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The 1980 Houston Astros. They would win the National West Division for the first time and make their first ever appearance in the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Source: https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-10-1980-astros-win-11-inning-nlcs-thriller-to-reach-brink-of-world-series/
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The 1980 season was groundbreaking for the Houston Astros as they won
their first division title in franchise history. It took 163 games and a
one-game playoff the day after the season ended over their arch-rival and nemesis,
the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Astros did it.
They were playoff bound.
Awaiting them in the National League Championship Series were the
Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League East, who had just been
through a dog fight of their own against my beloved Montreal Expos.
Back then, the Championship Series was a best-of-five affair, and the
Astros and Phillies would need all five games to decide who would represent the
National League in the 1980 World Series.
It was an intense, back and forth struggle.
Five games for all the marbles
The Phillies won Game 1 at Veterans Stadium by a score of 3-1 on the
strength of a two-run home run in the sixth inning by Greg “Bull” Luzinski. Phillie
ace Steve Carlton earned the win, and reliever Tug McGraw got the save. Ken
Forsch went the distance in the loss for the Astros.
Game 2 was the next night at Veterans Stadium. Houston took a 1-0 lead
in the third inning, but the Phillies responded in the bottom of the fourth
with two runs. Houston tied the game in the seventh then went ahead 3-2 in the
eighth before Philadelphia tied the game 3-3 in the bottom half of the eighth.
The teams would remain tied into extra innings when the Astros scored four
times in the 10th inning, keyed by a two-run triple from Dave
Bergman. The Phillies added one run in their half of the tenth, as Houston won the
game 7-4 and evened the series 1-1.
The Houston Astrodome was the sight of Game 3, the first National
League Championship game in Houston in team and league history. The teams went
10 full innings without allowing a run. Joe Niekro was brilliant for the
Astros, but left the game tied after 10 innings, replaced by Dave Smith.
Houston scored in the bottom half of the 11th inning to win the game
by a score of 1-0. Smith got the win in relief, while McGraw took the loss.
It was do or die for the Phillies in Game 4. This is a game I recall
for one reason – a triple play by the Astros that wasn’t. In the fourth inning,
pitcher Vern Ruhle made a catch off his shoe strings then doubled off two
runners. However, the umpire ruled he trapped the ball and allowed only two of
the outs. Later in the game Astro outfielder Jeffrey Leonard would make another
shoe-string catch, but this one went in the Astros’ favour.
The game itself was back and forth as Houston opened the scoring with
a run in the bottom of the fourth and tacked on another one in the bottom of
the fifth. That 2-0 lead held up until the eighth when Philly scored three to
lead 3-2. Houston tied the game 3-3 with a run in the home ninth inning to send
the game into extra innings again. Philadelphia scored two runs in the top of
the 10th inning and McGraw came on to shut the door in the bottom
half to give the Phillies a 5-3 win and send the series into a fifth and
deciding game at the Astrodome.
Game 5 was as back and forth as the entire series. Houston took a 1-0
lead in the bottom of the first inning only to surrender the lead in the top of
the second as the Phillies scored twice. The Astros responded with one run in
the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to lead 5-2 after seven. But the
Phillies responded with five runs in the top of the eighth inning to lead 7-5,
only to have the Astros tie the game again with two runs in the bottom of
eight. The teams remained scoreless through the ninth, heading to extra innings
yet again. Philadelphia would score once in the top of the 10th
inning and the Astros could not respond.
The Phillies were going to their first World Series since 1950.
The Astros were going home after a milestone season.
Parting thoughts
To illustrate how different the world was, this series was not
broadcast on peasant vision. The only way I could follow it was on the nightly
news. That is where I heard about Vern Ruhle’s catch/no catch and so much more.
It is unfortunate because I was invested and I would have loved to see
the team that I had worked so hard to follow in the playoffs.
It would be just a few years before the championship series were broadcast
on peasant vision.
Still, after coming close before, and amassing all that talent, the
Astros had finally made it to the playoffs.
It wouldn’t be long before they were back there again.
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