Armour: Now pitching, Pedro Martinez: The 1999 AL Division Series

From SABR member Mark Armour at The National Pastime Museum on September 25, 2017:

Although it seems like baseball’s Division Series round began just a few years ago, we have already had 88 of them. How many do you remember? Many baseball fans can tell you who played in the 2002 World Series (or the 1952 World Series), but remembering the four 2002 Division Series might be a more challenging task. It’s like knowing the history of the NCAA basketball regional finals.

That said, those 88 series have involved many memorable games and performances. The one we will be remembering today took place on October 11, 1999, at Cleveland’s Jacobs Field and pitted the Red Sox and Indians in the rubber match of a five-game series.

The 1999 Cleveland Indians featured one of the greatest offenses of all time. Featuring such talents as Roberto Alomar, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, David Justice, and Harold Baines, the team scored 1,009 runs, the only team since 1950 to top 1,000. Their pitchers were comparably serviceable, but how good did they have to be?

Read the full article here: https://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/now-pitching-pedro-martinez-look-1999-division-series



Originally published: September 25, 2017. Last Updated: September 25, 2017.