World Series Memories (cont'd) - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

World Series Memories (cont’d)

Continuing last week’s blog about World Series memories, next up is the 1988 Dodgers series against the Oakland A’s. In the first game, with the Dodgers down by a run in the bottom of the ninth with two down, former Tiger and NL MVP Kurt Gibson pitch hit, hobbled by a sore knee. He limped up to the plate, worked the count to 3-2, then blasted a home run over the right field wall in Dodger Stadium to win the game in a walk off, rather limp off! He made his famous fist pump pictured above while rounding the bases. I loved announcer Jack Buck’s claim, “I can’t believe what I just saw!” as Gibson rounded the bases. On that momentum, the Dodgers went on to win the Series 4 games to 1.

When the 1989 World Series began, it was notable chiefly for being the first-ever World Series matchup between the two San Francisco Bay Area teams, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics. Before the start of Game 3, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred (having a magnitude of 7.1). The earthquake caused substantial property and economic damage in the Bay Area and killed 63 people. Fans filing into the stadium saw Candlestick sway visibly during the quake. Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered the game to be postponed. Game 3 was finally played 10 days later on October 27, and Oakland won that day and the next to complete a four-game sweep.

The next year in 1990, the Reds had a great season, setting an NL record by staying in first place in the division for the entire season or "wire-to-wire", which had been done only one other time, by my 1984 Detroit Tigers. To get to the World Series, the Reds won the National League West division by five games over the Los Angeles Dodgers, then defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, four games to two, in the National League Championship Series. They played the defending champion Oakland A’s in the World Series. My wife and I were in the Bay area at the time, so we attended the 4th game in Oakland to witness the Reds completing a sweep to win the Series.

There was no World Series in 1994, due to players strike that ran from Aug, 1994 to April, 1995. At issue was a proposed salary cap by the owners in concert with revenue sharing to keep small market teams like the Reds solvent. Replacement players were used in regular season games, but Detroit Tigers manager Sparky Anderson was put on an involuntary leave of absence as he refused to manage replacement players. In Cincinnati, one fan paid for a plane to fly over Riverfront Stadium that carried a banner reading "Owners & Players: To hell with all of you!" Arguably, the largest impact was to the Montreal Expos. The strike was considered the start of the franchise's downfall in Montreal, eventually leading to them relocating to Washington, D.C. to become the current Washington Nationals.

The strike left a bad taste in my mouth for years! I literally stopped watching games on TV or attending in person. I have no single baseball memory until 2006 when the Tigers, led by manager Jim Leland, won the AL pennant recording 95 wins during the regular season after 12 straight losing seasons. Maybe that’s what really caused me to lose interest in baseball?

Anyway, the 2006 Tigers re-energized my interest in the game big time. One of the more memorable games during the season occurred on May 20, when visiting Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. hit a grand slam that put the Reds up, 6–5, but with two outs in the ninth inning, Curtis Granderson hit a home run that tied the game, and the Tigers won in extra innings. The first round of the playoffs pitted the Tigers against the dreaded Yankees, and the Yankees were held scoreless for 21 straight innings over 3 games. Then to win the AL pennant, the Tigers swept the Oakland A’s, with Maglio Ordonex hitting a walk-off 3 run homer in the 4th game. Here’s a video of that dramatic homer. The ball landed about 3 rows in front of us in left field. What a thrill. But alas, the Tigers bombed in the World Series, losing in 5 games against the Cardinals. Wonder who’s championship ring is being auctioned on eBay for $20k?

In 2012, the Tigers again made it to the World Series, but were swept by the Giants. The highlight of the season was Miguel Cabrera’s triple crown, the first since Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat in 1967. Cabrera had a .330 average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI’s. He went on to win the 2012 AL Most Valuable Player Award, the AL Hank Aaron Award and the AL Silver Slugger Award. Also, starters Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer finished first and second among the American League strikeout leaders, with 239 and 231, respectively. You might ask how does a team get swept in the World Series with those two pitchers and a triple crown winner on the team? Tiger fans are still asking that question a decade later!

The 2016 Cubs-Indians World Series was especially memorable as the Cubbies won their first championship since 1908! Many consider the 2016 World Series to be one of the best of all time, due to the underdog story behind both teams, the games being tightly contested, and the series going the full distance. The deciding seventh game, won by Chicago 8–7 in ten innings, was the fifth World Series Game 7 to go into extra innings, and the first since 1997 (which, coincidentally, the Indians also lost).The Cubs became the sixth team to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win a best-of-seven World Series. Game 7 had a rain delay in the 10th inning, to everyone’s chagrin except me! For I was in a hospital bed after rota-rooter TURP prostate surgery earlier that day and I couldn’t sleep. So watching the World Series into extra innings and after a rain delay was just what the doctor ordered, as I had to get up and walk around the nurses station periodically during recovery, perfectly timed between innings.

With the Cubs winning, the Indians (aka Guardians!) became the owners of MLB's longest active championship drought, which stood at 68 years, and currently stands at 74 years. Their last title came in 1948. Thought maybe this was the year to break the drought, but again the dreaded Yankees rallied from behind to take the ALDS. Next year!

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