First in a three-part series.
The Batter’s Box Salute to the Postseason now turns to the LCS, which was inaugurated with the advent of divisional play in 1969, and has provided some tremendous memories over the years. Here’s one fan’s take on the 25 best LCS games in baseball history.
Here we go…
Ten Honourable Mentions
Toronto 6, Kansas City 5 (Game 2, 1985)
California 4, Boston 3 (Game 4, 1986)
Chicago 5, Florida 4 (Game 3, 2003)
Philadelphia 5, Houston 3 (Game 4, 1980)
New York 5, Kansas City 3 (Game 5, 1977)
Cleveland 4, New York 1 (Game 2, 1998)
Toronto 3, Kansas City 1 (Game 4, 1985)
Oakland 4, Boston 3 (Game 2, 1988)
Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 3 (Game 3, 1975)
Houston 7, Philadelphia 4 (Game 2, 1980)
#25. Game 5, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 1993
Even the most casual baseball fans of a certain age in the Greater Toronto Area have a rather intimate knowledge of the two opposing rosters in this series, as the club defeated by the Jays in the classic 1992 World Series squared off against the Jays’ next Fall Classic opponent. The Braves entered this series as heavy favourites, having needed all 104 of their wins to squeak into the playoffs ahead of Barry Bonds’ hard-luck Giants, who won 103 but watched the NLCS from the comfort of their own homes. The famously scruffy Phillies won the weaker East by three games over a young Expos club.
With the series knotted at two, the clubs turned to Curt Schilling and Steve Avery to seize the momentum. Other than a John Kruk first-inning double and a three-base error by Ron Gant leading to a run in the fourth, Avery was sharp. But Schilling was totally dominant in the late-afternoon shadows, tossing eight shutout innings of four-hit ball, striking out nine. When Darren Daulton lit up reliever Greg McMichael for a solo shot to right in the top of the ninth, it seemed like the Phillies would cruise to a 3-0 victory and the series lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jim Fregosi tried to help Schilling’s cause by sending out Milt Thompson and Jim Eisenreich to replace their more plodding teammates in the field. More pertinently, Fregosi also substituted Kim Batiste for Dave Hollins at third, as he had been doing throughout the series.
Jeff Blauser drew a leadoff walk, and then Gant bounced a grounder to third, which was booted by Batiste (who played perhaps the worst defensive series by a defensive replacement in postseason history). With veteran Fred McGriff striding to the plate, Fregosi decided it was time to call for his unpredictable lefthanded closer, Mitch (Wild Thing) Williams. Steady Freddy ripped a single to centre, scoring Blauser, and a David Justice sacrifice fly cashed in Gant to pull the Braves to within a run.
After Terry Pendleton singled, Bobby Cox went to his postseason good-luck charm: Francisco Cabrera, pinch-hitting for Damon Berryhill. Like in Game 7 of the ’92 NLCS, Cabrera came through again in the ninth, lining a single to centre that would score McGriff and complete the Wild Thing implosion. Williams managed to avoid further damage in the inning.
With one out and Mark Wohlers on the hill, Lenny Dykstra came to the plate seven years to the day after hitting a game-winning home run in the NLCS for the Mets. History repeated, as Dykstra launched one of what would turn out to be six postseason homers for the leadoff man who was simply possessed in the ’93 playoffs. As a clapping Dykstra circled the bases, Fregosi wisely called for Larry Andersen to begin his warm-ups. The steady veteran retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the tenth, and the Phillies would go on to wrap up the series en route to their ultimate heartbreak on Blue Jay Way.
#24. Game 1, Wrigley Field, 2003
Following a tremendous round of Division Series baseball, the Marlins and Cubs kicked off the 2003 NLCS with a bang on the North Side of Chicago. With Kerry Wood unavailable after his Game 5 victory, the Cubs’ mercurial righty, Carlos Zambrano, got the call against Florida’s Josh Beckett.
It looked early on as if Zambrano would get all the run support he needed, as the Cubs battered Beckett in the first for four runs, two of which were scored on a Moises Alou home run. But in the third, the Marlins struck back, as Ivan Rodriguez, who was having a simply incredible postseason, blasted a three-run homer to left. Two batters later, precocious third baseman Miguel Cabrera launched a solo shot to left, and Juan Encarnacion made it back-to-back big flies with a very long drive to left. Florida led, 5-4.
With the score 6-4 in the sixth, ex-Blue Jay Alexander Scott Gonzalez – who faced the middle-name-free Alex Gonzalez as his opposing number at short in this series – flashed some opposite-field power, as he lifted a drive to right that cleared the wall and tied the game before the rapturous Wrigley crowd. The score was tied, 6-6, heading into the ninth inning. Dusty Baker turned to his closer, Joe Borowski, for the ninth.
With one out, pinch-hitter Todd Hollandsworth hit a solid gapper, good for a double. After Juan Pierre walked, the Marlins’ other pesky speedster, Luis Castillo, bounced a seemingly routine grounder to second. As Mark Grudzielanek fielded the ball, however, he tried to tag the oncoming Pierre. As Pierre sidestepped the tag (and the basepath), Grudzielanek bobbled the ball, and his subsequent throw to first was too late to catch the lightning-quick Castillo. Everybody was safe on the error. To the Cubs’ chagrin, Rodriguez strode to the plate in another key situation. Unsurprisingly, Rodriguez executed in textbook fashion, going with an outside fastball and driving a single to right, scoring a pair. Borowski escaped without further damage.
Ugueth Urbina came on to slam the door in the ninth, and he had Damian Miller (in the #9 slot thanks to an earlier double switch) followed by the top of the order. Sammy Sosa loomed as the fourth hitter if Ugie was less than perfect.
With one out, Kenny Lofton lined a double down the right field line, giving the Wrigley Field faithful hope. Sure enough, Sosa came to the plate with a man on second and two out. Not wanting to put the tying run on base, Jack McKeon had Urbina pitch to the slugger. “Backfire” doesn’t begin to describe the decision in hindsight, as Sosa launched a belt-high fastball clear out of the ballpark and into a delirious mob waiting on Waveland Avenue for an unlikely souvenir. The game was tied at 8!
In the tenth inning, Baker went to the lefty, Mark Guthrie, to hold the Marlins at bay. With the pitcher’s spot up, Mike Lowell was called upon to pinch-hit. Lowell’s was a compelling story, as he returned only days before the playoffs from the disabled list; in the midst of a career year, Lowell broke his hand in late August and was presumed out for the season. Confined to spot duty due to lingering pain and the surprising play of the 20-year-old Cabrera, Lowell’s opportunities to shine were few, but he took full advantage on this night. Lowell drove a fastball to straightaway centre, which nestled into the grassy hitter’s background for a stunning go-ahead home run. Braden Looper closed the game out without incident, and Florida drew first blood in yet another excellent series of the scintillating 2003 postseason.
#23. Game 4, Comiskey Park, 1983
For the first time since 1968, the Baltimore Orioles had a manager not named Earl Weaver. In his rookie campaign, Joe Altobelli did a tremendous job in winning the East, as the O’s suffered an injury-riddled campaign that saw virtually every player dinged by injury – save lefty Scott McGregor and his 22-year-old MVP shortstop, Cal Ripken Jr. In the ALCS, the O’s took two out of first three from Tony LaRussa’s hard-hitting, free-swinging White Sox.
With both managers electing to use a four-man rotation, the matchup was between each club’s youngest regular: righty Storm Davis against lefty Britt Burns. Both were fantastic. In fact, when the Pale Hose took their turn in the bottom of the seventh, both hurlers were working on four-hit shutouts.
In the bottom of the seventh, Davis fell behind Greg Walker before giving up a leadoff single. Not wanting to tempt fate with a 21-year-old, Altobelli used a quick hook to summon Tippy Martinez, his best reliever. Vance Law greeted Tippy with a single to left, and the Sox had two on with nobody out. Then shortstop Jerry “Dibby” Dybzinski came to the plate. He would change the game single-handedly…by blowing Chicago’s best scoring chance.
Asked to bunt by LaRussa, Dybzinski deadened the ball too much, as catcher Rick Dempsey forced pinch-runner Mike Squires at third easily. Still, the White Sox had two on and one out. The next batter, Jose Cruz (Senior), bounced a single through the hole in left. Law rounded third aggressively, but retreated after getting a stop sign at third. There was a slight problem, though: Dybzinski was steaming, full-speed, to third base. Faced with an automatic out, Law got himself into a rundown, but was easily tagged out. Rudy Law flied out to end the threat.
Meanwhile, Burns was doing yeoman work, putting up zero after zero. After nine complete, LaRussa elected to stay with Burns, despite the readiness of Salome Barojas in the bullpen. (Parenthetically, “Salome Barojas” is Yankees P.A. announcer Bob Sheppard’s favourite name to announce of all time.) Burns struck out John Shelby, but the next batter was Tito Landrum. The seldom-used Landrum, would not have a World Series at-bat, blasted a home run to left that broke both the scoreless tie and the hearts of the South Siders. Burns departed to the somewhat bittersweet cheers of the Comiskey crowd, and three relievers would combine to give up another two Oriole insurance runs in the inning. Baltimore clinched the series with a 3-0 win, and would go on to celebrate Cal Ripken’s first – and only – championship.
#22. Game 1, Memorial Stadium, 1969
The very first ALCS game in history was one of the very best. The pitching matchup boded well, as Jim Perry (20-6, 2.82) of the Twins took on the Orioles’ Mike Cuellar (23-11, 2.38) who would share the Cy Young Award with Denny McLain.
The great Frank Robinson broke the ice in the fourth with a solo home run. In the fifth with the score tied, the slick-fielding but light-hitting Mark Belanger shocked Perry by going yard and giving Baltimore a 2-1 lead. The momentum swung back to the Twins in the seventh, as Tony Oliva ripped a homer of his own, scoring Harmon Killebrew and giving Minnesota the 3-2 advantage.
Billy Martin – yes, he managed the Twins then – allowed Perry to finish what he started, as the veteran righty took the hill in the ninth. With ace reliever Ron Perranoski watching from the bullpen, beloved first baseman Boog Powell led off the ninth with a dramatic blast to right that tied the game. Brooks Robinson lined a single to left that was booted by Ted Uhlaender for a one-base error, and Billy called for Perranoski. Pinch-hitter Curt Motton reached on an error by Rod Carew, and the O’s were in an excellent position to win the game. But with two on, two out and Merv Rettenmund at the plate, catcher George Mitterwald caught Brooks between third and home, ending the threat with an embarrassing caught stealing.
In the top of the twelfth, Earl Weaver went to young lefty Marcelino Lopez, who allowed a walk, flyout and single before throwing a costly wild pitch with Rich Reese at the plate. To set up the double play, Weaver put Reese on intentionally and called on tough veteran Dick Hall to face shortstop Leo Cardenas. Hall fanned Cardenas, and got pinch-hitter Johnny Roseboro to harmlessly fly out to left and end the bases-loaded threat.
In the bottom half of the inning, Belanger reached on an infield hit and was sacrificed to second. Don Buford chopped a slow grounder to short, and Cardenas made a nice play to get him as Belanger advanced to third. Some 34 years before Ramon Hernandez’s stunning bunt single, Weaver had Paul Blair try a surprise bunt, with similar results: Belanger scored easily on the shocked Twins. The Orioles, one of the greatest teams ever assembled and proud owners of 109 wins, would sweep the ALCS en route to falling victim to the Miracle of Flushing Meadows.
#21. Game 4, Yankee Stadium, 2001
Although the Seattle Mariners won an amazing 116 games in 2001, the M’s disappointingly dropped both Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS to their nemeses from the Bronx. In Game 3, however, Seattle appeared to have gotten back on track with a 14-3 pounding of Orlando Hernandez. Paul Abbott tried to even the series for the Mariners against Roger Clemens – and he turned in among the more remarkable performances in postseason history.
Paul Abbott was lifted after five innings with a no-hitter intact, yet few questioned Lou Piniella for doing so. Abbott had to work his way out of jam after jam, walking eight in his five innings of work despite being untouched by a batted ball. Norm Charlton would come on in the sixth. For his part, Clemens tossed five innings of one-hit shutout ball, but was also lifted after walking four and throwing a plethora of pitches.
The Yankees went hitless until Tino Martinez doubled in the bottom half inning. The Yankees would load the bases thanks to two – what else? – walks, but Scott Brosius grounded into a double play to end the inning and the game continued scoreless.
Finally, in the eighth with two out, Bret Boone went the other way against Ramiro Mendoza with a drive to right centre and into the bleachers for a 1-0 lead. Bernie Williams replied in the bottom half of the inning with a solo blast off of Arthur Rhodes, and the teams were tied, 1-1, heading into the ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth, Piniella turned to Kazuhiro Sasaki, who was outstanding all season and dominated the Tribe in the Division Series. With one out, Brosius reached on an infield single, bringing up 23-year-old Alfonso Soriano. Soriano, who developed into one of the game’s most dangerous hitters before the eyes of the baseball world in the 2001 postseason, blasted a ball to right centre. Sasaki started for the dugout before the ball even cleared the wall, and Yankees fans celebrated their club’s commanding lead in the series. New York would dispatch the 116-win M’s in five games en route to dropping a brilliant World Series to Arizona in Game 7.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20031011052952999