Mail Call LETTERS Exclusive Interview Mike Shepard H. FRIEND The 1981 "ALDS" M. AUBRECHT Voyage to the Bottom D. McCOURT The Gospel According To "L" J. CATAYI Rivalry Quiz #4 BOSUX.COM Miller Huggins H. FROMMER Back Issues THE ARCHIVES BuySellTix.com GOT SEATS? Get World Series tickets Bombers Board CLASSIFIEDS Yankees Cartoons Marvin Terry Prints Portrait Matt's Restored Baseball Photos SnapShots Staff photographer (and season ticket holder - Section 11, Box 35, Row B) Brian DiSalvo has now posted his Yankees Game Photos online. Pinstripe Press HOT OFF THE PRESS New: Lou Gehrig tribute selected for BBF HOF website. In Progress: MLB Comish bios for Baseball-Almanac Yankees Trivia LAST MONTH Who was the last surviving full rank Civil War General (who lived to witness the days of Ruth and Gehrig)? Answer: Albert Ames 1835-1933, C.O. First Division, 11th Army Corp, Army of the Potomac Web Links FAN NETWORK BaseballAlmanac BaseballFever UltimateYankees Yankeesmania YankeesBoard BehindTheBombers NewYorkYankees TakeHimDowntown Bosux.com HarveyFrommer CeciliaTan SteveSteinberg VirtualLibrarySport PortraitMatt's nBoBaseball MarvinTerryGallery L.O.T.M. Yanks Volume 17 August/September 2004 - Scoreboard Theme - Email: TheHighlander The 1981 "ALDS" Originally written for Baseball-Almanac.com Email: Michael Aubrecht Website: Pinstripe Press October belongs to Major League Baseball. Why? Because that is when the postseason begins for the top teams that make the playoffs. Until 1969, when there were no divisions, the team finishing with the best record in each league won that league's pennant and faced the other league's pennant winner in the Fall Classic. In 1969, however, the sport experienced a major shift in its post-season process after both the American and National Leagues were reorganized into two divisions, the East and West. As a result, the winners in each division were now required to play each other in a best-of-five Championship Series to determine who would advance to represent their respective leagues in the coveted World Series. In 1985, the format was changed to a best-of-seven contest where it has remained to this day. In 1993, baseball added a third division, the Central, to accommodate the introduction of expansion teams and realignment. Two years later, the Divisional Series premiered adding another elimination round to the playoffs. With so much on the line, it's no wonder that both the LDS and LCS have given birth to some of the most memorable moments ever to take place on a baseball diamond. Although the Divisonal Series did not "officially" become part of Major League baseball's post season until 1995, an earlier version did take place in 1981 due to a split-season caused by strike action. The Executive Board of the Players' Association voted unanimously to strike on May 29th due to the unresolved issue of free-agent compensation. The deadline was extended briefly, however, after the Players' Association's unfair labor complaint was heard by the National Labor Relations Board. At 12:30 A.M on June 12th, union chief Marvin Miller announced the player's strike beginning the longest labor action to date in American sports history. By the time the season finally resumed on August 10th, seven hundred and six games (or 38 percent of the Major League schedule) had been canceled. As a result, it was decided that the first-half and second-half winners in each division would face each other in elimination rounds. Billy Martin kept things interesting throughout the 1981 season although he was known to go overboard on several occasions. The New York Yankees were anxious to be back in post-season contention after winning their 21st and 22nd World Series titles in 1977 and 1978. With a clubhouse that include All-Stars Ron Davis, Bucky Dent, Rich Gossage, Reggie Jackson, Willie Randolph and Dave Winfield, the newest generation of Bronx Bombers looked to be the favorite over the much improved - but inexperienced Brewers. Despite winning the "first-half pennant", the Yankees fired manager Gene Michael in favor of Bob Lemon, (who had managed the club in '78-'79) after the team stalled at only 2 games over .500 in the second half of the season. On a side note, the Yankees also signed a promising Stanford University outfielder named John Elway to a minor league contract. (Elway opted to play professional football with the Denver Broncos instead, a decision that would later propel him to 2 Super Bowl Championships and the Pro Football Hall of Fame). Their opponents, the Milwaukee Brewers, were reaping the rewards of a brilliant off-season in which General Manager Harry Dalton made several deals of historic proportions. In an effort to improve the struggling ball club, Dalton traded with the St. Louis Cardinals for All-Star Catcher Ted Simmons, steady starter Pete Vuckovich and the all-time save leader in baseball, Rollie Fingers. He also picked up third baseman Roy Howell in the Re-Entry Draft and later signed pitcher Randy Lerch, making Milwaukee the team to beat in 1981. As a result, Fingers went on to become the first relief pitcher in Major League history to win both the Cy Young Award and the Most Valuable Player Award (in the same season) and the Brewers went on to their first playoff competition. Ron Guidry was given the start for New York in the Opener, and with strong relief by set-up man Ron Davis and Goose Gossage, managed to top Milwaukee 5-3. Game 2 also belonged to the Yankees pitching staff as Dave Righetti and Gossage combined to toss a 3-0 shutout that was sweetened by two early homers courtesy of Reggie Jackson and Lou Piniella. Now down two-games-to-none, the Brewers were on the verge of elimination. Catcher Ted Simmons stepped up in Game 3 with a 2-run homer that set the momentum that Milwaukee desperately needed. Randy Lerch did his part on the mound, tossing 6 solid innings, but it was Paul Molitor's solo home run in the 8th that pushed the Brewers ahead, 5-3 and extended the Series to a Game 4. The Brewers repeated their clutch performance from the previous game, winning 2-1 thanks to a crucial save by Rollie Fingers. However, that would be all Milwaukee would muster as the Yankee bats proved to be too much in Game 5. After surrendering 13-hits and 3 home runs (including the 2nd of the series by Jackson) the Brewers fell 7-3 finishing 2 games short of a trip to the ALCS. This site is not endorsed by the New York Yankees. Copyright © 2002-2003-2004 Pinstripe Press Pinstripe Press - The Highlander - The Collector - GoodNews The opinions expressed solely represent the contributor's and not the Pinstripe Press. Questions or comments in regards to a specific article should be sent directly to that writer's email. All questions, comments, advertising inquiries etc. should be sent to the Pinstripe Press at StlrsFan1@aol.com. Best when viewed with latest Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers in 1024x768.