1999 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

The Gas Hornets have an edge in pitching with an overall 4.22 era compared to 4.83 for the Goldeyes. And most of that difference can be attributed to the Gas Hornets bullpen – each team has decent but limited starter depth, but the Gas Hornets hold an edge in the bullpen, especially after their late season acquisitions. Manhattan’s bullpen holds a group era of 3.45 with 38 saves and Winnipeg’s pen clocks in at 3.84 but a WHOPPING 50 saves – Jeff Shaw racking up 40 of them.

Offensively Winnipeg features Mark McGwire and his 64 home runs (and .284 avg, 144 rbis) and 1.127 ops! When the Gas Hornets came into the league, Mark was on their roster – but he quickly departed in what was one of the league’s biggest trades. Mark is supported by Kenny Lofton (.338 and 99 runs in 118 games), and Omar Vizquel (.334 and 107 runs in 145 games plus 83 rbis). Lofton and Vizquel form a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the order. Winnipeg features 2 other 30+ plus bombers – Robin Ventura (30, 120 rbis) and Greg Vaughn (31, 93 rbis) – and Carl Everett is right on their heels with 27 ( and 94 rbis in 118 games). Expect explosive action.

Manhattan will counter with their own top of the order explosiveness in Ray Durham (.299, 41 sbs, 133 runs and 100 rbis!) and Derek Jeter (.366/.477/.554, ops 1.031 and 109 rbis and 153 runs scored!) That runs scored total is 5th best all-time in MWWL history. These two are strong supported by Jason Kendall (.338 but he was limited to only half the season) and the surprising Garrett Anderson who hit .325 and 28 homers driving in 119. Tino Martinez (34 hrs, 121 rbis) and Matt Stairs (33 hrs, 104 rbis) provide some series po. Rico Brogna was a nice addition along the way with top defense at 1b and hitting .277, 15 homers, 61 rbis in 96 games for Manhattan. The two teams are set and ready to go. Off to the Big Apple for game 1 as the teams aces, Curt Schilling and Juan Guzman are set to get things going.

Winnipeg is off to races right away as Kenny Loften opens with a double that Omar Vizquel immediately follows with another double and a 1-0 lead. The Mark McGwire unloads a huge 2 run blast (1) and before the home town fans get to enjoy their beer and hot dogs their team is in a 3-0 hole! Can the Gas Hornets get to Schilling or will the bloody sock do a number on them? Well Ray Durham opens the bottom half with a walk, then Schilling plunks Derek Jeter in the shoulder (trying to knock him out of the series?). But then Jason Kendall grounds to Vizquel and the Goldeyes turn the DP. Not dismayed, Matt Stairs follows with a 2 run blast (1) crashing Aunt Minnie’s window and it’s 3-2 Winnipeg after 1. So the series starts fast!

A scoreless 2nd is followed with an explosive 3rd inning for Winnipeg. Again Lofton starts things off with a double high off the wall conservatively stopping at 2nd. McGwire gets a 1 out walk, Carl Everett pops out but then Greg Vaughn walks to load the bases for Robin Ventura. And all he does is hit a grand slam (1) to make it 7-2 Goldeyes!!

Well that ended that ralleye and the game now goes into a scoreless spell as Schilling has complete control and nasty boy Norm Charlton comes on for 2 strong relief innings. Then Winnipeg puts the finishing touches on the game scoring once in the 7th and 7th and 2 more runs in the 9th. The highlight in those final innings was Loften with a single and homer (1) – missing the cycle by hitting 2 doubles and no triple (he probably could have had a triple). And Greg Vaughn hits not 1, but two homers (for 3 rbis). The Gas Hornets get a couple late to make the final score Winnipeg winning by a whopping 11-4!

Final Score: WGE 11 – MGH 4
Series 1-0 WGE

Win: Curt Schilling 1-0 (2.70)
Loss: Juan Guzman 0-1 (21.00)

Manhattan fans are working themselves into a frenzy trying to spur on the their team after the serious roughing up they got in game 1. Hitchcock was the Gas Hornets winningest starter in the regular season going 16-10 in 30 starts. Glavine was right there with him going 14-10 – but his era was 5.45 along the way. If the Goldeyes bats can be held in check, maybe the Gas Hornets can get back into this thing.

Well inning 1 goes 1-2-3 for Winnipeg and Hitchcock is off to a good start. But Manhattan can’t get to Glavine either even though Ray Durham starts off with a single. Then Winnipeg does their thing in the 2nd when Greg Vaughn launches a 1 out solo homer (3) – his 3rd and Manhattan needs to figure out how to get him out.

Scoreless in the 3rd, Manhattan finally figures a way to get to Glavine. Let him walk you. With 2 outs, Garrett Anderson does just that, then Craig F. Wilson singles and Durham gets his 2nd hit, a infield single to load the bases for Derek Jeter. He hits one on the right side that has eyes to avoid being stopped and 2 runs score giving Manhattan the 2-1 lead after 4. In the 5th they extend it to 4-1 when Matt Stairs draws a 1 out walk and Kevin Sefcik follows with an rbi triple. Garrett Anderson, with the infield in, smashes one hard at Robin Ventura and it skips right past him and ends up as an rbi double, 4-1 Gas Hornets after 5.

Hitchcock is feeling good with this 4-1 lead, that is until the top of the 6th (short time to feel good) when Mark McGwire unloads for 2 runs with his 2nd homer of the series. The long ball is showing it’s force. Now 4-3 Manhattan and the bullpen is called into action to try and hold the lead. And the combination of Jose Cabrera, Bobby Chouinard and Matt Mantei does just that. They face 14 batters and just give up 2 walks and 1 hit and the important NO runs and Manhattan squares the series at 1-1. Jeter drives in one more run to run the final to 5-3 Gas Hornets.

Final Score: MHG 5 – WGE 3
Series tied at 1-1

Win: Sterling Hitchcock 1-0 (5.06)
Loss: Tom Glavine 0-1 (4.91)
Save:  Matt Mantei #1

As the series shifts north of the border, the Gas Hornets will rely on late season acquisition Todd Stottlemyre to garner a lead. Stottlemyre was 2-0 in two excellent (7+ inning starts in the Division series giving up just 1 run in each game). They need that kind of performance to gain an edge. Reynoso was 1-0 in the Division series in his 2 stars winning the clincher with a 7 inning, 5 hit, 2 run outing. Both these guys can get it done!

Manhattan gets on the board 1st capitalizing on a leadoff walk to Ray Durham, a two out walk to Matt Stairs and then an rbi single from Rico Brogna. They make it 2-0 in the 2nd when Garrett Anderson leads off with a single but Carl Everett boots it and Anderson ends up on 3rd. He then scores on Dave Martinez SF. In the 3rd Derek Jeter leads off with an infield single and then steals 2nd. He’s still on 2nd with 2 outs when Rico Brogna gets his 2nd rbi single running the score to 3-0 in the 3rd. Tino Martinez decides in the 5th to go out of the ballpark for a 2 run homer (1) and it’s not 5-0 Manhattan.

Todd Stottlemyre – what is he doing? Everything right. He ends up pitching 7 innings giving up 4 hits (including 3 doubles) and walks none. And the only reason Winnipeg scores one in the 7th is because Stottlemyre makes a throwing error. Greg Vaughn opened the inning with a double then Robin Ventura hits one back up the middle that Todd catches backhanded. He then turns and fires to 3rd to get Vaughn and throws it past Craig F. Wilson. Javy Lopez then grounds into the DP but Vaughn scores. Manhattan then gets that run back in the 8th for a 6-1 tally and that’s the final with Manhattan grabbing a 2-1 series lead.

Final Score: MGH 6 – WGE 1
Series 2-1 MGH

Win:  Todd Stottlemyre 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Armando Reynoso 0-1 (7.20)

Rematch from game 1 and this time the Gas Hornets get on the scoreboard first. Jason Kendall (who has been held in check) draws a 2 out walk and steals 2nd. Tino Martinez then doubles off the wall for the rbi. But the Goldeyes really like Guzman even if they waited until the 2nd to show it. Robin Venture opens the 2nd with a walk, Paul O’Neill then singles him to 2nd. Ronnie Belliard then singles to LF to load the bases with NO OUTS! Greg Myers then grounds hard to 3rd, Lenny Harris snares it, touches the bag for the force and a run scores – and only 1 out on the play. Kenny Lofton, who murdered Guzman in game 1, walks to reload the bases. Omar Vizquel then walks and that’s a 2nd run for Winnipeg. So up steps Mark McGwire who grounds to Derek Jeter who juggles it and then fires to 1st for the only play getting 1 but a 3rd Winnipeg runner crosses the plate, 3-1 Goldeyes after 2!

Will Schilling clamp down now like he did in game 1? Well Jeter gets a 1 out triple in the 3rd and then scores on a Schilling WP (1 of 4 wild pitches in the game – only one by Schilling). 3-2 Winnipeg after 3. Winnipeg gets the run back in the 4th when Greg Myers draws a 1 out walk. Stan Javier in to PR and he steals 2nd. Then with 2 outs, Omar Vizquel singles to RF scoring Javier and it’s 4-2 Winnipeg after 4.

Guzman pitches the 5th for his final inning, Schilling still hurling in the 6th. Tino Martinez is happy as he connects for a 2 out solo homer (2) and it’s 4-3 Winnipeg. Jose Cabrera comes in for the bottom of the 6th and pitches 1 inning of hitless ball. That sounds good except he gives up 2 walks and a WP and a RUN and it’s back to a 2 run Goldeyes lead, 5-3 after 6.

Top of the 7th Schilling still on the mound and the adventure starts with Matt Stairs reaching on a Vizquel error. Enter John Frascatore. Andy Fox in to PR, Garrett Anderson grounds out moving Fox to 2nd. Dave Martinez then doubles scoring Fox. After Frascatore tries a pick off of Martinez at 2nd, Kuryliw decides he’s not concentrating on the batters so he brings in C.J. Nitkowski. Kevin Sefcik comes in to PH for Lenny Harris and he doubles scoring Martinez to tie the game! Road trip fans are going nuts. So Pat Mahomes (the older one) comes in to pitch the bottom of the 7th. Carl Everett greets him with a double. Greg Vaughn then walks followed by a Robin Ventura groundout to 1st moving up the runners. With Paul O’Neill at the plate, Manhattan calls on John Halama. Infield in, the pitch, grounded to Jeter – strategy is working, but they send Everett home, the throw, what?? He’s safe and O’Neill is on 1st, Vaughn on 3rd still just 1 out and its 6-5 Winnipeg. Ronnie Belliard then flies out LF and both runners tag. Gas Hornets go for O’Neill at 2nd and get him to end the inning, but the run scores and once again the Goldeyes have the 2 run lead, 7-5!

We move to the 9th – last chance for Manhattan as both teams draw goose eggs in the 8th. Jeff Shaw (or 40 saves fame) in for the save. Garrett Anderson leads off with a double. Dave Martinez follows with an rbi double, 7-6! Sefcik grounds out and then Ray Durham singles to LF and Martinez holds at 3rd. With 1 out, Derek Jeter steps up and he fists one to RF scoring Martinez and moving Durham to 3rd – TIE GAME! Shaw then digs in and fans Kendall and with Tino Martinez due up, Byung-Hyun Kim is called on!! And the move works as Martinez grounds into a 4-6 FC. Matt Mantei in for the Gas Hornets and he blanks Winnipeg in the 9th only after a lead off single to Carl Everett and we are going into free baseball with both managers knowing how pivotal this game is.

Top of the 10th, Kim going for more outs but Rico Brogna leads off with a home run (1) and a big 8-7 lead. So the Gas Hornets go to Bobby Chouinard to close it out (always a finger crossing maneuver). With one out, Javy Lopez is called on to PH and he doubles – his 1st hit of the series. Loften then grounds out pitcher to 1st, Lopez moves to 3rd. Down to Omar Vizquel, the pitch, he grounds it into the hole at short, Jeter ranges over, and it’s by him into LF and once again we have a tie at 8-8. The inning ends with Kendall throwing out Vizquel trying to steal 2nd with McGwire at the plate and it’s on to the 11th.

Kip Wells is brought in for the 11th and Sefcik opens with a walk. Durham then singles and Sefcik holds at 2nd. With Jeter coming up, Steve Reed is called on to face him. Good move, Jeter flies out to RF, no advancement. Jason Kendall up – here comes one of those wild pitches we talked about and both runners move up. So Kendall then is walked to load them up to set up the DP. And all Reed has to do is get Tino Martinez to ground anywhere – but instead he lines into the hole between 3rd and short and this time the runners just take off and two runs score and Manhattan ends up with runners on 2nd and 3rd and still just 1 out. The score now is Manhattan 10 Winnipeg 8. Brogna is then given the IW but Wilson grounds into the DP and we go to the bottom half where the Gas Hornet hope to avoid another blown save.

With Chouinard still pitching, McGwire returns to the batters box where he finished the 10th and he pops out, 1 down. Carl Everett hits a check swing roller that Jeter races in and grabs and fires to 1st for the 2nd out. But Greg Vaughn singles and Ventura is up. You can see the indecision in the Gas Hornets dugout as Ventura hits a foul pop out of play – and that’s it, Schindel trots out to the mound and calls on nasty boy Norm Charlton to pitch to Ventura. Charlton was mostly a spot pitcher or mop up guy. He was 4-0 in the regular season but with a 4.83 era and 4 BLOWN SAVES. Obviously this is his biggest spot this season. He’s set, Ventura is set, the pitch, it’s hit hard but right at Jeter who takes the high hop, fires to Brogna at 1st and the game is over. Manhattan wins game 4 in 11 and takes a big 3-1 series edge!

Final Score: MGH 10 – WGE 8 (11 Innings)
Series 3-1 MGH

Win: Bobby Chouinard 1-0 (3.38)
Loss: Kip Wells 0-1 (13.50)
Save: Norm Charlton #1

For a 5 game series it certainly was a thriller. Both teams showed a lot of grit in some serious comebacks even though Manhattan was the only one who made a successful comeback. Congratulations go out to Ken Kuriliw on his fine season and ascension to the LCS! Kenny Lofton paced the Goldeyes hitting .350 with 7 hits (3 doubles, homer). But it dropped off from there with Mark McGwire losing much of his effectiveness after game 1.

Manhattan benefited from from stellar performances from their table setters, Ray Durham and Derek Jeter. They both were 9 for 22 (.409) both had .500 OPB. Ray had a homer, Derek had 2 doubles and a triple. Jeter had 6 rbis, Durham scored 7 times. Jeter’s OPS of 1.091 was actually bested by Tino Martinez with a 1.158 and a .350 average and 2 dingers. Gas Hornets pitching was sufficient. LCS MVP – it was tough, but Derek Jeter gets the nod!!

Final Score: MGH 12 – WGE 8
Series 4-1 MGH Win the Series

Win:  Donnie Wall 1-0 (2.57)
Loss: Tom Glavine 0-2 (12.71)

Manhattan benefited from from stellar performances from their table setters, Ray Durham and Derek Jeter. They both were 9 for 22 (.409) both had .500 OPB. Ray had a homer, Derek had 2 doubles and a triple. Jeter had 6 rbis, Durham scored 7 times. Jeter’s OPS of 1.091 was actually bested by Tino Martinez with a 1.158 and a .350 average and 2 dingers. Gas Hornets pitching was sufficient. LCS MVP – it was tough, but Derek Jeter gets the nod!!