TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

After 57 years, the Brewers won the World Series for the first time! As I mentioned before, I am really happy for their fans; they were extremely kind to us when we made a road trip out there 15+ years ago. They had won a title in Milwaukee back in 1957; still, that is a long drought! Only Cleveland has a longer one currently.

It made me think of 2004; as someone who grew up in Boston, I believe my dad watched or listened to every Red Sox game from the 1950s until he passed away 2 months after they won the title in 2004. I am not sure he would be happy for Milwaukee; I think he was still upset that the Braves left for Milwaukee, and he never really got over it.  As a fan, for me, all the heartbreak was swept away when Keith Foulke underhanded the ball to first for the final out. Nothing has compared to that.

It made me think about franchises that waited a long time for titles, especially their first.

16 Years - The Toronto Blue Jays first appeared in 1977; by their 7th year, they were very good. From 1983 - 1993, they won five division titles and finished second three times. In their 16th year, they won the World Series, beating the Braves in 6.  This team's heart was acquired through trades: Robbie Alomar turned into a star, Joe Carter drove in 100 runs no matter what team he was on (I believe its a skill), Jack Morris won 21, and 40-year-old Dave Winfield proved to be a force and was a key performer for them when it counted the most. They will repeat in 1993, when Joe Carter delivered just the second World Series deciding walk-off home run in game 6.

17 years, Kansas City Royals: The Royals were good almost right away, winning 88 games in 1973 and reaching the ALCS 4 times in 5 years. They lost 2 heartbreakers to the Yankees, including 1976, when Chris Chambliss hit a walk-off home run. They broke through in 1980 but lost to the Phillies in 6, and just 5 years later, in 1985 (we know about the call in game 6!), the Royals came back down 3 games to 1 and beat St. Louis in seven to capture their first title. It would be 28 years before they made the World Series again in 2014 and lost a heartbreaker in 7, but they won a second title a year later, in 2015.

42 years, the Angels changed their name too often, so I am going to stay with “Angels.”, In their 20th year, they made the ALCS, lost to Baltimore 3 games to 1, then 2 years later lost again in the ALCS after being up 2-0 to the Brewers, and in 86 they were dealt heartbreak in game 6 and never recovered, losing in 7 to the Red Sox. In 2002, they broke through, winning a seven-game classic against the Giants. Down 5-0 in the 7th, they rallied for 3, then 3 more in the 8th to pull off a miracle 6-5 win. They will capture the title the next night, 4-1 behind John Lackey.

52 years - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals - this one is a bit painful because I loved the Expos as a kid. But despite having excellent teams 79-81, they made the playoffs once and lost the NLCS to the Dodgers on Blue Monday. They developed another group of players, and some will argue they had a real chance to win a title in 1994, but the strike killed that, and after the 2004 season the franchise moved to Washington. Along the way, Montreal developed Gary Carter, Tim Raines, Vlad Guerrero, and Andre Dawson. Pedro Martinez developed into the HOF pitcher he became in Montreal. The move to Washington and expanded playoff format helped as they made the playoffs 5 times from 2012-2019.  They finally broke through, winning a classic seven-game series against the Astros. This series gave World Series winner Stephen Strasburg the MVP and a national spotlight.

57 years, the Houston Astros played 3 EPIC NLCS’s with the Phillies in 1980; if you want to revisit history, four of the five games went into extra innings. Those games had everything. 1986 against the Mets,  game three ended in a walk off when the Astros were up 2, Game 5 went 12 innings, Mets again walking it off and in game 6 the Mets score 3 in the ninth to tie the game and would win in 16 innings 7-6, and ended with 2 men on, 2 runs in with Kevin Bass striking out. They were a very good team in 1997-05, playing another great NLCS in 2004 and making their first World Series in 2005, but they got swept by the White Sox, who broke a dry spell dating back to 1917. It took a while, but they developed and traded for talent and made their second World Series in 2017, which sadly produced a sign-stealing penalty, but they prevailed in seven over the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was no fluke; the Astros went on to 3 more World Series, losing in 2019 and 2021, and winning a second in 2022.  

57 years, Milwaukee Brewers. I mentioned a few Newsletters ago that they were the Seattle Pilots; from 69-2017, they had 4 total playoff appearances and made the World Series in 1982, losing in seven to the Cardinals. That was a great series, and they had a team most thought could contend for a while, but it was not to be. They got back to the NLCS in 2011, losing 6 to St. Louis. From 2018-2026, they were a playoff machine, missing only in 2022. This was finally their year. There are many articles about them and their players, but what really stands out is that they went 11-2. They did that against excellent teams; LA, Tampa, and San Diego were all great teams with great players. Another thing is their age: the roster is pretty young, the second-youngest they have had since 2018; pitchers average age 27, everyday players 27.4. They'll probably be around for a while.  

63 years. The Texas Rangers started in Washington back in 1961, and will be the second team to leave Washington in 12 years, heading to Texas in 1972. Not even Ted Williams could save them. They did not make the playoffs until their 36th year. They won 90 games once, and over 85 just 3 other times. They made the playoffs three out of the next four years and bowed out in the ALDS each time, going 1-9. They brought in A-Rod and got worse. But then they made the World Series in 2010, a match between two teams, and neither city had ever won a World Series. (The Giants won in NY). They lost 4 games to 1, 2011 was a heartbreaker. On what should have been the final out, a David Freese fly ball to right field hits the wall after Nelson Cruz cheated in to get to the pileup quicker, and St. Louis ties the game 7-7.  The Rangers again take a 2-run lead in the 10th, but St. Louis battles back and then, once again in the 11th, David Freese homers to seal the victory. Texas loses game 7, 6-2. They won't wait 12 more years, until 2023, to finally win a World Series. Four games to one over Arizona.

65 years, in 1901, the original Milwaukee Brewers debuted in the American League but quickly moved to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns. The Browns were, in a word, awful. They made 1 World Series appearance during WWII, losing to cross-town rivals the Cardinals. From 1901 to 1953, they finished 2nd once and 3rd once. Otherwise, they were 6-8 every year. They moved east to Baltimore in 1954; in 1955, a young player named Brooks Robinson debuted. They still struggled, but by 1960 they started winning, going 89-65. They made the franchise's second Series in 1966 and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers handily in a four-game sweep. From 66-83, they played in 6 World Series, splitting them 3-3, won 8 division titles, and finished second 7 more times.

71 years, the Brooklyn Dodgers. As a Bostonian, I understand heartbreak. But the Dodgers played in 7 World Series and two championship series (pre-World Series) and lost them all. Including the epic 1941 Mickey Owen game, and then two seven-game series losses to the Yankees. They were 17-32-1 overall. They were Bums. In 1955, with an aging Jackie Robinson, they finally pulled through with an epic Game 7 victory behind Johnny Podres, 2-0, on one of the best catches in World Series history. It was finally next year.

97 years, the Philadelphia Phillies started playing baseball in 1883, before the World Series existed. They played in the 1915 and 1950 Series, losing both; they went 1-8. They collapsed in 64, a historic collapse, and then got good in the mid-1970s with Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton. They made 3 straight NLCS’s but went 2-9. In 1980, we mentioned the 1980 NLCS vs. Houston was a barn burner. They had finally broken through and made the series for the first time since 1950.  They will make their home crowd proud by winning all 3 home games and beating the Royals four games to 2, for the franchise's first World Series title. They would return four years later but lose to the Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 1.

A few teams still haven't pulled through to win one: Seattle (hasn't appeared), San Diego, Tampa Bay, and the Rockies.

Several franchises won quickly: Mets, Marlins, and Arizona. I was on the fence with the Twins, but they were in Washington, and Washington won a title. Minnesota, though, waited a while to win one.

Among existing franchises, Cleveland is the longest right now; they last won in 1948. It's also been a while for Pittsburgh (79), Baltimore (83), Detroit (84), the Mets (86), the A’s (89), the Reds (90), the Twins (91), and the Blue Jays (93).

On this list, only the Angels and former Expos won on their first trip to the series.

Hear them for yourself.

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Todays Podcast

Brought to you by: This Day In Baseball

This day in baseball has a deeper dive into every event from October 29

October 29, 1931 – Lefty Grove, winner of 31 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, is named American League MVP.

October 29, 1956 --  The Chicago White Sox name future Hall of Famer Al Lopez as their new manager. replacing Marty Marion, who was fired after guiding the Sox to a third-place finish in the American League.

October 29, 1969  - Tom Seaver, who won 25 games to help lead the New York Mets to one of the most unlikely World Championships in major league history, is voted the National League Cy Young Award winner.

October 29, 1975 — Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox is the overwhelming choice as American League Rookie of the Year. The 22 year-old Red Sox All-Star outfielder receives 23.5 out 24 first-place votes, with teammate Jim Rice getting the other 5.

Lynn, who helped the Red Sox to the AL championship, made the All-Star team, hit .331 with 21 home runs and 105 RBI, and led the league in runs (103), doubles (47), slugging percentage (.566) and OPS (.967). A Gold Glove winner as well, he will become the first rookie to win the Most Valuable Player Award later this off-season.

October 29, 1979 — Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Mays, one of the game’s most popular players, severs all ties with major league baseball when he accepts a public relations job with the Bally Corporation, which is involved with legalized gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Due to the gambling aspect of the position, he had been given an ultimatum by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to disassociate himself from the national pastime.

 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA

TRIVIA ANSWER: JESSE BARFIELD  

- Ans. With his 40 HR for TOR in 1986, Barfield had his only season as an AS & SS. It was also the only year he hit more than 30 HR (although he hit 10 or more HR for each of 10 straight years, 1982-1990).

- #1 He had 150 K for NYY in 1990.

- #2 Luis Polonia 14-Aug-1990 & Mike Greenwell 01-Sep-1990 were the beneficiaries of the type of misplay that doesn’t show up in the box scores. It’s a little harsh to blame Barfield on the Greenwell HR as he pulled a leg muscle chasing the ball down & had to be replaced. 

Thank you Horsehide Trivia

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