Party Like It’s 1989
Thanks to Reed Johnson’s stunning pinch-hit home run yesterday (which still ranks behind this game as his most stunning home run), the Cubs moved to 22 games over the .500 for the first time since nineteen eighty nine.
Courtesy of Wikipedia, here are some interesting things that were going on in the world the last time the Cubs reached these heights:
George W. Bush’s dad is inaugurated as the forty-first President of the United States.
Serial rapist/murderer Ted Bundy is executed (only the most observant people understand that Bundy escaped his execution and eventually made his way to the big leagues)
Salman Rushdie publishes The Satanic Verses; an ever-enlightened Muslim community, on the promise of a 3 million dollar bounty offered by the Ayatollah Khomeni, seeks to destroy Rushdie. You know. For writing a book
The oil tanker Exxon Valdez, steered by a guy drunker than Tony LaRussa, spills 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.
Rain Man wins Best Picture. The movie’s star, Tom Cruise, is not a total freaking weirdo yet.
This is the world’s smallest phone. Holy crap.
The Skydome–now known as the Rogers Centre and the eleventh oldest stadium in the major leagues–opens.
Seinfeld premieres.
The Simpsons, in half-hour sitcom format, premieres.
Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life; begins his journey to becoming the planet’s biggest douchebag.
David Dinkins becomes New York City’s first African-American mayor.
The Berlin Wall comes down.
Additionally, we at Hire Jim Essian! were able to dig up these other interesting facts abot 1989:
Daryle Ward celebrates his fourteenth birthday by washing down 72 hot dogs.
Rick Telander doesn’t yet totally suck.
Craig Biggio is in his first full season in the big leagues…as a catcher. Somewhere near Orlando, Chip Caray’s obsession foments.
17 year old Mike D…still a virgin, but not for lack of trying. Oh, how humiliating.
12 year old Kermit…still playing with Transformers.
The ‘89 Cubs finished the season 24 games over .500. Next stop for these Cubs–the 1984 Cubs–who finished the season 31 games over .500.
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Comments
morpheus Also in 1989…
6 year old Paul Tanner bags his first Hobart babe on the school playground, nails her under the bleachers, and ignores her the next day at lunch while reading Kirkegaard’s “Fear and Trembling.”
CactusMcHarris Well, from a West Coast perspective, friends of mine (but not me) were going to Padre games at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium and seeing how many joints and rum/cokes they could consume in the cheap seats before getting thrown out.
I got to see the replay of Johnson’s homerun on the Canadian version of SportsCenter. Believe it or not, there are at least three people here in Kamloops, BC are wishing for the Cubs to advance to the WS. We think it’s gonna happen, eh?
Jon Annnd….
13 year old JOn lost his house to Hurricane Hugo, then had to watch numbly from his refugee sofa at his Aunt’s house while Will Clark put a stake into his heart.
Reuschel's Jowls 17-year-old RJ was in the midst of an epic autumn. The h.s. football squad that I played for went 12-3 and ended up in the state Final Four.
Broke up with my first girlfriend, whom I had dated for nearly two years at that point. Break-up was precipitated in part by the fact that she wouldn’t let me watch the Cubs’ division-clinching win over Montreal (well that, and the fact that she screwed another guy at a party the following weekend).
Break-up ended up being a good thing, as it launched a six-month hot streak that every young man should experience at some point.
Missed most of Game 1 of the NLCS because we had night practice that evening. Watched the last few innings on a grainy, locker room TV. Took out my frustrations on my Sox-fan teammates who taunted me the next day (got sent off by my position coach for the afternoon after my fifth or sixth late hit during live contact drills).
flannj Holy crap you guys are youngsters.
30 year-old flannj had to continually monitor his pregnant wife’s condition because Mitch Williams excruciatingly inconsistent pitching exploits were causing her to have contractions.
The next generation of flannj was brought into the world that November with no apparent ill effects due to shitty, nerve wracking, bullpen performances.
Jiraiya 1989…8-year old Jiraiya discovers his first Hustler Magazine, and reads his first Isaac Asimov novel - basically discovering sex and science fiction in the same year. It was a good year.
JackB I was thirteen in 1989. The Transformers were still in my room, but gathering dust. I think my mind had turned to the backside and budding breasts of a gal who played soccer on my coed team. Ah, good times.
Flem That was the year that the world series was interrupted by a huge earthquake in the Bay Area. Also, there were revolutions in East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania.
StPatrick I was 10. I can’t recall anything specific. I just remember liking Mitch Williams’ blue glove.
CT
bocaj
BigFlax
StPatrick
TDubbs
Man, that is a sweet FLIP PHONE. Where can I get my hands on that sleek piece of technology?