River Avenue Blues

River Ave. Blues » Austin Romine » Page 3

The Yankees will start Gary Sanchez in the Wild Card Game and it is right move

by

(Presswire)

Let me preface this by saying Gary Sanchez has had an abysmal season. A worst case scenario season, really. He’s been on the disabled list twice, and, when healthy, he’s hit .180/.280/.386 (80 wRC+) in 357 plate appearances. There have been 1,005 individual player seasons of at least 300 plate appearances in Yankees history. Sanchez’s .180 batting average ranks 1,004th. Only someone named Red Kleinow was worse. He hit .168 in 1908.

Sanchez has had a terrible season at the plate and a bad season behind it, particularly blocking the ball, and he is one of the single biggest reasons the Yankees are fighting for home field advantage in the Wild Card Game in the final week of the regular season rather than enjoying a big lead. I was hopeful Sanchez would return from the disabled list looking like 2016-17 Gary Sanchez. Instead, he’s 10-for-66 (.152) in 19 games since returning.

Given his season to date, it is perfect reasonable to question whether Sanchez should start the Wild Card Game one week from tomorrow. Austin Romine isn’t great by any means, but he’s better at blocking pitches, and he actually has Sanchez beat offensively this year (93 wRC+ vs. 80 wRC+). Is he the better player at this moment? He might be. The case can be made. The Yankees aren’t hearing it though. Sanchez will start the Wild Card Game.

“We’re doubling down and tripling down on Gary Sanchez because we know the ceiling that is there and the capabilities this player has on both sides of the ball,” said Cashman to Greg Joyce over the weekend. “We have a short time frame to get a number of players finding their groove. He’s one of them … Gary has had a rough stretch. We do believe that maybe the best is yet to come.”

Over the weekend Aaron Boone gave a very succinct “yes” when asked whether Sanchez will start the Wild Card Game. “Hopefully there is that stretch in him where he really gains some momentum with some good and positive at-bats where he gets some results and then it can kind of snowball from there because of who he is as a hitter,” Boone told Laura Albanese another day. Barring injury, Sanchez will be behind the plate next Wednesday.

And, to me, that is 100% the right call. In a winner-take-all game — in all postseason games, really — you put your best and most talented players on the field, and trust them to do what’s necessary to win the game. And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way:

Sanchez is unquestionably the most talented catcher on the roster. Is he playing up to his potential right now? Oh hell no. Not even close. But the ability is there and he’s capable of doing things at an elite level moreso than any other catcher on the roster and moreso than most catchers in the game.

The entire “Romine over Sanchez” argument seems to boil down to “Sanchez might allow a passed ball at a bad time,” which is totally true, but that’s not a good enough reason to start Romine. That’s managing because you’re scared of losing. Once you start making decisions because you’re afraid of mistakes rather than making decisions to put the game in the hands of your best players, you’re done. That’s the thinking that bought us A-Rod batting eighth. (Also, it’s much more likely Sanchez gets through a game without a passed ball than with, but I digress.)

The offensive potential does not compare — Romine is hitting .210/.255/.370 (65 wRC+) in 197 plate appearances since June 1st, which is in line with his .228/.270/.330 (56 wRC+) line from 2016-17, so let’s not pretend he’s something he’s not at the plate — the throwing arm doesn’t compare, and over the last two seasons the pitching staff has allowed fewer earned runs (3.42 ERA vs. 4.14 ERA) and a lower opponent’s OPS+ (94 vs. 105) when Sanchez is behind the plate. Because he’s the better catcher. It’s not rocket science. It’s baseball.

Sitting Sanchez for Romine (or Kyle Higashioka!) is not the same thing as sitting Brett Gardner for Andrew McCutchen. The Yankees wouldn’t be sitting a slumping player for a comfortably above-average player. They’d be sitting a slumping player for a backup who doesn’t really do anything well. Sanchez isn’t doing anything well right now either! But I am much more comfortable expecting him to do something productive than any other catcher on the roster.

Gary has been awful this season. Inexcusably awful and he should be embarrassed by his play this year. If this doesn’t get him motivated going into next year, nothing will. If this doesn’t get him motivated going into the postseason, nothing will. There’s nothing Sanchez can do to save his regular season now. There’s no saving that batting line with six games to play. But the postseason is a fresh start and a chance for redemption. That’s the only way Gary can look at this season now.

Truth be told, the Yankees do not have a starting caliber catcher right now. Sanchez hasn’t played like one all year and Romine didn’t play like one while Sanchez was on the disabled list. Given that, I think the Yankees should go with their most talented player, the one you know has a chance to be an impact player because he’s been an impact player in the recent past. Put you best players on the field and if you lose, you lose. But at least the Yankees would’ve been in the best position to win.

Game 151: Stay alive in the AL East

by

(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

It wasn’t easy, but the Yankees staved off elimination in the AL East race last night. The Red Sox’s magic number is two, so if they win one game this series, it’s over. They’re division champs. No one wants to see them celebrate the AL East title at Yankee Stadium. Tonight the Yankees will try to make the Red Sox wait another day to clinch.

In other postseason race news, the Yankees got some help last night from the Angels (and an A’s fan), as they came from behind to beat the Athletics. New York is now three games up on the A’s in the loss column for homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game. It’s four games, really, when you factor in the Yankees holding the tiebreaker. The more distance the Yankees can create between themselves and the A’s, the better. Here are tonight’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Andrew McCutchen
2. DH Aaron Judge
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. RF Giancarlo Stanton
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. 3B Miguel Andujar
7. C Gary Sanchez
8. 1B Luke Voit
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Luis Severino

Boston Red Sox
1. DH Mookie Betts
2. LF Andrew Benintendi
3. RF J.D. Martinez
4. SS Xander Bogaerts
5. 1B Mitch Moreland
6. 2B Ian Kinsler
7. 3B Eduardo Nunez
8. C Sandy Leon
9. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.

LHP David Price

It is warm, humid, and cloudy in New York. There is some rain in the forecast later tonight — the internet tells me it’ll start around 10pm ET and continue until about 1am ET — though it’s not supposed to be anything heavy. Hopefully there’s no delay. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Enjoy tonight’s game.

Injury Updates: Turns out Austin Romine was not available yesterday. He woke up with a stiff neck. Romine said he feels better today and expects to be available tonight … in case you missed it earlier, Aroldis Chapman (knee) was activated off the disabled list. The Yankees are up to 37 players on the active roster (20 pitchers, 17 position players).

Rotation Update: Aaron Boone said the Yankees have started discussing their Wild Card Game starter “in earnest.” The last 12 games of the season could factor into the decision, as could matchups. My guess is Masahiro Tanaka starts the Wild Card Game with J.A. Happ lined up for Game One of the ALDS, should the Yankees advance. Most of RAB readers think Tanaka should start the Wild Card Game.

Yankeemetrics: Sweepless in Seattle (Sept. 7-9)

by

(AP)

Ace Tanaka
The Yankees made sure that there would be no hangover from their miserable blowout loss in the series finale at Oakland, as they rebounded to beat the Mariners on Friday night, 4-0.

The win improved the Yankees to 53-29 all-time at Safeco Field, the best record at the ballpark by any team. They completely dominated the Mariners, who had just four baserunners (three hits, one walk) thanks to another gem from Masahiro Tanaka. It was the first time the Yankees blanked the Mariners while giving up no more than three hits since May 14, 1996 … Dwight Gooden’s memorable no-hitter in the Bronx.

Tanaka was stellar, tossing eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Only one runner reached third base, and he retired 13 batters in row between a first-inning two-out single by Robinson Cano and a sixth-inning leadoff double by Mike Zunino. Tanaka is the first pitcher in franchise history with a 10-strikeout, no-walk scoreless outing against the Mariners. It was his fifth career double-digit, zero-walk game; the only Yankee with more is Mike Mussina (7).

The brilliant performance also extended his run of dominant ace-like performances since the All-Star break. His 2.30 ERA in the second half of the season is the third-best among AL pitchers (min. 30 IP), behind only Blake Snell (1.42) and David Price (1.78).

Gleyber Torres gave Tanaka some early run support with his 23rd home run of the season in the second inning, a two-run bomb that also was his 100th career hit. Torres (21 years, 268 days old) is the youngest Yankee to reach the century-hit milestone since a 20-year-old Mickey Mantle in 1952. He also matched Mantle on this home run leaderboard of franchise legends:

Longballs FTW
The Bombers used their two trademark offensive weapon home runs and almost-homers (sac flies) to beat the Mariners on Saturday night, 4-2. They lead the majors in both categories (232 homers, 51 sac flies) — and by large margins. Entering Sunday, their 34-homer lead was nearly the same as the difference between the second-place teams (Dodgers and A’s, 198) and the 15th place team (Phillies, 165). And their six-sac fly lead was the same as the difference between the second-place Pirates (45) and the eighth-place Diamondbacks (39).

(AP)

Andrew McCutchen got the deep-ball party started when he cranked a leadoff homer in the top of the first. McCutchen is the third different Yankee to hit a leadoff blast this season (Gardner has three and Hicks has one). The last time they had a trio of players each with at least one leadoff homer was 1995, when four guys — Tony Fernandez, Bernie Williams, Luis Polonia, Wade Boggs — did it.

After Seattle tied it up in the third, Giancarlo Stanton put them ahead again in the fifth with a sacrifice fly to right, his 10th with the team. He is one of four Yankees to hit double-digit sac flies and 30 homers in a season:

The Mariners quickly knotted it up again in the bottom of the fifth, but Austin Romine finally gave the Yankees the lead for good with a solo blast in the seventh. It was his first career go-ahead homer in the seventh inning or later.

(USA Today)

Dellin Betances survived a shaky ninth inning for his third save of the season. He loaded the bases with one out and then struck out Denard Span and Kyle Seager swinging to seal the win. Opponents are 5-for-50 (.100) with the bases loaded against Betances in his career, and he’s whiffed nearly half (28) of them (58). That .100 batting average allowed is the lowest among all active MLB pitchers (min. 50 batters faced).

(AP)

WTF loss to the Mariners
All streaks must come to an end, right? The Bombers domination of the Mariners was snapped in abrupt fashion on Sunday, losing 3-2 on a fantastic game-ending catch by Mitch Haniger with the Yankees potential game-tying run on base. Prior to that loss, they had won seven in a row against the Mariners, and were going for the season series sweep. It would have been the first time ever that the Yankees swept a season series against an AL West team since divisional play began in 1969.

The big story of the game was another RISP-fail showing by the offense, which went 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position. That included a no-out, bases-loaded situation in the fourth inning that resulted in a single run scored when Andrew McCutchen took ball four on a full-count. The Bronx Walkers’ 14 bases-loaded walks are tied for the fourth-most in MLB this season, while their batting average and slugging percentage both rank 23rd.

(USA Today)

CC Sabathia battled through a rough first two innings but was able to limit the damage (two runs) and retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced. Sabathia’s 2.24 ERA in 15 career starts at Safeco Field is the third-lowest at the ballpark among all pitchers with at least 10 starts there, behind Bartolo Colon (1.98) and Dan Haren (2.00).

Giancarlo Stanton — along with making the final out of the game — ended the no-hitter version of this game early with a first-inning double, his 30th of the season. Round number alert: he is the first Yankee with at least 30 homers and 30 doubles since Robinson Cano in 2012, the first Yankee right-handed batter to do it since Alex Rodriguez in 2008, and the first Yankee DH/outfielder to achieve both marks in a season since Hideki Matsui in 2004.

Even with rosters expanded, the Yankees lack a quality righty pinch-hitter on the bench

by

Adeiny the bench bat. (Presswire)

Five days ago September call-ups arrived and the Yankees and every other team brought up extra player from the minors. The Yankees are carrying 31 players on the active roster (15 position players, 16 pitchers) and it’ll be 32 players once Didi Gregorius returns from the disabled list, which could be as soon as Friday. No more worrying about running out of relievers or playing guys out of position.

Once Gregorius returns the Yankees will have seven players on their bench, and, on any given night, these will be the seven players and their roles:

  • Backup Catcher: Austin Romine
  • Third Catcher: Kyle Higashioka
  • Utility Infielder: Ronald Torreyes
  • Defensive Specialist: Adeiny Hechavarria
  • Designated Speedster: Tyler Wade
  • Pinch-Hitter, Maybe?: Greg Bird
  • Neil Walker: Neil Walker

Walker has somewhat predictably cooled of late as his playing time has decreased, though at this point I think he remains the team’s top pinch-hitting option against right-handed batters. I know Bird almost hit that pinch-hit grand slam the other day, but his bat still looks frighteningly slow, and I’m not really sure how you can send him up to the plate in a big spot as your top pinch-hitting option.

Even if you consider Bird a good pinch-hitting option, the Yankees are still short a right-handed bat on the bench. Walker is a switch-hitter who is hitting .174/.237/.246 (30 wRC+) against lefties this year, and his struggles against southpaws date back several seasons (career 86 wRC+ vs. LHP), so it’s not small sample size noise. He’s a switch-hitter in name only. That leaves, uh, Romine or Torreyes as the top righty bench bat? Yikes.

This isn’t a minor detail either. It has come into play the last two nights. On Monday, with the Yankees down three and two runners on base in the seventh inning, Walker was sent up as a pinch-hitter against a righty, and the A’s countered with lefty Ryan Buchter. Buchter retired Walker and Brett Gardner, a .250/.321/.339 (83 wRC+) hitter against lefties this year, to snuff out the rally.

Last night Buchter was brought in to face Gardner with a runner on base in a one-run game and the Yankees had no countermove. That one actually worked out okay in a weird way. Buchter picked Gleyber Torres off first base to end the inning, then Gardner started the game-tying rally the next inning with an infield single into the 5.5 hole. That doesn’t seem like a sustainable strategy, Gardner beating out infield singles against lefties.

The right-handed pinch-hitter down the stretch was supposed to be Luke Voit, but instead he’s in the starting lineup because he’s mashing dingers (and Bird has been terrible). Having Walker to pinch-hit against righties and Voit to pinch-hit against lefties would be fine. Instead, the Yankees have Walker to pinch-hit against righties, no one obvious to pinch-hit against lefties, and Bird without a clear role.

The Yankees only have one seemingly viable right-handed pinch-hitting option in Triple-A: Ryan McBroom, a first baseman by trade who played some outfield this year, and hit .302/.348/.458 (125 wRC+) with 15 homers between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton this year. The Yankees got him from the Blue Jays in the Rob Refsnyder trade last year. They could bring McBroom up and let him take his hacks against lefties as a pinch-hitter.

Or maybe this isn’t a big deal at all. Aaron Judge started swinging a bat earlier this week and is inching closer to a return, and once he does get back, the Yankees will have five players (Gardner, Judge, Aaron Hicks, Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton) for four lineup spots (three outfield plus DH). If Gardner is in the lineup, that means one of the other four guys will be on the bench and available to pinch-hit against a lefty.

Until Judge returns (if Judge returns?), the Yankees don’t have an obvious pinch-hitting option against a lefty pitcher, and it burned them two nights ago. It nearly burned them last night. Maybe bringing up McBroom as a short-term bench bat until Judge returns makes sense, just to have that power righty bat on the bench. Otherwise the best option is probably sending Torreyes up there, and hoping he contact bombs the pitcher and finds outfield grass.

Game 124: End of the Homestand

by Leave a Comment

(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

The long eleven-game homestand ends today as does the 20 games in 20 days stretch. The Yankees are 6-4 in the first ten games of the homestand (meh) and 10-9 in the first 19 games of the 20 games in 20 days stretch (also meh). Lots of meh baseball being played these days.

Former Blue Jay J.A. Happ taking on his former squad in today’s homestand finale. Happ has been really good in his three starts as a Yankee, and with Luis Severino still not right and CC Sabathia on the disabled list, the Yankees have really needed Happ to step in and solidify things, and he’s done that. Go finish the sweep today. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. 3B Miguel Andujar
4. SS Didi Gregorius
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. C Kyle Higashioka
8. RF Shane Robinson
9. LF Brett Gardner

LHP J.A. Happ

Toronto Blue Jays
1. 3B Russell Martin
2. 2B Devon Travis
3. RF Randal Grichuk
4. 1B Kendrys Morales
5.CF Kevin Pillar
6. DH Teoscar Hernandez
7. C Danny Jansen
8. SS Aledmys Diaz
9. LF Billy McKinney

LHP Ryan Borucki

The internet tells me the weather won’t be as bad as looks outside my window. It is cloudy and humid and windy, which usually equals rain, but there is none in the forecast. Just a menacing looking sky. Today’s series finale will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally or TBS nationally. Enjoy.

Injury Update: Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) is doing better and he expects to play the field when the Yankees go to Miami this coming week. “It’s getting there. Going to have some NL games soon, so I’ll have to jump out in right field, but it’s getting better. We’re going to get there,” he said … Austin Romine has passed the league’s concussion protocols, which is good. Between today and the off-day tomorrow, he’ll get two straight days to rest up … Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) is hitting and running in Tampa. There is still no firm timetable for his return.

Austin Romine exits today’s game after foul tip to face mask

by Leave a Comment

5:30pm ET: Aaron Boone said Romine “seems to be fine,” which is good to hear, but the Yankees have been overly optimistic with injuries lately, so forgive me for still being a little worried. Kyle Higashioka will catch Sunday, and with the off-day Monday, Romine will get two straight days to heal up.

2:31pm ET: This is potentially very bad. Austin Romine exited this afternoon’s game after taking a foul tip to the face mask in the fifth inning. He stayed in the game to finish the inning before being pulled. Here’s the play. It’s a direct shot to the jaw. Here’s the video:

Romine grabbed his neck and of course a concussion is always a concern as well. I have no idea why he remained in the game after the foul tip. Day game after a night game and a big lead? Why push it? What if he takes another foul tip to the face mask? Seems really unnecessary. Take care of your brain.

Anyway, the Yankees have not yet announced an update on Romine. He just exited the game a few minutes ago and I’m sure he’s going for tests. The Yankees are already without Gary Sanchez, who seems to still be more than a week away. Journeyman Wilkin Castillo and organizational depth catcher Francisco Diaz are the currently Triple-A Scranton catching tandem.

Yankeemetrics: Bronx bummer, bats broken (Aug. 13-16)

by Leave a Comment

(Newsday)

Monday mess
The week got off to a terrible start as the Yankees were embarrassed by their Big Apple rivals in a 8-5 loss on Monday. The Mets punished the Yankees pitchers with five home runs, the most the Yankees have ever surrendered in a Subway Series matchup.

Luis Severino’s slump reached another level as he was blitzed by the weak-hitting Mets, coughing up four runs on seven hits — including two homers — in four innings. #NotFunFact No. 1: The last Yankee starter to allow that many hits and runs against the Mets in an outing as short as Severino’s was Jaret Wright on July 2, 2006.

A.J. Cole entered in the sixth and immediately poured gasoline on the fire as Todd Frazier took him deep to lead off the inning, the first of three solo dingers Cole would give up before getting pulled with one out in the seventh. Thanks to that awful performance, Cole earned our #NotFunFact No. 2: He is the third Yankee reliever to allow at least three homers in a game while getting no more than four outs. The others were Darren Holmes (May 20, 1998) and Tom Ferrick (May 7, 1951).

We’ll end this section on a positive note, with a milestone salute to the Gritty Gutty Brett Gardner, who hit his 200th career double. He is the 30th Yankee to reach that mark, but just the third to combine it with at least 200 career steals and 50 homers. The others: Derek Jeter and Roy White.

(Newsday)

It’s Happ-ening
The Yankees quickly rebounded from Monday’s misery, taking a 1-0 lead on an Aaron Hicks RBI single in the first inning against the Rays en route to a 4-1 win on Tuesday night. The victory made the Yankees an MLB-best 30-4 (.882) when scoring first in the opening frame this season.

J.A. Happ delivered a gem and pitched like an ace, giving up just one hit over seven scoreless innings. After walking four guys in the first four frames, he retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced, improving to 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts as a Yankee. Happ and Lance Lynn have rightfully earned their pinstripes since coming over at the deadline:

This was a notable start for Happ in several ways:

  • It was the first time in his career that he completed at least seven innings and didn’t allow more than one hit.
  • It had been nearly four years since a Yankee pitched seven or more scoreless innings while giving up one hit or fewer in a game. That last guy to do it was Michael Pineda on Sept. 22, 2014 against the Orioles.
  • And you have to go back four more years to find the last time a lefty achieved the feat, when CC Sabathia held the A’s to one hit over eight scoreless innings on Sept. 2, 2010.

Happ was aggressive in pounding the zone with his fastball-heavy arsenal, but the Rays couldn’t square up his pitches as he located them on the edges and changed eye levels while carving thru the lineup multiple times. A ton of four-seamers up and two-seamers down kept the Rays off-balance and helped him get a whopping 30 foul balls, the most in a game by any Yankee pitcher this season.

Austin Romine added a couple insurance runs in the fifth with an opposite-field shot to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. It was his eighth homer of the season (in 199 plate appearances), one more than he hit in his 611 career major-league plate appearances prior to 2018. The last time he had eight or more longballs in any pro season was when he hit 10 homers at Double-A Trenton in 2010.

RISP-Fail, Part I
The one game win streak came to a screeching halt on Wednesday as the Yankees dropped a very boring game to Rays, 4-1. The bats fell silent in the clutch, going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving a small navy of 10 men on base.

Luis Cessa put the Yankees in an early hole as Tampa Bay raced out to a 5-1 lead before he got the hook in the fourth inning. He’s now given up 10 runs and 14 hits in his last two games in a Yankees uniform:

Only one other Yankee pitcher in the last 10 seasons allowed at least five runs and seven hits in back-to-back outings of fewer than four innings pitched — Masahiro Tanaka last year on May 14 and May 20.

Miguel Andujar was the lone offensive highlight, going 2-for-4 with a game-tying homer in the second inning and a double; the rest of the lineup was 3-for-28. Nine of his 19 homers (47 percent) this season have either tied the game or given the Yankees the lead. The double and homer were his 54th and 55th extra-base hits of the season, the most by a Yankee rookie age 23 or younger since a 23-year-old Joe Gordon had 56 in 1938.

(Getty)

RISP-Fail, Part II
It was deja vu all over again for the Yankees, who lost 3-1 to the Rays on Thursday as their offensive deep-freeze continued for a second straight day. They have lost 17 of their last 26 games against AL East teams, after starting the season 18-9 within the division.

The loss was even more depressing because the Rays had been a virtual punching bag for the Yankees in the Bronx recently. They had won 12 straight home series against the Rays dating back to September 2014, their longest streak of series wins at the current Yankee Stadium against a single opponent. The last time they lost a series in the Bronx to the Rays was June 30-July 2, 2014 — the starting pitchers for the Yankees in those three games were David Phelps, Hiroki Kuroda and Vidal Nuno.

But perhaps the most miserable stat is the fact that the Yankees couldn’t score more than one run on Wednesday or Thursday. This is the first time ever that the Rays have held the Yankees to one run or fewer in consecutive games within a series at Yankee Stadium (old or new).

The clutch-hitting woes reached a peak in the bottom of the ninth when they loaded the bases with no outs and down by two runs. The Rays called on Adam Kolarek to get the final three outs, rookie who entered with zero career saves and 6.17 ERA in 23 1/3 major-league innings.

The next three at-bats were a microcosm of the Yankees’ season-long performance with the bags full: Greg Bird popout, Brett Gardner strikeout, Austin Romine strikeout. To put that futility into context, this year teams with the bases loaded and no outs scored at least one run 83.5 percent of the time, and the expected number of runs scored in that situation is 2.3, per Baseball Prospectus’ expected runs matrix.

The Yankees are now hitting .213/.263/.361 with the bases loaded this season, ranking 27th in batting average, 26th in on-base percentage, 24th in slugging percentage and 25th in OPS (.624). If you believe in history repeating itself ….

The last time the Yankees finished with a bases-loaded OPS that low was 1991, a year that ended with the fifth-worst win percentage in franchise history; and the last time they finished with a bases-loaded batting average that low in a non-strike season was 1952, a year that ended with a World Series Game 7 victory over the Dodgers.