Oh, How Different Things Might Have Been: J.R. Richard and the 1980 Astros

History is fixed.  It is unchangeable.  Nothing can change the past.  You can watch Carlton Fisk hop down the line a million times and he will still waive the ball fair.  No matter how many times Todd Worrell touches that bag, Don Denkinger is still going to call Jorge Orta safe.  Bill Buckner is never going to field that little roller behind the bag and Mitch Williams will not look back over his shoulder to see Joe Carter's fly ball being caught.

The winners and losers in the history of the game will always be winners or losers.  But this series will explore some "what if's".  What if a player who missed the World Series hadn't gotten injured?  What if a play that turned a World Series had been completed differently?

We have already looked at  the 1905 Philadelphia Athletics, the 1910 Cubs, the 1962 Dodgers, the 1968 Tigers and last week we saw how the loss of  Jim Rice may have hurt the 1975 Red Sox.  This week we will look at how J.R. Richard may have saved the season of the 1980 Houston Astros:

This was new territory for the Houston Astris.  Since 1962 when they entered the National League, only three times had they finished in the top three of their division.  In 1972 they were third but still 10 ½ games out.  In 1976 they were third, still 22 games behind the Reds and Dodgers. 1977 was another third place finish 17 games out of first.  This was different.  The 1979 Astros were actually leading the pack.  On July 4^th they had a 10 ½ game lead and had just won their sixth straight game and second straight against the Big Red Machine.  From there they stumbled.  They lost 15 of the next 17.

Photo of 1979 Street & Smith Baseball Preview Courtesy of Sporting News

They maintained the podition until August 27^th but when they lost to Montreal on August 28^th, the Reds took over first place.  Houston managed to climb back in the lead on occasion but never separated themselves by more than ½ a game.  Still, the Reds didn’t seem to be able to pull away either and with just 4 games left to play they were a game and a half back.  Two straight losses to Atlanta along with two straight Reds wins clinched the Reds victory but Houston won their final two and finished only a game and a half behind the powerful Reds.  It was the first time Houston had finished the season less than 10 games back.

There was finally a hope for next year.

Their offense could certainly have used some improvements.  Right Fielder Denny Walling had played in 82 games and hit .327 but no other regular had hit above .290.  Their power numbers were dreadful with no player in double digits (the team leader was Jose Cruz with 9).  They were a speedy group and they kept their strikeouts down.  But how did they compete with such a poor offense?

Pitching.  Joe Niekro won 21 games and J.R. Richard won 18.  Niekro was the veteran and Richard was the phenom.  This marked Richard’s fourth straight year at 18 or more victories.  His fastball was spectacular.  No one could hit it.  His improvement into a pitcher was continuing and Astros fans looked to Richard as the foundation of their future.

There was finally hope for next year.

As spring training started in 1980 Astros fans had one more reason to be excited.  This was the new era of free agency and with a few pen strokes a team could change their fortunes over night.  The Astros did just that.  They made a big splash in the free agent market adding the Reds’ leader himself, Joe Morgan and another compliment to the Niekro/Richard rotation.  In his eight years with the Angels, Nolan Ryan had won seven strike out crowns and had led the halos to their first ever division title.  When Ryan went to work he finished his job and had already gained a reputation as unhittable.

With Niekro, Ryan and Richard as a 1-2-3 punch the Astros became the favorites in the NL West.  Richard earned the opening day start against the Dodgers and got the win 3-2. He threw 8 innings, allowed only 2 hits and 1 earned run.  His second start against the Braves was not quite as dominant .  He allowed 4 hits and 1 run in 5 innings but left with no decision.   He would beat the Dodgers again on April 19^th to put him at 2-0 for the year and reduce his ERA after three starts to 0.82.  He was tremendous that day.  He allowed no runs on one hit (a  two out 4^th inning single to Reggie Smith) and three walks.

Richard dominated the month of April.  He was at 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA.  He was brought back to earth with a 1/3 innings appearance where he allowed 5 hits, walked 1 and allowed 4 runs.  On May 10^th Richard pitched 9 strong innings allowing only 7 hits (3 of them in the 4^th), 2 walks and 2 runs.  He struck out 8 Braves.  In 4 of the 9 innings  he retired the Braves in order.  After nine innings the game was tied so the Astros went to their bullpen.  The Astros were able to scratch out a run in the Top of the 11^th and would win but Richard got a no decision after throwing a great game. 

May 16 continued his stretch of tough luck.  He threw 8 strong innings and allowed only 6 hits and walked 1.  Dick Ruthven of the Phillies did even better throwing 9 shutout innings and Richard lost 3-0 dropping his record to 4-2.  The tough stretch continued to May 21 when he lost 5-1 to the lowly Mets.  While they had started May in first place by a game and a half, nearing June the Astros were now 3 games back.

Photo of J.R. Richard Courtesy of SI Kids

Then just like that, on May 26, things turned around and Richard was off again like a shot from a Colt .45.  He won against the Padres on May 26 allowing only 5 hits in 7 innings and only one unearned run.  May 31 was a complete game shutout against the Giants in which he only allowed three hits.  No Giant reached second base.  It was a dominating performance and Richard improved to 6-3.

He faced the same Giants on June 6 and the results were mostly the same.  9 innings pitched.  Complete Game.  Shut out.  Only three hits allowed.  Still no Giants reached second base.  Yet, if it was somehow possible, Richard was even more dominant this time.  0 walks.  13 strikeouts.  With one out in the second, Milt May singled.  It was the Giants’ second hit of the game.  From  May’s single until a two out single by Joe Strain in the 9^th, Richard retired 22 consecutive batters.

He threw his third straight complete game and shutout on June 11.  If you could find any weakness in Richard over the three starts it could only be that he allowed a few Cubs as far as second base in the third straight shutout but still, no one scored.   He was nearly unbeatable and his willingness to eat up innings saved the bullpen for times it was needed.  You know, on days when superman wasn’t on the mound.

But all those innings appeared to be taking a toll.  He started on June 5^th and the Astros gave him a nice three run lead in the first but the Cubs were all over Richard.  A double by Ivan de Jesus and a double by Bill Buckner  put the Cubs on the board.  The Astros scored 3 in the second giving Richard a 6-1 lead and Richard settled down.  He batted for himself in the 6^th, still ahead 6-1, but when the Astros took the field for the bottom of the inning, Richard was replaced by Joaquin Andujar on the mound.  It was a strange decision but after three complete games and a large lead, Astros fans could rest easy that J.R. could rest up for his next start.  The Astros were rolling and led the NL West by 3 games and Richard’s win over the Cubs was the second win in what would become a six game win streak. 

Richard was unusually hitable in his next start against the Reds.  He allowed two base runners in the first (on an error and a walk) but kept the Reds scoreless.  He allowed a single in the second but was able to work around it.  Art Howe gave him a 2-0 lead with a Home Run in the third but the Reds answered and it looked like Richard was struggling a bit.  He loaded the bases with two out and allowed a bases clearing double to Johnny Bench.  The Astros failed to answer and left two runners n in the bottom of the third.  The 4^th was when Astros fans started to worry.  A fly ball out, a single and a walk and suddenly Richard was removed.  Randy Niemann replaced him and immediately gave up a triple and three straight singles.  By the end of the inning the Astros trailed 7-2 and concern focused on Richard who had now left two starts early.  Richard would say it was  “arm fatigue” and with the number of complete games he threw it was no wonder.

Richard said in his autobiography: "Boy, playing the first few months of that season was fun.  The team was doing well, we were battling for first place, and we had Nolan Ryan and Joe Niekro and me pitching well."

He pitched 6 innings on July 3 and got the win to improve to 10-4 and the Astros needed the win.  Their lead in the West had shrunk to a game and a half.  The win ended a three game losing streak and the Astros would lose the next three.

On July 8 the leagues paused for the All Star Break.  It was clear that Richard, despite the three short starts recently, was the dominant pitcher in the league and he was selected to start the game for the NL in Dodger Stadium.  ABC started their coverage of the game by telling the audience as Richard warmed up, that Richard was 10-4.  “He comes in, however,”  Keith Jackson said “after struggling in his last couple of starts.  He has been experiencing stiffness in his right forearm.  He uses the word fatigue to describe it.”  Richard easily retired Willie Randolph of the Yankees on a ground ball.  He walked Rod Carew, who stole second, but he got Fred Lynn to ground out and struckout Reggie Jackson to end the first.  The NL went in order in the bottom of the first.  Richard walked Ben Oglivie to start the second but struck out Carlton Fisk and got Graig Nettles to pop out.  Bucky Dent singled to send Oglivie to third but  Richard kept the game scoreless by striking out the pitcher Steve Stone of the Orioles.

That was all for J.R.  He had impressed the country and had fans outside of Houston saying “I wish our best pitcher had a dead arm that good.”

Richard writes: "I was chosen for my first All Star team.  Finally.  Getting the start was a thrill., and the American League had so many great player.  They had Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk, and Reggie Jackson.  That's three Hall of Famers in the starting lineup.  What a powerful hitter Jackson was.  It was so enjoyable to be in that position.  I went out there thinking, This game is mine, even though I knew i wouldn't pitch that long because it was an All Star Game.  I was totally focused.  I put on a new hat and put it on just right.  I figured the opposition couldn't touch me...After the game ended with a National League win, we all rejoined our teams for the second half of the season.  I had every  reason to believe that I was in the middle of my best  season and that the second half held great things in store for me."

Still, Richard felt something wasn’t right.  He complained of pain in the arm, fatigue, discomfort.  The Astros didn’t completely ignore it but it was hard to take it seriously.  How could someone with the pain that Richard was describing pitch that well?

Richrd's biographer Lew Freedman stated: "Leading up to the All Star Game Richard wasn't even sure he wold be able to compete.  His arm felt dead and flat when he unleashed his speedy pitches.  Three days after the game while still in Los Angeles, Richard met with Dr. Frank Jobe., one of the most renowned sports medicine specialists in the United States.  While J.R. did not obtain a clear diagnosis, he said that Jobe recommended he not pitch for 30 days."

The Houston press and fans (and management) were not amused.  The rumors started.  J.R. was jealous of Ryan.  The implication was Ryan came in from nowhere with the high salary and headlines while J.R. had been with the team forever.  Yet neither J.R. or Nolan ever had anything negative to say to each other.  In fact J.R. said in his autobiography that he regretted not having more communication with Ryan and Ryan wrote the forward for the book.  There was no jealousy from J.R.  The next rumor was laziness.  Why did J.R. want to take off 30 days in a pennant race?  How could he just leave the game like that?  The Houston press was angry with him.

He started again on July 14 against the Braves.  He retired the first seven he faced then allowed a double in the third.  He retired the next 2.  He hit a double of his own in his first at bat but was left there.  But it was still there.  That odd feeling in the arm.  He walked Dale Murphy to start the 4^th but got Chris Chambliss to ground out.  It would have been a double play but an error by Craig Reynolds allowed Chambliss to reach second.  That was it.  Richard could go no further.  First Baseman Enos Cabell came over to the mound.  Cabell says: "He said, 'Man I can't feel my fingrs.  I'm throwing 100 miles per hour and I can't feel the ball.  I might kill someone."

Freedman explains: "J.R. did not want to come out for the fourth inning, and manager Bill Virdon urged him to keep trying.  Virdon apparently did not believe that J.R. was injured.  In the absence of a hard medical proof, he was a doubter.  After the game when sportswriters inquired about the reason for Richard's early departure, Astros team officials told them he had a stomach ache."

The Astrodome was a ball of confusion.  Richard seemed to be cruising and had great stuff but his arm would not allow him to go any further.  As Gordie Plodson walked to the mound to relieve him, Richard slowly walked to the dugout.  Furstrated, confused.  This was the season of his life and yet for some reason he just could not get his arm right.  There were other issues too.  His vision was blurry.  He was having trouble seeing the signs from the catcher.  His fingers felt numb.  After that last pitch he couldn’t even grip the ball.

The Astros put him on the DL and took a wait and see attitude.  Rest would fix everything.

The problem was it didn’t get better.  It got worse.  He would tell anyone who would listen how badly it hurt.  No one seemed to believe him.  He went to a chiropractor.  It didn’t help.  It just redistributed the pain.  After visiting the chiropractor he went to the Astros training facility.  The Astros were on the road but J.R. was cleared for light activity.

During the tranining session he now had a serious head ache and felt weak.  He told the doctors what he was feeling but still there was disbelief.  In moments things got scary.  Richard explained in his autobiography: I was inside the Astrodome doing a workout so I could be in some kind of shape when I came off the disabled list.  All of a sudden I felt a  high-pitched tone ringing in my left ear.  .  And then I threw a couple of more pitches and became nauseated.  A few minutes later, I threw a couple more pitches, then the feeling got so bad I was lising my equilibrium,  I went down to the Astroturf.  I had a headache, some confusion in my mind, and I felt  weakness in my body...I was lying on the floor of the Astrodome and I knew an ambulance was on its way.  Before I passed out, I had all kinds of things runnng through my mind, but the chief one was, What's wrong?"

He had suffered a stroke that was very nearly fatal.

The Astros led the division by a game and a half on July 30^th.  The lead disappeared quickly.  They lost 5 of 7 to fall half a game behind  the Dodgers.    They fell back by half a game but were able to somehow regain the lead by a half game during the losing streak.  They lost four straight, including a three game sweep by the Giants and fell behind by a game.  Richard had been replaced in the rotation by Gordie Pladson, a little used pitcher who had spent the early part of the year in the minors.    It was not pretty. He would end up 0-4 with three no decisions.  Also filling in was Juaquin Andujar, who would go 2-3 with three no decisions in his starts following Richard’s placement on the DL. 

A 10 game win streak in mid August should have put them up comfortably but it gave them only a three game lead.  The lead in the division went back and forth.  The Dodgers would go ahead and the Astros would come back.  The Astros would go ahead and the Dodgers would pull back even.

Bill Virdon was still hoping to get J.R. back but was realistic: "You don't replace a pitcher like J.R. but if there's one area  we could stand any loss, it's pitching.  We'll go with a four man rotation of Ryan, Ken Forsch, Joe Niekro and Vern Ruhle.  We're more concerned with J.R.'s health now."

Photo of 1980 Street & Smith's Official Yearbook Courtesy of Sporting News

Starting with a September 20^th, 3-2 win over the Giants, Houston went on to win 9 of 12. With just three games left in the season the Astros needed just one more win.  Their competition in the final weekend was the second place Dodgers.   Win one game and Houston made the playoffs for the first time.  Lose all three and the Dodgers would force a one game playoff for the West Division crown.

In the first game of the series, a Friday night at Dodgers Stadium, Ken Forsch faced off against Don Sutton.  Sutton struggled, working out of a bases loaded jam in the first and allowing a run in the second.  Forsch, on the other hand, retired the first ten Dodgers in order.  With one out in the 4^th the Dodgers went to work and eventually scored a run.  Sutton settled down and the game was tied 1-1 after 7.  Houston scratched out a run in the 8^th and heading into the bottom of the 9^th the Astros were just three outs away from the division title.  Jay Johnstone grounded out to start the inning and there were just two outs left.  Rick Monday followed that with a single.  In the days before closers were a part of every team, Forsch was allowed to stay in the game.  Dusty Baker grounded a ball to second base that could have ended the game but an error allowed everyone to reach safely.  If this were Boston or Chicago, talk of the curse would be rampant.  Steve Garvey flew out for the second out and now the Astros were one out away from their first post season appearance.  Next up was Ron Cey, the Penguin.  Cey punched a single to Center Field and Rudy Law, who had pinch run for Rick Monday, scored to tie the game.  A Pedro Guerrero ground ball ended the inning but the Dodgers were clinging to their season’s life by the skin of their teeth. Although Forsch had been given room to work, Tom Lasorda had removed Don Sutton for an unknown kid with a long name.  He had made his first appearance just a few weeks ago.  He got his first decision on September 30^th.  Now, in just his tenth major league appearance, Fernando Valenzuela held the season of the Dodgers in his hands.  He had pitched the 9^th and had allowed two base runners but no runs.  Playing with house money at this point, Valenzuela shut down the Astros in the 10^th.  Catcher Joe Ferguson came up with the season on the line.  He made a quick end to Forsch.  A solo Home Run to lead off the home 10^th sent the Astros home tired and defeated and the Dodgers with a sense of a miracle in the offing.

Game 2 saw 11-9 Nolan Ryan face off against 17-5 Jerry Reuss.  The Dodgers reached Ryan for a run in the second.  The Astros tied it up in the top of the 4^th and once again the tension set in.  Leading off the 4^th Steve Garvey homered giving the Dodgers another lead.  Thanks to a few strong innings and two timely turned double plays the Dodgers held that 2-1 lead through the game and although Ryan allowed only 6 hits, 2 runs and walked none in 7 innings, the Dodgers survived one more day.

Now the Dodgers were thinking miracle and the Astros were thinking disaster.

If only they had J.R. Richard to go out and clinch this thing, or at worst to shut down the Dodgers if a one game playoff were needed.  With everything on the line the Astros turned to Vern Rhule and the Dodgers to Burt Hooton.

After a walk and a steal by Terry Puhl, Hooton got through the first.  Rhule retired the Dodgers in order.   Now the Astros went to work and looked like the miracle at Chavez Ravine was being cancelled.  Cesar Cedno bunted for a single and stole second.  Art Howe attempted to sacrifice Cedeno to third but an error by Hooton allowed both runners to reach safely.  Alan Ashby scored Cedeno with a single and Craig Reynolds scored Howe with a single.  Just like that, two runs in, no one out and two on base, Hooton was gone and the season again hung in the balance.  Rhule allowed a lead off bunt single in the second but retired the next three in order.    Ruhle had already impacted the 1975 baseball season when he broke the hand of Jim Rice with an inside pitch.  Now he looked to impact the 1980 post season.   With two scoreless innings already under his belt, the Dodgers started the 3^rd with a single.  Oddly, that was all for Ruhle.  Andujar came on and retired the Dodgers.  In the 4^th, Houston added a run to take a 3-0 lead.  They needed just 18 outs to reach the playoffs.  With one out in the third Los Angeles cut the lead to 3-1 and Joe Sambito replaced Andujar.  Sambito got a double play and escaped further damage.  Fernando pitched two more scoreless innings and the Dodgers cut into the lead with a run in the 7^th.  The Astros still held the lead entering the bottom of the 8^th, cutting the out count down to 6.  A ground ball to third should have cut that count to 5 but an error allowed Garvey to reach safely.  As they had all weekend, the Dodgers made Houston pay.  The Penguin launched a two run Home Run to give the Dodgers the lead.  The Astros mounted a threat in the 9^th.  Jeffrey Leonard pinch hit to start the 9^th.  He flew out to left and the Astros had two outs left to avoid a one game playoff.  Gary Woods became the second pinch hitter of the inning and reached safely on a single.  Terry Puhl grounded to second, forcing Woods, but the Astros were able to avoid the double play and keep the inning alive.  Enos Cabell followed with a  single and Puhl moved to third.  With the tying run just 90 feet away both teams made a move.  Lasorda went to Don Sutton, normally a starter, to pitch and the Astros went to Denny Walling as a pinch hitter.  Walling grounded the ball to second base and the teams would play one more.

This was now getting worrisome.  Coming into the weekend series the Astros needed just one win.  They had won 6 of their last 7 and three straight coming in.  If they had J.R. and had they been able to win their first or second game this series they could have set their rotation for the NLCS.  Imagine Richard, Ryan, Niekro, Ruhle.  What a rotation that would have been in the playoffs.  Now, they had used Ryan and Ruhle and would need to use Niekro just to make the playoffs.  The Dodgers started Dave Goltz.  Niekro was brilliant.  He pitched a complete game allowing only 6 hits and 2 walks resulting in only 1 earned run.  Dave Goltz was not brilliant.  He allowed 8 hits and 4 runs in three innings.  Rick Sutcliffe pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed 3 runs on 1 hit.  It was over quickly but Niekro threw the whole game. Next up would be the Phillies, who had struggled to close out their own division against pesky Montreal, however, they didn’t need the extra day to do it. 

Richard wrote: "You never really know about those things.  You'd like to think you could have made a difference.  I know I would have pitched against the Dodgers  at the end of the regular season when it came down to a one game playoff and I would have pitched against the Phillies."

If the Astros had their ace the matchups would have likely been this:  Richard vs Carlton, Niekro vs Dick Ruthven,  Nolan Ryan vs Larry Christensen.  The NLCS that followed was likely the greatest in history.  Four of the five games in the series went extra innings, including the deciding game.  Any one thing could have tipped the favor in the direction of either team.  If the Astros had J.R  Richard it is likely they would have had enough to overcome the Phillies.  Instead the Phillies scratched out a 10^th inning win in the final game to earn their name of the “cardiac kids”. 

Many of the players themselves felt J.R. was the difference.  Ryan wrote: "Philadelphia beat us and went on to win the World Series.  It is always a tough thing to assume things in hindsight, but if we had a healthy J.R. Richard down the stretch and in the playoffs, it is possible that it would have been Houston and not Philadelphia winning the series in 1980.

J.R. would try a come back in 1981 but the effects of the stroke had been too damaging.  He had suffered through a deep depression for the first few weeks after the stroke but worked hard to get back on the mound.  He tried to work through poor vision on one side and nearly got hit by a line drive back up the middle in spring training.  He would never throw another pitch in a Major League game.

Richard went through terrible times, including living on the streets of Houston under a bridge near the Astrodome.  Luckily the story has a happy ending.  Richard has found a way to love his life away from baseball and is happily married.  He often goes to games and hopes that the Astros will someday retire his number in honor of the years of service.

TRIVIA QUESTION:

J.R. Richard won a total of 107 games over 10 seasons (although only 5 of those could really be considered full seasons).  Richard never pitched for a Major League team other than the Astros.  Where does Richard rank on the Astros All Time wins leaders?

Answer to Last Week's Question:

Although he had the great numbers in the 1975 World Sereis, Pete Rose was not voted MVP of the series.  That honor went to Joe Morgan, who always seemed to come up with the most important hit, such as the series winner in Game 7.

Disappointing October: The Top 25 Post Season Disappointments Part 2

Last week we started reviewing my choices for the most disappointing post season appearances.  Most likely you said "He's crazy.  How can he say this team's only number whatever on this list?"  Or even more likely you read it and then said "meh, who cares?"  Either way I'm 100% positive you have all been waiting on the edge of your seat all week to find out who finishes out my top 25.  It probably effected you at work.  You were trying to do calculations and you thought, why the hell were the 1962 Giants not in the top 10?"  You found yourself at church in the middle of prayer and suddenly the thought popped into your head "If the 1994 Montreal Expos made the list when they never even played in October does this idiot even know what he's talking about?"  I know, I've been there.  Well you can stop wondering and find out below my choices for the Top 25 Post Season Disappointments.


12. 1980 Houston Astros
The Astros had a tough road to their first ever playoff appearance. During their time in the league they sat in the NL West during the dynasties of the Dodgers and Reds.  When they signed Nolan Ryan after the 1979 season they felt they finally had the missing piece to win the World Series. Along with J.R. Richard it appeared Houston had the perfect 1-2 pitching punch they needed.  They very nearly did. Richard, who had gone 18-13 and led the league in ERA in 1979, started off the season 10-4 with an ERA under 2.00 but on July 30 he suffered a stroke, ending a career with a promising future.  Still, Houston reached the NLCS for the first time and faced a Philadelphia Phillies team that had disappointed the Phanatics for the last 4 years in a row. The first game was a 3-1 Philadelphia win behind Steve Carlton. Game 2 is when the battle really started. Houston scored four in the top of the 10th to win Game Two. Game Three went 11 innings and when the Astros scored one in the bottom of the 11th they were one win away from a trip to the Fall Classic. Game Four saw the Astros jump out to a 2-0 lead before falling behind 3-2. They tied the game in the bottom of the 9th with one run but when the Phillies scored a run in the top of the 10th Philadelphia forced a Game 5 in the Astrodome. For the fourth game in a row the two teams needed extra innings to decide the game. For the first time all year, Houston lost a game pitched by Nolan Ryan when leading after 8. Tied at 2 in the 6th, Houston scored 3 in the bottom of the seventh to seemingly clinch the series but a 5 run Phillies 8th and a 2 run Astros 9th sent the game into the 10th. With two outs in the 10th Garry Maddox doubled to drive in Del Unser with the go ahead run. The Astros went down in order in the bottom of the 10th and the Phillies advanced to destiny. Houston lost two of the three games in extra innings and had a chance to win each of the games they lost.  The feeling in Houston was that things would have been different if Richards were healthy.  It would be six more years before the Astros reached another post season and ten years after that for their third appearance.

11. 2002 San Francisco Giants
The Giants had dominated the NL West since Barry Bonds joined the team in 1992, yet they had not advanced to the World Series until 2002. With the support of J.T. Snow, Jeff Kent, Kenny Lofton, David Bell, Benito Santiago and Reggie Sanders, Bonds was able to swing away anytime he wanted knowing the rest of the lineup could score runs even if Bonds didn't hit a Home Run. In the days before Lincecum, Cain, and Baumgarner, the Giants depended on the arms of Kirk Reuter, Jason Schmidt and Livan Hernandez. Facing off against the Giants were the underdog Anaheim Angels, known more nationally for the rally monkey than for the players on their team. Anaheim fans understood how good these players were and though they loved the rally monkey, Halo fans knew this team won because of talent.  The general consensus was that the Angels would need a miracle. In Game 1, in his his first World Series at bat, Bonds and the Giants seemed to confirm what everyone believed when he crushed a pitch for a Home Run. Cameras caught Angels' legend Tim Salmon in the dugout saying "That is the furthest I have ever seen a ball hit." The Giants took a 3-2 series lead with a 16-4 martyring of the Angels and seemed ready to end the year in Game 6 with a 5-0 lead in the 7th inning. Just 9 defensive outs away from a World Series, the rally monkey went into action, leading to a 6 run Angels miracle rally to force a Game 7. The Giants scored first in the second inning of Game 7 but the Angels seemed to be getting some miracle help from somewhere. Whether it was Disney Magic, the singing Cowboy helping out from above or just divine intervention, the Angels won Game 7 4-1 sending the Giants home shell shocked. Just like in the bible, the little guys slayed the Giants.

Photo of Tim Salmon Courtesy of Bleacher Report

10. 1987 Detroit Tigers
The 1984 Tigers were one of the best teams in history but their follow up seasons in 1985 and 1986 were total disappointments. With one of the best lineups of the 1980's including unsung heroes Lou Whitaker, Chet Lemon and Larry Herndon to go along with bona fide stars Alan Trammell, Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris, the 1987 Tigers somehow were disappointing through the first half. The Tigers changed their luck at the trade deadline with one of the most successful trade deadline deals ever. They traded a minor league Pitcher to the Atlanta Braves (you may have heard of that minor leaguer: John Smoltz) for Pitcher Doyle Alexander. Alexander was better than expected going 9-0 for Detroit. Even better, as Alexander and Jack Morris kept winning games, the Toronto Blue Jays, in first place, kept losing games. Down 3 1/2 games after a loss to Toronto on September 26, the Tigers won 6 of the last 8, including three head to head against the Blue Jays to end the season. With the great comeback and the momentum heading into October the Tigers were expected to roll through the inexperienced Twins. Sparky Anderson had his pitching rotation set the way he wanted with Alexander pitching in Game 1 and Jack Morris in Game 2. Instead the Twins beat Alexander with a late rally in Game 1. Morris pitched all of Game 2 but lost to Bert Blyleven with a save from former Tiger Juan Berenguer. Down 2 games to 1 the Tigers knocked out Les Straker (who one week later would pitch a strong game in his only World Series appearance) with five runs in the third but still needed a late rally for an 8-7 win. Viola and Blyleven were too much for the Tigers and the Twins advanced in five games. The Tigers would not reach the playoffs again until 2006.

Photo of Chet Lemon and Steve Garvey in 1984 World Series Courtesy of ESPN

9. 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates in the early 1990's were the little engine that could. Following the Willie Stargell era the team had to rebuild and they did it through smart trades and home grown talent. It was a collection of stars and role players. Some were brought from other organizations (Andy Van Slyke from St. Louis, Jay Bell from Cleveland, Doug Drabek and Don Slaught from the Yankees, Danny Jackson from the Reds) as well as some home grown talent (Jose Lind, Jeff King, John Wehner, Tim Wakefield, Denny Neagle and Orlando Merced). The Bucos made the playoffs in 1990 and 1991 losing both times. When they lost Bobby Bonilla to the Mets, Sid Bream to the Braves and John Smiley to the Twins most expected the Cardinals or the rebuilt Mets to retake the division. Instead the Pirates, knowing that Barry Bonds was a free agent at the end of the year, were able to win one more division title. After trailing the Braves 3 games to 1 in a rematch of the great seven game series from the year before, the Pirates fought back and tied the series at three games each. A sacrifice fly by Orlando Merced in the first inning and an RBI single by Van Slyke in the top of the 6th gave the Pirates a late two run lead in Game 7. Doug Drabek was spectacular through 8 innings but gave up consecutive hits to Pendleton, Justice and Bream to start the 9th before being replaced by Stan Belinda. Ron Gant cut the lead to 2 with a sacrifice fly and a walk to Damon Berryhill reloaded the bases. Brian Hunter popped out to Jay Bell.  That brought up Francisco Cabrera, a little used pinch hitter with two outs.  Cabrera singled to left field driving in David Justice.  Sid Bream, the former Pirate, was one of the slowest runners in the league because of knee injuries but he was limping as fast as he could rounding third as the throw was on the way to the plate.  Mike LaValliere, the Pirates Catcher, took the throw just to the right of home plate and dove to his left, trying to tag Bream before he reached the plate.  Sliding in just ahead of the throw, the Braves advanced to the World Series.  What looked like a miracle come back turned into a devastating defeat to end the Pirates run in October.  They would not have another serious playoff run until 2013.

Photo of Sid Bream and Mike LaValliere in deciding play of 1992 NLCS courtesy of Bleacher Report

8. 1982 Milwaukee Brewers (aka "Harvey's Wallbangers")
You would think Brewers fans would be satisfied with any sort of playoff berth but they were so close to having it all now. They had built their team from the ground up with Paul Molitor, Jim Gantner, Robin Yount and added some key veterans like Pete Vukovich, Cecil Cooper and Don Sutton. "Harvey's Wallbangers" knocked their way to a three games to two lead and needed just one win in the final two games for the first World Series title in franchise history. Game 6 was a bad experience for Don Sutton as the Cardinals won 13-1. Game 7 was a tight pitching duel for most of the game.  Joaquin Andujar squared off against the Brewers ace Pete Vuckovich.  It was a match of crazy, intense personalities which led to a near fight between Andujar and Jim Gantner.  The middle innings saw the Brewers take a 3-2 lead in the 6th only to have the Cardinals take the lead in the bottom of the inning and win 6-3 as Vuckovich tired after a long season. The Brewers would not see the postseason again until 2008.

Photo of Pete Vukovich Courtesy of Bleacher Report

7. 1969 Baltimore Orioles
In the early 1960's there were jokes about which would happen first: man would land on the moon or the Mets would reach first place. The joke was that there was no chance that the Mets would ever reach first place. On July 20,1969 the race officially ended as the US landed on the moon (for the sake of moving the article along, conspiracy theorists can just accept it for the time being) but it was closer than people thought. The Mets were only 5 games out of first in second place. Then on September 10 the Mets did the even more unthinkable, they actually reached first place. When they advanced through the first NLCS to reach the World Series their opponent was the heavily favored, talent stocked Baltimore Orioles. The Mets were the lovable underdog but the Orioles were the proven winners with players like Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson and Boog Powell. The Mets may have had Koosman and Seaver but the Orioles countered with Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar. The O's won 109 games that year, one of the reasons they are so high on this list, and took game one of the 1969 Series with seeming ease. The mood in the Orioles clubhouse after Game 1 was relaxed and jovial. If the Orioles thought their Game 1 win impressed the Mets they were way off. In the other locker room the feeling was "we could have won that game." Game 2 was a great pitcher's duel between Dave McNally and Jerry Koosman and the Mets led 1-0 at the 7th inning stretch. Paul Blair singled to start the Orioles 7th, stole second and scored on a Frank Robinson, 2 out double and the Baltimore faithful got loud. They became eerily quiet when the Mets took the lead in the 9th and held on for a 2-1 win. The Mets won Game 3 5-0 and then took a commanding 3 games to 1 lead with a 2-1, 10 inning victory in Game 4 (a game that saw Earl Weaver become the first manager thrown out of a World Series game since 1935). It wasn't necessarily that the O's bats were silent.  They were hitting the ball well.  The problem was  that the Mets outfielders were catching everything they hit, most of them in almost unbelievable fashion.  Everytime a Mets outfielder made a spectacular catch, the announcers could barely finish comparing it to the other greatest catches in World Series history, before that catch was topped by the next one.  The Orioles were clearly stunned and what some still consider the greatest Orioles team ever went home for the winter to rest their broken wings.

6. 2011 Texas Rangers
The 2010 Rangers were considered a surprise World Series participant. The 2011 Rangers had unfinished business. When the Rangers faced the experienced Tampa Bay Rays in the first round, few expected the Rangers to advance. When they faced the loaded, red hot Detroit Tigers in the ALCS few felt Texas would keep going. When they faced the Wild Card Cardinals, who had upset the great pitching talent of the Phillies and the heavily favored Brewers (see #18 on this list), the Rangers finally had some support. Regardless of what was expected, the Rangers were on a mission to finish what they had started the year before. In one of the greatest World Series in history the Rangers appeared to have the thing won twice in Game 6 only to have the Cardinals fight back and force Game 7. Twice only one out away from a world championship, the Rangers went home with the same feeling they had in 2010.

5. 2001 Seattle Mariners
The 1995 Mariners saved baseball in Seattle. The 2001 team gave Mariners fans nearly as big a shock. Certainly it would take a miracle to approach the veneration shown to the 1995 magical season but the surprise of 2001 could come close. The 2001 team had limited playing time from Jay Buhner, no Ken Griffey, no Randy Johnson and no Alex Rodriguez. Heading into the 2001 season the Mariners were expected to be near the bottom of the suddenly competitive AL West. Led by Ichiro, only the second player to win the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season, Brett Boone, John Olerud, Edgar Martinez, Mike Cameron and the pitching combination of Jamie Moyer, Freddie Garcia and Aaron Sele, the M's started the season winning 11 of their first 15. They won their next 9 straight. They won another 8 straight in early May and didn't reach double digit losses until May 18. They would also have winning streaks of 15, 5, 7, 6 and another of 6. Meanwhile, the longest losing streak was four games. Other than the four game losing streak they never lost more than two consecutive games. They lost only 46 games all year. The focus of the world changed just before the 2001 post season, for obvious reasons, and the attention went to the resiliency of New York as opposed to the record 116 wins in Seattle. Three of the first four games were close, tense affairs each won by the Yankees. Only Game 3 was a blow out as the M's pounded Yankee pitching for 14 runs. But the emotions of the time and the talent of the Yankees were too much for the Mariners and they fell in a Game 4, 12-3 pounding. The 2001 World Series was one of the most exciting,emotional and dramatic World Series ever but it would have been fun to see what the Mariners could have done against Schilling and Johnson.

4. 1988 Oakland Athletics (aka "The Bash Brothers")
The team dubbed the Bash Brothers had everything. The first man ever to hit 40 Home Runs and steal 40 bases in the same season (Jose Canseco), a young power hitting first baseman and reigning Rookie of the Year who had hit 49 Home Runs as a scrawny rookie (Mark McGwire), the best pitcher in baseball (Dave Stewart), four players with significant prior playoff experience (Dave Henderson, Don Baylor, Dave Parker and Bob Welch), a defensive wizard at third base (Carney Lansford), the season's Rookie of the Year (Walt Weiss), young budding stars (Tony Phillips, Luis Polonia, Mike Gallego, Stan Javier and Terry Steinbach), the man considered (at the time) the greatest closer of all time (Dennis Eckersley) and the man some consider the greatest manager of all time (Tony LaRussa). There was absolutely no holes on this team and they rolled through a very strong Boston Red Sox team in the ALCS. Their opponents in the World Series struggled to win the NLCS over the heavily favored Mets and apart from Orel Hershiser and Kirk Gibson there was little to fear in the NL Champs, especially when it was revealed that Kirk Gibson, the league MVP wouldn't even play. The Dodgers consisted of players few wanted. Mike Davis and Alfredo Griffin had been cast off by the A's. John Tudor was given up on by the Cardinals. Mickey Hatcher was unwanted by the Twins. The Dodgers pitching staff was a huge question (Fernando Valenzuela was suffering through injuries and Don Sutton was used as a starter during the regular season but he was near the end of his Hall of Fame career. Neither was on the post season roster). Add to that a closer, Jay Howell, who was suspended during the NLCS for using pine tar on his glove and the match up appeared to be a joke. When Jose Canseco hit a grand slam in the first game and Dennis Eckersley faced off against a gimpy Gibson, the A's could smell desperation. Everything was going as planned.. Then Gibson made history in his only at at of the series. The already beat up Dodgers lineup took another hit when Mike Marshall left Game 2 with an injured back but the Dodgers won 6-0. The A's won Game 3 on a dramatic bottom of the 9th Home Run by Mark McGwire and seemingly the magic would return, especially with Dave Stewart pitching in game 4. Even worse for the Dodgers, they lost Mike Scioscia in Game 4 and now were playing without three powerful bats in their lineup. If ever a team came back from a 3 games to 1 deficit, this A's group would be the team. Unfortunately for the A's Stewart lost Game 4 and Hershiser dominated in a 5-2 Game 5 to close out the season. The A's would make improvements in the offseason (imagine having to improve a team this good) and win the 1989 World Series but a lot of the joy of that win was lost when the Series was interrupted by the 1989 bay area earthquake.

Photo of 1988 Oakland A's Courtesy of ESPN. Pictured above are Jose Canseco (33), Carney Lansford (4), Mark McGwire (25) and Ron Hassey (24).

3. 1997 Baltimore Orioles
Going wire to wire is an accomplishment that can be claimed by very few teams. The 1984 Tigers won the World Series after doing so, as did the 1990 Reds. Very few others had. The 1998 Yankees didn't do it, nor did the 1927, 1936 or 1977 Yankees. The 1997 Orioles did. Every single day of the 1997 season was spent in first place in the American League East. Similar to the 2011 Rangers, this team had unfinished business and they were focused. They had lost to the Yankees in 1996 in the ALCS, a series seemingly turned around by a 12 year old boy and an outfielder who didn't jump for a ball. After a decade and a half of poor teams (including the embarrassing 1988 season) the Orioles had finally put a team around Cal Ripken and Mike Mussina. It was a team that featured superstars Brady Anderson, Harold Baines, Jimmy Key, Eric Davis, Raphael Palmeiro and Roberto Alomar. It also had great role players B.J. Surhoff, Mike Bordick and Chris Hoiles. It had zero holes. Their bullpen was nearly perfect with Jesse Orosco, Armando Benitez and Randy Myers. They won 98 games and beat a strong Seattle team in the ALDS. When the Indians took out the Yankees there did not seem to be any way the Orioles would fail to advance and when the Marlins beat the Braves in the NL, the Orioles should have waltzed through the rest of the post season. The Orioles cruised through Game 1, 3-0 and that was with Scott Erickson on the mound. They still had Jimmy Key and Mike Mussina lined up. A 2 run Home Run by Cal Ripken tied up Game 2 and Mike Bordick put the O's ahead in the 6th with a 2 run single. With two on, two out and two strikes, Marquis Grissom checked his swing. The Orioles appealed the call but it was ruled he did not swing. The next pitch changed the series. If the umpires get the checked swing call right the Indians leave two stranded and the Orioles hold the lead. Instead Grissom gives the Indians a 5-4 lead on a three run Home Run and the Series is tied at 1. Game 3 became one of those classic October games that will be remembered for decades. Mike Mussina pitched 7 innings, struck out 15 Indians and allowed only one run. Orel Hershiser pitched 7 innings for the Indians, allowed only 4 hits and no runs. the Orioles tied the game in the top of the 9th and the game went on and on. The Orioles loaded the bases in the top of the 11th but couldn't score. The Indians did the same in the bottom of the 11th. The Orioles wasted a Geronimo Berroa double in the 12th and then came the controversy in the bottom of the 12th. With one out and runners on first and third, Omar Vizquel squared around for a suicide bunt. The ball came in and bounced off the glove of Lenny Webster.  It rolled less than five feet to the left of home. Grissom (yes, him again) came sprinting from 3rd. As Webster calmly picked up the ball Grissom ran right past him to score the wining run. The O's went nuts. They swore it was a foul ball but the ump said it was not touched. Webster can be seen on the replay asking the umpire "how could you miss that?" but it changed nothing. The O's forced a Game 6 thanks to an Eric Davis Home Run and it was a great Game 6 if you are a Cleveland fan. The 1-0, 11 inning thriller was ended by a Tony Fernandez Home Run and the Orioles became the first team in history to spend every day of the regular season in first place and not win the World Series.

Photo of Chris Hoiles Courtesy of Bleacher Report

2. 1954 Cleveland Indians
It is a little hard to decide which was more amazing for this Indians' team. Was it winning 111 games or was it beating the Yankees who had won five straight pennants (1949-1953) and would win another four straight (1955-1958)? Led by one of the greatest managers of all time, Al Lopez, the Indians started off 3-6 but went on a tear that few could have imagined. Led by a great starting rotation of Mike Garcia, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and an aging Bob Feller the Indians staff also received help from Tigers' legend Hal Newhouser in his second to last season.  The Indians also received offensive power from Al Rosen (reigning MVP), Larry Doby, Vic Wertz and Dave Philley. The Indians appeared unstoppable but legend has it that Willie Mays single handedly stopped them. In Game 1 at the Polo Grounds, Vic Wertz drove a ball that looked like it was going to break the game wide open. Mays took off at the crack of the bat and ran straight towards center field with his back to the plate. He ran down the fly ball, stuck out his glove, known as "the place where triples go to die" (the guy was so good that even his glove had a nickname) and caught the ball in what has been forever after called "the catch". The legend is that this catch was the reason the Giants swung the momentum to their side and overcame the Indians. The truth is that there was another unsung hero for the Giants. Dusty Rhodes, not a name that resonates through history, had four hits in the series. The four hits were in just six at bats and two of them were Home Runs. Rhodes hit .667 for the Series and drove in seven runs. The Indians are still waiting for their next World Series win.

1. 1906 Chicago Cubs
Given that the past 30 years has seen an all bay area World Series (Giants-A's),an all New York World Series (2000), two all CA World Series (Angels-Giants and Dodgers-A's) an all Midwest World Series (Cardinals-Tigers) and even an all Missouri World Series (Royals-Cardinals) it is hard to believe that an all Chicago World Series has not been a reality for over a century. There is a better chance now of having a Baltimore-Washington beltway series than there is a Chi town World series. In 1906, the Cubs were clearly the greatest team that had ever been assembled and some have made a strong case that they still are. The Cubs, in a 154 game schedule, won 116 games. That is a winning percentage of .763, a percentage not in the same zip code of any other team. They were a team stacked with Hall of Fame players Three Finger Brown and of course the legendary, Tinker, Evers and Chance. But the rest of the team was equally impressive Johnny Kling was considered the best defensive Catcher of the era.  Along with the outfield of Jimmy Slagle, Jimmy Sheckard and Wildfire Schulte it all gelled to form one of the greatest teams ever.  Their competition in the 1906 World Series, just the third ever, were the crosstown White Sox, nicknamed this year as the "hitless wonders". They were led by a pitching staff of Nick Altrock, Frank Owen, Doc White and a young Ed Walsh. The hitless wonders were anything but hitless in the Series. Led by Frank Isbell's four doubles (all four in Game 5), four runs and four RBI, and George Rohe's seven hits, the hitless wonders overcame the greatest team of all time. Short term the loss was minimized by back to back World Series wins in 1907 and 1908. Long term, the Cubs are still searching for World Series win #3. The Cubs could have been the first team to win three straight World Series cementing themselves as one of the greatest dynasties of all time.

Photo of Tinker, Evers and Chance Courtesy of SABR

Think one of the top 25 teams are too high or too low on the list?  Think there is a team missing?  Email me your list or leave a comment.  Check back next week for the start of the two part, Top 20 Most Shocking Octobers.

TRIVIA QUESTION:

The 1996 ALCS between the Yankees and Orioles was seemingly turned around by a 12 year old boy who reached over the fence and an Orioles' outfielder who failed to jump for the ball.  What were the names of the 12 year old boy and the Orioles' outfielder?


Congratulations to Hope and TJD for guessing the answer to last week's trivia question!
ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:

Photo of Eddie Gaedel in his only official plate appearance Courtesy of Sports Illustrated
The St.Louis Browns were not a very successful organization.  They had very few highlights and were known more for their ineptitude than for their success.  In the 1940's and 1950's the team was owned by Bill Veeck who was creative in finding ways to get fans into the stands.  One of his most famous promotions was signing 3 feet 7 inches tall Eddie Gaedel for one game.  On August 19, 1951 Eddie Gaedel had his only career plate appearance, a walk.  The uniform number issued to Gaedel was 1/8.