In my last post I looked at the all time home run leader list's top 12 hitters, and noted how few championships those players had between them. In this post, I want to mention another noteworthy fact about the link between pitching and championships. I will look at this in terms of hitting, however.
If hitting was what wins championships, then one might guess that the highest scoring franchise of all time would have a high number of championships. But one would be wrong. Very wrong. Since its inception, the highest scoring franchise of all time (which also has the most hits of any franchise ever) is also not coincidentally the franchise that has gone the longest without a championship.
That's right. The Chicago Cubs have out-hit and out-scored every other franchise throughout all of baseball history. And they have out-non-championshipped them as well.
(research from Baseball-Reference.com)
Showing posts with label World Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Series. Show all posts
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Monday, December 7, 2015
Pitching Wins Championships
There's an old saying in baseball, "Pitching wins championships." I've believed this to be true, but only because I've assumed it to be true. As I thought about this for the last week, I did some research on the top home run hitters in baseball history and stumbled across an amazing thing. It appears from what I found that pitching really does win championships.
I looked at the stats of the top 12 home run hitters of all time. One of those stats is how many rings each player has. Wow. Here's the list, ranking them in order of home runs, and including the number of seasons played and championships won:
You have quickly noticed that Babe Ruth's ring total is missing from the above chart. I will leave Ruth until last because it serves to prove my point. So, 11 of the top 12 home run hitters of all time have played 229 seasons, hit 7016 home runs, but won only 6 rings between them? Six of these players never won a single ring! Lotsa zeros up there. This is nearly unbelievable.
Now for Ruth. Ruth is the greatest sports star in American history. His 714 is the most recognized stat and record in sports history. He revolutionized baseball, saving it from the damaging Black Sox World Series gambling scandal of 1919. The very next year he hit an all-time record 29 home runs. Then he hit 54 and 59 in successive seasons. He played for the team recognized as the greatest in history, the 1927 Yankees. Ruth won "only" four rings with the Yankees, in 1923, 1927, 1928 and 1932. As much as this - Ruth winning four rings as a slugger with the "Murderer's Row" Yankees - goes counter to my point, something even more eye opening goes to prove it...
In his first five full seasons in the majors, Babe Ruth won three rings AS A PITCHER with the Boston Red Sox, in 1915, 1916 and 1918. Ruth's transition from Boston to New York and from pitcher to hitter only gave him a marginal increase in rings, from three in five seasons to four in sixteen additional seasons. This, my friends, is just one of the reasons why pitching wins championships. Or is it?
I looked at the stats of the top 12 home run hitters of all time. One of those stats is how many rings each player has. Wow. Here's the list, ranking them in order of home runs, and including the number of seasons played and championships won:
Place
|
Player
|
HR
|
Seasons
|
Rings
|
1
|
Barry Bonds |
762
|
22
|
0
|
2
|
Henry Aaron |
755
|
23
|
1
|
3
|
Babe Ruth |
714
|
22
|
|
4
|
Alex Rodriguez |
687
|
21
|
1
|
5
|
Willie Mays |
660
|
22
|
1
|
6
|
Ken Griffey Jr. |
630
|
22
|
0
|
7
|
Jim Thome |
612
|
22
|
0
|
8
|
Sammy Sosa |
609
|
18
|
0
|
9
|
Frank Robinson |
586
|
21
|
2
|
10
|
Mark McGwire |
583
|
16
|
1
|
11
|
Harmon Killebrew |
573
|
22
|
0
|
12
|
Rafael Palmeiro |
569
|
20
|
0
|
Total
|
7740
|
251
|
6
|
You have quickly noticed that Babe Ruth's ring total is missing from the above chart. I will leave Ruth until last because it serves to prove my point. So, 11 of the top 12 home run hitters of all time have played 229 seasons, hit 7016 home runs, but won only 6 rings between them? Six of these players never won a single ring! Lotsa zeros up there. This is nearly unbelievable.
Now for Ruth. Ruth is the greatest sports star in American history. His 714 is the most recognized stat and record in sports history. He revolutionized baseball, saving it from the damaging Black Sox World Series gambling scandal of 1919. The very next year he hit an all-time record 29 home runs. Then he hit 54 and 59 in successive seasons. He played for the team recognized as the greatest in history, the 1927 Yankees. Ruth won "only" four rings with the Yankees, in 1923, 1927, 1928 and 1932. As much as this - Ruth winning four rings as a slugger with the "Murderer's Row" Yankees - goes counter to my point, something even more eye opening goes to prove it...
In his first five full seasons in the majors, Babe Ruth won three rings AS A PITCHER with the Boston Red Sox, in 1915, 1916 and 1918. Ruth's transition from Boston to New York and from pitcher to hitter only gave him a marginal increase in rings, from three in five seasons to four in sixteen additional seasons. This, my friends, is just one of the reasons why pitching wins championships. Or is it?
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Baseball Fans and the Wild Card
I followed the baseball season fairly closely this year, especially the pennant races and post-season. I picked up on some conflicting sentiments that were attributed to fans on behalf of the media.
First, during the pennant races, I frequently heard about how much fans liked the wild card format that baseball has. Now that there are two wild card teams, the fans like it even better. You see, the wild card format creates extra excitement because there are more pennant races than there used to be, and the wild card format allows more teams to be in it at the end. Their regular seasons have more meaning.
Second, during the World Series I frequently heard about how TV ratings were so low. Fans simply weren't interested in a World Series played between two sub-90 win teams. (Both the Giants and Royals were wild card teams.) They wanted the top teams to face each other.
So, let me get this straight. The teams that the fans wanted to see in the pennant races were the teams they didn't want to see in the World Series? Huh? This may seem kinda simplistic, but you can't have teams making the playoffs that have no chance of winning the playoffs.
First, during the pennant races, I frequently heard about how much fans liked the wild card format that baseball has. Now that there are two wild card teams, the fans like it even better. You see, the wild card format creates extra excitement because there are more pennant races than there used to be, and the wild card format allows more teams to be in it at the end. Their regular seasons have more meaning.
Second, during the World Series I frequently heard about how TV ratings were so low. Fans simply weren't interested in a World Series played between two sub-90 win teams. (Both the Giants and Royals were wild card teams.) They wanted the top teams to face each other.
So, let me get this straight. The teams that the fans wanted to see in the pennant races were the teams they didn't want to see in the World Series? Huh? This may seem kinda simplistic, but you can't have teams making the playoffs that have no chance of winning the playoffs.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Reflections on Game 6
2014 World Series Game 6: Kansas City Royals 10, San Francisco Giants 0.
Contrary to what this looks like at first glance, this was as painless a way to lose a game 6 that there is. Why would I say that?
The loss did not prevent the Giants from winning the World Series. And, they lost no emotional energy in the process. The game was over early. Aside from Bochy bringing in Petit for a long relief appearance with the hope of still scoring, it was over. Petit was better suited to start an inning at the beginning of his long relief. As it was, he was called on to put out a fire, then hold the Royals for a long period of time while the Giants came back. When he couldn't put the fire out, Bochy changed strategy.
He switched all of his focus to game 7. He lined up all the pitchers he did not want to appear in any game 7 scenario whatsoever, and used all of them to finish out game 6. The Giants never even scored, so there never was a possibility of losing a heart break game 6. Every run the Royals scored after taking Peavy out was actually meaningless. The crowd was on fire and the Royals were loving every minute of it, but it really was meaningless. They weren't driving a proverbial stake in any further, run by run. Bochy even put in the non-regulars to get WS appearances: Susac, Arias, Duffy.
But the biggest reason game 6 was painless, was that NOTHING BAD HAPPENED. There was no Dusty Baker to give the game ball to a pitcher while the game was still being played. There was no Scott Spiezio. There was no Tim Worrell. There was no career-ending arm blowout by Robb Nen. There was no Candy Maldonado losing a fly ball in the lights, there was no Bill Buckner, Don Denkinger or Steve Bartman. All the infamous game 6 collapses in history were not there. There was no psychological, emotional or physical damage. Just a looking forward to a game 7 with a stacked bullpen...the best bullpen in baseball.
Game 6 was one of the few times in this great game where it cost nothing to start thinking about tomorrow while it was still today.
Contrary to what this looks like at first glance, this was as painless a way to lose a game 6 that there is. Why would I say that?
The loss did not prevent the Giants from winning the World Series. And, they lost no emotional energy in the process. The game was over early. Aside from Bochy bringing in Petit for a long relief appearance with the hope of still scoring, it was over. Petit was better suited to start an inning at the beginning of his long relief. As it was, he was called on to put out a fire, then hold the Royals for a long period of time while the Giants came back. When he couldn't put the fire out, Bochy changed strategy.
He switched all of his focus to game 7. He lined up all the pitchers he did not want to appear in any game 7 scenario whatsoever, and used all of them to finish out game 6. The Giants never even scored, so there never was a possibility of losing a heart break game 6. Every run the Royals scored after taking Peavy out was actually meaningless. The crowd was on fire and the Royals were loving every minute of it, but it really was meaningless. They weren't driving a proverbial stake in any further, run by run. Bochy even put in the non-regulars to get WS appearances: Susac, Arias, Duffy.
But the biggest reason game 6 was painless, was that NOTHING BAD HAPPENED. There was no Dusty Baker to give the game ball to a pitcher while the game was still being played. There was no Scott Spiezio. There was no Tim Worrell. There was no career-ending arm blowout by Robb Nen. There was no Candy Maldonado losing a fly ball in the lights, there was no Bill Buckner, Don Denkinger or Steve Bartman. All the infamous game 6 collapses in history were not there. There was no psychological, emotional or physical damage. Just a looking forward to a game 7 with a stacked bullpen...the best bullpen in baseball.
Game 6 was one of the few times in this great game where it cost nothing to start thinking about tomorrow while it was still today.
Monday, November 17, 2014
D_Y_N_A_S_T_Y
Well, many people are calling the Giants' World-Series-winning ways "Dynasty." Yes, the Giants have dominated this decade, and winning three titles in five years is certainly nothing to write off. Usually, though, dynasties have consecutive championships. But I won't deny the use of the word. I simply put spaces between the letters in my title.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Giants Baseball Primer
For those of you who might be surprised by what you're seeing in the World Series (I'm writing this after game 2 of the 2012 series, with the Giants up two games to none on the Tigers), or this post-season for that matter, I have put together this Giants Baseball Primer to help initiate you to how Giants baseball is played. This can also serve as a refresher course to Giants fans who are familiar with the strange happenings with the orange and black.
First, and foremost, what you are seeing is not an anomaly. This happens all the time. The Giants have been playing this way for a number of years now, and all their post-season accomplishments - however bizarre - have been on national TV with millions of viewers. The Giants are not hiding anything, but all is in plain view.
The Giants have a great pitching staff. Their 2010 World Series champion staff was the best baseball had seen since the 1965 Dodgers. They shut down everybody. They still have most of those pitchers here, and even though they aren't quite as good as in 2010, they can pitch the same way.
Madison Bumgarner shut the Tigers down with a two-hit shutout. He did nearly the same thing to the mighty, mighty Rangers in 2010 game 4. Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton were hypnotized, so it should come as no surprise that the same thing happens to Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.
The Giants have a mediocre lineup. They have the fewest home runs of any team in baseball at home. (But, for some reason, they hit the most road homers in the majors, out-homering their opponents on the road. Go figure.) The Giants are so lame at the plate, they don't know what to do when the bases are loaded. Most teams do better with runners in scoring position, but the Giants do worse. They do what comes naturally to them: they make outs. Look at last night's game. They scored only two runs, and they made three outs on those two plays. Grounding into a double play with the bases loaded, and a flyout with the bases loaded. Game over. Again, this should come as no surprise, as they beat the Reds in 2012 LDS game 3 by making outs, and did so many times against the Cardinals in the NLCS. A great pitching staff plus a mediocre lineup plus a pitcher's park equals low scoring games.
According to the Transitive Property of Equality, if A=B and B=C, then A=C. Let's apply this to the Giants: San Francisco is the weirdest place on the face of the earth. San Franciscans are the weirdest people on the face of the earth. Twenty five of the weirdest baseball players are on the Giants roster. Halloween is orange and black. The Giants are orange and black. Every day is Halloween in San Francisco. The weirdest things happen in San Francisco. Pitchers are blown off the mound in All-Star games. Earthquakes happen during World Series. Bridges collapse. Stadium lights go out at bizarre times. I could go on and could write a book about this. But I think you get my point. Don't be surprized when things happen that are normally surprising elsewhere. They always happen here. No exceptions.
If your pitcher is pitching a no-hitter into the late innings of a close game, YOU WILL LOSE. This always happens. Derek Lowe of the Braves found this out in the 2010 NLDS. Roy Halliday of the Phillies found this out in game 1 of the 2010 NLCS. Homer Bailey of the Reds found this out in game 3 of the 2012 NLDS.
The longer a game is scoreless, the better the odds of a Giants victory. The Giants are used to low-scoring, nail-biting one run games. As last night's game went scoreless into the sixth inning, I knew the Giants would win. They KNOW late inning scoreless games. They live them and breathe them. The list here is too long to post. Remember Cliff Lee vs. Tim Limcecum in game 5 of the 2010 World Series?
Our games start when the rest of the country goes to bed. The Giants silently put together winning teams while east coast media sleeps. They should be warning people of how the Giants play, but they don't.
Lastly, the worst strategy to use against the Giants in post season is: "We're going with what got us here." Doesn't work very well.
This concludes my Giants Baseball Primer.
First, and foremost, what you are seeing is not an anomaly. This happens all the time. The Giants have been playing this way for a number of years now, and all their post-season accomplishments - however bizarre - have been on national TV with millions of viewers. The Giants are not hiding anything, but all is in plain view.
The Giants have a great pitching staff. Their 2010 World Series champion staff was the best baseball had seen since the 1965 Dodgers. They shut down everybody. They still have most of those pitchers here, and even though they aren't quite as good as in 2010, they can pitch the same way.
Madison Bumgarner shut the Tigers down with a two-hit shutout. He did nearly the same thing to the mighty, mighty Rangers in 2010 game 4. Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton were hypnotized, so it should come as no surprise that the same thing happens to Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.
The Giants have a mediocre lineup. They have the fewest home runs of any team in baseball at home. (But, for some reason, they hit the most road homers in the majors, out-homering their opponents on the road. Go figure.) The Giants are so lame at the plate, they don't know what to do when the bases are loaded. Most teams do better with runners in scoring position, but the Giants do worse. They do what comes naturally to them: they make outs. Look at last night's game. They scored only two runs, and they made three outs on those two plays. Grounding into a double play with the bases loaded, and a flyout with the bases loaded. Game over. Again, this should come as no surprise, as they beat the Reds in 2012 LDS game 3 by making outs, and did so many times against the Cardinals in the NLCS. A great pitching staff plus a mediocre lineup plus a pitcher's park equals low scoring games.
According to the Transitive Property of Equality, if A=B and B=C, then A=C. Let's apply this to the Giants: San Francisco is the weirdest place on the face of the earth. San Franciscans are the weirdest people on the face of the earth. Twenty five of the weirdest baseball players are on the Giants roster. Halloween is orange and black. The Giants are orange and black. Every day is Halloween in San Francisco. The weirdest things happen in San Francisco. Pitchers are blown off the mound in All-Star games. Earthquakes happen during World Series. Bridges collapse. Stadium lights go out at bizarre times. I could go on and could write a book about this. But I think you get my point. Don't be surprized when things happen that are normally surprising elsewhere. They always happen here. No exceptions.
If your pitcher is pitching a no-hitter into the late innings of a close game, YOU WILL LOSE. This always happens. Derek Lowe of the Braves found this out in the 2010 NLDS. Roy Halliday of the Phillies found this out in game 1 of the 2010 NLCS. Homer Bailey of the Reds found this out in game 3 of the 2012 NLDS.
The longer a game is scoreless, the better the odds of a Giants victory. The Giants are used to low-scoring, nail-biting one run games. As last night's game went scoreless into the sixth inning, I knew the Giants would win. They KNOW late inning scoreless games. They live them and breathe them. The list here is too long to post. Remember Cliff Lee vs. Tim Limcecum in game 5 of the 2010 World Series?
Our games start when the rest of the country goes to bed. The Giants silently put together winning teams while east coast media sleeps. They should be warning people of how the Giants play, but they don't.
Lastly, the worst strategy to use against the Giants in post season is: "We're going with what got us here." Doesn't work very well.
This concludes my Giants Baseball Primer.
Friday, October 28, 2011
ONE. STRIKE. AWAY...twice
Well, I never. I was at work on swing shift and didn't get to see game 6 tonight, but I heard about what happened. I knew the Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series in two different innings before coughing it up twice. I knew they lost it on a lead-off walk-off homer in the 11th. On the way home I was listening to the radio and there was some serious criticism of Ron Washington for not putting his best gloves in the outfield for the ninth inning. He replaced Nelson Cruz later in the game anyway, so why not in the 9th?
Okay, I was able to piece together that Cruz had a hand (or maybe just the opposite) in the Rangers' crushing defeat, but I didn't know what that was. After I got home I was able to watch some highlights. Disbelief.
Nelson Cruz should have caught that ball on the warning track to win the World Series. But he didn't. He reminded me of Jose Canseco out there, the worst outfielder I've ever seen.
Okay, I was able to piece together that Cruz had a hand (or maybe just the opposite) in the Rangers' crushing defeat, but I didn't know what that was. After I got home I was able to watch some highlights. Disbelief.
Nelson Cruz should have caught that ball on the warning track to win the World Series. But he didn't. He reminded me of Jose Canseco out there, the worst outfielder I've ever seen.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Best Team
The best team doesn't always win the World Series, but I would say that the best team did win it the last four years running. The Giants were arguably the best team in baseball last year in 2010 - and certainly in the second half - while the Yankees were the year before. The 2008 Phillies lived up to expectations and the 2007 Red Sox ran away with it.
In 2006, the Cardinals barely had a winning record, the 2005 White Sox were very good, the 2004 Red Sox were a wildcard storybook team, the 2003 Marlins and 2002 Angels were WC teams, too. The 2001 D-Backs had a great 1-2 rotation built for October and I'm not positive they were the best, but the 1998-2000 Yankees were. So, it had been a while since the best team won, now four in a row. Will the best team win again?
In 2006, the Cardinals barely had a winning record, the 2005 White Sox were very good, the 2004 Red Sox were a wildcard storybook team, the 2003 Marlins and 2002 Angels were WC teams, too. The 2001 D-Backs had a great 1-2 rotation built for October and I'm not positive they were the best, but the 1998-2000 Yankees were. So, it had been a while since the best team won, now four in a row. Will the best team win again?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Updated World Series Drought List
Since last time I posted a list like this, a dramatic change took place. The Giants are no longer near the top, either the New York variety or the San Fran brand. So, here's a new list of teams in order of longest drought in number of seasons not winning a World Series. If a franchise moved cities in the middle of a current drought, I'll include both the franchise drought and the city drought in this list. I'll also call out teams that have never won due to being an expansion team, and note that as well.
* Expansion team that has never won. Year indicates year of expansion.
**Team that hasn't won since a franchise move. Year indicates year of move.
1908..102 years - Chicago Cubs
1948....62 years - Cleveland Indians
1961*...50 years - Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
1962*...49 years - Houston Astros
1969*...42 years - San Diego Padres
1969*...42 years - Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
1969*...42 years - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1970**..41 years - Milwaukee Brewers
1972**..39 years - Texas Rangers
1977*...34 years - Seattle Mariners
1979....31 years - Pittsburgh Pirates
1983....27 years - Baltimore Orioles
1984....26 years - Detroit Tigers
1985....25 years - Kansas City Royals
1986....24 years - New York Mets
1988....22 years - Los Angeles Dodgers
1989....21 years - Oakland A's
1990....20 years - Cincinnati Reds
1991....19 years - Minnesota Twins
1993*...18 years - Colorado Rockies
1993....17 years - Toronto Blue Jays
1995....15 years - Atlanta Braves
1998*...13 years - Tampa Bay Rays
2001.....9 years - Arizona Diamondbacks
2002.....8 years - Anaheim Angels
2003.....7 years - Florida Marlins
2005**...6 years - Washington Nationals
2005.....5 years - Chicago White Sox
2006.....4 years - St. Louis Cardinals
2007.....3 years - Boston Red Sox
2008.....2 years - Philadelphia Phillies
2009.....1 year - New York Yankees
2010.....0 years - San Francisco Giants
* Expansion team that has never won. Year indicates year of expansion.
**Team that hasn't won since a franchise move. Year indicates year of move.
1908..102 years - Chicago Cubs
1948....62 years - Cleveland Indians
1961*...50 years - Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
1962*...49 years - Houston Astros
1969*...42 years - San Diego Padres
1969*...42 years - Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
1969*...42 years - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1970**..41 years - Milwaukee Brewers
1972**..39 years - Texas Rangers
1977*...34 years - Seattle Mariners
1979....31 years - Pittsburgh Pirates
1983....27 years - Baltimore Orioles
1984....26 years - Detroit Tigers
1985....25 years - Kansas City Royals
1986....24 years - New York Mets
1988....22 years - Los Angeles Dodgers
1989....21 years - Oakland A's
1990....20 years - Cincinnati Reds
1991....19 years - Minnesota Twins
1993*...18 years - Colorado Rockies
1993....17 years - Toronto Blue Jays
1995....15 years - Atlanta Braves
1998*...13 years - Tampa Bay Rays
2001.....9 years - Arizona Diamondbacks
2002.....8 years - Anaheim Angels
2003.....7 years - Florida Marlins
2005**...6 years - Washington Nationals
2005.....5 years - Chicago White Sox
2006.....4 years - St. Louis Cardinals
2007.....3 years - Boston Red Sox
2008.....2 years - Philadelphia Phillies
2009.....1 year - New York Yankees
2010.....0 years - San Francisco Giants
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Phillies Fans Trump Yankee Fans
In my last post I asked about the state of Yankee fans who sit in the box seats. But, now I want to ask about Yankee fans living in other cities. I know all too well growing up with the Oakland A's as an American League team, that Yankee fans show up in droves to see their team play on the road. The very few times they've played in San Francisco shows the same thing.
This year's post season saw Yankee fans show up by the thousands at the Metrodome. And in a complete embarrassment to the Southern California mentality, they appeared to constitute at least a quarter - if not a third - of the total crowd in Anaheim. This is all normal stuff. But something changed in the World Series...
Yankee fans were hardly noticed in Philly. There weren't more than a few hundred, max. Why? My guess is that Philly fans were so hot about the World Series that ticket holders valued being at the Series far more than the market value of the tickets. Philly fans were so fanatic that they shut Yankee fans out of eBay and StubHub.
In San Francisco we had a similar experience for the entire 2000 season, the inaugural season of Pac Bell Park. Giants fans were so excited about the new ballpark that the entire season sold out in February - to Giants fans - so that there were almost no fans cheering for visiting teams all year. Including Dodger fans. So, I must say congratulations to Phillies fans. You really love your team.
This year's post season saw Yankee fans show up by the thousands at the Metrodome. And in a complete embarrassment to the Southern California mentality, they appeared to constitute at least a quarter - if not a third - of the total crowd in Anaheim. This is all normal stuff. But something changed in the World Series...
Yankee fans were hardly noticed in Philly. There weren't more than a few hundred, max. Why? My guess is that Philly fans were so hot about the World Series that ticket holders valued being at the Series far more than the market value of the tickets. Philly fans were so fanatic that they shut Yankee fans out of eBay and StubHub.
In San Francisco we had a similar experience for the entire 2000 season, the inaugural season of Pac Bell Park. Giants fans were so excited about the new ballpark that the entire season sold out in February - to Giants fans - so that there were almost no fans cheering for visiting teams all year. Including Dodger fans. So, I must say congratulations to Phillies fans. You really love your team.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
1989 Earthquake Aftermath
In a previous post, I wrote about my experience the day the earthquake occurred. The days, weeks and months that followed were ones of confusion and waiting. Even controversy. It turned out that there were far fewer deaths in the freeway collapse than previously feared, as most people left work early to watch the World Series! My good friend Mike was one such non-casualty. At the time of the quake, he would have been on that freeway on his way home, but he was already at the game.
The Bay Bridge was out of commission for months as a replacement section had to be constructed. This was a major bridge with six figure vehicle traffic each day. A new freeway in Oakland took years to be built. The World Series was delayed (ten days eventually) as there was structural damage to Candlestick Park. Expansion joints were located below seating section stairways. The concrete steps crumbled, and fans could see the parking lot through the new holes. There was talk of relocating the Series to Los Angeles. Over the dead bodies of 62,000 Giants fans would their first Series in 27 years be played at Dodger Stadium! Some people felt that a sporting event was so insignificant in light of such a disaster that it should be cancelled altogether. Cooler heads prevailed as the structural damage was fixed, and game 3 was played at the 'Stick after all. It turned out to be what the Bay Area needed as therapy.
The quake stirred fans, as they showed up for the postponed game 3 wearing hard hats with their team logo. The A's swept the Giants, and decided that in light of the catastrophe, they would celebrate their victory in the locker room without alcoholic beverages.
Another friend of mine was driving on the Bridge at the time of the quake and collapse. He had just passed the section that would collapse. Then when he reached the joint between the bridge and terra firma, the buckled pavement scraped the underside of his car. Not knowing what happened, he pulled off and checked his car out. He looked back up the bridge, and there was no traffic whatsoever in an eerie sight.
Having two teams close by has always been a blessing for me. Getting to drive to every game is something few fans have ever claimed. The '89 quake and Series are things I will never forget.
The Bay Bridge was out of commission for months as a replacement section had to be constructed. This was a major bridge with six figure vehicle traffic each day. A new freeway in Oakland took years to be built. The World Series was delayed (ten days eventually) as there was structural damage to Candlestick Park. Expansion joints were located below seating section stairways. The concrete steps crumbled, and fans could see the parking lot through the new holes. There was talk of relocating the Series to Los Angeles. Over the dead bodies of 62,000 Giants fans would their first Series in 27 years be played at Dodger Stadium! Some people felt that a sporting event was so insignificant in light of such a disaster that it should be cancelled altogether. Cooler heads prevailed as the structural damage was fixed, and game 3 was played at the 'Stick after all. It turned out to be what the Bay Area needed as therapy.
The quake stirred fans, as they showed up for the postponed game 3 wearing hard hats with their team logo. The A's swept the Giants, and decided that in light of the catastrophe, they would celebrate their victory in the locker room without alcoholic beverages.
Another friend of mine was driving on the Bridge at the time of the quake and collapse. He had just passed the section that would collapse. Then when he reached the joint between the bridge and terra firma, the buckled pavement scraped the underside of his car. Not knowing what happened, he pulled off and checked his car out. He looked back up the bridge, and there was no traffic whatsoever in an eerie sight.
Having two teams close by has always been a blessing for me. Getting to drive to every game is something few fans have ever claimed. The '89 quake and Series are things I will never forget.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
EARTHQUAKE
Tuesday, October 17, 1989, 5:04pm, minutes before the start of game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's. It registered 7.1 on the Richter scale. Just prior to this I was in the upper deck at Candlestick Park visiting some friends who also had tickets. I was on my way down the ramp to the lower deck, and was near the bottom of the ramp with a friend, who said, "Is that an earthquake?" I stopped, felt some shaking and looked down. My head was still but I could see the ground move several feet in each direction under me. Yes it was an earthquake, and a huge one. It shook for 45 terrifying seconds.
There were 62,000 fans there, and when the shaking stopped, there was dead silence. Everybody looked up and around. A few seconds later, a monstrous cheer erupted. Welcome to San Francisco! "We had an earthquake on national TV! Awesome! Welcome to California!" could be heard by many of the fans. No visible damage. We proceeded to the concession line to buy some goodies. Just then, the power went out. The cash registers were electric, so no change could be made because the drawers were stuck shut. The concessionaires took the next bill up. We made it back to our seats (seven rows behind home plate were where my season tickets were.) People were dazed and confused. The scoreboard and PA system were not working due to the power outage.
Players and police were out on the field. A chant of "Play Ball!" erupted from the crowd. Who needs a scoreboard? Scoreboard, schmoreboard. A fan just behind us had a Sony Watchman (remember those?) He said that the Bay Bridge had collapsed. This was simply unbelievable news. A few minutes later (how can you sense time when something like this happens?), a police car with a hand held mega phone blurred something out that sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher. We were all told to go home. Go home? This is the World Series!
Once out into the parking lot, we saw a TV news van with an open door. There were many television monitors, and since it was operating on battery power, we could see the damage being broadcast by the blimp. What we saw were truly horrific pictures. A section of the Bay Bridge collapsed. A freeway had pancaked on top of itself and miles of it were laying on the ground. A massive fire broke out in the Marina district. This was a major catastrophe.
The SFPD told fans to stay close to the stadium, as bridges were out. All the other bridges in the Bay Area were closed for inspection. We had to wait. We figured that we would be there a while, so we proceeded to a mini-mart at a neighboring RV park to buy some beer. We bought a case. The door was blocked by a table, as they didn't let people in. They took orders and made sales at the door. When we turned around to leave, there was a line behind us hundreds of people deep. Suddenly we got questions about where we got the beer. Not wanting to wait in line, people started bidding on our beer! We sold to the highest bidder and walked away with eighty bucks.
After quite a while of waiting, it was getting dark. Police were being called away because there was heavy looting downtown. It was at this point we got scared. We decided to make a run for it, and anticipated heavy traffic as we headed 50 miles down to San Jose to wrap around the bottom of the bay and up the other side another 70 miles home. It was the only way home without crossing a bridge. By the time we got to the San Mateo bridge, it was open. We hit a Denny's on the way home, and it was filled with fans who were talking about the event. I eventually got home at 1:30am.
I will never forget that day or the experience of that earthquake. Hundreds of people were feared dead from the freeway collapse. Some tourists from Connecticut managed to shoot some video from the collapsed section of the bridge, with the eerie sight of a car crashing to the deck below. The replacement section had a different paving surface, a constant reminder of that day. I will write more about this event, its aftermath and what happened in the postponement of the Series. [Update: a followup post can be found here]
There were 62,000 fans there, and when the shaking stopped, there was dead silence. Everybody looked up and around. A few seconds later, a monstrous cheer erupted. Welcome to San Francisco! "We had an earthquake on national TV! Awesome! Welcome to California!" could be heard by many of the fans. No visible damage. We proceeded to the concession line to buy some goodies. Just then, the power went out. The cash registers were electric, so no change could be made because the drawers were stuck shut. The concessionaires took the next bill up. We made it back to our seats (seven rows behind home plate were where my season tickets were.) People were dazed and confused. The scoreboard and PA system were not working due to the power outage.
Players and police were out on the field. A chant of "Play Ball!" erupted from the crowd. Who needs a scoreboard? Scoreboard, schmoreboard. A fan just behind us had a Sony Watchman (remember those?) He said that the Bay Bridge had collapsed. This was simply unbelievable news. A few minutes later (how can you sense time when something like this happens?), a police car with a hand held mega phone blurred something out that sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher. We were all told to go home. Go home? This is the World Series!
Once out into the parking lot, we saw a TV news van with an open door. There were many television monitors, and since it was operating on battery power, we could see the damage being broadcast by the blimp. What we saw were truly horrific pictures. A section of the Bay Bridge collapsed. A freeway had pancaked on top of itself and miles of it were laying on the ground. A massive fire broke out in the Marina district. This was a major catastrophe.
The SFPD told fans to stay close to the stadium, as bridges were out. All the other bridges in the Bay Area were closed for inspection. We had to wait. We figured that we would be there a while, so we proceeded to a mini-mart at a neighboring RV park to buy some beer. We bought a case. The door was blocked by a table, as they didn't let people in. They took orders and made sales at the door. When we turned around to leave, there was a line behind us hundreds of people deep. Suddenly we got questions about where we got the beer. Not wanting to wait in line, people started bidding on our beer! We sold to the highest bidder and walked away with eighty bucks.
After quite a while of waiting, it was getting dark. Police were being called away because there was heavy looting downtown. It was at this point we got scared. We decided to make a run for it, and anticipated heavy traffic as we headed 50 miles down to San Jose to wrap around the bottom of the bay and up the other side another 70 miles home. It was the only way home without crossing a bridge. By the time we got to the San Mateo bridge, it was open. We hit a Denny's on the way home, and it was filled with fans who were talking about the event. I eventually got home at 1:30am.
I will never forget that day or the experience of that earthquake. Hundreds of people were feared dead from the freeway collapse. Some tourists from Connecticut managed to shoot some video from the collapsed section of the bridge, with the eerie sight of a car crashing to the deck below. The replacement section had a different paving surface, a constant reminder of that day. I will write more about this event, its aftermath and what happened in the postponement of the Series. [Update: a followup post can be found here]
Thursday, October 15, 2009
1989 World Series and Earthquake
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the all-Bay Area World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's, and the major earthquake that struck the Bay Area just minutes before game 3 at Candlestick Park. I was there. The World Series was more than major news here, and the earthquake caused much death and damage.
I'll be taking several posts to tell the story as I lived it.
The A's beat the Blue Jays in the ALCS, while the Giants took care of the Cubs in the NLCS. Ticket sales were simply unbelievable. Tens of thousands of tickets went on sale through a major ticket agency, and were sold out within a matter of hours. Approximately ten million calls were placed in a frantic attempt to buy tickets, jamming phone circuits. But this was no problem at all for me and some friends.
I already had Series tickets for the games in San Francisco, as I was a season ticket holder. But I pulled a major coup in accidentally discovering a back door into the ticket agency's phone system from trying to buy concert tickets months previously. The ticket agency was given a block of about a hundred phone numbers - in consecutive numerical order - by the phone company. A call to the main number, if busy, was rolled over to the next number, and so on. You received a busy signal only if all hundred lines were busy. I figured out that if I dialed a number up at the higher end of numbers, I could get in fairly easy, as higher numbers waited a fraction of a second for all the previous numbers to roll over. A direct dial on a higher number usually resulted in a connection.
So, out of the millions of phone calls made, a small five employee architecture firm was able to buy 2 percent of all tickets sold within a two hour period. I first bought my A's tickets, giving me tickets for all seven games. Other people in the office bought all their own personal tickets. We prepped for this coup by getting credit cards from friends, family, and everybody on our company softball team. We closed the office and made purchases until we ran out of friends' credit cards. We were swimming in tickets, and all of our friends were ecstatic at getting seats for the Series. Life was beautiful in October, 1989.
I'll be taking several posts to tell the story as I lived it.
The A's beat the Blue Jays in the ALCS, while the Giants took care of the Cubs in the NLCS. Ticket sales were simply unbelievable. Tens of thousands of tickets went on sale through a major ticket agency, and were sold out within a matter of hours. Approximately ten million calls were placed in a frantic attempt to buy tickets, jamming phone circuits. But this was no problem at all for me and some friends.
I already had Series tickets for the games in San Francisco, as I was a season ticket holder. But I pulled a major coup in accidentally discovering a back door into the ticket agency's phone system from trying to buy concert tickets months previously. The ticket agency was given a block of about a hundred phone numbers - in consecutive numerical order - by the phone company. A call to the main number, if busy, was rolled over to the next number, and so on. You received a busy signal only if all hundred lines were busy. I figured out that if I dialed a number up at the higher end of numbers, I could get in fairly easy, as higher numbers waited a fraction of a second for all the previous numbers to roll over. A direct dial on a higher number usually resulted in a connection.
So, out of the millions of phone calls made, a small five employee architecture firm was able to buy 2 percent of all tickets sold within a two hour period. I first bought my A's tickets, giving me tickets for all seven games. Other people in the office bought all their own personal tickets. We prepped for this coup by getting credit cards from friends, family, and everybody on our company softball team. We closed the office and made purchases until we ran out of friends' credit cards. We were swimming in tickets, and all of our friends were ecstatic at getting seats for the Series. Life was beautiful in October, 1989.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
World Series Winners Since Giants
Over the 54 years since the Giants last won a World Series, 19 different teams have won it. Fifteen of those 19 teams have won multiple Series, which includes 6 expansion teams. Here are the totals:
Yankees (10)
Dodgers (6)
Cardinals (4)
A's (4)
Pirates (3)
Orioles (3)
Reds (3)
Braves (2)
Tigers (2)
Mets (2)
Phillies (2)
Twins (2)
Marlins (2)
Blue Jays (2)
Red Sox (2)
Royals (1)
Diamondbacks (1)
Angels (1)
White Sox (1)
Get that? Even the LOWLY Pittsburgh Pirates have won three Series since the Giants last did. The expansion Marlins and Blue Jays have even won two. Arrrrrrgh!
Yankees (10)
Dodgers (6)
Cardinals (4)
A's (4)
Pirates (3)
Orioles (3)
Reds (3)
Braves (2)
Tigers (2)
Mets (2)
Phillies (2)
Twins (2)
Marlins (2)
Blue Jays (2)
Red Sox (2)
Royals (1)
Diamondbacks (1)
Angels (1)
White Sox (1)
Get that? Even the LOWLY Pittsburgh Pirates have won three Series since the Giants last did. The expansion Marlins and Blue Jays have even won two. Arrrrrrgh!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
2002 World Series Highlights
MLB Network shows highlights from various World Series. Since the Giants lost the '02 Series to the Orange County Angles of Disneyland, I have avoided all watching of highlights from that Series. I recorded all seven games, yet haven't put one on. It's just too painful to watch.
Tonight I watched the highlight show from 2002. I sucked it up and watched. Still painful. I remember watching games 6 and 7 with Mrs. Scott form Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, a downtown park, with about 10,000 other people. They hoisted a crane up with a monster big screen TV. The train ride home was very quiet.
I'll have to write about this topic some other time...
Tonight I watched the highlight show from 2002. I sucked it up and watched. Still painful. I remember watching games 6 and 7 with Mrs. Scott form Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, a downtown park, with about 10,000 other people. They hoisted a crane up with a monster big screen TV. The train ride home was very quiet.
I'll have to write about this topic some other time...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Congratulations Phillies
For the second time in three years, a National League team won the World Series. This despite home field advantage in the World Series going to the AL team. In the six years since the inception of the all-star-game-decides-home-field-advantage idea, all six times have failed to give a true advantage to the team that was awarded home field advantage. It's past time for baseball to rid us of that stupid rule. I heard that it was incorporated into the union contract until 2,000,012 AD or so.
Even so, congratulations to the Phils. They earned it all. They passed the Mets in the last week of the season. They beat CC Sabathia and the hot Brewers. They beat Manny and the hot Dodgers. They beat all the good players on the hot Rays that beat the hot Red Sox. I just wonder how many police cars are on fire right now.
Even so, congratulations to the Phils. They earned it all. They passed the Mets in the last week of the season. They beat CC Sabathia and the hot Brewers. They beat Manny and the hot Dodgers. They beat all the good players on the hot Rays that beat the hot Red Sox. I just wonder how many police cars are on fire right now.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Longest Inning
Well, we're right smack in the middle of the sixth inning of World Series game 5. This is the longest inning I can ever remember. It's even longer than inning seven of ALCS game 5, when the Rays opened with a two run homer. A half hour later, and no further scoring, the top of the 7th was still not over. Not to be outdone, God Bless America and Take Me Out To The Ballgame preceded a four run outburst by the Red Sox before that inning came to a close.
During that ALCS inning, Mrs. Scott and I started giving the kids a bath, when she asked me what inning it was. I said the 7th. We then bathed all three of them. Afterward Mrs. Scott went shopping at the grocery store, came home, and asked me what inning it was. I said the 7th. She was shocked.
But this inning, everybody went home. Players, managers, umpires, fans, media all slept several times right in the middle of this inning. Oh, and it rained, too.
During that ALCS inning, Mrs. Scott and I started giving the kids a bath, when she asked me what inning it was. I said the 7th. We then bathed all three of them. Afterward Mrs. Scott went shopping at the grocery store, came home, and asked me what inning it was. I said the 7th. She was shocked.
But this inning, everybody went home. Players, managers, umpires, fans, media all slept several times right in the middle of this inning. Oh, and it rained, too.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wild One In Philly
Seeing the way the Phillies won game 3 of the Series, it was pretty wild. A hit batsman led off the bottom of the ninth, who then stole second on a wild pitch and took third when the catcher threw the ball into center field. Two intentional walks to load the bases, and a right fielder brought in as a fifth infielder. The bouncer up the third base line left "Eva" Longoria with no way to throw the runner out without hitting him. The replay showed that if he had let the ball go, it could have gone foul further up the line. But you don't think about those things when the game is on the line on that ball. The Phillie fans were great, outlasting a late start, a rain delay and a long game. Church might be empty tomorrow in Philly.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Game 1 Blues
The Phillies won game 1 of the World Series tonight. I wanted them to. But tonight after the game on SportsPhone 680, host Damon Bruce gave a sobering stat about how important winning game 1 was. It seems that 10 out of the last 11 teams that won game 1 went on to win the Series. I wondered who that 11th team could have been that didn't...
Oh, yes, of course. It struck me. I really didn't need to be reminded. But those are the kind of things that bring up bad memories. The Giants won game 1 of the 2002 World Series.
Oh, yes, of course. It struck me. I really didn't need to be reminded. But those are the kind of things that bring up bad memories. The Giants won game 1 of the 2002 World Series.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
My Personal 20 Year World Series Drought
For the twenty consecutive World Series played from 1975 to 1995, the team I was pulling for to win, lost. I often wonder what it would be like to have those 20 Series reversed. I'll give a brief rundown of each Series and why I rooted for the team that I did. More often than not, I cheer for a National League team if there's no other difference between teams. My childhood Oakland A's won three consecutive Series in '72, '73 and '74. Then my 20 year drought came.
1975 - Reds def. Red Sox. As a Giants fan, I came to hate the Big Red Machine. I was cheering for the Sox. We know the story.
1976 - Reds def. Yankees. Okay, I hated the Reds, but the Yankees hadn't done anything my whole life, so they were okay to cheer for.
1977 - Yankees def. Dodgers. While I'm a Giants fan and HATE the Dodgers, I hated Reggie Jackson and his personal public relations firm, Howard Cosell, even more. The Yankee media bias started here in my life. I wanted both teams to lose so badly it was an awful series to have to watch. But I couldn't bear to have the Yanks win at all.
1978 - Yankees def. Dodgers. Ditto 1977.
1979 - Pirates def. Orioles. When I was seven, I cried when the Bucs beat the Birds in the '71 series. I was pulling for some minor revenge. No big deal, I just wanted to see the Birds win a bit more than Pittsburgh.
1980 - Phillies def. Royals. I was turned off by Pete Rose and some of the general Phillies vibes. So I was giving a slight cheering advantage to the Royals.
1981 - Dodgers def. Yankees. The tables had turned from '77-'78. I hated everything there was about Los Angeles and the Dodgers. Enough to cheer for the Yankees. Yes, painful Series to have to know exists.
1982 - Cardinals def. Brewers. I think I cheered for the Brew Crew out of hatred for Astroturf and multi-purpose stadiums.
1983 - Orioles def. Phillies. I really don't know why I cheered for Philly, but I did. It probably happened just after game 1 started. Fans just get that thing in their heart, favoring one team over another.
1984 - Tigers def. Padres. Okay, hearing about the Tigers All. Season. Long. just wore on me. I played the NL card, too.
1985 - Royals def. Cardinals. I think I favored the NL team here, but just slightly.
1986 - Mets def. Red Sox. The New York media hype surrounding Lenny and the Mets, including the Straw, was just too unbearable. I also happened to stay with the Mets for three days in a Montreal hotel just after they clinched the division. What a bunch of first rate assholes ( I wanted to keep this as clean as possible. This is a family blog).
1987 - Twins def. Cardinals. NL over AL, plus I loathed the Astroturf, the parachute roof, the teflon warning track, the hefty bag outfield fence, the air conditioning blowing out during Twins at bats and that stupid, moronic Homer Hanky.
1988 - Dodgers def. A's. I grew up an A's fan, and I hated the Dodgers from being a Giants fan. What a joy it was to see Canseco hit a grand slam in the top of the first of game 1. Four batters, four-nothing. I thought it was over right then. This was my first World Series I attended in person. I refused to watch the Dodgers celebrate.
1989 - A's def. Giants. This one was tough. I grew up a fan of both teams. Becuase of each team's ineptitude over the last decade and a half, I was certain I'd never have to face these circumstances. I went to every game of this Series. Torn, I did like the song said and rooted for the home team. The scales tipped toward the Giants slightly because Oakland already had three rings and just lost to the hated Dodgers the previous year. I was shaken by the earthquake. What an event.
1990 - Reds def. A's. Heartbreaking to see the heavily favored team get killed like that. I also witnessed Eric Davis' kidney injury from the bleachers. Ouch. I didn't watch the Reds celebrate.
1991 - Twins def. Braves. I hated the Twins for all the same reasons as I did in '87. It had nothing at all to do with the players, just the fakeness.
1992 - Blue Jays def. Braves. I wasn't too keen at the time to let an American sport be won by a Canadian team. The font the Jays used on their uni's was also bad. Bad uniforms all around. This was the first year that the President didn't call the winning manager in the club house. It's never happened since.
1993 - Blue Jays def. Phillies. NL over AL. US vs. Canada. I also liked the idea of a bunch of guys that didn't know how to shave. Plus they beat the now hated Braves in the playoffs.
1994 - No Series: player's strike
1995 - Braves def. Indians. I took a serious hatred to the Braves once they started winning in the early 90's. They already played in Fulton County Toilet, the worst field in history (decimated by the Falcons each September) in the cheapest ballpark in history. TBS had the worst homer bunch of announcers ever, criticizing Candlestick Park on their telecasts. These guys were clueless and completely blind to anything other than the Braves accomplishments. Plus that idiotic tomahawk chop faked so cheesily by Jane Fonda. So I cheered for the Tribe.
1996 - Yankees def. Braves. As much as I hated the Yankees, they were silent for 15 years and harmless. They started winning in '95 and I at least had some small amount of respect for them, even if I hated them. The Braves had become an abomination to me, so the Yankees ended my 20 season drought of cheering for the losers in the Fall Classic. Yay!
I would gladly reverse the outcome of some of these Series if I could, especially the 1988 to 1990 Series!
1975 - Reds def. Red Sox. As a Giants fan, I came to hate the Big Red Machine. I was cheering for the Sox. We know the story.
1976 - Reds def. Yankees. Okay, I hated the Reds, but the Yankees hadn't done anything my whole life, so they were okay to cheer for.
1977 - Yankees def. Dodgers. While I'm a Giants fan and HATE the Dodgers, I hated Reggie Jackson and his personal public relations firm, Howard Cosell, even more. The Yankee media bias started here in my life. I wanted both teams to lose so badly it was an awful series to have to watch. But I couldn't bear to have the Yanks win at all.
1978 - Yankees def. Dodgers. Ditto 1977.
1979 - Pirates def. Orioles. When I was seven, I cried when the Bucs beat the Birds in the '71 series. I was pulling for some minor revenge. No big deal, I just wanted to see the Birds win a bit more than Pittsburgh.
1980 - Phillies def. Royals. I was turned off by Pete Rose and some of the general Phillies vibes. So I was giving a slight cheering advantage to the Royals.
1981 - Dodgers def. Yankees. The tables had turned from '77-'78. I hated everything there was about Los Angeles and the Dodgers. Enough to cheer for the Yankees. Yes, painful Series to have to know exists.
1982 - Cardinals def. Brewers. I think I cheered for the Brew Crew out of hatred for Astroturf and multi-purpose stadiums.
1983 - Orioles def. Phillies. I really don't know why I cheered for Philly, but I did. It probably happened just after game 1 started. Fans just get that thing in their heart, favoring one team over another.
1984 - Tigers def. Padres. Okay, hearing about the Tigers All. Season. Long. just wore on me. I played the NL card, too.
1985 - Royals def. Cardinals. I think I favored the NL team here, but just slightly.
1986 - Mets def. Red Sox. The New York media hype surrounding Lenny and the Mets, including the Straw, was just too unbearable. I also happened to stay with the Mets for three days in a Montreal hotel just after they clinched the division. What a bunch of first rate assholes ( I wanted to keep this as clean as possible. This is a family blog).
1987 - Twins def. Cardinals. NL over AL, plus I loathed the Astroturf, the parachute roof, the teflon warning track, the hefty bag outfield fence, the air conditioning blowing out during Twins at bats and that stupid, moronic Homer Hanky.
1988 - Dodgers def. A's. I grew up an A's fan, and I hated the Dodgers from being a Giants fan. What a joy it was to see Canseco hit a grand slam in the top of the first of game 1. Four batters, four-nothing. I thought it was over right then. This was my first World Series I attended in person. I refused to watch the Dodgers celebrate.
1989 - A's def. Giants. This one was tough. I grew up a fan of both teams. Becuase of each team's ineptitude over the last decade and a half, I was certain I'd never have to face these circumstances. I went to every game of this Series. Torn, I did like the song said and rooted for the home team. The scales tipped toward the Giants slightly because Oakland already had three rings and just lost to the hated Dodgers the previous year. I was shaken by the earthquake. What an event.
1990 - Reds def. A's. Heartbreaking to see the heavily favored team get killed like that. I also witnessed Eric Davis' kidney injury from the bleachers. Ouch. I didn't watch the Reds celebrate.
1991 - Twins def. Braves. I hated the Twins for all the same reasons as I did in '87. It had nothing at all to do with the players, just the fakeness.
1992 - Blue Jays def. Braves. I wasn't too keen at the time to let an American sport be won by a Canadian team. The font the Jays used on their uni's was also bad. Bad uniforms all around. This was the first year that the President didn't call the winning manager in the club house. It's never happened since.
1993 - Blue Jays def. Phillies. NL over AL. US vs. Canada. I also liked the idea of a bunch of guys that didn't know how to shave. Plus they beat the now hated Braves in the playoffs.
1994 - No Series: player's strike
1995 - Braves def. Indians. I took a serious hatred to the Braves once they started winning in the early 90's. They already played in Fulton County Toilet, the worst field in history (decimated by the Falcons each September) in the cheapest ballpark in history. TBS had the worst homer bunch of announcers ever, criticizing Candlestick Park on their telecasts. These guys were clueless and completely blind to anything other than the Braves accomplishments. Plus that idiotic tomahawk chop faked so cheesily by Jane Fonda. So I cheered for the Tribe.
1996 - Yankees def. Braves. As much as I hated the Yankees, they were silent for 15 years and harmless. They started winning in '95 and I at least had some small amount of respect for them, even if I hated them. The Braves had become an abomination to me, so the Yankees ended my 20 season drought of cheering for the losers in the Fall Classic. Yay!
I would gladly reverse the outcome of some of these Series if I could, especially the 1988 to 1990 Series!
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