(Yes, I abandoned you for a long time- if indeed there is a you to see this- but this 1984 pennant race in the MGL West has become too interesting not to share. So we have jumped forward about a year from where we left off and I will likely try to catch you all up on what has transpired in the meantime in the next few days.)
The Denver Brewers entered the month of September of the 1984 WPK season with most people writing them off as an also-ran for the first time in over a decade. After a strong first half of the season (they went 16-9 in April, fell a bit to 16-13 in May, but then rebounded to a 17-10 June record) that saw them in first place until the San Francisco Velocity caught up with them on June 23rd, things really fell apart after the All-Star break and by September 3rd the Brewers had fallen as far back as 6 1/2 games out and had for some time been in third place behind not only San Francisco but also the surprise team of 1984- the until recently lowly Phoenix Speed Devils.
The Brewers front office wouldn't admit to any thought of temporary tanking to move up in next year's draft, but certainly the focus was on playing some less experienced players and thinking ahead towards 1985. And then something funny happened. The Brewers got hot. And that coincided with the two teams ahead of them starting to struggle down the stretch. Still, when the Brewers entered back-to-back three game series on the road against Phoenix and then San Francisco, they remained very much a longshot to win the division. But they swept the Speed Devils in Phoenix and then took two of three from the Velocity in San Francisco.
All that remained of the regular season for Denver was four games at home against Los Angeles and then three in Portland to end the season.
Little used outfielder
Angelo Rivas, a September call-up who has played parts of four seasons now on the big league club and is known mostly for his defense and speed, led the Brewers to an easy 11-3 in game one in L.A., going 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.
In game 2, center fielder
Myles Ford, probably the biggest contributor down the stretch and one of the biggest revelations for the team this season, went 4 for 4 and hit his team-leading 17th home run in game 2 as the Brewers won 6-4. (In 90 plate appearances in September,
Ford has gone .341/.378/.528 with 5 doubles, a triple, and 3 home runs while continuing to play very fine defense in center field.) Veteran staff workhorse
Jim Atwell got the win, improving to 16-7 with a 3.56 ERA.
Which brings us to today, when
Eric Maisch, who returned this season after missing most of 1983 with an arthritic throwing elbow (having won the Harris/Lee award in 1982) equaled an MGL single game record for strikeouts by a pitcher when he fanned 15 L.A. batters over 8 innings pitched.
Maisch got off to a very slow start this season but has gradually been picking up steam and has now gotten wins in his last six decisions (with a few impressive no decisions mixed in). He also went 2 for 2 at the plate in another 6-4 win for Denver, scoring twice and hitting his 3rd double of the season while also drawing a walk.
So having practically given up any hope of keeping their MGL West pennant streak alive, the Brewers now head into their final four games of the season in a tie with San Francisco and a game ahead of Phoenix.
While San Francisco is still considered the favorite to win the division, the reality is that San Francisco and Phoenix face each other for the last three games of their regular seasons so if they beat up on each other a little the Brewers could be in the driver's seat.
Stay tuned.