Sizzling starts like Cubs' are difficult to beat
By Mel Antonen
As the Nationals found out first-hand this weekend, the Cubs are off to a sizzling start. They are 24-6 after sweeping Washington in Wrigley Field. The last time the Cubs were 26-4 to start a season was 1907, the year they won the World Series.
The Cubs' start brings back memories of the 1984 Tigers, the Sparky Anderson-managed team that started 35-5, won 104 games and the American League East by 15 games. The Tigers were 26-4 after their first 30 games.
Those Tigers won their first nine games and went 18-2 in April and 19-7 in May. Their high-water mark was 47 games over .500.
That season, the Orioles beat the Tigers seven of 13 games.
Detroit catcher Lance Parrish hit 33 home runs with 98 RBI. Shortstop Alan Trammell hit .314. Jack Morris, who was 19-11 with a 3.60 ERA, and Dan Petry, who had 18 wins and a 3.24 ERA, led the rotation.
The infield had Dave Bergman at first, Lou Whitaker at second and Trammell at short. Third base was the weak spot. Howard Johnson played 108 games there. The remaining games were shared by four other third basemen.
The picture that defined that season was Kirk Gibson running the bases arms in air after hitting a home run against San Diego's Goose Gossage in the World Series. The Tigers won in five games and Trammell was the World Series MVP.
Closer Willie Hernandez was the AL MVP and Cy Young winner. He pitched 140 1/3 innings and had 32 saves with a 1.92 ERA.
Other comparable teams:
* 2001 Seattle finished with 116 wins after starting the first two months 40-12. The Mariners had three 20-win months. ... They never had a month of double-digit losses, losing nine games each in June, July and August. Bret Boone hit .331-37-141 while Ichiro Suzuki hit .306, Edgar Martinez .306 and John Olerud .302. Lefty Jamie Moyer was a 20-game winner and Freddy Garcia was 18-6 with a 3.05 ERA. ... The Mariners lost in five games in the American League Championship Series to the Yankees. ... Their season ended at Yankee Stadium amid the chants of 50,000 Yankees fans chanting, "One-16, one-16.''
* 1998 Yankees: After losing to Cleveland in the 1997 postseason, the Yankees were on a mission the following season. ... They lost their first three games, but won the AL East by 22 games over Toronto. ... After starting 17-6 in April, they won 20, 19 and 20 games in each of the next three months. ... They outscored their opponents by 309 runs and allowed only 37 unearned runs for the season. ... They beat Texas and Cleveland to win the AL pennant and then swept San Diego in the World Series. ... They won 11 of 13 postseason games, out-scoring opponents 62-34. ... Tino Martinez had 28 home runs while Bernie Williams hit 26, Paul O'Neill 24 and Darryl Strawberry 24. ... Chuck Knoblauch had 31 steals and Derek Jeter 30. ... David Cone had 20 wins and a 3.95 ERA in the rotation while David Wells was at 18-3 with a 3.47 ERA. Orlando Hernandez had 12 wins and a 3.13 ERA.
* 1986 Mets: The Mets won 20 of their first 24 games and went on to win the National League East by 21 1/2 games over Philadelphia, even though the Phillies were the only team to beat the Mets during the regular season, going 10-8. ... The Mets won 108 games to win the NL East and beat Houston for the NL pennant and Boston in the World Series. ... Darryl Strawberry had 27 home runs, Gary Carter 105 RBI and Ray Knight, a MASN analyst, 11 home runs with a .298 average. ... Three pitchers had ERAs under 3.00: Bobby Ojeda was at 2.57, Ron Darling 2.81, Dwight Gooden 2.84. Roger McDowell threw 128 innings out of the bullpen.
* 1969 Orioles: Baltimore won 109 games and was the first AL East champion in the first season the AL and NL were split into divisions. ... The Orioles were at one point 60 games over .500. ... They were 13-5 against the Washington Senators and they finished 6-6 against the California, the only team they didn't have a winning record against. ... The pitching staff had 20 shutouts, including six by Jim Palmer, five by Mike Cuellar and four by Dave McNally. ... The Orioles finished April 16-7, but won 65 games in the first half. ... They were 19-12 in August. ... Boog Powell hit 37 home runs, Frank Robinson 32, Paul Blair 26 and Brooks Robinson 23. ... The Orioles swept Minnesota 3-0 to win the AL pennant and lost to the Mets in the World Series. ... The Orioles had 108 win in 1970 and 101 wins in 1971.
* 1906 Cubs: Chicago finished with 116 wins, but they only won 10 of their first 16 games. They were hot at the end, winning 20, 26 and 21 in July, August and September. ... The Cubs lost three games during August. ... The team had four players that eventually made the Hall of Fame, including shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers and first baseman Frank Chance of the legendary "Tinkers to Evers to Chance,'' double play fame. The other Hall of Famer was pitcher Mordecai Brown, who had a 1.04 ERA. ... The Cubs, though, were beaten by the crosstown White Sox, known as the "Hitless Wonders'' in the World Series, back when the Cubs played at the West Side Park and the Sox at the South Side Park. ... The 1906 World Series was the only time the White Sox and Cubs have played each other in the World Series.
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