Chicago Retro World Series

It was another amazing weekend for Matthew and me in Chicago.  There was so much that happened, and so many wonderful memories made, it's hard for me to believe it all took place in less than 48 hours from the time we left until the time we got back.

In the first game of the day, my Reds were "lucky" enough to face Steve Carlton and the '77 Phillies.  Lefty struggled with his control (A-X), walking at least 1 batter in the 7 innings he pitched.  But in the 2nd, he walked Bench, May and Concepcion to load the bases.  With one out, I said, "If he's going to give me the bases full, I've got to score in this situation."  Jim Stewart (nicknamed Jimmy all day because It's a Wonderful Life), strolled into the box.  I had elected to take his 30 extra points of batting average and 60 points of on base percentage upgrade over Tommy Helms, in trade for the loss of 2 fielding points.  It turned out to be a pretty good idea on the day.  Stewart rolled a 66-0, 33-1 Grand Slam to put the Reds up 4-0.

Lee May busted what would be his only homer of the day in the top of the 6th for a 5-0 lead.  Sparky and I were feeling pretty good about things.  In the bottom half of the inning, the McBats (McBride and McCarver) got together for a single and double to get the Phils on the board.  With Schmidt coming up, Captain Hook nudged me to bring in Wayne Granger (B-Z).  I did and Sparky was right.  Grangers' grade bump to an A turned Schmidt's 9 into an out.  McCarver would later score on a Dave Johnson double, but the out prevented the Phillies from turning the inning into a game changer, and the Reds led 5-2.

Big Klu gives Jimmy Stewart some tips before the Chicago Retro World Series - they worked

In the 8th, the Phillie bats came alive.  Dave Johnson's second double of the game plated pinch runner Terry Harmon.  When Jay Johnstone followed with a 66-1, it was a tie game 5-5 after 8.  In the top of the 9th, the Reds had 8-9-1 due up. Concepcion whiffed to lead off against Tug McGraw (A-X).  Jimmy Stewart stepped back into the box.  I kept thinking, "Walk Jimmy, walk!  Just a little 14 and get back to the top of the order."  Jimmy had a better plan.  His second 66-0, 33-1 of the game sent the Reds into orbit on the field and both managers at the table into shock!  His second homer of the game gave the Reds the lead, and when Clay Carroll closed out the 9th, the Reds had taken their first game of the tournament. 

I lost the 2nd game to the Phils 5-0, and split with the eventual NL Champion Bradd Romant's '77 Dodgers in my first two series.  Heading down the stretch, I had series with the '73 Braves and '77 Cubs, and I thought my chances were decent.  My guys just had to hit.  In Game 1 against the Braves, they didn't.  Bob Spatz's '73 Braves gave the Reds the two hardest games I played all weekend. Carl Morton and Jim Merritt both went 9 innings of scoreless baseball in Game 1, before handing things over to the bullpens.  In the top of the 15th inning (yes, I said 15!), Johnny Bench led off with a double.  Bob elected to walk Lee May and face light hitting Dave Concepcion.  The rookie shortstop, with little pop in his card (0-7-7), smacked a double into the gap scoring both big sluggers in front of him.  The Reds held on in their half to win the marathon.

Aaron, at Crosley Field, awaits one of the few pitches
Cincinnati would throw to him over the weekend.

Both teams reserved their hot dice for Game 2.  Ralph Garr and Dusty Baker each homered, while Paul Cassanova (1-6-7) reached the seats TWICE for the Braves.  Bernie Carbo and Johnny Bench busted one each for the Reds, and going into the bottom of the 9th the Reds trailed 6-5.  Carbo led things off with a double and was brought home by a base hit from Tony Perez.  When Bench and May both whiffed back to back, I could feel any chances I had of making the playoffs start to vanish.  Again stepped up little Davey Concepcion.  The Big Red Machine's entire fate lay in the hands of a someday great player.  But in 1970, he wasn't so much.  Dave showed his worth by smashing a single to keep the Reds hopes alive and moved Perez into scoring position.  Now, things would get interesting.  2 out, the winning run on 2nd base and Jimmy Stewart stepping into the box.  Is this even possible outside of an old Black and White Christmas movie???  I took a deep breath, relaxed, shook the dice in the cup and rolled to see Stewart get a 66-0, 25-2 triple to sweep the Braves and lead the Reds to win a game they had to have in order to reach the playoffs.

In the two games, Aaron was 2 for 8 with 3 walks, ALL intentional.  He had no RBIs.  I refused to let him beat me.  The 4-5-6-7 hitters of Evans, Johnson, Lum and Perez (2 for 37 combined) made the decision work out.

I swept the 77 Cubs in two blow out games (8-0 and 14-6).  I hated running up the score, but was trying to catch those pesky Dodgers who refused to lose to the Phillies.  If we finished with 8-2 records, the tie breaker would be run differential.  It wouldn't matter as his 19+ beat my 14+.

My Reds did go on to face my friend Jim Welch in the NLDS.  The Reds stayed hot and won 6-0 on a 2 hitter by Jim Merritt.  But in the NLCS the Reds' bats went cold, while Monday and Yeager went yard as Bradd Romant's '77 Dodgers beat me again.  I lost 3 games on the day, and 2 were to the Dodgers!! 

 Words really can't describe the fun of playing a game I played as a kid, against guys, many of whom, have played longer than myself.  The Yankee Boy had a chance to pilot his 81 Yankees into the playoffs in his last series.  But instead of winning the two games he needed, he dropped both in a sweep by the 79 Orioles.  I knew we were facing 8 hours of seat time to get home, and it was already getting late into the evening.  But after I lost, and the day of rolling dice was over, Matthew still wanted to stay and watch Brad and Gary battle it out in the final game.  As a dad, and fellow APBA lover, how could I say no?

LBJ, Bicycles and Bombs

There are times when a good story needs to be told the right way.  Many of you will remember, in our prior tournament, we conducted our first ever Fan-Vote to elect All Star teams made up of the players participating in the Lyndon B. Johnson Invitational.  Members of the APBA Facebook Group voted the starting lineups for Game 1, including the starting pitchers and one relief pitcher for each league.  My son and I picked 8 more position players and 8 pitchers, with each team having at least one representative.  The position players not starting in Game 1 would start in Game 2.  In Game 3, any player could be selected to start by the manager.

In Game 1, we tried to find an interesting place to play the game.  My son traveled with me on a working road trip, and we stopped at Fort Boonesboro State Park to roll the first game.  In a very tranquil setting and with no other people around to bother us, one of the picnic shelters worked great.  Well, except for a wasp who decided to plant a stinger into the American League manager's back during the game.  On the field, Johnny Bench led the Senior Circuit going 4 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 6 RBI as the Nationals stomped the American's 11-3.

In Game 2, Frank Howard had a 3 for 3 night, with a home run, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.  The AL evened the series with a 5-2 win in a game that we played at home.

I think it rained in Kentucky the entire months of June and July.  Those rainy days delayed and postponed the American League manager's real life baseball participation in the State Babe Ruth Tournament in Lexington.  Every day was monopolized with it.  Finally, we had a day that I could arrange my schedule so that he and I could have some quality time to finish the LBJ All Star Series.  But where? 

Peace, quiet, solitude and a table are all we needed.  Mill Springs is the location of a series of Civil War battlefields with a very nice museum.  There are actually several different locations set up as a driving tour where you can visit and read about the different battles fought in this area.  There is also a national military cemetery there.  What says "peace, quiet and solitude" more than a cemetery??  And there are some covered gazebos that I thought might work for us to play our game.  This would have been fine, except on this morning that we chose to visit, the maintenance crew was working in full force to mow the grass to maintain its perfect manicured appearance.  Lawn mowers and weed eaters were not what we had in mind.

The Yankee Boy's mom and I used to go out to a little park in this area when we first got married.  We would pack a picnic lunch and travel to Cumberland Point where we could enjoy a peaceful summer day, before we had children.  The Boy and I decided to try that.  Upon arriving, I could tell it was almost identical to the last time I had visited, probably 15-20 years earlier.  There are camp sites, a couple of play grounds, a nice boat launching ramp, fish cleaning station, breath taking views of Lake Cumberland and a large, covered, unoccupied picnic shelter.  Perfect!!

We set up the game, and honestly, it could not have been more ideal.  The only sounds anywhere were the birds singing, the leaves rustling gently in a light breeze, Lake Cumberland's water gently crashing into the shoreline, and the dice being rolled on our table.  This was APBA heaven. 

During the game at Fort Boonesboro, Yankee Boy had mentioned the wasp nest above our heads.  I told him, "Don't worry about them, and they won't bother us."  When one of the vicious little winged devils started buzzing around him, I said, "Don't bother him, and he'll go away."  When the wasp stung him in the back, I said, "Hmmm, maybe not."  In the first inning of Game 3, a small but formidable yellow jacket came to inspect our table.  This time, knowing Yankee Boy would not trust my advice, with hat in hand and quick reflexes, I swatted the little stinging pest to the ground, found my prey squirming on the concrete floor and mashed him into eternity.  Don't mess with APBA players during a game.  We had learned how to identify things that might interfere with our game play and we knew how to eradicate them.

The game itself was a good one too.  Tom Seaver matched up against Sam McDowell.  If nicknames are any indication, there is little doubt who did better with the ladies: Tom Terrific or Sudden Sam.  Frank Howard connected on his second long ball of the series in the 2nd inning, and Bill Freehan added a 2 run shot to put the AL up, 3-0.  Hank Aaron and Glenn Beckert doubled home runs in the bottom of the inning, and Dick Allen's pinch hit single brought home another to tie the game 3-3 after two complete.

After the invasion by the yellow jacket, the piece and quiet of our scene was short lived.  From the corner of my eye I saw movement across the parking lot, coming from the direction of the campground.  A bicycle.  A small bicycle.  A small, pink bicycle.  This was not good.  This could be a serious problem to our peaceful game play.  A bicycle indicated another person, the size of the bicycle indicated a small young person, and the color of the bicycle indicated a small, young, female person.  None of that sounds peaceful or quiet.  Those normally like to talk.  As it approached the picnic shelter to investigate us, I considered using my hat again.  My better judgment told me, "No."

We continued to roll.  Boog Powell singled home Rod Carew in the 3rd, Freehan continued to rake singling home Frank Robinson in the 4th.  Neither manager mentioned the small person who had navigated and abandoned the pink two wheeled apparatus into the landscape of the picnic shelter.  We made no eye contact and no attempt to communicate with it.  We made no comment or reference of it to each other.  We made only silent and expressionless eye contact with each other that spoke more than any words we could say about the matter. 

But this lack of acknowledgment by two people at a picnic table, combined with the rolling of dice, calling of numbers, looking at pages in a book, and writing on paper intrigued this small person to the point that she walked slowly around the parameter to listen and inspect further.  She was scouting.  I considered the hat one more time.  Nope, not gonna do it.

Then, without warning or provocation, the small, previously quiet rider of pink bicycles took off in a full sprint across the parking lot as fast as her little pink tennis shoed feet could carry her toward the campground.  At full volume she screamed, "Justin!!!  Justin!!!  There are people over here!!!"  I should have used the hat.

In the top of the fifth, Powell smashed a solo homer and Freehan connected on his second two run blast of the night (5 RBIs), and the Boy's AL squad was pulling away, 8-3.  Johnny Bench picked up his third homer of the series to cut the margin to 4.

I knew he was coming.  With my concentration firmly on the game, and with the 5th inning passing which allowed for starting position players to come out, my attention was mostly on what managerial moves I needed to make next.  But in my peripheral vision, I saw him coming.  The bike was a little bigger than the pink model the first intruder had abandoned in the wood chips and azalea bushes.  The rider was much larger than his younger blonde predecessor.  Maybe he wasn't a lot taller, but was certainly much bigger around. Yankee Boy and I again said nothing of the impending invasion of our sanctuary.  Just knowing eye contact, dice rolls and results.

"What are you guys doing?", came the first question from the possible new poster-boy for Hostess snack cakes.  I considered my options carefully.  If I engaged in conversation, this would only encourage Kid Twinkie to ask more questions and further interrupt our father - son APBA time.  But to ignore him would be rude. 

"Playing a strategy game" came the answer, without eye contact, along with another dice roll and called play result.   "He'll get the hint," I thought to myself. 

"Have you ever been in a bike wreck?"  Dang it.  I should have used the hat.

Where to go from here could be tricky.  Our game was already running longer than most because of scoring by hand, a lot of offense and the large number of substitutions commonly made during an All Star contest.  The time we had to play and finish this project was running low.  I had no time for conversations of bike wrecks or to be asked if I had any Ho Ho's in the cooler.  Which I did not.

"I had a bad one when I was youn-"

"I crashed REALLY bad!  It got me all over!" he interjected.

For the first time, I looked directly at our newest pest.  His arms and knees were scraped, bruised and scabbed.  Even his jaw was discolored and darkened from the crash.  He was also too far for me to reach with the hat without getting up from my seat.  I reasoned that the best way to deal with this more aggressive intrusion, was to give him some attention and see where it went. 

"It looks bad," I said, hoping to let him get out the story he obviously wanted to tell.  I don't remember the details.  He was on the bike; he fell off the bike; he was on the blacktop.  Not a good combination, but one which most of us can relate. 

As he continued his rendition of a bike wreck that he probably thought worthy of a Steven Spielberg production, I returned my attention to the game.  At the time, we were somewhere in the middle of a stretch of 5 innings where Juan Marichal, Larry Dierker, Phil Regan, Don Gullett, and Bill Hands would face the minimum of 15 American League batters.  The wind was starting to pick up some.  Something rumbled and it wasn't Chief Big Wheels' stomach.  Even if a rambling kid couldn't stop our game, wind and rain just might.  I'm not one to take any chances on getting our APBA items wet.

As I monitored the sky, concentrated on the game, and generally ignored Justin's play by play of the world's greatest transportation disaster since the Titanic, I became aware of more movement entering the area.  These were not bicycles.  Trucks.  Two white ones.  One was a traditional 3/4 ton model Ford with an extended cab (4 doors).  The other was a bucket truck, similar to a model used by service men for a utility company.  Why a bucket truck?  There are no telephone lines in the park.  There aren't any electric lines in the area near us either.  Even the camp sites with electric service have under ground utilities.  This latest development concerned me far more than bike riding elementary school kids or even the impending rain.

Almost as soon as the wheels on the trucks stopped moving near the shelter, doors opened and eight men in work uniforms piled out of the vehicles on a mission.  Orders were yelled, equipment grabbed from the bed of the truck, pull cords yanked and the smell of 2-cycle oil filled the air.  Chain saws, weed eaters, hedge trimmers and an infernal deafening leaf blower all opened up their melodious tones in real life surround sound as the workers cut, blew and removed every low limb, weed and leaf within a 100' radius of our APBA table.  I momentarily considered the hat again, but there were too many of them, and these were pretty big guys.

Again, no words were spoken between APBA managers.  Eye contact only.  We both knew.  We were playing on! 

The equipment roared, and blared, and screamed at full throttle all around us.  "42!!  13!!  15!!  11!!  BASE HIT!!" we yelled to each other across the 3 foot distance of treated lumber that separated us.  Willie Mays homered in the 8th with Tony Perez on base.  Hoyt Wilhelm committed an error which led to pinch runner, Dave Concepcion, scoring.  8-7 after 8 innings.  The National League was coming back strong. 

With the "eight" horsemen of the apocalypse attacking, cutting and killing every growing thing in sight, and with us yelling out dice rolls and play results at full volume to each other, it became more than portly Justin could take.  He hurriedly made his way to his bike, mounted it and peddled as fast as his chubby little legs would take him back toward his family's camp site.  I could hardly blame him.  Just like the cliff hanger in the old Batman TV series, I could almost hear the voice in my head, "The worst is yet to come!"

Behind me I heard the distinct sound of the diesel engine of the bucket truck groan as the driver applied more fuel.  Then the familiar "BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP" as the large truck engaged reverse and began backing up.  It stopped at the entrance of the picnic shelter, only feet from where we sat.  One of the workers with a chain saw mounted the vehicle from the back and climbed into the bucket.  Up he ascended out of our line of sight.  This couldn't be good.

With significant desperation managerial changes having been made by me for pinch hitters and pinch runners, my bench and defense were becoming depleted.  In the 9th inning, I moved Johnny Bench to first base as Tim McCarver entered to catch.  With Joe Morgan already burned, and Concepcion (F) running for Beckert in the 8th inning, Davey was called upon to stay in the game and play Second Base. 

As the unseen man in the bucket blared his chain saw from somewhere above us, limbs suddenly started crashing against the metal roof of the picnic shelter.  Debris hit and slid down, falling onto the surrounding grass, landscape, pink bicycle and black top.  Other workers were there to scoop or blow these new found wooden fragments from the area.  2-cycle smoke and saw dust filled the air.  Men, near and far, yelled to each other.  The ceiling above us was bombarded by falling tree limbs.  Equipment roared.  My partner and I strained our voices to communicate over the pandemonium.  It reminded me very much of a battle scene from an old war movie.  We would not surrender, we were playing on!

McCarver walked and scored on a double by Tony Perez in the bottom of the 9th as Eddie Watt struggled on the mound.  The noise was likely distracting him.  With first base open, one out, the winning run now in scoring position, and Willie Mays up, the Yankee Boy signaled in the direction of first base indicating an intentional walk.  Good move.  And with his voice already strained, it was a nice reserve of his vocal resources too.  Concepcion wiffed.  With Willie Stargel due up, Yankee Boy brought in lefty Gary Peters.  With the platoon numbers, Stargel is killed by lefty pitching.  To the bench, and Lee May was called upon to hit to counter.  Chess requires no more strategy than our APBA games.  In a daring move, Yankee Boy again signaled for the free pass.  Two intentional walks in three batters!!  When Maury Wills hit into a 6-4 Fielders Choice to end the inning, the Boy breathed a sigh of relief.

We were going extras.  With the noise, distractions, potential rain and tree limb bombs going off all around us, more sensible players would have packed it up and finished another time.  For us, by now, this was a quest.  Similar to Clark W. Griswold leading his family to Wally World in California, we were on a trip that we would not abandon even if we had to tie a dead relative to the roof of the car or smack some kid with my hat.  Oh no.  We would finish.

Kaline walked to start the 10th, but was quickly picked off.  Boog Powell and Brooks Robinson made routine outs.  Bill Freehan's home run in the 5th inning was the last A.L. hit.  The noise and carnage around us continued.  A boat was now backing down the launching ramp and directions were being yelled from a helpful wife to her husband who was trying, and failing, to back the rig into the lake to her satisfaction.  You could only hear her during lulls in some of the equipment noise, which wasn't much.  Her off key, finger nails on a chalk board, screeching did little to help matters for us.

In the bottom of the 10th, Hank Aaron and Johnny Bench singled to put the winning run in scoring position.  Tim McCarver strolled into the batters box.  When McCarver delivered the third straight single of the inning, Hammerin' Hank streaked home with the winning run.  Almost as if on cue, something happened in the campground and an alarm went off with a sound so loud that it eclipsed even the Stihl equipment ensemble that we had enjoyed for the past 30 minutes or so.  The constant WOO-WOO-WOO-WOO of the alarm was a fitting end to a great game and a very strange day.

For the first time in what seemed like hours, I uttered completely unnecessary words.  "Let's go home."  The ride home was sort of quiet, as my passenger and APBA buddy took advantage of the first peaceful moments we had enjoyed in a long time.  I wonder if she ever came back for the bicycle?

Curses and grudges

In the world of APBA baseball, sometimes it recreates more than just stats similar to real life.  Sometimes, it creates the same drama, tension and rivalries as real life - even curses.  Maybe.

In the American League Semi-Finals of the Richard Nixon Invitational (best team from each franchise between 1971-1975), the 1974 New York Yankees faced the 1975 Boston Red Sox.  This is the fourth such tournament played by my son and me.  He insists on managing only the New York Yankees in order to keep all of his good APBA fortune and luck saved up for the boys in pin stripes.

He has one championship to his credit, as he led the 1986 Yankees to a perfect 10-0 record in the first tournament.  He got close with the 1985 team, winning the American League Pennant but falling to the '85 St. Louis Cardinals in the Championship.  His best team by regular season record, so far, was the 1980 Yankees, but they failed to make it out of the Semi-finals.  With that, and knowing the Yankees of the late 60s and early 70s were not extremely successful, I took comfort knowing I was likely safe from another Yankee title at the hands of the Boy, at least until the 1961 M&M boys take the field.

His '74 team beat Frank Robinson and the 1975 Cleveland Indians in the first round, which was not really surprising.  His next match up was the #2 seed, 1971 Oakland A's and their 101 wins.  Yankee Boy and this light hitting bunch of Bronx Bombers (more accurately Bronx Bloopers) rolled over Charlie O's group, sweeping Oakland in 2 games.  Next up was the #3 seed, 1975 Boston Red Sox.  This would be the first Yankee - Red Sox series of any tournament so far.  With the '75 Reds working their way through the National League bracket, I just knew a rematch of the 1975 World Series would be waiting on me at the end of the tournament road.

The Red Sox were excited to have home field advantage and looked forward to making quick work of the Yankees.  But in Game 1, New York ace Pat Dobson continued to be masterful, pitching his second complete game in 3 starts.  The Snake gave up only 2 earned runs over 9 innings and saw his ERA climb all the way to 1.01 for the tournament, as he stayed undefeated at 3-0.  The Yanks never trailed in the game, getting out to a 6-0 lead in the 5th inning, and winning easily 8-2.

The Yankees got out early again in Game 2 leading 3-0 after 5 innings.  But The Sox pulled even in the 6th, as Dwight Evans singled, Cooper Tripled, Doyle singled and Lynn doubled, back to back to back to back.  Bill Lee and Doc Medich hurled scoreless 7th innings as the teams remained deadlocked.  Carl Yastrzemski (who did not have a particularly good card in 1975) slammed a solo home run in the 8th to put the Sox up 4-3.  Reggie Cleveland and Dick Drago gave Lee the relief he needed in the 8th and 9th innings, and Boston pulled even, setting up a Game 3 finale.

Boston fans outside Fenway

Boston fans lined up outside the stadium waiting on tickets to Game 3 and a chance to witness first hand the elimination of their rival Yankees.  Those fans greatly anticipated their pitching advantage, as the Sox 3rd pitcher was Rick Wise (B-YZ) against the Yanks Dick Tidrow (D-Z).  

Tournament rules dictate that the pitching rotation for all teams consist of the 3 pitchers with the most inning pitched in the regular season.  A starting pitcher must pitch 3 innings or allow 5 runs before he can be removed.  The Red Sox could feast on Tidrow's D grade for at least 9 outs, and, they took full advantage.

Jim Rice and Carlton Fisk started the 2nd inning off with back to back singles.  Yaz popped out to Jim Mason at short, but Sandy Alomar boooted a Rico Petrocelli ground ball, loading the bases.  Rick Burlson's fly ball to right field would have ended the inning if Alomar had successfully played the grounder, but with 1 out instead of 2, Rice was able to tag and trot home with the games first run.

Tidrow entered his last frame of work by striking out Cecil Cooper and getting Denny Doyle to ground out to Jim Mason.  With 2 out and no one on base, the Boy and Yankee fans everywhere breathed a collective sigh of relief - but too fast.  Lynn walked and Jim Rice's 66-1 over the Green Monster in left field gave the Sox a 3-0 lead.

With Tidrow's mandatory sentence served, the Boy went to the pen for lefty Larry Gura (C-Z).  The future Royal was not much better than Tidrow, but any improvement gave New York fans a little confidence.  The 4th inning was a simple 1-2-3 event with only routine plays.  Dwight Evans singled to lead off the 5th and Cecil Cooper was hit by a pitch to get the first two Red Sox on base.  Lynn followed one batter later with an infield hit to load the bases and bring the Fenway fans to their feet, as Jim Rice strolled to the box.  Sweat formed on the boy's upper lip.  The dice rolled and Rice's 44-7 scored 2 more and gave Boston their biggest lead of the series at 5-0.

My APBA buddy, Doug Schuyler, was getting text updates throughout the game.  In his 1983 Tournament, my terrible '83 Reds are playing well beyond their abilities and advancing through the competition.  With that kind of APBA luck rolling my way across hundreds of miles, I had this game and series in the bag.  But in the 6th, Thurman Munson doubled home Blomberg and scored on a Bobby Murcer base hit as New York entered the scoring column for the first time of the night.  Doug's advice to the Yankee Boy: "Think like a winner Matthew!" The Red Sox Nation and I would like to thank Doug for those encouraging words to the dice rolling, leader of the Evil Empire.

In the top of the 8th inning, Rick Wise remained in the game but was tiring.  In house rules require a 1 grade drop to any pitcher after his 32nd batter faced.  It's not an official APBA rule, but one I've observed for 30 years of play and one I find generates a little more realism into games with teams from the modern era.  Nettles (batter 31) grounded out to third base for the first out.  Munson's 55-8 turned into a fly out to center field against Wise's B-Grade.  But now with 32 batters faced Wise dropped to a C.  The Sox were 4 outs away from advancing.  

Roger Moret laughs at my goof of
burning the only graded long reliever
in the Red Sox bull pen.

The biggest weakness I see with the '75 Red Sox is their bull pen.  It's thin.  Drago is a B*-Y closer, but beyond that, there isn't much quality there.  Another in house rule is a 1 grade bump for a reliever against either of the first two batters they face where the pitcher maintains a platoon advantage, in the inning where they make their appearance.  With lefties Murcer and Chambliss up, I called on lefty Roger Moret (C-Y) to get the grade bump and get me out of the inning so I could hand the ball to my closer, Drago.  Moret walked Murcer.  No problem.  Chambliss is also a lefty and Moret maintains the grade bump against him in this inning.  Chambliss' 35-37 got Murcer thrown out at 2nd base and ended the inning.  The Red Sox fans erupted with joy.  

Boston failed to add to their lead in the 8th, but they needed only 3 Yankee outs.  Moret stayed in to face Chambliss, although the grade bump was gone since he was now working in his 2nd inning.  A walk to the New York first baseman resulted in a call to the pen for closer Dick Drago.  Sandy Alomar hustled out an infield hit to bring the tying run to the plate. After counting 1's on cards, Yankee Boy called upon Bill Sudakis to pinch hit for Jim Mason.  But a pop out to Fisk put Boston to within 2 outs of their goal.  Elliott Maddox flew out to Jim Rice in left field for the second out and Fenway Park swayed under the excitement of its fan base.

Lou ponders Yankee Boy's moves

Yankee Boy called Piniella back from the on deck circle - WAIT - WHAT???  Sweet Lou leads New York in hits in the tournament with 15 and RBIs with 11.  Why would the Boy want to pull him??  Apparently, there are old grudges existing between the two.  Piniella failed to produce in prior BBW projects for the Boy dating back 6-7 years ago.  Now that's a grudge.  But upon looking down the inept hitters populating the New York bench, Yankee Boy sent Piniella back out of the dug out to the batters box.  This form of open and public humiliation made the volatile and explosive Piniella go off.  Anger showed openly in his face as Drago delivered the pitch.  Piniella only has 2 first column "zeros" on his card, and 66 is one of them.  Many thoughts went through my head.  I'm up 3 with 2 on.  Lou has only 9 second column "ones".  I have a 3 in 4 chance of it being something other than a home run and can still hang on to win this.  55 is one of the ones.  Tie game.

In the 10th, the Boy and his band of pinstriped minions continued their attack on the good and decent Boston team.  Sandy Alomar's triple scored Murcer and Chambliss and Fenway Park fell silent.  Closer Dick Drago had given up 4 runs all earned in 2 innings of work.  

But the Bosox were not done.  With lefty Rudy May on the mound for New York, Juan Beniquez pinch hit for Denny Doyle and drew a walk.  Fred Lynn did the same, and the tying run was now on base.  Rice lumbered to the box.  A 66 would win it!!  But a strike out swinging produced only the first out instead.  But now Fisk was up.  Again, a 66 would win it!!  Carlton produced a ground out to third base that moved the runners into scoring position.  Yaz came through with a base hit that plated both and tied the game at 7-7!

Late inning replacement and
bearer of the Curse - Gene Michael

We move into the 11th and Drago, having pitched 2 innings in relief, was done.  The only remaining options for Boston had grades of D.  Reggie Cleveland (D-Z) was called upon to work and try to maintain the tie.  A 1-2-3 frame had the crowd back on its feet cheering again!  Suddenly, no one remembered the long wait for tickets earlier that day.  All the Sox needed was a run.  Burleson walked and the tension mounted.  But suddenly, as if the curse itself were present in the dice and cards, Evans grounded to Gene Michael, who started a 6-4-3 double play erasing the runner.  Cecil Cooper's 11-4 would have been a game ending triple with Burleson on first; but as it turned out, it was a double.  Beniquez (who stayed in for Doyle) lined out to Gene Michael (curse bearer) at short to end the threat.

With 1 away in the 12th, Munson and Mercer combined for back to back singles.  A Chambliss fly out put hope into the Boston faithful that they could dodge the bullet and take another shot at the win.  Alomar beat out his 2nd infield single of the night to load the bases for - you guessed it - curse bearer, Gene Michael.  The good news is, Michael is a very light hitting player.  No power.  A .260 hitter in real life.  But his 42-36 did produce a wild pitch that allowed Munson to cross the plate and moved the other runners into scoring position.  (Curse??  Nah)  Michael's 44-8 singled home Murcer and Alomar and New York led 10-7.  Back to back singles by Maddox and Yankee Boy's new favorite player, Lou Piniella, scored Michael and set the score at 11-7.

Lynn walked to lead off the 12th for Boston, but Rice and Fisk struck out and Yaz grounded out to 3rd to bring an end to this version of the Boston Massacre.  Was it the curse?  I'm not sure.  Does Yankee Boy hold an old grudge against Piniella and did that affect the outcome of the game?  I don't know.  Was it a fantastic way to spend an hour with my son playing a game and reliving great old baseball rivalries?  Absolutely!

World Series

Mike Schmidt went on a run in the 3rd round of the Home Run Derby that was legendary.  The Phillie slugger smashed 14 long balls in the third round with 19 overall.  As a result, he won home field advantage for his National League brothers, the Cincinnati Reds.  Big George Foster had struggled in the tournament in the first three rounds.  It was hoped his appearance in the Derby with his "1977 - 52 Home Run" card would get him back on track.  He finished dead last with only 3 home runs, only half as many as the next lowest competitor.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Leonid Brezhnev came to Washington to thank the President for Mr. Quackers and his recently acquired Russian translated APBA boards (the only ones known in existence).  However, his method of saying "thank-you" left Jimmy more uncomfortable than a man with a raging case of hemorrhoids and no inflatable duck or G-cup falsies to sit upon.  Our last tournament director could not help but take a stab at Jimmy, while reminding us that Carter's reign as tournament director was soon ending.

 CINCINNATI, OH - With home field advantage going to the Reds, Kansas City would be without a Designated Hitter.  Hal McRae was batting only .207 coming into the series as the normal KC DH, but center fielder Amos Otis was hitting a dismal .037 (1 for 27).  The decision was made to insert McRae in left field and move Joe Zdeb to center.  Losing the high rated Otis would hurt the Royals defense, but they could not afford to sacrifice one ounce of run scoring potential against the Reds.

Kansas City struck early.  The aforementioned McRae clubbed a double between Foster and Geronimo.  With 2 outs, Al Cowens launced a Gary Nolan fastball over the Riverfront Stadium left field wall for a 2-0 Royal lead. Kansas City tacked on another in the 2nd for an early 3-0 advantage.

Foster enjoyed the view after
finally hitting a ball hard

George Foster's struggles have been well documented.  The Red's cleanup hitter was hittless in his first 19 at bats.  While he had gotten back on track a little with 3 hits in the Philadelphia series, his average was still .107.  He singled in the 2nd inning, then stole second base.  The Reds could not get him home and George was left stranded at third.  In the 4th, he found a sure way to prevent being left on base when he connected on a bases empty 66-1 to put the Reds on the board.  The Royals answered when a George Brett double scored McRae in the top of the 5th.  Back to back doubles by Geronimo and Concepcion brought the score to 4-2 at the end of 5.

Dennis Leonard threw 6 innings,
allowing only 2 runs,
but gets a no decision.

Dennis Leonard blanked the Reds in his 6th and final inning of work before being lifted for a pinch hitter.  Mark Littell and Steve Mingori shut out Cincinnati in the 7th and 8th before the ball was handed over to closer, Larry Gura.

Foster stayed hot adding his 3rd hit of the night, a double to left center field.  Johnny Bench drew a walk to put the tying run on base with no outs.  Doggie K'd, but Geronimo blasted his 2nd double of the night scoring Foster and Bench to tie the game at 4.  A fly out and fielders choice ended the Reds threat and sent the game into extra innings.

#13 delivers the lucky hit

In the bottom of the 11th, Tony Perez led off with a base hit.  Driessen had already been used as a pinch hitter in the game, and the slow footed Perez would have to carry the Reds hopes.  Geronimo blooped his 3rd hit of the evening to move Doggie into scoring position.  Dave Concepcion's 51-8 single against the C graded Marty Pattin was enough to send Perez flying around third base.  Amos Otis, and his big arm, had entered the game in the 7th inning as part of a double switch and was now stationed in center field.  Otis fielded Concepcion's ball cleanly and rifled the throw home.  The ball was just wide, and Tony slid home with the run as the Reds take Game 1.

Perez slides safely home as Otis' throw sails wide

Perez is mobbed by his teammates
after scoring the winning run

After the game, Concepcion was asked if he thought wearing #13 was unlucky.  Below, Davey shows off some of his good luck charms.  As a side note, his lucky black cat would be eaten by Marge Schott's St. Bernard, Schottzy, sometime in the late 80s.

Plains, GA - Jimmy had received a call from brother Billy about a new agricultural proposition.  With the new laws in Colorado and Washington, Billy's latest get rich quick scheme involved brother Jimmy changing the laws similarly in Georgia.  "We'll call it Billy Buds", said the younger Carter brother.  "We'll make a fortune!"

The original doobie brothers discuss "Billy Buds"

KANSAS CITY , MO - The series moved 600 miles west where the Royals faced elimination.  They handed the ball to one of the most consistent pitchers in the tournament, Jim Colburn.  For the 2nd game in a row, Al Cowens blasted a 2 run home run in the 1st inning and the Royals added another in the 2nd for an early 3-0 lead.  But this time, Cincinnati did not answer back.  Inning after inning, Colburn worked and kept the big Red hitters off balance.

The Royals exploded at the expense of Pat Zachry in the 6th scoring 4 more runs and putting the game out of reach.  Colburn went the distance throwing a 6 hit shutout.  Colburn improved his tournament record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.27.

PLAINS, GA - Meanwhile, Jimmy realized Billy's intent with his new potential cash crop and cancelled the project.  "We'll stick with what we know", said Jimmy.  "We're not dopes, we're nuts."  

Not to be outdone, the younger and inventive brother contacted the Chicagoland APBA tournament director about a piece of hardware that had recently come into his possession.  He reasoned that as well traveled as it has been, it must be worth some serious money on the secondary market.

"Hey Schuyler.  What's this here trophy worth to ya boy?"

CINCINNATI, OH - One more game.  24 teams had been eliminated, one at a time.  And it all came down to 27 outs.  

Freddie Patek tripled to lead off the game and scored on a McRae sac fly.  Brett doubled and for the third straight game, Al Cowans strolled to the box with a runner on base in the first inning.  In the prior two games, Cowans had blasted 2 run homers in the first inning.  It couldn't possibly happen 3 games in a row.  It didn't.  Cowans lined a ball to Concepcion who snagged it in the air and doubled Brett off second base to end the inning.

Foster puts the Reds ahead

In the Reds half, Ken Griffey walked and was followed by a Joe Morgan single, who stole second base.  George Foster dug in a clobbered an 11-4 home run to put the Reds up.  Later with Bench at third base, Geronimo's fly ball to left field scored the catcher and put the Reds on top, 4-1.  Morgan singled home Rose in the 2nd inning, and the Reds had an early 5-1 lead.

Rose and the Reds welcome Perez
into the dugout after another
trip around the bases

KC added another in the 5th, but in the bottom of the 6th, the Reds went to work. Dave Concepcion and pinch hitter Ed Armbrister, scored on a Ken Griffey double to make it 7-2.  Steve Mingori entered in the 7th and Cincinnati continued to chew up Royal relievers.  Bench and Perez doubled, followed by Cesar Geronimo's RBI single to add two more.  With 2 out, Rose's double scored Chief and the Reds were cruising 10-2.

Heading into the 8th inning, Rawly Eastwick was called into the game to put things on ice.  The Champagne was already that way in the locker room.

Darrell Porter smashed a 66-1 with Cowens and Zdeb on base to make the game 10-5.  The 3 run blast also reduced Eastwick.  Frank White grounded out and Pete LaCock whiffed to end the inning.

In the 9th, Patek flied to Geronimo for out #1.  McRae drew a walk off Eastwick but was forced out at second base on a George Brett ground ball.  Brett was able to beat the throw to first to extend the inning.  Al Cowans strolled into the box.  As the 10th batter faced by the * reliever Eastwick, his grade dropped for the second time, now to a C.  Cowens drove his third home run in as many games over the outfield fence to cut the lead to 10-7.

Sparky had seen enough.  Will McEnaney was called in to face the lefty batting John Mayberry.  Big John whiffed ending the game and giving the Reds the Championship!

Arachnophobe Will McEnaney
climbs for higher ground

Above, Will McEnaney jumps into the arms of catcher Johnny Bench after the Mayberry strikeout.  When asked about the celebratory leap, the lefty reliever said, "I wasn't celebrating.  There was a dang spider out there on the mound."  

Reds celebrate the championship

Sparky and Johnny

McEnaney carried to the showers.
Another spider was spotted.

Spraying the Rose

Johnny tells how many dollars this bottle cost

WASHINGTON, D.C. - To commemorate the Reds Tournament Championship, Carter invited Pete Rose and me to the White House to witness the signing of a truly ground breaking piece of legislation.  Jimmy issued a complete Presidential pardon to Pete absolving him from all wrong doing in baseball, and clearing him for induction into the Hall of Fame.  "The way I see it", said Carter, "If Ford can pardon Nixon, why shouldn't I pardon Pete?"

Pete told Jimmy about his favorite APBA game, Saddle Racing.  When Jimmy asked if Pete would teach him the game, he said, "You can bet on it!"

After signing the pardon, Carter presented Pete with a brand new AMC Pacer-X for his accomplishments.  Forget that other athletes routinely get Corvettes.  This was the late 70s and conservation was important to everyone.  When asked for his thoughts on the tournament, Pete said, "It's great.  I got a pennant, a pardon and a Pacer.  What else could a man want?"

Pete, to answer your question, more APBA.  Roll on my friends.