If the Orioles didn’t have bad luck in the ALCS, they would have had no luck. Cleveland as a team actually hit under .200 in this series, but it felt like they batted 1.000 after the 7th inning stretch
Orioles fan here, I was 8 years old in 1997. This series was back and forth it had everything the pitching, hitting, fielding you name it. Orioles were so stacked better team so were the Indians. Orioles were the best team and SHOULD'VE won this series. Orioles had so MANY chances to win especially GAME 6. The Orioles left SO MANY MEN ON BASE. Indians capitalized their chances when it counted. Overall this was a HELL of a series gotta give Cleveland credit. As a Orioles fan this series was very frustrating
Mussina was a STUD in the 97 postseason. 4 starts, all AMAZING. Its a damn shame we didnt get to see him in the World Series for 1-3 more starts. Sandy Alomar was having a magical 97 season, including the postseason obviously. SO clutch The 97 Orioles is in my opinion the greatest Orioles team of all time. More dangerous than any of their great teams in the 60's and 70's, and greater than the 83 team that won it all. This series was lost by the Orioles, it was NOT won by Cleveland. Benitez, Mussina, and Grissom. The 3 MVP's Shame that this 1997 ALCS didnt go 7 games, because this ALCS was fun fun fun. Just like last years ALDS between these two teams, how it was a shame that that DIvision Series didnt go 5 games because that series was fun fun fun As for game 6: Orioles had 16 baserunners in game 6, and did not score a run, so it wasnt like Cleveland's pitching was pitching a gem against them. Orioles had at least one runner in scoring position in the first 5 innings and NOTHING. Orioles had a runner in scoring position in the 7th and 8th innings, and NOTHING. Those innings were BRUTAL Orioles had a runner on firstbase in the 9th inning, 10th innings, and 11th innings, and NOTHING Orioles had runners on base every inning except the 6th inning and NOTHING Anywho, this was the greatest ALCS to not go 7 games. I thought they were going to give the ALCS MVP to Mussina, but I guess they dont give it to a player on the losing team anymore. And had Grissom caught the ball on game 3 in the 9th inning, Mesa was going to be the MVP. Im still surprised Grisson won it, considering that asides from that game 2 home run, which was very clutch, he didnt hit at all. And also Grissom had that dropped fly ball in the 9th innning of game 3, but I guess he made up for it with his game winning steal of home in game 3. And gosh, I would have been fine if the players who hit the clutch homers against the Orioles were Manny, Thome, Matt Williams, David Justice, Sandy Alomar. But Tony Fernandez and Marquis Grissom???? Come on; I know they both got pop, but still. And yes, that looked like a strike by Mesa to Roberto Alomar, even if Sandy Alomar caught it weirdly.
4:50 this was a HUGE moment in the series. If that’s a strike, Benitez gets out of the inning and they turn a 2 run lead in the 9th to Randy Myers and the Indians may have been down 0-2 in the series. Even if games 3-6 play out the same, the O’s would have still had a game 7 to fall back on
Fresh off their upset win over the favored Yankees, the Cleveland Indians rode the momentum to Baltimore to face the Orioles. But in the first inning of Game 1, it was the story of a man named Brady--Anderson, that is. First, he robbed Manny Ramirez of a home run in the top half. Then, he saw Chad Ogea's first pitch in the bottom half, and sent it near Eutaw Street for a home run. Scott Erickson and the O's made it stand with a 3-0 win. Then, in Game 2, the Orioles led 4-2 after 7 innings, eager to take a two game lead to Cleveland. But a funny thing happened in the 8th, as the Tribe put two on with two out, and Marquis Grissom drilled an Armando Benitez fastball over the centerfield wall for a three-run home run and a 5-4 Indians' lead. It wound up being the final score and it's on to Jacobs Field with each team having one win in the bag. At the Jake for Game 3, the bats were getting nothing but air. That's because Orioles' starter Mike Mussina picked up where he left off in the ALDS by fanning 15 Indians' batters over the first 7 innings. But Orel Hershiser, 8-1 in his postseason career, matched the Moose pitch for pitch. The game was tied at 1 going into extra innings. Then, in the 12th, with Grissom on third, Vizquel looked to bunt him home. The pitch was missed, but the Orioles thought Vizquel fouled off the pitch. It wasn't and Grisson stole home with the winning run, 2-1. The next night, more bizarre baseball intrigue. In the 5th, two Indians' runners scored on one wild pitch. Then, in the 9th, Sandy Alomar singled home the winning run. Cleveland had now captured five one-run wins in the postseason, and now had three chances to win one game for the AL Flag. It would be down to two chances, as the Orioles won Game 5 behind Scott Kamienecki, 4-2. Oriole Park in Camden Yards was the setting for Game 6. And like in Game 3, the Indians couldn't buy a hit--much less a run--against Mussina, holding the Tribe to one hit over 7 innings. But Charles Nagy matched him scorless frame for scoreless frame, though Nagy needed to get out of several jams on his end. After 10 innings, it was all goose eggs on the scoreboard. Then, in the 11th, Tony Fernandez hit one into the seats in right for a home run, and a 1-0 Indians lead. Jose Mesa came on to seal it in the bottom half. With a man on and 2 outs, Mesa threw a called third strike past Roberto Alomar, and the Cleveland Indians are headed back to the World Series. Mike Mussina was the best player of the LCS, starting twice, allowing only 4 hits and 1 run in 15 innings, fanning 25 batters. But it was Marquis Grissom who was named ALCS MVP for the victorious Indians. Now, it was on to the World Series for a date with the Marlins and a chance to win their first title since 1948.
4 of the 6 games in this series were decided by 1 run and 2 went to extra innings. Cleveland won all 4 of those 1 run games. Baltimore had a runner In scoring position in 7 of the first 8 innings in game 6 but couldn’t bring any of them around to score. They didn’t get past 1st base in the last 3 innings and 8 of their 9 outs were by strike out. Tony Fernandez hit the series winning home run in the top of the 11th inning of game 6. That was his only career postseason home run in 150 AB’s. Including both the postseason and regular season Fernandez hit 95 career home runs in 8,061 AB’s. He hit one in just about 1.1% of his AB’s. Mike Mussina pitched brilliantly in his 2 starts. He pitched a total of 15 innings and allowed only 1 run and struck out 15 Indians in games 3 and 6. The Orioles lost both games.
Mike Mussina must have wronged the baseball gods in some way - 25 strikeouts and only four hits and one run allowed over fifteen innings, and his team can’t get him one single run. He’s the MVP of this series if the O’s score in either of his games
Next time the Orioles will have a winning season will be in the 2012 season, which is also the next time that the Orioles will make the postseason. Its going to be a rough 15 years for the Orioles starting in 1998.
This was Davey Johnson third consecutive LCS loss 1995 Reds, lost to the Braves 1996 Orioles, lost to the Yankees 1997 Orioles, lost to Cleveland And he also lost the 1988 NLCS when he was the Mets manager against the Dodgers
It's amazing how the Indians were squeaking by in the AL Playoffs. Had they won with that record and their close calls, I think an argument could have been made for them as one of the worst WS winners. They would have been like a more talented version of the '06 Cardinals- lousy record, get hot at right time.
I think the '97 Indians were better than their record. They kind of cruised for much of that season because they didn't get any kind of a challenge in their division. They were the only team in the AL Central to finish over .500. They could've won more if they had to. They did get a ton of breaks in the playoffs, but they were good enough to take advantage of them against two very fine teams in New York and Baltimore. Not saying that the '97 Indians were a great team, just that their 86-75 record doesn't really reflect the quality of that team. IMO.
It's wild how that works sometimes. '85 Royals...probably the worst of all their playoff teams, won the whole thing. '87 Twins...85-77 and absolutely putrid away from home...take advantage of the weird alternating year format to have home field in both the LCS and World Series, win it all. You mentioned the '06 Cardinals, same goes for the 2010 Giants...not as talented as the Bonds teams from 2000, 2002, or 2003, but better equipped for the postseason. I'll even include the 2019 Nationals...after all that disappointment, THAT team with the worst record of all their playoff teams...but finally the guys with the right clutch gene in October.
@@harryhighland591 yes like the 93 phillies.Everyone called their win over the braves an upset, but theyhad better hitters, bench players, and relievers. Their starting pitching wasn't too much worse than the braves either, of course the 93 braves being arguably the greatest rotation ever. I saw no difference in either team. Curt shut the braves down
Such a great series. Both teams were a "who's who" of some of the best players of the era.
Rip Tony. Thanks for the memories.
I was at G3. Probably one of the best games in ALCS history. Very fortunate to have seen it in person with my Father.
Armando Benitez, King of the Gopher Balls.
If the Orioles didn’t have bad luck in the ALCS, they would have had no luck. Cleveland as a team actually hit under .200 in this series, but it felt like they batted 1.000 after the 7th inning stretch
Armando Benítez was also a notorious big game choker
@@jonsnow5513If Mariano Rivera is the Michael Jordan of relief pitchers, then Armando Benitez is the James Harden.
a tremendous series, definitely right there with Minnesota-Atlanta '91 and Seattle-New York '95 as being among the best of the era.
Orioles fan here, I was 8 years old in 1997. This series was back and forth it had everything the pitching, hitting, fielding you name it. Orioles were so stacked better team so were the Indians. Orioles were the best team and SHOULD'VE won this series. Orioles had so MANY chances to win especially GAME 6. The Orioles left SO MANY MEN ON BASE. Indians capitalized their chances when it counted. Overall this was a HELL of a series gotta give Cleveland credit. As a Orioles fan this series was very frustrating
Mussina was a STUD in the 97 postseason. 4 starts, all AMAZING. Its a damn shame we didnt get to see him in the World Series for 1-3 more starts.
Sandy Alomar was having a magical 97 season, including the postseason obviously. SO clutch
The 97 Orioles is in my opinion the greatest Orioles team of all time. More dangerous than any of their great teams in the 60's and 70's, and greater than the 83 team that won it all. This series was lost by the Orioles, it was NOT won by Cleveland.
Benitez, Mussina, and Grissom. The 3 MVP's
Shame that this 1997 ALCS didnt go 7 games, because this ALCS was fun fun fun. Just like last years ALDS between these two teams, how it was a shame that that DIvision Series didnt go 5 games because that series was fun fun fun
As for game 6:
Orioles had 16 baserunners in game 6, and did not score a run, so it wasnt like Cleveland's pitching was pitching a gem against them.
Orioles had at least one runner in scoring position in the first 5 innings and NOTHING.
Orioles had a runner in scoring position in the 7th and 8th innings, and NOTHING. Those innings were BRUTAL
Orioles had a runner on firstbase in the 9th inning, 10th innings, and 11th innings, and NOTHING
Orioles had runners on base every inning except the 6th inning and NOTHING
Anywho, this was the greatest ALCS to not go 7 games.
I thought they were going to give the ALCS MVP to Mussina, but I guess they dont give it to a player on the losing team anymore.
And had Grissom caught the ball on game 3 in the 9th inning, Mesa was going to be the MVP. Im still surprised Grisson won it, considering that asides from that game 2 home run, which was very clutch, he didnt hit at all. And also Grissom had that dropped fly ball in the 9th innning of game 3, but I guess he made up for it with his game winning steal of home in game 3.
And gosh, I would have been fine if the players who hit the clutch homers against the Orioles were Manny, Thome, Matt Williams, David Justice, Sandy Alomar. But Tony Fernandez and Marquis Grissom???? Come on; I know they both got pop, but still.
And yes, that looked like a strike by Mesa to Roberto Alomar, even if Sandy Alomar caught it weirdly.
I feel like even with two no-decisions for the losing team, Mussina should have been LCS MVP here.
4:50 this was a HUGE moment in the series. If that’s a strike, Benitez gets out of the inning and they turn a 2 run lead in the 9th to Randy Myers and the Indians may have been down 0-2 in the series.
Even if games 3-6 play out the same, the O’s would have still had a game 7 to fall back on
Loved that reference by Rich Eisen in the beginning lol
Fresh off their upset win over the favored Yankees, the Cleveland Indians rode the momentum to Baltimore to face the Orioles. But in the first inning of Game 1, it was the story of a man named Brady--Anderson, that is. First, he robbed Manny Ramirez of a home run in the top half. Then, he saw Chad Ogea's first pitch in the bottom half, and sent it near Eutaw Street for a home run. Scott Erickson and the O's made it stand with a 3-0 win. Then, in Game 2, the Orioles led 4-2 after 7 innings, eager to take a two game lead to Cleveland. But a funny thing happened in the 8th, as the Tribe put two on with two out, and Marquis Grissom drilled an Armando Benitez fastball over the centerfield wall for a three-run home run and a 5-4 Indians' lead. It wound up being the final score and it's on to Jacobs Field with each team having one win in the bag.
At the Jake for Game 3, the bats were getting nothing but air. That's because Orioles' starter Mike Mussina picked up where he left off in the ALDS by fanning 15 Indians' batters over the first 7 innings. But Orel Hershiser, 8-1 in his postseason career, matched the Moose pitch for pitch. The game was tied at 1 going into extra innings. Then, in the 12th, with Grissom on third, Vizquel looked to bunt him home. The pitch was missed, but the Orioles thought Vizquel fouled off the pitch. It wasn't and Grisson stole home with the winning run, 2-1.
The next night, more bizarre baseball intrigue. In the 5th, two Indians' runners scored on one wild pitch. Then, in the 9th, Sandy Alomar singled home the winning run. Cleveland had now captured five one-run wins in the postseason, and now had three chances to win one game for the AL Flag. It would be down to two chances, as the Orioles won Game 5 behind Scott Kamienecki, 4-2.
Oriole Park in Camden Yards was the setting for Game 6. And like in Game 3, the Indians couldn't buy a hit--much less a run--against Mussina, holding the Tribe to one hit over 7 innings. But Charles Nagy matched him scorless frame for scoreless frame, though Nagy needed to get out of several jams on his end. After 10 innings, it was all goose eggs on the scoreboard. Then, in the 11th, Tony Fernandez hit one into the seats in right for a home run, and a 1-0 Indians lead. Jose Mesa came on to seal it in the bottom half. With a man on and 2 outs, Mesa threw a called third strike past Roberto Alomar, and the Cleveland Indians are headed back to the World Series.
Mike Mussina was the best player of the LCS, starting twice, allowing only 4 hits and 1 run in 15 innings, fanning 25 batters. But it was Marquis Grissom who was named ALCS MVP for the victorious Indians. Now, it was on to the World Series for a date with the Marlins and a chance to win their first title since 1948.
I have never seen an unluckier LCS team than the Orioles
4 of the 6 games in this series were decided by 1 run and 2 went to extra innings. Cleveland won all 4 of those 1 run games. Baltimore had a runner In scoring position in 7 of the first 8 innings in game 6 but couldn’t bring any of them around to score. They didn’t get past 1st base in the last 3 innings and 8 of their 9 outs were by strike out. Tony Fernandez hit the series winning home run in the top of the 11th inning of game 6. That was his only career postseason home run in 150 AB’s. Including both the postseason and regular season Fernandez hit 95 career home runs in 8,061 AB’s. He hit one in just about 1.1% of his AB’s. Mike Mussina pitched brilliantly in his 2 starts. He pitched a total of 15 innings and allowed only 1 run and struck out 15 Indians in games 3 and 6. The Orioles lost both games.
Payback for ‘96
Mike Mussina must have wronged the baseball gods in some way - 25 strikeouts and only four hits and one run allowed over fifteen innings, and his team can’t get him one single run. He’s the MVP of this series if the O’s score in either of his games
Not to mention his poor luck in general.
@@iamhungey12345 Signed with the Yankees in 2001, but they won a ring in 2000. Retired with the Yankees in 2008, the Yankees win a ring in 2009.
@@jonsnow5513 Yep.
Awesome...I was in Marine Corps basic training so I didn't see any of this.
Next time the Orioles will have a winning season will be in the 2012 season, which is also the next time that the Orioles will make the postseason.
Its going to be a rough 15 years for the Orioles starting in 1998.
This was Davey Johnson third consecutive LCS loss
1995 Reds, lost to the Braves
1996 Orioles, lost to the Yankees
1997 Orioles, lost to Cleveland
And he also lost the 1988 NLCS when he was the Mets manager against the Dodgers
I was 8 yrs old at that game Game 6
10:19- perfectly timed horn lol
This was Davey Johnson final season as Orioles manager
The Orioles will sign Ray Miller to be their new manager
Jesus we got robbed so much in the 90’s. Now we just suck.
Is that the Baltimore radio play-by-play?😊
he is marquis grisson ?
This makes me sad
I wonder how this series would have been if Benitez got that call on the swing and orioles won game 2.
Absolutely Baltimore would have won the series in 5 games if that happened, with all the momentum up 2-0 and Mussina starting game 3 4:50
Also hoiles getting injured.
Idk how armando Benítez made it to the big leagues
He did throw 100 MPH
He was good in the regular season. The problem was the postseason
@@redpillfreedom6692 Postseason AND important September games (2001 Mets)
It's amazing how the Indians were squeaking by in the AL Playoffs.
Had they won with that record and their close calls, I think an argument could have been made for them as one of the worst WS winners.
They would have been like a more talented version of the '06 Cardinals- lousy record, get hot at right time.
I think the '97 Indians were better than their record. They kind of cruised for much of that season because they didn't get any kind of a challenge in their division. They were the only team in the AL Central to finish over .500. They could've won more if they had to. They did get a ton of breaks in the playoffs, but they were good enough to take advantage of them against two very fine teams in New York and Baltimore. Not saying that the '97 Indians were a great team, just that their 86-75 record doesn't really reflect the quality of that team. IMO.
It's wild how that works sometimes. '85 Royals...probably the worst of all their playoff teams, won the whole thing. '87 Twins...85-77 and absolutely putrid away from home...take advantage of the weird alternating year format to have home field in both the LCS and World Series, win it all. You mentioned the '06 Cardinals, same goes for the 2010 Giants...not as talented as the Bonds teams from 2000, 2002, or 2003, but better equipped for the postseason. I'll even include the 2019 Nationals...after all that disappointment, THAT team with the worst record of all their playoff teams...but finally the guys with the right clutch gene in October.
@@harryhighland591 yes like the 93 phillies.Everyone called their win over the braves an upset, but theyhad better hitters, bench players, and relievers. Their starting pitching wasn't too much worse than the braves either, of course the 93 braves being arguably the greatest rotation ever. I saw no difference in either team. Curt shut the braves down
Orioles were a better team minus relief pitching.