Likely they will play (I fervently hope they do not or at least let them acknowledge, it is just an exhibition with no real title) and a bogus champion will be a result.
This one will/would make the split season ’81 Dodgers, seem like the ’27 Yankees, or close to it, by comparison.
Sorry, current commissioners and far too many fans, their heads so deep into fantasy/not the real team competition, but your attitude is disgraceful to me.
They will some day attempt “all teams into the playoffs,” I hope not, but it is not all that far fetched, a 60 game season a compelling example.
In “Oh, God,” (written by Avery Corman, starring George Burns and directed by Carl Reiner–tomorrow this bitterness goes and I look back in tribute to Mr. Reiner) Burns/”God” cites the ’69 Mets winning it all, as his last miracle.
I feel confident God loved baseball, helped inspire it and would oppose the wild card presence and a 60 game season.
Today a really special episode of “What’s My Line?” that first aired in 1954.
The mystery guest is the fabulous Doris Day. The episode below is shown with its original commercials.
In a variation, the panelists were introduced from right to left and I do the same. Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, Steve Allen and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Ms. Kilgallen, in turn, introduced host John Charles Daly.
Enjoy.
I love “Baseball Reference” (baseball-reference.com) and am enthralled by the work they have done to preserve baseball history.
Now maybe, some new type statistics caused a two run home run by the eventual losing team, that put said team up by a run to be placed ahead of a similar two run home run in importance, with the big difference being it put the eventual winning team ahead to stay.
Their order of game’s important plays below:
r Pitcher wWPA wWE Play Description
t5 2-3 2 1– RR ATL Orlando Cepeda Nolan Ryan -29% 39% Home Run; Carty Scores
b5 3-4 1 1– RR NYM Wayne Garrett Pat Jarvis 29% 70% Home Run; Ryan Scores
b4 1-2 0 1– RR NYM Ken Boswell Pat Jarvis 23% 69% Home Run; Shamsky Scores
t1 0-0 1 1– RR ATL Hank Aaron Gary Gentry -18% 32% Home Run; Gonzalez Scores
b3 0-2 1 — R NYM Tommie Agee Pat Jarvis 11% 40% Home Run
Same 5th inning “Cha Cha’s” (Cepeda) blast put Atlanta (Braves) down (2-0) in that ’69 NLCS, ahead by 1 (4-3), while Wayne Garrett’s homer put the Mets ahead (5-4) in an eventual (7-4) pennant clinching win, en route to the title.
Clearly Garrett’s 2RHR was more important than Cepeda’s. Far more clear, Baseball Reference (baseball-reference.com) did a superb job and I, for one, though citing the above, am very grateful.
Wayne Garrett, pictured above, homered to put the Mets ahead to stay in their pennant clinching game 3 win vs the Atlanta Braves in the 1969 NLCS.
Yesterday, I watched a very good episode of “The Big Valley,” on MeTV.
The episode’s title is “Winner Lose All,” and featured a guest appearance by Katharine Ross, this in 1965, 2 years before her turn in “The Graduate.” (praise to Charles Webb, the author of “The Graduate,” who died this month at age 81).
In the IMDB list of cast members, incredibly, Olivia de Havilland, today 3 days from her 104th birthday, is cited in the uncredited role of Ms. Hadley.
Paraphrasing the great singer and song, (Dion and “Abraham, Martin And John” written by Dick Holler) regarding seeing Robert Kennedy, “I thought I saw” Olivia, near a fence with two kids in a key scene.
Series regular,Lee Majors (“Heath”) with Katharine Ross in the 1965 “Big Valley” episode, “Winner Lose All.”
In the game the day before he hit two grand slam home runs, Frank Robinson was slightly injured making a game saving catch at Fenway Park, on a drive hit by Reggie Smith of the Boston Red Sox.
That occurred in the bottom of the 13th inning with the score tied at 7.
He then contributed an rbi bunt single, “tuning” the second of 6 Orioles’ runs in the top of the 14th inning, in an eventual (13-8) win.
The next night pitcher Dave McNally, lead off man Don Buford and second place hitter, Mark Belanger were on base for both of Frank’s grand slam home runs, again in the 5th and 6th innings of a (13-2) win at Washington, vs the Senators on June 26, 1970.
Andy Etchebarren, pictured above, who we sadly lost last October (another from the great Orioles’ teams is gone), had a game tying 2 out, ninth inning home run and the go ahead, 14th inning rbi hit in the O’s (13-8) win, cited above.
On a lighter note, I do remember that card of Andy, pictured above.
I still recall the spot “around the table,” where Jim Kiick, a vital member of great Miami Dolphins’ teams, who died days back, sat, when I interviewed him in the early 1990’s, at Rascal’s in New York City.
Mr. Kiick, to me ever so cool (see the Sports Illustrated cover with fellow Dolphins’ great Larry Csonka) and a great clutch player, one of the best at scoring touchdowns close to the goal line, was so friendly as he sat with another player (Theo Bell or George Atkinson?) and fellow interviewer, Lisa Squires.
A post below and my thoughts then, indicated my admiration for the 1973 Miami team, another title team, perhaps better than the undefeated 1972 version.
Jim said are you saying/asking was the ’73 team better? He thought one could make a good case for that thought.
One certainty is that Jim Kiick was a vital contributor to those title teams. He was a phenomenal clutch player. There are many big game examples.
In one such instance, the upstart Cleveland Browns went ahead of the undefeated 1972 Dolphins, early in the fourth quarter of their division round clash.
A big pass play, Earl Morrall to the great Paul Warfield, got the Dolphins pretty close, from where Jim Kiick scored the game’s last points, on a slashing, 8 yard touchdown run.
Many such plays and a friendly charisma I was lucky enough to see personally, are two great memories of Jim Kiick.
Recalling the 1973 Miami Dolphins
Jim Kiick, pictured above.
So many of my “macro” problems would have been alleviated if George W. Bush, certainly not a political favorite of mine, had become Baseball’s commissioner.
He was the only owner to vote against the bogus wild card presence. I know he was a New York Giants’ fan and loved their 1954 title team. Does he recall 1951, when it came down to a playoff that ended dramatically?
Surely he knows such an ending can never be with the wild card.
Now they will play a 60 game season. Enough said! They took the best game and ruined it.
Alas trophies and “such,” especially ones from shortened seasons, in the midst of a pandemic, hopefully, will mean little, if anything.
That it might, does hurt, however.
As Jim Croce sang, “It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way.”
Today, another great episode of “What’s My Line?”
This one is from May 1953 and the mystery guest is third year player and budding great star, Mickey Mantle.
Panelists are Dorothy Kilgallen, Steve Allen, Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf.
John Charles Daly is the show’s host.
In yesterday’s post on the 56th anniversary of Jim Bunning’s perfect game, I cited it was the first by a National League pitcher in 84 plus years.
The next one would come 1 year and 80 days later, when the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax, who pitched and won the day of Bunning’s perfect game, hurled one, vs the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965.
There had been 2 no hit game in the National League in 1964, before Bunning’s perfect game and both “no-hit” pitchers, Sandy Koufax (his 1964 no hit game was vs the Phillies) and Ken Johnson pitched and won on that June 21, 1964 day.
Johnson’s win that day, was in sharp contrast to his no hit game vs the Cincinnati Reds, as he lost (1-0) in that game, in which he pitched a no-hitter.
Phils’ second baseman, Tony Taylor, made a great defensive play, throwing out Jesse Gonder in the 5th inning of Jim Bunning’s perfect game.
Andy B Sports 