The UBL '02 World Series

The UBL '02 World Series matched the NL's top seed, the Hackers, against the #2 seed in the AL, the Tourists. Hyde Park was led in the regular season by Brian Giles, who hit .323, blasted 40 doubles and 42 homers, scored 121 times, and knocked in 137, and by 21-game winner Tim Hudson (21-8, 3.24 ERA). Washington's lineup featured UBL RBI leader Slammin' Sammy Sosa (179 RBI), who hit .310 and went deep 65 times, and UBL wins leader Roger Clemens, who went 23-6 despite a 4.13 ERA.

In the 1st round of the playoffs, AL side, the Hackers, down 3-2 in games, finally dispatched the Madmen in 14 innings in game 7, courtesy of a bases-loaded sac fly by catcher Ramon Hernandez. Meanwhile, the Beaners and the Mashers had quite a series of their own, with the Beaners winning the last 3 games of the 7-game series to advance.

On the NL side, the top-seeded and defending World Champion Yankees defeated the Jackals 4-1 in a hard-fought series, and the Tourists, winners of 19 straight to close the regular season, mashed the Taters by the same margin.

In the AL Championship series, the "Cardiac Kid" Hackers again came back from a 3-2 deficit, finally outlasting the Beaners in game 7, 11-10. In the NL, the Tourists lost game 1 to Pedro and the Yanks, but then reeled off 4 straight to earn the right to host the Hackers in the World Series.

........ and what a series it was. The Tourists won 3 straight to open things up, and the brooms were out. Ah, but those Hackers! A 9-8 victory in game 4, a 8-4 win in game 5, and a 5-4 win in game 6 evened things out. The Tourists, momentum and confidence completely gone, somehow prevailed, coming back twice to take game 7, 6-5 in 14 innings. More about that below:

Game 1, Hackers @ Tourists, Garcia vs. Maddux:

On a pleasant 57 degree day in Washington, a 3-run homer by Manny Ramirez in the 6th put the Tourists up 4-2, but the Hack Pack scratched out single runs in the 8th and 9th, the latter on 2-out doubles by Sweeney and Nixon, to tie it. Leading off the 11th, Sosa (remember this name) greeted Farnsworth with a walk-off blast, Tourists win 5-4. The Hackers left 14 runners stranded in this one. W - Christiansen, L - Farnsworth.

Game 2, Hackers @ Tourists, W.Williams vs. Clemens:

Whoa. On a balmy 73 degree day with the wind blowing straight out, the Tourists twice scored 7 runs in an inning, and added a field goal for a big 17-6 win. Bagwell, Sosa, Piazza, and Manny (twice) all homered for the home nine. Clemens got the win, Williams took the loss.

Game 3, Tourists @ Hackers, Batista vs. Hudson:

Venue - Fenway Park, weather - a crisp 51 degrees, wind blowing towards the Green Monster at 15 mph. The Hackers scored 4 in the 6th to go up 6-3, but the Tourists put up 1 in the 7th and 3 in the 9th to prevail, 7-6. Sosa's 2-run triple tied it, and Farnsworth's fielding error allowed the go-ahead run to score. W - Schoeneweis, S - Gordon, L - Farnsworth.

Game 4, Tourists @ Hackers, Maddux vs. Garcia:

In another cool, windy day at Fenway, Spencer's 2-run 8th inning homer brought across the tying and go-ahead runs, and the Hackers win, 9-8. The Hackers battled back from a 4-0 deficit, knocking out Maddux with a 5-run 5th. The Hackers were led by Stewart's 3 hits, 2 SB, and 2 runs. Nunez took the win, Carrasco the loss.

Game 5, Tourists @ Hackers, Clemens vs. Trachsel:

Warm, but wet. The teams sat through an hour and 14 minutes of rain delays. Ramon Hernandez homered and drove in 5, leading the Hackers to the win. Clemens was torched for all 8 runs, and left the game in the 4th inning trailing by the final score of 8-4. Trachsel lasted 6 to earn the win, Farnsworth saved it, and Clemens took the loss.

Game 6, Hackers @ Tourists, Batista vs. Williams:

Back in Camden Yards, on a beautiful fall day, Mike Sweeney's 2 doubles and 3 RBI led the Hackers to a 5-4 win. Garciaparra's homer in the 7th brought the Tourists to within one run, but Victor Zambrano closed it out with 2 innings of scoreless relief, earning the save. The Tourists left 13 on base. W - W.Williams, L - Batista.

Game 7, Hackers @ Tourists, Hudson vs. Maddux:

On another really nice day in Washington, Hackers ace Tim Hudson took the mound in the 8th inning nursing a 4-3 lead. In a move second-guessed by some, including the Hackers manager in the post-game press conference, Hudson was pulled after walking the first batter. A clutch 2-out single by Piazza off Farnsworth then tied the game at 4, where it remained until the 12th inning. In the 12th, the Hackers' Rollins hit a one-out triple and Giles plated him with a sac fly ("Babe" Rollins had earlier chased Maddux with a 2-run homer). Zambrano, working in his second inning of relief, got 2 quick strikeouts and things looked pretty grim for the Tourists. Ah, but who other than Sosa to have at bat when you need a clutch hit? That's right, he homered to tie the score once again!

In the home 14th, Herges walked Chipper Jones with one out, and Sosa again strode confidently to the plate. Again Sammy came through, blasting a double off the right-center field wall, Chipper scoring from 1st, Tourists win 6-5 to regain the Commissioner Gordon Cup. Sammy, who had also homered in the 1st inning, was 4-for-7 with 4 RBI in the game, with a double and 2 homers. MacRae got the win with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Herges took the loss. Hernandez went 5-for-6 for the visitors, and hit .520 for the series.

MVP - Sammy Sosa hit .394 with 4 doubles, 4 homers, 7 runs, and 13 RBI, and hit in all 7 games. He scored or knocked in tying or go-ahead runs in all 4 Tourists wins.

Stat Leaders:

BA - Hernandez, Hackers, .520, Piazza, Tourists, .400

OBP - Hernandez, .556, Giles, Hackers, .457

SLG - Sosa, Tourists, .939, Ramirez, Tourists, .909

Hits - Hernandez & Sosa, 13

Runs - Bagwell, Tourists, 10, 3 tied with 8

RBI - Sosa, 13, Ramirez, 12

Doubles - Sweeney, Hackers, 6, 3 tied with 4

HR - Ramirez, 5, Sosa, 4

Extra base hits - Ramirez & Sosa, 9

Steals - Stewart, Hackers, 5-0, Rollins, Hackers, 3-1

BB - C.Jones, Tourists, 9, Giles, 7

Ks - Lankford, Tourists, 10

Total bases - Sosa, 31, Ramirez, 30

OPS - Harnandez, 1.396, Sosa, 1.384

Cirillo, Hackers, Ramirez, and Sosa hit in all 7 games

Hackers hit .299 / .388 / .443, Tourists .294 / .369 / .554

Tourists out-homer Hackers 16-6, both teams had 79 hits in 7 games (11+ per game)

ERA - Hudson, Hackers, 4.15, the only other starter under 5 was Batista, Tourists, 4.66

Ks - Garcia, Hackers, 16, Hudson, Hackers 13

BB - Clemens, Tourists, 8

Wins - 1, by many

Losses - Farnsworth, Hackers, 2

Saves - 3 tied with 1

V.Zambrano, Hackers, led in many statistical categories - h/9, w/9, k/9

Tourists 5.29 ERA, Hackers 6.55 ERA