World Series Shorts

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

1. The only living relatives I knew that were around when the Chicago Cubs won their last World Series in 1908 were My Great Grandparents Morris and Celia Kroll.

2.  The last time the Detroit Lions won an NFL Title was on My Birthday, December 29, 1957--Five years before I was born. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein was born on December 29, 1973 in New York City. Epstein was the architect of snapping the Boston Red Sox's 86-year drought and now the Cubs 108 year dry spell.   Epstein's alma-maters are Yale University and the University of San Diego School of Law. Theo's a born genius.

3. Cleveland Sports has been on the right and wrong side of 3-1 leads in championship rounds. The Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors and won the NBA Championship in June. Meanwhile, the Indians blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the Cubs to lose the World Series here in early November. The Indians World Series drought is now 68-years.

4. I just received an e-mail from an old Tampa Tribune Colleague Charles Jackson, as he saw an article on our website. In March, I wrote a Spring Training Story in Kissimmee, FL mentioning Rick Nelson, as I recollected a tough situation where I wasn't able to send a story from Osceola County Stadium, due to technical difficulties to the new facility as I was covering The Florida State League All Star Game in 1985.

Nelson and I were able to work through the situation by getting a deadline extension as both stories were published as I dictated them to Rick and he typed them into the computer.

Jackson Googled Nelson's name and wanted to tell me that Rick was a diehard Cubs Fan that would have been happy his team made it to the World Series. Jackson added that Nelson would be ecstatic the Cubs are the 2016 World Series Champions. Jackson told me that Nelson died of Cancer in his 50's and is now in heaven.

Through the years, I've always had Rick in My Mind because we worked well together. He was a great editor and became a great friend. I'm always proud of when I get a chance to mention former colleagues in my stories. Rest in Peace Rick. You were a champion with me and now with The Chicago Cubs.

5. During the World Series, not one starting pitcher recorded an out in the seventh inning. Baseball's become a sport which is so specialized that it overworks the bullpen. I have to admit that it was refreshing to see Cubs Closer Aroldis Chapman's clutch performances.

In Game 5, he earned an eight out save, then added a seven out save in Game 6 of The Fall Classic. Without his clutch performances, there wouldn't be a Game 7, and you can rest assure that he will make a lot of money during free agency.

Growing up in My Era, it was common to see relievers earn two and three inning saves. Chapman's performance was refreshing to witness, especially with the majority of his pitches hitting 100 MPH.

6. Who really had home field advantage in The Fall Classic? It seemed as though there were as many Cubs fans as there were Indians fans in Cleveland. But the Cubs benefited by the Designated Hitter as Kyle Schwarber's bat added a powerful punch to Chicago's line-up.

7. Do you know who the Detroit Tigers All-Time leading HR leader is in the post-season? It's Delmon Young with a total of nine. On October 3, 2014, Young haunted Detroit coming in as a pinch-hitter by hitting a base-clearing double to give the Baltimore Orioles a 7-6 lead. Baltimore defeated the Tigers in the series.

Another former Tiger Rajai Davis had a huge moment on the Big Stage as he hit a three-run homer off Chapman which tied the game at 6-6 in Game 7 versus the Cubs. With Chicago leading 8-6 in the 10th inning, Davis drove in another run cutting Chicago's lead to 8-7.


The bottom line is even though Young and Davis don't have big names, their clutch performances in the post-season made them known quickly especially during the fall.

8. Tigers fans can thank the Cubs for roughing up Indians Pitcher Cory Kluger. Only thirteen pitchers have won three games in a single World Series. The last starting pitcher to accomplish this feat was Detroit's Mickey Lolich, in 1968 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Lolich now remains the last starting pitcher to win three games in the Fall Classic.

9. Lolich's battery-mate Bill Freehan was complimented by legendary Sports Personality Roy Alan Firestone. Roy said he views Freehan as one of the most  underrated, great catchers of his generation.

10. If Cleveland had won the World Series, the Tigers shouldn't have felt that bad. Detroit was 5-12 against the Tribe this season.

Cleveland breezed through the post-season steamrolling past Boston and the Toronto Blue Jays only to lose a Classic World Series to the Cubs.

The bottom line is that the Indians performed at high levels and were good with former Tigers Davis and reliever Andrew Miller.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and is a member of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

Memories at Osceola County Stadium

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING
KISSIMMEE, FL

On March 23, 2016, the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in what appeared to be their last game at Osceola County Stadium. If everything goes according to plan, Houston and the Washington Nationals will move into a new ballpark in West Palm Beach, FL in 2017.

On March 11, 2016, the Detroit Tigers faced the Astros and this stadium brought back some nostalgic memories as I returned here for the first time since 1985.

Back then, I was a Sports Writer for the Tampa Tribune.

I was covering the Florida State League (FSL) All-Star Weekend during the stadium's first year of operation. That weekend, I had the good fortune to meet Hall of Fame Pitcher Sandy Koufax.

This was the first year of Spring Training for the Houston Astros and their Class A Advanced Team the Osceola Astros.

What stood out about this game wasn't the score of the Old-Timers Game or The All-Star Game.

Instead, it's what happened in the Press Box.

For the weekend, I used a Tampa Tribune Computer which had "Rotary Phone Cuffs" where you stick the phone in and transmit the story through the land line. Ah yes, the technology of "Yesteryear."

After the game, I had both my stories done and attempted to send two articles. I repeat, I attempted to send two articles.

Needless to say, after six attempts, I was unable to get them to the Tampa Tribune.

Luckily, My Desk Editor Rick Nelson was able to extend my deadline to 12:30 AM with the cooperation of production.

I dictated the two stories to Rick for 25 minutes and when I saw it in print, Nelson did an outstanding job when I returned to Tampa and saw it in the paper. These stories are framed in My Office at home.

As I reminisced with my longtime friend Lynn Henning (in the photo) of the Detroit News, he said, "that had to be traumatic for you."

I told him I was the oldest 22-year old that night in a building which was working out the bugs after being open for just four months. There wasn't any gray hair and I was MUCH THINNER back then, weighing in at a whopping 135 pounds.

Before and during the game, I was sharing this experience with Astros PR Guy Chris Peixoto (25) as well as the Tigers PR tandem of Aileen Villarreal and Michele Wysocki. Like Peixoto, Wysocki wasn't even born. Villarreal, Wysocki and Peixoto actually gleamed as I was talking about this experience.

Their version of technology is far different than what many of us "old school" media types had to work with.

During my years of covering Spring Training, I've rarely attended a game with a clear cut story idea. But as we drove 2 1/2 hours North up the Florida Turnpike, and weeks leading up to this, this was an obvious story idea.

Besides, on the road, you never know what players will travel with the club and will be available.

On this day, the Detroit Tigers sent familiar names to Osceola County Stadium.

Alan Trammell was throwing batting practice, GM Al Avila was around, in addition to Miguel Cabrera, Jose Iglesias, Ian Kinsler, Anthony Gose, JD Martinez, Victor Martinez, Bruce Rondon along with top prospects JaCoby Jones and Steven Moya.

Prior to the game, I had a chance to ask Tigers Manager Brad Ausmus about his thoughts and memories at Osceola County Stadium.

Ausmus, 46, is seven years younger than I am. He played for Houston from 1997-98, and again from 2001-2008.

"I had a lot of memories having been here 10 years," Ausmus said. "There were some good restaurants. There were some good and tough times."

"One thing that stood out was moving into a new facility after it was renovated. We really had a small and old major league clubhouse. When it was renovated, we really had a small and old major league clubhouse. When it was renovated, and we moved into this new building, it was a major upgrade."

On Monday, March 7, 2016, The Tampa Tribune printed out it's last paper in it's downtown 202 S. Parker Street facility off The Riverfront. The Tribune will be joining forces with the Tampa Bay Times with the production operation being relocated to St.Petersburg, FL. The editorial staff moves out in May into another Tampa Office.

My old stomping grounds will be torn down for a new apartment complex.

I worked at The Tampa Tribune  from 1984-1986. I had the pleasure of working with some of the best colleagues during my development as a Sports Writer.

My All-Star line-up includes late Sports Editor Tom McEwen, Joey Johnston, Chris Harry, Mike O'Keefe, Jim Henry, Herb Branham, Nick Pugliese, Roy Cummings, Executive Sports Editor Joe DiSalvo and Nelson.

Johnston gave me a strong recommendation to get the FSL beat, and DiSalvo gave me the free reign to do whatever I wanted to keep it interesting.

Nelson helped me get a free lance writing job with RedsVue Magazine in Cincinnati. He edited my stories for both the Tribune and RedsVue as I covered the Reds Class A Advanced League FSL Tampa Tarpons, plus all the Reds Fantasy and Spring Training assignments.

But on this 1985 FSL All-Star Game, it was A Night to Forget and a Night to Remember.

I got an on the job training lesson that you won't get majoring in a Mass Communications Curriculum in college. Boy did I ever!

Yet, when I think about the advances in technology, the words internet, wireless, net books, laptop computers, tablets and smart phones have turned technology upside down.

It's great to tell stories about the Wonderful World of Yesteryear and for the Tigers vs Astros contest, I even had the opportunity to sit in My Old Seat in the Press Box at Osceola County Stadium with the only difference being that I weighed 260 pounds, sporting gray hair and facial hair.

To this day, the best job I had in college was working at The Tampa Tribune.

On March 11, 2016, it seemed like June of 1985 all over again, only without the deadline pressure, but the technology was working as I prepared this story.

Nelson taught me to be composed under pressure and I've used that into my adult years in every situation imaginable for the most part. We all have our moments of extreme frustration, but mine are much less as they were before. Yet, once again, I'm very proud of what Nelson and I accomplished in June of 1985.

As for the Tigers vs Astros game, Cabrera hit the most exciting fly ball to not leave the stadium in front of 4,237 fans. Meanwhile, Moya hit his third home run of the spring.

When we saw the Astros last spring on Sunday March 8, 2015 at Lakeland's Joker Marchant Stadium, Houston hammered Detroit 14-9. The Astros would reach the playoffs and defeated the New York Yankees in the first round.

With the Tigers numerous off-season moves, it will be interesting to see how this season plays out.

But as I look at Osceola County Stadium 31 years later, it's a beautiful ballpark and it's cozy 5,300 capacity is the smallest in Spring Training.

Yet, The City of Kissimmee, FL has done an outstanding job taking care of this venue.

It looked even better on this 81 degree sunny afternoon in Central Florida, watching the "Boys of Summer" reminiscing about "Memory Lane" for those that wanted to hear me at the FSL All-Star Weekend that I can now laugh about.

The Tigers lost to the Astros on this day 10-4, but that was a mere after thought.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and is a member of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

Bizarre Night At BB&T Center

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

I've seen a lot of Crazy Circumstances in My Media Days, but 4.5 hours before I'd turn 51 on December 29, 2013, there was a first.

I've never had a problem logging onto a computer at a Sports Event until the Detroit Red Wings (19-15-10) faced the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, FL., on December 28, 2013 at the BB&T Center.

From the outset, it seemed simple to use the login name and password provided. As simple as they were, they didn't work.

But I just couldn't get My Acer Net Book connected after struggling all first period as the Red Wings took a 2-0 lead.

During the first intermission, the Panthers Public Relations Guy tried but was unsuccessful. He proceeded to call his I.T. Technician, who wasn't able to log on. They were both nice and worked very diligently. The I.T Guy was unable to connect in the second period.

By the start of the third period, the score was tied 2-2.

They initially thought the Wireless Adapter would have to be updated or uploaded again.

Meanwhile, I finally gave up, put the Acer back into the Computer Case and I went back to old pen and paper.

Just in time to see the Red Wings score two quick goals, and hold on to a 4-3 regulation win in a contest where they were out shot 33-31.

In the past, I've had other difficult situations.

In 1982, My Tape Recorder broke in the middle of an interview with Fort Lauderdale Yankees Manager Stump Merrill. Luckily, My Photographer Ken Rotberg, who had a tape recorder to mention players, numbers and key plays, let me use his.

Merrill was great and we did the entire interview over.

In fact, afterwards, Merrill and I shared a few laughs. He said "I manage young ballplayers and you're a young reporter."

It's safe to say that Stump didn't lack patience.

Another situation took place at the 1985 Florida State League All Star Game in Kissimmee.

The Houston Astros just moved into Osceola County Stadium (5,300) and it still houses their Class A team and Spring Training.

I was using an old computer the Tampa Tribune provided reporters where the old rotary phones had to be put in old suction cups.

I had my feature and game stories written, but because of phone line issues, I couldn't send them.

The deadline was midnight and I couldn't meet it.

However, I convinced My Editor Rick Nelson to get it extended by 45 minutes to the production people.

I dictated both stories to Rick and got this done in 30 minutes.

Rick did a sensational job and the stories actually turned out well considering the circumstances.

But on this Bizarre Night At The BB&T Center, there were some other firsts.
 * This was the first time the Red Wings defeated the Panthers this season.
* After missing 11 games, Red Wings Captain Henrik Zetterberg scored a goal in the first period to spark Detroit. He had one goal (photographed) in 21:43 minutes of ice time.
* This was My first time seeing the Red Wings play the Panthers in their long overdue move to the Eastern Conference. But certainly, the beginning of more games in this beautiful stadium.
* This was My Photographer Candice Ebling's first photo assignment for hockey and she admitted , it was quite challenging. But she did a great job especially with her action photos.

Yet, when the game was over, the Red Wings came away with a win. At the time, it was their third in four games.

Despite all of their injury problems, Coach Mike Babcock is doing a masterful job keeping them in the playoff hunt.

He should get consideration for Coach Of The Year honors with all his challenges.

I did manage to talk to him after the game and we spoke about the adversity he's faced.

"What I would say is the year you're in is the most challenging," Babcock said. "Every year you grind. That's the way it is. It doesn't matter how good or average your team is, it's always tough. The NHL is tight. Especially now. So injuries affect you.

"Our guys have tried hard. They've been positive about what they're doing so we have to keep getting better and I know we will."

The Panthers benefited at the gate. The
BB&T Center was 98.3% full as a crowd of 18,932 watched a hard fought contest.

I saw a fan wear an old No.24 White Red Wings Bob Probert Jersey. Indeed a die hard traditional hockey fan.

Zetterberg was named the No.2 Star of the Game.

As I left the arena, there were a lot of Red Wings fans wearing their jerseys trying to get autographs as the team was headed towards its bus area not far from the visiting locker room.

Then we went to a nearby McDonald's on Sunrise Boulevard to see if the WI-FI was working.

I was able to connect and just one hour before My Birthday, I didn't hit 52 before I hit 51.

There were more Red Wings fans taking a late night snack at McDonald's.

Before My technical problems, there were issues with My Windows 7, but I knew the computer didn't crash otherwise, I wouldn't see My Desktop Icons.

Nonetheless, the Red Wings came away with a win in the warm weather of South Florida.

For me, getting through the night was about winning ugly instead of losing pretty.

But I expect to be back at the BB&T Center for the Red Wings third and final game in South Florida on February 6, 2014.

By then, I have a feeling Detroit will be much healthier and playoff ready.

This meeting with the Panthers comes before the Olympic Break so by the time the Detroit returns to action on February 26 at Montreal, they'll be healthier and more rested. At least most of them
should.


Ten players will be on Olympic Rosters.

I give the Red Wings credit for hanging in as long as they finish this marathon strong, knowing all year their roster has resembled a MASH UNIT.

This won't be good news for the rest of their Eastern Conference opponents.

My next visit to BB&T Center is expected to be a much less stressful situation.


Whether you have internet or basic phone problems, it does get difficult with technical issues.

By the time I write on the Red Wings again, the focus will be on the playoffs, in addition to Detroit's adjustment to playing in the Eastern Conference.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.