MLB Showdown Obsession

 There are some seasons that you could make a movie about. The kind where a scrappy team of underdogs rally together, defy the odds and go on an inspired run that no one thought possible. They take the league by surprise, overcome their rivals and claim a spot in the championship. Then, in an award worthy climax, they pull off a once in a lifetime upset over their heavily favored opponent in the final game to claim the championship as the screen fades to black on their celebration...or they get swept in the World Series by the New York Yankees. The 1950 edition of the Yankees went into the summer with Manager Casey Stengel looking to defend their '49 championship. The American League offered their usual competitors in the first division with Boston and Cleveland, but it was the Detroit Tigers that gave them the most trouble, splitting the season series 11-11 and coming the closest to dethroning them from the top, but the Yankees held on by 3 games to win the pennant with a 98-56 re...

 Some seasons go criminally underrated in baseball history. For the Yankees, that's an easy thing to do when you've won more than twice the amount of titles than anyone else. But even among some of the most exciting years for the Bronx Bombers, 1949 should get more love. The Yankees fought down to the wire for the 1948 pennant, but failed in the final series to the Red Sox. Unacceptable. So out went Bucky Harris, and in came Casey Stengel as Manager. Expectations were low for New York; Stengel was seen as a poor choice, Joe DiMaggio would be injured to start the year while dealing with a bone spur in his heel, and the Red Sox were locked and loaded to win now. Even without the Yankee Clipper, the Yankees held their own, then when he returned in late June they took off, leaving Boston in the dust. A late swoon paired with a Red Sox surge led to drama as Boston came surging back and brought the entire season, once again, down to the wire as the two teams faced off in the final se...