PRELIMINARY ROUND
Series #7
1911 Cincinnati Reds (70-83) vs 1998 Detroit Tigers (65-97)
Clark Griffith and his Reds struggled during the early years in the National league. The Reds finished 6th in 1911 and lacked any real star power to make them a memorable side. They do represent the period well with 290 steals and a team ERA of 3.26. Dick Hoblitzell may be a name you never heard of but the first baseman did drive in 91 runs while Johnny Bates hit 13 triples and Bob Bescher stole 81 bases. Griffith interchanged pitchers and five different arms won over 10 games; George Suggs lead with 15 wins.
The 1998 Tigers had some bats that could make some noise even as they lost 97 games. Luis Gonzalez was on his way to becoming an All Star and Damion Easley drove in 100 runs to match his teammate Tony Clark who hit 34 home runs. The pitching was very tough to watch at Tiger Stadium during this year, and the Reds may well overachieve in this series.
Game 1 At Palace of The Fans
1911 Reds...............7
1998 Tigers.............5
WP: B. Keefe LP: B. Moehler
The Tigers make two costly errors and allow the Reds to score five times in the 4th, a lead that would hold up to win game one. Bob Bescher drove in two runs from the leadoff spot and starter Bill Keefe went the the distance striking out five.
Game 2 At Palace of The Fans
1911 Reds..............7
1998 Tigers............6
WP: A. Fromme LP: J. Thompson S: H. Gaspar
Bobby Higginson went 4-4 with two runs as the Tigers tried to even the series but not on this day. The Reds came through again as two more errors and more bad defense cost the Tigers. Johnny Bates had a big 2 run single and finished with 3 RBI while starting pitcher Art Fromme scored two runs on his own. It was nothing fancy but the Reds played well enough and now hold the lead in the series.
Game 3 At Tiger Stadium
1998 Tigers..............0
1911 Reds................5
WP: G. Suggs LP: S. Greisinger 0-1
George Suggs was brilliant in game three at Tiger Stadium and completely shut down the home side allowing only 5 hits and striking out four. Tom Downey had two RBI and the Reds appear poised to take this series easily and look for a clean sweep in game 4.
Game 4 At Tiger Stadium
1998 Tigers.................2
1911 Reds...................5
WP: B. Keefe LP: B. Moehler
Tom Downey had two triples and two RBI as the 1911 Reds did exactly what Clark Griffith could have asked of them winning this series in four straight. Bobby Keefe wanted the ball all the way and went the full nine allowing 11 hits but never trailing in this one. In the end the 1998 Tigers really played like kittens, and ran and hid for the duration being outscored 24-13.
1911 Cincinnati Reds Win Series 4-0
Series MVP:
Dick Hobitzell (.467, 2 RBI, .500 OBP, 1 3B, 4 R)