American League
California Angels (96-66) v New York Yankees (90-72)
The Halos get another bite of the cherry this year against a Yanks outfit that has a lot going for it provided it can sort out the inconsistency issues that plagued it through most of the season.
Nolan Ryan hurls a 1-hitter in Game 1 but from there it is all New York as they win three straight to reach the World Series for the first time since 1951. Roy White wins the MVP.
National League
Cincinnati Reds (101-61) v Pittsburgh Pirates (94-68)
We have our hands full here with a Reds unit that is clearly the dominant side of the four left. Six of their eight starters reached double digits in dingers and, while the loss of Goltz will hurt them, they still have a solid enough rotation—providing hteir bats can give them their share of runs to defend. They took 8 of our 12 regular season meetings (the only team to best us in this regard), but – even with no Clemente – we still give ourselves some chance to knock them off here.
Rightly so, as it turns out, with the boys digging deep to put the Reds away in 4 wild games after dropping the opener. The clincher is of particular note as they come back a number of times to nail down a 6-4 victory—all without Al Oliver, who picks up a niggle that may now also see him miss Game 1 of the WS. A magnificent effort from the lads, with Dave Cash deservedly named series MVP.
