#21: Jays Clinch A.L. East, 1992
Detroit Tigers (1) at Toronto Blue
Jays (3)
Saturday, October 3, 1992
SkyDome
Winning
the American League East was beginning to become old hat for the Blue Jays.
Their first title came in 1985 and then another arrived in 1989. In 1991, with
a lineup that was changed over, they made the post-season again. However,
another ALCS loss followed after so much more was expected.
1992
was supposed to be the year that everything fell into place, but the A.L. East
title was a little more difficult to capture than expected. A slump in August
saw them fail to put any distance between themselves and their closest
contenders, the Baltimore Orioles, but the good news was that the Orioles were
slumping themselves.
As
August turned into September, the Jays turned their fortunes around. Meanwhile
the Orioles continued to fade and the Milwaukee Brewers jumped into second
place. They would harass the Jays for the rest of the season, but the closest
they ever came was 2 ½ games behind. Still, they didn’t let up the pressure,
forcing the Jays to play in a play-off like atmosphere that would forge them
into a battle-hardened unit that would need that aggression once October rolled
around.
For
a while, it looked like the Jays may clinch while they weren’t playing. After
beating the Tigers 8-7 on the final Friday of the regular season, they watched
the Brewers play the Oakland A’s (who had already clinched the A.L. West
Division). The Brewers managed to win their Friday night game, 3-2 in 11
innings and keep the pressure on Toronto.
Needing
a victory to clinch, Juan Guzman would be the starting pitcher for the Jays,
while David Haas would take the mound for Detroit. After the Tigers went 1-2-3
in the top of the first, the Jays got to Haas. An infield hit for centre-fielder
Devon White got things started. One out later, right-fielder Joe Carter hit a
long fly ball to centre field that bounced off the facing of the first deck for
a two-run bomb.
With
the 2-0 lead in his pocket, Guzman dissected the Tigers’ hitters over the game’s
first eight innings. The young right-hander, in his second season in the
Majors, only allowed one hit (that coming in the sixth inning) while walking
three and striking out nine. While many had been questioning who the third
starter would be for Toronto once the play offs began (Jack Morris and David
Cone were the first two), Guzman left no doubt with his performance that he
would be the guy.
Toronto
would add to their lead in the bottom of the fifth when designated hitter (and
birthday boy) Dave Winfield would come to the plate with the bases loaded and
one out. He grounded into a force play (Carter out at second) but shortstop
Manny Lee crossed the plate to make the score 3-0.
After
that, the Jays would score no more runs in the game but there was one particular
play that is worth mentioning. In recent weeks, it has been discussed that MLB
is considering making the intentional walk automatic, meaning no more four
balls being tossed outside. If that’s the case, we’ll never see plays like this
again.
In
the bottom of the seventh, Toronto second baseman, Roberto Alomar, was on
second with Dave Winfield at the plate and first base open. Rather than pitch
to Winfield, the Tigers decided to give him a free pass. Pitcher John Kiely was
not paying attention to Alomar at second, and on his third pitch wide of the
strike zone, Alomar took off and stole third base. He never scored in the
inning, but it was another example of the baseball smarts that Alomar
possessed.
Blue
Jays’ closer Tom Henke came on in the ninth to close out the game and the
division, but he struggled to do the job he had successfully done for so many
years. With one out, two singles and a walk loaded the bases. The tying run was
now on first. Tiger batter Rob Deer popped out to Alomar making the Jays one
out away from another title.
But
Henke walked in a run and was replaced by closer-in-waiting, Duane Ward.
Detroit’s Dan Gladden was the batter and the Tigers had the tying run on
second. Ward got Gladden to pop up the ball to first baseman John Olerud, who
squeezed the ball in his glove. The Jays were champions of the east once more.
While
the celebration occurred on the field, the Jays and their fans wanted more.
This was nice, but they had been here before, only to flounder in their
previous three attempts in the postseason. However, this team was more prepared
than ever, thanks to Milwaukee breathing down their necks over the final few
weeks of the season, and would prove capable of winning much more later in the
month.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
No comments:
Post a Comment