SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, October15, 1992
11
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Braves win thriller, face Jays in Series
Atlanta Braves players surround Sid Bream who slid in safe past Pirate's catcher Mike LaValliere to score the winning run on Francisco Cabrera's ninth-inning game winning hit in Game 7 of the NLCS Wednesday. The Braves beat the Pirates 3-2 and will face the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.
Blue Jays beat A's 9-2 to bring Series to Canada for first time
The Associated Press
TORONTO — At last, a real WORLD Series.
The Toronto Blue Jays finally learned how to win in October and took the World Series out of the United States for the first time by beating Oakland 9-2 yesterday to win the AL playoffs.
"It's an American sport, but a Canadian team, one of the best," Dave Winfrey said.
Beneath hundreds of red maple leaves, Juan Guzman did what Jack Morris and Dave Cone could not do, win three days' rest, to wrap up Game 6. Joe Carter and Candy Maldonado made Guzmán's second victory of the series easier with home runs that helped put Toron-to ahead 6-0 after three innings.
"There was no pressure on us," Carter said before breaking into a big smile. "Are you kidding? There was a ton of pressure on us. We were always going to hear about our past until we reached the next level, which we have."
we have.
"It was a long time in coming for this team, for this city, for these fans," he said. "The Canadians deserve this."
this. The Blue Jays played their first game as an expansion team on April 7, 1977, at snow-covered Exhibition Stadium and went on to lose 107 games that year. They
gradually improved and have become the only team in the majors to have 10 consecutive winning seasons.
the majors to the playoffs. Even so, the Blue Jays were looked upon as big-game losers until this week. The fans sensed it too, as they broke into a three-minute standing ovation at the end, as if to exercise the demons that had been trapped inside the retractable roof of the SkyDome.
Roberto Alomar, who turned things around with a game-tying homer off Dennis Eckersley in Game 4 — one of the Blue Jay's playoff-record 10 homers — fittingly capped off the series with an RBI single in the eighth inning and was named MVP. He was 11 for 26 in the series, testing the record for hits in an AL playoff, made no errors at second base and stole five bases.
"The people here wanted a World Series, and we gave it to them," Alomar said. Toronto's triumph also meant another first for baseball — Cito Gaiton becomes the first black manager in the World Series.
"It means a lot to me, to my family, to minorities in general." Gaston said.
The World Series will begin Saturday in Atlanta. Then, on Tuesday night, baseball's big event will get some northern exposure for the first time when the Blue Jays host Game 3.
Unlikely hero caps ninth-inning rally; Braves shock Pirates, 3-2
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — A heart-stopping, ninth-inning comeback ended with another World Series for the Atlanta Braves and another fall failure for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pirates.
The Braves, in a wild rally that ended with a play at the plate, beat the Pirates 3-2 last night to reach the World Series for the second consecutive year. The stunning loss gave Pittsburgh its third consecutive postseason failure and perhaps the most painful of all.
possesbison nature. The Pirates were three outs away from their first World Series since 1979, but Doug Drakeb, who pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and stranded two runners in the seventh, didn't have one more escape act in him.
it ended when pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera singled to drive in two runs. When Atlanta's slowest runner safely slid across home plate, it triggered a wild celebration. It left the Pirates frozen with shock, and their manager, Jim Leyland, fighting back tears.
"I've never been part of something that went from down there to up here so quick," Braves outfielder Ron Gant said. "I was hyperventilating. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I never dreamed of anything like this."
thing like this.
Braves manager Bobby Cox said, "I don't think this will be forgotten for a long time, I can't think of anything better."
thing better.
For Pittsburgh, it was a recurring nightmare.
"I'm still in shock," Leyland said. "I feel we damn near played a perfect game."
played a perfect game.
The improbable comeback began when Terry
Pendleton, only 1 for 21 in the series batting left-handed,
doubled to right field.
ed, doubled to right.
David Justice hit a routine grounder, but second baseman Jose Lind, who made only six errors all season, booted the ball and two were on. The crowd, almost resigned to defeat a few minutes earlier, was standing and chopping.
standing and cropping.
Gant almost won it with a drive to left that Barry Bonds caught two feet in front of the wall, scoring Pendleton and making it 2-1.
Pendulum and ballooning. Then Damon Berryhill walked and the bases were loaded again. The Pirates were an out away when pinch-hitter Brian Hunter popped out and Cox, his bench most exhausted, sent up Cabrera, who had been up 10 times all season.
Cabrera lined a shot between third and shortstop to score Justice and Bream.
Kansas gets oral commitment from California point guard
By David Dorsey
Kansan sportswriter
Jacque Vaughn, a 6-foot senior point guard from John Muir High School in Pasadena, Calif., verbally committed to attend Kansas next season.
Vaughn, who announced his decision on Monday, visited Kansas last weekend and attended the Kansas-Kansas State football game.
Rocky Moore, Vaughn's coach,
said that his star would bring a lot of skills to the Kansas basketball program.
"It's a born leader," Vaughn said. "He attracts people around him. Roy Williams should do well with this young man."
with him young.
"His a piece of the puzzle, and once you find that piece, everything else falls into place. He
wanted a school that would be able to content for the NCAA title each year, and for him, Kansas was the place."
Bob Gibbons, a recruiting analyst, listed Vaughn as the No.2 high school point guard in the nation.
Vaughn averaged 23 points and nine assists a game last season. He also averaged seven rebounds and three steals a game.
Vaughn is a good student, Moore said, and had a 4.0 grade point average.
puff a have ago.
"He's a neat type of kid," he said.
"If my child were to grow up to be like him, I'd be a proud dad."
Vaughn is expected to sign a letter of intent after the early signing period begins Nov. 11.
The Jayhawks had four scholarships to give for next season, but have already had three oral commitments.
inhumens.
B.J. Williams, a 6-7 forward from Wichita, and Nick Proud, a 6-10 center from Sandy, Utah, have already announced their decisions to attend Kansas
the Jayhawks are down to one available scholarship to give for next season.
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