1950 World Series Recap

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Two teams who finished second in their respective leagues met for the Inaugural RABL Retro World Series.  The Syracuse Stars which featured Robin Roberts and Ted Williams earned the right to representing the National League by taking down the Lone Jack Rustlers in 6 games and then the heavily favored Wayne Bombers in 6 games in the NLCS.  The I85 Gridlock featuring Joe DiMaggio and Ned Garver which finished 4 games behind the Roswell Rancid Raccoons to finish second in the American League defeated the Rubber City Rebels in 6 games and then the Raccoons in a wild ALCS in 7 games.
Game 1 at I-85
Robin Roberts against Ned Garver.  In the bottom of the first inning Joltin Joe went deep off Roberts with a 2 run HR.  I85 added at 3rd run in the bottom of the 5th as Garver was cruising.  Back to back jacks by Ted Williams and Eddie Yost in the top of the 9th followed by a single by Elmer Valo and a rare error by Chico Carrasquel on a Eddie Joost groundball drove Garver from the game.  Van Cuyk came in and gave up the tying hit to Eddie Waitkus and then the Syracuse go-ahead run on a groundball to 2B.  Kucab came in and promptly loaded the bases for Syracuse with a walk to Dom DiMaggio and gave up another run by walking Ted Williams and finally got Eddie Yost to flyout on the warning track.  In the bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs, Carrasquel singled and PH Tommy Brown hit a tying HR off Dubiel.  The Stars took the lead again in the top of the 10th on a lead off HR by Elmer Valo off Haynes.  Lade came in and limited the scoring to that.  With Syracuse leading 6-5, the Gridlock came to bat.  With 1 out, DiMaggio reached first on an error by Dubiel, PH Tommy Henrich walked, Hank Thompson singled to tie the game, and Johnny Pramesa flied out deep to score Henrich for the winning run.  Syracuse 6 I-85 7
Game 2 at I-85
Erv Palica against Curt Simmons.  Both pitchers dominated through the first 3 innings.  In the bottom of the 4th Johnny Pramesa took Palica deep on a 2 run shot to give I85 the early lead.  In the bottom of the 5th Tommy Glaviano walked and Vic Wertz singled him to 3B.  A Palica wild pitch resulted in Glaviano scoring to give I85 a 3-0 lead.  Dom DiMaggio opened the 6th inning with a double and scored on 2 consecutive groundouts.  Three singles with 2 outs got the game to 3-2.  In the top of the 7th Eddie Stanky and Eddie Yost singled and Hermanski drove both in on his single.  Syracuse leads 4-3.  In the bottom of the 8th, Vic Wertz singled and moved to 2B on Joe DiMaggio's groundout.  Wertz scored on Hank Thompson's single to tie the game at 4-4.  In the top of the 9th, the Stars loaded the bases with a leadoff double by Eddie Yost followed by an intentional walk to Dom DiMaggio and a single by Hermanski.  I85 escaped with the infield drawn in on a DP home and 1st followed by a flyout.  In the bottom of the 10th, Johnny Hopp doubled with 2 outs and Thompson drove him in for the winning run with a single. Syracuse 6 I-85 7
Game 3 at Syracuse
Al Widmar against Fred Hutchinson.  In the bottom of the first, Syracuse scored 2 runs on a DiMaggio single, Williams walk, Yost single, Wally Moses walk and Joost sac fly.  The Stars added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd on a Dom DiMaggio lead off double and a RBI single by Wally Moses.  Score I85 0, Syracuse 3.  In the top of the 4th Joe DiMaggio singled, move to 2B on a groundout and was driven home on a Pramesa single, 1-3.  In the top of the 5th I85 tied the score on a Widmar single followed by a Lehner triple and a Wertz sac fly, 3-3.  In the bottom of the 6th, the Stars rallied BIG, Joost walked, Rice doubled, Hutchison doubled, Stanky walked, and DiMaggio singled driving Widmar from the game.  Van Cuyk came in and gave up a single to Williams and a walk to Yost... a 5 run inning for Syracuse.  The I85 comeback in the top of the 8th fell short and the game ended with Dubiel getting the Save.  I-85 6 Syracuse 8
Game 4 at Syracuse
Ned Garver against Robin Roberts.  What looked to be a game of ACES wound up being a slugfest.  In the first, Paul Lehner singled, Glaviano walked, Wertz singled to drive in Lehner, Glaviano scored on a passed ball, and Wertz scored on a groundout.  I85 scored again in the 2nd when Pramesa singled and Lehner followed with a triple.  Syracuse got on the board in the bottom of the 2nd when Hermanski led off with single, Garver walked 3 straight batters, and a second run scored on a doubleplay.  I85 4, Syracuse 2.  I85 scored again in the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th to build the lead to 9-2. The wheels came off Garver in the bottom of the 7th as Moses tripled, Stanky singled, DiMaggio singled, Williams singled, Yost singled, and Hermanski doubled to score 5 runs, I85 9 - Syracuse 7.  In the top of the 9th with Star's reliever Borowy on the mound, I85 added 5 runs of its on.  Van Cuyk gave up 1 run in the bottom of the 9th before yielding the mound to Gerry Staley who got the final 2 outs. I-85 14 Syracuse 8
Game 5 at Syracuse
Whitey Ford against Erv Palica.   Rookie I85 pitcher Whitey Ford opened his World Series by giving up a 3 run HR to Ted Williams in the first inning.  I85 came back to tie the game with 1 run in the 2nd, 5th, and 6th.  Ford gave up the lead by giving up 2 more runs in the bottom of the 7th as Waitkus walked, Lopata singled, Hermanski singled driving in Waitkus, and Yost singled driving in Lopata.  I85 3, Syracuse 5.  I85 added 1 in the 8th off Dubiel, but Syracuse added 2 more off Doyle Lade in the bottom of the 8th. I-85 4 Syracuse 7
Game 6 at I-85
Fred Hutchinson against Curt Simmons.   Back home at I85, the Gridlock opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st when Glaviano and Wertz singled and Johnny Hopp got hold of one for a 3 run shot.  I85 added 1 in the 4th when Lehner doubled and Joe DiMaggio singled him in.  Syracuse cut into the lead in the top of the 5th when Elmer Valo hit a 2 run homer.  Syracuse 2, I85 4.  I85 added 3 to its lead in the bottom of the 7th when Johnny Hopp singled then stole 2B, Les Moss singled, Carrasquel singled, Lehner singled, and Glaviano singled.  Syracuse 2 I85 7.  Syracuse added 1 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th on Valo's 2nd HR of the game.  Syracuse 4 I-85 7
I85 wins a hard fought Inaugural World Series over a tough Syracuse team in 6 games.
 
It would be hard to pick an MVP of the series, certainly no pitcher in this high scoring series.
For the I85 winning team, Paul Lehner from the leadoff spot hit .333 with and OBP of .375,  Vic Wertz hit .428 with a .466 OBP, and Chico Carrasquel hit .384 with an OBP of .429 and made 3 great plays at SS.
For the Syracuse team, Elmer Valo hit 3 homeruns, Dom DiMaggio hit .357 with an OBP of .379, and Ted Williams in limited action hit .467 with an OBP of .579 and 2 Homeruns (only played in 4 games).