1992 Alternate Season - LCS Action (OOTP18)

The great thing about Out of the Park Baseball 18, you can do numerous projects (like mentioned in previous posts); One of those projects is the 1992 Alternative Season (with no expansion).

Montreal trades Alou away.

I momentarily took over the GM & Manager responsibilities of the 1992 Atlanta Braves. I was able to get them to win the N.L. West edging the Cincinnati Reds, and we ended up facing the Montreal Expos in the 1992 National League Championship Series. The Expos got there by trading aways Moises Alou to the Houston Astros in exchange for pitchers Shane Reynolds and Rob Murphy. Reynolds will add more depth to the rotation in the future, while 32 year-old left-handed vet Murphy, had an excellent season for Montreal with a 3-1 record, 3 saves, 1.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, with 44 K in 55.1 innings; He also had a 241 ERA+ & 1.2 WAR as well.

The Braves would lose Game 1 of the NLCS, 6-1 to Montreal. Ken Hill pitches a strong seven-inning, three-hit performance that allowed only one run, while Tom Glavine gets rocked for 6 hits, 4 runs & 4 walks in only 2.2 innings.

In Game 2, Atlanta got started early against Chris Nabholz, who the Braves have struggled against during the season (batting .211) -- scoring 3 runs during the top of the 1st, highlighted by Terry Pendleton's sac fly that inning. The 3rd Inning featured the biggest surprise as Dave Valle (acquired from Seattle for two prospects), hit a two-run HR to give Atlanta a 5-0 lead. Steve Avery would go on to pitch a complete game shutout, striking out 5, while allowing 8 hits & 2 walks.

Puckett & the boys want a repeat World Title.

Meanwhile in the American League, the 1992 American League Championship features the 108-win Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Twins had both hitting & pitching this season, as they blew away the competition in the A.L. West, by winning the division by 20 games! (Seattle was 2nd place with 88 wins) While Canadians are hoping for an All-Canada World Series this year, featuring both Montreal & Toronto, the idea of a 1991 World Series rematch between the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins, or a real-life 1992 Braves-Blue Jays World Series are also possible. 

Kirby Puckett went on to win his 2nd A.L. Batting Title by hitting .348, with 12 HR & 115 RBI, while teammates Shane Mack (.338, 26 HR, 127 RBI & 13 SB) and Brian Harper (.321, 15 HR & 101 RBI) were not far behind. Chili Davis led the team with 39 HR (while hitting 128 RBI) & Kent Hrbek was his consistent, reliable self with 23 HR & 88 ribbies. The bad news is that Mack will be out for two weeks with a hamstring strain. 

The Twins' rotation was a solid one, 1-4, led by John Smiley (22-4, 2.73 ERA) -- whose 22 wins led the American League, a season after he led the National League with 20 wins. Kevin Tapani (18-7, 3.94 ERA) & Scott Erickson (15-9, 3.51 ERA) were steady starters all season long, while prospect Brad Radke was a pleasant surprise at 12-9 with a 3.30 ERA; Radke's development is about three years early, considering that his real-life MLB debut did not happen until 1995. Mark Guthrie (10 wins) & Rick Aguilera (37 saves) were solid out of the pen.

Baseball is back in Montreal... well in a alternate flashback at least (We'll take it!)

Game 3 of the NLCS -- Sloppy play and a bad John Smoltz outing, put the Braves on the short-end of the stick, as they could not keep matching Montreal's scoring. Braves started off early with a two-run single in the 1st by Dave Justice, but it was Larry Walker's go-ahead, lead-off homer in the 5th that would knock out Smoltz (4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 K & 3 BB). The Braves got as close as 6-5 with runners on 2nd & 3rd with 2 outs in the 9th, but pinch-hitter Ruben Amaro Jr. could not get the tying run across the plate, as John Wetteland secures the two-inning save.

Dave Justice would go 4-for-4, all singles, a walk & 2 RBI in the losing cause, as Montreal now leads the series, 2-1.

The Minnesota Twins meanwhile have a 2-0 series lead over the Blue Jays. During Game 1, Marty Cordova hit a solo HR in the 8th Inning off of Jack Morris (Ex-Twin, 1991 WS hero) to give the Twins breathing room, 8-6. Game 2, a 4-run 4th Inning helped the Twins to a 6-3 victory, with Brian Harper going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, while Dante Bichette added 2 RBI; Bichette was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for reliever Carl Willis and pitching prospect Cory Lidle.

Game 4 (in Atlanta) - The Braves bounce back & even the series, 2-2. Tom Glavine fared better with 7 innings, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 K & 3 walks. The Expos came within a run with a solo HR by Wil Cordero in the 7th inning (off of Glavine). Dave Justice continues hot LCS going 1-for-2, HR, BB & RBI, while batting .357 during the series. Alejandro Pena gets the two-inning save. Lonnie Smith delivers clutch pinch-hit RBI single to give Braves, 4-3 win.

After the Blue Jays evened up the ALCS, 2-2, they get clobbered in Game 5 by the Twins with a whopping score of 14-1, while the series also goes back to Minnesota.