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| World Series, 2003 |
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Last year's DMBL Series ended in what many thought was a premature five games and the underdog prevailing. This year's rematch had the roles reversed, for it was Arkansas this time that was the second seed and Newark the team with the best regular-season record. Game 1 Newark's Don Mattingly gave the nod to Brian Meadows to face Curt Schilling on the mound. Newark is known for finding hidden jewels in the draft. One-year wonder Mike Grace helped them win the title in '97 over a heavily favored Vancouver squad. Eleventh-round pick John Thomson won 18 games in the regular season last year as the Bears upset Arkansas. This year, Meadows, the last pick in the fifth round, went 17-5, including seven complete games. 
It may not have mattered who started for the Sugar Bears because Schilling was on his game on opening night. The Golden Falcon cruised from the start, striking out four of the first five batters he faced to quiet the home crowd early. An insignificant walk to Jim Thome was the only blemish through four innings. Carlos Guillen doubled in the sixth and reached third on a two-out error by shortstop Tony Womack before Schilling struck out Thome to end any threat. The Golden Falcons got on the board the usual way: reigning Mitchell Award winner Barry Bonds. He walked to lead off the fourth and his teammates followed with three straight hits, concluding with second baseman Jose Vizcaino's bases-clearing triple. Vizcaino came home on Joe Girardi's single and the Falcons threatened more but Meadows was able to escape the fourth, down 4-0. Arkansas led off the fifth inning with Bonds again, this time he singled, went to third on a Lance Berkman single and scored when Ellis Burks grounded into a double play. Womack's single leading off the seventh chased Meadows and brought Jayson Durocher into the game. After advancing to second and stealing third, Womack scored on a sacrifice fly by -- who else -- Bonds. Meanwhile, Schilling was still cruising, snuffing a rally in the bottom of the inning. Back-to-back singles by Manny Ramirez and Chipper Jones to lead off the inning had the Sugar Bears faithful donning their rally caps. But before they could get too excited, Bobby Abreu lined into a double play to third baseman Tyler Houston and Mike Piazza followed with a fly out to left. Arkansas threatened in the ninth when Durocher walked the first two batters in the lineup, but he came back to strike out the meat of the Golden Falcons' order. The ninth inning started off quietly enough for Schilling, getting Mark McLemore to fly out to center. But Thome and Ramirez both singled and then advanced on Jones' ground out to short. Abreu delivered this time, driving in Thome and getting Ramirez to third with a single. Still two out, but now on the board, 6-1, that brought up Piazza, the catcher the Bears snatched in a deadline deal with PATH rival Hoboken. He swatted a three-run homer to bring the Cereal Bowl to its feet and the Bears within 6-4. Despite the outstanding start for Schilling, 9K, 1 BB, 7 H, 4 ER, George Brett made the move for Byung-Hyun Kim with just one out to go. Womack's second error of the game allowed Alex Cora to reach base and bring Guillen up to the plate as the tying run. But Guillen only could must a weak popup and the Falcons hung on for a game 1 victory. Game 2 Mattingly's call for Meadows in Game 1 allowed him to slot his ace, lefty Randy Johnson, for two starts at the Cereal Bowl. Down 1-0 on their home turf, Newark couldn't afford to drop another game before heading to Arkansas. Arkansas countered with yet another ace out of their staff, Pedro Martinez. As it turned out, it wasn't the starters who would decide this game, but the bullpen. Newark took the early lead with a solo home run by Chipper Jones in the second. Bobby Abreu followed with a walk and steal of second before coming home on an Alex "Don't Call Me Joey" Cora single to make it 2-0. Then Jeremy Giambi led off the third with a homer to make it 3-0 and the home crowd was feeling good with its ace on the mound. 
Arkansas' Barry Bonds, who played a role in every Game 1 rally, was 0-for-2, but a very productive, if hitless, game. Again, Bonds led off an inning with a walk, this time the fifth. Johnson seemed unnerved by the base on balls because he then balked before yielding a double to Juan Gonzalez to let Arkansas on the board. He seemed to settle down and get Ellis Burks on a grounder but a Brad Ausmus single scored Gonzalez to make it 3-2. Phil Nevin followed with another single as did Mark Ellis, who scored Ausmus to tie the game and drive Johnson from the game. Jayson Durocher came on with one out and men on the corners. He got the two outs but the first was a sacrifice fly by Larry Walker that scored Nevin and gave Arkansas a 4-3 advantage. In the bottom of that fifth inning, Giambi led off with his second solo homer to knot the game at 4-4. The Bears grabbed the lead in the bottom of the seventh through no fault of their own. Pedro had been workmanlike, 6 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, and did strike out two in the seventh but both were preceded by singles. So with two on and two out, Brett brought in his ace setup man, Octavio Dotel. He wanted nothing to do with Jim Thome, as he walked the big lefty to load the bases. That left Dotel to face Manny Ramirez with the bases juiced. Dotel walked Ramirez to force home Alex Cora. He came back to strike out Abreu, ending the inning, but the damage had been done. A 5-4 lead heading to the ninth meant only one thing: Newark closer John Smoltz. Another leadoff walk for Bonds gave Arkansas life. A one-out single by Ellis Burks put the tying run into scoring position. But Nevin then grounded into a 1-4-3 double play and so the series was tied 1-1. The story of the game was the bullpens. While Dotel had walked in what proved to be the winning run, the Bears 'pen got the job done. The line of the game came from the Sugar Bears' bullpen: 4 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, after their ace couldn't get out of the fifth. Game 3 The scene shifted to Quisenberry Memorial Park for Game 3 as Newark went to Runelvys Hernandez and Arkansas turned to veteran ace Roger Clemens. Newark opened quickly with three consecutive, two-out singles from the middle of their lineup, scoring two runs. Both starters looked strong after that, tossing goose eggs through the fifth inning. In the sixth, Arkansas got on the board to tie it at 2-2. Walker doubled to lead off the inning and two batters later Bonds launched a homer deep into the Arkansas night. Newark would regain the lead, 3-2, with a moon shot of their own from Jose Hernandez in the seventh. That sent Clemens to the showers as Brett brought in Dotel, who promptly struck out the first two batters he faced to close the inning. Again, the Golden Falcons answered and this time with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Houston walked with one out and raced home on a double by pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro, batting for Joe Girardi, to tie the game at 3-3. With two out, and Houston still on second, Tony Womack and John Olerud walked ahead of Barry Bonds to load the bases. To that point, Hernandez had walked four, struck out one and yielded seven hits and three runs; Mattingly stuck with his starter to face Bonds. Bonds hit a laser into left center, scoring Houston and Womack but Olerud was gunned down at third by Chipper Jones to end the inning. At the end of seven innings, it was Arkansas 5, Newark 3. The goat in Game 2, Dotel came out for the eighth and recorded three outs, in between two walks. Kim came on in the ninth and quickly got two outs. Jeremy Giambi then singled and Mark McLemore followed with the same, bringing Newark's big bat, Jim Thome to the plate as the go-ahead run with two out. Kim earned his second save of the series by getting Thome on a called strike three and Arkansas had taken Game 3. Game 4 A rematch of Game 1's pitchers, Schilling and Meadows, it was Meadows who would win this duel. Newark's batters, baffled in Game 1 by Schilling, seemed to find the secret formula in Game 4. 
Arkansas grabbed a run in the first when a Bonds sac fly, with the bases loaded, scored Walker. But Meadows, with men still on second and third, was able to induces outs from Berkman and Burks and avoid a big inning. The Golden Falcons may have been thinking, what could have been, because they couldn't get a runner past second base for the next six innings. Meanwhile, Newark tied it at 1-1 in the fourth with three straight hits to lead off the inning and load the bases for Mike Piazza to single home a run. But Alex Cora grounded to first for a 3-2-3 double play to kill the rally as Carlos Guillen ended the inning by striking out. But the Sugar Bears punched back in the next inning for more. A one-out single by McLemore was followed by home run from Thome to make it 3-1. Ramirez and Abreu singled and that's when Schilling got the hook, after 4 2/3 and 10 hits. Brett looked to Gabe White who yielded another run-scoring single by Piazza made it 4-1 before Cora ended the inning on a ground out. An error by Berkman in center allowed Abreu to reach second leading off the eighth. With one out, Cora redeemed himself for his earlier critical double play by singling home Abreu, extending the lead to 5-1. Arkansas finally crossed the plate against Meadows in the eighth. Bonds led off with a double and advanced to third Burks' fly out to right. Vizcaino drove him home to cut the lead to 5-2 at the end of eight. Damaso Marte, who relieved White with one out in the eighth, got wild in the ninth, walking three of the first four batters he faced. He got Abreu for the second out but then walked Dave Roberts, who had come in for defense in the 8th, to force home a run, 6-2. Meadows stayed on to start the ninth, yielding a lead-off single to Houston and a one-out single to Walker before Mattingly summoned Arthur Rhodes from the bullpen. He quickly got Womack to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end Game 4. Meadows scattered nine hits over 8 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, one earned and walking three for his best outing of the series. Game 5 Both were better, but Pedro was best in Game 5 - a complete game three-hitter. Johnson wasn't his usual self, going 8 1/3, but giving up 10 hits and four runs. Both pitchers walked four. It was a later surge from the Golden Falcons that got them the win. They opened the scoring with a run in the second. A rare Bonds-less rally, Ausmus walked after a double play and reached second on a wild pitch before scoring on Phil Nevin's single. The Bears tied it with a run of their own in the fifth, with back-to-back doubles from Abreu and Piazza. Nevin led off the seventh with a single and after Mark Ellis struck out, Walker drew a base on balls before Vizcaino's run-scoring single. But Julio Franco struck out and Bonds grounded to third to end any threat, but his team did hold a 2-1 lead. They tacked on another right in the 8th, with lead-off singles from Gonzalez and Burks, putting runners at first and third. Nevin again drove home the run with a one-out sac fly, scoring Gonzalez. An error by Johnson put runners on second and third but Walker ended the inning with a grounder to second. Meanwhile, Pedro was cruising through eight innings. In the ninth, Bonds put the icing on the cake. A one-out single from Franco signaled Rhodes from the bullpen and Bonds greeted him with a homer to right, making the final score 5-1 and giving Arkansas a 3-2 series lead, heading back to the Quiz for Game 6. Game 6 With their backs to the wall...Like a cornered wolverine...and any other cliché you can find involving a team that's one win from elimination, the Sugar Bears busted out their big boy bats, led by Manny Ramirez in a historic Game 6. 
Ramirez became the first player in DMBL history to hit for the cycle in the World Series as the Bears began their assault early on the Golden Falcons pitching, scoring three runs in the first inning and eight in the first four. The victim was Clemens who left after 2 2/3, giving up six runs on six hits, though he did strike out five. But Arkansas was no slouch at the plate either, collecting 14 hits, but only managing two runs, leaving 15 on base. Three, two-out singles were wasted in the second when Olerud lined out to second and in the sixth a double play was followed by two singles, but Bonds grounded to third to end the threat. After three runs by Newark in the first, the Golden Falcons answered with two in the bottom of the inning, including a solo shot from Bonds. After that, it was all Newark. The Sugar Bears scored 13 runs on 17 hits and left 12 men on. Ramirez had a run-scoring double in the first, led off the third with a single, eventually scoring of course, and tripled home McLemore in the fourth. Leading off the sixth, Ramirez struck out. With two out in the eighth and McLemore on first, he homered to left to gain the cycle. Runelyvs Hernandez gave up 12 hits over seven innings but only two runs for the win. Scott Stewart finished up with two scoreless innings. For Arkansas, Marte was about the only pitcher to make it unscathed, with a hitless 2 1/3. Dotel went two innings but was pounded for five hits and four runs in the eighth. Game 7 There have been only three game sevens in DMBL Series history. This would be the fourth, at The Cereal Bowl in Newark. Newark's strategy started with getting two starts at home from Johnson and three starts from Meadows and that wasn't changing. Arkansas' Brett decided to go with Pedro on three days' rest for his third start in the series. Last time out, he tossed a three-hit complete game. Pedro got out of trouble in the third, when Jeremy Giambi led off with a double and McLemore singled to put runners on the corners. Thome grounded to third and Ramirez walked but Pedro came back to strike out Chipper Jones and hold the Bears scoreless. Arkansas drew first blood as back to back doubles from Burks and Vizcaino after a one-out single from Berkman. A strikeout of Tyler Houston got the second out for Meadows but a throwing error by Jose Hernandez at short allowed Vizcaino to score, making it 3-0. The assault continued in the fifth for Arkansas, with lead-off doubles by Olerud and Bonds. A Burks groundout scored Bonds to give the Falcons a 5-0 lead after five and Pedro on the mound. The mood at The Cereal Bowl was understandably uneasy. Newark's fifth inning started with a single by Jose Hernandez, followed by a walk by Jeremy Giambi, the third time in the game he reached base in Game 7. McLemore flied to left before Thome slammed a three-run homer to bring the home crowd to its feet and the Bears within 5-3. Brett had seen enough from Pedro and sent him to the showers early, 4 1/3, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5K. On came Gabe White who quickly got two outs to get out of the fifth. Meadows settled down and got the site in order in the sixth and two men reached base in the seventh without scoring. In the Newark sixth, Abreu walked to lead off and Piazza singled. But Cora grounded to third before Hernandez did White a favor and grounded into a double play. Dotel came on in the seventh. After walking the lead off hitter, McLemore, he got two of three outs via strikeout. Meadows looked strong, retiring the side in order in the 8th the 9th innings. Brett continued looking to his bullpen to get every out he could and it paid off. Marte got him three outs in the 8th, in his best outing of the series. For the 9th, Kim came on to make his third appearance, in another save situation. Cora flied to right before Carlos Guillen, pinch-hitting for Jose Hernandez, singled and the crowd came alive as Giambi, the top of the order came to the plate, as the tying run. Giambi flied to left, his only out of the game, for the second out. With Thome on deck, Kim struck out McLemore, and the looting and rioting could begin in Little Rock. Recap Overall, Newark had the better team ERA, 3.92, to Arkansas' 4.79, but the key to the series may very well have been the two bullpens. Starters for both squads were unimpressive overall (Ark: 5.53 ERA, Nwk: 4.58 ERA), with the exception of a few starts. Newark's bullpen was outstanding, 0.81 ERA, 5 H, 11 IP, but three relievers, including ace stopper John Smoltz, only made one appearance. On the Arkansas side, the bullpen's 3.20 ERA was respectable and the 'pen had some rough and wild outings, but Manager George Brett had the confidence to go to the pen early in Game 7. 
Dotel appeared in the most games, 4, winning one and sporting a 6.00 ERA in six innings, while striking out 10 and walking six. But Brett wasn't shy with the rest of his pen either, with three appearances each by Kim (3 Sv, 2 ½ IP, 3 H, 0 ER), Gabe White (1.69 ERA, 5 1/3 IP) and Damaso Marte (1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 4 BB). Newark's Meadows logged the most innings, 23 1/3, with a respectable 4.24 ERA, 28 H. Johnson came up short for the Bears, with a 5.68 ERA, 12 2/2 IP, 14 H, 8 ER, 6 BB, 6 K, in two starts. Bonds easily was named the Series MVP, playing a part in almost any rally that Arkansas scored. He batted .333, with a .419 OBP and .625 SLG, which led both teams. He had eight hits, a double, two home runs, six runs and eight RBIs, walking five times with only two strikeouts. As a team Arkansas batted .275 to Newark's .259. Newark also boasted better OBP, .339 to .331, and better SLG, .403 to .361. But Arkansas got more from everyone in the lineup. Nevin, though relegated to a lefty platoon with Tyler Houston, came up big in Game 5, batted a team-high .400, .417 OBP, .400 SLG, in three games. Juan Gonzalez, in two games, was 4-for-8, slugging .625. Berkman led all batters with a .381 BA Newark's big bat, Jim Thome slugged .417, with a .355 OBP, but a meager .167 BA. When he did connect, he connected big, but he struck out seven times and walked eight. And don't forget, he was on-deck with a man on base when Kim ended the series with a strikeout of McLemore. Seven Sugar Bear batters registered at least four strikeouts in the series while Burks was the only Golden Falcon with at least four Ks. Many Ramirez had nice numbers, .333 BA, .379 OBP, .556 SLG, and led the team with nine hits and seven runs, highlighted by hitting for the cycle in Game 6. Mike Piazza, acquired from Hoboken before the trading deadline, had eight hits and a team-high seven RBIs. Jeremy Giambi slugged .607, with eight hits and a team-high nine strikeouts. TWIB may have Ozzie Smith, but we have the better Smith! Zane Smith, former pitcher for the San Antonio Slingers and Sacramento Seahawks, now writes this column exclusively for the Diamond Mind Baseball League. Click Here for past articles. | |
Like two powerful Goliaths colliding, the Newark Sugar Bears and the Arkansas Golden Falcons met in the 2003 DMBL Series for the second straight year as the two top teams. Would it be the Big Bang of the DMBL?