World Baseball Alliance

[Imperialism32]

September 20, 1960

Playoff Preview

It's the most... wonderful time... of the year! Yes, baseball fans, it's playoff time. Time for the remaining 16 teams to play down to one champion, the first ever true World Champion. The playoffs are formatted so that each of the four major leagues produces one winner that will represent their league and their continent in the World Series. The first-place team in each division plays the second-place team in their division, with the winners meeting in the league championship. The four league champions are then seeded based on their regular-season record. All series throughout the playoffs are best-of-7, played in a 2-3-2 format. The World Series is played at a semi-neutral site: A major-league city in the region of the team with the best record of the four teams is chosen as host.

Konami Cup

These teams are relatively evenly matched. Nobody in the AL won 80 or more games, and there's only an 8-game gap between the top team (Mumbai) and the bottom team (Shanghai). The Vipers are led, of course, by Taki Arakawa, who was profiled by Relay in the May issue. He wound up finishing second in the AL in both ERA and WAR. The Vipers are built on their pitching, but so is their first round opponent in Melbourne. The Mudfish lack the singular star like Arakawa, but they allowed the second-fewest runs in the AL South. Their series will come down to which offense is able to make enough noise going against a very solid starting rotation.

On the other side, the Yokohama Lynx are all about offense. Mathew Alkire leads the way but it's a difficult lineup to face because so many players can beat you. Shanghai has a quality offense too, but Yokohama outscored them by more than 100 runs this season. It's going to take a Herculean effort by the Pandas pitching to overcome the Lynx attack.

Serie del Caribe

The star power here belongs to the Caracas Rangers with Santiago Vecchio on the mound and Salvador Acquiel atop the lineup. They cruised to their division win, leading nearly wire to wire. Contesting them are the Panama City Seabees, who overcame a tumultuous season that was on the brink of falling apart with multiple teammates speaking out about star SS Sebastian Cajar. But winning cures all, and there haven't been any leaks since the Seabees turned things around. Cajar wound up hitting .348, and youngster Hefesto Navas was a very nice surprise at age 21.

In the North Division, Kingston enters as the favorite. The Palms backed their way into the playoffs, finishing 4-6 down the stretch as San Juan and Camaguey failed to do any better to pass them by. Maximo Loaiza, the hero of the World Baseball Championship back in March, turned in a very good season for a Kingston team that mainly flew under the radar in terms of international attention this year. But there's a reason they won 79 games, and Loaiza has the opportunity to shine again.

European Cup

Let's be honest: this is going to be the Kiev Comets Show. Either they're going to continue winning and set an extremely high standard, or they're going to get tripped up in a short series and go down as the best team to not win a championship. Okay, this is the first year, but still, that would endure for a long time. They were the talk of baseball all season, placing both Gianfranco Cochetti and Henry Jones on the cover of Relay. They crush the ball, and their starting rotation gives no quarter. The only "weakness" is their bullpen, which posted a fine-but-not-spectacular 3.98 ERA. But the starters work so deep into games that it minimizes their exposure. Their only weakness was that their #5 starter wasn't terribly good, but he's going to work from the bullpen as they move to a four-man rotation.

If the Comets don't advance, Lenny Sloan is the likely culprit. The Paris Pride ace starter won the EPL strikeout crown, edging Kiev's Jones (though Jones narrowly beat him on ERA). Sloan has been fantastic all season, including two wins in two starts against Kiev. Offensively, Lucas Dawson is the trigger man, getting things started. Led by Dawson, the Pride also play top-notch defense at nearly every position. The possibility of a Paris vs. Kiev matchup for the European Cup is tantalizing.

Fall Classic

By WAR, the best hitter in baseball this season was Toronto's Jacob Yoachum (and it wasn't particularly close). That you haven't seen his name in many updates reflects the kind of boring consistency he showed this season. He didn't especially hot at any point, he just knocked the cover off the ball all season long. Toronto went as he did, winding up with the second-best record in the sport behind Kiev. With a pitching staff headed by C.J. Gorski and Bryant Achilles, the Giants are a well-rounded crew. And as if they weren't strong enough, they dug into their minors for DH Raj Brown, a 19 year-old wunderkind. They're the favorite over the Boston Bombers, but you can't discount a team with Jay Givens, who of course was on the very first Relay cover. He tallied 6.1 WAR for Boston.

Vancouver and Kansas City are as evenly-matched as can possibly be. They were neck and neck all season, eventually settling the division in a Game 133 that, of course, didn't matter for either team as their playoff spot was assured. Kansas City is led by Josh Dillow, about whom you can read more of in August's issue of Relay. He'll have to try and solve one of the most interesting players in the entire world, Vancouver's knuckleballing ace Matthew Clock. He missed a few weeks early in the season with a bad elbow but was nearly unhittable over the summer. His ERA in June, July, and August was under 2.65 each month. Kansas City has the stronger resume (they boast the NAL's best run differential, even above Toronto) but anything can happen in a short series.

[Imperialism32]

September 20, 1960

Henry Jones Dominates, Kiev Walks Off

Warsaw Trappers starting pitcher Bram Roos was brilliant. For 8 innings he held arguably the best offense in baseball scoreless, allowing just three hits. Unfortunately, Henry Jones was even better. Warsaw led off the top of the 9th with two singles, but Jones calmly recorded a strikeout and a double play to avert the threat, walking off the mound with the score still tied 0-0. Freyr Hellmann drew a walk to start the bottom half, and after a sacrifice bunt Zach Paris ended it all with a deep home run to right-center field.

You can't help but feel that the Trappers missed a major opportunity. To score a game 1 victory against Henry Jones and put a bit of pressure on the heavily-favored Kiev Comets would have been monumental. Instead they'll have to win four out of the next six to pull off the upset. Good luck.

[Imperialism32]

September 22, 1960

Arakawa Brushes With History, Vipers Hurl 1-Hitter

In game 2 of their playoff series, Mumbai Vipers ace Taki Arakawa took a no-hitter into the 9th inning, coming oh-so-close to stamping his name in the record books. He dominated the Melbourne Mudfish all day long before finally allowing a one-out double in the top of the 9th inning. He exited after hitting two straight batters to load the bases, but Hisao Ota coaxed a flyout to close it out and seal the one-hitter. With the win, Mumbai pulls even at 1-1 in the series.

[Imperialism32]

September 29, 1960

Sometimes The Knuckler Doesn't Knuckle; KC Forces Game 7

Vancouver Bruins knuckleballer Matthew Clock confounded the Wheat Kings in his first start of the series, tossing 7 innings and allowing two runs while striking out 10 and walking nobody. It was a completely different story tonight when Clock took the mound to try and close out the series. Kansas City knocked his knuckler around and then continued their assault on the Bruins bullpen. Josh Dillow, Rick Tapia, and Holden Dostthaller all racked up three hits apiece, leaving no doubt that the series will have need to go the distance to decide a winner.

[Imperialism32]

September 30, 1960

Another One-Hit Wonder

For the second time already in the playoffs, a team has thrown a combined one-hitter. This time it was Josh Sarre and the Kansas City Wheat Kings performing the feat, made more impressive by the fact that it happened in a decisive Game 7 of the NAL playoffs. Sarre held the Bruins hitless until the 7th inning when Paul Calvin laced a double. He had previously allowed a run without a hit on a walk, an error, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly, but otherwise Vancouver was completely held in check.

[Imperialism32]

October 1, 1960

League Championship Preview



Konami Cup
Shanghai Pandas (71-61) vs. Mumbai Vipers (79-53)

The Pandas were down 3-1 to the Yokohama Lynx in their first-round series and then pulled out three straight one-run wins to stun the division winners and reach the AL championship. Two weeks ago it was anything but assured they'd even make the playoffs, but now they have a real chance to take home some hardware. They're the weakest of the eight teams remaining, but the beauty of baseball is that anything can happen. Their start is SP Kunyang Zhang, who finished 4th in the AL in WAR with 6.1. He struck out nearly four batters for every walk he issued this season. He got roughed up by the Lynx in one outing last round, but rebounded for a win his next time out.

Mumbai dropped their first game to Melbourne and then apparently decided that the Mudfish were simply done scoring. Taki Arakawa threw the near-no-hitter in Game 2, and then they won 8-0, 9-2, and 4-0 to easily close out the series. The four members of their playoff rotation (Taki Arakawa, Hidenosuke Katsuoka, Song-Hyeon Kwan, and Juichi Matsumura) combined for 22.1 WAR this season, and the Vipers unsurprisingly led the AL in ERA. Their bullpen is exceptional, too. The offense is prone to slumps, and they finished 7th of 8 in their division in runs scored. If the bats fall asleep, even the expected terrific pitching might not be enough to advance.

Serie del Caribe
Kingston Cockatoos (79-53) vs. Caracas Rangers (80-52)

It didn't seem like there would be much drama in the Caribbean League first round... until the Rangers nearly blew a 3-0 series lead to Panama City. But Oscar Fabregas came through with a strong start in Game 7 and disaster was averted as the won 6-1. The Rangers are led by an offense built on the long ball: Every regular starter except for one hit at least 13 home runs. The one who didn't, catcher Nicholas Pascal, led the team in batting average at .368. So you could say it's a strong offense. Santiago Vecchio taking the mound for a couple starts doesn't hurt, either. He won 20 games and finished second in the CL in WAR amongst pitchers at 5.9.

Kingston is, simply put, a ballclub full of solid players. Only one, Maximo Loaiza, put up more than 3.7 WAR, but there are very few weak points down the roster. Seriously, I'm looking over their roster and right now and there's just not that much exciting going on, but everyone is good. These teams were separated by run differential by only 9 runs over the season, so it figures to be an evenly-matched affair.

European Cup
Kiev Comets (93-39) vs. Paris Pride (80-52)

When Kiev escaped with a 2-0 walkoff win in Game 1 against the Warsaw Trappers, it felt like a big missed opportunity and wow did that prove to be true. The Trappers hung tough with the Comets all series, finally faltering in a 6-5 loss in Game 7. The Comets, who had seemed invincible all season, finally looked human. But they survived and advanced to take on the Paris Pride, who dispatched Amsterdam in a rather ho-hum six game series. Kiev stole all the headlines this season but Paris was an extremely strong crew and should not be taken lightly.

They're led, of course, by their ace Lenny Sloan. While he isn't scheduled to match up directly with Henry Jones of Kiev, the series could come down to who gets more out of their big weapon in the rotation. Of course, fellow starters Michael Reid (of Kiev) and Michaël van Lancker (of Paris) were both All Stars as well and both can change the series with a dominant start or two. van Lancker was named MVP of Paris' series with Amsterdam.

Offensively, you know all the names for Kiev: Cochetti, Thierry, Martin, Hellmann, Paris, Galatti. They hit well all season, tallying 753 runs (Paris scored 700). The Pride are led by Martin Nyland who hit .321/.398/.527 for the season along with Lucas Dawson, the 22 year-old center fielder. He put together a .287/.350/.497 season, tallying 4.6 WAR with his terrific defense. Kiev will, of course, be favored, but the Pride are sure to provide some very stiff competition.

Fall Classic
Toronto Giants (83-49) vs. Kansas City Wheat Kings (77-58)

Both of these teams were the best all season long in the NAL, but they each pushed to the brink in the previous round. In fact, each had fallen behind 3-2 and needed to win two straight to get here. This is a match-up of the two best position players in the NAL: Toronto's Jacob Yoachum and Kansas City's Josh Dillow. Yoachum led the league in WAR at 7.6, Dillow was second at 6.2. Yoachum's 176 OPS+ edged out Dillow's 165+, but you really can't go wrong with either one on your side. In the first round, Yoachum hit .435/.517/.913 while Dillow batted .433/.500/.767.

Yoachum vs. Dillow - click to enlarge

Neither offense is a one-trick pony, though. For Kansas City, Rick Tapia hit .335 and stole 29 bases while Linus Lee smacked 35 home runs and Isaac Mohammed added 27 more. For the Giants, Upton Abdul hit .320 with 25 steals, Landon Burnwood hit .297 with 19 homers, and 19 year-old top prospect Raj Brown had a 121 OPS+ after being called up in August. Mohammed and Abdul are also both wizards with the glove at shortstop.

On the pitching side, Toronto would seemingly have an advantage with the 1-2 combo of C.J. Gorski and Bryant Achilles. The duo ranked 1-2 in wins in the NAL, each topping 6 WAR. But Boston roughed them both up a bit last round and they combined to allow an uncharacteristic 13 runs in 22 innings, an ERA over 5.00. They'll need to be better in this series. For Kansas City, the pitching begins and ends with Josh Sarre, who just started a one-hitter in Game 7. He went 19-3 on the season with 5.3 WAR. But while Toronto has two potentially dominant pitchers, the next-best starter for the Wheat Kings carried a 4.40 ERA this year.

Kansas City has the better overall offense, in fact they probably have the best offense in the world. They scored more runs than anybody, including the juggernaut Kiev Comets. But with Sarre limited to making only two starts, their pitching would seem to be in trouble. Toronto has the better pitching on paper, but Gorski and Achilles need to rebound from their struggles last round to validate that. Either way, we're going to see Josh Dillow or Jacob Yoachum move forward, and that's a win for baseball fans.

[Imperialism32]

October 6, 1960

Caracas Rangers First To Advance To World Series

In the first round, the Caracas Rangers built a 3-0 series lead on Panama City, then watched that dwindle away until they prevailed in a pressure-packed Game 7 to advance to the Serie del Caribe finals. This time, with a 3-1 lead over the Kingston Cockatoos, there would be no drama. Star pitcher Santiago Vecchio picked up his second win of the series and got plenty of run support including three home runs. The 7-5 Game 5 was never in any serious doubt, as the Rangers would stretch their lead and Kingston would climb back a bit, but the tide never turned.

We'll have much more coverage of how the Caracas Rangers will go down in history as the first team to officially clinch a spot in the four-team World Series when we publish our preview.

[Imperialism32]

October 7, 1960

Vipers Ride Pitching To Konami Cup

Taki Arakawa: 7 innings, 3 runs
Hidenosuke Kataoka: 9 innings, 0 runs
Seong-Hyeon Kwan: 7 innings, 2 runs
Juichi Matsumura: 7 innings, 2 earned runs (2 unearned)
Taki Arakawa: 7 innings, 1 run
Hidenosuke Kataoka: 7 innings, 1 run

The Mumbai Vipers defeated the Shanghai Pandas 4-1 to win the first-ever Konami Cup, awarded to the champion of the Australasian League. Hidenosuke Kataoka was incredible, yet again. His postseason ERA in four starts is 0.84, and he yielded just a run on three hits to the Pandas in Game 6.

As a team, their pitching had been good all season, but it's gone to another level in the playoffs. In eleven games, they're allowing an average of 1.8 runs. Stay tuned for complete coverage as the Vipers head to the World Series to represent their continent!

[Imperialism32]

October 7, 1960

Comets Solve Sloan To Win EPL Title

What seemed like an utter inevitability all season long turned into fact: The Kiev Comets are champions of the European Premier League. It hasn't quite been the dominance that was expected, but the Comets won four straight after digging an 0-2 hole, finally defeating Paris Pride ace Lenny Sloan in the final game of the series. With their backs to the wall, the Pride hoped Sloan could force a Game 7, but the Comets were on him for most of the night. The league leader in strikeouts fanned only four hitters, tied for his season low (which he did twice, including once against Kiev).

The Comets will enjoy a semi-homefield advantage in the World Series, which will be played in their home continent since they are the team with the best record among the final four. League officials announced after the game that Madrid will be the host city.

[Imperialism32]

October 9, 1960

Sammy Staub Lifts Toronto To World Series

Toronto 1B Sammy Staub, who hit .229/.289/.424, was the unlikely hero in Game 6, socking a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to put the Giants up 6-5. They quickly rung up the final three outs and celebrated in front of their home crowd. They'll represent North America in the World Series over in Madrid. Keep an eye out for the complete team preview coming soon!

[Imperialism32]

October 12, 1960

World Series Preview - Part One



Mumbai Vipers (79-53) vs. Kiev Comets (93-39)

How They Got Here
I've written more about the Kiev Comets than any other team because, well, they've been that good all season long. They finished 93-39, by far the best in the World Baseball Alliance. They scored the most runs in the European Premier League and allowed the fewest. They were the only team to put two players on the cover of Relay Magazine. Compared to their dominance in the regular season, their playoff performance has been somewhat underwhelming: they were pushed to seven games by the Warsaw Trappers and then six games by the Paris Pride. But they come in hot, having won their last four straight over the Pride and scoring 26 runs over those four games.

The Mumbai Vipers have mostly cruised in the postseason en route to the Konami Cup. They dropped their first game to Melbourne before winning four straight, and then lost Game 1 again to Shanghai but won four of the next five. They've done it almost entirely on the back of their pitching. Taki Arakawa was the first pitcher featured on the cover of [i]Relay[i], but all four starters have been outstanding. They battled with the Canberra Rattlers for 1st place for most of the season, eventually wrapping up the division by going 10-5 in September.

The Hitting


(Mumbai top, Kiev bottom)

The Comets have a major edge on offense. Their fourth-best position player by WAR would lead the Vipers. They outscored Mumbai by 110 runs on the season, meaning they averaged 0.83 more runs per game. Gianfranco Cochetti, and Zach Paris can beat you with the long while Gusmani Galatti, Michaël Thierry, and Freyr Hellmann excel at reaching base. Paris has been a terror in the postseason, socking six home runs in the Comets' 13 games. Cochetti has been hot, too, hitting .370/.393/.630 in the playoffs. There are no easy outs in the lineup. Even center fielder Job van den Heuvel, who starts because of his glove, has an .872 OPS and three home runs in the playoffs.

Mumbai is led by Jonathan Castino from Hong Kong, though his .340 batting average is inflated by a high BABIP. The Vipers failed to make much noise with their offense during the season, ranking in the bottom half of their own division in every relevant hitting category except OBP (they ranked 3rd). That trend has carried over into the playoffs and they averaged only 2.5 runs per game in their most recent series against Shanghai.

The Pitching


(Mumbai top, Kiev bottom)

The Mumbai Vipers pitching has been nothing short of incredible in the postseason. They've recorded four shutouts in 11 games, and twice more held their opponents to a single run. If any team can quell the strong top-to-bottom lineup, it's theirs. Taki Arakawa has gotten plenty of attention all season long, but it shouldn't get lost just how good the other members of the rotation have been. Hindenosuke Kataoka has thrown 32 innings in the postseason and allowed just three runs and was named Konami Cup series MVP. Seong-Hyeon Kwan and Juichi Matsumura have been nearly as good in their own right and the bullpen led by Hisao Ota has been among the game's best. Arakawa, Kataoka, and Kwan are all on the wrong side of 30, so this rotation isn't built for the long haul. But I can already say confidently it's going to go down in history as one of the best in the WBA.

Kiev's pitching is led by the two sub-6-foot lefties, Henry Jones and Michael Reid. There's very little they left unaccomplished this season, punctuated by Jones tossing a no-hitter late in the season. They've been a little shakier in the playoffs than you might expect, though for Jones the difference is small: he got beat up in one start by Paris but has otherwise allowed four runs in 23 innings. Reid on the other hand has truly struggled, showing a 6.16 ERA in four postseason starts after a 5.59 mark in three regular-season September games. Getting him right is going to be crucial. Baron Hewlitt and Adolph Borchardt fill out the rotation. They're nice pieces but the overall strength of the rotation doesn't match up with Mumbai's. And so far they've danced around catastrophe, but the Comets bullpen is their weak point. Closer Fyodor Pavlishin has allowed 11 home runs in 54 innings. You'd feel safer with the Vipers bullpen to protect a lead late.

The Prediction
The Comets are the better overall team, but the Vipers starting rotation is the finest they'll have faced all season. The key is that they'll need their offense to do just enough. If they let Jones, Reid, and Borchardt be awesome instead of merely good, then it's the Comets who will cruise into the World Series championship. I'll go a bit against the grain though since the Vipers starting rotation appears to be 100% locked in and call my shot: Mumbai wins in 7.

[Imperialism32]

October 12, 1960

World Series Preview - Part Two



Caracas Rangers (80-52) vs. Toronto Giants (83-49)

How They Got Here
Both of these teams led their respective divisions for nearly the entire season so there was little worry about making the postseason. The Caracas Rangers nearly blew a 3-0 series lead in round 1, but recovered to win Game 7 and then easily took care of the Kingston Cockatoos in their Serie del Caribe championship run. Toronto, on the other hand, has trailed in both of their series: Down 2-0 to Boston they rallied to win in 7, and they won three straight against Kansas City after falling behind 2-1. The Giants offense has largely been solid, but the pitching has been up and down over the course of the playoffs.

The Hitting


(Caracas top, Toronto bottom)

The Caracas Rangers are built for power. Their 168 home runs led the Caribbean League and was good for 3rd in the WBA. Interestingly, their top three players by WAR are not their big power threats. Salvador Acquiel is the team's best player, an incredible defensively center fielder who put up a 122 OPS+ and 30 steals in his spare time at the plate. Catcher Nicholas Pascal is the one player who's not a home run guy, but he hit 38 doubles, so discount his power at your own risk. Mateo de la Cruz combined with Acquiel to put on a clinic defensively (left fielder Jonathan Chavez is the defensive weak link in the outfield) and also showed well at the plate, leading the CL in walks.

Toronto's offense is a one-man band, but wow does that band sound good. Jacob Yoachum is the key to everything the Giants are able to do offensively, one of just five batters in the WBA 20 home runs, 20 stolen base club (and he hit five more home runs than the next-closest member). He led the WBA in doubles, runs, RBIs, OPS, and WAR. It's not impossible for Toronto to win if he doesn't hit well, but he's listed first, second, and third on opponent's scouting reports and has a 1.218 OPS in the postseason The secret to beating him is by pummeling him with left-handed pitchers (his OPS vs. LHP is just .676) but the Rangers are a righty-heavy pitching staff. Upton Abdul, Landon Burnwood, and Riley David (one of the few actual Canadians on the team) are capable hitters but they're complimentary pieces, not centerpieces should Yoachum be neutralized.


The Pitching


(Caracas top, Toronto bottom)

20-game winner Santiago Vecchio headlines the Caracas staff and has been a workhorse in the playoffs. He's throwing 30 innings already to the tune of a 2.08 ERA. Way back in the World Baseball Championship, he shut down a USA lineup, but Yoachum did record three hits in that game. Vecchio is backed up by Matias Duran and Oscar Fabregas in the rotation, who've both been good in the playoffs. Duran's 2.42 playoff ERA is a bit of fool's gold with a 13-12 K-BB, but Fabregas has walked just two in 21 innings. Their bullpen is serviceable, but there's no one guy who will intimidate Toronto.

The Giants are led the 1-2 punch of C.J. Gorski and Bryant Achilles, who each topped 6.0 WAR. They're both right-handed power pitchers, but Gorski is a classic strikeout pitcher while Achilles makes his living off weak contact. Neither has been particularly effective in the postseason: Gorski has had two starts of 4 inning, 5 runs allowed while Achilles' ERA is over 7.00. Jing-Ren Carmichael, who spent most of the season in the bullpen, gave them a quality start against Kansas City in the NAL Fall Classic. Toronto's bullpen is nothing to write home about overall (4.46 season ERA) but they feature the best reliever on either side in this series in Jesse Gazda. They've already used him for a 2-inning stint on four occasions in the playoffs, so expect to see a good dose of him against Caracas.

The Prediction

These teams match up very well. Caracas is the much deeper squad, while Toronto boasts three genuine superstars in Yoachum, Gorski, and Achilles. Essentially the series is going to come down to how those three perform: If they get three good starts from Gorski/Achilles and Yoachum stays hot at the plate, they should win the series. But I'll cast my lot with the more balanced team and say Caracas in 6.

[Imperialism32]

And with that, let the anticipation build. I should be back on Sunday with a recap of at least the semifinals, with the final championship series coming perhaps on Monday.

[Imperialism32]

Slight change of plans: Nothing today, it'll all be tomorrow.

[Imperialism32]

October 18, 1960

Comets Shake Off Walkoff Loss, Win Series 4-1

For four games, the Kiev Comets battered and bashed the vaunted Mumbai Vipers pitching staff. Moving to the 9th inning of Game 4 with a two-run lead, they seemed on their way to a sweep. But Sun-Ju Choy came to the plate with two on and two out and gave the Vipers fans something to cheer about, knocking one out of the park to get Mumbai in the win column for the series.

No worries for Kiev, though. Riding their ace, Henry Jones, they returned the next night to take care of business. Jones pitched around two home runs to outduel Hidenosuke Kataoka and sent the Comets on to the World Series championship. It was his second of win the series; he also pitched 7 strong innings in Game 1.

[Imperialism32]

October 20, 1960

Caracas Hammers Giants Bullpen To Advance

The Caracas Rangers trailed 4-1 heading into the 7th inning of Game 6, but they scored five runs in the final frames to knock off the Toronto Giants and advance to the World Series championship. It was their second late-inning 6-4 victory after they outlasted Toronto 6-4 in 14 innings of Game 1 to set the tone for the series. Santiago Vecchio hurled a complete-game shutout in Game 5 to put the Rangers in prime positions, and their bats awakened late to get the job done.

[Imperialism32]

Rangers Prevail In Wild Game 1

If Game 1 is any indication, the first World Series championship series is going to be something we remember forever. Kiev and Caracas condensed a season's worth of twists, turns, and surprises into nine crazy innings, with the Caribbean League team hanging on for the 9-7 victory.

The game started quietly enough, with three scoreless innings each from Michael Reid and Oscar Fabregas as the teams felt each other out, like boxers dancing around the ring. In the fourth inning, the haymakers started flying. The Comets started the inning with a single, a walk, and a double, tacking on a run-scoring groundout to go up 2-0. The Rangers answered immediately, getting two of their own aboard before Jude van der Meijden cleared them with a home run to take the lead.

Kiev tied it up in the 5th on a Mel Martin double, but Cyril Ruano doubled home a run in the bottom half to restore the lead. The Comets, of course, would not quietly, jumping back on top in the 6th with a walk and three singles, the go-ahead hit by Michaël Thierry.

They held the Rangers scoreless for an inning and then added on with a Zach Paris solo shot followed up another run-scoring single. That just seemed to make Caracas mad, because they stormed back in the bottom of the 7th, starting with a walk, a single, and, after a strikeout, an RBI single to cut it to 7-5 with two still on. Reid was relieved by Patrick Dunkel, who promptly hit the first batter to load the bases. Mateo de la Cruz followed with a line drive single to tie it up, but they still weren't done. After another strikeout, the Caribbean League leader in batting average, Nicholas Pascal, delivered what turned out to be the decisive blow, a soft liner that dropped into right field and scored two.

The Rangers turned to closer Vinny Bello for the final two innings, and he restored order by retiring all six Comets he faced, four via the strikeout.

[Imperialism32]

October 23, 1960

Kiev Piles Up Runs Late To Knot Series

Box score

For six innings, the Henry Jones vs. Santiago Vecchio pitching matchup lived up the hype. The best starters in the EPL and the CL had pitched admirably, the game a 2-2 tie. Vecchio, who had thrown 130 pitches his last start, had issued two walks in the 6th before getting out of trouble, but the Rangers decided to pull him.

And then the Kiev Comets feasted. Michaël Thierry hit a go-ahead 2-run homer in the 7th, Gianfranco Cochetti homered in the 8th, and Mel Martin capped it off with a 3-run shot in the 9th to turn the previously tense game into a laugher.

[Imperialism32]

October 23, 1960

Hellmann The Hero As Kiev Walks Off A Winner

Box score

The Kiev Comets had a 4-1 lead. Then it was 4-2... 4-3... then a 2-run home run by Caracas suddenly propelled them ahead late. The Rangers turned to Vicente Bello, who had shut the door with authority in Game 1. This time the Comets were able to scratch out two singles and brought Freyr Hellmann to the plate with two out in the 8th. On a 3-2 pitch, the team's leader in batting average came through, knocking a grounder through the right side to tie it up. Two innings later he came up again with two men on, and didn't even need to get a hit to be the hero: A deep flyball was enough to score Gusmano Galatti and give the Comets a 2-1 series lead.

[Imperialism32]

October 26, 1960

Borchardt Pushes Caracas To The Brink

Box score

For most of the season, Michael Reid and Henry Jones got all the ink headlining the Kiev Comets rotation. But there was a third All Star in the group: Adolph Borchardt. He proved why in Game 4, spotting the Rangers a run in the 1st inning before shutting them down for the next six. He got help offensively from the usual suspects: Mel Martin was 3-4, Michaël Thierry added two hits, and Zach Paris drove in two and scored two. The game was never truly in doubt once the Comets surged to a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 1st.

The Comets will have three chances to put away Caracas now, beginning tomorrow night with Reid on the hill.