REGIONAL #68

This regional featured one pennant winner, an early version of the Gashouse Gang in the 1930 Cardinals.  However, a number of other squads in this regional were contenders just a year or two away from a pennant. There were various possibilities for a themed regional final:  perhaps an all-Cardinals final (1930 and 1980 versions), or an all-Reds final (1941 and 1978), or even an all-1930 final (NL champ Cards vs. AL runner-up Senators).  Although the lone pennant winner had to be considered the favorite, it was a challenging bracket and I thought at least 6 of the 8 teams had a decent shot.  However, as has been typical in this tournament, it turns out that the winner wasn't one of them.

First round action:

The 1941 Reds won 88 games after winning the NL pennant the prior year, and appeared to be favorites over the 90-loss 2017 Braves.  However, Johnny "double no-hit" Vandermeer quickly lost his no-hitter, as the Braves began the game with three straight hits (including a leadoff triple by Inciarte) to open with a 1-0 lead.  Reds CF Harry Craft tied it up in the 2nd with a homer, but in the 3rd Inciarte doubled and Freeman singled him home to put the Braves back on top 2-1.  Meanwhile, the knuckler was working for Braves starter RA Dickey, who allowed only 4 hits through 7 innings.  However, in the 8th Mike McCormick crushed a non-knuckling pitch into the seats to put the Reds up 3-2, and Vandermeer had found his stuff, allowing only two hits after the 1st inning to lead the Reds to a 3-2 comeback win.

The 94-win 1930 Senators faced off against the 1980 Cardinals, and found themselves in a quick hole when George Hendrick hit a bases-loaded double in the bottom of the 3rd to score 3.  In the 6th, the Senators finally got on the board when Joe Judge hit a solo HR off Pete Vuckovich's card, and then the Senators showed some 1930-style hitting, putting across 4 runs on 4 hits in the 7th to move out to a 5-3 lead, Urrea coming in to relieve Vuckovich.  The Senator lead did not last long when Dane Iorg converted a HR 1-2 roll in the bottom of the 7th for a 3-run shot, and Urrea held on to earn the Cards a 6-5 upset victory.

With 544 teams having played in this tournament, something happened when the 82-win 1975 Mets and the 92-win 1978 Reds faced off that I don't believe I've seen before:  the same pitcher, Tom Seaver, started for both teams.  Unfortunately for the Reds, their Tom was somewhat less terrific, allowing three runs on four hits in the top of the 1st.  The Reds recorded an unearned run in the 3rd on the first of four Mets errors (their left side of the infield is particularly terrible), although the Mets answered in the 5th with a 2-run homer from Ed Kranepool.  The Reds added unearned runs in the 6th and 7th, and when the Mets' Seaver walked two in the 8th they turned to Skip Lockwood, who retired the side without damage.  The Reds mounted a threat in the 9th but Bench grounded into a double-play to defensive replacement Bud Harrelson, and the Mets escaped with a 5-3 win.

The NL pennant winning 1930 Cardinals, who won 92 games, drew a tough first round matchup against the 89-win 1998 Giants.  Two offensive juggernauts, with the Cards having a team batting average of .314 while the Giants boasted serious power from Bonds and Kent in that homer-happy season.  The Cards made it look like it would be easy, riding two triples and 3 Giants errors in the 1st inning to a quick 4-0 lead.  By the 6th it was 6-0, and the Giants yanked starter Kurt Rueter for Steve Reed, who has no complete hits on his card, in a desperation move.  In the bottom of the 6th, with two out Cards HOFer Frankie Frisch (2b-1) drops a Barry Bonds grounder, and Jeff Kent follows with a 3 (unearned) run homer to bring the score to 6-3.  In the meantime, Reed is holding the remarkable Cards lineup hitless, and in the bottom of the 8th Cards starter Jesse Haines gets wild, allowing two walks and a single to load the bases for Ellis Burks.  With nothing but disaster in the bullpen for the Cards, they stick with Haines, and Burks responds with a grand slam--hit off Haines' card.  The Cards are shut down by Reed in the 9th, giving the Giants an impressive 7-6 comeback win.

The survivors:

The 1941 Reds got on the board quickly against the 1980 Cards with a run in the top of the 1st, but the inning ended with Reds HOF catcher Ernie Lombardi lost indefinitely to injury.  That loss seemed to galvanize the Reds, who smacked hit after hit against a helpless Bob Forsch and a motley crew of relievers, end up with 19 hits in a 14-3 blowout win.  Reds starter Bucky Walters allowed 6 hits, with all runs coming on homers from Hendrick and Hernandez, but the Reds scored eight in the last 3 innings to send the Cardinals south for the winter.

It was Hershiser against Koosman in the regional semifinal pitting the 1975 Mets against the 1998 Giants, and Dave Kingman greeted Hershiser with a two-run shot in the 2nd to give the Mets an early lead.  By the 4th, that lead had expanded to 4-1, and although both teams threatened nearly every inning, the two veteran starters kept any more runs from scoring until the 8th.  At that point, Koosman was pulled for Apodaca with two out and runners on 2nd and 3rd.  Pinch hitter Marvin Benard did his job, singling and scoring one, but Aurilia (1-15) was nailed at the plate trying to add a second.  The Mets made it academic in the 9th, scoring 3 off Giants relief ace Robb Nen and in the bottom of the inning Apodaca got Bonds to hit into a game-ending double play to seal the 7-2 win.

Critical injury sinks the Reds

The regional final thus pits the 88-win 1941 Reds against the 82-win 1975 Mets, with each team having their challenges to overcome.   The Reds will be without their Hall of Fame catcher Ernie Lombardi, lost to injury, while the Mets have to curtail the fielding woes that have led to six errors in their first two games.  It seems that mediocre Mets teams tend to be lucky in this tournament, and when it comes to single elimination, it may be better to be lucky than to be good.  And that's how it went for the Regional #68 finals, with the 1975 Mets taking a 4-1 victory on a deciding 2-run HR from Jerry Grote that was a HR 1-3/fly B roll on 1941 Reds starter Elmer Riddle.  Jon Matlack was in control for the Mets, limiting the Lombardi-less Reds to 6 hits, and the porous Mets defense didn't allow any hits/errors all game.  Although the Mets will have plenty of time to celebrate their regional win, in the fourth round they will ultimately face the 1951 Giants, who disposed of a much better Mets team in their regional final.