Gehrig/Tiant Conference Wildcard San Mateo Traffic (97-65) vs. Tiant Division Winner Boston Bulldogs (90-72). How 'bout them Bulldogs? Boston had struggled all season, trying to catch up to the (then) leading Athens Phalanx. The final weeks of the season saw a 3-way tie between Boston, Athens, and the Dark Valley Destinies. It wasn't until the final week of the season that Boston prevailed and clinched their first pennant. All-pro Dale Murphy continues to be a star, hitting 42 home runs and putting up triple digits in runs and RBI. Shortstop Toby Harrah set the league walks record, and scoring 101 runs. Darrell Evans drove in 108 runs. On pitching, ace Doyle Alexander won 16 games, but Boston also scored big in the relief department. Uber-reliever Sammy Stewart won 14 games and saved 15 games, and mid-season acquisition Willie Hernandez saved 21 games in 34 appearances. Both made the all-pro team this year. The Traffic were the worst team in the league in 1984, but they sprung right back to playoff glory in 1985 .. and they even did it without 1st round pick Jose Canseco. They accomplished this feat by a few other bombers. Third baseman Jim Presley smacked 36 homers, first baseman Dave Kingman hit 29 homers and Fred Lynn and catcher Ozzie Virgil combined for 49 homers. All in all, the team hit 194 home runs, just 4 behind the league leader...Boston Bulldogs. The pitching staff was excellent, finishing with a 3.17 team ERA. Danny Cox won 19 games, and the top 4 starters averaged 15 wins with ERA's less than 3.32. Cox was an all-pro this year, as was Jimmy Key. The series looks to have a lot of baseballs flying in the stands. The season series was tied 4-4. Boston has the home field advantage. ***************************************************************************** GAME ONE - SAN MATEO TRAFFIC (Ryan) AT BOSTON BULLDOGS (Alexander) The Bulldogs wasted no time at making a game of this. In the bottom of the first, Toby Harrah walked and was driven in by a Dale Murphy single. Murphy later scored on a Darrell Porter RBI double. In the bottom of the fourth, with the bases loaded, Brian Downing hit a potential inning-ending bases loaded double play .. to shortstop Tony Fernandez, who boots it. Romero scored from 3rd, 3-0 Bulldogs. In the top of the 6th, Dave Kingman made things a little closer, hitting a 2 RBI single to make the Bulldog lead a single run. In the bottom of the 6th, Toby Harrah grounded a ball to Fernandez's double-play partner, Tony Bernazard. Bernazard throws the ball into the stands instead of Dave Kingman's glove, and Harrah lands on second thanks to the error. Brian Downing once again made the Traffic pay for their mistake, driving Harrah in from second. 4-2 Bulldogs. Tony Fernandez closed the gap to 1 again in the top of the 8th with a solo shot, but it was all the Traffic could do. Willie Hernandez saved the 9th for the Bulldogs, who won 4-3, but scored only 2 earned runs. Defense (or the lack of it) was the name of this game. BULLDOGS LEAD 1-0. Series 3 10/1/1985 -- Game 1 of 1, Tiger Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 85 Traffic 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 5 2 5 2 85 Bulldogs 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 x 4 9 0 8 0 Traffic AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Oglivie rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 2 0 0 0 Fernandez ss 3 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 3 3 1 0 Lynn cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 Kingman 1b 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 8 2 0 0 Kittle lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Bernazard 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 1 5 1 0 Phillips ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Virgil c 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 7 0 0 1 Schroeder ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Presley 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Ryan p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Miller ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Dayley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Canseco ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 James p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 32 3 5 3 0 0 1 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 12 2 1 Bulldogs AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Harrah ss 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .000 0 4 0 0 Downing lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 4 0 0 0 Evans 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 1 0 0 0 Murphy rf 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 1 0 0 0 Porter c 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 8 0 0 0 Buckner 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 13 0 0 0 Romero 2b 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 0 3 0 0 McDowell cf 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0 0 0 Alexander p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 2 0 0 Stewart p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Orta ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Hernandez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 32 4 9 3 3 0 0 3 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 27 9 0 0 Traffic INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Ryan L 0-1 4.0 5 3 2 3 3 78 45 22 0 0 1 0 0 0 4.50 Dayley 2.0 1 1 0 0 1 24 16 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 James 2.0 3 0 0 0 2 31 18 7 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 8.0 9 4 2 3 6 133 79 36 0 0 1 0 2 0 Bulldogs INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Alexander W 1-0 7.0 5 3 3 3 7 116 69 29 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.86 Stewart 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 11 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Hernandez S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 9 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 5 3 3 3 8 136 83 35 1 0 0 1 0 0 SCT: Miller batted for Ryan in the 5th Canseco batted for Dayley in the 7th Phillips batted for Bernazard in the 9th Schroeder batted for Virgil in the 9th BOS: Orta batted for Stewart in the 8th GWRBI: Murphy Temperature: 65, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 10 MPH. ***************************************************************************** GAME TWO - SAN MATEO TRAFFIC (Clancy) at BOSTON BULLDOGS (Ojeda) What do you get when you cross Jim Clancy with Dale Murphy in the bottom of the 1st? A souvenier for a fan. Murphy clangs a 2-run shot out of the park in the 1st. Boston puts the Traffic in a bad spot in the 2nd. With the bases loaded, and 2 outs, Brian "Mr. Clutch" Downing hit an RBI single. Another Bulldog runner came home, and scored as well, thanks to Traffic catcher Bill Schroeder dropping the ball. Kirby Puckett put the Traffic on the board in the 6th with a solo shot, but were contained for the rest of the game. Bobby Ojeda pitched a complete game, striking out 6 batters as the Bulldogs take game 2 by a score of 4-1. BULLDOGS LEAD 2-0. Series 6 10/2/1985 -- Game 1 of 1, Tiger Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 85 Traffic 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 1 3 0 85 Bulldogs 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 4 7 0 7 0 Traffic AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Puckett cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 8 0 0 0 Phillips 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Armas rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 5 0 0 0 Presley 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Henderson lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 1 0 0 Kingman 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 2 2 0 0 Schroeder c 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 2 1 0 Fernandez ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 2 0 0 0 Clancy p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Miller ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Bielecki p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Kittle ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Dayley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 31 1 4 1 1 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 6 1 0 Bulldogs AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Harrah ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 3 0 0 Downing lf 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 3 0 0 0 Evans 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 2 0 0 Murphy rf 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 1 0 0 0 Porter c 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 6 0 0 0 Buckner 1b 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .375 9 0 0 0 McDowell cf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .375 5 0 0 0 Romero 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 1 3 0 0 Ojeda p 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0 0 0 29 4 7 3 1 0 1 5 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 27 8 0 0 Traffic INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Clancy L 0-1 5.0 6 4 3 4 3 92 52 25 1 0 0 1 0 0 5.40 Bielecki 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 25 13 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Dayley 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 10 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 8.0 7 4 3 5 3 127 72 35 1 0 0 1 0 0 Bulldogs INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Ojeda W 1-0 9.0 4 1 1 0 6 103 67 31 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.00 9.0 4 1 1 0 6 103 67 31 1 0 0 0 0 0 SCT: Miller batted for Clancy in the 6th Kittle batted for Bielecki in the 8th GWRBI: Murphy Temperature: 62, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from left at 15 MPH. ***************************************************************************** GAME THREE - BOSTON BULLDOGS (Witt) at SAN MATEO TRAFFIC (Cox) The Traffic's offense has been sputtering so far. How bad? While the Bulldogs could put runs on the board, the Traffic couldn't even get a hit. The Bulldogs scored once in the first and in the second for a quick 2-0 lead. But it seemed as if it was 1 run too many. Mike Witt was unhitable, throwing hitless inning after hitless inning. Witt had a no-hitter through 8 innings. Could Witt be the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the post-season? With 0 outs, Witt got Tony Phillips to fly out. With 1 out, Witt got Ben Ogilve to ground it. 2 outs in the 9th. 8 2/3 hitless innings. 1 out away from a post-season no-hitter. The next batter up? Tony Fernandez. Tony "1 for 9 in the postseason" Fernandez. What happens? Does Witt get the no-hitter? Nope. Base hit right field. No Mo' No-No. Witt was still a little stunned, as he then walked Fred Lynn, and was in danger of losing the game, much less the shutout or no-hitter. Dave Kingman was the kind of hitter who could knock one out of the park, which would instantly win the game for San Mateo. But he could also strike out, which is what he did. End result, Mike Witt pitches a 1-hit shutout. Not a no hitter, but a win is a win, especially in the post season. Boston wins it 2-0, and is now 1 step away from the GT conference finals. BULLDOGS LEAD 3-0. Series 7 10/3/1985 -- Game 1 of 1, Candlestick Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 85 Bulldogs 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 1 7 1 85 Traffic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 2 Bulldogs AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Harrah ss 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 1 4 0 0 Downing lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .455 2 0 0 0 Evans 3b 4 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .417 0 0 0 0 Murphy rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182 3 0 0 0 Porter c 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 8 0 0 0 Buckner 1b 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .417 9 1 1 0 Jacoby 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 5 0 0 McDowell cf 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 2 0 0 0 Witt p 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 36 2 12 2 3 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 27 10 1 0 Traffic AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Oglivie rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 2 0 0 0 Fernandez ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 4 3 0 0 Lynn cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 4 0 0 0 Kingman 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 6 0 0 0 Kittle lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 5 0 0 0 Bernazard 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 1 5 0 0 Virgil c 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 1 0 0 Presley 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 1 0 0 Cox p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Bush ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 James p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Phillips ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 28 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 10 0 0 Bulldogs INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Witt W 1-0 9.0 1 0 0 3 8 109 69 31 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 9.0 1 0 0 3 8 109 69 31 0 0 0 1 1 0 Traffic INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Cox L 0-1 6.0 7 2 2 0 3 80 50 23 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.00 James 3.0 5 0 0 0 0 40 26 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9.0 12 2 2 0 3 120 76 36 0 0 0 0 2 0 SCT: Bush batted for Cox in the 6th Phillips batted for James in the 9th GWRBI: Evans Temperature: 71, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 7 MPH. ***************************************************************************** GAME FOUR - BOSTON BULLDOGS (Palmer) at SAN MATEO TRAFFIC (Key) Boston has owned the Traffic in this series. Would game 4 be any different? Nope. Boston blew out the Traffic in style in the 1st inning when Carmello Castillo smacked a grand slam home run off Jimmy Key. The Traffic tried to come back in the bottom of the inning, on a Dave Kingman RBI single. But Jimmy Key was too frazzled. Key's wild pitch in the second let another Bulldog runner score. Key lasted just 3 1/3 innings. The Bulldog pitchers allowed only the single run in the 1st. Willie Hernandez pitched a perfect 9th to get the save, and the Bulldogs win game 4 by a score of 5-1. Boston sweeps the series, and goes to the GT conference finals. BOSTON WINS 4-0. Series 12 10/4/1985 -- Game 1 of 1, Candlestick Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 85 Bulldogs 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 0 7 0 85 Traffic 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 2 6 1 Bulldogs AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Harrah ss 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .273 0 1 0 0 Thornton 1b 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 13 2 0 0 Brookens c 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200 8 0 0 0 Murphy cf 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 1 0 0 0 Castillo rf 4 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0 0 0 Deer lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Jacoby 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 6 0 0 Evans 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313 0 3 0 0 Palmer p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Stewart p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Hernandez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 34 5 6 4 0 0 1 5 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 27 12 0 0 Traffic AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Oglivie rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 3 0 0 0 Fernandez ss 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .214 2 6 1 0 Lynn cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Kingman 1b 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 11 0 1 0 Kittle lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Bernazard 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 0 1 0 0 Cliburn p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Canseco ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Virgil c 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 6 0 0 0 Presley 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077 0 3 0 0 Key p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Bielecki p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Bush ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Dayley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Phillips 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 2 2 0 0 34 1 7 1 1 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 13 2 0 Bulldogs INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Palmer W 1-0 6.2 7 1 1 0 5 101 64 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.35 Stewart 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 11 7 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Hernandez 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 15 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 7 1 1 0 8 127 81 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 Traffic INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP BK ERA Key L 0-1 3.1 6 5 3 3 1 71 41 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 8.10 Bielecki 1.2 0 0 0 1 2 27 12 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Dayley 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 8 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Cliburn 3.0 0 0 0 1 1 38 23 10 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 9.0 6 5 3 5 6 144 83 39 1 0 0 1 1 0 SCT: Bush batted for Bielecki in the 5th Phillips inserted at 2b in the 7th Canseco batted for Cliburn in the 9th GWRBI: Castillo Temperature: 50, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: right to left at 7 MPH.