Eighteen Crazy Nights—Looking back at the 1997 Cleveland Indians

Each week during the 2012-13 offseason DTTWLN will take a look back at the 1997 Cleveland Indians season—specifically the 18 thrilling games of the postseason as the Indians made an improbable run to game seven of the World Series.

PART SIXTEEN:  WORLD SERIES GAME 1—THE SERIES NO ONE WANTED

By Steve Eby

Claire Smith of the New York Times called it “The Series No One Wanted”.

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune said it’s “the worst winner from the American League meets the non-winner from the National League…a Series made in gimmick heaven.”

There were no New York Yankees.  No Atlanta Braves.  No Baltimore Orioles.

Missing was Derek Jeter.  And Greg Maddux.  And Barry Bonds.  And Ken Griffey.  And Cal Ripken.

It was just the pitching-deprived, Belle/Lofton-less, 86-win Cleveland Indians and “the best team free agency could buy” Florida Marlins that were facing off in the 1997 World Series.  It was Major League Baseball’s nightmare as two mid-market teams that few people outside of the states of Ohio and Florida cared about were taking their biggest stage.  Just three years removed from a strike that cancelled the ’94 Fall Classic, baseball could not afford a World Series that made people yawn. Read More

Eighteen Crazy Nights—Looking back at the 1997 Cleveland Indians

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Each week during the 2012-13 offseason DTTWLN will take a look back at the 1997 Cleveland Indians season—specifically the 18 thrilling games of the postseason as the Indians made an improbable run to game seven of the World Series.

PART FOURTEEN:  ALCS GAME 5—BALTIMORE’S SPECIAL K’S

By Steve Eby

Game Five of the 1997 American League Championship Series was played on the evening of October 13 at Jacobs Field in Cleveland.  Baltimore’s starter for the evening, Scott Kamieniecki, had become a solid number four starter for the Orioles over the course of the regular season, but was left out of the starting rotation for their postseason run and had not made a start since a September 24^th victory in Toronto.  Due to the large number of quality, veteran starters in Baltimore, Kamieniecki was put in the bullpen and his only appearance had been his three shutout innings in relief of Jimmy Key against the Indians in Game Two.

After Key struggled through his first couple starts of the playoffs, Baltimore Manager Davey Johnson decided to go with Kamieniecki rather than Key to start Game Five, a game that Baltimore needed to win.  The decision turned out to be a brilliant one for the Orioles, who were down three games to one and facing elimination for the first time all postseason. Read More