REGIONAL #11:  This collection was yet another strong group, with two great Old Timer team pennant winners, three teams (Dodgers, Mets, Yankees) a year away from a pennant, and a Phillies team that was heading towards a pennant but collapsed in September.  The first of the Old Timers, the 1946 Red Sox, matched up against the post-Bucky Dent 1979 Yankees, and Tex Hughson held the Yanks to three hits while Dom Dimaggio and Johnny Pesky provided all the offense needed to beat Ron Guidry with a 4-0 shutout win.  True to form, the 1964 Phillies got off to a fast 5-0 start against the 1980 Indians paced by a three-run Richie Allen homer, and Jim Bunning held on despite a Cleveland rally to win 6-3.   The 1970 Mets rode the arm of Jerry Koosman, who tossed a 6-hitter against the 1962 Dodgers to cement a 5-2 Mets win.  Finally, the 1948 Indians and Satchel Paige handled the 1974 Rangers 5-2, with both teams hit by the injury bug as Lenny Randle and Eddie Robinson get knocked out of the game.  

In the first semifinal game between the 1946 Red Sox and the 1964 Phillies, Boston’s Joe Dobson and Philly’s Ray Culp are locked in a scoreless duel for six innings.  The Sox punch across a run in the 7th and another in the 8th to take a 2-0 lead, but in the bottom of the 8th a Cookie Rojas 2-run double ties it, and the game eventually heads to extra innings.  The Phils have closer Jack Baldschun in for the 10th, but Johnny Pesky connects for a solo HR, Dobson finishes out his 10th inning without a baserunner, and the Red Sox move to the finals with a 3-2 win.  The other semifinal between the 1948 Indians and the 1970 Mets featured HOF fireballers Bob Feller and Nolan Ryan in a showdown, but Feller is the sharper of the two, tossing a 3-hit shutout and the Indians record a 4-0 triumph to set up a date with Boston.

The game winner

That sets up a tournament first, with two of the original Old Timer teams, the 1946 Red Sox and the 1948 Indians, going head to head in the regional final.  It’s Bob Lemon against Dave Ferriss, and the Sox make Lemonade in the 2nd by knocking 4 hits, including RBI singles from Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky, and Boston takes a 2-0 lead all the way to the 7th inning.   The Indians record a run in the 7th on a Doby single, and a Lou Boudreau double ties it in the 8th.   The Indians get the winning run into scoring position in the bottom of the 9th but Ferriss guts it out and the game heads to extra innings.  Neither team can initially mount much of a threat, but in the 13th the Indians load the bases for Allie Clark, who delivers the walk-off single as the Indians take the 3-2 game and the regional.  The Indians thus become the first to win more than one regional, setting up a long history of success for this franchise throughout the tournament.