Susan Was Right!
I picked the Giants in 6.
Doc Searls picked [1] the Giants in 5.
Susan picked the Angels in 7.
Congratulations to the Angels! First they beat the beloved New York Yankees. Then they beat the emotional favorite, the Twins. And come the World Series, they not only ruin my prediction, but they go ahead and win it all in a 7 game Fall Classic, lots of homers, small ball and long ball, and the Cinderella Story of the year, this kid Rodriguez.
He was called up in mid September, pitched with enough pop and fire to remain on the post-season roster, and then was a hero in the Series. 20 years old, barely made the team, and heís reached the pinnacle of the sport.
This is the kind of ìonly in baseballî story that is so spirited, so wonderful, such a great part of the game. Credit goes to Manager Mike Scioscia and Pitching Coach Bud Black, spotting the kidís talent and staying with the pheenom rookie all the way to the end. And it brought them victory, so all hail the Baseball Champions.
But I do stick by my prediction for the 2003 World Series:
Yankees in 5.
Best Save Ever
The highlight of the 2002 World Series may just be the most unusual play ever made. How often does a First Baseman get a Save, particularly when it is his team up at bat? It happened as Game 5 came to a dramatic end.
The Giants were at bat, bottom of the 7th. Their dugout was filled with players in uniform, and a heartwarming added extra: the sons of various members of the team, also in uniform (each boy with their fatherís number). Some were even given jobs, such as being the batboy. Dusty Baker, the Giantís Manager, was proudly enjoying his 3 year old son Darren actually performing some of the batboy duties.
Kenny Lofton (great late-season trade addition to the Giants!), who also was represented in the dugout by a son, turns out to be a favorite of Darren Bakerís. So much so that when Lofton (the elder) got a tremendous base hit, turning the tide of the game in the favor of the Giants, young Baker ran out to retrieve Loftonís (the elder) bat.
Players were storming the field with joy, a madhouse effect was occurring. And there was teeny little 3 year old Darren Baker, right in the path of danger and impending trample, a few feet from the plat, on the third-base line, picking up the bat. Pandemonium might have broken out, if not for quick-thinking on the part of J.T. Snow, the Giantsí alert First Baseman.
Giant David Bell was racing home to score, running at full speed, with determination to arrive at Home Plate safely and score. And there was little Darren, in the path. Snow saved the day. He made sure that Darren, like Bell, would be safe at home. He scooped him up by his oversized black Giants team warm-up jacket and asked the earnest batboy and Lofton fan, ìYou OK, buddy?î Young Darren, whose Giants helmet had fallen off, nodded yes and patted San Franciscoís first baseman on the back.
ìHeís so eager all the time,î Snow said. Giants Manager Dusty Baker looked, to quote the AP story about the incident, a little sheepish and a tad shaken, too, by his sonís enthusiasm.
As for Darren, he was fine, as seen in a dugout shot moments later, sticking his finger in his nose for a national TV audience.
Baker (the elder) had barely made it back into his office after the game when his phone started ringing. It was his mother, Christina Baker, calling from Sacramento to find out if her grandson was all right, and why he was running onto the field.
ìHe flew out there so quick,î Baker said. ìHe was in a hurry to get Kenny Loftonís bat. Iíve just got to watch him a little closer.î
The bat boy said he learned a lesson and was grateful to Snow. ìI told him thank you,î he said. ìIt didnít scare me at all. (My dad) told me, ëJ.T. saved you.îí
Darren and several other little boys were standing at the top of the steps leading from the field to the clubhouse when Snow came up. Snow rubbed his hands through the boyís black curly hair and they walked into the clubhouse together. Snow said he has a 4Ω-year-old son at home, so he knew how to react to grab Darren.
ìI reached down. Luckily, I grabbed him by the collar,î Snow said. ìHis eyes were huge. I donít think he knew what was going on. ìHeís our good-luck charm. We canít have him going down. We need him as much as we need any of our players.î
Darren, who is actually shorter than the bats he struggles to carry, is one of the most popular attractions at Pacific Bell Park. He is a fan and a player favorite. Broadcasters and sportswriters make the point [2] in San Francisco media.
After Darren had missed World Series Game 3 on Tuesday night with an earache and sinus infection, his dad couldnít keep him away for Games 4 and 5. Darren woke up early Wednesday, eager to get to the ballpark and make up for missed time.
Baker (the elder, the Manager) announced that his son would accompany the team to Anaheim. ìA couple of the guys said if he didnít go, they wouldnít go,î the manager said. Baker, setting the family-friendly tone for the team, was in his 10th season managing the Giants. Baker (the elder) has been receptive to having playersí kids around [3] ó both in the clubhouse and on the field. The kids rotate as bat boys. Rarely is there such on-field participation by playersí children in other ballparks. It is just one of the many aspects of Dusty Baker the manager, the father, the person, who brings so much to the game.
Word has it that Giantsí upper management and Dusty Baker are not getting along, and this maybe Bakerís swan song with the team. Susan (remember: she was right) tells me she hears Dusty is on his way to Chicago, to manage Sammy Sosa and the Cubs.
Whatever the case may be, Baseball will be better off with Dusty Baker managing somewhere, leading a team through strategy and inspiration. And the batboy that comes with the deal adds something even more, a little extra. The Baker team, thatís the ticket.