Orioles and Baltimore's Victory Celebration

This 1969 team has become the darlings of the cyber world. What they couldn't celebrate in real life, they began celebrating on computers everywhere. As in real life this squad was the prohibitive favorite, but opposite of real life they actually won it all. For years, when interviewed, Frank Robinson said, "The Mets didn't win that World Series, we lost it...the better team did not win". From most accounts that would be viewed a sour grapes, but not taken in the context of when it was said and the team that it described.

In 1969 the Orioles won 109 games and viturally cruised to the first ever AL East crown. In the first ever ALCS they made easy work of a powerful Minnesota Twins team in 3 straight. In game 1 of that ill fated World Series Don Buford led off with a homer and the O's never looked back defeating Mets ace Tom Seaver. That's when overconfidence and a nasty slump took over. 4 games later the Miracle Mets were sipping the bubbly and planning for a parade in the canyon of heroes.

Was it over confidence ? Did they take the Mets too lightly ? Did Earl Weaver choke ? Did the God's of baseball smile on the Amazin's ? We'll never know. What we do know is that this team won 3 straight AL pennants and year in year out from the early 60's until the early 80's produced a contender.

From this team 3 Hall of Famer's came. Brooks Robinson did it all with his glove and timely hitting, Frank Robinson won a triple crown, an MVP in both leagues and provided veteran leadership. Jim Palmer ascended to become the dominant pitcher in the AL from the mid 60's well into the early 80's. In fact he is the only player to play on all 3 of their World Championship squads (1966, 1970, 1983).

During this project I gained a real appreciation for the team that Frank Cashen assembled. 4 Gold Glove fielders (Brooks, Belanger, Blair and Johnson) and a pitching staff that had 3 aces (Palmer, Cuellar and McNally). Overlooked was their bullpen, which had three guys with sub 2.00 ERA's (Watt, Hall & Richert).

Common thought is that the 1954 Indians were the best team to lose the World Series. After managing this team for almost 50 games and competing against that Cleveland squad I have to disagree. My honest feeling is that if the Mets didn't pull off the greatest sports miracle of all time, this Baltimore Orioles team would have to be considered the greatest team to have ever played. It was so easy managing them. You couldn't help but make the right moves. Sometimes they won despite my decisions.

I thank them all for allowing me the privilege to stroll down memory lane and to gain a greater appreciation for their history. I can't wait for KOD2 to start so we can create some for Distantreplay memories !!!

KOD WS Game 6: O's soar past Dodgers 11-5 to clinch series

Game 6: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD

The series headed back east to the stadium on 33rd street, a place that the Orioles have called home since 1953 when the fledgling St. Louis Browns franchise relocated to Baltimore to become the Orioles. The 1960's were a time of prosperity for the Oriole franchise, and the 1969 team just might have been the franchises strongest offering. Snake bit in real life the 1969 O's will forever be tagged with the label "chokers", because of the way they were swept by the 1969 Miracle Mets. While winning a sports sim championship can never erase those bad memories, it can give credence to the fact that this was a powerhouse team with few if no weaknessess.

The Orioles put their hopes on the shoulders of 23 year old fireballer Jim Palmer, who brought an 8-0 KOD record into the game. Los Angeles had their backs up against the proverbial wall, so they entrusted their fate to one of the franchises most clutch performers, Johnny Podres. For those of you not up on your baseball history, Podres at the tender age of 23 tossed a complete game shutout to close out the 1955 World Series and give Brooklyn it's only World Championship.

The battle lines have been set. We have a young fireballer just ready to enter his prime vs an old crafty veteran who has been there and done all that. An intersting sidebar to all this revolves around the added pressure on Palmer's shoulders. You see if Baltimore doesn't close the series out here in game six they will be forced into facing the imortal Koufax with one of their spot starters. In one of the greatest feats of clandestine operations the Orioles were able to hide from the media the fact that Dave McNally was nursing a sore elbow and could not be counted on to pitch much if he was to start game 7. Palmer knew this and so did his ballclub.

The old axiom when facing an underdog is to put them away early and not let them hang around and gain confidence. The Orioles didn't pay attention to this detail and after 2 innings there was still no score. After Palmer dispatched the Dodgers in the top of the third the Orioles shifted into gear and began the onslaught.

For the next 6 innings Baltimore would score at least 1 run. In the bottom of the 3rd they scored two to break the ice. Andy Etchebarren singled and was bunted over to second by Mark Belanger. Palmer, who is adept with the lumber, pushed him up one more base by grounding out to the right side. With 2 outs Don Buford can through with an RBI single and Davey Johnson followed that up by doubling him in to stake the O's to a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish.

The O's scored 1 in the fourth off of Podres when Boog Powell doubled and Brooks Robinson singled him home. the fifth saw the floodgates open as well as Podres departure. Baltimore chased the veteran lefty with 4 big runs. Podres gave up 7 runs in 4 innings worth of work. The big blow came off the bat of slugger Boog Powell who hit a towering grand slam into the right field bleachers.

The O's would tack on another run in the 6th to increase their lead to 8-0. At this point the outcome wasn't in question. The only question was what the final score would be and how cold could the champagne get. Palmer was cruising along until he gave up 3 runs to LA in the top of the 7th. LA might have been down, but they are a prideful organization that will keep on fighting until the final bell sounds. At this point Palmer looked either disinterested or tired. In either case he should have been removed from the game, but manager Weiss felt a sense of loyalty to his ace and wanted to see him close out the game and the series. Finally by the 9th inning Weiss went to the pen and brought in lefty Pete Richert, who by chance was also on the LA roster...go figure ? Richert, got Maury Wills to fly to right, struck out Willie Davis and ended the series by having Tommy Davis fly out to Don Buford.

Needless to say the crowd bum rushed the field and the players. Redemption is sweet, victory is sweeter. The Orioles answered their critics by posting an incredible 38-8 run in the KOD innaugrual season. The were the pre-season and post-season favorites and they didn't disappoint, even though their detractors said otherwise. Hats off to the '62-Dodgers who won and improbable pennant and tested the O's like no team had before.

Congratulations to the 1969 Baltimore Orioles - KOD World Champions !!!

KOD WS Game 5: Cuellar outduels Drysdale as O's take a 3 games to 2 lead

Game 5: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

With the series knotted at 2 both teams went back to their aces and expected to see a replay of the series opener. Neither starter would disappoint. In 1962 Don Drysdale emerged as Los Angeles ace posting 25 regular season wins. Mike Cuellar, who was aquired from the Astros the previous year (1968), found his grove in 1969 and posted 23 W's. Drysdale is a big intimidating left hander who would sooner put a ball in your ribs than put one over the plate. Cuellar is an unassuming control pitcher who owns the black and changes speeds faster than a Shelby Mustang on the Pacific Coast Highway.

The Orioles were scratching their heads looking for answers after being virtually shut down by journeyman Stan Williams in game 4. Could they reproduce their game 3 offensive explosion (17 runs) or would their bats again remain silent ? In the opening frame the O's jumped on Drysdale for two quick runs. After lead off man Don Buford lined out to second, Davey Johnson doubled to left and scored on the next at bat when Frank Robinson lined a homerun into the left field pavillion, which was quite reminicient of the shot he hit in the 1966 series vs these same Dodgers. Drysdale, like most power pitchers found his slot and got the final two outs in the first.

The key to beating a great one like Drysdale is to get to him early before he finds his grove. The O's got to him early, but would 2 runs be enough ? Cuellar was his normal controlling self. LA did manage to get a run off of him in the second as centerfielder Willie Davis crushed a solo shot to the opposite field.

The game remained 2-1 in favor of the O's until the top of the 4th when Frank Robinson led off with a clean single. Lumber first baseman Boog Powell doubled down the right field line to score Robinson all the way from first. Paul Blair stepped to the plate and hit a hot smash to second, which normally sure handed Junior Gilliam booted. With nobody out the O's had runners at the corners and were threatening to break it open. Mere mortals would crack under this type of pressure. Drysdale is no mortal. Summoning courage from within "Double D" was able to get the next 3 hitters to either pop out or ground out, thus ensuring that Baltimore would not get that much needed extra run. In that inning the O's lost their starting catcher Ellie Hendricks to an undisclosed leg injury. Andy Etchebarren was summoned to replace Elrod to start the 5th.

The bottom of the 5th saw the Dodgers inch closer as Darryl Spencer notched a 1 out single to left. Cuellar then threw a low curve that went past Etchebarren, who was charged with a passed ball. Spencer moved up to second and manger Weiss began second guessing himself for not putting Clay Dalrymple behing the plate instead of Etch. That passed ball would prove costly as Johnny Roseboro promptly delivered an RBI double to cut the Oriole lead to 1.

From this moment on, both aces dug their heels in and went on cruise control. Fast forward to the bottom of the 9th and we see the Dodgers in desperate straits trying to get that ellusive run to tie the game up and force extra innings where they have been so successful in this series. Junior Gilliam attempted to lay down a bunt and catch the O's napping. Etchebarren pounced on the ball and nailed Junior by a stride for the first out. All world Tommy Davis promptly singled to left with one out. Jumbo Frank Howard came to the plate with the ability to win it with one might swing from his potent bat. Instead Frank put a dribbler in front of the plate, which backstop Andy Etchebarren promptly bungled and threw past Boog Powell at first. With runners at 2nd and 3rd and one out the O's decided to stick with Cuellar and let him win it. Willie Davis, who already homered, fought off one of Cuellar's best offerings and lined to Mark Belanger at short. Down to their last out LA's hopes rested on the shoulders of Ron Fairly, a great contact hitter. With the classic matchup of contact hitter vs control pitcher the control pitcher won out. Fairly lined a 2-2 pitch to his opposite number, Boog Powell, to end the game.

This classic 1 run matchup gave the fans everything that they wanted. The Orioles were ecstatic to take 2 of 3 in Hollywood and head home with the hopes of closing out the series in 6. LA planned to start left Johnny Podres, who is a clutch performer as evidenced by his game 7 shutout of the Yankees in the 1955 series. Baltimore pins its hopes on top dog Jim Palmer.

KOD WS Game 4: LA evens it up with 2-1 win in 10th

Game 4: 1969 Baltimore Orioles at 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

The series had moved to Chavez Ravine for games three, four and five. After being embarrassed in front of their home town fans in game three, the Dodgers were to see what they were made of in game four. Would it be just a matter of time before the Orioles hoisted the championship trophy, or could this club somehow regroup after the game three pounding and make it a series?

Down two games to one, the Dodgers chose swingman Stan Williams to take the hill for game four. Manager Roberts considered youngster Pete Richert for the start, but decided to go with the veteran Williams. The result? All Williams did was pitch a 10 inning complete game two hitter, resulting in a 2-1 Dodger victory and squaring up the series at two games apiece. The only run Williams surrendered was in the fifth, and scored on a wild pitch.

Meanwhile Oriole lefty Dave McNally was being quite stingy himself, giving up only a sixth inning sac fly to Tommy Davis, which plated Maury Wills. Both pitchers looked strong. Williams was a bit wild, but was able to pitch out of any threats save for the wild pitch he uncorked that allowed a run. But he stayed strong throughout the game. In the top of the 10th, he struck out two of the three O’s batters, getting the other out on a harmless fly ball.

Dick Hall had been summoned to the Oriole hill in the eighth, and was still on the mound in the 10th when Johnny Roseboro led off with a single. Manager Roberts took a chance and decided to stick with Williams, allowing him to attempt to bunt Roseboro over to second. Williams did the job. Maury Wills then singled, but Roseboro was held at third. Hall was then replaced by a somewhat older Pete Richert, now holding down a spot in the Baltimore bullpen. Oriole Richert got Jim Gilliam to pop out to short, but team MVP Tommy Davis then rifled a ringing single to center to send Roseboro home with the winning run. -contributed by Mike Roberts-

KOD WS Game 3: O's bomb Koufax 17-10

Game 3: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles California

The series shifted coasts as game 3 moved to O'Malley's brand new playground in Chavez Ravine. With the series knotted at 1 game apiece the underdog Dodgers were feeling exceptionally confident. If not for a 9th inning comeback by Baltimore the Dodgers could, and probably should, have been up 2 games to none. On the hill for Los Angeles was emerging superstar Sandy Koufax. The Brooklyn born lefty came into his own in 1962 after years of promise and little dividends. The Orioles countered with the unhearalded Tom Phoebus. Pundits saw this game as LA's chance to take a 2-1 lead in the series as Koufax at times can be unhittable.

Unfortunately Koufax did not have it. The O's scored 10 runs off of him in the first 2 innings, which led to his removal from the hill. Phil Ortega came on in relief and fared no better, giving up 7 runs over 4 innings. Phoebus himself, was not spectacular as he yielded 6 runs over 6 innings. Mop up man Marcelino Lopez came in and yielded 4 more runs over the remaining 3, but the deficit was way too large for LA to overcome. No one could have predicted that the Orioles offens, which so far was held in check, would explode for 5 runs in each of the first 3 innings.

The hitting star for the O's was Brooks Robinson, who blasted 3 homers and accounted for 9 runs batted in. Usually known for his leather Brooksie, who was having a miserable offensive season to this point, finally broke out in a big way. Catcher Andy Etchebarren went 4 for 5 and Boog Powell and Frank Robby each hit the long ball. Wally Moon, who entered the game as a pinch hitter, went 3 for 3 and third sacker Andy Carey had three hits as well.

The Dodgers will pin their hopes on game 4 starter Stan Williams and the O's will hand the ball to lefty Dave McNally.

KOD WS Game 2: BAL 3, LA 2

Game 2: 1962 LA Dodgers @ 1969 Baltimore Orioles

The heavily favored Orioles came into game 2 knowing that they were in a MUST win situation. Teams that lose the first 2 games of a 7 game series do not have a great track record when it comes to righting the ship and winning it all. On top of that little tidbit this team starter hearing the rumblings from the media and fans alike regarding how they lost the 1969 Series to the underdog Mets and they were well on their way to doing the same vs the Dodgers.

Ace righty Jim Palmer took the mound and had the world on his shoulders. His opponent was the cool lefty Johnny Podres who incidentally was the 1955 World Series MVP as he led Brooklyn to their only World Championship.

Both hurlers were posting goose eggs on the board as neither team could score. The O's finally broke Podres' spell and got a single run in the bottom of the 6th. Palmer worked out a lead off walk and moved to second on a sacrifice from lead off hitter Merv Rettenmund. Davey Johnson then hit a sharp grounder to second that was booted by Larry Burright and the O's were in business. Frank Robinson singled Johnson over to 3rd and the makings of a big inning seemed to be in place. That's when the coolness of a Podres comes into play. The crafty lefty struck out Boog Powell and got Paul Blair to fly to left to limit the damage to a lone run.

Palmer was in cruise control as he gave up only 3 hits well into the 8th where he opened the inning by striking out Dodger pinch hitter Wally Moon. All looked right for the O's, even as pinch hitter Duke Snider singled up the middle. Maury Wills followed Snider's hit up by grounding into a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning. Palmer looked good to go, when he made a mistake and hung a curve to fleet footed Willie Davis who promptly sent it out of Memorial Stadium. With 2 outs in the top of the 8th the Baltimore faithful became silent. Most fans will tell you that they weren't throwing in the towel, but this reporter will vouch for the fact that at least 20% of them began heading for the exits.

The bottom of the 8th saw the O's get a runner on, but the didn't pose any real threat. The Dodgers didn't do much in their half of the 9th. 3 more outs stood in the way of LA going home up 2-0 over the heavily favored O's with all the momentum in the world on their side.

Paul Blair, who has been clutch all season, lead off the 9th with a solid single to center off of Dodger fireman Ron Perranoski who came on for one out in the 8th. Perranoski promptly induced Brooks Robinson to hit into a force play, which came very close to being a double play. With 1 out and a man on first catcher Andy Etchebarren singled to move Brooksie into scoring position. Mark Belanger battled Perranoski and finally singled to right to score Robinson and move Etch over to 3rd. The game was now tied and life began to breathe back into the stadium on 33rd st. Curt Motton came up to pinch hit for reliever Dick Hall and barely missed a game winning hit as he lined to short. With 2 outs and 2 on switch hitter Don Bufford strolled to the plate. Bufford didn't crack the starting lineup, but did pinch hit for Rettenmund in the 7th. On a 2-1 pitch Perranoski's fastball caught a little bit too much of the plate and entirely too much of Bufford's bat as it wound up on the grass in centerfield as Etch scored the winning run.

Pandemonium broke lose. The series was tied. The O's have life ! We'll see you all for game 3 in Chavez Ravine !

KOD World Series Game 1: '62-LA 4, '69-BAL 3 (11 inn)

Game 1: 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers at 1969 Baltimore Orioles

The first KOD World Series opened in Baltimore at venerable Memorial Stadium. The powerhouse Orioles cruised through the American League regular season, and advanced to the Series by sweeping the 1954 Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. The Dodgers won the National League regular season despite a .500 record, then took the NLCS three games to one over their cousins from the 1988 Los Angeles club.

The weather was warm and humid for game one. Rains briefly halted play in the fifth inning, but that was the only delay in the game due to weather. Dodger ace Don Drysdale took the hill for the gray-clad Dodgers, opposed by crafty Mike Cuellar for the home nine.

Cuellar had a little trouble settling in, as Jim Gilliam coaxed a one out walk in the first, and Tommy Davis singled. Big Frank Howard then singled, plating Gilliam and sending Tommy Davis to second. Willie Davis also singled, loading the bases as Tommy Davis had to stop at third on the sharply hit ball. Ron Fairly then grounded a ball to the left of Brooks Robinson, who scooped and threw out Fairly with Davis scoring. Cuellar escaped further damage by inducing Daryl Spencer to also ground out to Brooksie.

The Orioles countered with a tally in the third on a run scoring double by Mark Belanger, which drove home Boog Powell who had singled earlier. The Dodgers got the run right back in the third on another Gilliam walk, a Tommy Davis ground out with the runner moving, and Willie Davis single an out later.

Baltimore tied it at 3 all in the fourth as Boog Powell hit a tremendous home run to right center field following a Frank Robinson walk.

The game remained 3-3 through nine innings, each team squandering some scoring opportunities. Dave Leonard was on the hill for Baltimore in the 10th, and set the Dodgers down one, two, three. Don Buford greeted Ron Perranoski with a lead off single in the Oriole 10th. Buford was then sacrificed to second, and Frank Robinson was intentionally passed to put runners at first and second with one out. Boog Powell came up with a chance to be a hero, but Perranoski induced him to ground out to Fairly, the runners advancing to second and third. Manager Roberts then signaled to the bullpen for righthander Larry Sherry to face Paul Blair with the game on the line. Blair flew out to Howard in right, ending the threat.

The Dodgers then took the lead in the top of the 11th when John Roseboro singled, and pinch-hitter Duke Snider reached back into his past for some magic, and tripled into the right field corner. The Dodgers squandered a potential insurance tally when they could not get Snider home, despite him perched at third with no outs. But Sherry retired the Orioles in order in the bottom of the 11th to bring home the win, 4-3.

'62-LA wins NL Pennant in 4 over '88-LA

Game 1, Dodger Stadium Game 1 matched up to gutty righthanders, Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser. Both pitchers did not have their "A" stuff but competed hard in this one. Both teams scored a pair of runs in the first inning with 2 run homeruns. Pedro Guerrero hit a 2 run shot in the first for the 88 Dodgers and in the bottom of the first inning, Willie Davis retaliated with a 2 run blast of his own. The series was on! Steve Sax hit his second homerun of the season in the third inning. The score after sax's homerun was 3-2 in favor of 88 Dodgers. The Reagan era Dodgers added three more runs in the fifth inning on the power of Mike Marshall's three run tater, his 4th of the year. 1962 Los Angeles scored two runs in the bottom half of the fifth on the combination of walks, singles, and outs. After 5 innings, 6-4. The final score was 6-5 as Alejandro Pena and Jay Howell came in relief to seal the victory in game 1. Orel Hershiser(3-4) earned the win. Hershiser went 7 innings and surrendered 5 runs on 7 hits but he gave up a season high 8 walks.

Game 2, Dodger Stadium, Johnny Podres and Tim Leary were the starters in game 2. The 1962 Dodgers got out to an early lead and held on for most of the game. The game was close for most of the game and became closer in the 9th inning as the 88 squad tied the game at 3. In the bottom of the 9th, with Brian Holton on the mound, the first two Dodgers were retired. However, a walk to Ron Perranoski was followed with a single by Maury Wills. Willie Davis hit a basehit to right field to score Perranoski and knot the series up at 1-1. The winning pitcher was Perranoski and loss went to Brian Holton (0-4).

Game 3, Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax and Tim Belcher faired up in game 3 and this one was not even close. The 1962 club pounded out 15 hits and got out to a 7-0 lead by the fifth inning. Belcher stayed in and was taken out after 6 innings but surrendered 7 runs on 10 hits. Sandy Koufax (3-3) evened up his record as he threw 7 innings and struck out 6 batters. The 1962 Dodger offense was lead by catcher Johnny Roseboro as he hit a three run homerun in the 5th inning. Tommy Davis contributed 2 hits that accounted for 4 RBI. Final score...62 Dodgers 9...88 Dodgers 3. 62 Los Angeles leads the series 2 games to 1.

Game 4, Dodger Stadium, The 1962 Dodgers had a chance to wrap up the series and advance to the Championship against the 1969 Orioles. For the 1988 Dodgers, it was do or die. Veteran Don Sutton got the start for the 88 club and swing man Stan Williams began the game for the 1962 team. The 62 Dodgers wanted to squelch any 88 Dodger hopes as they knocked out Don Sutton in the first inning as the first 6 Dodgers reached base on hits and Sutton was gone after 6 batters. Sutton's line for the day 0 innings pitched.....5 runs on 6 hits. Brian Holton came in relief and stopped the bleeding. Holton pitched very well in relief as he threw 5.2 innings of 2 hit and no run ball. However, this was not enough as the Dodger offense took a day off. The 1988 team managed 4 runs on 9 hits for the day but they could not get over the early lead the 1962 team got off to. Tommy Davis had 3 hits and 1 RBI to lead the Dodgers in the game that wrapped up the NLCS for the 1962 squad. The final score 1962 Dodgers 6....1988 Dodgers 4. Stan Williams (3-0) earned the win with 6 innings of 5 hit ball and allowed 3 runs and struck out 6 batters. Perranoski, Sherry, and Richert threw 3 innings of solid relief to ice the victory for the Dodgers. Congrats to the 1962 Dodgers as they played a strong series.

'69 O's sweep '54 Tribe to clinch AL Flag

Good pitching beats good hitting. The 1969 O's have both and then some. With a starting rotation that features 3 ace's (Palmer, Cuellar and McNally) the O's are a tough team to beat. Cleveland's staff is nothing to sneeze about either, but they unfortunately did not have their rotation setup due to having played the '61 Yankees in the ALDS, where Early Wynn and Bob Lemon both took to the hill.

The opener saw a classic matchup of HOF'ers with Jim Palmer matching up against Rapid Robert (Bob) Feller. Both pitchers were on their game. Palmer's was A+. Feller ran out of gas in the 7th and yielded 3 big insurance runs as the O's won 5-0. Palmer fanned 10 Indian batters and yielded only 3 hits enroute to the complet game shutout. Baltimore struck first in the opening stanza after Don Bufford walked and Paul Blair singled him home a few batters later. The O's scored again in the 3rd after Mark Belanger led off with a walk and Brooksie brought him home with a sac fly. As the late great Bob Murphy would say, "oh those bases on balls...they'll get you everytime". Feller was pitching fine, but this O's lineup is strong from top to bottom and they are very selective hitters. The 8th inning saw Feller laboring, but Cleveland's manager kept him in since his opposing number was scheduled to lead off. With nothing left in the tank Feller yielded a lead off double to Palmer who scored along with Mark Belanger on a Frank Robby triple. For good measure Boog Powell hit a sac fly to knock Frank in and increase the lead to 5-0 where it would stay.

Game 2 saw a classic pitcher's duel between lefty Mike Cuellar and his unlikely opponent Al Houtterman. Both went the distance, but Houtterman wound up on the short side of the ledger as Cuellar tosses a 3 hitter. The O's would score all of their runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings respectively, but with the way Cuellar was dealing he didn't need more. With 2 outs in the bottom of the second catcher Ellie Hendricks drilled one to deep left center to break the ice and put the O's up 1-0. In the 3rd catlyst Don Bufford lead off with a double. Frank Robby singled him over to 3rd and big John Wesley "Boog" Powell hit a sac fly to bring him in and put the Tribe on the brink of elimination.

Game 3 saw the series shift to the "mistake by the lake". The Tribe had reason to feel confident as ace Early Wynn would be on the hill. The O's were trotting out their 3rd ace in a row, lefty Dave McNally. Cleveland struck first as they loaded the bases and Al Smith hit a sac fly to bring in Hank Majeski. This was Cleveland's first run of the series, and sadly for the hometown faithful their last. Unable to capitalize on a 1 out bases loaded scenario the Tribe had to hope that Wynn could keep the O's in check and be near perfect, and for 6 innings he was. The top of the 7th saw Baltimore find a chink in Wynn's armor and tag him for 2 runs, which is all they would need to put away the Tribe's anemic offense. Big guns Frank Robinson and Boog Powell lead off with singles. Paul Blair bunted them up a base and the stage was set for Brooks Robinson to deliver. With everyone sitting on the edge of their seats Wynn got Robinson to ground to short. The ball was hit neither hard, nor soft enough for the runner to advance, so with 2 out the O's looked to be in trouble. Sensing the moment of destiny was at hand Wynn threw a ball that got too much of the plate and back up catcher Andy Etchebarren delivered a big 2 run triple that took all the air out of Municipal Stadium.

With the score 2-1 the O's lifed McNally for a pinch hitter and put the ball in their bullpen's hands. Dick Hall blanked the Tribe in the 8th and faced 1 batter in the 9th to give way to lefty Pete Richert who got the one lefty he faced. That put the ball in the hands of closer Ed Watt who made things interesting by walking Al Rosen and giving up a 2 out single to Al Smith. Cleveland went to the bench and brought in Vic Wertz to pinch hit for Dave Philley. Wertz hit a bullet to gold glover Mark Belanger deep in the hole at short, who calmly flipped it over to Davey Johnson who was covering second to record the final out of the series.

The O's put together a fabulous 3 game sweep and now sit back and wait to see which Dodger team they will face in the World Series.

'54 Tribe sweeps '61 Bombers to advance to ALCS

In the opener starter Early Wynn went the distance and gave up only 1 run as the Tribe scored 7 off of Ralph Terry and rolled to an easy victory. Larry Doby was the hitting star with a huge 3 run clout in the Indians 4 run 5th inning. The victory put the Bombers on the brink of elimination in this best of 3 series.

Wynn kept the Yankee hitters off stride all day and fell into a nice comfortable grove once he got that big lead to protect.

Game 2 saw the second place Yanks needing a win desperately to extend the series to a 3rd and final game. That was not going to happen. the offensive explosion continued for Cleveland in this game as they banged out 13 runs, while the Bombers could only muster 4. Yankee starter Rollie Sheldon went 2 innings and was chased from the hill after yielding 6 runs. Whitey Ford was summoned from the bullpen to help stop the bleeding but he too was inefective as the Tribe added 5 more (4 unearned). Curiosly both Maris and Mantle both had 3 hits off of Cleveland starter Bob Lemon, but neither could find a way to hit the long ball.

Larry Doby was again the hitting star as he slammed two homers and knocked in 4 runs. In total the Tribe had 16 hits (the Bombers had 12) as they eliminated the mighty Yankees in a clean sweep to head to the ALCS and face the even mightier Orioles.

'88-LA defeats '86-NYM in classic 3 game playoff

Game 1 at Dodger Stadium,Dodgers 5.......Mets 1 During the regular season, the Mets had little trouble with the Dodgers as they defeated the blue crew 3 games out of 4. However, that was then and this was now. The Dodgers are one of the hotest teams in the league right now and threw Tim Belcher on the mound as he went against Met ace Dwight Gooden. The Mets got on the board first with a run in the third inning as spark plug Lenny Dykstra drove in George Foster with a basehit. The score held until the bottom of the 7th. Jeff Hamilton was hit by a Gooden pitch to lead off the inning. Dave Anderson followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. Tim Belcher was due up but was lifted for pinch hitter Tracy Woodson. Woodson singled up the middle to score Hamilton to knot the game up at 1. The hottest Dodger Steve Sax came up next and untied the game with a hit to hit as Anderson scored. After Scioscia grounded out Gibson walked. Roger McDowell came in to relieve a tired Gooden. Marshall hit a deep fly ball to right field to score Sax from third to make the score 3-1 Dodgers. Franklin Stubbs then lined a double down the right field line for two more runs to make the score 5-1 after 7 innings. Brian Holton and Tim Crews came in to nail down the victory for the Dodgers in game 1. Winning pitcher was Tim Belcher (5-2). Gooden(1-5) received the lost.


Game 2, Shea Stadium Mets 7.....Dodgers 4. Game 2 turned into an exciting game as the Mets evened the series with a late rally to keep their playoff hopes alive. A pair of southpaws got the start. Sid Fernandez for the Mets and John Tudor of the Dodgers. It looked like Los Angeles was going to settle the series quickly as they erupted for two runs in the first inning on a 2-RBI double by third baseman Tracy Woodson (who has driven in 3 runs in the series so far). Los Angeles plated two more runs in the 5th inning on a throwing error by Fernandez and an RBI hit by Steve Sax. Going into the bottom of the 5th inning LA lead 4-0. The Mets would not go down without a fight. New York scored 2 runs in their half of the 5th inning to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Dodgers. In the seventh inning, the Mets got to John Tudor as five straight batters reached base. Strawberry lined a game tying 2 RBI double to center field and Gary Carter drove in the go ahead run with a base hit to left field. On the single, left fielder Kirk Gibson bobbled the ball allowing another run to score. New York added an insurance run in the 8th inning to make the final score 7-4 and a series tie. The victory went to Terry Leach (1-0) and John Tudor(2-1) suffered his first loss of the year.


Game 3, Shea Stadium The deciding game was played on an overcast day and matched up veteran pitchers Don Sutton of Los Angeles and Bobby Ojeda for the Mets. Lenny Dystra walked to lead off the first for the Mets and then promptly stole second base. Gary Carter drove him in with a line drive basehit. Both pitchers were on top of their games as they held the opposing offenses in check. In the fourth inning, .207 hitting Alfredo Griffin tied the the game with a duck snort down the left field line to score Mike Marshall who singled earlier. That would be the only scoring for the next 11 innings as relief pitching dominated both teams. Steve Sax lead off the Dodger 16th inning with a double to left. The next batter was Mike Shelby. Shelby bunted the ball in front of the plate. It looked like an easy play for catcher Gary Carter but his throw to third base floated over Ray Knight's head allowing Sax to score the go ahead run. Brian Holton was on the hill for the Dodgers in the bottom of the 16th inning and surrendered a lead off hit to Keith Hernandez. Gary Carter swung at a split finger fast ball and hit into a 6-4-3 double play. The Dodgers only needed one out to advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs but Strawberry singled followed by a Ray Knight hit that sent Strawberry to third. Runners at first and third with two outs and rookie slugger Kevin Mitchell due up. On a 2-1 slider, Mitchell was fooled and rolled a routine grounder to Griffin at shortstop, who cleanly fielded the ball and threw to first well ahead of Mitchell to end this hard fought game. Final score in 16 innings...Dodgers 2...Mets 1. Winning pitcher Brad Havens (1-0) and Holton earned his second save. Doug Sisk (0-3) got the lost. The 1988 Dodgers will face the 1962 Dodgers in the best of 5 games NLCS.
-contributed by Joey Scigliano-

Cinderella '88-Dodgers win 1 game playoff vs '79-PIT

Pittsburgh - (AP): On a cold, windy, overcast night in Pittsburgh, the Dodgers and Pirates matched up to see who would play the 1986 Mets in the wild card series. The Dodgers came in with a 4 game winning streak but still were considered underdogs. Los Angeles had a well rested Orel Hershisher going while Pittsburgh had their ace John Candelaria on the hill. Pittsburgh scored first on a Tim Foli RBI in the second but was quickly tied during the top half of the third inning on a Kirk Gibson RBI single to plate Steve Sax.

With 2 outs in the third inning, the rain came down with a steady down pour and the game was halted for 103 minutes. When play resumed, Canderlaria could not come back out and was replace by veteran hurler Dave Roberts. Unfortunetly, Roberts did not have his stuff and was belted around for 6 runs on 7 hits in 2.1 innings pitched. Orel Hershisher threw 7 innings of 1 run, 3 hit ball to earn his second victory and improve to 2-4 on the year. Roberts got hung with the loss and is now 1-2. Final score: Dodgers 8....Pirates 1. The Dodgers will now face off against a powerful 1986 Mets club in a best of 5 series. On the regular season, the Mets had little trouble with the Dodgers as they took 3 of the 4 games played.

3 way tie for 2 Wild Card Spots in NL forces playoff

In an unusual case of mediocrity 3 NL teams finished tied for the 2 Wild Card slots with identical 17-19 records. The 1986 NY Mets split their final series as did the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1988 Dodgers got to this point by pulling off the improbable sweep of the 1981 Dodgers, who were favored in that series.

The playoff to get in the playoff will be decided by the league's tie breaking system.

The 1986 NY Mets will receive the bye and thus get awarded the 1st wild card slot. This is because they were tied with the 1988 LA Dodgers with 9-7 divisional records, but the Mets beat the 1988 Dodgers 3 of 4 times head to head. The 1979 Pirates finished with an 8-8 divisional record, so they automatically were relegated to the play in game.

The league conducted a coin flip (as per rules) and determined that the 1979 Pirates will host the play in game at three Rivers Stadium.

After the 2nd wild card slot winner is determined the Wild Card round playoffs will commence the following day.