DUMB DECISIONS: WHY did the '51 Dodgers defer home field advantage to the Giants in pennant playoff?

Estil

(This is inspired by the Dumb Decisions YouTube series done by officialjaguargator9 -- which to paraphrase this is not the kind of thing that looks bad in hindsight. Rather, this is the kind of move where your gut instinct tells you there is NO WAY this is gonna work, and sure enough your gut instinct was smarter than that of a (in this case) MLB manager.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951_National_League_tie-breaker_series

So I think most baseball fans know this story and especially the ending. But one thing that really has my head scratching and all "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??" was that for the (if then necessary) coin toss for the best of three pennant playoff (before 1969 this is how the NL settled a tie for the pennant while the AL used a one game playoff), Brooklyn won the toss and could host either Game 1 or Games 2-3. Well for some inexplicable reason, Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen chose to host Game 1 and in effect deter home field advantage to the Giants. Can anyone explain to me, please, HOW this could possibly make sense??

Fun Fact: Prior to the advent of the wild card playoff system in 1994, all five pennant playoffs in the National League had involved the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (who won the coin toss for home field advantage all five times, yet lost every year except 1959), and both American League playoffs had involved the Boston Red Sox (who hosted both and lost both).

MCMLVTopps

check out the worst 10 MLB contracts on YouTube!! The Jacoby Ellsbury Yankee deal and the Pablo Sandoval Red Sox deal are just insane money for what the respective teams got in return. I think the Red Sox gave Sandoval $56m to NOT play!!!

perkdog

I'd love to know why Dressen opted for this, sounds very weird

Estil

@MCMLVTopps said:
check out the worst 10 MLB contracts on YouTube!! The Jacoby Ellsbury Yankee deal and the Pablo Sandoval Red Sox deal are just insane money for what the respective teams got in return. I think the Red Sox gave Sandoval $56m to NOT play!!!

There's a bunch of videos like that on YouTube...you're gonna have to be more specific. Remember, looking bad in hindsight doesn't count.

bronco2078

this is the 4th 51 dodgers thread on page one !

Basebal21

@Estil said:
(This is inspired by the Dumb Decisions YouTube series done by officialjaguargator9 -- which to paraphrase this is not the kind of thing that looks bad in hindsight. Rather, this is the kind of move where your gut instinct tells you there is NO WAY this is gonna work, and sure enough your gut instinct was smarter than that of a (in this case) MLB manager.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951_National_League_tie-breaker_series

So I think most baseball fans know this story and especially the ending. But one thing that really has my head scratching and all "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??" was that for the (if then necessary) coin toss for the best of three pennant playoff (before 1969 this is how the NL settled a tie for the pennant while the AL used a one game playoff), Brooklyn won the toss and could host either Game 1 or Games 2-3. Well for some inexplicable reason, Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen chose to host Game 1 and in effect deter home field advantage to the Giants. Can anyone explain to me, please, HOW this could possibly make sense??

There actually is logic to it. The thinking would be you win game 1 at home and then only need to go 1-1 on the road. Winning game 1 is a massive advantage in a short series since the losing team has to empty the tank on game 2 which will impact game three.

The whole 1 and 2 system means either one is a risk. Either you risk playing 2 games on the road or you risk playing the first home game down 1-0 in the series and having to win 2 straight.

Basebal21

@Estil said:

@MCMLVTopps said:
check out the worst 10 MLB contracts on YouTube!! The Jacoby Ellsbury Yankee deal and the Pablo Sandoval Red Sox deal are just insane money for what the respective teams got in return. I think the Red Sox gave Sandoval $56m to NOT play!!!

There's a bunch of videos like that on YouTube...you're gonna have to be more specific. Remember, looking bad in hindsight doesn't count.

The Ellsybury one made sense at the time it just turned out bad. Panda actually isnt the worst Boston contract either. Rusney Castillo got over 72 million to play in the minors for Boston. They were way overly aggressive with the Cuban defector and gave up on him basically right away/ That agent did a hell of a job.

The Chris Davis extension for Baltimore was a disaster even in real time. The baseball people didnt want to do it but the owner at the time told them they had to

Estil

@bronco2078 said:
this is the 4th 51 dodgers thread on page one !

But how many questioned the coin toss decision?