The World Series victory by the Washington Nationals (let’s not forget the Astros’ 107 win season but, (Astros manager) Mr. Hinch, better to “pinch,” not give away outs and the decision to bunt bottom 2/game 7 W.S. was NOT good) left the Washington D.C. teams’ final round record at (9-11), those numbers, yet again.
In baseball the Senators were (1-2), losing in ’25 and ’33 and winning in ’24 and the Nationals are (1-0). In football, “Wash” is (5-5).
They went (2-3) in the old NFL title tilts, losing (73-0) to the Chicago Bears in 1940 and also losing in ’43 and ’45. “Wash” won title games in ’37 and ’42. In Super Bowls, an opposite (3-2) record, winning thrice under Joe Gibbs, each with a different quarterback (’82, ’87 and ’91) while losing under George Allen in ’72 and with Gibbs in ’83.
The hockey Capitals are (1-1), losing in ’98 and winning it all 30 years later in 2018.
Meanwhile the “Wash” basketball teams are (1-3), the first loss to the old Washington Capitols (notice the spelling), one of two final round losses “suffered” by the great coach, Arnold “Red” Auerbach, who compiled a sensational (9-2), that is 9 of 11, record, in such entities. The Bullets now the Wizards, are (1-2), losing in ’75 and ’79 while winning the title in ’78.
It was quite a managerial job by Dave Martinez, pictured above, although I questioned his decisions to bunt in the just completed World Series as well, guiding the Nationals, to the title, after a (19-31) start to the season.
Yesterday, in both day and night, I enjoyed episodes on MeTV.
On “The Rifleman,” which airs consecutive episodes starting at 3 P.M. Eastern Time each weekday, it was fun to see Dan Blocker, later Eric “Hoss” Cartwright on Bonanza in a guest role (“The Sister” from 1958).
At night I was able to see the end of a Perry Mason episode, (also from 1958, “The Case of the Prodigal Parent”) whose guest stars included the one and only Fay Wray of “King Kong” fame, Nancy Kulp, later “Jane Hathaway” on “The Beverly Hillbillies” and as the guilty one, Herbert Rudley, later to be Eve Arden’s character’s husband on “The Mothers- In- Law.”
Of course the star of the iconic television show, “Perry Mason” was Raymond Burr, pictured above.
At 2 AM on November 3, 2019, Americans will turn their clocks back one hour, marking the end of Daylight Saving Time.
“Even in this digital age, some people still have clocks that need to be re-set. Please remember to do it at 2 AM, Sunday, November 3rd,” explained Juliet, who dances at Rick’s Cabaret New York. “Turn your clock back one hour. Here’s some photos of us girls to help you remember.”
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The 93 win(s), wild card, Washington Nationals, nee Montreal Expos, in their 50th completed season, won their first title with a (6-2) win AT Houston, vs the 107 win(s) Astros (incredibly the Nationals went (4-0) at Houston in an all road team wins series) in game 7.
Washington, which faced elimination 5 times this post-season, overcame, despite trailing in all 5 such tilts. In the three games that were decisive in entities (the 10 to 8 game at home vs the Milwaukee Brewers, the 5th game of the “div” series at L.A. vs the Dodgers and in the “ultimate” game, #7 W.S. last night at Houston, vs the Astros) the Nationals trailed by 2 runs as late as the 7th inning, twice until the 8th inning!
In the title winner, NLCS MVP, Howie Kendrick, who also “slammed” L.A. out, tied top 10, of the aforementioned div series, hit one of the biggest home runs/hits in baseball history, a 2 run home run that gave “Wash” its first lead, one they did not relinquish, with one out in the 7th inning.
Anthony Rendon, a tremendous player and one who will “break the bank” in upcoming free agency, homered off Houston starter Zack Greinke (matched vs another former Cy Young Award winner, Max Scherzer, the first ever such occurrence in #7WS, he had allowed but one hit and faced just one over the minimum number of batters entering the 7th. However, Houston batters continually failed to add runs, “lowlighted,” when foolishly, Chirinos attempted to sacrifice and could not even do so B2, with 2 on, none out and a run in on Yuri Guriel’s home run) to cut Houston’s lead to (2-1).
When Washington won its other baseball crown 95 years ago, two players named Harris, Stanley “Bucky” Harris, who also managed the team and another title winner 23 years later with the Yankees, and Joe Harris were starting players and did such in the (4-3), 12 inning title win vs the New York Giants in Washington.
In this title clinching win, Kendrick’s transformative, historic home run, not exactly a Ruthian blow, but so what, was hit vs another Harris, Houston reliever Will. It “tuned” Juan Soto, who had walked vs Greinke.
Run producing hits by Soto, and Adam Eaton increased the lead, Patrick Corbin hurled 3 innings of scoreless relief and earned the win while Daniel Hudson fanned Michael Brantley, to end the game and give the Nationals an incredible title.
Howie Kendrick, rhymes with ’72 and ’82 W.S. winning team member (George) Hendrick, pictured above.
Tonight for the third time in 4 seasons with the Buck/Smoltz combination as the Fox TV announcers, a #7 in the World Series will be played.
The play of Anthony Rendon (5 rbi’s) for the Houston native and Stephen Strasburg’s 2 run/8 and one third innings pitching, led “Wash” to a third win at Houston (7-2), forcing a Zack Greinke vs Max Scherzer started seventh tonight.
Incredibly, the road team, for the first time in any baseball, NHL or NBA best of 7 series won the first six games.
The road team has won a record 8 straight World Series games and is on an (18-3) run in the last baseball, NHL and NBA final round tilts.
The Astros won their previous #7 of a final, a road win at L.A. (Dodgers) in ’17. Houston won its only other previous #7 of a final in ’94, when the Rockets beat the New York Knicks.
Washington’s current sports teams also are unbeaten in such games, the lone one being the Bullets’ ’78 final win at Seattle vs the SuperSonics. (The Bullets are now the Wizards, while that Seattle franchise is now in Oklahoma City and sans even one title, lost stars James Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to other teams).
In 4 World Series involving Washington teams, three (the other two involving the Senators, being a home, extra inning win in ’24 and a (9-7) loss, dissipating a 4 run lead in ’25) have gone to a game seven.
Click below to view the great Gwen Verdon as “Lola” from “Damn Yankees.”
Tonight in game 6 at Houston, the Astros hope to win their second title in 3 seasons. Meanwhile the Nationals hope to force a 7th and decisive game tomorrow night.
This is the 16th World Series with this calendar (i.e. today October 29th is a/was a Tuesday) and more than half of the World Series played in such a calendar year (8) went to a decisive 7th game, those being (’02, ’91, ’85, ’68, ’57, ’46, ’40 and 1912). Twice 3 straight World Series with this calendar went to a seventh and deciding game (’85, ’91 and ’02 and before that ’40, ’46 and ’57).
Yesterday I cited the road team is an incredible (17-3) in the last 20 MLB, NHL and NBA final round games.
The road team has 7 straight World Series wins which broke the record of 6 set in the last 4 games of the 1949 World Series and first two in 1950.
The road team went (5-2) in the NHL final and (5-1) in the NBA final, manifesting in first time titles for the NHL St. Louis Blues and the NBA Toronto Raptors.
It would take a (7-0) road team World Series record to give another franchise, (the Nationals) a first time title. I do not believe any series in NBA, NHL or MLB annals has ever produced road team victories in the first six games.
Two baseball World Series resulted in road teams winning the first 5 games and the home team clinching the crown in game 6.
Those series were 90 years apart (the White Sox winning in 1906 and the Yankees in 1996).
Doc White, pictured above saved game 5 and won game 6 as the 1906 “Hitless Wonders,” Chicago White Sox upset the (116-36) Cubs in the World Series.
The 107 win Astros hope to follow the pattern of ’06 and for that matter ’96 and “6” the 93 win, wild card Nationals tonight.
The Houston Astros are on the precipice of a second World Series victory in a 3 seasons/2 year span, after totally dominating all three weekend games at Washington, to take a (3-2) World Series lead into game 6, at Houston tomorrow night.
This is just the third time (second in a series that was not intracity and also alternated home teams, as was the case in 1906, an eventual Chicago White Sox 6 game triumph vs the Chicago Cubs) the road team has won the first five games of the World Series. The other time, ’96 Yankees, who 90 years after the White Sox did so, won a home 6th after the road team won the first 5 games.
Houston never trailed in any of the “at Wash tilts,” led after 25 of their 27 at bats (only the ’49 Yankees did not trail in winning games (3-5) on the road in a World Series, in their case clinching the World Series at Brooklyn (Dodgers) in 1949.
In 4 and 5, Astros starting pitchers, Jose Oquindy (#4) and Gerrit Cole turned in excellent performances.
Yordan Alvarez, (3 hits including a go ahead to stay 2 run homer, in his first start at Washington), Robinson Chirinos, (homers in #’s 3 and 4) and Michael Brantley (5 hits, 3 runs and RBI’S in #’s 3 and 4) are among the Houston offensive stars in this series.
None of the five Astros’ players cited above were on the ’17 title team. The Astros are roughly 8 to 5 favorites to win the title tomorrow night (to my knowledge, there has never been any series in baseball,NBA or NHL annals in which the road team won the first six games), however must do so in a (Justin) Verlander start. (He is (0-5) in World Series play, his teams (0-6) in his World Series starts.
I will have more on this tomorrow. Incredibly, starting with the 108 Wins Red Sox games 4 and 5 World Series wins at L.A. (Dodgers) to clinch the ’18 title, road teams are (17-3) in the World Series, NHL and NBA final.
Wouldn’t it be nice (cue The Beach Boys) if Gerrit Cole, pictured above, with his original team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, would stay in Houston? Alas, even nicer if players stayed with their original teams.
Today another compelling episode of “What’s My Line?”
There are two mystery guests, Janet Leigh and Ralph Houk.
The show aired on Sunday October 23, 1960, a scant 10 days after key home runs by Hal Smith and Bill Mazeroski had lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series, costing the great Casey Stengel, his job as Yankees’ manager.
Of course Houk replaced him and won titles in his first two seasons (’61 and ’62).
The panelists are Dorothy Kilgallen, Martin Gabel, Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf.
John Charles Daly is the show’s host. Enjoy.
The Astros helped Fox and won (4-1) at Washington in #3, to perhaps get back into the ’19 World Series, still trailing 2 games to 1, in what has been an all road team World Series, to this point.
This is in contrast to the last World Series (1933), in which a Washington team gained entry (no need to add D.C. as the Seattle, (Washington) Mariners are the only one of baseball’s 30 teams, never to have gained World Series entry), when the home team won the first three games.
Then, the New York Giants playing at home won the first two games, before the Washington Senators won game 3 at home.
In game 1 in both World Series 86 years apart, the home team took a (2-0) lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Giants in ’33 went on to win, not so, the ’19 Astros.
A similarity in the two game 2’s, the winning team, the Giants in ’33 and Nationals in ’19 had a 6 run inning, to take the lead to stay.
In game 3 both times, the team trailing 2 games to none, the Senators at home in ’33 and the Astros, also in Washington, but of course as a road team, won by similar scores. (Wash (4-0) in ’33, Houston (4-1) last night).
34 years ago Dane Iorg, pictured above as a St. Louis Cardinals’ player, with whom he won the ’82 World Series, got THE big hit vs them in #6 ’85 W.S. as a pinch hitter for the Kansas City Royals.
Click below to view Iorg’s game winning hit. Al Michaels called the play for ABC Sports.
This is the fourth time a Washington D.C. team is in the World Series and the first time since 1933.
The other three times, the “D.C.” representative was the Washington Senators, who are now the Minnesota Twins.
In that last Washington D.C. World Series appearance in ’33, the great Mel Ott, who hit 511 big league home runs, led the New York Giants to victory in 5 games.
Washington’s lone baseball crown to date was won by the Senators in a thrilling 7 game series vs the Giants in 1924.
The next season the Pittsburgh Pirates won in another great 7 game Fall Classic vs the Senators.
Andy B Sports 