That would be two of the finest members of the Jays and later Yankees, David Cone and Jimmy Key.
Cone was going to face them in 1992, you knew that. Toronto had acquired him late in the season, and he pitched well for them (4-3, 2.55 ERA). Cone added a crucial win in game two of the ALCS vs. Oakland. It got the Jays on track to their six game win.
Toronto still lost game five, 6-2. Cone was the losing pitcher and Jimmy Key made a three-inning relief stint. It proved to be his only appearance. When the World Series against the Atlanta Braves rolled around, what would Toronto do?
Well, they lost game one (In Atlanta), as they had in the ALCS. Cone pitched game two and was not sharp. That is, on the mound. But he found other ways to contribute. He got the Blue Jays first hit. Later, he knocked in a run in the top of the fifth. Toronto trailed 2-0 at that point, but some late-inning heroics made Toronto 5-4 victors.
It was off to the Skydome for games three, four and five.
Well, the home town boys took a thriller in walk-off fashion. And guess who would be on the mound for the Blue Jays in game four as Toronto looked for the 3-1 stranglehold?
Key looked a little unsure of himself. In the top of the first, the very first batter of the game, Otis Nixon singled. Then Key picked him off. The very next batter, Jeff Blauser, also singled. Jeff then did Nixon one better and stole second. Would this be a short night for Jimmy?
Well, Key got the next two batters out without Blauser getting to another base. And then he hit god-mode. Atlanta went down 1-2-3 in the next four innings. They got a hit in the sixth, but the other three batters went down. Toronto led 1-0 at this point. Key then went out and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. He'd retired 23 of 24 batters since the Blauser single back in the first. A guess that answered any question on whether he belonged on the mound that night. Eventually, Atlanta scored a run on Jimmy in the eighth inning, but Toronto had added a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh. When the game ended the Braves had five hits and one run. Toronto was up three games to one.
But Atlanta won game five, 7-2, to send it back home. David Cone was the starter for game six, and was excellent. The teams scored one run each in the top of the first and third, but then Candy Maldonado's solo home run off Steve Avery gave the Blue Jays the lead. Cone protected it through six. The bullpen did the job and Toronto looked poised to win it when Tom Henke was on in the bottom of the ninth. Atlanta refused to surrender. They tied it on an Otis Nixon single. Jimmy Key came on with one out in the bottom of the tenth. Toronto scored twice in the top of the eleventh to go up 4-2, and Atlanta scored a run of their own before the third out was made. Cone got a second no decision, but had found ways to help Toronto both games. Key was 2-0.
Four years later, and Atlanta was looking for their second Fall Classic win. And they beat the New York Yankees twice at home to start the 1996 World Series. Key himself was beaten soundly, 4-0 in game two.
It was Cone himself who got the Yanks back on track in game three. He won a gutsy game, 5-2. New York never looked back from there. They came back from an early deficit in game four to tie the Fall Classic at two, then took a 3-2 advantage with a 1-0 win in game five behind Andy Pettitte and John Wettland's superb pitching! And guess who drove the final nail in the Braves' coffin in game six?
Jimmy Key took the mound at home for this game, and he wasn't about to let Atlanta get back on track. Staked to an early 3-0 lead, he faltered a bit, but not enough. The bullpen came in and eventually Atlanta got back to one run in the top of the ninth. But when it was all over, New York were 3-2 winners, and had the World Series, four games to two. A Cone and a Key had led Toronto (In 1992) and New York (In 1996) to victory!
References
1992 World Series. Narrated by Lou Cariou. Major League Baseball Productions, 1992. DVD.
1996 World Series. Narrated by Lou Cariou. Major League Baseball Productions, 1996.
Gamester, George, and Gerald Hall. On Top Of The World: The Toronto Star’s Tribute To The ‘92 Blue Jays. Doubleday Canada, 1992. Print.
Retrosheet .Web. 26 Sept. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Youtube. Web. 26 Sept.2015. https://www.youtube.com>.
Cone was going to face them in 1992, you knew that. Toronto had acquired him late in the season, and he pitched well for them (4-3, 2.55 ERA). Cone added a crucial win in game two of the ALCS vs. Oakland. It got the Jays on track to their six game win.
Toronto still lost game five, 6-2. Cone was the losing pitcher and Jimmy Key made a three-inning relief stint. It proved to be his only appearance. When the World Series against the Atlanta Braves rolled around, what would Toronto do?
Well, they lost game one (In Atlanta), as they had in the ALCS. Cone pitched game two and was not sharp. That is, on the mound. But he found other ways to contribute. He got the Blue Jays first hit. Later, he knocked in a run in the top of the fifth. Toronto trailed 2-0 at that point, but some late-inning heroics made Toronto 5-4 victors.
It was off to the Skydome for games three, four and five.
Well, the home town boys took a thriller in walk-off fashion. And guess who would be on the mound for the Blue Jays in game four as Toronto looked for the 3-1 stranglehold?
Key looked a little unsure of himself. In the top of the first, the very first batter of the game, Otis Nixon singled. Then Key picked him off. The very next batter, Jeff Blauser, also singled. Jeff then did Nixon one better and stole second. Would this be a short night for Jimmy?
Well, Key got the next two batters out without Blauser getting to another base. And then he hit god-mode. Atlanta went down 1-2-3 in the next four innings. They got a hit in the sixth, but the other three batters went down. Toronto led 1-0 at this point. Key then went out and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. He'd retired 23 of 24 batters since the Blauser single back in the first. A guess that answered any question on whether he belonged on the mound that night. Eventually, Atlanta scored a run on Jimmy in the eighth inning, but Toronto had added a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh. When the game ended the Braves had five hits and one run. Toronto was up three games to one.
But Atlanta won game five, 7-2, to send it back home. David Cone was the starter for game six, and was excellent. The teams scored one run each in the top of the first and third, but then Candy Maldonado's solo home run off Steve Avery gave the Blue Jays the lead. Cone protected it through six. The bullpen did the job and Toronto looked poised to win it when Tom Henke was on in the bottom of the ninth. Atlanta refused to surrender. They tied it on an Otis Nixon single. Jimmy Key came on with one out in the bottom of the tenth. Toronto scored twice in the top of the eleventh to go up 4-2, and Atlanta scored a run of their own before the third out was made. Cone got a second no decision, but had found ways to help Toronto both games. Key was 2-0.
Four years later, and Atlanta was looking for their second Fall Classic win. And they beat the New York Yankees twice at home to start the 1996 World Series. Key himself was beaten soundly, 4-0 in game two.
It was Cone himself who got the Yanks back on track in game three. He won a gutsy game, 5-2. New York never looked back from there. They came back from an early deficit in game four to tie the Fall Classic at two, then took a 3-2 advantage with a 1-0 win in game five behind Andy Pettitte and John Wettland's superb pitching! And guess who drove the final nail in the Braves' coffin in game six?
Jimmy Key took the mound at home for this game, and he wasn't about to let Atlanta get back on track. Staked to an early 3-0 lead, he faltered a bit, but not enough. The bullpen came in and eventually Atlanta got back to one run in the top of the ninth. But when it was all over, New York were 3-2 winners, and had the World Series, four games to two. A Cone and a Key had led Toronto (In 1992) and New York (In 1996) to victory!
References
1992 World Series. Narrated by Lou Cariou. Major League Baseball Productions, 1992. DVD.
1996 World Series. Narrated by Lou Cariou. Major League Baseball Productions, 1996.
Dan Diamond and Associates and Toronto Blue Jays Club. Toronto
Blue Jays Official Guide 1987, 1993, 1994. Print.
Gamester, George, and Gerald Hall. On Top Of The World: The Toronto Star’s Tribute To The ‘92 Blue Jays. Doubleday Canada, 1992. Print.
Retrosheet .Web. 26 Sept. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major
League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/.
Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
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