Top Of The Third: September 2015

Wednesday 30 September 2015

The Five Most Memorable Tie-breaker Games

With only a handful games left in the 2015 regular season, and with most of the playoff races settling down, it looks like the race that will go right down to the wire is the race for the American League Wild Card’s second slot. With so many teams still in the hunt, there is a possibility that we could see two teams tied at season’s end. That would lead to a one-game tiebreaker game to determine the Wild Card entrant.

In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been 14 tie-breakers. I will give my opinion on the top five most memorable single-game tie-breaker games. Please note that the 1951 Dodgers/Giants game, where Bobby Thompson hit the shot world round the world (“The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”) will not be included as that was a best of three series used to break the tie. I will focus on the one-game tie-breakers.

5. September 28, 1998—Giants at Cubs for NL Wild Card

While the big focus on the 1998 Chicago Cubs was Sammy Sosa’s battle with Mark McGwire of the Cardinals for the all-time home run king title, the Cubs silently produced a playoff contender, finishing with a record of 89-73, identical to the San Francisco Giants. The teams would square off at Wrigley Field in Chicago to determine the NL Wild Card winner.

After four scoreless innings, the Cubs scored two in the fifth, two in the sixth and added another in the eighth to take a 5-0 lead into the ninth inning. The Giants, having struggled all night against Cubs’ starter Steve Trachsel, pushed across three runs to cut the deficit to two. But Cubs’ closer Rod Beck was able to get the final two outs of the game, preserving Chicago’s 5-3 win.

The Cubs would be swept in the NLDS by the Atlanta Braves.

4. October 2, 1978—Yankees at Red Sox for the AL East

After trailing Boston by 14 games in mid-July, the Yankees went on a torrid pace in the final 2 ½ months of the season and actually led the Red Sox by a game going into the final week, but the teams ended up tied atop the AL East with 99-63 records and would meet in Fenway Park in Boston to break that tie.

Carl Yastrzemski homered for Boston in the second and Jim Rice added an RBI single in the sixth to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. However, in the top of the seventh, light-hitting shortstop, Bucky Dent, hit a three-run home run to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Both teams would add a pair of runs but Yankee closer, Rich Gossage, got Yastrzemski to pop up with two out and the tying run on third in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yanks a 5-4 win.

The Yankees would defeat the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS in four games and then beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in six to take the World Series. Bucky Dent was the World Series’ Most Valuable Player.

3. September 30, 2008—Twins at White Sox for the AL Central

When the regular season ended on September 28, the Twins, with a 88-74 record, held a ½ game lead over the Chicago White Sox. The Sox would have to play a make-up game against the Detroit Tigers which had been rained out earlier in the month. Chicago won 8-2 setting up the showdown against Minnesota at US Cellular Field in Chicago.

The game was a pitcher’s duel as White Sox starter John Danks and his Twins’ counterpart Nick Blackburn, matched zeros through six innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Chicago DH Jim Thome led off the inning with a home run, the first run of the game. Chicago held that 1-0 lead going into the ninth. Sox closer Bobby Jenks got the three outs needed and Chicago won the tiebreaker and the Central Division crown.

They would lose to the Tampa Bay Rays, three games to one, in the ALDS.

2. October 6, 2009—Tigers at Twins for the AL Central

For the second year in a row, the AL Central crown would be decided by a tie-breaker. Again, the Minnesota Twins were involved, this time against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers held a seven game lead on September 6, and after the two teams split a four game series at the end of the month, the Tigers held a two game lead with three to play. The Twins swept the Kansas City Royals and Detroit lost two of three to the White Sox. Both teams finished with an 86-76 record and would meet in Minnesota’s Metrodome to break the tie.

The Tigers scored three in the third, high-lighted by a two run homer by Miguel Cabrera. The Twins slowly pecked away at the deficit and eventually scored two in the seventh to take a 4-3 lead. The Tigers tied it in the eighth and neither team scored in the ninth.

In the top of the tenth, the Tigers took a 5-4 lead when Brandon Inge doubled in Don Kelly. However, the Twins tied it in the bottom half and had a chance to win the game on a sacrifice fly. However, Tigers’ left fielder Ryan Rayburn fired a strike to home plate after catching the ball, and catcher Gerald Laird tagged out Alexi Casilla to end the inning with the score tied at five.

Neither team scored in the eleventh and the Tigers failed to dent the dish in the top of the twelfth. With one out and two runners on base in the bottom half, Casilla hit a ground ball through the right side of the infield, scoring Carlos Gomez and giving the Twins the game 6-5 and the AL Central title.

The Twins would be swept in the ALDS by the New York Yankees.

1. October 1, 2007—Padres at Rockies for the NL Wild Card

The Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League West Division by one game—with a 90-72 record—ahead of both the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres (89-73). The two teams would meet at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado to determine which team would win the wild card. Incidentally, the New York Mets were only one game behind Colorado and San Diego at 88-74.

The Rockies struck for two in the bottom of the first when Kaz Matsui scored on a sac fly by Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki scored on a single by Garrett Atkins. Yorvit Torrealba hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second to extend Colorado’s lead to 3-0.

The Padres stormed back with five runs in the third, in large part due to a grand slam by Adrian Gonzalez, but then Helton homered in the bottom half of the inning to close the gap to 5-4, and Matt Holiday singled in Tulowitzki in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at five.

The Rockies then took a 6-5 lead in the sixth when Seth Smith scored on a Matsui sac fly, but the Padres tied it in the eighth when Geoff Blum scored on a double by Brian Giles; 6-6.

After a scoreless ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth, the Padres scored two in the top of the thirteenth when Scott Harrison hit a two run home run. For the bottom of the inning, the Padres had Trevor Hoffman (at that time the Major League leader in career saves) to close the door on the Rockies’ season.

Matsui and Tulowitzki doubled. Helton followed with a triple that tied the game at eight. After an intentional walk, Jamey Carroll hit a line drive to right field that was caught by Giles. Holliday tagged and tried to score. He slid head first and was called safe to give the Rockies the 9-8 walk off victory and the NL Wild Card.

Controversy surrounded the final play at the plate, particularly in the media. Some say Holliday never touched the plate. But the throw on the play bounced away from Padres’ catcher Michael Barrett, so a tag was never applied either. Replays of the slide were inconclusive.

The Rockies swept the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS and then went on to sweep the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Unfortunately, in the World Series, the tables were turned and Colorado got swept by the Boston Red Sox.

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Tuesday 29 September 2015

Remembering the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays 30 Years later: Part 6

Part 6: The ALCS (Games 4-7)

With the Royals back in the series, the Blue Jays sent ace Dave Stieb back to the hill—on three days’ rest—for the crucial Game 4. The Royals countered with lefthander Charlie Leibrandt. For the second straight start in the series, Stieb would pitch brilliantly, but he didn’t get the run support he had in Game One.

He would pitch 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out six. He did, however walk seven batters (one of the walks was with the bases loaded scoring the only run Stieb allowed) and was relieved in the seventh by closer Tom Henke. Leibrandt shut out the Jays over eight innings and entered the ninth with a 1-0 lead and an opportunity to help the Royals tie the series at two wins a piece.

Damaso Garcia, the Jays’ second baseman, led off the ninth inning with a walk. Centre fielder Lloyd Moseby lined a double to right field, and the speedy Garcia easily scored from first base to tie the game at one. Leibrandt was then replaced on the mound by Royals’ closer Dan Quisenberry. The first batter he faced, George Bell, singled to centre moving Moseby to third, with still none out in the inning. Jays’ DH Al Oliver lined another double to right scoring Moseby and Bell to give the Jays a 3-1 lead.

Henke struggled in the bottom of the ninth—walking two batters—but was able to get two fly ball outs to Moseby in centre and a pop up to shortstop Tony Fernandez and the Jays had the game and a 3-1 lead in the series. If played under the previous format, the Jays would have already clinched the pennant and a trip to the World Series. But the best of seven format meant they needed one more.

Despite getting eight hits off of Kansas City starter Danny Jackson in Game 5, the Jays were unable to push any runs across the plate and ended up losing 2-0. Jimmy Key was the tough-luck losing pitcher for Toronto, not getting any run support. The Royals scored a run in the first on an RBI ground out by George Brett and then scored their second run on a sacrifice fly by Darryl Motley. Kansas City had staved off elimination but now had to go Toronto for Game 6 and (if necessary) Game 7.

Doyle Alexander started Game 6 for Toronto and quickly gave up a run in the top of the first. The Jays responded with a run in the bottom of the inning when Rance Mulliniks grounded into a double play, scoring Garcia from third. The Royals took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, but again the Jays tied it in the bottom of the inning when a Moseby ground out scored Fernandez.

The Royals scored another run in the fifth and then added two in the sixth. The Jays only managed one run the rest of the game, leaving the final score at Kansas City 5, Toronto 3. The series was tied, the 3-1 lead gone.

Before Game 7, the Jays and Royals found out who their opponent would be in the World Series if they won the decisive game. The St. Louis Cardinals, after falling behind 2-0 in games to the Los Angeles Dodgers, had won four straight to capture the National League flag.

Dave Stieb would start his third game of the series and with the Jays bats struggling as they had been the past few games, it was suggested that Stieb would have to shut the Royals out if Toronto was to advance to face the Cardinals.

A Jim Sundberg single in the second inning drove in the first Royals run of the game with Pat Sheridan denting the dish. 1-0 Royals. In the fourth, Sheridan homered, upping the score to 2-0. It was starting to look bleak until the bottom of the fifth when the Jays cut the lead to 2-1. Damaso Garcia reached base on a single and first baseman Willie Upshaw doubled him home to give the team and the fans some life and hope.

In the top of the sixth, Stieb got Royals’ centre fielder Willie Wilson to fly out to Moseby in centre. He then walked Brett and hit Hal McRae with a pitch. After a ground ball forced Brett out at third, Steve Balboni walked, loading the bases with two out. The batter was catcher Jim Sundberg. He took a Stieb pitch and hit it high in the air to right field. Jesse Barfield went back…..and back….and back…and looked up. The ball hit the top of the fence and bounced high in the air. By the time it came back down, still in the field of play, and Barfield fired it back into the infield, three Royals had scored making the score 5-1. Stieb was taken out of the game and Sundberg would later score on a single to give the Royals a 6-1 lead.

The Jays failed to score in the sixth, seventh and eighth. They came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, still down by five runs. With one out, Barfield singled and Fernandez doubled. Garcia grounded out, allowing Barfield to score. The batter was Moseby. He hit a ground ball to second baseman Frank White who tossed the ball to Balboni for the final out. The Royals won 6-2 and had come back from a three games to one deficit to advance to the World Series.

My heart was broken. To this day, it still hurts. I still have memories of walking into my classroom the next morning and seeing that World Series poster staring me in the face. Oh, what could have and what should have been. The Jays, on paper, were the better team, but what they didn’t have was the experience that the battle-tested Royals had. There was still optimism as the team was still young and would only get better. But it would be another four years before the Jays would visit the post season again, and a good chunk of the ’85 team would be gone: Alexander, Garcia, Barfield, Upshaw, Jim Clancy, Garth Iorg, Oliver and Cliff Johnson, just to name a few. And manager Bobby Cox would resign after the 1985 season to go to Atlanta to become the general manager before moving back into the dugout and lead the Braves on the incredible run they had from 1991 to 2005.

The Royals would go on to win the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. As had been the case in the ALCS, Kansas City trailed three games to one but rallied to win three in a row to capture the first and only World Championship in team history. The Royals would not make another trip to the postseason until 2014, a long 29 years.

I’ve come to appreciate what the Royals did as the years have gone past. I consider George Brett one of my favourite players of all time and I still remember the way Frank White used to drop perfect bunts down the third base line and beat them out for base hits. Dan Quisenberry’s side arm delivery still resonates in my memory, as does Jim Sundberg’s fly ball bouncing off the top of the right field fence.

But despite the heartache, the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays still is, and always will be, my favourite team in franchise history. They got me hooked on baseball. The pictures in my classroom, the images on TV, listening to games late at night on the radio. All are memories I don’t ever want to forget.

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Monday 28 September 2015

Donaldson's Blast Ends An Incredible Weekend

For most of Sunday afternoon’s game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, it looked like the Jays and their fans would have to be satisfied with taking two of three from the weekend set. After all that wouldn’t be too disappointing as Toronto did clinch their first trip to the postseason. But a 4-1 Tampa lead, with the Jays’ bats, is never considered an insurmountable deficit.

Sure enough, four runs over the last four innings, and solid bullpen work was just the recipe for another Blue Jays’ victory, their 90^th of the season. It’s the first time the team has hit the 90 win mark since their 1993 World Championship season.

It was the long ball that got the Jays back into the game in the bottom of the sixth. After a one-out walk by Edwin Encarnacion, first baseman Justin Smoak hammered a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right for a two-run home run to trim the Tampa lead to 4-3.

A Kevin Pillar double with two out in the eighth scored pinch runner Dalton Pompey to tie the score at four and it was MVP candidate Josh Donaldson who launched a home run ball to left in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Rays.

After an average start by Mark Buehrle, the Jays’ bullpen shut down the Rays for the final three innings. Liam Hendriks, Alex Sanchez and Brett Cecil (who picked up the win) were only touched for one Tampa hit (that was given up by Hendriks.)

Combine this win with the 5-3 squeaker on Friday night and the 10-8 slugfest on Saturday (high-lighted by two home runs by Jose Bautista), and it all translated into a Blue Jays’ sweep on the final home series of the regular season. The Yankees, who took three out of four from the Chicago White Sox, dropped a half-game over the weekend and now sit four games out. Both teams have seven games left to play, leaving the Jays’ magic number at four.

They now hit the road for four games against the Baltimore Orioles and three against Tampa to finish the regular season. The Yankees have four at home against the Boston Red Sox then head to Baltimore for three.

Division Races: Clinches, Magic Numbers and What’s Ahead

American League East: As I mentioned, the Jays have clinched at least the top Wild Card seed and have a magic number of four to clinch the division. The Yankees currently hold down the top Wild Card spot and have a magic number of three to clinch their spot in the postseason.

AL Central: The Kansas City Royals have already clinched the central and are fighting with Toronto to secure the top spot overall in the American League and with it, home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Minnesota Twins are in a tight race with the Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins for the final wild card spot. They currently sit 1 ½ games behind the Houston Astros.

AL West: The Texas Rangers are in first place, but only 2 ½ ahead of Houston after the Astros took the final two games of the weekend set between the two. Texas magic number to clinch the division is five. The Astros hold the second wild card spot, but only have a half-game ahead of the Angels.

National League East: The New York Mets have already won the east and will likely play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. All that’s left is to determine who will have home field advantage.

NL West: The Dodgers lost on Sunday, but have a six game lead over the San Francisco Giants and a magic number of two.

NL Central: The Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs have all assured themselves of a place in the postseason. The Cards are currently in first, but only three games ahead of the streaking Pirates. The Cubs are faltering slightly and cannot catch St. Louis (7 ½ games behind). They will likely have to be satisfied with the second wild card. The Cards magic number to clinch the central over Pittsburgh is five.

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Sunday 27 September 2015

This Day In Baseball History: September 27, 1973

September 27, 1973

It was on this day in 1973 that pitcher Nolan Ryan of the California Angles, strikes out his 383^rd batter of the year, setting a new modern day Major League record for strikeouts in a single season. The previous mark of 382 had been set by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax in 1965. Ryan’s record setting strikeout will come against the last batter he faces during the season, Rich Reese of the Minnesota Twins.

In the game, a 5-4 win by the Angels in eleven innings, Ryan pitched all eleven, striking out sixteen. For the season, along with his 383 strike outs, he also won 21 games, had a 2.87 ERA and finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting to Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles.

Despite a Hall of Fame career that produced 324 wins and a Major League record 5714 strikeouts, Ryan never won a Cy Young Award and 1973 was the only year he finished second.

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Saturday 26 September 2015

This Day In Baseball History: September 26, 1961

September 26, 1961

It was on this day in 1961 that New York Yankees’ right fielder, Roger Maris, hit his 60^th home run of the season, tying another Yankee legend, Babe Ruth for the single season record. Maris was 2 for 4 in the game and hit the record-tying dinger against Baltimore Orioles pitcher, Jack Fisher. The Yankees won the game at Yankee Stadium by a score of 3-2.

Maris would break the record five days later, on October 1^st, also at The Stadium, in a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. Maris’s record of 61 home runs would last for 37 years when it was passed by Mark McGwire (70) of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998, and subsequently passed by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants (73) in 2001.

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Friday 25 September 2015

Remembering the 1985 Blue Jays 30 Years Later: Part 5

Due to the length of the ALCS post, it has been divided into two sections, with the first being published today and the conclusion to be labelled Part 6 and published early next week.

Part 5: The ALCS (Games 1-3)

The 1985 American League Championship Series got underway on a Tuesday night. The Toronto Blue Jays would be facing the Kansas City Royals, champions of the American League’s West Division, for the right to represent the A.L. in the World Series. From 1969 (when the LCS was introduced) through 1984, the LCS was a best three-of-five matchup. For the first time, starting in 1985, it would become a best four-of-seven. This would prove very significant as the series went on.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving (Canada celebrates the holiday usually the second Monday in October) was an important date growing up in Norfolk County, Ontario. It was the first day of the County Fair, which has been held in the town of Simcoe since 1840. All kids in the county’s school system are given the day off so they can attend the fair. Since my dad worked on the day shift in a factory, my brothers and I had to wait until he was done work before we could go to the fair.

We were in one of the display arenas at the fair when I saw a TV that was tuned into NBC and the pre-game show. The Jays starting line-up was being introduced. I immediately forgot about the fair and was focused on the next step of the Jays’ championship run.

There was a little broadcasting controversy that happened before the first game that upset many Toronto fans. NBC colour commentator, Tony Kubek, who had provided colour for the Blue Jays on their regular season games shown on the CTV network, predicted it would be the Royals who would win the series. Toronto fans and media alike thought that Kubek should have picked Toronto due to the fact he had worked with the team all year.

Game 1 was held in Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium. The Jays would be sending their ace pitcher, Dave Stieb, to the mound to face the play-off battle-hardened Kansas City Royals. This was the Royals’ sixth division crown since 1976 (a seventh trip to the playoffs occurred in 1981 during the first-ever division series necessitated by the players’ strike) but so far had been unsuccessful in their bid for the World Series championship. They had been swept in the 1984 ALCS by the Detroit Tigers. The team was led by the bats of third baseman George Brett, second baseman Frank White and outfielders Willie Wilson and Lonnie Smith. The pitchers were led by 21-year old Bret Saberhagen, Bud Black and All-star closer Dan Quisenberry.

Stieb pitched eight innings of shutout ball as Toronto took the first game of the series 6-1. The Royals managed to push across their only run of the game in the ninth off closer Tom Henke. The Jays scored two runs in the second thanks to RBI singles by Ernie Whitt and Tony Fernandez, then added three more in the third on a single by Rance Mulliniks, a bases-loaded walk to Whitt and a Fernandez sacrifice fly. The sixth run came on an RBI ground out by Cliff Johnson in the fourth.

It was a great first effort in the team’s first playoff game and raised the level of expectations going forward. Game two would only heighten that.

Game 2 was an afternoon game next day. Mrs Abby, my fourth grade teacher, dismissed the class that day by telling us the Royals didn’t score in the top of the first and the Jays were coming to bat. Now I would have to sit through the long bus ride home, wondering what was going on in the game.

By the time I got home and turned on the TV, the Royals were up 3-0. Jimmy Key had started the game for Toronto and had given up a two-run homerun to Wilson in the third and an RBI double to Kansas City catcher Jim Sundberg in the fourth.

The comeback started in the bottom of the fourth. After left fielder George Bell reached base on an error, Cliff Johnson double him home to make the score 3-1. Two innings later, a single by right fielder Jesse Barfield would score Bell and pinch runner Lou Thornton to tie the game at three. In the bottom of the eighth, the Jays would take a 4-3 lead after centre fielder Lloyd Moseby singled, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and scored on Bell’s sacrifice fly.

Henke came in to close the game in the ninth. This was his first save opportunity since he surrendered the game-tying home run to the Yankees in the first of the three games on the final weekend of the regular season. Pinch hitter Pat Sheridan, the Royals first hitter of the inning, smacked a Henke pitch over the right field wall to tie the game at four. Neither team pushed across another run in the ninth, so the ALCS Game 2 was going to extra innings.

A controversial single by Willie Wilson (replays seemed to show Lloyd Moseby catching the ball before it hit the turf) started the tenth inning. Wilson would later score on a single by Frank White, putting the Royals ahead 5-4.

In the bottom of the tenth, with closer Quisenberry now pitching for the Royals, Fernandez led off with a single and was moved to second on a ground out. Moseby singled, scoring Fernandez to tie the game. An error on a failed pick-off attempt moved Moseby to second and DH Al Oliver singled to left to bring home Moseby and give the Jays a 6-5 win and a two games to none lead in the series as the two teams shifted their battle to Kansas City for the next three games.

Game 3 was the George Brett show as this time it was the Royals turn to come back. The Jays led 5-2 after a five-run fifth powered by two two-run home runs (Barfield and Mulliniks.) Sundberg hit a solo shot off of Toronto starter Doyle Alexander in the bottom of the fifth, and Brett, who had already homered in the first inning, hit a two-run shot to tie the game at five. The Royals’ super star then led off the eight with a single and eventually scored on first baseman Steve Balboni’s single to give the Royals a 6-5 lead. Royals relief pitcher Steve Farr retired the Toronto batters in order in the top of the ninth and Kansas City won their first game of the series. Toronto now led two games to one.

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Thursday 24 September 2015

Remembering a baseball legend

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra (1925-2015)

I was saddened yesterday morning, as was the entire baseball world—players and fans alike—when I woke up to the news of the passing of baseball legend and New York Yankee great Yogi Berra. Besides being a great baseball player, Yogi was also known for his whimsical and, sometimes, odd quotes that made him sound like an unintelligent goofball, but in reality—when you think about it—made him sound like a master of the English language and a riddler of the human mind.

A lot has been written about Yogi over the past 24 hours, and while I won’t try to re-hash most of it, I will just briefly touch on his career, tell my favourite story I heard about him and end with some of his famous quotations.

He was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Pietro and Paolina Berra, Italian immigrants who had arrived at Ellis Island in New York City in 1909. He served in the US Navy during the Second World War and was a gunner’s mate on the USS Bayfield during the D-Day invasion of France.

His first game for the Yankees was on September 22, 1946 and he would go to play 18 seasons for the Bronx Bombers until the end of the 1963 season. In 1965, he would play four games for the New York Mets. During his career, Yogi played in 2120 games, collected 2150 hits (.285 batting average), hit 358 home runs, and 1430 RBIs and even steal 30 bases. Defensively, he was primarily a catcher (1699 games) and switched to the outfield in the later years of his career.

He was an All-Star for fifteen straight seasons (1948-62) and won three American League Most Valuable Player Awards (1951, 1954 and 1955). He had his uniform number (8) retired by the Yankees in 1972 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame that same year.

Most impressive, though, was his postseason numbers. As a player, he appeared in 14 World Series with the Yankees, winning ten of them, including the New York’s Major League record five in a row from 1949-53. No other player in history has won ten championships (Joe DiMaggio is second on the list with nine). His 75 World Series games played is a record, as is his 259 at bats, 71 hits, 10 doubles and 49 singles. He would later add three World Series championships as a coach in 1969 (with the Mets) and 1977 and 78 (with the Yankees.)

Besides, being a coach, Yogi was also a manager for several years, with the Yankees in 1964 and 1984-85, and with the Mets from 1972-1975.

As for his antics and games with the media off the field, you could write volumes. I will stick to one story as told by the late Frank Gifford in his book “The Glory Game” that detailed the New York football Giants of the 1950s. During those days, both the Yankees and football Giants played their home games in Yankee Stadium (the baseball Giants played in the Polo Grounds) and a lot of the players from the two teams hung out together as most had homes or rented apartments in the Bronx. The hangout was a place called “Toot Shor’s Restaurant.”

On one particular evening, as Gifford tells it, the proprietor of the restaurant walked over to Yogi with author Ernest Hemingway alongside him and made the introductions.

“Yogi,” Toot began. “This is Ernest Hemingway. He’s a famous writer.”

“Glad to meet ya, Ernie,” Yogi exclaimed as he shook Hemingway’s hand. “Which paper you with?”

Again another example of Berra playing dumb, but looking brilliant with his wit.

As for the quotes—again, volumes but I’ll stick to ten. Enjoy.

1. “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

2. “Baseball is 90 per cent mental. The other half is physical.”

3. “You can observe a lot by watching.”

4. “If people don’t want to come to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them?”

5. “So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.”

6. “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.”

7. “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

8. On a player trying to pattern his swing after Frank Robinson: “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”

9. On the 1973 Mets: “We were overwhelming underdogs.”

10. And my dad’s favourite. After miserably failing a test in high school, Yogi’s teacher asked him, “Don’t you know anything?” Yogi's response: “I don’t even suspect anything.”

Truly a character, baseball will miss him, but never forget him.

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Wednesday 23 September 2015

This Day In Baseball History: September 23, 1988

September 23, 1988

It was on this day in 1988 that Oakland Athletics’ right fielder, Jose Canseco, became the first 40-40 man (home runs and stolen bases) in Major League Baseball History. Oakland defeated the Brewers in Milwaukee’s County Stadium in 14 innings by a score of 9-8. Canseco came into the game, already with 40 home runs, but 38 stolen bases. His 39^th stolen base came in the top of the first inning against Brewers’ starter Juan Nieves. He would eventually score on a Mark McGwire single.

Stolen base number 40, came in the top of the fifth, again against Nieves. For the game, Canseco would go 3 for 5 with three runs scored, three RBIs and his 41^st home run of the year. He would hit one more home run during the final week of the season to end up with 42 homers and 40 steals. He would also be voted the American League Most Valuable Player.

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Tuesday 22 September 2015

Remembering the 1985 Blue Jays 30 Years Later: Part 4

Part 4: The Final Week

With one week to go in the regular season, the Jays seemed to have the division all wrapped up with a five and a half game lead over the New York Yankees. All the critics, particularly the American Baseball writers and commentators who didn’t want a team in a Canadian city in the playoffs, had to tune down their predictions that the Jays’ young team couldn’t handle the pressure in a pennant race, and instead tried to put the city of Toronto in a negative twist. They started complaining about how cold it would be in Toronto in October. There were even some who sarcastically suggested that the visitors playing in Exhibition Stadium in the American League Championship Series or World Series would have to pack their snowshoes in order to get better footing on the frozen wintery turf.

None of them bothered to mention that northern cities in the United States, ummm, let’s see, Detroit, New York, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee (I guess I’ll stop there) are also subject to inclement weather in the winter. They also didn’t bother to say that winter in Toronto usually doesn’t start until December, maybe the middle of November at the earliest.

However, nothing could sour the Jays and their fans who were savouring the opportunity to see the team win its first division crown—except the slump the Jays were about to have at the worst possible time.

After sweeping Milwaukee on the second last weekend of the season, the Jays’ record stood at 98-57. The talk was no longer if they could win the division; it was how many wins on the plus side of one hundred could they get.

On the final Monday, the Jays were idle, while the Yankees beat Baltimore 5-4 to pick up a half game and were now five back. On Tuesday, the Yankees beat Milwaukee 6-1 while the Jays lost to Detroit by the same 6-1 score; the lead was down to four games. On Wednesday, the Jays lost again to the Tigers, 4-2, but caught a break when the Yanks lost 1-0 to Milwaukee. On Thursday, the Jays lost again, getting swept by Detroit while the Yankees won, closing the gap to three games.

Things were getting tense in Toronto. The lead was down to three, with three games left to play—against the Yankees. Even though the three games would be held in Exhibition Stadium, Jays’ fans were starting to fear the worst. If the Yankees swept the weekend series, the two teams would be tied, which would necessitate a tie-breaker that would be held on Monday at Yankee Stadium.

Deep breath!

Friday night was the first game. Toronto needed only to win one of three games to clinch the division. Jimmy Key started on the hill for the Jays while the Yanks countered with Ed Whitson. New York opened the scoring with two in the top of the fifth when Bobby Meacham doubled to score Willie Randolph, and Rickey Henderson singled to score Meacham. Yankees up 2-0.

However, after a walk, a single and a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning, Yankee shortstop Meacham misplayed a Lloyd Moseby ground ball and Ernie Whitt and Damaso Garcia both touched home plate to tie the game at two.

The sixth and seventh went scoreless and the Jays pushed ahead the potential division clinching run in the bottom of the eight when Cliff Johnson singled in Moseby to make the score 3-2.

With three outs to go, the Jays had closer Tom Henke on the mound to try and close out the game. Mike Pagliarulo popped out to Garcia at second, and Randolph struck out. The Jays were one out away from clinching. However Yankee catcher Butch Wynegar smacked a Henke pitch over the wall for a home run to tie the game. After a single and a walk, Toronto pitcher Steve Davis replaced Henke and got Yankee batter Don Mattingly to hit a high fly ball to centre field. Moseby camped under and squeezed the ball for the third out—only he didn’t squeeze it. The ball popped in and out of his glove and landed on the turf. The Yankees took the lead on the error and Yankee closer Dave Righetti got the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth. The final score was 4-3 for the Yankees and the lead was down to two.

The optimistic Jays fan could refer to the series in mid-September when the Yankees took the first game of the set but the Jays rallied to win the next three. One could only hope for a similar result.

Doyle Alexander started the second game for the Jays, and made it through the first two innings giving up one single. The Blue Jays hit the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second when catcher Ernie Whitt took Yankee starter Ed Crowley’s pitch over the right field fence for a home run and a 1-0 lead.

After Alexander retired the Yankees one-two-three in the third, Lloyd Moseby and Willie Upshaw hit back-to-back home runs to extend the lead to 3-0. A George Bell sacrifice fly scored Al Oliver and the third inning ended with the Jays out front 4-0.

In the fourth, a Dave Winfield single off Alexander scored Ken Griffey (Sr) to make the score 4-1, but the Jays quickly got that back in the bottom of the inning when Garcia singled in Tony Fernandez.

Alexander gave up a single in both the fifth and sixth, but no runs. It was three up, three down for the Yankees in the seventh and eighth. The Jays scored no more runs in those innings either which brought the game into the nervous ninth with Toronto on top 5-1.

The Toronto starter, looking for a complete game to wrap up the division, got Mattingly to ground out to Upshaw at first for out number one. Winfield flew out to Bell in left for the second out. For the second game in a row, the Jays were one out away from a division title, although this time with a four-run lead instead of one.

Ron Hassey, the Yankee hitter who had hit a grand slam to beat Toronto in the first game in the Bronx three weeks earlier was the batter. Alexander got him to hit a short fly ball to left where Bell squeezed it in his glove and dropped to his knees, threw up his hands and high-fived shortstop Fernandez to start the celebration (see picture above).

The Jays mobbed Alexander and lifted him up on their shoulders to carry him off the field. Toronto went nuts. And so did a little nine-year old watching the game on TV in small town, Ontario. After dinner, I went to the back yard and as the daylight faded into an October evening, I replayed the final out over and over and over again, with me playing the role of George Bell, of course.

On Sunday, the Jays failed in their attempt to win their 100^th game of the season. They were beaten by Yankee knuckleballer Phil Niekro, the victory being the 300^th of his career.

I couldn’t wait to go to school on Monday and talk about the game with all my classmates. I was also looking forward to Tuesday and the start of the American League Championship Series. The World Series ticket poster was another step closer to reality.

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Monday 21 September 2015

Jays Have Trouble With Last Place Sox

It was a classic case of not winning the games you’re supposed to win. It was a frustrating weekend to say the least, as the Boston Red Sox—the last place Boston Red Sox—came into Toronto and took two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays and prevented the AL East leaders from gaining any ground on the Yankees and putting a bigger dent in their magic number.

I say frustrating because all year every other team has been beating up on the Sox but in the past two weeks, the Jays could only take two of the six games from Boston.

Now, getting back to my first point about not winning the games you should be winning, in the final two games of the weekend set, Toronto played more like the team they were before the Troy Tulowitzki trade and a lot less like the team they have been in the two months since. Failing to hit with men in scoring position, making too many errors, and blown leads by the bull pen, all contributed to the unimpressive performance.

Saturday was probably the worst of the two games. Toronto starter R.A. Dickey pitched fairly well, allowing only two runs in his six innings of work. And it seemed like everything was falling into place for another Jays’ win when they were able to score two in the bottom of the eighth to take a 4-2 lead. And then when they loaded the bases in the same inning with only one out, you expected them to tack on a few more insurance runs.

Well, Boston reliever Jean Machi came into the game and threw just one pitch to Toronto batter Ryan Goins. It was grounded to Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia who, with the infield playing in, threw to home for the force out and catcher Blake Swihart fired to first to finish the double play. Rally killed, inning over.

Still, a two-run lead with closer Roberto Osuna on the mound is enough to win the game, right? Well, a double, a home run, a walk, two singles, a wild pitch, an intentional walk and another single were enough to push five Red Sox runs across to turn a 4-2 lead into a 7-4 deficit. Everything that could go wrong that inning did, including the leadoff hitter, Brock Holt—who started the rally with the double—appearing to strike out for out number one, but a foul-tip that wasn’t snagged by Jays’ catcher Russell Martin before it hit the ground seemed to signal that things weren’t going to work out on this day.

Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to close the gap to 7-6 but it was a little bit too late.

On Sunday, it was an early 3-0 Toronto lead that gradually disappeared into a 4-3 Boston. yet another performance reminiscent of the pre-All-Star break Blue Jays. Three errors, the bullpen again failing to shut down the opponents in a tight ball game and a weak one for seven hitting with runners in scoring position. It all led to another wasted performance by a Toronto pitcher as Mark Buehrle pitched well enough for the victory, but a lack of run support for his second straight start meant another no-decision for the lefthander.

Of course, with the disappointment of the last two days, we can’t overlook the job Marcus Stroman did on the mound on Friday night in the Jays’ only victory of the weekend, a 6-1 score. In just his second start of the season after coming off the disabled list less than a week earlier, Stroman justified manager John Gibbons’s decision to keep him in the starting rotation and move Drew Hutchison to the bullpen, by pitching seven innings, scattering six hits while giving up the lone run, while striking out three. It is a positive thing to take away from this weekend that Stroman looks like the pitcher he was last year and seems to have no ill-effects from the torn ACL suffered in Spring Training.

Going forward, the Jays hold a 2 ½ game lead going into the three game Yankee series which starts Monday night. While you could lament that it should be a 4 ½ game lead following the missed opportunities against Boston, it would be better to focus on the Jays still being in first place and ready to take a huge step towards the division crown by having a big series against New York.

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Sunday 20 September 2015

This Day In Baseball History: September 20, 1968

September 20, 1968

It was on this day in 1968 that New York Yankees’ slugger Mickey Mantle, hit the final home run of his career. In a 4-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, Mantle’s homer was his 536^th and came off of Boston starting pitcher Jim Lonborg.

Mantle would play in 2401 games during his career, all with the Yankees, collecting 2415 hits, 1509 RBIs, 153 stolen bases and have a lifetime batting average of .298. In later years, he would say one of his regrets would be not getting his career batting average to .300.

The Mick would play in the World Series with the Yankees twelve times, with the team winning the championship seven of those years. His 18 all-time World Series home runs is still the record, as is his 42 runs scored, 40 RBI and 43 walks. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

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Saturday 19 September 2015

This Day In Baseball History: September 19, 1993

September 19, 1993

It was on this day in 1993 that Atlanta Braves’ lefthander Tom Glavine picked up the victory in the Braves 11-2 win over the New York Mets, his 20^th of the season. Glavine became the first National League pitcher since Ferguson Jenkins in 1973 to win twenty or more games for three consecutive seasons. In picking up the W, Glavine pitched six innings, allowing two runs on nine hits while striking out four Mets’ batters.

He would finish the 1993 season with a record of 22-6 and an ERA of 3.20—the 22 wins leading the National League—but finish third in the Cy Young Award voting behind winner and teammate Greg Maddux (20-10, 2.36) and San Francisco’s Bill Swift (21-8, 2.82).

For his career, Glavine would win 305 games, leading the NL five times, was a ten-time All Star, won two Cy Young Awards (1991 and 1998) and be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2014. He was also the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 1995 World Series, the game that clinched the city of Atlanta’s only professional championship in any of the four major sports.

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Friday 18 September 2015

The AL West: Rangers Sweep Astros; Take Division Lead

Well, I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that—then again, I don’t think too many others were either. At the beginning of the week, I was looking forward to the AL West showdown between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers. What I saw was a team that’s been playing over their head for the most of the year start to fade, while another took a big step towards a division title.

Houston came into the series with a 1 ½ game lead. They had been in first place for most of the season, except for a couple of weeks in mid-July. The Rangers, meanwhile, got off to a slow start and were as many as nine games behind in the middle of July. However, playing some good ball while the two teams ahead of them started to struggle (the other being the Los Angeles Angels) have moved the Rangers into first place with a chance to win the AL West for the first time since 2011.

Game one of the series, on Monday night, was a close one. The score was tied at three going into the bottom of the eight, when Rangers’ designated hitter Prince Fielder, hit a two-run home run to give Texas the lead. Closer Shawn Tolleson retired the Houston batters one-two-three in the ninth for his 32^nd save of the season.

In the second game, the Rangers struck for four in the bottom of the first, but found themselves tied at five going to the bottom of the ninth. Fielder led off the inning with a single and was lifted for pinch runner, Drew Stubbs. After Adrian Beltre singled, moving Stubbs to third, first baseman Mitch Moreland lifted a fly ball to centre field. The out was recorded but Stubbs scored on the sacrifice fly to give Texas a 6-5 win and move into first place for the first time all season.

Game three was a laugher: a 14-3 Texas rout, high-lighted by a six-run first. Fielder led the charge with three hits, including two home runs and five RBIs. Left fielder Mike Napoli and catcher Bobby Wilson also hit home runs for the Rangers.

The fourth and final game of the series was close until the bottom of the seventh. Leading 3-2, Texas added two runs in the seventh and another three in the eight to make the final score 8-2. Rangers’ starting pitcher Colby Lewis pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out three Astro batters to pick up his sixteenth win of the season.

The sweep takes the Rangers from a game and a half down to 2 ½ games in the lead in the Central. The two teams will meet again for a three-game series in Houston’s Minute Maid Park, starting a week from tonight. While Texas seems to be charging towards the post season, Houston is in a free-fall. While they still hold on to the second wild card, they are only a game and a half ahead of the Minnesota Twins. The Angles are closing in, too, now trailing Houston by 2 ½.

The Twins and the Angels meet for four games this weekend, with LA taking the first the first game of the series on Thursday night by a score of 11-8. Houston takes on the last place Oakland Athletics for three, while Texas will host Seattle for three.

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Thursday 17 September 2015

The Race For the NL Central; Division Leaders' Magic Numbers

While I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months writing about the amazing second half of the Toronto Blue Jays (and why not as they are on the cusp of their first postseason berth in 22 years) there may be an even more interesting story to be found in the Central Division of the National League.

Since the All-Star break two months ago, you could tell that there was a good possibility the division would send three teams to the playoffs. But now there’s an even more impressive fact looking us in the eye: the top three teams in the NL Central could very well finish the regular season with the top three records in all of baseball.

It’s true. Let’s look at the St. Louis Cardinals first. They’re the only team in baseball right now with 90 wins (overall record is 91-54) and they’ve been in first place in the division since April 17^th. They’ve led by as many as nine games and never been ahead by less than 2 ½ since April 29^th. They’re currently leading by four. The Cards have been a perennial contender for pretty much the entire 21^st century and have been to at least the National League Championship Series for the past four years. They won the World Series in 2011, lost to Boston in the World Series in 2013 and dropped the NLCS to San Francisco in both 2012 and 2014. They always seem to be competitive and they have to be one of the favourites to end the season as champions.

In second place at the moment are the Pittsburgh Pirates. At 87-58, they would be in first place in any of the other five divisions. As it is, they are four games behind the Cardinals. They’ve done the yo-yo thing this season. They were nine games back on June 28^th, went on a run that brought them within 2 ½ by the All-Star break. Then they dropped to seven back by the middle of August and now they’re closing in on first again. The Pirates have been the top Wild Card team in the past two season (winning the game in 2013 and losing in 2014). They seem destined to play in the game once again this season, but what they’d like is a division title with which comes an automatic trip to the Division Series.

And then we have the Chicago Cubs. Without a World Series title in 1908, and only seven post season trips in the 106 years since, all but one of those coming in 1984 or later. They’re currently sit at 84-61, which would be enough to be leading four of the other divisions (only Kansas City has a better record) but in the NL Central, it’s only good enough for seven games behind the Cards for the lead and three games behind the Pirates for the first Wild Card spot. The Cubs loaded up on free agents prior to the 2015 season and it has, thus far, paid off for them. While they currently hold the second Wild Card spot, they have a comfortable hold on it, 7 ½ games ahead of the defending World Series Champion Giants, and the magic number to clinch it is ten.

The unfortunate thing is that there is no possibility that two teams from the Central will be playing each other for the NLCS. If things stay the way they are, the Pirates and Cubs will play in the sudden-death Wild Card game for the right to get the number four seed for the National League Playoffs, and will be rewarded by playing the number one seed, the Cardinals in the NLDS with the East and West Division winners (most likely the Mets and the Dodgers) playing in the other NLDS series.

However, it would still be fun to see the top three records in all of baseball come out of the same division. We shall see.

Current Magic Numbers (Division Leaders)

American League East: The Toronto Blue Jays lead the Yankees by three games. Their magic number to clinch the division is 15.

AL Central: Kansas City leads the Minnesota Twins by ten games. Their magic number is eight.

AL West: The Texas Rangers lead the Houston Astros by a game and a half. Magic number is 16.

National League East: The Mets lead the Washington Nationals by 7 ½ with the magic number at ten.

NL Central: The Cards lead the Pirates by four. Magic number is 14.

NL West: Dodgers lead the Giants by 7 ½ with the magic number at 10.

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