1998 World Series

Cleveland Knocks off Jersey 4-3

Game 1

CLEVELAND - Game one saw Pedro Martinez face Denny Neagle. The first score came in the 2nc when with 2 out Stanley hit a massive blast that carried out of Chan Ho Park and hit an old widow selling flowers on Delancey street outside the stadium. It has tentatively been measured at 720 feet which could very well be a new GABL record. Nevertheless it gave the Shore a 1 run lead against the mighty Pedro. Leading off the Baerga 2nc Matt Williams hit one deep into the night to tie the score. Huskey followed with a double and then Neagle hit Ramirez. After a brief brawl where Neagle seemingly hurt his hand Gerald Williams struck out but then Jimmy Leyritz struck a 2 run double to give the Baergas a 3-1 lead. Neagle, looking shook was replaced with Eckersly who pitched 3 and a third hitless innings and the shore got a little closer on Doug Strange`s one out homer in the 5th.

No more scoring until the 7th when Alan Embree walked in a Baerga run to make it 4-2. Wohlers gave up a run in the 8th on Huskeys 435 foot blast to make it 5 to 2 and with Martinez seeming in full control it looked like it was over.

However Jim Thome led off the 9th with a bloop to left field that just kept going and it finally limped over the 3 foot fence in left for a 311 foot home run to make it 5-3. After a Buhner groundout, Martinez walked Stairs . He then induced Stanley to line out but Strange walked to bring the winning run to the plate. Mariano Rivera was brought in the game to relieve the tiring Pedro. He would be facing pinch hitter Mike Kelly and the result**************************---a sreamer that Vizquel fields behind his back and throws to first for the Baerga victory.

5-3---Baergas up 1-0

Game 2

CLEVELAND - Tommy Glavine facing hated ex-convict Keven Appier.It somehow didn`t seem right to see old Keven without his striped convict uniform.

The Shore again scored first as in the 3rd after a Kelly double old Baerga killer Stanley singled him home to give the Shore a 1 run lead. Appier breezed thru 5 innings only allowing 2 hits, but Glavine seeing the need to keep the score close bore down and pitched wonderfully to keep the score 1-0 Shore thru 5 and a half.

In the bottom of the 6th after Vizquel lined out MacFarlane who played little all year showed his savvy by blasting a double inside the 3rd base line. Phillips lined out but Grace singled slow footed Macfarlane to third. Many in the crowd thought manager Baerga should have replaced Macfarlane instead of blindly drinking his 2nc bottle of rum in the home team`s dugout. But luck was with him as Guerrero doubled in the 1st Baerga run and moved slow foot Grace to 3rd. Then late season trade Manny Ramirez blasted one 444 feet to dead centerfield to give the Baergas a 4 to 1 lead.

The Shore, facing a 2-0 deficit in the world series then dug in.They chased Glavine with a leadoff single to start the 7th. Rivera in.After walking the dangerous Stanley,, Rivera then got the next two outs, but Steinbach laced a 2-out , 2 run double down the right field line and the Shore were right back in it trailing 4 to 3.

However Manny wasn`t done. He stroked his 2nc home run hitting a 2 run blast in the 8th to give him 5 RBI for the game to give the Baergas a 6 to 3 lead. Randy Myers pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save and Tommy Glavine his 3rd straight world series win..

Game 3

JERSEY - Jersey, down 2 games to zero in this GABL Championship Series, sent Scott Erickson to the mound to face Chan Ho Park and the Cleveland Baergas in this must-win game. Shore manager Dallas Green is on the bench for his final series for the Shore, as he is being replaced next year by current utility player Darren Daulton. Green, citing a desire to move back into scouting and a blood pressure problem, decided before the season that this was it for him.

Erickson didn't help Green's heart problems in the first inning when, after retiring Phillips on a groundout, he gave up back-to-back singles by Grace and Frye. He settled down, though, to retire the fearsome Manny Ramirez and Jeromy Burnitz. In the bottom of the 2nd, Park faced his own little jam with the bases loaded and two outs, with John Valentin due. Park bore down and got Valentin to flyweakly to right, ending the threat.

Both pitchers settled down for a while, and the game was a scoreless tie entering the home half of the 5th. Jeff Blauser led off the inning with a single. Jim Thome followed with a 2-run blast, getting the first real noise from the Castle crowd. That was all the runs the Shore would get off of starter Chan Ho Park.

Erickson, now pitching with a lead, looked like he was going for the kill. His nastier-than-ever sinker was producing ground ball after ground ball. Between a one-out walk to Burnitz in the 4th, and the top of the 9th, Erickson allowed only one baserunner - who was promptly erased on a doubleplay grounder.

The ninth started with Jersey still up 2-0, and Erickson rolling. He retired Grace on a foul out, then Frye on another groundout. Up came Shore-killer Manny Ramirez. The Castle was rocking. Ramirez promplty singled on the first pitch, bringing up Burnitz. Burnitz walked, putting the tying run on base and the lead run at the plate in the person of Ellis Burks. Green went out to talk to Erickson, who convinced his manager to keep him in. Burks capped an epic 11-pitch at-bat off with a walk to load the bases, and Erickson was done. Jersey called in RH Rich Loiselle, Cleveland countered with Butch Huskey. Huskey ripped a 2-run single to tie the game. Eckersley was called in to face Vizquel, and issued an unlikelywalk to reload the bases. Matt Williams is announced as a pinch-hitter, and Jersey calls on Turk Wendell. Williams whiffs to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter Todd Zeile leads off with a single off of new reliever Rick Aguilera. Valentin coaxes a walk, and the Shore look to be in business. However, a Jeff Blauser GDP, and an intentional walk to Thome leaves runners at the corners and two outs, with Buhner due. Aggie gets Bone to ground out and send the game into extra frames.

Wohlers takes the mound for the Shore in the 10th, and he and Aguilera have no problems in the 10th or 11th. Alan Embree, the Shore's 6th pitcher, takes the mound in the 12th. After getting Vizquel to ground out, lefty-killer Gerald Williams comes to the plate, and promptly unties the game with a mammoth shot to left, hitting off the Johnson's Popcorn sign on the facade of the upper deck, some 530 feet from the plate. Embree escapes without further damage, and the Shore come to the plate for one last shot.

Randy Myers, the 4th Baerga pitcher, starts the bottom of the 12th. Due up is Thome, but Green yanks him (to a chorus of boos) for Mike Stanley. Stanley hits a 385-foot single, and is almost thrown out at first. Desperate for a runner, Green realizes he's only got Mike Kelly and Gregg Zaun left, and he needs their bats. So, he calls on Denny Neagle to pinch-run. Jay Buhner, up next, rips a single, that sends Neagle to 2nd with nobody out. Defensive replacement Bernard Gilkey lines out to 3rd on a great play by Phillips. Doug Strange rips another single, too hard to score Neagle, but loading the bases with one out. Shore playoff series MVP Terry Steinbach is due, and Green lets him rip. Myers doesn't, though, and walks in the tying run. Mariano Rivera replaces Myers, with the sacks juiced, one out, tie game. Otis "My Man" Nixon steps to the plate, and smacks the first pitch right back through the box for the game-winning single. 4-3 final, win for Embree, loss for Myers. Nixon and Blauser had 3 hits apiece for the Shore, while Frye and Burks had 2 apiece for Cleveland.

Game 4

JERSEY - Game 4 featured Baerga ace Pedro Martinez matching up with Jersey's Andy Pettitte, as Shore manager Dallas GReen decided not to waste Neagle in a tough matchup with Martinez.

The Shore got on the board in the first, with Blauser lacing a one-out single, which Thome followed with a mammoth homer down the right field line. Pettitte was breezing, allowing a baserunner just about every inning, but no serious threats through 5. Jersey tacked on a 3rd run in the home third, with Pettitte leading off with an unlikely single. He moved to second on a wild pitch, and was doubled home by Valentin. Pettitte again led off the 5th with a single, and Valentin reached on a 1-base error by Huskey, but Martinez fanned Blause and induced Thome into a 4-6-3 double play.

In the top of the 6th, the Baergas stormed back. Grace led off with a walk, and Huskey followed with a 2-run homer. After Williams walked, and Ramirez singled him to 3rd, Pettitte was lifted for Wendell. Wendell looked great at first, getting Gerald Williams to foul out, and whiffing Leyritz. But he walked Vizquel to load the bases, and then walked the pitcher, Martinez, to force in the tying run. Frye singled in two runs, then stole 2nd before Bob Patterson came in to retire Grace. 5-3 Baergas after 5 and a half.

Huskey was in the middle of things again in the 7th, leading off with a double before Ramirez singled him home, stretching the lead to 6-3. In the home half, Daulton hit a one-out pinch single, followed by a Valentin walk, and a Blauser run-scoring single. That was it for Pedro, who left with a 6-4 lead. Rivera came in, and walked Thome to load the bases. Buhner hit a sac fly to make it 6-5, but Stairs grounded out to end the threat.

Wohlers started the 8th for the Shore, and got Leyritz before Vizquel singled and stole 2nd. Burks whiffed, leaving a man on 2nd with 2 out. Frye came through with a double, scoring Vizquel, 7-5 Cleveland. After Grace walked, Jose Mercedes came in to face new Shore nemesis Butch Huskey. Huskey rips a 3-run homer about 500 feet, giving the Baergas a 10-5 lead, and hushing the crowd of 42,243.

One thing about the Shore, though - they don't quit. In the home 8th, Myers came into face the bottom half of the order. Strange singled, then Steinbach whiffed. Otis "My Man" Nixon doubled Strange to 3rd with one out. After Gilkey lined out, Matt Williams gave the shore an early Christmas gift - a two-out, two-run, two-base error, closing the gap to 10-7. Blauser followed with a solid double, scoring Valentin, and making it 10-8. Aguilera relieved Myers, and whiffed Thome.

That ended the scoring for both teams, as Cleveland holds on for a 10-8 win. Win for Martinez, loss for Pettitte, save for Aguilera.

Game 5

JERSEY - Real-life teammates Tom Glavine and Denny Neagle squared off in game 5 of the GABL Championship.

The Shore looked to strike quickly, when, in the bottom of the first, Blauser and Stanley started the inning with singles. Bunfer, though hit into a DP, and after Gilkey was hit by a pitch, Mike Kelly left runners at the corners. Neagle escaped a bases-loaded, two out situation in the second, and the Shore mounted another threat in the home half. Back-to-back one-out walks to Zeile and Valentin, and a two-out pass to Blauser had Mike Stanley looking grand slam. He came up empty (a recurring theme), though, and grounded out weakly.

Matt Williams got Cleveland on the board in the 3rd with a two out SHOT to center. Jersey AGAIN got their leadoff man aboard, but he was AGAIN erased on a double-play grounder. The Baergas got two on in the top of the 4th, but stranded them. Steinbach led off the home 4th with (what else) a single, but Zeile followed that with (what else) a double play, so when the next three batters (Valentin, Neagle, Blauser) all reached, there were two outs, no runs in, for Stanley. His 2nd shot at a salami, and his 2nd failure - a fly out. Still 1-0 Cleveland.

Mark Grace led off the Baerga 5th with a double, but Neagle got Frye and Williams, bringing up Butch "Censored" Huskey. Huskey singled Grace home, making it 2-0. In the Jersey 5th, a one-out Gilkey homer cut the Cleveland lead in half.

Both pitchers cruised through the 6th. In the 7th, the Baergas had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out, but (miracle!) Neagle got Huyskey, and then Ramirez, to end the threat. The Shore managed nothing in their half.

The only notable event in the 8th was Wilton Guerrero pinch-hitting for Glavine with two out. He grounded out, but Glavine was gone. Chuck McElroy took over for the bottom of the 8th. Jersey jumped right on him, with Thome and Steinbach singling, and Zeile drawing a walk, loading the bases with no outs. Valentin flew out, but Thome held third on a 1-11 chance (and Dallas Green was heard cursing himself for not running for Thome). Gregg Zaun hit for Neagle, and he also flew out, but this one was deep enough even for Thome. Tie game, 2-2. Blauser walked to reload the bsaes, but Otis "No Longer My Man" Nixon grounded out.

Alan Embree came on for the Shore in the 9th. Vizquel grounded out, but Grace followed with a walk. Damon pinch-ran for Grace, but was thrown out stealing (pulled a 20). Frye whiffed, and Jersey came up for last licks. Buhner led off, and smacked McElroy's first pitch into the Atlantic for a 3-2 Shore victory.

Another great game..... makes me wish I could have capitalized on actually hitting Pedro in game 4. Shore are down 3-2 to the powerful Baergas, with the only remaining game(s) in Cleveland.

Game 6

Game 6 saw aging Mike Morgan going for the Baergas against ex-convict Keven Appier for the Jersies.

The Baergas led 3 games to 2 and needed just one win to clinch the series. They wouldn`t get it here as Appier pitched a 2 hit shutout and the Shore hit 5 homeruns, 2 by Matt freakin Stairs and one each by Valentin , Thome and Strange.

Doug Strange hit a homer in the 2nc for the first run and the game was for all good purposes over in the 3rd when Thome hit a 2 out 2 run jack and then Stairs hit another 2 run shot after a Buhner walk to make it 5 to nuttin.

A shellshocked Mike Morgan went 4 innings==gave up 9 hits=== 8 runs and 5 home runs.After the game Morgan committed Strat suicide and tore his own card up thereby ceasing to exist. A ceremony was held in his honor after the 7th game at home plate and his wife; the famous JP Morgan sang 3 Debby Boone classic hits in his honor as some of the great ex-Baerga players such as Dwight Evans and Alan Trammell drank a toast to his honor

Thank you Mike we love you man..

Game 7

Game 7---Chan HO park---A less than expected crowd of 5 loyal fans watched Pedro Martinez go for his 5th straight win in the playoffs against Jersey`s Scott Erickson. The series was on the line and the Baergas were conforted in the fact that Pedro has come up big all season long in big games.

Pedro was the MAN again as he pitched a complete game 7 hitter and struck out 17 batters in easily cruising to a 6 to 2 win.

The Shore scored first in the top of the 2nc as that freakin Matt Stairs hit another homerun to give the Shore a 1-0 lead. Mark Grace singled to drive in Mike Macfarlane to tie the game in the 3rd and then in the 4th Jeremy Burnitz continued his playoff season surge by giving the Baergas the lead for good with a 449 foot blast to dead center field. A shaken Erickson then gave up a single to Huskey and a walk to Burks.

Then manager Carlos Baerga went to the Dave Outcalt book of tricks as he had Vizquel bunt them over and then pinch-hit Glavine to squeeze bunt in a run. It worked like a charm for the millionth time in a row as Glavine laid down a beauty to give the Baergas a 3-1 lead{{{{{ editorial note---Strat needs to FIX THIS soon.This is way to easy}}}}}}}}}}

Valentin tripled in a run in the 5th to close the gap to 3-2 but the Baergas got back 2 in the 6th on a two run single by Tony Phillips to give PEDRO the GREAT an insurmountable 5-2 lead.

Matt Stairs fell and couldn`t get up in the 8th to give the Baergas an unearned run and a tired Pedro came out to start the 9th

With the crowd of 5 screaming,, Pedro struck out Stanley - Strange and Steinbach, the killer Ess`es with only 9 pitches and a slight sneer as the Baergas win their 2nc championship and their first since 1994.

Pedro, by winning 3 games in the finals won the MVP award as was rewarded with a new 38 year contract worth 800 Zillion milion dollars..

Manager Carlos Baerga, clutvching his trusty bottle of rum was asked if this was as thrilling as the last victory over longtime Baerga patsy Dennis Bronstein in 1994 but was not coherant in his reply and this interview will have to continue when he sobers up---maybe in a year or two...

Thats all in Baerga land ---The Baergas beat expansion franchise Jersey Shore to win the GABL title.

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