Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - A Classic Fall Classic: 1997

Episode Date: January 7, 2021

Guest host Joey Martin recounts the 1997 World Series, which featured the Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins. The two teams took very different routes to the 1997 Fall Classic, and Game Seven proved to be an exciting, nail-biting finale which went into extra innings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. And here's your host, me. This is Joey Martin, ordinarily this program's announcer. I will be presenting today's episode of Locked-on Mariners. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to the show using whichever podcasting app you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariners podcast or any of the other shows here on the Locked-on network. Follow us on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. And follow DC on Twitter at DC Underd-C.

underscore Lundberg. Today we're going to recall the 1997 World Series. This was an exciting seven-game series that pitted the mighty Cleveland Indians against the young Florida Marlins in merely their fifth season of existence. The two teams had taken very different paths to make it to this fall classic. The Indians had built up its core of players, mostly from home-grown talents such as as Manny Ramirez and Jim Tomey. However, General Manager John Hart had also signed some key-free agents along the way and

executed some very shrewd trades, such as acquiring lead-off man Kenny Lofton from the Houston Astros for Eddie Taubancy. The team had reached the 1995 World Series after winning 100 ball games in that strike-shorten season, but they were defeated by the Atlanta Braves. After the 96th season, the surly Albert Bell left as a free agent and signed a big money contract with the Chicago White Sox. To fill the offensive void, the Indians traded for Matt Williams, who had been in pursuit of the single-season home run record before the 94 season had been cut short. Not only could William swing the bat, but he was also a gold-glove third baseman, a rare combination. This allowed Jim Tomey to move across the diamond to first base.

At the very end of spring training in 97, the tribe traded Kenny Lofton to the Atlanta Braves, feeling they wouldn't have been able to resign him at the end of the season. In a deal that also sent reliever Alan Embry to Atlanta, the tribe got Marquis Grissom, who would fill Kenny Lofton's void in centerfield, and David Justice, who had been a key part of Atlanta squad for the previous six years. Justice had been deemed expendable by Atlanta because they felt young Ryan Clesco could play right field every day and maintain the same level of offense. Grissom had some big shoes to fill in Cleveland, as Lofton had been a fan favorite, popular in the clubhouse, as well as being an outstanding lead-off hitter and base dealer, and one of the best defensive center fielers in the game.

The Marlins, meanwhile, had taken a completely different route to October 97. Their first four seasons had been typical of an expansion team, the roster peppered with youngsters trying to prove their worth, and washed up veterans also with something still to prove. From their inaugural 1993 season through 1996, they had accumulated a winning percentage of a mere 449. Manager Renee Latchman was relieved of his duties following a seven-game losing streak just prior to the 96 All-Star break. In the ensuing off-season, the club hired Jim Leland to pilot their team.

Leland had bet at the helm of those excellent Pittsburgh pirate teams of the early 90s who were always in the playoff hunt, but could never cash in on the opportunities they had in October. Jeff Conine, having been acquired in the expansion draft, was enjoying a great career with Florida, usually hitting around 300 and driving in a respectable number of runs for a team that didn't provide him a whole lot of base runners. In addition, a few key acquisitions made over this time period served to further bolster the Marlins roster. In 1993, they traded for the Padres Gary Sheffield, already an established star with a great bat, but someone's still young enough to factor into the team's future.

Though this was the deal that sent future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman to San Diego, Prior to the 1996 season, the team had signed pitchers Al Leiter and Kevin Brown as free agents. Brown was already an established front-end starter, but Leiter had had something of a checkered big league career up until that point. However, both would wind up as 96 All-Stars, with Leiter even throwing a no-hitter that season. The team also made a number of free agent acquisitions prior to 1997, including Moises-Saloo, Bobby Bonilla and Alex Fernandez, also signing Cuban defector Levan Hernandez.

Catcher Charles Johnson, the team's first pick in the 1993 amateur draft, also emerged as an offensive threat to go along with his outstanding defense behind the plate. While this team had its ups and downs, they finished with a 92-70 record, good enough for second place in the National League East and the Wild Cardbirth. The Indians, meanwhile, had a down year by their standards, the excellent pitching they enjoyed in recent years not being as strong in 97, and they finished with only the ninth best ERA in the American League. No one who started 15 or more games for the tribe had an earned run average under four.

Charles Nagy led the rotation with a 4-2080-ERA. The team's record was a mere 86 and 75, but it proved good enough to win the American League Central Division. Both League Championship Series went to six games. The Indians topped the Baltimore Orioles while the Marlins defeated the powerhouse Atlanta Braves. The 1997 World Series began in Pro Player Stadium in Miami on October 18th in front of a whopping 67, 7,245 fans. Levan Hernandez started the game for the hometown 9 while veteran Oral Hersheiser towed the rubber for Cleveland. The Indians got on the board in the very first inning.

Bip Roberts let off with a double down the right field line and would later score on a David Justice single. Oral Hershizer did his job in the bottom of the first, allowing only a two-out walk. Florida got on the board in the bottom of the third inning. Craig Counsel let off with a double. Levan Hernandez sacrificed him to third, and then Devon White walked. Edgar Enteria then grounded out to first base, allowing counsel to score to tie the ballgame. They would extend this to a lead in the fourth inning. Hersheiser walked Bobby Bonilla to open the inning, then former Philly Darren Dalton singled, bringing up Moises Alloo.

He smoked an O2 pitch down the left field line, which sailed over the wall for a three-run home run. Charles Johnson then followed up with a solo home run also down the left field line, leaving the Marlins with a five-to-one lead. Cleveland answered in the top of the fifth inning with a Mani Ramirez solo home run, but they were still down five to two, and that three-run deficit would only grow in the next half-inning. Gary Sheffield drew a one-out walk, Bobby Bonilla then singled to send Chef all the way to third,

and then Jeff Conine plated Sheffield with a single. Oral Hersheyers' rough day at the office ended at that point as manager Mike Hargrove replaced him with Jeff Juden. With runners at first and second, he got Moises Allu to ground into a force play. Bonilla advanced to third while Conine and Alloo were put out at second and first, respectively. Charles Johnson then drew a walk, but ball four was also a wild pitch, allowing Bonilla to score and extending the Marlins to a comfortable 7-2 lead. The Indians did take one run back each in the sixth and eighth innings, but it was not enough, as the Marlins would take Game 1 with a final score of 7 to 4.

Kevin Brown got the starting assignment for Florida in game 2 while Cleveland called upon Chad OJ. Just like Game 1, the Indians scored in the first inning of this game, and it was the same man who drove in the run. David Justice played at Omar Vizkel with a two-out single. The Marlins answered right back in the bottom of the frame, however, with Jeff Kohnine driving in Edgar and Torrea on a single of his own. OJ. and Brown both sailed through one, two, three, innings in the second, and Brown would set the tribe down in short order in the third and fourth as well. OJ also kept the opposition off the scoreboard in the third and fourth.

Matt Williams was the first batter Brown faced in the top of the fifth, and he led off with a single. Following a Jim Tomey's strikeout, Sandy Alamar Jr. also singled. Marquise Grissom then stepped at the plate with runners on first and second, hitting another single, this one's scoring Williams. Chad OJ then sacrificed both runners along, leaving both Alamar and Grissom in scoring position for Bip Roberts. Roberts continued the hit parade, collecting the Indians' fourth single of the inning, this one's scoring Alamar and the fleet-footed Grissom, leaving the Indians up four to one.

In the subsequent half-inning, Devon White got things rolling with a single. However, Edgar Renteria fanned, then Gary Sheffield hit into a five-four-three double play, wasting White's lead-off base hit. David Justice led off the bottom of the sixth against Brown with a walk, but was then forced out at second on a Matt Williams ground out. Jim Tomey lined out, then Sandy Alamar Jr. stepped up with two away looking to continue the inning. And he did so in a big way, launching a two-run home run to bring the score to six-to-one Indians.

Marquise Grissom kept things rolling with an infield single, but that brought up the pitcher's spot and Chad OJ ended the inning by striking out swinging. Despite the number of players who reached base in the final few innings, no more runs ended up scoring. The Indians tied up the series by taking Game 2 with that final score of 6 to 1. Jacobs Field was the site for Game 3 on October 21st. The 44,880 fans in attendance witnessed one of the highest scoring games in World Series history. The visiting Marlins were first on the board, Gary Sheffield hitting a two-out solo home run off Indian starter Charles Nagy in the first inning. The slim lead didn't last very long, though,

as Cleveland jumped on Marlin's starter Al Leiter in the bottom of that same inning. Bip Roberts led off by grounding to lighter, but Lighter booted the ball, and Roberts was safe at first on the error. Two groundouts later, David Justice walked. Matt Williams then came up with two men aboard, and he singled Home Roberts to tie the game. Justice took third on the play, and the run was unearned. Sandy Alamar Jr. immediately scored Justice on another single, and the tribe now had a two-to-one lead. Jim Tomey was caught looking to end the inning. Both starters turned in one, two, three innings in the second, but Nagy had a rough third inning.

Charles Johnson led off with a single, Craig Counsel watched Strike 3 cross the plate, but then Nagy issued two walks to load the bases. The dangerous Gary Sheffield stepped up, and he also drew a walk to force in Johnson with a tying run. The bases remained loaded for Bobby Bonilla, but he grounded into an inning-ending double play, getting Nagy off the hook and limiting the damage to that lone run. Tie-ball game, 2-2. After the Indians failed to score in their half of the third, Darren Dalton led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to put the fish back ahead.

That would be Florida's only run in the fourth inning, and the Indians would go off in their half of the frame. The first two batters, Sandy Alamar Jr. and Jim Tomey both walked. Marquise Grissom then also walked following a Tony Fernandez flyout, loading the bases. Bip Roberts struck out, and Al Leiter found himself one out away from getting off the hook with no damage. However, he then walked Omar Vizkel to force in the tying run, then gave up a two-run single to Manny Ramirez. The Indians had a 5-3 advantage, which they extended to a 7-3 advantage the very next inning on a Jim Tomey two-run home run. Leiter was removed from the game two batters after this home run, replaced by Felix Heredia.

Charles Nagy wasn't exactly on his game this day either. In the sixth inning, he gave up a two-run home run to Jim Eisenreich, which cut the tribes' lead to 7 to 5. This was Nagy's last inning, and manager Mike Hargrove sent Brian Anderson to the hill to start the seventh inning. He allowed Craig Counsel to single and then to advance to second on a Devon White ground out. Mike Jackson then came in from the pen and promptly gave up a single to Edgar Renteria, bringing home counsel. Following this, Gary Sheffield doubled to score Renturia and to tie the game at seven all. This seven-to-seven tie would hold until the ninth inning. Eric Plunk was on the mound for the Indians by then, and things went very poorly, very quickly for the try.

Bobby Bonilla walked to open the frame, followed by a Darren Dalton single. Bonilla tried to take third base, center fielder Marcus Grissom, threw to third baseman Matt Williams, but the ball got past him, allowing Bonilla to score. Grissom was charged with the error. Moises-aloo struck out, then Cliff Floyd pinch hit for Kurt Abbott. Floyd was issued an intentional walk, sending Dalton to second. Then in another bizarre play, Eric Plunk attempted to pick Floyd off at first base, but first baseman Jim Tomey missed the throw. The ball hit the umpire, keeping Floyd at first base, but Dalton came all the way around to score,

bringing the tally to 9 to 7. Plunk was credited with a pick-off, and Tomey was charged with the error. Charles Johnson singled up the middle, sending Floyd to third, and Eric Plunk's day was history. In from the Cleveland pen came Alvin Mormon to try and stop the hemorrhaging. He got Craig Counsel to ground to second, but Tony Fernandez couldn't handle the play. Floyd scored, Johnson moved along to second, and counsel reached base on the Indian's third costly error of the inning. Devon White fanned for the second out, but then Edgar Renteria walked to load the bases. Hargrove had seen enough of Alvin-Morman and replaced him with his closer Jose Mesa, with the score now 10 to 7. Gary Sheffield smoked the first pitch he saw for Mesa into right field for a single, scoring both Johnson and counsel.

A wild pitch then moved Renterea and Sheffield to third and second, respectively, and they both scored on a Bobby Bonilla single. Bonilla, if you recall, had let off this same inning with a walk. Darren Dalton lined out to end the inning, but seven runs had crossed the plate, four of them unearned. Cleveland had a lot of work to do, now down 14 to 7 going into the bottom of the ninth against Marlin's closer Rob Nen, but amazingly enough, they would make a run for it. David Justice got things underway with the base on balls, Matt Williams' fan, then pinch hitter Brian Giles walked.

A Jim Tommi single loaded the bases with one out and the tribe looked poised to do some damage. Tony Fernandez lined out to left field, but Justice scored giving a Fernandez an RBI and a sack fly. Marquis Grissom then singled the score Giles, bringing the score to 14-9. Bip Roberts was the next hitter, and he smacked a double into the right-center field gap, scoring both Hernandez and Grissom. Omar Vizkel then stepped in to try to keep things rolling, but he grounded out to end the ball game at 1411.

This wild, wacky seesaw of the game was in the history books with the Marlins as the victor. We'll take a break at this time and tell you about the remainder of the series after this word from betonline.ag. Are we ready for some football? College football heads into its bull season with some big matchups this weekend, and the NFL regular season is finishing up with the playoff picture becoming clearer.

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Welcome to the second half of Lockdown Mariners. Here's your guest host, me. This is Joey Martin filling in for D.C. Lundberg today, and before we get back to the show, 2020 has mercifully ended, so it's time for a fresh start and a few more wins. If you're betting this year and you'd like a few more wins of your own, listen to Locked-on bets with your boy Q and Lee Sterling of Paramount Sports. They're picking college basketball, football, and NBA locks all winter long. Subscribe to Locked-on bets wherever you get your podcasts. And now back to the 1997 World Series.

We left off after the Wild and Crazy Game 3 and the Marlins now had a two games to one series advantage. Two rookies would oppose each other for game four, Tony Saunders for the Marlins, and Jarrett Wright for the tribe. Well Wright kept Florida off the board in the top of the first. Saunders struggled almost from the jump. He allowed a one-out single to Omar Vizcal then coughed up a two-run home run to Mani Ramirez for a quick two-o deficit.

A strikeout later, Matt Williams singled, then was driven home by a double from Sandy Alamar, Jr. Well, Wright was not sharp in the second inning the Marlins did fail to score. Saunders had a relatively quiet bottom of the second, but then things heated up again in the third, thanks to some more shaky defense, this time at the hands of the Marlins. Manny Ramirez led off the third with a walk. Saunders threw to first to try to pick him off, but the throw was wild, allowing Ramirez to waltz into second base. David Justice then grounded to shortstop Edgar Renteria, and he threw wildly to first base as well,

the ball sailing over first baseman Darren Dalton's head. Ramirez scored and Justice reached second. The play was ruled a single, E6 and no RBI. Matt Williams walked and Sandy Alamar Jr. grounded a single through the hole between first and second to score justice, giving the tribe a 5-0-0 lead. Jim Tomey walked to load the bases,

and that would be it for Tony Saunders, who exited the ball game without recording a single out that inning. He was replaced by Antonio Alphonseca, the man with six fingers on each hand. The first thing he did was to allow the sixth Indians run to score by giving up an RBI single up the middle to Tony Fernandez. However, he caught the next two guys looking at strike three, then recorded the third out with a pop fly. The fish were down six-nothing after a mere three innings.

They began to chip away in the fourth inning, getting one run back on a Jim Eisenreich RBI single, which scored Darren Dalton, and they got two more back in the sixth inning with one swing of the bat from Moisesaloo, who launched a two-run home run. However, in the bottom of the six inning, Cleveland took one of those back, Sandy Alamar Jr. scoring on an Omar Vizkell groundout. They also plated one more in the third. the seventh inning on a Brian Giles RBI single, taking the score to 8 to 3. Matt Williams capped things off in the bottom of the 8th inning with a two-run home run to give the Indians a 10-3

lead. Brian Anderson set the Marlins down in short order in the 9th, and game 4 was finished. Cleveland had tied the series at two games apiece. Game 5 took place the following night, October 23rd. 44,88 fans attended the final game at Jacobs Field in 1997. The pitching matchup was Levan Hernandez versus Oral Hershizer, the 22-year-old rookie versus the 39-year-old veteran. The latter gave up the first runs of this game, a Charles Johnson RBI single, and a Vaughan-White RBI double in the top of the second inning, though, with Sandy Alamar Jr. plating Jim Tomey on a single. Alamar later dealt a blow to Hernandez in the fourth inning with a three-run home run that gave Cleveland a four-to-two lead. Moises Hulu, however, smacked a three-run home run

of his own in the sixth inning off Hershizer to put the fish back a half. head. Later that same inning, Devon White would draw a bases-loaded walk off Eric Plunk. The score stood at 6-4, Florida. Levin Hernandez turned in one, two, three innings in the sixth and seventh. Then in the top of the eighth, Florida extended their lead by one run on a Charles Johnson RBI single. They added yet another run in the ninth inning on a Moises-a-Lu RBI single. The Indians were down eight to four going into their final half-inning with Levan Hernandez still on the mound. Bip Roberts led off and he reached first base on an error by Hernandez. Omar Vizkel singled and Roberts made it to third.

Jim Leland went out to the mound with his hook and brought in his closer Rob Nann. He struck out Manny Ramirez and during the next at bat, Vizquel was allowed to take second base on defensive indifference. David Justice singled through the hole at short to plate both base runners and Cleveland was now down by a mere two runs, eight to six. Matt Williams grounded the shortstop Edgar Renteria who tossed a second baseman Craig Counsel, who then threw the ball away. Williams reached second on this air, and instead of a game-ending double play, the Indians were still alive. Jim Tomey then lined a single to short left-center field to score Williams, and they needed just one run to tie the game and force extras. However, Sandy Alamar Jr. flew out to right field to end the ball game at that final score of 8-7.

Florida had a three-games-to-two lead as the series headed back to Miami. The fish had to like their chances as the pitching match-up for game six was Kevin Brown versus Chad O. On paper, this appeared to be no contest, but Brown was touched up for two runs in the second inning on a two-run single by... Chad OJ. OJ had spent his entire career in the American League with the Indians up to that point and only had four lifetime plate appearances. He had never even reached base before, but here he proved a hero against one of the better pitches in the National League. Manny Ramirez extended the Indians lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly, then drove in another in the fifth on yet another sacrifice fly. Four-nothing, Cleveland.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Derrick. Aaron Dalton hit a sacrifice fly of his own to put Florida on the scoreboard. And while both teams had scoring opportunities in subsequent innings, neither of them capitalized, and the game ended with that four-to-one score. The Indians had tied the series back up at three games apiece, and the 1997 World Series did indeed go to a seventh decisive game. And what a game seven it would be. Jared Wright opposed Al Leiter looking to bounce back from his poor outing in game three.

Through the first two innings, only two men reached base, one of whom was erased on a double play. It was shaping up to be a real pitcher's duel. In the top of the third, however, lighter started showing signs of where. Jim Tomey let off with a walk, then Marquis Grissombs singled. Wright sacrificed both runners along, bringing up Omar Vizkel, who was the lead-off hitter. Bip Roberts, the Indian's usual lead-off hitter was on the bench in the National League Park, while designated hitter David Justice patrolled left field.

Anyhow, Vizquel popped out, bringing up Tony Fernandez. Fernandez lined a single up the middle to score both runners for the first and second runs of the game. Lighter than walked Manny Ramirez but struck out David Justice to end the inning. Jared Wright walked two in the bottom of the third inning, including lighter, but allowed no runs, and both pitchers enjoyed rather easy halves of the fourth. In the top of the fifth, however, Omar Vizquel hit a one-out single and stole both second and third, despite Charles Johnson being considered one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. Many at the time even argued he had the second best arm in the game,

second only, of course, to the legendary Yvonne Rodriguez. However, despite Fiskel's two stolen bases, the Indians failed to score, and the Marlins did the same in their half of the inning. Wright and Leiter also traded zeros in the sixth, then Dennis Cook was brought in for the Marlins in the seventh, and he set the Indians down in short order, including two strikeouts. Jared Wright went back to work in the bottom of the seventh, but Bobby Bonilla hit the first pitch he offered over the right-center field wall to not only put Florida on the scoreboard, but cut Cleveland's lead to a mere one run. Right then fan Charles Johnson but walked Craig Counsel and his day was finished.

Paul Ossinmacher came in from the bullpen to try and preserve the slim lead, and he succeeded, retiring pinch hitter Kurt Abbott and lead-off man Devon White. Both sides were retired in order in the eighth inning and the nail-biting game moved into the ninth. Matt Williams led off for the tribe drawing a walk from Antonio Alphonseca. Sandy Alamar Jr. followed by grounding weekly to shortstop Edgar Enterea who lobbed the ball at the second baseman Craig Counsel. Council had an inkling to throw to ball the first to turn the double play, but Williams made a clean, hard slide into second to break it up.

Alfon Seca was removed from the game at this time, surrendering their mound to Felix Heredia. Jim Tomey smoked the first pitch Heredia offered between first and second for a base hit, sending Alamar along to third base. With a precarious one-run lead in such an important game, that insurance run is always welcome, and the Indians were in great position to cash in at least one, with runners on the corners and only one away. Jim Leland, sensing trouble, went to his closer Rob Nen to try and keep Cleveland from scoring.

Marquis Grissom was the first to face him, and he hit a bouncer to Renteria. Alamar was on his way home, but Renterea threw to catcher Charles Johnson, and Alamar was out by a mile. The play was ruled a fielder's choice, and there were now two out, runners at first and second for Brian Giles, pinch-hitting for the pitcher spot. Giles flew out, ending the Cleveland threat. The Marlins entered their half of the ninth inning, needing a single run to tie the game and potentially force extra innings, or two runs to win the 1997 World Series. Indians closer Jose Mesa entered the game seeking to shut the Marlins down.

Moisuselu got things underway with a lead-off single and the Marlins quickly had the tying run aboard. Bobby Benia followed with a strikeout, but Charles Johnson then singled sending Alu to third and putting the winning run on base. Greg Zon, the backup catcher, pinch ran for him. Craig Council hit a long fly ball to right field, which was caught for an out, but Alu brought the tying run home, giving counsel a second. sacrifice fly and a crucial RBI. Jim Eisenreich then stepped to the plate looking to move Zon along

or even drive him in, but he grounded out and this exciting game seven was heading to extra innings. Rob Nenn went back to the mound for the 10th inning and struck out the side, allowing only a one-out single. Jose Mesa was also sent back to work for the bottom half of the 10th inning. Devon White led off with a sharp low-line drive up the middle, which glanced off Mesa and went right to sure-handed shortstop Omar Vizkel, who threw on to first to record the out. Mesa, however, was not sharp at all this day, and Oral Hersheiser was warming up in the bullpen. Mesa then allowed back-to-back singles to Edgar Renteria and Gary Sheffield. Charles Nagy joined Hershizer in the bullpen as he also began loosening up.

The cleanup spot in the order was due up, but because of a double switch, Rob Nen was due up next. He was, of course, pitch hit for. John Cangeloosi was sent to the dish to try and plate Rantoria to end the series. Cangeloci worked the count full, but watched Strike 3 graze the outside corner, and headed back to the bench, empty-handed. Mesa also headed back to the bench as Nagy was ready to enter the game to face Moises Allu. Alu flew out to end the 10th inning, and the game went into the 11th with the score still tied at 2.

Jay Howell took the mound for the fish issuing a lead-off walk to Matt Williams. The go-ahead run was aboard and Sandy Alamard Jr. attended to sacrifice Bunt him along, but hit the ball too sharply and Williams was forced out at second. Jim Tomey then hit into an inning-ending double play, quickly erasing any Cleveland threat. Charles Nagy went back to work in the 11th. and being a starting pitcher could potentially go several more innings if such a need arose. Bobby Bonilla led off with a ground ball single up the middle and the Marlins had the winning run on base with no outs. Greg Zon tried to sacrifice him to second, but the first attempt went foul,

the second attempt was popped foul behind home plate and out of play. Even with two strikes, Jim Leland kept the sack bunt on and Zon popped his third attempt back to Nagy, who caught it for the first out. Craig Counsel then stepped to the plate as the clock struck midnight. He grounded to second baseman Tony Fernandez, who let the ball slide under his glove into right field. Bonilla brought the winning run all the way around to third base, and counsel was on first on Hernandez's fielding error. Jim Eisenreich was then intentionally walked to load them up and put a force on every base. Fernandez's former Blue Jay teammate Devon White stepped in with the bases loaded and the infield drawn in. He hit a grounder to Fernandez, who ranged a bit to his left,

fielded it cleanly, and threw on home to force Bonilla out. Two away, but the bases remained loaded for Edgar Enteria. After taking a strike, he hit a line drive just over Nagy's outstretched glove, bringing home the World Series winning run in Craig Counsel, ending this great game with a score of 3 to 2. The Florida Marlins were world champions in only their fifth season and were also the first wild card team to win the World Series. For all the sloppy play elsewhere in the series,

game 6 and 7 were both very well played, and game 7 is an all-time classic. Pitcher Levan Hernandez was named Series MVP. The Marlins would not remain competitive the following year. All the expensive star players they had were either traded away or allowed to leave as free agents. Youngsters including Edgar Renteria, Charles Johnson, and Series MVP LeVon Hernandez did remain, but Bobby Bonilla, Moises Alu, Kevin Brown, and so many others left, and the Marlins lost 108 ball games in 1998.

Edgar Antiria would make history in 98, however, becoming the first Colombian-born All-Star. The Indians remained competitive for several years. thereafter, but then hit a dry spell in the mid-2000s. They made it back to the World Series in 2016, considered a classic despite its recent vintage, where they were defeated by the Chicago Cubs. And that'll do it for this one. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program.

Look for us on any podcasting app you can think of. Follow us on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners and follow D.C. at D.C. underscore Lundberg. Thank you for listening. And now it's time I put my announcer hat back on and say, This is Joey Martin speaking for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on podcast network.