Post Season MVPs versus their past or future teams - Another insane Sully Baseball list

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know that every once in a while an idle thought would enter my cranium and it would evolve into me doing an elaborate list writing entry here.

My entire 800 page Home Grown vs Acquired Series started from the simple question "I wonder if the Red Sox had better luck acquiring players from other teams or developing their own talent."

I chronicled how my ideas can germinate into a blog post with my "Making of a Blog Post" entry. Well it happened again.

While on the treadmill watching coverage of the Yankees and Rangers courtship of Cliff Lee, I thought "The Yankees are trying to bring in a guy who consistently beat them in October. I wonder how many players have joined a team they beat in the playoffs."

Later I got more specific. "I wonder how many times a playoff MVP joined the team that he beat."

Then I thought "I wonder how many playoff MVPs won their award against a team they USED to play for."

And finally the question "How many players won a playoff MVP and then later played in the post season AGAINST the team that he won the award for?"

This is how my mind works, people.

And I can't just leave these thoughts hanging.
I have to list them.

And I did.

Post Season MVPs who joined the team they beat

FRANK ROBINSON
1966 World Series MVP for the Baltimore Orioles against the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
Joined the Dodgers in 1972





KIRK GIBSON
1984 ALCS MVP for the Detroit Tigers against the
Kansas City Royals
Joined the Royals in 1991





DENNIS ECKERSLEY
1988 ALCS MVP for the Oakland Athletics against the
Boston Red Sox
Joined the Red Sox in 1998




OREL HERSHISER
1988 NLCS MVP for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the
New York Mets
Joined the Mets in 1999.





RICKEY HENDERSON
1989 ALCS MVP for the Oakland Athletics against the
Toronto Blue Jays
Joined the Blue Jays in 1993





RANDY JOHNSON
2001 World Series Co-MVP for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the New York Yankees
Joined the Yankees in 2005.

Post Season MVPs who beat
a team they used to play for

LEW BURDETTE
1957 World Series MVP for the Milwaukee Braves against the
New York Yankees.
Played for the Yankees in 1950.





MIKE SCOTT
1986 NLCS MVP for the Houston Astros against the
New York Mets.
Played for the Mets from 1979-1982





DENNIS ECKERSLEY
1988 ALCS MVP for the Oakland Athletics against the
Boston Red Sox
Played for the Red Sox from 1978-1984





JOSE RIJO
1990 World Series MVP for the Cincinnati Reds against the Oakland Athletics
Played for the Athletics from 1985-1987

Post Season MVPs who later played against their team in the Post Season

DON LARSEN
1956 World Series MVP for the
New York Yankees
Pitched in the 1962 World Series for the San Francisco Giants against the Yankees





REGGIE JACKSON
1973 World Series MVP for the
Oakland A’s
Played in the 1981 ALCS for the New York Yankees against the A’s






I find it interesting that Dennis Eckersley appeared on the list twice.
I am guessing you did too.

Johnny Podres was a Padre?

How did I not know that before tonight?

He was a member of the 1969 Padres.... their first season.
And I am convinced the GM signed him for the Abbott and Costello esque confusion of "Who's pitching for the Padres?" "Podres." that must have happened that year.

It's a tragedy that Billy Brewer never played for Milwaukee.

Of course it was Troy F---ing Glaus

The MVP of the 2002 World Series... the man who sunk the Giants that year... OF COURSE he's the guy starting the gut punch double play to kill the rally in the 10th.

Bad things happen when he plays the Giants.

Bad Luck Hamels

There were many story lines to last night's wild Phillies/Astros opus.

Jimmy Rollins game tying 9th inning homer? Clutch.
Ryan Howard getting called out on a check swing in extra innings? Borderline.
Some umpire named Scott Barry trying to prove to the world how tough he is by tossing Ryan Howard? Bush League.
Roy Oswalt playing left field? Little league.
Roy Oswalt coming to the plate as the potential winning run in the 16th? Nuts.

But here's something that got lost in the shuffle:
Cole Hamels pitched great AGAIN... and has nothing to show for it.

When I pitched that Felix Hernandez should get serious Cy Young consideration even with a losing record, one of my readers named Ed wrote "A pitcher's win-loss record must be the silliest stat in baseball."

I don't 100% agree. The pitchers job is to get the team in position to win the game, Ed has a point when evaluating the recent pitching performance of Cole Hamels.

Hamels began the season with a poor April, a good May and a bad June, prompting the Phillies to deal for Roy Oswalt (and basically admit they f---ed up when dealing Cliff Lee.)

But in July, he posted a 2.16 ERA and nearly averaged 7 innings a start, nearly a strikeout an inning and a 2.86 strikeout to walk ratio.

He's kept it up in August. Including tonight's 7 inning, 2 run, 8 strikeout and 1 walk performance, his August numbers include a 3.17 ERA, 6 2/3 innings a start, 42 strikeouts and only 4 walks.

His record over July and August? 1-4.
He is winless since the All Star Break.

He threw 8 innings of 1 hit shutout ball on July 22nd against St. Louis and got a no decision.

He had back to back starts against the Mets recently... one he threw 7 innings, 1 run, 11 strikeouts, no walks... LOSS.

His next start he threw 8 innings, 1 run, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks... LOSS.

He's been throwing at least like a true #2 and like what most teams would want from their #1 starter. (If he threw like that in Game 3 of the World Series last year, the Phillies would probably be the back to back defending World Champions.)

This is a guy who is pitching lights out and oh yeah... has an NLCS and World Series MVP trophies sitting on his mantle. If he pitches like this in October and goes in the #3 slot behind the two Roys, the Phillies would be so scary that not even Brad Lidge coming out of the bullpen could stop them.

It would be nice if the Phillies could hit for him.
Someone pitching THAT well shouldn't be tied with ME for second half wins.

The All Time Saves Leader Will Soon Be A Hall of Famer Again

Is Mariano Rivera the greatest reliever of all time?

Maybe.

Even though I am a Red Sox fan, I have given Rivera plenty of love on this blog.

I practically wrote a love letter to him last June.

Last November I said he should have been the World Series MVP over Hideki Matsui.

I also said he should have won the Babe Ruth Award over A-Rod.

I said he was what made the Yankees better than all the other playoff teams.

Now his place among relievers in history can be debatable. Certainly Rollie Fingers and Rich Gossage deserve a lot of praise (how many more saves would they have if they were one inning specialists instead of going 2 or 3 innings a save?)

But one thing is for certain... Rivera will soon be the All Time Save king.

Pirate Catcher Ryan Doumit is making sure of it.

Doumit has been a one man wrecking crew of Trevor Hoffman... the current All Time Saves leader.

He hit a 9th inning grand slam on Tuesday and a game tying homer yesterday to give Hoffman back to back blown saves.

Hoffman has already blown 4 saves this year... and his ERA is 13.00.

It's early but it isn't THAT early. He's 42 years old. And despite a solid year last year, it isn't a stretch to say 42 year olds off to bad starts might not be in a slump. They might be out of gas.

And a team like the Brewers, who have a shot to win and a small window of opportunity to do it, can't afford a closer who lets up nearly a run and a half an inning.

Even Ken Macha, who no doubts respects the hell out of Hoffman, hinted that a change might be coming.

Which means his save total might finally stop piling up.

Hoffman has 594 saves now.
Rivera is second on the all time list at 532.

Up until this point, Rivera has been chasing a moving target. Now it will probably stay still with 62 saves between them.

He's not getting it this year... but he also has shown no signs of slowing down. Rivera already has 6 saves and an ERA of 0.00.

That's slightly lower than Hoffman's.

If Hoffman's closing days are over, Rivera should pass Hoffman sometime in 2011.

And the biggest case for Hoffman's Hall of Fame candidacy, being the All Time Saves leader, would be gone before he was even eligible for the vote.

I have nothing against Hoffman personally. He seems like a good charitable guy and his teammates don't have a bad word to say about him. But as I wrote before I think he is a smidge overrated.

A specialist like a closer needs to consistently come up big in the big game. Rivera certainly has. Hoffman has not.

Having the biggest save total of all time isn't like the Home Run crown, or getting 300 wins or 3,000 hits. It's not an automatic punched ticket to Cooperstown.

Jeff Reardon passed Rollie Fingers to be the All TIme Saves leader as a member of the 1992 Red Sox. Reardon is not a Hall of Famer.

Lee Smith passed Reardon. He's not in the Hall either.

When the two were teammates briefly with the 1990 Red Sox, it wasn't considered to be a meeting of All Time greats.


The fourth most saves in history belong to John Franco.

I don't think even the biggest Met fans I know consider him to be a Hall of Famer.

This isn't a slam on Franco, Reardon nor Smith. I was a fan of both. And Reardon actually DID have the great post season highlight of clinching a World Series (with the 1987 Twins.)

But neither were considered to be All Time Great difference making closers... like Gossage... or Fingers... or Eckersley... or Sutter... or even Hoyt Wilhelm.

They got a lot of saves for a lot of years and did so around the time that the closer became a one inning specialist. They stayed healthy for a long time and had solid careers... but did they change the dynamic of the game? Did managers manage differently knowing they were coming out of the pen like they do with Rivera?

I put Hoffman in the same category with Smith, Reardon and Franco... terrific career but as I wrote before, falls short of Cooperstown.

Saves are nice but not always a great barometer of greatness. Don't believe me?

Jose Mesa has more career saves than Goose Gossage. Who would you rather have in a big game? Hell, who would you rather have in a SMALL game?

But if saves are the short hand standard of a reliever's worth, it would be nice to see the All Time Saves leader be a Hall of Famer.

And when Mariano Rivera passes Trevor Hoffman some time next season, it will be so.

Some World Series love for second basemen

Did you know that Bobby Richardson is the only person to win the World Series MVP for a losing team?

Why would you?

I knew that, but I'm Sully and my brain is jam packed with stuff like that which won't help me get a new job.

But I figured out something else that is interesting (at least to me) regarding that World Series MVP from 1960.

He is the only second baseman to ever win the World Series MVP. If the 2010 World Series comes and a player from any other position drives home the MVP's car, then we'll have 50 years without a World Series MVP at second.

I know it isn't an earth shattering concept, but it struck me as odd.

Since 1973, we've had every single position covered.

The last catcher to win it? Pat Borders in 1992
The last first baseman? Willie Stargell in 1979.
The last shortstop? David Eckstein in 2006.
The last third baseman? Mike Lowell in 2007.
The last left fielder? Manny Ramirez in 2004.
The last center fielder? Reggie Jackson in 1973.
The last right fielder? Jermaine Dye in 2005.
The last Designated Hitter? Hideki Matsui in 2009.
The last left handed starting pitcher? Cole Hamels in 2008.
The last right handed starting pitcher? Josh Beckett in 2003.
The last reliever? Mariano Rivera in 1999.

But you have to go all the way back to 1960 for someone at second.
And come to think of it, that 1960 World Series was a damn good one for second basemen.

Richardson got the 11 hits, the .367 average, and 1.054 OPS... but Bill Mazeroski got the World Series walk off homer.

In the years since 1960, some second basemen have had World Series glory. Some were Hall of Famers... others were nobodys who shone on the big stage.

Light hitting Al Weis batted .417 with an OPS of 1.196 in the 1969 World Series. His 7th inning home run off of Dave McNally tied the clinching Game 5.




Future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan got the game winning hit of Game 7 of the 1975 World Series with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th inning.




Willie Randolph homered off of future Hall of Famer Don Sutton in the Yankees Game 1 win in the 1977 World Series.






Phil Garner batted an eye popping .500 with a 1.238 OPS in the 7 game World Series of 1979. Only Willie Stargell's heroics kept him from being the second second baseman to win the World Series MVP




Perenial All Star Davey Lopes started key rallies in Games 3, 4 and 6 of the 1981 World Series to help the Dodgers come from behind and beat the Yankees.






Tiger great Lou Whitaker helped set up several rallies in the 1984 World Series including being on base for both of Alan Trammell's game 4 homers.




Frank White homered and drove in 3 runs to help the Royals escape a 3-0 hole in Game 3 of the 1985 World Series.





In a losing cause, Marty Barrett got 13 hits, batted .433 with an OPS of 1.014 for the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series. He would have been the MVP of the Series had that 10th inning gone differently for the Sox.




Steve Sax batted .300 in the Dodgers stunning victory over the A's in the 1988 World Series. His walk started the Dodgers first inning rally off of Dave Stewart in Game 4 that helped put the Dodgers in control of the series for good.






Chuck Knoblauch batted .308 in the 1991 World Series for the Twins. He helped start the decoy play in Game 7 to fool Lonnie Smith and set up the series winning run with a sacrifice bunt. Later with the Yankees he hit game tying homers in the 1998 and 1999 World Series.



In a losing cause, Mark Lemke hit .417 with an OPS of 1.170 in the 1991 World Series for the Braves. His 2 out walk off single in the 12th inning ended Game 3 and he scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th of Game 4.





Roberto Alomar scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th of Game 3 of the 1992 World Series. In 1993, he drove in 6 runs and batted .480 with an OPS of 1.159 as the Blue Jays won back to back titles.



Craig Counsell was involved with two World Series Game 7 come from behind victories. He tied Game 7 of the 1997 World Series in the 9th inning with a sacrifice fly and scored the title winning run for the Marlins in the 11th inning. In 2001, he was hit by a Mariano Rivera pitch setting up Luis Gonzalez's single that won the World Series for the Diamondbacks.



Luis Castillo drove in the first run of Game 6 of the 2003 World Series with a 2 out RBI single. It would turn out to be the World Series winner as the Marlins held on to a 2-0 victory.




Mark Bellhorn hit the game winning homer in Game 1 of the 2004 World Series. He also helped the Red Sox win Game 2 with a 2 run double off the center field wall.




Dustin Pedroia led off the 2007 World Series with a home run, setting the stage for the Red Sox sweep of the Rockies.





Chase Utley hit a 2 run homer in the first inning of Game 1 of the 2008 World Series that gave Cole Hamels all the run support he needed. In the 2009 World Series, he matched Reggie Jackson's record of 5 home runs.





Who knows? Maybe Utley or Pedroia could win the World Series MVP this year. Maybe Robinson Cano will win it for the Yankees. Maybe the Rays make it back to the series and Ben Zobrist will win it. Perhaps Dan Uggla, Ian Kinsler, Howie Kendrick, Ian Stewart or Rickie Weeks will win some hardware.

Or maybe we'll have to deal with 50 seasons without a second baseman winning the World Series MVP.

We may have to cope.

Meanwhile, enjoy the glory that is the 1960 World Series, the last glorious series for second basemen!

Sully Baseball Honors JERMAINE DYE

It looks like Jermaine Dye's days with the White Sox have come to an end.

Chicago declined to pick up his option and Dye goes into the winter a free agent.

He's 35 years old, had a HORRIBLE second half and the days of sluggers miraculously getting stronger in their late 30s seems to be over for some strange reason.

The White Sox need to get younger and bringing Dye back would be purely an emotional decision.

Now I am not a White Sox fan, but I have a soft spot in my heart for them. But I hope that the White Sox blogs are firing 21 gun salutes for Jermaine Dye.

In his 5 seasons in Chicago, he delivered big. An MVP caliber season in 2006. All Star numbers in 2008... and of course the World Series heroics.

His first inning homer in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series off of Roger Clemens set the tone for the series.

His phantom hit by pitch in Game 2 set up the Paul Kornerko slam.

His RBI single in Game 3 helped the White Sox come back from behind, setting up the 14 inning marathon.

And of course he drove in the only run of Game 4, singling off of Brad Lidge and gave the White Sox the title.

Think about how a Chicago pennant, let alone a World Series title, seemed so elusive.

White Sox fans who want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside should thank Dye for delivering the title that so many generations craved.

And petty White Sox fans should salute Dye for making sure a White Sox title arrived before a Cubs title. (And with the Lou Piniella era sputtering to a close, Sox fans might have that bragging right for a while longer!)

So let's see those blogs sending out love.

Jermaine Dye... get ready. Your number will be retired in Chicago before long.
(Just don't sign with the Cubs.)

No offense to Hideki Matsui... but Mariano Rivera was the MVP

Nobody is denying Hideki Matsui had a great Game 6 of the World Series. Heck he drove in 6 runs by himself.

His two run homer off of Pedro Martinez got the scoring started... and when the Phillies answered with a run of their own, Matsui got the 2 out 2 run single that made it clear the Yankees weren't getting caught.

I still don't think he was the MVP of the World Series.

It's not a bad choice. Picking Phil Hughes would have been bad.

Matsui batting .615... he homered 3 times... he drove in 8 runs in the 6 game series...

All terrific.

He wasn't the MVP of the World Series.

Not to be harsh, but in a 6 game Series, the MVP should probably start more than half the games. (Not always... Dusty Rhodes should have been the MVP of the 1954 World Series... but I digress)

In this post season, every single closer blew a must win game for their team...
except one.

In this World Series, the mantra for both teams was get into their vulnerable bullpen. As Hughes and Chamberlain became less and less reliable, the Phillies would be licking their chops when Girardi pulled the starter.

EXCEPT for one pitcher.

The Phillies went into the later part of the Series not sure who would even pitch the 9th.

And yet basically their strategy seemed to be "Make sure Mariano Rivera doesn't pitch."

If Rivera pitched, the game was over.

That's kinda sorta a cut and dry definition of a Series MVP.

I said this to my dad last night and he replied "Yeah, but doesn't Rivera already have one?"

The answer is yes. He won the 1999 World Series MVP and the 2003 ALCS MVP.

He deserved those. And he deserved this one.

I'm sure Rivera isn't losing sleep over this and Matsui has been a great Yankee and it is easy to forget that this is his first World Series ring (doesn't it seem like he belongs with the Riveras, Posadas, Jeters and Pettittes as guys who have won a few?)

But when Rivera came out in the 8th, the roar of the crowd was that of people who knew the game (and the World Series title) was theirs.

They were right.

Because Rivera, the most valuable player of the series, was in the game.

Robbed of a post season MVP Part 3 - World Series

Now I've finally gotten around to finishing up my tribute to Post Season MVPs who were denied their glory.

I covered the ALCS and the NLCS... now for the big Kahuna: The players who were denied the World Series MVP.

I am not including Bobby Richardson who did indeed win the 1960 World Series MVP despite the fact that his Yankees lost the Series.

Ready? Let's go

1958 Yankees Defeat Braves, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Warren Spahn.
2-1, 2.20 ERA. 28 2/3 innings.


How close were the Braves from winning?
The Braves took a 3-1 series lead.
Game 6… bottom 8th inning. Braves put the potential go-ahead run on first but didn’t score. Bottom 9th, Ryne Duren faced Covington, Bruton and Spahn… a single run would win the World Series, but struck out the side. The Yankees scored twice in the 10th. The Braves scored in the 10th and had the tying run on third and the World Series winning run at first, but Bob Turley got Frank Torre to line out.

Game 7, the game was tied going into the 8th but the Yankees scored 4 runs and never looked back.

Goat. Eddie Mathews.
The future Hall of Famer was held to a .160 average with no homers and 11 strikeouts. Held to a single hit total in the Braves four losses.

Actual MVP: Bob Turley



1962 Yankees defeat Giants, 4-3

Robbed MVP– Jack Sanford.
3 starts, 1.93 ERA over 23 1/3 innings. 19 strikeouts. 7 innings 1 run in game 7.

How close were the Giants from winning?
If Willie McCovey’s line drive was a foot more to the left or right, the Giants would have won the World Series.

Goat. Felipe Alou.
He could not get a sacrifice bunt down in the 9th to move his brother Matty to scoring position. Matty went to third on Willie Mays’ double but never scored the tying run.

Actual MVP: Ralph Terry



1964 Cardinals defeat Yankees, 4-3

Robbed MVPs– Mickey Mantle.
3 HRs, 8 RBI, .333 average including a walk off homer in game 3.

Jim Bouton.
2-0 including a complete game victory in game 3 and 8 1/3 solid innings in game 6 to tie the seres.

How close were the Yankees from winning?
Game 7 was tied through 3 and home runs brought the Yankees to within 2 in the 9th.

Goat. Bobby Richardson.
He batted .406 in the series but fumbled a key double play ball that set up a game winning grand slam by Ken Boyer in game 4.

Actual MVP: Bob Gibson




1967 Cardinals defeat Red Sox, 4-3

Robbed MVP– Carl Yastrzemski
.400, 3 HRs, 5 RBI

How close were the Red Sox from winning?
Actually not that close. But George Scott tripled and scored on an error to cut the Cardinal lead in game 7 to 4-1. But the Cardinals unloaded on Lonborg the next inning.

Goat. The Red Sox hitters NOT named Yastrzemski.
Ken Harrleson, Elston Howard, Reggie Smith, George Scott, Jose Tartabull et al were all flops.

Actual MVP: Bob Gibson




1968 Tigers defeat Cardinals, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Bob Gibson.
Mind boggling game one where he threw a complete game shutout with 17 strikeouts and 1 walk. Struck out 35 batters in 27 innings over three complete games with a 1.67 ERA

How close were the Cardinals from winning?
Up 3-1 in the series, the Cardinals scored 3 in the top of the first of game 5 on Cepeda’s homer. The Cardinals led until the bottom of the 7th when the Tigers rallied for the lead.

After the 13-1 game six blow out the Bob Gibson and Mickey Lolich were scoreless into the 7th inning when the Tigers rallied to win.

Goat. Curt Flood
Flood slipped in centerfield and turned an inning ending scoreless tie protecting out into a 2 run World Series winning triple.

Actual MVP: Mickey Lolich




1971 Pirates defeat Orioles, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Dave McNally.
Pitched a complete game victory in game 1 and came out of the bullpen to win game 6.

How close were the Orioles from winning?
The Orioles had base runners in each of the first 3 scoreless innings of game 7. The Orioles put the tying run at third and the go ahead run at the plate, but Davey Johnson grounded out. Steve Blass faced Boog Powell, Frank Robinson and Merv Rettemund, each representing the tying run, in the bottom of the 9th in game 7. They went down 1-2-3.

Goat. Davey Johnson.
Ended the 8th inning rally in game 7 and hit only .148 in the series.

Actual MVP: Roberto Clemente.




1972 A's defeat Reds, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Jack Billingham.
1-0 with a save and let up no earned runs in 13 2/3 innings.

How close were the Reds form winning?
Trailing by 1 in the 8th inning, the Reds put the tying run at third and the go ahead run at second, but Denis Menke flew out to end the rally. Pete Rose came up as the potential World Series run in the bottom of the 9th but flew out to end the series.

Goat. Clay Carroll
Carroll allowed 4 straight pinch hits blowing the Reds 2-1 lead in the 9th as the A’s won 3-2 and took command of the series.

Actual MVP: Gene Tenace




1973 A's defeat Mets, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Rusty Staub.
Batted .423 with a homer, 6 RBI including a key 3 run homer in the Mets game 5 victory.

How close were the Mets from winning?
Up 3-2 in the series but losing 2-1 in the 8th inning of game 6, the Mets put runners on first and third with only one out. Knowles struck out Staub and Rollie Fingers got Cleon Jones to pop up to end the threat.

The Mets had the tying run at the plate with 2 outs in the 9th of game 7, but Knowles got Wayne Garrett to pop up to end the series

Goat: Wayne Garrett. Despite hitting 2 homers, Garrett batted .167 for the series, struck out 11 times, including 3 times in game 7. Inexcusable for a leadoff man.

Actual MVP: Reggie Jackson



1975 Reds defeat Red Sox, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Luis Tiant.
2-0, 3.60 ERA, complete game victories in games 1 and 4, pitched into the 8th of game 6.

How close were the Red Sox from winning?
The Red Sox were up 3-0 after 3 innings of game 7. They took a 3-2 lead into the 7th inning of game 7. The score was tied with 2 outs in the top of the 9th inning of game 7. That’s close.

Goat – Manager Darrell Johnson.
With Dick Drago and Reggie Cleveland available, manager Johnson inexplicably put seldom used rookie Jim Burton in a tied 9th inning of game 7 of the World Series. He walked two and allowed a World Series winning bloop single to Joe Morgan. His career was ruined as he pitched only one more game in the majors after that.

Actual MVP: Pete Rose



1979 Pirates defeat Orioles, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Kiko Garcia
Although he didn’t start either game 1 or 2, he batted .400 in the last 5 games including a bases clearing triple that broke game 3 open for Baltimore.

How Close were the Orioles from winning?
The Orioles took a 3-1 lead in the series with a stunning 6 run 8th inning rally in game 4 that seemed to have broken the Pirates back.

The Orioles had leads in a potential clinching game 5 and 7 while game 6 was scoreless into the 7th.

Goat – Eddie Murray.
Steady Eddie was held hitless over the last 3 games, all losses for Baltimore. The Orioles offense scored 2 runs total over the last 3 games.

Actual MVP: Willie Stargell

1982 Cardinals defeat Brewers, 4-3


Robbed MVPs – Paul Molitor
Had a World Series record 5 hits in game 1. Batted .355 for the series.

Robin Yount
Led the team with a .414 average, driving in 6 runs.





Mike Caldwell
Threw a complete game shutout in game 1 and pitched 8 2/3 for the game 5 win.

How close were the Brewers from winning?
The Brewers had a 2 run lead in the 6th inning of game 7.
The Cardinals rallied on Keith Hernandez’s 2 run single and George Hendrick’s go ahead hit.


Goat – The Bullpen.
With Rollie Fingers hurt and unavailable for the Series, both Pete Ladd and Bob McLure were pressed into critical roles. Pete Ladd walked home the winning run in game 2. McLure blew the lead in Game 7 and went 0-2 for the series.

Actual MVP: Darrell Porter


1985 Royals defeat Cardinals, 4-3

Robbed MVP – John Tudor.
Won game 1 and threw a complete game shutout to win game 4 and give the Cardinals a 3-1 series lead.

How close were the Cardinals from winning?
How about a lead going into the 9th inning of game 6 up 3-2 in the series?

Goat – Don Denkinger
Denkinger is the obvious goat blowing the call at first base with what should have been the first out. But the Cardinal team deserves some heat for how they handled the blown call.

Darrell Porter could have caught a routine pop up that inning to get the first out, but he let it drop.

After the crushing game winning single by Dane Iorg, the Cardinals put potential series MVP John Tudor on the mound, who got bombed out of the building. Whitey Herzog and Joaquin Andujar got ejected arguing with Denkinger and the Cardinals were blown out 11-0.

They got a bad break. A double play could have erased it. (See also Bartman, Steve)

Actual MVP: Bret Saberhagen



1986 Mets defeat Red Sox, 4-3

Robbed MVPs– Bruce Hurst

Pitched 8 shut out innings in the game 1 victory and a complete game win in game 5. Held the Mets scoreless until their 3 run outburst in the 6th of game 7.

Marty Barrett
Batted .433, collecting 13 hits in the series including an RBI single in the 10th of game 6 that seemed to have clinched the World Series… until you know what happened.

How close were the Red Sox from winning?
Are you kidding?
Have you WATCHED HBO?

Beyond the 10th inning collapse in game 6, the Red Sox were up 3-0 going into the 6th inning of game 7. And had the tying run on second with nobody out in the 8th inning of game 7. Had the Sox held on, the Buckner error would have been long forgotten.

Goat – NOT BILL BUCKNER!
Get that through your heads!

John McNamara made so many stupid decisions that he should be put in the Grady Little (but not quite Don Zimmer) category of post season bone heads managing the Red Sox.

Calvin Schraldi lost game 6 and 7 of the World Series. Read that sentence again. THAT’S a goat.

Bob Stanley, who threw that pitch too far inside.

Rich Gedman, who should have blocked that pitch that was too far inside.

Actual MVP: Ray Knight


1987 Twins defeat Cardinals, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Tony Pena
Batted a team high .409 as a catcher and DH.

How close were the Cardinals from winning?
Up 3-2 in the series, the Cardinals went to Minnesota to play the last ever day game in World Series history (played indoors, naturally.) Willie McGee’s RBI single in the 5th gave the Cardinals a 5-2 lead. With John Tudor on the mound and a rested bullpen, the Cardinals looked like they were in control.

Don Baylor smacked a game tying homer off of Tudor and Kent Hrbek hit a grandslam off of Ken Dayley and the Twins went on to an 11-6 game 6 win to tie the series.

In Game 7, the Cardinals rallied for an early 2-0 lead but let Viola off of the ropes by failing to score more in a second inning rally. The Twins took the lead in the 6th. Tony Pena doubled and stole third representing the tying run in the 7th, but he was the last Cardinal baserunner of the game as the Twins held on to win 4-2.

Goat – Danny Cox.
The normally reliable starter couldn’t get out of the 4th in game 2 and came out of the bullpen to let up the winning run in game 7.

Actual MVP: Frank Viola


1991 Twins defeat Braves, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Mark Lemke –
The anonymous second baseman wasn’t even in the line up for game 1. But hit .417 in the series including a 12th inning RBI single to end game 3 and scored the game ending run in the 9th of game 4.

How close were the Braves from winning?
Up 3-2 in the series, the Braves put the potential series winning run on base in the 9th, 10th and 11th. But they hit into double plays in the 9th and 10th and pinch runner Keith Mitchell was caught stealing in the 11th, before Kirby Puckett’s homer tied the series.

In the 7th game, the Braves had runners in scoring position in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th… but were held scoreless in the 10 inning 1-0 loss.

Goat – Lonnie Smith.
The steady veteran with 3 World Series rings prior to 1991, was fooled late in game 7 by a decoy play by Chuck Knoblauch and Greg Gagne that prevented him from scoring on Terry Pendleton’s double into the gap. He would stay at 3rd and never come home as the Braves were shut out in 10.

Otis Nixon.
The speedy outfielder was suspended from post season play for testing positive for drugs (remember when the league tested for drugs? It almost seems quaint now.) His suspension left the Braves short handed for the World Series.

Actual MVP: Jack Morris

1992 Blue Jays defeat Braves, 4-2

Robbed MVP – Tom Glavine.
Pitched 2 complete games with a 1.59 ERA.

How close were the Braves from winning?
Never got to a clinching game 7, but had leads in the 9th inning of game 2, the 8th inning of game 3, had the tying run on 3rd in the 8th of game 4, had the winning run on 3rd in the 9th of game 6 and the winning run at the plate in the 10th and 11th of game 6.

They lost all 4 games by 1 run.

Goat – Jeff Reardon.
The newly acquired closer let up an unlikely game winning 2 run homer to reserve Ed Sprague in game 2, blowing a 1 run lead. Also allowed Candy Maldonado’s walk off game 3 hit. Bobby Cox had lost confidence in him and would not use him in the 11 inning game 6 marathon.

Actual MVP – Pat Borders


1993 Blue Jays defeat Phillies, 4-2

Robbed MVP – Lenny Dykstra.
Batted .348 with 4 homers and 8 RBIs in the 6 game series. Piled up a .913 slugging percentage.

How close were the Phillies from winning?
Never got to the clinching game, but had a 5 run 8th inning lead in game 4 that would have tied the series 2-2… and a 1 run 9th inning lead that would have forced a game 7.

Goat – Mitch Williams.
No clearer goat in World Series history. His 0-2 record… his 20.25 ERA… the fact that when Rickey Henderson saw him coming into game 6 he became giddy.

Actual MVP – Paul Molitor


1996 Yankees defeat Braves, 4-2

Robbed MVP – John Smoltz.
Won game 1 in Yankee Stadium and finished the series with and ERA of 0.64.

How close were the Braves from winning?
Never got to the game 7, but the Braves out pitched and out hit the Yankees so badly during the first 4 games that it looked like a boring rout of a World Series. Atlanta was winning 6-3 in the 8th inning of game 4, rolling to a 3-1 lead. They never had another lead in the series.

The Braves lost games 5 and 6 by one run and had the tying run in scoring position when both games ended.

Goat – Mark Wohlers.
He surrendered Jim Leyritz’s stunning World Series turning game tying homer in game 4. The Braves never recovered.

Actual MVP – John Wetteland.



1997 Marlins defeat Indians, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Sandy Alomar Jr.
Batted .367 with 2 homers and 10 RBI for Cleveland. Had an OPS of 1.006, which I understand isn’t bad.

How close were the Indians from winning?
They had the lead in the 9th inning of game 7. That’s pretty close!

The Indians then put the go ahead run on base in the 10th and 11th of game 7.

Goat – Jose Mesa.
When you are the closer and you are given a 1 run lead in the 9th inning of game 7 of the World Series and do NOT clinch it, you are a goat.

His failure in the 9th led to Omar Vizquel’s bizarre feud with Mesa.

Tony Fernandez.
The sure fielded shortstop was playing second base and made a critical error in the 11th. The Marlins would win the World Series with a 2 out single in the 11th.

Actual MVP – Livan Hernandez


2001 Diamondbacks defeat Yankees, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Mariano Rivera.
In a World Series where D’Backs closer Byuen Yung Kim blew two critical saves, Rivera was his usual steady self with 2 shutout innings for a game 3 save and a scoreless inning for a game 4 win. Going into the 9th inning of game 7, Rivera had thrown 6 shutout innings.

How close were the Yankees from winning?
They had the lead with Mariano Rivera on the mound in the 9th inning of game 7. Anything other than a win would be the most unlikely scenario since Kirk Gibson’s homer off of Eckersley.

Goat – Mariano Rivera.
I know it sounds odd to be the goat who spoiled the MVP for himself… but who else is there to blame? He threw a ball into centerfield and let Tony Womack beat him with a game tying double before hitting Counsell and allowing Gonzalez’s series ending single. His ERA ballooned to 1.42.

Actual MVPs – Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling

2002 Angels defeat Giants, 4-3

Robbed MVP – Barry Bonds.
Bonds homered in his first at bat, clubbed 4 over all and batted .471 with an OPS of 1.994.

How close were the Giants to winning?
Leading the series 3-2, the Giants ran a 5-0 lead up on the Angels highlighted by homers by Bonds and veteran Shawon Dunston. Russ Ortiz threw a shut out into the 7th inning.

The Giants were still leading 5-3 in the 8th inning and brought in reliever Robb Nen with a 5-4 lead and 6 outs from the first ever World Series title in San Francisco.

Goat – Dusty Baker.
Having his three year old around to run on the field of play during a World Series game was at best the fourth stupidest decision he made. Giving Russ Ortiz the game 6 “game ball” was a rubbing in the nose moment for which the Angels responded right away with 6 unanswered runs.

Bakers decision to pitch Livan Hernandez over Kirk Reuter was bad enough. But letting him even walk out of the dugout in the third when EVERYONE saw he had nothing was inexcusable.

As I wrote before, my dad has never forgiven Livan for pitching so horribly in game 7.

Actual MVP: Troy Glaus.


2003 Marlins defeat Yankees, 4-2

Robbed MVP – Andy Pettite.
Pitched 8 2/3 innings of 1 run ball in the Yankees game 2 win and in the potential elimination game 6, pitched 7 innings letting up 1 earned run. He finished the series with a 0.57 ERA.

How close were the Yankees from winning?
Fresh off of the heart stopping 7 game series with the Red Sox climaxing with Aaron Boone’s homer, the World Series against Florida seemed like a formality. In actuality the Yankees lost games 1 and 4 by 1 run and games 5 and 6 by only 2.

The Yankees rallied in game 4 to send the game into extra innings and possibly take a 3-1 lead in the series. They loaded the bases with 1 out in the 11th but couldn’t score and lost the next inning on Alex Gonzalez’s homer.

Goat – Jeff Weaver
He was on 29 days of rest… so either he was completely rested and ready or he was rusty and a last resort. Either way, he served up Gonzalez’s walk off homer in game 4that turned the tide of the World Series.

David Wells
His lack of body condition finally came back to haunt him as he left a crucial game 5after only 1 inning. Jose Contreras absorbed the loss, but there was no way he should have been pitching in the 2nd inning.

Actual MVP: Josh Beckett.


So there you go… quite a range of players who were denied a World Series MVP. From Hall of Famers like Yaz and Yount to unlikely stars like Mark Lemke and Kiko Garcia.

Here’s hoping they get standing ovations in their home park anyway.

Their team losing was clearly NOT their fault.