American League - Semi Finals

All political tyrants of obsessive power and brutality eventually meet their demise.  Ivan the Terrible, Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini and others' reigns of terror all came to an end.  In our APBA tournament, my son, affectionately nicknamed Yankee Boy by me, has kicked my butt across the table since we started.  He plays only the Yankees and manages them harder than Billy Martin ever did.  I manage whoever is playing against him, and use every APBA ploy I know to try to win.

His 1986 team (a #10 seed) ran the tables sweeping 5 straight series with a perfect 10-0 record.  In those 10 games, the Bronx Bombers blasted 22 home runs, while their pitching staff combined for a 2.71 ERA.  That feat will likely never be duplicated.  Casey Stengel with a crystal baseball, could not have predicted such total domination.  

In the next tournament, his 1985 team won 4 series to take the AL Championship, but not in the same dominating fashion.  All 4 of those series took 3 games to clinch.  With a second straight AL title, the Yankees and their fans were in love with the Boy.  But then the '85 team took their 8-4 tournament record into the Championship against the '85 Cardinals, where the birds swept New York in 2 straight games.  They finished the 2nd tournament, 8-6.  As Bob Dylan sang, The times, they are a changin'.

The 1980 New York Yankees were
a lively bunch of characters

History rolls backwards in our tournament world, and our latest venture finds us between 1976 and 1980.  A time of disco on the dance floors, bell bottoms on teenagers, H.R. Puffenstuff on television and Jimmy Carter in the White House.  It was also a time of some good baseball and baseball players.  With 103 wins, the 1980 club had the highest seed (#2) of any Yankee team in the tournaments.  They dominated a young but talented '78 Tiger team with pitching.  Guidry and John allowed only 1 run over 2 games, as New York swept Detroit.  It marked the 3rd time in as many tournaments the Yankees have eliminated the Tigers.

The 1977 Kansas City Royals had lost to the 1977 Yankees in the ALCS just as the '76 and '78 teams did.  But in 1980, they turned things around, sweeping this New York team in 3 straight games.  In real life, the ALCS between 1976 and 1978 were always great baseball to watch.  They were hard fought games between teams that honestly hated each other.  The Yankees won all 3 series, but it took 4 or 5 games each time.  However, in 1980, when Kansas City finally won, they swept New York in 3.  

The question remained if this 1977 Royals team could handle the 1980 Yankees in the same way.  In theory, we have the best teams from each franchise for this time frame based upon their records, yet both particular versions had lost to the other in post season play.  Someone was about to reverse that fate.

NEW YORK - Tommy John went for New York in Game 1 and would face Royals ace, Dennis Leonard, in a classic.  Big John Mayberry got KC on the board first with a solo homer in the 2nd.  Graig Nettles provided one in the bottom half of the inning to tie it back up.  In the 3rd, Frank White and Freddie Patek combined with a triple and double to push the Royals back on top. But the Yankees, spurred on by the Boy, answered with singles from Bobby Brown and Willie Randolph.  Bucky Dent walked to load the bases for Reggie.  I expected, or feared, many scenarios, but not two back to back PRN 14s needed for Jackson to coax a walk off of the Z graded Leonard.  Game tied 2-2.  A short fly ball off the bat of Watson was not deep enough to bring home the third run, for out number 2.  A struggling Jim Spencer struck out to leave the bases full.  That wasted opportunity would come back to haunt New York.

A Joe Zdeb double and Darrell Porter single, netted two more Royal runs in the 4th, as the two teams slugged it out run for run.  But this time, New York could not answer the call.  Leonard held the Yankees to only 1 walk over the next two frames, as the 5th inning ended with KC up 4-2.  Bob Watson walked to lead off the Yankee 6th, but two fly outs made it look as if nothing would come of it.  Then, Rick Cerone smashed a double in the gap scoring Watson and bringing New York to within a run.  Steve Mingori pitched a scoreless 8th and Larry Gura matched the effort in the 9th, and Kansas City hung on to take Game 1 by a score of 4-3.

 

KANSAS CITY, MO - Ron Guidry and the Boy have a shaky relationship.  The Guidry's were required to hide their small pets for several weeks after multiple bad outings in the last tournament made the Boy furious with Lousiana Lightening.  His performance in the Quarter Finals soothed their torn relationship, but back to back gems would certainly get the longtime Yankee starter back into the young manager's good graces.  It was not to be, and the Guidrys have again moved their pets inside for protection.

Rick "Sponge Head" Cerone

The Yankees got on the board first as Bobby Brown and Rick Cerone both drove in runs in the 2nd inning.  Things got exciting in the top of the 4th.  Bob Watson led off the inning with a 66-1 to put New York ahead 3-0.  Bobby Brown singled and stole second base.  With a rally in the making, Jim Colborn worked from the stretch.  Rick Cerone lined a ball off Colborn's knee putting runners on the corners.  More importantly, Colburn was injured and would be unable to finish the game.  This created a problem for the Royals.  The '77 team is not deep in the bull pen.  Further, if a pitcher faces more than 5 batters or pitches more than 1 inning, he has to have one game of rest.  Any Royal reliever used beyond those numbers would not be available for Game 3, if necessary.  Manager dad had to think.  My team was already down 3-0, with runners on the corners and no outs.  I hated to give up on the game, but I also hated to burn any of a somewhat short bullpen for the finale.  With the lefty Murcer up, lefty Steve Mingori was brought in to face him.  Murcer flied to centerfield deep enough to bring home the speedy Brown, but the damage was contained on ground balls from Randolph and Dent.  Kansas City had dodged a bullet, but it would take a miracle to turn this around.

The Royals answered quickly as Al Cowens gapped a 1 out double in the bottom of the 4th and was moved to third on a ground ball by Amos Otis.  Guidry walked Mayberry and Zdeb to load the bases for Darrell Porter.  The Royal catcher blooped a base hit over Randolph's head, scoring two.  Frank White knocked in one more to shave down the New York lead to 4-3.

One by one, new Royal pitchers were marched out to the mound.  Each time, they faced no more than 5 batters and each would pitch only one full inning.

In the 6th inning, little Freddie Patek, cranked out 66-0, 33-1 to tie the game.  It's not easy hitting home runs with a mop handle.  The event reminded us of the prior tournament when Ozzie Smith, of all people, went yard with a Guidry pitch in the championship game for the Cardinals.  Hal McRae followed with a base hit, and George Brett's monster home run over the right field wall put the Royals ahead for the first time in the game, 6-4.

Andy Hassler (D) made for some drama, facing 5 batters, but holding New York scoreless in the 7th.  Likewise, in the 8th.  Doug Bird made it interesting.  Nettles singled, but Watson and Brown both struck out swinging.  Rick Cerone doubled home Nettles to cut the lead to 6-5.  Bobby Murcer could tie the game with a hit, but he grounded out to Frank White to end the inning for another missed New York opportunity.  

The Royals' used a platoon of 3 different closers in 1977.  Bird, Gura and Littell, all shared the responsibilities in real life.  In this game, Larry Gura took the mound in the 9th.  There were no additional pitchers in the Royal bullpen.  If Gura went beyond the pitch limits and New York won, KC would go without him in Game 3.  With the top of the order due up for New York in the 9th, Royal fans held their breath.  Randolph, Dent and Jackson all flied out to Amos Otis in center field as the Royals won the game, the series, and the Bronx Bombers were eliminated.  The 1977 Royals had swept the 1980 Yankees just as the 1980 Kansas City team did in real life.  

After the game, Shortstop Freddie Patek was given a brand new Datsun by a local car dealership.  The car was awarded to Patek partially because of his game tying home run in the 6th inning (to correspond with Datsun's 'Go a Long Way' ad campaign), and partially because he was the only Royal who could fit in it.  Originally, the car was awarded to John Mayberry for being the first Royal to homer against the Yankees in the series.  His only comment was, "You gotta be kiddin' me", when he saw the compact little gas saver.

If the rabbits were coming,
Jimmy was going

PLAINS, GA - As a joke, prior to boarding his private airplane, Peanut One, someone in the crowd yelled, "The rabbits are coming!!  The rabbits are coming!!"  After his recent encounter with the viscious 'swamp bunny', Carter reacted in an unanticipated manner and bolted from the loading area, jumped a fence and ran for the protection of nearby secret service agents.  Once the commotion settled, and it was determined that the whole thing was just a cruel prank, the tournament director vowed to go back into the woods and capture the heinous creature that he had fought off so valiantly. 

Carter met with officials at the Pentagon, and it was determined that a special team of Navy SEALs would accompany Carter on this brave mission to protect him from accidentally hurting himself, if not the bunny.  The team was instructed to help find the rabbit, and if possible, to capture it alive. 

Armed with special forces riot gear and an (unloaded) fully automatic Ak5 assault rifle, Carter and his SEAL team entered the secluded wooded area near where the rabbit was last seen.  Carter was camouflaged and placed in a safe place to observe. Feeling the need to give Commander in Chief type of orders, Carter addressed the troops in a hushed voice.  "Shhhh.  Be vewy, vewy quiet.  I'm hunting wabbit."  Hours passed as the combatants waited for the furry little mammal to make its move.

The killer bunny was captured
by a local bird watcher

Members of the team were radioed that an unarmed citizen in the community had located and captured the beast. This information was passed onto to our tournament director who was obviously disappointed that he was not given the opportunity to shoot something.  He was unaware that the team had removed all ammunition from his weapon in an attempt to protect him as well as themselves.

BOSTON - The Red Sox and A's faced off in a rematch of the 1975 ALCS.  In the actual series, Boston swept the A's in 3 games before advancing to beat the Reds in the 1975 World Series, 3 games to 4.  The 1976 A's team marks the last remnants of the powerful franchise from the early 70s.  

Oakland struck first in the top of the 3rd, when Joe Rudi gapped a double scoring Bill North and Don Baylor.  The 9 hitter for the Sox, Butch Hobson, hit a solo home run to cut the lead to 1 in Boston's half of the inning.  Phil Garner tripled to lead off the 7th and scored on a North double.  With runners on the corners, Sal Bando singled home North putting the A's ahead 4-1.  In the bottom of the 7th, Boston answered when Burleson tripled home Dwight Evans and Hobson, cutting the lead to 4-3.  Vida Blue held the Sox scoreless in the 8th, and Rollie Fingers pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th, and Oakand took the first game.

OAKLAND, CA - The teams moved to Oakland where the A's threw their second A Grade starter in Mike Torrez at the Sox.  In a bizarre twist, Boston's #2 starter was also named Mike Torrez and shared a striking facial resemblance to the Oakland starter.  The Boston version's C Grade made him not quite as handsome as the one from Oakland.  When playing time warp baseball with teams from different seasons, it is not unusual to have the same player on opposing teams.  However, this marked the first time the same pitcher had pitched against himself in any of the tournaments.  With the DH rule in effect, at least he would not have to bat against himself.  When the teams met in 1975, Torrez was on neither team.  I suppose he wanted to make up for the lost opportunity.

The A's Torrez allowed the Red Sox only 1 base runner (Remy single to lead off the game) through the first 3 frames.  The Boston version was not as sharp, giving up 1 walk and 2 singles to the A's, but also held the opposing team scoreless through 3.

Carlton Fisk knows how
to get down and dirty

In the 4th, Carlton Fisk doubled home Burleson, and Boston took a 1-0 lead.  Oakland came right back.  Don Baylor singled, stole second, moved to 3rd on ground ball to second base and scored on a Sal Bando sac fly.  Now that's economy.  Boston kept on the gas as Hobson doubled and scored on a Remy triple in the 5th, to put the Sox back out front 2-1.  In the 7th, Gene Tenace walked to lead things off for Oakland.  Just as in real life baseball, it's amazing how many times a lead off walk results in a run in APBA.  Claudell Washington popped out to third and Billy Williams flew out to left field, making it appear that the Boston Torrez might dodge a bullet.  Not so.  Phil Garner singled Tenace to third, then stole second.  Bill North singled to drive in both runners and give the A's their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Fingers searches through the media
guide during the game to determine
if he pitched for Boston or Oakland

The Oakland Torrez gave up a single to Yaz in the 8th, but left him stranded there.  In the 9th, Rollie Fingers, who also appeared confused in the bullpen about which team he was pitching for, entered the game and set down Lynn, Scott and Evans 1-2-3 to collect his second save in as many games.  Torrez took the loss and Torrez was awarded the win.

The A's advance to the AL Championship of the Jimmy Carter Invitational as a #9 seed, while the 1977 Royals make their appearance as a #3.  KC's advancement ties the 83 White Sox as the highest AL seed to make it to the championship game.

In 11 seasons, between 1971 and 1981, only one team other than the Oakland A's or Kansas City Royals (1979 Angels) won the American League Western Division title.  It seems fitting that these two franchises, who were so dominant during this period, would fight it out for a spot in the tournament World Series. 

After sweeping the Yankees, George Brett asked Carter if he thought he could serve as tournament director for the final bracket.  Carter, laughed and assured the Hall of Famer that his services would be needed more on the field by the 1975 Royals than in an administrative role as tournament director.  "Besides", said Carter, "the field is pretty full already.  These two are arguing all of the time about who is going to get the last one."

National League - Semi Finals

RUSSELL SPRINGS, KY - Most of the time, tournament pairings are routine.  Two teams are thrown together by fate or chance.  They play and the better of the two teams, at least at that point in time, wins and advances.  And then, at other times, two teams advance through the competition in the bracket and a little magic happens.  A memory from a long time ago is sparked.  I remember the Big Red Machine championships of 1975 and 1976 - a little.  Actually, I remember my dad watching the games intently, and me being much more interested in my toys.  

1976 Topps #610
One of my first favorites

Two things from the 1976 NLCS stuck with me.  One, my dad was excited about something baseball related.  Being a little kid, I didn't appreciate the importance of that at the time.  When the baseball strike hit in 1981, they lost him as a fan, and he's never come back.  Two, I remember Greg Luzinski's baseball card.  I started my obsession with Topps cards in 1977, but in 1976, I had a few.  This was one of them.  And that fall, this guy who I didn't know, was on a piece of cardboard in my hand.  He was also on my TV playing a game.  But I had Hot Wheels and Johnny West action figures to play with.  I was 8, and my attention span was limited.

The Reds won, my dad and uncles were excited, and I didn't pay a lot of attention.  The next two years, my Reds stayed home and I saw the Dodgers lose to the Yankees, twice.  But three years later, something great happened.  The Reds won their division and were back in the post season.  Now, I was 11.  No Hot Wheels or cowboy dolls were going take me away from the television and witnessing another Reds Championship!  Only no one told me the Reds didn't always win in the post season.  I watched in horror as they dropped games 1, 2 and 3, and the Pittsburgh Pirates advanced to play the Orioles.  After their remarkable comeback, down 3 games to 1 to the birds, I learned to appreciate the Cobra, Pops and Sister Sledge.  They became one of my all time favorite non-Reds teams.  But I can still see Cesar Geronimo standing and watching strike 3 for the final out of game 3 of the NLCS.

Now, some 35 years later, enter APBA and a tournament of the seasons I have from 1971 to 1990 broken down into the best from each franchise for 4 different 5 year periods.  Throw in a little good fortune, and I find myself with a matchup of those same 1979 Pirates against my Reds.  Only this time, it's not the puny 1979 bunch who got swept.  This time, it's the mighty 1976 Big Red Machine facing Pops and Company.  I have a much better, near mint '76 Luzinski in my baseball card collection now.  The Hot Wheels are gone, but I still have my Johnny West action figures.  This time, I won't be playing in the floor with any of them when the games play out.  Maybe later.

CINCINNATI, OH - The '76 Reds and the '79 Pirates were the only World Champions in the tournament.  The 1980 Yankees had a better regular season record than either of the 77-78 championship teams.  And, the '76 Phillies, with a better record than the 1980 world champion team, were selected to represent the city of brotherly love.  This clash of my baseball heros from the late 70s that would play out on my desktop with cards and dice, was billed as the "Battle of the Bling to be Lord of the Rings."

Game 1.  IMPLOSION.  From the beginning, the Pittsburgh bats hit and hit and hit some more.  Starter Gary Nolan lasted only 3 innings.  Don Gullet would last only 2 himself.  Fireman of the Year Award winning closer, Rawly Eastwick entered in the 9th, in an attempt to stop the bleeding, and could not get out of the inning.  It was a bad day in the Queen City.

Ed Ott has been "Red Hott" in the tounament.  His three run blast in the 2nd inning rallied the Pirates and silenced the Riverfront crowd.  Sac flies from Stargell and Garner sandwiched around a Bill Madlock RBI base hit, put Pittsburgh ahead 6-0 after 3, and brought Gary Nolan's day to an early close.  Dave Parker connected on a 2 run shot in the 4th inning to greet Gullet, and Pittsburgh stretched it's lead to 8-0.

Meanwhile, the Red's bats could do nothing with Bert Blyleven.  At one point, the future Hall of Famer retired 15 in a row before a rare error by normally sure gloved Omar Moreno snapped the streak.  The Big Red Machine sputtered, hissed and was spewing oil all day.  4 Reds hit safely, and only 1 time was a runner advanced as far as third base.  In the clubhouse, no Pirate player would venture near the winning pitcher's locker to congratulate him on the effort.  Unconfirmed rumors were circulating that Bert had consumed at least 3 Big Red Smokies, between innings, during the game.  It could not be determined if the destruction to Riverfront Stadium shown in the above photo was caused from the shelling off the Pirate bats or from Blyleven, as of this writing.

PITTSBURGH, PA - The Reds' backs were against the wall.  Not only had they lost the first game, they were embarrassed.  Game 2 had to be different.  Pat Zachry took the hill against John Candelaria for the Bucks.  In the 4th, a struggling George Foster came to the box with Morgan and Griffey at 2nd and 3rd and no outs.  Big George grounded out to Tim Foli scoring Griffey and putting the Reds on the board.  With Morgan at third, Bench's 11-6 landed over the left field wall, and the Reds were up 3-0.  Meanwhile, Zachry was dealing.  Other than 2 singles by Tim Foli, the Pirates had no other safeties through the first 6 innings.  All of their APBA firepower had apparently been used up in Game 1.  Geronimo singled home Bench in the 6th and Bill Robinson tripled home Dave Parker in the 7th for the Pirates to complete the scoring for both teams.  Zachry went the distance to pull Cincinnati even and probably deserved "Star of the Game" recognition.  But Bench's home run was key, and I just love to look at this card on any opportunity I get.

CINCINNATI, OH - Back at Riverfront, the damage from the Pirate offensive bombing (or Blyleven's smokies) in Game 1 had been cleared and fumigated.  The teams took the field for 9 innings and winner take all.

The Reds struck early...but not often.  With 2 on and 2 out in the first, Bench singled home the first run (maybe I can use the card again) and Tony Perez followed with a three run 66 to put Cincinnati up 4-0.  The Machine came out in high gear, but after the first inning, it again sputtered, coughed and misfired, as it failed to generate any additional runs.  Their fate would lie with their pitchers and whether they could shut down the Pirate sluggers.

In the top of the 4th, memories of the 1979 World Series returned.  Pops showed age may have slowed him, but hadn't stopped him.  He crushed a Fred Norman offering into the blue seats of Riverfront's right field making the score 4-2.  In the 6th, Omar Moreno tripled to lead things off.  Tim Foli flew out to Foster in left and Moreno trotted home with the 3rd Pirate run.  Now, a home run would tie things up.  With two lefties due up, Sparky left Norman on the mound while he paced on the top steps of the dugout.  

Dave Parker drew a walk.  Now, a double would tie the game.  But Stargell was not able to come through twice in a row, as a ground ball to Rose produced the 2nd out, but moved the Cobra into scoring position.  Now, a single would tie the game.  Captain Hook had seen enough, and with the righty, Bill Robinson up, Borbon was summoned from the Reds bullpen.  Pedro delivered and Robinson grounded harmlessly to Concepcion to end the threat.

Phil Garner and pinch hitter, John Milner, singled with two outs, as Pittsburgh threatened again in the 7th.  Moreno flew out to Geronimo as Borbon pitched the Reds out of another jam.  Rawly Eastwick was called upon in the 8th to face the Pirate muscle after Borbon retired Foli.  Parker grounded out to Morgan and Stargell flied out harmlessly to Griffey to bring Pittsburgh down to its last 3 outs.

In Game 1, Bill Robinson had rubbed salt in the wound by teeing off on an Eastwick offering in the 9th to round out the score at 10-0.  Robinson and Eastwick now faced each other again, in the 9th.  A long ball from Robinson would tie the game.  The way the Reds were hitting in innings 2-8, there was not much indication they could score more to pull ahead.  They needed to make what they had stand up.  Robinson got a lot of another Eastwick pitch, but just not enough, as Foster tracked down the fly ball on the warning track in left field.  Ed Ott drew a base on balls, but Madlock and Garner sandwiched fly balls to Geronimo who ended this 3 game series, as he did in 1979.  Only this time, he was jumping for joy with the win rather than hanging his head and walking back to the dugout.

George Foster is 0 for 19 in the tournament.  However, he was able to keep Cesar Geronimo from landing on him, with a hard left to the gut, after the centerfield caught the final out of the series and then tried to jump over Foster in celebration.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Back in the oval office, the tournament director called his Russian counterpart, Leonid Brezhnev.  Communication between the two was difficult due to the language barriers, but they agreed to meet and discuss APBA and the SALT treaty.  Carter often suffered from terrible hemorrhoids while in office and used an inflatable duck, that he named Corporal Quackers, as a seat cushion to ease his discomfort. 

Brezhnev was always looking for an edge when dealing with Carter.  He seemed to control most talks between the two and the USA ended up on the short end of most deals.  Part of that may have been the language barrier.  Brezhnev would say one thing "Russian", but intend something totally different in "Russian".  Communication between the two leaders was challenging.  Not only was an interpreter needed to translate from English to Russian, a second interpreter was needed to translate Carter's Georgian to English.  This second translator's presence would play a big part in soothing the negotiations.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA - Peanut one landed in Vienna and Carter was quickly ushered to the private meeting with the Russian leader.  After, three days of stern negotiations, the two leaders agreed to the following:  1) The United States would immediately stop production of all nuclear weapons and destroy all existing warheads.  2) Carter would dress like Brezhnev at least 3 times a week.  3) The Russians would try APBA as soon as boards were translated into their language. 4) Carter would agree to one final undisclosed concession.

The final concession left Carter in a state of discomfort for the trip home.  However, according to his daughter, Amy Carter, in her book Malaised and Confused: My Life as Jimmy Carter's Daughter (published in 2011), the tournament director had a solution staring him in the face.

“Once, after meeting with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev, dad lost ‘Corporal Quackers’ as he called the duck seat, and his aides were left scrambling to find a replacement,” Ms. Carter writes. “Fortunately, one of our translator ladies wore a pair of falsies, so he sat down on them instead. She was a G-cup, and they worked like a charm.” 

Some things you just can't make up.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Phillies and Astros prepared to battle in a rematch of the 1980 NLCS.  Only this time, Houston's '80 squad would face an even better team in the '76 Phillies.  The Phillies look to play big in the Vet while Houston's pitching staff needs to keep those big Phillie bats quiet.

Game 1.  People expected home runs, but not from the Astros.  In the first inning, Jose Cruz blasted a rare 2 run homer and Houston was out front first.  The Bull showed off his strength with a 66-1 in the 2nd to make it a 2-1 game.  In the 3rd, Houston scored in a more conventional way.  Morgan walked, stole 2nd and scored on a Cruz single.  Luzinski went 66-1 again in the 4th, as the two left fielders battled it out.

In the 6th, Maddox walked and both Schmidt and Luzinski played small ball, beating out infield hits.  Jay Johnstone's fly ball to Terry Puhl in right was deep enough to easily score Maddox from third to tie the game, 3-3.  The score remained tied through 9.  In the top of the 10th, Houston continued to show off their speed.  Puhl singled and stole second.  Cabell brought him home with a single and scored on a triple by (you guessed it) Jose Cruz.  Cedeno's fly to Luzinski in left sent Cruz scampering home with the 3rd run of the inning.

Joe Sambito took the ball and the large lead, needing only 3 outs.  But Sambito walked Dave Cash.  With one out, Schmidt picked up his second infield hit of the game.  Luzinski grounded back to the mound for out 2, but the runners moved into scoring position.  Dick Allen's walk loaded the bases and sent manager Bill Virdon to the pen.  Tournament rules require a 1 game rest if 6 batters are faced.  Vern Ruhle was called upon to get the final out so that Sambito would remain eligible for Game 2.  But Jay Johnstone had other thoughts, singling home the runners and putting the tying run on base.  Lefty batter Tim McCarver was called upon to pinch hit for Boone, but the future broadcaster grounded out to Craig Reynolds to end the game.

HOUSTON, TX - Game 2.  Things are bigger in Texas and there were certainly some big things in Houston waiting on the Phillies.  In the 1st, the Phillies did their thing.  Garry Maddox blasted a home run.  And, the Astros did theirs.  3 singles and a sac fly brought home 2.  The teams swapped out runs in the 4th, but in the 7th, Philadelphia brought out the sticks.  With two out and no one on base, Dave Cash started a rally with a base hit over Joe Morgan's head.  3 more singles and a walk sent 3 Phillies around to score.  Luzinski was thrown out trying to go 1st to 3rd to end the rally.  Otherwise, additional damage may have occurred.

Cesar Cedeno homered in the 9th to cut the lead to 1.  Howe followed with a double and moved to third on an infield hit by Alan Ashby.  With the series ending runner on first, and lefty Craig Reynolds up, Tug McGraw was called in relief of closer Ron Reed. Mike Schmidt turned a 27 into a 5-4-3 double play giving the Phils the win and sending the series back to the Keystone state.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Game 3.  Back to Philly for the finale.  Mike Schmidt connected on his second home run of the tournament and Jay Johnstone continued to drive in runs like a machine as the Phillies took an early 3-0 lead.  Houston stormed back with two of their own in the 4th, to cut the lead down to one.  But Dick Allen's solo homer off J.R. Richard, in relief in the 5th, pushed the Phillie lead back to 2 runs.  Larry Bowa doubled off the tall Astro in the 6th and scored on a Bobby Tolan pinch hit single as the Phillies win the final, 5-2.  The Phillie relivers of McGraw, Garber and Reed combine for 4 scoreless innings.

The win sets up a rematch of the 1976 NLCS for my National League Championship.  '76 Phillies vs. '76 Reds.  It doesn't get much better than that for late 70s baseball.