We have completed our 4th major section for
Baseball-Almanac: The History of the American and National
League Divisional Series. Recaps from 1981, 1995-present
with complete statistics are online at
Baseball-Almanac.com's Division Series section. The draft
copy is also available here under Postseason.
MLB
Postseason History: The Divisional Series
by
Michael Aubrecht
Written for
Baseball-Almanac.com's Divisional Series section
Sources: Baseball Almanac, Baseball Reference, The
Baseball-Library, USA Today Sports, Official MLB Team
Sites
1999 American League Divisional Series:
New York Yankees (3),
Texas Rangers (0)
Boston Red Sox (3), Cleveland Indians (2)
The World Champion New York Yankees returned to the American League Divisional playoffs after completing an amazing 125-50 record season the previous year to face their familiar foes, the Texas Rangers. New York had swept the Texans in the '98 affair and the Rangers were anxious for some payback. The Boston Red Sox were also hungry for revenge as they arrived at the ALDS for a classic rematch against the Cleveland Indians.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Yankees were in the middle of solidifying a dynasty and the '99 divisional playoff would end with another sweep en route to yet another four-game sweep (over the Atlanta Braves) for their 25th, World Series title. The Rangers, who had led the majors with a .293 average during the regular season, never had a chance and batted a meager .152, going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They were also shut out twice (in three games) after being blanked only seven times in 162 outings. The Yankees led 20 of the 27 total innings thanks to improved hitting by Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams. After going 1-for-20 against Texas the previous year, both went 9-for-22 with six RBIs and five runs.
Boston on the other hand, managed to get their payback in a miraculous fashion after falling down two-games-to-none. Unlikely ace Ramon Martinez (Pedro's brother) and Derek Lowe combined for a clutch, 9-3 victory followed by an incredible 23-7 blowout in Game 4. An understandably embarrassed Indians team rallied to take a 5-2 lead in Game 5, but Pedro Martinez came in for the fourth inning and pitched six complete innings of shutout ball to back the Red Sox to a 12-8 win. Although they would later fall to their hated rivals in the AL Championship, some solace was found for Boston in their sole win, a 13-1 massacre over their former pitcher Roger Clemens at Fenway Park.
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