World Series

From SoSH

The World Series is played between the American League and National League champions. The Series winner is determined through a best-of-seven playoff (except in 1903, 1919, 1920 and 1921 when the winner was determined through a best-of-nine playoff) and is awarded the World Series Trophy, as well as World Series rings. Baseball has employed various championship formulas since the 1850s. The modern World Series has been an annual event since 1903, with the exceptions of 1904 and 1994.

Despite its name, the World Series is not a "world championship" in the same sense as the FIFA World Cup or the Cricket World Cup because it is not between national teams, but is limited to Major League Baseball teams, which represent individual cities and states (currently of the United States and Canada only). A better comparison would be with the UEFA Champions League, which is also between city teams and limited to one region of the world. Its name is a carryover from the 1880s, when baseball existed at a highly-skilled level only in the USA.

The New York Yankees have the most World Series titles, with 26 championships through the 2005 season. Eight teams, all established since 1961, have never won a World Series title: the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 2004), Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Of those eight teams, only four have appeared in the Series: Milwaukee, San Diego, Houston, and Colorado. Of those, only San Diego has gone to the Series more than once. The Chicago Cubs have gone the longest between titles, having last won the World Series in 1908. The Philadelphia Phillies played titleless for 97 seasons, finally winning in 1980. The Cubs' own dry spell surpassed that record in 2006 and is now at 99 years after the 2007 season.

Introduction

The first two games of the series are played in the home ballpark of the team awarded home-field advantage; the next three are in the other team's ballpark, and the final two, if necessary, are back in the first team's ballpark. That has been the pattern since 1924, with the exception of World War II, when travel restrictions were in place. Until 2003, the team given the home-field advantage was switched every year between the American League and the National League. Starting with the 2003 World Series, the league that wins the mid-season All-Star Game has been awarded home-field advantage.

Since 1986, the designated hitter rule has been applied based on the rules normally in effect at the home ballpark. In an American League ballpark, both teams use a designated hitter to hit for the pitcher. In a National League ballpark, both team's pitchers must hit. From 1975 through 1985, the designated hitter was used for all games in even-numbered years, and was not used in any games in odd-numbered years. The designated hitter was not used at all prior to the 1975 Series, although the DH rule had been adopted by the AL in 1973.

A portion of the gate receipts from the World Series — and, from 1969 onward, the other rounds of postseason play preceding it — is used to fund a Players' Pool, from which descending shares are distributed to the World Series winner, the World Series loser, all the other teams qualifying for the playoffs which did not reach the World Series, and certain other teams which did not qualify for the playoffs, the criteria for the latter changing at various times. Prior to 1969, teams finishing in the first division, or top half of the leagues' standings, received such shares; today, only the teams finishing in second place in their division but not earning a wild card receive them, because there are more divisions with each having fewer teams. The shares for the actual participants are limited to the gate receipts of the minimum number of games necessary to play the series. That rule has been in place from the beginning, to keep the games "honest".

The "World" appellation has stuck despite the fact that only teams in the two major leagues, which happen to cover only the United States and Canada, actually participate. At the time the term was first used, baseball at the major league level was only played in the United States. While some would contend that there is no reason to believe that the World Series winner is a significantly better team than any club team outside Major League Baseball, no challenges have been made by other leagues. Moreover, virtually all of the best international players — from the Pacific Rim, Latin America, the Caribbean, and elsewhere — play on Major League rosters, with the notable exception of Cuban nationals.

The World Series winners have occasionally played winter exhibition series against the best players of other leagues around the world, such as Japan. Sometimes the Japanese have gained the upper hand in those series; but since they are only exhibitions, their results cannot be regarded as conclusive. Attempts to pit the North American champions against champions in the Japanese or Latin American leagues in a truly meaningful way have, so far, not succeeded.

A persistent myth is that the "World" in "World Series" came about because the New York World newspaper sponsored it. Baseball researcher Doug Pappas refutes that claim, demonstrating a linear progression from the phrase "World's Championship Series" (used to describe the 1903 series as well as some of the 19th-century postseason series) to "World's Series" (a term first used in the 1880s and which persisted for decades) to "World Series". Furthermore, investigation of the New York World for the relevant years revealed no evidence of the supposed sponsorship. (For details, see Mr. Pappas' web page on the subject.)

In deference to any controversy, more and more the term "World Series Championship" is being used, the subtlety being that it is merely a title and not a political statement. The term World Series has since been appropriated by other championships, such as the College World Series, the Little League World Series, the World Series of Golf, the World Series of Poker, the World Series of Birding and the World Series of Martial Arts. World Series Cricket was a short-lived but influential cricket competition.

Precursors to the World Series (1857-1901)

• For a list of baseball champions before the onset of the modern World Series, see Pre-World Series Results.

The Modern World Series (1903-Present)

Crowd outside the 1903 World Series

The First Attempt

After two years of bitter competition and player raiding, the National and American Leagues made peace and, as part of the accord, several pairs of teams squared off for interleague exhibition games after the 1903 regular season. These series were arranged by the individual teams, not by the leagues directly, the same as the 1880s World's Series matches had been. One of these series at the end of 1903 was a meeting between the two pennant winners and is known as the 1903 World Series. It had been arranged well in advance by the owners of the respective teams, as both were league leaders by large margins.

1903 World Series Poster mockup (the team was not actually called the Red Sox until 1908)

The Boycott of 1904

The 1904 Series would have been between the AL's Boston Americans and the NL's New York Giants. The Giants' owner, John T. Brush, refused to allow his team to play, citing the "inferiority" of the upstart American League. At the time of the announcement, their new cross-town rivals, the Highlanders, were leading the AL. Boston won on the last day of the season, but Brush stuck to his original decision. Brush also cited the lack of rules under which the games would be played and how the money would be split. During the winter of 1904/05, however, feeling the sting of press criticism, Brush saw the light and proposed what came to be known as the "Brush Rules", under which the series would be played over subsequent years.

One rule was that player shares would come from gate receipts from the first four games only. This was to discourage teams from throwing early games in order to prolong the series and make more money. Receipts for later games were split among the two teams and the National Commission, the governing body for the sport, which was able to cover much of its annual operating expenses from World Series revenue.

Most importantly, the now-official (and compulsory) World's Series match was to be operated strictly by the National Commission itself, not on the whims of individual teams.

The list of post-season rules evolved over time. In 1925, Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets convinced owners to adopt the current 2-3-2 system of scheduling World Series games (one team would host the first two games, the other team would host the next three, and the first team would host the last two if necessary; the leagues alternated which representative would host the first games), already used in the 1924 Series, as a permanent rule. Prior to 1924, the pattern generally had been to alternate, or to make other arrangements convenient to both clubs.

Highlights and Lowlights

• 1905 - New York Giants' Christy Mathewson became the first World Series hero after pitching three complete game shutouts.
• 1911 - Philadelphia Athletics' win behind heroics of "Home Run" Baker.
• 1919 - Cincinnati Reds' championship was tainted by the Black Sox Scandal.
• 1920 - Cleveland Indians' victory was punctuated by Bill Wambsganss who turned the only postseason unassisted triple play.
• 1932 - New York Yankees dominated behind Babe Ruth's Called Shot.
• 1946 - St. Louis Cardinals won on Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" in Game 7.
• 1954 - New York Giants won championship after Willie Mays made The Catch.
• 1956 - New York Yankees' championship included Don Larsen pitching the only postseason perfect game.
• 1960 - Pittsburgh Pirates won on Bill Mazeroski's Game 7 walk-off home run (the only Game 7 walk-off home run).
• 1962 - New York Yankees won a Series decided by Willie McCovey's line drive.
• 1968 - The St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Gibson struck out a record 17 batters in Game 1.
• 1975 - Boston Red Sox' Carlton Fisk's riveting Game 6 walk-off home run was not enough to carry the Red Sox to the championship.
• 1976 - Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" swept entire postseason.
• 1977 - New York Yankees won on Reggie Jackson's Game 6 heroics.
• 1980 - Philadelphia Phillies won their first championship in their 98th year of existence.
• 1985 - Kansas City Royals' elimination averted in Game 6 with the assistance of an umpire's blown call.
• 1986 - New York Mets' elimination averted in Game 6 with the assistance of Bill Buckner's infamous error.
• 1988 - Los Angeles Dodgers propelled to victory by Kirk Gibson's shocking Game 1 walk-off home run.
• 1989 - Series interrupted by the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
• 1991 - Jack Morris' ten-inning complete game effort propels the Minnesota Twins to victory in the World Series rated the best of all time by ESPN.
• 1993 - Toronto Blue Jays won on a Game 6 walk-off home run by Joe Carter.
• 1994 - World Series cancelled due to strike.
• 2004 - Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino, winning for the first time since 1918.
• 2005 - Chicago White Sox ended their even-longer drought, winning for the first time since 1917.

List of Modern World Series

◊ Denotes wild-card team (since 1995).

World Series Appearances

Down to the wire

• Teams that won by scoring in the last inning of a tied series:
  • 1912 - Boston Red Sox
  • 1924 - Washington Senators
  • 1960 - Pittsburg Pirates
  • 1975 - Cincinnati Reds
  • 1991 - Minnesota Twins
  • 1997 - Florida Marlins
  • 2001 - Arizona Diamondbacks

• Teams that came close to losing but recovered to win:
  • 1912 - Boston Red Sox - Down 1 in the 10th of Game 8 (Two outs away from elimination)
  • 1924 - Washington Senators - Down 2 in the 8th of Game 7 (Four outs)
  • 1925 - Pittsburg Pirates - Down 2 in the 7th of Game 7 (Four outs)
  • 1960 - Pittsburg Pirates - Down 3 in the 8th of Game 7 (Four outs)
  • 1985 - Kansas City Royals - Down 1 in the 9th of Game 6 (Two outs)
  • 1986 - New York Mets - Down 2 in the 10th of Game 6 (One strike)
  • 1997 - Florida Marlins - Down 1 in the 9th of Game 7 (Two outs)
  • 2001 - Arizona Diamondbacks - Down 1 in the 9th of Game 7 (Two outs)
  • 2002 - Anaheim Angels - Down 5 in the 7th of Game 6 (Six outs)

NOTE: The only team to win after being one out away from elimination, the 1986 Mets, were actually twice down to their final strike in Game 6. In addition, they were five outs away from losing before scoring the tying run in the 8^th inning.

Deficits overcome

• 50 teams have lost the first two games of a World Series (excluding ties). 11 have come back to win:
  • 1921 - New York Giants
  • 1955 - Brooklyn Dodgers
  • 1956 - New York Yankees
  • 1958 - New York Yankees
  • 1965 - Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 1971 - Pittsburg Pirates
  • 1978 - New York Yankees
  • 1981 - Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 1985 - Kansas City Royals
  • 1986 - New York Mets
  • 1996 - New York Yankees

• 41 teams have fallen into a three-games-to-one deficit. Six have come back to win:
  • 1903 - Boston Americans
  • 1925 - Pittsburg Pirates
  • 1958 - New York Yankees
  • 1968 - Detroit Tigers
  • 1979 - Pittsburg Pirates
  • 1985 - Kansas City Royals

• 22 teams have lost the first three games of a World Series (excluding ties). All of them were swept except three which lost in five games:
  • 1910 - Chicago Cubs
  • 1937 - New York Giants
  • 1970 - Cincinnati Reds

NOTE: Only the 1958 New York Yankees and the 1985 Royals have been behind two-games-to-none and three-games-to-one in the same World Series and come back to win. The 1985 Royals also overcame a three-games-to-one deficit in the American League Championship Series to defeat Toronto.

Only the 1985 Royals, the 1986 Mets, and the 1996 Yankees came back to win after losing the first two games at home.

Trivia

• The NY Yankees have won two or more championships in seven different decades - 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1990s.
• The Yankees and the Dodgers have played each other in the World Series a record 11 times (1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1963, 1977, 1978, & 1981).
• The Braves have appeared in the World Series representing the most cities (3) & they've won one for each of the three cities.
  • Two in Boston (1914, 1948)
  • Two in Milwaukee (1957, 1958)
  • Five in Atlanta (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999)
• The St. Louis Cardinals lead the National League with 9 World Series titles: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967 & 1982.
• The 1907-1908 Cubs, 1921-1922 Giants and 1975-1976 Reds are the only National League teams to win two straight World Series.
• The Toronto Blue Jays and the Florida Marlins are tied for most World Series titles without a loss: 2.
• The San Diego Padres currently hold the record for most World Series appearances without a title: 2. (The San Francisco Giants are also 0-2 but have won as New York).
• From 1978 to 1987, no franchise won the World Series twice, the longest such streak.
• At 85-77 (.525), the 1987 Minnesota Twins had the lowest regular season winning percentage of any World Series champion.
• At 82-79 (.509), the 1973 New York Mets had the lowest regular season winning percentage of any World Series team.
• The 1906 World Series featured two franchises that had never appeared in the World Series. Amazingly, that has not happened since.
• The 1908 World Series holds the record for poorest attendance including the record-low 6,210 in the finale.
• The 1949 World Series featured the first Series game finished after dark, under artificial lights.
• The 1970 World Series featured the first Series game played on Artificial Turf.
• The 1971 World Series featured the first Series game scheduled at night.
• The 1976 World Series was the first Series to use the Designated Hitter rule.
• The 1987 World Series featured the first Series game played indoors.
• The 1985 World Series was the first Series played entirely at night.
• The 1987, 1991, and 2001 World Series are the only Series in which the home team won every game.
• Babe Ruth twice hit three home runs in one Series game (1926 and 1928). Reggie Jackson is the only other player to accomplish the feat (1977).
• Bobby Richardson is the only player from a losing team to win a Series MVP award (1960).
• Darold Knowles is the only pitcher to appear in every game of a seven-game World Series (1973).
• The 2001 World Series is the only series to have a game played in November.
• Game 3 of the 2005 World Series holds the record for longest World Series game played in length of time at 5 hours and 41 minutes and length of innings with 14 complete innings (technically tied with Game 2 of the 1916 World Series which went into the 14 but ended with 1 out in the bottom of the 14th completeing only 13.66 innings).

References

• World Series.com - Official Website
• History of the World Series - Sporting News
• World Series History - Baseball Almanac
• Coolest World Series Teams Ever - Fox Sports
• Jerry Lansch, Glory Fades Away: The Nineteenth Century World Series Rediscovered (1991). ISBN 0878337261

See Also

• Pre-World Series Results
• Other Baseball Championships