Baseball entered a new era in 1969. For the first time, the two leagues had been split into divisions, meaning a postseason round would have to be played prior to the World Series. The first edition of the 1969 NLCS featured the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. In a series that was then […]
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a playoff mainstay in our own day. But in 1974, they were in the postseason for the first time since 1966, and the first time since the leagues split into divisions. In our own day, the Pittsburgh Pirates are a small-market underdog. But in 1974, the Pirates were one of […]
The New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds had taken very different paths to get to the 1973 NLCS. The Mets had survived a division race that was defined by mass mediocrity and prevailed with a record of 82-79. The Reds had spent the year in a heavyweight fight with the Los Angeles Dodgers before pulling […]
The battles between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates defined the National League Championship Series in the 1970s, especially in the decade’s early part. Four times, these teams played for the pennant. And their battles were never better than in the 1972 NLCS, a series that was decided on its final pitch, with the Reds […]
In the latter part of the 1980s, the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals were archrivals in the NL East. The realignment of 1994 put the Cardinals into the NL Central, but the rivalry was renewed in the 2000 National League Championship Series. New York was looking for its first pennant since 1986, St. […]
The Pittsburgh Pirates were a team with unfinished business, having reached the 1970 NLCS before being swept out of the then best-of-five round in three straight. The San Francisco Giants were making their first appearance in a League Championship Series round that was in just its third year of existence. When the Pirates and Giants […]
The League Championship Series round had just been instituted in 1969. The decade of the 1970s would see this round’s great rivalry develop between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. They played for the pennant four different times in this decade. The 1970 National League Championship Series marked the beginning of both the decade and […]
In 1991, the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates staged a great seven-game NLCS that saw the Braves come out on top. It was a difficult act to top, but when Atlanta and Pittsburgh got together again for 1992 NLCS, it was even better. They again went seven games and again it was the Braves moving […]
For two straight years, the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates battled in the National League Championship Series. Over the 1991-92 stretch, both teams enjoyed the role of favorite and both teams enjoyed homefield advantage under the rotation system that at the time. These playoff battles had two other things in common—both times they went all […]
In the days when the National League was split into just East and West divisions with the winners advancing directly to LCS play, the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates enjoyed a lively postseason rivalry. They met four times in the 1970s to settle the NL pennant and the Reds won three of those. The rivalry […]
In the 21st century, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants are arguably baseball’s two pre-eminent franchises. They’ve combined for seven National League pennants and four World Series titles. On three occasions (2002, 2012 & 2014) they’ve gone head-to-head in the postseason. That wasn’t the case when they met in the 1987 NLCS and […]
The New York Mets came into the 1986 NLCS as a 108-win team and the clear favorite to win the World Series. The Houston Astros were a turnaround story under rookie manager Hal Lanier. It turned into an incredibly tense, taut National League Championship Series that had the Mets giving thanks for their survival. GREAT […]