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 […]
The victims of the first-ever perfect game in World Series history, the 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers had little time to regroup and recharge in their return to the diamond just a day later: a must-win Game 6 at Ebbets Field. A Duke Snider single in the first eliminated any concern about […]
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 […]
By the time Sandy Alomar established a new Indians postseason record with his 10 RBI in the 1997 World Series, the 31-year-old catcher was a long established member of the team. He had pre-dated Manny and Lofton and Vizquel and Thome and had represented Cleveland in five All-Star Games; he […]
League Division Series play has produced 39 winner-take-all contests – those ultimate, tension-filled testing grounds that have a way of squeezing out all of the possible drama. The very first year of this round – 1981 – was especially generous in its largesse, serving up three Game 5’s on the […]