1975 World Series: Off the Pole

The Teams
National League: Cincinnati Reds (108-54) - Seventh World Series (Won in 1919, 1940)
American League: Boston Red Sox (95-65) - Seventh World Series (Won in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918)

What Happened
Two outs, ninth inning, Game 7. The future Hall of Famer drills a line drive to center that falls just out of reach of the center fielder, bringing home the game- and World Series-winning run. It's a moment that would have been the defining moment of virtually any World Series, one that should have been replayed countless times in baseball annals.

But in the years following the wild 1975 World Series, Joe Morgan's Series-winning hit became an afterthought, the "oh yah, that happened too" moment of the series. Because really, anything that happened after Game 6, after Carlton Fisk waved that ball fair, was going to be overshadowed.

Everybody's seen it, of course. At least, anybody who's a baseball fan has. If you haven't, take a moment:



It's one of the most famous plays in the history of televised baseball: Fisk swinging at the knee-high pitch, watching it fly toward the monster, waving it fair, jumping in the air. One of the most dramatic home runs in baseball history, one that not only provided a defining moment for what was at the time the greatest World Series ever played, but one that changed how baseball was televised forever.

Fisk's home run did a lot to ensure that the 1975 Series would be remembered forever, but those seven games didn't need a moment like that to live on in history. In five of the seven games, the winning run was scored after the sixth inning. It wasn't ever safe to go to bed; if you did, the team that was losing when you went to sleep would have probably come back to win.

The first five games were good, but they were nothing compared to what happened over the final two games in Boston. In Game 6, Rookie of the Year and MVP Fred Lynn etched his name in Red Sox lore with a three-run home in the first inning, a blast that was the greatest home run in Red Sox history until Cincinnati scored three times in the fifth to tie it. The Reds took a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth when Bernie Carbo was next to hit the greatest home run in Red Sox history, tying the game with two outs in the eighth. Then Carbo was knocked off Red Sox mountain by Fisk, who waved and leaped his way into Red Sox and baseball history by winning the game in the bottom of the 12th.

As if that wasn't enough, Game 7 was almost as good. The Red Sox again took an early 3-0 lead and again let Cincinnati tie it. This time, instead of Boston coming back with clutch home runs, it was Cincinnati coming through, with Morgan capping off the series with the hit of a lifetime.

There are so many reasons that Joe Morgan's ninth inning single in Game 7 should have been one of the greatest moments in baseball history. His hit gave the Big Red Machine their first championship after a handful of years of coming just close. His hit helped him clinch the title of best all-around player of his generation. His hit won one of the greatest World Series ever played.

But baseball has a cruel way of determining heroes and goats, of determining who gets remembered and who gets forgotten. There's no reason that Morgan should have been forgotten, and maybe forgotten is the wrong word. Overshadowed might be more accurate. Either way, it's hard to find a clip of Morgan's winning hit with original audio, while Fisk's home run is easy to find. In this series, the losers were remembered more than the winners. But most importantly, it's long remembered, and will never be forgotten.

MVP
In spring training in 1975, Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson famously asked Pete Rose to try out third base, even though Rose had never played the position in his career. Anderson needed to move Rose to make room in the outfield for George Foster, who was starting to blossom into a star. Rose made the switch flawlessly, and the emergence of Foster gave the Reds the deepest lineup in Major League history. It was fitting, then, that Rose was the MVP of the 1975 World Series. He spearheaded the Reds offense throughout the seven games, his .370 average leading his team by far. It was the shining moment of one of baseball's greatest careers.

Scores 
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Cincinnati	0	3	6 (10)	4	6	6	4
Boston	6	2	5	5	2	7 (12)	3

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

2. 1975 - Cincinnati (N) def. Boston (A) 4-3
3. 1924 - Washington (A) def. New York (N) 4-3
4. 2001 - Arizona (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
5. 2011 - St. Louis (N) def. Texas (A) 4-3
6. 1912 - Boston (A) def. New York (N) 4-3 (1 tie)
7. 1992 - Toronto (A) def. Atlanta (N) 4-2
8. 1947 - New York (A) def. Brooklyn (N) 4-3
9. 1972 - Oakland (A) def. Cincinnati (N) 4-3
Numbers 10-19
Numbers 20-29
Numbers 30-39
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

2. 2001: Arizona 3, New York (A) 2
3. 1960: Pittsburgh 10, New York (A) 9
4. 1924: Washington 4, New York (N) 3
5. 1997: Florida 3, Cleveland 2
6. 1912: Boston (A) 3, New York (N) 2 (game 8)
7. 1946: St. Louis (N) 4, Boston (A) 3
8. 1975: Cincinnati 4, Boston (A) 3
9. 1925: Pittsburgh 9, Washington 7
10. 1926: St. Louis (N) 3, New York (A) 2
11. 1962: New York (A) 1, San Francisco 0
12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
14. 1952: New York (A) 4, Brooklyn 2
15. 1971: Pittsburgh 2, Baltimore 1
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
17. 1972: Oakland 3, Cincinnati 2
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
20. 1986: New York (N) 8, Boston 5 
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
23. 1973: Oakland 5, New York (N) 2
24. 2002: Anaheim 4, San Francisco 1
25. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
26. 1947: New York (A) 5, Brooklyn 2
27. 2011: St. Louis 6, Texas 2
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5
30. 1957: Milwaukee 5, New York (A) 0
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0 
35. 1985: Kansas City 11, St. Louis 0
36. 1956: New York (A) 9, Brooklyn 0

1972 World Series: First name Fury

The Teams
American League: Oakland Athletics (93-62) - First World Series
National League: Cincinnati Reds (95-59) - Sixth World Series (Won in 1919, 1940)

What Happened
Not many people outside of Oakland had heard of Gene Tenace before the 1972 World Series. The ones that had heard of Oakland's backup catcher/utility player probably didn't know his real first name was Fury (Seriously! Fury Gene Tenace), and they certainly didn't peg him as the potential offensive star of the upcoming series, not with the Big Red Machine in the other dugout. He was an afterthought, a bit player at best.

And then he hit two home runs in Game 1. After hitting only five home runs during the regular season, on top of a .225 average, Tenace homered in his first two at bats of the 1972 World Series. With his unexpected home runs, plus four innings of scoreless relief from Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue, the A's had a surprising Game 1 win in Cincinnati. They won Game 2, too, helped by a sensational ninth-inning catch by Joe Rudi that saved at least one run:


Rudy's catch


After the Reds won Game 3, Tenace struck again. He hit a home run to open the scoring in Game 4, then hit one of Oakland's four straight ninth-inning singles that gave the A's a commanding 3-1 series lead. He did it again in Game 5, hitting a three-run home run in the second inning - his record tying fourth of the series - that put the A's on the verge of the title. Oakland entered the eighth up 4-3, but the Reds tied the game in the eighth, then took the lead on a Pete Rose single in the 9th. Tenace walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but pitcher Blue Moon Odom, pinch-running for Tenace, was thrown out at the plate on a popup for the final out.

After a Cincinnati thrashing in Game 6, the series went to Game 7, where Tenace shined again. He didn't hit any home runs this time, but he did have two hits, including the go-ahead double in the sixth. After Fingers escaped a jam in the 8th, the A's held on to win their first championship on the West Coast.

MVP 
Tenace was the obvious choice for MVP, another one of those underdog stories so common in baseball. His four home runs were more than all other World Series batters combined, and they paid off not just in a championship but in the long term. A backup catcher before the 1972 Series, Tenace became a mainstay in the Oakland starting lineup, playing at least 120 games each of the next eight years. He made a name for himself as a low average, high power, high on-base percentage player - he would have fit right in with the "Moneyball" A's. While the series may have turned around his career, he was never able to duplicate his postseason success; his 9 runs batted in in the 1972 Series were almost 2/3 of his career postseason total, and the four home runs were the only four postseason home runs he ever hit.

Scores 
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Oakland	3	2	0	3	4	1	3
Cincinnati	2	1	1	2	5	8	2

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

9. 1972 - Oakland (A) def. Cincinnati (N) 4-3
Numbers 10-19
Numbers 20-29
Numbers 30-39
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

3. 1960: Pittsburgh 10, New York (A) 9
5. 1997: Florida 3, Cleveland 2
7. 1946: St. Louis (N) 4, Boston (A) 3
9. 1925: Pittsburgh 9, Washington 7
10. 1926: St. Louis (N) 3, New York (A) 2
11. 1962: New York (A) 1, San Francisco 0
12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
14. 1952: New York (A) 4, Brooklyn 2
15. 1971: Pittsburgh 2, Baltimore 1
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
17. 1972: Oakland 3, Cincinnati 2
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
20. 1986: New York (N) 8, Boston 5 
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
23. 1973: Oakland 5, New York (N) 2
24. 2002: Anaheim 4, San Francisco 1
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5
30. 1957: Milwaukee 5, New York (A) 0
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0 
35. 1985: Kansas City 11, St. Louis 0
36. 1956: New York (A) 9, Brooklyn 0

1980 NLCS: Rose vs. Ryan

How they got here
The Phillies had been here before. Multiple times, in fact; so often that they had to wonder if it would ever be their year. After three straight NL East titles from 1976-78, the Phillies took a step back in 1979 before returning to the top of the NL East in 1980. They weren't exactly a juggernaut. On offense, they had Mike Schmidt in the prime of his Hall-of-Fame career, but not much else. They brought in former Red Pete Rose for veteran leadership, but he was clearly on the tail end of his career. Their pitching wasn't much better. Steve Carlton and Tug McGraw were both good, of course, and were postseason veterans, but their primes had come in the late 60s. They had a little bit left, but not much.

Houston hadn't been here before. The division title the Astros won in 1980 was their first, and that was hard-earned. The Astros lost four straight games to the Dodgers to close the season before beating Los Angeles in a one-game playoff for the division title. The Astros got here by finally discovering the formula they would have to use playing in the cavernous Astrodome: good pitching, clutch hitting, and stolen bases instead of home runs.

Game 1 went to the Phillies, as Carlton and McGraw combined for a 3-1 win. The Astros stole a road win with a four-run 10th inning to win Game 2. They won Game 3 as well, getting an 11th-inning sacrifice fly to win that one 1-0, but the Phillies scored two 10th-inning runs to win Game 4 and avoid elimination. It had already been a great series, with three extra-inning games among the first four, so expectations were high for the deciding Game 5.

The Game
In retrospect, it's a fascinating scenario. The man who would eventually become baseball's all-time hits leader batting against the man who would eventually become the all-time strike out king. And while it wasn't the at bat that decided the series, it's the one that got the game-winning rally going.

After Pete Rose drew a bases-loaded walk after a seven-pitch at bat against Nolan Ryan, the Astros still had a 5-3 lead in the 8th. But the Phillies still had the bases loaded with nobody, and Rose's walk knocked the Houston ace out of the game. And things were just getting started.

In reality, the plot of the game could be picked up in the bottom of the seventh. With the game tied 2-2, Houston used small ball to scrape together the go-ahead run, only to follow that up with a wild pitch and a triple to make it 5-2.

Then came the top of the eighth. With Ryan still in the game in his second start of the series for Houston, the Phillies loaded the bases with nobody out, bringing up the veteran Rose. He drew the walk, Ryan hit the showers, and the floodgates opened. Four runs later, the Phillies had the 7-5 lead and were six outs from the World Series. But the way this series had gone, it wasn't over. Houston had a chance to answer, and they did, getting four hits off McGraw to tie the game.

After a scoreless ninth, it was extra innings, a stunning fourth straight game to go to extras in this five-game series. In the top of the 10th, Garry Maddox hit a two-out double to drive in the go-ahead run. This time, Houston didn't have an answer, and the Phillies finally broke through to the World Series.

Aftermath
After finally breaking through to the World Series, the Phillies faced the Royals, who exorcised similar demons in 1980. Like the Phillies, the Royals had lost in the League Championship Series in 1976, 77, and 78 before finally breaking through in 1980. Only one team could win, though, and that team was the Phillies, beating the Royals in six to win the first championship in the franchise's 97-year history.

What I'm doing.

The list so far:
3. 1980 NLCS: Houston vs. Philadelphia
4. 2006 NLCS: St. Louis 3, New York 1
5. 1976 ALCS: New York 7, Kansas City 6
6. 1977 ALCS: New York 5, Kansas City 3
7. 1972 NLCS: Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 3
8. 1981 NLCS: Los Angeles 2, Montreal 1
9. 1982 ALCS: Milwaukee 4, California 3
10. 2008 ALCS: Tampa Bay 3, Boston 1
11. 1984 NLCS: San Diego 6, Chicago 3
12. 2003 NLCS: Florida 9, Chicago 6
13. 2004 NLCS: St. Louis 5, Houston 2
14. 1972 ALCS: Oakland 2, Detroit 1
15. 1973 ALCS: Oakland 3, Baltimore 0
16. 1985 ALCS: Kansas City 6, Toronto 2
17. 2007 ALCS: Boston 11, Cleveland 2
18. 1991 NLCS: Atlanta 4, Pittsburgh 0
19. 1973 NLCS: New York 7, Cincinnati 2
20. 1987 NLCS: St. Louis 6, San Francisco 0
21. 1988 NLCS: Los Angeles 6, New York 0
22. 2004 ALCS: Boston 10, New York 3
23. 1986 ALCS: Boston 8, California 1
24: 1996 NLCS: Atlanta 15, St. Louis 0

Still to come:
1992 NLCS: Atlanta vs. Pittsburgh
2003 ALCS: Boston vs. New York

September 11, 1985: Hit King

CINCINNATI - When he debuted, he was 22-year-old second baseman, blessed with the ability to hit from both sides of the plate and brimming with the confidence that backed up his talent.

At the end, he was 44-year-old part-time first baseman and full-time manager, still getting hits 22 years after he first broke into the league. When he got the hit that gave him no equal in the history of the game, it was the culmination of a career of unfathomable consistency and durability.

Pete Rose's entire career had led to this. The career with 15 seasons where he hit .300 or better, with 10 seasons with at least 200 hits, with 17 All Star Games and 3 world championships, all peaked on the evening of September 11, 1985, when he blooped a first-inning single off San Diego pitcher Eric Show to become baseball's all time hits leader.

After passing Ty Cobb with his 4,192nd hit, Rose lifted his helmet to acknowledge the hometown cheers. His son, Pete Jr., came out to hug him, and the normally stoic, ultra-competitive Rose broke down crying. He later said that during the celebration - which included a long standing ovation from the Cincinnati fans - he saw Cobb and his father standing next to each other in the sky, smiling, and that vision is what made him break down.

Rose got his 4,256 career hits the old-fashioned way. He never watched a second of film and he rarely lifted weights or did any baseball activities in the offseason. His offseason workout regimen was to play full-court basketball to stay in shape. And yet he kept getting hits, despite switching positions five times in his career.

When Rose broke Cobb's record, the only question about his Hall of Fame eligibility seemed to be whether he'd be voted in unanimously. That changed, though, when allegations of his gambling came out. Now, Rose is disgraced, banned from baseball for betting on the game, and therefore ineligible for the Hall of Fame. Memorabilia from his playing career is in the Hall of Fame, including the bat he used for hit number 4,192, but his plaque is not, and he's not even allowed in the building.

Nobody knew what was coming, though, that evening in 1985. And if they did, they didn't care. It was Rose's night, after all, a night to honor baseball's new hit king.

August 24, 1989: Fallen star

CINCINNATI - The investigation was shocking, the revelations jaw-dropping. One of the greatest players of the 70s, one of the greatest of all time, was facing the most serious charges a Major Leaguer could face. Pete Rose had been accused of betting on baseball.

In his first meeting with new commissioner Bart Giamatti, Rose denied the allegations that he bet on baseball. However, Giamatti hired lawyer John M. Dowd to independently investigate the charges. Dowd's investigations unveiled bets Rose made on baseball, including on the Reds team he managed, in 1985-87. Throughout 1987, Dowd claimed that Rose had bet a minimum of $10,000 a day on baseball. Though the report stated plainly that Rose did not bet against the Reds, the findings were still damning.

Rose denied the charges vehematley, refusing to meet Giamatti about them. He filed a lawsuit against the commissioner claiming bias. Then Giamatti moved the trial to federal court, and the two sides sat down for an agreement.

It was the agreement that shocked baseball. On August 24, 1989, Rose agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball, admitting that there was a "factual reason" for the ban without going as far as admitting that he bet on the game. In return, Giamatti agreed to make no formal finding in regards to the gambling accusations. Also, Rose was allowed to apply for reinstatement once annually.

The effects were immediate and were wide-ranging. In the short-term, Rose was not allowed any association with Major League Baseball, whether as a manager or a behind-the-scenes worker. Long-term, it has meant that baseball's all-time hits leader is ineligible for the Hall of Fame and cannot have his number retired by Cincinnati. Rose has applied for reinstatement four times since his banishment but has been denied.

The investigation and banishment of Rose had its effects on Giamatti, as well. A life-long smoker, Giamatti died of a heart attack nine days after handing down Rose's punishment, a death likely hastened by the stress of the Rose ordeal.

In the years following his banishment, Rose continually denied ever betting on baseball. In recent years, though, he has changed his stance, finally admitting in 2004 that he had bet on baseball and on Reds games. Rose also claimed that he bet on the Reds to win every single night, a point viewed as important, as many detractors claimed that Rose might have managed differently in games he bet on his team to win than in games in which he didn't. Dowd later refuted Rose's claims, saying Rose wouldn't bet on the Reds when certain pitchers were pitching and even suggesting that he might have bet against the Reds for some games.

Despite Rose's admission and subsequent apology, it still remains highly unlikely that he'll ever be reinstated or inducted into the Hall of Fame, something that would have seemed impossible to somebody watching him play in his glory days.

July 14, 1970: Too much Hustle?

CINCINNATI - The ball was hit up the middle, a two-out single by journeyman Cubs outfielder Jim Hickman, who was playing in his only All-Star Game. Amos Otis of Kansas City, one of the spark plugs of the great Royals teams of the 70s, came up firing. Otis threw the ball to Oakland catcher Ray Fosse on the third-base side of home plate, in plenty of time to get Cincinnati outfielder Pete Rose, who had been running from second base. The ball got there in plenty of time, beating Rose by a couple of steps.

Freeze it here. In most situations, the inning would be over. The All-Star Game, which was already quite memorable due to the National League's three-run rally to tie the game in the 9th, would continue on to the 13th inning. Sure, Rose could have found a way to slide around Fosse, or maybe stop short and try to create chaos in a rundown, but more than likely, he's out, and we're continuing on. The other option, running over the catcher, seems completely improbable, considering this is, after all, an exhibition.

Of course, Rose bowled over Fosse. Fosse hit the ground hard, the ball came out, Rose landed on home plate, and the NL had won. Despite the game, it shouldn't have been too surprising that Rose did that; he didn't get the nickname "Charlie Hustle" for nothing. But come on - it was an exhibition game. Yah, everybody wanted badly to win, but not at the expense of your opponents' health. That seems like it was going too far. Even people playing in the game believed that.

As for the aftershocks, just ask Fosse. He was the one, after all, who suffered a fractured and separated shoulder in the collision. The original x-rays didn't reveal the injuries at first, so Fosse played the next month or so in pain, causing further, irreparable damage to his shoulder, before finally being properly diagnosed. By then it was too late. His career was never the same. Interviewed in 1999, Fosse demonstrated that he still couldn't lift his left arm as a result of the injury.

So was it worth it? Did the satisfaction of getting the win outweigh the shame of permantely injuring a player? If you are asking that question, than you don't really know Rose. To him, there was no such thing as an exhibition game. There was simply a baseball game. In fact, when he was asked about it, he gave this answer:

"I didn't realize it had turned to girl's softball between third base and home plate."

Kind of sums up his personality perfectly.