1968 World Series Replay Cont. (5th Inning)
I am replaying the 1968 World Series using the 1968 Topps Game Baseball Cards to produce the results of the game. In my second post, I played the 3th and 4th innings in which the Tigers bounced back with an unlikely homer by Denny McLain with Don Wert on first base. Both McLain and Bob Gibson have been pitching well but maybe not as well as the real game. Gibson had 17 strikeouts that October day and has just one to this point. In the real game, the Tigers pinch hit for McLain in the 6th inning and I will try to simulate that change if it makes sense. So we pick the game up in the top of the 5th inning with the Tigers up to bat.
Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Cardinals
Top of the 5th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
1968 World Series Game 1
October 2, 1968
Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Cardinals
Pitching Matchup
 |
| 1969 Topps #150 |
 |
| 1969 Topps #200 |
Top of the 5th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
Batting 8th
Playing 3rd Base
 |
| 1969 Topps #443 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #29 |
1 OUT
Batting 9th
Playing Pitcher
 |
| 1969 Topps #150 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #3 |
SINGLE!
McLAIN ON FIRST
1 OUT
McLAIN ON FIRST
1 OUT
Batting 1st
Playing 2nd Base
 |
| 1969 Topps #305 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #23 |
2 OUTS
Batting 2nd
Playing Shortstop
Bottom of the 5th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
 |
| 1969 Topps #13 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #24 |
3 OUTS
Denny McLain is determined to change the outcome of game one as he produces another hit against Bob Gibson. The rest of the Tigers team is pretty much following the script though as Bob Gibson dominated them that day. The 17 strikeouts that day is still a World Series record. He went on to win the Cy Young that year as well as being named the 1968 NL MVP. Tim McCarver once said of Gibson, "Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher I ever saw, he always pitches when the other team doesn't score any runs."
Bottom of the 5th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
Batting 6th
Playing 3rd Base
 |
| 1969 Topps #110 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #21 |
1 OUT
Batting 7th
Playing 2nd Base
 |
| 1969 Topps #497 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #13 |
2 OUTS
Batting 8th
Playing Shortstop
Top of the 6th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
 |
| 1969 Topps #320 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #25 |
3 OUTS
Denny McLain has a pretty easy inning with a strikeout. In the real game, he had 3 strikeouts in 5 innings. He was plagued though by 3 walks and 3 errors. He would have the last laugh though winning game 6 and securing a game 7 that would be won by the Tigers. He won 31 games that year and was the AL Cy Young and MVP. He was done pitching by age 28 due to the incredible work load he was given. He probably is the biggest example of why pitchers today are so limited with innings and pitch counts. Time to reshuffle the playing deck.
Top of the 6th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
Batting 3rd
Playing Right Field
Bottom of the 6th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
 |
| 1969 Topps #410 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #22 |
1 OUT
Batting 4th
Playing 1st Base
Playing 1st Base
 |
| 1969 Topps #80 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #12 |
2 OUTS
Batting 5th
Playing Left Field
Playing Left Field
 |
| 1969 Topps #180 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #15 |
3 OUTS
The Tigers just can not get something going. Bob Gibson shuts down the heart of the Tigers lineup striking out one in the Top of the 6th. In the real game that day, 4 of the 5 Tiger hits came from the top of the lineup and the only extra base hit was a double by Al Kaline.
Bottom of the 6th Inning
Tigers 2
Cardinals 1
Batting 9th
Playing Pitcher
 |
| 1969 Topps #200 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #19 |
1 OUT
Batting 1st
Playing Left Field
Playing Left Field
 |
| 1969 Topps #85 |
|
| 1968 Topps Game #29 |
2 OUTS
Batting 2nd
Playing Center Field
Playing Center Field
 |
| 1969 Topps #540 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #10 |
WALK!
FLOOD ON 1ST
2 OUTS
FLOOD ON 1ST
2 OUTS
Batting 3rd
Playing Right Field
Playing Right Field
 |
| 1968 Topps #330 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #9 |
HIT BY PITCH!
FLOOD ON 2ND, MARIS ON 1ST
2 OUTS
FLOOD ON 2ND, MARIS ON 1ST
2 OUTS
Batting 4th
Playing 1st Base
Playing 1st Base
 |
| 1968 Topps #200 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #1 |
ERROR!
FLOOD ON 3RD, MARIS ON 2ND,
CEPEDA ON 1ST
2 OUTS
FLOOD ON 3RD, MARIS ON 2ND,
CEPEDA ON 1ST
2 OUTS
Pat Dobson relieving Denny McLain, batting 9th
Batting 5th
Playing Catcher
 |
| 1969 Topps #231 |
Batting 5th
Playing Catcher
 |
| 1969 Topps #475 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #2 |
SINGLE!
2 RUNS SCORE
CEPEDA ON 3RD, McCARVER ON 1ST
2 OUTS
2 RUNS SCORE
CEPEDA ON 3RD, McCARVER ON 1ST
2 OUTS
Batting 6th
Playing 3rd Base
Playing 3rd Base
|
| 1969 Topps #110 |
 |
| 1968 Topps Game #5 |
DOUBLE!
2 RUNS SCORE
SHANNON ON 2ND
2 OUTS
2 RUNS SCORE
SHANNON ON 2ND
2 OUTS
Batting 7th
Playing 2nd Base
Playing 2nd Base
|
| 1969 Topps #497 |
|
| 1968 Topps Game #24 |
3 OUTS
The wheels come off for the Tigers and McLain. Control issues and an error lead to a big inning for the Cardinals who plate 4. As I previously mentioned, walks and errors hurt the Tigers in the real game and now it holds true in the simulation. In the 4th inning of the actual game, Mike Shannon had a single that scored one run as opposed to the double he hit in the above simulation. I decided to put in Pat Dobson since he was actually inserted into the lineup in the 6th inning in the real game after the Tigers pinch hit for McLain in the top of the inning. As the Tigers were winning in our simulation, I did not pinch hit for him. Dobson was only responsible for a solo homer by Lou Brock in the actual game. That's enough for now, I will shuffle the deck and we will finish up in a few days.
Comments
Post a Comment