The 1987 New York Mets came into the season feeling like a dynasty might be at hand. They had won an epic World Series title in 1986, the culmination of a three-year building program under manager Davey Johnson that included strong seasons in 1984 and 1985. They were both young and established and were widely […]
From 1985-92, the Toronto Blue Jays were defined by close-but-no-cigar and questions about whether they could take the final step and win a championship. There was a crushing ALCS loss in 1985 and subsequent playoff losses in 1989 and 1991. The 1987 Toronto Blue Jays fit squarely in that tradition, as one of the best […]
The 1987 Detroit Tigers were the last postseason team in the Hall of Fame career of manager Sparky Anderson. They produced the best record in baseball, won the AL East for the second time in four years and did with a dramatic final week push when they appeared all but dead. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTSStart […]
Roger Craig was hired as the manager in San Francisco in 1986, inheriting a franchise that had just lost 100 games and had not won the NL West since 1971. Craig—who ironically had the same name as a great running back who also starred in San Francisco in this same time period—immediately turned the team […]
When baseball fans think of 1986, the first thought that comes to mind is a certain ground ball in the World Series, the heartbreak of the Boston Red Sox and the triumph of the New York Mets. But what cannot be overlooked is that the World Series was set up with a pair of League Championship Series that ensured the 1986 MLB postseason met whatever criteria there is for “epic.”
The 1985 MLB season was one of the best we’ve seen in TheSportsNotebook’s historical period of 1976 to the present. Three of major league baseball’s four divisions had races that came down the final week and all three were settled with head-to-head series. We of course keep in mind that pre-1994, that was the era when a division race was winner-take-all with no wild-card cushion.
The 1982 baseball season has some hidden gems in MLB history. The final day of the regular season produced an epic head-to-head battle. Game 5 of the American League Championship Series—then the decisive game, in this era of best-of-five LCS play—produced a similar dramatic ending. A future Hall of Fame manager made his first appearance on the October stage. And none of the teams involved in any of the above ultimately won the World Series. Here’s the rundown…
The Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees were LCS regulars from 1976-78. All three teams took a step back in 1979, but the 1980 MLB season saw them all again win their divisions and return to the League Championship Series. This time though, the plot had a different ending.
The 1978 baseball season can be boiled down to a Monday afternoon in Fenway Park. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox were the best two teams in baseball and their race for the AL East title would be settled with a one-game playoff.
The 1975 MLB season was a year where mostly traditional teams won division titles and advanced to postseason play. But it was also a transitional year, in which October saw one dynasty end and a new one begin.
The 1986 World Series is one of the games’ historic, thanks to an ill-fated groundball that skipped through the legs of Bill Buckner. But the battle between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox had more—it had early twists of fate, a Game 7 itself that was dramatic and the entire Game 6 run-up […]
The New York Mets came into the 1986 NLCS as a 108-win team and the clear favorite to win the World Series. The Houston Astros were a turnaround story under rookie manager Hal Lanier. It turned into an incredibly tense, taut National League Championship Series that had the Mets giving thanks for their survival. GREAT […]