Midwest League 1981

All-Star Game

South 5, North 4

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Saturday, June 20, 1981

The 1981 Midwest League All-Star Game was played at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids on June 20, 1981. Two teams of the league's best players, as selected by the circuit's managers, faced off for league supremacy.

The North built up a 4-0 lead over the first four innings, but the Southern pitchers shut them down for the rest of the contest. Meantime the South's offense battled back into the game, with CR's Jeff Jones knocking in the winning run with a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth after Northern manager Bill Plummer intentionally walked two runners to load the bases. QC's Jim Gerlach threw two hitless innings to earn the win; Wausau's Tom Brennan was the losing pitcher.

Box Score

NORTH                            AB R  H BI      SOUTH                           AB R H BI
Harold Reynolds (WAU/SEA) 2B      4 2  2 0       Henry Cotto (QC/CHC) LF-CF       5 1 1 0
 Mike Morse (APP/CWS) SS          1 0  0 0       Ken Scarpace (CR/CIN) CF         3 0 1 1
Jim Eisenreich (WR/MIN) CF        5 0  2 1        Rick Bass (BUR/MIL) LF          1 0 0 0
Jimmy Presley (WAU/SEA) 3B        1 0  0 0       Ray Corbett (CR/CIN) C           3 1 1 0
 Marlin Methven (WAT/CLE) 3B-2B   3 0  0 0        Murphy S'ua (BUR/MIL) C         1 0 0 0
Kevin King (WAU/SEA) DH           3 0  2 1       Carlos Ponce (BUR/MIL) 1B        4 2 1 0
 Ray Torres (APP/CWS) DH          2 0  0 0       Jeff Jones (CR/CIN) RF           4 0 1 2
Ed Saavedra (WAT/CLE) LF          4 1  1 0       Randy Ready (BUR/MIL) DH         0 0 0 0
Glen Walker (WAU/SEA) RF          3 0  0 0        Emil Drzayich (CR/CIN) DH       3 0 1 1
Enrique Diaz (WAU/SEA) 1B         4 1  2 1       Rusty Piggott (QC/CHC) 2B        4 0 0 0
Jack Fimple (WAT/CLE) C           4 0  2 0       Dave Wilson (CLI/SF) SS          4 1 1 0
 Dave Blume (WAU/SEA)  C          0 0  0 0       Jim Johnson (CLI/SF) 3B          4 0 1 0
Darnell Coles (WAU/SEA) SS-3B     4 0  1 0       Scot Ender (CR/CIN) P            0 0 0 0
Rick Adair (WAU/SEA) P            0 0  0 0        Tom Smith (QC/CHC) P            0 0 0 0
 Jay Anderson (APP/CWS) P         0 0  0 0        Greg Bangert (CLI/SF) P         0 0 0 0
 Tom Owens (WAT/CLE) P            0 0  0 0        Jim Gerlach (QC/CHC) P          0 0 0 0
 Rich Yett (WR/MIN) P             0 0  0 0
 Rickey Lintz (WAT/CLE) P         0 0  0 0
 Ed Nunez (WAU/SEA) P             0 0  0 0
 Smokey Everett (WR/MIN) P        0 0  0 0
 Tom Brennan (WAU/SEA) P          0 0  0 0
 TOTALS                          38 4 12 3                                       36 5 8 4

North             111 100 000 - 4 12 4
South             000 211 001 - 5  8 3

 E - Wilson, Piggott, Cotto, Walker, Coles 2, Everett. DP - South 2. LOB - North 9, 
 South 10. 2B - Fimple, Jones, Cotto. SB - Reynolds, Methven, Ponce, Johnson.
 Sac - Bass. SF - Jones.

NORTH             IP H R ER BB SO
Adair            1.0 0 0  0  0  1
Anderson         1.0 0 0  0  1  0
Owens            1.0 0 0  0  0  1
Yett             1.0 3 2  1  0  1
Lintz            1.0 1 1  0  0  0
Nunez            1.0 1 1  0  0  1
Everett          2.0 2 0  0  0  1
Brennan (L)      0.2 1 1  1  2  0

ALL-STARS         IP H R ER BB SO
Ender            2.0 5 2  2  0  5
Smith            2.0 6 2  0  1  1
Bangert          3.0 1 0  0  1  4
Gerlach (W)      2.0 0 0  0  0  1

 WP - Ender. PB - Corbett.

 Umpires - Ray Kluever, Gary Cederstrom, Jeff Risk, Larry Reveal, Bryant Hance, 
 Danny Johnson.

 Time: 2:45.  Attendance: 2,822

Notes, Issues, Sources, and Mysteries

• Based on the box score in the 1995 Midwest League Yearbook, with help from game account in the June 22, 1981, edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The team selections were published in the June 19 edition of the Gazette.
• CR GM Bucky Buchheister brought the San Diego Chicken--apparently not yet the minor league fixture he's since become--in to help with the show. Knowing that, the headcount has to be considered a disappointment. But the Gazette reports that a good time was had by all.
• Wausau manager Bill Plummer led the North squad, with assistance from coaches Gomer Hodge (Waterloo) and Mark Chelette (Wausau coach). Cedar Rapids manager Randy Davidson was the Southern skipper, with coaches Terry Bevington (Burlington) and Rich Morales (Quad City). Wausau's Tom Hunt was the Northern team's trainer; CR's Jeff Clay filled that role for the South.
• No official game MVP was selected.
• Selected, but did not play: Larry Harris (P, Wisconsin Rapids, Jim Siwy (P, Appleton), Jose Chue (P, Clinton), Ray Gallo (P, Burlington), Brad Lesley (P, Cedar Rapids), Bob Schrock (P, Burlington), and Glenn Swaggerty (P, Quad City).