Billy Hatcher was retired a grand total of three times in the 1990 Reds' sweep of the Athletics. A whole lot of heroics by him paved the way for the upset.
In game one in Cincinnati, it was Dave Stewart on the hill for Oakland. So this was one tough test. Stew had been the Fall Classic MVP the previous year. But it was the Reds that greeted him hard. They scored twice in the bottom of the first, and two more times in the third. Stewart was gone after four. The underdog Reds scored three more times in the bottom of the fifth to lock up a 7-0 win. Billy Hatcher was 3-3 with three runs scored and another two knocked in. In his only other plate appearance, Billy walked.
Game two went to extras before the home side eked out a 5-4 win in 10 innings. The Athletics did not go down without a fight as they collected ten hits. Jose Canseco hit a two-run home run. But no one on that team could stay with Hatcher, who went 4-4 with a walk. So he'd reached base nine straight times. He scored twice and knocked in a run. Could Oakland get him out?
Well, they lost game three at home 8-3, despite home runs from Rickey Henderson and Harold Baines. Hatcher came to the dish in the top of the first, and promptly hit into a double play. He got to the dish twice in the top of the third. First, he singled and scored to tie the game at two. Then, Billy ended the inning by grounding out. Did it matter? The Reds scored seven times that inning to take an 8-2 lead, so no.
Hatcher popped out to end the fifth, with Oakland having scored their final run in the bottom of the third. Billy was not done, however. In the top of the eighth, with two out, he singled. A wild pitch moved him into scoring position. A walk to Paul O'Neill extended the inning further. But Eric Davis ended it by grounding out. Hatcher ended the game having been retired three times. He still went 2-5 with a run scored. Cincy was one win away from a sweep.
The got it the next game, as Jose Rijo beat Stewart 2-1. Hatcher did not do much, In the top of the first, Hatcher was up at the dish against Stew. On an 0-2 pitch, Stewart hit him in the left hand. Hatcher stayed in but didn't do much. On the first pitch to Paul O'Neill (A strike), Hatcher too off and was out by two miles. Hatcher would soon have some help on the hurting side, as Eric Davis was sore after trying to make a diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Oakland's Willie McGee. He left for a pinch hitter in the top of the second.
Hatcher himself played the bottom of the first, but was replaced in centre field by Herm Winningham in the bottom of the second. Herm went 2-3. Oakland not only lost the game, they managed just two hits.
Jose Rijo was ultimately named MVP, but Hatcher was the igniter all series long. Oakland had the bullpen, and the starters were also better. But Hatcher led the charge, proving the Reds a chance every time he batted, it seemed!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 9 August 2015.
Retrosheet. Web. 9 August 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>
Youtube. Web. 9 August 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>
In game one in Cincinnati, it was Dave Stewart on the hill for Oakland. So this was one tough test. Stew had been the Fall Classic MVP the previous year. But it was the Reds that greeted him hard. They scored twice in the bottom of the first, and two more times in the third. Stewart was gone after four. The underdog Reds scored three more times in the bottom of the fifth to lock up a 7-0 win. Billy Hatcher was 3-3 with three runs scored and another two knocked in. In his only other plate appearance, Billy walked.
Game two went to extras before the home side eked out a 5-4 win in 10 innings. The Athletics did not go down without a fight as they collected ten hits. Jose Canseco hit a two-run home run. But no one on that team could stay with Hatcher, who went 4-4 with a walk. So he'd reached base nine straight times. He scored twice and knocked in a run. Could Oakland get him out?
Well, they lost game three at home 8-3, despite home runs from Rickey Henderson and Harold Baines. Hatcher came to the dish in the top of the first, and promptly hit into a double play. He got to the dish twice in the top of the third. First, he singled and scored to tie the game at two. Then, Billy ended the inning by grounding out. Did it matter? The Reds scored seven times that inning to take an 8-2 lead, so no.
Hatcher popped out to end the fifth, with Oakland having scored their final run in the bottom of the third. Billy was not done, however. In the top of the eighth, with two out, he singled. A wild pitch moved him into scoring position. A walk to Paul O'Neill extended the inning further. But Eric Davis ended it by grounding out. Hatcher ended the game having been retired three times. He still went 2-5 with a run scored. Cincy was one win away from a sweep.
The got it the next game, as Jose Rijo beat Stewart 2-1. Hatcher did not do much, In the top of the first, Hatcher was up at the dish against Stew. On an 0-2 pitch, Stewart hit him in the left hand. Hatcher stayed in but didn't do much. On the first pitch to Paul O'Neill (A strike), Hatcher too off and was out by two miles. Hatcher would soon have some help on the hurting side, as Eric Davis was sore after trying to make a diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Oakland's Willie McGee. He left for a pinch hitter in the top of the second.
Hatcher himself played the bottom of the first, but was replaced in centre field by Herm Winningham in the bottom of the second. Herm went 2-3. Oakland not only lost the game, they managed just two hits.
Jose Rijo was ultimately named MVP, but Hatcher was the igniter all series long. Oakland had the bullpen, and the starters were also better. But Hatcher led the charge, proving the Reds a chance every time he batted, it seemed!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 9 August 2015.
Retrosheet. Web. 9 August 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>
Youtube. Web. 9 August 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>
No comments:
Post a Comment