Result
‘48 and
They got ace-like performances, but one shone brilliantly.
Roger Erickson pitched a complete game one-hitter, shutting out
‘48 2-0 to push
‘81 one game closer to a bracket escape.
Erickson allowed just two baserunners in his Maddux, a Mickey Vernon single and Sherry Robertson walk the only blemishes through 99 pitches.
On the opposing rubber, Walt Masterson nearly matched Erickson’s performance, allowing three hits over 6.2 innings.
However, one of those hits left the Senators playing from behind, as Roy Smalley opened the bottom of the fourth by lining Masterson’s second pitch into the right field bullpen for a solo home run.
Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
We knew only one could be the worst.
We also knew that all 17 teams in the tournament were, to put it simply, bad.
Now it’s down to two, as 1948 and 1981 have paced their ineptitude through three rounds to meet in the Tsuyoshi Nishioka Round for determination as to which is the worst of the worst:
Here’s how they tumbled to this point:
(6) 1948 Senators
ByungHo Park Round: Lost to (14) 1951 Senators 3-1
Ricky Nolasco Round: Lost to (10) 1982 Twins 4-1
At least they’ve been consistent, as
‘48, the third-lowest ranked of the ‘40s and ‘50s Senators teams, won one game in each of the three rounds on their way to the finals. After