Baseball Update And Notes

Three of the four “12 to 8” round best of three series ended yesterday with 2 game sweeps, making it 10 such in the 12 possibilities since this ridiculous extra round was instituted.

1969 was among much else, (Woodstock, moon landing and the Mets “miracle” crown) the first year of LCS play and of 4 franchises, the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres and the Seattle Pilots, who after one year in “Sea,” became the Milwaukee Brewers and the Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals.

This “shotgun” round of ‘offs has three of those teams and all 3 of their opponents were in those first League Championship Series back in ’69.

The Royals have handed the Baltimore Orioles, the ’69 baseball runners-up, a 10th straight post-season loss, 6 at K.C.’s hands (they swept the O’s in the 2014 ALCS), and 4th straight ‘offs entity loss all with different “best ofs” and all resulting in their opponent getting the “best of” Baltimore. (Aforementioned K.C. in a best of 7 in ’14, Toronto in a 1 game entity in ’16, eventual champion Texas (Rangers) in a best of 5 div series last year and now K.C. in the yesterday completed best of 3.

Also yesterday the ’69 expansion team Padres completed a 2 game sweep of the 1969 N.L. runnerup, Atlanta Braves.

A third ’69 expansion team vs a ’69 LCS qualifier series these 55 years later has gone to a decisive third game as the Brewers nee ’69 expansion team (Seattle) Pilots won game 2 after losing game 1 to the franchise, the Mets that stunned in ’69 by winning it all.

This makes it 4 out of 4 times that a baseball post-season series contested between teams from New York and Milwaukee has gone the maximum # of games. (I am not saying Sciambi ought to have known that or a note involving the last Milw win down into the 8th

In both ’57 and ’58, the World Series between the Yankees and Milwaukee Braves went to a decisive 7th game while the unscheduled, strike caused “qtr” or actual “div” series for the A.L. East title between the Yankees and Brewers went to a decisive 5th game and now Mets/Brewers to a decisive third game.

In the other tilt, the Tigers, playing on the exact 56 year anniversary of their game 1 ’68 W.S. loss to the Cards, whose great Bob Gibson broke Sandy Koufax’s one game strikeout mark that game, eliminated the Houston Astros denying Hous (2 titles and 2 W.S. losses in those 7 seasons) them a chance at eventually tying the Braves’ 8 straight LCS appearances (that team, with its over rated pitching staff managed but one title, going (1-4) in World Series play and losing their last 8 such games to the Yankees) a chance for a record tying 8th straight LCS appearance.

The three teams that have advanced from the “12 to 8” to the tournament “Qtrs,” were 1984 LCS participants when there were only 4 ‘offs qualifiers and for the last time the LCS were best of 5 entities.

Detroit, which by the way, came back to win that ’68 W.S. with Mickey Lolich outdueling Mr. Gibson in #7, won it all those forty years ago in 1984 and not since. They 5’d S.D. with their 3 John Birch Society pitchers in the W.S. while the Royals were swept in 3 games by the Tigers in the ALCS.

Do not look now but with the “brackets” as they are, an ’84 ALCS redux and even an ’84 W.S. such are possible but certainly long shot improbable. However, stranger things have manifested.

Yesterday which was “Erev” Rosh Hashanah was the exact 56 year anniversary of Bob Gibson breaking Sandy Koufax’s one game World Series strikeout mark.

Both of these great pitchers set their records in a World Series opening game played on a Wednesday, October 2nd, Sandy in 1963 and Mr. Gibson in the “late, “not so great” 1968.

Speaking of Jewish holidays, Sandy famously did not pitch in the Yom Kippur coinciding with the ’65 W.S. opener in ’65 while Bob Gibson set the mark in that ’68 W.S. opener which I believe also coincided with Yom Kippur.