It was a strange season for the Redwood SOM League. COVID-19 caused a late start and an abbreviated 64-game schedule, leading to some unusual lineups and, for the first time in league history, the dreaded designated hitter. So, whoever took the title this year was going to have to live with a bit of an asterisk.
And the asterisk goes to ... the Athletics, who overcame a gallant Reds team to win the 2021 World Series four games to two! And that after coming back from a three-game-to-zero deficit in the divisional playoffs against the Giants.
Game One: Athletics (Shane Bieber) at Reds (Sandy Alcantera). Game One was all about the Biebs, as Bieber turned in a complete-game victory, allowing only six Reds hits and striking out 19. The Athletics' offense featured solo home runs by Joey Wendle and George Springer. In an ominous sign for the Athletics, on the very first at-bat of the series lead-off man Michael Conforto suffered an injury that would keep him out of action until Game 4. Xander Bogaarts provided the Reds' only offense with a solo shot of his own. Final score Athletics 5, Reds 1. Bieber gets the well-deserved win, Alcantera takes the loss. Athletics lead series one game to zero.
Game Two: Athletics (Yu Darvish) at Reds (Chris Bassitt). The offenses came alive in this one. The Athletics put up two in the top of the first on singles by Bryce Harper , Corey Seager and Randy Arozarena, along with a timely error by Bassitt. The Reds responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first, as Domonic Smith doubled home Luis Guillorme following his lead-off single. And they picked up two more in the third, on singles by Juan Soto and Tyler Stephenson, a double by Nelson Cruz, and a sacrifice fly by Max Kepler. But in the top of the seventh, the Athletics' Yolmer Sanchez goes yard with the bases loaded, staking the Athletics to a 6-3 lead. But the Reds come right back with a two-spot in the bottom of the inning after Soto walked, Stephenson singled, and Smith doubled them home. A two-run shot by Springer, scoring Wendle ahead of him, made it 8-5 Athletics, and there it stayed, as Liam Hendriks kept the Reds at bay the rest of the way. Darvish picks up the win scattering nine hits over six-plus innings, Alex Colome takes the loss in relief, and Hendriks picks up the save. Athletics lead series two games to zero.
Game Three: Reds (Hyun-jin Ryu) at Athletics (Kyle Hendricks). Another high scoring affair. The Athletics struck first on back-to-back solo dingers by Sam Huff and Harper in the bottom of the second. The Reds push a run across in the top of the third, though, cobbling together a Phillip Evans error, a single by Bogaarts and a run-scoring ground out by Soto. They tacked on three more in the sixth off of Athletics relievers Brad Hand and Anthony Bass, as Cruz started off the inning with a dinger, followed by a Harrison Bader triple, an Anthony Rendon single, and a double by Guillorme. At that point the score was 4-2 Reds. But the Athletics tied it on an Arozarena home run in the sixth and a Luke Voit home run in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings. With two outs in the top of the tenth, Bader went deep, staking the Reds to a 5-4 lead--only to have Sanchez lead off the bottom of the inning with his own solo dinger. So, in the top of the eleventh, with two outs, the Reds strung together a single by Bogaarts, an intentional pass to Soto, and a three-run blast by Yasmani Grandahl. This time the lead held up, and the Reds took Game Three 8-5. Rasiel Iglesias gets the win in relief, with an amazing 8-plus inning outing, and Jarlin Garcia takes the loss. Athletics lead series two games to one.
Game Four: Reds (Lance McCullers) at Athletics (Rich Hill). This one started out hot and then cooled off. Stephenson put the Reds up by one with a solo shot in the second, but the Athletics responded in the bottom of the inning on a single by Mookie Betts and doubles by Springer and Conforto (back from his injury) to take a 2-1 lead. The Reds picked up two more in the third on three consecutive singles by Andrew McCutcheon, Bader and Soto, with a sac fly by Stephenson. But from there it was all Athletics. They hung a four-spot in the fourth, combining a Reds error, a walk and a hit-batter with a Springer double, followed by a Sanchez single. And they added three more in the fifth as Huff singled, Betts doubled, Arozarena singled them both home, and Springer went yard. That made it 9-3 Athletics, and there it would stay. Hill settles down after a rough start to notch a complete-game win, and McCullers absorbs the loss. Athletics lead series three games to one.
Game Five: Reds (Ryu) at Athletics (Bieber). It was win or go home for the Reds, and they came through to extend the series, knocking around the Biebs as no other team had been able to do this year. But what a wild game this was! Both teams scored in the first, as Smith doubled home Guillorme for the Reds and Conforto singled home Evans, who had doubled, for the Athletics. In the top of the third the Reds exploded with a five-spot against Bieber, featuring singles by Guillorme, Stephenson and Cruz, all wrapped around a walk to Soto and a double by Smith. The Athletics answered in the bottom of the frame with solo shots by Harper and Huff. 6-3 Reds after three innings. Huff went yard again in the fifth, scoring Harper and Rhys Hoskins ahead of him, making it 6-6. Top of the seventh, and Stephenson responds with a three-run shot of his own, plating Bogaarts and Soto. Now it's 9-6 Reds. But, in the bottom of the eighth, Luis Robert doubles for the Athletics, followed by a Springer single and a Harper two-run bomb, and it's all even at 9-9.
And after all the the bats went silent. Though they both came close once or twice, neither team scored for seven more innings, taking the game into the top of the sixteenth. And Rendon finally locks it up with a three-run shot, giving the Reds a 12-9 win and sending the series back to Cincinnati. The win goes to Iglesias in relief, Hand eats the loss, and Colome picks up the save. Athletics lead series three games to two.
Game Six: Athletics (Darvish) at Reds (Alcantera). Smelling a title, the Athletics strike first, as Wendle singles home Harper in the second and Seager goes yard in the third. Harper extends the lead to 3-0 in the sixth with a solo shot. And in the seventh, a Sanchez three-run bomb and another Harper solo shot stake the Athletics to a 7-0 lead. But the Reds parlay a Cesar Hernandez double and Soto single into a run in the bottom of the inning, and then in the eighth a Kepler two-run homer and Austin Barnes solo shot make it 8-4. And in the bottom of the ninth, the Reds get the bases loaded, bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs in the person of Rendon--who hits a sharp ground ball straight to Athletics shortstop Javier Baez to end it. Final score 8-4 Athletics. Darvish gets the win, and Alcantera takes the loss. Athletics win series four games to two.
Bryce Harper was awarded MVP honors, posting an OBP of .520 and OPS of 1.731 with five home runs. Honorable mention to Springer, with three dingers and a 1.316 OPS, and Sanchez, with three dingers of his own and an OPS at 1.166. For the Reds Tyler Stephenson had two homers and a 1.119 OPS, and Bogaarts had an OBP of .462 and OPS of 1.027. Iglesias pitched 17 and 2/3 innings with a WHIP of just 0.679.
The Reds and Athletics gave us another series to remember in 2021!
Larry Division
- x-Reds (38-26), .594, 0.0 GB
- y-Giants (36-28), .563, 2.0 GB
- Cardinals (32-32), .500, 6.0 GB
Moe Division
- x-Pirates (34-30), .524, 0.0 GB
- Yankees (30-34), .475, 4.0 GB
- Mets (22-42), .328, 12.0 GB
Curly Division
- x-Athletics (37-27), .578, 0.0 GB
- Red Sox (35-29), .547, 2.0 GB
- Rockies (24-40), .375, 13.0 GB
x- Clinched division championshipy- Clinched wild card
Post-Season Madness 2021
Divisional Playoffs
Reds (Number 1 seed) vs. Pirates (Number 4 seed)
Reds win series 4 games to 3
MVP: Rasiel Iglesias
Athletics (Number 2 seed) vs. Giants (Number 3 seed)
Athletics win series 4 games to 3
Co-MVPs: Phillip Evans, George Springer
World Series
Reds (Number 1 seed) vs. Athletics (Number 2 seed)
Athletics win series 4 games to 2
MVP: Bryce Harper
2022 Draft Order
- Mets
- Rockies
- Yankees
- Cardinals
- Red Sox
- Pirates
- Giants
- Reds
- Athletics
Next action: Hot stove action starts now. Happy Scouting!
