Heart of a champion

Hard to see any series being better than this one. Start with the starters – Leon Day and Eppa Rixey for Virginia, and Bob Gibson and “Old Pete” Alexander for Nebraska. All four Hall of Famers.

Day pitched extremely well in two of three starts, but walked away 0-2. Rixey was phenomenal both times out, 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Except for two Ron Hansen homers, he shut out the Cornhuskers in two games. Alex lost Game 2 despite taking a no-hitter into the seventh, but bounced back to win Game 5 and post a 2.50 ERA. Both were route-going performances.

But Gibson topped them all. Despite control issues in Game 1, he managed to win it, and then he was his usual dominant self in Games 4 and 7. He had a 2.00 ERA, 23 Ks in 27 IP (yes, 3 complete games), and scored the go-ahead run in Game 4 and the winning run in the finale in the last of the ninth. He did it all.

You may ask, why did Gibson start Game 1 and not Alex? A fair question. There are no wrong answers in a project like this, and it’s not exactly a problem for Nebraska. But I could have seen Alex coming out of the bullpen in a seventh game, like in the 1926 World Series, and of course Gibson proved his chops in the ’60s Series for the Cards. Alexander will start the opener against Sandy Koufax and New York, with Gibson returning for Game 3. The bullpen is well rested, having worked just 4 2/3 innings in the entire series.

With all these great pitchers, as one might expect the hitting was somewhat down in this series. Nebraska hit just .232, Virginia .217. Each team was held to three or fewer runs in four of the seven games. Wade Boggs, of course, was immune, pounding out a .429 average (12 for 28) with three doubles, a triple and four RBI. Bob Cerv (.320) and Richie Ashburn (.292) were also solid, with Ashburn driving in the series-winning run.

Virginia, as the cliche goes, can hold its heads high. Johnny Grubb, who appeared in all but one game, hit .444 while Ray Dandridge led the regulars with a .333 average. “Hooks” also tied for the team high with 3 RBI with Jud Wilson and David Wright.

So a great effort from the Virginians, but it is the children of the corn who move on to meet the big boys from New York. Our next series follows the theme of distant opponents as it will match Louisiana against tiny but feisty Maine.

Nebraska vs. Virginia

Game 1 at Nebraska

Virginia........ 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 - 4 7 1
Nebraska........ 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 x - 6 10 1
W: Gibson L: Day

Wade Boggs was 4-for-4, including a double that ignited the winning three-run rally in the eighth, and Bob Gibson went the distance as Nebraska won a back-and-forth opener.

Virginia went ahead 4-3 in the top of the eighth on David Wright’s RBI single, but left the bases loaded as Gibson struck out two in a row to end the inning. Boggs, who had three singles earlier, doubled off Leon Day in the Nebraska eighth. Richie Ashburn walked and Sam Crawford’s single tied the game and knocked out Day. Bob Cerv’s RBI hit off Charlie Ferguson put Nebraska ahead for good and another run scored later on a Granny Hamner error.

Gibson, who got the Game 1 nod over Grover Cleveland Alexander, struggled with his control, walking five. Day doubled in three runs in the fifth for Virginia.

Game 2 at Nebraska

Virginia........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 2 5 1
Nebraska........ 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 8 0
W: Phillippe L: Alexander S: Wagner
HR: Wilson, Crawford

Jud Wilson busted up Grover Cleveland Alexander’s no-hit bid and shutout hopes with a two-run homer in the seventh, and Deacon Phillippe made it stand up to give Virginia a split at Nebraska.

Sam Crawford had given the Cornhuskers a lead with a solo shot in the sixth. Jackie Brandt doubled with one out in the eighth to knock out Phillippe, but Al Holland finished the eighth and Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for the save. Phillippe walked one and struck out one.

Alexander went the distance for Nebraska, walking two and striking out three. One of the walks, Paul Hines, scored on the Wilson homer.

Game 3 at Virginia

Nebraska........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 1
Virginia........ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 x - 1 4 0
W: Rixey L: Harder

Eppa Rixey, another Hall of Fame starting pitcher, won a great duel with Mel Harder to give Virginia a 2-1 series lead.

Rixey walked two and struck out three. The only Cornhusker to get past first base was pinch hitter Cliff Lee, who batted for Harder in the eighth and tripled with two out. But Rixey retired Richie Ashburn to end the inning.

The game’s only run came on Randy Hundley’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the second. Willie Horton and David Wright singled to start the inning and Gene Alley walked to load the bases. Harder gave up just four hits in seven innings, with one walk and three strikeouts.

Game 4 at Virginia

Nebraska........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 - 7 11 1
Virginia........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1 7 0
W: Gibson L: Day

Nebraska tied up the series, breaking up another pitchers’ duel with seven runs in the last two innings.

Bob Gibson struck out nine in a complete-game performance, and started the go-ahead rally in the eighth by drawing a walk from Leon Day. Richie Ashburn singled one out later, and Wade Boggs tripled to put Nebraska ahead and knock out Day. Sam Crawford’s sacrifice fly against Nick Cullop made it 3-0.

Virginia finally scored against Gibson in their half of the eighth on a single, a walk and an infield out, but Nebraska finished it off in the ninth with four more runs. Gibson singled in the first run, Johnny Hopp drove in another with a single, Ashburn hit a sacrifice fly and Crawford’s single made it 7-1.

Day, who took a three-hit shutout into the eighth, struck out five and walked three, but lost for the second time in the series.

Game 5 at Virginia

Nebraska........ 0 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 7 13 1
Virginia........ 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 6 0
W: Alexander L: Verlander

Grover Cleveland Alexander survived a shaky beginning for the victory, and contributed a two-run single in the second inning as Nebraska took a 3-2 series lead.

The ‘Husker hitters knocked out Justin Verlander in three-plus innings, shelling him for seven hits and all seven runs. Bob Cerv went 4-for-4 and Johnny Hopp drove in three runs for the winners.

Alexander, like Bob Gibson, completed the game for the second time in the series. He gave up six hits, but just two in the last six innings, and one of the four runs was unearned. He walked four and struck out four.

Game 6 at Nebraska

Virginia........ 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 - 6 14 1
Nebraska........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 3 4 0
W: Rixey L: Harder
HR: Hansen 2

Eppa Rixey won for the second time in the series and also drove in three runs with a double and single to give Virginia a chance in a seventh game.

Rixey held Nebraska to four hits, walking one and fanning three. The only Nebraska hitter to solve him was Ron Hansen, who hit a solo homer in the seventh and a two-run shot in the ninth.

Johnny Grubb had four hits and scored three runs for the Virginians, and Ray Dandridge had three hits and drove in a pair of runs. Mel Harder, who pitched very well in Game 3, didn’t have it this time. He was pounded for 13 hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Game 7 at Nebraska

Virginia........ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 0
Nebraska........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 2 4 3
W: Gibson L: Wagner
HR: Wilson

Bob Gibson again did it all, striking out 10 and scoring the winning run for his third series victory as Nebraska advanced in a nail-biter.

Gibson and Leon Day hooked up in another great matchup, and Virginia led when Jud Wilson homered in the fifth. Gibson walked six, and Nebraska committed three errors, two by first baseman Johnny Hopp, but Virginia couldn’t take advantage and stranding 12 runners.

Nebraska tied it in the seventh when Richie Ashburn singled and Wade Boggs doubled him in. Day departed for a pinch hitter after the eighth, having given up just three hits and no walks, and closer Billy Wagner took over in the ninth. Gibson, allowed to bat for himself, walked. Hopp sacrificed and Ashburn singled, with Gibson just beating the throw home.

Central casting

Unlike the previous two groups, there is no obvious winner, nor is there necessarily a sixth-place team that jumps out at you. The Central may be the most competitive group, along with the South, and therefore could be the most fun. Expect a lot of tight games featuring some of the greatest pitchers to ever toe the slab.

If you were going by baseball “population,” Missouri would be far and away No. 1. And they should at least advance to the tournament round. But it will not be easy, because as you can see, there are no days off in this group.

My guess:

1. Oklahoma. Not by size, but by peak talent. The Mick, Stargell, Bench and Joe Rogan will lead the way. Rogan’s pitching, and ability to play second base when he’s not on the mound, will be the difference.

2. Missouri. They don’t have the big bats of some of the others, including Oklahoma, but their consistent pitching led by Carl Hubbell and reasonably productive offense (Yogi, Ken Boyer) will keep them in the medal play hunt.

3. Nebraska. With Bob Gibson and Pete Alexander starting about half the games, and enough offense with Boggs, Ashburn and Crawford, I really can’t see them failing too often.

4. Kansas. Now it gets tough. Any of the other three could go here, and certainly one could knock out one of the top trio. I will pick the Kansans because of Walter Johnson.

5. Iowa. Hard to picture Bob Feller not making it to the medal round, and it certainly could work out that the Hawkeyes make it, but I don’t know if they will score enough to support their talented twirlers.

6. Arkansas. Would be a contender in most groups, and they will be a tough team here. But there’s no Gibby, King Carl or Rapid Robert on the squad.

Next: International.

Huskers can do

I’ve been looking forward to doing this one.

Obviously I’m eager to play the games and test the rosters. But the most fun I have in any of these projects is putting the teams together. And there aren’t many, if any, that have been more fun to assemble than the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Nebraska has produced 105 major league ballplayers. That puts it pretty close to the bottom of the “independent” states. Only about a dozen teams in our project have fewer players to choose from, and five of them are hybrid teams with two or even three states.

Remarkably, though, Nebraska has five Hall of Fame players (plus a HoF manager). And two of them just happen to be among the greatest pitchers to ever take the mound – especially in big games.

Grover Cleveland Alexander won 373 games. The Elba native won 28 for the Phillies in his rookie year of 1911, and in 1915 he won 31 with a 1.22 ERA as the Phils won the pennant. He followed that with 33 and 30. Then he was sold to the Cubs and never hit those heights again, though he won his third pitching triple crown with Chicago in 1920. In his late career, his big moment was saving the 1926 World Series for the Cardinals – a day after starting and winning Game 6.

Bob Gibson, who turns 74 today, most of you are familiar with. He was the man who set the ERA record of 1.12 — even better than Alexander’s 1915 season — in 1968. Gibson made the All-Century team and Alex somehow did not, which is a big reason why I featured “Old Pete” here.

Pretty good, huh? The Nebraskans can line those guys up in Games 1 and 2, and pitch them five times in a seven-game series. But wait, there’s more!

There are also two Hall of Fame outfielders. Richie Ashburn and Wahoo Sam Crawford (nicknamed for his hometown, a real place that wasn’t just David Letterman’s “home office”) provide great speed, on-base ability and defense. And five-time batting champion Wade Boggs was also born in the state.

There are also Mel Harder, a 223-game winner as a third starter, and ’89 AL Rookie of the Year Gregg Olson, who is joined in the bullpen by new World Series ring owner Joba Chamberlain. Bob Cerv, Ron Hansen and Jackie Brandt give the Huskers a pretty well rounded lineup. This is really an interesting team, especially when we get to the tournament part or as the soccer types say, the knockout stages.

The Hall of Fame skipper, Billy Southworth, wasn’t a bad ballplayer either. On the Nebraska roster, only the three HoF batters plus outfielder Les Mann had more career ABs than Southworth. But his fame came from leading the Cardinals to three straight 100-win seasons in the ’40s with a pair of world titles, then taking the Boston Braves to their last pennant in 1948.

One more thing – if I ever get back to Nebraska I will definitely visit this museum. After all it’s part of what makes all of this so much fun.

http://www.nebraskabaseballmuseum.com

NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

RH Grover C. Alexander
OF Richie Ashburn
RH Fred Beebe
2B Pug Bennett
3B Wade Boggs
OF Jackie Brandt
OF Eddie Brown
RH Tim Burke
OF Bob Cerv
RH Joba Chamberlain
OF Sam Crawford
CA Ted Easterly
RH Bob Gibson
3B Alex Gordon
SS Ron Hansen
RH Mel Harder
1B Johnny Hopp
UT Bob Johnson
RH Sheldon Jones
UT Cliff Lee
OF Les Mann
LH Clarence Mitchell
CA Les Nunamaker
RH Gregg Olson
CA Todd Pratt
OF Russ Snyder
OF Billy Southworth
RH Sloppy Thurston

Next: Colorado.