The Greatest World Series Ever, 1951 Yankees vs. 1998 Yankees: Game 1

<Play some kind of dramatic background music in your head ... real Game of Thrones type stuff>

It's finally here. 

<Wait, wait a minute. Start it over, but this time read it in John Sterling's most dramatic "Yankeeography" voice ... if you weren't already. I know El Duque was. ... anyways, here we go again. Start the dramatic music from the beginning, and ... go!>

It's finally here. 

Two team have emerged from a battle royale of the greatest New York Yankees teams of all time -- 27 teams, all world champions -- to stand, battered and bruised, on the field of the greatest sporting stadium of all time, to fight for the single greatest prize in the history of athletic competition.

... The Greatest <dramatic pause> World <dramatic pause> Series <slightly longer dramatic pause> Ever.

< ..... aaaaand fade out the music. Good. Back to normal voice now.>

For those of you just joining us, here's the deal: We set up a bracket-style tournament featuring all 27 Yankees World Series champions to determine one ultimate champion of the GWSE. Each matchup was a 7-game series. It was a single-elimination tournament, and five teams received first-round byes. We've had some upsets, some crazy games, and we've ended up here, with the 1951 Yankees facing the 1998 Yankees. 

(If you want to review the tournament, here's the original bracket and post; Round1, part 1; Round 1, part 2; Round 2, part 1; Round 2, part 2; the quarterfinals; the first semifinal; and the second semifinal. 

How are we running this tourney? I set up a historical exhibition simulation on Out Of The Park Baseball 2021. It's kind of like Strat-O-Matic for your computer. I used the teams' World Series rosters and let the computer set the lineups, the four-man rotations and do the managing.

And this is what popped out. 

Anyway, on to Game 1. We are at the renovated 1990s version of Yankee Stadium, with the 1998 team at home. 

The starting lineups:

1951: Phil Rizzuto, SS; Hank Bauer, RF; Yogi Berra, C; Gil McDougald, 3B; Gene Woodling, LF; Mickey Mantle, CF; Bobby Brown, DH; Joe Collins, 1B; Jerry Coleman, 2B. Starting pitcher: Vic Raschi.

1998: Derek Jeter, SS; Scott Brosius, 3B; Bernie Williams, CF; Paul O'Neill, RF; Jorge Posada, C; Tino Martinez, 1B; Chuck Knoblauch, 2B; Chad Curtis, DH; Shane Spencer, LF. Starting pitcher: David Cone.

Click below to get the details of the game:

Bottom of the second: The 1998 Yankees strike first. Paul O'Neill fouls off a pair of 3-2 pitches before drawing a walk. Jorge Posada's groundball to short is booted by Phil Rizzuto for an error, putting runners on first and second. Tino Martinez hits a flyball to right, allowing O'Neil to advance to third. Chuck Knoblauch then hits a deep fly to center, scoring O'Neill to make it 1-0. Chad Curtis grounds out to end the inning. Score: 1998 1, 1951 0.

Top of the 6th:  Hank Bauer leads off with a single off David Cone, and Yogi Berra lines a hard single to right, moving Bauer to third. Gil McDougald then hits a dribbler on the right side for an infield single, scoring Bauer and tying the game. After Gene Woodling flies out to shallow right, Mickey Mantle hits a grounder to Knoblauch. Knobby gets the yips, though, and makes a bad throw, scoring Berra from second and putting McDougald on third. Bobby Brown breaks the game open by hitting a 398-foot home run into the rightfield stands to give the 1951 team a 5-1 lead. Score: 1951 5, 1998 1.

Top of the 7th: Bauer once again gets things started, this time hitting a triple to the gap in right-center. Torre leaves Cone in to face Yogi Berra, and that proves to be a mistake. Berra hits a 410-foot shot into the stands in right-center, giving the 1951 team a 7-1 lead and ending Cone's day. Mike Stanton comes in to pitch for the '98 team. Score: 1951 7, 1998 1.

Bottom of the 7th: The 1998 team shows some life. Back-to-back singles by Knoblauch and Chad Curtis put runners on the corners. Shane Spencer then lofts a flyball to left to score Knoblauch (Curtis holds at first). Jeter singles Curtis to third, and after Jeter steals second to take away the double play, Curtis scores on a groundout by Scott Brosius. Bernie Williams flies out to left to strand Jeter at third. Score: 1951 7, 1998 3.

Bottom of the 8th: Jorge Posada hits a one-out solo home run to right off Raschi to pull the '98 team within 3. Score: 1951 7, 1998 4.

Bottom of the 9th: Raschi, who is unbeaten in this tournament for the 1951 team, is still on the mound. He still looks strong, too, getting  Curtis and Spencer to strike out swinging. Jeter can't make any 9th-inning magic today, popping out to Berra to end the game. 

FINAL SCORE: 1951 Yankees 7, 1998 Yankees 4. 

1951 Yankees lead the series, 1-0.

Tomorrow's pitching matchup: Johnny Sain vs. Andy Pettitte.

Today's Boxscore: