C O N T E N T S

Sept./Oct. 2016 Volume 75, No. 5

F E A T U R E S

11 Warmup Tosses by Bob Kuenster

Teams looking to end World Series droughts

14 The Greatest World Series Game 7s DAVID ORTIZ

by Bruce Levine and Joel Bierig Boston slugger hit an
Fall Classics that went the distance and ALCS grand slam in
2013page 58.
ended with a dramatic finale

20 Reggie Jacksons World Series Memories

by Mike Puma
Mr. October recalls his postseason heroics

24 Surprising World Series Performances

by Stuart Shea
Fall Classic performers who unexpectedly
played the role of hero

28 Top World Series Upsets by Mike Berardino

The best teams have often come up short
in championship runs

32 Unique Path To Stardom by Evan Drellich

Bostons Xander Bogaerts continues to
progress as a big league All-Star

36 Player Profile by Rick Sorci

Arizonas slugging first baseman Paul Goldschmidt

38 Seager To Get Better by Bill Plunkett

Dodgers shortstop is driven to be great

42 National Success by Tom Worgo

Washington second baseman
Daniel Murphy is the real deal

46 Turn Back The Clock by Dan Epstein

When Mark The Bird Fidrych took
center stage in 1976

50 The Game Ill Never Forget

by David Cone as told to Barry Rozner
Former Yankee looks back on his perfect game in 1999

D E P A R T M E N T S

4 Baseball Stat Corner

6 The Fans Speak Out
45 Baseball Quick Quiz Cover Photo Credits
Photos by SportPics
54 Baseball Rules Corner by Rich Marazzi
COMING IN
56 Baseball Crossword Puzzle by Larry Humber BASEBALL DIGEST:
2016 Player of the Year
SportPics

58 Seventh Inning Stretch

Special World Series Stats September/October 2016 3
 BASEBALL STAT CORNER

JOHN
SMOLTZ

LOU BROCK
SportPics

DAVID ORTIZ
SportPics

WORLD SERIES
10/.400 CLUB BERNIE
WILLIAMS
SportPics

orty-three players have collected 10 or more hits and batted .400 or higher in a World Series.

F Lou Brock is the only batter to do it twice. Brock recorded more than 10 World Series hits and
batted .414 and .464 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967 and 1968. Among players with 10 or
more hits in a Fall Classic, David Ortiz has produced the highest batting average.

PLAYER, TEAM YEAR AB H BA PLAYER, TEAM YEAR AB H BA

David Ortiz, Red Sox 2013 16 11 .688 Lance Berkman, Cardinals 2011 26 11 .423
Babe Ruth, Yankees 1928 16 10 .625 Aaron Ward, Yankees 1923 24 10 .417
Pepper Martin, Cardinals 1931 24 12 .500 Tommy Thevenow, Cardinals 1926 24 10 .417
Billy Martin, Yankees 1953 24 12 .500 Alvin Dark, Giants 1951 24 10 .417
Phil Garner, Pirates 1979 24 12 .500 Yogi Berra, Yankees 1955 24 10 .417
SportPics
Paul Molitor, Blue Jays 1993 24 12 .500 Bucky Dent, Yankees 1978 24 10 .417
Dave Robertson, Giants 1917 22 11 .500 Steve Garvey, Dodgers 1981 24 10 .417
Roberto Alomar, Blue Jays 1993 25 12 .480 Mark Lemke, Braves 1991 24 10 .417 CARL YASTRZEMSKI
Tim McCarver, Cardinals 1964 23 11 .478 Lou Brock, Cardinals 1967 29 12 .414
Amos Otis, Royals 1980 23 11 .478 Roberto Clemente, Pirates 1971 29 12 .414
Lou Brock, Cardinals 1968 28 13 .464 Robin Yount, Brewers 1982 29 12 .414
Max Carey, Pirates 1925 24 11 .458 J.T. Snow, Giants 2002 27 11 .407
Monte Irvin, Giants 1951 24 11 .458 Derek Jeter, Yankees 2009 27 11 .407
Jake Powell, Yankees 1936 22 10 .455 Bobby Richardson, Yankees 1964 32 13 .406
Marquis Grissom, Braves 1996 27 12 .444 Buck Herzog, Giants 1912 30 12 .400
Hunter Pence, Giants 2014 27 12 .444 Willie Stargell, Pirates 1979 30 12 .400
David Durochik/SportPics

Tony Perez, Reds 1972 23 10 .435 Frankie Frisch, Giants 1923 25 10 .400
Marty Barrett, Red Sox 1986 30 13 .433 Red Rolfe, Yankees 1936 25 10 .400
Pablo Sandoval, Giants 2014 28 12 .429 Mickey Mantle, Yankees 1960 25 10 .400
Phil Cavarretta, Cubs 1945 26 11 .423 Carl Yastrzemski, Red Sox 1967 25 10 .400
Rusty Staub, Mets 1973 26 11 .423 Dave Henderson, Red Sox 1986 25 10 .400
Bill Russell, Dodgers 1978 26 11 .423 Bernie Williams, Yankees 2003 25 10 .400
WILLIE STARGELL
4 September/October 2016
 Norman Jacobs
Publisher

David Fagley
Associate Publisher

Bob Kuenster
Editor
ORLANDO HERNANDEZ SportPics
Thom Henninger
Associate Editor
DATE PITCHER, CLUB VS. OPPONENT IP Ks

10-K Oct. 1, 1903

Oct. 2, 1903
Oct. 11, 1906
Deacon Phillippe, Pirates vs. Red Sox
Bill Dinneen, Red Sox vs. Pirates
Ed Walsh, White Sox vs. Cubs
9.0
9.0
9.0
10
11
12
Rob Wyszkowski
Art Director

WORLD Oct. 8, 1907

Oct. 14, 1908
Oct. 12, 1909
Bill Donovan, Tigers vs. Cubs
Orval Overall, Cubs vs. Tigers
George Mullin, Tigers vs. Pirates
12.0
9.0
9.0
12
10
10
Dale Jacobs
Production Manager

David Durochik

SERIES Oct. 14, 1911

Oct. 8, 1912
Oct. 11, 1921
Chief Bender, As vs. Giants
Joe Wood, Red Sox vs. Giants
Jesse Barnes, Giants vs. Yankees
8.0
9.0
9.0
11
11
10
Contributing Photographer

Richard Kent

GAMES here have been

Oct. 7, 1925
Oct. 3, 1926
Oct. 8, 1929
Oct. 11, 1929
Walter Johnson, Senators vs. Pirates

Howard Ehmke, As vs. Cubs

George Earnshaw, As vs. Cubs
9.0
Grover Alexander, Cardinals vs. Yankees 9.0
9.0
9.0
10
10
13
10
Circulation Manager

Murray Jacobs
Customer Service

T 52 World Series
games in which a
pitcher has recorded
Sep. 28, 1932
Oct. 3, 1933
Oct. 5, 1936
Oct. 6, 1944
Red Ruffing, Yankees vs. Cubs
Carl Hubbell, Giants vs. Senators
Hal Schmuacher, Giants vs. Yankees
Jack Kramer, Browns vs. Cardinals
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JOE WOOD
September/October 2016 5
 YANKEES VS. ROYALS RIVALRY
I enjoyed very much the articles on rivalries in the
May/June Baseball Digest. Being a Yankee fan in
Connecticut, I am very familiar with rivalries. I would like
to bring one up that also involved the Yankees. That was
the one with the Kansas City Royals from the late 1970s
into the 1980s.
This rivalry was every bit as intense as any mentioned in
MEETING THE YANKEE CLIPPER the May/June issue, albeit for a shorter period of time.
In November of 1967, I was heading home from Vietnam George Bretts and Graig Nettles genuine dislike for each
when the plane stopped at Tokyo Airport for a layover.
While we were wandering around the lobby, I noticed a
gentleman around the gift shop I recognized. It was Joltin
Joe himself. My buddies didnt think it was him, so I went
over to see for myself.
There he was, one of the best who ever played the game
standing in front of me. Being Italian myself, I went over
and asked him politely for his autograph. He told me he
would sign something for me, but I had to prove to him I
was a real Yankee fan.
He asked me to name the starting lineup of the 1967
Yankees. Well, that one was easy for me, so he went ahead
and signed a picture for me. He then shook my hand and
said welcome home soldier.
Wow! Coming back from the war and meeting Joe
DiMaggioit doesnt get any better than that!
Dave DePasquale
Massillon, OH GRAIG GEORGE
David Durochik/SportPics

NETTLES BRETT

SportPics
other, bringing them to throw punches with very bad
intentions, Hal McRae's rolling take-out of Willie
Randolph, and who can forget Brett's homers off Rich
Gossageincluding the one in the Pine Tar Game?
The things that happened in those and other very
intense games between these two great teams would have
resulted in multiple suspensions and big fines if they were
to happen now. I believe this rivalry belongs with the great-
est of all time, not for its longevity but for its high-octane
intensity. Mike Lanier
Stafford Springs, CT
The rivalry between the two clubs began in the 1970s, as
you mention, when the two clubs faced each other in the
American League Championship Series four times in five
years (1976-1980).

IDENTIFICATION ERROR
JOE I have been a reader for over 50 years, and you make very
few errors. However, you mixed up the names and faces of
DiMAGGIO Earle Combs and Bob Meusel on page 36 in the article on
Outfield Trios. You got The Babe right, LOL!
It was a great article on Outfield Trios. Great work, I hope
I read your publication for 50 more.
Cesar M. Pellerano MD
Miami Lakes, Florida
Yes, it was an oversight in misidentifying Meusel and
Combs. In the photo, from left to right, the names should have
SportPics

read Earle Combs, Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel. The three
formed the Yankees outfield from 1925 through 1929.

6 September/October 2016
 MULTI-HIT VS.
HITLESS GAMES MULTI-HIT VS. HITLESS GAMES
I recently heard that Jose
TOTAL CAREER MULTI-HIT HITLESS
Altuve already has 70 more PLAYER GAMES HITS GAMES GAMES
multi-hit games than he has Pete Rose 3,562 4,256 1,225 1,000
games when he has gone Hank Aaron 3,298 3,771 1,045 906
hitless. This got me wonder- Stan Musial 3,026 3,630 1,059 849
ing about the all-time lead- Derek Jeter 2,747 3,465 1,016 640
ers with the highest number Carl Yastrzemski 3,308 3,419 912 1,096
Paul Molitor 2,683 3,319 969 697
of multi-hit games com-
Willie Mays 2,992 3,283 922 939
pared to hitless games. I Eddie Murray 3,026 3,255 934 964
would guess that names like

SportPics
Cal Ripken 3,001 3,184 845 929
Cobb, Carew, Rose, Gwynn George Brett 2,707 3,154 905 793
and Brett would be high on Paul Waner 2,549 3,142 939 685 PETE ROSE
the list. Jim LeBuffe Robin Yount 2,856 3,142 879 847
The Woodlands, TX Tony Gwynn 2,440 3,141 951 602
Through Aug. 6, 2016, Jose Dave Winfield 2,973 3,110 850 967
Altuve had 282 multi-hit Alex Rodriguez + 2,781 3,114 870 823
JOSE Craig Biggio 2,850 3,060 841 892
ALTUVE games and 190 hitless games
Rickey Henderson 3,081 3,055 809 1,069
on his resume, for a difference Rod Carew 2,469 3,053 896 442
SportPics

of 92. Lou Brock 2,616 3,023 872 746

Following is a list of hitless Rafael Palmeiro 2,831 3,020 814 875
games and multi-hit games Wade Boggs 2,440 3,010 885 666
by some players with 3,000 or more career hits. The records Al Kaline 2,834 3,007 822 896
for players prior to 1913 (Cap Anson, Ty Cobb, Nap Lajoie, Roberto Clemente 2,433 3,000 876 652
Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins and Tris Speaker) are incom- Ichiro Suzuki + 2,452 3,000 892 681
plete and their totals are not included. + Totals through August 7 HANK AARON

GREAT INFIELDS FROM THE PAST ROBIN

After reading your article on MLB Best Infields and VENTURA
the subsection Great Infields From The Past, I was sur-
prised at the omission of the 1999 Mets, an infield that
consisted of John Olerud (1B), Edgardo Alfonzo (2B),
Rey Ordonez (SS) and Robin Ventura (3B). They com-
bined to commit only 27 errors and allowed only 20
unearned runs (first all time). Both Ventura and
Ordonez won the Gold Glove and I believe Olerud and
Alfonzo finished second. As you will see, their offensive
numbers werent too shabby either.

John Olerud (173 H, 39 2B, 19 HR, 96 RBI, 107 R, .298 BA)

Edgardo Alfonzo (191 H, 41 2B, 27 HR, 109 RBI, 123 R, .304 BA)
Rey Ordonez (134 H, 24 2B, 60 RBI)
Robin Ventura (177 H, 38 2B, 32 HR, 120 RBI, 88 R, 120 RBI, .301 BA)
Bob Olsen
Hillsborough, NJ

Steve Moore

EDGARDO ALFONZO REY ORDONEZ JOHN OLERUD

September/October 2016 7
TOP PITCHING ROTATIONS
Im sure the graph you published in
the July/August 2016 issue concerning
Great Pitching Staffs from the Past has
sparked a debate among your readers,
and Im sure you've heard from many
of them. Here is mine:
The 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates: RH-Jack
Chesbro (28-6, 2.17), LH-Jesse Tannehill
(20-6, 1.95), RH-Deacon Phillippe (20-9,
2.05), RH-Sam Leever (16-7, 2.39) and

LH-Ed Doheny (16-4, 2.54).
These five pitchers combined for 125
complete games and 19 shutouts. They From left, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz anchor a young Mets rotation.
also occupied five of the top six spots
among the National League leaders for won/lost percentage
that season. The other pitcher in the top six was Ed Poole,
who started the season in Pittsburgh, then was later sold to
the Reds.
The American League was raiding National League
rosters that season, but Pittsburgh remained virtu-
ally untouched. The Pirates won the pennant in
1902 with a record of 103-36 (.741), 27.5 games in
front of the second-place Brooklyn Superbas.
Michael Corley
Clarksburg, WV
As a longtime reader and a lifetime dyed-
in-the-wool Mets fan, I was somewhat
appalled at your cover story. You listed the
Metropolitans pitching rotation as the best
in the game today, which is fine as well as
true. But what was not fine was how you left
BARTOLO
out the ageless wonder Bartolo Colon from COLON
both your cover and article without even a Steve Moore
mention of his accomplishments.
In case you havent checked, Colon has been the
most consistent pitcher on the Mets staff through the
first half of the season, second in wins after Noah
Syndergaard, and if it were not for very poor run support,
he would have a couple of more wins. How could you? Poor
underappreciated Bartolo!
And in your list of the best pitching staffs of the past, how
could leave out the Philadelphia A's of the 1910 to 1914 period?
Connie Macks team won four pennants and three World
Steve Moore
Series during that stretchmainly on the strength of its pitch-
ing staff, led by Hall of Famers Chief Bender and Eddie Plank.
That staff was even more responsible for the teams suc-
cess than its so-called 100 Thousand-Dollar Infield.
Plank would retire as the winningest left-hander in
major-league history, not to be surpassed until
Warren Spahn in the 1960s. He would post a 16-10
record in 1910, followed by 22-8, and 26-6 in 1911
and 1912, respectively. Right-hander Bender
would have records of 23-5, 17-5 and 13-8 during
those years before posting a 21-10 mark in 1913,
while also leading the A.L. with 12 saves!
But the most interesting fact about those As is
that during most of those years, neither Plank
nor Bender was the best pitcher on the staff.
That honor went to one Jack Coombs, who
won a staggering 60 games in 1910-11 and led
the league in wins those two years with 31
and 29, respectively. He followed that with a
20-10 record in 1912. Although illness and
injuries shortened his career, for a handful of
seasons, he could compete with Walter Johnson as
the best pitcher in the American League.
In addition to the Big Three, the As received good years
in one season or another from Cy Morgan, Boardwalk
Brown, Bob Shawkey and others. The Athletics of the
1910s were, arguably, modern Major League Baseballs
first true dynasty and their pitching staff was the main
reason for the rise of that dynasty. Robert E. Lozada
Miami Springs, FL

HITTING DUOS
HACK WILSON KIKI CUYLER
I enjoyed reading about the Great Duos From The
Past (July/August 2016). You really need to include two
of the greatest duo performances of all time.
The 1930 Chicago Cubs were led by:
Hack Wilson.356, 56 HR, 146 R, 191 RBI
Kiki Cuyler.355, 13 HR, 155 R, 134 RBI
The two combined for 325 RBI, a total only topped by
Ruth/Gehrig among those duos listed.
The 1949 Boston Red Sox were led by: TED WILLIAMS VERN STEPHENS
Ted Williams.343, 43 HR, 150 R, 159 RBI
Vern Stephens.290, 39 HR, 113 R, 159 RBI
Williams and Stephens combined for 318 RBI, a total
only topped by Ruth/Gehrig and Simmons/Foxx among
those duos listed. Neither of the above teams won the
pennant. Martin E. Brody
SportPics

Tulsa, OK
8 September/October 2016
SCOUTING REPORTS
In your article about Scouting Reports of MLB Greats in
your July/August 2016 issue, you forgot to mention two
Hall of Fame members: Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. I
was at that induction ceremony in 2007 and witnessed two
greats who played for a single team in their careers. This
was one of the largest crowds who have attended a ceremo-
ny. I believe they deserve more credit for what they have
accomplished.
Could you please provide their scouting reports?
Arthur Wrightson
San Diego, CA
We did not forget; we simply ran a series of scouting
reports of former major-league greats that were available at
the time. Following are scouting reports on Tony Gwynn
and Cal Ripken Jr.
TONY GWYNN, age 21
RUN DIFFERENTIAL
Early in the season when the Chicago Cubs were outscoring
their opponents by a large margin, it was stated they were on
a record pace for scoring more runs than runs allowed.
It got me wondering what clubs hold the record for largest
margin between runs scored and runs allowed in a season
for both the American League and National League.
Frank Healy
Madison, WI
Since 1901, when the American League was formed, the
1939 New York Yankees hold the major-league record for scor-
ing 411 more runs than they allowed. During that year, the
Yankees scored 967 runs and their pitching staff and defen-
sive unit surrendered 556.
The N.L. record is held by the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates, a
club that scored 775 runs and gave up 439 for a differential
of +336.
See the accompanying chart.

Strong compact, well-

proportioned frame. Very
TEAMS WITH HIGHEST
mature physical features. RUN DIFFERENTIAL
Finished scholastic eligibili- (1901-2015)
ty but has one more year of AMERICAN LEAGUE
baseball left. Was guard on YEAR TEAM RS RA DIFF.
basketball team (San Diego 1939 New York Yankees 967 556 +411
State) and got a late start 1927 New York Yankees 975 599 +376
this spring. 1936 New York Yankees 1,065 731 +334
Very good fastball hitter 1998 New York Yankees 965 656 +309
1937 New York Yankees 979 671 +308
with excellent bat speed.
1931 New York Yankees 1,067 760 +307
Slight upper cut swing with SportPics 2001 Seattle Mariners 927 627 +300
good extension. Will have avg. power when he learns to pull 1942 New York Yankees 801 507 +294
the ball more. Gets good jump on OF and has improved there 1929 Philadelphia As 901 615 +286
as the season progressed. 1932 New York Yankees 1,002 724 +278
Doesnt throw wellgets no leverage and doesnt have good NATIONAL LEAGUE
mechanics. Opens too soon and is still. Labors to run and YEAR TEAM RS RA DIFF.
wobbles some. His slight timing hitch causes him to 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates 775 439 +336
inside/out a lot of pitches and has some problems adjusting to 1906 Chicago Cubs 704 381 +323
off-speed and breaking pitchesextremely avg. at plate. 1944 St. Louis Cardinals 772 490 +282
Scout Gordon Lakey (June 3, 1981) 1905 New York Giants 780 505 +275
1942 St. Louis Cardinals 755 480 +275
1904 New York Giants 744 474 +270
CAL RIPKEN JR., age 17
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers 955 689 +266
1975 Cincinnati Reds 840 586 +254
No glasses or know injuries. 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates 701 448 +253
Built like handsome as Jim 1912 New York Giants 823 571 +252
Palmer. Son of Cal Ripken,
Baltimore coach. Young, fine- RUTH/GEHRIG HOME RUNS
looking, long-armed, big I read your May/June 2016
boned physical specimen. Quick Quiz. You indicate that
Throws mostly hard CBs, sluggers Babe Ruth and Lou
arm sinkers. Mixes breaking Gehrig of the Yankees, totaled
balls with few FBs. Changes 846 home runs as teammates.
on CB and FB bores down and I also read in the ESPN
in for control strikeout pitch. Baseball Encyclopedia,
Outstanding competitor. Can fifth edition, that Ruth LOU
David Durochik/SportPics GEHRIG
hit. RUBBER ARM. and Gehrig totaled 859
Weaknessesrun 4.6 1B. Not fully matured. Growing tall, homers in the span of
faster than mobility will allow. Does not release ball down far 1923 to 1934.
enough past body, but has sneaky stuff on all pitches. If your information
Plays SS, but lack of fluid mobility will limit prospect here. is correct, please tell me
BABE
Live arm, excellent command of CB, strong size, and intense these numbers in that RUTH
desire to play. Fathers influence rate chance. span. Olegario Corro
Pirates scout Joe Consoli (April 12, 1978). Panama, Panama
September/October 2016 9
 Gehrig played most of the 1923 and
1924 seasons at Columbia College and
the Yankees minor-league affiliates.
Thus, he was not Ruths teammate for a
full season until 1925. That accounts
for the discrepancy in the total number
of home runs they hit as teammates.
Our initial research was an estimate.
Looking further into the totals of Ruths
home runs when Gehrig was his team-
mate on the New York roster indicates
the two sluggers combined for 792
homers.
In 1923, Gehrig played 13 games with
the Yankees and hit one home run.
With Gehrig on the roster between
stints at Columbia and 59 games in the DAVE
minors, Ruth clubbed 15 home runs, WINFIELD
bringing their combined total to 16
homers as teammates in 1923.
In 1924, Gehrig joined the clubafter
playing 135 minor-league games in
Hartfordin late August. Gehrig did
not hit a home run in the majors in
1924, while Ruth connected for five
when they were teammates for the
final month of the season.
The total number of homers Ruth
and Gehrig combined for in 1923 and
1924 is 21. Add that to the 771 they hit
as full-time teammates from 1925
through 1934, and the accurate total of
combined homers is 792.
WHEN LIGHTNING STRUCK
The Pittsburgh Pirates played the
New York Giants on July 17, 1914, a
game won by the Giants, 3-1, after 21
innings.
During the game, New York out-
fielder Red Murray was struck by
lightning after catching the final out
of the contest. He recovered to play
the next day.
Has any other player been struck
by lightning during a game? Lucy Byers
Latrobe, PA
Besides the game involving Giants outfielder Red Murray,
we have uncovered four other instances when a player was
struck by lightning during a professional ballgame:
William Bedford, a second baseman for the Cuban Giants
of the Negro leagues was killed when struck by lightning at
Inlet Park in Atlantic City on August 26, 1909.
In his first game with the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 24,
1919, pitcher Ray Caldwell was struck by lightning. With two
outs in the ninth inning and the Indians leading 2-1, a bolt of
lightning hit an iron rail in front of the press box, made its way
down the steel posts and across the infield, striking Caldwell
and knocking him out. It is said he was unconscious for five
minutes, but when he came to, he insisted on finishing the
game. He completed Clevelands victory over the As by forcing
the next batter to ground out to third. After the game, Caldwell
said of his experience of being hit by lightning: It felt just like
10 September/October 2016
somebody came up with a board and hit
me on top of the head and knocked me
down.
Jim Martin, catcher in the Class-C
West Texas-New Mexico League, was
struck by lightning during the middle
of an inning in Abilene, Texas, on
April 28, 1950. The force of the light-
ning bolt is said to have hit Martins
catchers mask, knocking him out and
forcing his mask to fly off his head
beyond the pitchers mound. He did
return to play the next day.
On June 16, 1951, outfielder Andy
David Durochik/SportPics
Strong, 23, was playing in a game for
the Crowley Millers of the Evangeline
League when he was struck by light-
ning and killed instantly. The game
was delayed in the fifth inning due to
heavy rain, but as the skies cleared and
the rain halted, a lightning bolt suddenly
felled Strong.
CAP SELECTION
You may have answered this ques-
tion before, but I forgot. Who picks
out the hat portrayed in the bronze
sculpture for those players elected to
the Hall of Famethe Hall or the
player?
Have things changed since the
Dave Winfield problem? W. Isaacs
Yonkers, NY
Dave Winfield, who was elected to
the Hall of Fame in 2001, had spent
most of his 22 seasons in the majors
with the New York Yankees and had
great success there. Yet, he chose to go
into the Hall as a member of the San
Diego Padres, due to his feud with
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
After 2001, the Hall of Fame decided
to change the policy on cap logo selec-
tion, as a result of rumors that some
teams were offering compensation,
such as number retirement, money or organizational jobs, in
exchange for the cap designation. The Hall decided that it
would no longer defer to the inductee, though the players wish-
es would be considered when deciding on the logo to appear on
the plaque.
The Museum staff works with each inductee by suggesting
an appropriate logo option, or no logo at all, said Jeff Idelson,
president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
For those whose most compelling contributions clearly took
place with one team, a logo makes sense. For those whose
careers were built significantly among multiple teams, not hav-
ing a team logo is equally acceptable. Regardless of the selec-
tion, a Hall of Famer belongs to every team for which he played
or managed, as well as every fan who followed his career.
BASEBALL DIGEST WELCOMES LETTERS FROM READERS.
Full name, city and state or province must be included. Mail to:
The Fans Speak Out, Baseball Digest, 990 Grove Street, Evanston, IL
60201-4370 or email to: letters@baseballdigest.com
 WARMUP TOSSES By Bob Kuenster, Editor

CUBS ARENT THE

ONLY TEAM HOPING
TO END TITLE DROUGHT
t happened at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago on July 25 who juggle their feelings back and forth with the failure and

I on a warm, muggy night with a playoff-like crowd of

more than 39,000 in attendance. The White Sox were
hosting the crosstown Cubs in an interleague match.
At the time, the Cubs were boasting the best record in the
majors and had just acquired
flame-throwing reliever Aroldis
Chapman in a trade with the
Yankees to help solidify their
struggling bullpen.
The addition of Chapman
with his controversial past was
a story that had news reporters
clamoring for information
from the Cubs front office
team president Theo Epstein,
general manager Jed Hoyer
and manager Joe Maddonin
the visitors dugout.
On the other side of the field,
the main topic was not the
game or the struggles the
White Sox were going through,
but the temper tantrum by All-
Star left-hander Chris Sale that
caused him to draw a five-
game suspension from his club
the previous weekend.
But after all the interviews
and repeated boring state-
ments about events away from
the field, the focus of the night
shifted to the game. A contest
that had all that could be
expected in a Cubs-White Sox
showdownsolid pitching,
great defensive plays, home
runs and a walk-off victory.
The White Sox won the first of
this four-game series, 5-4.
success of their team. They are prone to worry regardless of
how good their ball club is due to the franchises long cham-
pionship drought.
After that July 25 loss to the White Sox, the Cubs were in
first place by seven games over
the Cardinals and eight ahead
JOE of the Pirates with 64 games
MADDON remaining on the 2016 sched-
ule. Chicago was attempting to
make the postseason for the
second year in a row and win
the clubs first pennant in 71
years ... not to mention the
franchises first World Series
title in 108 campaigns.
But the teams place in the
standings means little until the
season is in the books. As Yogi
said, It aint over till its over!
In the A.L. Central, its the
Cleveland Indians who are try-
ing to erase a streak of bad luck.
The Tribe has won two pennants
over the last 22 years (1995,
Baseball is a long season, man, and 1997), but a world championship
has eluded the Indians since
losing is part of the game. Its how you deal
1948, when there were only 16
with losing streaks or slumps that tell you teams in the major leagues and
what kind of team you have. the three best players in the
gameTed Williams, Joe
DiMaggio and Stan Musial
were making a combined
$166,000.
There are other teams in the
hunt to end dreadful champi-
onship droughts in 2016.
The Houston Astros were an
expansion team in 1962 during
the Kennedy administration
Photos by SportPics

With the loss, echoes of Cubs and have yet to win a World
fans disappointment could be Series title. The same can be said
heard as they slowly exited the for their intrastate rivals, the
ballpark. Some mumbled about Texas Rangers, who entered the
their club coming up short; The Cubs rebuilding processunder the regime of Theo major-league scene in 1961 as
Epstein, president of baseball operationshas put Chicago
others worried whether the in a position to contend for the next several seasons. the Washington Senators before
team could keep a strangle- moving to Texas in 1972. Both
hold on the division lead. In the Astros and Rangers have had
the midst of the ramblings, a boisterous Sox fan yelled, success, but have failed to capture a World Series ring.
Nice game! in the middle of a jersey-wearing crowd of In Washington, the Nationalsformerly the Montreal
Cubs fans, The north siders perked up when one follower Exposare trying to win the organizations first pennant in
responded, Hey, were still in first place! its 48 years of existence.
Those are the thoughts of fans, especially Cub admirers, The Orioles, a club that put together a strong first half,
September/October 2016 11
 WARMUP TOSSES

havent secured a title in 32 years. The Pirates havent won
for 36 years, the Tigers for 31, the Mets for 29, the Dodgers
for 27, and the Blue Jays for 22. All these teams were within
distance of a division title or a wild-card invitation entering
the final two months of the season.
Its never easy, said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle on
reaching the playoffs. Its a long season and there are a lot
of great teams. . . contending teams that
have a legitimate shot at winning a pen-
nant. If a team can maintain consisten-
cy and get hot at the right time, any-
thing can happen. Im proud of the men
we have on our club; they play hard and
know how to win and well do whatever
it takes to get into the postseason.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona
held the same beliefs for his club,
despite having to contend with the
defending World Series champion
Royals and the Detroit Tigers in the
same division.
We have a solid club here, he
Tribe will be in the hunt for a pennant in October.
As for the Cubs, even when you have one of the top teams
in the major leagues, drama seems to follow the franchise
that hasnt won a title since before World War Ior a pen-
nant since Harry S. Truman was president and a gallon of
gas cost 15 cents.
On June 19, Chicago had a 12.5-game lead in the N.L.
Central and the media and fans were
thinking ahead to a historic season of
100-plus wins and redemption of last
CLINT years loss in the NLCS to the Mets in an
HURDLE
embarrassing sweep.
But then the Cubs lost 15 of its next 20
games and fans were worrying that a
collapse was in the making. Questions
were being planted in their heads: Is
Jake Arrieta hurt? Why cant the players
hit in the clutch? When will Jason
Heyward come around? Why cant the
bullpen hold down a win?
Thats the way its always been,
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

said in mid-June, when his club
was tied for first place with a 35-
30 record and coming off three
consecutive defeats to Kansas
City. We have a lot of good
pitching and a solid young corps
of players who are going to help
us win and contend.
After that three-game setback
to the Royals, the Indians went
on a 14-game winning streak that put
them in the drivers seat in the A.L.
Central with a seven-and-a-half game
lead. At the end of July, Cleveland was
still keeping pace, five-and-a-half games
ahead of the Tigers.
I love when we win, Francona told
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, but once we put yesterday
behind us (its in the past). There is
something to be learned from
SportPics
Baseball is a long season, man,
and losing is part of the game. Its
Its never easy. Its a long season and there are how you deal with losing streaks
a lot of great teams. . . contending teams that or slumps that tell you what kind
have a legitimate shot at winning a pennant. If of team you have.
a team can maintain consistency and get hot at And Im not worried at all with
the right time, anything can happen. what we have here, the skipper
added. Our guys know what they
have to do. They know how to win
TERRY and they work at it every day.
FRANCONA Sometimes you dont get the results you
want, but its really how you try to
achieve those results and I think weve
done a great job and are in a good posi-
tion to succeed . . . and not just winning
a division title.
Part of the game is dealing with adver-
sity and battling through a long schedule
that includes stretches of losing.
The 1927 Yankees went 11-11 in early
August before recovering to contin-
SportPics

the game you just played. Then ue their 110-win season and sweep
you process it and move on. the Pirates in the World Series.
If you lost five or six in a row There is something to be learned from the game In May 1961, the Yankees
and let it bog you down, or you you just played. Then you process it and move on. slumped early in the month when
won five or six in a row and you If you lost five or six in a row and let it bog you they went 4-10 during a 14-game
start digging yourself, that does- down, or you won five or six in a row and you start skid. The club recovered to win
nt work. Just move on. digging yourself, that doesn't work. Just move on." 109 regular-season games and the
The Indians have moved on World Series.
with a strong rotation of starters Cincinnatis Big Red Machine
in Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin, started the 1975 season losing 10 of
Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer. The five its first 19 games, and later in the year posted a six-game los-
hurlers combined for a 47-26 record and 3.52 ERA through ing streak. But that didnt prevent the Reds from winning 108
the first 108 games of the season. games and the World Series.
Mix that quality pitching with veteran leadership in Mike The 1906 Cubs set a big-league record with 116 wins. In the
Napoli, Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana, along with the process, their longest losing streak was only three games and
outstanding play of young star shortstop Francisco Lindor the club lost back-to-back games only five times during the
and outfielders Jose Ramirez and Tyler Naquin, and the year. But when World Series time came, the Cubs lost four

12 September/October 2016

straight to their crosstown rival, the White Sox.
The 2001 Seattle Mariners equaled the Cubs victory total
with 116 and didnt lose more than two games in a row until
late September, when they dropped four in succession after
the club had already clinched the division. But in the post-
season, the Mariners lost in the ALCS, four games to one.
The history of great teams failing to win a World Series
shows baseball is unpredictable and anything can happen.
Any team can win with a streak of good luck and solid play.
But an invitation to postseason competition wont guaran-
tee a world championship.
Religious philosopher Blaise Pascal once wrote:
Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature; but he
is a thinking reed . . . All our dignity consists, then, in
thought. By it, we must elevate ourselves, and not by space
and time which we cannot fill. Let us endeavor, then, to
think well; this is the principle of morality.
This statement could also be the principle of victory. The
thought process of a ballplayer can determine the margin of
victory and defeat. Give me a player who can think, progress
and learn on the field and he will help lead you to victory.
Joe Maddon appears to be a follower of this philosophy.
He likes to empower his coaching staff, and its ability to
help guide players to become thinkers and doers on the
baseball diamond builds a winning atmosphere through-
out the organization.
So, Cubs fans can wince with each loss, and the media
can continue to spark debates about the myth of a jinx. But
both parties should hold onto the fact that the Cubs are a
DID YOU KNOW . . . that when the Cubs won
their last World Series in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt was
president, only 46 states made up the United States, Cy
Young was 41 years old, Ty Cobb was 21, and the Civil War
had been over for only 43 years?
. . . that the last time the Indians won the Fall Classic, Bob
Feller, Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby, Bob Lemon and Al Rosen
were stars in Cleveland, minimum wage was 40 cents an hour,
and Harvard University tuition was $455?
. . . when the expansion Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
joined the American League in 1961, there were only four
players with 500 career homers, eight with 3,000
hits, 11 pitchers with 300 or more wins, and only TY COBB MAURY
Walter Johnson had 3,000-plus strikeouts?
WILLS
SportPics
. . . when Houston played its first big-league
season in 1962, Maury Wills set the single-sea-
son stolen-base record with 104, Mickey Mantle
won his third A.L. MVP Award, Sandy Koufax
won his first of five ERA titles, and Nolan Ryan
was a freshman at Alvin High School in Texas?
. . . when the expansion Expos (now Nationals)
SportPics
and Padres began their first season in the N.L.
in 1969, it was the first year of divisional play
in the majors and Pete Rose had 1,109
career hits to his credit?
. . . the last time the Pirates won the
World Series in 1979, Tony La Russa had
27 of his 2,728 managerial victories?
LOU BOUDREAU
contending team and should be for years to come, thanks to
their ownership and the plan to create a winner through
the front-office leadership of Epstein.
If the players can rely on their great all-around produc-
tion and the leadership of veteran players, and young stars
continue to believe in themselves, then the pennant
drought of 70 years and the lack of a World Series title for
107 seasons should come to an end very soon.
To which Cubs fans will finally get a chance to shout, Its
Over! BD
September/October 2016 13
 JACK
MORRIS

David Durochik/SportPics

JOHNNY
PODRES

Among the 111 Fall Classics played, 37 of

them went the distance in a best-of-seven

By Bruce Levine and Joel Bierig

hen it comes to the World Series, seven is the
format with a handful being categorized as
the best Series finales in MLB history
S
Mazeroski hit just 138 regular-season homers over his 17-

W lucky number for television networks seeking rat-

ings-and-revenue jackpots. For participants, how-
ever, the 37 Game 7s to date have been a roll of the dice,
producing surprising heroes and just as unlikely goats.
For example, Bill Mazeroskis walkoff home runto win
the 1960 World Series for Pittsburgharguably propelled
the .260-hitting glove whiz to eventual Hall of Fame status.
Ive been asked a thousand times to explain the home
run that I did hit in 1960, Mazeroski said of his tie-break-
ing shot off Ralph Terry that gave Pittsburgh a 10-9 victo-
ry over the Yankees. I always come up short. I dont have
the words, I dont have the vocabulary, and Im not smart
enough to explain how great it felt.
But how many are aware the 1926 World Series ended on
a failed steal attempt of second base by the Sultan of Swat,
Babe Ruth?
Many more, no doubt, know Ruth smacked three home
runs in Game 4 of that Series, more than delivering on a
storied promise to a hospitalized boy.
year big-league career. Yet he remains the only player to slug
a game-ending, World Series-winning home run in a Game 7.
Thirty-three years later, Torontos Joe Carter blasted a
Series-ending, come-from-behind homer off Philadelphias
Mitch Williams, but that was in the sixth game.
Despite Mazeroskis other accomplishments, which
included eight Gold Glove awards, his Game 7 homer may
have been the key to unlocking a Hall of Fame berth. In
2001, the Veterans Committee, as it was known, finally
selected him to the Hall. Nine years earlier, hed been
dropped from the ballot for failing to achieve the needed
75 percent of the vote in any of his 15 seasons of eligibility.
Perhaps the most dramatic pitching performance in
World Series history soon will enable Jack Morris to join
Mazeroski in Cooperstown. At the moment, the accom-
plished right-hander remains on the outside looking in,
despite 254 career victories.
Morris still is asked how, at age 36, he managed to pitch
a 10-inning shutout against Atlanta to win Game 7 of the

14 September/October 2016
1991 Series for the Minnesota Twins. What may be the best was a dream come trueeverything I expected and more,
Game 7 in history, it matched teams that finished last the Smoltz says in reflection.
previous season. Moreover, Smoltz and Morris likely would have become
Everybody was worried about how these two last-place teammates in Detroithad the Tigers not infamously
teams from small markets were going to provide a boring traded Smoltz, a 20-year-old prospect, to Atlanta for 36-
World Series, John Smoltz, who opposed Morris on the year-old Doyle Alexander during the 1987 pennant race.
mound for the Braves, told Baseball Digest. Then you get Interestingly, while Morris still awaits a call from
arguably the best World Series ever and certainly the best Cooperstown, Smoltz became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in
Game 7. 2015aided, no doubt, by the uniqueness of his resume.
It was a Series in which the home team won every game, Because of adjustments necessitated by Tommy John
with five being decided by a single run, four being settled surgery, he is the only pitcher in history to post 200 victo-
in the final at-bat, and three going extra innings. ries (213) and 150 saves (154).
That Game 7 story is pretty Id give up half my wins to
much legend in the Twin Cities, pitch in 10 more games just like
former Twins outfielder Dan MADISON the one Jack and I pitched in,
Gladdenwho, like Morris, is a BUMGARNER Smoltz says.
member of the Twins current Meanwhile, Morris, whose 15
broadcast teamtold BD. But years on the regular ballot
Game 7 was really about Game 6, ended in 2014, can be consid-
with the Puckett great catch and ered by the Halls Expansion
home run. Era Committee for the first time
Indeed, Kirby Puckett made a in December.
leaping, run-saving stab against Gladden believes Morris
the 13-foot Plexiglas extension selection is long overdue.
of the center-field wall early in There wasnt any nervous-
the game. Finally, in the 11th ness going into Game 7 because
inning, he hit a walkoff homer Jack was an accomplished man
to tie the Series. who won big games his whole
Then it all came down to Morris career, Gladden recalled.
against future Hall of Famer Subplots, however, were far
Smoltz, then 24. Smoltz matched from Morris mind at that
him for 7.1 innings before leaving moment.
with two men on base, a jam that Its a game you get excited for,
reliever Mike Stanton escaped. and something inside you tells
Morris, for his part, had no inten- you to keep going, was his sim-
tions of departing. ple explanation after posting a
Jack probably would have 2-0 record and 1.17 ERA in three
pitched 25 innings if he had to, starts to earn Series MVP hon-
teammate Kent Hrbek said. ors. I dont know where it came
SportPics

Oh, hell, its just a game, from.

manager Tom Kelly said after As Smoltz adds, If youre not
In 2014, Bumgarner capped an 18-win campaign by earning four post-
pitching coach Dick Such lob- season victories. He defeated Kansas City twice in the World Series and
ready or prepared or dont want
bied for Morris to continue. worked five scoreless innings in relief to save a thrilling Game 7. to pitch in Game 7, theres some-
I only wish Id had more thing wrong with you.
years under my belt so I could have told my manager Perhaps that is why:
(Bobby Cox) I wasnt coming out like Jack told his manag- Starter Madison Bumgarner found the strength to pitch
er, Smoltz still laments. five shutout innings in reliefon two days restto give
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was rocking for the San Francisco Giants a Game 7 victory over the host
Morris, a St. Paul, Minn., native. Ironically, it was his only Kansas City Royals in 2014. Not since 1979, when the
season with the Twinsa low-budget franchise that Pirates vanquished the Baltimore Orioles, had a team won
would lose him to Toronto the following season. Game 7 of the World Series on the road. Before earning the
The building just exploded with sound, recounted Game 7 save, Bumgarner won the opener and pitched a
Gladden, who led off the Twins 10th with a double and four-hit shutout in Game 5. The 79 Pirates were Family,
scored on Gene Larkins bases-loaded hit to provide the 1-0 rebounding from a 3-1 Series deficit to the tune of Sister
victory. Sledges hit song and MVP Willie Stargells 4-for-5 hitting
Morris had been better known as a Detroit Tiger. He in Game 7. The 2014 Giants were no less cohesive, winning
posted 198 of his career victories for the Tigers and con- their third World Series title in five seasons.
tributed two triumphs to their 1984 World Series champi- Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers
onship over San Diego. mustered the stamina to strike out a then-record 10 (for a
Ironically, Smoltz was a Michigan native who had grown Game 7) and pitch a three-hit shutout on two days rest to
up in Lansing rooting for Morris and the Tigers. beat the Twins in the seventh game of the 1965 Series. All
Pitching in the biggest game against one of your heroes with a black-and-blue left forearm, the result of shredded
September/October 2016 15
THE BEST OF (GAME) 7
1. 1991 TWINS 1, BRAVES 0, 10 INNINGS
Minnesotas championship (on Jack Morris complete-
game effort) came on the heels of another seven-game
triumph in 1987that against the Cardinals. The 87
Series was the first in which the home team won every
game. The same occurred in 91. But the 87 Series lacked
the suspense of 91; every 87 game was decided by two
or more runs, and no runs were scored in the ninth inning
of any contest. Fast forward to 91, when four games
ended on the final pitch, five were won in a teams final
turn at-bat, and five were decided by one run.
I wasnt the hero on either (the 87 or 91) team, BILL
said former Twins outfielder Dan Gladden, who scored
the winning run in 1991 and drove in the final run in a
clinching 4-2 victory in 1987. But we all looked at our-
selves as heroes for the people in Minnesota, which had
never won a championship (since the franchise moved
from Washington in 1961). The 1991 team, for sure, is
a big part of baseball and World Series history. That will
never change, except with time, when people will debate
the greatness depending on the era youre talking about.
But having participated, I dont think I ever played in a
more exciting or meaningful game.
With all due appreciation for Game 7 of the 1960
Series, the 91 game arguably was the greatest Game 7.
The grizzled Morris, 36, threw 10 shutout innings and
brought a championship to his hometown team in his
only season with the Twins. Atlanta right-hander John
Smoltz, then 24, pitched 7.1 scoreless innings before
manager Bobby Cox removed him with two runners on.
It was an epic battle of what-ifs and what-could-have-
beens, said Smoltz, a Michigan native who grew up
watching Morris pitch for the Tigers.
After a great career in Detroit, Morris had signed a
one-year deal with Minnesota as a new-look free agent,
the result of a collusion ruling against major-league own-
ers. Following his MVP performance, Morris again
became a free agent and signed with Toronto. There, he
picked up two more World Series rings, in 1992 and 93,
despite going 0-2 in the 92 Series and missing the 93
affair because of injury after a subpar season.
2. 1960 PIRATES 10, YANKEES 9
The Mazeroski Game delivered all the offensive
drama that Game 7 of the 1991 Series lacked. Yankees
right-hander Ralph Terry served a 1-0 gopher ball to
Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski for the most
famous home run in World Series history. (Apologies to
Torontos Joe Carter, whose Series-ending walk-off
homer in 1993, against Mitch Williams of the
Philadelphia Phillies, came in Game 6.)
Yankees great Mickey Mantle cried at his locker after
the game. That one hurt worse than any loss I ever was
a part of, Mantle told Baseball Digest in 1992.
The eighth inning had been pivotal. Trailing 7-4,
Pittsburgh had Gino Cimoli on first with a leadoff single.
Bill Virdon hit a routine double-play grounder to short-
stop Tony Kubek. The ball took a five-foot-high bad hop
that struck Kubek in the throat, forcing him to exit. The
Bucs went on to score five runs and take a 9-7 lead
before New York tied it with two in the ninth.
New Yorks three victories in the Series came by a
combined 38-3 score. Whitey Ford threw two shutouts,
yet the Bronx Bombers still lost the Series, despite
outscoring Pittsburgh 55-27.
Manager Casey Stengel summarily was forced out by
owners Dan Topping and Del Webb at age 70. Stengel
had won 10 pennants in 12 seasons, including seven
World Series. I will never make the mistake of turning
70 again, Stengel deadpanned after getting dumped.
took off on the pitch and was thrown out on a close play,
MAZEROSKI
3. 1955 DODGERS 2, YANKEES 0
Long-suffering fans and Wait until next year were Yankees, going for four straight World Series titles, were
Brooklyn catchphrases long before they became con-
nected to the Chicago Cubs.
Indeed, it was 71 years before the Dodgers finally
won their first and only World Series as a Brooklyn fran-
chise. It took a masterful shutout from 23-year-old lefty
Johnny Podres to ward off the demons of the Flatbush
curse. Podres scored complete-game victories in both
his starts en route to the MVP award, the first such
honor ever given for the best player in the Series.
Gil Hodges, the goat of the 1952 World Series for
going 0-for-21 in seven games against the Yankees,
redeemed himself by driving in both runs to support
Podres (single in the fourth, sacrifice fly in the sixth).
Historical significancethe Dodgers finally winning and
Hall of Fame icon Jackie Robinson playing on his only
World Series winner in six triestakes this one up the
ladder to No. 3 on our list. At 36, however, Robinson
was in the throes of his worst season, and manager
Walter Alston didnt play him in Game 7using Don
Hoak at third and Don Zimmer and Junior Gilliam at sec-
ond.
4. 1926 CARDINALS 3, YANKEES 2
The most bizarre finish imaginablea Series-ending
stolen-base attemptleft Babe Ruth wearing the goat
horns. Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander
was the hero, winning two games and saving the decid-
ing game with 2.1 shutout innings. Perhaps the key
moment came when Alexander, still feeling the effects of
a Game 6 victory celebration, entered Game 7 to strike
out Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded and two out in
the seventh inning.
The hard-living Alexander had prevented the power-
ful Yanks from winning in six games by pitching a com-
plete game and holding down the mighty Babe (0-for-3
and a walk). In Game 7, the Bambino hit a third-inning
homer off Jesse Haines but was frustrated by being
walked four times, including by Alexander on a 3-2
count in the ninth.
With two out and Ruth on first, Alexander threw a
fastball to Bob Meusel. Ruth, the potential tying run,
catcher Bob O'Farrell to Hall of Fame second baseman
Rogers Hornsby.
Ruth may have been frustrated not only by his four
walks in the game, but by a total of 11 in the Series.
History may call his aborted steal the monumental
bonehead play in Series annals. Meusel, however, who
hit .238 in the Series, had slumped badly in the last
three weeks of the season. Ruth, like his teammates,
doubted the outfielder could deliver anything more than
a single.
Did Ruth lose the Series? Or did Alexander and play-
er/manager Hornsby frustrate and outfox the greatest
player in major-league history?
5. 2001 DIAMONDBACKS 3, YANKEES 2
Against the backdrop of the 9/11 attacks in New York,
this Series had it all in terms of drama and intrigue. The
only three outs from tying the 1936-39 Bronx Bombers
for the second-best Fall Classic run ever behind the 49-
53 Yankee powerhouses that won five in a row.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, an expansion team in
1998, were in only their fourth season. Game 7, in
Arizona, pitted the Yankees Roger Clemens against Curt
Schilling, and both were outstanding.
On the mound in the bottom of the ninth to protect a
2-1 Yankees lead was the most dominant closer in post-
season history, Mariano Rivera, riding a wave of 23 con-
secutive postseason saves. A throwing error by Rivera
that dragged Derek Jeter off the second-base bag set up
the improbable ending. A game-tying double by Tony
Womack with one out put the winning run at third base.
Left-handed-hitting Craig Counsell was struck on the
hand by a cut fastball, which was not cutting in its usual
manner for Rivera this day.
With the bases loaded and one out, Rivera threw one
of his better cutters. It ate up Luis Gonzalez, but the vet-
eran flared a pop-up that landed a foot past the infield
cut-out behind shortstop for the game winner against
the drawn-in infield. Normally, it would have been an
easy pop-out to Jeter.
Game 6 winner Randy Johnson, pitching for the sec-
ond consecutive day, stymied New York with scoreless
ninth-inning relief. The five-time Cy Young winner
racked up his third victory of the Series (the first three-
game Series winner since Detroits Mickey Lolich in
1968). And the Diamondbacks set a record for the quick-
est World Series title by an expansion team.

elbow ligaments that had plagued the southpaw through-
out the summer.
Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves found enough in
his tank to shut out the Yankees on two days rest in Game
7 of the 1957 Series. Starting the final game in place of
Warren Spahn, who was felled by the flu, Burdette won
MVP honors on the basis of three complete-game victo-
ries, including two shutouts. Among the previous 10
World Series, the Yankees had played in eight and won
seven. Adding to New Yorks pain, Burdette was a former
Yankees farmhand whom the Bronx Bombers had traded
to the Braves six years earlier.
Young, unheralded Johnny Podres pitched a Game 7
shutout for the Brooklyn Dodgers to beat the Yankees in
the 1955 Series. He was voted the first MVP in Series histo-
ry after going 2-0 with two complete games and a 1.00
ERA. His performance led the Dodgers to their only World
Series title in their Brooklyn history. There was no pres-
sure on me, insisted Podres, who died in 2008 at age 75.
Who expected a guy with a 9-10 record, a young kid pitch-
ing against the Yankees, to beat them in the third game
(on his 23rd birthday) and then, pitching again on the
fourth day, to beat them again in the seventh game? If I get
beat, I go home and say, Dem Bums, wait till next year.
But we changed all that.
Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals, pitching on just a
days rest, summoned the reserves to blank the Detroit
Tigers on six hits in Game 7 of the 1934 World Series. It was

16 September/October 2016
 but another notch in Deans belt; hed gone 30-7 for the
Gashouse Gang during the regular season.
Goat may be too harsh a term, but for some unfortunate vic-
tims, Game 7 of the Fall Classic is associated with classic falls.
The Yankees Terry surely felt that way after allowing
Mazeroskis blast. Two years later, however, he redeemed
himself with a four-hit, 1-0, Game 7 victory over the San
Francisco Giants. He earned 62 MVP honors after winning
two of his three starts.
Yet, for a few precious seconds in the final inning of
Game 7, it seemed like dj vu all over again, to borrow a
favorite phrase from Terrys teammate, Yogi Berra.
With two out and Matty Alou on first, Willie Mays dou-
bled, and only the strong arm of Yankees right fielder
LUIS
GONZALEZ
SportPics
Ace closer Rivera posted a 0.99 ERA in 24 World Series appearances, but Gonzalez delivered the Game 7 walk-off hit against him to send Arizona to victory in the 2001 Fall Classic.
Roger Maris held Alou at third. Yankees manager Ralph
Houk elected to have Terry face lefty slugger Willie
McCovey, who had tripled off the right-hander earlier,
rather than walk the bases loaded for right-handed-hitting
Orlando Cepeda. McCovey ripped a vicious line drive
toward Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson.
Moving to his left, Richardson caught the bullet chest
high, enabling Terry to settle his score with destiny.
Burdette, on the other hand, in a one-year span went
from the ecstasy of victory to the agony of defeat. In 1958,
the Yankees beat him in Game 7, marking his second con-
secutive defeat after he won Game 2 of the Series.
Just as the 60 Series lionized Mazeroski and villainized
Terry, the 1997 Series had the same effects on Edgar
Renteria and Jose Mesa. Three outs away from the
Cleveland Indians first World Series title since 1948, Mesa
allowed the Florida Marlins two hits and a sacrifice fly to
send Game 7 into extra innings for only the third time in his-
toryand the first since Morris 1991 gem against Atlanta.
Renterias two-out hit off Charles Nagy in the 11th won it
for the Marlins, the first wild-card team to capture a World
Series.
Who better to sum up the frustration of Cleveland fans
other than native son LeBron James, who in 1997 was 12
years old and growing up in nearby Akron? This year, after
leading the Cavaliers to Clevleands first crown in any
sport since the Browns won the NFL title in 1964, James
cited the citys history of disappointments. Jose Mesa not
being able to close out the bottom of the ninthalong
with his own inability to deliver NBA titles in the 2007 and
2015 finalsranked high on King James list.
The Cardinals Enos (Country) Slaughter is known for
his Mad Dash from first to home to score the winning
run against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning of
Game 7 of the 1946 Series. On the other end, Red Sox short-
stop Johnny Pesky became tabbed as the man who held
the ball, allowing Slaughter to score.
Pesky said Slaughter, who led off with a hit but was still
on first two outs later, was stealing on a 2-1 pitch.
Slaughter, however, kept running when Harry Walker
MARIANO
RIVERA
SportPics
looped a hit to left-center. And Slaughter just kept running
as center fielder Leon Culberson relayed the ball to Pesky.
I didnt hear anything, Pesky told The New York Times
in 2004. Everybody was screaming. When I looked, Enos
was 10 feet from home. I threw the ball. Maybe if I had a
better arm, Id have gotten him.
Culberson had entered the game because Dom
DiMaggio, who doubled in two runs to tie the score in the
top of the inning, had pulled a hamstring in the process.
DiMaggio, a seven-time All-Star, likely would have been
shading the spray-hitting Slaughter and might have
caught the ball or used his strong arm to hold Slaughter to
third. Culberson was playing straightaway.
Slaughter was always good to me, Pesky, who hit a
career-high .335 that season but never made it to another
World Series during his 10-year playing career, told the
Times. He always said he knew who was in center field
and thus kept running.
Nonetheless, Pesky endured a lifetime of taunts, such as
when he attended a rainy football game in which the
teams kept fumbling and a fan behind him shouted, Give
the ball to Pesky, he knows how to hold onto it.
Pesky, who not only played for but managed the Red Sox
and maintained close ties with them, finally received
World Series championship rings after Boston won titles in
2004 and 2007. By the time he died in 2012 at age 93, his
September/October 2016 17
number had been retired and the Fenway Park right-field
pole had been named after him.
Modern fans may know the Arizona Diamondbacks won
their only World Series title, in 2001, by beating baseballs all-
time saves leader, Mariano Rivera, in Game 7. The Yankees
closer had notched 23 consecutive postseason savesand
owned an 0.70 ERA in 51 postseason appearances before
relinquishing a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth.
Rivera hurt his own cause by throwing away a bunt after
a leadoff single by Mark Grace. Luis Gonzalez produced
the winning hit, a broken-bat bloop.
To be honest, thats the first time I choked up all year,
said Gonzalez, who hit 57 homers
during the regular season.
After Riveras throwing error
had put runners at first and sec-
ond, the Yankees got a force at
third on another bunt. They
might have had a double play if
third baseman Scott Brosius had
relayed to first instead of hold-
ing the ball.
You never know what could
have happened, but I guess it
wasnt meant to be, Rivera told
The New York Times in the spring
of 2002.
Little Tony Womack then dou-
bled to tie the score, and after a
hit batter loaded the bases,
Gonzalez singled over the
drawn-in infield. Koufax, embracing catcher Johnny Roseboro, tossed a four-hit shutout
against the Minnesota Twins in Game 5 of the 1965 World Series. On two
It was the only postseason days rest, he gave up three hits and blanked the Twins again in Game 7.
defeat for Rivera, who finished
his career 8-1 with 42 saves in 96 playoff appearances. He
played on winners in five of his seven Yankees World Series,
including 1999, when he was MVP. Still, he said of 2001, I
think it was the best World Series we ever played in.
Rivera might not have realized that a more renowned
Yankee, the Babe himself, had suffered a more ignomin-
ious Game 7 ending 45 years earlier.
In 1926, the Cardinals led 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth
inning of the final game. With two out and the bases
empty, they had Grover Cleveland Alexander walk Ruth
and face Bob Meusel, who hit .315 for the season but only
.238 for the Series. Ruth broke for second on the first pitch.
The Babe was out on catcher Bob OFarrells throw to sec-
ond baseman Rogers Hornsby.
For his career, Ruth was successful on 51 percent of his
stolen-base attempts, and hed been 11-for-20 during the
regular season.
Hornsby recounted that Ruth didnt say a word. He did-
nt even look around or up at me. He just picked himself up
and walked away. Ruth explained later that he had hoped
the element of surprise would enable him to reach scoring
position for Meusel. Frustration over being walked four
times in the gamehe homered in his other at-batalso
may have factored into the decision to steal.
Ruths legend is such that he is better remembered for
Game 4, in which he hit three homers, a World Series
record equaled by Ruth in 1928 and later by Reggie
Jackson (1977), Albert Pujols (2011) and Pablo Sandoval
18 September/October 2016
(2012). According to a famous anecdote portrayed in The
Babe Ruth Story, the Bambino had promised to hit a
homer for an ailing boy named Johnny Sylvester, who
made a miraculous recovery afterward.
Alas, in analyzing the greatest Game 7s, perhaps no
stone can be left unturned. Literally.
After all, how many know that in 1924, a Game 7 peb-
bleor was it two?propelled the Washington Senators to
the only World Series title in their 60-year history?
A bad-hop grounder over future Hall of Famer Freddie
Lindstrom, the New York Giants 18-year-old rookie third
baseman, scored two runs and tied the game in the bottom of
the eighth inning. In the 12th, an
almost identical hit over
Lindstrom plated the game win-
ner, as the Senators triumphed
4-3 in what remains the longest
(by innings) seventh game in his-
tory. It was the last Game 7 to go
extra innings until Morris 10-
inning victory over Atlanta in
1991.
Lindstrom, less than two
months shy of his 19th birthday,
remains the youngest player to
appear in a major-league post-
season game. He would not,
however, play in another World
Series until 1935, a year before
his career ended at 30 because
of injuries. And by then he was
playing for the Chicago Cubs,
who lost the Series to the Detroit
Tigers and today are still seek-
ing their first title since 1908.
Officially, Lindstrom played errorless ball in the 24
Series, batted .333 (including four hits against the great
Walter Johnson in Game 5), and led N.L. third basemen in
fielding three of the next four seasons.
Johnson, of course, is second on the all-time victory list
with 417 to Cy Youngs 511. In 1924, however, he was 36 and
had lost his two starts in that Series. He earned the Game
7 victory with four innings of scoreless relief.
In those days, postgame quotes were scarce in newspa-
per accounts, with tweeting even farther in the future.
Social media would have been defined as writers willing
to throw back a few cocktails with the players. Lindstroms
comments reflected the dignity of the era.
So they won it, he recalled later. (Giants losing pitch-
er) Jack Bentley, who was something of a philosopher, I
think summed it up after the game. Walter Johnson,
Bentley said, is such a loveable character that the good
Lord didnt want to see him get beat again.
It was the only World Series championship for The Big
Train, who reached the Fall Classic just twice while play-
ing his entire 21-year career with the Senators.
Alas, the following year, Johnson won his first two
games in the World Series. But he lost the finale to the
Pirates, who became the first team in a best-of-seven
series to overcome a 3-1 Series deficit.
It was additional proof that, as even the best can attest,
Game 7 often is no luckier than Friday the 13th. BD
Reggie
Jacksons
World Series
Memories
Playing for five world REGGIE
championship teams, JACKSON
the Hall of Fame outfielder
delivered 10 homers,
24 RBI and a .357 average
in World Series play
and won two Fall Classic
MVP awards
20 September/October 2016
 SportPics
By Mike Puma

n trying to keep a lower public profile, Reggie Jackson says he never wears

I his World Series rings. But the 70-year-old Hall of Famer doesnt need jew-
elryhes got his memories.
Over a 21-year major-league career, Mr. October was a member of five World
Series champions and six pennant winners, earning his championship rings
during a seven-season stretch in the 1970s with the As and Yankees.
Along the way, Jackson batted .357 with 10 homers and 24 RBI in 27 World Series
games. Few players in baseball history are as associated with winning as Jackson.
I was fortunate, Jackson said. I played with great players like Ron Guidry
and Catfish Hunter, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss and
Catfish again. I had two great owners in Charlie Finley and George
Steinbrenner, and guys that had gone out and put those teams together. I
remember all those things that created the ingredients for a championship.
Jacksons World Series memories began on the bench, after he was injured
stealing home in Game 5 of the 1972 ALCS against the Tigers. On crutches with
I should have a torn hamstring, Jackson watched Oaklands dynasty begin with a thrilling
seven-game victory over the Reds.
gotten to the In that World Series I made great friends with Johnny Bench, Jackson said.
We had met in the All-Star Game in 1971 and said hello, and he was a big star

World Series coming along and we just developed a nice friendship, shook hands at home
plate, hung out around the dugout before the game.

two more During the World Series in 72 he called me and I went out to dinner with
him a couple of times, and he befriended me during the Series. He felt bad that

times. But it I wasnt playing. Weve had a great relationship ever since.
Gene Tenace hit four home runs to earn Series MVP honors, but Jackson also

wasnt meant fondly remembers Rudis circus catch on Denis Menkes shot to the left-field
fence in Game 2, and Rollie Fingers strikeout of Bench on a supposed inten-

to be. tional walk in Game 3.

All our wins were by one run, Jackson said. I remember the great pitching
of Catfish Hunter, and Don Gullett going against us, so it was cool.
When the As returned to the World Series in 1973, Jackson was healthy and
REGGIE JACKSON planted the seeds for his sprouting as Mr. October by hitting .310 with a
homer and six RBI to earn MVP honors in a seven-game victory over the Mets.
Willie Mays, in the final season of his Hall of Fame career, played center field for
the Metsalbeit with some difficultyadding to the luster of the event for Jackson.
After sitting out the
1972 World Series
Willie Mays was my favorite player, Jackson said. I was probably among most of
because of injury, the people that followed baseball in that Willie Mays was The Man. So it was a great
Jackson slugged .581 honor for me to play against him and be on the same field with him.
with seven extra-base
hits and seven RBI in
The Mets talented starting pitching kept the Series tight, but homers by Bert
12 World Series games Campaneris and Jackson against Jon Matlack in Game 7 were the difference in
for Oakland in 1973 and Oaklands 5-2 victory.
Carl Skalak Jr.

1974. He was a key

Tom Seaver was on top of the game and had a big year and Jon Matlack was
October contributor for
the As, who won all there with him, Jackson said. I remember those pitchers and we had to face them
three World Series. both in the sixth and seventh games, and we saw them early in the Series, too.
September/October 2016 21
 JACKSONS
WORLD SERIES HOMERS I remember the great series Bert
Campaneris had and Willie Mays difficul-
NO. TEAM DATE GAME TYPE OPPOSING PITCHER
1 As Oct. 21, 1973 7 2-run Jon Matlack, Mets ty in the outfield. I played center field then
2 As Oct. 12, 1974 1 Solo Andy Messersmith, Dodgers and won the MVP during the season and
3 Yankees Oct. 15, 1977 4 Solo Rick Rhoden, Dodgers during the Series.
4 Yankees Oct. 16, 1977 5 Solo Don Sutton, Dodgers When the 1974 World Series arrived, the
5 Yankees Oct. 18, 1977 6 2-run Burt Hooton, Dodgers
As had a chance to make history as the first
6 Yankees Oct. 18, 1977 6 2-run Elias Sosa, Dodgers
7 Yankees Oct. 18, 1977 6 Solo Charlie Hough, Dodgers team since the great Yankees dynasty
8 Yankees Oct. 10, 1978 1 Solo Tommy John, Dodgers (1949-53) to win three straight champi-
9 Yankees Oct. 17, 1978 6 2-run Bob Welch, Dodgers onships.
10 Yankees Oct. 24, 1981 4 Solo Steve Howe, Dodgers But Jackson says Oaklandwhich fea-
tured star pitchers Hunter, Vida Blue and
Ken Holtzman, along with a veteran lineup
that still included Rudi, Bando and
Tenacedidnt need the extra motivation.
We knew we were a great team. We
knew we were better than most everybody
else, Jackson said.
We knew the pitching we had. We knew
the balance we had, left-handed and right-
handed. We knew the defenders we had on
the field every day, the speed we had at the
top of the order. We knew we could hit
when it counted; we could pitch when it
counted. We knew we were the best team in
baseball, so we went about being that way.
But we werent concerned about setting
records to match up against history.
The As needed only five games to beat
the Dodgers and their homegrown infield
of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell
and Ron Cey. Jackson remembers seeing
Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston in the
opposing dugout and the feeling that came
with beating such a revered organization.
It was a historical franchise that was com-
petitive in every era and they were one of the
benchmarks, Jackson said. The Yankees
and the Dodgers were the two best teams for
many years, so the outside thought that peo-
ple talk about todaymoney, fame and
brandthat was so far from anybodys mind
in that era. You had to play well or you were
going to get your tail beat.
You went on the field and you had to play
against somebody that was good, a great
player. The comparison and the analysis of
who you stacked up against, you stacked up
against (Hank) Aaron and Mays and
(Roberto) Clemente and (Joe) DiMaggio and
(Ted) Williams. And you werent that good,
no matter who you were.
After a two-year absence from the World
Series, Jacksonwho had signed with the
Yankeesreturned in 1977, and his legend
was born. Jackson homered on three
straight pitches in the Yankees decisive
Game 6 victory over the Dodgers to
become the first player since Babe Ruth to
hit three homers in a World Series game.
SportPics

Jacksons signature blast came in his

final at-bat, facing knuckleballer Charlie

22 September/October 2016
 The Yankees rebounded from a 14-game
deficit the following year and beat the Red Sox
in an epic one-game playoff at Fenway Park to
reach the postseason. The 1978 World Series
offered a Yankees-Dodgers rematch, and once
again New York prevailed in six games.
Yet, Jackson was quick to recall a game-end-
ing at-bat against Bob Welch in New Yorks
Game 2 loss at Dodger Stadium. With the
Dodgers clinging to a one-run lead in the ninth
inning and two runners on base, Jackson struck
out on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against
Welch, who threw all fastballs.
Thats the most famous strikeout Ive got,
PLAYERS WITH TWO

SportPics
Jackson said. And Ive got over 2,500 of them.
WORLD SERIES MVP AWARDS Jackson still batted .391, powered two homers
PLAYER YEAR TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
and drove in eight runs before the
Sandy Koufax 1963 Dodgers 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 23 SO, 18 IP Yankees celebrated the last out to
SANDY
1956 Dodgers 2-1, 0.38 ERA, 29 SO, 24, IP KOUFAX conclude a dramatic season.
Bob Gibson 1964 Cardinals 2-1, 3.00 ERA, 31 SO, 27 IP There was the whole Boston
1967 Cardinals 3-0, 1.00 ERA, 26 SO, 27 IP thing and George (Steinbrenner)
Reggie Jackson 1973 As .310, 3 (2B), 1 (3B), 1 (HR) 6 (RBI) was going to back up the bus and
1977 Yankees .450, 5 (HR), 10 (R), 8 (RBI) take us all over and unload us in
Jersey and replace the whole
teamand Billy Martin was fired
Hough. The ball disappeared into the batters eye for comments he made, Jackson
black seats at Yankee Stadium, deep behind the cen- said. I remember the great play of
ter-field fence. (Lou) Piniella and clutch hitting of
Did Jackson immediately recognize the significance Thurman Munson, and the great
of the moment? defensive plays of Graig Nettles, and
I knew I had hit three in a row and I knew I had hit one 450 Willie Randolph was a special player. We still had Sparky
or 500 feet, Jackson said. And I knew it was gone and I knew Lyle and Goose Gossage at the same time.
it was going to make us the world champions, but the histori- The Yankees returned to the World Series in 1981 to
cal moment, I didnt think about that. We were winning and facewho else?the Dodgers. But for the first time in his
we were the Yankees and that was in the top of my mind. career, Jackson experienced a World Series letdown, with
Jackson was named Series MVP after hitting .450 with the Dodgers winning in six games.
five homers and eight RBI in the six games. The five I was on a team that beat the Dodgers in 74, and then
homers in a World Series established a record. we beat them in 77, and then we beat them in 78,
I was happy for our team, I was happy for our owner, Jackson said. I didnt want them to win the pennant in 81
George Steinbrenner, and I was happy for the city, Jackson because I knew they were going to win sooner or later.
said. My father was there; my mother wasnt there, she was They were too good and you just cant beat them every
ill. But that was my thought: We were the champs again and year, and they came on strong. They had gotten their butts
that is what we played for, and I was happy and everybody beat enough and they werent going to lose any more.
else around me was happy. Jacksons World Series career concluded with the

3-HOMER
WORLD SERIES GAMES
PLAYER, TEAM GAME DATE
Babe Ruth, Yankees 4 Oct. 6, 1926 vs. Cardinals
Babe Ruth, Yankees 4 Oct. 9, 1928 vs. Cardinals
Reggie Jackson, Yankees 6 Oct. 18, 1977 vs. Dodgers BABE
Albert Pujols, Cardinals 3 Oct. 23, 2011 vs. Rangers RUTH
Pablo Sandoval, Giants 1 Oct. 24, 2012 vs. Tigers

Yankees loss to the Dodgers in 1981. He reached the

SportPics

ALCS with the Angels in 1982 and 86, but both times was
REGGIE part of collapsesto the Brewers and Red Sox, respec-
ALBERT JACKSON tivelyand the Angels finished a victory short of the
PUJOLS World Series.
I should have gotten to the World Series two more
times, Jackson said. But it wasnt meant to be. BD
September/October 2016 23
TIM RICK PAT
McCARVER SportPics
DEMPSEY SportPics
BORDERS Rob Holt/SportPics

SURPRISING
WORLD SERIES
PERFOMANCES
Players such as Billy Martin, Harry Brecheen, Mickey Lolich,
Gene Tenace, Pat Borders and David Freese have played the
unlikely hero role in helping their clubs to a Fall Classic title
SportPics SportPics
MICKEY FRANCISCO GENE
LOLICH RODRIGUEZ TENACE
Ron Mrowiec

24 September/October 2016
 By Stuart Shea
ou can have Babe Ruth, Lou Brock, Willie Mays, Bob
Y Gibson and Madison Bumgarner. Right now, were
focusing on the Johnny Lindells and Darold
Knowleses of baseballthe average-to-good position
players and pitchers who lifted their teams onto their
shoulders and carried them to October victory.
These selections are made on the basis of an entire
World Series worth of production, hence the omission of
such worthy one- or two-game heroes as Elmer Smith
(1920), Howard Ehmke (1929), Dusty Rhodes (1954), Don
Larsen (1956), Chuck Essegian (1959), Moe Drabowsky
(1966), Bernie Carbo (1975) and Anthony Reyes (2006).
Unlikely heroes on losing teams, such as Deacon
Phillippe in 1903, Jimmy Ripple in 1940, Bobby Richardson
in 1960, Mike Marshall in 1974, Tito Landrum in 1985, Chad
Ogea in 1997, Sean Casey in 2005, and Omar Infante in
2014, are also omitted. In October, its about winning.
UNEXPECTED HITTING HEROES
Hank Gowdy, 1914 Boston Braves
Bostons Miracle Braves stormed from last place15
games backon July 4 to capture the National League
pennant with a 68-19 finish. They then swept the heavily
favored American League champion Philadelphia
Athletics. Gowdy, a 24-year-old catcher who batted .243
with three homers in 1914, his first full season, terrorized
the As in the four-game set, batting .545 with five walks,
three doubles, a triple and a homer, and he made his hits
in big situations. Gowdy later became the first MLB player
to enlist in the U.S. Army to fight in World War I.
Bunting Photo iStock.com/ginosphotos
During the 2011
postseason with the
Cardinals, David Freese
hit .397 with five
homers and 21 RBI in
18 games, winning MVP
honors in both the
DAVID NLCS and World Series.
FREESE
David Durochik/SportPics
Tommy Thevenow, 1926 St. Louis Cardinals
This light-hitting infielder was a spectacular defender; he
finished fourth in MVP voting in 1926, his first full season,
despite batting .256 with two home runs. And on a team
that featured Hall of Fame players Rogers Hornsby, Grover
Alexander, Chick Hafey, Jim Bottomley and Jesse Haines, it
was Thevenow who carried the Redbirds to a Series win over
the New York Yankees. He batted a Series-best .417, register-
ing two or more hits in four of the seven games.
Johnny Lindell, 1947 New York Yankees
Lindell, a former pitcher, played all three outfield spots
for the Yankees in the 1940s. Pressed into everyday duty in
left field during 1947 due to Charlie Kellers back injury, he
capped a strong .275-11-67 regular season by slapping
around Dodgers pitching to a .500 clip, adding three dou-
bles, five walks, and seven RBI in a seven-game World
Series victory. He collected hits and RBI in five games and
walked twice in the other contest in which he appeared.
Billy Martin, 1953 New York Yankees
New York relied on a parade of unsung heroes in its era
of World Series dominance. The unexpected star in the
1953 Fall Classic was Martin, a combative, scrappy second
baseman who at age 25, in his second full year, batted an
even .500 in the six-game Series. He helped defeat the
Dodgers with three RBI in Game 1, a game-tying homer
the next day, a two-run bomb in Game 5, and the walk-off
Series-winning single in Game 6. Its among the greatest
World Series performances ever.
Tim McCarver, 1964 St. Louis Cardinals
While McCarver was a very good player, the 1964
Redbirds headline guys were Bob Gibson, Ken Boyer, Lou
Brock and Curt Flood, not their second-year catcher. But in
the seven-game Series win over New York, the 23-year-old
McCarver was a terror, collecting eight singles, a double, a
triple, a homer and five walks for a .478/.552/.739 slash line.
His three-run 10th-inning homer won the fifth game, and
McCarver drove in the first run in the Game 7 clincher.
Gene Tenace, 1972 Oakland As
The righty-swinging utilityman played just 82 games
with the As in 1972, but was pressed into Series action
after Reggie Jackson suffered a leg injury in the ALCS. All
Tenace did was bat .348, club four homers and drive in
nine runs in a seven-game victory over the Reds. He
accounted for all the As runs in Game 1 with two homers,
then rapped impact blasts in Game 4 and Game 5. In the
deciding seventh contest, he drove in two more runs,
including the tie-breaker, in a 3-2 win. He fully deserved
his Series MVP Award.
Rick Dempsey, 1983 Baltimore Orioles
Another surprise Series MVP was this well-loved veter-
an catcher, who in a five-game rout of the N.L. champion
Phillies batted .385. In Game 2, his double broke a 1-1 tie in
a 4-1 victory, and in the following game he doubled and
scored the tying run as the Os won 3-2. In the deciding
Game 5, he homered and doubled, scoring twice. In addi-
tion, Dempsey threw out Philadelphia second sacker Joe
Morgan in two of three stolen-base attempts.
September/October 2016 25
Billy Hatcher/Chris Sabo, 1990 Cincinnati Reds Athletics manager Connie Macks faith in the World
The Reds came into the World Series as heavy underdogs Series against St. Louis. Earnshaw whipped the Cardinals
to Oaklands dominating Bash Brothers. But Hatcher, fel- 6-1 in Game 2 and also took Game 5, 2-0, with relief help
low underdog Sabo and the Reds destroyed the As in four from Lefty Grove. Mack brought Earnshaw back to the hill
straight. Sabo batted .563 with a pair of homers, while two days later for Game 6, and the unflappable righty
Hatcher went 9-for-12 (.750), clubbing four doubles and a again tamed the Redbirds, this time 7-1, to nail down the
triple. Hatcher collected three, four and two hits in the world championship.
first three contests, and the carnage could have been even
worse had he not been knocked out of Game 4 after being
plunked by Dave Stewart. CHRIS
SABO
Pat Borders, 1992 Toronto Blue Jays
A 29-year-old catcher whose specialty was defense,
Borders hit .242 with 13 home runs in 1992. But during a
six-game win over the Atlanta Braves, Borders batted
.450 (9-for-20) with three doubles and a homer and
snagged the Series MVP trophy. In a pitching-rich Series
in which the victorious Jays scored just 17 runs, Borders
was by far the most productive hitter on the fieldeven
though he allowed 15 of 18 Atlanta runners to steal
against him.

David Freese, 2011 St. Louis Cardinals

After missing two months in 2011 due to a broken hand,
Freese returned strong, and in the NLCS against Milwaukee
hit .545 with three homers and nine RBI. He brought his hot
bat to the World Series against Texas; Freese doubled and
scored the winner in Game 1, singled and scored in Game 2,
and knocked in two runs in Game 3. In the ninth inning of
Game 6, with St. Louis down by two and facing elimination,
Freese tripled in the tying runs. Two innings later, he
clubbed a walk-off homer. In Game 7, his two-run double
tied the score in an eventual 6-2 triumph. The totals? A
.348/.464/.696 slash line for the Series MVP.

Other unlikely batting heroes: George Rohe (1906

White Sox), Pepper Martin (1931 St. Louis Cardinals), Billy
Johnson (1947 New York Yankees), Bobby Brown (1949
New York Yankees), Sandy Amoros (1955 Brooklyn
Dodgers), Al Weis (1969 New York Mets), Brian Doyle (1978
New York Yankees), Dane Iorg (1982 St. Louis Cardinals),
and Danny Bautista (2001 Arizona Diamondbacks).

UNEXPECTED PITCHING HEROES

Babe Adams, 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates
Adams didnt get a real shot in the majors until he was
SportPics

27. But with the pennant-winning 1909 Bucs, he fashioned

a 12-3 mark and a 1.11 ERA in 25 games, just 12 of them
starts. Manager Fred Clarke had a hunch, and started
Adams in Game 1 of the World Series. Adams shut down
the Tigers 4-1 on six hits. While the Pirates other starters
struggled, Adams won Game 5 by the score of 8-4 and
came back to take the decisive Game 7, 8-0. Three starts,
three complete-game victories; Adams remains the only
rookie to win three games in a single Fall Classic.
George Earnshaw, 1930 Philadelphia As
The 30-year-old Earnshaw fashioned a 22-13 record in
1930, although he led the A.L. in walks and earned runs
allowed. A workhorse with a great fastball and probably
the hardest curve of the time, Earnshaw justified
Harry Brecheen, 1946 St. Louis Cardinals
This cagey left-handed junkballer was a fine pitcher even
in 1946, when he was just 15-15 (despite a 2.49 ERA) for the
pennant-winning, 98-58 Redbirds. But he surprised every-
one by dominating the A.L. champion Red Sox in the Fall
Classic. Brecheen four-hit the Red Sox 2-0 in the second
game, then muffled them 4-1 in Game 6 to tie the series at
three. Two days later, he relieved in the eighth inning of
Game 7. He allowed both his inherited runners to score, but
won the game when Enos Slaughter scored in the home
eighth on Harry Walkers double. In his 20 innings in the
Series, The Cat gave up just one earned run and 14 hits.

26 September/October 2016
Johnny Podres, 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers
A 22-year-old lefty with a 9-10 regular-season record on
a pennant winner hardly seems like hero material, but
Podres came up big against the Yankees in the Series. With
the Dodgers having lost the first two contests, Podres
came through with an 8-3 complete-game win in Game 3
and was rested and ready for Game 7. Podres again went all
JOSH
BECKETT
SportPics
the way in the deciding contest, shutting out New York on
eight hits to give the Dodgers their first-ever world cham-
pionship. Sportswriters made Podres a deserving World
Series MVP.
Lew Burdette, 1957 Milwaukee Braves
Burdette was a very good pitcher. But in the Braves
1957 Series win over the Yankees, he was a great pitcher.
While teammate Warren Spahn went 1-1 in two rocky
starts, Burdette, the Series MVP, fired three complete-
game wins, posting a 0.67 ERA in 27 frames. After a fine
4-2 victory in Game 2, Burdette came back to shut out
the powerful Yankees in Games 5 (1-0) and 7 (5-0).
Burdette was not overpowering, instead using a sinker,
slider, and the best spitball in the game to keep hitters
off balance.
Larry Sherry, 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers manager Walter Alston seemingly held his 59
squad together with bailing wire and sticky tape, and dur-
ing the World Series, the unheralded Sherry emerged as
the big hero. A 24-year-old rookie who went 7-2 as a spot
starter and all-purpose reliever in 1959, Sherry emerged as
the key to L.A.s Series win over the White Sox. After sav-
ing Dodgers victories in Games 2, 3 and 4, he entered
Game 6 in the fourth inning and went the rest of the way
to collect the victory. Using a sinker and slider, he frus-
trated White Sox hitters, allowing just one run in 12.2
innings.
Mickey Lolich, 1968 Detroit Tigers
Its not that Lolich wasnt a good, and sometimes great,
pitcher. But during the 1968 regular season, his Tigers
teammate Denny McLain won an amazing 31 games. So it
came as some surprise that while McLain went just 1-2 in
the World Series, Lolich was dominant, tossing three com-
plete-game victories, including a 4-1 triumph in the decid-
ing seventh game. He even had three hits, including a
homer, in 12 Series at-bats. And that home run, in an 8-1
Game 2 pasting, was the only longball Lolich ever hit in
professional baseball.
Darold Knowles, 1973 Oakland As
What makes Knowles, a 31-year-old southpaw with occa-
sional command issues, a hero? He became, in 1973, the
firstand so far, the onlypitcher ever to appear in seven
games of a World Series. Manager Dick Williams used
Knowles in all sorts of situations, bringing him in for
action in the fourth inning, sixth inning and eighth inning
in various games, and the veteran lefty responded. In 6.2
innings, he did not allow an earned run, and he saved
Games 1 and 7.
Francisco Rodriguez, 2002 Anaheim Angels
The rookie had pitched in just five regular-season games
in 2002, and in fact was only eligible for postseason action
because of a loophole in the rule about replacing injured
players on the roster. But he certainly showed he belonged
in the seven-game Angels win over the Giants. Rodriguez
tossed 8.2 frames over four appearances in the Series, fan-
ning 13, walking one and allowing just two earned runs. He
then spent the next two seasons as the A.L.s top setup
man before taking over as closer.
Josh Beckett, 2003 Florida Marlins
Beckett, a supremely talented hurler, battled injuries for
most of his career. In his second full season, 2003, he
made just 23 starts and was just 9-8. But in the World
Series against the Yankees, he pitched well enough to run
away with the MVP award. He went 7.1 frames and allowed
two runs in a 6-1 Game 3 loss at Miami, then stifled the
Yankees in the Game 6 clincher, shutting them out 2-0 at
Yankee Stadium. In 16.1 innings, he fanned 19 Yankees and
allowed only 14 runners. BD
September/October 2016 27
JASON
GIAMBI

GREATEST
WORLD
SERIES
UPSETS
SportPics

ROGER
CLEMENS
Some of the best teams in the
regular season have come up
short in closing their big year
with a championship title
By Mike Berardino

aybe it should have been obvious listening to

M Jason Giambi break down the upstart Florida

Marlins on the eve of the 2003 World Series.
Still flying high from Aaron Boones extra-inning
heroics that lifted the aging, 101-win New York
Yankees to their sixth American League pennant in
eight years, the clubs collective overconfidence might
have been betrayed by Giambis pre-Series comments.
Theyre a great team; theyve got great young tal-
ent, the Yankees designated hitter said of the 91-win,
wild-card-winning Marlins. Theyve got some young
arms over there that are unbelievable. Thats why
David Durochik/SportPics

theyre here. They dont quit.

And then Giambi continued.
Pudge (Rodriguez) anchoring that offense and Jeff
Conine going over there and the young kids theyve
got, Giambi said. To watch those kids up the middle

28 September/October 2016
play and the young kidwhos their right fielder? What
hes turned into in the postseason, wow, thats incredible
to watch. The way he swung the bat. Ooh!
The young kid was Miguel Cabrera, then a 20-year-old
rookie who hit just .167 in his first World Series. But the
budding 11-time All-Star and two-time Most Valuable
Player announced his arrival with a two-run homer to the
opposite field off Roger Clemens in the first inning of a
MIGUEL
CABRERA
To watch those kids up the middle play and the young kid
whos their right fielder? What hes turned into in the postseason,
wow, thats incredible to watch. The way he swung the bat. Ooh!
JASON GIAMBI ON CABRERA IN 2003
pivotal Game 4.
That same night, one of the other Marlins kidsshort-
stop Alex Gonzalezended the game with a homer of his
own in the bottom of the 12th.
Three nights later, 23-year-old Josh Beckett threw a
five-hit shutout at Yankee Stadium to close out the Series.
Giambi and his more established teammates never
knew what hit them.
SCOUTING TIP
Any compilation of the greatest upsets in World
Series history must include that 2003 Marlins shock-
er over the Yankees. But there have been plenty of
others through the years, many other instances of an
overwhelming favorite tasting defeat in a short
Series, whether due to injury or overconfidence or
poor luck or towering achievement by the underdogs.
That 2003 matchup remains one of a half-dozen
World Series in which the prevailing team had exactly
10 fewer regular-season victories than its opponent.
It also happened that way for the 1945 Detroit
Tigers, who upset the 98-win Chicago Cubs in seven
games in the last World Series appearance for the lov-
able losers.
Forty years later, in 1985, it happened again for the
Kansas City Royals in their seven-game upset over
the 101-win St. Louis Cardinals. With a little help
from first-base umpire Don Denkinger, the comeback
Royals were able to climb out of a second straight
three-games-to-one hole, having done the same
thing in the American League Championship Series
against the Toronto Blue Jays.
IVAN
SportPics
RODRIGUEZ
David Durochik/SportPics
September/October 2016 29
GREATEST That set off a four-year period in
which a 10-game gap in regular-season
victories didnt keep the underdog from
WORLD taking the World Series three more
times. The 1987 Minnesota Twins,
SERIES
despite just 85 regular-season victories,
rode Metrodome Madness to a seven-
game World Series victory over Whitey
UPSETS Herzogs same Cardinals.
Seven different Twins homered and
Series MVP Frank Viola won two of his
three starts to pull off the shocker.
The capper, however, came the following year with the Los
Angeles Dodgers five-game clubbing of the 104-win Oakland
As. Ailing right fielder Kirk Gibson took just one swing the
entire Series, that coming in a pinch-hit appearance in the
opening game at Dodger Stadium, but what a swing it was.
Thanks to the work of Dodgers advance scout Mel
Didier, Gibson was sitting on a backdoor slider from As
closer Dennis Eckersley with a full count and the tying run
at second in the bottom of the ninth. The back story came
to light in Didiers 1988 memoir with writer T.R. Sullivan,
Podnuh Let Me Tell You a Story: A Baseball Life.
Eckersley will throw you a backdoor slider on 3-2,
Didier had told the Dodgers prior to the Series. Dont for-
get that because thats what he will do as sure as Im stand-
ing here breathing.
Didier, in his memoir, admitted having seen Eckersley
use the backdoor slider just twice on full counts to left-
handed batters. But I felt confident enough to tell them,
the scout said.
Gibson connected, Vin Scully gave his famous call (She
is gone!), and the 1988 National League MVP dragged
his torn hamstring around the bases while making that
famed shotgun motion as he rounded second.
Lost in the haze of victory was the fact Dodgers outfield-
er Mike Davis, signed as a free agent the previous winter
after spending his first eight big-league seasons with the
As, drew a two-out pinch walk on five pitches and then
stole second. Eckersley, the A.L. Cy Young runner-up and
blessed with pinpoint control, was just starting a five-year
period (1988-92) in which the future Hall of Famer allowed
DENNIS
ECKERSLEY
30 September/October 2016
WILLIE
MAYS
This Willie Mays catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the New
York Giants and Cleveland Indians helped turn the tide in New Yorks favor.
The Giants upset a powerful Indians club that won 111 regular-season games.
an average of just 4.6 unintentional walks per season.
Davis, despite a .313 career on-base percentage, walked
four times in a Series that gave Hall of Fame manager
Tommy Lasorda his second championship.
FORGET REGULAR-SEASON DOMINANCE
Two years later, following a victory over the neighboring
San Francisco Giants in the Earthquake Series of 1989, the
Bash Brother As were thunderstruck once again.
This time it was Lou Piniellas Cincinnati Reds that
became one of three all-time World Series winners with
exactly a dozen fewer regular-season victories than their
favored opponent.
Having fallen to the Dodgers after winning 104 games in
1988, Tony La Russas Oakland club in 1990 somehow
found a way to get swept after pounding out 103 wins and
sweeping four games from the Boston Red Sox in the A.L.
playoffs.
A 7-0 Reds win in the opener at Riverfront Stadium
knocked the As onto their heels as Jose Rijo outpitched
Dave Stewart, the As ace fresh off his fourth straight 20-
win season. Then came another dose of postseason pain
for Eckersley, the usually unassailable closer who went 48-
for-51 in save opportunities during the season.
Entering a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 10th inning in
Game 2, it took Eckersley just 11 pitches (all strikes) to lose
the game. Slap-hitting pinch hitter Billy Bates reached on
a one-out chopper to third, Chris Sabo followed with a
groundball single through the shortstop hole, and catcher
Joe Oliver was able to sneak the game-winning single
through the As infield.
Then Rijo and the Nasty Boys bullpen made sure there
would be no As comeback, securing the only World Series
title (or pennant) for a Piniella-managed club in 23 seasons.
La Russa, meanwhile, experienced a welcome turnabout
16 years later with the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, winners of
a dozen fewer regular-season games than the powerhouse
Detroit Tigers they downed in five games.
The 1974 Oakland As, completing a World Series three-
peat with a five-game victory over the 102-win Dodgers,
also showed a dozen-game difference doesnt necessarily
matter in a short series.
BEATING THE BEST
To find the ultimate World Series upsets, however, one
must go back, back, back to the days of black-and-white
television (1954 New York Giants) and horse-and-buggy
transportation (1906 Chicago White Sox).
Better known as the Hitless Wonders, those White Sox
(93 wins) won a whopping 23 fewer games than the
crosstown Cubs (116) in their championship season.
Despite hitting just .230 during the season, seven points
lower than the next-worst offense in the American League
and 32 points lower than the Cubs, player-manager Fielder
Jones club pinned a pair of losses on Cubs ace Mordecai
Three Finger Brown.
That included an 8-3 romp in the sixth and final game at
South Side Park. The Hitless Wonders actually put up
eight runs in support of Big Ed Walsh in Game 5 as well.
Led by third baseman George Rohe and second baseman
Frank Isbell, the Sox hit just .198 in the Series and rapped
into three double plays against the Cubs of Tinker to Evers
to Chance fame. Still, the Hitless Wonders prevailed.
The World Series upset that looms most memorable,
however, belongs to the 54 Giants. It helps that any seri-
ous baseball fan has Willie Mays famous catch of Vic
Wertz 440-foot drive to center playing on an endless loop
in his or her mind.
Then 23 and in his first year back after serving in the
Army, Mays won his first of two National League MVP
awards that season for a 97-win Giants club. The powerful
Cleveland Indians, however, were 111-game winners look-
ing for a bookend title to pair with their 1948 World Series
crown.
Tied 2-2 with two runners on in the eighth inning of the
opener, Wertz crushed a ball off reliever Don Liddle that
would have been out in nearly any other park but the Polo
Grounds. Mays turned his back to the infield and ran
seemingly forever before making the over-the-shoulder
catch of a lifetime.
Adding to the moments wonder, Mays whirled and fired
the ball back to the infield, keeping both Larry Doby and
Al Rosen from tagging and advancing. De facto closer
Marv Grissom came on to work out of a bases-loaded jam
after walking his first batter.
Wertz would go on to hit .500 in the Series, but he would
have traded those eight hits for one key double over Mays
outstretched glove. Two innings later, Dusty Rhodes deliv-
ered the three-run walk-off homer off Bob Lemon in the
10th, and the Giants were on their way to a stunning four-
game sweep.
Asked later about the catch, Mays famously replied, I
dont rank em. I just catch em.
Say Hey, indeed. BD
Mike Berardino covers the Minnesota Twins for the St. Paul
Pioneer Press.

Largest Margin In Regular

Season Wins By Pennant Winners
Boldface type indicates Underdog Team won World Series
N.L. PENNANT A.L. PENNANT TOTAL WIN
YEAR WINNER WINNER DIFFERENCE
1906 Cubs (116) White Sox (93) 23
1932 Cubs (90) Yankees (107) 17 KIRK
1927 Pirates (94) Yankees (110) 16
1944 Cardinals (105) Browns (89) 16 GIBSON
1961 Reds (93) Yankees (109) 16
1998 Padres (98) Yankees (114) 16
1907 Cubs (107) Tigers (92) 15
1954 Giants (97) Indians (111) 14
1905 Giants (105) As (92) 13
1975 Reds (108) Red Sox (95) 13
1986 Mets (108) Red Sox (95) 13
1909 Pirates (110) Tigers (98) 12
1973 Mets (82) As (94) 12
1974 Dodgers (102) As (90) 12
1984 Padres (92) Tigers (104) 12
1990 Reds (91) As (103) 12
Cincinnati Reds

2006 Cardinals (83) Tigers (95) 12

1915 Phillies (90) Red Sox (101) 11
1930 Cardinals (92) As (102) 10
1936 Giants (92) Yankees (102) 10
Reds relievers Randy Myers, left,
1938 Cubs (89) Yankees (99) 10 and Rob Dibble, right, helped
1940 Reds (100) Tigers (90) 10 guide the underdog Cincinnati Reds
1945 Cubs (98) Tigers (88) 10 to victory over the favored Oakland
1985 Cardinals (101) Royals (91) 10 As in the 1990 World Series.
1987 Cardinals (95) Twins (85) 10
1988 Dodgers (94) As (104) 10
1995 Braves (90) Indians (100) 10
2003 Marlins (91) Yankees (101) 10
2005 Astros (89) White Sox (99) 10
2009 Phillies (93) Yankees (103) 10 Ron Vesely
September/October 2016 31
Unique
Path To
Stardom
Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, a
native of Aruba, overcame a confidence
breakdown to fulfill his promise as one
of the games top players
By Evan Drellich
alking to the media that flocked to him in waves ahead of
the All-Star Game, Xander Bogaerts gave a little look that

T
said, That time has passed.
Theres no anonymity for the Red Sox shortstop anymore
in his home country of Aruba, a 70-square-mile island off
the coast of Venezuela. Realistically, any hope of blending
in disappeared three years ago, when he was a skinny rook-
ie on a Red Sox team that won the World Series.
Its pretty busy over there. People know you, Bogaerts
said of home. They always see you on TV, especially after
we won in 2013. . . They knew you pretty well after that.
Bogaerts started all six games against the Cardinals in
the 13 Fall Classic. All eyes in Aruba, Bogaerts expected,
would again be fixed on him at this years All-Star Game in San Diegohis first
All-Star honor, and the first for anyone from his country.
Pitcher Sidney Ponson is the islands most famous player to date, with a 12-
year big-league career from 1998 to 2009.
But Bogaerts is on a far different trajectory.
From the start of the second half in 2015 through July 21 this year, the 6-foot-
1 right-handed hitter carried a .329 average, second in the majors in that span
only to Houstons Jose Altuve, who hit .348.
(Altuve, for what its worth, thinks Bogaerts has the best chance of anyone
today to break Joe DiMaggios 56-game hit streak.)
Just 23 years old, Bogaerts seems to grasp what his arrival in the circle of elite
shortstops has meant for him and his homeland. In a group that includes Carlos

32 September/October 2016
 Xander Bogaerts, signed by the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 2009
as a 16-year-old, made his major-league debut in 2013 at age 20.

Correa and Francisco Lindor, Didi Gregorious and Corey Seager, Bogaerts
has shown himself to be just as good as any.
Its funits a big pressure because you obviously have a whole island
behind you, Bogaerts said. But its about just going out there having fun
and representing your island, representing your team. Thats the biggest
part of it all.
Bogaerts may not have quite the same power potential as a guy like
Correa or Machado. But when it comes to pure hitting, putting the bat on
the ball? Bogaerts has the sweetest stroke.
Bogaerts, Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (26 years old) and right
fielder Mookie Betts (23) have unearthed the Killer Bs moniker in a Red
Sox offense that's been dominant all year. The label is still property of the
Astros Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio, but not unfairly
borrowed by this group of budding stars.
Betts and Bogaerts were more established entering the year than
Bradley Jr., whose 29-game hit streak is the only A.L. run longer this sea-
son than Bogaerts 26-gamer.
Bogaerts is probably the most candid of the new Killer Bs. His streak
crossed over with Bradleys, and there were days when Bradley would say
he wasnt thinking about it at all. Bogaerts, on the same day, then would
readily admit, yeah, the streak was on his mind.
All of the Sox youngsters get to learn from David Ortiz in his unbeliev-
able swan-song season. Ortiz, the cleanup hitter, protects Bogaerts in the
lineupand it was the other way around at the All-Star Game.
Its a blessing just to be around him every day, not just as a teammate
but as a friend, Bogaerts said. Getting advice from him on the field, off
the field, hanging out with him in the clubhouse. Thats the biggest thing
well miss from him.
But Ortiz sounds even more amazed when talking about Bogaerts.
XANDER When the team was in Minnesota this season, Ortiz said hed put his boy
BOGAERTS up against anybody at the position right now.
The things that he has accomplished, you know, its crazy, Ortiz said.
Like, I watch him play, I saw him develop, you know what Im saying? So,

Photos by SportPics

September/October 2016 33
 JIMMY
ROLLINS MICHAEL CRISTIAN
YOUNG GUZMAN

Chris Bernacchi/SportPics SportPics

LONGEST HITTING
STREAKS BY SHORTSTOPS
(1913 through Aug. 6, 2016)
SHORTSTOP, TEAM STREAK GMS AB H BA
Jimmy Rollins, Phillies Aug. 23, 2005 April 5, 2006 38 169 64 .379
Eddie Bressoud, Red Sox Aug. 27, 1963 May 9, 1964 34 133 52 .391
Nomar Garciaparra, Red Sox July 26 Aug. 29, 1997 30 141 54 .383
Roger Peckinpaugh, Yankees June 11 July 9, 1919 29 110 48 .436
Luke Appling, White Sox Aug. 6 Aug. 31, 1936 27 100 35 .350
Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox May 6 June 2, 2016 26 117 45 .385
Jose Reyes, Marlins July 13 Aug. 8, 2012 26 104 38 .365
Nomar Garciaparra, Red Sox April 27 May 26, 2003 26 110 41 .373
Johnny Pesky, Red Sox Aug. 30 Sept. 20, 1947 26 107 43 .402
Royce Clayton, Cardinals June 11 July 24, 1996 25 112 39 .348
Dick Groat, Pirates Sept. 17, 1961 April 25, 1962 25 106 39 .368
Derek Jeter, Yankees Aug. 20 Sept. 16, 2006 24 101 39 .386
Edgar Renteria, Red Sox/Braves Oct. 2, 2005 May 9, 2006 24 102 36 .353
Michael Young, Rangers Sept. 2 Sept. 29, 2005 24 98 39 .398
Miguel Tejada, As July 11 Aug. 4, 2002 24 102 34 .333
Tony Womack, Diamondbacks May 2 May 29, 2000 24 111 40 .360
Nomar Garciaparra, Red Sox June 7 July 3, 1998 24 106 41 .387
Dick Groat, Pirates Aug. 26, 1960 April 24, 1961 24 105 38 .362
Alvin Dark, Giants Sept. 16, 1953 May 2, 1954 24 103 34 .330
Chico Carrasquel, White Sox July 8 Aug. 5, 1950 24 92 33 .359
Cecil Travis, Senators June 16 July 14, 1941 24 100 42 .420
Michael Young, Rangers May 14 June 10, 2008 23 109 37 .339
XANDER Cristian Guzman, Twins Aug. 1 Aug. 25, 2002 23 97 35 .361
BOGAERTS Barry Larkin, Reds Sept. 10, 1988 April 5, 1989 23 89 34 .382
Alvin Dark, Braves June 20 July 11, 1948 23 88 38 .432
SportPics SportPics

its something that, man, its fun to watch. Im having a
blast just watching him play. . . Im hitting behind and I
watch him, the way he approaches everything. How old
is Bogey now, 23? Thats crazy.
As a kid, Bogaerts idolized Andruw Jones, who is from
Curacaoanother Caribbean island that is a constituent
country to the Netherlands, just as Aruba is.
Heres some fun trivia: Bogaerts knows four languages. He
speaks English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento, the last a
Creole language spoken in Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.
Bogaerts loved Derek Jeter as a kid as well. In a banner
year for the Sox offense and a down year for the Yankees, if
you catch a glimpse of Bogaerts storming the bases at
Yankee Stadium while wearing No. 2, well, your mind will
probably land on a natural comparison.
Two years ago, though, Bogaerts wasnt even playing
shortstop.
He was clearly lost, a 21-year-old in his first full season in
the big leagues trying to learn a new position. He was flail-
ing mentally.
The Red Sox re-signed veteran Stephen Drew in 2014,
and that pushed the younger Bogaerts to the hot corner.
His hitting suffered in turn.
Bogaerts finished the year with a .240 average, .297 on-
base percentage and .362 slugging percentage.
It was at Yankee Stadium where Bogaerts seemed to
right his path.
Knowing what you want to do, knowing who you want
to become, knowing what type of player you want to
becomeits not always going to be the player that every-
one expects you to be, Bogaerts recalled of his growth.
But, also look at yourself and be like, Hey I want to be
able to do this on the field to help my team win every day.
I also listened to a lot of guys when I struggled in 14. I
was kind of searching because I wasnt having a lot of suc-
cess once I got moved over there (to third). I started listen-
ing to one guy, that was probably the biggest key after that.
I had a lot of good teammates on that team, so all of
them saw me struggling, so all of them want to help you
which is a good thing. But it also hurts at the same time.
Theyre doing this one day, theyre doing that the next day,
theyre just all around.

34 September/October 2016
 The one guy Bogaerts started listening to? Assistant hit-
ting coach Victor Rodriguez. Rodriguez by then had become
part of the major-league staff, but had known Bogaerts from
the start of his journey in the Sox organization.
I was the one who threw batting practice to him when
he signed in the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez said. I
was the hitting coordinator. So I knew him from the first
day he signed until he came here in 2013, and I was that
guy he knew, he trusted.
Bogaerts was signed on Aug. 23, 2009, after the Red Sox
took notice of him on a day he had the chicken pox and a
bad fever.
There was a tryout in Aruba where Bogaerts twin broth-
er Jair was getting a look. Red Sox scout Mike Lord want-
ed to be sure he saw everyone he could while he was on the
Bogaerts defensive play at shortstop has been described as choppy at
times, but his athleticism and work ethic to master the position have
allowed him to improve his play and become a more dependable fielder.
island, and was told about the ill Xander.
I had to call my mom and ask for permission to go to
the tryout, Xander said. Thats how it all came down.
Both Bogaerts brothers signed with the Sox for a com-
bined $590,000, with more than $400,000 going to
Xander. (Jair played in the minors briefly.)
Its been seven years since signing day, but Xander said
he hasnt looked back much on the length of his journey.
You dont get too much alone time to reflect on those
kind of (things), Bogaerts said. Its a busy season.
Rodriguez remembers the turnaround, though.
The Red Sox were in New York in September 2014 when
Bogaerts came to him and told the hitting coach how he
needed one voice, how he needed to rely on Rodriguez
word and not the bombardment from elsewhere.
I think he got a message from Andruw Jones (who
kind) of told him that hed been through that, Rodriguez
said at Yankee Stadium this season. He was listening to
too many people. He was searching until he found one
person that he really believed and trusted. And it was easy
for him to make adjustments and get back on track.
(Bogaerts) said to me, Youre my guy. Im going to lis-
ten to you. Whatever you want me to do, Im going to do.
That was the beginning.
Rodriguez didnt proceed to tear apart Bogaerts swing
and mechanics, however. Simplification in itself was a help.
We didnt do much, Rodriguez said. We went back to
basics. We did some drills to get him to stay back, to let the
ball come to him. And then he came out and, if Im not
wrong, I think he went 4-for-5 (the) same day.
Bogaerts was 4-for-5 at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 2, 2014,
in a 9-4 win over the Yankees. He finished play that day
hitting .231.
And he was struggling for a while, Rodriguez contin-
ued. So that tells you when you commit, and you trust
and you believe in what youre doing, its easier. Its not
SportPics
like we did (some change) and right away he came out and
did that. It was more, he felt like he trusted what we
did. Whatever we did, it doesnt matter. He trusted what
we did. And he took it to the game.
That was almost two years ago, hes still doing the same
thing.
Bogaerts seemed to suggest that in 2014, he didnt quite
know who he wanted to be. Pressed on that subject, he
clarified.
Yeah, you know who you want to be, Bogaerts said.
(But) 2014 comes, youre having a good year, and then
they kind of move you over there and youve kind of lost
everything.
Confidence is one of the biggest things I lost that year.
And you kind of started doubting yourself. It was a hard
time for me, to be honest. It was probably the toughest
time of my baseball career ever. Overcoming that was one
of the biggest things for me, which wasnt easy.
Bogaerts, perhaps the best young shortstop in baseball,
makes it look so easy noweven with the weight of an
island on his shoulders. BD
September/October 2016 35


PROFILE
By Rick Sorci

PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT
Full Name: Paul Edwards Goldschmidt Throws: Right Status/Family:
Age: 28 Born: September 10, 1987 Bats: Right Married with one son
in Wilmington, DE HT: 6-3 WT: 225 Home: Phoenix, AZ Nickname: Goldie
WILLIE
BLOOMQUIST

P
aul Goldschmidt has emerged as one of the games top first basemen during
his six big-league seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The four-time
All-Star and two-time National League MVP runner-up has captured
two Gold Glove awards and two Silver Slugger trophies while twice hitting
30-plus homers and driving in 100 or more runs in a season. The former
N.L. home-run and RBI champion (2013) recently took time to talk with
Baseball Digest.
Best teammate ever: I have a lot of them. I could probably name
five. But Id say Willie Bloomquist was probably my best teammate.
If not a ballplayer I would have been: I was studying
finance, so maybe something in banking or investing.
If I could walk through time: I dont know. Ill worry about
that when I get there. Ill keep my options open. But well see.
When its time to eat I like: Ill eat anything. But Id say
my favorite food is a hamburger and French fries.
My greatest desire: Of course you want to win a World
Series. But thats out of my control. I just try to work hard
every day and give it my best.
The person who had the greatest impact on me:
My dad. He got me to play baseball when I was 5-years-old.
He taught me the game and supported me.
If I could change one thing Ive done: I dont have anything
I want to change. There are plenty of mistakes I've made. But its
also part of whats made me who I am.
In designing my game my influence was: I grew up in
Houston. So theres a lot of guys I watched growing up. I loved
watching guys like Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman play.
A president I would have loved to talk to: George W.
Bushprobably for all the things that went on during his eight years
as president. In my lifetime it was the first time I knew what was
going on in the world.
When I look for a film: Old School is one of my favorites.
Any comedy.
And that one film I can watch again and again:
Old School and Major League
My favorite baseball moment was: When we made
the playoffs my rookie year in 2011. It was awesome
playing in the playoffs. When we clinched, it was great
celebrating on the field and then with champagne. That
was fun.
Favorite non-baseball player: I really like what
Andrew Luck does in football.
The best advice a player ever gave me: There were
some things said to me that I would tell other people. I JEFF
would definitely tell them to work hard and have fun. BAGWELL
My worst habit: Im sure I have plenty. But I dont
know what the worst one would be.
My favorite ballparks: AT&T Ballpark in
San Francisco
My three favorite cities on the road: Chicago,
Photos by SportPics

Washington, D.C. and San Diego

Life after baseball: Whatever it turns out to be,
Im going to enjoy it and work hard at it.

36 September/October 2016
 this stage in his career.
Not to take anything away from
anybody else on the ballclub. But
with what he does on the offensive
and defensive side, yeah, hes our
best player.
Roberts took it a step farther.
As Seager became the youngest
position player in Dodgers
history to be named to an All-
Star team, Roberts called
him the best shortstop in

SEAGER
the National League, and
when you take both sides
of the ball, in the big
leagues.
Its a bold procla-
mationnot as bold

TO GET
BETTER By Bill Plunkett
The Orange County Register

hen youre a heralded first-round draft pick and the con-

Dodgers
W sensus No. 1 prospect in baseball as Corey Seager was
before this season, the expectations can get pretty big.
Seager hadnt even made the big leagues yet when future shortstop is
Dodgers teammate Adrian Gonzalez was upping the ante on those
expectations.
I told (Rockies coach) Eric Young when we were playing against
excited with his
the Rockies last year and he (Seager) was still in the minors,
Gonzalez said. We were talking about prospects and I told him that opportunity to
Seager was a special kid, that I could see him being a Hall of Famer.
And that was before anybody put him as a No. 1 prospect. This was
early in the year last year.
follow the
He has the talent and the makeup, the potential. I think he is
going to be a great major-leaguer for a long time.
leadership of
Cooperstown might have to wait for a few years. But Seager has
already become a very good major-leaguer very quickly. In fact, at his teammates
age 22 with just over 100 big-league games under his belt, he has
become the best position player on a team with a $230-million pay- and become one
roll and championship aspirations.
Theres really nothing he cant do on the baseball fieldthe at-
bats, the late-inning production, playing a premium defensive
of the best
Photos by SportPics

position, hitting the ball out of the park, driving in runs, taking a
walk when he needs to, running the bases, Dodgers manager Dave
players in the
Roberts said. Its scary to think hes only 22 and how much hes
grown and already become a very, very good major-league player at major leagues
38 September/October 2016
as Gonzalez pre-emptive Hall of Fame strike. But Seagers play in the
first half of the season made a strong argument to support it.
While fellow rookie shortstops Trevor Story in Colorado and Aledmys
Diaz in St. Louis got off to hot starts, Seager started relatively slowly. At
the end of April, he was hitting just .250 with two home runs and a .707
OPSa far cry from the torching he gave big-league pitching as a
September callup last fall (a .337 average and .986 OPS in his first 27
major-league games).
But Seager has taken off since April. He reached the All-Star break
leading the Dodgers in hits, runs and home runs. No Dodgers rookie
has led the team in those three categories over a full season since
Jackie Robinson in 1947. Seager also led the Dodgers in batting aver-
age, total bases, OPS, OPS-plus and WAR.
He had a 19-game hitting streak through June and early July that
was the longest in the National League at midsummer.
Seager played his 100th
big-league game in
late June during

COREY
SEAGER

With 31 doubles and 19 homers through

August 6, Seager was on pace to
become the eighth rookie in MLB
history to record 25 or more homers
and 40-plus doubles.

September/October
July/August 2016
2015 39
that streak. He reached that early mile- These guys right here. The veterans on
stone with a .301 average, 20 home runs this team, he said when asked to explain
and 64 runs scored. Only four other play- the ease with which he has slipped into
ers in the past 60 years have had the com- the major leagues. In the minor leagues,
bination of a .300 average, at least 20 you were always seen as ... the whatever,
home runs and 60 runs in their first 100 the guy. Here, you just fall in line with the
big-league gamesHall of Famers veterans that have already established
Orlando Cepeda and Carlton Fisk, Wally things. You just fall in line and get on the
Joyner and Ryan Braun. train, like Ive always said.
At his current pace, Seager has a shot at Seager also credits his older brother,

Photos by SportPics
posting the highest OPS and the most home Kyle, with helping him get ready to jump
runs and extra-base hits ever by a rookie HOWIE on board. Six years older, Kyle Seager is
shortstop, passing such slugging shortstops KENDRICK with the Seattle Mariners and was already
as Nomar Garciaparra (30 homers and an establishing himself in the major leagues
.875 OPS as a rookie) and Hanley Ramirez You know whathes a very as Corey climbed quickly through the
(74 extra-base hits as a rookie). Dodgers farm system. Kyle became an
confident player. He knows who
That is, if Seager doesnt hit a slump invaluable source of information and
something that Roberts said the rookie he is as a hitter. He looks at every preparation for his younger brother.
has uniquely been able to avoid. day the same. Ive been playing That helps. A lot, said Corey, who also
To see the consistency from a young against his brother for years has another brother, Justin, playing in the
player as the league is trying to figure out (in the A.L. West) and his brother Mariners farm system. It was kind of
how to pitch him and get him outhis has that same demeanor understanding without being there. He
consistency just doesnt happen. This goes about his business, plays can tell you everything, but you dont
isnt normal, Roberts said. I would the game the right way, plays understand it until youre in the fire.
expectas with any young playerhighs Thats kind of what it was like building it.
hard every day. Little things
and lows. Now its more talking to each other about
dont affect him.
Seager takes almost no credit for his our swings and how youre feeling and
smooth transition to stardom, preferring to credit the vet- checking in about the family. All that stuff.
erans around him. His 37-year-old double-play partner Another veteran in the Dodgers clubhouse, Howie
Chase Utley, in particular, has been a mentor to the young Kendrick, was with the Los Angeles Angels when another
shortstop. precocious talent broke into the majors. Kendrick sees a lot

NEW GENERATION
OF SHORTSTOPS COREY
SEAGER
ith Corey Seager and Xander Bogaerts leading

W the way, several talented major-league

shortstops are creating a stir by meeting high
expectations both offensively and with the glove at
the games premier defensive position.

CARLOS
CORREA

SHORTSTOP, TEAM AGE 2016 STATS/NOTES

Tim Anderson, White Sox 23 .273 in first 43 games
Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox 23 .330 with 78 runs, 66 RBI in first 100 games of 2016
Carlos Correa, Astros 21 2015 A.L. Rookie of Year hit .267-15-70 through Aug. 6
Aledmys Diaz, Cardinals 26 Hit .312 with 14 HR in first 96 games
Didi Gregorius, Yankees 26 Jeter replacement hit .288, 12 HR through Aug. 6
Jose Iglesias, Tigers 26 Defensive star needs to remain healthy
Francisco Lindor, Indians 22 At 22, sky is the limit for all-around performer
Ketel Marte, Mariners 22 .273 with 36 runs in first 74 games of 2016 TIM
Addison Russell, Cubs 22 Lofty potential with bat and glove for young All-Star
ANDERSON
Andrelton Simmons, Angels 26 Two-time Gold Glove recipient is among best defenders
Corey Seager, Dodgers 22 Five-tool star hit .303 with 19 HR, 71 runs through Aug. 6
Trevor Story, Rockies 23 .272 with 27 HR and 72 RBI in first 97 games
Trea Turner, Nationals 23 Potential stardom for years to come in Washington
Jonathan Villar, Brewers 25 Stolen-base threat steady in all aspects of game

40 September/October 2016
of similar qualities in Seager hard every day. Little things
and Angels star Mike Trout. dont affect him.
Their demeanors, just I wish I could have been
who they are as people that way when I first came
theyre very comfortable up. Thats a gift.
with who they are, Kendrick Gifted as he is, Seager has
said. They dont really let carried baggage throughout
any minor things affect them his professional career. At 6-
throughout the game. You foot-4 and 215 pounds, he is
can just see it. The limelight considered too big to stay at
and all those things, they shortstop. He will inevitably

dont really care ... because
that doesnt define who they
are. Thats a testament to the way they were raised. Both
guys have great parents and that says a lot about who they
are as people and as players, too.
They both go after it on the field, added Kendrick.
They bring their best every day and they can live with it
either way. If they have success or dont, theyre not really
affected by that. Theyre still the same guy. You can walk
up and talk to them and they have that same attitude.
Theyre really strong competitors.
Given Seagers strong base and the obvious physical
skills, Kendrick said he is not really surprised at how
quickly the rookie has started to play like the star he was
expected to be.
You know whathes a very confident player. He knows
who he is as a hitter, Kendrick said. He looks at every day
the same. Ive been playing against his brother for years (in
the A.L. West) and his brother has that same demeanor
goes about his business, plays the game the right way, plays
SportPics
outgrow the position and
have to move to third base,
the projections claim.
That he was able to make the All-Star Game as a short-
stop this season gave Seager added satisfaction.
Since the day I signed, Ive been told Id have to move to
third base, said Seager who did play there some for the
Dodgers last September (before taking over shortstop
from fading veteran Jimmy Rollins). Its always been,
maybe not a chip on your shoulder, but a little drive to
prove that you can. They havent seen you play, but
theyve already got you written off.
Roberts says Seagers defense this season has been bet-
ter than he expected, given the talk that he had also heard
about Seagers future at the position.
Yes, it has, Roberts said. You look at the body and his
size and you wonder if hes going to get to balls and have
that range. But he does. I think you have to give some
credit to our analytics people. More times than not, were
in the right place. BD

September/October 2016 41
BY TOM WORGO

ou might not have heard as much about Washington

Y Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy in recent sea-

sons if it wasnt for Mets hitting coach Kevin Long.
Murphys playoff power surge propelled the Mets to the
DANIEL
MURPHY
World Series last October, and this season hes in the run-
ning for the National League batting title and MVP honors
with the Nationals. Neither the Mets run nor Murphys
2016 success were likely without a mechanical makeover
orchestrated by Long in spring training of last year.
But looking back, Long didnt know what kind of reaction
hed get when he reached out to Murphy for the first time
after taking over as the teams new hitting coach in
December 2014.
It was Longs job to find out if he could help Murphy, a six-
year veteran and 2014 All-Star, with his hitting. He knew
accomplished players like Murphy, who are obsessed with hit-
ting, will sometimes balk at unsolicited advice from a new
coach.
Much to Longs relief, Murphy responded enthusiastically.
Long, who served as the Yankees hitting coach from 2007 to
2014, suspected this career slap-hitter could hit with more power
by changing his mechanics.
He just helped me focus in on doing more damage with
each plate appearance, said Murphy, who tends not to reveal
much in interviews. I am trying to get a pitch in my zone and
hit it as hard as humanly possible to get my A-swing off.
The results were not immediate. For the first four weeks of
2015, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Murphy batted .145 with one
Through July, Murphy
home run. Then the dam broke. ranked among N.L.
Murphy batted .300 with 13 homers the rest of the way, leaders with a .351
though that was nothing compared to his postseason tear. He average, .390 on-base
percentage and .622
led the Mets to the World Series by hitting .421 with seven slugging mark.

Daniel Murphy
developed into a
productive player
with the Mets
before moving to
Washington to
put together his
best season

NATIONAL
42 September/October 2016
 home runs in the first two rounds of playoff action and was named the National League
Championship Series MVP.
Most impressive of all: he became the first player to homer in six consecutive playoff
games, connecting off elite hurlers Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Jake Arrieta and Jon
Lester.
Murphy finished the postseason with seven homers, falling one shy of the major-league
record set by the Giants Barry Bonds in 2002, and equaled by Carlos Beltran of the 2004 Astros
and Nelson Cruz for the 2011 Rangers.
The 31-year-old veteran has continued his torrid hitting with the Nationals, already sur-
passing his career single-season high marks in home runs (14) and RBI (78)through
Aug. 6, he had 21 homers and 81 RBI in 104 games.
Murphy, an intense player with a career .288 batting average coming into this sea-
son, continues to rely on the tweaks he worked on with Long.
We made a couple of mechanical adjustments, Murphy said. I try to use my
legs more and get on the plate more.
He now crowds the plate, standing several inches closer than he did prior to
meeting Long. He also went from standing fairly straight to settling into a crouch.
These changes have Murphy pulling the ball more often and hitting it less fre-
quently on the ground. Plus, his bat speed and control are just better.
Nationals manager Dusty Baker, who wrote a book called You Can Teach
Hitting, said Murphy is one of the most intense students that hes ever seen. He
attributed his cleanup hitters success to concentration, discipline and study.
His confidence level is at an all-time high, Baker added. He always thought
he could hit. Now, he knows he can really hit.
Batting in the cleanup spot behind Bryce Harper has clearly helped Murphy.
Pitchers are not eager to give Harper, the 2015 National League MVP, a good pitch to
hit.
He is always on base, Murphy said. When people are on base, it puts the pitcher
in high-leverage situations.
But Washington hitting coach Rick Schu says it doesnt matter where Murphy hits in
the lineup. Schu believes hed have just as much success batting first or ninth.
I have sat in the opposing dugout and watched him and said, This guy kills us, Schu
said with a laugh. Its really nice to
have him in my dugout.
Schu has worked with all kinds of
players, from struggling rookies to
All-Stars. Few have impressed him as
much as Murphy, who signed a three-
year, $37.5-million contract with the
Nationals in December.
He is definitely an attention-to-
detail guy, Schu said. He is really on
it. He really understands what he is
trying to do. He knows his opponent
and how guys pitch to him. I usually go
over with the guys daily on who they
face and I ask his plan and he is right on.
He is like an extra coach for me because
of his knowledge, work ethic and how he
Photos by SportPics

leads by example.
The Nationals feature plenty of veter-
an leadership from players like first
baseman Ryan Zimmerman, left

SUCCESS September/October 2016 43

DANIEL Players With Most HR Murphy explained. I really
MURPHY In One Postseason enjoyed the trip back there.
Murphy admits it felt a little
wenty major-leaguers have hit six or more home

T
strange: I was there for a decade,
runs in one postseason. Bob Robertson and Lenny but this time I came in a different
Dykstra are the only players to accomplish the entrance.
feat before the wild-card game and divisional playoffs The special attention from the
were added to the postseason format. Mets was nice for the club and
fans, but it didnt take long before
YEAR PLAYER, TEAM HR PLAYOFF OUTCOME the Mets were sick of seeing
2002 Barry Bonds, Giants 8 Lost World Series Murphy. He hit .423 against them
2004 Carlos Beltran, Astros 8 Lost NLCS
with seven home runs and 21 RBI
2011 Nelson Cruz, Rangers 8 Lost World Series
2002 Troy Glaus, Angels 7 Won World Series in 13 first-half games.
2008 B.J. Upton, Rays 7 Lost World Series Its obvious he wants to beat
BARRY BONDS 2009 Jayson Werth, Phillies 7 Lost World Series them up, Scherzer said. When
2015 Daniel Murphy, Mets 7 Lost World Series you face your former team, you
1971 Bob Robertson, Pirates 6 Won World Series obviously want to get the best of
1993 Lenny Dykstra, Phillies 6 Lost World Series
them. For him to come out and
1995 Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners 6 Lost ALCS
1996 Bernie Williams, Yankees 6 Won World Series really slug against them, I know it
1998 Jim Thome, Indians 6 Lost ALCS puts a smile on all of our faces
CARLOS BELTRAN 2002 Rich Aurilia, Giants 6 Lost World Series because we know what he is going
2004 Albert Pujols, Cardinals 6 Los t World Series through. Its special for him to be
2004 Larry Walker, Cardinals 6 Lost World Series able to do that.
2008 Evan Longoria, Rays 6 Lost World Series New York didnt show much
2009 Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 6 Won World Series
interest in retaining Murphy, who

2009 Chase Utley, Phillies
2010 Nelson Cruz, Rangers
NELSON CRUZ 2012 Pablo Sandoval, Giants
NATIONAL SUCCESS
fielder Jayson Werth and pitcher Max Scherzer.
Murphy has wasted no time in joining that group. He
gets praise for his professionalism, day-to-day preparation
and willingness to work with younger players.
I think you will see him lead more and more the longer
he is here, Baker said. He was a welcome addition in
more ways than one. He just goes about
his business. He studies hard; he works
hard and is a motivator for his team-
mates.
Werth loves the leadership Murphy
brings to the clubhouse.
He is filling a void from when we lost
Ian Desmond, Werth said, referring to
the veteran shortstop who left Washing-
ton for Texas over the winter. (Murphy)
has stepped into that leadership role and
I think he is a natural leader. Its been an
easy transition for him and I think he was
a real leader for the Mets. He is a take-charge kind of guy.
Going to New York for the Nationals first series against
the Mets was both difficult and exciting for Murphy, who
spent nine seasons in the Mets organization. His former
club used the occasion to honor him with a video tribute
and present him with his National League championship
ring.
New York front-office officials made it clear that without
him that the Mets wouldnt have reached the World Series.
It was very classy for the organization to reach out to
me as a division rival and do something on the field,
Photos by SportPics
6 Lost World Series
6 Lost World Series wasnt offered a multiyear con-
6 Won World Series tract. Instead the Mets pitched a
one-year, $15.8-million qualifying
arbitration offer, which he turned
down.
The Mets always loved Murphys bat, but not his glove.
He committed 86 errors in his New York career, including
a costly one in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series against
Kansas City. At seasons end, the Mets replaced him with
Neil Walker, acquired in a December trade with Pittsburgh.
With the Mets, Murphy sometimes wore the label of a
subpar defensive player like a tattoo. He played left field
when he reached the majors in August 2008. He moved to
first base the next season, and in 2010 the
Mets used him as a second baseman and
utility infielder. He finally made a full-
time move to second base in 2011.
If Murphy has any natural position, its
third base. He played third in the minors,
but shifted to second since the Mets
already had David Wright as the clubs
everyday third baseman.
Murphy wasnt drafted until the
13th round in 2006, selected out of his
hometown Jacksonville University. Even
then, Murphy, who is married with a
young son, was considered a first-rate hitter, but no more
than an average defender and baserunner.
I feel like he has been a very good hitter and is continu-
ing to find ways to get better, Mets outfielder Curtis
Granderson said.
But its not like all of a sudden he has blossomed and
became a hitter that has the ability to drive in big runs and
lead the team in batting. Those are the things he has done.
So I just think he is getting the chance to continue to play
on a big stage and more people are now getting a chance
to see him. BD

44 September/October 2016
 BASEBALL QUICK QUIZ ANSWERS ON PAGE 62

Collect 10 points for each question answered correctly.

(If you score 80 or better, youre a Hall of Famer; 70 or better,
MVP; between 60 and 70, All-Star; and 40 to 60, a minor leaguer.)

In the 2015 World Series, Mets outfielder

1 Michael Conforto became the 42nd player
in World Series history to club two or more
homers in one game. Among those 42 batters,
13 are in the Hall of Fame as players. Collect 10
points if you can identify six Hall of Famers to
club two or more homers in one Fall Classic game.
Prior to the 2016 postseason, 34 players had hit
2 a home run in their first World Series at-bat.
Only two of these hitters have been elected to the Hall of
Fame. For 10 points, name one of these two Hall of Famers MIKE
who homered in their first World Series at-bat. MOUSTAKAS
SportPics

Who was the last player to hit a grand slam in

3 World Series competition: Albert Pujols, Pablo
Sandoval, Paul Konerko or Mike Moustakas?
Eight pitchers have won the Cy Young Award
4 and fanned 10 or more batters in a World Series
game in the same season. Collect 10 points if you
can identify four of these pitchers.
Excluding Cap Anson, because he played before
5 the World Series began, four players with 3,000
lifetime hits never hit safely in a Fall Classic. Nap
YOGI
BERRA
Lajoie is one and Ichiro Suzuki (through the 2016
regular season) is another. Collect five points for each of the other two you can identify.
Luis Gonzalez is one of six sluggers to belt 50 or more regular-season homers
6 and add another in World Series play in the same season (2001). Collect two
points for each of the other five players you can identify who accomplished this feat.
The St. Louis Cardinals have captured 11 World Series
7 titles under nine different managers. Tony La Russa
managed two championship clubs (2006, 2011). Who was
the other skipper to win two Fall Classics with the Cardinals:
Rogers Hornsby, Red Schoendienst, Billy Southworth or
Frankie Frisch?
Since 1957, when the first Gold Glove awards were
8 presented, only seven catchers have won the honor
and a World Series title in the same season. Collect 10
points if you can identify three of these backstops.
Since divisional play began in 1969, 11 teams
9 have won five or more league pennants through
the 2015 season. The Yankees lead the way with 11.
Collect one point for each of the other 10 teams you
can identify that have won five or more pennants
between 1969 and 2015.
Who is the only player with 10 or more
10 RBI in a World Series for a winning
team: Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Albert Pujols
or Roberto Clemente?
September/October 2016 45
SportPics
TURN BACK ecstatic. Despite the win, the Tigers were still
two games under .500 and 10 games behind the
first-place Yankees in the American League

THE CLOCK East. And yet, the crowd refused to leave, rock-
ing the old ballpark with chants of We want
The Bird! We want The Bird! until Fidrych
finally emerged from the clubhousethe first
By THOM HENNINGER Tiger Stadium curtain call since September 14,
n June 28, 1976, Mark The Bird Fidrych stood 1968, when Denny McLain won his 30th game.

O on the field at Detroits Tiger Stadium, doing his

first-ever nationally televised interview in his
stocking feet.
Twenty minutes earlier, the lanky, shaggy-haired Tigers
rookie had put the finishing touches on an efficient 5-1
complete-game victory over the New York Yankees. As
millions of Monday Night Baseball viewers looked on
from living rooms across the country, the 21-year-old
right-hander had exited the field in a celebratory daze,
giddily shaking the hands of each and every person he
encountered on his dash to the dugout after the final out.
The nearly 48,000 fans in attendance were equally
Having already tossed his jersey into the clubhouse
laundry hamper, Fidrych returned to the field wearing a
Tigers warm-up jacket over his soggy undershirt; but in
his rush to respond to the roaring crowd, hed completely
forgotten to put his cleats back on.
Everything is just new to me, Fidrych told ABCs Bob
Uecker during the postgame interview, his exuberant rush of
words additionally blurred by his thick Central
Massachusetts accent. He heaped praise upon his team-
matesThose guys are doing two-thirds of the work, and
Im only doing a third by pitching, you know?and thanked
the fans for pumping up his adrenaline every time he took

MARK
FIDRYCHS
1976
SEASON
The eccentric right-hander
created a huge following with
his magnificent Rookie of the
Year season 40 years ago
By Dan Epstein

46 September/October 2016
the mound. I couldnt ask for no much more! he gushed.
Baseball fans in 1976 couldnt have asked for no much
more, either. The Birdso nicknamed for his physical
resemblance to Big Bird from Sesame Streetcouldnt
have hatched at a better moment for the game.
While the nations Bicentennial celebration was gather-
ing star-spangled steam, the national pastime was mired
in nasty labor negotiations resulting from the December
1975 arbitration ruling that pronounced Andy Messersmith
and Dave McNally (having played the entire 1975 season
without signed contracts) to be free agents.
The ruling, which MLB owners tried unsuccessfully to
reverse in court, essentially nullified baseballs long-
standing reserve clausewhich bound players in perpetu-
ity to the team that had them under contractand opened
the gates to full-scale free agency.
The owners, fearing the impact of this development on
the game (and their pocketbooks), locked the players out
of spring training in hopes that they would renounce the
liberty theyd just won. Though commissioner Bowie
Kuhn finally forced the reopening of training camps in
mid-March, the sports media in the spring and summer of
76 remained filled with negative stories about the greedy
players who would soon be leaving their longtime teams
and marketing themselves to the highest bidder.
Into this atmosphere of cynicism, mistrust and recrimi-
nation stepped one of the most genuinely joyful charac-
ters the game has ever known, though it took the fans and
press alike some time to become aware of his presence.
Signed out of Northboro, Mass., in the 10th round of the
June 1974 amateur draft, Mark Fidrych had risen quickly
through the Tigers farm system. Yet, despite earning a ros-
ter spot with the Tigers in the spring of 76and despite the
fact that, with the team coming off a miserable 59-103 sea-
son, Detroit fans were desperate for any new reason to feel
good about their ballclub and their depressed, crumbling
citythere was little press coverage of his promotion.
Fidrych didnt receive much playing time during the
first four weeks of the season, either. Tigers manager
Ralph Houk, sensing that his excitable rookie righty need-
ed some time to become acclimated to life in the big
leagues, used Fidrych sparingly in relief.
Its a weird scene.
You win a few
baseball games and
all of a sudden
youre surrounded by
reporters and TV
men with cameras
asking you about
Vietnam and race
relations and stuff
like that. I dont even
know who I am yet.
Mark Fidrych
September/October 2016 47

TURN BACK MARK
THE CLOCK FIDRYCHS
1976 SEASON
He made his first official MLB appearance on April 20 in
Oakland, giving up a game-winning single to Don Baylor,
the first batter he faced. He didnt make his second
appearance until May 5, when he pitched a scoreless mop-
up inning in the Tigers 8-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
It wasnt until May 15 that Fidrych finally got the chance
to show Tigers fans what he could do. Filling in for sched-
uled starter Dave Roberts, who had suddenly come down
with the flu, Fidrych no-hit the Cleveland Indians for six
innings at Tiger Stadium, on his way to a two-hit, 2-1 com-
plete-game victory. He walked only one batter and struck
out five, but his pinpoint control wasnt the only thing
that caught the attention of the 14,583 fans in attendance.
Fidrych looked almost comical out there, flapping his
arms, excitedly congratulating his teammates after even
Rookies Who Led The
League In ERA (1901-2015)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YEAR PITCHER, TEAM ERA
1911 Vean Gregg, Indians 1.81
1933 Monte Pearson, Indians 2.33
1940 Ernie Bonham, Yankees 1.90
1948 Gene Bearden, Indians 2.43
1963 Gary Peters, White Sox 2.33
1976 Mark Fidrych, Tigers 2.34
NATIONAL LEAGUE
YEAR PITCHER, TEAM ERA
1912 Jeff Tesreau, Giants 1.96
1935 Cy Blanton, Pirates 2.58
1937 Jim Turner, Braves 2.38
1952 Hoyt Wilhelm, Giants 2.43 GARY PETERS
the most perfunctory plays, and dropping to his knees in
order to rearrange the dirt on the mound. He also seemed
to be talking to the ball between pitches, like he was giv-
ing it instructions on where to go.
He had us psyched out with all that stuff he does on the
mound, Indians DH Rico Carty told reporters after the
game. It was like he was trying to hypnotize us. I said,
Just throw the ball. Then he didand I couldnt hit it.
Fidrychs goofy mound mannerismswhich also includ-
ed tossing balls back to the home plate umpire if he felt they
had a hit in themsoon became part of his legend, but it
would take another six weeks for that legend to really build.
Following a disappointing 2-0 loss against Luis Tiant
and the Red Sox in front of friends and family at Fenway
Park, Fidrych rattled off six straight wins for the Tigers,
five of them complete-game efforts.
Each appearance brought increased newspaper cover-
age of his masterful pitching, his wacky antics, and his
almost childlike wonder at being able to play major-
league baseball. (After fanning home-run king Hank
Aaron during a May 31 win over the Milwaukee Brewers,
48 September/October 2016
Fidrych repeatedly exulted Whoa, I struck out Hank
Aaron! upon his return to the dugout.)
Fidrychs starts at Tiger Stadium began to feel more like
rock concerts than ballgames, with fans of all ages cheer-
ing his every move, brandishing homemade banners with
his nickname on them, and engaging in near-constant
chants of Go Bird Go!
But in the pre-cable, pre-internet days of baseball
media coverage, when youd be lucky to catch more than a
few baseball games on TV (and most games werent tele-
vised at all), Fidrych still seemed more like a rumor or a
figment of the imagination outside of Detroitat least
until the Monday Night Baseball broadcast of June 28,
when baseball fans across the nation were finally able to
witness The Bird in full flight.
After Fidrychs nationally televised victory over the
Yankeeswhich improved his record to 8-1 and lowered
his ERA to 2.05Birdmania took the country by storm.
Little leaguers everywhere, identifying with Fidrychs
whimsical energy, began imitating his moves on the
mound; older fans, jaded by players increasing contractu-
HOYT
WILHELM
MARK
FIDRYCH
SportPics
al demands, were charmed by Fidrychs down-to-earth
attitude, as well as his unabashed gratitude at earning the
minimum rookie salary of $19,000 a year. (The only other
job I could have is working in a gas station back home, he
told reporters following the Monday Night game.)
Some players grumbled about the attention his act was
receiving: Yankees captain Thurman Munson accused him
of being a showboat, and Pete Rose promised to line one
through the box against him at the All-Star Game, which
Fidrych was given the honor of starting for the American
League.
Other prominent opponents like George Scott and
Reggie Jackson openly praised the young rookies poise,
competitiveness and pinpoint control. Fidrych wasnt
overpowering on the mound (he would finish the season
with only 97 strikeouts in 250.1 innings), but he clearly
knew how to pitch.
The Birds star quality quickly transcended the sport,
as well. His easy-going charisma resonated with high
school and college kids who saw him as the kind of guy
they might find hanging out at their local keg party, while
his blonde good looks transformed him behind Jim Palmer in the A.L. Cy Young
into a pin-up to rival Peter Frampton, balloting, and 11th in the A.L. MVP vot-
whose album Frampton Comes Alive ing. (In a more advanced statistical era,
topped the Billboard charts for much of he might have had a decent shot at win-
the summer of 76. ning all three honorshis WAR of 9.6 was
People magazine did a feature on him. considerably better than Palmers 6.6 or

David Durochik/SportPics
Elton John and the Beach Boys invited him MVP Thurman Munsons 5.3.)
to hang out with them when they played Tragically, Fidrych would never pitch
concerts in the Detroit area. Multiple nov- another full major-league season. A freak
elty songs (like Shirley Stringhams disco- knee injury sustained in spring training
fied Mark The Bird) were recorded and of 1977 was followed by an undiagnosed
released in his honor, or at least in attempt to cash in on his rotator cuff tear; though he continued to show flashes of
massive popularity. Hollywood producer Allan Carr wanted his 1976 brilliance, his arm troubles forced him to retire in
him to audition for a role in the upcoming film version of 1980 after making only 27 more MLB starts.
Grease, his hit Broadway musical. Endorsement offers One cant help wonder what might have been if Fidrych
came rolling in by the dozens. had stayed healthy. Would he have continued to befuddle
It would have been a head-spinning experience for anyone, opposing hitters and delight fans? Would his lack of speed
let alone a 21-year-old rookie. and power have ultimately proved a detriment? Would he
Its a weird scene, Fidrych admitted to Jim Hawkins from have won a ring with the 84 Tigers? Would he still be alive
the Detroit Free Press. You win a few baseball games and all today, instead of dying in an accident while repairing a
of a sudden youre surrounded by reporters and TV men with truck engine on his Massachusetts farm in Northborough?
cameras asking you about Vietnam and race relations and Well never know, of course, but we can still bask in the
stuff like that. I dont even know who I am yet. glow of the brief but glorious flight of The Bird. Anyone
Still, Fidrych generally kept his cool, and kept his fans who saw him pitch, felt the excitement he generated, or
smiling. Though he gave up four hits (including a liner up the observed the sense of pride he brought to the Motor City
middle from Pete Rose) and two runs in two innings at the during the summer of 1976 will tell you the same thing: We
All-Star Game, and took the loss for the American League, couldnt have asked for no much more. BD
his first start after the break saw him pitching an 11-inning
shutout against the Oakland As in front of nearly 46,000 Dan Epstein is the author of Stars and Strikes: Baseball
screaming fans at Tiger Stadium. and America in the Bicentennial Summer of 76. He hated
By August, Birdmania had become such a phenomenon having curly hair until The Bird came along.
that opposing teams were actually beg-
ging the Tigers to re-arrange their rota-
tion so that Fidrych could pitch against
them in their ballparks. An appearance
by The Bird was guaranteed to sell as
many as 20,000 more tickets than
usual.
Many Tigers fans, proud of their new
stars sudden ascensionbut feeling
that he wasnt being properly compen-
sated by the team for his ability to make
their turnstiles spinengaged in a
grass-roots Bucks for the Bird cam-
paign. Even unemployed auto-workers
were stuffing singles and fives into
envelopes and mailing them to the
pitcher at Tiger Stadium.
Whether it was because of the pres-
sure of the constant media attention,
the rigors of pitching his first full season
in the majors, or because opposing hit-
ters were finally beginning to figure him
out, Fidrychs pitching slipped some-
what during the second half of the sea-
sonhe went 9-7 with a 2.93 ERA in his
last 17 starts.
He still finished with a 19-9 record,
while leading the league with a 2.34
ERA and a whopping 24 complete
games, which was good enough to earn
him the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award
in a landslide. He also finished second
September/October 2016 49
 THE GAME
ILL NEVER
FORGET
BY DAVID CONE
As Told To Barry Rozner

Former All-Star and

Cy Young Award winner
recalls his perfect game
for the Yankees against the
Montreal Expos in 1999

DAVID
CONE
Mike Ponzini

50 September/October 2016
 ome of the greatest pitchers in Major League Baseball history never threw a no-

S
hitter, including the likes of Greg Maddux, Steve Carlton and Pedro Martinez, who
combined to win more than 900 games in the big leagues. It takes a lot of luck and
the perfect circumstances, not to mention great stuff and a terrific defense.
David Cone looked like he might have a chance on Sept. 2, 1996, pitching for
the Yankees in Oakland. Two years removed from winning Cy Young honors
and arguably the best pitcher in the American League, Cone was coming off
surgery for an aneurysm under his right armpit. Making his first start in four
months, he was sensational. He had tossed seven no-hit innings when New
York manager Joe Torre removed him from the game after 85 pitches.
I put Joe in a tough spot, Cone said with a laugh. It was the right thing to
do. I was coming off a long layoff and we were worried about winning the World
Series, not a game in September. He made the right call.
A month later, Cone would start a game in each playoff series and win a
Just about World Series game as the Yankees took home the big trophy for the first time in
18 years.
every day some- Of course, every pitcher dreams about throwing a no-hitter, Cone said.
But we also dream about winning the World Series and thats bigger. Plus, you
one tells you get a chance to throw a no-hitter every time out. You dont get a chance to win
the World Series every day.
where they
were and who
they were
watching the
game with when
they saw it. It
makes you feel
something very
special when
people tell you Cone pitched three one-hitters in his career, but his best opportunity for
immortality would come on July 18, 1999, in one of the oddest coincidences in
they saw you do baseball history. Soon after Hall of Famer Yogi Berra finally reconciled with the
Yankees, the club celebrated Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium. Don Larsen
something theyll was on the mound for the ceremonial first pitch, throwing to his battery-mate.
The two men had conspired to complete the most famous perfect game in
never forget the baseball history in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
The funny thing about it is, I said something to (Larsen) after the pitch
rest of their about him running and jumping into Yogis arms, Cone said, laughing. And,
of course, I got it wrong. It was Yogi who jumped into his arms. I mean, how do
lives. you mess that up? I felt pretty dumb at that moment. It was embarrassing and
he let me know I got it wrong.
DAVID CONE That was pretty much the last thing Cone would get wrong that day.
Cone was throwing to catcher Joe Girardi, who was behind the plate for Doc
Goodens no-hitter in May 1996. Girardi and Cone were on the same page from
the first pitch of the game against the Montreal Expos.
It started simply enough with a three-pitch strikeout of Wilton Guerrero, but
the chance for something special nearly came to an end facing the second bat-
ter of the game. Cone left a 2-2 pitch over the heart of the plate and Terry Jones
David Cone is the only pitcher in MLB history to ripped it into right-center for what looked like extra bases.
have a 20-win season with both the Mets and I was thinking about backing up third base when he hit it, Cone said. But
Yankees. In 1988, he posted a 20-3 record with
the Mets. Ten years later in 1998, he went
Paul ONeill got a great jump in right field and he took a straight route right at
20-7 as a member of the Yankees. the ball and kind of cut it off. If he takes an angle toward the fence, he doesnt
SportPics

get it because it was hit too hard. He went straight at the ball and made a great,
diving catch. Hes a lefty, so the glove is on his right hand and Im not sure he
September/October 2016 51
 THE GAME ILL NEVER FORGET

makes the play if the glove is on the other hand.
Cone retired the first six batters in order before the
Yankees staked him to a five-run lead in the second
against Javier Vazquez. Cone responded by striking out
the side in the third. Nine up, nine down. Then came a 33-
minute rain delay in the bottom of the inning that threat-
ened to derail Cones chase for history.
It was a really hot, muggy day. It was 90-plus and
steamy as can be, so staying loose was not a problem,
Cone said. I threw a bit underneath the Stadium just to
keep loose, but it wasnt a big deal because it was so hot.
Through five innings, Cone was at just 50 pitches and
had not gone to ball three on a single Expos hitter. Thats
when it started to get serious. Thats when his teammates
stopped talking to him.
David Durochik/SportPics
Thats probably the time you start thinking about the
possibilities, and then its mental gymnastics from that
point forward, Cone said. You have to try to stay out of
your own head. You try not to get ahead of yourself, but its
pretty hard not to.
Its a tug between taking it one pitch at a time and
remembering theres a game to win, and thinking ahead
to what happens in the eighth or ninth inning. You try to
stay in the moment, but youre human. You know whats
happening. And its so quiet because no one is talking to
you. Its the oddest thing in baseball because dugouts are
so loud and theres so much going onguys talking to
each other the whole game and now no one will speak to
you.
I was anxious because I had been close so many times,

MARK BUEHRLE

PERFECT GAME PITCHERS

Through August 7, 2016 + Indicates World Series Game
PRE-1900
PITCHER, TEAM DATE OPPONENT
Lee Richmond, Worcester June 12, 1880 Cleveland Blues
John Montgomery Ward, Providence June 17, 1880 Buffalo Bisons

AMERICAN LEAGUE
PITCHER, TEAM DATE OPPONENT
Cy Young, Red Sox May 5, 1904 As
Addie Joss, Indians Oct. 2, 1908 White Sox
Charlie Robertson, White Sox April 30, 1922 Tigers
Don Larsen, Yankees Oct. 8, 1956 + Dodgers
Catfish Hunter, As May 8, 1968 Twins
Len Barker, Indians May 15, 1981 Blue Jays JIM
Mike Witt, Angels Sept. 30, 1984 Rangers BUNNING
Kenny Rogers, Rangers July 28, 1994 Angels SportPics
David Wells, Yankees May 17, 1998 Twins
David Cone, Yankees July 18, 1999 Expos
Mark Buehrle, White Sox July 23, 2009 Rays
Dallas Braden, As May 9, 2010 Rays
Philip Humber, White Sox April 21, 2012 Mariners
Felix Hernandez, Mariners Aug. 15, 2012 Rays DAVID CONE

NATIONAL LEAGUE
PITCHER, TEAM DATE OPPONENT
Jim Bunning, Phillies June 21, 1964 Mets
Sandy Koufax, Dodgers Sept. 9, 1965 Cubs
Tom Browning, Reds Sept. 16, 1988 Dodgers
Dennis Martinez, Expos July 28, 1991 Dodgers
Randy Johnson, Dbacks May 8, 2004 Braves
SportPics

Roy Halladay, Phillies May 29, 2010 Marlins

Matt Cain, Giants June 13, 2012 Astros
MATT CAIN
52 September/October 2016
 DAVID CONES
Cone admitted. When I was with the Mets, we all wanted PERFECT GAME BOXSCORE
to be the first guy to throw a no-hitter for the Mets. But now Montreal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I was what, 36 years old? You start thinking this might be New York 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 x 6 8 0
your last chance at something like this. My stuff was really
good that day and I didnt want to blow the chance. Not MONTREAL EXPOS
AB R H RBI
exactly the thing you should be thinking about between Wilton Guerrero, dh 3 0 0 0
innings. But then you get back on the mound and kind of Terry Jones, cf 2 0 0 0
settle down and go about your business. James Mouton, cf 1 0 0 0
Cone only needed five pitches in the sixth to get the next Devon White, lf 3 0 0 0
Vladimir Guerrero, rf 3 0 0 0
three Expos, and another 15 in the seventh. In the eighth Jose Vidro, 2b 3 0 0 0
with one out, Jose Vidro hit a shot up the middle that Brad Fullmer, 1b 3 0 0 0
looked like trouble. Second baseman Chuck Knoblauch Chris Widger, c 3 0 0 0
Shane Andrews, 3b 2 0 0 0
scooted quickly to his right to make a clean backhand of Ryan McGuire, ph 1 0 0 0
the ball and a strong throw to first baseman Tino Martinez Orlando Cabrera, ss 3 0 0 0
for the second out. Cone then caught Brad Fullmer looking Totals 27 0 0 0
at an 0-2 breaking ball. He needed just three outs for a per-
NEW YORK YANKEES
fect game.

SportPics
AB R H RBI
That was not an easy play and Chuck made it look Chuck Knoblauch, 2b 2 1 1 0
easy, Cone said. The crowd went crazy for that play and Derek Jeter, ss 4 1 1 2 VLADIMIR GUERRERO
Paul ONeill, rf 4 1 1 0
then the strikeout, and that kind of carried me off the field Bernie Williams, cf 4 0 1 1
for the eighth. I could actually feel my heart pounding as I Tino Martinez, 1b 4 0 1 0
walked off the field. Chili Davis, dh 3 1 1 0
Ricky Ledee, lf 4 1 1 2
The 41,930 in attendance stood again as Cone headed to Scott Brosius, 3b 2 1 0 0
the bump for the final inning. The ovation was thunderous Joe Girardi, c 3 0 1 1
and the right-hander was feeling strong despite the heat. Totals 30 6 8 6
After he got Chris Widger fishing on a low-and-outside 0-2 2B: Girardi, ONeill; HR: Ledee (off Vazquez),
slider for the first out, Cone was almost too smart for his Jeter (off Vazquez); HBP: Knoblauch (Vazquez), ONeill
(Vazquez). LOB: New York 4, Montreal 0
own good.
I got strike one on (pinch-hitter Ryan) McGuire and Joe PITCHING
Girardi calls for a cutter in on his hands, Cone recalled. MONTREAL EXPOS

Chris Bernacchi/SportPics
Now, Joe is calling this great game and its the ninth inning IP H R ER BB SO
Javier Vazquez (L) 7 7 6 6 2 3
and I did not shake him off one time all day, but now I shake Bobby Ayala 1 1 0 0 0 0
him off. I wanted to throw the same fastball and I missed
outside. What are you thinking, right? Now youre going to NEW YORK YANKEES
IP H R ER BB SO
shake him off? I ended up behind 2-1 in the count. David Cone (W) 9 0 0 0 0 10 TINO MARTINEZ
Cone evened the count before McGuire reached out and
poked a soft fly to medium left field. Ricky Ledee came in Umpires: Ted Barrett (HP), Larry McCoy (1B), Jim Evans (2B), Chuck Meriwether (3B)
Time of Game: 2:16
on it and made an awkward-looking catch, flipping his
Attendance: 41,930
glove to make a basket grab at the very last moment.
It was a very scary moment because that field during
the day can be hard, Cone said. He must have lost it in
the white shirts because he had to adjust at the last sec- out of the dugout and indeed created a pile on top of Cone
ond. I shook my head and took a deep breath. and Girardi to celebrate the 16th perfect game in major-
One out away. league history. It was the third in Yankees history and sec-
Theres no way to really describe what your body feels ond in 14 months, following David Wells perfecto the year
like at that moment. Crowd is screaming, the whole world before.
is watching, and youre trying to execute a pitch when you To this day, I dont really know why I fell to my knees,
can hardly feel anything at all, Cone said. The adrena- Cone said. Maybe it was just exhaustion.
line is flowing and youre fighting to maintain your com- Cone was carried off the field by his teammates and con-
posure. Its really odd to feel it. gratulated byof all peopleDon Larsen.
With the count 1-1 on Orlando Cabrera, Cone What are the odds that it takes place on the same day as
threw his 88th pitch of the day. Cabrera swung Don Larsen throws out the first pitch to Yogi Berra? Cone
hard and popped it up just foul on the third-base asked. Thats Yankee magic for you. Things happen at
side on the infield. Scott Brosius was there in plen- that Stadium that you just cant believe could happen any-
ty of time, camped under it, and when the ball where else.
came down he squeezed it tight. Cone dropped to The 6-0 victory was the last shutout of Cones career, but
his knees a few feet from Brosius and Girardi its a game he hears about frequently.
jumped into Cones arms, tackling him and falling Just about every day someone tells you where they
on top him. were and who they were watching the game with when
He told me he didnt want me on the bottom of they saw it, Cone said. It makes you feel something very
the pile, Cone laughed. He was protecting me. special when people tell you they saw you do something
Yankee Stadium erupted as the Yankees poured theyll never forget the rest of their lives. BD
September/October 2016 53
 dugout to appeal the batting-out-of-order snafu. The
umpires properly called Lucroy out for failing to bat in turn,
thus ending the inning. Braun batted in his proper No. 4 spot
to lead off the second and grounded out.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell took the blame for the
lineup card mix-up. I screwed up, Counsell said. I was
going with some different lineupswith Ryan in and out of
the lineupand it was just my mistake. It was just a screw-
By Rich Marazzi
up, completely my mistake. I gave Joe (Crawford, Brewers
assistant coach and video coordinator) a couple lineups, and
Batting my mistake.

Out Of Order BATTING OUT OF ORDER: RULE 6.03 (B),

he Milwaukee Brewers batted out of turn in a 1-0 FORMERLY 6.07

T victory over the Washington Nationals on July 4.

Here is what happened.
The official Brewers lineup card handed to the umpires
and Nationals manager Dusty Baker had Jonathan Lucroy
batting third, Ryan Braun in the No. 4 slot, and Aaron Hill
batting fifth. In the bottom of the first inning, Braun, incor-
rectly batting in Lucroys No. 3 spot with two outs, singled off
Nats starter Max Scherzer. Baker then emerged from the
The following points should be kept in mind regarding
the rule.
(1) The lineup card handed to the plate umpire before the
start of the game is official. The lineups posted in the dugout
or on the scoreboard are unofficial.
(2) The manager of the defensive team should never
appeal the batting-out-of-order violation in the middle of an
improper at-bat. If he does, no out is recorded. If Baker

RYAN

SportPics
BRAUN
JONATHAN LUCROY
SportPics

54 September/October 2016
 DUSTY MAKES THE MOST OF
DUSTY BATTING OUT OF TURN
BAKER Baker is no stranger to the rule. Playing for the Dodgers on
May 4, 1980, he batted out of turn in the top of the first
inning and grounded out. Phillies manager Dallas Green
inexplicably appealed and Ron Cey, the proper batter, was
called out. Baker then batted in his own spot and hit a three-
run homer to lead the Dodgers to 12-10 win.

BLUE JAYS BAT OUT OF ORDER

On Sept. 1, 2008, in a game between the Mariners and Blue
Jays, the Jays batted out of order. They had Hill in the No. 6
spot, Lyle Overbay at No. 7, and Gregg Zaun batting eighth. In
the bottom of the second, Overbay batted sixth (in Hills spot)
instead of his No. 7 position. Overbay flied to left. If appealed,
Hill would have been called out for failure to bat in turn and
Overbay would have batted again, as Braun did. But because
SportPics

Overbay made an out, Mariners manager John McLaren had

appealed in the middle of Brauns at-bat, the umpires would

LYLE
have sent Lucroy to the plate and he would have inherited
OVERBAY
Brauns count.
Likewise, if Counsell recognized the batting-out-of-order
faux pas in the middle of Brauns at-bat, he could have sent
Lucroy to the plate to inherit Brauns count. Also, the man-
ager of the offensive team can return to the correct order at
any time during the game. It is not true that the offensive
team must follow the same order throughout the game if a
batting-out-of-turn situation arises early in the game.
(3) When batting out of order occurs, the player who fails
to bat in the proper order (Lucroy) is the one who is called
out if the opposing manager appeals after the improper bat-
ter reaches base or delivers a successful outcome, such as a
sacrifice fly. The appeal must be made before the next pitch
or play. Despite Brauns single, after Baker appealed, Lucroy
was properly called out.
(4) In most cases, it is wise for the manager of the defen-
sive team to hold his appeal option when recognizing a bat-
ting-out-of-turn situation until the improper batter does
something productive. Baker waited until Braun hit safely,
and his appeal nullified a hit.
(5) As soon as a pitch is made to the next batter of either
team before an appeal is made, the improper batter there-
by becomes the proper batter and the results of his at-bat
are legal.
(6) When an improper batter (Braun) becomes a runner or
is put out, and a pitch is made to the next batter of either
team before an appeal is made, the improper batter (Braun)
is legalized and the batter who follows him (Hill) becomes
David Durochik/SportPics

the proper batter. In the above scenario, if Lucroy had batted

after Braun, as soon as a pitch was made to Lucroy, Brauns
at-bat would be legal and Hill should be the proper batter,
not Lucroy. Remarkably, Hill was involved in a batting-out-
of-order rule situation relating to point No. 6.

September/October 2016 55
ACROSS DOWN
1 This Cubs manager wears uniform 1 N.L. Cy Young Award winner in 2007
number 70 2 Marco ____ is a Mexican-born Blue
6 Legendary umpire ____ Conlan Jays hurler
9 A pitch on a batters hands is said 3 Hall of Fame shortstop who was nick-
to be in his ____ named Old _ _ _ _ s and Pains
10 Mike ____ was a three-time N.L. By Larry Humber 4 He was 18-8 with the Tigers when they
MVP went all the way in 1984
11 A double ____ retires two 5 ____ Chavez was a Venezuelan player
12 City thats won a Super Bowl and who pitched only two games in the majors
has NBA basketball, but only Triple-A for the Giants in 1967 at age 19
baseball 6 Cubs pitcher who won A.L. ERA title as
14 Non-professionals, like most who a member of the Angels
play ball 7 Home of the ill-famed Black Sox
15 Picks a ball out of the dirt, ____ it 8 Johnny ___ had his number 26 retired
up by the Rangers
18 ____ Cespedes hails from Cuba 13 Derek Jeters ____ followed the 2014
20 Fall in for a hit, ____ ____ in fair season
territory 16 Former outfielder Chris _____ works
23 The Orioles trained at Fort ____ as an analyst for ESPN
Stadium for over a decade 17 ___ __ Bell, a former Negro League
24 Mazs first name star
26 There were three ____ games in 19 Minnys ____ Escobar
2012, with Felix Hernandez getting the 21 Atlantas Hector ____
third for the Mariners 22 Creator of All-Star game Arch Ward
27 A minor illness or complaint was a newspaper _____
28 Dodger pitcher ____ Kazmir 23 Davey ____ stole 557 career bases
29 He won the N.L. MVP with Brewers 25 Hit hard
in 2011 SOLUTION ON PAGE 62

DID YOU KNOW . . . that since 1950, umpires properly removed Hill from
only nine major-league hurlers have completed a second base, but incorrectly called
season with 250 or more innings pitched while him out instead of Zaun, who failed to
issuing fewer than 40 walks? Among those nine,
only four struck out 200 or more battersJuan bat in turn. And because of that, the
Marichal for the Giants, Fergie Jenkins of the No. 9 batter should have been the next
Cubs, Curt Schilling of the Dbacks, and Roy batter, not Zaun.
Halladay for the Blue Jays and Phillies.
Pitcher, Team Year IP SO BB
JOE PIGNATANO HIT TWO HOME
Lew Burdette, Mil. 1959 289.2 105 39
Robin Roberts, Phi. 1959 257.1 137 35 RUNS IN SAME AT-BAT?
Lew Burdette, Mil. 1960 275.2 83 35 Well, almost. In 1956 Pignatano
David Durochik/SportPics

Lew Burdette, Mil. 1961 272.1 92 33

Ralph Terry, NYY 1963 268.0 114 39 played in the Texas League for Fort
Juan Marichal, SF 1966 307.1 222 36 Worth. In a game against Shreveport,
Bill Hands, Cubs 1968 258.2 148 36 Piggy was listed eighth in the batting
Fergie Jenkins, Cubs 1971 325.0 263 37
LaMarr Hoyt, CWS 1983 260.2 148 31 order behind Maury Wills. During the
Curt Schilling, Ari. 2001 256.2 293 39 AARON HILL game, Pignatano improperly batted in
Curt Schilling, Ari. 2002 259.1 316 33
Roy Halladay, Tor. 2003 266.0 204 32 no reason to appeal. Wills No. 7 slot and hit a home run.
Roy Halladay, Phi. 2010 250.2 219 30 Hill, batting out of turn, then fol- Shreveport manager Mel McGaha
lowed with a double. As soon as one appealed the batting-out-of-turn faux
LEW pitch was thrown to Hill, it legalized pas and Wills was called out for failing
BURDETTE Overbays at-bat and Zaun, the No. 8 to bat in turn. Pignatano, then batting
batter, should have been the proper in his proper No. 8 spot, homered
batter. At that point McLaren appealed again.
that Hill had batted out of turn. The How about that! BD

Rich Marazzi is the baseball rules consultant for the Blue Jays, Braves,
Dodgers, Mariners, Padres, Rays, Reds, Red Sox, Royals and Tigers.
If you would like to contact Rich, you can email him at Rtmarazzi@aol.com
or write him at: 105 Pulaski Highway, Ansonia, CT 06401

56 September/October 2016
 7TH INNING STRETCH

COLE
WORLD SERIES HAMELS

MVP WINNERS
YEAR PLAYER TEAM POS.
1955 Johnny Podres Dodgers P
1956 Don Larsen Yankees P DON

SportPics
1957
1958
Lew Burdette
Bob Turley
Braves
Yankees
P
P
LARSEN
1959 Larry Sherry Dodgers P
1960 Bobby Richardson Yankees 2B
1961 Whitey Ford Yankees P
1962 Ralph Terry Yankees P
1963 Sandy Koufax Dodgers P
1964 Bob Gibson Cardinals P
1965 Sandy Koufax Dodgers P
1966 Frank Robinson Orioles RF
1967 Bob Gibson Cardinals P
1968 Mickey Lolich Tigers P
The Fall Classic has been a
1969 Donn Clendenon Mets 1B best-of-seven series except for 1903,
1970 Brooks Robinson Orioles 3B
1971 Roberto Clemente Pirates RF 1919, 1920 and 1921, when the
1972 Gene Tenace As 1B/C
1973 Reggie Jackson As RF World Series was a best-of-nine showdown
1974
1975
Rollie Fingers
Pete Rose
As
Reds
P
3B
between the National League and
1976 Johnny Bench Reds C American League pennant winners.
1977 Reggie Jackson Yankees RF
1978 Bucky Dent Yankees SS
1979 Willie Stargell Pirates 1B
1980 Mike Schmidt Phillies 3B FRANK
1981 Ron Cey Dodgers 3B
Pedro Guerrero Dodgers RF ROBINSON
Steve Yeager Dodgers C
1982 Darrell Porter Cardinals C
1983 Rick Dempsey Orioles C
1984 Alan Trammell Tigers SS
1985 Bret Saberhagen Royals P
1986 Ray Knight Mets 3B
1987 Frank Viola Twins P
1988 Orel Hershiser Dodgers P
1989 Dave Stewart As P
1990 Jose Rijo Reds P
1991 Jack Morris Twins P
1992 Pat Borders Blue Jays C
1993 Paul Molitor Blue Jays DH/1B/3B
1994 No Series Played
1995 Tom Glavine Braves P
SportPics

1996 John Wetteland Yankees P

1997 Livan Hernandez Marlins P
1998 Scott Brosius Yankees 3B
1999 Mariano Rivera Yankees P
2000 Derek Jeter Yankees SS
2001 Randy Johnson Dbacks P MIKE
Curt Schilling Dbacks P
2002 Troy Glaus Angels 3B SCHMIDT
2003 Josh Beckett Marlins P
2004 Manny Ramirez Red Sox LF
2005 Jermaine Dye White Sox RF
2006 David Eckstein Cardinals SS
2007 Mike Lowell Red Sox 3B
2008 Cole Hamels Phillies P
2009 Hideki Matsui Yankees DH
2010 Edgar Renteria Giants SS
2011 David Freese Cardinals 3B
2012 Pablo Sandoval Giants 3B
SportPics

2013 David Ortiz Red Sox DH/1B

2014 Madison Bumgarner Giants P
2015 Salvador Perez Royals C
Two-time World Series MVP winners include Sandy Koufax
SportPics

(1963, 1965), Bob Gibson (1964, 1967) and Reggie Jackson

(1973, 1977). Jackson is the only player to capture the
award with different teamsAthletics and Yankees.

58 September/October 2016
 WORLD SERIES
RESULTS
YEAR WINNER LOSER GAMES
1903 Boston Red Sox Pittsburgh Pirates 8
1904 No World Series Played JACK
1905 New York Giants Philadelphia As 5 MORRIS
1906 Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs 6
1907 Chicago Cubs Detroit Tigers 4
1908 Chicago Cubs Detroit Tigers 5
1909 Pittsburgh Pirates Detroit Tigers 7
1910 Philadelphia As Chicago Cubs 5
1911 Philadelphia As New York Giants 6
1912 Boston Red Sox New York Giants 7
1913 Philadelphia As New York Giants 5
1914 Boston Braves Philadelphia As 4
1915 Boston Red Sox Philadelphia Phillies 5

David Durochik/SportPics
1916 Boston Red Sox Brooklyn Dodgers 5
1917 Chicago White Sox New York Giants 6
1918 Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs 6
1919 Cincinnati Reds Chicago White Sox 8
1920 Cleveland Indians Brooklyn Dodgers 7
1921 New York Giants New York Yankees 8
1922 New York Giants New York Yankees 4
1923 New York Yankees New York Giants 6
1924 Washington Senators New York Giants 7
1925 Pittsburgh Pirates Washington Senators 7 YEAR WINNER LOSER GAMES
1926 St. Louis Cardinals New York Yankees 7 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates Baltimore Orioles 7
1927 New York Yankees Pittsburgh Pirates 4 1972 Oakland As Cincinnati Reds 7
1928 New York Yankees St. Louis Cardinals 4 1973 Oakland As New York Mets 7
1929 Philadelphia As Chicago Cubs 5 1974 Oakland As Los Angeles Dodgers 5
1930 Philadelphia As St. Louis Cardinals 6 1975 Cincinnati Reds Boston Red Sox 7
1931 St. Louis Cardinals Philadelphia As 7 1976 Cincinnati Reds New York Yankees 4
1932 New York Yankees Chicago Cubs 4 1977 New York Yankees Los Angeles Dodgers 6
1933 New York Giants Washington Senators 5 1978 New York Yankees Los Angeles Dodgers 6
1934 St. Louis Cardinals Detroit Tigers 7 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates Baltimore Orioles 7
1935 Detroit Tigers Chicago Cubs 6 1980 Philadelphia Phillies Kansas City Royals 6
1936 New York Yankees New York Giants 6 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees 6
1937 New York Yankees New York Giants 5 1982 St. Louis Cardinals Milwaukee Brewers 7
1938 New York Yankees Chicago Cubs 4 1983 Baltimore Orioles Philadelphia Phillies 5
1939 New York Yankees Cincinnati Reds 4 1984 Detroit Tigers San Diego Padres 5
SportPics

1940 Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers 7 1985 Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals 7
1941 New York Yankees Brooklyn Dodgers 5 1986 New York Mets Boston Red Sox 7
1942 St. Louis Cardinals New York Yankees 5 1987 Minnesota Twins St. Louis Cardinals 7
SANDY KOUFAX 1943 New York Yankees St. Louis Cardinals 5 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers Oakland As 5
1944 St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Browns 6 1989 Oakland As San Francisco Giants 4
1945 Detroit Tigers Chicago Cubs 7 1990 Cincinnati Reds Oakland As 4
1946 St. Louis Cardinals Boston Red Sox 7 1991 Minnesota Twins Atlanta Braves 7
1947 New York Yankees Brooklyn Dodgers 7 1992 Toronto Blue Jays Atlanta Braves 6
1948 Cleveland Indians Boston Braves 6 1993 Toronto Blue Jays Philadelphia Phillies 6
1949 New York Yankees Brooklyn Dodgers 5 1994 No World Series Played
1950 New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies 4 1995 Atlanta Braves Cleveland Indians 6
1951 New York Yankees New York Giants 6 1996 New York Yankees Atlanta Braves 6
1952 New York Yankees Brooklyn Dodgers 7 1997 Florida Marlins Cleveland Indians 7
1953 New York Yankees Brooklyn Dodgers 6 1998 New York Yankees San Diego Padres 4
SportPics

1954 New York Giants Cleveland Indians 4 1999 New York Yankees Atlanta Braves 4
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers New York Yankees 7 2000 New York Yankees New York Mets 5
1956 New York Yankees Brooklyn Dodgers 7 2001 Arizona Dbacks New York Yankees 7
JOHNNY BENCH 1957 Milwaukee Braves New York Yankees 7 2002 Anaheim Angels San Francisco Giants 7
1958 New York Yankees Milwaukee Braves 7 2003 Florida Marlins New York Yankees 6
1959 Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago White Sox 6 2004 Boston Red Sox St. Louis Cardinals 4
1960 Pittsburgh Pirates New York Yankees 7 2005 Chicago White Sox Houston Astros 4
1961 New York Yankees Cincinnati Reds 5 2006 St. Louis Cardinals Detroit Tigers 5
1962 New York Yankees San Francisco Giants 7 2007 Boston Red Sox Colorado Rockies 4
1963 Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees 4 2008 Philadelphia Phillies Tampa Bay Rays 5
1964 St. Louis Cardinals New York Yankees 7 2009 New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies 6
1965 Los Angeles Dodgers Minnesota Twins 7 2010 San Francisco Giants Texas Rangers 5
1966 Baltimore Orioles Los Angeles Dodgers 4 2011 St. Louis Cardinals Texas Rangers 7
1967 St. Louis Cardinals Boston Red Sox 7 2012 San Francisco Giants Detroit Tigers 4
1968 Detroit Tigers St. Louis Cardinals 7 2013 Boston Red Sox St. Louis Cardinals 6
SportPics

1969 New York Mets Baltimore Orioles 5 2014 San Francisco Giants Kansas City Royals 7
1970 Baltimore Orioles Cincinnati Reds 5 2015 Kansas City Royals New York Mets 5
BRET SABERHAGEN
September/October 2016 59
 7TH INNING STRETCH

POSTSEASON
GRAND SLAMS

SportPics

SportPics

SportPics
SHANE VISTORINO BUSTER POSEY PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT

WORLD SERIES
here have been 18 players, through 2015, who have hit a grand slam in a World Series

T game, with eight of those players achieving the feat as a member of the New York
Yankees. Bill Skowron is the only player to hit a grand slam in a Game 7 while Dave
McNally is the only pitcher to hit a grand slam in a Fall Classic contest.

PLAYER, TEAM DATE OPPOSING PITCHER, TEAM GAME INNING

Elmer Smith, Indians Oct. 10, 1920 Burleigh Grimes, Dodgers 5 1
Tony Lazzeri, Yankees Oct. 2, 1936 Dick Coffman, Giants 2 3
Gil McDougald, Yankees Oct. 9, 1951 Larry Jansen, Giants 5 3
Mickey Mantle, Yankees Oct. 4, 1953 Russ Meyer, Dodgers 5 3
Yogi Berra, Yankees Oct. 5, 1956 Don Newcombe, Dodgers 2 2
Moose Skowron, Yankees Oct. 10, 1956 Roger Craig, Dodgers 7 7
Bobby Richardson, Yankees Oct. 8, 1960 Clem Labine, Pirates 3 1
Chuck Hiller, Giants Oct. 8, 1962 Marshall Bridges, Yankees 4 7
Ken Boyer, Cardinals Oct. 11, 1964 Al Downing, Yankees 4 6
Joe Pepitone, Yankees Oct. 14, 1964 Gordie Richardson, Cardinals 6 8
Jim Northrup, Tigers Oct. 9, 1968 Larry Jaster, Cardinals 6 3
MOOSE
Dave McNally, Orioles Oct. 13, 1970 Wayne Granger, Reds 3 6 SKOWRON
Dan Gladden, Twins Oct. 17, 1987 Bob Forsch, Cardinals 1 4
Kent Hrbek, Twins Oct. 24, 1987 Ken Dayley, Cardinals 6 6

SportPics
Jose Canseco, As Oct. 15, 1988 Tim Belcher, Dodgers 1 2
Lonnie Smith, Braves Oct. 22, 1992 Jack Morris, Blue Jays 5 5
Tino Martinez, Yankees Oct. 17, 1998 Mark Langston, Padres 1 7
Paul Konerko, White Sox Oct. 23, 2005 Chad Qualls, Astros 2 7

EDGAR
MARTINEZ
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ince the League Championship Series began in 1969, only 17 players have connected

S for a grand slam in a LCS game, with Mike Cuellar of the Orioles the only pitcher to
accomplish the feat. Robin Ventura (+) was credited with only a single because after the
winning run crossed home plate, teammates mobbed Ventura before he reached second base.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
PLAYER, TEAM DATE OPPOSING PITCHER, TEAM GAME INNING
Mike Cuellar, Orioles Oct. 3, 1970 Jim Perry, Twins 1 4

SportPics
Don Baylor, Angels Oct. 9, 1982 Moose Haas, Brewers 4 8
Jim Thome, Indians Oct. 13, 1998 David Cone, Yankees 6 5
Ricky Ledee, Yankees Oct. 17, 1999 Rod Beck, Red Sox 4 9
Johnny Damon, Red Sox Oct. 20, 2004 Javier Vazquez, Yankees 7 2
J.D. Drew, Red Sox Oct. 20, 2007 Fausto Carmona, Indians 6 1
Nelson Cruz, Rangers Oct. 10, 2011 Ryan Perry, Tigers 2 11 JAMES
David Ortiz, Red Sox Oct. 13, 2013 Joaquin Benoit, Tigers 2 8
Shane Victorino, Red Sox Oct. 19, 2013 Jose Veras, Tigers 6 7
LONEY
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PLAYER, TEAM DATE OPPOSING PITCHER, TEAM GAME INNING
Ron Cey, Dodgers Oct. 4, 1977 Steve Carlton, Phillies 1 7
Dusty Baker, Dodgers Oct. 5, 1977 Jim Lonborg, Phillies 2 4
Will Clark, Giants Oct. 4, 1989 Greg Maddux, Cubs 1 4
David Durochik/SportPics

Ron Gant, Braves Oct. 7, 1992 Bob Walk, Pirates 2 5

Gary Gaetti, Cardinals Oct. 10, 1996 Greg Maddux, Braves 2 7
Andres Galarraga, Braves Oct. 11, 1998 Dan Miceli, Padres 4 7
SportPics

Robin Ventura, Mets + Oct. 17, 1999 Kevin McGlinchy, Braves 5 15

Aramis Ramirez, Cubs Oct. 11, 2003 Dontrelle Willis, Marlins 1 4

60 September/October 2016
DIVISION SERIES
uring the first 21 years of the League Division Series, there have been 22

D players who have hit a grand slam in a LDS contest, with eight being hit in the
American League and 14 in the National League. Adam LaRoche and Lance
Berkman are the only players to hit a grand slam in the same game from opposing teams.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
PLAYER, TEAM DATE OPPOSING PITCHER, TEAM GAME INNING
Edgar Martinez, Mariners Oct. 7, 1995 John Wetteland, Yankees 4 8
Bobby Bonilla, Orioles Oct. 1, 1996 Paul Shuey, Indians 1 6
Albert Belle, Indians Oct. 4, 1996 Armando Benitez, Orioles 3 7
Paul ONeill, Yankees Oct. 4, 1997 Chad Ogea, Indians 3 4
Jim Thome, Indians Oct. 7, 1999 John Wasdin, Red Sox 2 4
Troy OLeary, Red Sox Oct. 11, 1999 Charles Nagy, Indians 5 3
Vladimir Guerrero, Angels Oct. 8, 2004 Mike Timlin, Red Sox 3 7
Robinson Cano, Yankees Oct. 1, 2011 Al Alburquerque, Tigers 1 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE
PLAYER, TEAM DATE OPPOSING PITCHER, TEAM GAME INNING
Mark Lewis, Reds Oct. 6, 1995 Mark Guthrie, Dodgers 3 6
Devon White, Marlins Oct. 3, 1997 Wilson Alvarez, Giants 3 6
Ryan Klesko, Braves Sept. 30, 1998 Matt Karchner, Cubs 1 7
Eddie Perez, Braves Oct. 3, 1998 Rod Beck, Cubs 3 8
Edgardo Alfonzo, Mets Oct. 5, 1999 Bobby Chouinard, Dbacks 1 9
Reggie Sanders, Cardinals Oct. 4, 2005 Jake Peavy, Padres 1 5
Adam LaRoche, Braves Oct. 9, 2005 Brandon Backe, Astros 4 3
Lance Berkman, Astros Oct. 9, 2005 Kyle Farnsworth, Braves 4 8
Kaz Matsui, Rockies Oct. 4, 2007 Kyle Lohse, Phillies 2 4
James Loney, Dodgers Oct. 1, 2008 Ryan Dempster, Cubs 1 5
Shane Victorino, Phillies Oct. 2, 2008 CC Sabathia, Brewers 2 2
Paul Goldschmidt, Dbacks Oct. 4, 2011 Shaun Marcum, Brewers 3 5
Ryan Roberts, Dbacks Oct. 5, 2011 Randy Wolf, Brewers 4 1
Buster Posey, Giants Oct. 11, 2012 Mat Latos, Reds 5 5

PAUL
KONERKO
WILD CARD GAME
G
iants shortstop Brandon Crawford was the first player to hit a grand slam
in a postseason wild card game. The wild card matchup first became part
of the Major League Baseball playoff format in 2013.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PLAYER, TEAM DATE OPPOSING PITCHER, TEAM GAME INNING
Brandon Crawford, Giants Oct. 1, 2014 Edinson Volquez, Pirates - 4

BRANDON
CRAWFORD
SportPics

September/October 2016 61
 QUICK QUIZ ANSWERS FROM PAGE 45

The 13 Hall of Famers with a multi-homer game

1 in World Series play are Harry Hooper, Babe
Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Duke Snider, Yogi
Berra, Mickey Mantle, Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Perez,
Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson, Eddie Murray and
Gary Carter.

The two Hall of Famers who homered in their

2 first World Series at-bat are Mel Ott and Brooks
RobinsonOtt in 1933 for the Giants and Robinson
in 1966 with the Orioles.

Paul Konerko of the White Sox was the last player

3 to hit a grand slam in a World Series game. In
Game 2 of the 2005 Series, Konerko connected off
Astros pitcher Chad Qualls to help Chicago to a 7-6
victory.
The eight pitchers to win the Cy Young Award
4 and have a 10-strikeout game in the World Series
during the same season are Bob Turley, Yankees
(1958); Sandy Koufax, Dodgers (1963, 1965); Bob Gibson,
Cardinals (1968); Tom Seaver, Mets (1973); Steve Carlton,
Phillies (1980); John Smoltz, Braves (1996); Randy
Johnson, Dbacks (2001) and Roger Clemens, Yankees
(2001).
GARY Besides Cap Anson, Ichiro Suzuki and Nap Lajoie,
CARTER
SportPics
5 the two other 3,000-hit-club members not to collect
a hit in World Series competition are Rod Carew and
Rafael Palmeiro.
In addition to Luis Gonzalez, the five players to
6 hit a World Series home run after clubbing 50 or
more in the regular season are Babe Ruth, Yankees
(1921, 1927, 1928); Mickey Mantle, Yankees (1956);
Roger Maris, Yankees (1961); Albert Belle, Indians
(1995) and Greg Vaughn, Padres (1998).
PAUL Billy Southworth was the first manager to win two
KONERKO
David Durochik/Chicago White Sox
7 World Series titles with the Cardinals (1942, 1944).
The seven catchers to win a Gold Glove and a
8 World Series championship in the same season
are Bill Freehan, Tigers (1968); Johnny Bench, Reds
(1975, 1976); Lance Parrish, Tigers (1984); Charles
Johnson, Marlins (1997); Bengie Molina, Angels
(2002); Yadier Molina, Cardinals (2011) and Salvador
Perez, Royals (2015).
Besides the Yankees (11), the 10 teams to win
9 five or more pennants from 1969 through 2015
are the Cardinals (7), Mets (5), Reds (5), Dodgers (5),
Phillies (5), Giants (5) and Braves (5) in the National
League. The As (6), Orioles (5) and Red Sox (5) are the
five-time pennant winners in the A.L.
Yogi Berra is the only player to collect 10 or
10 more RBI in a World Series for a winning
team; he totaled 10 for the Yankees in the 1956 Fall
Classic against the Dodgers. Five players have record-
ed at least 10 RBI in a losing effort: Bobby Richardson,
Yankees (12 RBI in 1960); Mickey Mantle, Yankees
SportPics

(11 in 1960); Ted Kluszewski, White Sox (10 in 1959);

Sandy Alomar Jr., Indians (10 in 1997) and Mike
62 September/October 2016
Napoli, Rangers (10 in 2011).