For the First Time in 102 Years...

...we're going to have a Dodgers/Red Sox World Series. 1916, the fifth year of Fenway Park. And that's where baseball's Fall Classic will begin Tuesday night.
Cody Bellinger's two-run homer in the top of the 2nd inning -- which followed that stunning two-out bunt single by Manny Machado -- erased an early Brewer lead, put the Dodgers ahead to stay and hushed the Miller Park crowd. L.A. won it 5-1, with Yasiel Puig's three-run dinger in the 6th sealing the deal.
Walker Buehler steadied after giving up Christian Yelich's 1st inning home run -- a parade of Dodger relievers, capped by Clayton Kershaw, followed to keep Milwaukee off the board. And for the first time in 40 years, the Dodgers had won back-to-back National League pennants. It's the franchise's 20th trip to the World Series -- which ties their forever rivals, the Giants, for the most in NL history.
Take a moment, think back to 1916 -- Babe Ruth is Boston's young ace; in game two, he threw a 14-inning complete game, allowing the Dodgers -- actually, the Brooklyn Robins -- just one run, six hits and three walks. It's so early in his career that he didn't moonlight as an outfielder on his "between days."I'm sure his name will come up during the broadcasts. Brooklyn's right fielder -- and leading hitter in the series at .364-- will also probably be name checked: Casey Stengel.
OK, back to present tense. You'll hear more about Bellinger -- the NLCS MVP -- as well as Puig, Matt Kemp, Justin Turner and Chris Taylor. In the other dugout, Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, JD Martinez, Jackie Bradley Jr and Xander Bogaerts. Two talent-laden, high payroll clubs, facing off for baseball's ultimate prize.
(My image of Bellinger is from the August 5th, 2017 Dodgers/Mets game in New York.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Street and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two-year r
Read more

Another Yankee Trade

Image
Yankee fans: here's a last look at shortstop Trey Sweeney .  The 2021 first round draft choice was part of the three player trade with the Dodgers that brings reliever Victor Gonzalez and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas to New York. Now seeking to rebuild their pitching depth after dealing for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, the Yanks deemed Sweeney expendable.  While the Louisville native showed promising power in his three seasons with the organization -- he batted only .248 to go with his 36 career homers -- Brian Cashman has committed to Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza as his young middle infielders.  So Sweeney became a trade chip. ( My images of Trey Sweeney are from the Somerset/Binghamton AA games on July 15th and September 19th, 2023. )
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore 00
Read more