Tag: Expos

On the Road Again? No Better Place to Be for Game 7

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NOTE FROM BIG Z: I wrote this piece almost five years ago. Tonight is the first Game 7 in any sport since I wrote this piece. I think it holds up quite well. One nugget to add – road teams across the NHL, NBA and MLB have won six straight Game 7’s going back to the 2014 World Series. The road team has won the last three Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s. The last home team to hoist the Cup after a Game 7 was the 2006 Hurricanes.

As I’m sure you heard last night, this 2019 World Series was the first best-of-seven postseason series in the history of major North American sports where the road team won all seven games. Pretty remarkable. What’s also remarkable is how well road teams have fared in winner-take-all Game 7’s over the past decade. Not all that long ago you could bet your house on the home team in Game 7. Not any more.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins won Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final they were the first team in any of the North American major men’s sports leagues to win a Game 7 of a championship round on the road since, fittingly, the Pittsburgh Pirates won Game 7 of the World Series on the road in 1979. For nearly 30 years, no road team won a championship round Game 7 on the road.

For the Penguins, they were the first NHL team to win a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 on the road since 1971. During the 38 years in between, road teams were 0-6 in Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s. Since 2009, road teams are 3-0 in Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s.

The San Francisco Giants got Major League Baseball road teams off the Game 7 schneid in 2014, when they defeated the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of the World Series in Kansas City. In between the 1979 Pirates and 2014 Giants, road teams were 0-9 in World Series Game 7’s. Since 2014, road teams are 4-0 in Game 7 of the World Series.

More recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers got NBA teams of the Game 7 schneid when they defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The last NBA team to win Game 7 of the Finals on the road had been the Washington Bullets in 1978. In the 38 years between, road teams went 0-6 in Game 7’s. The 2016 NBA Finals was the last NBA Finals to go seven games.

Across all three leagues (because the NFL, obviously, does not play series), no road team won a Game 7 in the 1980s (0-for-7) or the 1990s (0-for-4). Road teams were nearly blanked in the 2000s (1-for-8), too, until the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins won the Cup in Detroit. That means road teams lost a mind boggling 18-straight winner-take-all Game 7’s. They’re 7-3 this decade, and have won the most recent Game 7’s in all three leagues. That includes the last NBA Finals Game 7, the last three Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s and the last four World Series Game 7’s.

After losing 18-straight Game 7’s from 1982-2006, road teams in all three leagues are 8-3 in championship round Game 7’s since.  So what changed? Some ideas:

  • Air travel is much easier today than it was in 1984 when the Lakers had to fly to Boston for a Game 7 in the (presumably 94°) Boston Garden (the NBA still followed a 2-2-1-1-1 format at that time). The Cleveland Cavaliers probably had a bit of an easier time flying to the Bay Area in 2016 when they defeated the Warriors on the road in Game 7.
  • With more players changing teams more frequently, there may be less of a home-field advantage. Justin Verlander didn’t pitch in Game 7 on the road in in 2017, but hear me out. He got traded from Detroit to Houston on August 31st that year. If he had pitched in Game 7 of the World Series in LA, would it have been much different for him than if he had pitched in a Game 7 in Houston? He was traded there less than two months earlier. I know that athletes don’t live like us, but his pad in Houston in October 2017 was probably more like Ryan Bingham’s condo than he would care to admit. He probably wasn’t rolling out of bed in a mansion in Houston at that time before he rolled up to the ballpark. Derek Jeter, on the other hand, had quite the home field advantage. In 80 career playoff games at home he hit .332 in with 12 home runs and 29 RBI in 322 at bats. In 78 road playoff games, he hit .284 with just 8 home runs and 27 RBI in 328 at bats. Playing for one team for 20 years gets you a really nice routine, I suppose.
  • It seems as if home teams have been awfully tight at home in Game 7’s recently. The Bruins at home against the Blues just four months ago seems like a pretty good example of that. I don’t know how/why the psychology of playing at home would change over the last decade, but maybe fans tweeting on their phones all game and taking selfies has changed the energy levels in these venues? That would certainly seem to hurt the home teams more than the road teams.
  • A combination of point #1 and #3. With air travel being easier (and cheaper) than ever, maybe more fans are following their teams on the road for Game 7? I bet the Boston Garden was 98% Celtics fans in 1984’s Game 7. What percentage of Minute Maid Park last night was Nationals fans? I’m not sure, but I bet it was substantially more than 2%. That could certainly change the vibe of a building, too.

Whatever the reason, one thing is certain. Boy am I glad I don’t bet on baseball.

 

On the Road Again? No Better Place to Be for Game 7

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As I’m sure you heard last night, this 2019 World Series was the first best-of-seven postseason series in the history of major North American sports where the road team won all seven games. Pretty remarkable. What’s also remarkable is how well road teams have fared in winner-take-all Game 7’s over the past decade. Not all that long ago you could bet your house on the home team in Game 7. Not any more.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins won Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final they were the first team in any of the North American major men’s sports leagues to win a Game 7 of a championship round on the road since, fittingly, the Pittsburgh Pirates won Game 7 of the World Series on the road in 1979. For nearly 30 years, no road team won a championship round Game 7 on the road.

For the Penguins, they were the first NHL team to win a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 on the road since 1971. During the 38 years in between, road teams were 0-6 in Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s. Since 2009, road teams are 3-0 in Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s.

The San Francisco Giants got Major League Baseball road teams off the Game 7 schneid in 2014, when they defeated the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of the World Series in Kansas City. In between the 1979 Pirates and 2014 Giants, road teams were 0-9 in World Series Game 7’s. Since 2014, road teams are 4-0 in Game 7 of the World Series.

More recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers got NBA teams of the Game 7 scheid when they defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The last NBA team to win Game 7 of the Finals on the road had been the Washington Bullets in 1978. In the 38 years between, road teams went 0-6 in Game 7’s. The 2016 NBA Finals was the last NBA Finals to go seven games.

Across all three leagues (because the NFL, obviously, does not play series), no road team won a Game 7 in the 1980s (0-for-7) or the 1990s (0-for-4). Road teams were nearly blanked in the 2000s (1-for-8), too, until the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins won the Cup in Detroit. That means road teams lost a mind boggling 18-straight winner-take-all Game 7’s. They’re 7-3 this decade, and have won the most recent Game 7’s in all three leagues. That includes the last NBA Finals Game 7, the last three Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s and the last four World Series Game 7’s.

After losing 18-straight Game 7’s from 1982-2006, road teams in all three leagues are 8-3 in championship round Game 7’s since.  So what changed? Some ideas:

  • Air travel is much easier today than it was in 1984 when the Lakers had to fly to Boston for a Game 7 in the (presumably 94°) Boston Garden (the NBA still followed a 2-2-1-1-1 format at that time). The Cleveland Cavaliers probably had a bit of an easier time flying to the Bay Area in 2016 when they defeated the Warriors on the road in Game 7.
  • With more players changing teams more frequently, there may be less of a home-field advantage.Justin Verlander didn’t pitch in Game 7 on the road in in 2017, but hear me out. He got traded from Detroit to Houston on August 31st that year. If he had pitched in Game 7 of the World Series in LA, would it have been much different for him than if he had pitched in a Game 7 in Houston? He was traded there less than two months earlier. I know that athletes don’t live like us, but his pad in Houston in October 2017 was probably more like Ryan Bingham’s condo than he would care to admit. He probably wasn’t rolling out of bed in a mansion in Houston at that time before he rolled up to the ballpark.

    Derek Jeter, on the other hand, had quite the home field advantage. In 80 career playoff games at home he hit .332 in with 12 home runs and 29 RBI in 322 at bats. In 78 road playoff games, he hit .284 with just 8 home runs and 27 RBI in 328 at bats. Playing for one team for 20 years gets you a really nice routine, I suppose.

  • It seems as if home teams have been awfully tight at home in Game 7’s recently. The Bruins at home against the Blues just four months ago seems like a pretty good example of that. I don’t know how/why the psychology of playing at home would change over the last decade, but maybe fans tweeting on their phones all game and taking selfies has changed the energy levels in these venues? That would certainly seem to hurt the home teams more than the road teams.
  • A combination of point #1 and #3. With air travel being easier (and cheaper) than ever, maybe more fans are following their teams on the road for Game 7? I bet the Boston Garden was 98% Celtics fans in 1984’s Game 7. What percentage of Minute Maid Park last night was Nationals fans? I’m not sure, but I bet it was substantially more than 2%. That could certainly change the vibe of a building, too.

Whatever the reason, one thing is certain. Boy am I glad I don’t bet on baseball.

 

I Met Pete Rose AKA The Hit King AKA the Greatest Attraction in Las Vegas

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I know we’ve all heard the jokes about how devalued Pete Rose’s autograph has become over the years because he legit signs anything and everything all day long in Las Vegas, but that didn’t change the fact that I desperately wanted to meet Charlie Hustle. I’m not looking to sell the goddamn thing, I’m looking for prime memorabilia for The 300s Podcast studio.

They literally have Pete sitting in a glass box like a wax statue in the MGM Grand while staff members stand outside the store to try and reel people in. It’s basically  a gigantic memorabilia store that has everything from Pete Rose bats to autographed JFK memorial collages. Then the girl working the cash register sells you a bat or a pic or a ball for Pete to sign and they even let you take a picture with the man himself for a small fee. (Shoutout to Giorgio for ponying up for that.)

You go in and meet the man, the myth, the legend and he’s literally sitting there watching March Madness on a small TV and I start to become a little concerned this dude is not even going to glance at us. His employees must deal with that sense of dread a lot because the girl taking the pics literally says to us “Don’t worry Pete will look up for a pic when he’s done.” Umm thats good I guess?

I ask the baseball legend to sign it to The 300s and he says “…what is that?” I tell him and he signs the pic and I can’t help but wonder how many horrendous things he’s signed under false pretenses. Giorgio insists he’s heard of Pete signing photos that says he killed JFK. But once we took the pic he was actually a pretty good shit, very laid back dude who joked around with us for a couple of minutes. My one regret is not telling him how much I respect him for nearly killing that catcher for a goddamn exhibition game in the 1970 All-Star game. His name is Charlie Hustle so if you’re not prepared for the train, get off the tracks.

He even signed it “Hit King 4256.” What a legend.

 

Vladimir Guerrero Just Spit In Montreal’s Face

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This is just the latest turn of the knife in the gut of Montreal baseball fans over the past 15 or so years. Vlad Guerrero, the last star of the Expos, nay, the last PRIDE of the Expos, Montreal’s beloved baseball team of yore, has chosen to enter the Hall of Fame as a Goddam Anaheim Angel (Blogger’s Note: Not a huge baseball guy anymore, per say, so IDK what the Halos call themselves these days location-wise). First they lost their team, now one could argue they’ve lost (see: been abandoned by) their identity.

For context, I actually know a bit about the maple syrupy ecosystem that is Monteal baseball twitter. That’s no lie, it’s a rabbit hole I have been down. And friends, It’s basically revisionist history 101. You see, I don’t doubt that folks from Montreal love baseball, hell I don’t doubt they loved the Expos as an idea, a concept. With that said, loving something via admiration is not the capitalistic way you express your fandom. You do that by, you know, showing up to watch your team play every once in awhile. So allow me to remind you that Montreal’s (Olympic?) stadium was routinely as empty as the Chinamen’s cars in The Departed. I remember being downright horrified the few times the Sox went up there for inter-league play. I think I asked my Dad if they were playing at a forgotten stadium in Chernobyl or something. The hot dog vendors were probably volunteers – both in terms of their time and the hot dogs. It was ridiculous. With allll of that said Montreal baseball twitter is in LOVE with baseball and obsessed with two things:

1.) Obviously getting the Expos back so no one can show up again, the rest of the league can get pissed off again, and the team can get relocated again to somewhere like fucking Temecula or something.
2.) Vladimir Guerrero. The cannon-armed right fielder who didn’t need no batting gloves.

Indeed I respect the fuck out of number 2. Vlad had it all. A 5-tool guy with a personality to boot. Just always seemed to love playing the game and enjoying the moment. So this must just absolutely SUCK for our neighbors to the French Canadian north. Instead of representing his original team, the team where he made his bones and is still largely remembered as the team he played for the most,  Vlad will enter the Hall as a member of the team forever known as being at the center of the movie that would serve as JGL’s launch pad. Just a whole lot to cry aboot.