1971 Junior World Series
The 1971 Junior World Series was the 48th Junior World Series between the champions of the American Association and International League. The Denver Bears won the American Association title by beating the Indianapolis Indians in a seven-game series, while the Rochester Red Wings survived a five-game series with the Tidewater Tides to win the International League's Governors' Cup. Due to the beginning of the NFL season, the Bears were forced to vacate Mile High Stadium and play all seven games in Rochester, though the teams did alternate away and home status through the series. Attendance for the seven games was 58,838, the highest for the JWS since 1959.
Rochester had only won two of seven prior Junior World Series visits. They were led by IL All-Star SS Bobby Grich (.336/.439/.632, 124 R, 9 3B, 32 HR, the league leader in average, runs and homers) and Don Baylor (.313/.422/.539, 104 R, 10 3B, 20 HR, 95 RBI, 25 SB, 4 CS, the league co-leader with 31 doubles). Roric Harrison (15-5, 2.81, 182 K in 170 IP) had led the league in strikeouts and tied for the most wins, finishing third in ERA, while Bill Kirkpatrick (11-10, 3.28) was 4th in ERA.
Denver was paced by league MVP Richie Scheinblum (.388/.490/.725, 31 2B, 10 3B, 25 HR, 108 RBI, the league leader in average, OBP, slugging, triples, doubles, total bases and RBI).
Down 5-4 in game one in the 8th, Rochester rallied, with Terry Crowley hitting a 2-run homer off Cisco Carlos to begin a 4-run rally. In game two, the contest was 4-4 in the 8th when PH Larry Johnson doubled in one run and Rich Coggins added another RBI; Wayne Garland and Orlando Pena combined on the win.
In game 3, Jerry Janeski tossed a complete game 3-2 win to give Denver their first victory; four Rochester errors did not help their club, which outhit Denver 10-6.
Rochester went ahead 3 games to 1 when Fred Beene fanned 12 in a 11-3 win. Don Baylor hit a 2-run homer. Denver moved back within a contest when Richie Scheinblum drove home 3 and Tom Grieve had 4 RBI in a 9-5 victory. Both Scheinblum and Grieve homered.
Grich had gone 9 for 21 with 3 homers and 5 RBI in the first five games, but Baltimore called him up, hurting Rochester's chances in the final two contests. They lost game six by a 12-11 slugfest to force a decisive game 7. Rochester had gone up 4-0 in the first two innings but Denver soared back to go ahead 8-4 in the 4th. Rochester tied it with an explosive 5th off Janeski. Denver increased their lead back to four by the 7th but Rochester almost tied it in the 9th before falling. Baylor homered twice in the loss.
In the finale, Denver went ahead 5-4 entering the 6th before Rochester rallied off Janeski and the Denver bullpen to pull out a 9-6 victory.
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References[edit]
Jim Mandelaro and Scott Pitoniak. “Silver Seasons.” Syracuse University Press, 1995.
Brian Bennett, On A Silver Diamond: The Story Of Rochester Community Baseball from 1956-1996. Triphammer Publishing, 1997.
The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.
1972 Baseball Guide
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