1996 World Series: Game 2

[With the Yankees squaring off against the Braves this week, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the two World Series during which they faced off in the late 90's]

The most amazing part about the Braves of the early-to-mid 90's was of course their starting pitching staff. In 1996, Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine all posted sub 3.00 ERAs and combined to pitch 734 innings. Smoltz won 24 games and struck out 276 and allowed only 199 hits in 253 2/3 IP. Glavine's ERA was comparable to and Maddux's was actually .22 lower than Smoltz's, but the lack of gaudy strikeout, and more significantly, win totals kept them from accumulating many Cy Young votes. Already 30 years old, Maddux was coming off of four consecutive seasons where he won the Cy Young, Gold Glove, placed no lower than 13th in the MVP voting and walked fewer than two batters per nine innings, so he probably didn't lose a lot of sleep over the lack of acknowledgment.

Comparatively, David Cone was the only Yankee to post an ERA below 3, and he only started 11 games. Next to him, Pettitte's 3.87 was the Yankees' best, followed by Kenny Rogers and Jimmy Key, both at 4.68. Per usual, the Bombers' strength was in their offense, scoring nearly 100 runs more than the Braves in '96.

Atlanta's bullpen in 1996 was nothing special, but when you have three starters throwing that many innings (including 12 complete games), at that microscopic of an ERA, you don't really need a great 'pen. Their closer Mark Wohlers had an ERA higher than any of the top three starters, but that was good enough to net him 39 saves. Mike Bielecki was actually their most useful reliever. Averaging almost two innings per appearance (75.1 IP/40 games), and a sort of jack-of-all trades, Bielecki accrued a 2.63 ERA while starting 5 games and finishing 8, including two saves.

The Yankees had the clear advantage when it got late in the game, with John Wetteland and Mariano Rivera combining for 170 1/3 innings (107 2/3 belonging to Rivera) of 2.38 ERA. Despite the difference in workload and the fact that Wetteland had a respectable 2.83 ERA and saved 43 games, Rivera destroyed him in every meaningful statistical category. Most tellingly, Mo's WHIP was .2 lower and he allowed only 1 home run all year, compared to Wetteland's 9.

The pitching match-up in Game 2 slotted Maddux against Jimmy Key. After reaching his ostensible prime as a pitcher and placing fourth and second in the Cy Young voting in 1993 & 1994, respectively, Key was leading the league with 17 wins when the 1994 strike occurred. He missed almost all of the 1995 season when he went on the disabled list for what was thought to be tendinitis, but ended up needing rotator cuff surgery. 1996 was one of his worst full season as a professional but in the postseason he managed to win two games and have an ERA of 3.33 in, slightly under his eventual career ERA of 3.51.

The gametime temperature was a relatively mild 55 degrees, but the Braves picked up right where they left off with their hot hitting. Mark Lemke hit a ground rule double and was driven in by Fred McGriff with two outs. Javy Lopez singled as well, but Jermaine Dye flew out to deep left before any further trauma was inflicted.

Maddux needed only 11 pitches to get through the first inning, and he would only get more efficient as the game progressed. Key and Maddux matched scoreless halves in the second inning before Fred McGriff struck again in the top of the third. He drove in another run with another single, putting the Braves ahead 2-0. He added another RBI on a sac fly in the top of the 5th.

The Yankees were simply flummoxed by Maddux. Through five innings only three men reached base, and one was via a HBP and was erased by a caught stealing. He had thrown just 48 pitches, partially due to the fact that he had yet to register a strikeout. The two he got both came in the seventh inning.

Marqius Grissom drove in another run in the sixth, which would be Key's final frame. He didn't have great stuff, but he bent instead of breaking unlike Pettitte the night before. Key scattered 13 baserunners but never gave up more than one run in an inning.

The single biggest play in the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning with Wade Boggs at the plate. Jeter and Tim Raines left off the inning with back to back singles and for a moment it appeared that the Yankees might claw their way back into the game. However, Boggs was a victim of one of the 21 ground balls induced by Maddux that night, and it turned into a 4-6-3 double play. Bernie Williams hit yet another grounder to second which ended the inning.

Maddux expended only 82 pitches to work through eight shutout innings and hand the ball over the Mark Wohlers, who struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth. Atlanta's pitching staff had predictably dominated the Yanks once again, and now had only given up two runs in their last five games.

As legend has it, a furious George Steinbrenner summoned Joe Torre and his first base coach Jose Cardenal into his office following the game. Torre responded to the tirade by guaranteeing three victories in Atlanta, which, given The Boss's temperament was probably his only recourse. Steinbrenner jabbed "If you guys can't beat the Braves at home, you surely can't beat them down in Atlanta". He did have a point.

What About The HoF? [A-Roid]

One of the more interesting pieces of shrapnel from the A-Rod bomb is what impact this has on the Hall of Fame. Will 25% of the writers simply not vote for someone with PED issues? The Steroids Era promises to expose the HoF voting for the flawed, subjective system it is.

In ten years, who is still going to be above the fray? Jeter. Pedro. Maddux. Mussina. Rivera?

Rivera's rookie year in the Major Leagues was 1995, initially as a starting pitcher. He found mixed success, posting a 5–3 record and 5.51 ERA that year. As a result, he split time between the Yankees and their AAA affiliate in Columbus. As a 25 year-old rookie with major arm surgery in his past, Rivera's role on the team was not guaranteed. The Yankees considered trading Rivera to the Detroit Tigers for David Wells. However, a surprise improvement prompted a change of heart. In one minor league start, Rivera suddenly began throwing 95–96 MPH. Rivera started ten games for the Yankees that season, participating in a two-hit shutout of the Chicago White Sox on July 4, in which he recorded a career-high eleven strikeouts. Rivera's sudden improvement and his success in the 1995 American League Division Series, in which he pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, convinced Yankees' management to keep him and move him into the bullpen the following season.

Sounds pretty suspicious in hindsight doesn't it?

A-Rod tested positive for Primobolan. In her interview with Bob Costas on the MLB Network on Saturday, Selena Roberts said that it doesn't bulk you up like Winstrol or Deca-Durabolin and that it allows you retain 80% of your strength once you cycle off. Couple that with HGH (which Andy-facking-Pettitte was on) and the "Who's Juicing" game just got a whole lot more difficult.

Pudge Rodriguez is undoubtedly a HoF player numbers-wise and wasn't in the Mitchell Report, but I will literally bet you anything that he took steroids, HGH or something like that when he caught 144 games in the Texas heat, hit 35 home runs and slugged .558.

See what happens? When you don't even have to rely on changes in physical appearance (which Pudge certainly had), the cloud of suspicion broadens further still. As we've discussed before, baseball statistics are incredibly random and you can pretty much read any storyline you want on those tea leaves.

It's a divisive issue and everyone is going to have their own take. That includes the BBWAA writers. I think everyone should get in and being that it is a museum, just include the PED stuff in the exhibit. Pete Rose too. He existed. Leaving him out of the HoF doesn't remove him from baseball history and it isn't going to take the needle from Roger Clemens' ass or the veins from Barry Bonds' forehead.

Of course that's not how most of the crotchety old bastards like Murray Chass, who feel they are the sanctimonious gatekeepers of Cooperstown, are going to vote. I'm guessing that pretty soon the induction classes are going to be awfully small.