1974mfc/'73 WORLD SERIES-A's vs. METS/Game 7

The story of the series so far, 

told with the aid of the 73 mfc WS fantazy Fleer sticker back collection:  

(Links to full pages on each game provided)

GAME 1:  
Oakland Coliseum / October 13, 1973
 Felix Millan's  3rd inning error costs Jon Matlack and New York the game as they lose to the A's, 2-1.
http://metsfantasycards.blogspot.com/2014/09/1974-mfc-73-world-series-as-vs-metsgame.html

GAME 2:  

                                                                                                                                                    Oakland Coliseum / October 14, 1973

In an extra inning nail-biter A's second baseman Mike Andrews trumps Millan, making two crucial errors in the 12th inning, leading to a 10-7 Mets win .  
http://metsfantasycards.blogspot.com/2014/10/1974-mfc-73-world-series-as-vs-metsgame.html 

GAME 3:

 Shea Stadium / October 16, 1973
In another extra inning affair Mets catcher Jerry Grote's passed ball allows the A's to capture game three.
 http://metsfantasycards.blogspot.com/2014/11/1974-mfc-73-world-series-as-vs-mets.html

...wait for it!

GAME 4: 
Shea Stadium / October 17, 1973 
Jon Matlack was majestic and Rusty Staub led the offensive charge as the Mets beat the A's 6-1, evening up the series at 2 games a piece.

 http://metsfantasycards.blogspot.com/2014/11/1974-mfc-73-world-series-as-vs-mets_17.html

 GAME 5: 
Shea Stadium / October 18, 1973 
Jerry Koosman, big game pitcher, tames Oakland and wins the big game, like he always did in the post season. http://metsfantasycards.blogspot.com/2014/12/1974-mfc-73-world-series-as-vs-mets_12.html

                                                                                                                                                           GAME 6:
             Oakland Coliseum / October 20, 1973
Reggie Jackson finally comes alive and makes some noise with his bat as opposed to his mouth. Jax would lead the A's past the Mets 3-1.
http://metsfantasycards.blogspot.com/2015/02/1974-mfc-73-world-series-as-vs-mets.html

GAME 7:

Oakland Coliseum / October 21, 1973

And that brings us to game seven of the 1973 World Series, the ultimate showdown in sports. This was the 70th World Series in MLB history. It was the 23rd World Series to go to 7 games.

As far as the pressure goes, I wasn't worried about these Mets. The '73 NLCS went the full five games and New York beat out the Big Red Machine. Like Reggie Jackson, I thought the Reds were a better team than the Mets. I also thought Cincinnati was better than Oakland, and we beat the Reds. So we were gonna beat the A's. There's some baseball logic for ya.

The Athletics had become World Champs a year before by winning a game 7. They also would not be intimidated. No matter how it played out, this was going to be an excellent game.

Well, that's how I felt going in.

Yogi's plan to take the series in six games by using Seaver the day before did not pan out. Tom didn't have his good stuff. But the Mets were still in great shape in the pitching department. In game 7 he would go with Jon Matlack who pitched so superbly in games 1 & 4.

Once again Berra passed over starting pitcher George Stone, who had pitched so well down the stretch for the Mets. Many will hang this around Yogi's neck like an albatross in the years to come, but I didn't. As good as George Stone was, as a die hard Mets fan I did not yet consider him part of the inner core of the teams pitching. Not due to anything he did, but more because he was the new kid in town. I had known Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Jon Matlack for some time now. I had complete faith in them. All three should have been Rookies Of The Year, and two of them did indeed win the award.

I don't have to tell you all Tom Terrific has accomplished up to that point in his career. Koosman was an experienced post season player who was on the mound in '69 when New York won it all. This was Matlack's first time to the big show (and it would unfortunately be his last) but his performances through-out 1972 & '73 showed him to be one of the best southpaws in the game.

Stone was very good in 1973 but in my eyes he was a supporting player. That was my mistake. I don't know exactly how Yogi perceived him, but it was his reluctance to use Stone as a starter at all that may have been his mistake. We'll never really know. As I've said in retrospect it's easy to second guess. But we had Seaver, Koosman, & Matlack.

The most amazing thing for me about this series was that the Mets had not allowed a home run to Oaklands powerful lineup. New York had smacked 4 dingers. Rusty and Cleon had one each and Wayne Garrett had two.
THE ATHLETICS HAD NO HOME RUNS!!!




On the field before the game, Mets relief ace Tug McGraw approached A's relief ace Rollie Fingers and said," If we don't win, I hope you do."

 The game started late that Sunday. A late afternoon game scheduled for after the football games at half past four. It was another beautiful day at the Oakland Coliseum. The place was packed to the gills with 49,333 in attendance.

Things started off well enough for the Mets. Jon Matlack was again looking masterful in the first and second inning. A's starter Ken Holtzman was throwing darts, only allowing 1 hit through three.

One thing a Mets fan is very familiar with is the feeling of doom. It's only baseball doom, but none the less, it's doom. The feeling starts in your stomach and works its way up your body. Your heart starts to sink a bit. Lil' bit. Next it reaches your arms and you just hope no ones sitting next to you. It never gets to the brain, because then you could process it. So it goes up your body until it reaches your mouth and and then you scream something like, "Oh shit, we're done!".

On Sunday October 21, 1973 it happened in the 3rd inning, seventh game of the World Series. At the time I could not remember the last time I felt this kind of doom following the Mets. It may well have been the very first time because the Mets weren't doing to much between 1970 and 1973. I had never experienced a game where so much was at stake. I mean, where EVERYTHING was at stake. In 1986 I experienced this doom prematurely in game 6, which made the ball through Buckner's legs such a rush of an experience.

So here in 1973, I slowly began to feel this feeling of doom for the first time with my Mets. Aside from a walk to Joe Rudy in the opening frame Jon Matlack was pitching great. He had two strikeouts and his first batter in the 3rd, Dick Green, K'd leading off. And then the wheels fell off. We've all seen many pitchers wheels come off, but this was so quick and unexpected, it has to be one of the worst ones in my book.

The A's pitcher Ken Holtzman was up. We learned Holtzman could hit in game one when he slapped a double to left. Did Jon Matlack forget? I doubt it. He just ran out of gas earlier than anyone expected, including him. Matlack tried to beat Holtz inside and the tall pitcher turned on it, roping a drive down the left field line for a double. 

 I mentioned how the Mets had amazingly held Oakland to no home runs. If they had continued this and won game 7 (maybe even if they continued it and lost as well) this would have been historic. Has there been a 7 game World Series without a home run being hit by one of the two teams? I mean since the days of the Babe and the livelier ball?

Well, any dreams of the Mets making any kind of history were dashed by that little gnat Bert Campaneris. I shouldn't call him names, he was a great player, but I'm still a little upset about it, even today. Lil' bit. Campy's not supposed to hit home runs! And he breaks the homer-less streak! Back then there weren't issues like steroids (in baseball, as far as I knew). But there were corked bats and I was lividly yelling at the TV to check that bat for cork. I was ignored.

Well, a record for holding the mighty A's to no long balls would have been nice, but it was only a 2 run shot. The Mets were going to have to score to win and 2 runs was nothin'. I wasn't about to start feeling like...CRACK! A's outfielder Joe Rudi ripped a single to center. Uh-oh, there's that feeling in my stomach. But I was easily able to keep it from going up my body. I stifled it.  It helped that Matlack got Sal Bando to pop out. This brought up Reggie Jackson, the Goliath who had awoken in game 6. One more out Jon. You can do it. Keep it a 2 run deficit. Don't give in. Reggie got lucky yesterday- 

                         KABOOM!                          

He wasn't quite Mr. October yet. That wasn't the case until his fantastic performance in the 1977 World Series.

Reggie launched his first home run of the series, another two run job. I went from hope to doom in the time it took between the crack of the bat and Yogi's trip to the mound.

Jackson's joyful leap at home did not help matters much. With me it went: stomach,heart, arms, mouth-*%^@$&*# YOU REGGIE JACKSON! Jon Matlack would not get through 3 innings! Woe was me and all National League New York fans. The feeling of impending doom had not yet fully manifested. We can get four across the plate.
And we could hold them to four.

Yogi called on right hand reliever Harry Parker, who had a very nice season out of the pen for the Mets in '73. Parker won the Mets John J. Murphy award for his excellent performance in spring training.  Without his contributions we would not be where we were. That was the thing about the 1973 Mets squad. Everyone was in on the act. All made a difference. And they had made it to the very end of the road. After a free pass to Gene Tenace, Parker got pinch hitter Vic Davalillo to pop out to center and end the inning. But Matlack only lasted a few innings and this was a major downer.

A Jerry Grote single was wasted in the 5th as Holtzman continued to control the New York offense. He scattered three hits through five innings and the Mets couldn't put anything together. Cleon Jones misplayed a Bert Campaneris single into a double. Before Ray Sadecki could settle down Joe Rudy liined another base hit and drove him in making the score 5-0 Oakland.

I was almost out of hope. I believed in comebacks. I believed in the team, like Tug told us to. But my heart felt heavy. Each inning sucked more hope out of me until I was left a husk of a fan. I wasn't quite there yet though.

Felix Millan was having a dismal series. The All Star second baseman was only batting .179 coming in to this game and committed the error that lost game one. With one out in the 6th Felix roped a looper that perfectly split the gap in left-center and pulled in with a stand up double for the Mets fourth hit. He was only the second Met runner to reach second base in the game.

Rusty Staub had an excellent series, especially with the fact that he was injured throughout. In game one he was announced as a pinch hitter, but never batted. So the record has him playing in all seven games. He did start game two, still all banged up from his collision with the wall in the NLCS, and it wasn't promising as he looked visually hampered at the plate and had one hit, a single, in five at bats.

Returning to New York charged Rusty up. He smacked two hits including a double in game three. Then in game four he broke loose going four for four with a three run homer in the first. He had five RBI by games end. Staub peaked there but still contributed another two hits and a walk before the start of game seven. And in the deciding game Staub had two hits, a single and double, and wrapped the series with a very respectful .423 batting average. No other New York player came anywhere near his 11 total hits. Rusty slugged .615! Only one other player had driven in 6 runs, series MVP Reggie Jackson. La Grande Orange led all regular players with his .464 on base percentage.

Staub would get the last RBI for a Metropolitan in 1973. New York would score again, an unearned run in the 9th. And that was it. My Mets lost game seven by the score of 5-2.

The 1973 World Series was really a great one for Mets fans. At least I felt that way. Some might not agree, because we lost, but we had taken it to seven games. A fan couldn't possibly get anymore baseball out of it's team. We would contend in the very last major league baseball game of  '73. This was much more than we ever expected at the all star break. We weren't even sniffing post season baseball at that point.

1973 was a special season that made me the Mets fan that I am. I knew then that I would never quit on this team. Because they never quit on us.

How depressing I have to show these celebratory photos of not the Mets.

Willie Mays in the clubhouse after the game: "The only thing I'm sad about is I'm not gonna play anymore."

Tug McGraw: "I believed until the final out. If we had to lose I'm glad we lost to some super relief pitching. We saw relief pitching at it's best."

A's 2nd baseman Dick Green: "It's time to quit."

A's 3rd baseman Sal Bando: "If we play up to our capabilities, we'll win the World Series the next three or four years."

The Oakland Athletics made history in 1973 by becoming the first team ever to win back-to-back 7-game World Series, and are still the only team ever to accomplish that feat.

Bert Campaneris, who won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award (The Babe Ruth variation). Reggie Jackson won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award (Sport Magazine variation).

"I got nothing."

_________________________________

I know one Mets fan who is going to say,
"It's about freakin' time!"

1974 mfc/ '73 WORLD SERIES- A's vs. METS /Game 6

 Game 6 of the 1973 World Series took place a little after two in the afternoon on October 20, a Saturday. After 3 dark and cold games in New York City, it was back to the west coast and warm sunshine. We had the best pitching in the National League. We had the A's up against the ropes up three games to two. How could we possibly mess this up??


  

The great Reggie Jackson,
always a reporters delight, was not looking so great entering game six. He was batting .190.

 
When New York beat the Cincinnati Reds in the '73 N.L.C.S. the A's slugger said,"Who Are the Mets? The Met's don't have any big stars except Tom Seaver and Rusty Staub."

Jackson said he would have preferred playing the Reds.
"You beat them, you are the best."

But New York pitching is what got them past The Big Red Machine. Cincinnati had a total of 8 hits in 5 games. There was no doubt that the Mets had superior pitching. I remember thinking: keep flapping your mouth Reggie.

Jax smacked 4 hits in game 2, but New York still beat Oakland in extra innings.  For the Mets, keeping Reggie down was crucial. And they were doing a fine job of it, holding him to only 1 hit in all three games in NYC. If you removed Reggies game two numbers, he was 1 for 15 with 17 runners stranded.

 The Athletics as a team on the whole were pretty feeble at the plate so far, batting .197 with no home runs. NO HOME RUNS!
A's manager Dick Williams: "We're being dominated by their pitching."

 At this point in time we Mets fans felt we were destined to win this series. The way things had gone for the Mets ever since The Ball On The Wall play there was no doubt in my mind that New York was going to drive the World Championship home.

We needed one win and we had Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack, and a rested George Stone. Stone made crucial contributions to the '73 Mets, going 12-3 with a 2.40 ERA. The lefty had closed the season winning his last eight games and in 7.2 post season innings he had a miniscule 0.93 ERA.

It was my personal belief that if George Stone wasn't going to start one of these west coast games Yogi was holding him back, like a secret weapon. Kind of like Gil Hodges had done with Nolan Ryan in the 1969 post season.  

And I was okay with that.

In retrospect it's easy to jump on the "Yogi screwed up" bandwagon, but I'm going to be honest. I'm gonna keep it 100. I was okay at the time with Yogi's decision to pitch Seaver in game 6. My simplistic logic was that if Tom said he wanted the ball for game 6, you gave it to him. If Tom's ready to go, get it over in six. And we still had Stone and Matlack for game 7 if needed.

Yogi's reluctance to use George Stone at all as a starter in the series mystified me at the time, but I had faith in Yogi's moves, and like I said I thought he would use him to the teams advantage. An ace in the hole. There were a number of ways the Mets manager could have gone with the pitching staff he had, and it's easy in retrospect to condemn his choice of strategy. In baseball sometimes it's just the way the ball bounces.

So it would be a rematch of game 3, Tom Seaver vs. Catfish Hunter.

  Tom put in 8 innings in game 3, Hunter pitched 6. Both allowed only 2 runs on 7 hits. Both were pitching on three days rest.

The business about Seaver pitching on three days rest didn't concern me if Tom was healthy and ready. During the season Seaver had pitched with 3 days rest 6 times, one of them in the '73 N.L.C.S.

Four of those times he was coming off wins. In late September, down the stretch, Tom had started two games in a row on three days rest. Starting the run with a win he went 2-1 between September 13th to the 21st. His total record in games with three days rest during the '73 season was 3-3.

I know that's only .500 but we're talking Tom Seaver! At this age I might have been more concerned, or more analytical, but back then I had a kids faith in Yogi, our manager. He had gotten the Mets to the World Series. We were 5 games in and led 3-2. Nuff said. I was really confident that even with choices like this, there was no way we were gonna lose.

Known for our pitching, like in 1969, again our best hitters had posted pretty average numbers for the 1973 season. John Milner led the Mets with 23 home runs while driving in 72. Rusty Staub topped the team with 76 RBI. Not exactly earth shaking.

But in this series the Mets bats were alive. Milner was batting .350 coming into game six. Cleon Jones, a blistering .381. Rusty Staub had to sit out game one because of his shoulder injury in the N.L.C.S.. Staub still could not throw overhand in the field, but at the plate he contributed mightily. Coming into game six he was batting .444. No one else in the series had even come close to driving in 5 runs in one game, as he did in game five.

The A's starting pitcher himself would admit as much in a pre-game interview. "We didn't underrate the Mets' pitching," Catfish Hunter said,"but we underrated their hitters. They came out swinging and they're better than their batting averages indicate."

I really thought that no matter who was on the mound for New York, the Mets were in the drivers seat.

And then they play the game and all you can do is sit and watch.

Tom Terrific warms up before game 6 of the 1973 World Series

______________________________________________________________

It started out well enough. New York got two runners on as lead off hitter Wayne Garrett walked and Rusty Staub lined a one out single to center, putting runners on 1st & 3rd. The Mets had Cleon Jones and John Milner coming up. I thought this was starting perfectly. Cleon or The Hammer were going to get one of those runs home. But they didn't. Both popped out to center and the Mets half of the first was over.

After dispensing with Bert Campanaris to start the game Seaver gave up a single to Joe Rudy. Tom struck out Sal Bando and had to face Reggie Jackson with two out and a man on first. Jackson was batting .190 at this point in the series. The Mets were keeping Jackson down and that was crucial, but Tom couldn't hold him in check in game six. Reggie ripped a long blast to left center that fell in and went to the wall for a double. Cleon Jones fumbled while retrieving the ball and Joe Rudy had no problem scoring all the way from first base. The A's were on the board, 1-0.

 After a shaky first Catfish Hunter settled down and began setting the Mets batters down in order. From the end of the first to the fifth inning Hunter retired 10 in a row.

Meanwhile, in Oakland's half of the third what Mets fans feared the most finally happened. The fact that Rusty Staub could not throw did not hurt the Mets so far. But it came up and bit 'em good at a most inopportune time. And again, it was Reggie Jackson in the middle of the action.

In the 3rd Seaver got Bert Campaneris and Joe Rudi for two quick outs to start the A's half of the inning. Batting next, A's third baseman Sal Bando followed with a ground single up the middle. This brought up Reggie Jackson, who burned Seaver in the first with an RBI double.

 Jax roped a liner in right-center field that dropped for a single. Rusty Staub got to it quickly enough but Sal Bando was flying around the bases and was well on his way to third. The A's were waiting for an opportunity like this. Oakland was very well aware of Rusty's injured arm. He still could not throw overhand due to his NLCS injury. They hadn't much chance to take advantage of it. Reggie did in game 2, stretching a routine single to right into a double. Bando had no intention of stopping at third base.

Rusty gloved the ball and knew he had to get it in quickly. He forcefully winged the ball to cut-off man Felix Millan who came out for the throw.

Now if Felix fielded the one hop serve from Rusty cleanly, we might have had a play at the plate on Bando. But he flubbed it and had to retrieve the ball from the grass, wasting crucial seconds. Sal Bando zipped home with Oaklands second run and Reggie Jackson pulled up at second with another RBI double.

 
As the game progressed Seaver would allow a runner to reach in every inning from the 4th to the 7th, but gave up no more runs. Meanwhile Catfish Hunter was cruising as the Mets bats went to sleep. After Rusty Staubs single in the first the Mets would not reach base again until the 5th inning, when Jerry Grote led off the inning with a single. He would be stranded at first. In the 7th John Milner would tap Catfish for a 1 out single, but the A's pitcher bore down and got the next two outs without incident.

Oakland manager Dick Williams could see that Hunter was losing a little off his fastball as the Mets came to bat in the 8th. He decided to stick with his ace until he hit a bump. If a Mets batter reached first base in the 8th, he was set to pull him. After Bud Harrelson flew out Tom Seaver's day came to an end. Yogi sent up Ken Boswell to pinch hit for the Mets ace and Bozz ripped a base hit to right, knocking Catfish Hunter out of the game.

 A's reliever Darold Knowles, who had pitched in every game so far, came on to finish the 8th.  But he was ineffective as Wayne Garrett followed with a single sending Boswell to third. 

The A's 2 run lead was in jeopardy as Felix Millan stepped up to the plate. He kept the rally going with a dribbling grounder that managed to make it's way through the hole at second base and New York was finally on the board and threatening. Our big gun was up in Rusty Staub and things were getting exciting. But Knowels, who didn't look to have anything against Garrett and Millan, suddenly got his shit together and struck out Staub for probably the biggest out of the game.

Rusty's shoulder still hurt him.

I got a sinking feeling in my stomach after Rusty struck out. Dick Williams went to the A's bullpen again, this time bringing in relief ace Rollie Fingers to face Cleon Jones. I had the utmost confidence in Cleon, he was so clutch down the stretch. But Cleon could not come through either, popping out to center, and the inning ended with the score A's 2, Mets 1.

That sinking feeling was further magnified in the A's bottom of the 8th. Our ace reliever Tug McGraw would take over for Tom Seaver and be greeted by a line single to center by game 6 star Reggie Jackson. It wasn't the single that bothered me, it was the fact that Don Hahn misplayed the ball and it went right thru him, all the way to the centerfield wall.
 Reggie scooted around the bases and pulled up at third. With no out and a man on third, Oakland had little trouble getting Jackson home as pinch hitter Jesus Alou lifted an easy sacrifice fly to left. Reggie crossed the plate with the A's 3rd run. Tug was able to get out of the inning with no more damage, but now the Mets were down to three outs in the 9th.




Rollie Fingers made quick work of it, getting the Mets in order in the 9th, home-town favorite Ed Kranepool popping out to shortstop for the final out. New York had lost game six.






This wasn't due to Tom Seavers performance, which was not his best, but still better than most pitchers at their best. Tom only allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, walking 2. It was the lack of offense that did in the Mets in game 6. Their hot bats had cooled off, and Catfish Hunter was a tad better, giving up 1 run and scattering 4 hits while only walking one.

 Post Game Quotes:

"I was in a slump when the series began", said Jackson,"I didn't know what was going on at the plate. I felt like I had been asleep for two weeks. I took batting practice today and I woke up."

 "The Tom Seaver you saw today was not the real Tom Seaver. He ate me up in New York," Reggie was also quoted as saying. "He just didn't have his breaking ball and overpowering fastball today."

"I didn't pitch badly," said Seaver after the game," Just badly enough to lose. It was immediately apparent to me that I didn't have good, strong stuff."

Yogi's pitching did not let him down. The Mets batters and fielders did. And so the best-of-seven series became a best-of-one.

                                         Game 6 of the 1973 World Series

                                           Courtesy of John Quinn via youtube.

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Reggie double #2