The 2019 Historical Phillies Madness Tournament: The World Series

Round 6: World Series

1981 (59-48) vs. 1996 (67-95)

1981: d. 1962, 4-2; d. 1983, 4-2; d. 2013, 4-3; d. 1990, 4-3; d. 2010, 4-1
1996: d. 1998, 4-2; d. 1963, 4-3; d. 1958, 4-1; d. 2011, 4-2; d. 1993, 4-2

Game 1: 1981 wins, 10-0

Two homers form Mike Schmidt, a grand slam from Sarge, and a strong start from Larry Christenson led the ‘81 club to a thrashing opener.

Game 2: 1981 wins, 3-2

Steve Carlton struck out 11 in 6.2 innings, allowing just a solo homer to Kevin Sefcik in the second. The ‘96 club got the tying run on base in the ninth, but Gregg Jefferies grounded into a game-ending double play.

Game 3: 1981 wins, 10-3

The ‘96 club is in deep, now. Three solo homers from Jefferies, Mark Whiten, and Todd Zeile were hardly enough, especially since ‘81 was up, 9-0, before any of those dingers could happen. Underdogs throughout this whole affair, the ‘96 team needs to pull off four straight.

Game 4: 1996 wins, 6-2

This is one way to start that journey. Sid Fernandez gave 7.1 strong innings, giving up just five hits and one run. The top of the ‘81 Phils lineup continues to be a problem, and keeping them in check is critical for the ‘96 pitching staff to help finish this comeback.

Game 5: 1996 wins, 11-3

The top five in the ‘96 lineup combined for 11 hits, including three doubles and two homers, as Christenson got absolutely shellacked. Even the ‘96 team’s three errors didn’t really come back to haunt them; the offense was just too overpowering. Still needing two more road wins, the teams head back to the ‘81 Vet to try and force (or avoid) a Game 7.

Game 6: 1981 wins, 5-4

But there will be no Game 7! The 1981 team finishes this tournament off with a 5-4 win in front of the “home” crowd, as Larry Bowa’s sixth-inning sac fly provided what ended up being the winning run.

Final Series Stats

1981 wins, 4 to 2 (10-0, 3-2, 10-3, 2-6, 3-11, 5-4)
Series MVP: Mike Schmidt, 1981 (.389/.519/.889, 2 HR, 6 RBI)