REGIONAL #175:  A contemporary pennant winner in the 2019 Nationals headed this group of teams, and although there weren’t any other teams that jumped out as potential greats it looked like it was a better collection than were pulled in the last bracket.  There was a bicentennial White Sox team that would attempt to overcome both my jinx and their terrible uniforms, a probable appearance from Stan the Man, and what I thought would be potential contenders from the 80s in the Giants, Indians, and A’s.  I seemed to remember the Nats with a strong pitching staff that should be able to handle this collection, and I guessed that they would best the A’s in the finals.  The ELO season ending ranking for the Nats would put them 35th on the all-time list, making them the favorites over a 1996 Padres team that I had apparently overlooked as a strong team.

First round action

The ELO ratings suggested that I had overlooked the #2 seeded 1996 Padres, and indeed I did as they won 91 games and the NL West before getting swept in the NLDS.  They had two Hall of Famers at the top of their order in Rickey Henderson and Tony Gwynn, who were followed by NL MVP Ken Caminiti, with HOF closer Trevor Hoffman waiting in the pen with a killer card.  They would send Scott Sanders (9-5, 3.38) out against the bracket’s bottom seed, the 2017 Reds, who lost 94 games despite a lineup with some pop, primarily due to a dismal starting rotation with Scott Feldman (7-7, 4.77) being the least terrible arm that was eligible.  The Reds put their power on display in the top of the 3rd when Joey Votto belts a tape-measure 2-run homer, but in the bottom of the inning Feldman walks the first two batters and then the bottom falls out.  Gwynn knocks an RBI single; Steve Finley converts a SI* 1/lo to drive in another; a walk to load the bases and then Wally Joyner nails a 2-run single, with the remaining runners cleared on a 3-run homer by Chris Gomez off Feldman’s solid HR result.  The Reds bring in Wandy Peralta and he finally gets the third out but it’s now 7-2 Padres.  Peralta does better than Feldman, but by the 7th he’s tiring and allows a Finley double followed by a long Greg Vaughn homer and closer Raisel Iglesias is brought in; although he throws two perfect innings, Sanders has control of the game and closes out the 9-2 win to send the Padres to the semifinals, seeking to cement a mini-dynasty with the ‘95 and ‘98 teams having previously won regionals.

The 1954 Cardinals were the #3 seed in this bracket, although they only mustered a 72-82 record despite a strong year from Stan Musial; they were hampered by a lackluster starting rotation that dropped off after staff ace Harvey Haddix (18-13, 3.57).  They faced a 1985 A’s team with a similar 77-85 record that was beginning to assemble a team that would win some pennants later in the decade, but this version relied on bats like those of Dave Kingman and Mike Davis, but their top starter was Don Sutton (15-10, 3.86), who was traded away towards the end of the season.   In the top of the 3rd the A’s rip off three straight singles, the last from Bruce Bochte driving in a run to put Oakland up 1-0.  They add to their lead when Dwayne Murphy finds and converts Haddix’s HR split, and then they continue to locate hits on the pitcher’s card with RBI singles from Alfredo Griffin and Mike Davis both coming at Haddix’s expense.  In the 5th, an error by C-2 Mike Heath sets up Stan the Man, who misses a HR split but drives in a run on the resulting double to narrow the A’s lead to 4-1.  Haddix then settles down, and when the Cards mount their own threat with two straight singles off Sutton’s card in the 8th, the A’s move to closer Steve Ontiveros, who quickly retires the side–recording a strikeout with a roll that would have been a solid HR on Sutton.  The Cards fare no better against Ontiveros in the bottom of the 9th, and the A’s cruise to a 4-1 win and a date with the Padres in round two.

Through the wonders of Zoom, it was Cleveland’s own ColavitoFan taking the helm of the 1986 Indians in their first round matchup against my probably jinxed 1976 White Sox.  The Indians went 84-78 with a solid lineup but a suspect pitching staff, although top starter Tom Candiotti (16-12, 3.57) was a strong game one option who led the AL in complete games.   The most noteworthy thing about these 97-loss Sox was their terrible softball uniforms, complete with shorts, that at least served to distract from the dismal quality of the product on the field; even so, although Sox starter Ken Brett (10-12, 3.32) didn’t have the career of brother George, he deserved better than this team.  The game began with both starters in firm control, but the Indians finally dented the scoreboard in the 4th when Mel Hall knocks an RBI single and he scores on a Julio Franco double for a 2-0 Cleveland lead.   Meanwhile, the knuckler is working for Candiotti, and he has a perfect game until a Ralph Garr single in the bottom of the 4th.  The Sox threaten a few times, using their speed to take advantage of Indians C-4 Andy Allanson, but they can’t get the timely hits needed against Candiotti.  Finally, in the bottom of the 6th, Brian Downing draws a walk and Kevin Bell then follows with a TR 1-18/DO on his own card–Bell misses the split with a 20 roll, the slow Downing is held at 3rd, and the Sox again need the timely hit to tie the game.   But once again Candiotti won’t give it up, only allowing a sac fly to Jorge Orta and the Indians escape the jam still holding a one run lead.   From there both pitchers continue their dominance, and the Sox lose SS Bucky Dent to injury, killing the chances of a dramatic game-winning homer from him.   In the top of the 9th shoddy Sox fielding from LF-4 Orta requires them to go to Clay Carroll from the pen, who retires the side and the Sox enter the bottom of the 9th down a run and looking for a game-winning rally, but it’s not to be as Candiotti finishes out a 5-hitter to send the Indians to the semis with a 2-1 win, and another early trip back to the storage drawers for a bad White Sox team.

The bracket favorite was the 2019 Nationals, who won 93 games and the World Series entering the postseason as a wild card team.  They featured a formidable lineup including Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon, and a strong rotation, with Stephen Strasburg (18-6, 3.32) finishing 5th in the Cy Young race, one of three Nats starters to get votes.   Their first round opponent was the 1986 Giants, an 83-79 team with 20-game winner Mike Krukow (20-9, 3.05) 3rd in Cy Young voting, but with a rather pedestrian offense centered around Will Clark.  The Nats grab a lead in the bottom of the 3rd when Adam Eaton leads off with a triple and scores on a sac fly from Anthony Rendon, but Krukow holds serve until the 6th when Trea Turner leads off by wrapping a homer around the foul pole, and then with two out Juan Soto knocks another solo shot to extend the lead.  The Giants finally come alive in the 8th when Robbie Thompson rips a double past Giants defensive weak link 1B-4 Howie Kendrick, and then the bases get loaded with one out on a walk and a squib Dan Gladden single.  The Nats decide to let Strasburg get out of his own jam, and he limits the damage to one run on a Chili Davis fielder’s choice.  Hearing Giant footsteps, Washington responds in the bottom of the 8th with a 2-run shot from Turner’s second blast of the game, and SF brings relief ace Frank Williams out of the pen, but that goes badly and three hits, a walk, and a 3-run Victor Robles homer later, the Nats have a 9-1 lead.  The Giants do what they can in the 9th, with Candy Maldonado hitting his second double of the game and scoring on a Chris Brown sac fly, but that’s nowhere near enough as Strasburg allows 6 hits and strikes out 10 in the Nats’ convincing 9-2 win.

The survivors

The first semifinal matched the #2 seed 1996 Padres and swingman Tim Worrell (9-7, 3.05) against the 1985 A’s who would counter with the walk-prone Tim Birtsas (10-6, 4.01) in a Battle of the Tims.   Chris Gomez leads off the top of the 3rd by finding and converting Birtsas’ HR split, which is Gomez’s second HR of the regional which is impressive given that he only had 3 total in 1996.  From there both pitchers are masterful, but when the aging glove of RF-3 Tony Gwynn allows a 2-base error in the 8th to PH Jose Canseco, the Padres summon closer Trevor Hoffman and his 42 saves.  He whiffs Alfredo Griffin, but then backup 2B Tony Phillips rolls Hoffman’s 4-5:  HR 1-5/flyB.  The split roll is a 1, and it’s a 2-out 2-run homer that gives the A’s the lead.  It’s now up to Birtsas in the top of the 9th against the top of the Padres order; he goes through HOFers Henderson and Gwynn quickly, but is too cautious with Caminiti and walks him to put the tying run on base with Steve Finley at the plate.  Birtsas delivers; 5-5, his HR split again, and Finley converts it for his own 2-out, 2-run shot with the game on the line and the Padres suddenly reclaim the lead.  Birtsas then walks PH Rob Deer and the A’s move to Jay Howell out of the pen, with Birtsas having only allowed three hits in his 8.2 innings.  He gets out number three, and now it’s Hoffman’s turn once again to try to hold the lead.  He gets two quick outs but then Dwayne Murphy doubles to put the tying run in scoring position and Mike Heath at the plate;  Hoffman bears down, whiffs Heath, and records a rather sloppy win as the Padres survive the tough 3-2 win to reach the finals.  

The pennant winning 2019 Nationals felt pretty good about their chances in their semifinal against the 1986 Indians, who had struggled to put up runs against a bad White Sox team, and the Nats had the luxury of Cy Young contender Max Scherzer (11-7, 2.92) as their second starter.  The Indians staff was nowhere near as deep, and although Phil Niekro (11-11, 4.32) was a HOF pitcher, his 1.60 WHIP for Cleveland this season wasn’t what got him there.  The Indians get off to a quick start when Brett Butler leads off the top of the 1st by rolling Scherzer’s HR 1-10/DO result, and a walk to Tony Bernazard sets up an RBI single from Pat Tabler, also off Scherzer’s card.  Mel Hall drives in Bernazard with a fielder’s choice and the Indians end the first inning equalling their run total from their first round game.  But the Nats aren’t the bracket favorites for nothing, and they begin the bottom of the 2nd with three straight singles, the last one from Asdrubal Cabrera driving in a run, and Brian Dozier ties the game with a sac fly.  In the 3rd, Niekro gets two quick outs but then a walk and a single that gets under the glove of SS-2 Julio Franco brings up Juan Soto, who smacks a non-knuckling pitch off Niekro for an RBI single and a Nats lead.  The Indians strike back in the 5th, when a Bernazard walk precedes Joe Carter finding Scherzer’s painful 5-7 solid double, and Bernazard races home to tie the game once again.  In the bottom of the 7th, the Nats mount another 2-out rally with an Adam Eaton single followed by another hit from Trea Turner that LF-2 Carter misplays, and runners are on 2nd and 3rd.  The Indians look to their bullpen and cringe at what they see, and so they just hope that Niekro doesn’t bounce one past backup catcher Chris Bando.  But Niekro comes through and the game is still tied heading into the 8th.  Washington begins their half of the 8th with a walk, a squib single and an error by Niekro to load the bases with nobody out; again Cleveland sticks with their Hall of Famer, and although he whiffs Dozier, Victor Robles nails a 2-run single off Niekro’s card and Eaton follows with a single that drives in another run, providing Scherzer with a three run pad heading into the 9th.  That proves to be plenty, as the Indians go down in order and Scherzer finishes allowing 6 hits as the Nationals head to the finals with the 6-3 win.  

It rarely happens this way, but it’s the top two teams in the regional facing off as the #2 seed division-winning 1996 Padres and their juiced NL MVP Ken Caminiti against the top seeded, Series champion 2019 Nationals and their great pitching staff.  For the Nats, Patrick Corbin (14-7, 3.25) was their third starter to receive Cy Young votes, while the Padres would start Andy Ashby (9-5, 3.23) with formidable Trevor Hoffman still available for a few innings after recording the win in their semifinal game.  Both teams threaten but can’t score in the early innings, until the bottom of the 4th when Trea Turner singles, steals second, and scores on 2-out base hit by Asdrubal Cabrera.  However, Corbin gives the run back in the 5th when he issues a bases-loaded walk to Greg Vaughn, although the Nats regain the lead when Turner leads off the 6th with a single, again steals second, and scores on a Howie Kendrick double–but in the next at-bat Juan Soto leaves the game with an injury.  In his honor, Cabrera steps up and delivers a single and the slow-footed Kendrick beats the throw to extend the Nats lead to two.  But the Padres respond in the 7th as Caminiti gets on by virtue of an error from SS-2 Turner, and when Vaughn misses a HR 1-12, Cammy races home on the resulting double and it’s back to a one-run game.  Even though they don’t like the looks of their bullpen, the Nats have lost confidence in Corbin and so they try wild Tanner Rainey, figuring that with first base open they can spare a walk but not a hit.  But John Flaherty takes matters onto his own card and smacks a hard single to score Vaughn and tie the game.  The Padres are nervous about Ashby’s HR chances, and when Victor Robles leads off the bottom of the 7th with a single immediately adjacent to Ashby’s HR result, they move to their own version of Rainey, Doug Bochtler, hoping to preserve Hoffman in case of extra innings.  Bochtler delivers to PH Kurt Suzuki, who crushes it deep into the recesses of a joyous Nationals Park for a 2-run lead.  The Nats then bring in Daniel Hudson to try to earn the save, with little faith in gopher ball prone closer Sean Doolittle.  Hudson is immediately greeted by back to back doubles from Jody Reed and Rickey Henderson, and when Tony Gwynn singles in Henderson the game is tied and stays that way heading into the 9th.  Hudson sets the Padres down 1-2-3 in the top of the inning, and the bottom of the 9th begins with Hoffman throwing in the pen; when Brian Dozier leads off with a double, Hoffman is summoned to try to push the game to extra innings.  Hoffman gets two quick outs, but then Adam Eaton strokes a single; 1-14+2 Dozier is running all the way, the split is a 13, and Washington walks off with a 6-5 win to join the 2012 and 2014 teams as the 3rd regional winner under the Nationals banner.  

Interesting card of Regional #175:  For this bracket I decided to feature the card of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at age 36, who led the NL in hitting and also helped his team to the NL West title, although they fell short in the finals of this regional.  One interesting thing about ‘96 Gwynn is that season was the only time in his career that he was teammates with his brother Chris; it didn’t particularly seem to help Chris to be around his more famous brother, as Chris had the worst year of his career and retired after the season.  Tony also had a son, also named Tony, who played with the Padres in later years, but of the three Papa Tony probably could have outhit the other two blindfolded.  As far as the card, by 1996 the game company had gone to the current and still unvarying card patterns where the leading hitter has the 1 column with the hole at 1-9, but Gwynn’s version looks a little different, in part because of his lack of power, but also because he essentially also has the 3-column nicely stocked, although again with a prominent hole.  However, that is not what most captured my attention about this card–it was that “stealing A, running 1-10” combo that caught my eye as being unusual.  Does anyone remember an A stealer with a worse running rating?  

REGIONAL #174:   This group boasted a pennant winner in Joe Carter’s Blue Jays, although it looked to me like they would have a serious challenge in the first round in the Harvey Wallbanger Brewers, the year after their pennant.   The other squads I was less sure about; I figured that the Cubs and Rockies would probably have some power and not much pitching, the entries from a couple of Florida teams were pretty unknown to me, and my recollection of the Tigers of that vintage was that there were some terrible teams.   I was guessing that the winner of the Jays/Brewers matchup in the first round would then have a clear path through the regional, so my pick was the Jays over the Rockies in the finals.   Upon looking up the ELO rankings for these teams, I found that they agreed that the Jays and Brewers were the cream of the crop here, but I also discovered that the rest of the bracket was epicly awful.   With four terrible teams in the top half, someone would have to make the finals; the rankings more or less picked the Cubs to get crushed by the Jays for the title.

First round action

The 1993 Rockies were in their first season as an expansion squad and they did lose 95 games, but they had some formidable hitters in Andres Galarraga, Dante Bichette, and Charlie Hayes, along with a sadly washed-up Dale Murphy and a dubious rotation with Armando Reynoso (12-11, 4.00) at the top.  However, they were perhaps the only first-year expansion team to be favored in the tournament, as they faced the sublimely terrible 43-119 2003 Tigers; on the Tigers, Dmitri Young was the only card in the lineup that looked like he belonged in the major leagues, and the fact that Nate Cornejo (6-17, 4.67) looked like their best starter should tell you something about the other alternatives.  But Young proves his credentials in the bottom of the 1st by crushing a solo shot into the cheap seats, and to the surprise of the Comerica Park fans the Tigers hold an early lead.  In the 3rd, Tigers CF-4 Alex Sanchez gifts the Rockies a run with a two-base error on a Galarraga flyball, but Colorado’s Eric Young (1-17) is cut down trying to take an extra base, giving the Tigers the opportunity to retake the lead in the bottom of the inning when Young doubles in Bobby Higginson.  The Rockies figure that they should also go Young, and their Eric contributes an RBI single in the 5th to tie the game once more, and then they move in front in the 7th when Tigers LF-4 Young can’t get to a Galarraga single that scores Alex Cole.  In the 8th, a Jerald Clark double off Cornejo’s card sends the latter to the showers, having pitched about as well as the Tigers could hope for, and they summon gopher-prone Jamie Walker to try to keep things close.  He promptly loads the bases up but escapes allowing no runs, and when Reynoso issues a leadoff walk in the 8th the Rockies summon closer Darren Holmes to try to lock things down.  That doesn’t work, as a Sanchez single is followed by a three-base error on a Higginson flyball courtesy of Rockies CF-4 Alex Cole, two runners score, and suddenly the Tigers hold the lead.   Young’s sac fly scores Higginson, and the Tigers take a two run lead into the 9th, inserting what defensive replacements they can scrounge and hoping Walker can hang on for the win against the heart of the Colorado order.   Things don’t start well when Detroit SS-3 Ramon Santiago’s error puts the leadoff hitter aboard, and then Galarraga gets on base on an X-chart play for the third time in the game as his single goes under the glove of Walker, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with no out.  Bichette’s sac fly makes it a one run game with one away, and then Charlie Hayes steps up and crushes a two-run homer and the Rockies regain the lead.  Now it looks elementary for Holmes in the bottom of the 9th, facing the dreadful bottom of the Tigers order, and he does the job as the Rockies win 6-5, requiring a 9th inning comeback to put away a team ranked by ELO as the second worst team in baseball history.  

The first round continues with two more terrible teams hoping for an improbable run:  the 97-loss 2000 Cubs against the 57-105 1973 Rangers.  Both teams had some pop, with Sammy Sosa’s 50 HRs anchoring the Cubs offense while Jeff Burroughs, a year away from an MVP award, provided fireworks for Texas.  The two starting pitchers weren’t that bad, either, as Jon Lieber (12-11, 4.41) managed a winning record for the Cubs while Jim Bibby (9-10, 3.24) didn’t allow many hits against the Rangers, probably because he couldn’t get the ball in the strike zone.  Sosa introduces Bibby to the steroid era with a solo homer in the top of the 1st that might have reached Arkansas, and the Cubs get another in the 3rd when Rondell White bounces a two-out RBI double past RF-4 Burroughs.  However, in the bottom of the 3rd Rangers DH Tom Grieve celebrates the inaugural season of the DH rule with a two-run homer to tie things up, and in the 4th a 2-base error by Cubs 3B-3 Willie Greene and another error by P-2 Lieber and the Rangers move out to a 3-2 lead.  When Lieber walks two in a row in the bottom of the 6th the Cubs move to Tim Worrell out of the pen, but he allows an RBI double to PH Ken Suarez followed by a 2-run single from Dave Nelson; a Grieve double then scores Nelson and puts Grieve just a single away from hitting for the cycle.  Another 2-base error from Greene on a Burroughs grounder scores another, but Worrell finally gets the third out when Burroughs is nailed at home trying to score on a Toby Harrah single–but the score is now Rangers 8, Cubs 2.  Another couple of hits off Worrell’s card in the 7th and the Cubs try closer Rick Aguilera, but he allows an RBI single to defensive replacement Suarez and the gap grows even larger.  Grieve comes up in the 8th looking for a single to complete his cycle, but it’s a DO 1/flyB on Aguilera’s card–but just because he can, Grieve converts it with a 1 roll and the DH is looking like it’s here to stay, although he does get stranded at second.  Bibby rolls through the 9th, striking out PH Julio Zuleta to close out a 5-hitter (walking only four, an accomplishment for Bibby) and the Rangers stroll easily to the semifinals with the 8-2 win.  

Once again, I feel like I have to check the code on my little random team selection/seeding program to try to figure out why the best two teams in a regional always seem to be paired in the first round.  Here it’s the #1 seed Series-winning 95-67 1993 Blue Jays and the #2 seeded, post-pennant 1983 Brewers, whose 87 wins were remarkably only good for 5th place in the AL East that season.  The Jays sported an impressive lineup with Series hero Joe Carter supported by names like Molitor, Olerud, Roberto Alomar (2,3, and 6 in the MVP ballots), and Pat Hentgen (19-9, 3.87) finished 6th in the Cy Young votes, right in front of rotation-mate Juan Guzman and right behind Jays closer Duane Ward and his 45 saves.  The Brewers lineup featured a younger Molitor, as well as fellow Wallbangers Yount, Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie and Ted Simmons, with Moose Haas (13-3, 3.27) getting the starting nod for what looked to be the big game of the bracket.   The Jays strike first in the bottom of the 2nd with a Tony Fernandez double that turns into a run when he races home on a single by Devon White.  The Brewers threaten in the 5th with runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out, but Rick Manning is caught stealing and Charlie Moore is nailed trying to score on a Molitor fielder’s choice.  However, the Milwaukee Molitor then steals second and scores on a Yount single and it’s a tie game–briefly, as in the bottom of the inning Ed Sprague doubles past LF-3 Oglivie and then scores on a Pat Borders single and the Jays regain the lead.  The Brewers then lose Ted Simmons to injury in the top of the 6th, but that precipitates a rally with a Mark Brouhard 2-out double followed by a Jim Gantner single that LF-2 Rickey Henderson misplays and the game is tied once again.  In the 7th Cecil Cooper misses a 2-out HR 1-3/DO split with nobody on base, bringing up injury replacement .224 hitter Ned Yost, the only remaining catcher on the Brewers roster.  The Jays think about moving to Ward out of the pen, but figure Hentgen should be able to handle Yost.  And, Yost rolls a SI** on Hentgen’s card to drive in Cooper, give the Brewers the lead, and send Hentgen to the showers for Ward.  He faces Oglivie, who pops out and gets injured for 5 games in the process, so the depleted Brewers now try to hang on to the one run lead with 9 outs to go.   Sprague leads off the bottom of the 7th with a squib single off Haas’s card, and Brewers warm up Pete Ladd in the pen but let Haas pitch to PH Randy Knorr.  Haas whiffs him, then retires Henderson but walks Alomar to push pinch-runner Alfredo Griffin into scoring position.   Olerud then lofts a fly to CF-1 Rick Manning who makes it look easy and Haas escapes the inning, still with the one-run lead.  However, when the Toronto Molitor leads off the 8th with a single, Haas is gone and Ladd comes in to try to close things out. Molitor then steals second for the second time this game, but Ladd whiffs Mr. Clutch Joe Carter for one out.  However, Tony Fernandez finds a single on Ladd’s card to drive in Molitor, and he promptly also steals second on the beleaguered C-4 Yost; Ladd then retires the side so we head to the 9th with the game tied and both closers as the pitchers of record.  Ward handles the Brewers in the top of the 9th, and then backup catcher Randy Knorr hits a fly to CF-1 Manning, who does the unthinkable and commits a 2-base error.  With no remaining catchers on the roster, Knorr and his 1-9 legs are in scoring position as the winning run with the top of the Jays order coming up.  Ladd then walks Henderson and Alomar to bring up .363-hitter Olerud with the infield in and no place to put him, and the noise in the Skydome is deafening.  The pitch: a 1-9, gbA++, Olerud rips a single through the infield and the Jays head to the semifinals with a walkoff 4-3 win, and the Brewers go back into storage with plenty of time to heal.  

In a bracket filled with many bad teams, the 77-85 2014 Marlins were actually seeded 3rd, and although their lineup didn’t have much after Giancarlo Stanton, they had good defense and a deep bullpen to work behind Henderson Alvarez (12-7, 2.65).  Their cross-state opponent, the 95-loss 2005 Rays, had some guys who could hit, like Carl Crawford and Jonny Gomes, but not many who could field or pitch, with Scott Kazmir (10-9, 3.77) having an ERA about two runs better than most of the others in the rotation.  The Rays take the lead in the bottom of the 1st when Crawford singles, steals second, and scores on a Gomes base hit, but the Marlins tie it in the 3rd when Casey McGehee hits into a double play that scores a run but kills a rally.  The Rays strike back immediately, as Crawford knocks an RBI triple in the bottom of the inning and when the Marlins bring in the infield, Gomes knocks it through with a gbA++ to give the Rays a two run edge after three.  In the top of the 5th, Jarrod Saltalamacchia draws a leadoff walk and Adeiny Hechavarria singles him to third, requiring a thirty-minute delay in the game while I typed out their names; in the interim, Rays 3B-3 Alex S Gonzalez loses his focus and drops a Donovan Solano grounder to score one.  Kazmir then walks the bases loaded, but gets two quick outs and it’s looking like he might escape further damage, but then he walks Marcell Ozuna and the game is tied.  Not for long, as Saltalamacchia makes me type his name again with a solo homer to put Miami on top; Kazmir then walks that other guy with the long name and the Rays summon closer Danys Baez to try to keep it close, and after some noise he ends the inning with score still 4-3 Marlins.  That makes it possible for a Travis Lee 2-out solo shot in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, and when that is followed by two straight singles Alvarez is gone for 21 year old Jose Fernandez, who had won Rookie of the Year honors the previous season but did not have sufficient innings in 2014 to start here; he gets the third out and it’s a tie game heading to the 7th.  Once again, the tie doesn’t last long as Stanton finds a leadoff single on Baez, and then Ozuja finds his own homer for a towering 2-run shot and a Marlins lead.  Alliterative DH Derek Dietrich adds a solo shot and the Tampa crowd is wondering when hockey season starts.  But, not so fast, as a squib single and a walk and the Rays summon PH Alex Sanchez, who finds and converts Fernandez’s HR 1-9/flyB split for a three run blast and the game is tied and AJ Ramos comes in to pitch for Miami.  He ends the inning, but we head to the 9th with the score knotted at seven each.  Even though Baez has been pitching more like Joan than Danys, the Rays have nobody better and they’ll go with him until he burns his eligibility; he allows a leadoff single but then retires the side to bring up the Rays with a chance to win in the bottom of the 9th.  Ramos’s Achilles heel is his control, and he issues a leadoff walk to Crawford who promptly steals second.  Two straight grounders test the Marlins infield, but it holds and Ramos whiffs Jorge Cantu to send the game to extra innings.  Baez is now toast for the regional, and Chad Orvella gets the call in the 10th; he does the job and it’s up to Ramos in the bottom of the inning; he walks Gonzalez, gets two outs but then #9 hitter Toby Hall rolls the only (partial) hit on Ramos’ card, a DO 1-8/flyB; he converts it, Gonzalez (1-14) heads for home and beats the throw, and the Rays persist for the walkoff 8-7 win. 

The survivors

The semifinal from the “someone has to win” half of the bracket matched the first year expansion 1993 Rockies and the 105-loss 1973 Rangers, with two pretty good pitchers who had both seen better years in Colorado’s Bruce Ruffin (6-5, 3.87) against Sonny Siebert (7-12, 4.06).  The Rangers score in the bottom of the 1st without benefit of a hit as Dave Nelson walks, steals second, and scores on a 2-base error by 3B-2 Charlie Hayes.  The Rockies tie it in the 3rd when Alex Cole singles in front of CF-4 Vic Harris, then steals second on C-4 Dick Billings, and then races home on a two-out Nelson Liriano single.  The Rangers respond in the bottom of the inning, with Nelson singling in front of RF-3 Dante Bichette, stealing second once again, and scoring when Jeff Burroughs singles past SS-3 Vinny Castilla as the defense of both teams seems to be nonexistent.  In the 7th, Ruffin walks PH Bill Sudakis and then Nelson doubles past LF-3 Jerald Clark, putting men on 2nd and 3rd with two out and closer Darren Holmes is summoned from the pen and he whiffs Alex Johnson to quell the threat.  The game then goes to the 9th with the Rockies still down by a run and Siebert facing the meat of the Colorado order.  Galarraga whiffs, Bichette grounds out, and Hayes whiffs and the Rangers head to the finals, winning the unexpected pitching duel, 2-1, with Siebert finishing out a 5-hitter.

Both the 1993 Blue Jays and the 2005 Rays reached this semifinal with walkoff wins in game one, and as the home team the underdog Rays were hoping that the trend would continue.  Both teams would be needed to rest their closers after those first round games, but the Jays seemed to have a big advantage starting Juan Guzman (14-3, 3.99) against the Rays’ Casey Fossum (8-12, 4.92).  However, Jonny Gomes crushes a Guzman offering in the bottom of the 1st for a 2-out solo shot; a rattled Guzman then yields a single to Aubrey Huff and then Jorge Cantu rolls Guzman’s HR 1-9/DO split, and although he misses the split Huff motors home from first and the upstart Rays establish an early edge.  The Jays respond by beginning the 3rd with singles from Ed Sprague and Pat Borders; Rickey Henderson then doubles off Fossum’s card and Sprague scores but with nobody out the Jays put the stop sign up for catcher Borders.  Roberto Alomar whiffs, but John Olerud plays Fossum for a 2-run single and the Jays move into the lead.  A Joe Carter single follows, and then Paul Molitor finds and converts Fossum's HR split for a three-run shot, the sixth hit of the inning, and Fossum is chased for game one winner Chad Orvella who finally ends the inning but it’s now 6-2 Toronto.  The Rays narrow the gap a bit in the 4th when a couple of singles lead to a Julio Lugo sac fly, but the Jays get it back immediately when Olerud leads off the 5th by converting Orvella’s HR 1-5 split and the Rays summon Joe Borowski from the pen to try his luck.  Guzman continues to struggle against the Rays, who get three hits off his card in the bottom of the 5th but it only results in one run on a Travis Lee fielder’s choice, narrowing the score to 7-4 Jays.  Alomar adds some padding in the 6th with a 2-out solo homer, and in the 7th Henderson leads off by singling in front of CF-4 Damon Hollins and Olerud doubles to drive him in.  However, in the bottom of the 8th Rays PH Alex Sanchez leads off with a single and Guzman then walks two to load the bases, and the Jays finally pull him and bring in Danny Cox to face the top of the order.  He promptly walks Lugo and one run is in, bases are still loaded, and there is still nobody out.  Carl Crawford then delivers a single and same situation with another run in; Gomes whiffs but Huff rips a single and two runs score and it’s suddenly a one-run game with runners on 1st and 3rd and only one out.  The Jays have seen enough Cox for one day, and try Tony Castillo and bring the infield in.  That, of course, is Cantu’s cue for a gbA++ and the game is now tied.  A whiff brings up PH Sanchez for the second time in the inning, and he adds an RBI single and the Rays take the lead; Alex S. Gonzalez then doubles to bring in two more runs and it’s bedlam in Tampa Bay as the 8-run inning finally draws to a close.  With Borowski now toast for the regional, it’s up to Trever Miller to finish out the 9th against the Jays.  A two-base error by SS-3 Lugo and a Molitor single bring up Tony Fernandez as the tying run with two away; he singles and now it’s Devon White at bat with the tying run aboard.  It’s a base hit for White, Molitor gets the stop sign, and now the tying run is in scoring position.  Rob Butler is summoned to pinch hit for Sprague, and he lofts a flyball to defensive replacement CF-3 Joey Gathright, who can’t reach it and the Butler did it with a two-run single that ties the game.  Pat Borders then steps up, rips a grounder to 3B-3 Gonzalez, who muffs it, White trots home and the Jays have regained the lead.  Henderson then walks to load the bases, and Alomar, coming to the plate for the second time this inning, also draws a walk to drive in an insurance run.  That brings up Olerud, who squibs a single for his 5th RBI of the game and then Miller finally whiffs Joe Carter to end the 6-run inning, and Tampa Bay is drained.  It’s now anybody’s guess if Castillo can somehow end this slugfest for the Jays facing the top of the Rays order.  Of course, Lugo, Crawford and Gomes start with consecutive base hits, meaning that Cantu comes to the plate as the winning run with nobody out.  Castillo whiffs him, one away.  But then Aubrey Huff singles for his 3rd and 4th RBI of the game, one out, tying run on 3rd and Huff as the winning run on 1st.  The Jays bring the infield in for Travis Lee, and he pops out for out number two.  The game is now up to Alex S. Gonzalez, and he strikes out as the Jays somehow hang on to pull out an incredible 15-14 win.

For the regional final, it was the bracket favorite, world champion 1993 Blue Jays against the #7 seed, 105-loss 1973 Rangers who had an ELO ranking among the 100 worst teams of all time.  The Jays would be going with Dave Stewart (12-8, 4.44) on the mound, and they were also very happy that closer Duane Ward would be available for action, after the rest of the Jays bullpen managed to allow 10 runs in two innings in their semifinal game.  For the Rangers, Jim Merritt (5-13, 4.05) was hoping to recapture past glories and wanted to show that he was better than his record indicated.  The Jays show their mettle early, as 2B-1 Robbie Alomar turns a rally-killing DP in the top of the 1st and John Olerud knocks a 2-run homer in the bottom of the frame for a 2-0 Toronto lead.  The Rangers miss an opportunity in the 3rd when Alex Johnson is nailed (1-14) trying to score on a Tom Grieve double, and the Jays show them how it’s done in the 4th when Tony Fernandez singles, steals second, and slides in under the tag (15 split on a 1-15 runner) to score on a Devon White single.  In the 5th, Vic Harris converts a DO 1-12 split, but the split die giveth and the split die taketh away as Harris is nailed trying to score with two out (1-17 runner, 19 roll) on Alex Johnson’s third single of the game.  Texas finally gets on the board in the 6th when Jeff Burroughs requires no split roll in crushing a solo homer, but the Jays respond in the bottom of the inning; Molitor singles, scores on a Fernandez double, and then PH Rob Butler comes through for the second straight game with a 2-out single to score Fernandez and stretch the Toronto lead to four.  When Alomar leads off the 7th with a single and steals second, the Rangers replace Merritt with Steve Foucault, but an error from 2B-3 Nelson and a Molitor double past Rangers’ LF-4 Johnson, toss in another error by 3B-4 Jim Fregosi, and it’s a three run inning and the Rangers are finally showing how they managed to lose 105 games.  However, they also show how they got this far in the 8th, with Alex Johnson collecting his 4th single of the game followed by a colossal homer from Grieve that narrows the gap to five runs.  But Henderson walks to lead off the 8th, steals second, and scores on an Alomar double; a walk to Molitor is followed by a 2-run triple from Fernandez and from there it’s just Stewart tossing softballs to wrap up the 11-3 win for the Blue Jays, capturing their second straight regional crown with a blowout after being hard pressed in their first two games.  The regional MVP goes to Olerud, with a homer and eight RBI in the three games; worthy of note, the Jays took the bracket with virtually no real contribution from Series hero Joe Carter.

Interesting card of Regional #174:   This 24 year old was the MVP of the regional, although he was only 3rd in the AL MVP balloting for this season.  Now, the award that year was won by the Big Hurt, and as a Sox fan I’m certainly not going to quibble about their first such recognition since Nellie Fox.  But I did find it curious that Olerud also finished behind teammate Paul Molitor in the voting, especially after managing the team through the regional.  Molitor was a favorite of mine, but when push came to shove on this team I’d much rather have Olerud, either at the plate or in the field.  Olerud led the league in batting average, OBP, OPS, and of course doubles, far outpacing Molitor in WAR (7.8 to 5.6).   Olerud was also a much better fielder, deserving better than a “3” in my view (he won a number of Gold Gloves in later years), while Molitor was primarily a DH at this stage of his career.  One thing I remember about Olerud was that he always seemed to wear his batting helmet, even when he was playing in the field; I don’t think I ever realized that it was a precaution because he had suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm while in college.  With respect to his card, I do have to say that we’re all a bit tired of this 1-column pattern, because this one demonstrates that the game company has been using it for at least 30 years, but the layout certainly didn’t hurt the Jays any in this bracket as Olerud proved nearly impossible to get out.  
  

 

REGIONAL #173:  There weren’t any pennant-winning teams in this group, but there might be a few that made a run for it.  I knew that the White Sox had been denied a postseason berth in the prior year by a strike, and I seemed to remember the Astros playing in the 2001 postseason (I may have been there) but I could be off by a year.   I did, however, distinctly remember the ‘73 Braves having at least one exceptional player, and although I remembered nothing about the 2020 Royals, it was the pandemic year and anything can happen with those teams.  Pretty much at a loss for any predictions with this bunch, I went with an Astros/White Sox final, with my Sox jinx making it easy to pick the Astros to win that matchup.  The ELO ranks made the Astros the regional favorite, predicted to best the ‘84 Blue Jays in the finals.

First round action

I was correct in thinking that the 2001 Astros were a postseason team, as they won 93 games and the NL Central but made a rapid exit by getting swept in the NLDS.  They had the Killer B’s of Bagwell, Berkman and Biggio leading the offense, although the defense was suspect behind their top starter, Wade Miller (16-8, 3.40).  They were substantial favorites over the 98-loss 2014 Diamondbacks, who were ranked as the second-worst team in baseball that season, coincidentally surpassed in badness only by the Astros.  The Dbacks had little to brag about other than Paul Goldschmidt, although Josh Collmenter (11-9, 3.46) was a decent pitcher who deserved better support.   The Astros score in the top of the 3rd with back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning by Orlando Merced and Julio Lugo, and get another when Berkman leads off the 4th with a long blast.  Bagwell adds a solo shot in the 6th, but the carefully cultivated lead ends in the bottom of the inning as two straight singles followed by a Goldschmidt 3-run homer ties things up and it’s a brand new ballgame.  A leadoff single by Merced in the 7th and Collmenter is pulled for Oliver Perez, who does his job, and the Astros in turn bring in closer Billy Wagner to start the 8th to prevent any further mistakes by Miller.   Perez and Wagner both lock things down, and the game heads to extra innings.  Both do their job in the 10th, which burns Perez for the regional; the Dbacks fear their erratic closer Addison Reed and instead turn to Evan Marshall, who allows more hits but they travel less far.  Sure enough, Marshall is tagged for three hits, and although he records two outs on a Bagwell DP ball, Arizona has no more hits to give with the go-ahead run on 3rd; they turn to Reed to face Merced and he strikes him out to give the Dbacks their shot to win against new Astros reliever Octavio Dotel.  Arizona nicks him for a double and a squib single to put the winning run on 3rd with two out, but RF-3 Moises Alou makes a shoestring catch and the game trudges on.  Finally, in the bottom of the 15th, Dotel is in his last inning of eligibility but doesn’t finish it as David Perelta knocks a one-out homer and the Dbacks pull off the upset of the regional favorite with a 4-3, albeit with much of their bullpen burnt for the regional.  

The 1973 Braves somehow managed a dismal 76-85 record despite 40+ homers from the trio of Hank Aaron, Darrell Evans and Davey Johnson, and with Phil Niekro (13-10, 3.31) they didn’t look like a sub-.500 team to me.  However, the 91-loss 1988 Rangers had that look, and although they would match knuckleballers with Charlie Hough (15-16, 3.32), their lineup couldn’t match the firepower of Atlanta’s.  Hough allows two hits and two walks in the top of the 1st but manages to escape without allowing any runs, courtesy of Ralph Garr getting caught stealing.  In the bottom of the 1st, the Rangers prove more efficient with their hits, with Pete Incaviglia driving in a run with a double and then scoring on a Ruben Sierra single; although the Rangers take the lead, they also lose 1B Pete O’Brien to injury.  Texas adds another run in the 2nd when an error by Braves 3B-3 Evans sets up a 2-out RBI single from Curtis Wilkerson, but the Braves make it a one-run game in the top of the 3rd on a solo shot from Aaron and an RBI single from Mike Lum.  Atlanta then ties it in the 4th on an Aaron double, and they load the bases in the 5th; Hough gets Dusty Baker to hit a 2-out grounder to SS-3 Scott Fletcher, who has already handled four X-chances perfectly, but he drops it and the Braves take the lead.  That brings up Aaron, but Hough finally gets the thing to knuckle and Hank whiffs for the third out.  A leadoff hit by Evans to start the 6th is the 11th hit allowed by Hough, and the Rangers move to their most effective reliever, Craig McMurtry, and he sets three Braves down in a row to keep the Rangers in the game.  The Rangers then put up a single and a walk to begin the bottom of the inning, and the Braves look in their pen and turn away in fright, taking their chances with Niekro.  But he issues another walk to load the bases and then Scott Fletcher rips a 2-run single past immobile 1B-4 Lum, and Texas takes the lead.  Niekro does record a strikeout but then injury replacement Jim Sundberg knocks an RBI single off Niekro’s card and he has to go, replaced by veteran Gary Gentry, who yields a sac fly to Inky followed by a 2-run homer from Sierra and by the time the dust clears, the Rangers lead 9-4.  The Braves get one back in the 7th when Aaron shoots a double past 1B-4 Geno Petralli, filling in for O’Brien, although Petralli atones in the bottom of the inning by leading off with a homer.  Thus armed with a 5-run lead, the Rangers try to preserve McMurtry and hesitantly summon Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams; he gets through the 8th with just a harmless walk but the 9th begins with a triple followed by two walks to load the bases for Aaron.  A pumped Williams gets it in the strike zone, and Aaron hits into a DP that scores a run, but it’s not enough as Evans flies out and the Rangers move on to the semis with a 10-6 win.

The lineup for the 1987 Phillies looked like a good one with Mike Schmidt as its anchor, but a dismal rotation fronted by Shane Rawley (17-11, 4.39) balanced things out to lead them to an 80-82 record.   They still compared favorably to the pandemic-era 2020 Royals, who went 26-34 and didn’t really have any small-sample anomalies working in their favor, although with no choice in their starting rotation, they were fortunate that their leading starter in IP, Brady Singer (4-5, 4.06), was better than some of the alternatives that would be forthcoming.   Schmidt misses his HR 1-12 split in the top of the 1st and gets stranded at second, and the Phillies keep squandering opportunities in the early innings while the Royals can’t muster anything against Rawley.  Finally, in the top of the 6th Juan Samuel leads off by finding and converting Singer’s HR split to break the ice, and the Royals respond by immediately going to their pen for the virtually unhittable Jesse Hahn (no hits on his card, only walks) who ends the inning without further damage.  The Royals then figure out Rawley in the bottom of the inning, and a squib RBI single from Salvador Perez ties the game so the Phils move to their own relief specialist Jeff Calhoun; he induces a grounder from Ryan McBroom but 1B-3 Von Hayes muffs it to hand KC the lead.  However, in the 8th Royals CF-3 Edward Olivares returns the favor, misplaying a Lance Parrish single with two outs to set up a 2-run base hit by Greg Gross and the Phils regain the lead.  The Phils continue to hit the unhittable Hahn to load the bases, but Hayes lines out to end the rally and Calhoun now must record 6 outs without a run.  He gets the first two outs in the bottom of the 8th easily, but then Perez nails his own HR 1-17 split–and misses it, eventually getting stranded at 3rd and the Phils still lead by one to begin the 9th.  Hahn uses up his eligibility for the regional in the 9th but keeps the Phils from scoring, and so the Royals need one run in the bottom of the 9th from the bottom of their order.  Calhoun is too much for KC as he burns his usage for the regional but records the win as the Phils squeak by with a 3-2 victory.

The 1995 White Sox would be the latest entry in the franchise seeking to overcome my well-established Sox jinx; this squad went a disappointing 68-76 after play resumed following the strike that curtailed an excellent season by the ‘94 squad.  This group had a typically strong year from big Frank Thomas, but after Alex Fernandez (12-8, 3.80) the limited rotation would quickly get scary.  Even without the jinx, they looked overmatched against the 89-73 1984 Blue Jays, runner-ups in the AL East with George Bell and company commanding a strong lineup, solid defense, and Dave Stieb (16-8, 2.83) 7th in the Cy Young balloting.  A two-out double from Bell scores Rance Mulliniks in the bottom of the 1st, and the Jays get a second run in the 2nd on a DP ball from Alfredo Griffin, but they leave the bases loaded after recording four hits in the inning.  A two-run single by Damaso Garcia in the 3rd makes it 4-0 Jays, but the Sox finally get a run in the 5th when a two-out error by SS-2 Griffin allows Dave Martinez to score.  From there on out both pitchers assert control, so the game heads to the 9th with the Jays up by three.  Ozzie Guillen draws a walk to lead off the 9th, moves to second on a grounder, and with two outs and first base open the Jays elect to pitch to Frank Thomas, who deposits the ball into the grandstands of Exhibition Stadium and it’s a one-run game.  A consultation with Stieb on the mound and he stays in the game, but he walks Robin Ventura on a pitch that was way inside, but Robin thinks about it and decides to simply trot to first.  That brings up Mike Devereaux, and it’s a 1-10 roll, HR 1-14/DO.  He misses the split, Ventura is 1-13 going home to tie the game on the double, and….SAFE on a split roll of 6.  The Jays now look seriously in their pen but still don’t see options better than their ace, so he pitches to Lance Johnson, who lines out and the game heads to the bottom of the 9th, tied 4-4.  It’s now about time for the Sox jinx to come into play, but Lloyd Moseby misses a SI 1-9 with a 10 split roll, one out.  Cliff Johnson then misses Fernadez’s HR 1-9/DP split with a 19, but that puts the winning run in scoring position in the form of pinch-runner Garth Iorg.  Bell come to the plate, the Sox let Fernandez pitch to him and try to pitch out of his own jam and…..DO 1-4/SI** off Fernandez’s card, Iorg crosses the plate with the winning run, and the Blue Jays head to the semis with a walkoff 5-4 win.  Meanwhile, the Sox head back into storage after taunting me with a fruitless 9th inning comeback.

The survivors

The first semifinal matched two upset winners from round one, the #6 seed 1988 Rangers and the #7 seed 2014 Diamondbacks, but both teams had taxed their bullpens to get here and the Rangers would also be without 1B Pete O’Brien for this round.  Texas would elect to go with Jose Guzman (11-13, 3.70), while the Dbacks had to send out Wade Miley (8-12, 4.34) for lack of better options.  Paul Goldschmidt collects the first hit of the game in the top of the 3rd by missing Guzman’s HR 1-17 split, and he gets stranded at second; Oddibe McDowell then leads off the bottom of the inning by converting Miley’s HR 1-17 split and the Rangers take the first lead.  In the 4th, Ruben Sierra also rolls Miley’s HR split, but he misses the 1-17 roll and then when he tries to score on a Steve Buechele single he’s cut down at the plate missing a 1-16 roll.  In the 5th, McDowell leads off with a single, steals second and scores on a double by Cecil Espy; Scott Fletcher follows with another double and the Rangers extend their lead.  From there Miley settles down nicely, but it matters little as the Dbacks are helpless against Guzman, who completes a 3-hit shutout and the Rangers head to the finals with the 3-0 whitewashing. 

The semifinal between the #4 seeded 1987 Phillies and the #2 seed 1984 Blue Jays featured a special managerial appearance by a noted Philly Phan:  the Tall Tactician, who would be rolling the bones for the Phils via the magic of Zoom.  He would tap Don Carman (13-11, 4.22) for the start, while the Jays would respond with Doyle Alexander (17-6, 3.13) who got some MVP votes in this season.  Both pitchers begin the game by narrowly escaping some jams, but in the bottom of the 3rd Carman loads the bases with nobody out on a single and a couple of walks, and he decides to get out of this jam by getting injured for 7 games.  That means the Phils have to go to the pen early and out comes Kent Tekulve, who records two straight popouts before surrendering a double to Willie Upshaw that scores two; 1-8 Cliff Johnson lumbers his way towards home from first and he is out by a mile to end the inning, but the Jays take the lead.  In the top of the 4th, the Phils try to mount a comeback and get a promising start when Juan Samuel converts a split triple, but with two outs they show little confidence in expensive free agent Lance Parrish at the plate and TT decides to have A-stealer Samuel try to swipe home.  Since I almost never have tried to steal home myself, I have to look up the Basic chart for the odds, and it’s 1-6 chance; the split dice is a 5 and Samuel is safe to make it 2-1 Jays.  Parrish does double but is stranded at second, and the game settles in with a parade of Philly relievers trying to keep the score close.  In the bottom of the 6th, Phils reliever Mike Jackson loses the strike zone and walks two; the Jays summon Dave Collins to pinch hit for Alfredo Griffin and it’s a 6-9 on Jackson, HR 1-10 and it’s gone for a 5-1 Jays lead.  The Phils finally summon controversial Cy Young winner Steve Bedrosian from the pen and he pitches a perfect 7th, but Damaso Garcia knocks an RBI single off the 5th Philadelphia pitcher, Wallace Ritchie, in the 8th.   The Phils have no answer against Alexander, with Parrish grounding to Garcia for a game-ending DP, and the Jays head to the finals with a 6-1 win.  

The regional final matched the #2 seeded 1984 Blue Jays against the #6 ranked 1988 Rangers, who would have Pete O’Brien back from injury to support starter Bobby Witt (8-10, 3.92), who made teammate Mitch Williams look like a control pitcher.  For the Jays it would be Luis Leal (13-8, 3.89) on the mound, and it was he that started out shaky, ultimately allowing a leadoff triple to Ruben Sierra in the 4th who was driven in with an RBI single from Steve Buechele, with Leal allowing three hits off his own card to hand the Rangers a 1-0 lead.  The Jays respond immediately in the bottom of the inning, with a George Bell double followed by an RBI single from Willie Upshaw, and then with two out Damaso Garcia dribbles one under the glove of Rangers SS-3 Scott Fletcher and the Jays take a 2-1 lead.  In the bottom of the 7th Garcia singles and notches his second stolen base of the game; Witt then walks round two pinch hit hero Dave Collins and the Rangers go to their pen for relief ace Craig McMurtry.  McMurtry walks Rance Mulliniks and the bases are loaded with one out.  McMurtry gets Lloyd Moseby on a lineout, but Cliff Johnson comes through with a single and the speedy tandem of Garcia and Collins race home to extend the Jays lead.  That makes the Jays feel much safer given the gopher ball tendencies of Leal, but he has recovered from his early inning jitters and finishes with four hitless innings and a 6-hitter as the Jays take the 4-1 win and the 7th regional for the franchise.  This era of Blue Jays teams have clearly established themselves as a dynasty in this tournament, with the 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1989 all having captured regional honors.

Interesting card of Regional #173:  Even though his Braves were eliminated in the first round, there was no competition for this feature in my mind.  My Strat career began in the late 1960’s, and although I was scraping up money to buy current teams and seasons each year, most of my neighborhood leagues were centered around the Old-Timer teams, and the 1927 Babe Ruth card from that set–the power, the hit layout, the font–was deeply etched in my childhood memory as the GOAT Strat card.  Even the ‘61 Roger Maris card didn’t live up to it, although Mantle’s came close, and so the Babe reigned supreme in my card collection.  And then, in 1973, it happened–Hammerin’ Hank Aaron received a card that, homer-wise at least, out-Babed the Babe.  Many baseball fans remember April 8th, 1974, the date that Aaron knocked home run number 715 against Al Downing, as the point when Hank surpassed the Babe.  But for me, that point had already occurred a month or so earlier, when my 1973 Strat set arrived in the mail and I first glimpsed this card.

REGIONAL #172:   The team that most caught my eye in this group of also-rans was the 1950 Dodgers, who won the NL pennant the previous year and would be a playoff game away from winning the following season.  I also noted the 2001 A’s, who I thought would be the group immediately preceding the “Moneyball” season.  There were teams several years past their primes, like the Braves, Orioles, and a Browns squad four seasons past the only pennant in their history.  I thought that the Astros could be a contender, but that my White Sox jinx would quickly dispatch what I remembered as a mediocre squad.  My prediction was for a Dodgers/A’s final with the Bums coming out on top.  The ELO rankings foretold the same teams in the final, but although the Dodgers were ranked as the best team in the NL that year, the A’s were portrayed as among the top 40 teams in baseball history and were ELO favorites here.

First round action

The 2005 Pirates were one of those teams where I couldn’t spontaneously name a single player on the roster, and even after looking at them I doubt I’d pass a multiple choice test.  They lost 95 games but there were a few bright spots, like Jason Bay and strong up-the-middle defense, but the rotation was dreadful with Dave Williams (10-11, 4.41) hoping to make it until the bullpen could take over.  In contrast, I could name a bunch of the 1986 Orioles, but that didn’t keep them from losing 89 games as most of those names weren’t having their best seasons, such as Mike Flanagan (7-11, 4.24), who was nonetheless the best the O’s could come up with.  Baltimore jumps out in front in the bottom of the 1st when Juan Beniquez converts a split triple off Williams’ card and Eddie Murray’s sac fly brings him home.  Back to back doubles by Jose Castillo and Daryle Ward to lead off the 4th tie it up for the Pirates, and Bay puts them ahead in the 5th generating a run when he singles, steals second, and races home on a Castillo base hit.  Tom O’Malley promptly ties it back up in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot resulting from Williams’ solid 5-9 HR result, and in the 6th a clutch fielding play by O’s LF-2 John Shelby saves a couple of runs.  When Baltimore begins the bottom of the 6th with a single and a walk, Williams is history and Paul Maholm comes in, but yields a 2-out single to Larry Sheets and the O’s take a 3-2 lead.  Flanagan gets two out in the 7th but then walks two; after a conference at the mound Earl Weaver decides to let him pitch to pinch hitter and propane heir Bobby Hill, and gets the pride of Arlen TX to pop out.  A leadoff single in the 8th off Flanagan’s card and Weaver has seen enough, and Don Aase comes out of the pen, and the first roll is a HR 1-7/flyB on Aase but the Pirates miss the split to go down quietly.  It’s then Aase against the top of the Pirates order in the 9th, and he records three straight outs, the final one hitting the hole in Bay’s one column for a strikeout and the Orioles hold on for the 3-2 win.

I was surprised when I discovered that the 2001 A’s were ranked in the top 40 teams of all time by the ELO numbers; they did win 102 games (but not their division, courtesy of the Mariners) and had a power-packed lineup with a couple of Giambi’s and Eric Chavez leading the way, as well as a very good rotation where I went with Tim Hudson (18-9, 3.37), who finished 6th place in the Cy Young voting, over the Cy Young runner up Mark Mulder.  Still, they didn’t look that much better to me than the 2006 Braves, a 79-83 team that underplayed their Pythagorean projection; the A’s would need to keep up with the Jones’s Chipper and Andruw, as well as the rest of a deadly heart of the order.  The Braves shortcoming was in their starting rotation, and although Hudson was also in the Atlanta rotation it was John Smoltz (16-9, 3.49) who was the obvious choice for the round one start.  Hudson gets two quick outs in the top of the 1st and then commits a 2-base error that opens the floodgates; three straight hits later, the Braves lead 2-0.  The Braves defense gives a run back in the 2nd courtesy of a 2-out 2-base error by SS-3 Edgar Renteria, and then the A’s tie it in the 3rd on an Eric Chavez sac fly.   From there, both pitchers are sharp, but in the bottom of the 7th the A’s pinch hit for Ron Gant with Jeremy Giambi to begin the inning in an effort to get someone on base, and the little Giambi crushes a homer to hand the A’s the lead.  However, the inning ends when 1-16 Jermaine Dye is nailed at the plate trying to score on a Miguel Tejada single and it’s still a one-run game entering the 9th.  Hudson, who has been nails most of the game, walks the first two batters in the top of the 9th and the A’s summon closer Isringhausen to try to escape the jam.  Izzy gets the first two out to face Jeff Francoeur, who lofts a flyball out to the A’s worst defensive outfielder, LF-3 Terrence Long.  The split roll is a 10, an out nestled between two doubles, and the A’s scrape by in round one with the 3-2 win.

A wayward Gil Hodges delayed my first round game with the 1950 Dodgers, but through the wonders of eBay the game could finally go on.  This team was worth the wait, as the 89-65 squad missed the pennant by two games and ELO ranked them as the best team in the NL, with a great Boys of Summer lineup although the rotation after Don Newcombe (19-11, 3.70) was uneven.  They were huge favorites over a 59-94 1948 Browns team, who had won a fluke pennant a few seasons earlier but had bad defense, little power, and Cliff Fannin (10-14, 4.17) atop a weak rotation.  However, in the bottom of the 1st a veteran of that pennant-winning team, Al Zarilla, crushes one into the cheap seats at Sportsman’s Park to give the Browns the early lead.  However, the Bums quickly tie it in the 2nd as Browns SS-4 Eddie Pellagrini can’t get to a Billy Cox grounder, and then 2B-3 Jerry Priddy boots another grounder to score a run; Jackie Robinson then rips a 2-out triple to score two more and the Dodgers take the lead.  That doesn’t last long, as the Browns bat around in the bottom of the 3rd and take a 6-3 lead by the time the dust settles; the Dodgers eye their pen but there’s nothing anywhere near the caliber of Newk so he’s on his own.  Brooklyn gets one back in the 4th on a Les Moss passed ball, so in the 6th the Browns go all in on the defensive replacements to try to maintain the lead.  In the 7th Robinson doubles and Campanella singles him home to make it a one run game, and DH Gene Hermanski leads off the 8th converting his split HR to tie things up once again.  Fannin then walks three to load the bases for Campanella with two away, but with the Browns pen being horrific he stays in the game and retires Campy for no further damage.   St. Louis then regains the lead on an RBI single from Dillinger in the bottom of the inning, so it comes to the 9th with the Bums down by one.  Furillo goes down, Russell goes down, and PH Tommy Brown is fanned by Fannin as the Browns pull off the upset with a 7-6 hard-fought victory.

The 2012 White Sox would be the next group of South Siders to try to overcome my Sox jinx, and this was a good squad that won 85 games and by their Pythagorean projections should have won more.  They had nice years from Alex Rios, AJ Pierzynski, and Paul Konerko, and although DH Adam Dunn was pretty much done, there was low AB wondercard Dan Johnson and his .818 SLG% just waiting for the 6th inning.  There was also Chris Sale (17-8, 3.05) on the mound who was 6th in the Cy Young voting, and he would be facing the 1993 Astros, who also won 85 games and ELO had this as a dead even matchup.   The Astros had the Bagwell/Biggio tandem as well as Mark Portugal (18-4, 2.77), who was also 6th in his NL Cy Young vote, so it seemed that the teams couldn’t be more evenly balanced.  The Astros score in the 3rd when catcher Ed Taubensee avoids the tag at home, scoring on a Bagwell single with two out; Sale then walks a batter to load the bases and yields another hit on his 6-6 result (same as Bagwell) to Andujar Cedeno that scores two more.  They add another in the 4th as Steve Finley triples and scores on a Luis Gonzalez single, but a 2-base error by Astros RF-3 Eric Anthony in the bottom of the inning rattles Portugal and he loads up the bases for Rios, who converts his HR split for a grand slam that closes the four-run deficit with one swing.  Luis Gonzalez leads off the 6th with a double, and the Sox don’t trust their pen much and stick with Sale, who promptly allows a run-scoring single to Bagwell (the 13th hit Sale has allowed) and the Astros take the lead and the Sox try Hector Santiago on the mound.  The Sox get men on 1st and 3rd with two out in the bottom of the inning, so Houston sends Portugal packing and Xavier Hernandez comes in to retire Rios and preserve the lead.  A two run double by Caminiti in the 9th gives the Astros some insurance, and Todd Jones comes in to clean up in the bottom of the 9th and Houston moves on to the semis with the 7-4 win and my Sox jinx marches on.

The survivors

Having barely survived round one, the bracket favorite 2001 A’s had Cy Young runner-up Mark Mulder (21-8, 3.45) ready to go for their semifinal matchup with the 1986 Orioles, who would be trying to ride out Storm Davis (9-12, 3.62).  The O’s come out swinging in the top of the 1st, starting with two straight hits off Mulder’s card and both runners score after a Fred Lynn sac fly and a Cal Ripken double.  The 4th inning is even worse for Mulder, as he commits two errors, 3B-1 Eric Chavez adds another, and Mulder issues two bases-loaded walks en route to a four run inning and Baltimore extends their lead to 6-0.  A leadoff single by Larry Sheets in the 5th and Mulder has got to go, with Jeff Tam coming in to allow four straight hits and he’s gone without recording an out, so Isringhausen is summoned and Eddie Murray converts Izzy’s HR 1-3 split for a two-run shot that sends the few remaining A’s fans heading for the exits with the scoreboard reading Baltimore 12, Oakland 0.   The A’s try to begin the long road back in the 6th as Gant drives in a run with a double and ultimately scores on a sac fly from Jermaine Dye, but with Izzy burnt for the regional the A’s have to move to Chad Bradford in the 7th, who promptly allows a 3-run homer to Lynn and the hole just gets deeper.  Terrence Long knocks a solo HR for Oakland in the bottom of the 7th, and Miguel Tejada adds a 3-run shot in the 8th to make things a little closer.   However, with that lead Davis is in inning-eating mode, and he does the job as the O’s close out the 15-6 mauling of the regional favorite and Earl Weaver earns a trip to the finals with his #6 seeded squad.

The 1993 Astros were now the top remaining seed in the bracket, and their path to the finals looked pretty clear with only the lowly #8 seed 1948 Browns standing in their way.  The Astros were hoping that Pete Harnisch (16-9, 2.98) could go the distance after stretching their bullpen in the first round, while the Browns didn’t have to worry about that, having essentially no bullpen to support starter Ned Garver (7-11, 3.41).  The Browns also don’t look particularly worried about the Astros after upsetting a tough Dodgers team in round one, and they begin the top of the 1st this game with Astro 2B-3 Craig Biggio dropping a ball, a double by Al Zarilla, and then Jerry Priddy knocks a single under the glove of Biggio and the ice is broken with still nobody out.  ‘Stros 3B-1 Ken Caminiti then turns a DP but a second run scores and Houston has a problem, early.  A 2-base error by 1B-2 Jeff Bagwell in the 4th sets up a Whitey Platt sac fly to worsen the problem, and with a leadoff double by Platt in the 6th Harnisch is pulled for Xavier Hernandez as the Astros desperately try to stay in the game.  He isn’t the answer either, as he walks two to load the bases, whiffs two, and then Zarilla knocks his third hit of the game to drive in two and a squib single from Priddy scores another and the upstart Browns now lead 6-0.  The Astros get on the board in the bottom of the 7th when Chris James leads off with a triple and scores on an Andujar Cedeno single, but the Browns lead off the 8th with doubles from Chuck Stevens and Zarilla against new Houston pitcher Todd Jones to get the run back.  In the bottom of the 9th, a 2-base error by Browns RF-3 Zarilla sets up a sac fly but it’s not enough as the Browns head to the finals with the convincing 7-2 victory, with Garver only allowing three hits.

An unlikely regional final matches the #6 seed 1986 Orioles, with a collection of players past their prime, against the #8 seeded 1948 Browns, most of whom never had a prime and who would never win the Series until they eventually became the Orioles.  The real Orioles would be going with Mike Boddicker (14-12, 4.70) and a fully rested pen, while the Browns had 20 game loser Fred Sanford (12-21, 4.64) and no pen to speak of.  The Orioles had scored in the first inning of every game in the regional and they got men on 2nd and 3rd with one out courtesy of an Eddie Murray double, but Sanford strands them and breaks the O’s streak of first inning leads.  However, Larry Sheets leads off the 2nd with a towering homer, but the Browns respond with a Whitey Platt double and RBI single by Paul Lehner, both off Boddicker’s card, and it’s 1-1 after two.  In the 4th, Jerry Priddy leads off with a double and advances to 3rd on a deep fly by Kokos; the O’s bring the infield in but Les Moss rips it through the infield for a gbA++ single and the Browns take the lead.  Priddy hits another leadoff double in the 6th, and this time Baltimore can go to the bullpen for Don Aase to try to stave off a rally; he sets down three in a row and it remains a one-run game.  When Sheets leads off the 7th with a walk, Earl Weaver summons AA stealer Alan Wiggins to pinch run and he steals second easily on C-4 Moss, but Sanford bears down and strands Wiggins to maintain the lead.  The Browns take that lead into the top of the 9th, and the crowd at Sportsman’s Park is on its feet in support of their unlikely heroes.  However, a Ripken grounder goes through the legs of 3B-4 Bob Dillinger for a two-base error and the tying run is in scoring position with nobody out.  A rattled Sanford delivers to Fred Lynn, and it’s a base hit, 1-15 Ripken heads for home….and he’s nailed, one out, Lynn takes second on the throw.  Rick Dempsey, in for Sheets, pops out, and with their backs to the wall, Weaver pinch hits with veteran Jim Dwyer.  Sanford delivers, 2-10 roll, Dwyer crushes it into the farthest reaches of the park for a 2-run shot and the Orioles suddenly lead.  Tom O’Malley then singles, and Weaver summons another PH in Jim Traber; it’s a 3-6 roll, HR 1-10/flyB and the split is a 7 for another 2-run shot.  Lee Lacy then doubles past defensive replacement LF-2 Don Lund and scores on a Juan Beniquez single, and by the time the Browns can get the third out the Orioles lead by four and Brad Havens is brought in to mop up in the 9th and preserve Aase for later rounds.  He does the job and the Orioles take the regional with an incredible comeback 6-2 win; in an unusual move the O’s award regional MVP honors to manager Earl Weaver, who had come back for his final year of managing and whose every move in this regional seemed to turn to gold.

Interesting card of Regional #172:  This card commemorates a baseball movie that is probably enjoyed by many a Strat player, 2011’s Moneyball (based on the 2003 book).   The film, which commemorates the 2002 A’s season, begins with the dismantling of the 102-win 2001 A’s team to free agency, with Billy Beane bemoaning the loss of players like Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi.  Enter Strat-like baseball analytics, and the team is magically rebuilt and goes on to win their division fueled by a record 20-game winning streak.  A key element of the story is that Giambi is successfully replaced at 1B by the apparently washed-up converted catcher Scott Hatteberg.  While it made for a great subplot, I can’t imagine many Strat players would make that swap, and you have to wonder how far the A’s could have gone if they’d been able to hold on to Giambi, who had been the AL MVP in 2000 and the MVP runner-up in the 2001 season represented by this card.  One advantage of this game over the real thing is that, if you’ve got the 2002 cards, you can always pull Giambi off the Yankees, put him back on the A’s, and give it a shot with Strat!

IN MEMORIAM:  With 2022 drawing to a close, it’s time to acknowledge the team of players that have left us during the past year.  Although this year’s group includes many who kind of flew under the radar, for me it resonates as it includes three members of the ‘67 White Sox (Ward, Horlen, Locker), the team that first got me into Strat, as well as Tommy Davis, who joined the team the following year.  It also includes Julio Cruz, a catalyst for another Sox team that broke my heart, as well as higher profile players like Perry, Sutter, and Wills.  As always, it makes me appreciate this game that allows me to continue to manage these players in their prime, with cardstock and dice rolls preserving their abilities in perpetuity.