The 1990 A’s, 1962 Giants, 1934 Tigers and the 1921 Yankees all advanced to the second round of Honus Wagner Bracket in the Press Room Pass Strat Madness Tournament.
Honus Wagner Bracket Results, Schedule and Round-Up
(9) 1990 A’s 5, (8) 1922 Giants 2
(9) 1990 A’s at (1) 1909 Pirates
- Oakland’s Jose Canseco had a homer and drove in three runs as the A’s defeated the Giants 5-2. Mark McGwire added a two-run homer for the A’s. Bob Welch went the distance for the victory on the mound.
(5) 1962 Giants 9, (12) 1961 Tigers 3
(5) 1962 Giants at (4) 1953 Dodgers
- San Francisco’s Willie Mays blasted a three-run homer to break open a tight contest as the Giants went on to beat the Tigers 9-3 and pitcher Jim Bunning. Orlando Cepeda added two solo shots for the Giants, while Tom Haller hit a two-run homer. Billy O’Dell had eight strikeouts in a complete game victory.
(6) 1934 Tigers 8, (11) 1927 Pirates 3
(6) 1934 Tigers at (3) 1940 Reds
- Detroit’s Marv Owen banged out three hits and knocked in three runs as the Tigers defeated the Pirates 8-3. Hank Greenberg also had three hits, while Pete Fox had a two-run homer. Schoolboy Rowe, who went the distance on the mound, got in on the offensive attack with a pair of singles that each drove in a run.
(10) 1921 Yankees 3, (7) 1950 Yankees 1
(10) 1921 Yankees at (2) 1967 Cardinals
- In a match-up of two Yankee squads, the 1921 version from New York scored three times in the seventh inning on the way to a 3-1 win over the 1950 team as Carl Mays earned a complete game victory. Elmer Miller had four hits for the 1921 team, which had eight hits for the game. Roger Peckinpaugh knocked in the only run for the 1921 team as the other two runs against Vic Raschi were unearned. Hank Bauer had two hits and one RBI for the 1950 team.
IN REAL LIFE:
Willie Mays finished second to Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the balloting for the National Most Valuable Player award in 1962. Mays did top the league with 49 homers that season as the Giants won the pennant, but fell to the Yankees in the World Series.
Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, Mays was the NL Rookie-of-the-Year in 1951, was the NL MVP in 1954 and 1965 and played in 24 all-star games. He also won 12 straight Gold Gloves from 1957 to 1968. He won the NL Home Run crown four times with a career-high 52 long balls in 1965. In 1954, he claimed the batting title with a .345 average.
In his 22 seasons with the New York and San Francisco Giants (1951-1952, 1954-1972) and the New York Mets (1972-1973), he hit 660 homers and had 1,903 RBI with a career batting average of .302.