Tuesday, November 05, 2019
The Fall Classic-2019
For as long
as I have followed sports, the championship to determine the winner
of the World Series has always been dubbed “The Fall Classic”.
When you hear that expression, it is not necessary to consider other
games. The name of the game is baseball.
The seven
game series started on Tuesday night in Houston, Texas, and the
Astros faced the Washington Nationals. The Astros recently won the
American League pennant, while the Nationals represent the senior
league, the National League. That team was transplanted years ago
from Montreal. The Expos struggled for several years before being
moved to Washington. There were many reasons for the move to the
American capital: poor attendance, bad management on and off the
field, little fan support, etc. It was a shock to their loyal
supporters. Some have told me that they have paid little attention to
the game since that day.
The New York
Yankees proved to be worthy opponents for the Astros in the American
League Championship Series. In the sixth game in Houston, they tied
the game in the late innings. The Astros had their “last bats” in
the bottom of the ninth. The Yankees had called on their star
reliever, Aroldis Chapman, to silence the bats of the Astros.
Throwing the ball as fast as any pitcher, he mowed down the
opposition with pitches of more than 100 miles per hour. That is
until Jose Altuve came to the plate.
The
pint-sized second baseman for the Astros saw a pitch that he liked,
swung gracefully, and parked the pitch over the left field fence to
win the game for the Astros. It came all so suddenly, ending the
season for the mighty Yankees.
The
Nationals had previously disposed of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a bit
unexpectedly. They then faced the St. Louis Cardinals, and defeated
them with solid pitching. They had finished the season behind the
leaders, but had qualified for post-season play as a “wild card”.
Both teams
boast some of the finest pitchers in the game today. This final could
be a series of shutout games, one way or another. Then again, the
bats could heat up on both sides, creating wild finishes.
Gerrit Cole
is one of the aces on the Astros. He has not lost a game in months,
going 19-0 in his last 25 starts. He led the league with 326
strikeouts, and was a 20 game winner.
The
Nationals have had more than a week to prepare for the final series.
That is a distinct advantage, because the Astros have only had a two
day break. The Nationals manager, Dave Martinez, said that it gives
them a chance to “heal a little bit” after a season of 162 games,
and two playoff series.
Reliever
Sean Doolittle is learning about the exhaustion that comes with such
a long season. “One thing I didn't know about getting this far in
the postseason is it's emotionally exhausting. It just felt good to
have nothing on our plate after winning the pennant, and just recover
a little.”
Doolittle
and the other Nationals' pitchers will have to face the likes of
Altuve, Carlos Correa, Springer, Brantley, Bregman, Alvarez, and
Gurriel.
The Series
could run until October 30th, if it goes seven games. At
that time, we will be ready for a lot more hockey, football, and
basketball. Incidentally, the Raptors began their defense of their
championship on Tuesday night.
Yet another
great time of the year for sports' fans!!!
James Hurst
October 22,
2019
# posted by James Hurst @ 9:10 AM 
