REGIONAL #201:  The team that stood out most for me in this draw was the 2002 Mariners, who had put together a record-setting season the previous year but failed to capture the pennant, so this would be a chance to redeem themselves.  There were a couple of teams that were a few years away from being good, such as the Mets before they were Amazin’, a Pirates team that I thought might have been just before their lengthy period of exile in the basement, a White Sox team that should have Frank Thomas at the peak of the steroid era, an Orioles squad still trying to forget the Browns years, and a strike year Giants team.  Finally, there was a pandemic year Arizona team and anything from that season is a crapshoot.  I counted on a Mariners redemption that would come at the expense of the Sox in the finals.   The ELO ratings also had Seattle as big favorites, picked to win over a Braves team that was the best of a mediocre collection in the bottom of the bracket.

First round action

Coming after a season in which they won 116 games, the 2002 Mariners still won 93 but that was only good for third place in a strong AL East, although they nonetheless earned the top seed in this regional.  Ichiro, John Olerud, and Edgar Martinez still paced the offense, and Jamie Moyer (13-8, 3.32) was a young 39 year old ready for the round one start.  In a rare first round #1 vs. #8 seed matchup, they played the hapless 1966 Mets, who bore almost no resemblance to the team that would shock the baseball world three years later; this version lost 95 games and had even less punch than the infamous ‘62 Mets, with Ken Boyer leading the team with 14 homers.  Jack Fisher (11-14, 3.68) headed up a pitching staff of ‘50s relics that would soon be totally overhauled.  In the top of the 3rd, Ichiro gets an RBI single but is robbed of a second ribbie when 1-12 Carlos Guillen is nailed at the plate; to make up for it, he then scores on a Mike Cameron single to make it 2-0 M’s.  Ichiro again comes up with the same two runners on in the 5th; this time he leaves no room for split die problems as he doubles past CF-3 Cleon Jones, and once again Cameron singles him home and Seattle leads by five.  The Mets get on the board in the bottom of the inning with a Jerry Grote sac fly, and Fisher gets stronger as the game progresses.  However, Moyer is in control until the 9th, when he gets an out but then allows two straight singles off his card to put the tying run in the on-deck circle.  A discussion on the mound and the Mariners decide to try to save their pen and stick with the veteran, and the next pitch is a grounder back to P-2 Moyer, who turns the nifty DP (the Mets 4th GIDP of the game) and Seattle moves on with the 5-1 win.

The 1994 Giants and the 1989 Pirates had something in common:  they both had an offense that consisted largely of two hitters, and one of them was Barry Bonds.  The Pirates lost 88 games and had a 24 year old Bonds (with only 19 HR) and the still-currently paid Bobby Bonilla, although Doug Drabek (14-12, 2.80) was a strong first round starter a year away from a Cy Young award.  The Giants were the #2 seed in this regional although they only went 55-60 in that strike year, but their tandem of Bonds and Matt Williams was formidable, with 37 and 43 homers respectively in a truncated season.  However, their pitching was unimpressive, with Mark Portugal (10-8, 3.93) their best option.  It’s the slimmer Bonds that starts things off in the top of the 3rd with a 2-run single that puts the Pirates ahead, but in the 4th SF Bonds singles, steals second, and scores on a 2-base error by Pirates LF-2 Bonds.  A leadoff single by Jay Bell in the top of the 6th and the Giants quickly move to the pen in the form of William Van Landingham, but he’s wild and a bases-loaded walk to Junior Ortiz makes it 3-1 Pittsburgh.  A 2-out RBI single by Andy Van Slyke, his third hit of the game, adds an insurance run in the 7th, but Drabek is dealing and doesn’t need it as he wraps up a 3-hitter and the Pirates move on to the semis with the 4-1 win.  

The 80-82 1998 White Sox had the power typical of the steroid era, with Albert Belle leading the way with 49 homers, but they didn’t have a starting pitcher with an ERA under 5, with Jim Parque (7-5, 5.10) being the closest.  The 74-80 1959 Orioles had the opposite problem, as there weren’t a lot of offensive threats in the lineup but Hoyt Wilhelm (15-11, 2.19) led the AL in ERA and would be facing his future teammates in the only season of his 21 year career in which he was primarily a starter.  In the 2nd, it’s Chico Carrasquel with a two-out RBI double against his former teammates to put the Orioles up, but O’s 2B Billy Gardner ends the inning getting injured.  Brooks Robinson then leads off the 3rd with a homer off Parque’s card, but in the top of the 4th Frank Thomas misses a HR split, but the double scores 1-15+2 Mike Caruso and it’s back to a one-run game.  However, the O’s lead off the bottom of the inning with three straight hits off Parque’s card, and a few walks and a sac fly from Robinson later and it’s 4-1 O’s.  A walk to lead off the bottom of the 6th and the Sox park Parque and try Moneyball favorite Chad Bradford, but Gus Triandos taps him for an RBI single in the 7th.  Meanwhile, Wilhelm is cruising, but then in the top of the 9th Sox supersub Craig Wilson leads off with a double; Thomas walks with two away and Robin Ventura follows with a triple to score two and bring up Magglio Ordonez as the tying run.  Wilhelm refuses to come out, and Ordonez lines softly to injury replacement Billy Klaus at 2b and the Orioles and Wilhelm hang on for the 5-3 win.

The 2014 Braves were the #3 seed in the group despite a mediocre 79-83 record, as they had some offensive weapons with Justin Upton getting some MVP votes, a strong pen with Craig Kimbrel getting Cy Young votes, and a decent rotation with Alex Wood (11-11, 2.78) a solid first round starter.  They faced the 2020 Diamondbacks, who limped to a 25-25 record in the pandemic season, and the lack of ABs and resulting lack of depth caused by the short season were exacerbated as they traded away their starting CF midseason.  That left them with one primary weapon, Kole Calhoun who finished 3rd in the NL in homers, but fortunately for them their highest IP starter, Zac Gallen (3-2, 2.75), was also their best, as he received some Cy Young votes himself.  The Dbacks get a run in the bottom of the 1st on a fielder’s choice set up by a Calhoun single, and it takes until the 5th for the Braves to respond, with an RBI single from Jason Heyward followed by a run-scoring double from Justin Upton, but the Justin/Heyward scoring combo is disrupted when the 1-15 guitarist is thrown out at the plate trying to score.  Now holding a 2-1 lead, Atlanta loses confidence in Wood when he allows a single and a walk to begin the 6th, so they move early to supercloser Kimbrel, but he isn’t too super as he walks two to allow one run, and then David Peralta gets his third hit of the game with a squib single that puts the Dbacks ahead once again, although at least Kimbrel whiffs Calhoun with the bases loaded for the third out of the inning.   A walk in the 8th to defensive replacement Tim Locastro also proves costly for Kimbrel, as Locastro steals second and scores on a 2-out single from Nick Ahmed for an insurance run.  From there, it’s Gallen against the bottom of the Braves order with no pinch hitting worth mentioning on the bench, and he’s up to the task as he closes out a 5-hitter and a 4-2 win.

The survivors

The top-seeded 2002 Mariners were the only favorite to win their first round game in this bracket, which should theoretically put them in a good position to take the regional; they were heading into this semifinal at full strength and Joel Pineiro (14-7, 3.24) was a solid #2 starter.  They would face the #4 seed 1989 Pirates, who elected to go with John Smiley (12-8, 2.81) who had a very nice card himself, aside from some gopher ball issues.  In the top of the 1st Edgar Martinez, who had narrowly avoid his 3-9 injury roll twice in the first round, rolls it immediately in the second game and he’s out for 6 games. The M’s then lose SS Carlos Guillen for 3 games in the 2nd inning, and the call goes out for additional players and hospital beds.  Both pitchers do well until Piniero loses control in the bottom of the 5th, with four walks–two with the bases loaded–provides the Pirates with a lead.  Piniero allows only two hits through 7 innings, but in the 8th a double by Barry Bonds and the Mariners bring in closer Kazuhiro Sasaki in desperation.  However, Mike Lavalliere delivers a 2-out RBI single and that gives a dominating Smiley a three-run lead to begin the 9th.  He whiffs Mike Cameron, but John Olerud then singles for only the second hit of the game for Seattle, and when injury replacement Mark McLemore walks the Pirates decide to move away from Smiley’s HR issues for Bill Landrum and his 1.67 ERA.  Landrum makes one pitch, and Bret Boone hits into the double play to end the game and end Seattle’s chances as the Pirates move to the finals with the 3-0 shutout. 

Two winners of first round upsets would meet in this semifinal; the 1959 Orioles had ridden the knuckles of the league ERA title to a first round win, but their rotation was deep and Billy O’Dell (10-12, 2.94) sported a nice-looking card.   The 2020 Diamondbacks had no such luck, as with limited action in the pandemic year they were forced to go in strict order of IP, meaning that Alex Young (2-4, 5.44) would take the mound with an ERA nearly double that of O’Dell.  The O’s take a lead in the top of the 1st when Walt Dropo dashes home on a passed ball by C-3 Carson Kelly, and Dropo’s next time up in the 3rd he adds an RBI double to his contributions, and scores on a Bob Nieman single that makes it 3-0 Orioles.  However, Eduardo Escobar leads off the bottom of the 3rd with a homer off O’Dell’s split to narrow the gap, but in the 7th PH Tim Locastro misses that 1-14 split and gets stranded at third.  A leadoff single by Gene Woodling in the 8th and the Dbacks seek to keep it close with Riley Smith’s 1.47 ERA out of the pen, and he quickly records a DP ball and a strikeout to perform his job.  The Arizona offense then begins to do theirs, as Christian Walker knocks a single and 1-15 Nick Ahmed beats the throw home to make it a one-run game.  Smith holds in the top of the 9th, and Baltimore pretty much removes their remaining offense for defensive replacements to begin the bottom of the 9th, praying the game doesn’t go to extra innings.  O’Dell walks Kelly to begin the 9th, but then gets two quick outs to face PH Wyatt Mathisen; he rips a sharp grounder to SS-3 Chico Carrasquel, but as he notes the split die “been berry good to heem” and that’s three outs and the Orioles pull off their second straight upset with a 3-2 win that sends them to the finals. 

Neither finalist in the bracket had been predicted either by myself or by the ELO ratings, with the #4 seed 1989 Pirates and the #7 seed 1959 Orioles showing their survival skills in getting this far.  The Orioles would be coming in at full strength, with a bullpen that had not seen action yet in the regional and the dubious reward of a return from the DL by .217 hitting 2B Billy Gardner.  They would have a solid Jerry Walker (11-10, 2.92) getting the start, while the Pirates countered with Neal Heaton (6-7, 3.05).  Gus Triandos leads off the bottom of the 2nd with a towering home run to start the scoring, but the Bucs counter with three straight singles to lead off the 4th, the last one being an RBI single from Gary Redus that ties the game.  In the 5th Brooks Robinson finds and converts Heaton’s HR 1-9 split, and then in the 7th a 2-base error by Pirates SS-4 Jay Bell sets up a run-scoring single from the maligned Gardner, and after allowing another hit Heaton is pulled for round two savior Bill Landrum.  However, Bell drops another one for his second error of the inning and Landrum walks Bob Nieman with the bases loaded to extend the Baltimore lead.  From there it’s all Walker, who wraps up a 4-hit complete game for the 4-1 win and the Orioles take the regional for only the 5th time for a Baltimore team, and by far the earliest version of the O’s to do so.  This version did it with a strong starting rotation, with three complete games in which they averaged two runs allowed.  

Interesting card of Regional #201:  The year is 1998 and everyone is watching Sosa and McGwire in hot pursuit of Roger Maris, but this guy had a better OPS than either one of them.  Okay, so Craig Wilson only had 47 ABs in his first appearances as a 27-year old rookie, but he made the most of them as a hometown hero for the White Sox, as he went to high school in the landing pattern for O’Hare Airport.  After a number of years in the Sox organization with more modest batting averages and little power, Craig finally got his shot and obviously impressed the parent club, as he remained in the majors for the entire 1999 season but could only manage a batting average half of what he posted the previous season.  He spent most of 2000 in the minors and that was the end of his career in the bigs.  But he earned his place in the record books with this performance:  The all-time record for “qualifying” batting average in one season is .440 by Hugh Duffy for the 1894 Boston Beaneaters, but Wilson’s 22 hits in 47 ABs gives him the record for the most hits in a season by any player hitting better than Duffy.