SUPER-REGIONAL U:  Only one of the three pennant-winners that began this group of 64 teams survived to reach the super-regional level:  the 1998 Padres (the other two both Astros teams).  Nonetheless, these eight survivors also included a couple of near misses as well as two pair, a duo of Padres and the other involving two distinctly different Twins teams.   One of those entries for the Twins was from the season following their 1965 pennant, while other squads from the Giants and Phillies were also within a couple of years of World Series trips.  And then there was a Senators team that was an unlikely survivor to this level of the tournament; I suspected that the clock would strike midnight for that Cinderella story, and that the two 21st century teams here would meet in the finals, with the Phillies pulling off another win to join the 2008 and 2011 squads in the final 32.  The ELO rankings predicted something completely different, with the 1998 pennant-winning Padres picked to best the 1966 version of the Twins to move on.  

Round four action

For the Zoom game of the week, it would be StratFan Rick, who grew up listening to the Giants on a weak radio signal during the 60’s, reliving his youth at the helm of the 1966 Giants.  Meanwhile, brother Chuck would attempt to replicate his Super-Regional R successes with the 1997 Brewers, and like the ‘87 team Chuck had previously helmed, this version had also been hobbled by injuries during the regional with both SS Jose Valentin and C Mike Metheny out for the entire super-regional.  It would be the bottom of the rotation in round four, with Ron Herbel (4-5, 4.16) for the Giants matched against the gopher-ball prone Jeff D’Amico (9-7, 4.71) for the Brew Crew, but it’s Herbel who yields the first long-ball to the second batter of the game, Jeff Cirillo, and Milwaukee takes a 1-0 lead.  In the top of the 4th, John Jaha finds a solid homer on his own card for a solo shot, but the Giants finally put together a couple of hits in the 5th and Hal Lanier makes it a one-run game with a sac fly.  In the 6th, Herbel allows only his third hit of the game, but once again it’s a solo homer, this time by PH Jack Vogt, and with runs seeming hard to come by Chuck summons Bob Wickman from the pen.  He holds off the imposing core of the Giants order–Mays, McCovey, Hart–and for the 8th it’s time for closer Doug Jones and some defensive replacements.  Jones does what he’s paid to do, and he closes out the 3-1 win to earn the save and propel the Brewers to round five despite recording only four hits in the game–three of them solo homers.  

The Zoom game of the week features the Tall Tactician managing his hometown 2012 Phillies, who only went 81-81 but were the last of a run of Phils teams from this era to win their regional, against StratFan Rick and the 89-win 1966 Twins, the AL runner-up who featured much the same lineup as had won the league the prior season.  It would be Philly’s Kyle Kendrick (11-12, 3.90) against Mudcat Grant (13-13, 3.25), with both bottom-of-the-rotation starters getting off to a strong start.  The ice is broken in the bottom of the 4th when Harmon Killebrew finds Kendrick’s alluring home run result for a solo shot, but the Phils respond with four runs in the top of the 5th with Juan Pierre, Kevin Frandsen, Carlos Ruis and Chase Utley (who was not injured for a change) all taking turns driving in runs.  The Twins immediately respond with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning courtesy of Jimmie Hall and Don Mincher, but a Placido Polanco sac fly makes it 5-3 after six innings.  But Kendrick seems to lose the ability to throw strikes in the 7th and after a couple of walks TT summons Jeremy Horst from the pen, as Jonathan Papelbon was burnt from the regional.  Horst continues the walk parade and provides Ted Uhlander with a bases-loaded base on balls for one run, and then it’s Cesar Tovar with a two run single and the Twins move into the lead.  Horst is worst in the 8th as well, with more walks setting up a 2-run double by Earl Battey, and after two hitless innings from Pete Cimono the Twins have Al Worthington close out the 9th for an 8-5, come from behind win in which they garnered as many walks as they did hits.

The 2017 Twins had powered past their opposition in Regional #165, outscoring them by a 20-5 margin, but with #4 starter Bartolo Colon (7-14, 6.48) a disaster waiting to happen, they might need to score 20 more in this round four game.  They faced the 1998 Padres, who had scored 21 runs of their own and had Joey Hamilton (13-13, 4.27) backed up by dominating closer Trevor Hoffman, who was fully rested.  The Twins strike in the top of the 1st with an RBI single from Eddie Rosario but Greg Vuaghn ties it in the bottom of the inning with a run-scoring grounder.  Then the Padres move out in front in the 2nd courtesy of a Wally Joyner leadoff homer, but that lead is also short-lived as Brian Dozier crushes a 2-run shot in the 3rd to put Minnesota back on top.  Rosario then goes back to back and it’s 4-2 Twins, and they breathe a sigh of relief as big Bartolo manages to hold that lead through his mandatory five innings.  When Byron Buxton converts a HR 1-3 off Hamilton’s card to start the 6th, they immediately summon Hoffman to try to stay within reach, and although he yields a double he’s bailed on when 1-10 Jason Castro is cut down trying to score.  A leadoff double by Joyner in the bottom of the inning and Colon is gone for Alan Busenitz and his 1.99 ERA, and he ends the threat with no damage.  He tosses three hitless innings and the Twins hope to preserve him, inserting closer Brandon Kintzler to begin the bottom of the 9th.  That proves problematic, as he yields two hits and a sac fly by Tony Gwynn narrows the lead to two runs, bringing 50 homer-hitting Greg Vaughn to the plate as the tying run with two outs.  But Vaughn lines out to first and it’s game over, with the Twins hanging on for the 5-3 win and quite happy to be returning to the top of their rotation for round five.

At first glance, the 1969 Senators seemed like an unlikely participant in a super-regional, but this team had responded to new manager Ted Williams to win 86 games, perhaps the pinnacle in the brief history of those expansion Senators.  They would have Jim Hannan (7-6, 3.65) as their #4 starter and they had some bullpen wear from their extra-inning win in their regional final, but they were still ELO favorites over the 1995 Padres, a middling 70-74 team that would send out WIllie Blair (7-5, 4.34) but was still without an injured Bip Roberts in the lineup.  An RBI single from big Frank Howard puts the Senators up in the bottom of the 1st, but injury replacement Melvin Nieves crushes a 2-run homer in the 4th to put the Padres ahead, and Tony Gwynn drives in another in the 5th with an RBI double on a missed HR split.  When Ken Caminiti wraps a 2-run shot around the foul pole in the 7th, the Senators try Darold Knowles from the pen, and although he does his job, so does Blair to shut down the Nats and send the Padres forward with the 5-1 win and buoyed by the return of Roberts for round five.

The survivors:  round five

The 1966 Twins were one season off an AL pennant and seemed like a team deserving of a berth in round five, while the 1997 Brewers were an unexpected squad to reel off four straight wins.  Both were back to their aces, with the Twins’ Jim Kaat (25-13, 2.75) an apparent big advantage against Ben McDonald (8-7, 4.06).  Both teams had been bitten by the injury bug, with the Twins losing SS Zoilo Versalles while the Brewers were also out their SS, Jose Valentin, as well as C Mike Metheny.  The Twins jump out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st courtesy of a 2-out RBI double by Harmon Killebrew, but their body count increases as 1B Don Mincher is lost for the super-regional in the 4th with an injury.  Meanwhile, Kaat doesn’t allow a baserunner until the 5th, but he gets into a jam in the 6th and Jeff Cirillo knocks a 2-out 2-run single that provides the Brewers with the lead.  A 2-out 2-base error in the 8th by Twins CF Ted Uhlander sets up Julio Franco for an RBI single and an insurance run, and the Brewers tap closer Doug Jones to try to record the save in the 8th.  However, Jimmie Hall drives in a run with a triple, but Jones strands him at third to hold a slim one run lead entering the 9th.  With two away in the bottom of the 9th, Tovar singles to represent the tying run, and Bob Allison rolls a DO 1-3/flyB with a chance to score the speedy Tovar on the split.  But alas for the Twins, the roll is a 7 and the Brewers continue their unlikely run with a 3-2 win in which they were outhit 10 to 5.  

For the second round in a row, the 2017 Twins face a group from San Diego in the 1995 Padres, but this time both squads were back to the top of their rotations, and both of these pitchers had thrown three-hitters in their first appearance in the tournament–Ervin Santana (16-8, 3.25) for the Twins and Andy Ashby (12-10, 2.94) for the Padres.  Max Kepler records the first hit of the game in the top of the 2nd in the form of a solo homer that gives the Twins an early edge, but Ken Caminiti raps a 2-run double in the 3rd and the Padres lead 2-1 after three.  The Twins respond immediately in the 4th, as Kepler knocks an RBI single that sets up a 3-run homer for Byron Buxton off Ashby’s card and a 5-2 Twins lead.  Four straight singles for Minnesota gives Kepler another RBI and chases Ashby for Trevor Hoffman, who does the best he can stranding the bases loaded to keep the score at 6-2.  That looks big when Ken Caminiti, Scott Livingstone, and Eddie Williams go back-to-back-to-back, all with two out in the bottom of the inning, because suddenly it’s all tied up after 5 and the Twins are giving a panicked look at their depleted bullpen.  To compound their misery, C Jason Castro leads off the 6th by getting injured for 7 games, and when Jody Reed leads off the bottom of the inning with a single off Santana’s card the Twins can take it no longer and try Matt Belisle out of the pen.  He’s greeted with a double by PH Archi Cianfrocco and then elderly Tony Gwynn scores both runners with a single for an 8-6 San Diego lead.  The Twins aren’t rolling over for anyone, as Miguel Sano leads off the 7th with a tape measure shot that makes it a one run game, and although Kepler doubles Hoffman strands him by fanning Buxton with his final pitch.  The Pads then go with Bryce Florie to begin the 8th in the hopes he can close out the save, a possibility that is bolstered when SS-4 Ray Holbert makes a stellar play to strand the tying run on 3rd in the 8th.  Florie yields two singles in the top of the 9th, but bears down and again Buxton strikes out, this time for the final out of the game and the Padres hang on to record the 8-7 win and earn a trip to the super-regional final.  

Super-regional finals

Given the many strong teams among the 64 that began this super-regional, it was two supposed mediocrities that managed to win the 5 games in a row needed to reach these finals, the 1997 Brewers and the 1995 Padres that each had records around the .500 mark.  Milwaukee continued to be shorthanded with their starting shortstop and catcher both injured, and closer Doug Jones was burnt to further complicate the job of starter Jose Mercedes (7-10, 3.79).   For the Padres it would be Joey Hamilton (6-9, 3.08) and their closer Trevor Hoffmann also required rest.   The Pads strike first in the bottom of the first, with Steve Finley singling and stealing second, setting up a 2-out Scott Livingstone RBI single, but Gerald Williams homers for the Brewers in the top of the 2nd to tie it up.  But Williams misplays a Finley single in the 5th that puts two runners in scoring position for Tony Gwynn, who rips a double to score two, and then Livingstone brings him home with a double of his own and the Padres lead 4-1 after five.  The Padres threaten again in the bottom of the 7th and Milwaukee brings in Bob Wickman to successfully avoid any damage.  The Brewers get a run in the 8th on a 2-out John Jaha single, but SD responds immediately with a Bip Roberts double and a Jody Reed single.  After a Finley walk, Gwynn drives in another with a single and Wickman is gone for Mike Fetters, and although he retires the side, the Brewers lose the duel with Hamilton and the Padres capture the super-regional and head to the final 32 with the 6-2 victory.  

Interesting card of Super-Regional U:   The 1995 Padres were an unlikely winner to emerge from a super-regional field of 64 teams that included many far more highly-rated entries.  In the prior season, which had ended prematurely by a strike, the Padres had the worst record in baseball and were going nowhere.  However, with the strike still unsettled in the off-season, some clubs anticipated that negotiations might ultimately result in a salary cap, and as such began to unload high-priced talent in preparation.  One such club was the Astros, who traded Ken Caminiti to the Padres as a part of a 12-player deal that was one of the largest swaps in modern baseball.  For San Diego, this began a major turnaround as Caminiti’s toughness and intensity sparked a teamwide resurgence that led them to the World Series three years later.  For Caminiti, it proved both a boon and a tragedy.  On the upside, this first card of his with the Padres represented career highs to that point in batting average, homers, and OPS as well as the first Gold Glove of his career (only a 2 in Basic, but a 1e31 in ADV); all of that was just a precursor to a huge year the following season when he was the unanimous choice for NL MVP.  However, the move to San Diego also brought with it a downside: he learned that teammates had been helped getting through injuries using steroids that could be bought over the counter just a few minutes away in Tijuana, a discovery that coincided with the sudden jump in his offensive stats with San Diego.  Thus began a downward spiral that involved injuries, ever-expanding steroid use, and abuse of alcohol, pain-killers, and street drugs such as cocaine and heroin.  An interview shortly after his 2001 retirement in which he acknowledged the far-reaching impact of steroids in baseball made him a pariah in the sport, and his life began to fall apart legally and interpersonally.  After multiple probation violations resulting from a drug arrest, he was sentenced to jail in 2004; released after a month, he died five days later from a heart attack resulting from a “speedball” of heroin and cocaine.  That was only 8 years after this card was printed, representing a season which began both the best years of his life, and the worst.