Fall Classic Rewind

The battle for the 1980 World Series Championship is set to go with game one at Veterans Stadium. Two evenly matched teams have finally won their respective pennants (fourth time's the charm!). Both teams are led by superstar third-basemen, George Brett for KC and Mike Schmidt for PHI (players who were taken back to back in the 1971 draft!). The Phillies rotation and bullpen were nearly spent in their dog-fight against Houston in the NLCS, so they send unproven rookie Bob Walk (11 - 7 4.57 ERA in 151 IP) to the mound. The Royals swept the Yankees in three games and have their horses rested and ready to go. 3 time 20 game winner Dennis Leonard (20 - 11 3.79 ERA in 280 IP) gets the call for Kansas City, and he looks to build on his great ALCS start (8 IP 2 R 8 K) against New York. Will the Royals take advantage of the rookie's nerves? Can the Phillies continue this magical run of comeback, never-say-die baseball? Tune in for an exciting start to this thrilling World Series.

Audio Clips from Youtube.

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

Before we get to the 1980 World Series, let's check in on the American League. For the fourth time in five seasons, the AL West Champion Kansas City Royals (97 - 65) face off against the AL East Champion New York Yankees (103 - 59) for the AL pennant. The Bronx Bombers came away victorious in the three previous matchups, but this year KC was looking to change the narrative. These teams come from cities that couldn't be more different, but a closer look at the make-up of their respective rosters shows similarities. Led by MVP-caliber stars: Reggie "Mr. October" Jackson and George Brett. Tremendous second-basemen: Willie Randolph and Frank "Smooth" White. Productive backstops: Rick Cerone and Darrell Porter. Solid veteran hitters: Bob Watson, Oscar Gamble and Hal McRae, Willie Aikens. And firemen at the back end: Rich "Goose" Gossage and Dan Quisenberry. Don't let the overall records and recent playoff history fool you; these are two very evenly matched teams.

Game 1 in KC sees a matchup between two lefty aces, Larry Gura (18 - 10 2.95 ERA in 283 IP) vs. Ron "Gator/Lightning" Guidry (17 - 10 3.56 ERA in 219 IP)

Game 2 in KC sees the veteran workhorse Dennis Leonard (20 - 11 3.79 ERA in 280 IP) take on veteran lefty swingman Rudy May (15 -5 2.46 ERA in 175 IP)

Game 3 in NYC yet another lefty-lefty battle, NYY sends rubber-armed Tommy John (22 - 9 3.43 ERA in 265 IP) vs. Paul Splittorff (14 - 11 4.14 ERA in 204 IP)

Can the Royals finally break through versus their cross-country rival, or will the Yankees continue their dominance into the new decade?

Audio Clips from Youtube

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

*On the original publish, an audio glitch with my microphone occurred around the 44 minute mark, and corrupted my audio from that point. I had to rerecord on a different microphone for the second half of the show. Apologies for the drop off in audio quality*

The thrilling NLCS between the Astros and Phillies concludes with yet another wild one. A fourth straight extra-inning game?! Sounds preposterous, but only fitting for this dogfight of a series. Houston sends their horse, Nolan Ryan (11 - 10 3.35 ERA in 233 IP), to the mound with a trip to the World Series on the line. Philadelphia curiously counters with 22 year old rookie Marty Bystrom (5 - 0 1.50 ERA in 36 IP), who has yet to take a loss this year but is making just his sixth career start in the Majors. Will this choice pay off for manager Dallas Green? Can Houston rebound after a heartbreaking loss in game 4? Tune in for a fantastic finish to this tremendously entertaining series.

Audio clips from Youtube.

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

After three thrilling games to start this series, including two extra-inning wins for the Astros, Houston is just one win away from their first World Series appearance. Despite the lead in the series, the Astros lost their star center fielder Cesar Cedeno to a broken ankle in game 3. They will once again be facing ace lefty Steve Carlton for Philly. Houston counters with Vern Ruhle (12 - 4 2.37 ERA in 159 IP). Phillies manager Dallas Green also shakes things up, starting Lonnie Smith over Greg Luzinski in left. It's do or die for the Phillies. Can they force a winner-take-all game 5, or will Houston win their first pennant?

Audio clips from Youtube.

As always, shoutout to Baseball Reference for statistics, boxscore, background information and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

After an incredible regular season finish that saw each division come down to the wire(including a Game 163 tiebreak between the Astros and Dodgers), we start the battle for the National League Pennant at Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia. Each game boasts a strong pitching matchup, with multi-time Cy Young Award winner Steve Carlton (24 - 9 2.34 ERA in 304 IP!!!) facing veteran righty Ken Forsch (12 - 13 3.20 ERA in 222 IP) going in Game 1, Dick Ruthven (17 - 10 3.55 ERA in 223 IP) up against living legend Nolan Ryan (11 - 10 3.35 ERA in 233 IP) in Game 2, and Larry Christenson (5 - 1 4.03 ERA in 73 IP) battling knuckleballer Joe Niekro (20 - 12 3.55 ERA in 256 IP) when the series moves to Houston for Game 3. Each team has bonafide stars in the middle of their respective orders: Mike Schmidt and Greg 'The Bull' Luzinski for Philly, Jose Cruz and Cesar Cedeno for Houston. Former cogs of the Big Red Machine are key free agent additions to these ascendant teams (Rose for PHI, Morgan for HOU) and each will play major roles in the dynamics of this classic series. Tune in for one of the best playoff matchups in modern memory. Games 4 and 5 of this series will be covered in the next episode of Fall Classic Rewind.

Clips from Game 1, Game 2, and Game 3 on Youtube.

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference for boxscores, statistics, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

The two best words in baseball - GAME SEVEN! It all comes down to this, win-or-go-home. After a dramatic, walk-off victoryto stave off elimination, the Red Sox look to finish the season on a high note behind lefty Bill Lee. The Reds, whose bullpen is quite depleted, turn to their ace, lefty Don Gullett. All bets are off for a this one. Listen in for the thrilling finish of this incredible series.

Audio clips from Youtube.

As always, shout out to baseball reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

We return to Fenway Park with the Red Sox facing elimination in this Game 6 matchup. Luis Tiant (18-14 4.02 ERA in 260 IP; 3-0 with 3 CG in the playoffs) gets the nod once again for Boston, thanks to three consecutive days of rain. Gary Nolan starts for the Reds (15-9 3.16 ERA in 210 IP; ND in Game 3 start), though Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson will have the entire bullpen at his disposal as they seek to end the season tonight. It's been a hard-fought series up until this point, and both teams were looking to continue that trend. This game has an iconic and memorable finish, and the journey to that moment is filled with heroics from both sides. Tune in to one of the greatest playoff games in modern baseball history.

Audio clips from Youtube.

As always shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

After an exhilarating and tense game 4, the 1975 series is all tied up at two games a piece as we head into the final game at Riverfront Stadium. The Reds turn to their ace, lefty Don Gullett (15-4 2.42 ERA in 159 IP), as they seek to take the advantage in the series. The Red Sox counter somewhat surprisingly with righty Reggie Cleveland (13-9 4.43 ERA in 170 IP) over crafty lefty Bill Lee, who pitched brilliantly in their Game 2 loss. Offense has picked up for both teams on the artificial turf, though the Red's Cuban slugger Tony Perez has struggled so far, going hitless in 4 games to start the series. Can the aging star find the fountain of youth? Who will take hold of this series before we head back to Boston?

Audio clips from Youtube.

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

After a thrilling walk-off win in Game 3, the Reds are looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead and continue their home dominance at Riverfront Stadium. They will start Fred Norman (12-4 3.73 ERA in 188 IP), journeyman lefty reliever turned reliable starter. The Red Sox turn to the big man, Luis Tiant (18-14 4.02 ERA in 260 IP), with their season on the line. Will Tiant dominate like in Game 1, or will a second shot at the Cuban righty prove fortuitous for the Big Red Machine?

Audio Clips from Youtube (apologies for the occasional 'popping' sound. It's from the source and I couldn't edit it out)

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

After a ninth inning comeback win at Fenway for the Reds, we move on to Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati with series all tied up. Each team starts a righty coming off a bounce-back year, Gary Nolan for the Reds and Rick Wise for the Red Sox. Apart from a late 7th inning outburst for the Red Sox in Game 1, the bats have been relatively quiet for both teams. Would that continue, or would the two top offenses in baseball come alive in Game 3?

Audio clips from Youtube

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.