PRELIMINARY ROUND
Series #155
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers (105-49) vs 2016 Detroit Tigers (86-75)
The Boys of Summer were just about at the height of their glory in 1953 winning 105 games and the NL Pennant. Chuck Dressen had a lineup that any manager would dream of with Duke Snider leading the way and finishing with a WAR over 9. Snider had an OPS of 1.046 with 42 home runs and 126 RBI on 198 hits and a .336 average. Carl Furrillo hit .344 in right field with 92 RBI and a .393 OBP striking out only 32 times on the season. Furillo and Snider both stroked 3 doubles each. In left was the great Jackie Robinson hitting .329 with 17 steals and 95 RBI along with his expert baserunning and 109 runs scored. Robinson adapted to a new position in the outfield and was the heart of the team. Pee Wee Reese was also an emotional leader and an excellent defensive short stop. Reese stole 22 bases with 25 doubles and 108 runs scored while holding an OBP of .374. Reese had a winner written all over him. Gil Hodges was the gold standard at first base and one of the best fielders at the position ever. Hodges hit .302 with 31 home runs and 122 driven in. He had a .943 OPS and every fan in Flatbush had his adoration. Billy Cos played third in 100 games and hit .291 but was mostly a place holder at the bottom of the lineup. Jim Gilliam swiped 14 bases and walked 100 times for an OBP of .383 which allowed him to score an impressive 125 runs. The Dodgers as a team scored 955 runs with a team OBP of .366. Roy Campanella was a new breed of catcher who had it all. He had the best arm in the game that no one could run on, was a natural leader, and a great hitter. Campy drove in 142 runs with 41 home runs and an OPS of 1.00. No one can understate just how good of a player Campy was for this generation as a whole. On the bench Bobby Morgon hit .260 with 33 RBI and George Shuba hit 12 doubles and hit .3254. Wayne Belardi and Don Thompson were also lefthanded bats that was used only when no other options remained. The defense of this club was as good as it gets and obviously that helped the pitching staff that at times could let the team down. Carl Erksine won 20 games with a 3.54 ERA and an 121 ERA plus and could be considered the ace of the staff. He had 4 shutouts and 187 strikeouts to his name. Russ Meyer went 15-5 with a higher 4.56 ERA although his FIP was 4.19. Billy Loes was 14-8 with an almost identical season as Meyer as both the number 2 and number 3 arms really didn’t put the fear in opposing lineups. Preacher Roe was 37 years of age but still had a lot left going 11-3 with a 4.36 ERA and 85 K in 150 innings. Roe was the veteran that Dressen used in a pinch and on the other side of the spectrum was the 20 year old kid, Johnny Podres, who made 18 starts and impressed. Podres went 9-4 with a 4.23 ERA and seemed to show good poise even when under duress. Jim Hughes had 9 saves and entered 48 games as an important part of the staff. Bob Miliken started in 10 games but eventually landed in the pen with a 3.37 ERA while Clem Labine was even better in relief with a 2.77 mark. Ralph Branca was all but washed up at this point appearing in only seven games. The club did win 105 games with a team ERA of 4.10 telling you just how great their offense was. It will be baseball at its finest to see this group play.
The Tigers came up a little short in the AL Central to the Indians in 2016 but the club had some chiseled talent and some real stars. Justin Verlander remained the headliner and was mostly on an island when it came to the success of the Tigers pitching. At 33 Verlander went 16-9 with 227 innings thrown and 254 strikeouts or 10 per nine. His WHIP was an excellent .100 and anticipating seeing him throw against Brooklyn will be a treat. After him the lines become thin with Michael Fulmer the next best arm at 23 years old and 159 innings pitched. Fulmer had a nice 3.06 ERA as he came on stronger as the season went on and much will be expected of him in this series. Anibal Sanchez fizzled out with a 5.87 ERA in 26 starts as he allowed 30 home runs and kept the ball up. Mike Pelfrey lost 10 games with a 5.07 mark completing none with a nearing his WHIP to 1.5. Jordan Zimmerman went 9-7 but had some arm issues with his 4.42 FIP and only 5.6 K's per nine. Matthew Boyd started 18 games as a sixth option but he was average with a 4.95 FIP in 97 innings. It will be interesting to see who manager Brad Ausmus trusts in this series behind Verlander. Francisco Rodriguez had 44 saves and a 3.24 ERA as the closer. He was great for the most part but when he was hit on occasion, he was hit hard. Alex Wilson and Justin Wilson, no relation did most of the relief work with good result. Kyle Ryan was the left handed specialist who had good effect with a 3.07 ERA. The success of this Tigers team was with the bats and much like Verlander headlined the pitching, Miguel Cabrera was the glue of the offense. Miggy hit .316 with 38 home runs and 1and 83 RBI 108 RBI and was really in his last dominant season. Ian Kinsler was a great match at second with 28 home runs including 14 steals. Nick Castellanos was only 24 years old but showed promise hitting 18 home runs and hitting .285 with a line drive swing that played well at Comerica. Justin Upton was trying to get his career going but hit .246 with 179 strikeouts but still had pop with 31 home runs. Cameron Maybin had an OPS of .801 and an OBP of .373 in 94 games making quite useful, he also played a fine centerfield. JD Martinez was slow legged in right but he could hit. He finished with a .307 average and 22 home runs lashing 35 doubles. Victor Martinez at 37 was mostly the DH hitting 27 home runs with 86 RBI and striking out only 90 times to aide his .289 average. James McCann caught 105 games hitting .221 with 12 home runs but was platooned with Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty hit 12 home runs and seemed to come up big despite a .630 OPS. Jose Iglesias hit .255 at short stop with 26 doubles but his bat was mainly buried in this lineup. Andrew Romine hit .236 in pinch hitting duties as Mike Aviles and Tyler Collins also contributed on a thin bench. Defensively this team had issues all around the diamond, which likely had a lot to do with the poor pitching numbers.
Game 1 At Ebbets Field
Clear 64
2016 Tigers.................3
1953 Dodgers.............2
WP: J. Verlander (1-0) LP: C. Erskine (0-1)
HR: D. Snider (1)
POG: Justin Verlander
2016 Tigers Lead Series 1-0
The Tigers leaned on their ace and he carried them for 9 innings to an opening win. Verlander struck out five and allowed only two earned runs on seven hits while preserving a one run lead for 5 innings. Ian Kinsler delivered a 2 run double in the 5th inning off loser Carl Erskine to give the Tigers the lead and the cleam played game ended that way as both sides had seven hits and neither team made an error.
Game 2 At Ebbets Field
Cloudy 61
2016 Tigers................0
1953 Dodgers............12
WP: J. Podres (1-0) LP: M. Fulmer (0-1)
HR: D. Snider (2)
POG: Johnny Podres
Series Tied At 1
The Dodgers had an emphatic reply to their loss in game one blowing out the Tigers behind surprise 20 year old starter Johnny Podres and a 15 hit attack. Duke Snider hit his second home runs in as many days and Jackie Robinson peppered 3 doubles as each star drove in three runs. Podres walked 5 but struck out six and went into the 9th inning before Preacher Roe tallied the final outs. Michael Fulmer lasted only 3 frames.
Game 3 At Comerica Park
Partly cloudy 62
1953 Dodgers.................6
2016 Tigers.....................3
WP: R. Branca (1-0) LP: D. Norris (0-1)
HR: None
POG: Ralph Branca
1953 Dodgers Lead Series 2-1
Ralph Branca went the distance allowing three earned runs and doing enough to give the Dodgers a lead in the series. Roy Campanella drove in two runs and from the DH position Billy Cox drove in two more before Branca had to hold off a ninth inning rally to secure the win. Branca was a surprise starter in this one but Charlie Dressen must have liked the matchup as he had the Tigers on their back heel in this one until he fatigued in the 9th.
Game 4 At Comerica Park
Partly Cloudy 60
1953 Dodgers................6
2016 Tigers....................5
WP: R. Meyer (1-0) LP: J. Wilson (0-1) S: C. Labine (1)
HR: G. Hodges (1), R. Campanella 2 (2)
POG: Roy Campanella
1953 Dodgers Lead Series 3-1
Legends earn their titles for a reason, and Roy Campanella proved the myth once again. Batting in the 9th inning with his team down 2 runs and a man on, Campy hit his second home run of the game, a 428 foot monsterous shot deep out to left. Justin Wilson just couldnt hold the lead for Detroit, and one has to wonder why he didnt pitch around the Dodger catcher. Bob Milliken was hit hard and didnt last two innings for Brooklyn, but in relief Russ Meyer goes seven scoreless innings striking out five and getting the win.
Game 5 At Comerica Park
Clear 60
1953 Dodgers..................3
2016 Tigers......................1
WP: C. Erskine (1-1) LP: J. Verlander (1-1)
HR: None
POG: Carl Erskine
After their opening day loss, the Dodgers righted the ship and never looked back winning four games in a row and in the clincher getting the better of even Justin Verlander. Carl Erskine went the full nine striking out nine and allowing only one run. Brooklyn took the lead in the 5th when Gil Hodges doubled in the gap to score a run while the Tigers made two big errors to set up the chance. Brooklyn has indeed proven that they are of another class in most any baseball generation.
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers Win Series 4 Games To 1
Series MVP:
Johnny Podres
(8.1 IP, 0 ER, 6 K, 1.08 WHIP, 4 HA, 5 BB)