Dane Charles Iorg ( ; born May 11, 1950) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from (–) for four teams, including eight seasons spent with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. While playing for the Kansas City Royals, Iorg produced the game-winning hit in Game 6 of the

1985 World Series The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the N ...

. His brother Garth also played in MLB.

Baseball career

Iorg was born in

Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt Ba ...

, and he grew up in the nearby town of Blue Lake. He graduated from Arcata High School, in

Arcata, California Arcata (; Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first ...

. He began his playing career with the Philadelphia Phillies in April 1977, but by that June the club traded him along with outfielder Rick Bosetti and pitcher Tom Underwood to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder

Bake McBride Arnold Ray McBride (born February 3, 1949), nicknamed "Shake 'n Bake" and "The Callaway Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillie ...

and pitcher Steve Waterbury. DaneIorg1983

During the strike-shortened 1981 season, he led the Cardinals with a .327 batting-average. In the 1982 World Series, Iorg played for the Cardinals, primarily as their World Series

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

(the entire 1982 World Series was played under American League rules) and batted .529 with 9 hits in 17 at-bats as the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. On July 15, 1984, the Cardinals sold Iorg to the Kansas City Royals. Iorg is perhaps best known for his game-winning hit in Game 6 of the

as a member of the Kansas City Royals against his old team, St. Louis. The hit came during one of only two at-bats that Iorg received during the series. The Cardinals had led the series three games to two before Game 6; the game is remembered for first-base umpire

Don Denkinger Donald Anton Denkinger (; born August 28, 1936) is a former Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1998. Denkinger wore uniform number 11, when the AL adopted uniform numbers in 1980. He is best remembered ...

's controversial "safe" call of Royals hitter

Jorge Orta Jorge Orta Núñez (born November 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 to 1987 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los An ...

on a ground ball to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Iorg batted later in the inning with one out and the bases loaded. The Royals trailed, 1–0, until Iorg's single allowed

Onix Concepción Onix Cardona Concepción Cardona (born October 5, 1957), is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop. He is the cousin of former MLB player José Lind. Career Concepcion played for two teams during his seven-year career: the ...

and Jim Sundberg to score. The Royals went on to win Game 7, 11–0, and give Kansas City their first

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

championship.

Personal life

Several members of the Iorg family have played collegiate or professional baseball. Dane's brother Garth played for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and coached for the Milwaukee Brewers. The brothers played against each other in the

1985 American League Championship Series The 1985 American League Championship Series was played between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 8 to 16. Major League Baseball decided to extend the Championship Series in both leagues from its best-of-five (1969� ...

. Iorg's son Seth played baseball for

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

and his son Court plays for the school as of 2016.

References

External links

Dane Iorg
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Iorg, Dane 1950 births Living people Sportspeople from Eureka, California Baseball players from California Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players Kansas City Royals players San Diego Padres players Walla Walla Phillies players Burlington Rangers players Reading Phillies players Toledo Mud Hens players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Oklahoma City 89ers players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders BYU Cougars baseball players