Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Los Angeles v. Tampa Bay

The Dodgers are making their 21st trip to the World Series.  It is their 12th trip as the Los Angeles Dodgers, after making nine trips as the Brooklyn Dodgers.  (The Brooklyn Dodgers played at Ebbits Field from 1913 through 1957, a total of 45 seasons.  The Los Angeles Dodgers have played in Dodger Stadium from 1962 through 2020, a total of 58 seasons.)  The Dodgers have an overall record of 6-14 in World Series play:

1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1988, 2017, 2018

From 1919 through 1954, Tampa was represented by a series of minor league teams known as the Tampa Smokers, which is a much better name than "Rays."  From 1957 to 1988, the Tampa Tarpons competed in the Florida State League.  For much of the period from 1920 to 2000, St. Petersburg had a team known as the St. Petersburg Saints.  But in 1998, Major League Baseball came to the Greater Tampa area in the form of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  After the 2007 season, they changed their name to the Rays and immediately won the pennant.  And now they have their second one.  The Devil Rays/Rays have yet to win the World Series.  So here is Tampa Bay's list of World Series appearances so far:

2008

There's not exactly a longstanding rivalry between the cities of Los Angeles and Tampa.  But they have met for a title before.  After years of stability, the 1979 NFC playoffs featured a whole series of strange events.  The Eagles, who hadn't been a serious factor since about 1960, beat Chicago 27-17 to win the Wild Card Game.  But then the Eagles lost 24-17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had famously gone winless only a few seasons before.  Meanwhile, the Rams -- who spent the 1970's losing playoff games -- stunned Dallas with a 21-19 upset, in what turned out to be Roger Staubach's last game.  (There's something very fitting about the fact that Staubach played his last game on the next-to-last day of the 1970's.)  Anyway, that left the Rams and Tampa Bay to play for a trip to the Super Bowl.  In one of the least entertaining NFL playoff games ever, the Rams went to Tampa and beat the Bucs 9 to 0 with three field goals.  We will hope this World Series provides more excitement.

39 comments:

  1. I know that everyone is supposed to hate baseball these days, and we're especially supposed to have no interest in the World Series. Heck, MLB makes it as hard as possible for people on the East Coast to watch these games. Most of my baseball memories over the last 20 years consist of games being played in the middle of the night.

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  2. But I love the World Series. It's the first really brilliant sporting event the Americans got excited about, and I still think it's just about the best idea we ever had. There's nothing else like it, and I get excited for it every year.

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  3. I was devastated when they didn't play the World Series in 1994, and my interest in baseball didn't fully recover until the epic Red Sox/Yankees battles of 2003 and 2004, which were followed by the Nats' return to Washington in 2005. So I'm really happy they're playing the Series this year.

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  4. The Dodgers just became the first team since the 1985 Cardinals to battle back from an 0-2 hole to win the NLCS. So they have apparently decided the best strategy is to fall behind in the World Series. That would explain why Kershaw is starting Game One. In the first inning, he's given up a single and a walk, and the Rays have men on first and second with one out.

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  5. Kershaw pitches his way out of that jam, and the score is Tampa Bay zero, the Dodgers coming up to bat.

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  6. For many years, I followed the World Series through the outstanding radio broadcasts that we get from ESPN. But when the Dodgers or the Nats make the Series, I go with their announcers -- and they've combined to win the last four NL pennants. So I'm rolling with Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday. It's very comforting to be 54 years old and hear games called by men significantly older than I am.

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  7. The big breakthrough of this season is that I've found web pages that give you the RBG numbers for team colors, which allows me to match the colors exactly on an Excel spreadsheet. For example, here is Dodger Blue:

    Red: 0
    Green: 90
    Blue: 156

    And here is Kentucky's blue:

    Red: 0
    Green: 51
    Blue: 160

    Putting them next to each other, you can see that the Kentucky blue is slightly glossier -- which, of course, is exactly correct.

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  8. Until these playoffs began, I had literally never heard of anyone who plays for the Rays. Their whole payroll is only $28.2 million -- the third-lowest in baseball. The Dodgers' payroll is $107.9 million.

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  9. I really like this Geico commercial with Casper the Friendly Ghost. Casper doesn't usually get enough attention these days.

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    1. This one's a big hit with my daughter. She thinks it's very clever.

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  10. Uniform watch: The Dodgers are wearing their home white uniforms, which are the best uniforms worn by any team in any sport in the world.

    The Rays are wearing navy blue jerseys with the Rays' sunshine logo on the front, and the only Devil Ray symbol on one sleeve. They have the navy hat with their "TB" logo, and grey pants.

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  11. The Rays' uniforms aren't offensive, but they are dull. MLB is overrun with clubs that feature navy blue. On the other hand, the Rays have a light blue color that they use as an alternate. My advice would be for Tampa to drop the navy pretty much altogether, and build their uniform around light blue.

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  12. Light blue is a great team color -- the color of UNC, and Manchester City, and Richard Petty, and Cambridge University. And there are no light blue teams in MLB. I would take the UNC baseball uniforms as a model, and suddenly you would have uniforms that are unique, and stylish, and classic. You'd still need a new stadium, but you'd be on your way.

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  13. I'm enormously pleased that the Nats got their uniforms right. It makes me happy every time I think about it.

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  14. The Nats also did a good job with their radio team and their stadium. It's really a very pleasant franchise to follow.

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    1. I remain an A's guy, for sure, but the Nats have become my home-team rooting interest (even though I don't live in Washington) because of the Kornheiser podcast.

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  15. So far almost nothing has happened through three innings. Still 0-0. This is the part of modern baseball where both teams are basically waiting for someone to hit a home run.

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  16. And there's the home run. In the bottom of the fourth, Max Muncy draws a walk, Cody Bellinger slams a two-run homer, and the Dodgers lead 2-0. Just like Billy Beane and Bill James drew it up.

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  17. The Dodgers actually got two other men on base in the bottom of the fourth, but no one else hit a home run, so no one else scored. Dodgers lead 2-0 after 4.

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  18. Now it's the Rays' turn. Kevin Kiermaier, the Rays' number-8 hitter, whacks a home run to right field in the top of the 5th. But he had no one on base, so the Dodgers still lead 2-1.

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  19. Before that home run, Kershaw had retired 13 Rays in a row. But all those guys were trying to hit home runs, and Kiermaier just happened to succeed.

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  20. On Twitter, the UK and UT fans are still going back and forth over last Saturday's game. A UK fan just tweeted out that if Tennessee beat Kentucky in basketball 81 times in a row, it would still have a losing record against UK.

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  21. Tyler Glasnow walks Mookie Betts and Corey Seager to lead off the bottom of the fifth. He's thrown 99 pitches. But of course, the big question is whether someone from the Dodgers can hit a home run.

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  22. Justin Turner doesn't hit a home run. He strikes out. One down. Betts steals third. Men on the corners, still waiting for a homer.

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  23. Sorry, not men on the corners. Second and third. Max Muncy at the plate:

    Glasnow v. Muncy:
    Pitch one: Ball (1-0)
    Pitch two: Ball (2-0)
    Pitch three: Muncy grounds to first, the first baseman throws home, AND BETTS BEATS THE THROW! The Dodgers score without a home run, as Betts suddenly turns into Ricky Henderson. He walks, steals second, steals third, and comes home on a fielder's choice. Dodgers lead 3-1.

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    1. This was a spectacular play. I've been watching the Nats for 15 years, and I've never seen a Nat -- never -- score from third on a ground ball to the first baseman. I'm not sure I've ever seen one even try.

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  24. Glasnow has now thrown 111 pitches. The 112th pitch is lined into center field by Will Smith. Corey Seager scores. Muncy goes to third. Dodgers lead 4-1.

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  25. That's it for Glasnow, who threw 112 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. The Rays turn to Ryan Yarbrough.

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  26. Bellinger pops up for the second out, but then the Dodgers go back to small ball. Chris Taylor singles home Muncy. And then Kiki Hernandez, pinch hitting for Pederson, singles in Will Smith. Dodgers lead 6-1, with all six runs charged to Glasnow.

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  27. Austin Barnes flies out to end the inning, but the Dodgers lead 6-1 after five innings.

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  28. Now Justin Turner makes a spectacular diving stop at third, and throws out Yandy Diaz from his knees. Dodgers making their fans very happy right now.

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  29. Mookie Betts LEADS OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH WITH A HOME RUN. He's been spectacular. Dodgers lead 7-1.

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  30. In my lifetime as a fan, here are the best Dodger non-pitchers (measured by Wins Above Replacement):

    Ron Cey: 47.7
    Steve Garvey: 36.7
    Pedro Guerrero: 32.7

    As it turns out, those were my three favorite non-pitcher Dodgers growing up. Mookie Betts is 28 years old and he already has 45.2 WAR for his career. So the Dodgers have literally never had a weapon like this in my lifetime.

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  31. Justin Turner doubles, Muncy doubles to score Turner, and the Dodgers lead 8-1.

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  32. I know how this game turns out, but I won't spoil it for you.

    But I do want to circle back to the 1979 NFC Championship. That game was such a marker for me. I don't remember actually watching it, though I'm certain I did. I do remember feeling as though it indicated a whole era was almost shut--that we were shutting the book on the Cowboys/Vikings NFC of the 1970s. I felt very grown up.

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    1. You were right about the Vikings and the Cowboys.

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