The Padres making the Series is, of course, historical. Just a brief recap on how the other expansion teams have fared:
1961: The 2nd-run Washington Senators started out really well for an expansion team with an 87-74 mark in their first season. That would be their high water mark in the nation's capital, with just one more winning season in DC in 1971. They did finish just 2 games out of the AL West this year as the Texas Rangers so perhaps their time is close.
The Angels also had a really strong expansion year with an 86-75 record. Yeah, that was a weird year: there were 3 90-loss teams but they were all established clubs, the Indians (71-90), the then-Kansas City Athletics (68-93), and the Baltimore Orioles (63-99). Los Angeles / California was also unable to match that early success but started posting slightly-winning seasons in 1968 and have been at or over .500 ever since. That slightly-better-than-mediocre level of success has only translated into one playoff berth with an AL West Title last year.
1962: The Astros were terrrrrible to start out in '62 with a 54-108 record and didn't get over 60 wins until their 4th season in the league, 1964. They've climbed up since then with 3 straight 2nd-place finishes from 1970-72 and a 3rd place finish this year when they faded down the stretch.
The Mets were the former miracle team and who knows, maybe they still will be in a couple weeks. They also started poorly with a 55-107 record in the expansion season but put together a competitive club shortly thereafter, finishing 2nd in the NL in 1967 with a 90-72 record. They dropped 10 games in the standings the next year, then had a wonderful year from pillar to post, finishing 104-58, sweeping the Braves in the NLCS, and then taking down a veteran Minnesota Twins team in 7 games to win it all. Times have been tough for the Metsies recently, with 89 and 87 losses the past 2 seasons.
1969: Kansas City was 68-92 in '69, which is probably a more reasonable place to start from than the two 1961 expansion clubs. They then cratered in season 2 with a 60-102 record and have been working on putting a team together since. At this point they've got some nice pieces on offense but it's hard to win with a 4.63 ERA.
The Seattle Pilots had just the single "meh" year in Seatown (68-94) before moving to Milwaukee at the end of spring training in 1970, where they've stayed ever since. They seem to carry the curse of angry Seattle baseball fans, as they've finished dead last in their division each of the last 3 years.
Montreal looked absolutely horrific in their inaugural season, like in this version of history they're the 1962 Mets, basically: 48-114 and nothing really good going forward. They're still trying to build a club but have yet to win more than 70 games or finish higher than 5th in the NL East.
FINALLY the PADRES! They were only expansion-team mediocre with a 73-89 inauguaral record and they've done well to build through youth ever since. This year was still a huge breakout season, as their previous best was a 77-84 record in '71. They fell to 73-80 last year which kiiiiind of means a 16 win improvement this season (I say kind of because there was a strike last year that wiped out 9 games from their schedule). This is a team built on youth and some excellent front-line pitching, which you could tell when they won Game One of the NLCS 13-10 (still shaking my head at that one).
Yeah, I went and looked at their schedule and the Padres never scored as many as 13 runs in a game in the regular season. In fact, the only time I can find where they even scored double digits was a game... against the Phillies(!) on June 8 where they blew a 4-0 lead in the 9th to send it to extra innings and dropped 7 runs on Omar Sanchez and Robbie Mournier (the latter of whom you did not see in the NLCS because the Phillies released him at the end of July). This was LITERALLY a one-in-a-million chance, which LITERALLY means it was bound to happen.
WORLD SERIES GAME One
The 100 win Tigers will host the first 2 games of this bad boy. Since the Pads' ace Steven Tyler just threw 123 pitches in the last game they played, Don Henley (0-1, 2.57 in the NLCS) will take the mount against Chris Benavides (1-0, 2.57). It's youth vs experience here. Henley does have a tendency to let the ball get a little high in the zone, which doesn't matter as much in his home park but could be a factor in Tigers Stadium.
We're playing with the DH so I'm gonna have to scramble to put together a lineup... I'll roll with Dale Earnhardt moving to DH with 3rd base being taken over by the cagey 40 year old 19 year veteran Kevin "Swamp Fox" Landry. Landry really only got a consistent chance to start when the Padres traded for him early in the 1969 season but he is nevertheless the team's all-time leader in games, at-bats, and hits. While his career will surely be a footnote, starting in the World Series for the first time in his career - he did appear in the '68 WS with the Dodgers but as a backup - is one great way to wind it up.
It's wet, cold, and rainy tonight, 42 degrees, and there's a wind blowing in from center. Put on your coats, party people!
Top 1st: CF Phil McGraw flies to center and we are UNDER WAY! RF Ed O'Neill walks on 4 pitches. An 0-2 pitch to DH Dale Earnhardt gets past C Alvin Romero and to the backstop. O'Neill moves up 90 feet; score that a wild pitch. Earnhardt flies out to deep right but not deep enough to move Ed O'Neill to 3rd. 2B Paul McCartney raps a 2-out single to left, the kind that victimized the Phillies all that series, for the first run! 1-0! Palacios strikes out swinging. 1-0, Padres.
Bottom 1st: CF Alvin Romero grounds out 6-3. RF Frankie Faison also grounds to short. 2B Joey Ramone hits one high and deep to left but the wind catches it and it stays in for an out to LF Russ Deuser. 1-0, Padres.
Top 2nd: LF Russ Deuser flies to right. 3B Kevin Landry strikes out looking. C Oliver Williams goes down 4-3. 1-0, Padres.
Bottom 2nd: DH Jose Ayala pokes one into right field for the Tigers' first hit of the game. 1B Niki Lauda flies out to left field. 3B Joe Theismann hits a grounder up the middle for a base hit. Ayala's gonna stay at 2nd though. LF Tom Berenger, making his first start of the postseason - the White Sox used 3 right-handers - hits a grounder just past 3B Kevin Landry and into left... where Russ Deuser misplays it! It was already a single but the muffed catch means everyone moves up an extra 90 feet. Ayala scores! 1-1, and we've got runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Henley chooses to pitch to C Armando Flores and so early in the game they trade the run for the out on a ground ball to 3rd; score it 5-3 with the catcher getting the fielder's choice RBI. 2-1! SS Matt Mullen, also seeing his first postseason action, strikes out swinging. 2-1, Tigers.
Top 3rd: SS Joe Wicker grounds out 5-3. Dr. Phil walks. Ed O'Neill hits a high pop-up right in front of the plate that C Armando Flores gets underneath and catches for the out. Benavides lets another pitch go awry and it gets past Flores for his 2nd wild pitch of the night. He only had 9 of those all season. This time it doesn't matter because Dale Earnhardt hits one into the left-center gap that looks like it has a chance before LF Tom Berenger swallows it up. 2-1, Tigers.
Bottom 3rd: Romero drops one into left for a leadoff hit. Faison grounds out 6-4-3. Rarely do you see Romero be the lead man on a DP but hey it happens to all of us at some time. Ramone strikes out swinging. 2-1, Tigers.
Top 4th: McCartney walks. That's already the 3rd walk Chris Benavides has issued; he only allowed 2.8 BB/9 during the regular season. Palacios hits a grounder to 2nd that is converted into a force play at the base but SS Matt Mullen gets upended by McCartney when he tries to complete the double play. Deuser hits one towards the hole between 1st and 2nd but Ramone's able to get to that one and also finish a 4-6 forceout; no throw this time. Deuser steals 2nd. Landry strikes out for the 2nd time. 2-1, Tigers.
Bottom 4th: Ayala belts one down the left field line and... you can kiss it goodbye! 3-1, Tigers! Lauda grounds to 2nd. Theismann flies to right. Berenger hits a hard liner down the left field line. Deuser just does catch up to it before it hits the wall but no matter; Berenger's in at 2nd with a sliding 2-out double. Flores watches a 2-2 splitter just go by for out #3. 3-1, Tigers.
Top 5th: Williams flies to right. Wicker flies out down the right field line. McGraw goes down 4-3. 3-1, Tigers.
Bottom 5th: Matt Mullen hits a fly to left that juuuust gets down in front of a charging Russ Deuser for a leadoff base hit. That's the 7th allowed by Don Henley tonight. Alvin Romero belts one down the left field line. Deuser plays it off the wall and the runners are in at 2nd and 3rd with a double! Frankie Faison's a lefty so of course Henley's pitching to him here. He hits a grounder to first... and Carlos Palacios decides to go home with it! There's a big cloud of dust and... Matt Mullen is safe! Romero, of course, advances to third on the play with Faison getting himself a cheeky RBI off the blown fielder's choice. 4-1! Joey Ramone tops a ball in front of the plate. Oliver Williams gets out of his stance in a huge hurry, fires to 2nd for one... and the throw to first is in time for the 2-4-3 double play! We'll be walking Ayala on purpose to face the lefty Lauda here. Lauda juuuust gets ahold of an 0-2 cutter and sends it into right field for a clutch RBI single! 5-1! Lauda reaches 3rd without a throw. Henley fires a 1-1 strike... that C Oliver Williams can't hendle! It's a passed ball and Lauda scampers home to make it 6-1! I didn't want to pull Henley on an error by the catcher but... Theismann works it to a full count and belts one down the right field line for an RBI double! 7-1! Sorry, Don Henley, but your night has come to an end.
Ruben Estrada (4-4, 2.62) will take the mound. The 26 year old former Twins top-100 prospect was called up from the minors in midseason out of need (he was only 5-5, 3.91 with AAA Hawaii) but he sure got the job done as a long man / spot starter in the 2nd half. He's got a really great slider but has some issues getting his pitches over for strikes, hence why he's in the back of this loaded Padres bullpen. He gave up 2 runs and failed to record an out in Game 1 of the NLCS. Maybe I should have pulled Oliver Williams instead because he allows the 2nd passed ball of the inning; Theismann gets to 3rd. Berenger scores him easily with a single to right: 8-1 and that closes the books on Henley. Flores strikes out swinging and this inning is FINALLY over. 8-1, Tigers.
Top 6th: O'Neill grounds out 4-3. Earnhardt lines out to Joey Ramone at 2nd. McCartney strikes out looking to retire the side. 8-1, Tigers.
Bottom 6th: Mullen grounds out 6-3. Romero singles to left; man's 3-4 on the night and hitting .444 in October. Normally I'm a big fan of Romero but he steals in an 8-1 game. Williams doesn't even bother to throw it; I'm a little surprised the scorer doesn't rule that indifference. Faison lines out to 2nd and makes Romero dive back into the bag. Ayala strikes out swinging. 8-1, Tigers.
Top 7th: Benavides has gotten the last 9 batters out since the leadoff walk allowed to Paul McCartney in the 4th. Make that 10, as Palacios strikes out swinging. Deuser breaks the streak by working a long at-bat into a 3-2 walk. Landy makes contact with a pitch for the first time in the game... but it's an easy 5-4 groundout/fielder's choice. Williams flies to center. 8-1, Tigers.
Bottom 7th: In for Estrada on the mound is little-used Greg Grady (0-0, 1.35), who started in AAA this year and then missed roughly 2 months with injuries. The 27 year old right-hander managed to get into just 8 games in the regular season with the big league club but he made them count enough to get onto the postseason roster. Despite throwing a fastball that tops out in the mid-80s, he's got a back-breaking curve that delivered him 13 Ks in 13.1 innings this year. Ayala strikes out swinging. Lauda walks. Theismann hits a hot shot to 3rd that Landry has to dive for... he stands up and the throw is wide of Paul McCartney, who juuust manages to keep it from going into the outfield. Everyone reaches on the error by Landry. Berenger grounds out 4-6. Grady gets out of a jam by inducing Armando Flores to ground out 6-4 to retire the side. 8-1, Tigers.
Top 8th: Joe Wicker's due up but instead it's time to page Dr. Jack Holman, who was 1-1 in the NLCS with 2 RBIs. He grounds out 4-3. McGraw singles through the hole and into left field. That's just the 2nd base hit allowed by Benavides all game. Benavides by the way is up to 108 pitches and maybe starting to tire a little. I don't have to bring him out but I don't have to leave him in either. O'Neill flies out to center; someone with more power might have done something with that pitch. Earnhardt walks. That's #5 for Benavides and I think that's gonna have to be it for the erstwhile starter.
I'll bring in swingman Chris McGranahan (5-5, 2.88). McGranahan's 36 years old and first played in the big leagues in 1958 but he showed this year he can still get batters out with guile and contact: only 2.9 K/9. He did have some issues with the dinger with 10 allowed in 103 IP but somehow hitters still only hit .254 off of him and I chalk that up to veteran skill. McCartney singles to right field. McGraw rushes home and gets there ahead of the throw from RF Frankie Faison! 8-2, and the trailing runners advance to 2nd and 3rd. Palacios hits a little dribbler that juuuust gets past Joey Ramone and goes into right-center for a base hit. Both runners score on the play! 8-4. Deuser belts one down the left field line for what looks like an easy double off the bat! The throw comes home and Palacios is... safe! Deuser takes 3rd on the play. 8-5! And that is going to be it for McGranahan.
It's Jim Marceau time, although man, I feel like I already used him kind of hard in the ALCS. Oh well, go big or go home. He works Landry to 1-2 and gets him to ground to short to retire the side. 8-5, Tigers.
Bottom 8th: I'll employ a little AL style double-switch with Dr. Jack staying in to play first base and banjo-hitting backup SS Ben Dowler (.141, 1, 7) coming in to hit 5th and see his first action of the postseason. Also, circumstances have changed enough to make me want to bring in the setup man Robbie Vaughn to keep it close. Vaughn strikes out Mullen, looking, on a 1-2 forkball. Romero flies to deep center. Faison strikes out swinging. 8-5, Tigers.
Top 9th: Hold onto your butts! I've got faith in Marceau but I don't have faith in this ballpark. Pinch-hitting for C Oliver Williams to lead it off is Ian Everett. Everett started 2 out of 3 games vs the Phillies and was a combined 0-7. He walks. Dr. Jack hits a slow roller to 2nd and gives Joey Ramone just one play, the 4-3 grounder. Everett gets into scoring position; of course, the Pads need a lot more than that. Dr. Phil hits one into right-center that Alvin Romero does a good job of keeping a single and holding Everett at 3rd base. Ed O'Neill grounds out to 2nd. Ramone trades the run for the out but it's only 1 out as there's no throw to first: 4-6 with the RBI FC. 8-6! Dale Earnhardt can now tie it all up with one swing of the bat. He looks like he tries to on an 0-2 curve but he misses it and the Tigers go up 1 game to 0!
