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?