tmc_6882
06-16-2006, 02:28 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curse_of_Steve_Balboni
The Curse of Steve Balboni (began 1985) is a phenomenon that has supposedly kept Major League Baseball teams employing at least one player who has hit 36 or more home runs in a particular season from winning the World Series. Although the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks with Luis Gonzalez's 57 home runs arguably debunks the 36 or more home runs theory. Prior to 2001, teams with a 36+ home run hitter went just 4-22 in the postseason, and have lost 14 straight since the Seattle Mariners beat the New York Yankees in the 1995 American League Division Series.
Steve Balboni was a player with tremendous home run power but a tendency to strike out frequently. In parts of eleven major league seasons (Balboni also played nine seasons in the minors from 1978-1993), Balboni hit 181 home runs and had 495 RBIs. He also struck out 856 times and his career batting average was .229. While in the minors, he homered every 14.6 at bats yet struck out every 3.8 at bats.
Steve Balboni probably had his best major league season in 1985. That year, he had career highs in games played (160), at bats (600), hits (146), runs (74), doubles (28), triples (2), homers (36), runs batted in (88-tied in 1989) and stolen bases (1). Balboni also lead American League first basemen with 1686 total chances and 1573 putouts in 1985. He also set the single season hom run mark for the Kansas City Royals with 36 (a record that stands to this day). Unfortunately, Balboni also led the American League with 166 strike outs. In addition, during his time with the Royals (1984 to mid-1988), Balboni never had a batting average above .250.
While starting at first base for the Kansas City Royals in 1985, he was a key figure to their charge to World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. In the 1985 World Series, Balboni batted .320 with three RBIs as the Royals beat the Cardinals four games to three to win the first World Championship in franchise history. He also demonstrated good glove work in the field, which was something he was not known for during his career.
When Don Denkinger made his now infamous call (Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first base in the bottom of the 9th even though television replays showed that Orta was actually out) in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. The Call occurred while Steve Balboni was in the on-deck circle. When Balboni came to the plate, he proceeded to hit what appeared to be a routine pop-up to the right side that neither Cardinals first basemen Jack Clark nor Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter could catch. Balboni then singled on the very next pitch from Todd Worrell. After Onix Concepcion came in to pinch-run for Balboni (and with runners on first and second with the potential winning run at first), Jim Sundberg bunted into a force play at third. Catcher Darrell Porter then allowed a passed ball, allowing the runners to advance to second and third. After the Cardinals intentionally walked Hal McRae to load the bases, Dane Iorg knocked a bloop single to right that scored Concepcion and Sundberg, who avoided Porter's tag at the plate to score the winning run.
Misfortune for the Royals
Since the Steve Balboni and the Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 1985, they haven't reached the postseason. In addition, the franchise has arguably faced a series of major hard times:
1. In 1986, the defending World Champions stumbled to a 76-86 record.
2. On June 17, 1987, Dick Howser, who was the manager during the Royals' 1985 World Series run, died after a year long battle with brain cancer.
3. During the late 1980s, the Royals started to feature two sport superstar Bo Jackson. Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Jackson would ultimately play for the Los Angeles Raiders) as the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft, but he opted to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals instead. He spent most of the season in the minor leagues before being called up for regular duty in 1987, where he had 22 home runs, 53 RBIs and 10 stolen bases as an outfielder for the Royals. He began to show his true potential in 1989 (the same year where the Royals won 92 games, which was an eight game improvement from 1988), when he was selected for the American League All-Star team, and was named the game's MVP for his play on both offense and defense. Jackson finished the 1989 season 4th in the AL in both HRs (32) and RBI (105) (and 1st in strikeouts with 172). A year later, Jackson would increase his batting average. Unfortunately, during a Raiders playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 1991, Jackson suffered a serious hip injury which ended his football career and seriously threatened his baseball career. Because of this, the Royals effectively terminated Jackson's contract.
4. 1985 World Series Most Valuable Player Bret Saberhagen enjoyed mixed success during the rest of his career, including the years in between his Cy Young Awards (1985 and 1989 respectively). In fact, he had three losing records (1986, 1988, and 1990), during a span generally considered his most productive years. In Saberhagan's last season with the Royals (1991), he went 13-8 and in the process, pitched a no-hitter. The following year, the Royals finished the season with a dismal 72-90 record, which was a ten game dropoff from 1991.
5. When longtime Royals owner Ewing Kauffman died in 1993, the Royals were left without permanent ownership until Wal-Mart executive David Glass purchased the team for $96 million in 2000. During the first six years of Glass' ownership (2000-2005) the Royals have averaged 97 losses, posting one winning record (2003) and three seasons with 100 or more losses. Also under Glass, the Royals (siting escalating salaries) decided to trade rising young stars like Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye for whatever they could get rather than lose them to free agency. Johnny Damon would go on to be a key figure in the Boston Red Sox's 2004 World Series run while Jermanie Dye would go on to win the 2005 World Series Most Valuable Player Award while a member of the Chicago White Sox.
6. In 1994, the Royals were on pace to have their best season since their 92 win season in 1989. In 1989, the Royals were now match to the powerful Oakland Athletics, who were on their way to their second of three consecutive World Series appearances. In 1994, the Royals had eventual Cy Young Award winner David Cone and Rookie of the Year Bob Hamelin. When the players went on strike on August 12 (which ultimately resulted in the World Series getting cancelled for the first time in 90 yeras), the Royals had a .557 winning percentage and were just four games behind the Chicago White Sox in the newly created American League Central Division. When play finally resumed in 1995, the Royals stumbled to a 70-74 record (the season was shortened from 162 to 144 games) as Kansas City was no match to the powerful Cleveland Indians, who went 100-44 during the regular season. By 1995, the Royals were left without David Cone, who went to Toronto while Bob Hamelin was never able to follow up on his 1994 success and was out of baseball by 1998.
Effects on the New York Yankees
1. The year that Steve Balboni made his major league debut (1981) as a member of the New York Yankees, they made the World Series (ultimately losing in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers). The Yankees wouldn't make the postseason again until 1995, which was the longest the longest playoff drought the franchise had experienced since Babe Ruth arrived in town.
2. From 1981-1995, the Yankees went through ten different managers (Lou Piniella on two different occasions and Billy Martin on three different occasions). From 1989-1992, the Yankees surprisingly finished with a losing record (the worst being 67-95 in 1990). To add insult to injury, July 30, 1990, Commissioner Fay Vincent banned owner George Steinbrenner from Major League Baseball for life after Steinbrenner paid Howie Spira, a small-time gambler, $40,000 for "dirt" on his outfielder Dave Winfield after Winfield sued Steinbrenner for failing to pay his foundation the $300,000 guaranteed in his contract. Steinbrenner was subsequently reinstated in 1993, which was the same year posted their first winning record (88-74) in six years.
3. In 1997, one year after winning their first World Championship in 15 years, the Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the playoffs. That year, the Yankees featured 44 home run hitter Tino Martinez. In 1996, the most home runs a Yankee player hit was 29 by Bernie Williams.
4. In 2000, David Justice hit a total of 41 home runs. But only 20 of those came while wearing a New York Yankees uniform. That year, the Yankees won their forth World Championship in five years.
5. The team that supposedly broke the curse, the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks with Luis Gonzalez's 57 home runs did it by beating the Yankees in the World Series. Incidentally, that particular year, the Yankees didn't have a player who hit 36 or more home runs (Tino Martinez with 34 homers being the closest).
One major oddity about the supposed curse is that in 1991, none of the four playoff teams (Minnesota, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Toronto) had a hitter that had at least 36 home runs. The closest was Toronto's Joe Carter with 33. Incidentally, Carter's Blue Jays would go on to lose the American League Championship Series to the Minnesota Twins in five games. When the Twins and Braves met in the 1991 World Series, it marked the first time in history that two teams that finished in dead last in the previous season, would go on to win the pennant (much less finish in first place in their division). The World Series itself was a very intense affair with three of the seven games going into extra innings (this includes Game 7) and five ending on the last at-bat.
The Curse of Steve Balboni (began 1985) is a phenomenon that has supposedly kept Major League Baseball teams employing at least one player who has hit 36 or more home runs in a particular season from winning the World Series. Although the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks with Luis Gonzalez's 57 home runs arguably debunks the 36 or more home runs theory. Prior to 2001, teams with a 36+ home run hitter went just 4-22 in the postseason, and have lost 14 straight since the Seattle Mariners beat the New York Yankees in the 1995 American League Division Series.
Steve Balboni was a player with tremendous home run power but a tendency to strike out frequently. In parts of eleven major league seasons (Balboni also played nine seasons in the minors from 1978-1993), Balboni hit 181 home runs and had 495 RBIs. He also struck out 856 times and his career batting average was .229. While in the minors, he homered every 14.6 at bats yet struck out every 3.8 at bats.
Steve Balboni probably had his best major league season in 1985. That year, he had career highs in games played (160), at bats (600), hits (146), runs (74), doubles (28), triples (2), homers (36), runs batted in (88-tied in 1989) and stolen bases (1). Balboni also lead American League first basemen with 1686 total chances and 1573 putouts in 1985. He also set the single season hom run mark for the Kansas City Royals with 36 (a record that stands to this day). Unfortunately, Balboni also led the American League with 166 strike outs. In addition, during his time with the Royals (1984 to mid-1988), Balboni never had a batting average above .250.
While starting at first base for the Kansas City Royals in 1985, he was a key figure to their charge to World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. In the 1985 World Series, Balboni batted .320 with three RBIs as the Royals beat the Cardinals four games to three to win the first World Championship in franchise history. He also demonstrated good glove work in the field, which was something he was not known for during his career.
When Don Denkinger made his now infamous call (Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first base in the bottom of the 9th even though television replays showed that Orta was actually out) in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. The Call occurred while Steve Balboni was in the on-deck circle. When Balboni came to the plate, he proceeded to hit what appeared to be a routine pop-up to the right side that neither Cardinals first basemen Jack Clark nor Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter could catch. Balboni then singled on the very next pitch from Todd Worrell. After Onix Concepcion came in to pinch-run for Balboni (and with runners on first and second with the potential winning run at first), Jim Sundberg bunted into a force play at third. Catcher Darrell Porter then allowed a passed ball, allowing the runners to advance to second and third. After the Cardinals intentionally walked Hal McRae to load the bases, Dane Iorg knocked a bloop single to right that scored Concepcion and Sundberg, who avoided Porter's tag at the plate to score the winning run.
Misfortune for the Royals
Since the Steve Balboni and the Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 1985, they haven't reached the postseason. In addition, the franchise has arguably faced a series of major hard times:
1. In 1986, the defending World Champions stumbled to a 76-86 record.
2. On June 17, 1987, Dick Howser, who was the manager during the Royals' 1985 World Series run, died after a year long battle with brain cancer.
3. During the late 1980s, the Royals started to feature two sport superstar Bo Jackson. Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Jackson would ultimately play for the Los Angeles Raiders) as the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft, but he opted to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals instead. He spent most of the season in the minor leagues before being called up for regular duty in 1987, where he had 22 home runs, 53 RBIs and 10 stolen bases as an outfielder for the Royals. He began to show his true potential in 1989 (the same year where the Royals won 92 games, which was an eight game improvement from 1988), when he was selected for the American League All-Star team, and was named the game's MVP for his play on both offense and defense. Jackson finished the 1989 season 4th in the AL in both HRs (32) and RBI (105) (and 1st in strikeouts with 172). A year later, Jackson would increase his batting average. Unfortunately, during a Raiders playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 1991, Jackson suffered a serious hip injury which ended his football career and seriously threatened his baseball career. Because of this, the Royals effectively terminated Jackson's contract.
4. 1985 World Series Most Valuable Player Bret Saberhagen enjoyed mixed success during the rest of his career, including the years in between his Cy Young Awards (1985 and 1989 respectively). In fact, he had three losing records (1986, 1988, and 1990), during a span generally considered his most productive years. In Saberhagan's last season with the Royals (1991), he went 13-8 and in the process, pitched a no-hitter. The following year, the Royals finished the season with a dismal 72-90 record, which was a ten game dropoff from 1991.
5. When longtime Royals owner Ewing Kauffman died in 1993, the Royals were left without permanent ownership until Wal-Mart executive David Glass purchased the team for $96 million in 2000. During the first six years of Glass' ownership (2000-2005) the Royals have averaged 97 losses, posting one winning record (2003) and three seasons with 100 or more losses. Also under Glass, the Royals (siting escalating salaries) decided to trade rising young stars like Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye for whatever they could get rather than lose them to free agency. Johnny Damon would go on to be a key figure in the Boston Red Sox's 2004 World Series run while Jermanie Dye would go on to win the 2005 World Series Most Valuable Player Award while a member of the Chicago White Sox.
6. In 1994, the Royals were on pace to have their best season since their 92 win season in 1989. In 1989, the Royals were now match to the powerful Oakland Athletics, who were on their way to their second of three consecutive World Series appearances. In 1994, the Royals had eventual Cy Young Award winner David Cone and Rookie of the Year Bob Hamelin. When the players went on strike on August 12 (which ultimately resulted in the World Series getting cancelled for the first time in 90 yeras), the Royals had a .557 winning percentage and were just four games behind the Chicago White Sox in the newly created American League Central Division. When play finally resumed in 1995, the Royals stumbled to a 70-74 record (the season was shortened from 162 to 144 games) as Kansas City was no match to the powerful Cleveland Indians, who went 100-44 during the regular season. By 1995, the Royals were left without David Cone, who went to Toronto while Bob Hamelin was never able to follow up on his 1994 success and was out of baseball by 1998.
Effects on the New York Yankees
1. The year that Steve Balboni made his major league debut (1981) as a member of the New York Yankees, they made the World Series (ultimately losing in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers). The Yankees wouldn't make the postseason again until 1995, which was the longest the longest playoff drought the franchise had experienced since Babe Ruth arrived in town.
2. From 1981-1995, the Yankees went through ten different managers (Lou Piniella on two different occasions and Billy Martin on three different occasions). From 1989-1992, the Yankees surprisingly finished with a losing record (the worst being 67-95 in 1990). To add insult to injury, July 30, 1990, Commissioner Fay Vincent banned owner George Steinbrenner from Major League Baseball for life after Steinbrenner paid Howie Spira, a small-time gambler, $40,000 for "dirt" on his outfielder Dave Winfield after Winfield sued Steinbrenner for failing to pay his foundation the $300,000 guaranteed in his contract. Steinbrenner was subsequently reinstated in 1993, which was the same year posted their first winning record (88-74) in six years.
3. In 1997, one year after winning their first World Championship in 15 years, the Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the playoffs. That year, the Yankees featured 44 home run hitter Tino Martinez. In 1996, the most home runs a Yankee player hit was 29 by Bernie Williams.
4. In 2000, David Justice hit a total of 41 home runs. But only 20 of those came while wearing a New York Yankees uniform. That year, the Yankees won their forth World Championship in five years.
5. The team that supposedly broke the curse, the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks with Luis Gonzalez's 57 home runs did it by beating the Yankees in the World Series. Incidentally, that particular year, the Yankees didn't have a player who hit 36 or more home runs (Tino Martinez with 34 homers being the closest).
One major oddity about the supposed curse is that in 1991, none of the four playoff teams (Minnesota, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Toronto) had a hitter that had at least 36 home runs. The closest was Toronto's Joe Carter with 33. Incidentally, Carter's Blue Jays would go on to lose the American League Championship Series to the Minnesota Twins in five games. When the Twins and Braves met in the 1991 World Series, it marked the first time in history that two teams that finished in dead last in the previous season, would go on to win the pennant (much less finish in first place in their division). The World Series itself was a very intense affair with three of the seven games going into extra innings (this includes Game 7) and five ending on the last at-bat.