EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 Before the games today, Baseball Tonight showed some of the biggest home runs in divisional series play. That got me thinking about the series themselves. Which series was the most exciting in the 12 year history of the format? The 1995 ALDS between the Mariners and the Yankees saw the Mariners come from one down in the final game to win 6-5 on Edgar Martinez's two run double. Game four saw Edgar Martinez break a 6-6 tie in the 8th with a grand slam, and game two saw a two run walkoff homer in extra innings off the bat of Jim Leyritz. The 1999 ALDS saw the Cleveland Indians take a two games to nothing lead on the Red Sox before they EXPLODED for 32 runs over the next two games. The Indians took an 8-7 lead in three innings in game five before Pedro Martinez came in and pitched six no-hit innings. The 2003 ALDS featured several close, exciting games. Three games were decided by one run and a fourth by a two run walkoff home run by Trot Nixon. In the 2003 NLDS, two games propelled the Marlins into the NLCS. The Fish fell behind 3-2 in the 11th before scoring two runs to win game three. In game four, Jeffrey Hammonds' single almost tied the game, but Jeff Conine nailed JT Snow at home plate. Ivan Rodriguez has yet to let go of the baseball. The 2004 ALDS between the Twins and Yankees saw Johan Santana shut down the Yankees in game one, their only win. The Yankees won games two and four in extra innings thanks to the late game heroics of Alex Rodriguez. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 Alex Rodriguez clutch? Don't make things up. 2003 NLDS was probably my favorite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 '95 ALDS easily. The Griffey slide is one of my favorite moments as a baseball fan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 I just double checked and Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS wasn't 2-1 Al, the Yankees scored in the 11th to break a 4-4 tie, and the M's came back with 2 in the bottom of the inning to win it 6-5 on the Martinez double. They should show that game on Yankees Classics some time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Paul Report post Posted October 3, 2006 Either the 95 ALDS, or the 2004 ALDS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 What about 2001 NY-Oakland? I remember that one being very close and tense, and it featured the classic (albeit hated for me) Jeter-at-the-plate play Otherwise I'd go '99 Boston-Cleveland or '03 Boston-Oakland, both because of my own admitted bias and because of the tension in both series Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Paul Report post Posted October 3, 2006 What about 2001 NY-Oakland? I remember that one being very close and tense, and it featured the classic (albeit hated for me) Jeter-at-the-plate play I was gonna say that, but avoided the "homer" cheap shots... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 I just double checked and Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS wasn't 2-1 Al, the Yankees scored in the 11th to break a 4-4 tie, and the M's came back with 2 in the bottom of the inning to win it 6-5 on the Martinez double. They should show that game on Yankees Classics some time. Must've been a mental gaff. I fixed it. ESPN Classic is airing the game on Friday at 10am ET, in edited form I am sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 What about 2001 NY-Oakland? I remember that one being very close and tense, and it featured the classic (albeit hated for me) Jeter-at-the-plate play Game three was a close 1-0 game. The Yankees won the next two games 9-2 and 5-3, and neither were particularly memorable, IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 Otherwise I'd go '99 Boston-Cleveland or '03 Boston-Oakland, both because of my own admitted bias and because of the tension in both series On further thought, I went with the '03 Boston series, since '99 really only has the final game going for it, where the '03 series had Boston staving off elimination in the final inning of two straight in games 3 and 4 and being up 4-3 in game 5 with the bases loaded and Derek Lowe striking out Terrence Long for the last out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Princess Leena Report post Posted October 3, 2006 Other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 '99 ALDS, if only for Pedro bringing the hammer of the gods. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Paul Report post Posted October 3, 2006 I too, now vote for "other". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 None of these division series seem all that great except for Yanks v. Mariners. I mean, Marlins v. Giants is disqualified for being the Marlins v. Giants. Braves v. Cubs was pretty good back in 03 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2006 I'd still vote for '95 Yankees/M's. '99 Sox/Indians had one legendary game, but that was it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
