Mark Ellis Missed By ‘That Much’
Posted by Steve Lombardi on October 16, 2007
I was just playing around with Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Event Finder for the Post-season - looking at PA and results for batter's in the bottom of the 9th of a series deciding post-season game while their team was losing. Click here to see the entire list.
And, then I saw it: There are only two players in baseball history to hit 3-run homers in the bottom of the 9th of a post-season series deciding game when their team was behind: Joe Carter in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series and Mark Ellis in Game 5 of the 2002 ALDS.
So close, yet, so far, from ever lasting fame, on that one for Ellis, huh?
October 16th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
It is a testament to major league baseball players and their never-die abilities. In deciding post-season games, when down in the 9th inning, the batters went down 1-2-3 only ~40% of the time (roughly 44 times) but got at least one runner on ~60% of the time (roughly 67 times). I think that's amazing.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Very interesting. Johnny Bench is on the list twice. He twice hit bottom-of-the-ninth Home Runs (1972-10-11 and 1976-10-12), but they weren't game ending; they were each game-tying, and they each lead to game-winning (and NLCS-winning) rallies.
These dingers make the list because he was each time the last batter while his team was *behind*.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Ok, another interesting thing. There were 39 deciding games at Yankee Stadium (the most of any park, no surprise). The park to host the 2nd most deciding games is Network Associates (big surprise) with 35. Dodger Stadium only hosted 14. Busch Stadium isn't even among the top ten parks.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Only once in the history of the post season did a pitcher bat in the bottom of the ninth inning of a deciding game.
Can you guess it? I'll answer it in the next post.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
It was Tommy Byrne of the Yankees, in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game Seven of the 1957 World Series. The Braves were winning 5-0 and Lew Burdette was pitching a 4-hitter. Berra led off with a pop-out; McDougald singled; Kubek flew out; Coleman singled, Mc Dougald to 2nd. Then came pitcher Tommy Byrne.
The only left-hannded hitter left on the bench was Harry Simpson, who was 1 for 12 in the Series. Byrne was left-handed, and had had 3 HRs that season. He also had a lifetime average of .238. Stengel let him hit. Byrne SINGLED to load the bases.
Skowron then grounded to third. End of game. End of series.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
According to the list, this:
NLCS Game 7; Carlos Beltran, NYM; STL, Adam Wainwright; down 1-3; *ENDED GAME*:Strikeout Looking
is the worst series ending at-bat of all-time. Bases loaded, three pitches, struck out looking. Hmph.
But as we've already sort of mentioned this week, Beltran is one of the all-time great post season performers. Funny how all of this works.