The Globe and Mail - 27.03.2020

FRIDAY,MARCH27,2020| THEGLOBEANDMAILO B13

In place of on-field baseball action
postponed by the COVID-19 pan-
demic, The Globe and Mail brings
you a computer-simulated tourna-
ment involving four of the greatest
Canadian teams in history, using
the statistics-based software of the
sports-game company Strat-O-Mat-
ic. The first-round best-of-seven-
game series pits the 1985 Blue Jays
against their World Series-winning
counterparts from 1993, while on
the other side of the bracket the 1981
Expos take on the 1994 Montreal
squad. Today’s matchup is Game
No. 1 of the all-Expos series.

D

onald Sutherland threw
out the first pitch and se-
curity staff threw out the
first streaker at a festooned
Olympic Stadium, site of the
opening game of the series be-
tween the 1981 Montreal Expos
and their heavily favoured 1994
counterparts. The game, won 4-2
by the ’94 squad behind the stea-
dy pitching of Ken Hill, was ho-
hum by comparison.
With Celine Dion’s rendition
ofO Canadastill reverberating
around the cavernous Big O, the
home-side 1994 Expos jumped
on ’81 starter Steve Rogers for
three runs in the first two in-
nings. A two-out triple by young
Cliff Floyd drove in Mike Lansing
in the bottom of the second, giv-
ing the team from ’94 a lead it
would not relinquish.
The much-anticipated series
pairs teams both affected by
strike-shortened seasons. The so-
called “team of the eighties”
peaked in 1981, when it lost to the
Los Angeles Dodgers in the Na-
tional League Championship Se-
ries. Following a midseason play-
ers’ strike, the schedule had been
split in half. Enthused by rookie-
of-the-year runner-up Tim Rain-
es, carried by a deep starting ro-
tation and led by the profound
slugging of Andre Dawson and
Gary Carter, the team was the
franchise’s first and only postsea-
son participant.
Of course, postseason oppor-
tunity was something denied to
the 1994 Montreal team, which

had compiled Major League

Baseball’s best record (74-40) in-

to the second week of August

that year. Moisés Alou, Marquis

Grissom, Darrin Fletcher, Wil

Cordero and pitcher Hill had rep-

resented the Expos in the All-Star

Game. It was all for naught for

the juggernaut: A labour dispute

wiped out the remainder of the

’94 season and endured into the

next one. “What might have

been” is forever that team’s

downhearted motto.

In Game No. 1 of the all-Expos

series, the 1994 edition was all

business. The 28-year-old Hill al-

lowed one earned run on six hits

before being removed by manag-

er Felipe Alou in the sixth inning.

Relievers Mel Rojas and closer

John Wetteland finished the

game as efficiently as Hill had be-

gun it.

“He was good,” manager Alou

said after the game about his

starting pitcher. “The leadership

there on the hill, the intensity.

There was a lot of life in this

game because of him.”

There was certainly life in the

game during the top of the

eighth inning. After a pinch-hit

solo home run by 1981’s John Mil-

ner, a fellow bounded onto the

unforgiving artificial turf and at-

tracted attention for a minute be-

fore being tackled and escorted

off the field by stadium security

staff.

Earlier in the tilt, an odd mess-

age flashed across the score-

board, saying that Sutherland,

who was sitting in the stadium,

had a phone call. On the line was

his agent.

“It was the third inning, so I

told him I couldn’t talk on the

telephone at the moment,” the

Ordinary Peopleactor would later

explain. “I hung up and returned

to my seat.”

After his team had won, the

elated New Brunswick-born su-

perfan called his agent back, on a

pay phone outside the locker

room. “I said, ‘I don’t care what

the deal is, I’ll do the film.’ ”

The game lasted 10 minutes

shy of three hours. Highlights

were few from the 1981 support-

ers’ view, but shortstop Chris

Speier did range deep into the

hole to make a dazzling play on a

hard-hit grounder by opposing

catcher Fletcher in the third in-

ning.

A bit of pregame drama in-

volved the 1994 squad’s lineup. It

was speculated that Larry Walk-

er, who had finished the regular

season playing first base because

of an injury to his throwing arm,

would be able to return to his

customary position in right field.

The rumour was false. Walker, a

Gold Glove outfielder, was at first

base when the game began. He’s

expected to remain there for the

series.

Scheduled starting pitchers for

Game 2 of the series are 1981’s Bill

Gullickson and 1994’s Pedro Mar-

tinez.

1994ExposstrikefirstagainstExposof’81

Anticipatedseriespairs

teamsaffectedby

strike-shortenedseasons

BRADWHEELER

‘81 Expos AB R H RBI AVG ‘94 Expos AB R H RBI AVG

T.RainesLF4 0 2 0. 500 M.Grissom CF 4 1 1 1. 250

R.Scott 2B 3 0 0 0 .000 C.FloydLF4 0 31 .7 50

A.Dawson CF 4 1 1 0. 250 M.Alou RF 4 0 21. 500

G.Carter C 3 0 11. 333 L.Walker 1B 4 0 0 0 .000

L.Parrish3B 4 0 1 0. 250 D.Fletcher C 4 0 1 0. 250

W.Cromartie1B 3 0 0 0 .000 W .Cordero SS 4 1 0 0 .000

T.WallachRF 2 0 0 0 .000 S.Berry3B 411 0. 250

C-J.White PR 0000 —M.Lansing 2B 4 1 3 1 .7 50

C.Speier SS 3 0 1 0. 333 K.HillP10 0 0 .000

B-J.ManuelPH 1 0 0 0 .000 M.RojasP10 0 0 .000

S.RogersP20 0 0 .000 J.WettelandP 0000 —

A-J.MilnerPH 11111.000

E.SosaP 0000 —

D-T.FranconaPH 1 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 2 7 2 Totals 34 4 11 4

BOXSCORE

GAME 1: 1981 MoItreal Expos at 1994 MoItreal Expos

A-PinchHit For RogersIn 8thInning

B-PinchHit For Speier In 9thInning

C-PinchRanForWallachIn 9thInning

D-PinchHitForSosaIn 9thInning

‘81 Expos 000001 0 1 0 -2 70

‘94 Expos 120001 00 -411 0

‘81 Expos (0-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA

S.RogersLOSS( 0 -1) 7 11 4 4 0 2 0 124 5. 14

E.Sosa 1 0000009 0.00

Totals 8 11 4 4 0 2 0

‘94 Expos (1-0) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA

K.HillWIN(1- 0 )52/ 3611210 99 1. 59

M.RojasHOLD(1st) 1 2/311112 1245. 40

J.WettelandSAVE(1st) 1 2/ 3 000230 31 0.00

Totals 9 7 2256 1

ExposbatterMoisésAlouwasamemberofthe1994Montrealteam,

whichhadcompiledMajorLeagueBaseball’sbestrecord(74-40)intothe

secondweekofAugustthatyear.ERICRISBERG/THEASSOCIATEDPRESS

theJaysof’93.Thewinnerof

thebest-of-sevenserieswillface

thevictorsofthematchup

betweentheMontrealExpos

teamsfrom1981and1994.The

lastteamstandingwinsthe

Macdonald-CartierCup.

Tomorrow,TheGlobewillruna

gamereportandboxscoreof

GameNo.2oftheTorontoside

ofourcomputer-simulated

tournament.Scheduledstarting

pitchersareJimmyKeyforthe

1985JaysandDaveStewartfor

NEXTUP

BASEBALL

I

t’s been another ideal week of March weather in central

Arizona, with highs in the 30s and plenty of sunshine.

Perfect for an opening day baseball game between the

Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves that isn’t

happening as planned because of the coronavirus pandem-

ic.

That reality was starkly apparent on Thursday, as a nearly

deserted Chase Field sat in strange silence.

But the pleasant weather was also a reminder of what

could happen when and if the games resume. After all, it’s a

lot like what November or even December baseball would

feel like in this part of the world.

In the upside-down universe of Major League Baseball –

which is on hold until at least mid-May and quite possibly

longer as the world fights the coronavirus spread – just

about anything is possible if the 2020 season ever begins.

While no one knows exactly what will happen, here are a

few options if games can be played:

LET’S PLAY TWO

It’s hard to envision teams playing the traditional 162-game

season if games don’t begin until midsummer. But one way

to squeeze in action would be a throwback option: sched-

uled doubleheaders.

Doubleheaders were once a regular part of MLB’s sched-

ule, but have mostly faded away with the exception of

makeup games because of weather. The 2020 season could

be different, with teams playing eight or even nine games in

a week.

If that’s the case, there would be talk of expanding rosters

to help keep players – especially pitchers – from getting

overworked.

BALL WELL INTO FALL

The 2020 regular season was scheduled to end on Sept. 27,

but it’s possible games could be pushed well into October or

November. That probably wouldn’t be a huge problem in

warm-weather cities such as Houston and Los Angeles or

places with retractable roofs such as Toronto.

But November night games in Denver, Chicago or Boston?

Brrrrr.

NEUTRAL SITES

One solution to cold-weather baseball is moving to neutral

sites. The teams could return to their spring training homes

in Arizona and Florida in the late fall which would cut down

on travel so teams could play lots of games in a short time

period.

Having the World Series at a neutral site such as Phoenix

or Miami would certainly be different. But it seems to work

just fine for the Super Bowl.

Players and executives all seem to agree on one thing: If

baseball is played this season, flexibility will be key.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Twinbills?Neutrallocales?

MLB’s2020couldbecreative

DAVIDBRANDTPHOENIX

T

he morning dawned bright
and sunny over Kauffman
Stadium, just to the east of
downtown Kansas City. The out-
field grass was a perfectly man-
icured ocean of green, the infield
dirt brushed as if by a fine-
toothed comb. In the air was a
pervasive feeling of spring, of
hope and opportunity and new
beginnings.
All that was missing was the
crack of a bat and the sound of
leather hitting a mitt.
This was supposed to be the
first opening day for the Kansas
City Royals under new owner
John Sherman, the fulfillment of
a lifelong ambition for the local
businessman. He had purchased
the club late last year from long-
time owner David Glass, and the
former season ticket-holder was
looking forward to seeing his re-
building franchise on the field.
Instead, the stadium sat emp-
ty as the outbreak of the new
coronavirus brings sports to a
standstill, and amid the contin-
uing uncertainty whether base-
ball will be played at all this sea-
son.
“We wish that we were playing
baseball today,” Sherman told
The Associated Press in an e-
mail, “but we are rightly prior-
itizing other things for the grea-
ter good. We are focused on
keeping our people safe – our
families, our associates, our play-
ers and coaches and our fans. We
also want to be present in our
community helping those who
need it the most.”
So rather than giving fans a
couple of hours of entertain-
ment – rather than Salvador Pe-
rez throwing out a runner, Alex
Gordon making a diving grab in
left field, Adalberto Mondesi rip-
ping a double into the gap – the
club spent opening day launch-
ing the Royals Respond initiative
to help the Kansas City commu-
nity deal with the virus outbreak.
The Royals created a website
along with the University of Kan-

sas Heath System that provides

guidelines on hygiene and slow-

ing the rate of transmission.

Their charitable arm has devel-

oped a fund to support local

non-profits caring for those af-

fected by the COVID-19 crisis,

and grants supported by fans

will be given to Harvesters, the

Community Food Network, Don

Bosco Center’s Meals on Wheels

program, and a myriad other

food pantries and community

outreach organizations.

Several players have gotten in

on the action, too. Perez filmed a

public service announcement

that encourages fans to singTake

Me Out to the Ballgamewhile

they’re washing their hands.

New manager Mike Matheny,

who was looking forward to

opening day as much as anyone,

joined several other players in a

series of PSAs.

“Obviously, you start seeing

some of the other things that

have been cancelled,” Matheny

said, “and you know that’s going

to have an effect on a lot of dif-

ferent people in a lot of different

areas. You have to also realize

people are trying to do the right

thing and with that in mind, it’s

hard to go down the road too far.

We’re going to do the right thing

for everyone involved.”

For now, that means putting

baseball on hold for something

far more important.

Major League Baseball com-

missioner Rob Manfred recently

announced each big league club

has committed US$1-million to

help assist thousands of ballpark

employees who would have

spent Thursday selling hot dogs

and beer and other souvenirs.

Most are paid on a per-game ba-

sis, and that means any cut in

the schedule would mean a sig-

nificant loss of income.

“It’s a complete effort,” Royals

general manager Dayton Moore

said. “From a united baseball

front, we’re all doing everything

we can to support what commis-

sioner Manfred has implement-

ed at this point in time.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Royals’newownerpatientlyawaits

rescheduledopeningday

DAVESKRETTAKANSASCITY

AstatueofHallofFamerGeorgeBrettstandsinanemptyKauffman

Stadium,homeoftheKansasCityRoyals,Wednesday.CHARLIERIEDEL/AP

Wewishthatwewere

playingbaseballtoday,

butwearerightly

prioritizingotherthings

forthegreatergood.

JOHNSHERMAN

OWNEROFTHEKANSASCITYROYALS