PRELIMINARY ROUND
Series #147
1993 Toronto Blue Jays (95-67) vs 1953 New York Giants (70-84)
Most baseball fans can remember where they were when Joe Carter hit the walk off home run off Mitch Williams to end the 1993 Series. The Jays of those days were repeat champions and had talent that manager Cito Gaston coordinated with expertise. Carter was the appropriate hero as he drove in runs all season long for a total of 121 with 31 home runs and 33 doubles with a .802 OPS. New to him in center was Devon White who had one of the best centerfield gloves you will ever see and he stole 34 bases with 15 home runs although he struck out 127 times to lead the club. In left field was the great Rickey Henderson who was the missing piece to a championship. Henderson stole 22 bases in his 44 games scoring 37 runs and often times being the catalyst to big innings. Ed Sprague manned third base hitting .260 with 73 RBI and 31 doubles while his arm was strong for the position even if his range was not. Ton Fernandez hit .306 with a .361 OBP and 15 steals. Everyone loved playing with Fernandez who was one of the fans very favorite. John Olerud hit an eye opening .363 at first base with a .473 OBP. Olerud was from another works in 1993 with 200 hits, 107 RBI,a and 54 doubles; yes he was better than you remember. Roberto Alomar remained a star at second with 55 steals and a .326 average. He also drove in 93 runs and 192 hits and 109 runs. Of course Alomar added to a club that played excellent defense. Pat Borders was adequate at catcher hitting .254 with 30 doubles and 55 RBI. At DH was the ever dependable Paul Molitor at 36 years old. Molitor hit .332 with a .402 OBP and 111 RBI remaining one of the toughest outs in the league. Darnell Coles was the main backup in the infield hitting .253 and Turner Ward along with Darrin Jackson were less then dependable outfield help. Kids Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado will be too young to see action. To go along with the great hitting, the Jays loaded their staff with veterans as well as an excellent bullpen. Juan Guzman went 14-3 in 33 starts with 194 strikeouts but did have some control concerns with 26 wild pitches and 110 walks. Pat Hentgen went 19-9 with a 3.87 mark but a 4.61 FIP and a high number of dingers allowed. Todd Stottlemyre went 11-12 with a 4.84 ERA with a 1.54 WHIP and a very high line drives rate. Beyond that were two veterans that struggled in Jack Morris and Dave Stewart. Morris was barely hanging on with a 6.19 ERA in 27 starts while Stewart had a better 4.44 but a FIP of 5.06. Either one of them in their late thirties could provide little more than experience and reputation. Duane Ward was a fine closer getting a strong 45 saves with a 2.13 ERA and a 1.033 WHIP. Veteran Danny Cox turned into a solid setup man and Mark Eichhorn had a 2.72 ERA in 54 games making him very valuable. Al Leiter was also an option for Gaston making 12 starts but also working long relief with a 4.11 ERA. The Jays, especially their lineup, was at a real championship level with a number of Hall of Famers in what really was the glory days Toronto baseball.
Hard to believe that a 70 win team one year would go on to be world champions the next. Such thinking can be justified however for the 1953 Giants, as they would suffer through an entire season without the great Willie Mays who wouldn’t be back until 1954 because of his service in the Korean War. Mays could never be replaced, however Don Mueller would try as the 26 year old played center field. Mueller did his .333 but with only 6 home runs and 60 RBI his overall play was about average. Montel Irwin still had a lot to give at 34 years old hitting .329 with 97 RBI and a .947 OPS. Irwin was one of the most overlooked players in the game while Bobby Thompson was more of a folk legend. Thompson did come through with 26 home runs and 106 driven in scoring 80 runs and a .810 OPS. The other Thompson was Hank who played at third. Hank went yard 24 times with 74 RBI hitting .302 and adding to a powerful lineup. Al Dark drove in 88 runs at short hitting .300 on the nose with 126 runs scored and becoming one of Leo Durochers favorites. Davey Williams was at second hitting .297 in 112 games but lugged only .382 with only 15 extra base hits total. Whitey Lockman scored 85 runs with a .295 average and a .739 OPS, he was decent but not the regular power hitting first baseman. Wes Westrum hit only .224 but was a good defensive catcher who even managed 12 home runs. Daryl Spencer had 20 home runs in part time duty with 56 RBI and 18 doubles. Bobby Hoffman hit .266 as a pinch batter and Dusty Rhodes was the most common replacement in the outfield with 11 home runs. The Giants pitching wasn’t great and let some close games slip. Ruben Gomez had a 3.40 ERA in 204 innings but walked 101 batters while also throwing three shutouts. Jim Hearn had a 4.53 with a 1.47 WHIP with only 77 strikeouts as he depended on location and weak contact that can be risky business. Larr Jansen lost 16 times with a 4.14 ERA and a 105 ERA+. Jansen did as well as 36 year old Sal Maglie who had something left in 145 innings with 80 K. Al Worthington made 17 starts with a 3.44 ERA making among the better surprises of the staff at 24 years old. Lefty Dave Koslo started in 12 games but settled in as a relief arm and a 4.76 ERA joining Al Corwin and Marv Grissom adding depth to the staff. Hoyt Wilhelm was the best option and a very valuable piece saving 15 games with a 3.04 ERA and going multiple innings in most of his work. The Giants pythagorium record was actually 79-75 and was much better then their actual record which tells you they lost a lot of games that they should not have. It also means that the Blue Jays may have more to deal with in this series then may first meet the eye. Be sure that Leo the Lip will have his team ready to play.
Game 1 At SkyDome
Indoors
1953 Giants......................3
1993 Blue Jays.................5
WP: J. Guzman (1-0) LP: S. Maglie (0-1) S: D. Ward (1)
HR: J. Olerud (1), B. Hofman (1)
POG: John Olerud
1993 Blue Jays lead series 1-0
The sweet swing of John Olerud came through at the perfect time in the 8th inning with the home team down two the first baseman hit a 390 foot three run home run over the right field wall off a tired Sal Maglie. The Giants had taken the lead in the 4th when DH Bobby Hofman hit a two run home run and the lead which they held to late. It was a typical Giants game where they really should have one, but one mistake does them in.
Game 2 At Skydome
Indoors
1953 Giants.....................2
1993 Blue Jays................4
WP: T. Stottlemyre (1-0) LP: D. Koslo (0-1) S: D. Ward (2)
HR: M. Irvin (1), J. Olerud (2)
POG: Todd Stottlemyre
1993 Blue Jays lead series 2-0
A four run third inning capped by that man again, John Olerud was enough for Todd Stottlemyre to send Toronto up two games in the series. Olerud now has 7 RBI in two games and slammed a 3 run home run off Dave Koslo. Stott went 8 strong innings striking out five and walking only one while Duane Ward was spot on again closing out his second save in as many days. Monte Irwin hit a home run for the Giants but they have their work cut out for them as the series head to the Polo Grounds with the Jays looking good.
Game 3 At Polo Grounds
56 Partly cloudy
1993 Blue Jays....................4
1953 Giants.........................6
WP: R. Gomez (1-0) LP: J. Morris (0-1) S: A. Worthington (1)
HR: D. Spencer (1), E. Sprague (1)
POG: Ruben Gomez
1993 Blue Jays lead series 2-1
Ed Sprague hit a two run home run in the first inning but the Giants this time would respond. Two Blue Jay errors and a pinch hit Daryl Spencer home run put six tallies on the board and allowed Ruben Gomez to settle in after the rough first. Gomez did walk five but struck out nine over 7 innings and even though his bullpen teetered, the Giants hung on for the win. Jack Morris went five innings to take the loss and labored, a gutsy call but Cito Gaston to start him.
Game 4 At Polo Grounds
Partly cloudy 56
1993 Blue Jays....................4
1953 Giants.........................3
WP: P. Hentgen (1-0) LP: J. Hearn (0-1)
HR: J. Olerud (3), D. Williams (1)
POG: Pat Hentgen
1993 Blue Jays lead series 3-1
Pat Hentgen pitched a quality game going 8 innings and striking out seven allowing only one earned run. On the other side Jim Hearn was not so fortunate for the Giants as he allowed 11 hits including another home run for John Olerud. The Giants were down four in the ninth and were being shutout before Davey Williams hit a three run home run but it wasnt enough when Monte Irwin struck out with the tying run on base. Toronto now in control of the series.
Game 5 At Polo Grounds
Partly cloudy 55
1993 Blue Jays.....................1
1953 Giants..........................4
WP: S. Maglie (1-1) LP: J. Guzman (1-1) S: A. Worthington (2)
HR: None
POG: Sal Maglie
1993 Blue Jays lead series 3-2
Sal Maglie calms nerves at the Polo Grounds and makes sure the series goes back to Toronto. The 36 year old goes 8 strong innings striking out seven and walking none and was in complete command of a good Jays lineup. Davey Williams continued his good series with 2 RBI on two hits and Hank Thompson pitched in with a run scoring triple. Pitching has been top of the line for both teams in these five games, now we see if the Giants can force a game seven.
Game 6 At Skydome
Indoors
1953 Giants.....................4
1993 Blue Jays................3
WP: D. Koslo (1-1) LP: T. Stottlemyre (1-1) S: A. Worthington (3)
HR: None
POG: Dave Koslo
Series tied at 3
A two run rally in the 8th inning staved off elimination for the Giants and now forces a dramatic game seven. Al Dark delivered the go ahead RBI single off Todd Stottlemyre who deserved better allowing only seven hits, but could get the win. Dave Koslo kept New York in the game with 7 quality innings while Larry Jansen and Al Wlorthington preserved the one run lead for the win. A good showing for Leo Durocher and his Giants, who now know anything can happen in a game seven.
Game 7 At Sky Dome
Indoors
1953 Giants.................14
1993 Blue Jays.............9
WP: L. Jansen (1-0) LP: J. Morris (0-2)
HR: R. Alomar (1), D. White (1), W. Westrum (1), B. Thompson (1)
POG: Hank Thompson
Over four hours of baseball in game seven and the 1953 Giants jumped all over Jack Morris and the Blue Jays ended the game with 20 hits and 14 runs and in turn ending the series and eliminating the champion Jays. New York knocked Morris out the game in the third as Bobby Hofman drove in three runs and Bobby Thompson as well as Wes Westrum went deep. The Jays made a game of it behind a three run home run by Devon White, but New York just wouldnt be caught on this night and can be proud of coming all the way back from 3-1 down and winning the last two on the road.
1953 New York Giants Win Series 4 Games To 3
Series MVP:
Davey Williams
(.344, 6 RBI, 1 HR, 5 R, .851 OPS)