Instead of holding a party Thursday night, Canada wound up holding its breath.
Lonnie Smith hit a grand-slam home run. Fatigued John Smoltz wasn`t nearly as hittable as his boyhood idol, Jack Morris. The Atlanta Braves spanked the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 in Game 5 of the World Series.
The baseball season didn`t end Thursday night. The baseball season, which continues Saturday night in Atlanta, might just be beginning.
Which is fine with Smith, who obviously had an urge to play on with his fourth different World Series team. He`d won rings with Philadelphia in 1980, St. Louis in 1982 and Kansas City in 1985. Last October, he was trying to make some history with the Braves, and he did, in a grim sort of way.
Smith led off with a single in the eighth inning off a scoreless Game 7 at Minnesota. Against Morris. Terry Pendleton followed with a drive that bounced off the wall in left-center, a double that figured to bring Smith home with the first run. But Smith didn`t pick up the flight of the ball, hesitated upon rounding second base, and held third. He held third, in fact, as the Braves failed to hit a ball to the outfield. They lost 1-0 in 10 innings, and Smith lived all winter with his gaffe.
Thursday night, however, Smith couldn`t botch the situation. Not any worse than Morris, who left with a 7-2 deficit, winless in the postseason, carrying heavy baggage: 19 earned runs yielded in 23 innings, during which he`d coughed up six homers. Terrible numbers, Celsius or Fahrenheit. Morris, one of this generation`s most revered big-game hunters, had shot himself in the spikes again.
During the day, hours before game time, the city was agog with its Blue Jays. Every bus, storefront window or telephone pole bore a team logo or Canadian flag or, space permitting, both. Souvenir stands were doing a brisk business, and the all-sports radio station, CJCL (”The FAN”), ran a marathon baseball gabfest from 6 a.m. until it switched to live action from SkyDome.
The FAN is not only the flagship outlet for the Blue Jays, but the Maple Leafs, too, and if you know anything about this nation`s love affair with hockey, the announcement that occurred every half-hour or so boggled the mind: the Leafs` broadcast from Tampa Bay would be farmed out to another station because of the World Series.
Amazing, but that had been happening often lately. Why, the Maple Leafs, who used to own Toronto, even switched the opener of their NHL season 24 hours to avoid the first game of the American League Championship Series against the Oakland A`s. After the Blue Jays won that series two Wednesday afternoons ago, the merriment began downtown. By the time it ceased in the wee hours, there had been one arrest. Toronto can celebrate and be civilized, too.
Billboards, paid for by the Blue Jays, were ever present and suitable for updating. The question was in big block letters: ”How do you thank 4 million fans?”-a reference to Toronto`s record-setting attendances the last two seasons. Below that, five streamers: one each for the American League East division titles in 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992. Then, the newest addition: ”1992 American League Champions.” And then, a vacant spot with another message:
”Watch This Space.”
Before Morris began serving batting practice, there had been only one minor glitch, and it was only a small problem to the ballclub itself. The Blue Jays had formulated plans for a parade on Friday, but they wanted to keep the news under wraps. The chill of 1985 won`t go away. The Blue Jays, in their first postseason adventure, led the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in the series, only to lose the next three games of the playoff and the pennant.
But tell that to the city fathers. The Metropolitan Police, anxious to warn about impending traffic difficulties, issued a release. The bash would begin at 1 p.m. Friday, the caravan would wind through the city, and then the Blue Jays would convene at SkyDome, along with 50,000 or so people lucky enough to beat the rest of the mob to the seats.
When Lonnie Smith launched that shot over the right-field wall, however, the police knew they had to wait, too. Watch this space.
