The NL Pennant is also won today, in Game 7. With the Atlanta Braves down 2-0 to Doug Drabek of the Pittsburgh Pirates entering the 9th‚ the decisive blow comes with 2 outs‚ as seldom-used 3rd-string catcher Francisco Cabrera drives in the tying and winning runs with a pinch-hit single.
The scene of ex-Pirate Sid Bream, often ridiculed as the slowest man in baseball, somehow reaching home plate before the tag of Pirate catcher Mike LaValliere, is one of the signature plays in the Braves' postseason years of 1991 to 2005. John Smoltz‚ who works 6 strong innings without a decision‚ is named the series MVP.
In 2010, the MLB Network listed this game at 4th on their list of MLB's 20 Greatest Games -- limited in scope, due to the availability of surviving videotape, to 1975 onward.
It took 21 years, until 2013, for the Pirates to even have another winning season, let alone make the postseason. An entire generation of Western Pennsylvanians was born and reached adulthood without ever having had a real Pennant race in their lifetime.
UPDATE: The Pirates have a team Hall of Fame. From their 1990, '91 and '92 National League Eastern Division Champions, they have inducted manager Jim Leyland, left fielder Barry Bonds, and former pitcher turned broadcaster Steve Blass.
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October 14, 1992 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. The NBA season didn't start until November 6. There were 3 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils, to my dismay, 6-1 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Hartford Whalers beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).
* And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 7-3 at the Winnipeg Arena.
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