Apr 26, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A Chicago Cubs hat and glove sits in the dugout during a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Since its inception, the National League Championship Series has provided some of the most memorable moments in MLB postseason history. These four are especially iconic.
In 1969, Major League Baseball expanded its playoff format to include a League Championship Series for each league. This new playoff format gave more teams an opportunity to reach their goal of a World Series championship. Thus, the NLCS was born.
The inaugural NLCS took place in 1969, featuring the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves in a five-game series. The Mets would go onto sweep the Braves and win the 1969 World Series. Since then, the NLCS has featured appearances from every National League team. The Cardinals have been in and have won the most series, with the Nationals, Cubs and Brewers winning the fewest and the Pirates losing the most. The NLCS has featured nine sweeps and nine series that went to a seventh game.
The NLCS has also given baseball fans incredible and unforgettable moments. Walk-off home runs, controversies, and famous comebacks are just a few examples of great moments happening during this series. The series has made many players over the past several years both famous and infamous.
Here are four of the greatest moments from the National League Championship Series…
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The Curse Continues (2003 NLCS)
The Cubs were in a terrible position in 2002, finishing with a 67-95 record. They began the 2003 season with a new manager in Dusty Baker and a new look. They then ended the 2003 campaign with the NL Central title and the best pitching staff in the National League.
Many thought 2003 would finally be the Cubs’ year, and all signs pointed to it in the playoffs. The Cubs defeated the Braves in five games in the NLDS before facing the Marlins in the NLCS. Up 3-2, the Cubs entered a controversial Game 6. In that game, with the Cubs leading, Luis Castillo hit a pop fly toward the left field seats. While left fielder Moises Alou thought he had a grab of the ball, Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached out to nab the ball himself.
This play did not cost the Cubs the game, but it certainly turned the momentum in favor of the Marlins. The Cubs would go on to lose that game and the deciding seventh game as well. This moment would add to the ongoing Cubs curse, as the Cubs would again have to wait to reach the promised land.
The Pirates have had several opportunities at World Series success, especially in the early 1990s. Pittsburgh faced the Braves in the 1992 NLCS, and they immediately faced a 3-1 deficit. The Pirates managed to win the next two games to tie the series, forcing a Game 7 which would turn out to be a game that drove the Pirates into a 21-year hole.
Pittsburgh took an immediate 1-0 lead before adding another run in the sixth inning, keeping a 2-0 lead until the bottom of the ninth. Doug Drabek, who was 0-2 in the series already, was three outs away from a complete game shutout. Terry Pendleton then doubled, David Justice reached on an error, and Sid Bream walked to load the bases.
With Stan Benilda now pitching, Ron Gant hit a sacrifice fly to left to score one. After another walk and a pop out, the Braves sent Francisco Cabrera to the plate. Against the odds, Cabrera lined a walk-off base hit to left field, highlighted by Sid Bream’s famous slide into home plate. The Braves would go to the World Series, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Pirates would hit a decline that lasted until 2013.
Ozzie Smith was never known for his power. Instead, he was always renowned for his defensive abilities and speed. In fact, Smith only hit 28 home runs in his career, but his most famous home run came in the 1985 NLCS.
The Cardinals faced the Dodgers, with the series tied at two games each. In Game 5, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the first before the Dodgers battled back in the fourth inning to tie it. The game would remain tied until the bottom of the ninth. Ozzie Smith had never hit a home run from the left side of the plate in his career. However, Smith, batting from the left side, homered to right field to send Busch Stadium into a frenzy.
Smith’s home run turned the momentum of the series in the Cardinals’ favor, winning Game 6 as well to advance to the World Series.
When the 2014 postseason is mentioned, Madison Bumgarner is always the talk, and rightfully so. Bumgarner was a key factor in the Giants’ success in the 2014 playoffs. However, the Giants had several other memorable moments from the 2014 postseason.
One standout was their NLCS matchup against the Cardinals. The series definitely had its fair share of drama, as Games 2 and 3 ended with walk-offs. The Giants won Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead, and all eyes were on Game 5. Madison Bumgarner faced Adam Wainwright, and neither pitcher was on their game.
The Cardinals held a 3-2 lead until the bottom of the eighth. The Giants sent pinch-hitter Mike Morse to the plate, who launched a moonshot to left to tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, the Giants managed to get two men on before Travis Ishikawa came to the plate. The unlikely hero smacked a three-run walk-off home run to right field to clinch the NL pennant for the Giants.
Oddly enough, the last walk-off home run to advance an NL team to the World Series came in 1951, when Bobby Thomson hit the famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” to send the New York Giants to the World Series.
