Did the ball hit the ground? Does it matter?
We all saw it, or at least we think we did.
2005 American League Championship Series, game two, White Sox versus Angels. It's tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. AJ "always in trouble" Pierzynski is batting with two strikes. Angels pitcher Kelvim Escobar throws a low pitch; AJ swings and misses. Strike three, inning over, extra innings here we come...but no. Pierzynski has advanced to first base.
Umpire Doug Eddings rules that Angels catcher Josh Paul did not legally catch the ball, and Pierzynski is awarded first base. On replay, the ball appears to have hit the ground.
Joe Crede bats next, knocks in pinch runner Pablo Ozuna and the White Sox win the game. The Sox win the next three games, clinching the Pennant and then go on to sweep the Houston Astros to win their first World Series title since 1917.
As a lifelong Sox fan, I'm thrilled; it's the best day of my life. I live in Los Angeles, so I always make to Angel Stadium whenever the White Sox visit town. And every year, like clockwork, I still hear about this call. Angels fans call us cheaters (I guess wearing my AJ jersey and standing and cheering whenever he bats doesn't help my popularity there); I have some Cubs fan friends who say that our win is tainted.
One call can really stick with a team. Did Steve Bartman cost the Cubs the World Series in 2003? Did Don Denkinger cost the Cardinals the World Series in 1985? Did a bad call cost Armando Gallarraga a perfect game in 2010?
We all have an opinion, and some of these calls are more game changing than others, which brings me to my point: the infamous 2005 ALCS Game Two call did not mean a thing.
I've watched the replay time and time again. I see the ball hit the ground, I see dirt fly. Some say dirt is flying from Josh Paul's glove hitting the ground, I say it's the ball hitting the ground.
Either way, what the umpire says goes, and AJ Pierzynski was awarded first base on a perfectly legal play. Yet naysayers still say that the White Sox cheated and lucked their way into the World Series.
Well, let's say that the call never happened; let's say that Pierzysnki struck out and the inning was over. This didn't exactly cost the Angels the game as the score was 1-1, tied. We would have gone into extra innings, and who knows what would have happened? The White Sox still might have won, they were in Chicago.
But now, let's say that the Angels won that game and the series is 2-0. It must be over right? But, remember that the White Sox won games three, four and five. And these were not exactly close games; the Sox won those games 5-2, 8-2 and 6-3. These weren't exactly nail biters; they were butt kickings. The series would have been 3-2 White Sox advantage. They would have headed back to Chicago for game six, where it would have been Jose Contreras against the hurting Jarrod Washburn or John Lackey on short rest. Remember that Lackey gave up five runs in five innings in game three, giving him a 9.00 ERA for the series.
The White Sox pitching was nothing short of dominant in this series. Mark Buerhle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras each pitched a complete game. That's four complete games in a row, which is a still standing playoff record. The White Sox used a total of five pitchers throughout the entire series. Neal Cotts was the only bullpen pitcher used, he pitched part of an inning in game one. The White Sox staff had an ERA of 2.20 for the series.
So is it fair to assume that the White Sox dominant starters and rested bullpen could have out pitched the banged up and non rested Angels pitching in game six? I think so.
But, naysayers will say that the call changed the momentum of the series. We can break out all the imaginary stats we want: momentum, intangibles, hustle and heart, or we can just look at the facts.
Could one call really derail a playoff team? Remember that many of these Angels players were members of the 2002 team who won the World Series. We could have the same debate there too; were the Angels better, or did the Giants just trip on themselves?
But I digress. This was a playoff team. The Angels won 95 games that year and managed to beat the Yankees in the ALDS.
So are we to believe that one call that could barely even be considered game changing could derail this team?
The White Sox outscored the Angels 23 runs to 11 through the five games. Vlad Guerrero batted . 50 for the series, he had one hit in twenty at bats. This guy was the Angels offense throughout 2005. Leadoff hitter Chone Figgins managed to have two hits in the series, batting .118. Garret Anderson hit .176, Orlando Cabrera hit .200, Darin Erstad hit .235. Bengie Molina hit. 118 and Steven Finley hit .222.
In fact, the only Angels starter with a mildly respectable average was Adam Kennedy, who batted .286 for the series. I think it's fair to assume that a team is not going to the World Series if their best hitter is Adam Kennedy.
I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for Games Four and Five in Anaheim. I bought my ticket for Game Five the same day off Ticketmaster, same day! I guess the fans already considered themselves out of it by that point. They sure didn't forget to have an umpire protest for the news cameras outside the stadium. I even saw a few "Doug Eddings Most Wanted Fugitive" signs.
The Angels put up a bit of a fight, but then just looked defeated after the White Sox took the lead. Angels manager Mike Scioscia decided to put in closer Francisco Rodriquez near the end of the game, and he was so frazzled that he couldn't even find the plate. Kelvim Escobar decided to take a little revenge on AJ Pierzysnki by trying to tag him out with a glove that contained no ball.
People seem to forget that the White Sox won 99 games that year and had the best record in the American League (only one behind the Cardinals 100 wins for the MLB best). They were in first place from game one until game 162. They steam rolled the Red Sox (who usually have a habit of spanking the Angels in the postseason), who were the defending champions.
The White Sox went 11-1 in the postseason, completing their run with a four-game sweep over the Houston Astros in the World Series. This was not exactly evenly matched; they burned throughout the postseason. They were the best team that season and true World Series champions.
But maybe some of you others fans think that they were lucky and I'm just a "homer". So can one call change the outcome of a season?
As Michael Jordan said in response to LeBron James, "I think you're just making excuses."
Maybe the White Sox were just a better team.
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