When Babe Ruth made the last of his three World Series starts on the mound, he was batting in an untraditional spot for a pitcher – sixth. On the mound on this ninth day of September in 1918, Ruth kept the Cubs off the board for the first four innings […]
One of the reflective joys of the postseason comes in the echoes and reverberations, the links to the past that are constructed, seemingly, on the fly. Something happens in the present, or a series of somethings, and almost instantly, moments and performances and names from the past – often having […]
In 2001, Randy Johnson – author of 21 regular season wins, an MLB-best 2.49 ERA and a universe-vibrating 372 strikeouts – had the chance to continue his otherworldliness into the postseason. Chance received, challenge accepted, opportunity knocked outta the park. In six appearances that October and early November, the southpaw […]
When Jim Thome took Derek Lowe deep in the bottom of the third inning in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS, the Indians took an 8-7 lead over the Red Sox and Thome already had his second two-run home run of the contest. Again, this was the third inning. Then […]
It’s October 10, 1948. A reported 86,288 fans are on needles and pins at Cleveland Municipal Stadium to see if the Indians can clinch the franchise’s first World Series title since 1920. The incomparable Bob Feller gets the start for Cleveland, a shot at redemption after losing Game 1 to […]
For Yankees fans of a certain age, the name Edgar Martínez probably produces a host of emotions – none very good. The name might conjure teeth gnashing, it might inspire cold sweats, it very well could induce jagged breathing and even a few tears. To a baseball fan without any […]
There are 185 instances of a postseason batter – perhaps surrounded by bunting, perhaps hearing extra jeers or cheers from a crowd feeling the intensity, perhaps extra-energized by the heightened tension that seems to come with every delivery from mound to dish – generating at least two home runs in […]
On the season’s final day in 1980, the Royals skipped to a 4-0 win, able to generate the offense even without that season’s AL MVP – George Brett – in the lineup. Taking the day off, Brett finished the year short in his pursuit of being the first batter since […]
In his farewell season in 2016, David Ortiz positively scoffed and sneered and even snarled at that old figure, Father Time. Playing his final game of the year just a couple of months shy of his 41st birthday, Ortiz concluded his age-40 campaign with 38 round-trippers and a .620 slugging […]
For those within a certain age range, Dwight Gooden’s 1985 season resonates like no other. The alchemy of age, dominance, the fact that his curveball seemed to (to me, at least) hop upward before crashing down, being in New York, the heights and the depths of the numbers, all of […]