Sunday, March 22, 2015

World Series: Did You Know?

The New York Yankees got not one, but two unlikely heroic acts in the 1978 Fall Classic. Their was a way to Buck the Los Angeles Dodgers' spirits. And along to foil them was Doyle.

Bucky Dent had just hit his dramatic three-run home run off Mike Torrez in the one-game playoff of 1978. And he wasn't about to let that go to waste as his New York Yankees were up for a rematch of 1977. Same teams, same result.

But New York actually lost game one. Badly, too. 11-5, Dodgers was the final score. Fred Stanley started the game at second, in place of the injured Willie Randolph, went 1-2. He was pinch hit for by Cliff Johnson. Brian Doyle took over at second until the end of the game. Dent had only one hit, but also had two RBIs.



In game two, the Dodgers won again, to go up two games to none. It was of to the big, bad, Bronx on a high note! This game was a nail-biter, however. Los Angeles eked out a 4-3 win. Doyle and Dent were of little help. They had no RBIs and went a combined two for seven.



In game three, New York began to asset themselves. The Yankees won in front of their adoring fans at Yankee Stadium. It was a 5-1 final. But again, Doyle and Dent did little. They went a combined one for eighth. Dent did collect his third RBI of the 1978 Fall Classic. But Roy White had the big hit, a home run.



Game four was close as the Yankees needed ten innings to win, 4-3. The World Series was now all tied at two. Bucky Dent got only one hit again, dropping his batting average in this affair to just .226. Doyle failed to get a plate appearance, and only played as a defensive replacement.



But in game five, three wonderful things happend to the Yankees. The won, easily, 12-2. And they took the lead in the Series for the first time, three to two. And hey, it was time for Doyle and Dent to began to assert themselves, right? D and D were delightful! Each had three hits, each scored twice.

Bucky added an RBI and a walk, plus he saw his average go up to .286. But Brian trumped that average. The three hits by him raised his average to .316!

New York then proceeded out west and clinched it, 7-2. And Doyle and Dent did it again! Doyle went three for four, including a double. For the second straight game, he crossed the plate twice. But this time, he added two RBIs, as well. Dent also went three for four, failing to score a run. However, by the end of the game, Bucky had three RBIs,


The World Series was the Yankees for the second straight year. Bucky Dent, was named MVP with his seven RBIs and .417 batting average. But it was actually Brian Doyle with the highest batting average of any player in this Fall Classic. He ended up hitting .438! The Yankees had gotten not one, but two unexpected monster performances from their eighth and ninth hitters!

The World Series has it's heros and goats. But it isn't always the players you expect to deliver, that deliver. The New York Yankees needed two unexpected performances to come back and beat the Dodgers. They had Reggie, Thurmond and Ron. But they also had Bucky and Brian, right?


References

http://www.baseball-reference.com/


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