Best Of’s – World Series
What makes a World Series great? Is it a series of close games, a big comeback, a dominant individual performance, a play for the ages? Sometimes just one of those can make a World Series memorable, but some combine all of these, and become truly historic. Here are the 5 best World Series in the last 40 years (roughly my lifetime):
5. 1986 Red Sox v Mets – If one play has ever defined a World Series, this was it. Aside from the 10th inning of Game 6, this series didn’t have much. But it did have that inning. With the Red Sox 1 win away from their 1st World Series victory in 68 years, they opened up the inning with a Dave Henderson HR, and tacked on 1 more with a Marty Barrett single. With a 2 run lead and 3 outs away from a Championship, they trotted out Calvin Schiraldi for his 3rd inning of work. After getting the first 2 batters to fly out, (the Mets accidentally congratulated the Red Sox on the Championship on the jumbotron, oops), it looked like the Curse was finally over. It was not. 3 consecutive singles, a pitching change, a wild pitch, a tie ballgame, then…the little roller by Mookie Wilson. When that ball rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs and Ray Knight scored the winning run, the Series was over. The Red Sox still had their shot in Game 7, even holding a 3-0 lead in the 6th inning. But the damage had been done. After coming back to win Game 6 in that manner, there was nothing standing in-between these Amazing Mets and the World Series Title.
4. 2016 Indians v Cubs – Overall this Series was not outstanding. The first 6 contests included a couple 1-run games, but nothing dramatic. However the Series did have 2 things. The ending of a 108 year drought, the longest in professional sports history. And an absolutely amazing Game 7. A leadoff HR by Dexter Fowler, a blown 4 run lead by the Cubs, highlighted by an overused Aroldis Chapman giving up a 2-run HR to Rajai Davis in the bottom of the 8th, a 17 minute rain delay, a Jason Heyward pep-talk for the ages, a pair of Cubs runs in the top of the 10th, and finally Bryant’s smile-on-his-face toss over to Rizzo to end it. In Harry Caray’s voice, “CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN!!!”. Drought over.
3. 2017 Dodgers v Astros – Although this Series only had two 1-run games, it did produce 2 of the most exciting games in World Series history. Game 2 started off slow, as going into the bottom of the 5th, it was a low-scoring 1-0 game. Then the balls started flying out of the park. Like, a lot of them. Joc Pederson and Corey Seager touched Justin Verlander in the 5th & 6th innings to take a 3-1 lead. That lead was down to 1 going into the 9th, but Marwin Gonzalez led off the inning with a solo HR off of Dodgers Closer Kenley Jansen. The top 10th inning was led off with HRs by both Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, but the Dodgers answered back with 2 runs of their own in the bottom half, including a solo blast by Yasiel Puig. The Astros hit another HR in the top of the 11th inning, a 2-run shot by George Springer. The Dodgers put up 1 more HR in the bottom half, a solo blast by Charlie Culberson, but it wasn’t enough. Falling by a score of 7-6. That game featured 8 HRs, 6 in the last 3 innings, 5 of which were in extra innings. All World Series records. And somehow, that may have not been the most exciting game of the Series. Game 5 was an absolute slugfest. After the Dodgers got out to an early 4-0 lead, Yuli Gurriel launched a 3-run HR off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw to tie the game at 4. Both teams swapped 3-run HRs in the 5th inning (Cody Bellinger & Altuve respectively), knotting the game at 7. The next 2 innings featured 7 more runs, including 3 Astros HRs, which gave them a 12-9 lead. In the 9th inning, the Dodgers rallied to tie the game thanks to a Puig HR and a Chris Taylor single, sending the game into extra innings. After blanking the Dodgers in the top of the 10th, the Astros won the game on a Alex Bregman single in the bottom half, winning the game 13-12. The game was 5 hours, 17 minutes, and featured 5 lead changes, 4 ties, and also included 7 more HRs. Instant classic. The Astros ended up winning the Series in 7 games.
2. 2001 Yankees v Diamondbacks – Coming into 2001, the Yankees had won 3 straight World Series, and 4 out of 5. The thought of seeing The Evil Empire in the World Series yet again was exhausting to many in America. Then 9/11 happened. Suddenly, they were America’s Team. And for good reason. Seeing the Yankee Pinstripes on the grand stage was now a symbol of patriotism, and the whole country rallied around them. The 2001 World Series proved to be a series of the ages. The Diamondbacks won the first 2 games behind dominant pitching performances by Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. New York battled back to win Game 3. Coming into the bottom of the 9th of Game 4, the Diamondbacks were on the verge of going up 3-1 in the Series. Closer Byung-hyun Kim, who had struck out the side in the 8th inning, and was 1 out away from closing it out in the 9th. However, Tino Martinez drove the first pitch he saw into the bleachers, tying the game at 3. Into the 10th inning, and just after midnight (and into November), Kim, back on the mound for his 3rd inning, gave up a 2-out walk-off HR to Derek Jeter, earning him the nickname “Mr. November”. These same dramatics were matched the following night, when Kim gave up a another bottom on the 9th, 2-out, 2 run HR to Scott Brosuis, tying the game at 2. The game was eventually won by the Yankees in the bottom of the 12th on a walk-off single by Alfonso Soriano. The Diamondbacks responded in Game 6, winning handily 15-2. The stage was set for Game 7. After the first 5 innings were scoreless, Arizona scored 1 in the 6th, with New York answering with 1 in the 7th and 8th innings. Coming into the 9th inning, Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera, owner of the lowest ERA in post-season in history (0.70), looked to close it out. However, a single by Mark Grace, a fielding error by Rivera, a mental error by Brosius, and a double by Womack resulted in a tie game. National League MVP candidate Luis Gonzalez blooped a single into left-center field over a drawn-in infield to clinch a World Series Title for the Diamondbacks.
1. 1991 Braves v Twins – This World Series truly had it all. Close games, great individual performances, and memorable plays. Game 1 was really the only forgettable game. Twins won 5-2 thanks to a 3-run HR by Greg Gagne. That’s about it. Although Game 2 was won by the Twins 3-2, thanks to a Scott Leius HR in the bottom of the 8th inning, the game will always be remembered for the Ron Gant v Kent Hrbek incident at 1st base. Did Gant fall off the bag, or did Hrbek pull him off? Debate either way, but it was one of the more memorable plays of the Series. Game 3 went deep in the night, with the game tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the 12th inning. Little-known Mark Lemke, looking to make up for his error in the top half of the inning, lined a single to left field, scoring Dave Justice to win the game 5-4. Game 4 provided just as exciting of a finish, as the score was tied 2-2 into the bottom of the 9th inning. Lemke, the hero again, hit a 1-out triple to put himself 90 feet away from a tie series. The game was ended on a Jerry Willard (yes, that Jerry Willard, wait, nobody knows him) sacrifice fly to Shane Mack. Mack’s throw actually beat Lemke to the plate, but Lemke’s hook slide got around Brian Harper’s tag. Note – Lonnie Smith absolutely crushed Harper at the plate earlier this game. Game 5 was not in any way competitive, with the Braves winning 14-5, highlighted by Mark Lemke’s 2 triples. The Braves had won all 3 games in Atlanta, setting up the last 2 games in the Dome, where the Twins held a 6-0 all-time record. As for Game 6, if there has ever been a game that is synonymous with 1 individual player, this is it. And that player was Kirby Puckett. In the bottom of the 1st inning, his triple gave the Twins a 1-0 lead, which was extended to 2-0 when Mack (0 for his last 17 at that point) knocked him in. A few innings later, Kirby made one of, if not the most iconic plays in World Series history. Ron Gant hit a long flyball to deep left-center, a sure extra-base hit which would have pulled the Braves within 1 run…Puckett raced back, and in a perfectly timed jump that still defies all laws of gravity, snagged the ball out of the air while slamming up against wall. Truly a thing of beauty. The Braves did manage to tie the game on a Terry Pendleton HR in the 5th inning, but the Twins re-gained the lead on a Puckett sacrifice fly in the 6th inning. The Braves ended up tying it in the 7th inning, and the game remained tied until the 11th. The Braves called on starter Charlie Leibrandt to begin the inning, with Puckett leading off. What happened next felt inevitable. This was Kirby’s game; “And we’ll see you tomorrow night”. As if the dramatics of Game 6 could be beaten, Game 7 arguably proved to be even better. Although there would be no offensive heroics like Puckett’s previous game, Jack Morris pitched the game of a lifetime. The game of anyone’s lifetime. Although a young John Smoltz, who idolized Morris as a child growing up in Michigan, pitched superbly, Morris was better. Aided by a base-running mistake by Lonnie Smith, Morris pitched the game scoreless into the bottom of the 10th inning. A leadoff double by Dan Gladden started the rally, and a few batters later, pinch-hitter Gene Larkin hit a bloop single into left field, sending the Series-clinching run across the plate. The Twins won 1-0, with Morris pitching a 10 inning, complete game shutout. A pitching masterpiece.
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