Quick recap of the rules, adapted from Jonah Keri's teams entry in his BestCoolest columns:
The team has to have been good, and I have to remember watching them. So, as above, that's 1992 on. But rather than just making it a list of the 10 best teams of the last 24 seasons, I want to focus on teams that I enjoyed watching for some reason or another. In part 1A, I talked about the 2004 Boston Red Sox, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2015 Toronto Blue Jays, 1999 New York Mets, and 2001 Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox and Diamondbacks were teams that I only really followed for 1 series or so in the playoffs, but with great delight, and both won the World Series in those seasons. The Jays, Mets and Mariners were teams that had good seasons and fun playoff runs, but ultimately lost in their respective League Championship Series round in year. In part 1B, I talked about the Giants of 2010, 2012, and 2014. Starring Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, and a cast of other fun characters, the Giants have been my favourite (alone or tied) franchise of just about the last decade. A lot of their players will end up on the "modern" half of my favourite players list, which will come next. In this part, I'll be focused on the teams that got me started with my love of baseball (and who will populate a good portion of my "older" half of the favourite players list). It's throwback time. 2d. 1992 Toronto Blue Jays The first team I followed, they get bumped to a second place tie because my memories of the next year are stronger, but this group helped build the foundation. And while I didn't watch much of them live, I've watched that video linked above without exaggeration probably 30 or more times. There are likely to be fewer overall links in the next two, just owing to their age, but if you have an hour to spare and love nostalgia, 90's hairdos on fans in the stands, and the Blue Jays, click on the link at this title and the next one. The Jays came into the 1992 season with a strong recent history. They had won the American League East in 1991 and 1989, and won at least 85 games every year since 1983, including a team record 99 in 1985. They had a good mix of young and veteran players in the lineup.
In the ALCS, they would face the Oakland Athletics, who had won the American League pennant each year from 1988-1990, beating the Blue Jays in 1989 on the way to winning the World Series. The Athletics had star power in Bash Brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco and leadoff hitter extraordinaire Rickey Henderson, and strong pitching from Mike Moore, Dave Stewart, Bob Welch, and Dennis Eckersley, among others. Eckersley would win the Cy Young Award and the American League MVP that year thanks to his 51 saves and 1.91 ERA, though looking back with advanced metrics would show that to be suspect choices on both fronts. In game 1, Morris got the ball against Dave Stewart. He was roughed up in the second inning, as McGwire and Terry Steinbach went deep against him to give the A's a 3-0 lead. The Jays would answer with solo home runs from Borders in the 5th and Winfield in the 6th, and then a run-scoring single from Olerud in the 8th. Morris would come back out for the 9th inning, and gave up a leadoff homer to Harold Baines. He would complete the game, but the Jays were shut down in the bottom of the 9th and took the loss 4-3. In game 2, Cone would face Mike Moore, who gave up a 2 run homer to Kelly Gruber in the 5th inning to give the Jays a 2-0 lead. The Jays would add a run in the 7th, and Cone came out after allowing a leadoff triple in the 9th, which would then score Oakland's only run before Tom Henke closed the door on a 3-1 victory. Game 3 starter Juan Guzman had earned the only Jays victory in the 1991 playoffs, and would go 6 strong innings, allowing just 2 runs, as home runs from Maldonado and Alomar helped the Jays to a 3-2 lead. After Manny Lee tripled in 2 runs in the 7th, the A's would get 2 back against Duane Ward in the bottom of the inning, but the Jays countered with another run in the 8th. The A's answered back in the bottom of the 8th with one more to draw to 6-5, but the Blue Jays would score a final run in the top of the 9th before Tom Henke completed his 5-out save to finish a 7-5 victory. In game 4, Jack Morris would get hit hard, leaving after 3.1 innings with the Jays trailing 5-1. Todd Stottlemyre would go 3.2 innings and allow just one more, but the Jays trailed 6-1 going into the 8th inning. After an Alomar single against starter Bob Welch, the A's turned to the bullpen, but Jeff Parrett would give up back-to-back singles to bring the Jays a run closer. In came Eckersley, who the Jays greeted with 2 more hits to come closer at 6-4, but he would get the next three hitters to end the inning. On to the 9th, and after Devon White led off with a single, Alomar would take Eckersley deep to tie the game a 6. The two teams would battle into the 11th, when Pat Borders brought home Derek Bell with a sacrifice fly, and the Jays would take the game 7-6, leading the series now 3 games to 1. Game 5 saw David Cone come back on short rest, and this combined with Morris' game 5 performance probably helped Cito Gaston's decision to go back to a 4-man rotation, as Cone was rocked for 6 runs in 4 innings including a Ruben Sierra home run. The Jays would score just twice against Dave Stewart, who pitched a complete game for a 6-2 Oakland victory. Back in Toronto, Juan Guzman would get the ball for game 6. Guzman would strike out 8 over 7 innings of 1-run ball and the Jays would chase starter Mike Moore in the bottom of the 3rd after scoring their 6th run of the game. They would cruise to a 9-2 victory, and the first World Series that would include games outside the US. Roberto Alomar would win series MVP with a .423 average, 2 home runs, and 5 stolen bases. The World Series would match the Jays up with the now two-time reigning National League Champion Atlanta Braves. The Braves had the top pitching staff in the National League, featuring 26-year-old Tom Glavine (20-8, 2.76 ERA), 25-year-old John Smoltz (15-12, 2.85 ERA, and an NL-high 215 strikeouts), and 22-year-old Steve Avery (11-11, 3.20 ERA). They had also led the NL in home runs and slugging, and scored the third most runs in the league. Jack Morris would get the ball for the Jays in game 1, and he had shut the Braves out for 10 innings in their most recent World Series game, number 7 in 1991. When Joe Carter homered against Glavine in the 4th, Braves fans had to be feeling a little bit nervous. But, to quote the World Series film "...fame, and scoreless innings streaks, are fleeting." In the 6th inning, Morris would falter, giving up a 3-run home run to catcher Damon Berryhill. Glavine would finish the game allowing only 4 hits overall, as the Braves took a 3-1 victory. In game 2, David Cone would return to the mound, facing off against John Smoltz. Cone would struggle somewhat, giving up 5 hits, 5 walks, 4 stolen bases, and 4 runs in 4.1 innings. Smoltz would pitch well, coming out in the 8th after the Jays narrowed the score to 4-3. In the top of the 9th inning, closer Jeff Reardon allowed a walk to pinch hitter Derek Bell before backup catcher Ed Sprague rocked him for a pinch-hit, go ahead home run. Tom Henke would close out the game in the bottom of the 9th as Kelly Gruber poked the Braves fans with a mock tomahawk chop. Game 3 featured the first World Series game on non-American soil. The Jays sent young fireballer Juan Guzman to the mound against young lefty Steve Avery, and both pitchers were locked in early. Through the first 3 innings, each team managed just 1 hit, and both pitchers were looking very good. In the top of the 4th inning, Guzman gave up back-to-back singles to Deion Sanders and Terry Pendleton, bringing David Justice to the plate. Justice would hit the ball deep to center field, where Devon White made a leaping catch against the wall. Pendleton had been running, but Sanders returned to second base, crossing Pendleton, making him the second out of the inning. Gruber tried to run down Sanders, but just missed the tag according to the umpires, losing a chance at an amazing triple play. Joe Carter would then make the Braves regret the miscue in the bottom of the 4th with a home run off of Avery to give the Jays a 1-0 lead. Guzman would hold the Braves scoreless until the top of the 6th, when Justice would knock in Sanders with a single to tie the game at 1. In the top of the 8th, with Guzman still in the game, the Braves would take the lead after an error by Kelly Gruber allowed Otis Nixon to reach and he was knocked in 4 batters later by Lonnie Smith. Gruber, who hadn't had a hit in the playoffs since game 2 of the ALCS, would lead off the bottom of the 8th with one of just 2 hits he would pick up in the World Series, tying the game with a long home run off of Steve Avery. (By the way, if you're thinking that starting pitchers were left in a lot longer in the early 90's than the last couple of years, you're absolutely right). After Duane Ward held the Braves scoreless in the 9th, Jimy Williams, who had replaced Bobby Cox after he was thrown from the game in the top of the 9th following a close strikeout, throw-out double play, would get very busy in the bottom of the 9th. Avery would come back out and allow a leadoff single to Roberto Alomar. Cox brought in right-hander Mark Wohlers to face Joe Carter, but after Alomar immediately stole second base, Wohlers would intentionally walk Carter. Dave Winfield dropped down a sacrifice bunt (sigh), and Cox would bring out left-hander Mike Stanton to face the left-handed hitting John Olerud. The Jays brought in game 2 hero Ed Sprague, but he was intentionally walked to load the bases. Closer Jeff Reardon, who had allowed the game-winning home run in game 2, would come in to face Candy Maldonado, who had struggled against Reardon in his career. This time, on an 0-2 pitch, the Candy-man would lift a Reardon pitch over Otis Nixon's head in center field for a walk-off single. On to game 4, where the Jays would bring out left-hander Jimmy Key to face Braves ace Tom Glavine. Key would pitch extremely well, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits over 7.2 innings. Glavine would complete the game again, but this time took only 8 innings to do so, as a 3rd inning Pat Borders home run and a 7th inning Devon White single gave the Jays a 2-1 victory, and a 3 games to 1 series lead. It was another low-scoring game, as Glavine allowed 10 baserunners over 8 innings, and Key allowed just 5 in his time on the mound. The combined score through 4 games had the Jays scoring 11 runs, and the Braves with 10. The Jays would come in to game 5 with a chance to win the series. Their ace in name Jack Morris had the ball against John Smoltz, and the Jays were hoping that his last 3 postseason starts were not a harbinger. Morris gave up a run in the first on a double by Terry Pendleton, but the Jays would get it back in the second when Pat Borders hit a double of his own off of Smoltz to bring Olerud home. In the top of the 4th, David Justice would lead off with a home run against Morris, but Borders would knock in Olerud again in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game back up. Morris would start the top of the 5th off well enough, getting a strikeout and a groundout before giving up a single to Otis Nixon. A stolen base and an RBI single by Deion Sanders gave the Braves a 3-2 lead, but there were still two outs. After Terry Pendleton hit a ground-rule double, the hot-hitting Justice was intentionally walked to face the "ice-cold Lonnie Smith". Morris would get the count to 1-2 before throwing what would be his last pitch of the postseason, as Smith turned his offering around for a grand slam, giving the Braves a 7-2 lead, and ultimately a 7-2 victory in the highest scoring game of the series. Game 6 was back in Atlanta, and David Cone would face Steve Avery. Cone would pitch well, allowing just 1 run over 6 innings, while Avery was pulled after 4 innings, having allowed 2 runs including a home run by Maldonado. The Jays bullpen would get the ball to Tom Henke in the 9th, where the Braves would stage a rally to tie the game at 2. Neither team scored in the 10th, but in the top of the 11th, the Jays would put two men on for Dave Winfield, facing Charlie Leibrandt with a chance at the lead, and Winfield would line a double into left field, bringing both runners home. In the bottom of the 11th, Jimmy Key would come back out, having picked up 2 outs in the 10th. After a single and an error put two runners on, a bunt and a groundout would bring one runner home, bringing Otis Nixon to the plate with a runner on 3rd and 2 outs. The young Mike Timlin would come out to face Nixon, and when Nixon dropped down a bunt, Timlin would jump on it and just throw him out at 1st, where Joe Carter started jumping in celebration after making the catch. The Jays had climbed the summit, and the Braves would have to wait at least one more year for their title (three years, as it turned out). The Series MVP went to Pat Borders, who had hit just .242 during the season, but hit .318 with one home run in the ALCS, and .450 with a home run and 3 doubles in the World Series. Now all they had to do was try to win it all again... 1. 1993 Toronto Blue Jays (see the whole season story here) In 1993 the Jays came back strong, having won 2 straight division titles plus the '92 World Series. The cast of characters had some new faces, and some maturing returning players.
Their pitching staff featured some new faces, including some young blood.
In the ALCS, they would match up with the Chicago White Sox, who featured MVP and future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas and American League Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell led the American League's top pitching staff with 3 excellent pitchers under 23 years old in Alex Fernandez, Wilson Alvarez, and Jason Bere. In game 1, Guzman and McDowell would face off, and the first 3 innings were well pitched, as the Jays went into the top of the 4th with the score tied at 0. McDowell would start to struggle against the Jays lineup, as Ed Sprague knocked in 2 runs with a triple. Guzman would would give the lead back in the bottom of the 4th as the White Sox scored 3 runs after an error, a walk and a pair of hits. In the top of the 5th, the top of the order would get to McDowell, as hits from White, Carter, Olerud and Molitor put the Jays in front 5-3. McDowell would stay in the game until the 7th inning, coming out after a 2-run home run by Molitor before back-to-back singles by Fernandez and Sprague. Guzman would get the win despite walking 8 White Sox in 6 innings as the Jays would take game 1 by a 7-3 score. Game 2 starter Dave Stewart came into the game 6-0 in his ALCS career, including 3 wins against Toronto in 1989 and 1992. Facing Alex Fernandez, both teams would score 1 run in the first inning before the pitchers settled in to a groove. In the 4th, Fernandez was bitten by the bottom of the Jays order, as 2-out singles by Tony Fernandez and Pat Borders would give the Jays a 3-1 lead. Stewart would roll until the 6th inning when he loaded the bases with none out, escaping with no runs allowed after a shallow fly ball to center, a popup, and a groundout which he would run to first base himself. The Jays bullpen would shut the White Sox down for the last 3 innings, picking up a 3-1 victory and improving Stewart's record to 7-0 in the ALCS. In game 3, the Jays would struggle against lefthander Wilson Alvarez, who would allow just 1 run in 9 innings. Pat Hentgen would struggle, allowing 6 runs in 3 innings as the Jays lost 6-1. In game 4, Jason Bere was chased after 2.1 innings, and the Jays would end up with 4 runs. Todd Stottlemyre, however, would get rocked by the White Sox including 2 home runs, one of which was by Lance Johnson, who hadn't homered in 579 regular season plate appearances. The Jays would drop the game 7-4 to tie the series at 2 games to 2. The White Sox came into game 5 hoping that McDowell could improve on his game 1 performance, but he would be taken out after 2.1 innings after the Jays scored runs in each of the first 3 innings. Guzman would turn his performance up a notch, giving up just 3 hits and one run through 7 innings with 6 strikeouts on the way to a 5-3 victory. In game 6, Stewart would outduel Fernandez again, going 7.1 innings of 2-run ball to win the series for the Jays to improve to 8-0 in his LCS career and win MVP of the series. Duane Ward would finish the series with his second save, though he had struggled in 4 games, allowing 4 hits, 4 walks and 3 runs in 4.2 innings. The Jays opponent this year would be the worst-to-first Philadelphia Phillies, who had beaten the heavily favoured Atlanta Braves in the LCS behind Curt Schilling, Mitch Williams, Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton and others. The Phillies were a wild bunch with beards and mullets, and had managed to beat the 104-win Braves, preventing them from avenging their 1992 World Series loss. Game 1 featured Phillies ace Curt Schilling against Jays fireballer Juan Guzman. Schilling had been NLCS MVP and would make a career of excellent playoff pitching including with the number 9 and 10 teams on this list. Guzman would struggle in the first, giving up 2 runs around 3 strikeouts. In the 2nd, Schilling would find out how dangerous the Jays lineup could be, as Carter, Olerud and Molitor would single and score 2 runs for the Jays to tie the game. Both teams would score in the third to keep the game tied, and then another run each in the 5th including a huge home run by Devon White. In the bottom of the 6th, the Jays would take the lead for good on an upper deck home run by John Olerud. Schilling would remain in the game to start the 7th, but singles by Borders and Henderson would be followed by doubles from White and Alomar to give the Jays an 8-4 lead, ultimately leading to an 8-5 victory for the Jays. In game 2, the Jays would face another tough left-hander, with Dave Stewart facing off against Terry Mulholland. Stewart would struggle in the 5th, as the Phillies would score 2 runs on two walks and two singles followed by a 3-run homer by Jim Eisenreich. The Jays would score 2 in the 5th on a Joe Carter home run, plus one more in the 6th. Lenny Dykstra would add to the Phillies' lead with a home run in the 7th off of lefty Tony Castillo, and the Jays would ultimately drop the game by a 6-4 score. In game 3, the Phillies would put another lefty on the mound in Danny Jackson. The Jays would decide to play Molitor at first base in place of John Olerud, planning to sit Molitor for the next game (though they would ultimately decide to play Molitor at third base in games 4 and 5). Molitor would make the decision look good right away with a two-run triple in the first as the Jays jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning. He would homer in the third to increase the lead to 4-0. After each team scored in the 6th, the Jays would score 3 times in the 7th to increase their lead to 8-1. They would add 2 more runs in the 9th, as Molitor finished with 3 hits, 3 runs, and 3 driven in in a 10-3 victory for the Jays. Game 4 featured both teams' 4th starters, as Todd Stottlemyre faced Tommy Greene. With both Olerud and Molitor in the lineup, the Jays lineup would batter Greene for 3 runs in the first inning. Stottlemyre would give the lead back and more, as a bases-loaded triple by Milt Thompson gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead. After Stottlemyre started the top of the second by somehow drawing a walk against Greene, he would be thrown out in a baserunning miscue that left him bloodied, but he stayed in the game. He returned the favour in the bottom of the 2nd by allowing a single to Greene, but Lenny Dykstra would make him pay with a 2-run homer to give the Phillies a 6-3 lead. In the third, the Jays chased Greene from the game with a walk and three straight hits, ultimately scoring 4 runs to take the lead again 7-6. Now facing Al Leiter, the Phillies would tie the game in the 4th before scoring 5 times in the 5th on home runs by Dykstra and Darren Daulton to go up 12-7. The Jays would score twice in the top of the 6th to pull to 12-9, but the Phillies would score runs in the 6th and 7th to increase their lead to 14-9. In the 8th, the Jays would start the inning with the middle of their order, as singles by Carter and Olerud followed by a Molitor double got the score to 14-10. Phillies closer Mitch Williams would come in and allow a single to Tony Fernandez and a walk to Borders before striking out Ed Sprague for the second out. The score was 14-11 as Rickey Henderson came to the plate with the bases loaded. A single by Henderson and a triple by White would give the Jays the lead for the last time, as the 9th inning was the only scoreless inning of the game. The Jays had won a wild, rain-filled 15-14 game, the most combined runs in a playoff game until the Red Sox beat Cleveland 23-7 in a 1999 Division Series game. In game 5, both teams brought exhausted bullpens in, with Jim Fregosi threatening to ride Schilling "until his arm fell off". Schilling would dominate the Jays, shutting them out on 5 hits over 147 pitches. Guzman would pitch well, allowing 2 runs in 7 innings, but Schilling could not be denied, and the series would return to Toronto for game 6, giving the Jays a chance to win the World Series on their home field. In game 6, the Jays offense woke up against Mulholland in the first, as hits by Molitor, Olerud and Alomar plus a sacrifice fly from Joe Carter staked them to an early 3-0 lead. The two pitchers settled down until the 4th inning, when both teams scored runs to increase the score to 4-1. After Molitor homered in the 5th, Stewart entered the 7th with a 5-1 lead. A walk, a single, and a 3-run home run from Lenny Dykstra would chase Stewart and trim the Jays lead to 5-4. Reliever Danny Cox came in, but was unable to stop the bleeding, as three singles and a walk chased him and tied the game before Al Leiter would come in and allow the go ahead run on a sacrifice fly. The Jays would go quietly in the 7th inning, but 2 walks and a hit batter in the 8th would send them to the 9th inning with the top of the order due up. The Phillies brought in mercurial closer Mitch Williams, who had saved 43 games in the regular season, but had blown 2 saves in the NLCS plus the wild finish in game 4. Williams would walk Rickey Henderson to lead the inning off, but then retired Devon White on a fly ball to left. Paul Molitor would then single for his third hit of the game, putting runners on first and second with one out. Molitor would win series MVP after after hitting .500 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 home runs, scoring 10 runs and driving in 8 with a .500/.571/1.000 batting line as the Jays would end up with 45 runs in the series. Joe Carter stepped to the plate, in a moment that would become legend. After Williams worked the count to 2-2, Williams would throw a pitch low and in, that Carter would turn on. "Well hit down the left field line" became "Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!" For just the second time in history, the World Series ended on a walk-off home run, as Joe Carter leaped and celebrated around the bases, part of the final play of the World Series for the second year in a row. The Jays were back-to-back champions, the whole country celebrated, and I was hooked. It is almost hard to imagine another team capturing the imagination of an entire nation like the Jays did in the early 90's. They were the first team to draw 4 million fans, which they managed in 1991, 1992 and 1993. A taste of that passion was rekindled in 2015 as they finally made their way back to the playoffs for the first time since that epic run. With some sustained winning, they could be a cultural giant again. I'll remember every big moment from those World Series highlight videos for years, having watched them over and over again, almost feeling like I was at every one of the games. For a young fan there's a lot to be said for watching an exciting, winning team. Here's hoping that the Jays build on last year's momentum and build a whole new generations of kids loving baseball again. Next in this series, I'll write about a bunch of my favourite players from 1992-2003, including several of the key players from these Blue Jays teams. I'll probably throw up a links post again too, as Spring Training is approaching fast!
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Greg JacksonA baseball fan in general. Interested in statistics and analytics. Usually follow the Giants and Blue Jays, fan of all MLB in general. |