Tag / World Series

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Historic Games Part Three

Last summer, the White Sox fell victim to Clayton Kershaw’s 3000th career strikeout and I decided to take a look back at the historic games I’ve attended over the years.  Here is part three, featuring another six games where an individual hit a career plateau or a team clinched a pennant.

April 11, 2011 – A’s 2, White Sox 1

In the bottom of the fifth inning of a scoreless tie at US Cellular Field, the slugging Brent Lillibridge, he with the 19 career home runs, launched the first pitch he saw from Dallas Braden into the bleachers for the 10,000th home run in White Sox franchise history.

May 9, 2015 – Reds 10, White Sox 4

With the White Sox trailing the Reds 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th in the first game of a double header, Alexei Ramirez took the first pitch from Johnny Cueto and deposited it into the left field stands for his 100th career home run.

September 5, 2015 – Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1

Filling in for the injured Mark Buehrle, David Price scattered three hits and struck out eight in seven innings to beat the Orioles at Rogers Centre for his 100th career victory.  The win increased Toronto’s lead to 1 1/2 games in the AL East.

October 21, 2015 – Mets 8, Cubs 3

With an 8-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Mets, in their first post-season appearance in nearly a decade, completed the sweep and won the NL pennant for the first time since 2000.  They would go on to lose the World Series in five games to the Royals.

October 22, 2016 – Cubs 5, Dodgers 0

For the first time since 1945, the Cubs won the National League pennant after defeating the Dodgers 5-0 in game 6 of the NLCS.  Behind a two hitter from Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs put to rest the painful memories of the collapse of 1969, the failure to win one of three in San Diego in 1984, and the Steve Bartman-fueled fiasco of 2003.  They would go on to face the Indians in the World Series, winning their first championship since 1908.

September 9, 2017 – White Sox 13, Giants 1

Jose Abreu hit for the cycle in the White Sox victory over the Giants, going 4-5 with 3 RBIs.  Abreu started with a home run in the first inning and a double in the third against starter Jeff Samardzija.  In the seventh, he singled against Josh Osich and, in the eighth, he finished things off with a triple to the right field corner against Roberto Gómez.  He became the first White Sox player to get the cycle since José Valentín in 2000.

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Dodgers All Time Leaders – Through 2025

dodgersTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers began life in Brooklyn in 1883, moving to their current home on the west coast, along with their rival Giants, in 1957.  I’ve seen 177 players wearing the Dodger blue in the 30 games I’ve seen them play live, including the first two games of their 2008 NLDS sweep against the Cubs and their pennant-clinching victory in the 2017 NLCS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Kiké Hernandez 5
Matt Kemp 2
James Loney 2
Manny Ramirez 2
Justin Turner 2
Cody Bellinger 2

Hits

Name Total
James Loney 20
Matt Kemp 14
Russell Martin 14

Runs

Name Total
James Loney 12
Russell Martin 8
Rafael Furcal 8

RBI

Name Total
James Loney 12
Kiké Hernandez 10
Matt Kemp 9

Doubles

Name Total
James Loney 5
Matt Kemp 3
Juan Pierre 3
Freddie Freeman 3

Triples Continue reading →

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2026 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

Last Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2026, with the results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 20th, and induction taking place July 26th.  With CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, and Billy Wagner as the electees last year, the new ballot contains fifteen holdovers along with a dozen newcomers.

On Wednesday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers, all of whom saw their last MLB action during the weirdness that was the 2020 season, and see who may be thankful come January.

Ryan Braun

The long-time Brewer had a fine career, minus his 2013 suspension for PEDs, but has no real shot at enshrinement.

Shin-Soo Choo

Choo left MLB as the record holder for most career home runs hit by an Asian-born player, but that isn’t going to get him much support.

Edwin Encarnación

424 career home runs was good, but good enough to push him over the top.

Gio González

A perfectly serviceable pitcher who has no real chance of getting a vote, let alone sticking around for a second election.

Alex Gordon

Again, not likely to get much support.

Cole Hamels

The 2008 World Series MVP will need to buy a ticket if he wants to get into the Hall.

Matt Kemp

A perfectly decent career, just not one that leads to enshrinement.

Howie Kendrick Continue reading →

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Hanging Up His Platinum Glove

Former Cub Anthony Rizzo announced his retirement this morning after a fourteen-year career.  A three-time All Star, Rizzo spent ten seasons with the Cubs, ranking sixth in franchise history with 242 home runs.  He was also a four-time Gold Glove winner, winning Platinum Glove honors in 2016 as the league’s best defender.  In 2017, Rizzo was bestowed with the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award.

Rizzo, originally drafted by the Red Sox when Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer were in their front office, was the duo’s first big acquisition when they reunited in Chicago, acquiring him from the Padres.  Beginning the 2012 season in Triple A, he was recalled at the end of June and quickly became a mainstay of the lineup and a crowd favorite.  As the Cubs were rebuilding around him, he signed a long-term contract extension in 2013.  He cemented his position in Cubs lore by catching the final out of the 2016 World Series, ending the longest championship drought in American professional sports.  However, as the Cubs struggled to repeat the team success of that season, Rizzo also struggled in later years, contributing to an offense that has severely regressed since 2016 and was one of the Cubs who refused to get the COVID vaccine, keeping the team below the 85% threshold for the 2021 season.  At the trade deadline, he was traded to the Yankees.

After re-signing with the Yankees after the 2021 season, Rizzo spent three injury-marred seasons in New York, culminating in last fall’s World Series loss to the Dodgers.  A free agent following the season, he went unsigned and sat out the 2025 season prior to today’s announcement.  He will officially retire as a Cub and join the organization as a team ambassador.

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The Hall Calls

Sunday night, the results of the Classic Baseball Era Veteran’s Committee vote was revealed, adding two players to the Hall of Fame class of 2025: Dick Allen and Dave Parker.  Parker was named on fourteen ballots from the 16-person committee, while Allen nabbed thirteen votes, the one more than the minimum needed for election.

Allen spent three of his fifteen big league seasons with the White Sox, earning the MVP award in 1972.  He was the Rookie of the Year in 1964 with the Phillies and also spent time with the Cardinals, Dodgers, and A’s.  He hit 20 or more home runs in nine consecutive seasons and finished his career with 351 homers, 1,119 RBI and a .292 career batting average.  Unfortunately, Allen passed away in December of 2020.

Parker, 73, was a seven-time All-Star in his 19-year career, hitting 339 home runs and posting a lifetime .290 batting average.  He won back-to-back batting titles with the Pirates in 1977 and 1978, winning the NL MVP award in ’78.  He earned All-Star MVP honors in 1979 while leading the Pirates to their last World Series championship.  After leaving the Pirates, he bounced around to the Reds, A’s, Brewers, Angels and Blue Jays, winning a second title with the A’s in 1989.

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What If… Moises Alou Makes That Catch

Welcome to the first installment of what should become a recurring feature, taking a look back at some occurrence in the world, mostly sports, and trying to ascertain what the outcome would have been if just one thing, a decision or an outcome, went a different way.  We start in October 2003, with game six of the NLCS where one particular play, debated for years, may have turned the tide.

 

On October 14, 2003, the Cubs were five outs away from winning their first National League pennant since 1945. Mark Prior was on the mound for the Cubs and had retired eight straight batters into the eighth inning when Juan Pierre doubled, bringing Luis Castillo to the plate. On the eighth pitch of the at bat, Castillo hit a high foul ball down the left field line, heading towards the stands. Moises Alou tracked the ball and reached, when the ball was touched by a fan. A visibly upset Alou, along with Prior and Cub manager Dusty Baker, pleaded for a call of fan interference, but the umpires ruled that the ball had left the field of play. Castillo returned to the plate and, on the next pitch, walked on a wild pitch, allowing Pierre to advance to third.

Ivan Rodriguez then hit an 0-2 pitch for a single, knocking in Pierre and making the score 3-1. When the next batter, Miguel Cabrera, hit a shard ground ball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez, it looked like the rally was over, but, instead of turning the ready-made double play, Gonzalez booted the ball, loading the bases. Derrek Lee then drilled the next pitch for a double, knocking in Castillo and Rodriguez and tying the score 3-3. At this point, Baker emerged from the Cub dugout to remove Prior, but the damage had been done. The Marlins scored five more times, winning the game 8-3 and forcing a Game 7.

The following night, the Marlins completed the unlikely comeback, beating the Cubs 9-6 and going on the face the Yankees in the World Series. They would wind up winning that as well, defeating the Yankees in six games to take home their second title.

But what if Alou had made that catch? How would the rest of history play out? Let’s take a trip through the multiverse to see what the outcome would have been.

OK, so Alou makes the catch for the second out of the inning.  Let us assume Rodriguez still singles, scoring the speedy Pierre from second to make it a 3-1 game.  Let us also assume Cabrera hits the same grounder to Alex Gonzalez, but, without the pressure of trying to make up for the missed out, he fields it cleanly, retiring Cabrera and ending the inning. Continue reading →

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2023 BBWAA Award Predictions

The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season, which will be announced next week.  It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Shohei Ohtani, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien

Shohei Ohtani should run away and hide with this award.  But, an early end to his season and perhaps some burnout from voters picking the same name every year may open the door a bit.  That said, these awards were voted on prior to the post-season, so the Rangers World Series win won’t move the needle at all, so I’m going to guess Ohtani still gets it.

Cy Young Award: Gerrit Cole, Kevin Gausman, Sonny Gray

Gerrit Cole seems the obvious choice here.  He leads the three finalists in nearly every category and managed a WHIP below one in over 200 innings.

Manager of the Year: Bruce Bochy, Kevin Cash, Brandon Hyde

As usual, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  If voting took place after the World Series, then Bochy would be a shoo-in.  However, since the early playoff exits of the Orioles and the Rays don’t get taken into account, Brandon Hyde should win this award after leading the Orioles to an AL East title.

Rookie of the Year: Tanner Bibee, Triston Casas, Gunnar Henderson

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Gunnar Henderson will win, since he in the only one of these three that I have heard of previously.

National League

Continue reading →

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Fallen Hero

Former Cub Dwight Smith, who, as a rookie, was a key member of the 1989 NL Easy champions, died yesterday at the age of 58.  The Braves, with whom Smith played for after leaving the Cubs and earned a World Series ring in 1995, said he died of congestive heart and lung failure,

As a rookie, Smith hit .324 with an OPS of .875 in 109 games in 1989, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting to teammate Jerome Walton.  He also sang the national anthem at Wrigley Field on July 21.  In his five seasons with the Cubs, he hit .285 with 32 home runs and 159 RBIs.  After the 1993 season, Smith was non-tendered by the Cubs and, following a nomadic 1994 season, he ended his career with the Braves from 1995-1996.  His son, Dwight Smith Jr., played parts of the 2017 through 2020 seasons with the Blue Jays and Orioles and is currently playing in the Mexican League.

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Book 51 (of 52) – Yogi

Yogi: A Life Behind The Mask – Jon Pessah

Lawrence Peter Berra was born on May 12, 1925 in St. Louis, the third child of Italian immigrants who wanted to try and make a living playing baseball.  When the hometown Cardinals passed on him, Berra started playing in the local American Legion league, where he picked up a nickname: Yogi.  After serving with the Navy in World War II, Yogi Berra made his mark with the New York Yankees.  Over his career, he won 3 MVP awards, appeared in a record 14 World Series. and won 10 championships.  After his playing career, he managed and coached for both the Yankees and the Mets.  When he was fired by George Steinbrenner 16 games into the 1985 season, Berra vowed to never enter Yankee Stadium again as long as Steinbrenner owned the team.  14 years later, Steinbrenner apologized and mended fences, bringing Berra back in to the fold, where he would remain until his 2015 death.

I feel like for baseball fans of my era, Yogi Berra’s accomplishments on the baseball field were blunted by his reputation off of it, that of the bumbling goofball who says funny things.  In fact, until fairly recently, I didn’t even know that he had coached with the Astros for 5 seasons following his fallout with the Yankees in 1985.  Reading through this biography, I learned that Berra was not just along for the ride for Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle’s championship teams, but was instead the driving force that bridged those two eras and kept the Yankees the champions of the American League for all but 3 seasons of his career.  I have a newfound respect for Berra and his place in baseball history.

 

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Bringing In Reinforcements

Four years and 2 days ago, the White Sox jumpstarted their rebuild by trading Adam Eaton to the Nationals for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez.  Yesterday, the White Sox tried to put that rebuild over the top by trading Dunning to the Rangers for Lance Lynn and signing Eaton to a one year deal to fill the hole in right field.

Lynn, who will turn 34 before Opening Day, was linked to the White Sox at the trade deadline last year and should join Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel in giving the team veteran leadership on the mound.  He has finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting each of the last 2 seasons.  He will be a free agent following the 2021 season.  Dunning, meanwhile, made his major league debut last year, starting 7 games as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery.  He started the decisive game 3 of the AL Wild Card series against the A’s, going only 2/3 of an inning before getting pulled as the White Sox lost in their first post-season appearance since 2008.

Eaton, 32, was a gold glove finalist in right field for the White Sox in 2015, but things went south the following year when he was a vocal critic of the front office following the Drake LaRoche debacle during spring training.  He blew out his knee in 2017 and missed most of that and the 2018 seasons.  In 2019, he was a key part in the Nationals capturing their first World Series title, putting up an OPS of .993 during the series.

Last week, the White Sox introduced their new coaching staff and the mantra coming out of that was World Series or bust.  While giving up 6 years of control for Dunning for a single year of Lynn is a steep price, he at least should push the team in the right direction.  Eaton, however, seems to be a throwback to the days of buying low and hoping for a breakout season.  With better, but more expensive, options still available, this move does not announce to the world that the White Sox are all in.