JOYFUL WANDERING -- 76

My immersion in post-season Baseball has begun.  Last night, October 8, I watched most of the Red Sox-Rays game in St. Petersburg.  And then I stayed up to see the finish of the Giants-Dodgers game in San Francisco.  The Red Sox and Giants are my two all-time favorite teams and last night they both were wonderful.  The Sox came from behind and trounced the Rays 14-6 to tie the series at 1-1.  The Bullpen led by Tanner Houck kept the Sox in the game from the second inning on. The hitters came alive and set records for their accomplishments.  Kiki Hernandez went 5 for 6 including a homerun and 3 doubles.  Altogether the Sox hit 5 homeruns.  But Houck is clearly the MVP of the game. What a performance. Here’s an article > https://www.mlb.com/redsox/news/tanner-houck-retires-30-straight-over-4-games

Great pitching was also on display in San Francisco.  The Giants won the first game of the NLDS series with the Dodgers 4-0.  Home runs by Giants sluggers plus the pitching by Logan Webb > https://www.mlb.com/giants/news/giants-win-nlds-game-1-2021

I did not watch the second ALDS game between the White Sox and Astros in Houston for very long.  The Sox could not hold on to a 4-2 lead and lost decisively 9-4.  The series moves to Chicago with the Sox on the verge of elimination.

The Brewers beat the Braves in Milwaukee 2-1.  Pitching by both teams was great but I did not watch that game.

It was Baseball at its best for me with those Red Sox and Giants victories with such great pitching and great hitting.

More about Baseball >   

I became a fan of the Giants when they were still in New York.  They moved to San Francisco in 1958 and so did the Dodgers.  I was 11.  So the NYC National League rivalry became a California NL rivalry.  The Giants did not win a world series in San Francisco until 2010. So I waited a long time.  Between 1959 and 1963 the Dodgers won 3 World Series and lost 1. They also won in Brooklyn in 1955 and in Los Angeles in 1981, 1988 and last year, 2020.  Overall the Dodgers have a 7-12 WS record.  Against the Yankees 2-8.    

I became a Red Sox fan in the 60s when I was at the Maine State YMCA Camp for 3 summers.  I can remember beginning to like the Red Sox in the 50s but I was definitely a White Sox fan and definitely anybody but the Yankees who simply were too dominant from 1936 to 1964.  In that period the Yankees won the World Series 16 times and lost 6.  The Red Sox won 5 World Series between 1903 and 1918.  They got into the World Series in 1946 and lost to the Cardinals in a seven game series. They got into the World Series in 1967 and lost to the Cardinals in a seven game series. They got into the World Series in 1975 and lost to the Reds in a seven game series. They got into the World Series in 1986 and lost to the Mets in a seven game series. Incredible frustration because they often had contending teams especially in the 40s, 70s and 80s. 

In this 21st Century the 2 most successful teams are the Red Sox and Giants.  The Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years in 2004.  They also won in 2007, 2013 and 2018.  They haven’t lost a WS in this new century.  The Red Sox are a hard team to beat when they do get into a World Series. In 78 WS games since the modern World Series began in 1903 they have won 49 and lost 29. Overall 9 WS victories and 4 losses. Only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11) have won more. The Athletics have also won 9. The Giants were not too successful in the twentieth century winning in 1905, 1921, 1922, 1933 and 1954 and losing in 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1962 and 1989. Five wins, 11 losses. But, like the Red Sox, this new century has turned things around.  They lost a seven game series in 2002 to the Angels but won in 2010, 2012 and 2014.  So now they are 8-12.  So, it’s Yankees 27, Cardinals 11, Red Sox and Athletics 9, Giants 8, Dodgers 7.  The Yankees have only won 1 since 2000, Red Sox 4, Giants 3, Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1, Diamondbacks 1, Angels 1, Marlins 1, White Sox 1, Phillies 1, Royals 1, Cubs 1, Astros 1, Nationals 1. It is wonderful that 14 different teams have won since 2001.  No team has won in consecutive years since 2000. The last team to do that was the Yankees in 1998, 1999 and 2000 (3 straight). Before that the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993.  The Yankees did it in 1977-78.  The Reds in 1975-1976.  The Athletics in 1972-1974 (3 straight). The Yankees in 1961-62. The Yankees in 1949-1953 (5 straight).  The Yankees in 1936-1939 (4 straight). The Athletics in 1929-1930. The Yankees in 1927-1928. The Giants in 1921-1922. The Red Sox in 1915-1916. The Athletics in 1911-1913 (3 straight). The Cubs in 1907-1908.  I think it takes at least 3 consecutive WS wins to be considered a dynasty. So, the dynasties are in bold. 3 for the Yankees, 2 for the Athletics. As I said, none yet in the 21st century.  The Giants have come close with their wins in 2010, 2012 and 2014.