A Renewed National Pastime: An MLB Timeline

A Renewed National Pastime: An Alternative MLB
I am a huge baseball fan. One of the most impressive books I have read is Buster Olney’s account of the Yankee Dynasty from 1996-2001. He views the key to the dynasty was the changes that Buck Showalter made in the early 90’s that allowed the Yankees to start acquiring bigger players in free agency to complement homegrown talent such as Jeter, Rivera, and Bernie Williams. The first big name free agent the Yankees got was Jimmy Key, a very good veteran lefty who recognized that New York could be a great place to play. The question this timeline looks at is what happened if he moved elsewhere, and the impact it would have on baseball.

Chapter I: 1992 Free Agency
From Canadian Dynasty: How Two Canadian Teams Succeeded at America’s Game by George Stroumboulopoulos
It has been said that 1992 World Series was a watershed moment in North American sports. The Blue Jays had been able to be the first team from outside the United States to play in and win a World Series. Baseball was popular and booming in Canada like never before. The SkyDome was viewed as a stadium of the future and was showing that baseball could attract people to a ballpark. The Blue Jays had one issue that needed to be dealt with as the glow from the championship subsided, which was how to keep free agent Jimmy Key.

“I had finished out my contract at the end of the 1992 season. I had been pitching well in the playoffs and was a key cog in the clinching Game 6 of the Series. I was comfortable in Toronto and I wanted a secure 4 year deal that would allow me to test the waters. The other big free agent on the market was Greg Maddux, who was being looked at by the Yankees. Maddux eventually chose to stick with Atlanta. I looked at New York and was interested, but I felt that it would be wrong to leave a team that was loyal to me, and there was the small matter of the suspension of George Steinbrenner. I accepted a 4 year deal worth 20 million to stay in Toronto.”
-Jimmy Key
From the documentary “Back to Back: 1992-1993 World Champion Blue Jays”
 
Chapter II: Canadian Emergence

The major question the Blue Jays had in 1993 was could they be able to repeat. There was a certain feeling that with the key contributors back in action. The team was very good in pitching, and to have guys like Jimmy Key and Dave Stewart and Jack Morris at the top of your rotation, there was a question if this would be the best team of the decade. Of course, what people were not seeing was what was happening to the other team in Canada. Montreal was also starting to show signs that they were finally going to catch up to the Blue Jays. Canadian baseball had finally arrived.
-From MLB Network documentary “Maple Ball: The Canadian Superpowers”

“From a broadcaster’s perspective, the Blue Jays were a difficult thing. CBS really wanted to showcase American teams and not Canadian teams due to ratings. It was different for the CBC, which was able to show the games involving the Blue Jays to great success and ad dollars as a bridge during the earlier season to Hockey Night in Canada. Of course, I was working for CBS and the network was clear that the US ratings were more important. So when we did broadcast on a Saturday and the Jays were playing the Tigers, then it would make some sense to broadcast it because we could catch Blue Jays viewers in the Michigan border areas. But we would choose a Dodgers-Cubs game instead because we could catch viewers from a broader area than in the border areas with Canada. But Toronto and Montreal were amazing stories that CBS was confident that viewers would tune in to see what all the fuss was about.
-Tim McCarver, Former CBS analyst

Indeed it was. Montreal and Toronto both won 97 games and the audience numbers for local television were soaring. There was a sense that Canada had finally become a proud baseball nation. The Leafs and Habs were still important teams and were the top ticket, but the possibility of a matchup in the World Series was very close to happening. All around baseball, there were debates about Jimmy Key or Pedro, Larry Walker vs. Joe Carter. This was the beginning of what looked like a strong baseball revival that would make it North America’s game again.
 
Chapter III: The Warning Shot
1993 Standings
AL East
Toronto (99-62)
Baltimore (87-75)
New York (AL) (85-77)
Detroit (81-81)
Boston (79-83)
Cleveland (77-85)
Milwaukee (70-92)
AL West
Chicago (AL) (92-70)
Texas (87-75)
Kansas City (81-81)
Seattle (81-81)
California (77-85)
Minnesota (72-90)
Oakland (69-93)
NL East
Philadelphia (97-65)
Montreal (97-65)
St Louis (90-72)
Chicago (NL) (88-74)
Pittsburgh (81-81)
New York (70-92)
Florida (62-100)
NL West
Atlanta (100-62)
San Francisco (99-63)
Houston (85-77)
Los Angeles (81-81)
Cincinnati (80-82)
Colorado (60-102)
San Diego (59-103)

“The 1993 NL East was a wild race all year long. Philadelphia was the team to beat coming in, but the young guns had been the catalyst for the Expos. He willed them back from a 3 game deficit in the final week of the season to force a playoff on a warm Monday night that I called. It was a game that showed the NFL that baseball may not be the most popular game, but that two teams who had given no quarter all year to each other would be fun to watch. I think that this game showed that Montreal had an impressive cast of characters that would soon take the NL.”
-Tim McCarver

October 4th, 1993
Olympic Stadium Montreal
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CBS SPORTS BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Sean Mcdonough: And a warm welcome to you on this warm evening from Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The NL has been a fun league all year and the East is going to have to be decided in one game. I am Sean Mcdonough along with the former Cardinal Tim McCarver. Tim, the Expos will start Pedro Martinez, who has stepped out of the shadows of his older brother Ramon.
Tim McCarver: Pedro came over after his release from the Dodgers and won 14 games, but he demonstrates a smart pickup for Montreal. He has a bit of a violent delivery but the move to the rotation has been fruitful. He won the critical game in Philadelphia a month ago to start the comeback from 4 down with a month to go. I think Pedro is going to be great today against the powerful Philly lineup.
Sean Mcdonough: Meanwhile, the Phillies were able to hang on and reach tonight. There is a sense that a good season can go to waste if they do not win. They send out Tommy Greene, who was a 16 game winner during the season.
Tim McCarver: Greene has been regarded as a co-ace for the Phillies behind Curt Schilling. He has been a huge surprise considering he has been battling injuries. He also threw a no-hitter two years ago in this very building. The one problem is how effective can he be on 3 days of rest, with an arm that may be giving out.
Sean Mcdonough: So it is the biggest game in the history of Olympic Stadium. Can the Phillies win, or could there be hope for the long-suffering Montreal Expos? Lineups and first pitch coming up after these messages and a word from your CBS stations.

The game began and there was a sense that the Expos were finally going to break through. They jumped out to an early 3 run lead by the time the 5th inning started. Then, Pedro had to face John Kruk, one of the best hitters in the league. Pedro then threw what has become known in baseball lore as the “Heat Missile.” It was a fastball that reached 95 but dipped through the strike zone to the inner half of the plate. Kruk looked like he had seen a ghost after the pitch, and as the crowd roared in approval he was stunned after flailing away from the batter’s box. It was that moment that announced the arrival of Montreal. Pedro dominated with a complete game shutout as the Expos won the East by a score of 3-0 on a home run by Marquis Grissom.
 
Chapter IV: The 1993 LCS
“From my perspective as Commissioner, the League Championship Series was going to be interesting for lack of a better term. All of the teams were very good, and CBS was happy that in their last season of coverage that ratings for the tiebreaker were solid. Toronto and Montreal would have made for an excellent Fall Classic as the game became more international. No question that players such as Nomo, and the wave of Cuban defectors had widened the game’s appeal. So, the owners were thrilled to negotiate the new CBA and to try and keep labor peace.”
-Bud Selig, acting Commissioner and Brewers owner
“No question in my mind that the LCS was going to be entertaining. I was calling the NLCS and what the Expos had accomplished was remarkable. The whole country was getting treated to a team that was rising up and challenging against the NL and their history. It reminded me of the 1964 Cardinals, a team that I was on that matured and was successful in due time. But the problem you had was that Greg Maddux was the key to the series. In a 7 game series, having him, Smoltz, Glavine, and Avery was a key advantage.”
-Tim McCarver
NLCS
Game 6:
CBS Sports Transcript
Sean Mcdonough: Well Tim, this series has been interesting to say the least, as we are in the bottom of the 9th here in Atlanta. John Wetteland is on to send things to a 7th game tomorrow night. He has been solid for the Expos and is a key to this series.
Tim McCarver: With a runner on in a one run game, each pitch is critical. The one danger is that Sid Bream is at the plate. Bream is not a fast runner so if he gets on, it is going to have to take a lot to get him around.
Sean Mcdonough” The 2-2 pitch is belted to left field, THIS BALL IS OUTTA HERE! ATLANTA IS GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW! Sid Bream scored the winning run against the Pirates, and is a hero tonight as well.
“That loss was one of the most devastating of my career. We had shown a lot of potential and had played so well in the playoffs, but there was a view that we would be back. We knew that. Montreal was getting excited and the fans were hoping for more. I was glad to be a part of it, and hope that baseball was looking at the money coming in.”
-Marquis Grissom. From the MLB Productions documentary “1994 Expos: A Team of Destiny”
ALCS
“I was covering the series for CBS and you could sense the anticipation of a possible Canadian World Series. But the White Sox did not have Jimmy Key. He was one of those pitchers who was experienced and the fact that he did not leave Toronto was a huge factor in that postseason.”
-Jim Kaat.
CBS Sports Rush Transcript
Greg Gumbel: And as we move here to the bottom of the ninth here in Chicago in Game 5 tonight, the Blue Jays are just one out away. Jim, you can tell that this team is a championship ballclub,
Jim Kaat: And Duane Ward is a pitcher that has been there and done that this year. He has had great numbers against the Pale Hose this year. They are only batting .220 this year if you include the postseason.
Greg Gumbel: Strike 3 and there are two down
Jim Kaat: Good mix of fastballs and breaking balls here. That curve breaks hard into lefties and is a great out pitch he has developed this year.
Greg Gumbel: The curve breaks through and strike three is called. The Toronto Blue Jays are going to be playing for the Championship of baseball again. Game 1 is in Toronto, and CBS will bring you each and every game of that series.
 
Given the Blue Jays current standings, it does seem like this timeline is relevant :). Neat so far, not that I know much about baseball but I am Canadian so.... Also, as per OTL, what's the impact of the strike going to be if it happens? (If you do continue it, you mind spacing out lines more? Kinda hard to read the last post.)

(I saw the one game the Jays lost at the Skydome in the '92 world series, fun times.)
 
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