Last night, Game 1 of the World Series was played at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 6-2. They won in spite of the fact that their starting pitcher, Charlie Morton, took a line drive off his shin in the 2nd inning, inning, and had to leave the game early after facing and retiring 3 more batters.
That happened to Bob Gibson once. In the 1967 game, he took a line drive off the bat of Roberto Clemente, and retired the next batter to finish the inning. Then he missed the next month of the season, but came back to help the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series. Race. Charlie Morton had it happened to him in the World Series. The braves hung on to win the game, and it was their 1st win in a World Series game in 25 years.
October 21, 1996: The Atlanta Braves beat the Yankees 4-0 in Game 2 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. The defending World Champions now go back home needing to win 2 of the last possible 5 games to repeat. And up to 3 of them will be at home. And they've won their last 5 postseason games by a cumulative score of 48-3.
And yet, the Braves didn't win a World Series game again, until last night. The Yankees took the next 4, including coming from 6-0 down in Game 4, when Mark Wohlers hung a slider to Jim Leyritz to tie it in the 8th. Despite 12 postseason berths since then, including another Pennant in 1999, their record in World Series games in the last 25 years was 0-6.
And yet, the Braves didn't win a World Series game again, until last night. The Yankees took the next 4, including coming from 6-0 down in Game 4, when Mark Wohlers hung a slider to Jim Leyritz to tie it in the 8th. Despite 12 postseason berths since then, including another Pennant in 1999, their record in World Series games in the last 25 years was 0-6.
So it was 25 years and 5 days. How long has that been?
*
Manager Bobby Cox (6), 3rd baseman Chipper Jones (10), and pitchers John Smoltz (29), Greg Maddux (31) And Tom Glavine (47) have all had their uniform numbers retired. All of those men are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They also had Fred McGriff and Andruw Jones, who should be in the Hall; and David Justice, Marquis Grissom and Jermaine Dye, who aren't very far from serious consideration for it.
The Boston Red Sox hadn't won the World Series in 78 years. The Chicago White Sox, in 79 years. The San Francisco Giants, in 42 years -- or never, if you're only counting from their 1st game in San Francisco forward. The Yankees, in a relatively brief, but long for them, 18 years. All have since won it at least once.
The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays hadn't begun play yet. They, the Colorado Rockies, the Miami Marlins, the Houston Astros, the Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals had not yet won a Pennant. The Astros were still in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers were still in the American League, the Marlins were still named the Florida Marlins, the Nationals were still the Montreal Expos, and the Mets were still the last New York baseball team to have won a World Series. None of those facts is true any longer.
Of the 28 ballparks in use during the 1996 Major League Baseball season, 11 are still in use now: Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium), Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field and the new Comiskey Park in Chicago (now Guaranteed Rate Field), Jacobs Field in Cleveland (now Progressive Field), Coors Field in Denver, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the Oakland Coliseum and the SkyDome in Toronto (now the Rogers Centre).
In Atlanta, the Braves were about to replace Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with Turner Field, and have now replaced that, after just 20 years, with Truist Park. The Omni, after just 25 years, was soon replaced by Philips Arena. And the Georgia Dome, after just 25 years, was about to be replaced by Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In New York, every team except the Knicks and the Rangers has since moved to a new building.
Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Warren Spahn and Buck Leonard were still alive. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez had just completed their 1st full seasons in MLB. David Ortiz would debut the next season. Jimmy Rollins was about to turn 18. Albert Pujols was 16. David Wright, Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera were 13. Zack Greinke turned 13. Alex Gordon and Max Scherzer were 12. Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes were 11. Felix Hernandez was 10. Buster Posey was 9, Clayton Kershaw was 8, Matt Harvey and Madison Bumgarner were 7, Mike Trout was 5, Kris Bryant and Bryce Harper were 4, Carlos Correa was 2, and Julio Urias was 2 months old.
*
Manager Bobby Cox (6), 3rd baseman Chipper Jones (10), and pitchers John Smoltz (29), Greg Maddux (31) And Tom Glavine (47) have all had their uniform numbers retired. All of those men are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They also had Fred McGriff and Andruw Jones, who should be in the Hall; and David Justice, Marquis Grissom and Jermaine Dye, who aren't very far from serious consideration for it.
The Boston Red Sox hadn't won the World Series in 78 years. The Chicago White Sox, in 79 years. The San Francisco Giants, in 42 years -- or never, if you're only counting from their 1st game in San Francisco forward. The Yankees, in a relatively brief, but long for them, 18 years. All have since won it at least once.
The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays hadn't begun play yet. They, the Colorado Rockies, the Miami Marlins, the Houston Astros, the Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals had not yet won a Pennant. The Astros were still in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers were still in the American League, the Marlins were still named the Florida Marlins, the Nationals were still the Montreal Expos, and the Mets were still the last New York baseball team to have won a World Series. None of those facts is true any longer.
Of the 28 ballparks in use during the 1996 Major League Baseball season, 11 are still in use now: Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium), Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field and the new Comiskey Park in Chicago (now Guaranteed Rate Field), Jacobs Field in Cleveland (now Progressive Field), Coors Field in Denver, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the Oakland Coliseum and the SkyDome in Toronto (now the Rogers Centre).
In Atlanta, the Braves were about to replace Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with Turner Field, and have now replaced that, after just 20 years, with Truist Park. The Omni, after just 25 years, was soon replaced by Philips Arena. And the Georgia Dome, after just 25 years, was about to be replaced by Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In New York, every team except the Knicks and the Rangers has since moved to a new building.
Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Warren Spahn and Buck Leonard were still alive. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez had just completed their 1st full seasons in MLB. David Ortiz would debut the next season. Jimmy Rollins was about to turn 18. Albert Pujols was 16. David Wright, Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera were 13. Zack Greinke turned 13. Alex Gordon and Max Scherzer were 12. Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes were 11. Felix Hernandez was 10. Buster Posey was 9, Clayton Kershaw was 8, Matt Harvey and Madison Bumgarner were 7, Mike Trout was 5, Kris Bryant and Bryce Harper were 4, Carlos Correa was 2, and Julio Urias was 2 months old.
Current Braves manager Brian Snitker was managing the Danville Braves of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The Yankees' Aaron Boone was in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system. The last holder of the currently vacant Mets' managerial job, Luis Rojas, was in high school.
Lindy Ruff of the Devils was an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers. Gerard Gallant of the Rangers was the head coach of a minor-league team on Prince Edward Island, the Summerside Capitals. Barry Trotz of the Islanders was the head coach of a minor-league team in Maine, Portland Pirates. Steve Nash of the Nets was a rookie with the Phoenix Suns. Ronny Deila of NYCFC was playing for Odds BK in his native Norway. Gerhard Struber of the Red Bulls was playing for FC Austria Salzburg in his homeland, the team now known as the Red Bulls' parent club, FC Red Bull Salzburg. Robert Saleh of the Jets and Joe Judge of the Giants were in high school. And Walt Hopkins of the Liberty was 11 years old.
The Braves were the defending World Champions. So were the Dallas Cowboys (who also haven't been since), the Chicago Bulls and the Colorado Avalanche. The Heavyweight Champion of the World was Mike Tyson, and he was set to fight former Champion Evander Holyfield, and expected to clobber him. It would be the other way around.
The Olympics have since been hosted in America, Canada, Australia, Greece, Italy, China and Britain. The World Cup has since been hosted in France, Korea, Germany and South Africa. Japan, Korea, Russia and Brazil have since hosted both.
The idea that two people of the same gender could marry each other, with all the legal benefits of marriage, was considered a long way off. On the other hand, the idea that corporations were "people," and entitled to all the legal benefits thereof, was considered ridiculous. Only 2 Justices then on the U.S. Supreme Court are still on it: Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer. Hardly any American had ever heard of Steve Bannon, Alex Jones, Monica Lewinsky or Osama bin Laden.
The President of the United States was Bill Clinton, about to get re-elected. No one had yet considered that First Lady Hillary Clinton might run for office. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter attended that Series as guests of Braves owner Ted Turner and his then-wife, Jane Fonda. They are still alive today. So are George and Barbara Bush. Still alive then, but not anymore, were Gerald and Betty Ford, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan. George W. Bush was Governor of Texas. Joe Biden was a Senator from Delaware. Donald Trump was on Wife II, and the idea of doing a TV show, let alone a Presidential campaign, with him was ridiculous.
The President of the United States was Bill Clinton, about to get re-elected. No one had yet considered that First Lady Hillary Clinton might run for office. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter attended that Series as guests of Braves owner Ted Turner and his then-wife, Jane Fonda. They are still alive today. So are George and Barbara Bush. Still alive then, but not anymore, were Gerald and Betty Ford, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan. George W. Bush was Governor of Texas. Joe Biden was a Senator from Delaware. Donald Trump was on Wife II, and the idea of doing a TV show, let alone a Presidential campaign, with him was ridiculous.
The Governor of the host State, Georgia, was Zell Miller. Current Governor Brian Kemp was in the construction business. The Mayor of Atlanta was Bill Campbell -- not to be confused with the former Boston Red Sox reliever or the legendary Philadelphia broadcaster of the same name. Current Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was a juvenile court prosecutor.
The Governor of the State of New York was George Pataki. The Mayor of the City of New York was Rudolph Giuliani. The Governor of New Jersey was Christine Todd Whitman. The current holders of those offices? Kathy Hochul was a member of the Town Board in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg, New York; Bill de Blasio was an aide to Congressman Charles Rangel, and his likely replacement, Eric Adams, was a police Lieutenant who had recently founded 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement, seeking to improve opportunities for African-Americans in the field; and Phil Murphy was running the European headquarters of Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt, Germany.
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Manuel Ramos-Horta were about to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for their work to end the civil war in East Timor. (Ramos-Horta later served as its President). The Pope was John Paul II. The Prime Minister of Canada was Jean Chrétien, and of Britain John Major. The monarch of Britain was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed. Manchester United had recently won "The Double": The Premier League and the FA Cup in the same season.
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Manuel Ramos-Horta were about to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for their work to end the civil war in East Timor. (Ramos-Horta later served as its President). The Pope was John Paul II. The Prime Minister of Canada was Jean Chrétien, and of Britain John Major. The monarch of Britain was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed. Manchester United had recently won "The Double": The Premier League and the FA Cup in the same season.
There were still living veterans of World War I, the Easter Rising, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Mexican Revolution, the March On Rome and the Beer Hall Putsch. There were still people who, as children, survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the General Slocum Fire of 1904, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
Major novels of 1996 included Primary Colors by Joe Klein, listed for most of the year as "Anonymous," because he was too much of a coward to risk his career to make his point that he hated President Clinton. Not afraid to write novels about corrupt Presidents, although not necessarily basing them on Clinton, were David Baldacci with Absolute Power, and Tom Clancy with Executive Orders.
The year also included Bridget Jones's Diary, starting Helen Fielding's franchise; A Game of Thrones, starting George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire franchise; The Green Mile by Stephen King; How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan; We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates; Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara; Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt; and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. That last one, I don't want to talk about it.
The 1st novel in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series would be published 8 months after the 1996 World Series; the 1st in the Twilight series and the 1st in the Lisbeth Salander series, both 9 years; the 1st in the Hunger Games series, 12 years.
Major films released in the Autumn of 1996 included That Thing You Do!, The Glimmer Man, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Michael Collins, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (actually Baz Luhrmann's present-day version), Set It Off, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The English Patient, Jingle All the Way, Star Trek: First Contact, a live-action version of 101 Dalmatians, and the Michael Jordan-Bugs Bunny team-up Space Jam.
Major TV shows debuting that season included 7th Heaven, Everybody Loves Raymond, Judge Judy, Spin City, The Pretender, Suddenly Susan, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Early Edition, Profiler, Millennium, Arthur, Hey Arnold! and, introduced by new network Fox News Channel, The O'Reilly Factor. Some of these shows were more animated than others. Some were more cartoonish than others.
Dean Cain was playing Superman. The Batman franchise had dumped Val Kilmer for George Clooney. Pierce Brosnan was playing James Bond, and Paul McGann had just done a one-shot Doctor Who film.
No one had yet heard of Carrie Bradshaw, Tony Soprano, Jed Bartlet, Robert Langdon, Master Chief, Jack Bauer, Omar Little, Rick Grimes, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Bluth, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan, Michael Scott, Don Draper, Katniss Everdeen, Walter White, Jax Teller, Richard Castle, Leslie Knope, Sarah Manning or Maggie Bell.
Dean Cain was playing Superman. The Batman franchise had dumped Val Kilmer for George Clooney. Pierce Brosnan was playing James Bond, and Paul McGann had just done a one-shot Doctor Who film.
No one had yet heard of Carrie Bradshaw, Tony Soprano, Jed Bartlet, Robert Langdon, Master Chief, Jack Bauer, Omar Little, Rick Grimes, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Bluth, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan, Michael Scott, Don Draper, Katniss Everdeen, Walter White, Jax Teller, Richard Castle, Leslie Knope, Sarah Manning or Maggie Bell.
The Number 1 song in America was still the damn "Macarena" by Los Del Rio. Michael Jackson had just divorced Lisa Marie Presley, married Debbie Rowe, and begun his yearlong HIStory World Tour. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw got married, Madonna had a baby girl named Lourdes Leon, and Prince became the father of a son, Gregory Nelson, who died after 7 days due to a birth defect.
Slash quit Guns N' Roses, and the Stone Roses broke up. Fountains of Wayne released their self-titled debut album, Marilyn Manson released Antichrist Superstar, and Paula Cole released This Fire (including the songs "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" and what became the theme to the TV show Dawson's Creek, "I Don't Want to Wait").
Kanye West was soon to become what he would title his breakthrough album: The College Dropout. Katie Holmes, Heath Ledger, Kourtney Kardashian, Alecia Moore (Pink), Michelle Williams (both of them), Ben Savage, Kim Kardashian, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Natalie Portman, Chris Evans, Beyonce Knowles, Britney Spears, Sienna Miller, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Natalie Dormer, Hayley Atwell and Kirsten Dunst were in high school. Matt Smith, Anne Hathaway, Andrew Garfield and Khloe Kardashian were in junior high.
Prince Harry was 12 years old. Lady Gaga was 10, and Drake and Emilia Clarke were about to turn 10. Rob Kardashian was 9. Kevin Jonas and Rihanna were 8. Emma Stone, Daniel Radcliffe and Joe Jonas were 7. Emma Watson was 6. Sarah Hyland was 5. Louis Tomlinson, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas were 4. Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Zayn Malik, Ariana Grande, Liam Payne and Niall Horan were 3. Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and Halsey were 2. Kendall Jenner was about to have her 1st birthday. Sophie Turner was 8 months old, and Abigail Breslin was 6 months. Maisie Williams, Kylie Jenner, Ariel Winter and Rico Rodriguez weren't born yet.
Kanye West was soon to become what he would title his breakthrough album: The College Dropout. Katie Holmes, Heath Ledger, Kourtney Kardashian, Alecia Moore (Pink), Michelle Williams (both of them), Ben Savage, Kim Kardashian, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Natalie Portman, Chris Evans, Beyonce Knowles, Britney Spears, Sienna Miller, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Natalie Dormer, Hayley Atwell and Kirsten Dunst were in high school. Matt Smith, Anne Hathaway, Andrew Garfield and Khloe Kardashian were in junior high.
Prince Harry was 12 years old. Lady Gaga was 10, and Drake and Emilia Clarke were about to turn 10. Rob Kardashian was 9. Kevin Jonas and Rihanna were 8. Emma Stone, Daniel Radcliffe and Joe Jonas were 7. Emma Watson was 6. Sarah Hyland was 5. Louis Tomlinson, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas were 4. Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Zayn Malik, Ariana Grande, Liam Payne and Niall Horan were 3. Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and Halsey were 2. Kendall Jenner was about to have her 1st birthday. Sophie Turner was 8 months old, and Abigail Breslin was 6 months. Maisie Williams, Kylie Jenner, Ariel Winter and Rico Rodriguez weren't born yet.
Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.53 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 32 cents, and the fare on the New York Subway was $1.50. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.29, a cup of coffee $1.79, a McDonald's Big Mac, fries and shake $5.50, a movie ticket $4.40, a new car $18,525, a new house $119,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed that day at 6,090.87.
The 1st tablet computer had been introduced, and more and more people were finding out about the Internet. But there was, as yet, no Wikipedia, no iPod, no Skype, no MySpace, no Facebook, no YouTube, no Twitter, no Tumblr, no iPhone, no Pinterest, no Instagram, no iPad, and no Vine. There were birth control pills, but no Viagra.
In the Autumn of 1996, in events unconnected to baseball or the Presidential election, the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Kofi Annan was elected by the United Nations to be its next Secretary-General. The last of the infamous Magdalene asylums was closed in Ireland. A cyclone killed over 2,000 people in India. The trial in the wrongful-death civil suit against O.J. Simpson began. The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas was demolished, to make way for the Venetian Hotel.
Former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, French tennis legend and shirt designer René Lacoste, and Italian soccer legend Silvio Piola died. Zendaya, and Lorde, and Devin Booker were born.
October 21, 1996. The Atlanta Braves won a World Series game -- their 6th in a little over a year, and their 11th in the last 6 seasons.
It took them 25 years to win another. Can they finish the job against the Houston Asterisks, and break the Curse of Mark Wohlers? Stay tuned.
It took them 25 years to win another. Can they finish the job against the Houston Asterisks, and break the Curse of Mark Wohlers? Stay tuned.