1992 WORD SERIES PREVIEW

Once again Jarl Jackson provides the Mid-West Winter League with his World Series Preview.

 1992 was Stockton’s first winning season in the MWWL and they knocked off AL juggernaut Ft. Worth who beat their own MWWL record winning an astonishing 134 games.  Stockton used the long ball and strong relief pitching to reach their first World Series. They also had one of the AL’s best starting pitchers in Mike Mussina.

Defending champions Winnipeg returns to the World Series tied for the NL best record at 103 wins. Winnipeg is a team that wins with strong starting pitching and an incredible bullpen and a lineup and bench than can manufacture a run. Primarily an offense built on speed they were still 3rd in the NL in home runs.

The two catchers were pretty similar players with a slight edge to Tettleton who had a big advantage in OBP. Tettleton was 16^th in the AL in OBP and 10^th in HR.  – Advantage STO

Winnipeg has the luck of the Irish with their first basemen besting Stockton’s. Hrbek was 12 in the AL in HR, but McGwire was 2^nd in the NL in HR. McGwire was also 8^th in OBP and 8^th in SLG in the NL. – Advantage WIN

 The only advantage Robby Thompson holds over Roberts was in home runs – otherwise Bip Roberts dominates in every category. Roberts was 3^rd in the AVG, 6^th in OBP, 6^th in Hits, 4^th in Runs Scored, 6^th in doubles, first in SB, and had the longest hitting streak in the NL at 18 games. – Advantage WIN

 With his power and stolen bases Barry Larkin gives Stockton the edge in shortstops. In the AL Larkin was 8^th in AVG, 10^TH in OBP, 6^th in Hits, and 10^th in RBI. On the NL side Omar Vizquel was 6^th in AVG and tied his team for longest hitting streak at 18 games. – Advantage STO

 Robin Ventura was easily the best third basemen. Ventura was 9^th in AVG, 4^th in OBP, 11^th in SLG, 6^th in Hits, 7^th in doubles, first in RBI, and had the 2^nd longest On Base streak in the NL at 41 games. Charlie Hayes hit 14 homers, but was otherwise a pretty pedestrian player in the AL. – Advantage WIN 

Lots of speed here as Stockton had one 40 SB outfielder while Winnipeg had two. Stockton’s outfielders had a little more power, but Winnipeg had the overall better trio.  Marquis Grissom led the AL in SB and did not commit an error in 158 games. Stockton’s best player was Larry Walker. Walker was 5^th in AVG, 3^rd in SLG, 3^rd in Runs
Scored, third in HR, and had the longest On Base streak in the AL at 29 games. Winnipeg featured a couple of elite defenders in the outfield in Mike Deveraux – errorless streak of 108 games and Kenny Lofton – errorless streak of 90 games. On the offensive side for the NL Deveraux was 3^rd in SLG, 3^rd in Hits, 3^rd in Triples, 4^th in HR, and 3^rd in RBI. Lofton was 4^th in Runs and 4^th in SB. Otis Nixon was 7^th in SB for the NL. – Advantage WIN

 Other than HR and RBI Chili Davis was the best Designated Hitter. Neither player really stood out among League leaders although Davis was 15^th in doubles in the AL.  – Advantage STO

 Although Curt Schilling was injured during the NLCS Winnipeg still featured the best group of starting pitching in the World Series while Stockton had the best starting pitcher in Mike Mussina.  On the league leader boards for the AL Doug Drabek was 6^th in IP, 3^rd in CG, and had the 8^th best SO/9 rate. Mussina was 5^th in Wins, 4^th in ERA, 2^nd in IP, first in CG, 4^th in QS, first in shutout IP at 37, and 2 in OBA at .187. On the NL side Glavine was 6^th in Wins, 8^th in IP, 10^th in QS, and 2^nd in shutout IP. Andy Benes was 2^nd in Wins, 10^th in ERA, and had the 11^th best SO/9 rate. – Advantage WIN

Both teams have very good relief corps, but Winnipeg has the luxury of two capable closers. In the AL Dennis Eckersley was 4^th in Saves, third in ERA, 4^th in GIR, 2^nd best in SO/9 and 3^rd in OBA at .150. Steve Olin lead the league in relief wins and was 8^th in ERA. Doug Henry was 7^th in Wins, 12^th in Saves, 5^th in IP, and had the best SO/9 rate among relievers. For the NL Rod Beck was 7^th in Wins, 6^th in Saves, 3^rd in ERA, and 3^rd in IP. Mel Rojas – maybe the best reliever in all of MWWL – was first in Wins, 3^rd in Saves, 8^th in Holds, 6^th in ERA, 1^st in IP, 3^rd in GIR, and 5^th in OBA at .164. Ted Power was 2^nd in ERA and 2^nd in OBA at .153. – Advantage WIN

Overall team stats and MWWL League rankings:

Offensively its power vs speed. Stockton has the advantage in Slugging & Home Runs, but Winnipeg has a lot of excellent team speed and the stronger pitching staff. If Winnipeg’s strong pitching can keep the ball in the park then they should easily defend their title.

Look for Winnipeg to win the World Series in 5 games.