Strat-o-matic is a baseball simulation that began as a cards and dice game in the early 1960s before entering the computer age.
These featured games on Shoestring Catches are part of season replays or tournaments played with cards and dice.
Today’s game matches the 1986 Philadelphia Phillies at the 1986 Chicago White Sox.
Power and speed is a lethal combination in baseball. Today’s contest is a great example of that. At least for a day. In his 13-year career, Gary Redus hit 90 homers and had 322 stolen bases. For the Philadelphia Phillies in 1986, Redus had 25 steals and only swiped two bases in a game twice. This game would be different.
REDUS LEADS PHILLIES PAST WHITE SOX
CHICAGO – Gary Redus may have been tired from running, but he had enough energy for a big swing.
Redus hit a three-run homer and swiped five bases to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park.
In the second and sixth innings, Redus walked and then proceeded to steal second and third. Each time he would be stranded there as the game remained close.
Milt Thompson hit a solo home run in the third to put the Phillies in front 1-0.
The seventh frame proved to be critical for both teams. Glenn Wilson gave the Phillies a 2-0 advantage with a RBI single and Redus was ready for the decisive blast. Redus smacked his three-run homer off Jose DeLeon to give his team a 5-0 lead. Steve Jeltz added a sacrifice fly for a six-run Philadelphia lead.
John Russell finished the scoring for the Phillies in the ninth with a sacrifice fly that brought home Wilson, who led the Phillies with two hits. Redus then angered the Chicago bench and the fans as he stole third, which was his fifth steal of the contest. He had reached second on an error by White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen.
Chicago picked up its run in the bottom of the ninth with a RBI single from Guillen off Kevin Gross. Gross (1-0) allowed that run on nine hits with four strikeouts.
DeLeon (0-1) was the loser as he surrendered six runs on four hits with 11 walks and six strikeouts before leaving the mound with one out in the seventh. Dave Schmidt finished the affair allowing a run on two hits.
IN REAL LIFE: Gary Redus only played one season with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cincinnati Reds had shipped him and Tom Hume to Philadelphia for 1983 Cy Young Award winner John Denny and minor leaguer Jeff Gray on Dec. 11, 1985.
While with the Phillies, Redus led the National League left fielders with nine assists. He also was part of a league-high two double plays.
The White Sox must have liked what they saw in this Strat-O-Matic game because Chicago acquired Redus from the Phillies for Joe Cowley and cash on March 26, 1987.
In 1984 and 1985, Redus had stolen 48 bases in each season for the Reds, so the potential for larceny was there. In his only full season with the White Sox in 1987, Redus posted a career-high 52 steals.
Redus played for the White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates in 1988. He was with the Pirates during their playoff appearances from 1990-1992 before finishing his career with the Texas Rangers in 1993 and 1994.