And that’s a wrap! The 1985 Blue Jays are my tournament champs, featuring great teams from the 1970’s and '80s!
The Jays swept the 1983 White Sox in two straight games in the best-of-three championship final.
Here’s the playoff recap…
QUARTER-FINAL:
'83 ORIOLES 4
'71 A’s 5
Oakland rallied with three runs in the bottom of the 8th to eliminate Baltimore. Sal Bando’s two-run HR with two out was the difference.
SEMI-FINAL #1:
'85 BLUE JAYS 6
'83 WHITE SOX 3
After Chicago had tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, Toronto responded with three runs in the top of the ninth. With two out, Tony Fernandez tripled home two runs, then scored on Lou Thornton’s RBI single.
SEMI-FINAL #2:
'71 A’s 2
'83 WHITE SOX 6
Rudy Law and Carlton Fisk each had three hits to pace Chicago. Fisk drove in five runs with a homer, double and single. Rich Dotson (A-Y) went eight strong innings to become the tournament’s only three-game winner.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL #1:
'83 WHITE SOX 2
'85 BLUE JAYS 4 (13 innings)
For the third time in four tournament meetings, the Sox and Jays went extra innings. This one was a classic. It featured the tournament’s only triple play, on a Willie Upshaw line drive out with runners on first and second. Up 1-0, Dave Stieb (A-Y) took a perfect game into the ninth, but it was broken up by Jerry Hairston’s pinch-hit single to lead off the top of the inning. Hairston then scored the tying run on Rudy Law’s two-out double.
The two teams then exchanged runs in the 12th inning, before Ernie Whitt smacked a two-out, two-run HR off Jerry Koosman (C-Z) in the bottom of the 13th. Both bullpens were taxed in the opening game of this best-of-three series.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL #2:
'85 BLUE JAYS 7
‘83 WHITE SOX 4
The Blue Jays claimed the title with a convincing win over White Sox ace LaMarr Hoyt (A-YZ). George Bell, Jesse Barfield and Rance Mulliniks all took Hoyt deep in his 6+ innings. Doyle Alexander (B-YZ) and Bill Caudill (B-Y) held the Sox to five hits, while walking none. Toronto’s win overshadowed a two-HR performance by Chicago’s Carlton Fisk.
Blue Jays’ Shortstop Tony Fernandez went 2-for-3 to claim a share of the tournament batting title, at .358. In fact, Fernandez was the only Toronto regular to finish with a tournament batting average over .250. The Jays were led by a solid pitching staff (overall ERA of 2.94) and outstanding team defense (only three errors over 14 games).
TOURNAMENT LEADERS:
HITTERS (minimum 35 PA’s where applicable):
Batting Average: Fernandez ('85 Blue Jays) & Lynn ('78 Red Sox) .358 each; Bando ('71 A’s) .348
OPS: Lowenstein ('83 Orioles) 1.126; Lynn ('78 Red Sox) 1.086; Ripken ('83 Orioles) 1.023
Home Runs: Rice ('78 Red Sox), Barfield ('85 Blue Jays), Henderson ('85 Yankees), Lynn ('78 Red Sox) tied with 5.
RBI’s: Lynn ('78 Red Sox) 16; Paciorek ('83 White Sox) 14; Ripken ('83 Orioles) 13
Stolen Bases: R. Law ('83 White Sox) 12; R. Henderson ('85 Yankees) 6
PITCHERS (minimum 25 IP’s where applicable):
ERA: Davis ('83 Orioles) 1.27; Blue ('71 A’s) 1.39; Dotson ('83 White Sox) 1.41
Wins: Dotson ('83 White Sox) 3; 19 pitchers tied with 2 each.
Saves: Seven relievers tied with 2 each.
K’s: Blue ('71 A’s) 33; Stieb ('85 Blue Jays) 28; Boddicker ('83 Orioles) 26
WHIP: Dotson ('85 White Sox) 0.69; Eckersley ('78 Red Sox) 0.73; Stieb ('85 Blue Jays) 0.74
The tournament lasted 83 games and took me just under three months. The overall Batting Average was .223. The overall ERA was 3.69. The overall Fielding Percentage was .984.
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