'48 Indians win KOD4 Championship 4 games to 2 over '78 Phils

Congratulations to Steve Tate and his 1948 Cleveland Indians. The Tribe dominated the AL then lost only 3 post season games en-route to the KOD4 title. Special kudos to Gary Bringhurst who won the NL Pennant with the '78 Phils and put up a tough struggle in the World Series vs the dominant Tribe. Each of the 1st 4 games was a 1 run affair that could have gone either way.

GAME 1 Municipal Stadium Cleveland: (CLE 2, PHI 1)

Bob Lemon and Larry Christenson hooked up in a classic pitcher's duel Lem got the best of Larry C by throwing 8 2/3 innings of 1 run ball. The venerable Satchiel Paige came on to nail down the save as the Tribe took a 1 game lead in the series. Not much offense in this one. Lem not only won it with his arm, but his solo shot in the 3rd coupled with Ken Keltner's Sac Fly in the 5th was all Cleveland would need.

GAME 2 Municipal Stadium Cleveland: (PHI 3, CLE 2)

A HOF pitching matchup featured Lefty, Steve Carlton vs Fireballer Bob Feller. Carlton was the better of the 2 yielding only 2 runs over 7. Gene Garber owned the 9th notching the save. Ken Keltner was Cleveland's offense with two solo homers. Philly was up 3-1 before Keltner's blast in the 7th. Carlton got an RBI sac fly in the 3rd plating the "Secretary of Defense" Garry Maddox.

GAME 3 The Vet Philadelphia: (CLE 3, PHI 2)

Same score...reverse the results. The Tribe held on in this one to go ahead 2-1 in the series. Keltner hit another big homer and as a result received an intentional pass his next 2 AB's. Gene Bearden, who has been perfect on the season (8-0) went seven for the win. Paige came on again to save this game as he did in the opener. Randy Lerch had a quality outing for the Phightin's. The Bull, Greg Luzinski hit a rare triple, but was injured on the play sliding and was forced to leave the game. Speculation is he'll suck it up and be ready for game 4.

GAME 4 The Vet Philadelphia: (PHI 3, CLE 2)

Another 3-2 game, this time the Phils were the victors to even the series and put some fear into the dominant Tribe. Dick Ruthven, who had been battling fatigue problems, pitched into the 8th before yielding to the pen. Garber got one out in the 9th for his second save of the series. Luzinski returned to the lineup and hit a mammoth 2 run shot to stake Philly to a 2-0 lead in the first. In the top of the 8th the Tribe scored 2 to tie the game. Larry Doby doubled home Jim Hegan, who led the inning off with a single. Player/manager Lou Boudreau hit a sac fly to left to score PH Peck. Keltner was then intentionally passed and Joe Gordon ended the rally by grounding weakly to Mike Schmidt at 3rd. With 2 out in the bottom of the frame Ted Sizemore hit a flare to right center, which Doby butchered and subsequently allowed Sizemore to get into scoring position. Schmitty stepped up and delivered what would turn out to be the game winning hit a liner to left that plated Sizemore.

GAME 5 The Vet Philadelphia: (CLE 6, PHI 2)

Cleveland's offense got in gear early and scored 5 quick runs off of Christenson, who didn't even make it through the 2nd. The Philly pen only allowed 1 run the rest of the way, but the damage had already been done. Lemon was masterful yielding only 2 in 8+ innings of work before giving way to Christopher who was credited with an easy save. The big blow of the game was a 3 run shot by Joe Gordon in the top of the first. The Tribe added on another run that inning a one more in the second and 4th to take a 3 games to 2 lead in the series as they headed home to Lake Erie.

GAME 6 Municipal Stadium Cleveland: (CLE 5, PHI 3)

In a re-match of game 2 starters, The Phightin's pinned their series hopes on the left arm of one Steve Carlton. Lefty didn't have his best stuff tonight as the Tribe jumped on him for 4 runs in the first 2 innings. Carlton struggled all game to find the strike zone and eventually gave way to Tug McGraw in the 6th. McGraw allowed Cleveland to add an insurance run that inning and the Tribe never looked back. Feller didn't have his "A" game, but he pitched better than his counterpart and allowed only 3 runs in 8 innings of work. Satchel Paige came on and pitched a scoreless 9th to clinch the series for the Indians. Larry Bowa had 3 hits in the losing effort. Larry Doby hit a 2 run shot in the first to start the scoring. Edwards and Dale Mitchell knocked in key runs in the second to put the Tribe up 4-2 at that point. Bake McBride's sac fly in the 6th, which scored Sizemore, drew Philly to within one run, but the Tribe answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. The dominant Indians withstood everything the upstart Phils could throw at them to take the series 4 games to 2.

'48 Tribe wins AL Flag by defeating '04 Halos in 5

The only surprise here is that Anaheim actually won one game. The Tribe has been that dominant this season and has steamrolled the Junior Circuit. The Angels jumped out and took the series lead by winning the opener, but Cleveland st0rmed back and swept the rest of the series.

GAME 1 (ANA 5, CLE 2): With a 9 day layoff since the end of the regular season + a final series where they rested most of their regulars the 1948 Indians looked rusty and only plated 2 runs against Kelvim Escobar. Bob Lemon gave up 5 runs. With Anaheim holding on to a tenuous lead in the 8th the Halos scored 2 to put it out of reach when Guillen doubled home Vlad and Chone Figgins. Troy Percival came on to notch the save and put the Halos up 1-0 in the series. Ken Keltner hit his 12 homer of the season in a losing effort.

GAME 2 (CLE 5, ANA 2): Now it was Cleveland's turn to win 5-2. Gene Bearden increased his KOD4 record to 7-0 and the great Satchel Paige came on in the 9th to nail down the save. The Tribe broke it open in the 6th when they scored 3 big runs. Jim Hegan hit a 2 run shot after Thurman Tucker reached second on an error by Vlad. Larry Doby doubled and was allowed to score when Vlad made another error, this time on a Lou Boudreau single. Troy Glaus had 3 of the Angels 6 hits, but he only managed to touch home once.


GAME 3 (CLE 3, ANA 2): The series moved to Orange County for the next 3. Bob Feller gave Cleveland a virtuoso performance as he yielded just 1 run over 7 and 2/3's. Gromek allowed the Angels to make it interesting when he yielded a solo run in the 9th, but Cleveland held on to take a lead in the series at 2 games to 1. The top 5 hitters in Cleveland's lineup all had a hit. Vlad had 3 for the Angels, but failed to drive in or score a run. Troy Glaus had 2 hits including a solo homer to remain hot in the losing effort.

GAME 4 (CLE 9, ANA 3): The Tribe scored early and often and chased Angel starter Jared Washburn from the hill by the 3rd inning. Bob Lemon threw 8 pedestrian innings and gave up 3 runs, but he didn't need to be spectacular since the Indian offense took care of everything for him. Lou Boudreau went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI's, including his 9th homer of the season.

GAME 5 (CLE 4, ANA 2): The Angels sent Kelvim Escobar (game 1 winner) to the hill to help stave off elimination. The Indians had other ideas and touched him for four runs (3 earned) in 6 innings of work. Cleveland split the game between Zoldak (5 inn) and Gromek (4 inn). Zoldak gave up 2 runs (1 earned) and notched his 4th win against zero defeats as the Tribe clinched the AL Pennant in 5. Ken Keltner continued his hot hitting this season going 2 for 3 with a big homer. There were no big innings in this game. Cleveland stayed consistent and scored 1 run in 4 consecutive innings. The Tribe will head home for a parade and to host the opening 2 games of the World Series vs the 1978 'Phightin's.

'78 Phils win NL Flag by defeating '04 Cubs in 5 games

Game 1 - 03 Cubs (Wood) @ 78 Phils (Carlton)The Phillies jumped on Kerry Wood by scoring 8 runs in the 1st 4 innings and Steve Carlton pitched a strong 7 innings as the Phils take game 1 over the cubs 8-2. The Phils offense was lead by Mike Schmidt as he went 3-5 with a double, a run scored, and 2 RBI.

Game 2 - 03 Cubs (Zambrano) @ 78 Phils (Christensen)The Cubs got 9 hits from their offense off of Christensen (complete game) and edged out the Phils 2-1. The Cubs Carlos Zambrano (66 2/3 IP, 0.81 ERA) held the Phils scoreless thru 8 innings and the pen held the Phils down as Joe Borowski earned the save. Mark Grudzielanek was the offensive star as he went 3-5 including a double. Series tied 1-1.

Game 3- 78 Phils (Lerch) @ 03 Cubs (Prior)Onto the friendly confines of Wrigley Field ! Greg Luzinski seemed to enjoy the shift of venues as he went 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI with 2 mammoth homers as he led the Phils to a 5-2 victory. Mark Prior lasted only 6 innings after giving up 9 hits. Randy Lerch only gave up 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings and the bullpen did the rest with Gene Garber getting the save. Phils lead series 2-1

Game 4- 78 Phils (Ruthven) @ 03 Cubs (Clement)Sammy Sosa gave Dick Ruthven a rude welcome as hey belted a 3 run home run onto Waveland avenue in the 1st inning. The Phightins battled back and scored 4 runs off of starter Matt Clement in the 4th inning that was lead by a 2 run triple by Dick Ruthven (2-3,3b,R,2RBI). The Cubbies battled back as Moises Alou hit a game tying double off of the ivy and the game was knotted at 5. The pens held down the fort for both teams but in the top of the 9th with Mike Remlinger pitching, Jerry Martin (pinch hitter) got one into the jet stream as he broke the tie and gave the Phils a 6-5 lead. Gene Garber did the rest and shut down the Cubs 1-2-3 and got the save. Ron Reed got the win. Phils lead series 3-1

Game 5 - 78 Phils (Carlton) @ Cubs (Wood)In game that started off the same as game 4 Moises Alou went yard in the 1st to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead but the Phils battled back and scored 3 to give them the lead. Lefty was on the mound and didn't give up another run thru 7. In the bottom of the 9th with the series on the line, Ramon Martinez hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 9th off of Ron Reed to tie the game. In a battle of the pens, the Phils scored 2 runs in the 14th and gave the Phils the game (5-3) and series(4-1). Larry Bowa(9-20) earned the MVP. Manager Danny Ozark was asked about the series, "The Cubs were a very well managed team and was a tough opponent". Then was asked about the World series opponent he would rather face. "That is a loaded questions ! Both teams are very good was are just hoping for the series to go 7 and a lot of extra inning games ".

'04 Cubs rally from 2 down to defeat '66 Dodgers in NLDS

Very tough set......LA jumped to a quick 2-0 series lead by taking both Game 1 & Game 2 in Chicago. Chicago returned the favor and took the 2 games in LA to even the series up in 2 very close games. Then, Chicago came alive and crushed Koufax in Game 5.......he gave up 3 HR......very dramatic stuff - it was a tough defeat for Koufax and LA, but a well-deserved Chicago victory. The team is good and well-managed. Philly has its work cut out for them.

'04 Halo's advance to ALCS by beating '64 WSox 3 games to 1

Game 1: Anaheim 5, Chicago 1

Game 2: Anaheim 20, Chicago 4

Game 3: Chicago 4, Anaheim 3

Game 4: Anaheim 7, Chicago 0

Summary: A rematch of the series played 2 weeks ago where Chicago swept all 4 games.

Game 1: Peters Vs Escobar, Guerrero HRs in the 1st and Angels build a 5-0 lead after 4 innings. White Sox can manage only 1 unearned run, as Escobar and 2 relievers limit the White Sox to 4 hits.

Game 2: Pizarro Vs. Sele, Angels offense comes alive. Anaheim scores 4 in the top of the 1st, 3 of them on Josh Paul's first HR of the year. But Chicago answers with 3 unearned runs on a Bill Skowron bases-clearing double in the bottom of the frame to keep it close. Yet a tired Pizarro is forced to yield to the White Sox bullpen in the 2nd inning and the Angels offense pulls away, scoring in every inning but the 3rd. Halos launch 9 dingers into the South Side sky, 2 each by Jose Guillen and Bengie Molina, and 3 by Vlad Guerrero. Angels score 20 runs on 24 hits. An exhausted Don Mossi takes one for the team with what may be the ugliest pitching line in KOD history: 3.2IP 12H 11ER 2 BB 5HR.

Game 3: Lackey Vs. Horlen, Joe Horlen is again masterful against the Anaheim, limiting the Angels to 8 hits and 3 runs in 8.1 innings. White Sox score all 4 of their runs in the top of the 3rd on a Floyd Robinson single and a Pete Ward 3-run HR off losing pitcher John Lackey. Angels make it interesting in the bottom of the 9th when Darren Erstad leads off with a HR to put make it a 1-run game. With one out in the inning, Dallas McPherson greeted reliever Hoyt Wilhelm with a pinch hit double to put the tying run in scoring position. But Wilheln retires the next two hitters to secure the victory for Horlen and the White Sox.

Game 4: Pizarro Vs. Washburn, Angels score 2 in the bottom of the 2nd and never look back. Troy Glaus' 2-run HR in the 4th helps Anaheim build a 6-0 lead. Washburn and 3 relievers hold limit the Sox to a total of 5 singles. Angels celebrate a 3 games to 1 series win.

Turning point: What a difference 2 weeks makes: In their first series match 2 weeks ago, Chicago scored a total of 22 runs, all earned. In this division series, Angels pitching allows a total of 4 earned runs for the entire series, all in game 3.

MVP: Vlad Guerrero: 9 for 21 (.429) with 4 HRs and 10 RBIs.

'66-LA clobbers arch rival '66-SF to advance to NLDS

After defeating the '49 Cardinals the '66 Giants had a huge challenge: who do they elect to be the big game starter ? Since Marichal went against STL and both Perry and Bolin were tired the choice went from Ray Sadecki, Bob Priddy or Ron Herbel. As it turned out all 3 of them go to pitch in this game and each one yielded 3 runs to the light hitting Dodgers, who crushed the Giants.

Los Angeles banged out 12 runs on 18 hits and never had to worry. Dodger starter Don Drysdale gave up 5 in almost 6 innings of work, but he did not need to have his A-game to win this one. Bob Miller threw the final 3 1/3 of shutout ball to nail it down.

Maury Wills had 3 hits and 3 RBI's. Tommy Davis had 3 hits as well. Jim Lefebvre had 4 hits and 2 RBI's including one long ball.

LA wil now head to Chicago to take on the 2003 Cubs in the NLDS.

Boxscore: 66 Los Angeles Tops 66 San Fran 12-5

Play in Game 1: '66-SF eliminates '49-STL

Manager "Bike" Mike Roberts and his 1949 Redbirds flew cross country to play a winner take all game against the '66 Giants. Manager Roberts tapped Max Lanier, the crafty lefty, to toe the hub against the disappointing "Dandy" Juan Marichal.

The Redbirds opened the scoring in the first as Stan "the man" Musial singled home Marty Marion (who doubled) to break the ice. With the bases jammed and 1 out and Ron Northey at the plate St. Louis had a chance to bust the game open early. Instead Marichal dug deep down inside and summoned his greatness to coax a 6-4-3 DP to end the inning and minimize the damage. As so often is the case missed opportunities in big games come back to haunt a team. The Cards had the Dominican Dandy on the ropes and they let him off the hook. You have to get to the great one's early before they find their rhythm and St. Louis missed a golden opportunity.

The Giants found a way to nibble away at Lanier and score 1 run in each inning from the second to the 6th. They never truly delivered a knock out blow, but they kept tacking runs on inning by inning.

Marichal not only helped his cause by tossing a complete game, he also swung a lethal stick that accounted for 2 hits and 2 RBI's. Bike Mike observed, "Marichal is really helping his own cause! Marichal did prove to be dandy, and was too much for the Cards". Willie Mays' dead bat (.243 avg) came to life as he hit a solo shot. Tito Fuentes also took Lanier deep.

In a twilight zone move Max Lanier left the game and his son, Hal, came in the following inning as a defensive replacement for the Giants. Some very strange things happen in KOD.

Musial lead off the 9th with a solo shot, which boosted his KOD4 average to .274. Unfortunately it was only his 3rd homer in a season where he just couldn't find his power stroke.

With Frank Linzy up in the pen Marichal took the bull by the horns and set down the next three hitters for the complete game win and a crack at San Fran's arch rival the LA Dodgers.

The Coin Flip

To sort things out the NL needed a coin flip to determine which 2 teams would open up the play in series and which team would get a bye.

The '66 Dodgers got the bye and the '49 Cards were forced to head to Candlestick to play the '66 Giants in an all or nothing game. Winner to host the Dodgers for another all or nothing game.

Never before have 3 teams been tied in KOD for the final playoff slot. All 3 were sitting at 15-13.

'64 Pale Hose sweep '67 Twinkies and clinch 2nd place in AL

Game 1- 1-0...Peters with only 1 win shuts out Twins. Dean Chance yet another tough loss(2-4) with a 1.52 era?

Game 2-Best game of series..5-4.. Rod Carew 2 homers. Eddie Fisher win, Wilhelm save

Game 3- Joel Horlen and Jim Kaat in classic pitchers game. 2-1 WSox

Game 4- 7-3 WSox. Ronnie Hansen 3 rbi and Fred Talbot the win.

Turning point: Tommy McCraw's run scoring double in GM 2 to tie game late.

Series MVP: Gary Peters who not only shut out the Twins but his homer won it in GM 1.

'66 Giants sweep '07 Padres to force play in game

Needing a sweep to even have the remotest of hope the '66 SF Giants pulled off a minor miracle and swept the '07 Padres. Manager Joey Scigiliano of SD said, "I'm not surprised this happened...this team suuuukkkks !". Joey managed the heck out of a team that doesn't hit and has limited pitching.

SD's ace Jake Peavey was in a grove in game one, when he rubbed up a huge blister on his pitching hand and had to be removed from the game. This upset the balance of power and seemed to give Juan Marichal some confidence as the the Giants scored 3 runs off of Peavey's successor (Ledezma). Ollie Brown had the big blow with a 3 run Double down the line in left. Dandy gave up 2 runs in a complete game win to increase his record to 3-4.

In game 2 the Giants were forced to go with spot starter Joe Gibbon, who responded by pitching into the 7th and giving up only 1 earned run. Catcher Tom Haller hit 2 homers and Jesus Alou banged out 3 hits en route to victory. Frank Linzy came on to get the final 2 outs in the 9th to nail down the game and notch his 5th save of the season. Lindy McDaniel did well in the setup role.

Game 3 was a HOF treated the fans to a HOF caliber matchup. Gaylord Perry took the hill for the Giants and Greg Maddux did the same for SD. Maddux did not have it and gave up 5 runs on 12 hits during his 8 inning stint. Perry vaselin'ed himself to a 5 hit shutout. McCovey had 3 hits including his 8th homer of the season. Jesus Alou again had the hot bat with 4 hits, which led to 2 runs being scored.

Game 4 was the pressure game. If the Giants lost this one the incredible ride of the first 3 wins would all be for naught. Pressure tests the true mettle of men. The Giants responded by sending Bobby Bolin to the mound. Bolin was near perfect going the distance and yielding 1 run thanks to his manager's mistake. Instead of pulling in the corners and playing for a bunt with no out by the pitcher, Bolin's manager played the infield a normal depth. On the ensuing play the lead runner scored on a Sac Fly. Other than that Bolin was hard to touch yielding on 2 hits on the day. San Fran scored 2 in the second as seldom used utility outfielder Cap Peterson homered to deep left to plate Ollie Brown and himself. Brown turned around and homered in the 4th to make the score 3 to 1. The Giants added an insurance run in the 7th as Bolin helped his own cause by singling and stealing 2nd as Tito Fuentes missed the hit and run sign. Atoning for his sin, Tito singled home Bolin on the next pitch to make it 4 to 1 and drive the Giants to an improbable matchup vs their heated rivals the Dodgers in a play in game.

After the game the press interviewed the Giants manager who said, "This team never quit all year. They were dead and buried a number of times, but forgot to lay down. Bring on the Dodgers, we've got some business to take care of with them".

'48 Tribe sweeps '67 Bosox and clinches AL Reg Season Flag

Game 1: CLE 8-BOS 4,

Game 2: CLE 10-BOS 6,

Game 3: CLE 5-BOS 3,

Game 4: CLE 11-BOS 2


SUMMARY: '48 Cleveland continues to roll as they sweep '67 Bosox four games to none. Cleveland's potent, powerful, and often timely offense outscores BOS 37-16 for the series. The trio of Keltner, Boudreau and Gordon provided the punch to Cleveland's attack. List the turning point. Game winning bottom of the ninth HR in game two by Ken Keltner who drove in 7 for the game. Boston had fought back to take the lead and looked ready to tie the series up at a game apiece. However, Cleveland tied it up heading into the ninth and Keltner provided the drama.Who would you consider the MVP and why ? Ken Keltner was 7 for 18 with 6 runs scored, 9 RBI's, and 3 HR's for the series.

NOTES: Boston's Dave Morehead had a no hitter going until the 6th when none other than "the" Kenny Keltner led off with a clean single to left. Morehead didn't survive the inning as he gave up 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings worth of work. The boys from Beantown made 12 errors in this 4 game set, which led to 13 unearned runs crossing the plate.