Revisiting history with Bob Knepper.
Bob Knepper pitched in the majors from 1976 to 1990 for the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Astros. His best year was 1978 for the Giants when he won 17 games and posted a 2.63 ERA. He might have had an even better year in 1981 for Houston, but the season was shortened because of the baseball strike. He went 9-5 with a 2.18 ERA.
Bob Knepper in 1980 (photo courtesy The Press Democrat)
1978 was significant for Knepper and the Giants in another way. Early in that season, he became a born-again Christian. He and several other Jesus followers (there were as many as ten) on the team began to thank God in post-game interviews for the ability he had given them. The press did not object, as the team was winning and in first place as late as mid-August, before a September swoon landed them in third place behind the Dodgers and Reds.
But in 1979, when the Giants’ fortunes faded on the field, the local media began to blame the Christians on the team, claiming their faith had made them passive. The press derisively referred to the born-again believers as the “God Squad.” Knepper bore the brunt of the criticism, as he was famously accused of telling manager Dave Bristol it was “God’s will” after giving up a home run to lose a game.
Knepper vehemently denied making the statement, and Bristol also claimed it never happened. But that didn’t keep the false story from spreading nationally. Other myths also spread, such as the claim that the Giants had two buses to bring players to the ballpark – one for the God Squadders and another for the other players.
A couple of years ago, having retired from writing sports for the Vacaville (CA) Reporter, I had the urge to write a book. Back in the God Squad days, having also become a born-again believer in 1978 and living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I had read columns in the San Francisco Chronicle by Lowell Cohn and Glenn Dickey that took potshots at the God Squadders.
In early 1983, I had interviewed Giants pitcher Gary Lavelle, who had led Knepper to faith in Jesus. I wrote an article about Lavelle for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes magazine, and then suggested that we collaborate on a book about the God Squad. He was interested, but we soon realized that neither of us had the time to devote to the project.
So, 40 years later, I wondered if Lavelle and Knepper, along with some of the “God Squadders,” were still around and would be willing to help me with writing the book. Sure enough, Lavelle let me interview him. Knepper was gun-shy after the bad press he had received about his faith. But he eventually came to trust me and answered my questions via email. Some of the other God Squadders were either difficult to contact or declined to be interviewed, perhaps for the same reason Knepper had been hesitant.
In any case, with the help of newspaper archives, I was able to complete the book, The God Squad: The Born-Again San Francisco Giants of 1978, published in November 2023. After Knepper read my book, he wrote a review on Amazon, which stated, in part, “Finally a writer who cared enough about the truth to do the research needed to disprove the many fallacies, lies, and unsubstantiated rumors.”
Knepper was so appreciative of how I had handled the God Squad story that he phoned to thank me, and we talked at length.
Recently, he let me know that he and his wife, Terri, would be visiting their hometown of Calistoga, California, which is a little over an hour away from where I live in Martinez, and he invited me to lunch. A few days ago, I took the beautiful drive through the wine country and met them at a nice little restaurant, where we sat at the outdoor patio and talked for five hours.
Bob is such a down-to-earth guy, one who never lets fame go to his head. I found it fascinating when he talked about ballplayers, legends to me, as just people. For example, when he played with Nolan Ryan in Houston, Ryan, who raised cattle, sold some to Knepper when Bob decided to buy a ranch in Oregon.
He said his favorite team to pitch against was the Cincinnati Reds, the famed Big Red Machine, because he said all of those guys could not only hit, but also loved the game of baseball, and their enthusiasm was palpable. He told me that he never questioned any calls by an umpire his entire career, explaining that he had nine innings to win a game, and a couple of questionable ball or strike calls were never the reason he lost a game.
But one time, he just missed throwing the ball on the outside corner of the plate and chided himself on the mound. The umpire, wrongly thinking Bob was complaining about the call, stepped out in front of the plate and screamed at Bob. Bob never got to tell him that he was mad at himself, not the umpire. He is thinking of writing a letter to the ump to explain, all these years later.
Speaking of having nine innings to win a game, Bob bemoans the fact that today’s strategy is to have the pitcher throw as hard as he can for five innings and then replace him. Not only is this resulting in injuries to many pitchers, but Bob is also sad that they will never get to enjoy the thrill of pitching a complete game.
He said in late August 1989, the Giants’ pitching staff was in shambles. Knepper started a game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. As the game wore on, each inning, manager Roger Craig asked Knepper, “Can you give me one more?” And Knepper did, completing a nine-inning shutout victory. As Knepper noted, today’s managers would never do that.
We probably could have talked for another five hours—a very memorable afternoon.
