Juan Guzman never gave up the longball in the Fall Classic. It could be argued that Guzman was Toronto's top pitcher in both the 1992 and '93 World Series. And it's not like his heroics were limited to just the Fall Classic. Juan was simply warming up for the big stage in the regular season and ALCS both years.
Juan had also won the only contest the Blue Jays won against the Minnesota Twins in the 1991 ALCS. So very early Guzman seemed to be the hurler that was clutch for Toronto. He wasn't alone, as Jimmy Key pitched well in his lone start vs. Minny, and had also won the only game Toronto won two years earlier in the 1989 ALCS.
But come 1992, Key was not the same. At least for a while. Guzman had it going all season long. Sixteen wins. Just five losses. His earned run average was under three. Key struggled, and was just 8-13 late in the season. He got knocked out early in an August 28th game that Toronto lost 22-2 to Milwaukee.
Guzman, on the other hand, just kept right on plugging along. Late in the season, Toronto added David Cone to their roster. While Cone pitched well, his record with the Blue Jays was just 4-3. Still, he got Toronto on track in the American League Championship Series vs. Oakland. By winning game two, Cone squared the best-of-seven affair. Guzman took over from there and the Blue Jays were off to their very first World Series thanks to Juan's two wins against the Athletics.
Well, Guzman had to wait to pitch. Jack Morris started game one versus Atlanta and took a 3-1 loss. David Cone started game two and didn't even make to the end of the fifth innings. The Bleu Jays eventually won 5-4, but their starting pitching was looking a little questionable. Juan Guzman would start game three.
Well, the Braves nearly had a home run early, as Dave Justice smacked one to dead centre in the top of the fourth. But along came Devon White in centre. The awesome outfielder robbed Justice, and the team nearly turned a triple play! The important thing was Atlanta did not score. Toronto had been hancuffed by Steve Avery in the first three frames. Joe Carter hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to break the ice.
Okay, the Braves couldn't hit the longball. They'd scored four times off David Cone in just 4 1/3 innings in game two. But against a determined Juan Guzman here in the third contest, scoring wasn't going to come easy. Atlanta got a leadoff single by Sid Bream in the top of the third, but Juan came right at the next two batters. And struck 'em both out. Mark Lemke grounded out to Roberto Alomar at second to end that threat.
Atlanta was still undaunted. Steve Avery stopped Toronto until the bottom of the eighth, and gave the visiting team a chance to tie it. In the top of the sixth, the Braves did just that on a double by Deion Sanders, and singles by Terry Pendleton and Dave Justice.
In the top of the eight, the Braves took the lead. You couldn't really fault Juan Guzman. Otis Nixon reached via an error by Kelly Gruber (Who would be heard from in the bottom of the frame, just wait). Nixon stole second. Deion Sanders was looking for another hit, as he was 3-3. But this time, Guzman retired him on a pop out. Terry Pendleton was also having a great game at the dish, 2-3, but here, Guzman stopped him on a grounder.
The bad news was, the go-ahead run was just 90 feet away. And another tough out in Dave Justice was up. Toronto was sticking with Juan Guzman, but it made all the sense in the world not to pitch to Justice, who was a dangerous left-handed hitting batter. So, the Blue Jays put him on. The next batter was a righty, but an experienced one in Lonnie Smith. Smith wasn't exactly having himself a Fall Classic to write home about, but had been on this stage before.
Smith was hitting just .143 (1-7) with a walk to this point in the 1992 World Series. But the first time the Toronto Blue Jays made it to the postseason, there was Lonnie Smith with the Kansas City Royals. The Royals trailed the 1985 ALCS 3-1 to the Blue Jays, but rallied to win. They did the same to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Fall Classic that year.
And that was only Lonnie's second tour of duty with Kanas. He'd appeared in the 1980 Fall Classic with them. Then, two years later, as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Smith drank champange after they beat Milwaukee in seven in the World Series.
Like several members of the 1992 Atlanta Braves, Lonnie Smith had been part of the team that dropped a heart-breaking seven-game affair to Minnesota the year before. But now, against Toronto, Lonnie was clutch as he smacked a Juan Guzman pitch to left, scoring Otis Nixon and breaking the tie. Dave Justice got a little to aggresive on the basepaths, after seeing Candy Maldonado misplay the ball. But Maldonado, the Blue Jays' left fielder, recovered and nailed Justice at third for the final out.
Guzman was now done for the night, but what an outing. Eight innings, eight hits and just one earned run allowed. Yet out of all this, the pitcher trailed 2-1. Up came Kelly Gruber in the bottom of the eighth, looking for some redemption after that costly error. Kelly was as clutch as Lonnie as he tied the game with a solo home run off Steve Avery.
Well, both starters had really pitched well. Duane Ward held the Braves scoreless in the top of the ninth, so this thing was going down to the wire. Toronto won it on a walk-off single by Candy Maldonado off Jeff Reardon in the bottom of the ninth.
I ragged on Jimmy Key a bit earlier, but he pitched amazing in game four, winning it 2-1 over Tom Glavine. Lonnie Smith kept Atlanta afloat with a grand slam in game five off Jack Morris. The 7-2 win sent it back to Atlanta. David Cone and the Toronto bullpen helped the Blue Jays to a 4-3 win in ten innings.
So Juan had just that one game to show for his World Series debut. But, outside of Key (Who got the win in the clinching game, in relief), there wasn't a better pitcher on Toronto in that 1992 Fall Classic. Jack Morris was 0-2. David Cone struggled in his first outing but pitched a great game in the sixth contest. Toronto won both of Cone's starts, so I guess that counts for something. Guzman had a better earned run average, however. Juan's was 1.13 and David's was 3.48.
One year later and Toronto was back in the World Series. There were some new faces on the Blue Jays. Gone was Jimmy Key and David Cone. Dave Stewart came over from Oakland, brining his 6-0 record in the American League Championship Series with him.
Juan Guzman wasn't quite the pitcher he'd use to be, though. His earned run average climbed to 3.99. That was the bad part. However, he won fourteen, lost only three, and was starting the first game of the ALCS vs. Chicago.
There were pitchers that were with the Toronto organization that were finally healthy and able to contribute to the Jays in 1993, Pat Hentgen and Al Leiter. Both were just kids. Hentgen had gone 5-2 in 1992 until and injury put him on the shelf for the postseason. Leiter had battled injuries since his 1993 acquisition from the New York Yankees. Both really came through in 1993. Henten won nineteen games. Leiter was 9-6 as he filled in for Dave Stewart, who started the '93 campaign sidelined (Al Leiter took over for Stewart in the rotation). Todd Stottlemyre was only 11-12. Jack Morris struggled, too, going just 7-12.
The search for a starting pitcher with a good earned run average yielded little. Hentgen had the best among any Toronto starter, 3.87.
But while Dave Stewart had struggled in the season with a win one, lose one record for a while, he turned in on in September. Stew went 4-0 in his last four outings, posting a microscopic earned run average of 1.44 in those games. Juan Guzman didn't wait until September. A July 20th loss to the Chicago White Sox dropped Juan's record to 7-3. But that was the last Juan he lost. From July 31st until the end of the year, Guzman was in beast mode: 7-0, 3.22 earned run average!
So both Stewart and Guzman were there when the team needed them the most. That continued over in the American League Championship Series. The poor Chicago White Sox would most assuredly agree with my assement.
Guzman won game one. Stewart game two. Chicago got back into the series win over Pat Hentgen and Todd Stottlemyre. But Juan Guzman was back with a 5-3 win in the fifth contest. That's decieving if it looks close. Juanderful was Guzman in the contest. First thirteen batters were retired. The Skydome crowd saw Toronto take a 4-0 lead after four. Ellis Burks hit a home run with one away in the top of the fourth. It would be the only postseason home run Guzman ever surrendered. The Toronto Blue Jays headed to Chicago, where Dave Stewart wrapped it up in game six, 6-3.
So, Guzman and Stewart were 2-0 in the 1993 ALCS. For their respected careers, Juan Guzman was 5-0 at that stange. Dave Stewart was a little better: 8-0!
Guzman was given the ball vs. Philadelphia to start the World Series. He had a rough outing. The Phillies were rude guest at the Skydome. Two runs in the top of the first. It just wasn't quite his day. Philadelphia scored five runs off him in as many innings. But no home runs. Toronto still won, 8-5.
Dave Stewart tried to keep the momentum going in the second contest. If he could have one inning back, it'd be the top of the third. Philadelphia scored five times off him, capped by Jim Eisenreich's three-run home run. Other than that, the Phillies were shutout by Stewart. The game was another slugfest like game one, only this time the visitors took it by a score of 6-4.
Pat Hentgen breezed in game three. He wasn't going to let Toronto down a second time in the postseason. He may not have reached twenty wins in the regular season, but his 10-3 win over Philly in the third contest gave him that total if you tack on all that went down in October. Pat went six innings at Veterans Stadium, allowing just one earned run.
Todd Stottlemyre didn't pitch well in the fourth contest, but it seemed all pitchers failed in that game. Toronto won it, 15-14. There seemed to be something about playing in Philadelphia that the Toronto liked.
Well, it looked as though the Blue Jays would get it all done in game five. 3-1 series lead. Curt Schilling looked to atone for his game one outing for the home team. Juan Guzman again had something to prove after a tough outing of his own in the first contest.
Well, Philly was ready for this one more than Toronto. Schilling got through the top of the first without a run, despite a walk to Roberto Alomar. Guzman was not so lucky. You don't want to walk the leadoff hitter, but that's was happened as Lenny Dykstra drew a bases on balls. Lenny, who had some wheels, stole second and took third on catcher Pat Border's bad thrown. Mariano Duncan flied out. John Kruk grounded out, but Dykstra scored. Philadelphia had the only run they needed
Darren Daulton, the Philly catcher, gave his battery mate some breathing room in the last of the second inning. His leadoff double set the stage for the game's second and final run. Jim Eisenreich grounded out to first basemen John Olerud, who made the putout himself. This got Daulton to third.
The situation here was interesting. Kevin Stocker, a left-handed hitter was next. Stocker was the number eight hitter in the lineup. First base was open. On deck, pitcher Curt Schilling. Schilling was a .155 hitter lifetime to that point.
But Stocker was a rookie, although his .324 batting average suggested he was one tough out. Guzman pitched to Stocker, who smacked a double to right to cash in Darren Daulton. It was 2-0, Phillies. Schilling then batted. Guzman needed exactly three pitches to strike him out.
Schilling might not have hit well on that day, but his pitching was something else. His control was pretty sharp. Just three walks. Hits allowed? Try just five. Guzman didn't exactly let the situation leave him overmatched. By the time he departed for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth, Juan had gotten it all together. The defence by both teams was pretty sharp on this day, as each team committed only one error. Toronto had a to work a little harder, as Guzman walked four batters to Schilling's three. Guzman fanned six, as many as Schilling managed in his complete game.
Guzman threw 105 pitches in seven, while Schilling had 147 to his name when the smoke cleared. Danny Cox's fine eight inning, which included three strikeouts and two walks, kept the score 2-0, Philly. Remarkably enough, you kinda figured Toronto would do something amazing and pull it out in the ninth, but that was a game early. Curt Schilling got Joe Carter, John Olerud and Paul Molitor out in order.
So Juan Guzman took a tough loss. He certainly improved his game one performance (Schilling, by the way, was tagged with the loss in the first contest, so he merely evened his record at 1-1). But really, this Fall Classic is always going to be remembered for Joe Carter winning it walk-off fashion in the sixth game.
Well, Pat Hentgen had a win and a 1.50 earned run average, but he only pitched six frames. Juan Guzman pitched double that (12 innings), and his 3.75 ERA wasn't far off Curt Schilling's (3.52). Sadly, Juan never got another chance to pitch in the World Series (Or postseason, for that matter).
References
Bingley, Phil, et al. Another World: The Toronto Stars Tribute To The’ 93 Blue Jays. Toronto Star for Doubleday Canada, 1993. Print.
Gamester, George, and Gerald Hall. On Top of the World: The Toronto Star’s Tribute to the ‘92 Blue Jays. Doubleday Canada, 1992.
Nemec, et al. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. https://www.baseball-reference.com/. 23 Dec. 2022.
Toronto Blue Jays Media Guide. Dan Diamond and Associates , Inc. and The Toronto Blue Jays Basesball Club, 1993, 1994.
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 23 Dec. 2022.
YouTube, Google, https://www.youtube.com/. 16 May 2022.
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