REGIONAL #132:  My first impression on seeing the draw for this bracket was that I’d get to see a couple of the best power hitters that pharmaceuticals can produce, and that I felt sorry for the few pre-PED era teams in the group.  There weren’t any pennant winners, and the only team that seemed to be within a few years of winning one were the 2000 Giants, who captured the NL two years later.  However, I did remember that three Indians teams from the 1960s had previously won regionals, so I thought that perhaps the 1966 Indians might be good for some surprises.  I also remembered that Mark McGwire single-handedly drove the ‘96 A’s to a regional win, although I didn’t think his ‘95 card represented here would be quite as dangerous.  Even so, I predicted an all-steroids final with the 2000 Bonds/Giants over the 1995 McGwire/A’s.  The ELO rankings agreed with my pick of the Giants, as they ranked their 2000 team as the best in baseball that year despite not winning the pennant.  However, the rankings also suggested that the Giants had a tough road to the finals, where they were expect to face their rivals, the Dodgers, from the same season.

First round action

I was curious to see why the 45-105 1938 Phillies merited inclusion as one of the worst 30 teams of all time, according to the ELO rankings; it turns out that they had no power (Chuck Klein led them with 8 HR), half of the team were “4”s on defense, and their best pitcher was Al Hollandsworth (7-18, 4.36), who might have been a good #4 starter for another team.  They faced the 67-77 1995 A’s, who had no power shortage–I had doubted that McGwire could be as good as the ‘96 version that powered the A’s to the regional win, and this season Mac “only” hit 39 HR–but it was in 317 at bats in a strike-shortened season.  Todd Stottlemyre (14-7, 4.55) was on the mound for Oakland, but he starts dismally with a single and two walks, all off his card, to load the bases, and then Mike Bordick drops a double-play ball to let in one run, Chuck Klein singles for another, and the Phils lead 2-0 before the A’s have seen a pitch.  The A’s don’t do too well in the bottom of the 1st, as CF Stan Javier gets hurt and McGwire hits into an inning-ending DP.  In the 3rd, doubles by Phil Weintraub and Morrie Arnovich, both off Stottlemyre’s card, expand the lead to 3-0, but in the 5th the Phils lose Klein to injury for 5 games, which for this team might as well be for the rest of eternity.  Klein’s replacement, LF-4 Earl Browne, comes in just in time to turn a Scott Brosius fly ball into a triple, and Geronimo Berroa knocks him in to narrow the margin to 3-1.  Brosius singles in Rickey Henderson in the 6th, and it’s now a one-run game, but Stottlemyre allows a walk and a single in the 7th and he’s gone in favor of Jim Corsi, who delivers a walk and a 2-run single to George Scharein and it’s now 5-2 Phils.  However, in the 9th the A’s stage a 2-out rally, and a Bordick double makes it 5-3 and he represents the tying run on 2nd.  The A’s bring in Danny Tartabull to pinch hit with the game on the line….and he rolls in the middle of a 2 column full of whiffs, meaning that the Phils head to the semifinals with a 5-3 upset and this time around McGwire leads the A’s back to the drawers.  

The 86-win 2000 Dodgers were an uneven team, with half of the defense being “4”s but boasting five guys in the lineup with more than 20 HRs, led by Gary Sheffield’s 43, and a couple of very good pitchers, including Chan Ho Park (18-10, 3.27).   The 1966 Indians went an even 81-81 on the arms of a very good rotation, but spotty fielding and offense; Luis Tiant (12-11, 2.79) was tapped for the start.  The Dodgers get a rude awakening in the top of the 1st when Sheffield gets dinged up and has to leave the game, although fortunately for LA their bench seemed to have plenty of DH candidates for an NL team.  The Indians take a lead in the 3rd on a leadoff HR by Chico Salmon, converting a HR 1-4/flyB to move out in front 1-0; Salmon rolls the same result in his next AB in the 5th, but this time fails to make the split.  In the 7th, the Indians try to shore up their defense by bringing in Jim Landis in CF, and he immediately misplays a Dave Hansen single; a rattled Tiant then allows back-to-back triples by Mark Grudzielanek and Alex Cora (one on a 1-4 split, the second on a TR 1/ SI**) and suddenly the Dodgers have a 2-1 lead, but in the process lose Eric Karros to yet another injury–an 8 gamer that likely puts him out of the tournament.  Now armed with a lead, Park is relentless, and closes out a 4-hitter to give the Dodgers the 2-1 victory and a trip to the semifinals, for which Sheffield is expected to return.  Tiant allows only 5 hits in defeat but is undone by some unlucky split rolls, although there is little room for complaint as the Indians’ sole run came from similar luck.

The ELO rankings pegged the 1st-round matchup between the 2012 Orioles and the 2011 Angels as one between two pretty good modern era teams.  The Orioles won 93 games and made the postseason as a wildcard team; they had a powerful core of the lineup and a good bullpen but starting pitching depth was lacking, with Jason Hammel (8-6, 3.43) their best option.  The 86-win Angels didn’t have quite the lineup punch of the Orioles, partially because 19 year old Mike Trout was still finding his groove, but they had some talented arms, led by AL Cy Young runner-up Jared Weaver (18-8, 2.41).  In the bottom of the 1st the Angels move ahead 1-0 on a Torii Hunter RBI single, but lose key hitter 1B Mark Trumbo to injury.  They add a second run on a Peter Bourjos solo HR in the 3rd, and meanwhile the O’s can’t even muster a hit against Weaver until Wilson Betemit singles in the 7th, but he’s immediately erased on a DP.  After a leadoff walk by Vernon Wells in the bottom of the inning, Baltimore moves to closer Jim Johnson to try to stay in the game and he ends the inning without incident, but Howie Kendrick doubles off his card in the 8th and Alberto Callaspo singles him home.  The Orioles’ defense then falls apart, as SS-1 JJ Hardy drops a grounder, and LF-2 Nate McLouth misplays an Erick Aybar flyball into a double, and the Angels lead 4-0 heading into the 9th.  However, Weaver suddenly gets shaky, and a two-out double by Adam Jones scores a run and puts the tying run at the plate in the form of O’s leading HR hitter Chris Davis.  However, Davis fans, as he did 169 times that season, and the Angels escape with a 4-1 win as Weaver completes the 4-hitter. 

The ELO ranks had this as the game of the regional, with the #1 seed 2000 Giants against the #2 seed 2013 A’s.   According to those ranks, the 97-win Giants were the best team in baseball that season, although they lost in the NLDS to the Mets, and they had a steroid-packed lineup and some good relievers who would likely be needed, with Kirk Rueter (11-9, 3.96) getting the nod from a group of unimpressive starter options.  Their cross-bay rivals won 96 games and also won the West division in their league, and like the Giants the A’s lost in the divisional series; they were starting big-boned Bartolo Colon (18-6, 2.65), who came in 6th in the AL Cy Young balloting.  Things go horribly awry in the top of the 1st for Colon, as a walk and two singles through the A’s infield defense load the bases for the Giants; Ellis Burks knocks a sac fly, and then Jeff Kent knocks a deep fly for a 3-run blast and the Giants lead 4-0.  The A’s get one back immediately in the bottom of the inning as Jed Lowrie and Brandon Moss both hit doubles, and a Kurt Suzuki RBI single in the 4th narrows the SF lead to 4-2.  Both pitchers then settle into a groove, but when Colon allows runners on 1st and 3rd in the 8th the A’s move to their closer, Grant Balfour–and he immediately allows a double to Bobby Estalella, although only one run scores as Ramon Martinez is cut down at the plate to end the inning.  Rueter then heads into the bottom of the 9th with a 3-run lead, but a walk and a single puts the tying run at the plate and the Giants bring in closer Rob Nen to face the A’s leading HR hitter in Moss with one out.  Moss singles to bring in one, and now Josh Donaldson at the plate represents the winning run.  The roll is on Donaldson’s card, but it’s a gbA and the Giants survive with a 5-3 win and a trip to the semis.

The survivors

More dangerous in the field than at the plate

In their book “Baseball Dynasties”, Neyer and Epstein rank teams according to the combined standard deviations compared to league averages for runs scored and runs allowed; this regional’s semifinal entrant, the 1938 Phillies, were the 5th worst team since 1900 according to that metric.  Yet, they remain alive, with their leading “power” hitter injured and their winningest pitcher, Claude Passeau (11-18, 4.52) on the mound, ready to face the 2000 Dodgers.  The Dodgers were missing Eric Karros but LA’s top HR hitter Gary Sheffield would return to the lineup after the minor injury suffered in the first round, and Kevin Brown (13-6, 2.58) was licking his chops in anticipation of facing the feeble Phillie lineup.  Things start out grim for the Phils as leadoff hitter and 2B Heinie Mueller gets injured first thing in the top of the 1st, but that seems to spark the team as doubles by Hersh Martin and Buck Jordan, and a big error by LA LF-5 Gary Sheffield, lead to three runs for the Phils before the inning ends.  The Dodgers try to start climbing back into it with a Todd Hundley RBI single in the 3rd and another by Tom Goodwin in the 4th, but in the 6th Sheffield manages to play a Morrie Arnovich flyball into a two-run triple, and the Phillies lead is now 5-2.  Meanwhile, Passeau hasn’t allowed any hits since the 4th inning, but he walks two in the bottom of the 9th to face Sheffield, representing the tying run with one away.  Sheffield has the chance to atone for his atrocious fielding, and….he hits into a double play, game over, and the unlikely Phils move to the finals with two injuries depleting their already feeble lineup.

The top seeded 2000 Giants came into this semifinal game at full strength and with Livan Hernandez (17-11, 3.75), their winningest pitcher, ready to go on the mound.  Meanwhile, their opponent, the #5 seed 2011 Angels, had their top HR hitter, Mark Trumbo, still out with an injury, although Dan Haren (16-10, 3.17) was a pretty solid option as their starter.   Both starters begin strong, with Hernandez getting out of jams caused by three Giants errors in the early innings, but in the 5th Izturis raps a single for the first hit off Livan.  Giants CF-3 Marvin Benard then plays an Alberto Callaspo flyball into a double, so SF brings in the infield to try to keep the game knotted with weak-hitting (.174, to be exact) C Jeff Mathis at the plate.  However, a gbA++ and Mathis brings both runners home to put the southern Californians in the lead.  However, in the 6th Benard hits a leadoff double trying to atone for his fielding, then JT Snow singles him home, followed by a Barry Bonds blast that puts the Giants on top.  Benard does some more atoning in the 7th with an RBI single, and when Bonds doubles to lead off the 8th the Angels bring in Scott Downs, but Ramon Martinez atones for his two errors with an RBI single, Rich Aurelia adds an run-scoring double, and the Giants head to the 9th inning with a commanding 6-2 lead.  The Angels get a single from Vernon Wells followed by an Izturis double, and the Giants take no chances, turning to Felix Rodriguez to close things out.  Callaspo gets a run in on a sac fly, but that’s all the flying the Angels would do as the Giants head to the regional final with the 6-3 win.

No steroids here

This is perhaps the biggest David vs. Goliath regional final in the history of the tournament, with the #1 seed 2000 Giants, the best team in baseball that season, against the #8 seed 1938 Phillies, the worst team in baseball that season and by any metric among the worst in history.  In reading up on the 1938 Phillies trying to figure out how such an objectively terrible team could make the regional finals, I discovered that this was their first season in Shibe Park after moving out of the much smaller Baker Bowl, so I thought that perhaps the team was simply not well-constructed for their new environment.  The team only hit a total of 40 homers, nine less than Barry Bonds by himself, and with injuries to their #1 and #2 homer threats the Phils could only muster 28 for this game.  Of course, a move to a new park didn’t explain why the team was terrible in 1937 also, and the more spacious digs didn’t seem to help their pitching any–it was now time for staff workhorse Hugh Mulcahy (10-20, 4.61), whose efforts earned him the unfortunate nickname of “Losing Pitcher”.  The Giants were getting down into the dregs of their rotation, although surprisingly for a steroid-era team, their problems weren’t homers allowed; it was terrible control, with both Ortiz and Estes allowing more than 100 walks in less than 200 innings.  So the start went to Mark Gardner (11-7, 4.05), but the Phils .196-hitting C Bill Atwood finds and converts Gardner’s HR split in the 3rd to give the Phils a 2-0 lead as the fans at Pacific Bell Park look on in disbelief.  Meanwhile, the Giants don’t even get a hit against Mulcahy until the 5th, and when Gardner allows a 2-out double off his card in the 6th the Giants sense that emergency measures are necessary, and closer Robb Nen is brought in to try to salvage their chances.  Nen promptly walks Del Young, to bring up Atwood.  The roll:  4-5 on Nen’s card, HR 1-2/flyB, and the split die comes up: 1 (my laughter in reaction to that roll had my family members concerned about me).  Atwood thus coaxes a 3-run homer over the wall for his second blast of the game and the Phils lead 5-0, but the dice gods seem aggravated and in the 6th Phils CF Hersh Martin leads off by getting injured for four games–the third Phillie out of the lineup.  The Giants finally get untracked in the 8th and load the bases with nobody out, and with no bullpen to speak of Mulcahy isn’t going anywhere.  Ellis Burks then hits into a DP, which at least scores one, and Jeff Kent adds an RBI single and the gap is narrowed to 5-2 entering the 9th.  The Phils do nothing in the top of the 9th, so it comes down to the bottom of the Giants order.  Rich Aurelia doubles and Marvin Benard draws a 2-out walk, so the tying run comes to the plate in the form of JT Snow, with Bonds on deck.  But Snow grounds out, and the unlikely and injury-riddled Phils hoist the regional flag, with catcher Bill Atwood–a guy who had seven career homers–hitting two in the final to be named the even more unlikely MVP.

Interesting card of Regional #132:  Okay, so I did feature this guy once before back in Regional #103, but it was in his days with the Pirates and so this is sort of a before-and-after look into the steroid era.  Say what you want about his Hall of Fame candidacy, this is a nice looking card, although that 3-9 roll drives me crazy.  It’s also an interesting card in that it’s one of the few that has both the MLBPA logo as well as Bonds’ name on it, as shortly thereafter he decided he would negotiate his name/image/likeness rights separately from the players’ union and the game company no longer included his name on the cards.  Anyhow, in 2000 Bonds finished 2nd in the MVP voting to teammate Jeff Kent; Bonds was higher in WAR and OPS than Kent, although Kent had more RBIs–mainly because he batted after Bonds in the lineup.   At any rate, Bonds made up for any potential slight by then rattling off four straight NL MVP awards, a stretch that probably only ended because he missed most of 2005 trying to recover from knee surgery.  Referring to the half-decade that began with this card, his SABR bio probably puts it best:  “Debates will always rage, but statistically Bonds’ efforts from 2000 to 2004 can be claimed as the greatest five-year period ever for a hitter.”  Perhaps it is karma that his Giants lost in the regional finals to what was by all accounts one of the worst baseball teams of all time.