MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE: 2016 WRAP-UP

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE: 2016 WRAP-UP

I know you've read enough about that great 2016 World Series so I'll put in my two cents and get it over with:

1/The Cubs are not the greatest team that ever lived. They beat a very game Cleveland squad that had just lost two fifths of their starting staff. The got shut out twice by those same Clevelanders and were lucky to pull out the seventh game.

2/Yes, it's a big deal that the Cubs finally won it all. And about time. No, it's not “the greatest story in sports history” as some sportswriter on nitrous oxide maintained.

3/Game 7 was not the greatest game 7 ever played. But it's definitely in the conversation:

The Cubs showed guts and the resolute heart of a champion coming up off the mat after that Raje Davis home run dagger they got.

The Indians made that game a classic because of the guts and heart they showed coming back from a 5-0 deficit to eventually tie it up.

It was the unexpected nature of that Raje Davis homer that made the game a memorable classic. It was off superman, Aroldis Chapman, who was asked to pitch tired and gave it his best shot. Kudos to him for giving it up for the team. He came back and got them out in the ninth without his best stuff. And kudos to the Indians pitchers Kluber and everybody else who had to pitch on short rest to give their team a chance.

The two best game 7s of all time? I vote for:

#2/ Twins over Braves 1991...the all time pitcher's duel classic had incredible drama all the way as two Hall of Famers (or should be, Jack Morris!)competed their butts off. Smoltz went out on his shield after a noble performance. Jack Morris...refused to lose!

#1/ Pirates over Yankees 1960...the Yankees scored 55 runs to the Pirates 27 in the series and won their three games by scores of 16-3,10-0 and 12-0. The Pirates won 2 one-run games and had a team ERA of over 7. So it seemed like the Pirates were getting killed.

Game 7 at Pittsburgh: The Pirates led 4-0 after two. The Yanks went up 5-4 after Berra's homer in the sixth. They increased the lead to 7-4 in the eighth, but in the bottom of the eighth things got strange.

With one on Bill Virdon hit a double play grounder to Tony Kubek at short. The ball took a very bad hop and came up and hit Kubek in the Adam's apple. That ball almost killed him. He couldn't talk for a week afterwards and had to come out of the game. Another single and a sacrifice produced one run. Then Clemente hit a chopper to first and beat it out, scoring another run to leave the Pirates only a run behind. Then came the Raje Davis moment when unheralded pinch hitting back up catcher Hal Smith hit a 3-run homer over the very deep left field wall at Forbes Field. The fans went nuts and now the Buccos led 9-7.

But the mighty Yankees had the right stuff. In the top of the ninth Mantle and Berra each drove in a big run to tie the score.

You know what happened in the bottom of the ninth. Bill Mazeroski hit a Series-winning walk off...the only homer ever to end a seventh game.

So there you have a Game 7 with 5 lead changes (or ties) ending with the ultimate moment. It featured 5 Hall of Famers (Maz, Clemente, Mantle, Berra and Whitey Ford who didn't pitch in the game). It didn't have a dramatic rain delay but it had a little noted weirdness: nobody on either team struck out.

I watched this game in a bar outside Pittsburgh that my Dad talked my way into so I could see the last few innings. I was eleven and I'll never forget it.

The greatest World Series game of all time was the sixth game of the 1975 series between the Reds and the Red Sox.

If it had been Game 7 there would be no contest, because this was also the greatest game ever played period. At least in the modern era. Why?

Because the two teams played so well. The game had great play after great play...hitting and fielding...much cleaner than these other games mentioned above. It had the dramatic pinch hit 3 run homer by Carbo and it had that epic walk off ending in extra innings. It had Rose coming to bat late and saying to the Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk...”this is the greatest game I've ever played in! Isn't this a great game?” I always loved that.

This year's awards:

I thought the Managers of the Year Francona and Roberts were the best choices. They both had their teams playing over their heads. Especially Francona.

Rookies of the Year: Corey Seager....Yep. Michael Fulmer the Tiger pitcher...I guess so but not much competition this year.

Cy Young: I would have given it to Zach Britton...if a closer should ever be considered for the Cy Young, and plenty have...he should have been. In the NL I had Scherzer too.

MVPs: NL Bryant...well I guess so....He's one of the Adorables, after all. Nolan Arenado (41 dingers, 139 rbi's)deserved some support. I had it for Daniel Murphy.

AL Trout definitely had a case but Altuve was a one-man team for Houston and was a leader in batting average AND steals AND had 99 RBIs as a second baseman. I claim Ortiz was number two, even as a DH, because of his OPS (1.021 led baseball) and his leadership.

That's all I got for now...next up is an article about hitting savants I call MANCHILD IN THE PROMISED LAND...that's coming up in a week or so. Forgive the Teaser.

Best to you all and Happy Thanksgiving.

Marco