Game 6 1988 NLCS

Game 6 in Los Angeles saw the Dodgers looking to pull close out the series against the Mets for the right to play the Oakland A's in the World Series.  The Mets were hopeful that David Cone would force a Game 7 vs LA's Tim Leary.

The Mets hopes would be dashed early when hot-hitting John Shelby would come to the plate with the bases full and would clear the bases with a double.  As it would turn out, that would be all the runs Leary would need as there would be no further scoring in the game.

The Mets actually outhit the Dodgers 7-4, but John Shelby's big double would be the only extra-base hit in the game and the Dodgers evened up the baserunners by drawing three walks to the Mets one and Kirk Gibson was hit by a pitch for another baserunner.

Tim Leary would get the win with a 7-hit complete game shutout.  He also struck out 12 Mets.  David Cone was only touched up for four hits in his seven innings, but he gave up all three runs.  Cone had his strikeout pitch going too as he struck out nine LA hitters.

John Shelby was named series MVP with his game 6 heroics giving him the advantage over teammate Kirk Gibson.  Shelby hit .381 and knocked in five runs in the series.

Dodgers 3, Mets 0 Tuesday, October 11, 1988 Mets (2-4) Dodgers (4-2) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Dykstra cf 3 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 .176 Sax 2b 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 .077 Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hatcher 1b 4 1 2 0 0 1 5 1 0 0 .200 Backman 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 .333 Gibson lf 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 .368 Hernandez 1b 4 0 2 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 .192 Marshall rf 3 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 .250 Strawberry rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 .348 Shelby cf 4 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 3 .381 McReynolds lf 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 .333 Scioscia c 3 0 0 0 0 1 14 0 0 1 .222 Jefferies 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 .423 Hamilton 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 .091 Carter c 4 0 0 0 0 2 11 0 0 0 .217 Griffin ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 .333 Elster ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 .000 Leary p 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 .000 Johnson ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 .412 Cone p 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 .286 Wilson ph cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .400 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 34 0 7 0 1 12 24 5 0 8 Totals 28 3 4 3 3 10 27 5 0 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - Mets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 Dodgers 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 LOB- Mets 8, Dodgers 5; 2B- Shelby(2); RBI- Shelby 3(5); SB- Gibson(2); RLSP- Jefferies, Johnson, McReynolds, Strawberry, Scioscia, Shelby 2; Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cone(L 1-1) 7.0 4 3 3 3 9 0 4.85 Leach 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Leary(W 1-0) 9.0 7 0 0 1 12 0 0.00 Batters faced- Cone 28, Leach 4, Leary 35; HBP- Gibson(by Leach); WP- Leary;

1988 NLCS Game 5

With the series tied at two games apiece, this game was pivotal for both teams and had some wild moments.  The Dodgers sent Game two loser, Tim Belcher to the mound against the Mets Sid Fernandez who hadn't been heard from yet this series.  Belcher had good stuff in the bullpen and brought it into the game.

The Dodgers got 1 in the first, 1 in the third, and 3 in the 4th to chase El Sid from the game after only 3.2 innings.  It looked at that point like the Dodgers would run away with this one, but New York came back to make a game of this one.

The Mets got two on for Darryl Strawberry in the bottom of the 5th and the Straw Man responded with a big three run homer to bring the game within two.  Rick Aguilera and Terry Leach would hold the Dodgers scoreless for 3.1 innings in relief of Fernandez.  Ricky Horton would relieve Tim Belcher after the Dodgers starter was pinch hit for in the top of the 7th.  Horton would pitch a scoreless 7th for the Dodgers.

The Mets would bring in Roger McDowell to start the 8th and Rodger held the Dodgers in check.  Horton would start the bottom of the 8th for the Dodgers, but would give way to Brian Holton after giving up a leadoff single.  Holton would give up a double to Kevin McReynolds giving the Mets runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out.  Holton would then proceed to balk on two consecutive pitches to Gary Carter to tie the game.  Bolton would get out of the 8th without giving up any more runs.

The Mets left Roger McDowell out to start the ninth and that looked to be a bad decision as McDowell gave the lead right back to the Dodgers allowing 2 runs in the 9th.  The Dodgers would bring in  Jay Howell to close the game, but Howell gave up a pinch hit double to Mookie Wilson to bring the tying run to the plate.  The Mets were unable to capitalize, however, and the Dodger went on to win 7-5.

Brian Holton got the vulture win after blowing the save and Roger McDowell took the loss.  Jay Howell got the last three outs for the save.  The surprise offensive star for the Dodgers was Alfredo Griffin who went 3 for 4 with a run scored, 2 RBI, a walk, and a double.  Darryl Strawberry also had three hits for the Mets including the three run homer.  Gregg Jefferies had four hits for New York to lead both teams.  The Mets outhit the Dodgers 14-12 and hit the games only homer, but the Dodgers drew nine walks to none for the Mets.

Tim Leary will try to close out the series for the Dodgers in Game Six versus David Cone and the Mets.  Davey Johnson has said he'll make some changes to his lineup in hopes of changing the Mets fortunes in Los Angeles.  He also commented on the one sided umpiring of Game 5 which will surely earn him a fine - a fine he'll happily play if his team can force a Game 7.

Dodgers 7, Mets 5 Monday, October 10, 1988 Dodgers (3-2) Mets (2-3) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Sax 2b 5 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0 .091 Dykstra cf 5 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 .071 Hatcher 1b 6 0 1 0 0 2 8 1 0 5 .125 Jefferies 3b 5 1 4 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 .500 Gibson lf 3 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 .389 Hernandez 1b 5 0 1 0 0 1 8 1 0 2 .136 Marshall rf 3 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 .235 Strawberry rf 4 2 3 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .368 Shelby cf 3 1 1 2 2 2 3 1 0 0 .412 McReynolds lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .350 Dempsey c 2 0 1 2 2 0 10 2 0 0 .500 Carter c 4 0 1 0 0 2 12 0 0 0 .263 Scioscia ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267 Johnson ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 .438 Hamilton 3b 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 7 .105 Backman 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 .353 Griffin ss 4 1 3 2 1 1 2 4 0 0 .389 Fernandez p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Belcher p 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Aguilera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 Stubbs ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .375 Magadan ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 Horton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Holton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Sasser ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Heep ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 McDowell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 Howell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Wilson ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 35 7 12 7 9 9 27 10 0 13 Totals 39 5 14 3 0 9 27 13 0 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dodgers 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 7 12 0 Mets 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 5 14 0 LOB- Dodgers 13, Mets 7; 2B- Dempsey(1), Griffin(1), McReynolds(2), Wilson(1); HR- Strawberry(2); RBI- Dempsey 2(2), Griffin 2(2), Marshall(7), Shelby 2(2), Strawberry 3(5); SH- Belcher 2(2); GIDP- Johnson(1); RLSP- Hamilton 5, Hatcher 3, McReynolds 2; DP- Dodgers 2, Mets 1; Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Belcher 6.0 9 3 3 0 6 1 7.71 Horton(H,1) 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 20.25 Holton(W 1-0) (BS,1) 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 0 3.38 Howell(S, 2) 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 10.13 Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Fernandez 3.2 5 5 5 7 5 0 12.27 Aguilera 1.1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 Leach 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 McDowell(L 0-1) 2.0 4 2 2 1 2 0 6.75 Inherited runners-scored- Holton, Aguilera 3-1; Batters faced- Belcher 26, Horton 5, Holton 4, Howell 4, Fernandez 23, Aguilera 6, Leach 7, McDowell 11; HBP- Gibson(by Fernandez);

1988 NLCS Game 4

Game 4 saw the Dodgers desperately needing a win to tie the series up at 2 games apiece, while the Mets looked to take a commanding 3-1 lead.  Neither team generated much offense in this game, but there was plenty of excitement.

The two teams were scoreless over the first five games.  John Tudor was magnificent for the Dodgers and Dwight Gooden was also up to the task despite having poor stuff.  Tudor was rarely even in trouble and Dwight had to escape a few jams, but was always up to the task.

The sixth inning, though, would prove to be Doc's downfall.  He gave up a double to Gibson and Marshall followed that with his third homer of the series.  Ultimately that would be all the scoring the Dodgers would need in this one, but just to be safe Los Angeles scored another run in the seventh with Alfredo Griffin hitting a one out single, followed by a Tudor bunt moving him into scoring position.  Steve Sax got a clutch two out double to knock in Griffin for the insurance run.

John Tudor was without a doubt the star of this game going the distance and allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out three batters.  Dwight Gooden gutted out a strong performance allowing just the two runs in 6 innings and picked up the tough luck loss.  The only player with multiple hits in this game was Kirk Gibson who had two doubles for the Dodgers.

Game 5 is in New York after which the action will move back to Los Angeles for at least a Game 6.  Game five's starters will be Tim Belcher for LA and Sid Fernandez for the Mets.  Belcher is looking to rebound from a shelling that occurred in Game 2 while Fernandez is making his first appearance in the fall classic.

Dodgers 3, Mets 0 Sunday, October 9, 1988 Dodgers (2-2) Mets (2-2) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Sax 2b 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 .118 Wilson cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .385 Hatcher 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 1 .100 Jefferies 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 .412 Gibson lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .400 Hernandez 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 0 1 .118 Marshall rf 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 .214 Strawberry rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .267 Shelby cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 .429 McReynolds lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .375 Scioscia c 4 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 .214 Carter c 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 .267 Hamilton 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 .071 Teufel 2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 .000 Griffin ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 .286 Elster ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 2 .000 Tudor p 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 .000 Johnson ph ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .583 Gooden p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Mazzilli ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 McDowell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Backman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .385 Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 34 3 8 3 0 3 27 12 0 6 Totals 29 0 3 0 1 3 27 9 0 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dodgers 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 8 0 Mets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 LOB- Dodgers 6, Mets 3; 2B- Gibson 2(2), Sax(1); HR- Marshall(3); RBI- Marshall 2(6), Sax(1); SH- Tudor(1); GIDP- Hernandez(1); RLSP- Hatcher, Shelby, Elster; DP- Dodgers 1; Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Tudor(W 1-0) 9.0 3 0 0 1 3 0 0.00 Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Gooden(L 0-2) 6.0 6 2 2 0 2 1 4.15 McDowell 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 4.50 Myers 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Batters faced- Tudor 30, Gooden 24, McDowell 8, Myers 4; HBP- Hamilton(by Myers);

1988 NLCS Game 3

The series shifted to the Big Apple with both teams tied at 1 game apiece.  The Dodgers gave the ball to Orel Hershiser to get them back on the winning track and the Mets are responded with Ron Darling to keep their momentum going.

The Mets struck quickly plating a run in the bottom of the first.  They got two more in the third, but then both teams settled down.  The score was still 3-0 in the top of the 8th when the Dodgers pinch hit for Hershiser, but were unable to score.  The Mets tallied four runs in the bottom of the 8th off two Dodger relievers.  Darling completed the shutout with a trouble free ninth.

Ron Darling was the hero of the game with the complete game, four hit shutout.  He even got a hit and scored a run.  The offensive star was Mookie Wilson.  The Mets centerfielder had three hits including a homer, scored three runs, and knocked in three.  Howard Johnson also homered for the Mets.  Kirk Gibson was the only Dodger able to generate any real offense against Darling.  Gibbson had two hits and stole a base.

The Dodgers are starting mid-season acquisition John Tudor who went 10-8 between St. Louis and LA while the Mets respond with their ace Doc Gooden - their Game 1 starter.  The Mets are hoping a fully rested bullpen will play to their advantage since the game is being played without an off day.

Mets 7, Dodgers 0 Saturday, October 8, 1988 Dodgers (1-2) Mets (2-1) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Sax 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 .077 Wilson cf 5 3 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 .444 Hatcher 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 10 0 0 1 .167 Jefferies 3b 4 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 .462 Gibson lf 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364 Hernandez 1b 5 0 1 1 0 2 8 0 0 1 .154 Marshall rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 .200 Strawberry rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 .333 Shelby cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 McReynolds lf 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 .385 Scioscia c 3 0 0 0 0 1 7 1 0 1 .200 Johnson ss 3 1 2 2 1 0 3 4 0 2 .636 Hamilton 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 .000 Carter c 4 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 0 3 .333 Griffin ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0 0 .300 Backman 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 .417 Davis ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Darling p 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 .333 Sharperson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hershiser p 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 .000 Heep ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Howell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 Orosco p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 30 0 4 0 1 6 24 14 1 4 Totals 35 7 12 7 3 5 27 8 1 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - Dodgers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 Mets 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 7 12 1 FE- Hershiser(1); TE- Darling(1); LOB- Dodgers 4, Mets 8; HR- Johnson(1), Wilson(1); RBI- Hernandez(3), Jefferies(4), Johnson 2(3), Wilson 3(3); SB- Gibson(1); SH- Darling(1); GIDP- Heep(1); RLSP- Marshall, Scioscia, Carter 2, Hernandez, Johnson, McReynolds; DP- Mets 1; Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Hershiser(L 1-1) 7.0 8 3 3 2 4 1 3.00 Howell 0.2 2 3 3 1 0 1 16.20 Orosco 0.1 2 1 1 0 1 0 135.00 Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Darling(W 1-0) 9.0 4 0 0 1 6 0 0.00 Inherited runners-scored- Orosco; Batters faced- Hershiser 31, Howell 5, Orosco 3, Darling 31;

1998 NLCS Game 2

The Dodgers were eager to grab a 2-0 series lead vs the Mets and started 26 year old, twelve game winner vs David Cone who went 20-3.  The Mets faithful were nervous when the Dodgers jumped to a 2-1 first inning lead, but they had nothing to fear as the Mets scored in each of the first four innings, but really erupted when they put eleven runs on three Dodger relievers.

David Cone wasn't on top of his game giving up four runs in six plus innings, but with 16 runs to work with, he easily picked up the win.  Rick Aguilera came in to get the last nine outs and the three inning save.

It's difficult to pick a single offensive star for the Mets since they rapped 21 hits including two doubles and three homers, but 20 year old rookie, Gregg Jefferies came up very big.  He had three runs, three hits and three RBI.  Jefferies also had two homers.  Jefferies was one of five Mets with at least three hits.  Darryl Strawberry led the way with four hits including the other Mets homer and one of their doubles.  Every starter had at least 1 RBI.  Lenny Dykstra was the only Met in a bad mood after this one after taking an 0 for 7.

The Dodgers pitching was obviously poor, but their offense wasn't too great either.  The bright spot for LA was the continued good play of Mike Marshall.  The rightfielder hit a homer for the second consecutive game.  Franklin Stubbs also homered for the Dodgers.  Mike Scioscia and Alfredo Griffin each had two hits.

The teams fly across the country to meet on October 8 in New York.  The Mets are starting 17 game winner Ron Darling and the Dodgers are looking to curb the Mets momentum by going back to the Bulldog, Orel Hershiser, in Game 3.

Mets 16, Dodgers 4 Wednesday, October 5, 1988 Mets (1-1) Dodgers (1-1) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Dykstra cf 7 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 .000 Sax 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 0 .000 Jefferies 3b 5 3 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .444 Hatcher 1b 2 1 1 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 .333 Hernandez 1b 5 2 1 1 1 1 5 0 0 3 .125 Orosco p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Strawberry rf 5 4 4 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 .500 Horton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 McReynolds lf 6 1 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 .300 Holton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Johnson ss 4 3 3 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 .625 Davis ph lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Carter c 5 1 2 3 0 1 12 0 0 2 .500 Gibson lf 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 .286 Backman 2b 5 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 .500 Pena p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Cone p 5 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 2 .400 Marshall rf 3 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 .333 Aguilera p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Shelby cf 3 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 .714 Scioscia c 4 0 2 0 0 1 9 0 0 1 .286 Hamilton 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 3 .000 Griffin ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 .375 Belcher p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 .000 Leary p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Stubbs ph 1b 3 1 1 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 .429 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 48 16 21 15 5 6 27 5 0 12 Totals 34 4 8 4 2 9 27 12 1 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mets 1 1 1 2 0 11 0 0 0 16 21 0 Dodgers 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 8 1 FE- Griffin(1); LOB- Mets 12, Dodgers 6; 2B- McReynolds(1), Strawberry(1); HR- Jefferies 2(2), Strawberry(1), Marshall(2), Stubbs(1); RBI- Backman 2(3), Carter 3(3), Cone(1), Dykstra(1), Hernandez(2), Jefferies 3(3), Johnson(1), McReynolds(1), Strawberry 2(2), Marshall 2(4), Stubbs 2(3); SF- Carter(1); GIDP- Stubbs(1); RLSP- Carter, Cone, Dykstra 2, Hernandez 2, Hamilton; DP- Mets 1; Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cone(W 1-0) 6.0 6 4 4 2 7 2 6.00 Aguilera(S, 1) 3.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Belcher(L 0-1) 3.1 9 5 5 3 2 2 13.50 Leary 1.2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Orosco 0.0 3 4 4 1 0 1 0.00 Horton 0.1 4 6 2 0 0 0 54.00 Holton 1.2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0.00 Pena 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Inherited runners-scored- Leary, Horton 2-2, Holton 3-3; Batters faced- Cone 27, Aguilera 10, Belcher 22, Leary 7, Orosco 4, Horton 7, Holton 8, Pena 7; HBP- Strawberry(by Horton), Hatcher(by Cone);

AFR Game of the Week

I decided to go ahead and play Steve Tower's Game of The Week challenge. I don't have any Dodger/Mets games coming up for any projects I've currently got underway so I decided to start a mini-project. I have the cards for Statis Pro Baseball for the 1988 season. Naturally, the Dodgers beat the A's in a World Series stunner, but even before going to the World Series, the were underdogs in the NLCS vs the Mets. The Mets won 100 games that year which was 6 more than LA, but the Dodgers won the series in 7 games.

 In Game 1 of my replay, the Dodgers got a clutch Mike Marshall homer in the first to jump out to a 2-0 lead vs Dwight Gooden. With Hershiser on the hill for LA, runs would be a premium. New York was able to scratch out a run in the second however after which both pitchers put up zeroes until the bottom of the 6th when the Dodgers scored two more. The Mets were able to break through for another run in the 8th off Orel to make it 4-2, but couldn't score in the 9th despite bringing the tying run to the plate vs closer Jay Howell.

 Orel Hershiser was the star for the Dodgers going 8 innings and giving up two runs in the win. At the plate, John Shelby had a great day, going four for four including a double. Mike Marshall hit the only homer and the Mets were held without an extra base hit. The Kid, Gary Carter, was the Mets offensive star going 2 for 3 with a walk.

 Game 2 will feature Tim Belcher throwing the first pitch for the Dodgers, while David Cone will take the mound for the visiting Mets.  Dodgers 4, Mets 2

Dodgers 4, Mets 2 Tuesday, October 4, 1988 Mets (0-1) Dodgers (1-0) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Wilson cf lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .250 Sax 2b 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 .000 Jefferies 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 .250 Stubbs 1b 4 1 2 1 0 1 12 1 0 1 .500 Hernandez 1b 3 0 0 1 0 0 10 0 0 0 .000 Woodson ph 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Strawberry rf 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 .000 Gibson lf 3 1 2 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 .667 McReynolds lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .000 Marshall rf 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333 Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 Shelby cf 4 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1.000 Johnson ss 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 .500 Scioscia c 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 1 .000 Carter c 3 0 2 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 .667 Hamilton 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 5 .000 Backman 2b 3 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 0 2 .333 Griffin ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 7 0 1 .250 Gooden p 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 .500 Hershiser p 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 .000 Dykstra ph cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 .000 Hatcher ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Howell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 32 2 8 2 3 4 24 9 0 7 Totals 32 4 10 4 4 4 27 11 0 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - Mets 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 0 Dodgers 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 10 0 LOB- Mets 7, Dodgers 10; 2B- Shelby(1), Stubbs(1); 3B- Gibson(1); HR- Marshall(1); RBI- Backman(1), Hernandez(1), Gibson(1), Marshall 2(2), Stubbs(1); SB- Sax(1); SH- Hershiser(1); SF- Hernandez(1); GIDP- Backman(1), Jefferies(1), Marshall(1); RLSP- Backman, Gooden 2, McReynolds, Griffin, Hamilton 3, Marshall, Stubbs; DP- Mets 1, Dodgers 2; Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Gooden(L 0-1) 7.0 10 4 4 4 4 1 5.14 Myers 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Hershiser(W 1-0) 8.0 8 2 2 2 3 0 2.25 Howell(S,1) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 Batters faced- Gooden 35, Myers 3, Hershiser 32, Howell 4; HBP- Gibson(by Gooden);

History Maker Baseball Review

The last couple of posts have dealt with some nostalgic games from my past.  Now, we'll take a look at a game I was just introduced to - History Maker Baseball.  Let me start by saying HMB is different than any other baseball game I've ever played.  It's great at some things and doesn't do other things as well as other games on the market.

How is the game different?  Well, the primary difference is the player cards don't have tons of number on them.  The only numbers are the season the set is from, the team the player is on (for fictional sets), and the year in the trademark.  So, how do you play a game without numbers on the cards?  I'm glad you asked.  Let's find out.

Each player is rated at a position like most games.  Additionally, hitters are rated for right handed, left handed or switch hitter.  Pitchers are also rated on which hand they throw with.  There's a fielding rating for each player and a baserunning rating.  That all sounds the same as the rest of the baseball sims, right?  Here's where it changes.

Players are also given qualities.  For instance, Joe Morgan, MVP from the 1975 Reds is rated at as Semi-Champion, Semi-Slugger, and Patient.  Meanwhile, my childhood hero, Johnny Bench, is rated Semi-Hero, Semi-Slugger, Semi-Home Run King, and Semi Whiffer.  If you're like I was, you're probably wondering how can those qualities drive the game, and, oh yeah, what do you mean Semi?

These qualities are the engine that makes this game go.  To initiate an at bat, you roll three six sided dice and cross reference the result off a chart from the game book.  There are three columns in the chart.  The first is the pitcher column and it might ask if the pitcher has a certain quality or it might be blank.  If the pitcher has the quality, a result will occur.  If not or if the column is blank, you move on to the batters column and follow the same procedure.  If that doesn't produce a result, you move to the fielder column which will produce a result.

For instance, on a roll of 1-1-1, you will check the chart under the pitcher's column.  It asks if the pitcher has the ACE quality.  If so, the hitter grounds out to 3B.  If not, you check the hitter's column.  It asks if the hitter has the SCRAPPER quality.  If so, he hits a double.  If not, you check the Fielder column for the result.  For this die roll, the result is a Home Run to LF.

OK, but what about all those semi qualities?  This is a great innovation that designer Keith Avallone came up with.  Any of the qualities of players can be semi qualities meaning they are somewhere between possessing that quality and not.  So for any given at bat, if a player is semi at a given quality and the chart is asking if the player has that quality, you roll the decider die.  The decider die has three blank sides and three sides with a dot.  If you roll the dot, the player has that quality for that at bat.

I'll roll a quick at bat as an example.  We'll go back to the 1975 season and look at a World Series at bat between Joe Morgan and the Red Sox ace Luis Tiant.  The dice roll is 1-4-6 (always go from lowest die to highest).  The chart asks if Tiant has the Flash rating.  He is semi-Flash so we roll the decider die.  It comes up blank so he doesn't have the flash quality.  If he did, it would have been a strikeout since Morgan doesn't have the Good Eye quality.  Since it didn't, we go to the batter column and it says to check if Morgan has the Champion quality.  Morgan, as we stated above, is a semi-Champion.  A roll of the die indicates he is a Champion for this at bat at and as a result bloops a single into left field.  Had the decider come up no, we would move to the fielder column which would result in a ground out to 2B.

One aspect of this game that I love is the Game Day feature.  Each day before the start of the game, you need to determine the teams' mood and chemistry for the game.  The roll is dependant on the teams' success over the previous game or games.  Next, you determine based on your prior game (or games) who each team's hot and cold batter is.  This can come up in the game and can help players on a hot streak or hurt those that are slumping.  Finally, you check the message board.  This is done based on your team's mood.  A team in a stormy mood might get bad news while a team in  a sunny mood will likely get good news.  Very cool feature.

There are multiple charts in the game book that affect the game besides the main play chart.  You might be directed to the Infield Drama or Outfield Drama chart in which a player's fielding quality will be checked and will impact the result.  Similarly, Plate drama tends to look at pitcher and catcher qualities.  The Baseball Right Now chart looks at the batter/pitcher to see if they are hot or cold either as a result of the Game Day decision or the result of the prior at bat.  There's a player experience chart and team chemistry chart that impacts the game.  Finally, there are ballpark,umpire, and rare play charts.  So much good stuff.

This game is extremely fun to play.  I was worried I wouldn't like this game as I'm a bit of a simulationist and I didn't see how qualities could accurately simulate a game.  And, to be honest, I still don't think this game would be as statistically accurate as most others on the market, but this game doesn't attempt to recreate a past history but to create a new history if that makes sense.  The results should be close enough that it will pass the sniff test, but you shouldn't expect to have players do exactly what they did in real life.

Where this game truly shines for me is the fictional card set.  Keith has created a fictional card set so that you can create your own universe.  I've created my own league using the twelve team fictional set I bought from Plaay.com along with the card creation instructions (yes he sells this for a very small fee so you can create your own cards).  I've created a league of the six largest cities without an MLB team in California (where I'm from) against the six largest cities in the rest of the US without a team.  I plan to play a season and then "advance" my players.  Some will retire, some will get better, some worse, and new players will be called up from the minors.

Why a fictional universe?  There are no expectations tied to player cards.  I don't have to concern myself with statistical accuracy.  I don't have to decide if I'm using as played lineups or not.  My players and teams will grow and change.  But most importantly, it's a blast.  It's a completely different experience than playing Statis Pro or Strat-O-Matic.

So what's my verdict?  This game is a home run all the way.  No doubt about it.  I'm not sure there's a funner game of baseball out there.  I personally wouldn't use HMB to replay a MLB season, but for fictional leagues, History Maker Baseball is the top dog in my book.

Statis Pro Basketball Reviewed

If you read my last post, you will see I started playing Statis Pro Baseball as a Freshman in college. Well, after discovering Statis Pro Baseball, I heard there was also a Statis Pro Basketball.  Being almost as big a basketball nut as a baseball fan, I decided to spend some of my hard earned money to get this game.

Unlike Statis Pro Baseball, I never was part of a Statis Pro Basketball league.  But that doesn't mean I didn't have fun with the game.  On the contrary.  I played this game a ton.  I played with at least four different people from my dorm.  One friend and I started a replay of the season.  Unfortunately we never finished it, but we had a blast.

Well, after cleaning out my garage, I found my old copy and it was pretty beat up, but everything was there.  I decided to play a game to see if the game was like I remembered.

Statis Pro Basketball, like it's baseball counterpart, is driven by a fast action deck.  The game flows quickly and is probably the fastest tabletop basketball game I've played.  Everything runs quickly and smoothly, but it feels like it's simulating most of the results well.  If you are coaching a team with outstanding rebounders, but poor defenders, you will find yourself yelling at your players to play some defense so you can take advantage of your rebounding.

I replayed an early season game between the Knicks and Celtics from 1988 and was pleased with the result.  The Knicks won 109-100.  The score was a bit low, but there was probably a good reason for that.

Each team had a starter injured.  Robert Parrish and Johnny Newman both got hurt and are also scheduled to miss their next games.  Additionally, Trent Tucker and Danny Ainge got into a fight and were ejected.  Finally, there is also a mechanic that forces you to sometimes rest players for the remainder of the period.  That occurred four times including twice right at the beginning of a quarter.  There were a lot of minutes played by subs.  I love these rules, however the amount of roster juggling I had to do to play this game was extreme.  I'm going to chalk this up to chance and say it won't happen anywhere near this bad usually.

There is a home field advantage chart that allows you to ignore or change certain results depending on how strong your team's home court advantage is.  It seems like a good innovation that allows teams to have records more reflective of how they actually played at home and on the road.  Every once in a while there's a team that actually performs better on the road, however, so maybe they should have home and road ratings to balance things out for the road warriors.  Overall, I'm a fan of this mechanic regardless.

What would I change?  Well, I'm not a huge fan of the stamina rules.  It's based on shots attempted.  So if you have a guy that is gunning because the FAC deck keeps calling his number, you might have to sit him a lot longer than he'd regularly have to sit.  I much prefer a minute based fatigue system such as the one in Strat-o-Matic.

There are a few other aspects that Strat-o-Matic did better than Statis Pro.  First and foremost, there's not a system in place to get the ball to your highest volume shooters.  On occasion you get to choose who gets the ball, but there's no mechanism in place that gets the ball to your shooters.  Second, the assist system is practically non-existent.  The rules as written will get you nowhere near the number of assists the players actually made.  Finally the only distinction between shot types is two or three point shot.  There's no differentiating between outside shots, inside shots or penetration.

Even with these flaws, the game is still a ton of fun to play.  If I was going to teach someone how to play a tabletop basketball game, I'd pull out Statis Pro.  It's easy to play and much quicker than some other games.  The Home Field Advantage mechanic actually gives the home coach some extra strategic choices to make.  Additionally it will make teaching other basketball games a bit easier.  It's not a slam dunk or a three pointer - just a nice soft mid range jumper.

Statis Pro Baseball Review

Statis Pro Baseball brings back many fond memories for me.  It really catapulted my involvement in the table top sports hobby.  I started playing Statis Pro Baseball my Freshman year in college.  My buddy was joining a league and asked me if I'd be interested.  Of course!  Well, little did I know then, that I would still be playing in these leagues almost thirty years later.

So how does Statis Pro hold up in today's world?  Would I still join a Statis Pro league?  What's good about the game and what would I change?  Let's examine these questions.

The first thing I noticed about Statis Pro Baseball upon playing the game again is how cool the mechanics are for pitchers.  Each pitcher is given a PB rating which is used to determine whether the result of each plate appearance will be read off the pitcher's card or the hitter's card.  Additionally, prior to entering the game each pitcher makes a check to see if he's got good stuff, poor stuff or average stuff.  I'm a huge fan of the PB rating as well as the concept that pitcher's sometimes have a little extra and other times are just a bit off.  Score a HR for Statis Pro on this area.

You also immediately notice there are no dice!  The game's engine is a Fast Action deck.  This FAC deck lends itself to a quick resolution of games once you get the hang of the game.  I can knock out a game of Statis Pro quicker than I can with any other tabletop baseball game I've played and I credit the FAC deck with a lot of that.  Not quite a homer as randomizing cards is not as simple as randomizing dice rolls, however I love the speed.  Give them a triple for this innovation.

The other thing I love about this game is it is fun.  The game might not be as statistically accurate as other games and it does feel a bit dated, but the game is still a blast to play.  This would probably be my go-to game if I was trying to introduce someone new to the hobby.  The game is easy to learn and is mostly intuitive.  To me it's much funner to play Statis Pro with someone that playing it solitaire.  Perhaps that is because I cut my teeth on this game and always played it with others.  Fun factor is a solid double.

Now a game of baseball is not complete without some outs.  Statis Pro makes quite a few outs.  As I said before the game feels a bit dated and there are some rules that feel pasted on.

How is the game dated?  Well, there are no lefty/righty splits or ballpark effects.  Both are practically required for a baseball game I'm going to play.  Statis Pro includes a simplistic lefty/righty rule, but it's the same for everyone.  There are no hitters that crush lefties or one out lefty relievers.  I really miss that depth if I'm playing a season or a tournament.  The lack of ballpark effects is also disappointing to me.  I want the Padres to play completely different in Colorado than they do at home.  I don't get that.  For me this is a strikeout.

I'm also not very enthusiastic with how some of the strategies available to managers are implemented in the game.  The base stealing system doesn't include any way to differentiate between how well pitcher's hold runners on base.  It's a minor quibble, but a quibble nonetheless.  Bunting for a hit seemed like it was a bit too good.  Of course, maybe that's because there was a guy in my league in college that abused that and the hit and run.  Oh, the hit and run.  That chart needs some major help.  A great hit and run man is extremely valuable in Statis Pro as the hit and run chart is very kind to him.  I'll give this a groundout since much of this stuff is fixable with a couple tweaks.

Overall, I'd rate Statis Pro as a solid single.  It's a quick, fun game that will always remain in my collection and have a soft spot in my heart.  This game is my game of choice when I'm teaching someone how to play tabletop baseball because it's simple, elegant and quick.  There are some people that still sell Statis Pro cards online so you can continue to play the game with today's players.  Some of those people have even included lefty righty splits which is a huge plus for me.  I haven't tried these out so I can't speak to the quality of the cards.  Regardless, I recommend everyone at least play Statis Pro once and yes I would join a Statis Pro Face to Face league in a heartbeat.  Have you played Statis Pro?  What are your thoughts on the game?