The Top 8 1990 league came to an end, with the Mets taking the second half flag by one game over the Reds, capping
off a nail-biting final few days of the season and setting the stage for the best of seven championship series with the
Pirates.

Before getting into the details of the closing days of the season, let's take a look at how the clubs did; all the ups and
downs of the year!

First off, let me say that pitchers got the shaft this year. This is completely the fault of the commissioner (me) who
overused the starters and underused the relievers. Also getting it in the shorts were the Reds and the A's, as they both
finished the season with a cumulative 83-71 record, better than the Mets, who finished a game back with a cumulative
record of 82-72, yet made it to the championship series, much like the real-life Reds of 1981, who had the best record in
the NL, but sat on their butts watching the world series with the rest of us due to the split season utilized during that
horrible year of the strike. However, the Dodgers won that year, so I can't really complain too much, right?

Boston had two regulars that hit over .300: Ellis Burks (.303) and Wade Boggs (.302), and only Burks and right fielder Tom "Bruno" Brunansky finished in double figures in home runs, with 16 and 14 respectively. Boggs was sixth in batting, second in hits with 191, and second in doubles with 43. He also came in third in at-bats, with 632, so he was a busy man this year. First baseman Carlos Quintana hit .288, third best of the regulars on the club. His fifty RBI were half of what Burks drove in, while Boggs drove in the next highest on the team with 67. The offense was just not there to enable the Bostons to play a roel other than spoilers in the league, although they were in the second half race with about a week to go. The Red Sox had two great performances to brag about: a 58 double season turned in by mild mannered second sacker Jody Reed and a nineteen win season by Roger Clemens, who also turned in the league's best ERA (1.72). Clemens ended up 19-8, and it is amazing that he lost any games at all, allowing only 189 hits and giving up 56 walks in 250 innings. Joining Clemens in the top ten pitcher's list was Mike Boddicker, who finished at 17-7, 3.25, good enough for the number ten spot. Jeff Reardon had twelve saves to lead the club, and his ERA was 2.19 over 53 innings.

The White Sox were everybody's patsy, finishing last in hitting and seventh in pitching. Despite having speed and power in the lineup, they could never quite field a winning team, presenting a puzzle to their shrinking legion of fans. Frank Thomas was a regular for the first third of the season, batting .338 with 8 HR and 35 RBI. The only other White Sox player to bat over .300 was little used pinch hitter Matt Stark, who hit .375 in sixteen at-bats. Outfileders Lance Johnson (.270, 36 SB) and Ivan Calderon (.272, 38 2B, 9 HR, 54 RBI, 33 SB) alternated in the leadoff spot, as skipper Jeff Torborg went with whoever had the hot hand at the moment. Ron Kittle played some first, but mostly DH'd and ended up with 17 HR and 57 RBI while hitting a less than threatening .213. Veteran catcher Carlton Fisk had a solid year, batting .257 with 17 doubles and matching Kittle with 17 jacks. Dan Pasqua was weak in the field, but managed to slug 9 HR to go with his 27 doubles and six triples. Ozzie Guillen played well at short, and batted .264 with 24 doubles, but never was quite the spark the club needed. Sammy Sosa also had a disappointing season, as he was not able to get enough at-bats to warrant keeping him in the lineup, as he hit .208 with 14 doubles, ten triples and thirteen homers. He stole 21 bases and struck out 92 times. The big winner on the pitching staff was Eric King, whose 12 wins not only led the team, but made King the only pitcher on the club with wins in double figures. Losses in double figures, well, that's another story! Melido Perez (17), Glen Hibbard (16) and Jack McDowell (15) all ended up on the league's leader board for most losses during the season. Closer Bobby Thigpen didn't have many chances to close ball games this year, finishing with 22 saves, which is too bad because his 1.87 ERA was one of the best among the other star relievers in the league.

Cincinnati finished seven games back in the first half, and just one game back in the second half, winning 83 games as mentioned above, and with just a little more of a push, would have made it into the championship series. This club had the horses, but like most teams in the league, couldn't manage to finish with more than two players batting .300. Barry Larkin hit .299, stole 34 bases and hit 23 doubles. Centerfielder Eric Davis hit .291 with 22 doubles, 29 homers and 94 RBI. Hal Morris played half the year at first and hit .332 with 26 doubles. Chris Sabo didn't hit for average (.264) but put up some impressive power numbers with 41 doubles and 36 home runs, driving in 88. Billy Hatcher hit .268 with 30 steals, and Mariano Duncan hit .282 with ten triples and ten home runs. The reds had some of the best pitching in the league, led by Jose Rijo (16-8, 2.08) and Norm Charlton (16-7, 3.17). Three other starters finished with at least ten wins: Tom Browning (11-11, 3.61), Danny Jackson (10-4, 2.62) and Jack Armstrong (10-15, 3.66). Randy Myers was a solid lefty, tossing 64 innings, mostly as a setup man for hot headed closer Rob Dibble, who led the league with 38 saves while posting a 1.12 ERA.

The Dodgers got off to a bad start, and stayed that way though in the middle of the season they managed to compete once they put speedster Juan Samuel in the leadoff spot. The trouble was that Samuel could run the basepaths with the best of them, but he didn't get on base as often as Lasorda would have liked, batting .236 with 27 doubles and 14 HR. Eddie Murray had a very good year, batting a blistering .330, second in the league, while leading the league in hits (194) and sharing the league lead in RBI with Kelly Gruber (122). Murray had 22 doubles, four triples and 29 homers. Kal Daniels matched Murray in home runs with 29, but fell behind Murray in average and RBI (.294, 88). Hubie Brooks hit 21 dingers and drove in 88 runs while batting .287, but was a liability in the field, as he couldn't get to fly balls other outfielders seemed to get to. Stan Javier came over to the Dodgers from Oakland, and batted .317 in 300 at-bats, helping the club in center as Chris Gwynn (.226) and Kirk Gibson (.214) struggled at the plate. Third base duties were split between Mike Sharperson (.336, 19 doubles) and Lenny Harris (.285, 35 RBI, 10 SB). Mike Scioscia had 17 doubles and 9 HR and drove in 47, batting .239 while striking out just 42 times in over 400 at-bats. Ramon Martinez went 14-11, 2.70 and was one of three pitchers to record more than 200 strikeouts this season (215). Fernando Valenzuela (may he rest in peace) was the only other Dodger pitcher with at least ten wins, going 10-14, 6.37. He managed only three complete games, and struggled in nearly every start. Tim Crews was the workhorse out of the bullpen, tossing 77 innings in 47 appearances. Jay Howell finished second in the league in saves with 33. Spot starter John Neidlinger was a pleasant surprise, finishing 8-2, 3.91 in 13 starts.

The New York Mets wrapped up the second half by taking on the A's in the final four games of the season in a series that would determine which team would face the Pirates in the championship series, and they came out on top on the final game of the season in one of the wildest finishes seen in these parts. Like the Reds, this team had the horses...in fact, the Reds and the Mets just beat up each other during the second half of the season, and it was the Mets who jelled at just the right time. Darryl Strawberry was a terror at the plate, batting .306, scoring 95 runs, hitting 21 doubles, 36 home runs and driving in 115. Dave Magadan batted just ahead of him, hit .324 with 37 doubles and seven triples. Gregg Jefferies hit .273 with 37 doubles and drove in 58 runs while batting in the leadoff spot. More power came from leftfielder Kevin McReynolds, who batted .276 with 27 doubles, 23 homers and 91 RBI. Speed demon Howard Johnson hit .252 with 41 doubles, 5 triples, and 19 home runs. He drove in 84 runs and swiped twelve bases. Catcher Mackey Sasser hit .281 with 16 doubles, 9 home runs and 43 RBI in 80 games. Keith Miller (.272, 8 2B, 3 HR, 16 RBI) and Mark Carreon (.307, 11 2B, 9 HR, 28 RBI) came off the bench to provide that extra backup punch. On the hill, the Mets boasted four starters with wins in double figures, and a pitching staff thtat recorded 1,192 strikeouts. The team with the next closest strikeout total was the Dodgers (982). Dwight Gooden went 16-8, 3.81 with 181 K's, six complete games, and two shutouts. Ron Darling ended up at 13-3, 3.53 in 19 starts. Frank Viola had a year, going 13-11, 3.04 with 8 complete games and four shutouts. He had great control on the mound with 142 K's and just 51 walks. Sid Fernandez won 10 but lost 15, posting a 4.25 ERA, but striking out 233 in 201 innings. David Cone had a losing record (8-13, 4.17) but led the league in strikeouts with 257. John Franco put up good numbers as the closer, striking out 56 in 67 IP, and chalking up 23 saves.

The Oakland A's fielded one of the scariest lineups you'd ever want to face, hitting a league leading 176 home runs, and finishing second in the first half, and nearly catching the flag in the second half. Rickey Henderson led the league in batting (.353) and slugged an amazing 77 extra base hits with 40 doubles, 7 triples and 30 home runs. He drove in 83 runs in the leadoff spot, led the league in stole bases with 63, and finished third in the league in hits with 188. As of this writing, Henderson and Strawberry are neck and neck in MVP balloting. Bash Brothers Mark McGwire (.235, 49 HR, 113 RBI) and Jose Canseco (.271, 21 B, 34 HR, 98 RBI, 15 SB) didn't disappoint, combining for 83 of the teams' home runs. Centerfielder Dave Henderson had a solid year in the shadow of that other Henderson guy, hitting .275 with 29 doubles, 20 homers and 65 RBI. While not hitting much, infielders Carney Lansford (.260, 16 2B, 36 RBI), Walt Weiss (.236, 19 2B, 38 RBI) and Willie Randolph (.235, 9 2B, 6 HR, 25 RBI) did the job on defense. Randolph came over from the Dodgers shortly before mid-season, helping out at second, where the A's weren't sure when Mike Gallego (.197) would come around. The A's had two 14 game winners and two 13 game winners on their pitching staff. Dave Stewart went 14-13, 2.81 with 151 K's to earn "Ace" status on this club. Stewart led the league in innings pitched (262.2) and his ERA was good for fifth in the league. His 13 complete games placed him second behind Clemens, and he was one of five pitchers in the league with four shutouts. Bob Welch was one of them, and he finished 14-14, 3.17, and like his compadre Stewart, completed thirteen games. Scott Sanderson won 13 and lost 11, with an ERA of 4.24, while Mike Moore was 13-13, 5.12. Curt Young started 19 games, and finished 9-8, 5.36. The bullpen is one of the reasons these high ERA guys won any games this season. Joe "The Colonel" Klink was 2-1 with four saves and a 2.08 ERA in 39 innings. Rick Honeycutt appeared in 22 games, pitched 36 innings with no decisions and an ERA of exactly 3. Gene Nelson was deadly outta the pen, racking up a record of 4-2 with 1 save and an ERA of 1.95 in 37 innings. Dennis Eckersley finished third in saves with 31, as he was horribly underused, striking out 54 in 51 innings and allowing only two walks all year. He ended the year 3-2, 1.05. Unsung heros in the pen included Reggie Harris (1-0, 1 Sv, 2.95), Mike Norris (1-3, 1 Sv, 2.51), and Todd Burns (7-4, 3.18 in 65 innings).

Pittsburgh won the first half handily, and made a run at the overall championship of the league, before falling short in the final week of the season despite being another one of those teams that had a dangerous looking lineup. Barry Bonds hit .282 with 31 home runs and 84 RBI. Bobby Bonilla belted 41 doubles, 29 HR, and drove in 107 while hitting .263. Sid Bream  batted .275 with 16 homers and 71 RBI. They had numbers like this up and down the lineup, with everyone contributing. R.J. Reynolds played in 69 games, and hit .307 with 17 doubles and 30 runs driven in. Jay Bell at short and Jose Lind at second were just superb up the middle with the glove, and added extra punch at the plate. Bell drove in 52 runs and had 28 doubles, five triples and six home runs. Lind had 31 doubles, 7 triples and drove in 40. Funny thing is, as potent as this team was at the plate, they were seventh in batting. However, they were first in the league in pitching (3.25). Doug Drabek (16-7, 2.18) and Bob Walk (13-8, 2.82, and okay, 45 walks) were the only hurlers with more than ten wins. Neal Heaton went 9-9, 4.04, while John Smiley was the only starter uner .500, going 8-12, 4.16. Zane Smith made ten starts, and impressed with a record of 8-1, 1.66. He also picked up two saves. Randy Tomlin made 12 starts, and finished 6-5, 1.28 in 98 innngs. Bob Patterson went 5-5, 2.70, and mostly pitched out of the 'pen, though he had six starts and two complete games. Bill Landrum ended up being the closer, winding up with 21 saves, and a 1.57 ERA in 46 innings.

The Toronto Blue Jays had seven players with ten or more home runs, more than any other team in the league, had terrific hitting at the top of the order, played top notch defense, and somehow couldn't put any of this together, finishing in seventh place in the first half, and in sixth place in the second half. Kelly Gruber was a monster at the plate, batting .290 with 39 doubles, 11 triples and 34 homers, while driving in 122 runs, tying him for first with Eddie Murray. Catcher Pat Borders often found himself placed in the number two or three slot, and wound up batting .291 with 25 doubles, 7 triples and 13 home runs. Tony Fernandez was in the leadoff spot for most of the year, and though he hit just .268, he stole 35 bases and drove in fifty runs with 23 doubles and a league leading 20 triples. His 101 runs scored were second in the league. Fred McGriff had a great year, batting .289 with 22 doubles, 33 homers and 108 RBI.Mookie Wilson played well in center, hit .249 and stole 24 bases while hitting 35 doubles and 8 home runs. John Olerud didn't get the playing time he probably should have, but it was hard for him to crack the lineup when the Jays played at a non-DH park with McGriff having a helluva year at the plate. Glen Allen Hill hit .260 in limited playing time and managed to park 12 homers in the seats. Meanwhile, George Bell played erratically in left, not showing much range on fly balls hit his way, but he ended up hitting .246 with a respectable 20 doubles, 15 home runs and 58 RBI. Jimmy Key went 13-10, 3.53 to lead the mounds crew. Dave Stieb was 13-12, 3.92 while youngster Todd Stottlemyer was 12-9, 4.69. Lefthander David Wells may be in line for the hard luck award, as he went 9-13, 3.59. Rick Cerutti was 9-11 in 24 starts, and he got roughed up a bit with his ERA over five. Tom Henke made 47 appearances, pitched 72 innings and wound up with 26 saves and a very nice 1.62 ERA. Duane Ward saw a lot of action, playing in 54 games, all in relief. He ended up 7-4 with one save with 65 K's and an ERA of 3.38. Jim Acker also got plenty of pitching time, sporting a 4.35 ERA in 68 innings of work.

League Tid-Bits

There were two triple plays turned during the season, both in the second half and both coming from Pirate batters! In game D6 against Boston, Jose Lind lined out 6-3, doubling the runners at second and first. In game D27, slugging speedster Barry Bonds lined out to second, doubling the runners at second and first against Oakland.

Four pitchers connected for home runs: Todd Stottlemyer of Toronto and Cincinnati's Jose Rijo in the first half of the season, and Dwight Gooden of the Mets and Oakland's Bob Welch in the second half.

Two batters clubbed three home runs in a single game: Pittsburgh's Jeff King did it during the second half in game C52, while Rickey Henderson put three in the cheap seats also in the second half during game D75. For Rickey it was the third time this season he had two or more home runs in a game. King had two multi-HR games during the year. In all, 31 batters had multi-HR games this season, with Oakland's Mark McGwire and Toronto's Fred McGriff leading the way with five multi home run games during this campaign.

A total of 35 grand slams cleared the fences, two of them slugged by pitchers- the aforementioned Todd Stottlemyer and Bob Welch. Mark McGwire and Toronto third sacker Kelly Gruber led the league with three grand slams apiece.

Seventeen pitchers had games of ten or more strikeoouts in a game, but only six of them did this more than once: David Cone, NYM (13), Sid Fernandez, NYM (10), Roger Clemens, Bos (5), and Dwight Gooden, NYM, Ramon Martinez, LAD and Jose Rijo, Cin all with three. Sid Fernandez struck out the most batters in a game (17), while Cone had a high of 15 punchouts, followed by David Wells of Toronto with 14.

So that is how the teams in the league did. Let's jump over to the wild finish to the second half pennant race!

The Final Days of the Second Half Pennant Race

With three games left in the second half, the Mets held a one game lead over the Reds, and a three game lead over the A's, who happened to be their opponents and who they had just whipped 6-2 in the opener of their four game series. The Reds were on the road against Toronto, and were coming off a 3-1 win in their opener. The Reds blew an early 5-2 lead to lose game two 6-5, as the Blue Jays took advantage of an error by Reds first sacker Todd Benzinger to score three runs in the fifth, while Jimmy Key picked up his 13th win of the year by tossing seven innings and allowing four earned runs. Meanwhile, the A's topped New York in extras, thanks to Rickey Henderson's third home run of the game in the twelfth, his 30th of the year to bring them within two of the Mets with two to play.

In game 76 of the second half, the Reds once again had their hearts broken by the Toronto club, losing by the same score as game two, 6-5 with Rob Dibble blowing the save. Down by a run and facing the tough Cincinnati closer, Toronto's Rob Ducey punched a single to right to open the bottom of the ninth. Dibble then uncharacteristically walked Mark Whiten and Kelly Gruber before giving up a double to Fred McGriff, plating Ducey and Whiten to win the ball game and send the house into a frenzy. The Mets fared no better, as to the consternation of Reds fans, they dropped another extra inning doozy to Oakland 2-1 in eleven. Mike Gallego scored on a two out single by Jose Canseco, and Dennis Eckersley retired the tired Mets in order, putting the Top 8 1990 second half championship into a free-for-all, with the possibility of a three way tie for first with wins by Cincinnati and Oakland.

The Reds did their part on the final day of the season, but it took extra innings to do the job. Barry Larkin broke a 1-1 stalemate in the top of the twelfth with a single off Jim Ward to score Paul O'Neill and move Glenn Braggs to third. Mariano Duncan smashed a hard grounder to Manny Lee at second, who made a spectacular play to get Duncan at first, but it cost another run. Dibble closed things out with a perfect inning, and the Reds finally had win number 43 and could do nothing but wait for the outcome of the final game between the A's and Mets. Bob Welch (14-13) against Bobby Ojeda (7-7). Ojeda set down the A's in order in the first, retiring Rickey Henderson and Felix Jose on groundouts to Keith Miller at short, before striking out Jose Canseco. In the bottom of the first, Gregg Jefferies grounded to short, then Daryl Boston walked. Dave Magadan reached on an error by second baseman Willie Randolph before Darryl Strawberry popped to short for the second out. Kevin McReynolds then took Welch deep for a three run tater, his 23rd homer of the year, giving the Mets a 3-0 lead, and that's how the game ended, as both clubs had terrific pitching the rest of the way. John Franco set down the A's in order in the ninth, and the party was ON!

This was easily one of the craziest finishes to a season I have ever rolled.

The Top 8 1990 Championship Series - - - New York Mets v Pittsburgh Pirates

Here is the game by game results of the best of seven Championship Series.

Game One - New York M (Viola) @ Pittsburgh (Drabek)

New York M 001 000 030 - 4 10 0
Pittsburgh 100 200 000 - 3  6 4

W- Viola (1-0), Sv- Franco (1), L- Landrum (0-1)

The Pirates pick up a pair of runs in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie, when Sid Bream tripled home Barry Bonds who had singled to lead off the inning, then stole second. Bream scored on a Jose Lind groundout. Pittsburgh starter Dave Drabek gave up a pair of singles to open the top of the eighth, and was removed for Bill Landrum. Howard Johnson greeted Landrum by bouncing one to Bream at first, who booted it like Messi past the first base bag. It was a two base error, scoring Kevin McReynolds and Mackey Sasser to tie the game. Pinch hitter Keith Miller singled in Johnson for the go-ahead run. Perfect innings from Jeff Innis and John Franco sealed the game one win for New York.

Game Two - New York M (Cone) @ Pittsburgh (Heaton)

New York M 000 021 000 - 3 9 1
Pittsburgh 000 005 00x - 5 8 1

W- Heaton (1-0), Sv- Landrum (1), L- Pena (0-1)

Wet weather caused a one hour delay in the fifth with New York ahead on Darryl Strawberry's two run double. The Mets added another run after Johnson tripled and scored on Kevin Elster's double in the sixth. David Cone put the first four batters on in the Pittsburgh sixth, and was given the hook in favor of Alejandro Pena, who got the next two batters out before giving up a single to Jay Bell and a double to pinch hitter R.J. Reynolds. A total of five Pirates crossed the plate, and relievers Bob Kipper and Bill Landrum took care of the rest. The series is even and shifts to New York.

Game Three - Pittsburgh (Walk) @ New York M (S.Fernandez)

Pittsburgh 000 003 000 - 3  8 1
New York M 000 022 02x - 6 11 0

W- Innis (1-0), Sv- Franco (2), L- Belinda (0-1)
HR- NYM: Sasser (1)

Pirate starter Bob Walk was ejected in the bottom of the fourth after arguing a close play at first and after tossing two-hit, shutout ball in that time. Ruskin entered the game and quicly retired Johnson to end the inning, then got into trouble in the fifth, allowing two runs, one of them on a two out triple by Dave Magadan. Stan Belinda pitched the sixth and gave up a one out homer to Mackey Sasser, followed by an unearned run when Bobby Bonilla let a single clank off his glove to score pinch hitter Keith Miller. The Mets added two more in the eighth and Franco picked up his second save to give the Mets a 2-1 series lead.

Game Four - Pittsburgh (Smiley) @ New York M (Gooden)

Pittsburgh 000 010 100 - 2 8 1
New York M 000 300 00x - 3 4 1

W- Gooden (1-0), Sv- Franco (3), L- Smiley (0-1)
HR- NYM: Magadan (1), Strawberry (1)

John Smiley gave up a one out solo home run to Dave Magadan in the fourth, immediately followed by an error on a routine grounder to Jay Bell at short putting Strawberry on first, which was then followed by a two run shot by Kevin McReynolds, and this made all the difference in the ball game, as Dwight Gooden struck out five in six and two-thirds to pick up the win in game four of the series. He was helped along by the bullpen, beginning with Bobby Ojeda, who closed out the seventh by getting Bonds on a two-hopper to second. Jeff Innis tossed a scoreless eighth, and Franco pitched a rough ninth, loading up the bases before retiring Bobby Bonilla on a long fly ball to right to end the game. The Mets are now up 3-1 and can wrap up the series in game five.

Game Five - Pittsburgh (Smith) @ New York M (Viola, 1-0)

Pittsburgh 000 000 000 - 0 6 0
New York M 000 100 00x - 1 2 2

W- Viola (2-0), L- Smith (0-1)
HR- NYM: Strawberry (2)

Frank Viola does the distance, and lucky for him Darryl Strawberry's second home run of the series held up, as the Mets defeat the Pirates to take the Top 8 1990 title four games to one. New York could only muster one other hit apart from Strawberry's dinger: a second inning two out triple by Howard Johnson, giving the hometown fans hope of an early lead. But Pittsburgh starter Zane Smith just reached into his bag of tough and struck out Keith Miller to end the threat. Strawberry's homer also came with two out, and the look on Smith's face when bat hit the ball said it all.

Top 8 1990 Championship Series Stats