National Baseball League

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1926 World Series

Cleveland has won three World Series (1919, 1920, 1924). Los Angeles is looking for their first championship.

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NBC SPORTS — 1926 WORLD SERIES, GAME 1
BOB COSTAS & JOE MORGAN ON THE CALL
COSTAS (opening shot over Jacobs Field, crisp October air):
“Good afternoon from Cleveland, where the Indians—fresh off yet another American League pennant—welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game One of the 1926 World Series. Jacobs Field is full, the wind is cutting across left field at about 12 miles an hour, and we’ve got a matchup that spans generations. The surging, youthful Cleveland lineup… and a 36-year-old right-hander, Donny van Meel, who just turned back the clock.”
MORGAN:
“Bob, this is what makes baseball special. You get a guy like van Meel—been around forever, not overpowering, doesn’t light up a radar gun—but the man knows how to PITCH. Changing speeds, hitting spots, reading swings. And today, he was just brilliant.”
COSTAS:
“Seven shutout innings, Joe. Seven. In a park this loud, against a Cleveland team that’s been methodical and disciplined all postseason long. He kept the ball down, trusted his defense, and forced Cleveland to swing early.”
MORGAN:
“And every time Cleveland DID make contact, it wasn’t squared up. Weak grounders, easy flies. You can tell the Indians were frustrated. You look at hitters like Kresse, Alfonso, Lopez—guys who’ve been so locked in—they didn’t get a chance to do damage.”
FIFTH INNING — THE BREAKTHROUGH
COSTAS:
“Scoreless into the fifth, and then Willie Cortez—who finished fifth in OPS back in 1921—comes up with a clean, simple single through the right side. Brings home the first run of the World Series. Not flashy, not majestic—just a timely, professional swing.”
MORGAN:
“And that’s what Cortez is. He’s a hitter who understands situations. Two strikes? He shortens up. Guy on second? He pulls something on the ground. You love that as a teammate.”
SCHWAB OPENS IT UP
COSTAS:
“Then in the sixth, with two outs… Nate Schwab turns on a pitch from Philippon and sends it into the seats. A two-run shot, and suddenly it’s 3–0 Dodgers.”
MORGAN:
“Philippon had been terrific all postseason, but that pitch just stayed up. Schwab didn’t miss it. And Bob, look—when you’re facing a pitcher like van Meel who’s carving you up, giving up three feels like giving up eight.”
CLEVELAND’S LATE PUSH
COSTAS:
“The Indians wouldn’t go quietly. Down 3–0 in the ninth, Satiago rips a double into the gap. Ortega finally gets Cleveland on the board with a single. Suddenly, the crowd wakes up, the tying run is at the plate.”
MORGAN:
“But Joe Kovach—the Dodgers’ best late-inning guy—never panicked. Two strikeouts, weak contact, ballgame. Cool as you like.”
FINAL: DODGERS 3, INDIANS 1
COSTAS:
“So Game One belongs to Los Angeles. Donny van Meel, at age 36, gets the win. Kovach collects his second postseason save. Cleveland gets eight hits but strands seven and never really solved the Dodgers’ pitching.”
MORGAN:
“Well Bob, Cleveland’s been here before. They’ve lost Game One, they’ve lost momentum, and they always bounce back. But they’ll need more traffic, more quality at-bats. Phipps, Hughes, Saldana—they’ve got to set the tone tomorrow.”
COSTAS (fade-out):
“So the Dodgers take a 1–0 lead in this best-of-seven Fall Classic. Game Two tomorrow, right back here at Jacobs Field. For Joe Morgan, I’m Bob Costas… reminding you that no matter the decade, no matter the era, October baseball always finds a way to give us something timeless.”

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NBC SPORTS — 1926 WORLD SERIES, GAME 2
BOB COSTAS & JOE MORGAN RECAP
COSTAS (highlight montage rolls):
“On a cool October afternoon in Cleveland, where the wind once again pushed its way across the diamond from right to left, the Los Angeles Dodgers did what the great teams so often do in October—they struck early, they struck hard, and they never allowed the Indians to fully recover. Game Two of the 1926 World Series belonged to Los Angeles, 7–3, and with it, a commanding 2–0 series lead.”
MORGAN:
“Bob, we talked before the game about how the Dodgers had been playing clean, confident baseball. And they didn’t waste a second today. First inning, they jump all over Fields. Two runs, three hits, aggressive on everything. And from that point on, Cleveland was playin’ uphill.”
OPENING SALVO — DODGERS STRIKE QUICKLY
COSTAS:
“It begins with Eric Watt, so reliable in big moments, punching a run-scoring single in the first inning to make it 2–0. That, combined with Donnie Milar’s leadoff home run—his second of the postseason—set the tone. For Cleveland, it was a familiar and uncomfortable pattern.”
MORGAN:
“When Fields is missing location early, Bob, he has trouble settling down. The Dodgers weren’t chasing. They made him work, they forced him into hitters’ counts, and that third inning—four runs—just broke things open.”
THIRD INNING — THE INNING THAT UNRAVELED CLEVELAND
COSTAS:
“That third inning will linger with Cleveland fans. Los Angeles strings together hit after hit—Cortez, Brierton, Watt again. Twelve hits on the day for L.A., ten of them against Fields, who exits after just three and a third innings, responsible for seven runs.”
MORGAN:
“And on the other side, Paul Campbell—what a performance. Seven innings, six strikeouts, no home runs allowed, and more importantly, no panic even when Cleveland finally started to find their footing.”
CLEVELAND’S ATTEMPTS TO CLIMB BACK
COSTAS:
“To their credit, Cleveland did push back. Alfonso scores on a productive swing in the fourth. In the fifth, Phipps doubles home two with two outs—one of the rare times today Campbell left something over the plate.”
MORGAN:
“But that’s the difference. Campbell bent, but he didn’t break. Every time Cleveland looked like they might make a move, he found another gear. That’s veteran pitching in the postseason. And Aguiniga finishing the last two innings with no damage? That closes the door.”
DODGERS CLEAN, INDANS NOT
COSTAS:
“The Dodgers played error-free baseball once again. Cleveland, meanwhile, committed two errors, both costly in extending innings and pitch counts. These details, small as they seem, become magnified in a World Series.”
MORGAN:
“And Bob, I’ll say this: Cleveland’s gotta get more from the middle of their lineup. Santiago, Lopez, Herrera—0-for-11 combined today with four strikeouts. You can’t win in October with that.”
THE SERIES SHIFTS WEST
COSTAS:
“Final score from Jacobs Field: Los Angeles 7, Cleveland 3. The Dodgers now lead the World Series two games to none, and we head to the West Coast, where Dodger Stadium will host Game Three on Sunday, October 31st.”
MORGAN:
“Cleveland’s been punched twice now, Bob. But if they want a chance in this series, they’ve gotta win Game Three. You go down 3–0… that’s almost impossible to come back from.”
COSTAS (fade-out over a shot of fans filing out into the evening chill):
“So the Dodgers—balanced, confident, opportunistic—head home in full command. The Indians, meanwhile, must find answers quickly before this Fall Classic begins to slip away.
For Joe Morgan, I’m Bob Costas. We’ll see you Sunday in Los Angeles.”

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NBC SPORTS — 1926 WORLD SERIES, GAME 3
BOB COSTAS & JOE MORGAN RECAP
COSTAS (over highlights of the early innings):
“On a sun-washed Halloween afternoon in Los Angeles, with nearly fifty thousand gathering in Dodger Stadium hoping to see their club move within a single win of a championship, it was the four-time defending American League champions from Cleveland who delivered the first—and most decisive—blow. The Indians, staring down the prospect of a 3–0 series deficit, came out with urgency, precision, and the unmistakable look of a team refusing to yield. Tonight, in Game Three of the 1926 World Series, Cleveland defeats Los Angeles, 6–2, and breathes new life into this Fall Classic.”
PHIPPS SETS THE TONE
MORGAN:
“Bob, Ryan Phipps set the whole tone of this game. First inning, 1-0 curveball, and he absolutely crushed it. Two-run homer. That’s a veteran hitter not trying to do too much, but when he gets a mistake, he doesn’t miss it.”
COSTAS:
“Phipps ends the day 3-for-4, a home run, three runs driven in, and he’s the heartbeat of a Cleveland lineup that suddenly looked more like the one that’s carried them to three straight pennants.”
HERNANDEZ NAVIGATES TROUBLE
COSTAS:
“And on the mound for Cleveland, Nelson Hernández—six and a third innings, only three hits allowed, and though he issued seven walks, he stranded runner after runner.”
MORGAN:
“That’s the big story for the Dodgers, Bob. Ten men left on base. They never got the big hit. And every time it looked like they might get something going—second inning, fifth inning—Cleveland found a way to get a ground ball, a double play, or just keep ’em off balance.”
EXTRA-BASE HIT SURGE
COSTAS:
“Meanwhile, Cleveland’s offense was relentless in the middle innings. Pat Kresse with a triple. Herrera with another. Lopez doubling to start the seventh. Everything hit hard. Everything hit with purpose.”
MORGAN:
“Yeah, Herrera, Kresse, Lopez—they were attacking Herrera early in counts. And the Dodgers pitcher, David Herrera, he just couldn’t keep the ball down. Too many pitches in the middle of the zone.”
LA’S QUIET AFTERNOON
COSTAS:
“Los Angeles did show life in the third on Cortez's RBI single, and again in the seventh when Brierton drove in a run with a bases loaded walk. But Joe, the power and the pressure we saw from this Dodgers lineup in Games One and Two—their timing just wasn’t there today.”
MORGAN:
“That’s right. Milar, Watt, Maes—they all went hitless. And when your table-setters don’t get on, this lineup is a lot easier to pitch to.”
THE CHAMPIONS ANSWER THE CALL
COSTAS:
“And so the Indians—wounded but never undone—remind the baseball world why they are the reigning kings of the American League. Down 2–0 in the series, with their season’s heartbeat growing fainter, they respond with a performance that was crisp, confident, and commanding.”
MORGAN:
“You win Game Three on the road, Bob? You’re right back in the series. And Cleveland, after today, is back in it.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO GAME FOUR
COSTAS (as the camera pans across Dodger Stadium’s departing crowd):
“So we go to Game Four tomorrow right here in Los Angeles. The Dodgers still lead the World Series two games to one, but the Indians—after a day when Ryan Phipps led the charge—have made it clear: they are far from finished.”
MORGAN:
“Game Four, Bob, becomes huge. Dodgers win it, they’re in the driver’s seat again. Cleveland wins, and suddenly it’s a best-of-three with the Tribe having all the momentum. This series just got a whole lot more interesting.”
COSTAS:
“For Joe Morgan, I’m Bob Costas. The Indians climb back with a 6–2 victory in Game Three. We’ll see you tomorrow for Game Four of the 1926 World Series.”

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BOB COSTAS & JOE MORGAN — GAME 4 RECAP
Indians 7, Dodgers 2
Series tied 2–2
COSTAS:
“On an early November afternoon in Los Angeles, the Cleveland Indians—resilient, relentless, sometimes imperfect but always dangerous—have evened this 1926 World Series at two games apiece with a 7–2 victory that was far more lopsided for most of the day than the final score suggests.
And Joe, for five innings, this was a master class in timely hitting, opportunistic baseball, and the kind of two-out production that defines champions. Cleveland’s 15 hits, five doubles, and a steady drumbeat of pressure proved too much for the Dodgers and their starter, Charlie Shostak, who simply couldn't escape the big inning.”
MORGAN:
“Bob, the Indians didn’t try to do too much. That’s what impressed me. They hit the ball where it was pitched, they took the extra base, they stole a base, they laid down a bunt when they needed to. Look at Ramon Phipps—four hits, a double, two RBI. That’s a hitter staying inside the baseball and using the whole field.
And those two-out hits… those are back-breakers. Lopez had a couple, Herrera had one. When you do that consistently, it tells me your lineup is locked-in.”
COSTAS:
“The signature moment came in the top of the fifth—already ahead 3–0, Cleveland strung together three consecutive two-out doubles. Santiago, then Lopez, then Herrera. One after another, each rifled into the gaps, each landing with the unmistakable thud of a team seizing control of a World Series game.
Suddenly, it was 6–0, Dodger Stadium fell quiet, and the Indians had all the oxygen.”
MORGAN:
“You know who made it all stand up? Mike Niccolai. That’s a veteran outing. Eight and two-thirds innings, 134 pitches, and he never panicked—even with the defense making three errors behind him. He kept pounding the zone, mixing pitches, getting ground balls when he needed ’em.
And Bob, when your teammates struggle in the field, pitchers start to overthrow. Niccolai didn’t. That’s experience.”
COSTAS:
“Indeed. There was only the slightest hint of drama in the ninth—Los Angeles putting up a pair of runs on a double from Clevenger and a triple by pinch-hitter Aviles. But by then, the story had long been written.
The Dodgers were held scoreless for eight innings, stranding runner after runner, undone by Cleveland’s defense when it mattered and their own inability to string timely hits together.”
MORGAN:
“You leave ten guys on base in a World Series game, you’re asking for trouble. And the Dodgers did that today. Cimabue had three hits, Cortez had two—but nobody cashed ’em in. That’s the difference.”
COSTAS:
“And so, as the sun dips over Chavez Ravine, this Fall Classic turns into a best-of-three.
The Cleveland Indians, with their blend of power, speed, and clutch performance, have answered the Dodgers’ early momentum. The temperature may be cool here in Southern California, but this old rivalry between Cleveland and Los Angeles is heating up with unmistakable intensity.
Game 5 awaits. A pivotal swing game in a World Series that suddenly feels destined for seven.”

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BOB COSTAS & JOE MORGAN — GAME 5 RECAP
Dodgers 6, Indians 1
Los Angeles leads series 3–2
COSTAS:
“On a sun-splashed November afternoon in Los Angeles, the Dodgers—long a franchise of near-misses, heartbreaks, and what-ifs in this alternate baseball universe—now stand just one win away from their first-ever World Series championship.
Behind a poised, relentless performance from Donny van Meel and a thunderous swing from Cory Brierton, the Dodgers defeated the Cleveland Indians 6–1 in Game 5, marking the first time in this series that the home team has emerged victorious. And Joe, that might be the most telling detail of all: momentum—so elusive in baseball—may finally have chosen a side.”
MORGAN:
“Bob, Los Angeles played with confidence today, and you could see it right from the start. Van Meel didn’t overpower anybody, but he worked fast, he changed speeds, and he kept Cleveland off balance. That’s pitching. You don’t need to throw 98 to beat a good lineup—you just need to execute.
He went six and a third, gave up one run, and every time Cleveland threatened, he made a pitch. That’s what big-game starters do.”
COSTAS:
“The early scoring told the story. A run in the second, two more in the third, and the man who delivered the decisive blow was Brierton.
A towering, majestic two-run home run—high, deep, and gone to left-center—punctuating a three-run Dodger lead that felt, even at that early stage, like the turning point of the afternoon.”
MORGAN:
“Bob, Brierton’s approach was perfect. Two outs, runner on, Philippon tried to sneak a pitch past him, and Brierton didn’t miss it. But what I liked even more were the little things he did. The double later in the game, staying inside the ball, hitting it hard the other way. That tells you he’s not just up there trying to hit home runs—he’s a complete hitter.”
COSTAS:
“And while Los Angeles steadily built upon its lead—adding a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth—the Indians could never deliver the hit that would pull them back into the contest.
Thirteen runners left on base, repeated two-out opportunities that went by the boards, and even when they seemed on the verge of momentum—like Santiago’s deep triple in the ninth—the Dodgers’ bullpen, particularly Kovach, calmly shut the door.”
MORGAN:
“You score one run on eight hits in a World Series game? That’s a problem. Cleveland had chances. They had Phipps on twice, they had base runners all afternoon, but nobody stepped up with the big hit. A lot of their damage in this series has come with two outs, but today the Dodgers flipped that script.”
COSTAS:
“And so the teams now travel back to Cleveland, where the Indians will try to stave off elimination in front of what promises to be a raucous Jacobs Field crowd.
But tonight, here in Los Angeles, you could feel it—the sense of possibility, of history nearing its fulfillment. The Dodgers, after decades of waiting in this imagined baseball timeline, can see the finish line.
They need just one more. Cleveland, meanwhile, will try to remind them—and us—that postseason destiny has a way of twisting when you least expect it.”

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Los Angeles Dodgers: 1926 World Series champions (1st title)

BOB COSTAS & JOE MORGAN — GAME 6 / SERIES CLINCHER RECAP
Dodgers 3, Indians 1 — Los Angeles wins the World Series, 4–2
COSTAS:
“On a crisp November afternoon in Cleveland, under clear skies and a sharp Midwestern wind blowing out toward left, baseball history was rewritten.
At long last—and for the first time in this alternate tapestry of the national pastime—the Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions.
A franchise with resources, with expectations, with the weight of a sprawling metropolis behind it… but also a franchise that, until today, carried the burden of unfulfilled potential. Now, at last, they stand atop the baseball world.”
MORGAN:
“Bob, this was about pitching. That’s the headline for me. The Dodgers’ staff shut down Cleveland almost the entire series. You beat a powerful lineup four times because your pitchers execute. Campbell was great again today—seven strong innings, only one run—and Kovach has been nails out of the bullpen all postseason.
And remember, this Indians team has dominated the American League for four straight years. Four great regular seasons. But, like we always say: the postseason is a different game.”
COSTAS:
“And that’s what makes today so bittersweet for Cleveland, a team that, for over half a decade, has been the class of the league. One championship during that span—one—and it reminds us, painfully and beautifully, of the truth at the heart of this sport:
It is hard to win a World Series.
Sometimes impossibly hard. Even the best can fall short.”
MORGAN:
“The Dodgers didn’t fall short, though. They came out swinging. Dakota Milar set the tone with a leadoff home run—first pitch he sees, it’s 1–0. In a clinching game, that matters. Players feed off that.
Then Maes doubles home another, then another run scores in the second, and suddenly Cleveland’s playing from behind the whole afternoon. That’s not how you want to play an elimination game.”
COSTAS:
“And in that steady, unflinching Dodger dugout, Bobby Cimabue—named the Series MVP—was the embodiment of their approach: timely hits, sharp defense, leadership by example. He said it best after the final out: ‘We played better than the other team.’
Simple. Honest. True.”
MORGAN:
“People underestimate how important that is, Bob. You don’t need drama every night. You just need to play cleaner baseball, make better pitches, put together better at-bats. The Dodgers did that all series. They had the better team this week.”
COSTAS:
“And as Campbell induced that final grounder, as Maes flipped to Brierton for the final out, you could almost feel an entire franchise exhale.
Years of frustration gone in an instant.
Confetti waiting back home.
A parade already being planned in Los Angeles, where fans who had hoped, waited, and sometimes doubted will celebrate a championship more than a century in the making—at least in the imagination of this wonderfully twisted baseball universe.”
MORGAN:
“Well, they earned it. They pitched better. They fielded better. They hit when they needed to. That’s what champions do.”
COSTAS:
“And now the Dodgers take their place among baseball’s immortals.
The 1926 champions.
A long time coming—
But absolutely worth the wait.”

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1926 World Series Champions

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1927 Midseason Standings

MIKE FRANCESA:
Lemme tell ya somethin’, folks… you look at these standings at the halfway point, and I’m sorry—I’m sorry—but this is one of the strangest seasons we’ve seen in a long time. I mean, the Cleveland dynasty? The team that’s basically owned the American League for eight years? One game over .500. One game! Forty and thirty-nine. That’s not a dynasty—that’s a midlife crisis. And don’t tell me about “slow starts” or “tough schedule.” They’ve been mediocre. Period. End of story.
And how about the defending champion Dodgers? Thirty-six and forty-four. That is a fall from grace. That’s not a hangover—that’s a full-on collapse. They can’t pitch, they can’t hit, and right now they look more like the 1922 Newark Peanuts than the champs of baseball.
Now look at the Yankees. One game behind Toronto. One game! And Yankee fans—believe me, I hear ya—you’re sayin’, “Mike, how are we behind the Blue Jays? The Blue Jays stink!” Well guess what? Toronto doesn’t stink right now. They’re playin’ well, they’re gettin’ timely hits, and the Yankees… they’re just kinda there. Not bad, not great—just hangin’ around like a guy at a party who doesn’t know anybody.
CHRIS “MAD DOG” RUSSO:
OH BABY, AND LOOK AT THE METS, MIKEY! HOOOO! THE METS ARE A DISASTER!
A COMPLETE AND UTTER—DISGRACE! They had that beautiful little 1921-1923 run—three years, boom boom boom—and it is over! It is O-VER! Thirty-five and forty-four?! 17-and-a-half games out?! COME ON! They’ve fallen harder than a man on roller skates goin’ down a hill!
And the Phillies! THE PHILLIES, MIKE! WORST RECORD IN BASEBALL! WORST! Thirty-and-fifty-two! What happened?! What happened to this team?! They were supposed to be right there with Atlanta and Milwaukee! Instead they’re playin’ like they’re tryin’ to get relegated to the Eastern League. TERRIBLE! But how about the Washington Nationals? 48-31, 1st place in the National League Wild Card!
FRANCESA:
Now you wanna talk dominance? Look at the AL West. Seattle, Houston, Texas—all 50 and 32. You can’t make this up. Three teams tied with the best record in the American League. It’s a clown car of elite baseball. You open the door and three monsters jump out. Someone in that division is gonna win 98 games and finish in third place. It’s absurd.
Detroit—give ’em credit. Tigers are 44 and 38, leading the AL Central. Not a great team, but they’re solid. They’re steady. They’re the adults in a division full of children.
Arizona in the NL West—look at the Diamondbacks! Leading the division! Not by much, but you know what? Considering the Dodgers look like they’re playing with oven mitts on, Arizona might just run away with that thing.
MAD DOG:
AND THE BRAVES, MIKE! THE BRAVES ARE A MACHINE! FIFTY-THREE AND TWENTY-SEVEN! They’re runnin’ away with the NL East like Secretariat down the stretch! And the Brewers—they’re right there with ’em! Fifty and thirty-one! Those two teams look like the class of the National League. The rest? GET OUTTA THE WAY!
FRANCESA:
So bottom line: strange season, unpredictable season, and a whole lotta teams that better wake up fast—ESPECIALLY Cleveland and the Dodgers—because right now, folks, they don’t look anything like the teams we got used to seeing.
MAD DOG:
AND THE METS ARE A MESS, MIKEY! A MESS!!
FRANCESA:
We know, Dog. We know.

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1927 AL Final Standings

MIKE FRANCESA:
Alright, folks, let’s take a look at how this American League shook itself out from the midpoint to the end of the 1927 season, because lemme tell ya—there were some teams that answered the bell and some teams that absolutely did not.
First of all, the Yankees. Ninety-four wins. They got it together. They weren’t blowing anybody away at midseason, but they stabilized, they pitched well, they hit enough, and they ended up taking the East by six games. That’s what good teams do. They don’t panic. They don’t implode. They just win series. And now they get the bye. They earned the bye. End of story.
Toronto—give ’em credit, Dog—they hung around. Eighty-eight wins. Solid ballclub. But ya know what? They couldn’t keep up with the Yankees when it mattered most. They’re lucky to be in the playoffs the way that West was shaping up. They’ll play Houston in the Wild Card, and that is a tough matchup. Very tough. We’ll get to Houston in a second.

MAD DOG RUSSO:
AND BOSTON, MIKEY! THE RED SOX! They finished over .500, they played hard, they battled, but ELEVEN BACK! ELEVEN! Never a threat, never in the race! Just kinda… hangin’ around like laundry on a line. And Baltimore and Tampa? OH MY GOODNESS. Those two were OFF THE MAP. The O’s at sixty-eight wins, the Rays at sixty-six—TERRIBLE! Absolutely TERRIBLE!

FRANCESA:
Now the AL Central… folks, I mean… eighty-two wins wins the division. Detroit backed into this thing like a guy parallel parking on the fifth try. But listen—they got it done. You can say whatever you want about the Tigers, but they finished above .500 and the rest of the division? Awful.
Cleveland—Dog, what did we say at midseason? Dynasty? What dynasty? Eighty-one and eighty-one. Completely average. The past four years, they dominated the sport; this year they were a .500 team. The window might not be closed, but it’s definitely makin’ that creaky noise when ya try to shut it.
Minnesota, Kansas City, Chicago—just bad. The White Sox with fifty-eight wins? Embarrassing. That’s a fire-everybody season. That’s a “turn the lights off on the way out” season.

MAD DOG:
NOW THE WEST, MIKE! THE WEST!! OH BABY, WHAT A SHOWDOWN! Seattle—ONE-OH-TWO WINS! They were terrific! Absolutely terrific! Dominated the whole year! And the Astros—ONE-OH-ONE! You can’t ask for a better race! Those two teams beat the living daylights outta everybody!
And Texas—look at the Rangers! Up and down season, but they win EIGHTY-EIGHT games and sneak into that last Wild Card spot! They’ll get Detroit, and I’ll tell ya right now, MIKE—THAT is a winnable series for Texas. A VERY winnable series!
The Angels and A’s? GET ‘EM OUT! Awful. Outclassed by the big boys. Finished nearly thirty games back. Thirty! At that point you’re playin’ for pride, Mike! Pride!

FRANCESA:
So the playoff picture ends up lookin' like this: Yankees and Seattle get the byes—easily the two strongest down the stretch. Toronto goes to Houston—that’s gonna be a war. And Texas heads to Detroit, which is basically a battle between one solid team and one mediocre team that happened to win a weak division.
Bottom line:
Yankees took care of business.
Seattle and Houston lived up to the hype.
Detroit won the division by default.
Cleveland’s dynasty hit a wall.
The AL West monster trio delivered.
And the bottom feeders? They stayed at the bottom.

MAD DOG:
OH AND MIKEY—THE WHITE SOX! FIFTY-EIGHT WINS! DISGUSTING! You can’t lose ONE-HUNDRED-FOUR GAMES and call yourself a major league ballclub! TERRIBLE! TERRIBLE!!

FRANCESA:
We know, Dog. We know.

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1927 NL Standings

MIKE FRANCESA:
Alright, let’s turn our attention to the National League, because this thing took some twists down the stretch, folks. You look at how the NL finished… some teams stepped up, some teams collapsed, and some—like the Dodgers—just flat-out didn’t show up when it mattered.
First off—Atlanta. Ninety-nine wins. Class of the league. No shock. They were the best team from wire to wire. They get a bye, and deservedly so. They pitch, they hit, they defend—there’s not a hole on that team. They’re the favorite. Period.
Milwaukee—right there behind ’em. Ninety-eight wins. Tremendous. Fundamentally sound. Brewers are one of those teams—never flashy, never loud, but they just beat you. They grind. They don’t go on big losing streaks. They’re consistent. They get the other bye. Absolutely earned.

MAD DOG RUSSO:
AND WASHINGTON, MIKE!! THE NATIONALS! CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?! Ninety-five wins! FIRST TIME IN THE PLAYOFFS IN TEN YEARS! They came outta NOWHERE after years of mediocrity! The pitching came together, the lineup produced—TERRIFIC STORY!
And now they get a home Wild Card series with PITTSBURGH! WHO, BY THE WAY, plays HARD every year! Eighty-nine wins! Derek Shelton’s done a great job with that club! That is gonna be a FUN, FUN SERIES! Two teams that haven’t sniffed the big stage in forever, goin’ at it!

FRANCESA:
Now let’s talk about the Mets… Dog, you gotta give the Mets credit. And you know I don’t hand out Mets credit lightly. But they rally to eighty-four wins and they sneak into the playoffs. They were dead at midseason. Absolutely dead. People were writing obituaries. But they fought their way back, and now they go to Arizona in the Wild Card round.
Arizona—ninety wins, very solid. Not spectacular, not dominant, but solid. They get it done. They win the West. Better than the Padres, better than the Dodgers. Deserved the top spot.

MAD DOG:
AND MIKEY—THE DODGERS!! OH MY GOOOODNESS! LAST YEAR’S WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!! FALL APART!! SEVENTY-NINE AND EIGHTY-THREE! TERRIBLE! A LOSING RECORD!! THEY DON’T EVEN GET TO DEFEND THE TITLE! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT?!?
You wanna talk collapse? You wanna talk disappointment? THAT is the definition! You win the World Series and come back with THAT?! Pathetic!! Absolutely pathetic!!

FRANCESA:
No excuses for the Dodgers—none. They didn’t pitch, they didn’t hit, and they didn’t respond to adversity. Champions find a way. They didn’t. Simple.
Padres—nice little club, but seven games back. Rockies—seventy-five wins, irrelevant. Giants—sixty-five wins, absolute disaster. Again.
Miami—seventy-nine wins, they were scrappy. But nothing more. Just a middle-of-the-pack team.
And the Phillies—Dog, go ahead…

MAD DOG:
THE PHILLIES!! DISASTER! UTTER DISASTER! SIXTY-SIX WINS! ONE OF THE WORST TEAMS IN BASEBALL! THEY WERE LAST IN THE PLAYOFFS SEVEN YEARS AGO! WHAT HAPPENED?! COLLAPSED! ABSOLUTELY COLLAPSED!
You talk about needing a rebuild—THE PHILLIES NEED A REBUILD, A RESET, A REBOOT—EVERYTHING!

FRANCESA:
So the NL playoff picture is set like this:
Byes: Atlanta, Milwaukee
Wild Cards: Pittsburgh at Washington, Mets at Arizona
Atlanta and Milwaukee are the two big dogs. Washington is the feel-good story. Pittsburgh is the scrappy challenger. Arizona is dangerous. The Mets… well, they’re the Mets. Could win, could implode, who knows.
But the Dodgers?
The champs are home. Watching.
And that tells you everything you need to know about this league.

[jg2977]

Pit vs. Wsh