Sports Then and Now

Sparky ANderson (center) guided the famous Cincinnati "Big Red Machine" to four pennants and two World Series titles in nine seasons.

News this week of the illness and then death of Hall of Fame manager George “Sparky” Anderson has elicited many fond memories of the feisty manager who enjoyed unparalleled success during 26 seasons managing the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers.

When Anderson was introduced as the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 1970 season many asked “Sparky Who?” and wondered why management would turn the reins of one of baseball’s up and coming teams to an unknown 36-year-old who had spent one season playing in the majors for the Philadelphia Phillies (hit .218 in 152 games in 1959) and never managed above AA.

As it turns out, Cincinnati General Manager Bob Howsman, who had hired Anderson for minor league managerial stints with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, had the manager he needed to turn the Reds into baseball’s team of the 1970s.

It didn’t take long for Anderson to prove that he was indeed the right man for the job. During his first season at the helm, the Reds won 102 games and reached the World Series for the first time since 1961.

Though they lost the Series to the Baltimore Orioles, with emerging superstars like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Dave Concepcion, the “Big Red Machine” had been born. Read the rest of this entry →

Tim Lincecum capped the "Year of the Pitcher" with eight strong innings in the final game of the World Series.

In a perfect ending to the “Year of the Pitcher”, the San Francisco Giants received back-to-back great pitching performances to secure the first World Series title for the franchise since 1954.

It wasn’t quite the showing of the 1966 Baltimore Orioles, who held the Los Angeles Dodgers without a run for the last 33 innings of their series sweep, but it was almost that impressive given that the Rangers were among the top offensive teams in baseball in 2010.

In holding the Rangers to five runs over the last four games, with four of them coming in their only victory of the series, the Giants demonstrated exactly what took them from floundering team to World Series champion over the final three months of the season.

After seeing their record fall to 41-40 on July 4th, the Giants rallied to go 51-30 over the final three months of the season. During that stretch, 20 of their victories were in games in which their pitching staff held the opponents either scoreless or to one run.

Though Tim Lincecum will not claim a third consecutive Cy Young Award, the performance of the young hurler during the World Series proved that he is indeed a staff ace. Read the rest of this entry →

Despite being the staff ace, there was never any thought by the Rangers of having Cliff Lee pitch three games in the World Series.

If I was writing this column in 1970 or even in 1990, it would be about Cliff Lee’s preparation to start game four of the World Series for a Texas Rangers squad that trails two games to one and desperately needs a strong performance from their best pitcher.

However, because we are in the year 2010 when pitchers are often treated like fine china, this column is about how the Rangers must figure out how to win three more games though their staff ace will pitch just one more time in the series.

What is interesting about the decision by Ron Washington to pitch Tommy Hunter in game four, instead of to start Cliff Lee on three day’s rest, is that it really isn’t a decision at all. I every interview from prior to the World Series through game three, Washington never wavered in his insistence that Lee would not pitch a day earlier than normal regardless of the situation in the Series.

Given that Lee struggled in the first game with a week of rest, it makes sense not to take a chance bringing him back early. However, the decision means that should the Series come down to one final game, the Rangers would not be pitching their staff ace.

Of course the same would be true for the San Francisco Giants, but even with consecutive Cy Young Awards to his credit, there has never been discussion about maneuvering their rotation to get a third start out of Tim Lincecum.

What is interesting about the situation for the Rangers is that just a year ago, Lee and his previous team the Philadelphia Phillies were in the same exact situation.

Trailing two games to one against the Yankees, Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel did not start Lee in game four though the Yankees were pitching their ace C.C. Sabathia on short rest. The Yankees went on to win the game and take a 3-1 Series lead. Lee won game five, but the Yankees claimed the Series in six games. Read the rest of this entry →

In 1985 the Kansas City Royals took advantage of some amazing fortune to win the World Series title.

While it is just about impossible in today’s baseball landscape to imagine the Kansas City Royals being among the dominant teams in the game, that was indeed the case in the 1970s and 1980s when the Royals were perennial contenders. Their run of glory culminated 25 years ago when they claimed their one and only World Series title.

After entering the American League as an expansion franchise in 1969 (two years after the Kansas City Athletics left for Oakland), it took only three seasons for the Royals to post a winning campaign and in 1976 earned the first of three straight division titles under the guidance of future Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog.

Unfortunately, each season ended with an American League Championship loss to the New York Yankees.

After faltering slightly in 1979 and replacing Herzog with Jim Frey, the Royals won their fourth division title and again faced the Yankees in the post season in 1980.

This time, the Royals swept the Yankees and earned their first World Series appearance in only their 12th season. By comparison, it took the Texas Rangers (who entered the league as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961) 36 years to make a playoff appearance and 50 years to reach the World Series.

Though Kansas City lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, the core nucleus of players, including George Brett, Frank White and Willie Wilson was young enough that additional series appearances seemed likely.

However, the Royals in the early 1980s struggled slightly. After earning a playoff spot in the strike-shortened 1981 season despite having an overall losing record, the Royals didn’t again reach the playoffs until 1984 when they won the AL West with a pedestrian record of 84-78.

To no surprise, the Royals were swept in the playoffs by the Detroit Tigers.

By 1985 many recognized that the Royals, now under the guidance of manager Dick Howser, were reaching the end of their championship window. Read the rest of this entry →

There was no happy ending to 2010 for the New York Yankees.

It is official. Major League Baseball will have a new champion in 2010 following the elimination of the New York Yankees. For television executives and fans of the Yankees across the World that news is the equivalent of the sky falling, but for those who are not fans of sports dynasties, it is welcomed news.

The New York Yankees haven’t made the World Series every year, it just seems that way. Since 1921, the Yankees have appeared in the World Series 40 times, winning 27 championships.

By contrast, post season play is something very new for the team that dethroned the Yankees as the American League Champions.

Since entering the league as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961 and moving to the Dallas–Fort Worth area to become the Texas Rangers in 1972, the franchise has had little success. They reached the playoffs three times between 1996 and 1999, but lost in the opening round all three times while winning only one post season game.

Just as a comparison, while the Senators-Rangers went 50 years without making the World Series, the Yankees have made 15 World Series appearances and claimed 11 titles during that stretch. In addition, they reached the playoffs nine other times for a total of 24 playoff appearances in 50 years.

Since the failed attempt to implement a salary cap in baseball in 1994, the Yankees have made the playoffs in 15 of 16 seasons with seven World Series appearances and five titles.

To many Yankee fans across the world, appearing in and winning the World Series every year isn’t just a hopeful expectation, it is considered an expected right. Over history, failure to achieve the annual objective has often resulted in quick changes, regardless of past success. Read the rest of this entry →

Carlton Fisk's dramatic home run in game six is the most vivid memory of the 1975 World Series.

It was 35 years ago today on October 22, 1975 that one of the most exciting World Series of all-time ended with a game seven that would propel the Big Red Machine to immortality while adding another tale of woe for fans of the Boston Red Sox.

From the very beginning, there was something about the 1975 World Series that brought it to the national forefront like no other World Series since the hey days of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers.

With superstars Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan, the Cincinnati Reds were baseball’s best known team, but two previous trips to the World Series had resulted in a pair of defeats and questions as to whether the Reds could win the big one.

The Boston Red Sox were back in the spotlight buoyed by the play of flashy young outfielder Fred Lynn, who would become the first rookie in baseball history to be names American League MVP. He was joined on the roster by future Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk as well as charismatic pitcher Luis Tiant.

With weekday World Series games now being played primarily at night, it provided fans (both young and old) who in the past had needed to play hooky from work or school to watch the World Series to now be able to enjoy the games from the comfort of home. Read the rest of this entry →