![]() “A lot of guys knew that (dismantling the team) was a big possibility,” Drabek said. Many thought it might be Drabek’s last game as a Pirate with free agency looming. In that deciding game, Drabek - the 1990 Cy Young winner - took the mound against John Smoltz, who had beaten him in Game 1 and Game 4. We knew we were going to get to a Game 7.” I was more nervous being up against the Braves (in 1991) than being down 3-1 in 1992. But we were a better team in 1992,” centerfielder Andy Van Slyke said. The Pirates were down 3-1 in the series before Bob Walk and Tim Wakefield spun back-to-back gems and the Pirates bats exploded en route to 7-1 and 13-4 victories in Games 5 and 6, respectively. In the 1992 rematch, the Pirates were the underdogs after the Braves followed up a World Series berth in ’91 with a 98-win season in ’92. “We just had the best atmosphere,” manager Jim Leyland told the Tribune-Review recently. While some baseball observers expected the Pirates would drop back in ’92, they won the National League East again with 96 wins, just two shy of their ’91 total. It was like, ‘They think Bonilla is gone, so now we can’t win?’ Maybe at that point, that’s when that team got a little bit closer.” “That was like somebody put a shot over our bow. It was not a happy bunch of guys,” pitcher Bob Walk said. “Our clubhouse was (ticked) when ‘Smiles’ got traded. Barry Bonds was destined to bolt via free agency after ’92 ended, and ace starter Doug Drabek was likely leaving too. John Smiley was traded to the Minnesota Twins. But the Pirates blew a 3-2 series lead, failing to score a run in the last two games at Three Rivers Stadium.īetween ’91 and ’92, All-Star slugger Bobby Bonilla left via free agency to join the New York Mets. Pittsburgh was favored to win the 1991 NLCS against the surprising “worst-to-first” Braves. The story - and the pain - of the 1992 NLCS can’t be told without appreciating the history and irony of how the Pirates and Braves got there.Īfter an 11-year playoff drought, the Pirates lost the 1990 NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds and the 1991 series to the Braves. Meanwhile, since Cabrera and Bream, the Pirates have had 26 losing seasons in 30 tries and have yet to win another pennant.įriday marks the 30th anniversary of that course-altering night in Atlanta. The Cleveland Indians/Guardians are enjoying a 10th playoff berth (including a World Series appearance) since Edgar Renteria’s championship-clinching hit for the Florida Marlins in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. The Chicago Cubs were in the playoffs three years after Steve Bartman attempted to catch a foul ball from the stands and have since won a World Series. The Boston Red Sox have won four World Series crowns since Bill Buckner’s error. The Pirates’ loss to Atlanta on Cabrera’s hit is the most singularly defining play to shift the direction of a franchise in MLB history. The Pirates have not been in a World Series since winning it all in 1979. The Braves have two World Series titles and have been to the Fall Classic four times since 1992. ![]() The Braves have had 20 playoff appearances. Since then, the Braves have won 18 more division titles, including one this year. The NLCS win sent the Braves to the 1992 World Series and the Pirates into ignominy. It was Cabrera’s game- winning base hit, driving in former Pirate Sid Bream with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series, that turned a 2-1 Pirates lead into a 3-2 defeat.įor the then-12-year-old Kelly and a generation of Pirates fans, it was a sudden curtain-drop on competitive baseball. “I let him know he ruined my childhood,” Kelly said. The same Francisco Cabrera who ended a stretch of winning baseball in Pittsburgh that remained dormant for the ensuing two decades - and for most of the past 30 years. Lebanon High School product played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and is now the bench coach on manager Derek Shelton’s staff.Īs a minor leaguer for the Detroit Tigers, Kelly made the acquaintance of a coach he remembered seeing on TV as a player for the Atlanta Braves in the early 1990s. Don Kelly wears the uniform of the team he passionately supported as a child.
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