The All-163 team

2008-12-19T18:16:42-05:00

The All-163 team

2008-09-30T16:55:37-04:00

2008-09-30T17:05:37-04:00

2008-09-30T17:34:22-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/212/18/thumb/snarl.jpg 294 MN

Wytefang

Minneapolis 21258

1 I'm a Twins fan but I honestly don't expect a victory tonight - thanks to the utter stupidity of using a coin toss, the MVP of this game will be the home field advantage for the White Sux. 2945273

2008-10-01T16:58:56-04:00

u dont know

Chicago 572250

I'm a Twins fan but I honestly don't expect a victory tonight - thanks to the utter stupidity of using a coin toss, the MVP of this game will be the home field advantage for the White Sux.

18 Stop being a whiny hater, remember, there's no crying in baseball! 2953994

2008-09-30T17:34:22-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/212/18/thumb/snarl.jpg 294 MN

Wytefang

Minneapolis 21258

1 I'm a Twins fan but I honestly don't expect a victory tonight - thanks to the utter stupidity of using a coin toss, the MVP of this game will be the home field advantage for the White Sux. 2945273

2008-10-01T16:58:12-04:00

u dont know

Chicago 572250

I'm a Twins fan but I honestly don't expect a victory tonight - thanks to the utter stupidity of using a coin toss, the MVP of this game will be the home field advantage for the White Sux.

17 stop being a whiny hater...there's no crying in baseball 2953980

2008-10-01T11:14:14-04:00

chodanutz

Lemont 496744

16 I think Johnny Danks, Jim Thome, Ken Griffey Jr, AJ Pierzynski, and Brian Anderson can all be added to the team. Sox put the blackout shutout on the little Twinkies!! 2949374

2008-10-01T03:41:37-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/423/899/thumb/images.jpg 5699 TN

wildbill21475

East 424339

14 I guess I am in the minority here but I think home field should go to the team with the best record regardless of whether they are a wild card team or not. I mean what if one team just absolutely runs away with their division and the wild card team comes from the same division and their record is better than one of or both of the other division champs? Why should they be punished for playing in a division with the run away leader and not being able to over take them? Of course I think that will all sports. Especially the NBA how many years recently, did we see a few teams from the Western Conference get left out of the play off even though they had better records that two or three teams from the East. I say if baseball's going to take 8 teams to the playoffs like they do it should be the 8 teams with the best records regardless of if they are American League or National League. Thats just one man's opinion though. Maybe I'll have to start a blog about it and see what kind of responce it gets. 2946955

2008-10-01T00:51:37-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/443/527/thumb/circus_20maximus2.jpg 1267

Circus Maximus

443967

13 I read somewhere recently that the English invented baseball. At least we Americans can lay claim to the fact we turned it into a new way of playing cricket! ZZZZzzzzz. In the end, it should have been settled during the season. Both teams had 162 games to decide.....so screw 'em both. 2946789

2008-10-01T00:29:27-04:00

jollyman

Monticello 571682

12 Another member of the 1980 Houston Astros deserves to mentioned with this group. Art Howe played first and third base during the game and had three hits in 5 at bats including a home run. He knocked in 4 of the Astros 7 runs that day as the Astros beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles to make the playoffs for the first time in team history. Naming Joe Niekro as the right handed pitcher is a very deserving recognition. He was a very underrated player in my opionion. 2946764

2008-10-01T00:21:35-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/297/89/thumb/trophy_2.jpg 61 PA

Badge

Northeastern 29884

11 DH.....Jim Thome 2946748

2008-09-30T17:34:22-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/212/18/thumb/snarl.jpg 294 MN

Wytefang

Minneapolis 21258

1 I'm a Twins fan but I honestly don't expect a victory tonight - thanks to the utter stupidity of using a coin toss, the MVP of this game will be the home field advantage for the White Sux. 2945273

2008-09-30T23:47:38-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/419/799/thumb/l_9eb6c605bdfae2c05c84b7ddce1c21e4.gif 7650 IN

Offseasonsblueybob

420239

I'm a Twins fan but I honestly don't expect a victory tonight - thanks to the utter stupidity of using a coin toss, the MVP of this game will be the home field advantage for the White Sux.

10 Hey you hit the nail on the head. Lost..hoorah! 2946670

2008-09-30T22:26:11-04:00

151

LSH99

Chicago 140607

6 That home field complaint is as pathetic coming from Twins fans as it was from Astros fans when their team had to play the Cubs in Houston. YOUR TEAM DIDN'T SCORE ONE RUN!! Complain about your team's hitters before relying on the "home field advantage" gripe. 2946443

2008-09-30T23:47:11-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/419/799/thumb/l_9eb6c605bdfae2c05c84b7ddce1c21e4.gif 7650 IN

Offseasonsblueybob

420239

That home field complaint is as pathetic coming from Twins fans as it was from Astros fans when their team had to play the Cubs in Houston. YOUR TEAM DIDN'T SCORE ONE RUN!! Complain about your team's hitters before relying on the "home field advantage" gripe.

9 Exactumundo! 2946647

2008-09-30T22:26:11-04:00

151

LSH99

Chicago 140607

<div class="photo_container image_center"> <div class="photo"><img title="Luis Sojo" src="http://i.cnn.net/si/fannation/sojo-cal.jpg" alt="Luis Sojo" width="615" height="425" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">An error enabled Luis Sojo (right) to score on a bases-clearing double against the Angels in a one-game playoff in 1995. </div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Robert Sorbo/AP </div> </div> When there's nothing to separate a pair of baseball teams after six months, they settle the deadlock with a one-game playoff. These winner-take-all fixtures are essentially once-a-decade affairs, occurring just seven times since the first World Series in 1903, not including the four three-game playoffs to decide the NL pennant between '46 and '62. Tonight, the White Sox and Twins will settle their divisional stalemate with a one-off -- the first time American League clubs have needed the extra game since '95. There's something about the one-and-done format which lends itself to high drama (as college hoops fans know). Sure, not every one-game playoff is one for the SI Vault, but the stakes are always stratospheric. And it's these brief outings in postseason purgatory where familiar names like Bucky Dent and Bobby Thomson forged their legends. In honor of tonight's AL Central showdown -- the 163th game of the season for these clubs -- we've put together SI.com's All-163 team, honoring those players who shone the brightest in these unusual, sudden-death circumstances. Catcher | Joe Garagiola, Cardinals (1946) In the opener of a three-game set to decide the NL pennant, the 20-year-old rookie went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to lead St. Louis to a 4-2 victory over Brooklyn. Garagiola didn't play in the second game, when the Cards clinched the pennant with an 8-4 win, but came back to bat .316 in the World Series. First baseman | Gil Hodges, Dodgers (1951, 1959) Eight years after his uneven performance in the Dodgers' three-game loss to the Giants in '51, Hodges compensated by scoring the game-winning, pennant-clinching run from second base on Carl Furillo's infield hit. The run propelled Los Angeles to the '59 World Series, where they defeated the White Sox in six games. Second baseman | Edgardo Alfonzo, Mets (1999) Facing the Reds at old Riverfront Stadium to settle the NL wild-card race, Alfonzo's two-run homer in the top of the first inning proved to be the game-winning hit. Al Leiter tossed a two-hit shutout and the Mets won 5-0. Shortstop | Bucky Dent, Yankees (1978) With the Red Sox holding a 2-0 lead over the Yankees in the seventh inning, New York's light-hitting No. 9 hitter drove an innocuous-looking fly ball over the Green Monster for a three-run homer. Thurmon Munson's subsequent RBI double and Reggie Jackson's solo shot in the eighth sealed a third straight postseason trip for the Yanks. Third baseman | Bobby Thomson, Giants (1951) With 20-year-old Willie Mays on deck, Thomson's famous "Shot Heard 'Round The World" at the Polo Grounds sank crosstown rival Brooklyn and capped New York's miraculous second-half charge up the NL standings. Left fielder | Matt Holliday, Rockies (2007) Holliday went 2-for-6, drove in two runs and scored the game-winning run in the 13th inning on Jamie Carroll's shallow sacrifice fly, sliding past San Diego's Michael Barrett and scraping his chin on the play. His opportunistic dash sealed a dramatic 9-8 victory for the Rockies, who plated three runs off future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman. Center fielder | Willie Mays, Giants (1951, 1962) After going just 1-for-10 against Brooklyn as a rookie in '51, Mays was dominant against the L.A. Dodgers throughout their three-game playoff in '62. The center fielder went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs in the opener and his RBI single in the third and deciding game lifted San Francisco into the World Series. Right fielder | Scott Hairston, Padres (2007) The lone player from a losing side to make our All-163 team, Hairston's two-run homer in the top of the 13th in last year's one-gamer with Colorado opened an 8-6 lead for the Padres. It should have been enough for Hoffman ... but it wasn't. Utility | Luis Sojo, Mariners (1995) The shortstop's poor-man's grand slam off Mark Langston blew open a taut 1-1 deadlock in the seventh inning, paving the way for Seattle's emphatic 9-1 victory over the Angels. The play was scored a three-run double but the shortstop came around to score on a throwing error -- and his sliding into home plate remains the game's enduring image. Right-handed pitcher | Joe Niekro, Astros (1980) Just days before taking part in the most dramatic NLCS in history, the well-traveled knuckleballer tossed a six-hit complete game for his 20th win of the season. Left-handed pitcher | Gene Bearden, Indians (1948) Brandishing an impressive floating knuckleball, the 26-year-old rookie went the distance in an 8-3 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park, spiriting the Indians to their first pennant in 28 years. Closer | Rod Beck, Cubs (1998) Fatalistic fans of the Cubs could barely watch as the Giants scored three runs in the top of the ninth to cut Chicago's comfortable 5-0 lead to 5-3. Enter Beck, who recorded the final two outs -- the last on a Joe Carter pop-up -- to carry the Cubs into the playoffs for the first time since '89. Who did we overlook? Will a player on the White Sox or the Twins join this group tonight? http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/976/38/thumb/bryan_armen_graham_b.jpg 104 NY

Bryan Armen Graham

New York 97938 9901 <div class="photo_container image_center"> <div class="photo"><img title="Luis Sojo" src="http://i.cnn.net/si/fannation/sojo-cal.jpg" alt="Luis Sojo" width="615" height="425" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">An error enabled Luis Sojo (right) to score on a bases-clearing double against the Angels in a one-game playoff in 1995. </div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Robert Sorbo/AP </div> </div> When there's nothing to separate a pair of baseball teams after six months, they settle the deadlock with a one-game playoff. These winner-take-all fixtures are essentially once-a-decade affairs, occurring just seven times since the first World Series in 1903, not including the four three-game playoffs to decide the NL pennant between '46 and '62. Tonight, the White Sox and Twins will settle their divisional stalemate with a one-off -- the first time American League clubs have needed the extra game since '95. There's something about the one-and-done format which lends itself to high drama (as college hoops fans know). Sure, not every one-game playoff is one for the SI Vault, but the stakes are always stratospheric. And it's these brief outings in postseason purgatory where familiar names like Bucky Dent and Bobby Thomson forged their legends. In honor of tonight's AL Central showdown -- the 163th game of the season for these clubs -- we've put together SI.com's All-163 team, honoring those players who shone the brightest in these unusual, sudden-death circumstances. Catcher | Joe Garagiola, Cardinals (1946) In the opener of a three-game set to decide the NL pennant, the 20-year-old rookie went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to lead St. Louis to a 4-2 victory over Brooklyn. Garagiola didn't play in the second game, when the Cards clinched the pennant with an 8-4 win, but came back to bat .316 in the World Series. First baseman | Gil Hodges, Dodgers (1951, 1959) Eight years after his uneven performance in the Dodgers' three-game loss to the Giants in '51, Hodges compensated by scoring the game-winning, pennant-clinching run from second base on Carl Furillo's infield hit. The run propelled Los Angeles to the '59 World Series, where they defeated the White Sox in six games.