The '84 Series...

Friend of the family, Tigers fan, and all-around good guy Joe let me borrow his DVD of the '84 WS the other day. It started off with a rundown of each League Championship Series- that was infinitely more palatable than 80% of the World Series. It was really cool to see both of this year's Hall of Famers putting their best out there on the grandest stage of all. I think that Gibson HR off of Goose to seal the deal really summed up who Goose was. It's such an iconic moment, from the impromptu mound conference with a laid back Dick Williams realizing "You mean you're talking about striking him out" to an incredulous Sparky Anderson telling Gibson "He don't wanna walk you! He don't wanna walk you!" And that's the thing; Goose didn't play it safe- ever. He was balls-out, confident, all-or-nothing all the time. That moment also illustrated what made Dick Williams so great; he believed in his players and valued their insights and knowledge. It backfired for both of them that particular time, but at least they both stuck with their guns. If either of them even knew the definition of playing by the book, they would have never made it as far as they did...