Philadelphia Baseball History

It's a shame that nothing like YouTube was around in the 1970s.  Because if it were, I'm sure that the play I want to discuss would have gone viral.  It was that unusual, and it was that entertaining.  It happened on July 4, 1976, when I was about two weeks shy of my fifth birthday.  So I don't have any independent memory of it.  But, it gave my father and my grandfather such a kick, that they talked about it for years afterward.  And that is Tim McCarver's grand slam that wasn't. Most young baseball fans know Tim McCarver as a broadcaster.  He only retired seven years ago.  But before his TV career, McCarver was a fan favorite among the Phillies faithful.  In fact, he was the player who introduced the world to the Phillie Phanatic in 1978, on the popular local kids' TV show on Channel Six, Captain Noah and His Magical Ark. McCarver had two stints with the Phillies.  The Phillies first acquired McCarver in 1970 from the Cardinals....

Controversial plays happen, particularly in the World Series.  Not all of them are as clear-cut as the blown call in the bottom of the ninth inning of game 6 of the 1985 World Series, where Royals Jorge Orta was called safe at first.  Had replay review existed back then, Orta would have been called out, and the Cardinals would have captured another World Championship.  Instead, the Royals staged a comeback in that inning, and then took game 7 to win their first World Championship. But other plays are not so clear-cut, and spark debate among sports fans for decades.  Had replay review existed, would it have changed the outcome of the entire World Series?  Some of those plays, though controversial at the time, have faded into the background of baseball history. One such play occurred in game 5 of the 1980 World Series.  Rookie phenom, and Pitcher of the Month for September, Marty Bystrom took the mound against the Royals.  Bystr...