World Series: Did You Know?

Game one of the 2015 Fall Classic was the longest opening act in the Fall Classic ever. In terms of innings. All 14 of them. Well, one out when the winning run scored in the bottom of the fourteenth. But it was one wild game!

Usually, game one of the World Series is the game where both teams sort of feel their way into the action, resulting in a snore-fest that is quickly forgotten. But the Kansas City Royals won a most unforgettable game one. It

The New York Mets knew they didn't have home-field advantage, and probably thought they'd catch 'em royally napping. It did not prove to be the case. Kansas was just as determined as New York. The Toronto Blue Jays had given them all they could handle in the ALCS, while New York had a sweep over Chicago. Did the rest hurt the Mets?

 The score was tied 3-3 after seven, but the visiting New Yorkers untied it with a breakthrough in the top of the eighth. Two were down, when suddenly the Mets made their move. Juan Lagares, who'd come into the game as a defensive replacement in centre in the bottom of the sixth, singled to keep the inning alive. Now, he had to get into scoring position to put the pressure one. He stole second to take care of that. Wimer Flores grounded to first, just like Mookie Wilson of the Mets had in 1986. And like 1986, an error on the play resulted in the Mets scoring a run. 4-3.

So, bottom of the ninth, Jeurys Familia on to nail it down, and a Royal comeback ensued. Familia got one out, but then Alex Gordon tied the game with a dramatic solo home run! 4-4! Familia got the next two batters out, however, and extra innings would be needed.

Wade Davis pitched the top of the eleventh for the Royals, and had a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out the side on 18 pitches, with each batter lasting six pitches. Jon Niese also had a 1-2-3 inning for the Mets in the 10th, but could only fan two. The Mets put two one with two down in the top of the eleventh, but could not get a run off new pitcher Ryan Madson. Niese gave up a single himself in the bottom of the frame, but got out of there and picked up his third strikeout.

Chris Young had a 1-2-3 inning of his own for Kansas in the top of the twelve. Bartolo Colon came in to pitch for New York, and Kansas looked like they had it. A single, a bunt, an intentional walk. Two on, one out. A grounder moved the tying run ninety feet away, but now there were two down. Eric Hosmer batted, and Colon walked him intentionally, too. Jarrod Dyson, who had entered the game earlier as a pinch runner, flied out to centre to end that stress for the Mets.

But Chris Young was in the zone for the Royals. He got through the top of the thirteenth and fourteenth with no damage. In fact, he gave up no hits and just one walk. The game stayed tied at four, as Colon matched him in the bottom of the thirteenth by facing just four batters. Colon came undone in the bottom of the fourteenth, as this masterpiece game came to an end.

Alcides Escobar reached on an error. Ben Zobrist singled him to third. Colon was in trouble. Winning run on third, and only a force at second. So Lorenzo Cain, with first occupied by Zobrist, was walked intentionally to load the bases. The batter was now Hosmer.

The bases were loaded and there were no outs. All Eric had to do was get the ball to the outfield. Which is what he did on the fifth pitch of the at bat, Hosmer lofted one to right. Curtis Granderson made the catch, of course, but it was Escobar who motored home with the game winning run.

The Royals, as of this writing, were inspired. Kansas City took game two, before heading to New York and getting a split to go up three games to one. Tonight, it will be the Royals looking to put the nail in the Mets' coffin. While it's only been four games (And might possibly only go five), the 2015 Fall Classic has kept up with the October (But now November at this point) tradition of keeping the fans on the edge of their seats. And in 2015, it was as early as game one.


References

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. (1 Nov. 2015).

Retrosheet  www.retrosheet.org. Web. (1 Nov. 2015).

Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/. Web. (1 Nov. 2015).

Berg, Ted. "10 Crazy Facts about the Royals and Mets' 14-inning Game 1 Marathon." For The Win. Usa Today Sports, 28 Oct. 2015. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/10/world-series-game-1-14-innings-facts-mlb-mets-royals Web. (1 Nov. 2015).

World Series: Did You Know?

Bob Feller lost both his starts in the 1948 Fall Classic. His Cleveland Indians won in six over the Boston Braves, but it seems had to imagine that Rapid Robert would perform the worst among the Indians' pitching!

Feller was in a jewel of a pitcher's duel in game in game one. So well pitched was the tilt, that it took only 102 minutes to play it. It was Feller vs. Johhny Sain. Sain was no pushover. No, he wasn't quite Warren Spahn. But he lead the National League in wins in 1948 with 24.

Feller would finish with a two-hitter - and a loss! Sain allowed four hits himself, but scattered them nicely enough. Bob, in fact, retired the first eleven batters, yet strangly wasn't getting the K's. Through four he would have only two. Through eight innings, he was held to just two strikeouts: Earl Torgeson in the bottom of the first and Bill Salkeld in the bottom of the second!

When Torgeson batted next in the bottom of the fourth, the ball was again not put into play. Feller walked him. Earl stole second but was stranded! Feller's control would not be an issue. He walked only three batters, and one of them was Eddie Stanky intentionally. The next inning saw Boston collect their first hit, but Bob made sure the Braves were denied a run.

But Salkeld singled to start the bottom of the eighth in this scoreless deadlock. Phil Masi came in to pinch run. A bunt moved Phil to second. Stanky batted, and here's where Bob walked him. There must be something with the first name, "Eddie" and the ability to draw walks in this era. For soon, Eddie Yost and Eddie Mathews would do their share of leading their respective leagues in that department.

But for 1948, it was Eddie Stanky not leading the league in walks. It was actually Bob Elliott, with 131. And he was on Boston. Feller retired him all three times. But as Johnny Sain himself batted, Feller tried to pick Masi off second. It appeared to get him, but Phil was called safe. But from the looks of pictures I've seen in numerous books, I'm not alone in thinking this was a blown call. Would it impact the final outcome? Sain lined out, two away. But Tommy Holmes singled to score the game's only run. Ken Keltner, whose two famous plays at third stopped Joe DiMaggio's streak at third (On one of them, he got The Yankee Clipper by an eyelash at first), reached first on an error in the ninth, but Sain retired the other three batters that came to the dish. Boston had won this stunner, 1-0! Could Feller come back and win his next start?



Cleveland went ahead and won the next three games, so Feller was there in game five at home to put the nail in the Braves' coffin. It did not turn out that way.

Feller was tagged for three runs in the top of the first, while Cleveland could only come back with a single tally in the bottom of the frame. Another run in the top of the third seemed to spell the end. Feller got settled down and held Boston scoreless in the fourth and fifth, meanwhile Cleveland tied it with four in the bottom of the fourth.

But a run by Boston in the top of the sixth put Boston up for good. Then the routed Feller and two more relief pitchers by scoring six times in the top of the next inning. Boston won, 11-5 to hand Feller another Fall Classic loss. It turned out to be Bob's last World Series appearance. Cleveland won game six back in Boston to clinch it.



The Indians made it back in 1954, only to be swept by the New York Giants. I well remember my father not being able to remember if Feller was there, but he sure was. 13-3. That paled in comparison to Early Wynn, Bob Lemon and Mike Garcia. Art Houtteman went 15-7. I guess that explains why Bob did not make it to the mound in '54.

We always love it to see our favourites conquer the opposition in the postseason. After all, they do it time and time again over the course of 154 (now 162) games. But the World Series is a different story. Two seasons earlier, Ted Williams and Stan Musial failed to produce in what turned out to be their final World Series. Ty Cobb failed in his first and third try their (Never winning it all, for that matter!). The Fall Classic is just a whole new ball game for even the all-time greats!


References

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/

http://sabr.org/

https://www.youtube.com

World Series: Did You Know?

Sandy Koufax retired the first twelve batters he faced in the Fall Classic. It may have been a pre-prime Sandy, but the lefty was really bringing it.

Well, why shouldn't he not have had it? Did he not strike out 18 Giants on August 31, 1959 to tie a record set by Bob Feller? Had he not fanned 16 batters earlier in the season on June 22nd? Had he not fanned 173 batters in only 153 1/3 innings of work that season? Lot of promise being shown here!

But the World Series is on centre stage. And you have to be ready. Certainly, Koufax's 1959 Dodgers were not ready for the Chicago White Sox in game one. There, in Chicago, it was 11-0 White Sox by the bottom of the fourth.

But it would be Sandy was on the mound as the next inning began.

He stated off by getting Jim Rivera out on a fly to Jimmy position in right field. Then, he fanned Early Wynn, his mound adversary. Sandy closed out the inning by getting Luis Aparicio out on a liner to left.

The next inning was even easier for Koufax. Nellie Fox got it to the outfield. But the next two batters, Jim Landis and Ted Kluszewksi, could not even get the ball out of the infield. Sandy's day was over, as the White Sox were 0-6 against him. But, far more importantly, Chicago won this game in a rout, 11-0.

Sandy didn't see any more action until game five. This time, he was the Dodgers' starter. And he came out smoking. Los Angeles was at home, having won the next three games. They were looking to close this thing out!

Not even missing the strike zone, Aparicio started the game by going down on three pitches. On the last of these, Luis never got the bat off the shoulder! Then, Nellie Fox popped out to Maury Wills at short. When Jim Landis became Sandy's second K of the inning, it was apparent that Koufax had it on this day. He had not missed the plate yet at this point.

In the top of the second inning, it was more of the same. Sherman Lollar grounded out to Jim Gilliam at third. Ted Kluszewski could only get it to short left. When Al Smith was retired, and again it was a fly ball to left, the inning was over. Sandy Koufax had started his World Series portion of his career by retiring twelve straight batters.

Bubba Phillips snapped the streak in the top of the third by stroking a single. Chicago, to their credit, got another hit that inning but were unable to score. They did, however, manage to beat Koufax, 1-0 to send it back to the Windy City for game six. There, it was Los Angeles winning it all, 9-3.

Koufax did not pitch in game six, so his World Series contributions were two innings in game one and seven innings in game five. However, by getting the first twelve batters to face him, notice had certainly been served to look out for this talented but wild lefty. For when he had control, he was a man to fear. And when he found it for good in 1961, we saw six seasons of almost unparralled pitching greatness!

The kind your seeing now from Kershaw!


References


Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

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

“baseball_otr : Free Download & Streaming.” Internet Archive. Old Time Radio / Internet Archive/ Major League Baseball, .

Retrosheet. Retrosheet. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <www.retrosheet.org>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.

Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <https://en.wikipedia.org>

1992 World Series Game 1

VS.

Jack Morris started game one for the Jays.

I remember being real bummed that my favourite, John Olerud would be benched. But it made sense, Olerud being a lefty and Tom Glavine, the Braves starter also a lefty. So Candy Maldonado was in left, Dave Winfield in right, Joe Carter at first.

The Jays didn’t get ball out of the infield in the first. Morris had some problems though. Otis Nixon singled, and (the Jays would soon get used to this) stole second. But Morris got the next three batters out.

Morris settled things down even more in the next two innings, retiring the Braves in order.


Meanwhile, the Jays got their first hit when Dave Winfield hit a chopper that the Braves could only watch helplessly. Two outs later, Pat Borders started out what would be a great series for him with a single. Manny Lee forced Borders out at second to end the inning. Amazingly, Winfield’s hit meant he obviously had his first World Series this year. Wonder if he will up that ugly 1-22 performance with the Yankees in the 1981 World Series? You bet he will.

Joe Carter led off the 4^th with a dinger! Alright Joe! I remember jumping up and thinking, that’s just what the Jays need, to get the long ball going. As the long ball went in that season, so to, did the Jays.

Morris got the first two batters out in the bottom of the frame, but then walked two straight batters. A wild pitch put runners on second and third. Morris then fanned the dangerous Ron Gant to get out of trouble.


Again in the fifth, Morris got the first two batters out.

And again, he walked the next two, Glavine and Nixon. At least Nixon can’t steal second.

Jeff Blauser ended the inning by fanning. That made it 18 consecutive scoreless inning for Morris, who tossed a ten inning shutout in game 7 of the '91 Series. Morris had also held the Braves scoreless for his last three innings (4-6) of game 4 a year ago.

Morris was showing all of us Jays fans what he had showed us all year long. The tougher it got, the tougher he got!


But so was Glavine, who really wasn’t letting the Jays get anything. The Jays had failed to get the ball out of the infield in the top of the 5^th.

In the 6^th, White popped out, Alomar looked at strike three. Carter flied out. Nine straight retired for Glavine.


In the bottom of the frame, Terry Pendleton, who to me was the Braves’ best hitter, grounded out to Alomar. Then he got ahead of Dave Justice, 1 and 2, but proceeded to miss on the next three pitches.


Sid Bream, who Morris usually always got out, came to bat. Oh, actually Jack had got him out in all 11 times he had faced him.


But not this time.


Bream singled to left.


However, Jack got Ron Gant to force Bream at second for the second out. 


Damon Berryhill was the batter.


Jack quickly got ahead 1-2. But after throwing the second strike, Gant stole second.

Morris went to his prized pitch, a forkball to get him out, but the ball ended up at waist level, and Berryhill hit the ball high over Winfield into the right field stands. The Braves were ahead 3-1.


Ahead for good, as Glavine allowed just one more hit, a Borders single in the eighth, which was quickly erased on a double play. 

Todd Stottlemyre and David Wells held the Braves scoreless  as well, the rest of the way, but it was a mute point.


My Jays world head turned upside down!

References

Gamester, George, and Gerald Hall. On Top Of The World: The Toronto Stars Tribute To The '92 Blue Jays. Doubleday Canada, 1992. Print.

Kostel, Mike and Rich Domich, directors. 1992 World Series. Performance by Lou Carlou, Major League Baseball Productions, 1992. World Series Film. DVD.

Retrosheet. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.  <www.retrosheet.org>

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 17 Oct 2012.