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Old 05-20-2018, 11:55 PM   #74
actionjackson
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Location: Toronto, ON
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In order to attempt to avoid the wall of text that the 1901 season/postseason recap turned into, I'm going to break up the 1902 season/postseason recap into three parts: I) Regular season and ALCS, II) NLCS, and III) World Series.

1902 Season/Postseason Recap:

I) Regular season and ALCS:

After a 1901 season which featured just one team above .600 baseball (Boston Beaneaters: 104-58), and one team below .400 baseball (Washington Senators: 64-98), the 1902 season included one .600+ team (Brooklyn Superbas: 101-61), but four teams finished below .400 (Cleveland Bronchos and Pittsburgh Pirates: 60-102, and Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals: 63-99). Only one team in MLB scored 800+ runs (New York Giants: 810), and only one team allowed 800+ runs (St. Louis Cardinals: 808). The largest amount of runs scored in my league in the first two seasons is 868 (1901 Detroit Tigers), and the most allowed is 847 (1901 Boston Americans). I like to see as many non-extreme seasons as possible, and this is fine by me. The occasional extreme season is OK, but I don't want it dominating the landscape of my league because that indicates to me that the balance is off somewhere. Same goes for dominant individual seasons. I don't want them to become the norm, because then they lose their significance in my eyes.

The ALCS featured the Baltimore Orioles (as they were named when the series took place), who went 93-69 in the regular season, and the Detroit Tigers (91-71). Pitching and defense dominated the postseason in all three series in 1902, as a total of 114 runs were scored in the 18 games (6.33 per game, or 3.17 per team game). Kind of how it should be. That's not to say I don't enjoy a good ole 15-14 barnburner (Game 4 of the RL 1993 World Series). It's just to say that pitching, defense and timely hitting should be on display in the postseason, and as we will see, they were.

Game 1 of the ALCS featured a sweet pitching matchup of AL Walter Johnson Award contenders. Fred Blanding (14-8, 2.59) went for the visiting Tigers against Cliff Lee (18-13, 2.24) of the Baltimore Orioles. SS Trevor Story got the party started for the Tigers with a two out two-run HR in the top of the 3rd. The Tigers never trailed after that. All the Orioles could muster was back-to-back two out solo shots (Dustin Pedroia and Todd Greene) off Blanding in the 4th inning to pull within one at 3-2. Final score (despite 13 K in 7.1 IP for Lee): Tigers 5, Orioles 2.

Game 2 would feature another matchup of Walter Johnson contenders: Tiger Alex Fernandez (13-8, 3.33), faced off against Oriole Earl Francis (17-6, 3.15). Francis came out of nowhere in 1902 to give the Orioles another SP option in a year they desperately needed someone to step up following the free agent defection of Harry Harper to the Cubs in the 1901/1902 offseason. It looked like it would be more of the same as Game 1, as the Tigers' LF Luis Olmo led off the game with a solo shot off Francis to put the Tigers up 1-0. They would extend the lead to 2-0 after one and a half innings, and 4-1 after six and a half. But the Orioles would make a stand in their half of the seventh, as they staged a two out rally with a double by CF Wayne Kirby, a run scoring single for DH Scott Livingstone, and a two-run HR by 2B Dustin Pedroia (Side note: Dustin Pedroia is just as pesky in OOTP as he is IRL) to tie the game at 4-4. It would stay that way until the bottom of the tenth when PH Kelly Gruber (atta boy) delivered a 2 out bases loaded single to walk off the Tigers and send the series back to Detroit knotted at 1-1.

Game 3 featured an old fashioned pitchers duel between Scott T Baker (12-13, 3.62), and Eppa Rixey (6-7, 3.57). Oriole C Todd Greene led off the top of the eighth by reaching base on an error by Detroit 3B Jerry Denny, and was doubled to third by RF Dayan Viciedo. Next, PH Mark Lemke was intentionally walked (items bolded due to my level of stunnedness [if that's a word] at the two events happening in the same at bat) to load the bases with nobody out. SS David Howard brought Greene home with the unearned run on a sac fly, giving the Orioles the only run they would need. Baker went the distance for the CG SHO, and Rixey went 8 outstanding 3-hit innings with the unearned run the only blemish on his record.

Two straight tough losses for the Tigers. They needed to find a way to turn it around in a hurry. They looked to Chase Anderson (13-16, 3.80) to be the stopper, and stop the bleeding he did in Game 4. He went the distance allowing just one unearned run on seven hits, while his mates battered SP Todd Ritchie (4-4, 3.25) for 6 runs (all earned) in 7.1 IP. The Tigers rode a 5-run bottom of the fifth to even the series at two, and set up a pivotal Game 5 between Cliff Lee and Fred Blanding again.

Game 5 was a wild one, despite the great pitching matchup as the Orioles built a 6-1 lead after 2 and a half. Detroit roared back with 4 runs in the bottom of the third, and one in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 6. They would pull a walk off of their own in the bottom of the 12th, with CF Mitch Maier singleing home star of the game 3B Jerry Denny. Denny went 4 for 6, with three doubles, three runs, and an RBI, good for 10 total bases. I'd say he might've made up for his costly Game 3 error with this game. After being down 2 games to 1 following two tough losses, the Tigers could taste it now as the series returned to Baltimore.

In Game 6, the Orioles would jump all over Tigers' starter Alex Fernandez, pummelling him for 6 earned runs in 4.2 innings. Oriole 3B Joe Lefebvre was the hero with a two out 3-run first inning bomb and a two out solo shot in the 7th off reliever Pat Misch to give the Orioles an insurance run in an eventual 7-4 victory. This of course meant one thing...Seventh heaven baby! There's nothing like a Game 7 with everything on the line.

The Tigers did not allow Baltimore to breathe in the seventh game. They built a 4-0 lead after 4 innings as DH Lefty O'Doul went off, hitting a first inning solo bomb, and a third inning two-run HR off Baker (both coming with two outs in the inning), which gave Detroit more than they would need in a 4-1 victory. It was a re-match of Game 3 starters Rixey and Baker, and once again Rixey gave up one unearned run in 7+ innings, but this time it was enough. Don Gullett wrapped things up with a six out save, punctuating things with a strike him out/throw him out double play. Dustin Pedroia, who had been so good early on, wore the goat horns in this one by getting thrown out for the final out of the series...In Game 7...Ugh, if you're a Baltimore fan, especially since the team moved to New York to become the Highlanders.

Series MVP: Lefty O'Doul DH (Detroit Tigers)

Ahem, side note from your humble writer. Remember when I said I wasn't going to give a wall of text? I lied!

Last edited by actionjackson; 05-21-2018 at 12:30 AM.
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