World Series: Did You Know?

Carlos Ruiz was second on Philadelphia in batting average in 2008. The Phillies captured their first World Championship since 1980, and their catcher was great.

Ruiz had hit just .219 that year, but his performance in the World Series in '08 seemed to be the springboard for success from there. In fact, Carlos hit .270 from 2009 until his career ended following the 2017 season.

Ruiz's Philadelphia Phillies were up against a team that didn't even exist in 1980, the last time Philly won. Or even 1993, the last time the Phillies reached the World Series.

Carlos had gotten it all together in the National League Championship Series vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. LA had some kid named Clayton Kershaw, who recently joined the ranks of 200-win pitchers. But here, Kershaw made two relief appearances. Carlos Ruiz hit .313 in the five game tournament, and his team was on their way to the World Series.

There, Philadelphia met the Tampa Bay Rays, who'd dropped the "Devil" from their title. From Devil Rays to Ray of Sunshine. However, the team, which began play in 1998, would quickly find out that the Philly catcher was one to be reckoned with.

The Phillies were playing at home, and it all started out innocently enough, as Ruiz walked his first time up, in the second. Only then, to be erased on an inning-ending double play. Actually, what happened was, Carlos Ruiz tried to score on a fly to centre. B.J. Upton gunned it to Dioner Navarro, and despite having the bases loaded, Philly did not score.

But the next time up, the Philadelphia catcher came up with runners on second and third and nobody out. It's worth noting that Ruiz (Whose nickname was "Chooch") had been slotted in the ninth slot in the order, as the game was played under American League rules (Designated hitter). So, there was no way Tampa was putting Carlos on to pitch to leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins. So, even though he just grounded out, Ruiz had himself an RBI. 0-1 with a walk and an RBI. Not a bad start.

Scott Kazmir retired Chooch again in the sixth, so his performance was sort of flying under the radar. All Carlos could do in the eighth was line out. The good news was the Phillies eked out a 3-2 win, right there in Tropicana Field. Ruiz hadn't done too bad behind the dish, as the Rays were 1-2 in stolen bases / attempts.

So, the home team needed game two. Tampa did, indeed, square it with a 4-2 win. The 2008 World Series was starting off very tight. The problem was, by the time Carlos grabbed a bat, it seemed like too late. It was 3-0 for the Rays, early, and he was merely leading off the third. He doubled and didn't score. Ruiz again led off in the fifth. This time, Ruiz drew a walk off James Shields. Jimmy Rollins forced him at second. Although Jayson Werth, the only batter to hit higher batting average on Philadelphia than Ruiz, followed with a single, it was to no avail. Chase Utley hurt a promising situation (Two on, one out) by hitting into an inning-ending double play.

It was just a bad inning overall. Granted, Tampa didn't score, but even the man behind the dish of the visitors had some problems. Carlos Pena drew a one-out walk off Brett Myers. Obviously, they wanted to keep him from going anywhere, seeing as it was 4-0 for the Rays at this point. And, not wanting this game to get too far away, manager Charlie Manuel made sure there was some bullpen action. Scott Eyre began to loosen up. The first pitch to the next batter, Evan Longoria, was a strike. Myers, who'd walked three batters, threw over to first as Longoria was behind 0-1, and having a quick chat with the home plate umpire. A throw to first. Pena got back. The next pitch didn't miss by much, but it was a ball. And then the ball was on it's way to first. However, the throw by Carlos Ruiz was bad, and it went down the first base line. Pena made it to second. Nothing came of it, as Longoria fanned and Carl Crawford grounded out.

Chooch added a walk in the seventh, but nothing came of it, either. The bases on balls, which again led off the inning, was remarkable in itself, however. The 1-1 pitch was a fast, fastball, which Carlos took for strike two. But talk about hanging on, you should have seen the rest of the plate appearance.

The next pitch nearly was over everyone's head, so the count was even, 2-2. However, the next four pitches were ones that that Ruiz swung at. Perhaps this would help the Philadelphia cause if he reliever Dan Wheeler out of the game. The first 2-2 pitch was fouled off towards the Tampa bullpen. Carlos jumped on the next offering, which was a curveball that was up a little, but could only foul it off to left. The third 2-2 pitch was a grounder foul, which was a good thing, as third basemen Longoria reached out for it and picked it up, meaning had it been fair, it would have been a 5-3 putout. Being so tenacious, Ruiz fouled off another pitch. For pitches, fouled off to stay alive. The next pitch was a ball, running the count full. "3-2 pitch," said announcer Joe Buck, as it was taken for ball four, "and what a good at-bay by Ruiz, who out of the number nine spot, is on for the third time tonight." The plate appearance was ten pitches. Tampa Bay now had David Price throwing in the bullpen. The next two batters fanned, but Carlos stole second when Jimmy Rollins fanned. And a pitching change was made, as Price came in. Chase Utley walked. Ryan Howard became the third Philly to strikeout in the inning.

Price gave up a home run to Eric Bruntlett in the eighth, though. The shutout was gone. In the ninth, Ruiz tried to get Philly closer still. He led off with a double. Jimmy Rollins then was hit by a pitch. Home play umpire  Kerwin Danley missed the call. Rollins was retired on a popup to Jason Bartlett, the shorstop. Ruiz was still on second. He scored when Jayson Werth sent a hard grounder to third, where Evan Longoria got his glove on it, but the ball deflected off it into left field. Ruiz motored around third, and scored. Despite the bad call, the Phillies were finding ways to hang around. David Price, though, settled down, and retired the next two batters, preserving the win for the Rays.

Well, that had been a tough loss, but Philadelphia got the split, and were heading home for games three, four and five.

Carlos Ruiz, for his part, had two hits, three walks, a run scored and an RBI. Perhaps most impressive, was his batting average, .400. But, what about more modern stats? The three walks contributed to an amazing on-base percentage of .625.

Yet, the catcher found himself batting in front of his batterymate in game three. Jamie Moyer, who'd win 269 big-league games, started for Philadelphia in the third contest. Taylor Swift sang the National Anthem, and perhaps gave her hometown state a blessing. The contest itself, though, was anything but swift.

Moyer found himself in a 1-1 ballgame, until his catcher came up in the last of the second. Ruiz hit a home run.

Yet, it was Tampa that was finding ways to score on this night. Carl Crawford had doubled in the Rays' half of the second. He made Ruiz night a long one with a huge steal of third. It was big, as Gabe Gross plated him via a sacrifice fly. B.J. Upton also stole a base in the sixth. It was his first of three in the ballgame. 

The Phillies led the Rays 4-1 after six, only to see the visiting team score twice in the seventh. B.J. Upton started the top of the eighth with a single. He stole second on the very first offering to the next batter, Longoria. And on the play Ruiz didn't bother to try and get Upton. B.J. stole third on the second pitch to Evan. Carlos Ruiz's throw to third was bad, as it actually ended up hitting the thief, and then bounced away to the left of third. This allowed Upton to score. Game tied, 4-4.

But the nice thing about baseball, is there always seems to be a way to redeem yourself, provided you still get to bat or field again. Chooch's next plate appearance would decide the game.

It all started in the bottom of the ninth. Eric Bruntlett was hit by a pitch. Then, a wild pitch moved him into scoring position. Tampa tried to get Bruntlett at second. But all Dioner Navarro managed to do was throw the ball into centre field. When all the smoke had cleared, the winning run was at third. There were no outs. Shane Victorino was walked intentionally. So was pinch hitter Greg Dobbs. This loaded the bases. But now, Tampa could go to home and to first for a double play.

Well, enter Carlos Ruiz into the spotlight.

He'd hit a home run earlier, but here, in a tie ballgame, he needed to find a way to get the ball out of the infield. He could also walk, or get hit by pitch. There were plenty of ways he could be the hero. And there was a way he could take Philly out of the inning. Matt Stairs was in the on-deck circle. He'd bat for the pitcher should it come to that.

The infield was all in. Actually, there were suddenly five Tampa Bay infielders. Ben Zobrist had come in from right field to join in the efforts to get the man at home. B.J. Upton was bit to the right of centre.

The first pitch was high and inside from reliever Grant Balfour. Then, a Carlos chased a fastball that was high. But he only hit it foul. Ruiz swung at the third pitch, which was 96 miles per hour. He missed. Balfour came up stairs for the putaway. But, Ruiz, fighting Balfour as hard as Kirk Gibson had battled Dennis Eckersley in game one of the 1988 World Series, caught up to it. He only managed to foul it off. But Ruiz was still alive. Grant missed the plate on the next 1-2 pitch.

Carlos Ruiz swung at the 2-2, and hit a chopper to third, and Eric Bruntlett gunned it towards home. The throw home was high. No one touched it. But Bruntlett touched home, setting off a wild celebration. An amazing night. Carlos Ruiz was locked in. Six years later, he remembered his walk-off, with some humour!

"I knew I had to put the ball in play and I was lucky that I hit the ball.

"I did not hit the ball real hard," he said with a laugh, "but it was a big moment in my career."

It had been quite a Fall Classic so far, as every game was close. So, having said that, the fourth game was a let-down. Not if you were a Philly fan, though. This was the contest where the home team wanted it 3-1, rather than the series tied.

Carlos was back in the eighth slot. Now, this is a curious move after such a huge game three. The way the night played out at Citizens Bank Park, Chooch was in the background, unnoitced.

The best the Philly catcher did was keep the third inning alive, singling to load the bases. Ruiz's team had scored once in the inning, and were up 2-0 in the ballgame. Joe Blanton popped out to end the third.

It was a night of home runs. Carl Crawford got Tampa on board with one. Ryan Howard hit a three-run blast for the home side. Eric Hinske made it a little closer, 5-2, with a solo shot for the Rays in the fifth. But the inning didn't conclude without another Phillies' four-bagger. Joe Blanton followed Carlos Ruiz ground out in the fifth with a solo blast, making it 6-2 for Philadelphia.

Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard each went deep for the Phillies in the eighth to make this one a real laugher. But what about Carlos Ruiz? He managed to go just 1-4, and saw his batting average sink to .417 in the 2008 World Series. His team won game four, 10-2. This would be the only one-sided contest of the Fall Classic.

Philly still needed one more win, but wasted little time in getting it going in the fifth game. They cashed in two in the first, and looked for more as Carlos Ruiz batted with the bases loaded. Two away. This was a big moment, a chance to blow the game wide open. So game five could have been a rout. Alas, Carlos Ruiz grounded out. Scott Kazmir had walked two and hit a batter in the first, but limited the damage.

Tampa Bay got on the board in the fourth, but in the Philadelphia half of the frame, they looked for the knockout punch on Kazmir. Ruiz singled with one away, and the Phillies had the makings of a big inning not long after. Pitcher Cole Hamels, though, forced Ruiz at second. But rather than make life difficult for Philly, Scott Kazmir seemed to loose control. Two more walks loaded the bases. Chase Utley grounded out.

Two more walks in the fifth finished Scott Kazmir. Grant Balfour hopped in from the Rays' bullpen. And was lights out. He got the next three batters, including Ruiz, out. It was still only 2-1 for the Phillies.

The teams traded runs in the sixth and seventh, so it was 4-3 Philly. Pedro Feliz's single gave Philadelphia a lead they would not relinquish. Carlos Ruiz was next, but Chad Bradford got ahead of him 0-2. On the next pitch (With Price warming up for Tampa), Ruiz lined one back through the box, and seemingly into centre field o. Chad Bradford got out of the way of it, and it looked as though Carlos had a hit. But second basemen  Akinori Iwamura dove to his right to stop the bouncer, and snagged it. Had Felix not been on first, Iwamura would have had a tough play to first, and the momentum was carrying him the wrong way. Jason Bartlett covered second and Akinori got him the ball for one amazing force.

The Phillies would have to settle for a one-run lead.

J.C. Romero had gotten the home team out of the seventh inning, then retired the Rays in the eighth, facing only three batters (He got a double play). The ninth inning was not easy, as you knew Tampa wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Brad Lidge was on to nail it down. But after retiring the first batter, Lidge gave up a single to Dioner Navarro. Fernando Perez came on to run for Navarro. Pinch hitter Ben Zobrist batted next. Would Fernando test Carlos? You bet. Perez swiped second on the third pitch to Zobrist. It was the seventh stolen base of the Fall Classic for the Rays. So the tying run was at second. But Zobrist flied out and another pinch hitter, Eric Hinske fanned on three pitches. 

So Ruiz had to be contest with having nabbed just one base runner. He was also just 1-4. Meanwhile, teammate Jayson Werth had a huge game, going 2-3 with two bases on balls. Werth had been hitting .364 after three games, whereas Carlos Ruiz had been at an even .500. It was a close finish, as Werth finished the 2088 Fall Classic leading all players in batting average, .444. The catcher on Philadelphia finished .375.

Did it matter to Chooch, when all was said and done? The regular season had ended with a poor batting average. The Fall Classic ended with him right near the top in batting. And when asked by Ian Riccaboni in 2014, "What was your favorite moment as a Phillie?" the catcher gave an affirmative answer, "The final out of the World Series. Definitely when we won the World Series. It was one of those things you’ll never forget, it was real special." Ruiz had made that special moment in the City of Brotherly Love possible.


References

Morissey, Scott C. 114 World Series in 1 Book. Updated ed., Pandamonium Publishing House, 2020.



Riccaboni, Ian. “PN Interview: Carlos Ruiz.” Phillies Nation, Phillies Nation, 8 Oct. 2014, https://www.philliesnation.com/2014/10/pn-interview-carlos-ruiz/. 29 Apr. 2023.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 29 Apr. 2023.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 29 Apr. 2023.

World Series 2008. Fox Broadcasting Company, Oct. 2008, https://www.youtube.com/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2023. 

YouTube, Google, https://www.youtube.com/. 29 Apr. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know?

 The top two batters in 1984 were a superstar and a ridiculed player. Well, opposite ends of the spectrum.

Al Trammell, the shortstop on Detroit, was the big gun for the Tigers. San Diego countered with Kurt Bevacqua. The Padres were a bit of an underdog, but if you think about it, they had the edge. The 1984 World Series would (as it is now) use a designated hitter all Fall Classic, even in San Diego. So, a team that normally just had the pitcher in the ninth slow could add a hitter.

Kurt played two positions in the infield (3B and 1B) plus two outfield (LF and RF) positions. His stats suggest he was a below-average fielder. In the National League Championship Series, Kurt played in two games, coming to bat twice. 0-2, and hit into a double play. Trammell was great in the American League Championship Series, hitting .364 against Kansas City. He'd win his fourth Gold Glove in 1984. So Alan could field. Could he hit? .314, 14 home runs, 69 runs driven in.

See, Bevacqua got into only 59 regular seasons game in 1984, hitting just .200 with one home runs and nine runs driven in. So he couldn't hit or field in '84. What was his manager thinking? Putting him in the designated hitter role for game one. Detroit wasn't fooling anyone in that they wanted this thing. They started out 35-5 that year, ending up with 104 wins. San Diego had to be content with just 92 wins themselves.

So game one was close. Trammell, who graduated from Kearny High School, right there in San Diego,  put the Bengals on top with an RBI in the top of the first via a single. The shortstop then caught trying to go to second with Kirk Gibson up. Was this crucial? Well, The Tigers got two more hits in that inning, both of them singles, but no runs.

Surprisingly, the Padres came back with two of their own to answer that, right in their first at-bats. But Bevacqua was behind Trammell in hits and RBIs. In fact, Alan added a single next time up, in the top of the third, and this time stole second! However, no runs were scored, period, by Detroit that inning.

Trammell was retired in the fifth inning, but so was Bevacqua. And, more importantly, Detroit reclaimed the lead on a two-run home run by Larry Herndon. From there, the pitching of the Tigers' Jack Morris and the Padres' Andy Hawkins / Dave Dravecky did the job. San Diego starter Mark Thurmond hadn't pitched too bad, allowing three runs in five innings. So he took the loss, but the bullpen gave San Diego a chance to win. Perhaps some of the defeat could be placed on Kurt Bevacqua, as he out attempting to stretch a double into a triple in the seventh. Kurt was batting in the ninth slot, and there were no outs when got the hit. I guess both he and Allan needed to stop being so aggressive on the bases. Still, bottom line, Trammell was 2-5 and Bevacqua was 1-3. It's not like these two men took their time becoming heroes in the 1984 October Finale.

Speaking of heroes, it was pretty much Kurt that was in game two. Oh, it started out pretty bad for the home team. The Padres watched as Allan Trammell followed Lou Whitaker's leadoff single in the first with one of his own. Both ended up scoring. Whitaker on Kirk Gibson's single. There were still no outs, and the first three men had gotten hits. Lance Parrish cashed in Trammell with a sacrifice fly. Gibson, too, ended up scoring.

So down 3-0, San Diego came up in the bottom of the first, and got one run back. But when would Kurt Bevacqua do something? I told you he was the big gun in the second contest.

Okay, here's what he did. He singled in the fourth. Garry Templeton got a one-out single himself. Bevacqua motored to third. As he got up, Kurt talked to third base coach, Ozzie Virgil (Sr.)

"I pulled a muscle," he told Virgil. "You did?" Where, in the leg?" the coach asked of his player. "It's alright," Bevacqua assured him. Ozzie was firm in his reaction that his player was truly okay. "You make sure now [That you can still play]." Bobby Brown hit into a force, and the man from third scored. Trammell fanned his next two times up, but Kurt Bevacqua wasn't retired after grounding out in the bottom of the second. In the fifth, he came up with two on and one out. His team trailed by a run. "Get it done, Kurt. Right man in the right spot!" That was his manager Dick Williams with some great encouragement. But even Williams could not have expected what happened on an 0-1 pitch.

Bevacqua sent Detroit starter Dan Petry to the showers with a huge three-run home run. That turned his teams' fortunes around. Down 3-2, now up, 5-3. Talk about charging up your team! Kurt was so charged up, he did a jump and spin around as he neared first. Let him explain.

“It certainly gets your adrenaline going," Kurt would say in a Zoom session years later, "especially the first one [The home run] in game two  that I hit, because you know, I wasn't, known to be a home run hitter. I don't recall, at least at the professional, level ever going the plate trying to hit a home run and getting it done.”

Alan Trammell singled in the eight but was stranded. Bevacqua had added a single an inning earlier, part of his 3-4 day. Alas, Carmelo Martínez came up in the bottom of the seventh. Kurt was still on first. One out, one on. Doug Bair fanned him on a payoff pitch, which Bevacqua took off on. Lance Parrish fired to Lou Whitaker, and Kurt was DOA. 

Well, some good and some bad from the San Diego designated hitter. But, the important thing was, Kurt had redeemed himself. A 5-3 win by the Padres sent this extravaganza to Detroit, tied 1-1. We can say that So blunders on the base paths were still a bit of a problem for both players. More Bevacqua at this point. However, the win in game two was huge. It's quite likely that the Padres would have been swept had they lost it.

It seemed like the Tigers were ready, willing and able to settle this nonsense. Their big guns chased starter Tim Lollar in the second. Well, there was Marty Castillo, the number nine hitter, swatting a big, two-run dinger. Lou Whitaker kept the rally going with a walk, and then Alan Trammell continued his hot-hitting. His doubled plated his pal Whitaker. Detroit loaded the bases, with Trammell scoring on a bases on balls to Larry Herndon.

Well, 4-0. San Diego got one back in the top third, but that only temporarily made it closer. Trammell had a walk and a hit to his name. He was one of three Tigers' who walked in the bottom of the third. Darrell Evans crossed the plate when Kirk Gibson was hit by a pitch. So, twice the Tigers' had gotten men home as the Padres loaded the bases and forced in the man. Walks, hit by pitches, had to stop. Gotta make the opposition hit the ball!

Kurt Bevacqua tried to help. He started the top of the fourth with a single. With one away, Garry Templeton singled. But the next two batters hit into force plays, so San Diego got nothing. They finally pried a run loose in the seventh, but that was it. Trammell ended the game with two hits and two walks. Bevacqua was only 1-4 (Even though his team out-hit Detroit, 10-7).

Well, Kurt and the boys would have to be better in game four, which was a big one. But you know what, Alan Trammell had no intentions of letting San Diego get ahead. He belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first.

Here, though, San Diego didn't waste much more time. Terry Kennedy hit a solo shot in the top of the second. Bevacqua was next, and he doubled. They were getting to Jack Morris early. Morris got out of the inning without further damaged, and that proved to be vital.

You know, though? Alan Trammell came back up in the third. As was the case in the first, his fellow double-play partner Lou Whitaker was on first. And, again Alan came up big. A two-run home run put Detroit up 4-1. Trammell added a single in the fifth, but did not score. Kurt Bevacqua had to settle for his double first time up. Still, he finished 1-3. He was now hitting .375 in the postseason despite that tough League Championship Series. Trammell, though, finished 3-4. There just had to be "MVP" whispers. Two hits in game one. Two more in the second contest. Still again, two, in the third. And now three here in the fourth. Alan was up to a .563 batting average in the 1984 World Series. His team, which won the pivotal fourth contest, 4-2, was but one triumph away from a season for the ages.

So it was do-or-die for Kurt and company in game five. Detroit didn't want to go back to San Diego.

Again, the Tigers were deadly early in the game. Trammell himself forced Whitaker at second in the first inning. But then Kirk Gibson hit a two-run home run. 2-0. It as 3-0 by the time the Padres got that third out.

Still, come the top of the fourth, San Diego battled. They'd gotten one run back in the third. Kurt Bevacqua walked. A good start. Garry Templeton hit a one-out double, on which left fielder Larry Herndon, slipped after cutting it off. Tying run at second. Bobby Wiggins hit a sacrifice fly to centre. It was fitting that Bevacqua scored here. All throughout the 1984 World Series, he'd helped his team stay right with the Tigers. Before Detroit could pick up lumber in their half of the inning, it was tied.

The home team regained the lead an inning later. Lance Parrish added a solo home run to make it 5-3, Detroit, in the seventh. Time was running out. San Diego had one last gasp. Guess who came up in the top of the eighth? Why Bevacqua. But he was up against Detroit's bullpen ace, Willie Hernández. Two down, no one on. The first pitch to Kurt was a fastball. But it caught too much of the plate, and was at the letters. Bevacqua smashed it deep to left. It landed in the second deck, high above Larry Herndon. The Padres were not going away quietly. "...we got a game again," observed Vince Scully. Two home runs in the 1984 October Finale for Kurt Bevacqua, who'd hit a grand total of one in the regular season.

Unfortunately for Kurt and company, the Tigers regrouped in their half of the eighth. Alan Trammell, who finished the game without a hit, came up with two on and nobody out. He bunted both men into scoring position, setting up Kirk Gibson's three-run home run. It was game over, and everybody knew it.

Neither Trammell nor Bevacqua would bat again in this Fall Classic. Each had gone yard twice in only five games. Trammell led all hitters with a .450 batting average. But right behind him was Kurt Bevacqua. Tommy Lasorda probably got around to thanking Trammell at some point, for outhitting him, .412.

References

“An Interview with Major League Baseball Player Kurt Bevacqua From Dirty Kurt’s Dugout.” YouTube, Keeping The Nostalgia Alive Show, Google, 19 Nov. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AipqYQRImjs&t=2547s. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023. 


Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.


James H. Williams at Coachella, "Dodgers' Joc Pederson hits a 3-run home run. Pederson reaches bases and yells 'YOU LIKE THAT!' #ThisTeam" Twitter, 28 Oct. 2017, https://twitter.com/JHWreporter/status/924475161197264896

Major League Baseball Productions. 1984 World Series Highlights. Youtube.

Morissey, Scott C. 114 World Series in 1 Book. Updated ed., Pandamonium Publishing House, 2020.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992. 

--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Publications International, 1993. 


1984 World Series. National Broadcasting Company, Oct. 1984, Accessed 28 Apr. 2023. Television broadcast (YouTube). 


“1984 World Series Highlights.” YouTube, Major League Baseball Productions, 1984, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LlPFj32aNM. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023. 

Society For American Baseball Research, SABR. https://sabr.org/. 28 Apr. 2023.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 28 Apr. 2023.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 28 Apr. 2023.

YouTube, Google, https://www.youtube.com/. 28 Apr. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know?

The MVP of 1992 had a lot of trouble with the Atlanta Braves' running game.

It's ironic. There was Tim McCarver in the broadcast booth of CBS Sports. Tim was a speedster back in the day, so when he saw Atlanta running all over the place on Toronto catcher Pat Borders, it must have made him sad.

Pat had a fairly good 1992 season for the Blue Jays. He'd hit thirteen home runs, despite batting in the eight slot. Even Manuel Lee, who hit behind him, wasn't exactly a slough. Lee, though, hit .263 that year compared to Borders' .242. 

Described by Kevin Glew as, "...a blue collar, team-first player on a roster full of stars," Pat had made up for a lackluster 1991 season. Borders' American League Championship performance in '91 against the Minnesota Twins (Which Toronto lost in five games), showed he was clutch, to go along with a hit in his lone time up at that stage against Oakland in 1989 (Also a five-game loss), seemed to show that he could rise to the occasion when the Blue Jays needed him most. A bit of inconsistency season-to-season might have raised some eyebrows in the early 1990s. In 1990, he'd hit 15 home runs and batted .286, raising hopes that he'd make the fans forget about his predecessor, Ernie Whitt. And the other player who Pat competed with until 1992, for the catcher's job, Greg Myers. Great in 1990, way off in '91, back to a slugger the next year, but still only hitting .242. Was Pat Borders up to the challenge when it mattered most in '92?

Pat, though, added a home run in the 1992 American League Championship Series against Oakland. Better still, Toronto was finally over the hump. They got through in six games. The Toronto Blue Jays were heading to the World Series for the first time ever. So, how did Borders do overall? Well, he hit .318, to go along with his long ball and three runs driven in. Now, for the bad news: Willie Wilson of the Athletics stole seven bases, and Oakland finished with sixteen swipes in just six games! Toronto had overcome that to get to the final showdown.

Atlanta, though, had been to the World Series in 1991, and now were back a year later. Borders was going to have to rely on his bat and throwing arm to make himself miserable to the Braves. Could the lumber overcome the Braves' thunder around the bases? Pat was sure to be challenged by speedsters Otis Nixon (Who batted leadoff) and two-sports star, Deion "Prime Time" Sanders! 

All it took was one inning for Pat to find out about a Brave New World he was in. Fulton County Stadium, the Braves wanted another shot at Jack Morris, who'd beaten them in game seven of the Fall Classic prior to this.

There was Otis Nixon. Although generally a slap hitter, he poised a problem for Morris. And Borders. In the bottom of the first, Nixon singled and stole second. Credit Morris for getting out of what could have been a tough inning without a run.

Borders came up the next inning. Dave Winfield had started it off on the right foot, as Toronto got their first hit of Atlanta's Tom Glavine. Glavine bore down, and got the next two batters out. But, Borders singled to keep the rally alive. Manuel Lee forced Borders at second to end it.

The game settled down into a fine pitching duel. But Morris was having control problems, so Borders was helping him keep it all together as far as calling the game. Atlanta got two men on in the fourth, and two more the next inning. All via bases on balls. Jack also threw a wild pitch in the fourth, which put runners on second and third. Atlanta did not score either inning. Toronto actually had a 1-0 lead, as Joe Carter hit a solo home run in  the top of the fourth. However, from there, pretty much every batter (sans Borders) seemed to be stymied.

The sixth inning is where it all came apart. Morris got the first batter out. But then, Dave Justice walked. Sid Bream singled. Ron Gant hit a grounder to Manuel Lee. Lee got it to Roberto Alomar at second, but the ball had been hit too slow to turn two.

This was crucial. Gant stole second. The inning continued, where it could have ended had Gant hit the ball harder. And a steal of second eliminated the force. The next batter, Damon Berryhill (Himself, a catcher), hit a big, three-run home run. Pat Borders started the eighth inning off with a single, only to be erased via a double play.

So Atlanta won, 3-1. They'd trot out another ace in John Smoltz in the second game. Pat Borders and the Blue Jays were in for a long night.

It all seemed to come apart in the second. Dave Justice walked, and then stole second with one out (On the second pitch to Jeff Blauser) when Borders seemed to hesitate on the throw to second. The throw ended up in centre field, although the runner remained on second. Justice's steals in the 1992 regular season? Two. Now, everyone on the Braves was running!

Well, that led to a run. Smoltz held the lead through four innings, and even got some insurance along the way. The first two men were retired in the top of the fifth, and things looked grim. Atlanta was up 2-0, and their starter was having one awesome game, for the second day in a row.

Well, Blue Jay manager Cito Gaston wasn't happy with a wrapping that John Smoltz had added on a play at the plate in the fourth. He asked home plate umpire Mike Reilly about this, and Smoltz removed it. Would it make a difference?

Well, Pat Borders came up. His bat was hot. 2-3 in game one. Smoltz had gotten him up first time up, and now seemed poised for a 1-2-3 fifth. But removing the wrapping seemed to undo him here. Borders got ahead in the count, 2-1. After Smoltz threw a strike to even the count, he lost control of the situation. And of his pitches. His next pitch was low. Full count. The payoff pitch was taken by Borders, a fastball low. It paid off to take it, since it was ball four.

You know, from there, Toronto really woke up. Manuel Lee singled. So did pitcher David Cone. That scored Borders. Devon White came through with a single of his own. 2-2.

The good times didn't last for Pat and Toronto. Atlanta went right back, terrorizing him on the basepaths. Deion Sanders singled with one out in the Braves' half of the fifth. And...stole second. This led to a run. Atlanta knocked Cone out of the game. And they added a fourth run later in the frame.

Well, it was time for Pat to connect. He was 0-1 with a walk, but then got a two-bagger in the eighth. But no one was on. With two down and Candy Maldonado up (Pinch-hitting), Smoltz threw a wild pitch (a ball, of course) with the count 0-2. But Maldonado fanned on the very next offering from Smoltz.

Well, that inning didn't do the trick. The eighth was better. The Blue Jays clawed back to score, and knock out Smoltz. Still, it was 4-3 Braves in the top of the ninth. Jeff Reardon came in to close it out, and put Atlanta up 2-0 in the 1992 World Series. Borders smacked the first pitch he saw to right. It was well hit, but right at Dave Justice.

Well, Pat couldn't be the hero. But two pinch-hitters saved the day for the Jays. Derek Bell batted for Lee and walked. Then, another catcher for Toronto pinch hit. Ed Sprague took Reardon out of the park! 5-4, Blue Jays.

So, three more outs. Toronto sent out Tom Henke, their closer, to get it done. It wasn't easy. A hit-by-pitch. A stolen base by Ron Gant. A walk. Terry Pendleton popped out to end the game.

Back home at the SkyDome, Borders got a hit his first time up. Atlanta starter Steve Avery was every bit as good at Glavine and Smoltz. The Blue Jays led 1-0 early. A key out by Avery was in the bottom of the fifth.

Kelly Gruber, struggling with no hits since game two of the ALCS, walked with one away. Pat Borders was back up. While taking a strike, Sean McDonough, up in the CBS broadcast booth next to Tim McCarver, noted that Borders was (Albeit quietly) having one awesome postseason. "Borders with his base hit his first time up, now 11 for 29 in the postseason. That's a .379 average, the highest for any player on either team." Pat would foul off the next pitch, the 1-2. But he couldn't get his bat on the next pitch, which he swung on for strike three. Gruber stole second, so the out was big. But now, there were two away. Lee was retired to end the inning.

So, Atlanta seemed to wake up from there. Three hits off Juan Guzman scored a run to tie it in the third. In the eighth, an error by Gruber put Otis Nixon at first. On cue, he stole second on an 0-1 pitch to Deion Sanders. Guzman got both Sanders and Terry Pendleton out, but the inning continued as the Blue Jays took the bat out of Justice's hands. Dave was not going to steal second. But with runners on the corners, and without the benefit of a hit, Guzman faced Lonnie Smith. Smith came through with a big hit, Justice out trying to get to third. But Nixon had scored. Again, the stolen base had made a huge difference.

Still Guzman had pitched well, and Borders had caught a fair game. He was slated to bat second as the Jays took their lumber out in their half of the inning. Well, could Gruber get on again.

He did, but Borders would have no RBI chance. You see, Gruber smacked a home run! What a time. 2-2. And now, Borders looked to keep the rally going. He rocketed one to centre on Avery's 0-1. Surely, extra bases. Otis Nixon, however, was every bit the fielder that he was the batter, base stealer. On the warning track, no less, he leaped, and caught it! Toronto, discouraged, saw the next two batters go down.

And Atlanta, boasted by Nixon's great catch, looked to take the lead for the second time tonight in the top of the ninth. Duane Ward, the game two winner for the Blue Jays, took over for Juan Guzman. Alas, Sid Bream greeted him with a single. Brian Hunter came in to run. Was this for speed?

Well, the Braves went to the well one too many times. Hunter took off on a 2-2 to Jeff Blauser. Borders, to shortstop Lee...In time! And Lee had seen Blauser try to hold up his swing on the pitch. Had he gone around. He looked straight at Pat Borders, pointing to first. Pat asked first-base umpire, Dan Morrison, "Did he [Blauser] go [around]?" Yes! A huge double play!

"First they [Toronto Blue Jays] got the out at second, and what a big time for Pat borders to find the range in throwing somebody out, then they appealed down to first, and Dan Morrison got out the cash register to ring up Jeff Blauser!"

Well, that turn of events was great for the Toronto battery. Ward ended up the winning pitcher (For the second straight game) and Borders had himself a fine game. The Blue Jays would pull it out, walk-off style, in the bottom of the ninth, on Maldonado's single.

Okay, but can't Borders get an RBI? Well, game four was a lefy-lefty situation. For the Blue Jays, Jimmy Key. For the Braves, Tom Glavine. Atlanta seemed to have the edge, as Key had but one appearance, in relief, the American League Championship Series. Pat Borders worked out prior to the first pitch. Both ex-catcher (And now bench coach) Gene Tenace and bullpen coach John Sullivan worked on that arm. Normally, you work with the arm of the pitcher. But here, some help was needed in getting Pat to practice gunning that ball to second (Or perhaps third).

But Key helped the situation, including the catcher. Otis Nixon greeted Key with a single. You know the drill, eh? However, Nixon ended up picked off. Jeff Blauser, seeking redemption from last night, singled. Unlike Nixon, he was not picked off. He stole second. Key settled down, and got the next two men out. But, having allowed two hits, and a stolen base, would it be a short outing?

And could the Blue Jays get to Glavine? He'd allowed just four hits in game one, even though that's the same amount of hits Atlanta managed that night. Tom looked awesome. Sure, Roberto Alomar singled off him in the bottom of the first (And stole second, himself), but Toronto did not score. Down went the Blue Jays 1-2-3 in the second.

But up stepped the Toronto catcher to lead off the bottom of the third. On a 1-1 pitch, Glavine threw a changeup to Pat Borders. He launched it to left. It had the legs. But would it stay fair. Well, let's just say Borders got a Carlton Fisk like result: It hit the foul pole! 1-0, Blue Jays. Do you know how many home runs Pat got off lefties in the regular season? Zero.

"I didn't think it was gonna stay fair, or even get out of the park, so I was just heading towards second, trying to squeeze a double out it, maybe." This was such a big hit. Key seemed to be energized, along with the rest of the Blue Jays. And now, no one could ignore Borders on either team. He was 5-10 at the plate in the Fall Classic.

It wasn't as if Glavine didn't stick right with Key. In the fourth, the first two Toronto batters got on. Maldonado was next, but he only flied out. Borders would follow Gruber. But Kelly hit into an inning-ending double play.

Borders himself had another crack at Glavine the next inning, of course, but he grounded out. Part of a 1-2-3 fifth. Nixon singled with two away in the sixth. Would he try Borders again? Tim McCarver, never one to not know about situations exactly like this, said, "He'll be tested right here." But maybe that pickoff back in the first might make him think twice. Key nearly picked him off. What a difference having a left-handed pitcher work a game for Toronto did to the Atlanta running game. Nixon did not try to steal, because on the first pitch to Jeff Blauser, the Braves' shortstop hit it to third. Kelly Gruber just got the force at second.

Gruber drew a walk to lead off the last of the seventh. Toronto would need to start coming up with hits. They needed insurance, having failed to cash in two men the previous inning. Borders battled Glavine to 2-2, after trying to bunt Gruber to second. He smacked it to right. But Nixon easily got to it. Toronto ended up scoring a run anyways. Lee grounded out, moving Gruber into scoring position. Devon White singled Gruber home.

The run was big. Atlanta came back, and got a run on two hits, and a grounder. There were two away, and Key departed. Duane Ward came in, and fanned Nixon. That should have been the third out, but no.

Pat Borders couldn't stop the pitch in the dirt. It was scored a wild pitch. But the bottom like was, Brian Hunter was on first, and Otis Nixon on first. First pitch to Jeff Blauser, Otis took off. Pat didn't even bother throwing. To be fair, the pitch was inside and tough to handle. Blauser hit the ball well to first, but John Olerud was there to make a fine play, unassisted.

Borders did not bat again, as Toronto was retired 1-2-3 in their half of the eighth. But Tom Henke also got Atlanta in order in the ninth. The Blue Jays needed just one more win to wrap it all up. They'd managed just six hits off Glavine, so Borders going 1-3 was impressive.

And they were at home for game five. But Nixon and company were bound and determined to make 'em hold the champagne. Nixon singled on the very first pitch of the ballgame from Jack Morris. Touched by a fan, it was a double. With one out, and on a 1-1 to Terry Pendleton, Nixon turned on the jets. The pitch was low, in the dirt. There was no chance at Nixon. Pendleton doubled himself. 1-0, Atlanta.

It seemed cruel, as it wasn't all Pat's fault. He'd have to wait a bit to contribute. He was still stuck on one RBI, you know. John Smoltz was back on the hill himself, having faced Morris in game seven of 1991. He had a nice 1-2-3 first, so Borders would not bat. In the second, he got Dave Winfield to fly out to start. So it seemed unlikely that Pat would bat until the third inning.

But John Olerud, who was 2-3 the previous contest, singled. Candy Maldonado, who'd had only one hit all series long, followed with a walk. Kelly Gruber, also stuck at one hit was up. If you're Borders, you need him to stay out of the double play. Well, Kelly gave it a big swing, but struck out. The good news was, you had two men on. But not for long.

Borders stepped up, and crushed an inside pitch from Smoltz. First pitch swinging. At first, it looked like a three-run home run. Pat settled for a booming double. The game was tied, and Borders was 6-13. A hit in his next at-bat would boast his average back to .500!

Actually, the Braves had been a little lucky. First, the ball stayed in the park. Second, Deion Sanders played it perfectly, so Maldonado only made it to third. It could have been 2-1, or even 3-1. Instead it was 1-1. And it stayed that way as Manuel Lee lined out.

Atlanta took the lead again in the fourth. Dave Justice hit one way right. It found the seats. Up 2-1, and with two away, Jeff Blauser singled. He tried to steal on the first pitch to Damon Berryhill. Borders got him!

And Pat wasn't through on this night. Once again, he watched as Olerud singled. Maldonado walked. The batters in front of him were getting hot. Well, except Gruber, who tried to bunt them over for Borders. On a 2-2 pitch, Gruber flied out. But that allowed Borders to come up.

And Pat came through again. Smoltz had been falling behind the batters. Here, Borders looked at ball one. Ball two. Ball three. After fouling off the fourth offering, Pat was presented with a slider from John Smoltz, and he hit it back through the box. Olerud scored from second. The game was tied, again. But like the second inning, that was all Toronto got.

The fifth inning seemed uneventful. Morris, unlike game one, had excellent control, with no walks. It took seven pitches, but Borders set up high, and Damon Berryhill swung and missed. Borders was calling it right, as the man on the mound had five strikeouts through four and two-thirds inning. It seemed like the inning would be quick for sure when Mark Lemke grounded out on the very next pitch.

The roof caved in, though. Otis Nixon was back up, and he singled. On the first pitch to Deion Sanders, Borders and Morris tried a pitchout. The ball sailed into the backstop. Nixon went before that happened. Needless to say, he made it into second easily.

Was it a crucial play? Sanders singled to centre. 3-2, Atlanta. They eventually loaded the bases, and when Lonnie Smith hit a grand slam, game six loomed.

Down 7-2, Borders did not bat again until the last of the sixth. He swung at the first pitch from Smoltz, and grounded out. Part of a 1-2-3 inning. Borders tried to help in other ways. He had an amusing putout in the seventh. Pendleton swung, and the ball hit the plate and didn't go very far. Terry stayed there, perhaps trying to fool the umpire to think it hit his leg or went foul, making the play dead. Borders had no trouble making the putout unassisted. The Blue Jays pitching, after the fifth was excellent. So Pat did call a good game, as David Wells, Mike Timlin and Mark Eichhorn allowed just one hit and no runs in 3 1/3 innings. In the ninth, Atlanta tried to get something going, and Borders was involved in a bang-bang play at the plate which got the Blue Jays out of trouble.

Again, the inning started out perfectly. Berryhill fanned. But then, Mark Lemke singled off Todd Stottlemyre. He did not attempt to steal. Nixon, who'd been robbed of a hit by John Olerud in the sixth, singled. Well, at least Nixon couldn't steal second. But when Sanders singled to centre, the bases were loaded.

Pendleton was back up, and this time he was trying to fool anyone. He sent a ball to left. Medium depth. It would be 50-50 whether Lemke could make it. Maldonado made the catch, Lemke tagged. Maldonado gunned it. It was a little high, but Borders reached up for it, got it, and quickly slapped the tag on Lemke before he touched home! What a double play. "...sometimes catchers have to make that slap tag with the ball in the glove, the catcher's mitt not designed to make that play. That was his [Borders'] only choice," said Tim McCarver.

Gruber came up in the last of the ninth, with Borders on deck. Atlanta had brought Mike Stanton on in the seventh to replace John Smoltz. He fell behind 3-0 to Gruber, but fought back to a full count. Kelly hung on before lifting the eighth pitch of the at-bat to centre. Nixon got to it without any problems. Pat Borders took a strike, then watched three balls go by. Even though Stanton's control had been excellent (no walks), he seemed to be tiring. Mark Wohlers had started throwing in the Braves' bullpen with Gruber up.

Stanton threw a pitch that was knee high. Called a strike. Then he fouled off a high one to stay alive. Borders hit the seventh pitch Stanton threw to him down the third base line. However, Pendleton was right there, behind third. His throw, a one-hopper, beat Borders to first. Lee popped out in foul territory along first. It was on to Atlanta. Borders, like his team, had started off strong in game five, then faded. Pat collected two RBIs, but had been retired the last two times up.

The Blue Jays started game six even better. For a while, they were getting the key hits. But with Borders, there were some mistakes. Toronto was up 1-0 when Pat batted in the top of the second. He singled against Steve Avery, who would not be as good as he'd been in the third contest. However, Manuel Lee flied out. David Cone, the Jays' starter, hit into a double play. And while Cone was not the hitter he'd been in the second contest (2-2 with an RBI), his pitching was a notch or two up.

Atlanta tied it in the bottom of the third. Did a stolen base contribute to it? Yes. Deion Sanders doubled with one away, then took off on the 1-1 to Pendleton. Deion was safe at third, scoring when Terry flied out. The Braves were still running on Pat Borders.

But then, Candy Maldonado blasted Avery's second pitch of the fourth inning way above Sanders' head in left. It found the bleachers. Kelly Gruber grounded out, but Borders doubled. They were really hitting Avery now. The Atlanta pitcher wouldn't be around much longer. And the Toronto catcher? He was batting an even .500 (9-18).

With two down, Cone came back up. This time, he walked. Devon White lashed a single to left on Avery's second pitch to him. Borders rounded third and gunned it for home. Deion Sanders throw was accurate, and Pat Borders was a goner, 7-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, Cone was protecting his one-run lead. Mark Lemke walked. With two away, Sanders singled him to third. Here goes Prime Time again! He beat the throw from Borders for his second stolen base of the night. But Pendleton was retired.

Pete Smith, who took over for the battered Avery, retired Borders for the first time in the sixth. It was still 2-1 for the visitors. 

Cone, pitching terrifically, left after six innings. Todd Stottlemyre, who'd been lucky to pitch that scoreless ninth in the fifth contest, started out the seventh all right. Lemke fanned. However, Borders had some trouble with it, and got it to Joe Carter at first to complete the K. It would not be Pat's last assist of the frame. Jeff Treadway batted for Smith and grounded out. Nixon, though, singled. Then came a big moment.

David Wells hopped in from the bullpen. He kept Nixon at first occupied. At least until Otis took off on a 1-2 pitch to Ron Gant. Ball two. Nixon was blazing a trail towards second. However, Borders threw a perfect strike to Roberto Alomar. Out!

"...You gotta give credit to David [Wells]," Border would say later, "He gave me plenty of time to throw him [Nixon] out..."

So Mike Stanton came back to pitch, fresh off his excellent work the day before. Here, though, he encountered problems. First, Maldonado greeted him with a single. Gruber got the bunt down on the first pitch. So Pate Borders was looking for his fourth RBI in his last three games. But Stanton was taking no chances. He'd nearly walked Borders the last time he faced him. Here, down 2-1, Mike gave Pat an intentional walk. So Borders was 2-3 with a walk. Manuel Lee batted, but it was like the last time the two had met. Lee popped out to first. Darek Bell was sent up to hit for Wells, and grounded out.

The Braves rallied in the ninth to tie it. So the Blue Jays went back to work in extras. The suddenly red-hot Candy Maldonado was first up against Charlie Leibrandt, who'd beaten the Blue Jays in game seven of the ALCS back in 1985. Maldonado grounded out. But Kelly Gruber followed with a single. Would Pat Borders be the hero?

The average was "down" to .474, having been as high as .500 earlier in the contest. He got a little under Leibrandt's first offering, flying out to Deion Sanders in left. When pinch-hitter Pat Tabler lined back to the pitcher, the Jays were done for the tenth.

But Tom Henke and Jimmy Key got the Braves out 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame, which gave Toronto another chance. They pounced, scoring twice. While Atlanta got one back, when Otis Nixon was retired at first base, the World Series belonged to Pat Borders' team.

He wasn't quite there in the eleventh inning, to do anything. However, there was no doubt who was going to be MVP of the 1992 Fall Classic. Pat had collected a hit in all six World Series games. Remarkably enough, Pat had fanned just once all series. It had been a great Fall Classic, with the Blue Jays winning their four games by one run, each.

"...Nothing came easy this whole series," Jack Morris would tell CTV's Rod Black after game six, "but what is so great about it is we were in it together...there wasn't one guy who stood out other than Pat Borders who had a great series offensively."

TSN's Geno Reda, hosting Sportsdesk (Now called, Sportscentre), would say, "...the most important person in this series, by far, the MVP Pat Borders."

The problem Pat had, was keeping the Braves in check once they got to first or second. Atlanta stole fifteen bases, Nixon and Sanders with five each. Put in perspective, the entire Toronto team stole just six basses all series. All told on the Braves, there was fifteen pilfers. Borders would have to be content with nabbing Nixon, Blauser and Hunter one time each. But did that take away from his performance a the dish? I don't think so. Atlanta was a daring team on the bases, and even the singles hitters could get to second (and perhaps third), in a blink of an eye. Atlanta would return to the Fall Classic three more times in the decade, winning it all in 1995. Pat himself would return to catch in 1993 (When a kid named Carlos Delgado, who was originally a catcher, showed up late that season, Pat's days as a Blue Jay were numbered) and win another World Championship. In 1997, Borders was added to the Cleveland Indians postseason roster, but did not appear in a seven-game loss in the October Finale to the Florida Marlins. But whether Pat knew it or not, in the here and the now, Borders was a hero across Canada. The Toronto catcher, though, wished he could share the Most Valuable Player Award with 

"...it's a shame they can only give it [The MVP] to only one person," he told Buck Martinez after game six.



References

Baseball Tonight: The World Series. The Sports Network, 25 Oct. 1992, https://youtu.be/CIFqzuAopqA?t=1153. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023. 


CTV News. CTV Television Network, 25 Oct. 1992, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLQTJDQwWTU&t=1917s. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023. 


Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.

Gamester, George, and Gerald Hall. On Top of the World: The Toronto Star’s Tribute to the ‘92 Blue Jays. Doubleday Canada, 1992. 


Glew, Kevin. “10 Things You Might Not Know About Pat Borders.” Cooperstowners in Canada, WordPress.com, 22 Mar. 2023, https://cooperstownersincanada.com/2023/03/22/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-pat-borders/. 25 Apr. 2023.


Major League Baseball Productions. 1992 World Series Highlights. DVD.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992.

1992 World Series, CBS Broadcasting Inc, Oct. 1992, https://www.youtube.com/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023. 

Society For American Baseball Research, SABR. https://sabr.org/. 25 Apr. 2023.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 25 Apr. 2023.

SportsDesk. The Sports Network, 25 Oct. 1992, https://youtu.be/GLQTJDQwWTU?t=5558. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 25 Apr. 2023.

YouTube, Google, https://www.youtube.com/. 25 Apr. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know?

Johnny Edwards hit .364 in 1961, after hitting .186 in the regular season. The rookie catcher appeared in just 52 games with the Cincinnati Reds in '61, but was added by manager Fred Hutchinson to the postseason roster. It proved to be a wise move.

The Reds' regular backstop was Jerry Zimmerman, who hit just .206 himself. You know, Cincinnati was clearly overmatched behind the plate. Let me put this in perspective. The New York Yankees, winners of 109 games that year, were the opposition. They had three men who could play catcher. Yogi Berra had moved to left field, but still caught fifteen games. All he did was hit 22 home runs. As a bonus, the 36-year old hit .271. There was his apparent behind the dish, Elston Howard, who hit 21 home runs in just 129 games. And led the team with a .348 batting average. Finally, there was Johnny Blanchard. Blanchard did more pinch-hitting (39 games) than catching that year (48 games). Although he appeared in 93 contests in 1961, Blanchard (Who also appeared in 15 games in the outfield), made 32 appearances that were exclusively as a substitute batter. Well, all he did was hit 21 home runs (Amazing, considering Johnny was to only accumulate 243 at-bats) and batted .305.

So the Reds were overmatched, no matter who was catching for them. And, no matter who was catching for the Bronx Bombers. There was Darrell Johnson, who ironically had once played for the New York Yankees. Johnson showed potential in '61. He stated the year with Philadelphia, hitting .230 in 21 games. But, in August, Cincinnati purchased his contract. In 20 games with Cincy, Johnson hit .315. But just one home run.

Bob Schmidt, who would play for the Yankees in 1965, was not added to the postseason. Neither was Ed Bailey gonna help. He might have actually been the best catcher on the Reds as 1961 began. But management decided to trade him to San Francisco in April. Bailey would finish '61 with 13 home runs and hit .245. But that was all in just 119 games played. Don't feel too bad for Bailey, he'd appear in six of the seven World Series contests the next season against...The New York Yankees.

The one good thing about the 1961 World Series, if you were a Reds' fan, was they'd need help from everyone. Indeed, of the men added to the Cincinnati World Series roster, only Jay Hooks, a pitcher, failed to appear in a single postseason contest.

Well, all that added up to an opening game, 2-0 loss. Jim O'Toole had pitched well for the Reds, but seemed a little out of his league against Whitey Ford, who went all the way for the Yankees. Darrell Johnson started the game for Cincinnati, failed to get a hit in two at-bats, and was removed for a pinch hitter. Jerry Zimmerman finished it up catching O'Toole for the bottom of the eighth, but did not bat.

So, obviously, there would be lineup changes for the second contest. First, you had Joey Jay pitching for Cincinnati. And his batterymate, Johnny Edwards, who would hit in front of him in the eighth slot, was behind the dish.

Ralph Terry, the New York pitcher, retired them both in a scoreless third. In the fifth, with the game tied, 2-2, Edwards would try to strike a match under Cincinnati. He only lined out to start the inning, but the Reds woke up and scored. They had the lead for good. But how about some contribution from Edwards?

Well, he'd better have gotten at it soon. I mentioned in an earlier post that Bobby Richardson was on fire in this Fall Classic. Well, so was Clete Boyer, who was robbing the Reds of hits at third. In the bottom of the fifth, Boyer found other ways to contribute.

He led off with a walk. Then, with one away, Richardson grounded to the shortstop. But Boyer, who was every bit the speedster his older brother Ken was, beat the toss to second, and Richardson had no trouble in being safe at first. Second basemen Elio Chacon's missile to first was to the outfield side of the bag, pulling Gordy Coleman off the bag. Jay fanned the next two batters to get out that mess. But he needed some insurance.

Joey, fortunately, didn't have to wait too long. It was still 3-2, Cincy. Terry was matching Jay in a great pitcher's duel, at least until there were two away in the top of the sixth. Clete Boyer made an amazing play at third to retire Frank Robinson for the first out, if you are wondering. And then Terry fanned Coleman on a fine changeup (Ralph's seventh strikeout). So the Yankees' pitcher appeared to have things well under control.

But then Wally Post launched a double to left. The Yankees appealed, claiming that Post missed first. Was the inning over, after all? The first base umpire, Frank Umont, didn't see it that way, so the inning continued. Gene Freese, having belted a two-run home run earlier, was intentionally walked. Two on, two outs. For Johnny Edwards. While it was a lefty-batter, righty-pitcher, you kind of figured the Yankees had the edge. Think again.

Wait Hoyt, doing the game for NBC (Radio), explained to the audience that Edwards "... didn't make the starting lineup until just about an hour or so before game time is now stepping up."

Wit the first pitch, Edwards got an offering from Terry to his liking. He sent a grounder to right, cashing in Post. What a big-time clutch hit. It was only a single, but now Edward's team was doubling up the Yankees, 4-2.

Freese made it to third, but Ralph Terry retired his mound adversary to end that. Terry had a nice 1-2-3 seventh, but left when the Yankees batted and pinch hit for him in their half of the frame.

A comical top of the eighth followed.

The home team looked like the New York Mets of the following season. Luis Arroyo (15-5, 29 saves), pitched for New York. First, Robinson walked, with the fourth miss of the dish not even close. Coleman, a left-hander, didn't get all of it, and sent a grounder to Arroyo's right. In his haste to get Gordon at first, the Yankees' pitcher threw wild to Moose Skowron at first. The ball ended up going into the outfield. There, right fielder Johnny Blanchard (Playing there, as Roger Maris was in centre, subbing for Mickey Mantle), gunned it to third, trying to nail the Coleman at third. The throw got Gord. But Frank Robinson, fleet-footed, was going second to home all the way on the play. The Yankees knew they had no chance at him. Now, with the score 5-2, Reds, the game was getting away from the home team. Wally Post hit it to left. But instead of it being the second out, it seemed to pass through a transparent Berra (Perhaps losing it in the sun?). The error put runners on the corners for Gene Freese. Same as before, New York put him on. But again, Johnny Edwards came through.

It might of been a lefty-lefty matchup, but the Reds' catcher didn't care. The 1-0 pitch was blooped to left behind Boyer at third, with a huge portion of the bat breaking off. Clete did not catch it. The ball fell in for a double which scored Post. Cincinnati didn't score again, but took the contest, 6-2.

It must have felt good for Edwards, as his team was heading home to Crosley Field. And Johnny Edwards was back behind the plate.

The game see-sawed back and forth. The Reds would get the lead, but the Yankees would come right back and tie it. Bob Purkey held the Yankees scoreless through six innings, working on an impressive one-hitter. Edwards, back behind the dish, was making sure the pitcher threw his knuckleballs to keep the mighty Bronx Bombers off-balance.

You kind of figured, though, New York would find a way. Cincinnati looked to score first as Gordy Coleman singled off Bill Stafford to start the last of the second. Post flied out, but Freese walked. Edwards was up, and looked to keep his stick sizzling bat. Alas, he grounded out. Both runners advanced, but Purkey took strike three from Stafford.

The Reds took the lead in any event, and held it until the seventh. The Yankees got on the board that inning, but the home team was undaunted. Their catcher was 0-2 in the contest, but was 2-6 overall (.333).

With one away in the home half of the inning, Edwards launched one to the corner in right. Johnny Blanchard got to it, but the Cincinnati catcher was gunning for second, testing the arm of another backstopper (Still playing right). He beat the throw, and that was huge.

Purkey fanned, so there were two down. The next batter was  pinch hitter Jerry Lynch, who Stafford purposely passed. The strategy backfired, as Eddie Kasko singled, scoring Edwards. Just like that, Cincinnati was back up 2-1.

And just like that, New York tied it, as Johnny Blanchard hit a home run in the top of the eighth. The next inning, another home run, this time off the bat of Roger Maris, put the Yankees ahead, 3-2. Could the Reds retaliate?

Luis Arroyo had taken over for Bud Daley, who'd relieved Bill Stafford in the bottom of the seventh. So the ninth inning began with Gene Freese fanning. Because that set the stage for a lefty-lefty matchup, Fred Hutchinson sent up Leo Cardenas to hit for Edwards. The move appeared to work, as Cardenas just missed a home run, doubling off the scoreboard in left. Arroyo managed to get through the inning without allowing a run.

The next game saw New York break open a close game, pulling away to a 7-0 win. Edwards did not play, and watched quite a hitting exhibition by the Yankees. Bobby Richardson had three hits, and was robbed of a fourth in the top of the eighth. Elio Chacon went to his right, and made an excellent, leaping catch. But such plays like that were not enough to stagger the red-hot bats of New York.

Well, the Cincinnati was 0-2 against Ford, and down 3-1 in this series. Game five was a must-win, and the Reds offence was going the wrong way. From six runs, to two runs, to zero runs. They'd scored a total of eight runs overall in four games.

So, Hutchinson played a hutch and put Johnny Edwards back in the lineup. He was hitting .429, with two RBIs. By comparison, the leading hitter for the Yankees was Bobby Richardson, who was up to .471 (8-17). Had Chacon not made the catch, it'd be a runaway, as Richardson would be at .529. So there was still a chance for Edwards to catch up. And while were are at it, let's take a look at the runs scored and RBI comparison through four contests, with Edwards playing just two games.

Johnny Edwards: One run scored, two runs driven in

Bobby Richardson: One run scored, zero runs driven in

Okay, maybe Cincinnati could do some damage with the bats in the fifth contest. Alas, the visiting New York Yankees rushed out early.

Richardson started the game with a single. I keep bringing him up! Hard not too, since his average was now .500 (9-18). The next two men were retired, but then a failed pickoff play resulted in Bobby reaching second. Johnny Blanchard hit a two-run home run, and the Reds could tell this wasn't going to be their day.

Joey Jay, who'd been so good in game two, struggled here. Jim Maloney took over, but it seemed like it didn't matter who was pitching for Cincinnati. By the time Edwards grabbed a bat, it was 6-0 for New York. Johnny Edwards boasted his average to .500 (4-8) with a single in the second, moving Wally Post to third. But both runners were stranded.

The next time Edwards grabbed a stick, it was closer. The Reds actually got rid of the Yankees' starter, Ralph Terry in the bottom of the third. Frank Robinson hit a three-run home run with one away. In order for the Cincinnati catcher to hit in this inning, two more men would have to get on, and either Wally Post or Gene Freese would have to stay out of the double play.

Well, Gordy Coleman greeted new pitcher Bud Daley with a single. But Post flied out to Hector Lopez in left. Freese doubled. The crowd at Crosley Field was ecstatic! Cincinnati was up to eight hits in only two and two-thirds innings off Terry / Daley. So Johnny Edwards would bat after, all.

Daley missed wide with his first pitch. Wait Hoyt announced that "The Yankees' bullpen is busy". Then, he noted that, "Both bullpen's busy, as the Reds have come alive in the bottom half of inning number three." Cincinnati had used up three pitchers. And Bill Henry, the fourth Reds' pitcher of the afternoon, would not be hitting for himself should Edwards get on. Bud Daley missed two more times to fall behind 3-0. He was one pitch away from loading the bases. 

The next pitch could have been ball four, but Johnny Edwards looked at strike one. Sadly, the inning ended as he popped up to Clete Boyer in foul territory. 

It seemed, like with that, the Yankees pounced on the Reds. They put up another five runs in the top of the fourth, driving out Bill Henry. Daley raced through the bottom half of the inning, and the Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the fifth. The Reds got a little bit going in the fifth, as Wally Post hit a two-run home run off Daley, making it 11-5. Johnny Edwards was in the on-deck circle as Gene Freese batted. The inning ended with Freese looking at strike three.

New York added two more in the top of the sixth, and there seemed to be no end in sight for their offence. No Mickey Mantle. No Yogi Berra. No problem. Even Richardson ended the day 1-6 didn't stop them.

Edwards led off the last of the sixth, but grounded out on the second pitch. Jim Brosnan and Ken Hunt would hold the Yankees at bay for the last three innings, but Bud Daley was every bit as good as they were. He did hit Wally Post to start the bottom of the eighth. Gene Freese flied out to Roger Maris in left-centre. Johnny Edwards came up, knowing it was probably his last plate appearance of 1961. He swung at Daley's first pitch, as curveball. He could only force Post at second. Jerry Lynch grabbed a bat to hit for the pitcher. He grounded out to Richardson.

The New York Yankees, one of the greatest teams to ever take the field, won the game, 13-5. Johnny Edwards and the Cincinnati Reds had taken another beating, even though the home team had five runs and eleven hits themselves. A strong performance by Bud Daley had stopped their offence cold. Edwards had nonetheless collected a hit in all three games he appeared.

"Edwards...was one of the few bright spots for the Reds in the recent World's (sic) Series," wrote Fred Lieb, "A .186 National League hitter, he cuffed Yankee pitching for .364 [batting average] in three [World Series] games."

Edwards came back for 1962, and saw his batting improve. He hung on in the bigs until 1974. Then he moved on to his other field of expertise, engineering. Eventually, Edwards found his way to C.T.C. International, which was located in Houston (Where he eventually moved, following his trade to the Astros, where Edwards spent the last six years of his playing career). Rebranded Baker-Hughes, Johnny made it up to plant manager in the mid-90s. Retiring in 2002, he lives in the Greater Houston area, as of 2017. 



References

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.

Ford, Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick. W. Morrow, 1987.

Gallagher, Mark. Explosion!: Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs. Arbor House, 1987.

“Game 3.” 1961 World Series, episode 3, NBC, 7 Oct. 1961, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaB0coqadHE. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023. (Television)

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Contemporary Books, 2000. 

Houk, Ralph, and Robert W. Creamer. Season of Glory. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1988. 


Lieb, Fred. “Maloney, Edwards Form Top Battery.” The Sporting News, 25 Oct. 1961, p. 23, https://paperofrecord.hypernet.ca/paper_view.asp?PaperId=834&iDateSearchId=&iZyNetId={37CE3B3A-6545-480B-A0F5-A5D4251C26F4}&RecordId=6&Show=GetResult&iOrder=2&iOrderDir=0&iCurrentBlock=1. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023. 

Major League Baseball Productions. 1961 World Series Highlights. DVD.



Mantle, Mickey, and Herb Gluck. The Mick. Easton Press, 1996.

------------------and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. HarperCollins, 1994.

Miller, Lawrence, director. New York Yankees (The Movie). Youtube, Philo / Magig Video, 1987, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMWAt3v1I0w. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023. 

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992. 

--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Publications International, 1993. 

1961 World Series. National Broadcasting Company, Oct. 1961, https://www.youtube.com/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023. Radio Broadcast.

1961 World Series. National Broadcasting Company, Oct. 1964, https://www.youtube.com/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023. Television Broadcast.

Society For American Baseball Research, SABR. https://sabr.org/. 23 Apr. 2023.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 23 Apr. 2023.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 23 Apr. 2023.

YouTube, Google, https://www.youtube.com/. 23 Apr. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know?

The "D's" of the Yankees helped New York prevail over Los Angeles in 1978. When it was over, Lowell Reidenbaugh of the Sporting News, summed up two men on the Yankees' whose last name began with the letter, "D" in this manner, "Brian Doyle and Bucky Dent will never be remembered by history as the modern counterparts of Paul and Lloyd Waner, the diminutive destroyers of the Pirates in the 1920s and 30s, but they will be recalled as the unlikely Yankee heroes of the sixth World Series game." Not that the two didn't pick up their play a game earlier.

One, Bucky Dent was riding a high from his three-run home run off Mike Torrez in game number 163. The other was kind of a question mark. Brian Doyle had been a September call-up due to an injury to Willie Randolph. The Yankees had to get the big "Okay" from their opposition in the American League Championship Series to use Doyle come September.

Well, Kansas City was okay with Doyle being a potential foyle. Doyle got into three games, collected an RBI, and hit .286. Bucky Dent picked up where he'd left off at Fenway Park, ending up with four RBIs in as many games.

So the Yankees beat the Royals 3-1, and advanced to the Final Round, setting up a rematch from the World Series last year. The Los Angeles Dodgers were starting this Fall Classic round at home. And they came out flying.

Two home runs in the last of the second put them up 3-0. They stretched it to 7-0 through six frames, and things looked bad. But Mr. October started the top of the seventh off on the right foot. Reggie Jackson took Tommy John out of the park. At least there would be no shutout. Soon, they'd get two on, but with two out. That's when Bucky Dent made it nine RBIs in his last six games with a two-run single. And while it proved to be his only his of the ballgame, it showed the Yankees had plenty of fight in them. It was the Dodgers that won it, 11-5. Brian Doyle came in to play in the bottom of the eighth, but did not get a chance to bat.

The second game went much better. Did the two Yankees' players have anything to do with it? Well, Doyle started game two at second base, in the eighth slot (The designated hitter was used in this World Series, as it was an even year). Batting right behind him was the shortstop, Dent.

"D" is for down, which is where New York went in the second contest, but only 4-3. Doyle kept the top of the fourth alive with a single, but was stranded. Dent didn't seem to be doing much, but finally got a hit in the ninth.

But the hit itself could have meant something. It was a leadoff single. The Yankees trailed by just one run when Bucky came through. Roy White grounded out, but Dent moved to second. Paul Blair walked. So an extra-base hit would put the mighty Bronx Bombers ahead. However, Bob Welch came in to face two dangerous hitters. First, Thurmond Munson flied out. Reggie Jackson battled Welch to a grate at-bat, but ended up striking out.

So, it was 2-0 LA. But things would be different back at the Stadium. Not that it wouldn't be a daunting task. The Dodgers sent Don Sutton to the hill. The Yankees countered with their big winner from 1978, Ron Guidry. Guidry didn't have his best stuff, but did he ever have himself a ballgame, with exception of seven bases on balls permitted.

Roy White staked him to a lead in the bottom of the first with a long ball. The first two batters got on in the second for New York, giving Brian Doyle a chance. He hit into a force. So did Dent. However, out of those two outs, Graig Nettles moved to third, and scored. Mickey Rivers didn't hit into a force. He singled Bucky Dent to second. But then Roy White grounded out.

The Dodgers got on the board in the top of the third, as Bill Russell got a single. The ball itself was one that Buck Dent got to, but he was too far to the right, and nearly into the outfield, to get Russell at first. Still, it was a mighty close play at first. The good news for the pinstripers: That was the Dodgers only run!

As for the "D And D Boys", it was a strange game. Doyle got the ball to the outfield his last three times up, but ended the contest 0-4. Dent, though, singled in the bottom of the seventh. This hit, in which Bucky led off the inning, lead to a huge rally. The score was still only 2-1 for New York. But not for long.

Mickey Rivers got to first on a bunt single. Roy White forced him at second. But now, some important insurance was at third, in the form of Dent. It was time for Thurmond Munson to put a Dent into LA's chances. He singled, plating Dent.

The Yankees took off from there. Reggie Jackson followed suit with a single. 4-1. Lou Pinella grounded out, but another run scored. Graig Nettles tried to get another run or two home, but ended up with a long, loud out. The Yankees didn't need any more runs, though. Ron Guidry won, 5-1.

Game four was memorable, as it went into extras. Our two boys, though, didn't do much. For starters, or should I say, "Lack of starters", Doyle didn't even get into the game until the top of the tenth. Dent had a so-so game at best. Both Tommy John and Bob Welch held him to just a 1-4 day. 
 
Still, Bucky got his hit in the bottom of the third. It was here that the ballgame was delayed for forty minutes due to rain. The Yankees at one point trailed 3-0, but battled back. The game was won by the home team in the last of the tenth, when Lou Pinella singled home Roy White, making the final score 4-3. Furthermore, though, Doyle didn't even get a chance to make a fielding play when Los Angeles batted in the Dodgers' half of that inning. Dent managed four putouts and two assists. One of his putouts was in the top of the ninth, and it had to have raised some eyebrows. Davey Lopes popped it up with a man on and two down. The ball drifted into centre field, where Paul Blair was. Blair was one awesome fielder, and you'd think, "It's his!" But Bucky would have none of it. Er, actually, he'd have all of the ball.

It was time, though, for Dent and Doyle to really wake up. And let me tell you, they put on a show in game five, worthy of Broadway!

Dent walked and scored his first time up. In the fourth, Doyle (Who was 0-1) singled with one away. Dent followed with one of his own. Mickey Rivers scored Doyle with a single. The next batter, Roy White, scored Dent by grounding out. The Yankees added another run. They were ahead 7-2 at this point. And they didn't stop touching home.

Bucky Dent added a single in the fifth. But, for the first time all game, did not score. Doyle would follow Jim Spencer's one out single in the last of the seventh with one of his own. A passed ball moved 'em both up into scoring position. What a chance for Bucky Dent. And...He fanned. So did Mickey Rivers. But rather than the third out, it was shades of 1941 with Mickey Owen all over again. Only this time, it was pitcher Charlie Hough fault, rather than catcher Johnny Oates'. In any event, instead of the inning being over, the wild pitch got Spencer home. Doyle advanced to third. Would he score? Yes, on Roy White's single. Another run was added via a Thurmon Munson two-bagger. It was a 7-11 scenario. The Yankees had played seven full innings, and scored eleven runs. Want some more? Some more Dent's in the Dodger armour!

The first two Yankees went down against Hough in the eighth, both via strikeouts. However, Jim Spencer knew if he could keep the inning alive, two hot batters were behind him. So, Spencer walked. You can guess what happened at this point. The Yankees were about to make it a dozen runs.

First, though, you needed to get the man into scoring position. So, Doyle singled. Then you needed to get the man home, and get the man on first into scoring position. So, Dent doubled. Paul Blair fanned on three pitches, leaving Brian Doyle at third. The Yankees won, 12-2.

Okay, how about the numbers for each. The quiet boys were LOL'ing. As in laughing out loud. Each had three hits. Each scored two runs. It seemed like now we could have a toss up for MVP. Dent was hitting .350 and Doyle, .333. This could be close.

But first, New York was more concerned with winning it all. Up 3-2, they headed back to Los Angeles. The home team had held serve every time, so the Yankees would need to win at least one game at Dodger Stadium. And while we are at it, couldn't Brian Doyle pick up an RBI? He still was looking for his first.

But not for long. His second-inning double (Remarkably enough, Brian hadn't had an extra bases hit at the big league level, prior to this) tied the game. Then, on cue, Bucky Dent singled home two more runners. The Yankees were ahead 3-1. That was all the offence they needed. The "D And D" Boys were beating the Dodgers, all by themselves.

Los Angeles, though, got a run back in the third. In the top of the fourth, our two delightful Dodger-destroyers were at it again. With two away, Doyle singled off Don Sutton. So did Dent. Mickey Rivers lined out, alas.

There would be no denying Doyle, Dent, destiny in the top of the sixth. The Dodgers could try any and all things. It wasn't going to work. Did somebody say, "Where are Doyle's RBIs?" Well, he got another one in that inning. So did Bucky Dent. It was back-to-back singles again. You think Reggie Jackson wasn't amazed by all this? Well, maybe not, knowing Reggie. However, the big guy blasted a two-run home run in the seventh to end any doubt of this game (and series) outcome. 

It seemed though, that Doyle was about to tie a record held by Thurmond Munson and Goose Goslin. After all, didn't the hits keep right on coming for Brian? Munson held the record by getting six consecutive hits in the World Series with six (Later broken by Bill Hatcher in 1990), which he'd set in the last two games of the 1976 Fall Classic. Well, Doyle came up in the dish one last time in the top of the eighth.

He just missed. The first pitch was a ball, the second fouled into the crowd. The next one was also foul, but not by much. Right along the foul line in right. "Whoa! Came within inches of joining the two pretty good ballplayers," explained Joe Garagiola up in the broadcast booth. Alas, Doyle got a hold of the next one, but it was merely a comebacker to Doug Rau. Rau then completed a 1-2-3 inning by getting Dent to ground out to third.

The Yankees went on to win, 7-2. An article in the The Globe and Mail emphasized how Dent and Doyle were a long way from Jackson and Munson. And the rest of the Yankees, it seemed. "Brian Doyle and Bucky Dent, a pair of "nickel and dime" hitters in a million-dollar batting order, brought New York Yankees their second successive World Series championship last night with six hits and five RBIs between them to spark a 7-2 triumph over Los Angeles Dodgers." 

It had been one awesome Fall Classic by Doyle and Dent. When push came to shove, it was Bucky that walked away with the World Series' MVP, and the Babe Ruth Award for outstanding Fall Classic performance. Doyle was left with nothing, and sadly would fade to the obscurity from whence he came. Still, the 1978 Fall Classic was won by two infielders who loved to choke up on the bat, and weren't afraid to step up when the Yankees needed them the most.



References

“Comeback Yanks Capture Series.” The Globe and Mail, 18 Oct. 1978, p. 15, https://www.proquest.com/hnpglobeandmail/docview/1238275218/pageviewPDF/49FD596BA7DC4E88PQ/1?accountid=47516. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023.  Via ProQuest.


Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.


Fornoff, Susan. “World Series Official Souvenir Scorebook.” Ontario, Toronto, Oct. 1992. (Article, Surprise, Surprise, pg. 7)

Major League Baseball Productions. 1978 World Series Highlights. DVD.

Miller, Lawrence, director. New York Yankees (The Movie). Youtube, Philo / Magig Video, 1987, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMWAt3v1I0w. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023. 

Morissey, Scott C. 114 World Series in 1 Book. Updated ed., Pandamonium Publishing House, 2020.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992. 

--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Publications International, 1993. 

1978 World Series. Episodes 1-6, National Broadcasting Company, Oct. 1978, http://www.youtube.com/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023. 


Reidenbaugh, Lowell. “Yanks Do It With Deadly Duo: Dent, Doyle.” The Sporting News, 4 Nov. 1978, p. 41, https://paperofrecord.hypernet.ca/paper_view.asp?PaperId=834&RecordId=13&PageId=7621648&iZyNetId={E6849BAE-6FA3-457E-9B16-263D53EF3CAA}&iOrder=2&iOrderDir=0&iCurrentBlock=1. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023. 

Society For American Baseball Research, SABR. https://sabr.org/. 20 Apr. 2023.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 20 Apr. 2023.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 20 Apr. 2023.

YouTube, Google, https://www.youtube.com/. 20 Apr. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know?

Tim McCarver sure did a good job in sending pitchers to the showers. No, not the very men he caught, but rather the Yankees' hurlers in the 1964 World Series.

It all started in the opening tilt at the original Busch Stadium, at one time called Sportsman's Park. The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the first game of the '64 Fall Classic there. But it was not as if the visiting New York Yankees didn't have some ancient advantage, too, you see.

They had Whitey Ford, who first pitched in the 1950 World Series, beating Philadelphia in the fourth contest. Here, Whitey, despite some discomfort in his elbow, was sailing along through five innings. The Cardinals had gotten nothing off him in the third, fourth and fifth (An inning in which St. Louis went down 1-2-3).

But to the Cardinals' catcher, it seemed that Ford wasn't exactly at his best. To anyone watching the game, the old pro still had it. Catchers see more than you and I do, as David Halbertam would say in October 1964,

"As the game developed, though, it was clear to McCarver that Ford did not have much that day, that was he probably pitching in considerable pain."

But the sixth inning would change that thought. It all started when Ken Boyer singled. Elston Howard, McCarver's counterpart on the Yankees, then allowed a passed ball. Bill White fanned, and now Ford had four strikeouts in just five and a third innings.

But that's when Ford's luck ran out, as Peter Golenbock put it in Dynasty. "...an inning later [sixth], Ford stopped retiring batters." Well, he got White out, but Bill was the last batter Whitey retired. It was then that Mike Shannon hit a towering blast to right, maybe 500 feet, sailing above the scoreboard. The game was tied. Tim McCarver found the gap in right, and Ford had thrown his last pitch in the World Series.

Al Downing came in, and got Charlie James to pop out to Bobby Richardson, the Yankees' second basemen. Pinch hitter Carl Warwick kept the inning alive, though, by just pushing one past shortstop Phil Linz (Playing for injured regular Tony Kubek), to cash in McCarver. Curt Flood then hit one to left, that Tom Tresh appeared to lose in the sky. Warwick scored a big run. From 4-2 down to 6-4 up!

Well, the Yankees got one run back, so that sixth run was big. Rollie Sheldon took over from Downing in the eighth, and the Cardinals were back at it. Shannon reached on an error and then made it to second on a passed ball. McCarver's patience at the dish was rewarded as he drew a bases on balls.

Barney Schultz, the St. Louis reliever, lined into a double play, McCarver being the one erased. This seemed like a big play. But then pinch hitter Bob Skinner batted, and was put on first. Manager Yogi Berra removed Sheldon, despite the face that he hadn't so much as given up a hit in two-thirds of an inning.

Pete Mikkelsen came in, but he seemed to struggle. He gave up a single, a triple and a walk, before finally getting that last out. But St. Louis had the game in their pocked.

It seemed like New York righted the ship after that. First, Mel Stottlemyre beat Bob Gibson 8-3 in the second game. The first game at Yankee Stadium was close all the way, but Mickey Mantle's dramatic walk-off blast gave the home team a 2-1 win.

So, game four was big. St. Louis didn't exactly get off to a promising start. They didn't so much as get the ball out of the infield in the top of the first, but the home team did. The Yankees scored three runs on five hits. Cardinals starter Ray Sadecki, who'd won game one, lasted one-third of an inning.

Roger Craig took over, and held New York scoreless for four and two-thirds innings. St. Louis got four runs on a grand slam by Ken Boyer in the top of the sixth, a big clutch hit. Tim McCarver would be in position for the knock-out blow on Yankees' pitcher Al Downing. There was one out when Boyer connected. Bill White batted next, but popped out. With McCarver in the one-deck circle, Mike Shannon flied out to Roger Maris in centre.

So Tim would have to wait until the top of the eighth to hit. Leading off, he patiently waited out four straight balls from Downing. When Dal Maxvill got ahead 2-0, Berra brought in Pete Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen got Maxvill to ground out, as now the Cardinals had another man in scoring position. Mikkelsen pitched great. Pitcher Ron Taylor batted for himself, and struck out. Curt Flood grounded out.

McCarver picked up a single later in the contest, but new pitcher Ralph Terry finished the game. St. Louis won, 4-3.

The next game was another biggie. The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead, and were looking for more against reliever Hal Reniff in the eighth. Hal got Ken Boyer to ground out to start the inning. That was the only batter he retired.

Dick Groat singled. Tim McCarver followed suit. Again, the call went out to Pete Mikkelsen. And again Pete did the job. Mike Shannon fanned. Dal Maxvill grounded out.

Down went St. Louis 1-2-3 in the ninth, and that was huge as Tom Tresh's dramatic two-run home run tied it. McCarver would be the man to trump that. In the tenth, he nailed Mikkelsen's 3-2 pitch into the gap in right for a game-winning three-run home run.

Well, the Yankees brought out their big sticks in the sixth game, back at Busch. It was, "One of those days" for the Cardinals. Curt Simmons pitched well for St. Louis, but gave up back-to-back home runs to Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in the sixth inning on consecutive pitches. Jim Bouton pitched awesome for the Yankees. Joe Pepitone's grand slam in the top of the eighth made it 8-1 for the visitors.

The Cardinals managed to get one run back in their half of that frame. And in the ninth, Tim McCarver tried to get more. Leading off, he popped out. The next two men singled, though, and that prompted a pitching change, even though McCarver played no part in it. Despite scoring another run, St. Louis ended up 8-3 losers.

Tim did everything to help out his team in game seven, though. He got an RBI in the fourth, and later swiped home as part of a daring, double-steal. St. Louis touched home three times that frame. On McCarver's grounder, which ended up scoring a run, New York attempted a tough double play. Mel Stottelmyre jammed his shoulder as he tried to beat McCarver to the bag. This resulted in him leaving game seven early. 

Well, the New York bullpen didn't help. Al Downing saw his first pitch to Lou Brock go a mile for a home run. The Cards were heading towards a big fifth inning. A single and a double and Downing hit the showers. Rollie Sheldon came in, and Tim McCarver would get a chance to help the home side cause. Dick Groat grounded out, but it plated a man. McCarver flied out to Mickey Mantle in right, but Ken Boyer tagged up from third and beat the throw. St. Louis seemed to have this game.

Well, New York had other ideas. They batted right after the Cards had put another "3" on the board. The Bronx Bombers then made a "3" of their own in the top of the sixth. Mickey Mantle crushed a 1-0 pitch from Bob Gibson over Lou Brock's head in left. Lou would see two more go over him as the game continued.

Sheldon had a nice 1-2-3 sixth inning, so New York had the momentum on their side now. Ken Boyer hit a solo home run off Steve Hamilton in the seventh, and it was big, giving St. Louis some breathing room, 7-3.

And Tim McCarver started a rally that would end Hamilton's day in the eighth. He led off with single. Mike Shannon reached on an error. Dal Maxvill bunted both men over. There was a grand chance for the Cardinals to go back up by six runs.

Bob Gibson was still in the game for St. Louis, but pitching with two days' rest. He'd shaken off Mantle's blast earlier, but probably wanted more runs to work with. Well, he was in position here to help out his own cause. Pete Mikkelsen hopped in from the bullpen. It was his fourth appearance in the 1964 World Series.

Gibson grounded to Clete Boyer, Ken's younger brother (Both played third base). McCarver made a mistake. He headed to the dish, only to be caught in a run down. Phil Linz, the Yankees' shortstop, ended up applying the tag. When Curt Flood lined out to Boyer at third, a promising inning came to a screeching halt.

At the time, it didn't seem to matter. St. Louis had a four-run lead. McCarver actually helped his pitcher by making an amazing play behind the dish, trying to redeem himself. Tom Tresh foul-tipped a ball with two strikes, with McCarver losing his glove as he went for the projectile, but the ball found his bare hands! But then Clete Boyer him a home run with one out (During the at-bat, it was announced that both Roger Craig and Ray Sadecki were warming up), and Linz added one with two away. Bobby Richardson popped out, and St. Louis had the game and series.

For Tim McCarver, it was a great Fall Classic. He'd topped all hitters with a .478 batting average. A .552 on-base percentage also was the head of the pack. Yet, it was not so much that Tim hit so well, but rather the timing of his actions. That three-run bomb in the fifth contest was huge. But what about all those pitchers he'd sent packing? Well, that kinda of put a dent into some of their egos, so be sure. McCarver went from catching to the booth, giving tremendous insights to the game for years to come. As a Toronto Blue Jay fan in  the early 90s, it was always a treat to hear him in the World Series. McCarver, who passed away earlier this year, will be missed.

References



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