PRELIMINARY ROUND
Series #143
1926 Cincinnati Reds (87-67) vs 1962 New York Mets (40-120)
In 1926 the Reds finished second to the Cardinals for the NL pennant and despite winning it all in 1920, they never again could get over the hump in the decade. The talent was there for manager Jack Hendricks and the club did win 87 games. A good pitching staff that was the norm in the NL at the time lead the way. Pete Donohue won 20 games but somehow lost 14 with a 3.37 ERA and 5 shutouts in 285 innings. He walked only 39 batters all season and had excellent command. Carl Mays at 34 years of age went 19-12 with a 3.36 FIP and three shutouts of his own. Right hander Dolf Luque was even older at 35 and made 31 starts with a 2.43 mark while lefty Eppa Rixey went 14-8 with a 3.40 ERA and was still effective in what was many years of real quality. Jackie May was the main arm in relief but also made 15 starts with 167 innings of work striking out an impressive 103 batters. Red Lucas rounds off the staff of six players that were really the only ones used all year; Lucas had a 3.68 ERA. Art Nehf and Roy Meeker were emergency fill ins but combined for only about 50 innings with no one else behind them. A nice 3.42 ERA and 1.25 WHIP makes the pitching a strength of this team. The offense did not have much of any speed or power but had some real consistent hitters who rarely missed the baseball. Wally Pipp at 33 and post his Yankee days hot .291 with 15 triples and 99 driven in proving that he wasn’t as bad as legend has it. Chuck Dressen was a smart third baseman driving in 48 runs with a .733 OPS and 76 times scored; his glove was above average. Frank Emmer hit only .196 in 80 games at short leaving the position as a black hole as Horace Ford tried to win the job with a much better .279 in 57 games. Hughie Critz manned second hitting .270 with a very good 96 runs scored off 164 hits and 14 triples. Curt Walker hit a nice .306 in left leading the triple heavy team with 20 while driving in 78 over 257 total bases. Walter Christensen hit .350 in 114 games with an .864 OPS making him quite the weapon. He had a .426 OBP but was mostly a singles hitter. In center, Ed Roush at 33 years old still hit .323 with 37 doubles and 95 runs scored while remaining the most respected and influential player on the roster. Bubbles Hargraves was a rare talent at catcher hitting an incredible .353 for the position with 62 RBI and 22 doubles, he may be the most valuable player on this team. He brought home the batting title that season. Reserve Rube Bressler hit .357 as a important tool in regards to the depth of the club while Billy Zitzman was another .300 hitter waiting in the wings. This Is if not a great team, then a very good one who really should just be able to roll over and topple the 1962 Mets in this series.
It all begins in the 1962 season for the Mets and they could not have started any worse then they did thanks greatly to a rigged expansion draft and some poor decisions to go veteran rather then young. Casey Stengel faced it all with a grain of salt, but this may very well be the worst team in all the modern era of the game. A makeshift roster had numerous issues but the best hitter was likely Frank Thomas who scored 69 runs hitting .266 with 34 home runs and 94 RBI. Thomas truly was an undervalued talent. Jim Hickman in center hit .245 with 13 home runs holding his won while Joe Christopher had the most work in right stealing 11 bases with only 32 RBI in 119 games with a similarly poor 36 runs scored. Felix Mantilla hit .275 at third hitting 11 out and driving in 59, but like most of the team, the defense was subpar. Elio Chacon played short most days with a .664 OPS with 12 steals and a .236 average leaving him as mostly forgotten. Charlie Neal hit .260 at second with 11 home runs and 58 RBI and 9 triples. Marv Thorneberry was a t first with 16 home runs and 49 RBI with a .732 OPS. Thorneberry was backed up by 38 year old Gil Hodges who hit .252 in limited duty and made the fans happy with his memory of old championship teams. Three different players tried to fill the catchers role to no avail. Choo Choo Coleman was likely the best with a .744 OPS while Sammy Taylor and Chris Cannizzaro brought little to nothing. At 35 years old Riche Ashburn hit .306 in 135 games and still showed glimpses of what he once was, it would be no surprise if Stengel leans on Richie for this series. Gene Woodling hit .274 in limited duty at 39 years old while others like Don Zimmer and Gus Bell wont see much of any action. The Mets did their best for a while to stay in games, but the mountain was often too big to climb. Roger Craig started in 33 games losing 24 of them. He had a 4.52 ERA and allowed 35 home runs which made him a sort of ticking time bomb. Al Jackson went 8-20 with a 4.40 ERA and obviously deserved better as he had the remarkable mark of throwing 4 shutouts on this team. Jay Hook was 8-19 with a 4.84 in 34 starts with a 1.40 WHIP and also letting go a whopping 31 home runs. Bob Miller made 21 starts and Craig Anderson another 14 and neither were very good at all. Anderson would come back with work in the pen saving four games and striking out 62 in 131 innings; he was 3-17. Bob Moorhead threw over 100 innings with a 4.53 ERA making him serviceable while Ken Mackenzie did his best to get out leftys at a modest pace. The team ERA was 5.04 and most obviously Stengel had very few options going into a game. The Mets are indeed a historic team and to see them at least battle against the competent Reds should be interesting to see. Can anything really happen in baseball?
Game 1 At Crosley Field
Rain 62
1962 Mets......................3
1926 Reds.....................5
WP: R. Lucas (1-0) LP: B. Miller (0-1)
HR: None
POG: Frank Thomas
1926 Reds lead series 1-0
Chuck Dressen delivered a two run single in the bottom of the 8th inning to break a 3-3 tie and send the Reds on to their first win of the series. Frank Thomas had tied the game in the 7th for New York with an RBI single and ended this game a perfect 4 for 4. Jackie May allowed 12 hits but the Mets stranded 13 batters and lost it late when the game mattered most. Red Lucas gets the win in relief.
Game 2 At Crosley Field
Clear 63
1962 Mets...................5
1926 Reds..................3
WP: J. Hook (1-0) LP: D. Luque (0-1)
HR: F. Mantilla (1)
POG: Jay Hook
Series tied at 1
Felix Mantilla hit a two run home run in the first inning and the Mets added a third to open the game and set the tone for their starter. Jay Hook took the lead and almost gave it away in the bottom of the first allowing two runs but righted the ship and pitch excellent baseball for a complete game. Jim Hickman went 2-4 with an RBI and Elio Chacon scored two runs. Ed Roush was 2-4 with 2 RBI in the loss.
Game 3 At Shea Stadium
Rain 66
1926 Reds.....................0
1962 Mets......................6
WP: R. Craig (1-0) LP: P. Donohue (0-1)
HR: None
POG: Roger Craig
1962 Mets lead series 2-1
Roger Craig threw a seven hit shutout walking only one on 123 pitches to send the upstart Mets up two games to one. Elio Chacon drove in two with a single in the while Richie Ashburn and Choo Choo Coleman each drove in runs. Pete Donohue allowed 13 hits to take the loss and the unexpected Mets have the lead in the series.
Game 4 At Shea Stadium
Partly cloudy 60
1926 Reds..........................2
1962 Mets...........................1
WP: C. Mays (1-0) LP: B. Miller (0-2)
HR: W. Pipp (1)
POG: Carl Mays
Series tied at 2
Wally Pipp hit a solo home run in the 8th inning to break the shutout by Bob Miller who was holding on to a slim 1-0 lead. Carl Mays allowed a first inning run but shut the Mets out the rest of the way striking out four on 8 hits. In the 9th Babe Pinelli hit a sacrifice fly scoring Ed Roush for the deciding run. The series is all even now and has been very competitive.
Game 5 At Shea Stadium
Clear 63
1926 Reds...........................3
1962 Mets............................4
WP: J. Hook (2-0) LP: R. Meeker (0-1)
HR: None
POG: Jay Hook
1962 Mets lead series 3 to 2
Frank Thomas came through with a walk off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to send Mets fans home happy and take the series back to Ohio with the Reds now needing to win the next two. Richie Ashburn had a 2 run hit in the 4th to give the Mets a 3-1 lead but the Reds responded in the 8th with two of their own runs spurred by a two out rally. The Mets just wouldnt sit back however, as Joe Christopher scored three runs and Jay Hook won his second game of the series.
Game 6 At Crosley Field
Clear 62
1962 Mets.....................3
1926 Reds....................11
WP: D. Luque (1-1) LP: B. Miller (0-3)
HR: None
POG: Curt Walker
Series tied at 3
The Mets looked like their old selves at made 4 errors to help the Reds force a game seven with a comfortable win. Cincy jumped all over New York scoring 6 times in the first three innings with three hits and two RBI. Starter Dolph Luque went the distance allowing three earned runs and even coming through with the bat getting 2 hits and an RBI. Bob Miller lost his third game of the series lasting only three innings. Now this best of seven series comes down to one final game.
Game 7 At Crosley Field
Rain 56 (Delay 19 min)
1962 Mets..........................0
1926 Reds..........................7
WP: P. Donohue (1-1) LP: R. Craig (1-1)
HR: B. Hargrave (1)
POG: Pete Donohue
And just like that reality hit the 1962 Mets upon returning to Crosley Field, Casey Stengel's team was outscored 18-3 in the last two games to drop the series. Pete Donohue threw a five hit shutout striking out two and controlling the game after being given the big lead. The Reds scored 5 runs in the second as Donohue came through with the stick and a 3 RBI single. The Reds had 16 hits as they cruised to victory and one of the most famous bad teams in baseball history is out, despite a surprising series run.
1926 Cincinnati Reds Win Series 4 Games To 3
Series MVP:
Hughie Critz
(.400, 3 RBI, 2 2B, .444 OBP, .924 OPS)