Two flat out freaking AMAZING games to start out the 1977 Pirates-1973 Mets series in the 1970s Replay League that I have on the Strat Fan Forum:

Game 1 – Seaver vs. Candelaria … Felix Millan HR’s on the first pitch to put the Mets up 1-0. Bucs score in the B2 to tie it at 1. Mets take the lead again top 5 on a Bud Harrelson single that scored Ted Martinez. Seaver is cruising into the 9th up 2-1. First batter, Stargell flies to LF. Next batter Bill Robinson: HR! Tied. Next batter Rennie Stennett: HR! Bucs win 3-2!

Game 2 – Mets take a 6-4 lead into the 9th. Al Oliver doubles off McGraw and scores on a double by Willie Stargell. Tied! Bill Robinson singles, sends Pops to third. Rennie Stennett again: Sac fly to left, Stargell’s racing home and BEATS the throw from Cleon Jones. SAFE! UNREAL!

            Twice down 17 points, my teams rallied to the championship. First, the 1963 New York Giants, 14-0 during the season, trailed the Western Division Champion Chicago Bears 17-0 in the second quarter of the NFL Championship. Despite seven turnovers from N.Y. (4 INT from Y.A. Tittle), the Giants tied the game 20-20 in the fourth quarter on Tittle’s third TD pass with 1:45 to go. Then, after Chicago missed a 41-yard field goal attempt with 52 seconds left, the Giants took over from their 20 with no timeouts. Tittle went 4 of 5 for 46 yards and killed the clock with one second remaining. Don Chandler, who missed an XP earlier, connected on a 41-yard game winner as time expired. Perfect season. I didn’t think that could be topped.

            The 1978 Houston Oilers did just that. In a season that ended 14-2 to beat out the Steelers for the division (unlikely in itself) the Oilers ground out two home wins to get to the Super Bowl. My QB, Dan Pastorini, in those two games combined, threw for 205 yards, 0 TD, and 3 INTs. It was all Earl Campbell (combined 36-205 and 2 TD’s) and a tough defense that forced five turnovers. But it wasn’t looking as if the Oilers had a chance, down 24-7 to the Los Angeles Rams with under five minutes remaining in the half. As Houston received the kickoff following L.A.’s third TD, Pastorini was finally good enough. He guided his team 67 yards in 3:30 (a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty on a 3rd and 8 incomplete pass helped) and threw his first touchdown pass of the postseason. Rams 24, Oilers 14. OK, there’s a chance.

            Next, the Rams got the ball back with 45 seconds left in the half. They ran three plays totaling -11 yards and I called my remaining timeouts. Fifteen seconds left and they punted from their 20. I’m thinking, with a good return and a pass play that stops the clock, maybe I can attempt a long field goal. Toni Frisch had only one miss all year. Instead, the inconceivable happened. Ronnie Coleman returned the punt 60 yards for the Oilers first kick/punt return touchdown of the season! Rams 24, Oilers 21. Two touchdowns in 37 seconds! Superbowl XIII suddenly turned Oiler Blue. Comeback, again? It certainly felt possible.

            However, in the second half, the Oilers offense sputtered. They took the second-half kickoff, brought the ball to LA’s one, and eschewing the potential tying chip-shot field goal, failed on three tries to score a TD, turning the ball over on downs. No coach would live that down if his team wound up losing. But I felt another touchdown was needed to win. The Rams responded with a long drive and a field goal, making the lead six. Next, Houston got the ball to the Rams 14 and took the short field goal. Rams 27, Oilers 24. The Rams added another field goal, putting their lead back to six with 11 minutes to play. With 6:30 to play, Houston had the ball down six, 87 yards from the end zone. Campbell, dominant in two previous playoff wins, had to this point 5 yards on 17 carries. Pastorini had thrown two interceptions. This drive, however, allowed Oiler fans to die happy. Campbell ripped off 14 yards to start the drive. Fullback Tim Wilson came up huge, gaining 24 on a third and 3 from Houston’s 34. Pastorini, playing big exactly when needed, hit 5 of 5 passes for 59 yards. With a minute and a half remaining, he found Rob Carpenter for a six-yard touchdown pass to tie the game. XP good. Oilers 31, Rams 30. 

            The Rams had one more chance. Good field position at their 30. But, with no timeouts remaining and the Rams at the Oilers’ 41, Ted Washington pulled down John Cappelletti in bounds after a short gain. Tick, tick, game over. The Oilers, down 17, had won the Super Bowl! The Houston Oilers! LUV YA BLUE!

            Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to climb to the top of Mt. Everest. Roger Bannister completed the first sub-four minute mile. And Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the surface of the moon. Fantastic achievements to be sure, but they all pale next to the achievement of my friend Stan Johnson and I.

            On Monday, March 2nd, 2015 at approximately 2:15 pm, Pacific Time, we completed the 1,504th and final game of a 200-team Strat-O-Matic baseball tournament that we had begun over five years previous. The crowd was small (2 dogs on my living room couch, one lying on a blanket on the floor) and napped through much of that final game, but I know they were secretly thrilled to be witness to our historical achievement. All games were played face-to-face, dice-only. Approximately 56,000 batters came to the plate during the tournament.

            Each of the 200 teams represented a composite of a real MLB franchise’s teams over a three-year stretch somewhere from 1959 to 2003. For instance, the top seeded team in the tournament was the 1969-71 Baltimore Orioles. Their tournament roster was comprised of 24 player cards drawn from the 1969, 1970, and 1971 seasons.   Since each of the 200 teams drew from a three-season span, our tournament actually included players from potentially 600 of the 1,118 team seasons between 1959 and 2003, guaranteeing that virtually all the stars and near-stars from that 45-year era would be represented at least once.

            We ranked the 200 teams based on a combination of their real life win-loss records and their runs scored and runs allowed. The top 56 teams were given a bye for the first round. All series would be best 5 games out of 9. The 144 teams who didn’t get byes in round one were paired off, with the 72 winners advancing to round two where they were joined by the 56 teams which had byes in the first round. Each subsequent round saw the elimination of half the remaining teams until finally just two teams remained.

            The favored team in the final was the 1995-97 Atlanta Braves, who were ranked #14 of the original 200 tournament teams. They featured great starting pitching (Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Neagle) and a powerful lineup featuring Chipper Jones, David Justice, Javier Lopez, Jeff Blauser, Fred McGriff, Marquis Grissom, Andruw Jones and Ryan Klesko.

            Their opponent was the underdog 1959-61 Detroit Tigers, who were ranked #77. The Tigers featured a downright terrifying quartet in the middle of their lineup consisting of Al Kaline (27 HRs, .327), Norm Cash (41 HRs, .361, 124 Walks), Rocky Colavito (45 HRs, .290, 113 Walks), and batting champ Harvey Kuenn (.353). And leading off for the Tigers was Ned Yost (.435 On Base Pct). What a nightmare for opposing pitchers!

            My greatest fear was that it would turn into a one-sided affair, but the final totally lived up to its five-year buildup. The Braves and Tigers split the first eight games, meaning that Game 9 was for all the marbles. For the Braves it was Maddux on the mound with his fantastic 1995 card (19 wins, 2 losses, 1.63 ERA). The Tiger starter was Don Mossi, a solid but not spectacular hurler whose nickname was “The Sphinx of Ears.” Take one look at his photo on the Baseball Encyclopedia website and you’ll see why!

            The Tigers struck first, scoring 3 runs in the top of the 3rd. Al Kaline’s 2-run homer was the key blow. The Braves quickly struck back for 2 runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Tigers mounted multiple threats against Maddux but the crafty righty kept wiggling out of trouble. In the bottom of the 6th Marquis Grissom smashed a game-tying homer off reliever Hank Aguirre and then, two batters later, the light-hitting second sacker Mark Lemke shocked the fans (all 3 of them!) with a solo homer that gave the Braves their first lead, 4-3.

            When the Tigers came up in the top of the 9th they still trailed 4-3 and the mighty Maddux was still on the mound. Pinch-hitter Charlie Maxwell led off with a single and then Ned Yost doubled off the left field wall with Maxwell holding at third. The Tigers now had the light- hitting Frank Bolling at the plate. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, Maddux was in trouble. If the Braves played the infield in and Bolling swung away, both runners might score and then they’d have to deal with Cash, Kaline, Kuenn, and Colavito. They decided to play the infield back even though Bolling was a good bunter who might try to squeeze in the tying run.

            Surprisingly, Bolling didn’t bunt. He sent a fly ball deep enough for Maxwell to tag up and score the tying run. Maddux managed to strike out the dangerous Cash and Kaline lined out, sending the game to the bottom of the 9th.

            The Tigers brought in Bob Bruce. Leadoff hitter Jeff Blauser flied out, bringing Dave Justice to the plate. Justice already had three base hits in the game and was hoping for a fourth. Somewhere fans may be crying, and somewhere children pout, but none are sad in Bravesville, because Justice just hit one out! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!

            What a great ending to our 5-year Strato odyssey, having the final, winner-take-all championship game end on a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning! It was great fun and a cool way for a couple of Baby Boomers to spend time nurturing their baseball passions, but I don’t think we’ll be starting any new 200-team tournaments in the near future.   
 

 Bill Bell, North Bend, OR