bandaged hands after police had pursued him on another occasion after reports were made of his acting oddly inside an adult bookstore.[4]

Death

After his retirement from baseball, Show fell victim to drug abuse. He died on March 16, 1994 of a heart attack after taking a speedball (i.e. injecting a mixture of cocaine and heroin) in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in the San Diego suburb of Dulzura.[5]

References

  • Dravecky, Dave and Yorkey, Mike (2004). Called Up: Stories of Life and Faith from the Great Game of Baseball. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-25230-6. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Sources

  1. ^ "Inside Pitch Statistics Through Sept. 15". CNN. September 23, 1985. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  2. ^ [1] New York Times
  3. ^ Berkow, Ira (1994-03-27). "Eric Show's Solitary Life, and Death". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ "Rules of Abuse", The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080524/news_lz1ed24middle.html, 24 May 2008

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