Last games of the Season and ‘The collapse heard around the world’

El Barrio, Spanish Harlem – NY: What could be more frightening in today’s world besides a monetary collapse? Well, for a baseball fan who may be aware of the nature of the economy and its pits and falls, it could be their team team’s collapse going towards the finish line: having the lead of their division wither away and then lose it in the final game of the season. In the case of Boston it was losing their hold on the Wild Card. The surging Tampa Rays would win a trip to the post season instead of Boston.

For Yankee fans, whose use of the word “hate” is part of their vocabulary against the Red Sox – so much so that Yankees starting catcher Russell Martin got into the act – the amazing collapse of Boston was a moment of rejoice.

In fact, that the Yankees helped in the matter by losing 3 straight games against the Tampa Rays, makes one wonder if, for those last 3 games of the season, Yankee fans were not terribly disappointed, in particular the last two, in the way the Rays had terrific comebacks to win those games. In fact, did Russell Martin hit into a triple-play on purpose?

To speak in terms of the ‘collapse heard around the word’ as the reader may or may not know is a take from "Shot Heard 'round the World" in baseball history (the phrase was borrowed from other historical circumstance but that is another subject).

Far from this past Wednesday’s date of September 28th of terrific baseball, making one wishing for split screens on a huge TV monitor to watch 4 games, but speaking of a distant past, on October 3rd 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers had as August 11 a 14 ½ lead over the New York Giants and would have an incredible collapse.

To make a long story short, at the end of the season both teams wound up with identical records (96-58). To determine the winner of the NL Pennant that year, a best-of-three-games showdown took place. The team split the first two games. The Dodgers were winning the deciding game 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth at the Polo Grounds, Harlem’s home of the NY Giants. But the Giants would win the game in walk-off fashion. The bottom of the 9th rally produced 4 runs, the last 3 on a walk-off home run by Bobby Thompson of Dodger pitcher Ralph Branca. The term walk-off was not used then, as there were other differences worth noting and may be read at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_Heard_%27Round_the_World_%28baseball%29.

Coming back to the future, the Boston Red Sox had to win their last game after a terrible month of losing against the pesky Orioles while the Tampa Rays lose to the Yankees. How many Boston faithful were rooting for New York? But if both would win, it would have been a tie and a one-game showdown between the Rays and Red Sox in Tampa the next day.

So, if the Yankees did not help the Red Sox by winning, it was up to you, Boston. Now granted, Frank Sinatra never sang a song “It’s up to you, Boston,” but it was up to them. Leading the game 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth in Baltimore, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon could not hold that lead after he registered the first two outs. The Orioles were real spoilers and after the walk-off hit by Robert Andino they celebrated as if it were them going to the playoffs. There have been other collapses for Boston, but could this be the mother of all collapses?

The Atlanta Braves had its own collapse; the St. Luis Cardinals, as the Rays, had an end of the season surge worth commenting and their story was also part of the “Last games of the Season and The collapse heard around the world.”

William Gerena Rochet is the Baseball Editor for Latino Sports.