It was early in the morning of Sunday, August 22, 1982, Milwaukee time at the moment Rollie Fingers made history in Seattle. He nailed down a key win in the Milwaukee Brewers’ playoff push, in a game that was a footnote to the incredible 1982 season – but certainly not to his Hall of Fame career.
The Brewers needed some clutch relief pitching from Fingers to beat the Seattle Mariners that night, following a three-run 8th-inning explosion that opened up a scoreless game.
Fingers came in to protect the lead in the eighth, and only allowed a single in that frame.
But in the ninth, he gave up a two-run homer to Dave Revering that cut Milwaukee’s advantage to 3-2 with one out.
Suddenly, Fingers had to put out a fire he created seconds beforehand. “No problem,” the master of his craft said with his fastball and slider.
Fingers forced a pair of fly ball outs to preserve a 3-2 win, and his then-record 300th save.