University Daily Kansan / Thursday, October 16, 1986
Sports
11
Red Sox, New York earn berths in World Series
Mets edge out Houston 7-6 in 16-inning thriller
United Press International
HOUSTON — In a remarkable climax to an incredible season, the New York Mets on Wednesday won the National League pennant with a 7-6, 16-inning victory over the Houston Astros that left both sides physically and emotionally spent.
"I've never been in a game where I've come out of it with a headache." New York Manager Davey Johnson said. "It was a very intense game. It seems like it had to go down to a 3-and-2 count on the final batter."
The game out exactly that, and not until Jesse Orosco struck out Kevin Bass for the final out with the tying and winning runs on base, could the Mets breathe easily.
The triumph gave the Mets their first pennant in 13 years, but the game will go down in history not only as the longest ever played in postseason but also one of the most tense.
The men, who won 108 times during the regular season and had few crucial games while running away with the NL East, rallied for three runs in the ninth inning and tied the score. But they needed a three runs in the 16th inning before they were able to secure the victory.
The Mets had to stave off two extra-inning rallies by the Astros — one on a dramatic home run in the 14th inning by Billy Hatcher — in the game that lasted 4-42.
"I'm emotionally drained and my legs are shaking," said Mets third baseman Ray Knight, whose RBI single in the 16th inning broke a 4-4 tie.
The triumph was the second consecutive extra-inning victory for the Mets and enabled them to capture the best-of-seven NL championship series in six games.
The Mets will represent the NL in a best-of-seven World Series against the American League champion. The series opens Saturday in New York.
The Astros tied the game in the 14th inning on Hatcher's one-out home run, and then rallied for two more runs in the bottom of the 16th inning after the Mets had gone ahead 7-4.
"I'm glad it ended up the way it did, with us going down swinging." Astros' Manager Hal Lanier said.
Knight's run-scoring single off Aurelio Lopez proved to be the game-winning hit for the Mets, but the victory goes to the Mets' bulpen.
New York appeared to have the game won in the 14th inning when Wally Backman singled home Darryl Strawberry and put the Mets ahead 4-3. But Hatcher tipped the score in the bottom of the inning by hitting a home run off reliever Jesse Orosco.
See METS. p. 13. col. 3
But overall, Orosco and the rest of the Mets' bullpen
BOSTON — One tradition of futility ended and another grew last night.
The Boston Red Sox, overcoming a history of late-season failure, surged into the World Series last night with an 8-1 victory over California. But Boston's victory denied Angels manager Gene Mauch still another pennant.
United Press International
"Hope springs eternal within the human breast." Boston manager John McNamara said, quoting Alexander Pope. "You never give up. Coming back here to Boston we thought we had a real chance. It's a great feeling for me. It's a dream come true to go to the World Series."
The Red Sox came back from a 3-1 deficit and won their first American League pennant in 11 years. They scored three runs in the second inning and four in the fourth. All seven of the runs were unearned.
Pitcher Roger Clemens allowed four hits over seven-plus innings, Wade Boggs hit a two-run single and Jim Rice added a three-run home run, sending the Red Sox to play the New York Mets.
"I don't have a hell of a lot to say," said Mauch, who is still seeking his first World Series berth in 25 years as a big-league manager. "I hurt like hell for the players. I
Boston victory brings first pennant in 11 years
hurt like hell for (team owner) Gene Autry. We laid our hearts out there and they got stepped on."
A Fenway Park crowd of 33,001, warmed by victory despite temperatures near 50, knew by the seventh-inning stretch it was saluting a pennant winner. The team raced onto the field when reliever Calvin Schiraldi struck out Jerry Narron for the final out
Mounted policemen rode onto the field to restrain the jubilant fans, while Mauch stared in stony silence at the commotion.
The Red Sox, a team with a history of late-summer failures, became the seventh team to win a best of seven series after trailing 3-1. They did it after trailing by three runs in the ninth inning of Game 5, a contest in which they were, at one point, one strike away from elimination.
The World Series is scheduled to begin Saturday in New York's Shea Stadium, with Met pitcher Ron Darling opposing left-hander Bruce Hurst. The Red Sox have not won a World Series since 1918.
The Angel's loss extended Mauch's reputation for losing the big ones. He has presided over three of the biggest collapses in big-league history: the 1964 Phillies, the 1982 Angels and now this year's Angels.
"My situation is something I'll let you handle," Mauch
See BOSTON, p. 13, col. 1
2 seniors expected to provide leadership
By NICOLE SAUZEK
Sports writer
Larry Brown is a coach who believes in pointing the spotlight at all his players and then adjusting the focus on his seniors.
For him, seniority has its place and time.
Last year, attention was directed to Kansas' senior players — Calvin Thompson, Ron Kellogg and Greg Dreiling.
And while fans cheered for and supported KU's noted senior players, the rest of the team waited patiently in the shadows for their days in the limelight.
This year, senior guards Mark Turgeon, from Topeka, and Cedric Hunter, from Omaha, Neb., will be expected to step out and shine for the Jayhawks. Archie Marshall, senior forward from Tulsa, Okla., will be redshirted because of a knee injury he suffered in the game against Duke in the NCAA Final Four semifinal in Dallas.
"Mark and Cedric didn't push themselves on last year's team as leaders." Brown said. "It was the seniors' turn to be the leaders."
"I look for Cedric and Mark to step up as leaders." Brown said, "just by the way the freshmen are already looking up to them for support."
But now that it's Turgon and Hunter's turn to lead underclassmen, Brown will be expecting even more from his two competing point guards — leadership, action and someone to teach the team's six newcomers Brown's system.
Support that Brown also will be leaning on because he is not as familiar with this year's team.
Hunter and junior Danny Manning are the only returning starters from last year's Big Eight Conference and Midwest Regional championship team.
"There are a lot of young guys on the team this year." Hunter said. "I've been here for three years. They're going to know what to expect by watching us guys that have been here before."
Being an example, though, is something that will demand more from the seniors than ever before.
See SENIORS, p. 13, col. 1
Mark Turgeon, senior guard, is one of two returning seniors on the Jayhawk team. He and senior guard Cedric Hunter will lead Kansas this year in its fight for the Big Ten Conference title.
Last season's redshirts rejoin Jayhawks
By ANNE LUSCOMBE
Although their reasons for redshirting last season differed, Milton Newton and Mark Pellock are back.
Newton, sophomore forward, redshirted because he was playing behind former Kansas players Calvin Thompson and Ron Kellogg and
Sports writer
Milt Newton
The season they sat out was spent working, not loafing, because when they came back, they knew they would have to prove to head coach Larry Brown how much they had improved. Both realize that it may take a while to do that.
For Pellock, sophomore forward and center, the decision was basically made for him. He was coming back from ankle surgery and wasn't completely healed.
he knew playing time would be severely limited.
"I know it helped me improve," Pellock said of the season he sat out. "I got stronger and improved my skills, but then again I haven't played in a game since my freshman year, it's been a year and a half. It will take a me a little bit to get back in form."
In the 1984-85 season, Pellock played in 22 games and was nine for 27 from the floor. He scored a total of 40 points. Newton played in 30 games and was 36 for 65 from the floor. He scored 95 points for the season.
"He (Newton) has improved tremendously." Thompson said of his former back-up player. "He's a lot quicker and wiser. I hope the year off helped, and I think it did."
Newton echoed those feelings.
"I didn't play last year, but I practiced hard," he said. "But it's just a matter of getting back into the groove of things."
As far as Newton filling the literally huge shoes of Thompson, the former player remained noncommittal.
The Kansas basketball team has undergone several changes since last last year. Gone are the three superstars, Kellogg, Thompson and Greg Dreiling.
"He used to break my shoes in for me."
Thompson said, "But I don't know about filling them."
In their place are young players, with five freshmen and three sophomores out of 14 players. Only five players returned who played in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four, and one, Archie Marshall, will redshirt this season.
Sitting out of the Final Four games and being partially removed from the championship team was painful, distressing and frustrating.
"It was hard," Pellock said. "Actually, though, it was harder earlier in the year when I had to cope with the fact that I wasn't going to play. By the tournament (Final Four) I had accepted my role as a practice player and I could deal with it better, but it was still difficult."
Newton, from Washington D.C., felt many of the same anxieties while watching his team win game after game on its way to Dallas for the Final Four.
"It was hard, of course, but I was redshirted for most of the season by then," he said. "I shouldn't have been upset, but I was. I wanted to play."
The most important goal for the two players now is to gain playing time.
"I see myself as getting more time." Pellock, of Parsons, said. "But I'm going to have to work for it."
Brown said he thought the combination of 6-foot-8 Pellock and 6-foot-10 newcomer Sean Alvarado would offset the loss of 7-foot-1 Dreiling.
Newton, 6 foot-4, could really have benefited from the year he sat out, Brown said. Brown said Newton needed to learn to handle the ball better. Until then, Brown won't be completely satisfied.
Fielding misplay clouds Hatcher's hitting heroics
United Press International
HOUSTON - Billy Hatcher removed his own name from the record book yesterday.
His spectacular 14th-inning home run and his 16th-inning clutch single — each hit the stuff of baseball heroism — were relegated to footnotes when Hatcher misplayed a fly ball that helped the New York Mets win the National League pennant.
The Houston center fielder hesitated before charging after a shallow fly ball hit by New York's Darryl Strawberry at the start of the 16th inning. The ball bounced in front of Hatcher for a double and started a three-run rally that got the Mets a berth in the World Series.
"I was playing him to pull," Hatcher, who sat in front of his locker, his back to reporters, said softly. "He popped it and I just couldn't get to it. I busted my butt to get there. I saw (second baseman Bill) Doran coming hard. I play Strawberry to pull more than anybody in the league."
Two innings earlier, the Mets led
4-3 and two outs away from victory. But Hatcher hit a 3-2 pitch from Jesse Orosco on the left-field foul pole screen for a home run.
The run was the first earned run given up by Mets relief pitchers in 1813 innings. Later, in the bottom of the 16th, Hatcher contributed an RBI single in a rally that fell short.
"I just wanted to get on base," Hatcher said of his home run. "He came with a fastball. I saw it (hit) hooking and I just prayed it would stay fair. I only wish someone else had been on base so we could be playing tomorrow.
"The whole series takes it out of you. Some nights, you can't sleep. My whole body hurts right now. It was hurting all through the game. It was an exhausting series.
"You get high and then you get down," Hatcher said. "It starts to take its toll on you. You lose a lot of energy. They came in here under our fans and beat us. We can't fault the umpires or anyone else. We beat ourselves."
United Press International
BOSTON — For the third straight game, Gene Mauch's pitchers, and his handling of them, combined to doom the California Angels.
Pitching felled Angels
After a stunning collapse in Game 5, when the Angels blew a 5-2 lead, neither Mauch or his club seemed able to do anything right.
In last night's finale, California starter John Candelaria struggled through $3\frac{1}{2}$ innings, and by the time Mauch relieved the left-hander, the Boston Red Sox's clinching of the American League Pennant was all
Analysis
but sealed. Mauch summoned Don Sutton from the bullpen after Boston had reached Candelaria for a 7-0 lead.
McNamara said Clemens had suffered from an allergic reaction to smoke he inhaled on the charter flight from California.
"I was very comfortable with Candy out there." Mauch said. "We had the right guy going for us, but what more can you say?"
Candelaria threw 71 pitches during his stint, 32 — or almost half — for balls. By contrast, the entire Boston staff threw only 123 pitches in nine innings, only 38 for balls.
McNamara had primed his bullpen early, but Clemens rendered support unnecessary until the eight inning, when Calvin Shiradi relieved.
Boston starter Roger Clemens, who worked on three days rest for the second straight time and whose legs were weak because of an allergy, worked his way out of early trouble. Meanwhile, his offense staked him to a huge lead. Red Sox manager John
"I passed him in the runway in the seventh innings, and he told me he was feeling a little wobbly, but when I went out there to get him after Jones got that base hit (leading off the eighth), he wanted to stay out there until the ninth."
Mauch's pitching moves were questioned in two previous games. In Game 6, he didn't have anyone warming up until starter Kirk McCaskill had blown a 2-0 lead and had fallen behind 3-2. In Game 5, he relieved starter Mike Witt with two out in the ninth innings. Gary Lucas relieved and hit Rich Gedman with a pitch, opening the way for an eventual Boston victory.
Candelaria sailed through the first inning last night, retiring the side in order, but an inning-opening error by shortstop Dick Schofield put him in jeopardy. Candelaria's control faltered, and two big innings were over before Mauch took him from the mound.
Candelaria fell behind in the count in several key situations and was forced to come into the heart of the strike zone with fastballs. Boston hitters took full advantage.
Fans rejoice after victory
United Press International
BOSTON — Pennant-starved Red Sox fans, chanting "We Want the Mets," rejoiced last night after Boston's first American League title in 11 years, and savored the city's chance for its first World Series crown since 1918.
"I it's great. I've been a fan since it was born," said Fenway Park concessions cashier Karen Barellay. 25. What are you going to be a piece of cake, No problem.
From taverns lining historic Boston harbor to dormitory rooms of prestigious colleges, Red Sox fans celebrated as TV screens unfolded Boston's 8-1 victory over the California Angels in decisive Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
The 33,001 spectators who packed Fenway Park began having parties in earnest when left friend Jim Rice hit a home run in the fourth inning and scored three. The play gave Boston a 7-0 lead.
The Red Sox will meet the New York Mets in the World Series. The Mets won the National League playoff.
Hundreds of police officers on foot, assisted by a dozen mounted police, ensured order on the field after Calvin Scheraldi struck out Jerry Narron and ended the game. A few fans, but only a few, jumped the fences. They were quickly escorted off the field.
Most spectators remained standing long after the game ended and watched postgame interviews beamed on the giant screen in center field.
"This is just great," said Irving Kareliis, 66, of Haverhill, Mass. "I've been a Red Sox fan all my life, and I pitched in the Red Sox's organization in 1946 with the Lynn (Mass.) Red Sox.
"We're the faithful. We're going to stick with them and we're going to beat the Mets," he said. "It's the Kennedy spirit. We've got it up here."
At the Bull and Finch Pub on downtown Beacon Street, which is the inspiration for the tavern in the TV series "Cheers," there was even a 'wave' at the bar, said bartender Paul Shaffer.
"I tried to tell them, 'no waves at the bar' but they wouldn't listen," he said.