SUPER-REGIONAL B:  After crowning 32 regional winners, it seemed time to present another “super-regional” representing the best of a 64 team bracket–matching regional winners #9 through #16.  The eight regionals comprising the pool for Super-Regional B was arguably the most stacked in the history of the tournament, with 17 different pennant-winners among the 64 teams that began, again resulting from the density of Old-Timer teams in those early brackets.  Three of those pennant winners remain alive in the group of eight regional winners:  the 1948 Indians and their vaunted pitching staff, the 1957 Braves with Henry Aaron, and the 1960 Pirates of Bill Mazeroski fame.   Among the great teams in this group of 64 that did not make it:  the 1950 Yankees, the 1935 Cubs, and the 1969 Orioles.  As a reminder, the first round of the super-regional is the 4th game for these teams, meaning that these teams are having to go deep into their rotations for a #4 starter. The ELO ranks of the 8 remaining teams forecasts a final consisting of the 1948 Indians downing the ‘57 Braves, but all of these teams have won three in a row and, as shown in Super-Regional A, sometimes the dice just smile upon an undistinguished team that was unappreciated in its time.

Round 4

Could call his own shot

The first matchup of round 4 featured two teams from the 1970s who each had upset a pennant winner to survive their regionals.   The 1972 Giants had defeated the 1946 Cardinals in their regional final, and given that the 1975 version of this team had miraculously won Super-Regional A, nobody was underestimating this Giants team.  They faced a 1973 Cardinals team that had to beat TWO pennant winners in a row, the ‘64 Yankees and the ‘70 Reds, to get to this level.  The Giants went with Juan Marichal as their starter to face the Cards and Alan Foster, but neither starter can make it past the 5th inning as the offenses both run amok.  The Cards move out to a 5-0 lead that chases Marichal in the 3rd inning, but the Giants rally for four in the 5th and another 4 in the 6th, and suddenly SF holds an 8-6 lead.  A succession of relievers for both teams can’t put out the fire, and the game enters the 9th inning with the Cards clinging to a 10-8 lead.  In the top of the 9th, the Giants score another run and St. Louis faces the bottom of the 9th down 11-8 with the Giants having to turn to Randy Moffitt to try to hold on to the win.  But the Cards bats are relentless, pounding out hit after hit with RBI singles from the two Teds, Simmons and Sizemore.  Ultimately, Moffitt faces Tim McCarver with the bases loaded and the score 11-10.  Moffitt brings it in, and McCarver sends it out–a walk-off grand slam to give the Cards a thrilling 14-11 win.

The next pairing featured two high-profile teams, the World Champion 1948 Indians and the NL West winning 1969 Braves.  However, in this game the difference in the pitching depth was obvious, with 20-game winner Gene Bearden facing 7-game winner Jim Britton, and homers in the 3rd inning by Larry Doby and Joe Gordon–the latter a grand slam–is more than Bearden needs as he tosses a four-hit shutout and the Indians move on with a 6-0 win.   The pitching matchup in the meeting between the 1960 Pirates and the 1967 Indians was more even, with Sudden Sam McDowell and Vern Law battling for most of the game.  The Indians rode a Vic Davallilo homer to a 3-0 lead, but a Mazeroski RBI single in the 7th and a 2-run homer in the 8th from Dr. Strangeglove, Dick Stuart, ties it and the game heads to extra innings, with both teams then needing help from their bullpen.  However, in the bottom of the 11th a walk by Cleveland reliever George Culver is followed by a double from Dick Groat, and the Pirates walk off with the 4-3 win.

The final round 4 game also proved to be a nail-biter, with the NL champion 1957 Braves squaring off against the NL West-winning 1979 Reds, Lew Burdette against Mike Lacoss.  Both starters are on and after nine innings the score is knotted at 1-1, and nothing happens until Red Schoendienst (who made an earlier appearance in this super-regional as manager of the ‘73 Cards) nails a 2-run double in the top of the 12th to put the Braves up 3-1.  It’s then up to closer Don McMahon (who had made a disasterous relief appearance for the ‘72 Giants earlier in the super-regional) in the bottom of the 12th, but this time he does the job and the Braves survive the extra-inning marathon to move on.

Round 5

Nobody gaining on him

The first matchup looked a bit lopsided on paper, with the legendary 1948 Indians facing off against a seemingly mediocre 81-81 1973 Cardinals team that had nonetheless won every game in their regional as an underdog.  And they were an underdog here, with Satchel Paige going up against Reggie Cleveland, and the latter doesn’t make it out of the 2nd inning as Eddie Robinson chases him with a 3-run homer.  Ken Keltner later adds a 3-run shot of his own, and by the time the fat lady sings the Indians have demolished the Cards 10-0, with Paige tossing a 3-hitter.  They thus become the first pennant-winning team, and the first Strat Old-Timer team, to make it to a super-regional final.

Given that the second round five game involved two pennant winners and two Old-Timer teams, the 1957 Braves and the 1960 Pirates, it was assured that the final would include two such teams.  It was Pittsburgh’s Vinegar Bend Mizell against Milwaukee’s Bob Trowbridge, and each team scored a run in the 2nd inning feeling out the opponent.  A Clemente homer in the 5th pushes the Pirates to a 4-1 lead, but doubles from Wes Covington and Johnny Logan tie it up in the 6th.  A Bob Skinner RBI single in the 8th puts the Pirates up by a run, but given the tendency for walk-off comebacks in this bracket, Pittsburgh takes no chances, erupting in the 9th for 5 runs, including a bases-clearing triple from Don Hoak, and the Pirates sail into the finals with a 10-4 win.

Super-Regional B finals

Unlike Super-Regional A, this one played out as might be expected.  Starting with 64 teams, it comes down to two World Champions in the 1948 Indians and the 1960 Pirates, Bob Feller against Harvey Haddix for all the marbles.  Both starters begin strong, with no score until Joe Gordon hits a solo shot in the 5th to give the Indians a 1-0 edge.  However, Gordon isn’t done, as in the 7th he and Ken Keltner go back-to-back to make it 3-0 and Haddix is gone in favor of Roy Face.   The Pirates get a run back in the bottom of the inning when Hoak singles in Clemente, but Feller asserts control and there will be no miracle final inning for the Pirates this time.  The 1948 Indians capture the super-regional, Feller scattering 8 hits in the complete game, and the squad adds to their case for being one of the greatest teams of all-time–reeling off six straight must-win victories.