Granillo: Earl Weaver on changing postseason formats in 1969
From SABR member Larry Granillo at Baseball Prospectus on October 10, 2012:
On Sunday, September 29, 1968, the final day of the regular season, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 11-1 for their 97th victory. Meanwhile, in Detroit, the Tigers lost a 3-2 game to the Washington Senators, only their 59th loss of the year. Three days later, the Cardinals hosted the Tigers for Game 1 of the World Series, with 31-game winner Denny McLain facing off against Bob Gibson and his 1.12 regular season ERA. (The Tigers, of course, would go on to win the Series in seven games despite three starts from Gibson.)
One year to the day later, the newly expanded American and National Leagues finished their season. The New York Mets found themselves on the losing end of the ledger, dropping their 62nd game of the year to the Cubs while the Baltimore Orioles had finished the night before with a victory over Mickey Lolich and the Tigers.
Things were different this year, however. With the addition of four new clubs to Major League Baseball, the American and National Leagues had been divided into two divisions each. Instead of immediately heading into the World Series after the season ended, as had been the case for 65 years, there was a new layer of playoffs in the way. Two days later, the best-of-five American and National League Championship Series began, with the Orioles hosting the Minnesota Twins and the Mets visiting the Atlanta Braves.
Here’s what Baltimore manager Earl Weaver had to say about the new format on the eve of its inauguration.
Read the full article here: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18606
Originally published: October 10, 2012. Last Updated: October 10, 2012.