First round action
To open the regional, the 87-win 1986 Tigers, boasting many of the same names from their great '84 squad, faced the 96-loss 1978 Mets. The Tigers scraped together a run in the 2nd, 4th, and 5th to move out 3-0, but in the bottom of the 5th Lenny Randle, trying to atone for some atrocious fielding, tripled in two runs off Jack Morris's card. Morris, who allowed 40 homers that season, had one of the scariest pitching cards I've seen for a 20-game winner, and ultimately after staring at his card for 7 innings I had to pull him in the 8th for Bill Campbell out of fear rather than based on his performance. Campbell did his job and held the 3-2 lead for the save; the Tigers could only garner four hits off Craig Swan, but Chet Lemon nailed two of those when it counted.
After years in the wilderness as the St. Louis Browns, the 1960 Orioles 2nd place finish in the AL represented the franchise's best finish in decades. However, the Orioles were understandably concerned about their first round draw, as they would be facing HOFer Pete Alexander starting for the 1911 Phillies. That concern was short-lived when young 3b Brooks Robinson led off the game by converting a HR 1 FlyB 2-20 off Alexander's card, which put the Phillies ace into a 3 inning tailspin in which he gave up 8 runs, including a 3-run HR by Jim Gentile. The only sour note was a 5-game injury to Orioles catcher Gus Triandos, and lone backup Clint Courtney was neither an offensive nor a defensive asset. Even so, Courtney came through by nailing three Phillies attempting to steal their way back into the game, and Orioles starter Chuck Estrada finished what he started for an 8-1 Orioles win.
In a rare 1st round matchup between two pennant winners, Jim Palmer and the 1971 Orioles took on Ed Figueroa and the 1976 Yankees in front of a noisy Yankee Stadium crowd. That noise was short-lived, as the O's batted around in the top of the 1st to move to a 4-0 lead before Yankee leadoff hitter Mickey Rivers ever saw a pitch. A three run homer by Frank Robinson in the 4th chased Figueroa, but Sparky Lyle and Dick Tidrow weren't much more successful in shutting down the O's, with three NY errors making matters worse. The Orioles and Palmer cruised to an 11-1 win despite losing both Robinsons, Brooks and Frank, to injuries, although fortunately both will be available for what promises to be a tough 2nd round matchup.
With the 1930 A's looking at a tough 2nd round potential matchup against the '71 Orioles, I was sorely tempted to sit Lefty Grove against a sub-.500 1956 Giants team and save Lefty for round 2. However, with the Giants boasting 20-game winner Johnny Antonelli on the mound and Willie Mays in his prime, Grove got the nod. Initially, it looked like he might not have been needed--in the bottom of the first, a two-out rally culminated in Mickey Cochrane knocking in Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx with a triple and a quick 2-0 lead. A 2-run single by Dib Williams in the 3rd made it 4-0, and Grove was cruising, taking a 1-hitter into the 9th inning, although the A's were shut down by Antonelli. Then, Grove suddenly lost control and the Giants score 4 behind Mays and Bill White to tie the game. With Wilhelm warming up in the bullpen, Antonelli remains in the game but doesn't record an out. Bishop walks, Simmons singles him to 3rd, Foxx walks, and Mickey Cochrane knocks one over the head of Mays, who (unlike the 1954 Series) can't catch up with it. A's win, 5-4, setting up a marquee battle with Baltimore in the semis.
The Survivors
In the first semifinal, the 1960 Orioles move out to a 1-0 lead over the 1986 Tigers in the bottom of the 1st with a solo shot from Jim Gentile off Walt Terrell's card, then add another unearned run in the 5th off two errors by the Tigers' terrible corner infielders. Meanwhile, Jack Fisher is mowing down the Tigers until the 6th, when a Darnell Coles homer ties it up and then Fisher loads the bases, requiring Wes Stock to relieve and end the inning with the score still tied. A leadoff walk to Brooks Robinson in the 8th chases Terrell, but Mark Thurmond extinguishes any rally, and RBI singles by Whitaker and Trammell in the top of the 9th are enough to earn the Tigers a 4-2 win and a trip to the finals.
The more anticipated semifinal between two AL pennant winners, the 1971 Orioles and the 1930 A's, featured Dave McNally against George Earnshaw, two 20 game winners. Bing Miller greeted McNally in the bottom of the 1st with a leadoff HR (getting a 1-5 split off his own card), but McNally kept his composure to let Frank Robinson tie the game with a solo shot in the top of the 4th. However, the A's answered with 2 in the bottom of the 4th and another run in the 5th, with McNally simply unable to keep the A's off the basepaths--particularly with their ability to draw walks. Foxx knocks in his second run of the game in the 7th, giving the A's a 5-1 lead to enter the 8th. The Orioles finally mount a threat in the 8th, loading the bases with two out and Paul Blair up to bat as the tying run. However, the dice add injury to insult with Blair grounding out with injury, and Earnshaw set down the meat of the Orioles lineup in order to earn the 5-1 win and a berth in the regional finals.
After years in the wilderness as the St. Louis Browns, the 1960 Orioles 2nd place finish in the AL represented the franchise's best finish in decades. However, the Orioles were understandably concerned about their first round draw, as they would be facing HOFer Pete Alexander starting for the 1911 Phillies. That concern was short-lived when young 3b Brooks Robinson led off the game by converting a HR 1 FlyB 2-20 off Alexander's card, which put the Phillies ace into a 3 inning tailspin in which he gave up 8 runs, including a 3-run HR by Jim Gentile. The only sour note was a 5-game injury to Orioles catcher Gus Triandos, and lone backup Clint Courtney was neither an offensive nor a defensive asset. Even so, Courtney came through by nailing three Phillies attempting to steal their way back into the game, and Orioles starter Chuck Estrada finished what he started for an 8-1 Orioles win.
In a rare 1st round matchup between two pennant winners, Jim Palmer and the 1971 Orioles took on Ed Figueroa and the 1976 Yankees in front of a noisy Yankee Stadium crowd. That noise was short-lived, as the O's batted around in the top of the 1st to move to a 4-0 lead before Yankee leadoff hitter Mickey Rivers ever saw a pitch. A three run homer by Frank Robinson in the 4th chased Figueroa, but Sparky Lyle and Dick Tidrow weren't much more successful in shutting down the O's, with three NY errors making matters worse. The Orioles and Palmer cruised to an 11-1 win despite losing both Robinsons, Brooks and Frank, to injuries, although fortunately both will be available for what promises to be a tough 2nd round matchup.
With the 1930 A's looking at a tough 2nd round potential matchup against the '71 Orioles, I was sorely tempted to sit Lefty Grove against a sub-.500 1956 Giants team and save Lefty for round 2. However, with the Giants boasting 20-game winner Johnny Antonelli on the mound and Willie Mays in his prime, Grove got the nod. Initially, it looked like he might not have been needed--in the bottom of the first, a two-out rally culminated in Mickey Cochrane knocking in Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx with a triple and a quick 2-0 lead. A 2-run single by Dib Williams in the 3rd made it 4-0, and Grove was cruising, taking a 1-hitter into the 9th inning, although the A's were shut down by Antonelli. Then, Grove suddenly lost control and the Giants score 4 behind Mays and Bill White to tie the game. With Wilhelm warming up in the bullpen, Antonelli remains in the game but doesn't record an out. Bishop walks, Simmons singles him to 3rd, Foxx walks, and Mickey Cochrane knocks one over the head of Mays, who (unlike the 1954 Series) can't catch up with it. A's win, 5-4, setting up a marquee battle with Baltimore in the semis.
The Survivors
In the first semifinal, the 1960 Orioles move out to a 1-0 lead over the 1986 Tigers in the bottom of the 1st with a solo shot from Jim Gentile off Walt Terrell's card, then add another unearned run in the 5th off two errors by the Tigers' terrible corner infielders. Meanwhile, Jack Fisher is mowing down the Tigers until the 6th, when a Darnell Coles homer ties it up and then Fisher loads the bases, requiring Wes Stock to relieve and end the inning with the score still tied. A leadoff walk to Brooks Robinson in the 8th chases Terrell, but Mark Thurmond extinguishes any rally, and RBI singles by Whitaker and Trammell in the top of the 9th are enough to earn the Tigers a 4-2 win and a trip to the finals.
The more anticipated semifinal between two AL pennant winners, the 1971 Orioles and the 1930 A's, featured Dave McNally against George Earnshaw, two 20 game winners. Bing Miller greeted McNally in the bottom of the 1st with a leadoff HR (getting a 1-5 split off his own card), but McNally kept his composure to let Frank Robinson tie the game with a solo shot in the top of the 4th. However, the A's answered with 2 in the bottom of the 4th and another run in the 5th, with McNally simply unable to keep the A's off the basepaths--particularly with their ability to draw walks. Foxx knocks in his second run of the game in the 7th, giving the A's a 5-1 lead to enter the 8th. The Orioles finally mount a threat in the 8th, loading the bases with two out and Paul Blair up to bat as the tying run. However, the dice add injury to insult with Blair grounding out with injury, and Earnshaw set down the meat of the Orioles lineup in order to earn the 5-1 win and a berth in the regional finals.
The World Champion 1930 A's thus stood poised to join their famous 1931 counterparts (winners of #37) as regional victors, with only the 87-win 1986 Tigers in the way. With five Hall of Famers on the team and a 6th managing the squad, it was hard not to be confident, so imagine the shock the A's felt staring at the scoreboard after three innings, which read: Detroit 8, Philadelphia 0. A's starter Rube Walberg was bludgeoned by the Tigers, with Johnny Grubb hitting two 2-run homers as well as a double. Meanwhile, 22 year old Eric King took full advantage of his starting opportunity, holding the A's and their .294 team batting average to only 5 hits and 1 run off an Al Simmons double. With the 8-1 victory, the '86 Tigers did what their more famous '84 version couldn't--win their regional final.
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