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Saturday, June 28, 2008
Braves vs. Jays evokes ‘92 Series
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Where were you? Has it slipped your mind? Have you been snoring away, Mr. Van Winkle?
It was only 16 years ago. “Only,” you say. Let’s see, Jair Jurrjens was 6 years old, Dustin McGowan was 10 at the time, just a pair of kids. Friday night they were the starters in the Skydome. Oops, even the name has been changed. Rogers Centre. A broadcasting powerhouse bought the rights and changed it, as if you could improve on Skydome. It’s a hotel with a built-in stadium, darnedest playroom you ever saw.
But, I was taking you back to 1992. That was an historical year in major league baseball, two teams crossing an international border to play a World Series for the first time. Major League Baseball made quite a production of it and regaled it with a publication titled “A Series for the World.” A bit of a stretch, perhaps, since crossing that border for years has been little more than crossing from Georgia into Florida. So the stage was set, the Braves would invade Canada to play the Blue Jays, the USA vs. Canada for the World Championship, as we ordain it.
Now the invasion takes place again, another coincidence brought to you by interleague scheduling. Here’s the weird part: The managers who managed the two teams in 1992 are managing the two teams today. Bobby Cox, of course, has never been away. Cito Gaston, well, that’s a different story. After he was fired, the Blue Jays invoked the “revolving door policy,” a half-dozen managers came and went. When John Gibbons was fired a few days ago, somebody said, “Hey, what about Cito Gaston? He was pretty good, wasn’t he?”
Good enough to win two World Series. So they brought him back, a good-natured, common-sense fellow who knew how to run a baseball club. What he has been doing since he was fired, I can’t say. He had no official listing in the baseball operation. In fact, about the only familiar name you find there is the team physician, Dr. Ron Taylor. He pitched 10 seasons in the major leagues, working on his medical degree in between and found a steady job in a familiar scene.
Cox does have some past history in Toronto, in between his tours with the Braves. (Strange, how these managers get fired and re-hired, isn’t it?) He managed the Blue Jays when they played in old Exhibition Park and made the playoffs one year before Ted Turner summoned him home.
It’s custom now, major league teams crossing international borders. We’ve even opened a season in Japan, nothing steady, just a hot date. The World Series of ‘92 opened peculiarly. The Braves faced the same starting pitcher they’d faced in the first game against Minnesota the year before, Jack Morris. This time, with Tom Glavine pitching, they beat him in old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 3-1. All three runs came on one swing, a home run by Damon Berryhill, the catcher filling for the wounded Greg Olson. Perhaps giddiness took hold. For once, the Braves led in a World Series. It didn’t last long, The Blue Jays took a 3-1 lead and closed it out in six games against Charlie Leibrandt. Believe it or not, leading batsman in the Series was Deion Sanders.
Oh, how time flies. Seems only 16 years ago. Most of today’s players were kids. Chipper Jones hadn’t even reached town yet. Glavine and Smoltz are still around, but the curtain’s about to drop. Over in the corner of the two dugouts, though, there they stand, Bobby Cox and Cito Gaston. Back at it again.
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