Y4L Total Classic Games. Work In Progress

[Yankee4Life]

Y4L 1908 Chicago Cubs at CPU 1912 New York Giants

Chicago 4, New York 1

WP: Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown

LP: Christy Mathewson

Special settings: Game played on zoom view and played at the Polo Grounds.

Harry Steinfeldt drove in two runs off of Giants starter Christy Mathewson as the 1908 Cubs knocked off the 1912 National League Champion New York Giants 4 to 1. Mordecai Brown pitched a complete game, scattering seven hits and striking out seven while giving up one earned run. In 1908 Brown started 31 games and completed 27 of them, so this was nothing new for him.

Mathewson, on the other hand was completely out of character. The Big Six as he was called was 23-12 in 1912 with a 2.12 ERA. He gave up a run in the fourth when he got too much of the plate with a breaking ball and Harry Steinfeldt lined it into center field to drive in the first run of the game. In the sixth, the Cubs knocked three more across as Steinfeldt again had a hand as he knocked home a run on a long fly to center. Jimmy Slagle tripled into left center, over 400 feet away here at the Polo grounds and scored the third run of the inning on Joe Tinker's single past the diving Giant second baseman Larry Doyle.

Meanwhile, the Giants could do nothing against the offerings of Brown until they pushed across a run in their half of the sixth on a RBI single by third baseman Buck Herzog. Brown finished the game strong and only allowed two hits in the final three innings against the best hitting team in the National League that year.

The Teams: The 1908 Chicago Cubs won their second straight World Series that year, this time in five games over the Detroit Tigers. They also beat the Tigers in 1907 in five games, but one of them ended in a tie. This ballclub was a typical deadball hitting team. The hitting was mediocre (.249 average) but the pitching was what really made this team shine. The pitching staff had a sparking 2.14 ERA but still ranked third in the eight team league. The Phillies were the best with a 2.10 ERA, but they also finished sixteen games behind the Cubs. The pitching staff was lead by two men who had fantastic years. Ed Reulbach (24-7, 2.03 ERA) and the pitcher who won today's game, Mordecai Brown. Brown in 1908 went 29 - 9 with a 1.47 ERA. He also pitched an incredible 312 2/3 innings and had nine shutouts. Besides that, he lead the team in saves with five. This year that Brown had has been lost over time but not in Total Classics. The 1912 New York Giants won 103 games and won the pennant by ten games over second place Pittsburgh. They hit very well for a deadball era team with a .286 team average. They also lead the league in homeruns with 47. Fred Merkle lead the team with 11 and second baseman Larry Doyle had 10. You can compare this homerun output today with someone hitting 40 or more home runs. It was more difficult to hit them back then, but these two did it in double figures. Catcher Chief Meyers lead all Giants hitters with a .358 average while playing in 126 games. The pitching staff of the Giants posted a 2.58 ERA, good enough for first in the league. Rube Marquard lead the staff in wins with 26. The 25 year old lefthander was 26-11 with a 2.57 ERA. Mathewson won 23 and Jeff Tesreau won 17 and posted a 1.96 ERA.

Joe Tinker doubles in the first inning. Christy Mathewson retired the next two hitters to prevent him from scoring.

Larry Doyle hits a ground rule double in the bottom of the first at the Polo Grounds. Mordecai Brown, like Mathewson before him, did not allow the runner to score either.

The Cubs break through against Matty. Harry Steinfeldt singles home a run to make it 1 - 0 Chicago.

It's Steinfeldt again. This time he hits a sacrifice fly to drive home a run in the Cubs three run sixth inning.

Centerfielder Jimmy Slagle triples into left centerfield.

Giant catcher Chief Meyers throws out Cub shortstop Joe Tinker on this steal attempt.

Meyers grounds out against Brown to end the game as the Cubs earn the win.

The 1908 Cubs win. It was another fun game thanks to the TeamFuzz guys.

[Yankee4Life]

Y4L 1941 New York Yankees at CPU 1941 Boston Red Sox

New York 11, Boston 0

WP: Marius Russo

LP: Richard Newsome

Special Settings: Game played on Zoom field view and played in Classic Fenway Park.

Marius Russo was just too much today for the Boston Red Sox, both with his pitching and his bat. Russo pitched a complete game 1 hit shutout and only faced the minimum twenty-seven hitters. He also went 2 for 5 at the plate and had one of the Yankees' four home runs in the game.

By no means was this an easy task to do, especially against this 1941 edition of Red Sox yet Russo mowed them down as if he were facing high school hitters. These were the Red Sox of Ted Williams, who only hit .406 in 1941, Jimmie Foxx, Bobby Doerr, Dom Dimaggio and Joe Cronin. This potent lineup lead the American League in hitting in that year with a

.283 batting average which was 14 points higher than the Yankees.

Despite all this, Russo was never challenged. He retired the first nine hitters in a row and in the bottom of the fourth, Dominic Dimaggio led off with a clean single to center field. After a popout, Ted Williams hit a groundball to Yankee third baseman Red Rolfe to start a 6-4-3 double play that ended the fourth inning as Russo retired the final 17 Red Sox in a row.

He kept this Red Sox team off balance all game by mixing in his fastball with his palm ball and slurve. Sox hitters were lunging all day as they struck out six times. Marius Russo was 14-10 in 1941 for the Champion Yankees with a 3.09 ERA.

For five innings this was a scoreless game. Then Joe Gordon broke through with a solo homerun in the sixth inning off of Richard Newsome as the Yankees took a 1 - 0 lead. The Yanks pushed across two more runs in the sixth with one of them coming on a sacrifice fly by Charlie Keller, who was 3 for 4 with 3 runs batted in on the day.

The Red Sox pinch hit for Newsome in the sixth with Pete Fox and brought in Tex Hughson to pitch the seventh. This is when the game turned into a rout as Hughson served up three homeruns in his first inning of work. First, Marius Russo took him deep, then Phil Rizzuto and finally Joe Dimaggio as the Yankees doubled their lead to 6 - 0.

Hughson escaped the 8th inning with no damage but in the ninth any thought of a comeback in the Red Sox' minds were erased as the Yankees scored five more times. Three more off of Hughson and twice off of Earl Johnson, the third Red Sox pitcher of the game.

As for Russo, he went into the bottom of the ninth still strong and determined to finish his game. The first two Boston batters grounded out, one to Red Rolfe and the second out to Phil Rizzuto. Finally, with one more out to go, he got the final hitter to hit weakly to Rizzuto again as he threw to Johnny Sturm at first base for the putout. The one hitter was his.

The Teams: The 1941 New York Yankees were 101-53 and won the pennant by 17 games over the second place Red Sox. They were 13 - 9 against the Red Sox in 1941. The Yankees only had two .300 or more hitters in their every day lineup. 23 year old Phil Rizzuto checked in with a .307 average and Joe Dimaggio hit .357 with 30 homeruns and 125 RBI's. This was the year of his famous 56 game hitting streak but the most impressive stat to me that most people either don't know about Dimaggio that year or have overlooked is that he only struck out thirteen times all year in 1941. That's 541 official at-bats. He also walked 76 times. For a power hitter only striking out that low amount of times is unheard of in today's game. The Yankees won with pitching in 1941. Posting a team ERA of 3.53 (only Chicago with a 3.52 ERA beat them out) the Yankees did not have a single pitcher win more than fifteen games. Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing each won fifteen apiece for this consistent starting staff. And closer Johnny Murphy (8-3, 15 saves and a 1.98 ERA) was the ace of the bullpen.

The 1941 Boston Red Sox had a record of 84-70 and they were a typical Boston team that history knows quite well. They pounded the ball as they scored a league leading 865 runs. What held them back was a pitching staff that was fifth in the league in pitching with a 4.19 ERA. Richard Newsome (19-10, 4.13) was the ace of the staff. Charlie Wagner and Joe Dobson won twelve games apiece for the Sox and an end-of-the-line 41 year old Lefty Grove was 7-7 for the Red Sox with a 4.37 ERA. 1941 was Ted Williams' greatest year for Boston. The 22 year old slugger appeared in 143 games and hit 37 homeruns and had 120 RBI and hit .406. Williams remains still the last hitter to hit .400 for an entire season. Not even Teddy Ballgame's heroics at the plate could help the Red Sox in 1941. That is, until 1946 when Boston won their first pennant since 1918.

Joltin' Joe Dimaggio of the Yankees. We want you on our side.

Ted Williams of Boston. He hit .406 in 1941 including going 4 for 6 in the final two games of the season against the Philadelphia Athletics.

Quick. Look close. This was Boston's only baserunner in this game. Ted Williams grounds into a 6-4-3 double play as Dominic Dimaggio is forced at second. The throw is on its way to Johnny Sturm at first base.

This was the only bad thing to happen to Marius Russo in this game. He singled in the fifth inning and is forced out at second base to end the frame. Boston's Bobby Doerr is no where near second base.

Joe Gordon homers in the sixth inning. Yankees lead 1 - 0.

Charlie Keller has just hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field and Red Rolfe has scored the third run of the game for the Yankees.

It's the seventh inning and Yankee pitcher Marius Russo has hit a fastball from Tex Hughson in the left field bleachers at Fenway Park. The umpire can be seen signaling that it is a home run.

Russo rounds the bases as he listens to the boos by the Fenway Faithful.

The very next hitter is Phil Rizzuto and he hits a solo shot off of Tex Hughson too. Rizzuto was 3 for 5 on the day.

After Tex Hughson recorded an out, Joe Dimaggio hits the third Yankee homerun of the inning. It is now 6 - 0 New York. Dimaggio also went 3 for 5 in the game.

Manager Joe McCarthy watches his 26 year old left handed pitcher Marius Russo in the eighth inning of today's game.

Joe Dimaggio and Tommy Henrich (not pictured) score on Bill Dickey's two run double in the ninth.

Bill Dickey is tagged out at second base on a close play after he doubles home two runs in the ninth inning. The Yankees scored five runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Marius Russo celebrates as the final out is recorded on his one hit shutout of the Boston Red Sox.

Final score: Yankees 11, Red Sox 0.

[Yankee4Life]

This is the final game for me using Total Classics Phase 2. The next game that will be detailed in here will be from Total Classics Phase 3. The work that those guys do on this Total Classics is nothing short of spectacular. It will be released today (9-6-05) so try it out and you won't be let down.

[AstroEric]

Do you guys do Total Audio for Total Classics? 'Cause I have a spare Newsom/Newsome laying around (Newcombe + Fossum) that you could use for cousins Richard (NOT NAUGHTY WORD!) and Bobo.

If you already have audio for him, I'd like to hear it to compare it to my own....

--Eric

[fuzzone]

Yeah we do audio for Total Classics. I think you'll notice a lot of oldtime players being called out.

and y4l -- this is by far the most interesting thread ever. I love the images u put in, like aside from the screenshots, like how u post olditme images like the 1980 phillies year book. this thread is fire!!

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1974 Chicago White Sox vs Y4L 1977 New York Yankees

New York 3, Chicago 0

WP: Ron Guidry

LP: Jim Kaat

Special Settings: Game played on zoom view and played in Total Classics Phase 3 Classic Yankee Stadium.

Ron Guidry pitched a complete game two hit shutout as he completely domininated the '74 White Sox. Guidry retired the first seventeen White Sox in a row until two out in the sixth inning when Jim Kaat broke through with a clean single in left center field. Guidry gave up one more hit, a single to Richie Allen, and struck out seven.

The Yankees backed Guidry with strong offensive support from the middle of the lineup as first baseman Chris Chambliss went 4 for 4 with 1 RBI and Reggie Jackson was 1 for 4 with a two run double in the sixth inning that broke a scoreless pitching duel between Kaat and Guidry.

The 35 year old Kaat (21-13, 2.92 ERA in 1974) was in trouble often but the Yankees could not score against him until Jackson's long double to the 457 foot sign in left center in the sixth. Kaat hung around for 7 1/3 innings an scattered 11 hits and was responsible for all three Yankee runs.

But the story in this game was Guidry. 1977 was his first full year in the major leagues. He spent parts of '75 and '76 in New York for a cup of coffee, but this was the year that the Yankees found out what they really had in him. Guidry went 16 - 7 with a 2.82 ERA and tied for the team lead in victories with Ed Figueroa. With an above average fastball and a biting slider, Guidry showed the Yankees he belonged there in 1977.

The Teams: The 1974 Chicago White Sox were a .500 team that hit well but was done in by their subpar pitching. The Sox pitching that year had two twenty game winners in Jim Kaat with 21 and knuckleballer Wilbur Wood with 20. Wood also lost 19 games. The only other bright spot in the starting pitching was by Bart Johnson, as he posted a 10-4 record with a 2.74 ERA. That also was Johnson's best year in the majors as he lasted three more years and was out of baseball in 1977. The White Sox bullpen was lead by hard throwing lefthander Terry Forster as he saved 24 games and won 7 others. Another member of that bullpen was a young 22 year old flamethrower by the name of Rich Gossage. He turned in a 4-6 record with 1 save and a 4.13 ERA in '74. Four years later he would be in New York leading the Yankees to their second straight world championship. The White Sox hit .268 as a team, which was third in the league. Richie Allen in his final year in Chicago hit .301 with 32 homeruns and 88 RBI. One more player that would find his way to the Yankees in three years was the White Sox shortstop, one Russell Earl Dent, age 22. Better known as Bucky, the Yankees acquired him in a trade before the 1977 season and Dent helped them win their first World Series since 1962. The 1977 New York Yankees were a team that I can personally quote from memory. It was the first Yankee team that I saw that won the World Series. Pitching was the Yankee strongpoint. They had a great starting staff and a stingy bullpen. 26 year old Ron Guidry was the surprise of the staff and over the course of the year evolved into the ace of the staff. Ed Figueroa went 16-11 and in the following season became the first Puerto Rican pitcher to win twenty games in the majors. But that was in 1978. In this year, Figueroa showed flashes of brilliance that would mark his 1978 campaign. Mike Torrez came over in a trade with Oakland in late April of that year and in his only season in New York went 14-12 with a 3.82 ERA. Torrez was the winner in game six of the World Series in his final game as a Yankee. As a free agent he went to Boston in 1978, setting up a confrontation between him and Bucky Dent in October of that year. The Yankee bullpen was lead by Cy Young winner Albert "Sparky"Lyle, a 32 year old screwball specialist. Lyle did it all in 1977. 13 - 5 in 72 games with 26 saves and a sparkling 2.17 ERA. Richard Tidrow (11-4, 3.16 and 5 saves) and hard throwing Kenny Clay (2-3, 4.37 ERA and one save) complemented Lyle in the bullpen. The Yankees hit .281 as a team, good enough for second in the league that year. But what this team had most of all was clutch hitters and good run producers. Three Yankees had 100 RBI or over. Thurman Munson had 100, Graig Nettles had 107 and Reggie Jackson, in his first year in New York, had 110. The 31 year old Jackson came to New York via free agency in November of 1976. He proved to be the final piece to the puzzle as the Yankees won their first World Series in fifteen years as they beat the Dodgers in six games in the '77 Series. Jackson hit 32 homeruns with a .286 average to go along with his 110 runs batted in.

It's the fifth inning and Ron Guidry's perfect game is still in tact. But Richie Allen does his best to ruin it as he hits this ball almost to the 461 foot sign. Mickey Rivers runs it down for the out.

Well, that's that. Here we are with two outs in the top of the sixth and Ron Guidry's perfect game is history. Jim Kaat has just blooped a single in front of Lou Piniella and Mickey Rivers.

It's now the last of the sixth and the Yankees are trying to break through against Jim Kaat. Chris Chambliss has singled and Willie Randolph has been thrown out at the plate. On this same play.....

....Thurman Munson slides into third base ahead of the throw from catcher Ed Herrmann.

Still the 6th inning. Chris Chambliss scores on Reggie Jackson's two run double. Not pictured is Thurman Munson who scored ahead of Chambliss.

In the eighth inning, Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss collects his fourth hit on the day, an RBI single to drive home New York's third run off of Kaat. Chambliss was 4 for 4.

Bucky Dent, a future teammate of Ron Guidry, is the last hitter. He flew out to Lou Piniella in left field. Check out the classic overlay in the new Total Classics 3!

Final Score in my first game in Total Classics Phase 3. Thank you so much to all of TeamFuzz for this wonderful piece of work. I really appreciate it.

[fuzzone]

hotttTTT

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1975 Cleveland Indians at Y4L 1983 Baltimore Orioles

Cleveland 3, Baltimore 0 (10 innings)

WP: Tom Buskey

LP: Scott McGregor

SV: Dave LaRoche

Game played on ariel view and in Pirate's Miller Park in Milwaukee.

When there is a pitching duel going on in a game, sometimes it takes just one break or one clutch hit to push that first run across. That's exactly what happened in this game to hard luck loser Scott McGregor of the Baltimore Orioles. Both McGregor and twenty year old rookie Dennis Eckersley matched scoreless innings until Cleveland broke through with three runs in the top of the tenth. And it all started with one huge error.

Boog Powell lead off the Tribe tenth with a single in short right field, a ball so perfectly placed there that you couldn't have thrown it in a better spot. The next hitter was George Hendrick and he hit what appeared to be a double play ball to third baseman Todd Cruz but Cruz had other ideas as he proceeded to throw the ball over second baseman Rich Dauer's head into right field. By the time Dan Ford retrieved the ball as it caromed off the wall in right, Powell scored the first run of the game and Hendrick was standing on third base. Buddy Bell then hit an opposite field triple down the right field line to score Hendrick and Bell scored the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Frank Duffy. Just like that a scoreless game turned into a three run lead because of one errant throw.

Eckersley was effective in his 8 2/3 innings of work. The only threat by the Orioles was in the fifth when Rick Dempsey lead off with a single and he advanced to second on a bunt by McGregor. He went to third on a groundout by Bumbry to the right side of the infield but was left there as Eckersley got Dauer to popup to second to end the inning.

The hard luck loser was McGregor. He pitched all ten innings and gave up only seven hits. They were all singles except for Bell's triple in the tenth. But by the time that happened, Cleveland already had broken the tie.

The Teams: The 1975 Cleveland Indians were a fourth place team in the American League Eastern division with a record of 79-80 and they finished 15 1/2 games behind the eventual American League Champion Boston Red Sox. What made this team special over the course of baseball history is that it was the first major league team to be managed by a black man. 39 year old Frank Robinson, who was a part time player and a full time manager for the Indians did just that in 1975. Robinson managed the Indians for two full seasons and part of a third. He lead the Indians to two straight fourth place finishes. Robinson could not work miracles with this team since they were not the best hitting team around (.261 average, fourth in the league) and they only scored 688 runs for the entire year, averaging 4.32 runs a game. Rico Carty, a 35 year old designated hitter was the only .300 hitter on the team as he hit .308. Castoff by the Baltimore Orioles after a sub par season in 1974, first baseman Boog Powell showed everyone that he was not done yet. The big first baseman hit .297 with 27 homeruns and 86 RBI in 134 games. This was Powell's last hurrah though, as he hung around two more years and finally retired in 1977 as a member of the Dodgers. The pitching, like everything else on this team was mediocre. This was Dennis Eckersley's first year and he proceeded to go 13 - 7 with a 2.60 ERA. He also struck out 152 batters. Fritz Peterson was 14 - 8 with a 3.94 ERA and he lead the team in wins. No other Cleveland pitcher had more than seven victories. Dave LaRoche (5-3, 2.19 and 17 saves) and Tom Buskey (5-3, 2.57 and 7 saves) formed a very stingy bullpen for the Tribe. The 1983 Baltimore Orioles won the AL East by six games over the Detroit Tigers. This was the same Tiger team in 1984 that would set the baseball world on fire. But that was one year in the future. In 1983, this Orioles team was solid. Baltimore teams were never known to have high averages and this team was no different. They hit .269, good for seventh in a fourteen team American League. But they hit when it counted as they scored 799 runs. The offense was lead by 22 year old shortstop Cal Ripken who hit 27 homeruns with 102 RBI and a .318 average. That was good enough to earn Ripken a Most Valueable Player award at the end of the year. First baseman Eddie Murray (33 HR, 111 RBI and a .306 average) provided a very consistent bat in the middle of the lineup for Joe Altobelli's champions that year. Baltimore's strongpoint was pitching. With a 3.63 ERA in 1983, they ranked second in the league in this category. The pitching staff was lead by 29 year old Scott Mcgregor, a left handed off speed specialist. McGregor went 18 - 7 with a 3.18 ERA and he was flanked by Storm Davis (13 wins), Mike Boddicker (16 wins) and Mike Flanagan (12 wins). Tippy Martinez anchored the bullpen as he went 9 - 3 with a 2.35 ERA and 21 saves in 65 games.

On the first play of the game, Cleveland's Rick Manning trys to get on via a drag bunt. Eddie Murray of Baltimore fields the ball and tags Manning out on a close play.

Baltimore's Rich Dauer turns a double play in the first inning.

Duane Kuiper of Cleveland. "When this dude faces left handed pitchers, he expects results." Well, in this game he did. He ended up going 2 for 4.

This is how it started. A groundball to thirdbaseman Todd Cruz that is thrown wildly into right field. Boog Powell scores and the Indians tack on two additional runs to win this game.

Dave LaRoche gets John Lowenstien to ground out to end the game and earns the save.

Game over. The Tribe ends up on top.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1975 Boston Red Sox vs Y4L 1993 Atlanta Braves

Boston 3, Atlanta 2

WP: Bill Lee

LP: Greg Maddux

SV: D ick Drago

Special settings: Game played on zoom view and in Pirate's Safeco Field.

Ron Gant's throwing error in the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie as the 1975 Red Sox held on for a 3 - 2 victory. Gant's hurried throw to to third baseman Terry Pendleton was in an attempt to nab Boston's Dwight Evans but it sailed over the Atlanta third baseman's head and landed at the screen behind home plate. By that time Evans had scored the first run of the game and Jim Rice, who singled Evans to third, wound up at third himself. Carl Yastrzemski followed with a single up the middle to make the score 2 - 0.

The Braves cut it to 2 - 1 on an RBI single by Jeff Blauser, but they could do no more against the offerings of Boston lefthander Bill Lee. Lee pitched a great game, going seven full innings and gave up seven hits and surrendering one run. A 17 game winner in 1975, Lee's assortment of off speed pitches kept the Braves lunging all game.

Boston added one more run in the ninth as Yastrzemski knocked home Evans with a RBI single, his second RBI of the game. This run was scored off of Mike Stanton as Greg Maddux was chased after pitching eight innings of four hit ball.

D ick Drago relieved Diego Segui who pitched the eighth inning and had some trouble closing the game as he gave up a leadoff single to David Justice. Justice scored the Braves second run on a sacrifice fly by Ron Gant, but then he retired Terry Pendleton and Jeff Blauser to end the game and saved the win for Lee.

The Teams: The 1975 Boston Red Sox won the American League East by 4 1/2 games over the Baltimore Orioles. As with most Sox teams, this team hit very well. They lead the league in hitting with a .275 batting average and in hits and runs scored. What turned the Red Sox into pennant winners in 1975 from a third place finish in 1974 was the play of their two rookies, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. Not since 1941 when Brooklyn had Pete Reiser and Pee Wee Reese had a team have two rookies make such an impact. Rice, the youngest at 22 years old hit .309 with 22 homeruns and 102 runs batted in. 23 year old centerfielder dazzled the Fenway faithful by hitting .331 with 21 homeruns and 105 runs batted in. He also lead the team in 103 runs scored. Lynn's rookie year was so spectacular in that he won the American League rookie of the year and the Most Valueable Player award. No other player had ever done this in baseball before or since. Boston's pitching, despite having good win totals out of Luis Tiant (18), Rick Wise (19) and Bill Lee (17) ranked near the bottom of the American League. This was a team that clearly outslugged opponents during the course of the year that made up for any pitching woes that they may have had. Their bullpen was not their strong point, which was why they had 62 complete games. They let their starters go as long as they could and it worked as they won 95 games that year. The 1993 Atlanta Braves won 104 games that season and won the National League's Western division by one game over the second place San Francisco Giants, who ended up with a 103 - 59 record. This was before the wildcard was in effect, so the second place Giants with their 103 victories did not make the playoffs. This Atlanta team's strength was in their pitching. Posting a team ERA of 3.14, the Braves staff lead the National League by a wide margain. Tom Glavine was 22 - 6 with a 3.20 ERA. Greg Maddux was 20 - 10 with a 2.36 ERA and 23 year old Steve Avery was 18 - 6 with a 2.94 ERA. The bullpen was lead by closer Mike Stanton who had 27 saves and Greg McMichael with 19 saves. Their pitching had to be that good because the hitting was no where near tops in the league. Posting a team average of .262, the Braves finished ninth in hitting in a fourteen team league. Jeff Blauser, at .305, was their lone .300 hitter. But this still was a dangerous team. Because while they didn't hit much or for average, they lead the league in homeruns with 169. David Justice (.270, 40 HR, 120 RBI) and Ron Gant (.274, 36, 117) provided most of the muscle on offense.

Fred Lynn of Boston. Despite winning the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1975, Lynn had a game in June of that year that set the stage for what was to come. On June 18, 1975, a night game in Detroit highlighted his magical season. Playing in hitter-friendly Tiger Stadium, Fred Lynn had what may be the single greatest game in baseball history. Lynn belted three home runs, a triple, and a single. He drove in a Sox record 10 runs and collected an American League record 16 total bases.

Fred McGriff scoops up a low throw by shortstop Jeff Blauser to preserve Greg Maddux's shutout in the early innings.

Fred Lynn throws out Fred McGriff trying to score in the fifth inning. The catcher is Carlton Fisk.

A highlight for the Braves. Otis Nixon hits an opposite field double down the first base line as it hits the chalk to stay barely fair.

Dwight Evans steals second in the seventh inning. This proved to be important as he scored the game's first run on Jim Rice's single.

Jim Rice at bat in the seventh right before he hit the single to break the scoreless tie. Check out the cyberface on Rice provided by the Total Classics team.

Carl Yastrzemski singles in the second run of the inning in the seventh...

...as Jim Rice chugs around third. Greg Olson awaits the throw that never came.

Ninth inning now. Carl Yastrzemski has singled in Dwight Evans. Boston leads 3 - 1.

The Braves try to come back in the ninth. David Justice leads off with an infield single off the glove of Red Sox second baseman Denny Doyle.

The Braves push across one run in the ninth, but fall one run short. Here, Jeff Blauser grounds out to end the game.

Final score: Boston 3, Atlanta 2. Thank you for Total Classics TeamFuzz.

[AlexTony]

Hmm, some 'vintage' classic games!

As Cartman would say:

"Sweeet"

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1984 San Diego Padres vs Y4L 1950 Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia 6, San Diego 3

WP: Milo Candini

LP: Eric Show

SV:Bubba Church

Special Settings: Game played on Zoom view and in Sportsman's Park with the Cooperstown Setting on.

Eric Show flirted with trouble for six innings until he couldn't escape it anymore as the Phillies scored six runs in the seventh inning to erase a 3 - 0 Padre lead.

The Phils had runners in scoring position in four of the first five innings but Show managed somehow to wiggle out of trouble each and every time. The Padres staked Show to an early lead as they scored three runs in the second inning thanks in part to an RBI double by Show himself. Show in fact went 2 for 2 in the game with one run scored and one knocked in. Alan Wiggins also collected two hits, one an RBI double that drove home Show and he scored the third run of the Padre second inning on Tony Gwynn's single.

Meanwhile, the Phillies were doing everything to Show except score runs. They hit three doubles in the first five innings to put five runners in scoring position, but Show came up tough when it mattered as the Phils found themselves shut out.

But in the seventh, it all changed. With one out, reliever Milo Candini singled up the middle and then Richie Ashburn drove home the first Philadelphia run with a triple to left center field. Four batters later, Willie Jones drove home the tying run off of a tiring Show. A two run double by Andy Seminick and an excuse me single by Jimmy Bloodworth completed the scoring and chased Show from the game.

Philadelphia starter Robin Roberts lasted only five innings as he gave up 8 hits and three runs, all earned. Right handed reliever Milo Candini pitched the sixth and seventh to earn the win. In his two innings of work, he gave up one hit and struck out one. After Ken Heintzelman pitched a perfect eighth, closer Bubba Church came on to pitch the ninth, and the Padres mounted one last challenge. With two out, Tim Flannery, a pinch hitter for relief pitcher Greg Booker was sent up. Bubba Church came too inside on him and hit Flannery in the shoulder and Flannery charged the mound and was eventually thrown out. Luis Salazar pinch ran for Flannery and promptly stole second base. The speedy Alan Wiggins was up next and he hit a ground ball to third baseman Willie Jones that Jones threw wildly to first base, driving Eddie Waitkus off the bag to extend the inning. With Tony Gwynn at the plate, Alan Wiggins stole second base (he had 70 steals in 1984) to put runners on second and third. On a 0-1 pitch, Gwynn grounded out to second baseman Jimmy Bloodworth to end the game as Church and the Phillies held on for a close win.

The Teams: The 1984 San Diego Padres won the first pennant for San Diego since they came in the league in 1969. At 92-70, they won the division by twelve games over Atlanta and Houston, who finished in a tie for second. This was a team that did not tear the cover off the ball or hit for a high average except of course for 24 year old Tony Gwynn, who hit .351 with 71 RBI's and 5 home runs. Graig Nettles (.228 avg) and Kevin McReynolds (.278 avg) tied for the team lead in homeruns with 20. This was a running team as they stole a total of 152 bases. Wiggins the second baseman had 70 and Tony Gwynn was second with 33. Their pitching was steady but not spectacular. Eric Show lead the team with 15 victories as he went 15 - 9 with a 3.40 ERA. Ed Whitson and Mark Thurmond had 14 apiece. The bullpen was lead by three people and was the strongpoint of the team. Sometimes starter and reliever Dave Dravecky was 9-8 with a 2.93 ERA and 8 saves. Craig Lefferts was 3-4 with a 2.13 ERA and 10 saves and closer Rich Gossage was 10-6 with a 2.90 ERA and 25 saves. The 1950 Philadelphia Phillies won the pennant by two games over the Brooklyn Dodgers, thanks to a clutch homerun by outfielder D ick Sisler off of Don Newcombe. Known as the "Whiz Kids" for having such a young team, the Phillies won their first pennant since 1915 with a team that hit very well and pitched even better. The Phils hit .265 as a team (second in the league) as they were lead by 25 year old Del Ennis, a hard hitting outfielder who hit .311 with 31 homeruns and 126 RBI. Willie Jones with 25 and Andy Seminick with 24 homeruns provided more punch in the Whiz Kid lineup. But it was 23 year old centerfielder Richie Asburn that made the Phillies go. Ashburn hit .303 that year with 14 stolen bases, 41 RBI and 84 runs scored while playing a flawless centerfield. The Phillies had the best pitching in the league with a 3.50 team earned run average. Robin Roberts was the ace of the staff as he went 20-11 with a 3.02 ERA and 21 complete games and 5 shutouts. 21 year old Curt Simmons, in his fourth year in the league was 17 - 8 with a 3.40 ERA. The bullpen was lead by National League Most Valueable Player Jim Konstanty who went 16 -7 with a 2.66 ERA. He appeared in 74 games that year and recorded 22 saves, which also lead the NL in 1950.

Eric Show scores on Alan Wiggins double in the second inning.

Richie Ashburn doubles in the 3rd inning but doesn't score as Show pitches his way out of trouble.

Graig Nettles hits the ball to the deepest part of Sportsman's Park but it is hauled in by Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn.

Shortstop Granny Hamner's throw goes over the head of first baseman Eddie Waitkus. Steve Garvey tries to score but a hustling Hamner retrieves the ball and throws out Garvey sliding into home to end the fifth inning.

Now it's the Padres turn to show some leather. Tony Gwynn hauls in a long drive off the bat of D ick Sisler here in the fifth inning.

Richie Ashburn triples to left center field as the Phils finally get on the board in the seventh inning.

Willie Jones singles to drive home Eddie Waitkus with the tying run. If you have ever seen the baseball movie called "The Natural" with Robert Redford, you are familiar with Waitkus' story. Because that movie is based on an actual event that happened to Waitkus in 1949. A woman obsessed with Waitkus shot him in his hotel room in Chicago and he nearly died. Waitkus was never the same. You can read his story right here.

Willie Jones rushes this throw in the ninth inning off the bat of Alan Wiggins. As you can see from the photo, Jones had plenty of time to throw out Wiggins.

[Yankee4Life]

Y4L 1999 Cleveland Indians vs CPU 1991 Minnesota Twins

Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1

WP: Steve Bedrosian

LP: Steve Karsay

SV: Rick Aguilera

Special Settings: Game played on zoom field view and in the Metrodome.

Brian Harper's single with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Steve Karsay broke a 1-1 tie as the 1991 Twins beat the 1999 Indians 3 - 1. Winning at home for this Twins team was not unfamiliar as they had a 51-30 record at the Metrodome in 1991, and they did it again in this Total Classics rematch.

Starter Jack Morris pitched 7 1/3 innings of six hit ball and only gave up one run. Morris was aided by three double plays turned by the superb Twins defense as they turned away three potential Indian rallys.

Minnesota got on the board in the first inning as Kent Hrbek hit a single to center field scoring Chuck Knoblauch. And Morris held that run up until one out in the eighth inning when Cleveland broke through with a run that tied the score and knocked him from the game. Pinch hitting for Bartolo Colon (who pitched a great game himself as he went 7 innings, gave up 6 hits on one run and struck out four) was Carlos Baerga, a .228 hitter in only 22 games in 1999. Morris left a breaking ball up in the zone and Baerga turned on it and laced a double to left center to score Ritchie Sexton with the tying run of the game. Steve Bedrosian (5-3, 4.42 ERA in '91) came on in relief of Morris and retired the side with no further scoring.

In the bottom of the eighth the Twins Homer Hankees came out. Steve Karsay (10-2, 2.97 ERA in 1999) came on in relief of Colon and promptly ran into trouble. A leadoff single combined with two straight infield singles that never got past any Indian infielder loaded the bases with no one out. For one brief moment it looked as if the Twins home field advantage would turn on them. Kent Hrbek lofted a fly ball to left field that appeared to be no problem for Richie Sexton but Sexton caught the ball on a bounce. Not knowing if the ball was going to be caught, Dan Gladden, the runner on third, stayed close to the bag but took off to the plate as soon as Sexton caught the ball off the turf. Only with a great throw was Sexton able to force Gladden at home, making it a rare 7 - 2 forceout for you scorekeepers out there.

The next hitter was Brian Harper, who hit .311 for the Twins that year. Karsay's luck ran out as he hung a breaking ball and Harper hung it out to dry as he drove it out to center field in front of Kenny Lofton to score two runs. Lofton misplayed the ball allowing one runner to score, but the damage was done. Karsay retired the side on two fly balls to end the inning.

Rick Aguilera came on to close the game but Roberto Alomar greeted him with a leadoff double to start the ninth. But Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Travis Fryman were retired in order to end the game as the '91 Twins held on for another home win.

The Teams: The 1999 Cleveland Indians won the AL Central by 21 1/2 games over the White Sox with a 97-65 record. If you want to look up a great hitting team, you can start right here. They had a team average of .289 (Texas, another great hitting team that year, lead the league with a .293 average.) 27 year old Manny Ramirez played in 147 games that year and hit .333 with 44 homeruns and 165 RBI's. He also was walked 96 times. Jim Thome also knocked in 108 runs with 33 homeruns. He hit .277 and Roberto Alomar hit .323 with 24 homeruns and 120 runs batted in. Not bad for the right side of any infield! This ballclub scored 1009 runs in 1999, which averaged out to 6.2 runs a game. The Tribe was such a force at the plate that they were only shut out three times all year. Now for the Indian pitching in 1999. They had a team ERA of 4.90 and that included Bartolo Colon's 18-5, 3.95 ERA mark. Charles Nagy was 17-11 with a 4.95 ERA while Dave Burba fared about the same with a 15-9 record and a 4.25 ERA. No matter how hard the Indian pitchers were hit, the offense of Cleveland made up for anything and everything. Closer Mike Jackson was 3-4 with 39 saves and a 4.06 ERA, which was also high for a team closer. The 1991 Minnesota Twins were a good hitting and pitching team as they came from last place in 1990 to win the World Series in 1991. Posting a league leading .280 team batting average the Twins were a consistent hitting team from top to bottom. No one had an outstanding year, but everyone had a good year. Kirby Puckett hit .319 with 15 homeruns and 89 RBI. Shane Mack was right behind him with a .310 average, 18 homers and 74 RBI. It was this kind of consistency in the lineup that helped the Twins win 95 games. The pitching staff was the strongpoint for the Twins. A 3.69 ERA was good enough for second in the league and the trio of Jack Morris (18-12, 3.43 and 10 complete games), Kevin Tapani (16-9, 2.99) and rookie Scott Erickson (20-8, 3.18) carried the Twins all the way to the World Title. With every good teem you have a great closer and Rick Aguilera did that for the Twins in 1991. He appeared in 63 games that year and had a 4-5 record with a sparkling 2.35 ERA. More importantly he saved 42 games.

In the sixth inning the Indians were threatening again and Jack Morris gets Roberto Alomar to ground into an inning ending double play.

Jim Thome singles under the glove of Kent Hrbek in the seventh inning.

The way the sixth inning ended is how the seventh inning will end too. This time Manny Ramirez grounds into a double play to kill a Cleveland threat.

Shane Mack was injured on this play as he upended Roberto Alomar in the seventh inning as Alomar was trying to turn two.

Finally the Indians break through against Jack Morris. Pinch hitter Carlos Baerga doubles to score Richie Sexton.....

....as Sexton scores the tying run. Cleveland 1, Minnesota 1.

Kenny Lofton beats out an infield hit in the 8th inning as Kent Hrbek's throw to Steve Bedrosian arrives late.

Dan Gladden is forced out at home as the Twins had the bases loaded in the 8th inning. Richie Sexton's throw from left just nabs the speedy Gladden.

Brian Harper singles to center as two Twins cross the plate to make it 3-1 Minnesota. Pictured here is Kirby Puckett scoring Minnesota's third run of the game.

The Tribe tries to come back in the ninth off of Rick Aguilera. Here Sandy Alomar Jr hits a lead off double but is stranded at second as Aguilera retires the next three to end the game.

The Twins win in the Homerdome.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1996 Texas Rangers vs Y4L 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates

Texas 2, Pittsburgh 1

WP: Ken Hill

LP: Bert Blyleven

SV: Mike Henneman

Special Settings: Game played on Zoom field view and in Forbes Field with the Cooperstown effect on.

Pinch-hitter Dave Valle's home run in the eighth inning off Pirate starter Bert Blyleven was enough for the Rangers to hold off the '79 Champion Pirates 2 - 1.

The only runs scored off of Blyleven in the game were via the home run. Rusty Greer gave the Rangers an early 1 - 0 lead in the fourth as he wrapped a Blyleven fastball around the right field foul pole. The homerun was Blyleven's weakness in his twenty-two year career and it is well represented here in the work of the Total Classics team. He gave up 430 of them and in 1986, he gave up his personal best of 50 when he was pitching for Minnesota for the second time. In 1979 for the World Champion Pirates he only gave up 21 of them.

To point the finger of blame on Blyleven for this loss would be incorrect. After all he only gave up two runs in nine innings of work while giving up only eight hits and he struck out seven. The Pirates did even worse against Ranger starter Ken Hill as they were only able to collect six hits against him in seven innings of work while only pushing across one run and that came on an RBI double by Willie Stargell, who went 2 for 4 in the game.

So that's what Blyleven had in front of him as he faced pinch hitter Valle in the 8th. A tie game and a team that was struggling against Hill, a 16 game winner that year. And one pitch later to Valle, a curveball that did not curve, Blyleven saw another of his outfielders watch the ball sail into the stands. A sight that he was all to familiar with.

The Teams: The 1996 Texas Rangers hit and hit well. A .284 team average to start with. They hit 221 homeruns as a team and had three players with 100 or more runs batted in. Starting with Juan Gonzalez, who was the 1996 American League MVP. The 26 year old Gonzalez hit .314 in '96 with 47 homeruns and 144 runs batted in. Right behind him was third baseman Dean Palmer who hit .280 with 38 homeruns and 107 knocked in. Finally, Rusty Greer was the third Ranger in the 100 RBI department. He hit .332 with 18 homeruns and 100 runs batted in. Shortstop Kevin Elster just missed joining this club as he posted 99 RBI. Hitting was how this ballclub was 90-72 that year. Now look at the pitching.

They had a 4.66 team ERA, and to compare it to the rest of the league that year, it was not that bad. They ranked sixth in a fourteen team American League. But still it was their starting pitching that suffered. Ken Hill was the ace of the staff with a 16-10 record and a 3.63 ERA but the rest of the starting staff, while posting all winning records, was no where near Hill's numbers. Roger Pavlik won 15 games while posting a 5.19 ERA and Bobby Witt won 16 while ending the season with a 5.41 ERA. Even the closer was knocked around. Mike Henneman saved 31 games for the Rangers that year but had an 0 - 7 record with a 5.79 ERA in 49 games. The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates were a team that did the little things to win games and were also a pretty good hitting team as well. The Bucs hit .272 as a team and only had two players in their starting lineup with more than a .300 average. Bill Madlock hit .328 and 28 year old Dave Parker hit .310 with 25 home runs and 94 RBI. The team was lead by 39 year old Willie Stargell. Stargell hit 32 home runs to lead the Pirates with 82 RBI's and a .281 average in 126 games. That was good enough to win him the National League Most Valueable Player award, an award he shared that year with Keith Hernandez of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates were not a station to station team as they stole 180 bases that year as they pressured the opposition with the long ball and their speed. Leadoff man Omar Moreno had 77 stolen bases as a leadoff man for Chuck Tanner's crew. Pittsburgh's pitching was fantastic. At 3.41, they were third in the league. John Candelaria (14-9, 3.22) lead the team in victories. Bert Blyleven (12-5, 3.60) and Bruce Kison (13-7, 3.19 ERA) were the top pitchers of a steady but unspectacular staff. The bullpen is where the Pirates shined. The trio of Kent Tekulve, Enrique Romo and Grant Jackson combined for 28 wins and 50 saves. Tekulve was 10-8 with a 2.75 ERA and 31 saves. Romo was 10-5 with 5 saves and a 2.99 ERA and the lefthander Jackson was 8 - 5 with 14 saves and a 2.96 ERA.

Rusty Greer hits a home run in the fourth inning as he wraps this ball around the right field foul pole for a 1 - 0 lead for Texas.

Bottom of the fourth now. The Pirates have runners on first and third with two outs but Mark McLemore's diving catch off the bat of Bill Madlock ends the inning.

It's the sixth inning and McClemore is still diving all over the place. This time Phil Garner leads off the inning with what looked like a single up the middle. Mclemore had other ideas and was able to throw him out by a step.

After a single by Dave Parker, Willie Stargell doubles to left center at Forbes Field as Parker is able to score from first with the tying run.

Dave Parker rounds third base in the sixth inning on Stargells double to score Pittsburgh's lone run.

Dave Valle hits a pinch hit homerun in the eighth inning off of Bert Blyleven. Blyleven's used to seeing this happen.

Another view of Valle's homerun. Bill Robinson runs out of room as the ball decends over the left field wall.

Mike Henneman induces Phil Garner to ground into a game ending double play as he saves the game for Ranger starter Ken Hill.

Game over. Rangers are victorious.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1962 San Francisco Giants vs Y4L 1961 New York Yankees

New York 5, San Francisco 3

WP: Bud Dayley

LP: D ick Lemay

Special Settings: Game played on ariel field view and in Sean O and Paul W's Classic Yankee Stadium version 1.5. It's a great piece of work and I recommend everyone to download it.

Mickey Mantle hit a two run double in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie as the Yankees beat the the Giants in a Total Classics 3 game today. The Yankees were down 3 - 0 at one point but fought all the way back to tie it before Mantle stepped up to the plate in the eighth.

Whitey Ford ran into some trouble in the middle innings as the Giants scored a run in the fifth on a homerun by Harvey Kuenn, the Giant thirdbaseman who hit .304 in 1962. An RBI double by Jim Davenport and an RBI single by Tom Haller made the score 3-0 in the sixth. Ford pitched six innings and gave up six hits and struck out six and was charged with all the Giants' runs on the day.

Juan Marichal was tough on the Yankees as he went seven full innings and gave up eight hits and two runs, both unearned. The error was a costly one as it allowed the Yankees to score two runs to cut the lead to 3 - 2. With one out and runners on first and second, Tony Kubek hit what looked to be a double play ball to Giants thirdbaseman Jim Davenport. Davenport threw to second for the force on Clete Boyer but shortstop Jose Pagan's throw to first was way off the mark and it sailed past Orlando Cepeda's head and Bobby Richardson scored from third with the first run. The ball hit behind the first base stands and went out to right field and Kubek was able to score before the ball was retrieved for the second run.

Bud Dayley (8-9 in 1961) relieved Ford in the seventh inning and did a fantastic job. He pitched three innings of shutout ball and only gave up one hit and stuck out five for the win.

The Teams: The 1962 San Francisco Giants celebrated their fifth year in the Bay Area with a 103-62 record and a pennant. They won the pennant over the Dodgers just as they did in 1951 with a three game playoff. And it was almost a carbon copy as to how they won it in 1951 too. San Francisco won the opener 8-0 on a three-hitter by Billy Pierce and a pair of home runs by Willie Mays. Los Angeles tied the series the next day, winning 8-7 on a ninth-inning sacrifice fly by Ron Fairly. The Dodgers led the decisive game 4-2 in the ninth, but Mays' run-scoring single and a bases-loaded walk to Jim Davenport highlighted a four-run inning in the Giants' 6-4 win. The Giants were the best hitting team in the league with a .278 clip and with hitters like Willie Mays (49 HR, 141 RBI and .304) Orlando Cepeda (35, 114, .306) and Felipe Alou (25, 98 and a .316 average) they made pitchers all over the National League dread taking the plane flight to San Francisco to face their lineup. The pitching was very good. Lead by Jack Sanford, who was the only twenty game winner on the staff. Sanford was 24-7 with a 3.43 ERA. Lefthander Billy O'Dell just missed winning twenty as he went 19-14. But the up and coming ace of the staff in future years showed the Giants what he can do during the 1962 season. Twenty four year old Juan Marichal went 18-11 with a 3.36 ERA with 153 strikeouts. This was Marichal's breakout year that at the end saw him get elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983. The bullpen was lead by closer Stu Miller, who had 19 saves and a 5-8 record and a 4.12 ERA. The 1961 New York Yankees team was one of the best Yankee teams to come out of the Bronx since 1927, at least it was the popular belief. But with a 109 - 53 record, it is hard to argue with. And yet with winning 109 games, they did not run away from the American League. The Detroit Tigers won 101 games that year, good enough for a pennant any other year except for 1961. All that got them was eight games off the pace. The Yankees hit .263, fourth in the league. Detroit was first at .266. All people look at when they think of the 1961 Yankees is Mantle and Maris, and that's partly true. Both of them were a huge part of this lineup. Mantle hit 54 homeruns, had 128 RBI and hit .317. Maris, as most people know, hit 61 homeruns with 142 RBI and a .269 average. They combined for 115 of New York's 240 homeruns hit that year. The Yankee pitching was stingy. Lead by the one-two punch of Whitey Ford (25-4, 3.21 ERA) and Ralph Terry (16-3, 3.15 ERA) the Yankees had the second best team ERA in the American League with a 3.46 ERA. And 34 year old Luis Arroyo was the rock in the bullpen for the Yankees as he saved 29 games and had a 15-5 record and a 2.19 ERA in 119 innings pitched.

The Jints have just scored two runs here in the sixth off of Whitey Ford but the Chairman of the Board induces shortstop Jose Pagan to ground into an inning ending double play with two runners on to end the threat.

This is the play that turned the game around. Tony Kubek was minding his own business grounding into a double play that would have ended the inning but Jose Pagan throws wildly past Orlando Cepeda. Cepeda can not retrieve the ball as it heads out to right field. Two runs scored on this play and Pagan was credited with a three base error.

Tony Kubek singles Bobby Richardson to third base in the 8th inning as the Yankees mount a late inning rally off reliever D ick Lemay.

Mickey Mantle was the very next batter and he lined a double to the right center field wall to score Richardson and Kubek. Kubek is shown here sliding in for the tie breaking run as he just beat the throw from Willie Mays. Mantle would score on Roger Maris' single to right to make the score 5 - 3.

Orlando Cepeda was the last hitter that Bud Dayley faced and Cepeda went down on strikes swinging at a knuckleball. The big three of the Giants in this game (Alou, Mays and Cepeda) were a combined 1 for 12 against Ford and Dayley.

Yankees win 5 - 3.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1918 Boston Red Sox vs Y4L 1906 Chicago Cubs

Chicago 2, Boston 1

WP: Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown

LP: D ick McCabe

SV:Fred Beebe

Special Settings: Game played on zoom field view and in Wrigley Field,

Johnny Kling, the Cubs catcher, was having a tough day as he strode to the plate in the bottom of the eighth . Two players from the Red Sox had already stole a base on him and at the plate he was 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a groundout against Boston starter Babe Ruth. But Ruth was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the inning and he would be facing a young Sox reliever named D ick McCabe, a 22 year old right hander that would appear in three games in 1918.

With Frank Chance taking a lead off second base, Kling swung at the first offering from McCabe and lined a double between Red Sox centerfielder Amos Strunk and rightfielder Harry Hooper. That hit gave Chicago its first lead of the day and it set the stage for Fred Beebe (6-1 in '06) to come in and close out the game for the Cubs.

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the first as Harry Hooper reached base on shortstop Joe Tinker's two base throwing error and scored on an RBI single by third baseman Fred Thomas. The Cubs got that run right back in their half of the inning as Jimmy Scheckard deposited a Ruth fastball in the right field bleachers to tie the game at 1-1.

The Cubs had chances to break the game open against Ruth but each time Ruth bore down and turned the Cubs away. The Red Sox, on the other hand had no more chances against the man they called Three Finger. He recieved that name due to a childhood accident. As a seven-year-old boy he caught his right hand in a corn grinder on his uncle's farm. It was necessary to amputate almost all the forefinger, and, although saved, the middle finger was mangled and left crooked. His little finger was also stubbed. This ordeal did not prevent him from winning 239 games in the majors and having his own plaque in Cooperstown. Brown pitched 4 hit ball over eight innings and only left the game as the Cubs sent up a pinch hitter. He did not allow another Red Sox to reach second base for the rest of the game.

The Teams: The 1918 Boston Red Sox won the American League pennant with a 75-51 record on way to winning the World Series that year over the Cubs in six games. The first thing you'd ask yourself is how could they win a pennant by only winning 75 games? Well, World War I was going on and baseball was told that is was not an "essential occupation." This came from the the Secretary of War, a Mr. Newton D. Baker. This ruling meant that baseball is not an essential occupation and all players of draft age are subject to the "work-in-essential-industries-or-fight" rule. In other words this guy said, "you are old enough, put the bat down and pick up a rifle." The ruling sends many players to work in shipyards and other defense industries, where they can play part-time or semipro. American League president Ban Johnson said the AL will close down July 21, but the next day both leagues vote to continue. A week later, Baker exempts players from the rule until September 1. Both leagues vote to cut the season short, and end on Labor Day, September 2. And that's how the Red Sox won a pennant by only winning 75 games. Cleveland finished 2 1/2 games behind them. It will be forever left to speculation if Boston would have won this pennant if the war would have not taken place. That being said, this Red Sox team was a good team during this dead ball era time. Starting with their pitching, they had a team ERA of 2.31, which was good for second in the league. Carl Mays was 21-13 with a 2.21 ERA to lead the team. Sad Sam Jones was 16-5 and a 2.25 ERA and 23 year old Babe Ruth was 13-7 and a 2.22 ERA. Ruth was a durable pitcher on the mound. He started 19 games that year and completed 18 of them. In fact, the entire team threw 105 complete games in 1918 to lead the league. The only two saves recorded by Boston that year were by their fourth pitcher in the starting rotation, Joe Bush. Bush was 15-15 that year with two saves and a 2.11 ERA. Harry Hooper lead the Red Sox in hitting as he hit .289 with 1 home run and 44 RBI as he played in all of Boston's 126 games that year. The team hit for a .249 average which was almost last in the league. Only one Red Sox player was able to crack the .300 average mark and that was of course, Babe Ruth. Ruth hit .300 in 95 games that year. He also lead the team with 11 homeruns. The Red Sox as a team only hit 15. The 1906 Chicago Cubs for a dead ball era team were a collection of some pretty good hitters. They hit .262 as a team and for this era in baseball, it was very impressive. They had three .300 plus hitters in their daily lineup (Johnny Kling hit .312, Frank Chance hit .319 with 71 RBI and Harry Stienfeldt lead the team in average with a .327 mark and in RBI's with 83.) This ballclub did the little things to win and they did it well. For example, as most successful teams in that era were, they ran well. This team stole 283 bases en route to winning 116 games that year. With their 116-36 record, they won the pennant by 20 games over the hated New York Giants. The pitching on this team was its strong point. And that was an understatement. This team posted a stunning 1.75 earned run average that was without doubt the best in the league in 1906. The pitcher with the worst record on the staff, a player by the name of Bob Wicker, was 3-5 with a 2.99 ERA. An ERA like that would be leading the league today. But the ace of the staff was one Mordecai Brown. He went 26-6 with a 1.04 ERA. Brown started 32 games and completed 27 of them and also threw in nine shutouts. Besides that, he tied for the team lead in games saved. Brown had a lot of help though. Jake Pfiester was 20-8 with a 1.51 ERA. Carl Lundgren was 17-6 with a 2.21 ERA and Eddie Ruelbach was 19-4 with a 1.65 ERA. That was the Cubs starting rotation they threw at you. The spot starters were Jack Taylor and Orval "Orvie" Overall. Taylor went 12 - 3 with a 1.83 ERA and Overall also went 12-3 but with a 1.88 ERA. This was a pitching staff that Cubs player-manager Frank Chance had a lot of confidence in. But yet they lost to the White Sox in the 1906 World Series in six games, something that must have bothered Chance for the rest of his life. Despite the loss, this was the team of Tinker to Evers to Chance. It was a great team in baseball history and it's here in Total Classics 3.

"Baseball's Sad Lexicon"

These are the saddest of possible words:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,

Tinker and Evers and Chance.

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,*

Making a Giant hit into a double--

Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

In 1910, New York newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams immortalized the Cubs double play team Joe Tinker (SS), Johnny Evers (2B), and Frank Chance (1B) in verse, cementing their legend and helping them gain election to the Hall of Fame as a trio 36 years later.

*The term "gonfalon" refers to a flag or pennant, and Adams uses the phrase "pricking our gonfalon bubble" to describe the repeated success of the Chicago Cubs and their celebrated infield against their National League rivals, his beloved New York Giants.

Jimmy Sheckard homers against Boston starter Babe Ruth in the first inning to tie the game at 1-1.

Jimmy Slagle makes a running catch on Boston's Amos Strunk in the third inning.

Second baseman Dave Shean makes an error on Jimmy Sheckard's ground ball to allow Sheckard to reach first base in the third inning.

Frank Chance leads off the sixth inning with a double to right field but then Babe Ruth retired the next three Cubs in a row to preserve the 1-1 tie.

Another Cub threat in the seventh inning. This time Babe Ruth gets an inning ending double play to help him get out of a jam.

With none out and Frank Chance on first base, Harry Stienfeldt lays down a perfect bunt to move Chance up ninety feet. Johnny Kling would knock home Chance with a double.

Cub reliever Fred Beebe comes on to pitch the ninth.

Harry Hooper is the first hitter Beebe faces and Hooper singled to left and with Fred Thomas at the plate, Hooper steals second just ahead of the throw by Johnny Kling.

After getting Fred Thomas to pop out and striking out the dangerous Stuffy McGinnis, Beebe gets leftfielder George Whiteman to ground out to end the game.

Game over. Another Total Classics gem. Thank you again TeamFuzz.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates vs Y4L 1990 Oakland Athletics

Oakland 3, Pittsburgh 0

WP: Dave Stewart
LP: Doug Drabek

Special Settings: Game played on zoom field view and in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.


Dave Stewart pitched a complete game five hit shutout over the Pittsburgh Pirates and Mark McGwire and Rickey Henderson provided the offensive support in this tight contest of two early 1990's elite teams. The Pirates were such a good hitting team that year that in 1991 they were only shut out six times all year, which makes Stewart's performance today even more special.

This is not to say the Bucs did not have their chances because they did. In the third inning with runners on first and third, Stewart retired Bobby Bonilla on a grounder to end the inning. In the sixth, Orlando Merced lead off with an opposite field double to left but was left stranded at second as Stewart retired the next three to end that inning. And in the ninth, with a runner on third and one out. More on that later.

Pirate starter Doug Drabek pitched good enough to win but made two bad pitches. The first one was a hanger to Mark McGwire in the first inning that gave Oakland a 2-0 lead. And then in the fifth he gave up a homerun to Rickey Henderson that made the score 3 - 0. Drabek pitched seven innings and gave up seven hits while striking out two. Good enough to win any game except when your opponent is working on a five hit shutout.

In the ninth inning, Pittsburgh attempted their last rally of the game off Stewart. With one out, Andy Van Slyke got his second hit of the game, a triple to right field. The ball was mishandled slightly by Jose Canseco but it was ruled a triple. The next batter was Bobby Bonilla. Van Slyke took a lead off third base and Bonilla hit a rocket down the third base line. The ball was hit so hard that Oakland third baseman Carney Lansford caught the ball, tagged Van Slyke out (who was trying to get back to third) and threw to first to complete the game ending double play. The screenshots provided below show what Lansford did. There are three things you need to win baseball games and everyone knows what they are: Hitting, pitching and defense. But sometimes a fourth thing, luck, is very much needed. The way this game ended for the Athletics is proof enough.

The Teams: The 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League East by 14 games over the Cardinals with a 98-64 record. They were a team that upheld Pittsburgh tradition by being a good hitting team as evidence of leading the NL that year with a .263 team mark. They were lead by 26 year old Barry Bonds, who hit 25 home runs, drove in 116 runs and hit .292. Even at this early stage of his career Bonds was beginning to get a lot of walks as he drew 107 that season, the first year in his long career he drew over 100 in one year. But Bonds had help in this lineup and third baseman Bobby Bonilla provided it. Bonilla hit .302 with 18 homeruns and 100 RBI. While the Pirates did hit 126 homeruns, they were more known for keeping the ball in the ballpark. They lead the league in doubles with 259 and were second in the league in triples with 50. Of course, playing in Three Rivers Stadium with the artificial turf helped a lot. The pitching staff was more than adequate, posting a 3.44 ERA for the year. John Smiley went 20-8 with a 3.08 ERA and southpaw Zane Smith (16-10, 3.20) and righty Doug Drabek (15-14, 3.07) were the other big winners on the staff. The bullpen was in the capable hands of Bill Landrum (4-4, 3.18 and 17 saves) and Stan Belinda (7-5, 3.45 ERA and 16 saves). These two accounted for 33 of Pittsburgh's 51 saves that year. The 1990 Oakland Athletics had an impressive 103-59 record in 1990 and won the NL west by nine games over the tough Chicago White Sox. This was a team that despite having one guy that hit 39 homeruns (McGwire) and another guy hitting 37 (Canseco), they were not that good of a hitting team. They hit .254 as a team which was good for 12th in the 14 team American League. The two big guys were Mark McGwire (39 homeruns, 108 RBI, 110 walks and a .235 average) and Jose Canseco (37 homeruns, 101 RBI, 72 walks and a .274 mark). Rickey Henderson, the leadoff hitter for the A's, was the only player that hit over .300 that year. Henderson hit .325 with 28 homeruns and had 65 stolen bases. This was a team that hit and run very well to win their games along with their great pitching. And the pitching was their strong point. They had a team ERA of 3.18 that was first in the league. Lead by Bob Welch, who went 27 - 6 with a 2.95 ERA. Dave Stewart was 22 - 11 with a 2.56 ERA and had 11 complete games. The bullpen was lead by Dennis Eckersley, who went 4 - 2 with 48 saves and an astounding 0.61 ERA. In any year that would have been Cy Young material but teammate Bob Welch won that. And in any year he would have won the Rolaids relief pitcher of the year, but Chicago's Bobby Thigpen won that as he saved 57 games. Eckersley had to settle for being on the best team in the league. Eckersley would have to wait until 1992 to win the MVP, Cy Young award and Rolaids award.

Mark McGwire homers in the first inning off of Doug Drabek. The ball landed near the sign of the Championship years of the Oakland A's that say "72,73,74 and 89".


Willie Randolph dives and throws out his second base counterpart, Jose Lind of Pittsburgh on this great play in the third inning.


Rickey Henderson homers in the fifth inning to give the Athletics a 3 - 0 lead.


Orlando Merced leads off the sixth inning with an opposite field double to left. Merced would stay right there as Dave Stewart retired the next three Pirates in order to preserve his shutout.


It's the top of the ninth inning and the last chance for Pittsburgh. With one out, Andy Van Slyke triples to right field.


The next batter is Bobby Bonilla. He hits a bullet down to third base that Carney Lansford somehow gets his glove on....


Lansford now tags out Van Slyke, who was trying to get back to third base....


After tagging out Van Slyke, Lansford throws to first baseman Mark McGwire...


Lansford's throw beats Bonilla to first as this double play is completed to end the game.


Game over. Go get Total Classics Phase 3 and you can have this same kind of fun!
'>



Much apologies for not updating this for awhile. I've been working very much lately and I have not had time to play TC 3 or anything else.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers at Y4L 1919 Chicago White Sox

Chicago 1, Los Angeles 0 (10 innings)

WP: Eddie Cicotte

LP: Jesse Orosco

Special Settings: Game played on Zoom field view and played in Oly Park.

In probably the best pitched game between two starting pitchers in this entire series of games detailed in this thread, Joe Jackson showed in the tenth inning why he was one of baseball's feared and greatest hitters.

For nine innings, both sides could do nothing against either pitcher. The Dodgers' Orel Hershiser held the White Sox to two hits and struck out four. The only "threat" the Sox had against the off speed offerings of Hershiser was a leadoff single by Ray Schalk in the sixth inning and that was erased just like that when the next batter, shortstop Swede Risberg, grounded into an around-the-horn double play. Some threat!

Eddie Cicotte had little trouble himself matching scoreless innings with his counterpart. Cicotte did pitch the entire game, going all ten innings and giving up three hits and striking out five. His only bit of trouble was a little harder to get out of then what Hershiser had to do. With one out in the ninth, Steve Sax hit a line drive off third baseman Buck Weaver's glove that landed in short left field. With Sax' speed, he was able to stretch that into a double. Unfazed, Cicotte retired the next two Dodgers to end the inning.

In the tenth inning, Hershiser was pulled for a pinch hitter. Hershiser pitched nine superb innings and there was nothing left in the tank. Cicotte was able to retire the side in order in the tenth and he too was going to be pulled in case there would be an 11th inning as Erskine Meyer was warming up in the bullpen for the White Sox.

Jesse Orosco entered the game for the Dodgers in the tenth inning. And this was a good move for them to make because Orosco in 1988 had a very good year. He was 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA and nine saves. He appeared in 55 games that year, all in relief. Orosco retired the first two Sox in order, but then up stepped Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackson took a pitch and then fouled one off. On the next pitch, Jackson lofted a high fly to right field that Dodger outfielder Mike Marshall went back on a few steps but then had to watch as it sailed out of the ball park and the White Sox walked away with a well earned, 1-0 victory.

The Teams: The 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League West by seven games over the Cincinnati Reds. It was a typical championship Dodger team that the fans on the west coast have been used to seeing. Back in Brooklyn, the Dodgers were known for their power and the pitching was secondary. But since the move west, when the Dodgers have won, the pitching has made up for a team lacking in power and hitting. This Dodger team had a .248 batting average that year. Not one Dodger hit over .300. Kirk Gibson lead the team with a .290 average. Gibson, with 25 homers also lead the team. Mike Marshall, with 20, was the only other power threat as the Dodgers only hit 99 home runs the entire year. How weak was the Dodger offense? Starting shortstop Alfredo Griffin hit .199. He was obviously in there for his glove. The pitching was the strongpoint here. They had a 2.96 ERA, good enough for second in the NL. Orel Hershiser was 23-8 with a 2.26 ERA. This was the year he pitched 59 innings of scoreless baseball. He also pitched eight shutouts that year and had 15 complete games. Tim Leary (17-11, 2.91) and Tim Belcher (12-6, 2.91) had solid years. The Dodger bullpen recorded 49 saves which was good for first in the National League. Lead by closer Jay Howell (5-3, 2.08 ERA and 21 saves) and Alejandro Pena (6-7, 1.91 ERA and 12 saves) and the aforementioned Jesse Orosco, this trio of pitchers helped make Tommy Lasorda's job easier during this championship season, the last one the Dodgers have won to date. The 1919 Chicago White Sox won the American League pennant by 3 1/2 games over the second place Cleveland Indians. In the era of the deadball, this was a team that hit extremely well. They lead the league with a .287 average and had three starters with a batting average over .300. Nemo Leibold hit .302, second baseman Eddie Collins hit .319 and twenty-nine year old Joe Jackson hit .351 with 96 RBI's and tied for the team lead in homeruns with Happy Felsch with seven. This ballclub scored 667, which was outstanding for a team during this era. The pitching was very good. They had a 3.04 ERA, good for fourth in the league. Eddie Cicotte had a phenomenal year by going 29-7 with a 1.82 ERA. Lefty Williams was 23-11 with a 2.64 ERA and Dickie Kerr was 13-7, 2.88. The White Sox had a capable bullpen, but you must remember that during this time, the bullpen was not used much. The Sox had 88 complete games and recorded three saves all year. Lefty Williams, Eddie Cicotte and a pitcher named Dave Danforth, who appeared in 15 games in 1919, had the other save. That was it. Much is made about how the White Sox threw the World Series in 1919, but the fact remains is that this team, no matter how it went down in history, was a great team. It's sad that they are only remembered for one thing.

White Sox right fielder Nemo Liebold gets Chicago's first hit of the game in the fourth inning off of Orel Hershiser, a line shot up the middle that Hershiser just missed grabbing.

Catcher Ray Schalk singles to lead off the sixth inning for Chicago but the next batter, Swede Risberg grounds into a double play to quickly erase any threat the Sox may have posed on Hershiser.

Steve Sax gets a hustling double as he hits a line shot off of White Sox thirdbaseman Buck Weaver's glove. The ball lands in short left field as Sax becomes the first batter on either team to reach second base in this game.

Jesse Orosco comes in to pitch the tenth inning for Los Angeles. Orosco had a very good '88 season in the Dodger bullpen.

Just like that, it is done. Orosco got the ball up on Shoeless Joe and Jackson hit it over the wall for a game winning walk off homer.

Jackson knew it was gone as soon as he hit it.

Shoeless Joe rounds first as the White Sox and Eddie Cicotte walk away victorious.

Chick Gandil greets Jackson at home.

Final score in 10 innings, Chicago 1, Los Angeles 0. This is the final game for me using TC 3. The next game will be played after TeamFuzz releases TC 4 and when the Forum Fanatics and Mod Squad teams are released, an entire series will be played with those teams.

Apologies for not playing these games in over a month. I've been involved in the Forum Fanatics and Mod Squad project during the month of November and this month is crazy due to Christmas.

[Yankee4Life]

Y4L 1924 Washington Senators at CPU 1961 Cincinnati Reds





Cincinnati 3, Washington 0

WP: Jim O'Toole
LP: Walter Johnson

Special Settings: Game played on zoom field view and at Crosley Field.


The entire sellout crowd at Crosley Field couldn't believe it. Neither could Walter Johnson and the rest of the Senators. Neither could the Cincinnati Reds themselves. But they all saw it happen as light hitting shortstop Eddie Kasko of the Reds turned on a Walter Johnson fastball in the third inning of today's game and drove it over the left field wall at Crosley as the Reds beat Washington 3 - 0.

Calling Kasko a hitter may be an insult to every hitter in the history of baseball. Consider what he did in 1961: in 126 games he played that year he had two homeruns and a grand total of 27 RBI. That's it. No more. But he still managed to hit .271 that year on less than .500 at bats, so he had to do something right.

Say hi to the folks here at Mvpmods Eddie



Reds lefty Jim O'Toole was the benificiary of Kasko's moment in the sun as he pitched a complete game 7 hit shutout. The Senators seemed stunned after Kasko's shot and kept popping up O'Toole's offerings for the rest of the game. Walter Johnson, except for that one pitch, pitched even better then O'Toole as he also went all the way and only gave up three hits and struck out eight.

The Teams: The 1924 Washington Senators were the first pennant winners in Washington's history as they won the pennant by two games over the Yankees. This was also Walter Johnson's first pennant. He was with Washington since 1907 and never reached the post season until this year. At age 36 he made the most of it as he went 23-7 with a 2.72 ERA in 1924. The Senators were not a power hitting team as they only hit 22 home runs all season, and twelve of them were by one player, Goose Goslin. Goslin was the star of the team as he hit .344 with 129 RBI, both tops on the club. The Senators as a team hit a very respectable .294 and were the league leaders in triples with 88. Their pitching was solid behind Johnson as they posted a team ERA of 3.34, first in the American League. Backing up the Big Train were George Mogridge (16-11, 3.76 ERA) and Tom Zachary (15-9, 2.75 ERA) Zachary would become more well known three years later in 1927 as he was the pitcher who served up Babe Ruth's 60th home run that year. Firpo Marberry was the ace of the Senators bullpen as he went 11-12 with 15 saves and a 3.09 ERA. The 1961 Cincinnati Reds were a second division team in 1960, but in '61 won 93 games and finished four games ahead of the Dodgers to win the NL flag. The Reds lineup was full of steady, if unspectacular players with the exception of two power hitting outfielders. Vada Pinson, a 22 year old centerfielder, hit .343 with 16 homeruns and 87 RBI. Rightfielder Frank Robinson, age 25, hit .323 with 37 homeruns and 124 RBI, leading the Reds in both categories. Wally Post, Gene Freese and Gordy Coleman each hit 20 or more homeruns to complete the Red attack. The Reds pitching was good but not great. Jim O'Toole was 19-9 with a 3.10 ERA Joey Jay (21-10) and Bob Purkey (16-12) were the only other starters to win in double figures. Jim Brosnan (10-4, 16 saves, 3.04 ERA in 53 games) was the ace of the Reds bullpen.


Roger Peckinpaugh gets Washington's first hit as he lines a hard shot threw the box that almost knocks down Reds starter Jim O'Toole.


This is how the game was won. Eddie Kasko has just connected off of Walter Johnson. Johnson has turned his head and is watching the flight of the ball towards the left field stands. Neither him or anyone else can believe it.


The Senators turn a tough double play in the seventh as second baseman Bucky Harris is upended as he fires to first to complete the twin killing.


It's the ninth inning now and Jim O'Toole is ready to close out this game.


What a way to end it. With a runner on first base, Frank Robinson snares this sinking liner off of Joe Judge to preserve the win for Cincinnati.


And this one belongs to the Reds. Thank you Eddie Kasko.

[fuzzone]

O' Toole is the man! Great Match y4l man.

[Yankee4Life]

O' Toole is the man! Great Match y4l man.

Fuzz, I wonder if Eddie Kasko is a distant relative of Luis Rivas? Both play the same position. Both can't hit unless they are facing me....etc.

[fuzzone]

Luis Rivas : Greatest Second Baseman to ever Play the game.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 2000 New York Mets at Y4L 2000 New York Yankees





New York Yankees 4, New York Mets 1

WP: Andy Pettitte
LP: Mike Hampton
SV: Jeff Nelson

Special Settings: Game played on ariel view and at Yankee Stadium.


Good pitching, clutch defense, timely hitting and good relief pitching is what the Yankees of the late 90's and early part of this decade had. And in this Total Classics Phase 4 game played last night, everything that made the Yankees great back then was on display in this 4 - 1 Yankee victory.

Things started out tough though as the first two hitters Andy Pettitte faced reached base. Mike Bordick singled and Pettitte came in too close on Edgardo Alfonso and hit him. Benny Agbayani then hit a laser beam to Scott Brosius at third and Brosius had time to run to third for the force out and throw to first to get Agbayani for the double play. Pettitte didn't escape the inning as Mike Piazza dropped a little flare just out of the reach of Chuck Knoblauch at second and Paul O'Neill in right as Alfonso scored from second to give the Mets a 1 - 0 lead.

Pettitte was in further trouble in the second as the Mets threatened with runners on the corners and two out, but Bordick struck out on a high pitch to end the inning. Mets starter Mike Hampton on the other hand, was having no trouble at all. He did give up three hits in the first five innings (all singles) but not one Yankee reached second base. Hampton had them out in front of his off speed pitches for the first five innings and appeared on his game.

That is until the sixth. Hampton retired GlenAllen Hill, who pinch hit for Pettitte, and Chuck Knoblauch to start the sixth. Then Derek Jeter singled. Paul O'Neill then hit an opposite field triple to left center field to score Jeter with the tying run. Bernie Williams then walked. David Justice then hit the ball almost to the direct same spot as O'Neill did for a two run double that scored Williams and O'Neill for a 3 - 1 Yankee lead.

The seventh inning saw Jeff Nelson come on for the Yankees and Nelson was overpowering. He pitched three shutout innings for the save and struck out two and gave up two hits. Nelson in 2000 was a workhorse as he appeared in 73 games with a 8-4 record and a 2.45 ERA

Nelson even had a hand in the final scoring of the game. After Scott Brosius lead off with a single, Nelson bunted him to second and Brosius scored on Knoblauch's single to center that gave the Yankees their 4 - 1 lead.

The Teams: The 2000 New York Mets were the National League's wildcard winners that year and they make quick work out of defeating the Giants and Cardinals in the playoffs. This Mets team had power and a lot of it. Every player in the Met starting lineup was in double figures in home runs except for shortstop Bordick. They didn't hit well as a team average wise, as they were near the bottom of the NL in that category, but with their 198 homeruns they made up for it. They were lead by Mike Piazza, their All-Star catcher. Piazza hit .324 with 38 homeruns and 113 RBI, fantastic numbers for the catcher's position. Edgardo Alfonso, another Met All-Star, also hit .324 with 25 homeruns and 94 RBI. The Mets had a 4.16 ERA and yet that ranked third in the National League. Not one Met hurler won more than 16 games and that was Al Leiter, who was 16-8 with a 3.20 ERA. Along with Mike Hampton, 15-10, 3.14 ERA, they were the aces of the Mets starting staff. Hard throwing 27 year old righthander Armando Benitez appeared in 76 games as the Mets closer and posted a 4-4 record with a 2.61 ERA and 41 saves. The 2000 New York Yankees entered the post season on a very bad note. They'd lost their last seven regular season games and it did not look good going into the post season for them. But they managed first to get past Oakland and then Seattle. Lead by their shortstop, All Star Derek Jeter, who hit .339 with 15 homeruns and 73 RBI, and by Bernie Williams (another All-Star), who hit .307 with 30 home runs and 121 RBI. This was a ballclub that combined good hitting (a .277 team average) with power (205 homeruns) that proved to be very tough to beat. The Yankees pitching had some trouble in 2000. Despite good years by Roger Clemens (13-8, 3.70) and Andy Pettitte (19-9, 4.35) the other starters had subpar years. Orlando Hernandez was 12-13 and David Cone 4-14. But the bullpen was the pride of the Yankee staff. Lead by Mariano Rivera, who went 7-4 with 36 saves and a 2.45 ERA, the Yankees big three of Rivera, Nelson and Stanton were the best in the majors.

First inning, no outs. Scott Brosius forces out Mike Bordick at third and fires to first to get Benny Agbayani for the double play.


Mike Hampton gets Jorge Posada to ground in a double play in the fifth inning.


Paul O'Neill triples into the Death Valley area in Yankee Stadium in deep left center field to score Derek Jeter with the tying run in the sixth inning.


O'Neill standing on third after his triple.


David Justice hits a double to left center to drive in two runs as the Yankees take a 3-1 lead in the sixth.


Bernie Williams scores on Justice's double.


Jeff Nelson bunts Scott Brosius to second here in the seventh inning. Brosius would score the Yankees' fourth run moments later on Chuck Knoblauch's single.


Nelson faces the last hitter in the 9th.


That's it. A liner to Paul O'Neill ends the game.
'>

Nelson claps after O'Neill catches the ball and earns the save with three shutout innings of work.
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Game over. Yankees win.
'>


Get Total Classics Phase 4! Or, if you want to wait, get Total Classics Phase 5, which will be released very soon. Thank you TeamFUZZ.

[Yankee4Life]

CPU 1965 Cleveland Indians at Y4L 1942 St. Louis Browns

St Louis 3, Cleveland 2

WP: Elden Auker

LP: Sam McDowell

SV: George Caster

Special Settings: Game played on zoom field view and at Classic Busch Stadium.

A three run fifth inning was all the Browns could manage against the Indians hard throwing lefthander Sam McDowell and Elden Auker was able to make it stand up as the Browns beat Cleveland in this Total Classics game 3 - 2.

McDowell was reaching 97 on the radar gun and for the first four innings the Browns could do nothing. But in the fifth, they got two bloop hits off McDowell that combined must have traveled 180 feet. But hits they were, and they had runners on first and second. That brought up lefthanded hitting first baseman George McQuinn, who hit a respectable .262 in 1942. With the count 2-2, McDowell hung a breaking pitch and Mcquinn hung it out to dry in left center field for a two run triple that gave St. Louis a 2 - 0 lead. McQuinn scored moments later on Auker's single to center to make it 3 - 0.

The Indians struck back in the sixth as leadoff hitter Vic Davalillo hit an Auker offering way over the right center field wall to cut the lead to 3 - 1. Davalillo was an unlikely candidate to hit a homerun as he only hit five in 1965 and 36 for his entire sixteen year career. But it is hitters like this in these series of games that time and again come through with a clutch home run, and Davalillo's was just as important as it got Cleveland right back in it.

In the eighth, the Tribe cut the lead to 3 - 2 as Chico Salmon, singled to lead off the inning. Salmon pinch hit for McDowell, who pitched 7 innings and gave up eight hits and all three runs. Salmon stole second base and went to third on Davalillo's ground out and then scored on a run scoring groundout by second baseman Larry Brown. Auker retired the final hitter in the inning and then turned the ball over to the Browns bullpen. Righthander George Caster came on in the ninth and retired Cleveland in order to earn the save.

The Teams: The 1965 Cleveland Indians finished in fifth place in 1965, fifteen games behind the American League Champion Twins. Despite finishing twelve games over .500, this was a young team that had some pitching shortages. McDowell, the ace, was 17-11 with a 2.18 ERA. A young Luis Tiant went 11-11. Sonny Siebert went 16-8 with a 2.43 ERA and ex-Yankee Ralph Terry, in his first year in Cleveland, went 11-6. Gary Bell made up the bullpen for Cleveland as he went 6-5 with 17 saves and a 3.04 ERA. The Indians had a mediocre .250 team batting average, but that was still good enough for third in the league. Only Vic Davalillo broke the .300 mark, and he hit .301. But the Tribe did have some pop in the lineup as four hitters had twenty or more home runs. First baseman Fred Whitfield (with 26), third baseman Max Alvis (21), right fielder Rocky Colavito (26) and left fielder Leon Wagner had 28. The 1942 St. Louis Browns finished in third place in 1942 with a 82-69 record, 19 1/2 games behind the Yankees. This was a solid team that managed to win a pennant just two years later. Pitching did in the Browns and kept them from challenging New York for the top spot. They had a team ERA of 3.59, which was fifth in an eight team league. The leader in victories was 38 year old Johnny Niggeling (15-11, 2.66 ERA) and then Elden Auker, who went 14-13. Those were the two Browns aces, and although other pitchers took up some slack, they did not have that big winner on the roster. The bullpen featured closer George Caster, who went 8-2 with a 2.81 ERA and five saves. What these Browns did do was hit. This was a team that was third in the league in hitting (.259) and they scored 730 runs. Wally Judnich lead the team with a .313 average and hit 17 homeruns and had 82 RBI. Chet Laabs lead the team in homeruns (27) and RBI (99) while hitting .280. And twenty-one year old shortstop Vern Stephens hit .294 with 14 home runs and 92 RBI. This was a tough lineup that was only shut out eight times all year. With more pitching, things could have been different in 1942.

Harlond Clift misplays a ball at third in the fourth inning but Elden Auker does not allow a run to score in this inning.

George McQuinn stands on third base here in the fifth inning after driving home two of his teammates to give the Browns a 2 - 0 lead.

Elden Auker singles home McQuinn as the Browns up their lead to 3 - 0.

Vic Davalillo has just hit a pitch off of Elden Auker a country mile. It's leaving Classic Busch Stadium in a hurry

Rocky Colavito grounds into an inning ending double play in the sixth inning for Cleveland.

George McQuinn saves a wild throw by shortstop Vern Stephens as he records the putout at first.

Rocky Colavito throws out Browns catcher Frankie Hayes as Hayes tried to stretch a single into a double here in the seventh inning. Colavito was known for his very strong throwing arm.

And that ends the game.

[Yankee4Life]

This game detailed here in this Total Classics series features the 1961 mod that is available for download here and at Total Classics.


CPU 1961 Cleveland Indians vs. Y4L 1961 New York Yankees

New York 3, Cleveland 0

WP: Whitey Ford
LP: Jim Perry

Special Settings: Game played on zoom field view and at old Yankee Stadium.


Whitey Ford pitched a complete game five hit shutout as the '61 Yankees beat the '61 Indians at Yankee Stadium. Ford was in complete control as he struck out seven Indians and was aided by two double plays turned by the Yankees.

Jim Perry (10-17, 4.71 ERA in 1961) pitched 7 2/3 innings for the Indians and kept the Tribe in the game until the final batter he faced in the eighth inning when Roger Maris hit a two run homerun to put the game out of reach.

Perry, despite giving up eleven hits, was helped very much by the fact that his infield turned four double plays that killed Yankee rallys.

The Yankees broke through in the sixth when Mickey Mantle ( 4 for 4 in the game) singled home Bobby Richardson. And again Perry bore down and enduced Elston Howard to ground in a double play that prevented any further scoring.

This game was very typical of how the Yankees won that year. Homeruns, great pitching and the best infield in the entire major leagues that year. Most of what is remembered about this team is the home run race with Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. But this was also a team that could pitch as they had a 3.46 ERA and were the best fielding team in the American League.


Cleveland turned their second double play of the game here in the second inning. They had four in the game.


Clete Boyer's try for a single here in the third inning is stopped as Jim Perry catches his line drive for the second out of the third inning.


Now it's the fifth inning and Clete Boyer gets his revenge on Jim Perry as he singles up the middle past him


Roger Maris singles to right center field to send Bobby Richardson to third base. Richardson scored moments later on Mickey Mantle's RBI single.


Middle innings view of Old Yankee Stadium. Another great job by our modders.


Roger Maris homers in the right field stands in the eighth inning as the Yankees take a 3 - 0 lead.


Game over. The 1961 mod is another must-have mod on this site.



Box Score.

[Yankee4Life]

Since June of 2006 this thread has not been updated and it has been practically abandoned, but not forgotten, by me. I still came here every five months or so to look over these games that I played in the older versions of Total Classics. A lot of good things have happened with the Total Classics series since this thread was posted in and with the release of Total Classics Phase 8 Gold this mod is even better than ever.

I've since moved on to the biased box score thread and it is in that thread I have been posting my exhibition games I have been playing along with a huge dose of tongue-in-cheek humor that some people seem to like and I am sure some don't. Anyhow there was a request there from one of our modders here (redsox) that I play a game between two Red Sox teams, sans the comments that he would expect me to make about two Red Sox teams. I figured why not? He's one of our modders and his Red Sox history uniform packs and team concept uniforms seem to be pretty popular, so I did it.

It was the 1967 Red Sox against the 1918 Red Sox. And this is how it went.

CPU 1967 Boston Red Sox vs Y4L 1918 Boston Red Sox

WP: Jim Lonborg

LP: Dutch Leonard

Game played on zoom field view and in Classic Fenway Park.

Jim Lonborg pitched a complete game nine hit shutout for the '67 American League Champion Red Sox over the 1918 edition. Lonborg was aided by three double plays, including one that ended the game and final threat that the 1918 team had. Rico Petrocelli drove home all three runs for the '67 team as they collected twelve hits off of two 1918 Sox pitchers. Lonborg threw an economical 103 pitches in his nine inning effort and struck out nine.

The 1918 Red Sox won the American League flag during this war-shortened year and beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series that year in six games. This was a dead-ball era team so pitching and defense is what won them games. In a preview of what was to come, the Red Sox of 1918 hit a total of fifteen homeruns as a team for the year. Eleven of those were by Babe Ruth, who was still a pitcher. Ruth hit .300 in 95 games, which also lead the club. Carl Mays was the only twenty game winner as he went 21-13 with a 2.21 ERA. Boston had a team ERA of 2.31 which was good for second in the league. Ruth himself was 13-7 with a 2.22 earned run average. The 1967 Red Sox were the Impossible Dream team for the 1967 season as they went from ninth place in 1966 all the way to the pennant in 1967. But behind that catch phrase was a very good team that had a very good year. The sixties was another pitcher's era decade and Boston's .255 team average was good for first in the American League. This was also the year of Carl Yastrzemski. The 27 year old leftfielder won the last triple crown in baseball history that year as he hit .326, hit 44 homeruns and had 121 RBI. Twenty five year old Jim Lonborg lead the Sox pitching staff with a 22-9 record and a 3.16 ERA. He was their ace. Closer John Wyatt saved twenty games for Boston that year and won ten more. They lost the series in 1967 to St. Louis in seven games.

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Screenshots

With two out in the top of the first, Carl Yastrzemski steals second base but is stranded there.

Carl Yastrzemski of the '67 Red Sox. He was so popular that year that they even wrote a song about him.

Harry Hooper, one of the greatest outfielders to play the game.

Bottom of the fourth. Fred Thomas hits a hard line drive to second that Mike Andrews just snares and he doubles off Hooper at second as the 1918 team squander a big chance to score.

Everett Scott singles right past Jim Lonborg, who barely gets out of the way.

Shortstop Everett Scott of the 1918 team makes a fantastic stop on a hard line drive by Mike Andrews here in the top of the seventh...

...but his throw is off the mark and Andrews is safe.

Dutch Leonard bears down here in the 7th and makes sure that the '67 team does not score any more runs as he faces Carl Yastrzemski with one out and two runners in scoring position. He would fan Yastrzemski on a knuckleball and retire George Scott to keep the game at 3 - 0.

Coming in to pitch the top of the 8th for the 1918 team, Babe Ruth.

The ace of 1967, Jim Lonborg.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Stuffy McInnis hits a double to right center field for the 1918 team.

Jim Lonborg celebrates on the mound as the '67 team turn their third double play of the game as they win 3 - 0.