MLB Baseball's Seasons: 2005

[Music] [Applause] [Applause] eight years welcome to baseball season's 2005 second City surprise wasa Red Sox one went away trying to do something that the franchise hasn't accomplished in 86 years [Applause] [Music] [Applause] amazingly cathartic ly and finally baseball 2004 concluded with the end of an 85 year drought and as the 2005 season gone anything seemed possible on the diamond particularly for two long-suffering franchises in Chicago everybody was making such a big deal about the fact that they hadn't won since 1918 and here we were we hadn't won since 1970 it had been a long time for the Sox and an even longer one for the Cubs whose last title had come in 1908 I think what the Cubs and White Sox saw the Red Sox last year I think they know that there's a chance they don't really believe in their curses in one if they can break their curse and break their drought of World Championships then so can we then there were the franchise's that had never won a World Series eight who'd never been crowned champion and six who never even been to the Fall Classic including the Astros who'd been in existence for more than four decades it seems like longer than you should have to wait given the ordinary odds but euston Zod's didn't get any better as o-5 approached 104 midseason acquisition Carlos Beltran left the club in free agency still that team was determined our objective is to bring a championship to Houston and we're still working on doing that other fan bases came into 2005 simply happy to watch baseball namely in Washington where political figures finally had something to unite them baseball is back baby and when they found out that the Expos were moving to Washington and that the Nationals were gonna be playing at RFK Stadium on Capitol Hill and everybody was excited to have baseball back it had been 34 years since DC it had a ball club and the new incarnation got a warm welcome and a special guest to throw out the ceremonial first pitch [Applause] no problem thank you thank you and if they were eager to get started on 2005 in DC in New York the Yankees had been itching for a new opportunity since the previous October when after reaching the postseason for the 10th straight time with the Ailes best record came that epic collapse which led the club to reconsider its roster they had to work again they had to reconstruct that team a little bit the reaction was basically get power arms on behalf of the New York Yankees George Steinbrenner welcome to Yankee Stadium Randy Johnson you know the bottom line is I've been brought on board to the Yankees here to help this team get to a championship and nothing less than that is acceptable the plan was for the Big Unit and fellow newcomers Jared Wright and Carl Pavano to erase the pain of o4 but things didn't work out as expected early on [Music] Yankees were not just beaten they were embarrassed New York stumbled to an 11 and 19 start and found themselves nine games out of first by the beginning of May searching for answers I think the Yankees felt a good sense of panic after about a month into the season the Yankees felt old they're behind and all of a sudden these acquisitions aren't quite doing what they had hoped they could do and the Yankees bad start wasn't the only strange turn of events in the AL East the Baltimore Orioles hadn't finished above 500 since 1987 but they came out swinging in o-5 and then the biggest contributions came from their middle infielders former MVP shortstop Miguel Tejada the second baseman Brian Roberts to top the åland slugging in April it all led to a hot oohs start and Baltimore took hold the division [Applause] [Music] but even if the AL East was for at least the moment seemingly off kilter there were other huge surprises all across the game prior to the 2004 season the White Sox named Ozzie Guillen the game's first ever Venezuelan manager hoping the former all-stars intensity and personality would offer a jolt to the team when you win there with Ozzy is - Marty crying Cinco de Mayo and when you lose in this the Apocalypse Now they're not exchanging pleasantries and though they're not dinner as part of this equation in 2004 game's size led the AL and home runs but finished in second place for the third straight year leading the front office to set about molding the team in their managers image with a roster that played hard and fast Scott Podsednik was the guy that gave us the speed that we hadn't had before he got on base he was always on base tada he do a good shoe they brought over from Japan was for a typical number two hitter to be honest with you I wasn't very happy that he came because that was my position we didn't know much about him we knew he could hit he had a great seasons over there in Japan with her Gucci and Pacific at the top of the lineup the Sox played a style quickly coin toss a ball and the results spoke for themselves as the club jumped out to a 16-4 start in April I think the players were comfortable with what Isay was doing in Ozzy placed a lot of confidence in his starting pitching in mark Burley Freddy Garcia Jon Garland and company could go deep into ballgames to provide a reliable backbone to the club I thought they carried us from start to finish I thought they went for first year the second year the third year the fourth bid to overdrive there was strong pitching each time out on the mound [Applause] Ozzie ball on the base pads and then of course a bit of trademark southside pop [Applause] it off with Chicago atop the AL Central in the early going you know five the hottest start in the hundred four year history of their franchise meanwhile in the NL Central the defending League champion Cardinals look to pick up where they left off in 2004 I wasn't there for that battle for season but when I showed up everything just kind of fit right in everybody just kept on going mark Mulder joined a loaded Cardinals rotation that included Jeff Suppan Matt Morris and one of the league's best arms Chris Carpenter carpenter he was healthy I think he had that determination but he was just locked in powered by pitching the always dangerous Albert Pujols and fellow MVP candidate Jim Edmonds that Cardinals controlled the NL Central from the outs if you're gonna have a championship caliber team you better get contributions from all 25 individuals [Music] [Applause] out in the AL West the frontrunners were the newly renamed Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim skippered by one of the game's best every year under Mike Scioscia you know he's always uh winning some of the great man's you have to put Mike Scioscia in that category as well and the biggest threat in social ina was Vladimir Guerrero who come to the Angels the previous year and promptly won an MVP or [Applause] Guerrero's Big Bad was complemented by a fine supporting cast including the steady Garrett Anderson and versatile Sean Figgins one of those super utility title players did pretty much mr. everything for the angels we've seen him play everything except catcher and first baseman pitcher Wow the TV's newest part was shortstop Orlando Cabrera fresh off an historic World Series win in Boston and eager to make an impact in California in any number of ways catching foul territory the Orlando Cabrera was a huge acquisition for us and his ability to not only play shortstop at an incredible level but on the offensive side give you a lot of versatility Brower hits it high [Applause] on the mound Bartolo Colombians pitching some of the best ball at his career Bartoli became the lead dog in our rotation we signed him but there are there a lot of guys that followed see who look the child lucky and looking what he did black he's racking him up now that's six strikeouts tonight and while the Angels set out to win their second straight al West title back east another club was trying to extend a remarkable run of division dominance the Atlanta Braves had moved the NL East since the mid-1990s but in 2005 the rest of the division was determined to make a fight of it now for their part this Braves team had a different look than others of years past and with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine both God John Smoltz returned the Atlanta rotation after a stint as the team's closer as a closer for three years I sat back and we didn't win a series and there wasn't many games that I was able to pitch and the organization looked at what made us better and I thought making me a starter again it would give us some power back in the rotation meanwhile a pair of familiar faces chipper and Andruw Jones provided the pop and an offense that scored plenty of loose change you have a 3/4 wood chipper and Andrew was pretty easy score reference further south the Marlins were stocked with talent on the mound and took an early lead in the NL East behind one of the game's most dynamic young pitchers Dontrelle Willis defined the Marlins with his enthusiasm with the smile and with this wind-up that was incredibly fun to watch exciting and Blair and to help provide runs for pitchers like Willis the Marlins sign slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado [Applause] [Music] a guy like Carlos Delgado on his bad years was 30 home runs and 100 RBIs we felt like he was just gonna be that piece that we needed the one thing with our division that year was you know the Braves are there the Mets were very good the Phillies were very good hot in Philly we had high hopes but the Nationals when they came in that team was going through such a big transition you just didn't know what you were gonna get what you got was winning baseball [Music] [Applause] just refuses the situation under manager Frank Robinson the Nets found themselves in first place at the break for the first time since 1994 it's been surprising you know to see how well we're doing right now nobody thought though you're gonna be two and a half games up on Atlanta in order to and I think the all-star break so hopefully we could just hold everybody down and just outside the Beltway in Baltimore the Orioles we're doing everything they could to hold on in the high-powered AL East they're a good team they've felt a responsibility to catch up to the rest of to Austin they've done a pretty good job but in June the defending world champions heated up winning 12 of 13 and grabbing first place from the old as the dynamic duo of Manny ramírez and David Ortiz ended the first half 1/2 in the AL in RBIs both of them were so good that we felt like we had a chance if we could just get to that meat of the order at any point in the game and with the prospect of getting Kurt Schilling back from the DL after the all-star break the Red Sox felt strongly about their chances a healthy coach Schilling he's considered our team ace we haven't had that and when we get that back we're going to be that much better after a slow start the Yankees were searching for any way they could get better ultimately I think Joe and I are looking to put this thing in the right direction if you see something that obviously enough you know you don't need to wait to make move to the paid off or call ups trimming wrong and Robinson Cano shinmin long picks up his first big league victory but saved the Yankees season that year came in two parts one started with bringing some of the youth into the team and then the emergence again of these veterans Alex Rodriguez had an MVP season [Applause] he picks up his 10th RV by July the Yanks were squarely back in the hunt but with a pack of competition in the AL East nothing was guaranteed as the 2005 season reached its symbolic halfway point a pair of sluggers from rival NL clubs were engaged in a duel to outdo one another at the plate [Applause] [Music] [Applause] there please career year spurred talk of not only an MVP award but a triple crown I've just felt great every day what comes worth the plate individually it's been a great season while in st. Louis it was business as usual for another familiar MVP candidate just simply one of the most dangerous hitters in all of Major League Baseball Albert who holds brilliance at the plate helped propel the Cardinals to a huge lead in the NL Central and by summer st. Louis looked to be coasting to the playoffs [Applause] wilds and the cards cruise the battle for the wild-card amongst a host of other NL teams was heating up and by August 1 improbable contender had seemingly risen from the dead the Astro start today 14 games back of the red-hot st. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central 15 and 30 hard to believe 15 and 30 is I mean you're getting ready to pull a cement truck up on us and just bury us she has read The Chronicles worth it's certainly not good to have a huge tombstone of your season on the front page but at the same time everybody realized that if we didn't start playing better quickly that we were gonna be dead the Astros the NL wildcard in all four had struggled offensively with Carlos Beltran departed and Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell injured we just didn't have a whole lot of firepower lowest scoring team in Major League Baseball but despite their lifeless offense Houston still had hope for with Roger Clemens Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt they had the best starting trio in the game our pitching was phenomenal we just shut teams down as they continued their work are often started to perk up and things started to happen they were pushing thanks to a now healthy Berkman and the emergence of third baseman Morgan ensberg with awakening vats a staff that would finish second in the NL and ara and all-star Brad Lidge closing games the Astros climbed back over 500 in the July and soon found themselves in the thick of the wild-card race and there were other late waking teams elsewhere in baseball not just the Yankees but two more al clubs who used the summer to spring to life [Applause] Jays and Indians were similar young talented and on fire and the season's hottest months with 27 year olds Barry Zito and Eric Chavez serving as de facto veteran leaders the Athletics overcame a slow star with a remarkable summer stretch in which they won 40 of 54 games to catch the Angels in the AL West [Applause] it's gonna be battle all season long we're very confident and we're just coming you know let it happen on the field in Cleveland the Indians were powered by a late season push from their young talent Grady Sizemore was on his way to becoming face of the franchise with his combination of speed power and the way he could run down balls in the gap you know our whole pitching staff from CC the big guy you know just setting them down Cliff Lee the whole year has been great for us you know anything can happen in baseball and we're definitely have a good team and a good enough team to make a run so hopefully we can go out there and pull something off [Music] [Applause] and with Cleveland joining these Yanks and Red Sox in the AL player fund it seems like anything could happen on the way to October there certainly is an era of anticipation in the clubhouse public their scoreboard Watson on September 1st 2005 14 clubs were in playoff contention and the National League was particularly crowded when you go into September and you got six teams vying for it your scoreboard watching you want to take care of your own business there's a different fever for baseball and there's a different intensity it's getting really interesting things are getting crazy in the wild-card race all my goodness one team soaring above the fray with a Cardinals who never let their division League shrink to under 9 games in the season's last two months [Applause] the San Diego Padres meanwhile took until game number 158 to lay claim to the West [Applause] back east a playoff mainstay look to find their way back to the postseason and alongside familiar veterans the route was guided by a youth movement wonderboy riddled by injuries the Braves played 18 rookies no.5 including two midseason coops who made marks with their play and personalities I think we made guys like chipper small seen and start to feel a little younger again sometimes you can use it guys some young guys to come in and and really just be a part of the clubhouse to keep things loose and have fun Frenchy and McCann they understand their identity to understand what their take on baseball is going to be they want to play and that is a refreshing thing the roster moves work and the Braves finish the season in a familiar place 14 consecutive division titles for your Atlanta Braves all these rookies who grew up in this area this is a dream come true if the Braves playoff path was smooth the club's left to grapple for the wild-card refused to make it easy on one another it is becoming crunch time for everybody in the National League the Phillies are a half game behind the Houston Astros the leaders of the wild-card race the standings change daily and surprise characters like a slugging rookie in Philly play huge roles in the drop Ryan Howard early on he said Wow I mean they've got themselves an MVP candidate here but even the Ryan and Jimmy Rollins crafting an impressive hit industry 36 straight game the longest in the game since 1987 the Phillies play was uneven in September and every night matter with an Astros Club continuing to surge with one goal on their minds [Applause] [Music] [Applause] we understood that as a veteran club and let's start winning some serious take two or three to add three maybe sweep some series that was our mindset an early September sweep of Philadelphia may have been the difference maker as the Astros held off the Phills to rise from the dead we capture the NL wildcard meanwhile in the American League the races were tied as well by September the red-hot A's had lost their steam and in the final weeks of the season were outplayed by an Angels team that finished the year on a tear for 2000 but the yeas weren't the only alt to limp to the finish for in Chicago a club that had cruised all year was suddenly collapsing socks look anything but a championship team right now the White Sox lead is down to four games the Sox lost 10 of 14 in mid-september a swoon that coincided with a division rival in Cleveland Catching Fire the Indians won 17 of nineteen to climb within a game and a half of Chicago in first but the White Sox reawaken just any time to finish a wire-to-wire division title run winning eight of their last 10 games [Music] [Applause] sexual division champions while the Central Division title had slipped away the Indians still had a shot at grabbing the wild card along with bitter rivals atop the AL East going head to head on a final weekend of this season after 159 games it all comes down to this weekend think there was at least one segment of people that wanted you know ali-frazier 3 they wanted enough thrilla in manilla to finish this song he got two playoff spots you got three teams great theater great drama the Yankees were still looking to secure a playoff berth but the opener at Fenway was beyond their reach so they turned to the Big Unit the next day seeking their biggest win of the year and Johnson's fifth victory of the year over Boston coupled with an Indians loss got the Yanks to October for the 11th straight season and so on the last day of the season it was down to the Red Sox and Indians when the afternoon was over only one was moving on [Music] [Applause] the San Diego Padres and the st. Louis Cardinals they open up play in the division series of 2005 we have a prohibitive favorite no way the Cardinals can lose to the Padres with San Diego only two games over 500 and st. Louis boasting a major-league best 100 wins there NLDS might have seemed like a mismatch it doesn't matter who you're facing or what you're doing how many wins they had during the season it's who gets hot one Red Bird gotten red-hot in the series became the Reggie Sanders RBI show [Applause] he's got 10 RBIs the Cardinal sweep the series three games tonight in Chicago the start of the Red Sox White Sox division series were shadowed by the premise that if one person broken in 2004 another could fall a no 5 the Red Sox did it why can't we that's the attitude we took these guys did it let's go in and let it fly we came out that first game and just you know just pounded down [Applause] the White Sox up one game 114 to 2 over the Red Sox it never felt like we'd get into a groove we couldn't put anything together in the series we made some mistakes those guys were really really hot before we know we were down to oh I think people know what Red Sox did Yankees last year being down three Oh got to go out there and try to finish these guys as quick as you can and with Boston rallying in the sixth inning Ozzie Guillen called on Orlando Hernandez to thwart a comeback bases loaded nobody out one of the best performances I've ever seen a pitcher have El Duque with throw three shutout innings and all and when Bobby Jenks finished off Boston the White Sox we're moving on and we knew what this is it now we guys we got the team to go all the way the Angels brought confidence and to the other ALDS as the only team to own a winning record against the Yankees over the previous decade the Yankees are just another team to that there in fact and not just in our team there an easier team to beat because they don't blink the Yankee myth means nothing the team split the first two in Anaheim and at Yankee Stadium for Game three the Angels were not intimidated by a sizable presence set to pitch against them the big unit Randy Johnson the great left-hander was an attitude that you know we can beat these guys a three-run home run for Garret Anderson if you have confidence you can do about what you want right sweet and the Angels have gone ahead in this series games to one the Yanks even things again in Game four meaning the series would return West for a decisive match up an Anaheim's bullpen got the call early Bart really hurt his arm alone is gone here in the second vervet Santana came in and pitched a very very strong five innings what a job young urban Santana did five to three Escobar will be taking over we had a strong pen at that time and hopefully they were going to shut it down hold Leeds and we were able to do it all that light brown ball toward first bodies [Applause] pitching was also the headline as the Astros and Braves met in the NL Division Series for a second straight year Tim Hudson going out there for the braid but he's a guy that depends on a lot of sync a lot of movement and he was so pumped up that I think he kept the ball up too much Morgan ensberg is having himself a day behind ensberg five RBIs Houston cruised to a game one win and the Astros look to build their momentum with a major league er a leader on the hill for Game two matched against the pitcher making his first postseason start in six years how will this Smoltz shoulder fare against Roger Clemens anytime you face Roger Clemens it's gonna be a battle and on this night smokes battled well 13 14 retired by Smoltz the Astros took Game three in Houston when a game for the Braves appeared to be drawing even obviously you know you're down 6 1 everybody's gone ok we're gonna go back to Atlanta and Lance comes through with a huge grand slam [Applause] but it puts us down by one and Brad Ausmus comes up Jedi bases clean for Ausmus now no offense to Brad but we're thinking man is last thing he's gonna do is hit a home run right here you know [Applause] or time all right from there the game went into extra innings and kept going and going the longest postseason contest in history one of my fabulous great memories of all time is looking out in my bullpen and the only guy see is Roger Clemens the top of the 16th inning Roger Clemens comes out of the bullpen and he just kind of noticed down and you continuing to play this game and it's going on and on and on you had guys tired in crisper I was able to drive one in the Crawford boxes [Music] [Applause] just purchase the ticket to st. Louis [Applause] we are underway in the National League Championship Series the 2005 NLCS was a rematch of the previous year's affair and as the new battle began Reggie Sanders was still on fire [Applause] while Sanders provided the power Chris Carpenter and Jason Isringhausen combined on the pitch but from there the Astros strength surfaced as Houston superb trio lavon's turned in strong performances to lead their team to three straight wins [Applause] st. Louis trailing in the best-of-seven three-games to one with their backs against the wall the Cardinal sent out their ace in Game five their top pitcher their top gun in Chris Carpenter down in order but the story changed in this seventh I was cruising along got a couple guys on [Applause] last hit a three-run homer to make it for it too I couldn't believe that I just lost the series for us it sure seemed that way into the night but then a David Eckstein single and Jim Edmonds walk brought Albert pool halls to the plate as much as I love Bradley's I don't want piece of powder pools [Music] [Applause] Albert hits that ball and it's just like oh my god who votes gigantic blast extended the Cardinal season at least one more day and on the mound in Game six Roy Oswalt set out intent on immediately reversing momentum my whole mind thought was I have to set a tone from the very first inning here's a call strike breathing there's gonna strike out an each frame so far for Oswalt that's his third Oh's walk pitched seven innings of one-run ball and then handed it to the bullpen for another shot of making Astros franchise history Cellular Field on the south side of Chicago for the opening game of the American League Championship Series after knocking off the Yankees in the division series the angels were looking to top oh another a all heavy one Anderson rips one is a blast and a good start a homerun for Garrett Anderson putting the Angels on the board Paul Byrd started it Byrd 6/8 and two runs and the Angels bullpen did the rest to take the opener [Applause] [Music] Game two of the American League Championship Series staring at a one-nothing deficit at home the White Sox were in need of a quick turnaround definitely a sense of urgency for the White Sox tonight a burden mark Burley bore all by himself with a masterful performance [Music] the white sucks definitely needed a win in Game two and Burleigh matched the Angels pitch for kitchen and kept them in contention to win that game the game was tied at one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and then controversy struck [Applause] AJ he's always in the middle of something so I think the umpires got to play right [Music] then continue and joke Rudy made sure it mattered always say I rather be lucky and be good but luck wouldn't be a factor as the series shifted to Anaheim thanks to the continued unsub Guillen starting rotation garland retires the final nine men he faces [Music] consecutive complete game if I ever have another Fisher step like that I will truly be blessed in Game five it was Jose Contreras turn to go all the way the four straight complete games were a postseason rarity but merely a footnote to the bigger history of play [Applause] [Music] it's been 46 years since the World Series has been here on the south side tons of White Sox fans our whole life they've never seen a World Series in Chicago so just for us to get there it was an awesome feeling and after a season long climb the team on the other side of the field had reason to be thrilled as well when I came here that's what I was hoping to be able to help this club and help this organization do and it was awesome to be part of from the start Chicago was locked in against Roger Clemens [Music] [Applause] [Music] three hits in the inning Roger Clement he's gone after two but after he left the Astros rallied back [Music] [Applause] but the Sox regained the lead and then finished off the scrolls [Music] [Applause] Series Game one winner Game two was a World Series classic with Houston up to in the seventh a longtime white sock came up with the bases loaded Konerko conducive damage my only thought was this is why that team was good because I think everybody thought like this don't try to do too much even a broken bat here we'll tie this game up [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it stayed that way until the ninth when pinch-hitter Jose Vizcaino came up with two out as the Astros last [Music] and we'll go to the bottom of the ninth a 6 6 tie with one out Scott Pacific came up a centerpiece of Ozzie ball all season long but this time there was something different [Music] I think everybody including myself was a bit surprised that that game - home run came off of my bat Minute Maid Park Game three of the OL five World Series tonight for the first time it will be played in Texas now hopefully National League I might be able to sneak in there and get a pinch hit or something like that this game was another good one going to the 14th when a former Astro got his wish you know that's maybe my only at-bat in the World Series and I said myself there's gonna be a good chance of getting a fastball right here and hit a bullet out to right field porch the White Sox the White Sox are up three games to nothing is this tonight the White Sox break out of an 88 year slump Game four went scoreless for seven and then in the eighth Jermaine Dye stepped up if you look at any of those four games they could have gone either way it could have been a Houston sweep but the White Sox were able to accomplish the sweep [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] eight-years takes a breath way think 88 years that's a long time to bring that championship back home was absolutely amazing impact of winning the World Series had on a community was a memory that I will never never forget the Sox would win 90 games the next year but it wouldn't be enough in an improved al central as the twins earned back the division title Detroit finished just the game behind Minnesota and grabbed the wild-card and like the Astros before them Street to the Fall Classic [Applause] a mediocre 82 and ATC nearly got the Astros back to the playoffs but they ended up a game and a half behind the Cardinals who after seasons of 105 and 100 meters won just 83 but caught fire to soar into the World Series and then tame the Tigers and five games showing once again that in baseball's wild-card era glory plays no favorites in October [Music] you

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Length: 44min 58sec (2698 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 23 2020