There are few things sweeter for a baseball fan than to reach this time of year and have your favorite team still playing. I'm a life-long St. Louis Cardinals fan, and I found it hard to get to sleep last night after the Redbirds' thrilling Game 7 victory over the New York Mets.
And what a finish. The Cards took a 3-1 lead on a 2-run home run by light-hitting catcher Yadier Molina in the top of the ninth inning, then held on through a 2-out, bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the inning. With 56,000 Mets fans going berserk, and Cardinal-killer Carlos Beltran at bat, young Adam Wainwright broke off a beauty of a curve ball -- the yacker, Uncle Charlie, the hook, the ol' deuce -- and Beltran froze in agony as the ball whipped over the plate to end the game and send St. Louis to the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Ahhh, life is good.
The Series will be a renewal of the 1968 matchup, when the portly Mickey Lolich beat St. Louis three times in seven games to lead the Tigers to a victory. That one, back when I was a student at Hoover High, liked to broke my heart. Revenge, as they say, is a dish best tasted cold. I hope.
Let's watch one of the games at the Old Fresno!
Tommy Lasorda's ads for the Series are the BEST!
can't let this fine bit of nostalga go uncommented upon... good stuff Russ,very gonzo/George Will....can u imagine broadcasting games during class time in today's schools,as was traditional in the 60's?as a kid i emulated Stan Musial's batting stance and imagined i was king of the opposite=field hit.....apples to oranges...one football teams entire season could be played in a 24 hour day...and oh yeah ,Duke Snider's paychecks were about the same as my dad's! those guys were working class heroes.