The 1975 Cincinnati Reds and the 1972 Oakland's claimed the championships in their respective brackets Sunday afternoon in the @JackSacco6 and @sacco_john STRAT-O-MATIC baseball "The Best of the 1970s" tournament to advance to the World Series, which begins next week.
Both teams staved off elimination Saturday to reach the championship games today.
The '75 Reds (5-1) allowed four, first-inning runs but responded with five in the bottom of the first, then built a 10-4 lead before the 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers (3-2) scored four in the seventh and one in the ninth. Clay Carroll nailed down the 10-9 victory to earn the save.
The 1972 A's and the 1979 Pirates battled scoreless through seven innings as John "Blue Moon" Odom and Jim Bibby dueled. A lead-off single by Joe Rudi in the eighth chased Bibby. Third baseman Sal Bando then delivered the hit of the game, a two-run home run off Kent Tekulve, who saved all three of his team's victories in the tournament. The blast capped a three-for-four performance for Bando.
The Pirates (3-2) rallied with one out in the ninth off Odom, as Bando booted a Mike Easler grounder. Second baseman Phil Garner followed with a single and shortstop Tim Foli drove in Easler with a single. Garner moved to third on the play. Pinch-hitter Bill Robinson's attempted squeeze bunt went awry as Garner was thrown out at the plate. The Pirates comeback attempt died when pinch-hitter Lee Lacy bounced back to Odom.
The Reds and A's (5-1) were the top seeds in their respective brackets. The Reds lost to the Dodgers in the winner's bracket finals and the A's lost to the Pirates in the other winner's bracket final.
Cincinnati's win ruined a spectacular performance by Dodgers' catcher Joe Ferguson who belted a three-run home run in the first inning and slugged a grand slam in the seventh inning. His seven RBI were a tournament single-game high. Jimmy "The Toy Cannon" Wynn led off the ninth with a home run to cut the Reds' lead to 10-9 but Carroll retired the next three batters to clinch the title.
The Big Red Machine erased the 4-0 deficit quickly as Ken Griffey, Sr. connected on a two-run home run in the first and left fielder George Foster, shortstop Dave Concepcion and pitcher Jack Billingham drove in runs. Cincinnati scored two runs in the third, getting RBI from centerfielder Cesar Geronimo and third baseman Pete Rose. The big blow of the game came in the bottom of the seventh when catcher Johnny Bench belted a three-run home run after second baseman Joe Morgan was hit by a pitch and forced to leave the game. Morgan will miss Game 1 of the World Series with a hand injury.
Bench, who hit two home runs with 10 RBI, had a .591 slugging percentage and .976 OPS, along with pitcher Gary Nolan, who went 2-0 in the tournament with a 0.50 ERA, a 0.611 WHIP with six strikeouts in 28 innings and two complete games, were named Co-MVPs of the tournament for the Reds.
Reggie Jackson, who hit two home runs and drove in seven runs with a .379 on-base percentage, .625 slugging percentage and 1.004 OPS, was named MVP for Oakland. Odom (1-0) had a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings.
Ferguson was the Dodgers' top performer in the tournament, hitting four home runs in 21 plate appearances with 11 RBI, a .426on-base percentage, 1.056 slugging percentage and 1.482 OPS.
The Pirates had several solid performances. Foli hit .526 (10-for-19) with four RBI, three doubles, a .550 on-base percentage, .684 slugging percentage and a 1.234 OPS. Willie Stargell popped three HRs, drove in six runs, slugged .882 and had a 1.337 OPS. Garner hit .538, going seven-for-13.
Oakland second baseman Dick Green will also miss the World Series opener as he was forced to leave Sunday’s game with a nagging big toe injury.
The Big Red Machine will be managed by @JackSacco6 in the Series while the Swingin' A's will be managed by @sacco_john.
Only one fan was allowed to attend the game, Eloise, the Queen of the house, and family dog. She slept, close to the action, through most of the championship doubleheader except for when @sacco_john startled her when he threw his STRATO cards and blurted out several curse words in disgust after the '79 Pirates lost.
Both contests were good ball games, as I am sure @JPerrotto predicted.
My blog will appear on a regular basis and will focus on sports, notes, opinions, features, fiction, and some trivia for good measure.
-- John Sacco
sacman18@comcast.net
@sacco_john
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