A Throw-Back World Series
- The Tigers and Cardinals are meeting for the third time in World Series History. Surprising? Not really, when you figure both franchises have been around for all 103 Fall Classics. The odds are there, and the odds are on the Tigers to win the third go-around with the Redbirds. And for the first time, these teams won't go seven games.
First, let's look at the 1934 World Series. This was the signature year of the infamous "Gas-house Gang" Cardinals. St. Louis was loaded with not just Hall of Famers, but some of the top characters of that era. Dizzy Dean won 30 games that year...oddly enough, that total would be surpassed by a certain Tiger in 1968. This was Dizzy's team, but as much as Dizzy provided the spark, Leo Durocher provided the fire. Durocher maintained that same intensity as manager of the Cubs years later. Older Cub fans still yearn for the days of Durocher, that is, if anybody feels like listening to grumpy old Cub fans.
The Tigers and Cardinals split the first two games back in '34. Detroit then traveled to St. Louis to take two of three. What followed was a Tigers collapse that Detroit would still be talking about if not eclipsed by the dissappointment of the 119-losses in 2003. The Tigers lost Game Six and then got throttled in Game Seven, 11-0 at Tiger Stadium. Dizzy and his brother Paul combined for all four Cardinal wins.
1968 was the Tigers year for revenge. St. Louis took a commanding 3-games-to-1 lead in the series only to see the Tigers rally to win the final three games. However, the 1968 World Series has gone down in history as one of the greatest pitching match-ups of all-time. Tough to argue this, even to this day. Bob Gibson and Denny McLain were both MVP's that year as pitchers. Gibson was unhittable that year with an ERA of 1.12, while McLain posted 31-wins, the last pitcher to surpass the 30-win mark.
Fast-forward 38 years to the next meeting of the Cards and Tigers. Detroit is known for pitching, St. Louis for hitting. However, both teams are better known for avoiding regular season collapses of historical magnitude. The Tigers lost their division crown on the last day of the season, while St. Louis nearly blew an 8.5 game lead in the final ten days of the season. So much for momentum playing a factor in baseball, as they are the last teams left standing.
My prediction: Tigers in five. Why? Pitching wins, duh.
What will we say 30-something years from now when these teams inevitably meet again. "Wasn't Albert Pujols on that Cardinals team?"
That question will be followed by a more difficult question: "Who played for the Tigers?" And that will be followed by silence...unless Justin Verlander becomes the next Denny McLain.
