TORONTO BLUE JAYS LOSS NOT THE FIRST CHOKE
BY ISMAEL NUNEZ
On October 8th 2022, game two of the Wild Card game between the Toronto Blue Jays/Seattle Mariners, Blue Jays had a 9-1 lead going into the top of the sixth: THEN they lost! The Mariners got 4 runs in the top of the 6th inning then the rest is history, sending the Blue Jays home by beating them 10-9.
It’s not the first and will not be the last choke! Here are some of the most memorable chokes in the post season
NY YANKEES VS BOSTON RED SOX 2004 ALCS-Wow, hard to believe a team, the Yankees, wins the first three, and end up losing the series! What’s sad is the Boston Red Sox won the last two deciding games in Yankee Stadium.
NY YANKEES VS BOSTON RED SOX GAME 7 2003 ALCS-Boston led by the brillant pitching of Pedro Martinez and the consistent hitting of David Ortiz were leading 5-2. Then the Yankees rallied in the bottom of the 8th tying the game at 5-5. In the bottom of the 11th inning Aaron Boone hits the game winning homerun! That night the Curse of the Bambino was still alive!
The Chicago Cubs have had a history of experiencing chokes in the post season. In the NLCS of 1984 they won the first two games against the San Diego Padres and then the Padres win the last three at home! 19 years later they experience the same. In 2003 in game 6 on a pop fly, a fan interferes or did they? Then errors they made on the field were taken advantage of by the Florida Marlins, scoring 8 runs in the top of the 8th inning! The Marlins that year went on to win the pennant and the World Series in 2003.
NY METS VS BOSTON RED SOX- In Game 6 of the 1986 World Series the Boston Red Sox led 5-3 going to the bottom of the 11th inning. One strike away from a World Series championship! Then NY Mets catcher Gary Carter gets a hit and Kevin Mitchell gets a hit. Red Sox pitchers Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley couldn’t do the job. A wild pitch was thrown by Stanley to catcher Rich Gedman. Then a little roller hit by Mookie Wilson towards first base, behind the bag, here comes Ray Knight and the Mets win it 6-5! First baseman Bill Buckner is remembered in Boston forever.
Game 5- 1986 ALCS BOSTON RED SOX VS CALIFORNIA ANGELS- The Angles were winning 5-2 going into the 9th when Don Baylor hit a two run home run. Then Dave Henderson hit a 2 run home run off Pitcher Donnie Moore. The game went into extra innings. Then in the top of the tenth Inning the Red Sox scored on a sacrifice fly and led 6-5. Announcer Al Michaels stated after the last out, “Next plane to Boston.” Boston won the series, and Donnie Moore’s life was never the same after that.
