NL & AL MVP's and Cy Young Award Winners

KOD5 Post Season Award Winners

1. NL MVP (Albert Pujols 2002-STL)


2. AL MVP (George Bell 1985-TOR)


3. NL Cy Young (Fernando Valenzuela 1985-LAD)


4. AL Cy Young (Vida Blue 1971-OAK)

Pujols 02STL------Bell 85TOR---Valenzuela 85LA---Blue 71OAK

1994 Expos win KOD5 World Series in 5 games over '82 Angels

GAME 1: Montreal 3, California 0

The Expos dropped a 3 spot on the Angels in the bottom of the opening frame and made it stick. The bottom of the first started innocently as Angel starter Geoff Zahn got the first 2 hitters (Grissom & Frazier) to ground out weekly. Zahn got a little too "cute" with Moises Alou and wound up walking him. The speculation here is that the lefty Zahn felt more comfortable facing lefty Larry Walker. Walker is no ordinary left handed hitter. During the season he hit over .300 against southpaws, and his great batter's eye helped him work out a walk as well. Up stepped shortstop Wil Cordero who hit a 2-1 offering deep into the left center field bleachers to make the score 3-0. Little did anyone know that 3-0 would be the final score as Expo starter Ken Hill allowed only 2 hit in 8 innings of work before giving way to John Wetteland, who notched the save.

GAME 2: California 3, Montreal 2

This game looked to be a clone of the opener with the Expos striking first blood in the 3rd with Wil Cordero again providing the firepower. With 2 outs, Angels starter Bob Forsch gave Larry Walker an intentional pass only to see Cordero single home 2 (White and Lansing). Expo starter Butch Henry was cruising along as the Angels couldn't find a way to cross the plate, but by the 8th he was out of gas and Mel Rojas was tapped to close it out. Rojas was terrible. In the 8th he gave up a 2 run shot to Bobby Grich and in the 9th he allowed Brian Downing to single home Fred Lynn for the winner. Steirer, who cam on in relief got the win and Sanchez notched the save.

GAME 3: Montreal 6, California 3

After 2 consecutive "quality" starts Pedro Martinez returned to the hill looking to get his team back on track. Bobby Witt took the hill for the Halos in front of their home crowd in Orange County. Pedro was on the ropes early on and with 2 out in the 5th he was gone after throwing 127 pitches. By that point Pedro had a 1 run lead and all looked good as Gil Herredia took the hill. Brian Downing led off the 8th against Herredia and hit a solo shot to left to tie the game. After Reggie singled it looked like the Angels were going to rally and take the game. Thankfully the Expos have a deep bullpen and both Gabe White and Tim Scott prevented further trouble from "a brewing". the top of the 9th saw Wil Cordero again do damage with the lumber as he led off with a stand up opposite field double. Reliever Dave Goltz pitched around lefty Cliff Floyd, which put runners at first and second with no one out. Lou Frazier came to the plate and fought off a wicked 3-2 slider to single to left to load the bases. Sean Berry hit a sharp grounder to Tim Foli at short, which almost made it through the drawn in infield. Foli pivoted and threw Cordero out at the plate. with 2 out up stepped catcher Darrin Fletcher who didn't waste any time before slicing Goltz' 1st pitch down the left field line to clear the bases and put the Expos up by 3. Mel Rojas immediately sat down in the pen and John Wetteland began warming up. The bottom of the 9th saw only a weak Rob Wilfong hit by the Halos as Montreal took a 2 games to 1 series lead.

GAME 4: Montreal 2, California 1

With the Expos leading the series 2 games to 1 this game became a must win for the Angels. Both teams seemed tight at the onset of the contest and the 7 straight scoreless innings tossed by Jeff Fassero and Bruce Kison did nothing to remove that feeling. By the 8th both starters were gone. Kison allowed only 3 hits in 6 innings worth of work, while Fassero scattered 7 harmless hits before he gave way to Mel Rojas in the 8th. Kison's replacement, Doug Corbett wound up being the loser in this contest as he surrendered the a run in the 8th. Don Aase was brought in to shut the door but he allowed Montreal to post an additional run to make it 2-0. Lou Frazier led off the top of the 8th with a "leg" double to right. Frazier is known for his wheels, and he never stopped motoring after he hit the ball and wound up on second in a scenario that other players would have had a long single. Corbett struck out Darrin Fletcher and got Grissom to weakly fly to Lynn in center. With 2 out Mike Lansing laced a double of his own to score Frazier. Aase came on to surrender a line single to Moises Alou and just like that the Angels were down 2-0. The bottom of the 8th saw Fassero start the inning and get Reggie to round out to 1st. Fassero was now operating on fumes, so a call to the the pen was imminent. After FOX came back from commercial Mel Rojas was standing on the mound. Fresh off his game 2 debacle Rojas was more than ready to redeem himself. Unfortunately for Mel he yielded singles to the first 2 batters he faced: Don Baylor and Ron Jackson (4 for 4). Montreal manager Marc Weiss was not about to relive this deja vu' all over again and immediately sent Rojas to the showers and called on lefty specialist Gabe White to face Fred Lynn. White, as he has done throughout the post season came through against a tough lefty hitter and induced Lynn to weakly line out to Cordero at short. With Tim FOli on deck the call to the bullpen was to bring in closer John Wetteland in hopes of getting 4 outs. Angel manager Douglas Zaner was not about to be outmaneuvered in this virtual chess game. Zaner immediately tapped future HOF'er Rod Carew to pinch hit and the Panamania came through in the clutch with a sharp single to right to score Baylor. Larry Walker bobbled the ball and instead of 1st and 3rd with 2 outs the Halos had 2nd and 3rd. A single could now score 2 and put the Angels ahead. Veteran catcher Bob Boone moved into the batters box and must have had the world on his shoulders. A single could tie the series, but an out would more than likely leave his team down 3 games to 1. Wetteland fell behind 2-0 and battled back to a 2-2 count. Boone got a nice pitch to drive and he hit it to the track in left field, but the speedy Frazier was camped out under it to end the rally. Wetteland came out for the 9th and basically threw smoke. Juan Beniquez, who replaced the injured Downing in the 4th flew out to Grissom in center. The next two batters, Grich and Decinces both struck out swinging as Wetteland just overpowered them. Montreal now had a 3 games to 1 lead with the chance to close it out in game 5.

GAME 5: Montreal 9, California 4

A rematch of game 1 starters saw Ken Hill again facing Geoff Zahn, who had his team's season resting squarely on his left shoulder. The burden of all that pressure was too much for Zahn who gave up 5 runs in only 2 innings worth of work. Angel manager Douglas Zaner hated to pull his ace, but he did not have the luxury to be able to wait and hope he "righted" the ship Montreal scored another run in the third, 2 more in the 4th and 1 more in the 6th...all off of reliever Steve Renko, before the Angels finally cracked the scoreboard. Montreal hurler Ken Hill was cruising along, but with a 9 run lead began to lose concentration. A couple of hits and a key error later and Hill was done for the day, but on the long side of the ledger with Montreal up 9-3. The Angels managed to get a lone run in the bottom of the 9th to bring the score a little closer to respectability. John Wetteland settled down after yielding the run and closed out the 9th to hand the Expos their first World Championship of any kind. This season turned out to be the crowning glory for a franchise that finished the 1994 season as "uncrowned champs". As we all know the Expos were poised to dominate the NL, when the player's strike ended their season and in all essence ended their franchise. Expo fans never forgave the players for striking and ownership for trading away their stars. Within 3 years the dominant Expo lineup was scattered to the 4 corners of the baseball world. Pedro was winning Cy Young awards yearly in Boston, while Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Marquis Grissom all went on to have MVP caliber seasons in bigger markets. Again it was nice to see this team get it's due. On a personal note I feel I have a tie to the Expo organization. I might be one of the few people who can say that they attended the Expos first game ever in 1969 @ Shea Stadium in Flushing, NY. It was also my first ever Met game. On the flip side I attended the last Expo game in 2004, also at Shea. Having the chance to be part of this KOD championship for the Expos is almost like coming full circle.

'94 Expos take NL Crown

Game #1: (Olympique’ Stadium) Pirates 13, Expos 7

Pirates jumped out to a 12-0 lead after 5
Expo starter Jeff Fassero was dreadful after giving up 5 runs in 3 inn
Expo relieve Kirk Rueter was even more woeful giving up 8 in 4inn.
Montreal had a gut check and scored 6 in the bottom of the 7th
Pirate CF’er Al Oliver went 4 for 4.
Pirate starter Steve Blass lost focus, but pitched well and had 2 hits
In a losing cause Grissom and Lansing each had 3 hits for MON.

Game #2: (Olympique’ Stadium) Expos 7, Pirates 2

Ken “king of the” Hill kept Pirate hitters off stride all game
Pirate starter Bob Moose was just as effective
The Pirate pen allowed 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to give the game away to the Expos. Larry Walker and Darrin Fletcher both knocked in 2 runs in the 8th.
Tim Scott got the win and Mel Rojas finished out the 9th to even the series at 1 game apiece.

Game #3: (Three Rivers Statdium) Expos 7, Pirates 2

Tied at 2 after 2 this game looked like it was going to be a see-saw offensive show.
The Lumber Company turned into splinters, while the Expos continuted to hit.
Pedro Martinez had his 3rd consecutive decent outing in a row as he shut PIT out for the final 6 1/3 innings he pitched.
Montreal scored solo runs in the 4th and the 5th as Berry and Alou both doubled home runs
Larry Walker and Wil Cordero hit back to back solo shots in the 8th to put the game out of reach.

Game #4: (Three Rivers Statdium) Expos 3, Pirates 0

4 Expo pitchers combined to throw a 6 hit shutout as the Pirate bats grew even colder.
Montreal broke the scoreless deadlock in the 4th when Cliff Floyd doubled home Alou.
In the 8th Fletcher doubled and was singled home by Berry
Cordero provided an insurance run with a solo shot in the 9th.
Wetteland came on with 2 out in the 9th to fan PH Vic Davilillo.

Game #5: (Three Rivers Statdium) Expos 4, Pirates 0

2nd straight game that the Expos shutout PIT with 4 pitchers.
Jeff Fassero went 7 scoreless innings and redeamed himself for his poor outing in game 1.
Moises Alou hit a solo shot in the 3rd after Frazier go caught stealing.
Darrin Fletcher hit a 2 run shot off of Pirate starter Bruce Kison after Cordero singled.
Moises Alou singled home Frazier after Grissom got caught on the front end of a double steal in the 8th.
Pittsburgh had 1st & 2nd with 2 out in the 8th when PH Vic Davilillo again failed to get a clutch hit.
The Pirates scored 4 runs total in the last 4 games of the series.
MVP - Moises Alou (7-21, .333, 6 RBI)

'82 Halos Sweep '02 Bombers to caputure AL Flag

2002 New York Yankees (Ed Mikhli) Vs. 1982 California Angels (Douglas Zaner)

Game 1: CAL 8, NYY 1 - Doug DeCinces' 3-run HR broke open the game in the bottom 6th inning and California cruised to a 8-1 win. Mike Mussina, fresh off his no-hitter just a few days ago, left his A-game in Toronto, gaving up a walk, 3 hits and 3 runs in the first inning. Angels starter Ken Forsch, who was rocked by the Bronx Bombers earlier this season, figured out what he had done wrong. He scattered 8 hits and gave up only 1 run on his way to a 90-pitch complete game.

Game 2: CAL 12, NYY 4 - Reggie Jackson, Fred Lynn and Doug DeCinces each hit a 2-run HR off lefty David Wells, as California banged out 17 hits on way to a 12-4 win. Fred Lynn led the Halos attack with 4 hits, as 9 of 10 Angels had at least 1 hit. The only bright spot for the Yankees was Jason Giambi's bases-clearing double in the top of the 5th to temporarily narrow the NY deficit to 7-4. But other than that, California starter Mike Witt pitched well, striking out 8 in 6.1 innings.

Game 3: CAL 6, NYY 1 - The series moved to The Bronx, with the Yankee hitters still searching for their bats. But Halos' ace Bruce Kison managed to keep them hidden, limiting NY to 3 singles over 7 and a third innings. Behind a Reggie Jackson HR, California held onto a 3-0 lead entering the top of the 7th inning. Then Doug DeCinces and Don Baylor each HRed to give the Halos a 6-0 lead to put the game out of reach. Jason Giambi's RBI double off Any Hassler prevented the shutout. Kison lowered his season ERA to 1.87, while El Duque took the loss for NY.

Game 4: CAL 10, NYY 3 - California completes the sweep behind balanced hitting and a gutsy effort from Halos surprise starter Angel Moreno, who won his 2nd post-season game. California bunched their hits to score 7 times in the first 3 innings to build a 7-0 lead off Yankees starter Roger Clemens. 4th inning solo shots by Jason Giambi and Nick Johnson got the Bombers closer. But it wasn't quite enough, as 4 Angels relievers pitched 3 innings of 2-hit, shutout baseball. Although Fred Lynn lead the team with 3 RBIs, 8 of 9 Angels had at least 1 hit in what again was an entire team effort.

Turning point: It's hard to identify a single turning point when a team scores 36 runs behind 50 hits, including 8 HRs, while yielding only 9 runs and 33 hits for the entire Series.

ALCS MVP: Doug DeCinces (8 for 17, 9 RBIs, 3 HRs) and Fred Lynn (9 for 19, 7 RBIs, 5 extra base hits) took co-MVP honors.
--submitted by Douglas Zaner--

'87 Tigers mauled by '82 Halos

'87 Detroit Tigers (Tom Davis) Vs '82 California Angels (Douglas Zaner)

Game 1: CAL 12, DET 2 - Tigers and Angels meet in the AL LDS just 2 days after Detroit took 3 of 4 in the regular season. Game 1 - Terrell and Kison repeat as first game starters, although this time is was the opposite result. The Angels got to Terrell for 3 hits and 3 wallks in the 1st inning, batting around and scoring 6 times, in route to a 12-2 win. Fred Lynn had 3 hits , including a double and triple, and 3 RBIs. Kison also reversed his fortunes from the previous opening game, holding Detroit to 6 hits over 7 innings, allowing only 1 run.

Game 2: CAL 3, DET 1 - Spot starter Angel Moreno gave the Angels just what they needed - 7 solid innings of 5 hit, 4 walk, 1 run baseball, as Californing built a 3-1 lead. He was helped by the sterling middle infield play of Bobby Grich and Tim Foli, who turned 3 double plays, spoilng one Tiger rally after another. Alan Trammell's solo shot in the top of the 3rd accounted for the only Detroit run. Andy Hassler and Luis Sanchez shut the door in the final two frames for their 5th hold and 6th save, respectively. Former Angel Frank Tanana pitched very well for the Tigers, and was the hard-luck loser, despite throwing a complete game.

Game 3: CAL 9, DET 1 - As he did in his first appearance against Detroit, when he accounted then for California's only win of that series, once again the left arm of Geoff Zahn managed to keep the Tigers in their cages, this time with a 7 hit, 1 run complete game. Mike Heath's double in the bottom of the 9th spoiled the shutout in what was otherwise a near-perfect day for Zahn. Reggie Jackson's 2 solo HRs would have been enough for the victory. But every Angel had at least one hit, as the team managed to score in 6 different innings. Don Baylor led the hitting attack with 3, while the '80s winningest pitcher Jack Morris took the loss.List the turning point. The bottom of the 1st inning of Game 1, when the Angles batted around scored 6 runs, setting the tone of the entire series. --submitted by Douglas Zaner--

Pirates hijack Phils Season with LDS sweep

Cy Young hopeful Lefty Steve Carlton could not protect a one run lead as the Bucs rallied to take game 1. Carlton gave up 6 run in 6 innings of work, but he could not silence the potent Buc bats. Doc Ellis got the win, but was not stellar either. Dave Cash and Rich Hebner each had 3 hits for the Lumber Company. The big hit came from veteran pinch hitter Bill Mazeroski, who singled in Al Oliver for what turned out to be the winning run. Ramon Hernandez pitched a scoreless 9th to notch the save.

Philadelphia's starting pitching, which was so consistent during the regular season again faltered as Tom Underwood gave up 4 runs in 4 shotty innings of work. Pittsburgh's Steve Blass also yielded 4 runs, but he went the distance and his offense posted a 6 spot. Interestingly Philadelphia outhit the Bucs, but could not piece them all together. Light hitting Gene Alley knocked in 2 runs in the 2nd with a two base hit.

The series headed back to Pittsburgh with the home town team up 2 games to none. Three Rivers Stadium was rocking and the Bucs did not disappoint as they soundly eliminated the #1 ranked Phils from the post season. HOF'er Mike Schmidt (2) and All-Star Larry Bowa (3) were responsible for ALL of Philly's hits on the day. The Pirates had a well balanced attack with Al Oliver netting 3 hits and 2 RBI's. After starter Bob Moose tired in the 5th, veteran right hander Bob Miller came on to throw 3 scoreless innings, which effectively ended Philly's chances. The Pirates have been "lights out" under new interim manager Stu Geller, who has piloted them to a 6-2 record, which includes the play in game victory over STL.

'94 Expos defeat '86 Astros in 4

The Expos finished the season tied w/Philly for the best record in the league, so they had to settle for the #1 wild card slot and a trip to the 8th wonder of the world, the Houston Astrodome. As a reward for their 3,500 mile trip the Expos got destroyed by the Astro offense. Every Astro starter had at least 1 hit except Billy Hatcher who walked 3 times. Houston starter Mike Scott was lights out and only gave up 3 runs in a complete game effort. Scott also banged out 4 hits and had 3 RBI. A truly awesome performance by the 1986 NL Cy Young award winner.In a battle of two southpaws Jeff Fassero bested Bob Knepper 5-2. Fassero went 7+ innings before yielding to the awesome bullpen duo of Mel Rojas and John Wetteland. Larry Walker had 3 hits and 2 Rib-eyes as the Expos evened the series 1-1.Game 3 saw Olympque Stadie host it's first ever KOD post season game. The Expos knocked future HOF'er Nolan Ryan out of the box with 5 runs in 4 innings. Ken "King of the" Hill had a super quality start going 6 and yielding only 2. Gabe White came in out of the pen to strike out Jose Cruz and end Houston's chances of a rally. Montreal went with the lefty / lefty matchup and it all worked out. Wetteland saved his second of the series. Kevin Bass had 3 hits in a losing effort.With Montreal up 2 games to 1 Pedro Martinez took the hill with the goal of closing out the Astros. As we all know the close out game is always the toughest in the series. Houston jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and had Pedro on the ropes, but he managed to get out of it and throw shutou ball for the next 5 innings before he yielded to Shaw, White and Wetteland. Montreal never panicked in this one. Down 3 zip the chipped away at Jim Deshaises and got 1 run in each of the first 3 innings to tie the game. The bottom of the 6th saw the 'Spos score 3 runs off of reliever Charlie Kerfeld. Larry Walker and Wil Cordero each had big RBI hits. Things looked good until the top of the 9th. Montreal felt like they had money in the bank up by 3 and John Wetteland on the hill, but Houston was not about to lay down and go quietly into the night. With 2 out and a man on Kevin Bass hit a 2 run shot to put a scare into the French speaking crowd. Wetteland dug down deep and got Glen Davis to line out hard to Sean Berry to end the series.

'02 Yanks eliminate '85 Jays 3 games to 1

Toronto got on the board first when Lloyd Moseby lead off with a walk and subsequently stole both 2nd and 3rd base then scored on a safety squeeze bunt by Tony Fernandez. That would be the only run Toronto would score off of Mike Mussina, who no hit them. This type of no hitter is kind of bitter sweet. The sweep part is the fact that "Moose" won the opening playoff game and did not allow a hit, something only Don Larsen had been able to do. The bitter part is that Toronto scored a cheap manufactured run and foiled the shutout. A footnote to all of this is that Toronto carried that 1-0 lead into the 6th, when the Bombers finally got on the scoreboard when Posada was doubled home by Ventura with 2 outs. Posada then singled home Giambi for the go ahead run in the 8th, which stood up for the victory as the bombers added an insurance run in the 9th.The Yanks won the second game 1-0. Bernie Williams doubled home Giambi in the top of the 1st and made that 1 run stand. Toronto starter Dave Steib pitched another hard luck complete game as his team had Yankee starter David Wells on the ropes a few times, but could not score. Mo came on in relief to notch the save.The Blue Jays had their backs up against the wall as the series shifted to the House that Ruth Built. Toronto scored 6 runs in the 8th and carried a 10-3 lead into the 9th, but the Bombers wouldn't go down without a fight and scored 3 runs to make it interesting. Tom Henke had to come on to get the final 2 outs after Jim Acker was terrible while yielding 3. Blue Jay catcher Ernie Whitt had 3 hits and 2 RBI's. Toronto starter Jimmy Key notched the win as he gave up 2 runs in almost 6 innings of work before Acker made it interesting.On a cold rainy October New York night the Bombers and Jays suffered through a 71 minute rain dealay in the 1st. Both starters (Clancy & Clemens) were limited in their ability to throw and both were gone before the 4th. The Yanks were forced to go with scheduled game 5 starter Andy Pettitte in the 4th and he threw 5+ innings of 2 run ball, while his offense scored 4. Mo came on with 2 outs in the ninth to hold back Toronto's threat to clinch the series. It was a calculated move by Yankee manager Ed Mikhli, who would not have had a 5th game starter if the Bombers lost. With the score 2-1 Soriano's 2 run blast in the 7th was the back breaker for Toronto, who did make it interesting by scoring 1 in the 9th before Mo put out the fire.

California 6, Milwaukee 3...Angels win play in game in 10 innings

'82 Angels (Zaner) Vs '81 Brewers (Weiss)

With these 2 teams finishing the season with identical W-L records, and having split their series earlier in the season, this play-in game for the AL West Division title looked to be a close, exciting game...and it was. Gorman Thomas put the Brewers up early with a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 1st inning off Angel starter Ken Forsch. That score held up all the way through 7 innings. In the top of the 8th the Angels used a lot of patience and 3 walks to load the bases with one out. Up stepped Doug DeCinces suffering through a disappointing season, batting only .214. Out from the Brewers bullpen stepped Cy Young candidate Rollie Fingers with his 2 wins, 10 saves and 1.40 ERA. But against the odds, DeCinces somehow managed to smash a bases-clearing double, and suddenly the Angels were leading 3-2. But the Brew Crew refused to go quietly. In the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and the tying run on 2nd base, Cecil Cooper hit a single off lefty John Curtis to score Thad Bosley from 2nd base and tie the game 3-3. Free baseball in Milwaukee with the season on the line! In the top of the 10th, the Angels managed to put runners on the corners with 1 out off Reggie Cleveland, the 6th pitcher of the day to work for Milwaukee. Cleveland has done very well against righties all season (.209/.306/.302). So it looked like he might still escape unscathed since the Halos had 2 righties due up. But lightening struck again for DeCinces, doing his best impression of Bobby Thompson, as he parked one over the LF wall to give California a 6-3 lead. Luis Sanchez pitched the bottom of the 10th and picked up the win.

Two turning points - both provided by the bat of Doug DeCinces - top of the 8th and again in the top of the 10th.

MVP: Doug DeCinces - 3 hits, 1 double, 1 HR, 6 RBIs
--submitted by Douglas Zaner--

Jays and Tribe split series as Toronto clinches AL East

Series Overview: Toronto needed a split to clinch the AL East title. Cleveland needed at least a split to secure a spot in a play in playoff game the day after the regular season ended.

GAME 1: After scoring 2 runs in the top of the 9th the Blue Jays carried a 3 run lead into the bottom of the frame with only 3 outs left to win. Starters Doyle Alexander and Dennis "El Presidente'" Martinez were both gone. Alexander yielded 6 runs and Martinez 7. Both teams had their hitting shoes on. The top of the 9th saw George Bell single after Rance Mulliniks k'd. Bell stole second and this looked to rattle reliever Paul Shuey who yielded a 2 run shot to Willie Upshaw. Toronto thought they had the game in the bag & why wouldn't they ? Toronto's strategy was simple: have Gary Lavelle start the inning and pitch to all the lefties in Cleveland's lineup. Omar Vizquel led off with a single. Lofton and Franco both hit grounders back to the box that Lavelle fielded cleanly but his errant throws pulled Will Upshaw of 1st. With nobody out and the bases jammed Jim Thome stepped up to the plate. Tom Henke was now vigorously warming in the pen, but the plan was to have Lavelle face Thome who has trouble hitting lefthanders. 2 pitches later Thome deposited a Lavelle slider into the right center field bleachers for a walk off Grand Slam homer. The Blue Jays were stunned, but the fans a "the Jake" almost brought the house down.

GAME 2: Call game 2 the Dave Steib show. In a must win situation Steib showed himself to be a true ace as he went out and tossed a 4 hit complete game shutout against Cleveland's formidable lineup. Toronto's bats were hot as they shelled Orel Hershiser and the rest of the Indian staff for 8 runs to even the series at one game apiece.

GAME 3: This one qualifies as a classic. Starters Charles Nagy and Jimmy Key hooked up in a classic pitcher's duel. Neither got the decision. Down 2-1 in the 8th Toronto rallied to tie the game up at 2 as Shuey walked Blue Jay catcher Ernie Whitt with the bases loaded to tie it up. that's how it stayed until the 10th when Carlos Baerga led off with a double and scored as Alvaro Espinosa attempted to bunt him over to third, but catcher Ernie Whitt threw the ball into left field. Jose Mesa came on to save it in the bottom of the 10th.

GAME 4: Chad Ogea and Jim "don't call me Tom" Clancy were two unlikely candidates to hook up in a pitcher's duel, but that's exactly what happened. Ogea gave up only 2 runs in almost 8 innings of work, but that was not enough to garner a win as Clancy (4-1) only yielded one. Bill Caudill, Gary Lavelle and Tom Henke came on in relief and held off the Indians who were not about to go quietly. Toronto opened the scoring as George Bell hit a solo shot to lead off the 2nd. They added another run in the bottom of the 7th as Bell knocked in Damaso Garcia with a sac fly. Cleveland cut the lead in half in the 8th as Julio Franco singled home Omar Vizquel. Caudhil and Lavelle struck out Jim Thome and Jeromy Burnitz to escape the threat. Lavelle and Tom Henke finished out the 9th to ensure the victory and the series split.

Detroit took the first two games in California. Walt Terrell opened the series with eight innings of shutout ball before giving up a homer to Don Baylor in the ninth. By that time the Tigers had backed him with 8 runs, five off starter Bruce Kison and three more off Steve Renko. Dan Petry got a rare start in the second game and responded magnificently. He only gave up 1 run in seven innings before giving way to Mike Henneman. Henneman gave up a homer to Reggie Jackson in the 8th but again the Tigers had staked Petry to five runs and that was enough as the Tigers won 5-2. The series switched to Detroit with Jack Morris opposing Geoff Zahn. The lefty dominated the Tiger bats early and the Angels provided four runs off Jack Morris. Chet Lemon and Matt Nokes hit back to back homes off Zahn in a three run 6th, but there would be no more scoring and the Angels won 4-3 with Andy Hassler getting the save. The last game of the series was incredible. Doyle Alexander started for the Tigers even though he was past his usage limit. Eric King was available to start but he has been used exclusively in relief this season and had pitched extremely well in that role. Tiger manager Tom Davis did not want to jinx King by starting him so he started Alexander in the hopes of getting a few innings, getting a lead off Angel starter Dave Goltz who came into the game with an ERA of over 6 and then bringing King in. Ah, the best laid plans ... seldom work out. Neither team could score and the game went into the 8th 0-0. Alexander gave up a 1 out single to Rod Carew who had been hitting the Tigers like he knew what was coming. However, after Henneman and Hernandez got up in the bullpen, Alexander bore down and got Brian Downing to fly out and Reggie Jackson to ground out. In the bottom half of the frame, Goltz gave up a leadoff single tto Tom Brookens who has been Mr. Clutch for the Tigers all season. Andy Hassler came in to face Lou Whitaker and Sweet Lou's bunt forced Brookens at second. Alan Trammell walked but Hassler bore down to strike out Kirk Gibson. Matt Nokes, who DHed the entire series to keep Mike Heath's arm behind the plate, had had no trouble with lefties all season, going 7-23, so he was left in to face Hassler. He responded by ripping a single to right, scoring Whitaker. Alexander made the run stand up getting the Halos one-two-three in the ninth earning his fourth win and lowering his ERA to 1.66 The Tigers finished the season at 21-15 and the Angels, who had been in first in the West dropped to 19-17. --submitted by Tom Davis--

Bucs/Braves Split as Atlanta's new skipper right's ship

ATL 69 (Mike Morgan) vs. PIT 72 (Ross Gottlieb)

GAME 1: ATL 3 PIT 1

Mike Morgan's first game as new manager of the 69 Braves resulted in a victory. It was a pitchers duel. George Stone, Gary Neibauer, and Cecil Upshaw only allowed 2 hits to the Pirates. Atlanta's bullpen held their own for a tired Stone. Atlanta catcher Bob Didier went 3 for 3 and scored 2 runs to be game MVP.

GAME 2: PIT 4 ATL

Niekro and Blass had fine pitching performances in a Pirates victory.List the turning point. Vic Davalillo had a 2 run blast in the 8th to put the Bucs ahead for good.

MVP: Vic Davalillo for a timely bomb.

GAME 3: PIT 8 ATL

Ten pitchers were used to decide this circus of a game. Also Atlanta and Pittsburgh fielders forgot their gloves while committing 7 errors between them. Atlanta pitcher Ron Reed allowed 8 runs in the first 2 innings thanks to the Braves horrible glove work. The Braves chipped away at the big lead thanks to 2 homeruns by Hammerin Hank, but the Pirate bullpen shut down all Braves efforts in the final 3 innings to seal the victory for the Bucs.

Turning point: The first two innings of horrible fielding by Atlanta.

MVP: The Buc bullpen for 3 solid late innings.

GAME 4: ATL 8 PIT 5

Atlanta's middle of the order bats came alive to get a series split with the Bucs. Rico Carty had 3 hits and 3 RBI's while Hank Aaron had a timely 3 run blast in the 7th to down the Bucs 8 to 5.

Turning point: Aaron's 3 run shot in the 7th.

MVP: Carty and Aaron co MVP's for waking up and deciding to HIT THE BALL for a change
--submitted by Mike Morgan--

Redbirds take 3 of 4 from Cincy

The 2002 St. Louis Cardinals stayed hot, winning three of four from the 1973 Cincinnati Reds in a series where both stadium were drenched in crimson. But the series could have easily gone 3 of 4 the other way. The games in St. Louis were particularly thrilling.

Cardinal ace Matt Morris opposed Reds stalwart Jack Billingham in the opener in St. Louis. Billingham was cruising along with the 3-hit shutout through seven, and 3-0 lead thanks to a Johnny Bench 2 run homer in the sixth, and a Davey Concepcion sac fly plating Tony Perez in the 8th.

In looked like Billingham would carry his shutout to the ninth, when Kerry Robinson opened the Cardinal eight with a pinch hit single, but then was erased in a double play liner off the bat of Fernando Vina. But JD Drew kept things going with a single, and MVP candidate Albert Pujols hit a gapper to right center to plate Drew with the Cardinals first run. Cleanup hitter Jim Edmonds then finally did what manager Bike Mike has been waiting to see all year, as he crushed a fastball into the right field stands for a two run homer tying the game. Billingham was a bit shell shocked at the quick three runs, so much so that he grooved a pitch for Scott Rolen, who then untied it with a circuit shot of his own.

Jason Isringhausen came in for the save, surrendering a lead off single to Ken Griffey but getting pinch hitter Hal King to hit a comebacker which was turned into a double play and Pete Rose, who had a monster series, to ground out to end the game.

Game two was one for the ages, and is perhaps the longest game in KOD history. The game featured 18 innings of baseball, 39 hits, 514 pitches by 15 pitchers, and 53 players used in total. Thank goodness for the expanded rosters.

The Cardinals started the scoring in the second off of starter Fred Norman when Fernando Vina doubled home Placido Polanco and Miguel Cairo. The Reds grabbed the lead in the 5th, plating three off Cardinal starter Jason Simontacchi on a Bobby Tolan homer leading off the inning, then doubles by Pete Rose and Joe Morgan, Morgan's hit scoring Rose, and a run scoring single by Dan Dreissen.

St. Louis vaulted back in front in the sixth with two, making the score 4-3. This was the scoring entering the ninth, when manager Bike Mike summoned lefthander Steve Kline from the bullpen to face lefty hitters Tolan and Cesar Geronimo. Reds manager Jesse Elicker called for righthanded hitter George Foster to hit for Tolan, and the move proved masterful as Foster delivered a game-tying pinch hit home run. Geronimo batted for himself and tripled, so Kline faced two hitters and gave up seven total bases.

Rick White was called on to restore some sanity, and got the Cardinals out of the inning, but Geronimo did score the lead run on a bouncer off the bat of Ed Armbrister.

Pedro Borbon was called on to save it for Cincinnati. But Albert Pujols had other ideas, lining a ball into the right field corner for a triple to lead off the inning. With the infield drawn in, seldom used pinch hitter Todd Cruz accommodated the Reds by hitting a ball right at third baseman Dreissen to hold Pujols at third. But Eli Marrero singled through the drawn in infield to plate the tying run. Borbon escaped further trouble and we were all knotted at 5 after nine innings of play.

After a scoreless 10th, the Reds jumped back in front in the 11th on a Joe Morgan single, stolen base, and two fly outs, the second a Johnny Bench sacrifice fly.

Tom Hall was pitching his second inning and looked to have the game won, retiring Polanco and Pujols to start the Cardinal 11th. Bike Mike then called on Antonio Perez to hit with two outs. Perez' father, Tony, was playing first base for the Reds. The younger Perez then electrified the crowd by sending a Hall breaking ball deep into the left field stands for a game tying, two out home run.

On they battled as the bullpens kept things scoreless in innings twelve through 17, with both teams missing some opportunities to grab the lead or the win.

Joe Morgan finally broke the scoring drought, leading off the 18th with a solo home run off of the eighth Cardinal pitcher of the night, Gene Stechschulte. That proved to be the game winner as the Cardinals went down in the bottom half, no doubt fatigued after 18 grueling innings of baseball.

The weary warriors moved to Cincinnati for games three and four. Game three looked to be an easy Cardinal win as the Redbirds mounted an 11-2 lead after six innings behind Woody Williams, who had also homered to help his own cause. Bike Mike pulled Williams after seven innings, trusting the bullpen could hold a nine run lead. But the Reds burned through seven of those nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings, causing such a scare that Bike Mike called on closer Jason Isringhausen to get four outs and preserve the win, 11-9. Pete Rose went five-for-five in this one, and despite the loss the Reds hammered five home runs.

After such a wild three games, game four was rather mundane as the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead in the second and went on to a 5-1 victory. Andy Benes pitched six scoreless frames and Jim Edmonds continued his surge with two more homers and four RBI.

The three wins pulled the Cardinals to .500 at 14-14. The Reds dipped a couple of games under at 13-15.

Phils Phoil Mets 3 games to 1

88 Mets (Justin) vs 76 Phillies (Gary)

The Phils had some timely pitching and hit in clutch spots as they take the 1st 3 games. The Mets did take game 4 behind Doc Gooden to salvage the series.

The turning point had to be the Mets sloppy defense as all the games were close and could of went either way. Series MVP: Greg Luzinski 6-16. 3 runs- 4 rbi's --submitted by Gary B--

Motown sweeps Evil Empire

Tom Davis managed the 87 Tigers, Ed Mikhli managed the 02 Yankees

The first game was a hitting contest, with several lead changes and ties. The Tigers though pulled away fro the Yankees whenever they got close and ended winning 11-8 or so. The second game was a matchup between Jack Morris and Rogers Clemens and, as expected was a pitching duel Clemens left in the seventh or so, but Morris pitched into the extra innings and got the win at home in the 10th. The third game was a masterful gem won by Doyle Alexander as the Tiger bats stayed alive in Yankee stadium. The final score was 7 for the Tigers and not half enough for the Yankees. The last game featured the only lefthanded starters used int he series. Frank Tanana was staked to a nice lead, but Mike Henneman blew the save in the bottom of the 8th. Eric King came in to pitch the extra frames for detroit and allowed only one hit, winning in the 11th on a Darrell Evans homer.List the turning point. Probably came in the first game. The Yankees had rallied to tie the game at 8-8 in the 8th but in the bottom of the frame, Tom Brookens, the unsung hero of this Tigers team, got a two run double to spark a three run rally. after that, the Tigers were never in awe of the Yankee pitching and figured they would eventually score runsWho would you consider the MVP and why ? I would probably have to give it to Tom Brookens for his continued clutch hitting. batting in the ninth spot, he has started rallies and driven in big runs all season long and this series was no exception. But it would be close over Matt Nokes and Kirk Gibson who both had strong series. --submitted by Tom Davis--

Cards sweep Bums to get back in race

In a series where the teams battled back and forth, the 2002 Cardinals managed to come away with four straight victories over the 1985 Dodgers. It was the first time this Cardinal team showed some life, and actually played the way manager Bicycle Mike thought they would play coming in to the season.

The Cards came in to the series at 7-13, having lost three of four to the Atlanta Braves. It looked like another long four days for the beleaguered club when the Dodgers put four runs on the board in the 6th inning of the opener, to build a 5-1 lead at Chavez Ravine. But the visitors climbed off the deck, chipping away at the Dodger lead with a run in the seventh and two in the 8th. With Fernando Valenzuela laboring, Edgar Renteria greeted him with a line single to start the ninth. In keeping Edgar close to the bag, Fernando then balked him to second, and lost Albert Pujols to a base on balls. But he recovered to strike out lefty swinging Jim Edmonds, a common occurrence this season for the disappointing center fielder who is still looking for his first home run.

With righty swinging Scott Rolen at the dish, Valenzuela was pulled for the big right hander Tom Neidenfuer. Big Tom came in a took card of Rolen on strikes, but JD Drew, pinch hitting for Eli Marrero, singled to right plating Renteria with the tying run. Another pinch hitter, Tino Martinez, struck out. So despite striking out the side in the 9th, the Dodgers gave up the tying run.

Gene Schechschulte retired the Dodgers in the ninth. Jay Howell came on for LA. After Mike Matheny lead of the 10th with yet another strike out, pinch hitter Kerry Robinson drew a walk, then promptly stole second and scooted to third on Mike Scioscia's errant throw. Another Fernando, Vina this time, managed to launch a fly ball to fairly deep right, deep enough to score Robinson with the run that brought the Cardinals all the way back. Rick White and Jason Isringhausen finished up as the Cardinals earned a hard fought come back win, 6-5.

Game two was another extra inning affair, with the Cardinals eventually prevailing 4-1, exploding for three runs in the 11th inning off of Orel Hershiser.

Game three was the only one sided score, however the game was close until St. Louis exploded for six runs in the bottom of the eighth. Tino Martinez' grand slam was the big blow.

Game four was similar to the first game, with the Dodgers opening a big lead, but St. Louis chipping back and eventually tying the score. LA built an early 6-2 lead off of starter Chuck Finley with two in the second and four more in the third. Finley exited early, pitching only three innings. The Cardinal bullpen was terrific, with four hurlers allowing only one more Dodger run through the final six frames. Meanwhile the offense went to work like they did in game one, putting two on the board in the bottom of third on back to back homers by Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen, one in the fourth, and two more in the fifth to take a 7-6 lead,

After the Dodgers tied it in the seventh on singles by Ken Landreuax and Greg Brock, and a sac fly off the bat of Pedro Guererro, the Cardinals went right back in front on a Mike DeFelice single and Fernando Vina triple.

Jason Isringhausen came on to secure the win, although the Dodgers had the tying run at third when Izzy got Steve Sax to pop up to end the series.

87-Tigers take 3 of 4 from slumping 03-Red Sox

In a match up of two teams going nowhere fast, Detroit came out on top 3 games to one. The first game saw a real pitchers duel between Josh Burkett and Jeff Robinson. The Tigers scored first on a Kirk Gibson homer but Trot Nixon answered in the seventh with a two run shot to give Boston a 2-1 advantage. However, the Boston bullpen couldn't hold that advantage and surrendered a run on a pinch hit single by Scott Lusader and further singles by Tom Brookens and Alan Trammell. Todd Walker led off the tenth with a homer off Mike Henneman, but again the BoSox bullpen came up short. Alan Embree issued a two out walk to pinchhitter Bill Madlock and Byang-Hyun Kim gave up back to back doubles to pinchhitter Johnny Grubb and Tom Brookens. In Game two, Jason Varitek homered twice off Jack Morris and Pedro Martinez pitched a strong seven innings to earn his 3rd victory, 4-1. The third game saw the Tigers score 15 runs off a variety of Boston pitchers including starter John Lowe. Frank Tanana pitched well enough to earn the victory but was unable to finish. This was the third series in a row that saw the Tigers score 15 or more runs in a game. Manny Ramirez hit two homers off Tanana and Kirk Gibson hit his second homer of the series. The final score was 15-5. In the last game of the series, Tim Wakefield faced Walt Terrell. Todd Walker doubled home two runs in the second to give Wakefield a 2-1 lead. Chet Lemon put the Tigers ahead with a three run dinger in the 4th and then Tom Brookens tripled home another run. Walker and Nixon each doubled home a run in the bottom half of the frame and then Terrell gave up a tying run after Johnny Damon stole second and third and then came home on a Varitek single. Tiger manager Tom Davis had seen enough and brought in Eric King to face David Ortiz. Ortiz, suffering from a season long slump and hitting only 171, flied out King then got Kevin Millar to fly out to end the inning. The Red Sox would only manage one walk off King as he threw 4.1 innings of hitless relief to finish the game. He got the win when Kirk Gibson led off the 8th with his third homer of the series. The Tigers added two more in the 8th and won 8-5. --contributed by Tom Davis--

'73 Reds split with '76 Phils

The Phils took the opener 4-1 behind Steve Carlton's complete game 3-hitter. Dick Allen's 2-run double in the 2nd put the Phillies up 2-0, then he scored on Dave Cash's single to make it 3-0. The Reds scored an unearned run in the 6th when Bowa's error was followed by consecutive singles by Rose and Morgan to cut it to 3-1. Jay Johnstone's solo HR in the 8th added the final run to cap the scoring at 4-1.

In game 2, Larry Christenson pitched around trouble for 6 innings and departed with a 2-0 lead. The Reds had men on base every inning included a bases-loaded situation in the 5th. The Phillies' runs came by way of a pair of Dave Cash triples - one to lead off the game, followed by Larry Bowa's single, and the other in the 3rd which resulted in a run when Garry Maddox delivered a 2-out single. Top of the 8th Greg Luzinski started the inning with a double off Pedro Borbon. One out later he scored an important insurance run on Bobby Tolan's PH single. (Interesting as Bobby Tolan played against Bobby Tolan; neither team had Bobby Tolan in his prime.) With Ron Reed working his 2nd inning of relief in the 9th, Ken Griffey delivered a 1-out, PH single. Pete Rose singled, sending Griffey to 3rd to bring Joe Morgan to the plate with 1 out. Morgan lofted a fly ball to right, but Ollie Brown grabbed it and Griffey held 3rd. Dan Driessen followed and launched a 3-run HR to tie the game at 3. Things stayed that way until the 11th. With one out, Larry Bowa singled. Mike Schmidt followed and took a Tom Hall mistake deep into the night for a 2-run HR and a 5-3 Phillies' lead. Gene Garber closed out the bottom of the 11th as the Phils took their 2nd win, 5-3.

Game 3 moved to the Vet, and the Reds took an early lead. Johnny Bench tripled off Tommy Underwood to lead off the 2nd, then scored on Larry Bowa's error. A bunt moved the runner to 3rd, then Bobby Tolan's failed squeeze play resulted in 2 outs with Tolan on 1st. Don Gullett and Pete Rose singled, scoring Tolan for a 2-0 lead. Top of the 6th, Dave Concepcion led off with a single. He scored on PH Andy Kosco's single to give the Reds a 3-0 lead. Kosco's PH appearance resulted in an early exit for Don Gullett, who held the Phils to 1 hit over 5 innings. His replacement, Pedro Borbon, was not so fortunate. A 1-out walk to PH Fred Andrews and a 2-out single by Larry Bowa cut the lead to 3-1. Mike Schmidt followed with a drive that barely missed leaving the park, and his double made it 3-2. Top of the 7th, Ron Reed on in place of Underwood. Joe Morgan greets him with a HR to extend the Reds' lead to 4-2. Cincinnati adds another in the 8th on Pete Rose's RBI double and Tom Hall closes out the 9th for a 5-2 Reds win.


The series finale was a duplicate of game 3's score, a 5-2 Reds win. Johnny Bench's 2-run double in the first gave Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. But the Phils got to Fred Norman, who must have been happy to exit the 1st with only 2 runs against him. Cash and Bowa singled. Luzinski walked to load the bases with 1 out. Bench picked Luzinski off 1st, and then Garry Maddox doubled in Cash and Bowa to tie the game at 2. Norman settled down from there and worked 7 more scoreless, if not at times tenuous innings. Top of the 4th, The Reds took the lead for good on Cesar Geronimo's double and Pete Rose's 2-out single. Johnny Bench's solo HR in the 5th, followed by Denis Menke's single and Bobby Tolan's RBI double extended that lead to 5-2. Cincinnati loaded the bases in the 7th, but failed to score. Bottom of the 9th, Clay Carroll pitching, two outs, and he walks both Bowa and Schmidt. The Bull steps to the plate, but his fly to left stays in the park to end it 5-2. The teams split the four games, and it was a lot of fun.