135-595: The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball 's (MLB) 1985 season . The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals . The Royals upset the heavily favored Cardinals in seven games. The Series was popularly known as
270-521: A complete game . A pitcher's duel unfolded between Danny Cox and Charlie Leibrandt , the tough-luck loser in Game 2. The game was marked by controversy. In the fourth inning of the scoreless game, the Royals' Frank White may have stolen second base, but was ruled out in a close call. The batter, Pat Sheridan , hit a single to right field two pitches later. If White had been on base when Sheridan singled,
405-488: A 3–4 pattern due to World War II travel restrictions; in 1944 , the normal pattern was followed because both teams were based in the same home ballpark. Gambling and game-fixing had been a problem in professional baseball from the beginning; star pitcher Jim Devlin was banned for life in 1877 when the National League was just two years old. Baseball's gambling problems came to a head in 1919, when eight players of
540-570: A 40–38 record. The Mets opened July by getting swept by the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. In the three-game series, the Mets scored only one run. The team lost 6–1 on Thursday afternoon to drop to 40–40. After the game, local news pundits tore into the Wilpon's ownership of the team and GM Sandy Alderson not admitting there was a problem with the offense. Alderson then addressed the media and dubbed
675-598: A 7–6 Red Sox victory. The National and American Leagues operated under essentially identical rules until 1973, when the American League adopted the designated hitter (DH) rule, allowing its teams to use another hitter to bat in place of the (usually) weak-hitting pitcher. The National League did not adopt the DH rule. This presented a problem for the World Series, whose two contestants would now be playing their regular-season games under different rules. From 1973 to 1975,
810-650: A Dodgers team trailing 4–3 in the ninth. After getting the first two outs, Eckersley walked Mike Davis of the Dodgers, who were playing without Gibson, their best position player and the NL MVP. Gibson had injured himself in the NLCS and was expected to miss the entire World Series. Yet, despite not being able to walk without a noticeable limp, Gibson surprised all in attendance at Dodger Stadium (and all watching on TV) by pinch-hitting. After two quick strikes and then working
945-459: A New York sweep could give the Mets the division lead. Prior to the first game, the Mets acquired outfielder Yoenis Céspedes , in a trade with the Tigers for minor league pitchers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa. That night, Flores hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning, winning the game for the Mets by a score of 2–1. Flores had also driven in the other Mets run earlier in the game. It was also
1080-470: A World Series title. It would be the Cardinals' last World Series appearance until 2004 . The Cardinals did not win another World Series until 2006 . The Royals did not play in another postseason game until the 2014 American League Wild Card Game and did not win another World Series until the following season, in 2015 . The introduction of interleague play to major league baseball in 1997 allowed
1215-747: A World Series; the Yankees didn't reach the World Series during the decade. Infielders Coaches Players bolded are presently on Mets active roster. Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Base on balls; K = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average Players bolded are presently on Mets active roster. Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Base on balls; K = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average Players bolded are currently on
1350-502: A century (until the 2016 season) for their next trophy. They did not appear in the World Series from 1945 until 2016, the longest drought of any MLB club. The New York Yankees purchased Babe Ruth 's contract from the Boston Red Sox after the 1919 season, appeared in their first World Series two years later in 1921 , and became frequent participants thereafter. The 1921 World Series was the first to be broadcast on radio. Over
1485-569: A clean sixth inning and Ken Dayley kept the Royals off the scoreboard for the last two innings, but it was not enough as the Cardinals could not score against Saberhagen. The Cardinals' .185 batting average was the lowest for a seven-game World Series until the New York Yankees hit .183 in the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks . The Cardinals also scored only thirteen total runs—an all-time low for
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#17327838849841620-444: A clear view of Clark's throw and Worrell's catch. Denkinger was scheduled to be the home plate umpire in Game 7. One night after becoming a father, Bret Saberhagen tossed a five-hitter and got all the offense he needed when Darryl Motley homered to left off John Tudor in the second inning, after a walk to Steve Balboni . In the third, Lonnie Smith led off with a walk, and with one out George Brett hit an infield single. After
1755-460: A criminal conspiracy trial. Meanwhile, to deal with the fallout from the scandal baseball owners had agreed to reform the discredited National Commission. However, when they offered esteemed federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis a role on the reformed Commission, he quickly made clear he would only accept an appointment as the sole Commissioner of Baseball with virtually unchecked authority over
1890-680: A division winner in the other league if it had a better record or wins the tie-breaking procedure). The World Series has been contested 120 times through the 2024 season, with the AL team winning 68 times and the NL team 52. Before 1882, when the American Association was formed as a second major league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–1875) and then the National League (founded 1876) represented
2025-486: A double steal, Tudor issued walks to Frank White to load the bases and Jim Sundberg to force in Smith, making it 3–0. Tudor was replaced with Bill Campbell after only 2 + 1 ⁄ 3 innings. Balboni singled to left off Campbell to score Brett and White to make it 5–0. Tudor walked four and was charged with all five runs. In the dugout, he angrily punched an electrical fan, cutting his pitching hand. The Royals blew
2160-588: A heavy rainfall prompted the umpires to delay the game. After the delay, Norris blooped an 0–2 single to right field, Matt Kemp grounded a single to left field, and Justin Upton provided the final blow, homering to give the Padres an 8–7 lead, which would hold up. Following the defeat, the Mets faced the Washington Nationals in a three-game series. The Nationals were three games ahead of the Mets, and
2295-500: A history of tough luck in the postseason. The previous year, he had lost Game 3 of the 1984 ALCS , 1–0, to the Detroit Tigers when he pitched a three-hit complete game. He lost Game 4 in the 1985 ALCS in the ninth inning. Clinging to a two-run lead in the ninth of this game, manager Dick Howser opted to not send in his relief ace Dan Quisenberry to close out the game. Leibrandt allowed a leadoff double to Willie McGee , then
2430-451: A home run in the second off of Bud Black . Next inning, Willie McGee homered also to make it 2–0 Cardinals, who added to their lead in the fifth when Terry Pendleton tripled with one out and scored on Black's throwing error on Tom Nieto 's bunt attempt. The best chance for the Royals to score was in the seventh inning, when they loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. With pinch-hitter Hal McRae up for Buddy Biancalana, he grounded to
2565-664: A new franchise record in their 16–7 win. The Mets also hit 45 home runs in August, setting the club record for most home runs in a calendar month. The Mets finished the month of August with a 20–8 record, their first month with at least 20 wins since September 2000. The Mets swept a three-game series in Washington against the Nationals, coming from behind in each game to do so; this sweep increased their division lead, which they would not relinquish, to seven games, effectively ending
2700-479: A period of 45 years from 1920 to 1964, the Yankees played in 29 World Series championships, winning 20. The team's dynasty reached its apex between 1949 and 1964 when the Yankees reached the World Series 14 times in 16 years, helped by an agreement with the Kansas City Athletics , after that team moved from Philadelphia during 1954–1955 offseason, whereby the teams made several deals advantageous to
2835-413: A prologue to the modern baseball era. As late as approximately 1960, some sources treated the 19th-century Series on an equal basis with the post-19th-century series. After about 1930, however, many authorities list the start of the World Series in 1903 and discuss the earlier contests separately. (For example, the 1929 World Almanac and Book of Facts lists "Baseball World's Championships 1884–1928" in
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#17327838849842970-528: A row to fall back to under .500, at 36–37. Facing the Brewers, Jacob deGrom ended the losing streak by pitching 8 shutout innings to guide the Mets to a 2–0 victory and get them back to .500 returning home for a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds . On June 28, left-handed pitching prospect Steven Matz , a native of Stony Brook, New York and a lifelong Mets fan, made his Major League debut for
3105-501: A second major league. No championship series were played in 1901 or 1902 as the National and American Leagues fought each other for business supremacy (in 1902, the top teams instead opted to compete in a football championship ). 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 following
3240-596: A seven-game series—scoring only once in the final 26 innings of the series. If they had held on for the win in Game 6, they still would have been outscored in the series 15–13. This was Kansas City's second major professional sports championship, joining the Chiefs ' victory in Super Bowl IV in January 1970. These franchises have since added four more championships, with the Royals winning the 2015 World Series , and
3375-411: A single table, but the 1943 edition lists "Baseball World's Championships 1903–1942". ) Following the collapse of the American Association after the 1891 season, the National League was again the only major league. The league championship was awarded in 1892 by a playoff between split season champions. This scheme was abandoned after one season. Beginning in 1893—and continuing until divisional play
3510-421: A solo home run to Bryce Harper . After Colon left the game, Buddy Carlyle , filling in for an injured Jenrry Mejía , earned the save, giving the Mets a 3–1 victory. After their opening series in Washington, former closer Jenrry Mejía was suspended 80 games for the use of stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug (PED) banned by Major League Baseball . The Mets lost three of their first five games. After losing
3645-410: A starter but pressed into relief. Andújar allowed an RBI single to White, increasing the Royals lead to 10–0. With Sundberg at the plate (the Royals had batted around), Andújar twice charged home plate umpire Denkinger to disagree with his strike zone. First, Denkinger called an Andújar pitch a ball. Herzog, who had been berating Denkinger for most of the game, rushed from the dugout to defend Andújar, and
3780-469: A total of seven times in the two series. The Mets would lose in five games to the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series . It was the first World Series to feature two expansion teams established after 1960. Game 5 was the first game in Mets franchise history to occur in the month of November. The 2015 World Series was the only time in the 2010s decade that a New York City team played in
3915-592: Is remembered for the iconic home run by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1. The Dodgers were huge underdogs against the 104-win Oakland Athletics, who had swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Baseball's top relief pitcher, Dennis Eckersley , closed out all four games in the ALCS, and he appeared ready to do the same in Game 1 against
4050-400: Is the most recent World Series in which the designated hitter was not used in an AL baseball park. From 1976 to 1985, the DH was used in all games in even-numbered years. In odd-numbered years, like this World Series, the pitchers from both were required to bat for themselves throughout the series, as in the National League. Beginning with the next World Series, the DH rule was used only at
4185-608: The 1905 Series and beat the Philadelphia Athletics four games to one. Since then the Series has been held every year except 1994, when it was canceled due to a players' strike . The name of the event, initially known as the World's Championship Series, was gradually shortened in common usage to "World's Series" and, by the 1930s, to "World Series". The list of postseason rules evolved over time. From 1919 to 1921 ,
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4320-600: The 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates , 1958 New York Yankees , 1968 Detroit Tigers , and the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates . The 1985 Royals had also come back from a three games to one deficit to win the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays , making them the first and so far only team to do so (the championship series had changed from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format in 1985). The six elimination games won by
4455-593: The 2015 National League Division Series , winning in five games. Second baseman Daniel Murphy hit three home runs in the series. The Mets then swept the Chicago Cubs in the 2015 National League Championship Series . Murphy was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player , after he batted .529 in the series and homered in each of the 4 games, bringing his consecutive postseason game home run streak to six games, an MLB postseason record. Murphy homered
4590-547: The California Angels , then defeated the Toronto Blue Jays four games to three in the AL Championship Series . The Cardinals were seeking to win their NL-leading 10th World Series title, while the Royals were seeking their first World Series title. The Royals were completing one of the most successful decades by any expansion team, with six division titles and two pennants from 1976 to 1985. This
4725-727: The Chicago White Sox were alleged to have conspired to throw the 1919 World Series . The Sox had won the Series in 1917 and were heavy favorites to beat the Cincinnati Reds in 1919, but first baseman Chick Gandil had other plans. Gandil, in collaboration with gambler Joseph "Sport" Sullivan, approached his teammates and got six of them to agree to throw the Series: starting pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams , shortstop Swede Risberg , left fielder Shoeless Joe Jackson , center fielder Happy Felsch , and utility infielder Fred McMullin . Third baseman Buck Weaver knew of
4860-516: The Cincinnati Reds . The 1985 Kansas City Royals won the series four games to three over the St. Louis Cardinals. The key turning point of the series was a Kansas City win in Game Six aided by a controversial call by Don Denkinger at first base. Kansas City later won Game Seven 11–0 to take the series. The series is best remembered for its Game 6, which saw the Mets rally from a two-run deficit in
4995-519: The I-70 Series to be revived in regular season games each year. Through the 2022 season, the Cardinals lead the regular-season interleague series, 73-47, though Kansas City still holds the World Series win over St. Louis, as it was the last and only time the two teams have faced off in the postseason. World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since 1903 between
5130-647: The Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS in five games and swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS . They lost to the Kansas City Royals in five games in the 2015 World Series . It was the Mets' first appearance in the World Series since 2000 when they lost to the New York Yankees . It marked the team's first winning season since Citi Field opened in 2009 (and their first since 2008, their last season at Citi Field's predecessor, Shea Stadium ). On November 10, 2014,
5265-518: The New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals , did not win their first championship until the 1920s; and three of the teams that were highly successful prior to 1920 (the Boston Red Sox , Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs ) went the rest of the 20th century without another World Series win. The Red Sox and White Sox finally won again in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The Cubs had to wait over
5400-651: The Oakland Athletics , and 1998 to 2000 by the Yankees. In an 18-year span from 1947 to 1964, except for 1948 and 1959, the World Series was played in New York City, featuring at least one of the three teams located in New York at the time. The Dodgers and Giants moved to California after the 1957 season, leaving the Yankees as the lone team in the city until the Mets were enfranchised in 1962. In 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956, both teams in
5535-763: The Pittsburgh Pirates , in 1971 and 1979, who defeated the Baltimore Orioles both times. The less successful side during this era also featured repeats. The Orioles themselves made multiple World Series appearances, including three consecutive: 1969, losing to the "amazing" seven-year-old franchise New York Mets , 1970, beating the Reds in their first World Series appearance of the decade, and their 1971 and 1979 defeats by Pittsburgh. The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to Oakland in 1974, and made back-to-back World Series appearances in 1977 and 1978, both losses to
1985 World Series - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-703: The World Series Most Valuable Player Award . In their 17th season, the Royals won their first World Series title; their next appearance was 29 years later in 2014 against the San Francisco Giants , but they lost in seven games. A year later , the Royals won their second title, over the New York Mets . AL Kansas City Royals (4) vs. NL St. Louis Cardinals (3) When Lonnie Smith led off for
5805-588: The World War I "Work or Fight" order forcing an early end to that year's regular season, while some more recent editions have been played into November due to in-season delays and expansion of earlier postseason rounds. Because the series is played in the fall or autumn season in North America, it is often referred to as the Fall Classic . Before the AL and NL were split into divisions in 1969,
5940-410: The best-of-nine format first used in 1903 was employed. In 1925 , Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets persuaded others to adopt as a permanent rule the 2–3–2 home game pattern first used in 1924 . Previously, the pattern had been to alternate by game or to make another arrangement convenient to both clubs. The 2–3–2 pattern has been used ever since save for the 1943 and 1945 World Series , which followed
6075-590: The " Show-Me Series " or the " I-70 Showdown Series ," as both cities are in the state of Missouri which is nicknamed the "Show Me State" and are connected by Interstate 70 . The Cardinals won the NL East division by three games over the New York Mets , then defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to two in the NL Championship Series . The Royals won the AL West division by one game over
6210-407: The "Greatest of All Time" in their "World Series 100th Anniversary" countdown, with five of its games being decided by a single run, four games decided in the final at-bat and three games going into extra innings. The series was also notable for both participants having finished last in their divisions the year prior; no last place team before had ever finished first, let alone reached the World Series,
6345-640: The "inferiority" of the upstart American League. John McGraw , the Giants' manager, even went so far as to say that his Giants were already "world champions" since they were the champions of the "only real major league". At the time of the announcement, their new cross-town rivals, the New York Highlanders (now the New York Yankees ), were leading the AL, and the prospect of facing the Highlanders did not please Giants management. Boston won on
6480-638: The 1903 season. These series were arranged by the participating clubs, as the 1880s World's Series matches had been. One of them, a best-of-nine affair matching that year's pennant winners – the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL and Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox ) of the AL – has come to be regarded as the 1903 World Series . It had been arranged well in advance by the two club owners, as both teams were league leaders by large margins. Boston upset Pittsburgh by five games to three, winning with pitching depth behind Cy Young and Bill Dinneen and with
6615-598: The 1985 Series. He was behind the plate for the All-Star Game the following season, and he was named crew chief for the 1988 ALCS , 1991 World Series , and 1992 ALCS . He retired in 1998, ironically with his last game being at Kauffman Stadium on June 2, 1998. After retirement, Denkinger would lean into his fame of the blown call, regularly appearing at sports memorabilia shows (including ones in St. Louis) willing to autograph photos depicting "The Call". Nevertheless, many publications consider his blown call in Game 6 of
6750-741: The 1985 one of the biggest umpire blunders in MLB history. In 1987 , the Cardinals won the NLCS in seven games over the San Francisco Giants . In the World Series against the Minnesota Twins , after having fallen behind 2-0 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome , they won their next three games at home. However, back at the Metrodome, they lost the last two and again fell one game short of
6885-443: The AL representative's park. The 1985 World Series is best remembered for an incorrect safe call made by first base umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6. With St. Louis leading the World Series 3-2 and in possession of a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, Denkinger incorrectly called Jorge Orta safe. The Royals won the game 2-1 on a two-run walk-off single and then won Game 7 by a score of 11-0. The 1985 World Series marked
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#17327838849847020-494: The Bay Area and killed 63 people. Television viewers saw the video signal deteriorate and heard Michaels say "I'll tell you what, we're having an earth--" before the feed from Candlestick Park was lost. Fans filing into the stadium saw Candlestick sway visibly during the quake. Television coverage later resumed, using backup generators, with Michaels becoming a news reporter on the unfolding disaster. Approximately 30 minutes after
7155-467: The Boston Red Sox in seven games in the World Series . In the 1996 World Series , the New York Yankees lost their first two games at home against the defending 1995 World Series champion Atlanta Braves before winning four straight to claim the title. The Royals also were the fifth team in MLB history to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win a best-of-seven World Series, the previous teams being
7290-571: The Cardinals a World Series. Denkinger contacted Major League Baseball Security, which in turn contacted the FBI , when he received a particularly menacing letter with no return address that said that if the writer saw Denkinger in person, he would "blow him away" with a .357 Magnum . According to Denkinger, FBI agents visited the letter writer and told him, "You're done. This is the end of it. You will not correspond with him in any manner, and life will go on." Denkinger had other big umpiring assignments after
7425-473: The Cardinals tied it off of Danny Jackson in the third on Willie McGee 's RBI groundout with runners on second and third. Next inning, Tito Landrum doubled with one out, then scored on late-season acquisition César Cedeño 's RBI double to give Jackson the loss despite Jackson throwing seven innings of two-run ball. The Cardinals padded their lead in the ninth off of Dan Quisenberry when Tom Herr singled to lead off and scored on Jack Clark 's double. This
7560-531: The Cardinals' flagship KMOX simulcast the CBS Radio coverage due to Buck's status as the team's primary local announcer during the regular season, although regular analyst Mike Shannon was sidelined in favor of Anderson. The Royals became the first team ever to win the World Series after losing the first two games at home. The following year, the New York Mets accomplished the same feat by defeating
7695-486: The Chiefs winning Super Bowls LIV , LVII and LVIII . 1985 World Series (4–3): Kansas City Royals (A.L.) over St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.) ABC televised the series, with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentators Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver . This was the first World Series broadcast for McCarver, who would go on to call a record 24 World Series telecasts with ABC, CBS and Fox . Howard Cosell
7830-635: The Curse of the Bambino superstition used to explain the Red Sox's championship drought after the 1918 World Series. The 1987 Minnesota Twins became the first team in the history of the World Series to win the championship by winning all 4 games they hosted when they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals. They repeated this 4 years later in 1991 when they defeated the Atlanta Braves. The 1988 World Series
7965-474: The DH rule was used in all World Series games, regardless of home team. The 1984 Detroit Tigers gained distinction as just the third team in major league history (after the 1927 New York Yankees and 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers) to lead a season wire-to-wire, from opening day through their World Series victory. In the process, Tigers skipper Sparky Anderson became the first manager to win a World Series title in both leagues, having previously won in 1975 and 1976 with
8100-420: The Mets against the Cincinnati Reds . He recorded four runs batted in (RBIs), breaking the Mets' franchise record for RBIs in a major league debut and setting an MLB record for most RBI by a pitcher in their debut. He went on to get the win in that game. Matz was the first pitcher from Long Island to make his MLB debut with the Mets since Ray Searage in 1981. With the win, the Mets swept the Reds to end June with
8235-449: The Mets faced the Washington Nationals , whose starting pitcher Max Scherzer held the Mets hitless until the 6th inning. The Mets capitalized on two errors by Washington in the 6th inning: Ian Desmond committed a throwing error and Dan Uggla dropped a David Wright pop-up, and Lucas Duda finished off the rally with a two-run single into the right-center gap off a 98-MPH fastball from Scherzer. Mets starter Bartolo Colón allowed only
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#17327838849848370-409: The Mets signed Michael Cuddyer to a two-year $ 21 million deal. On December 2, 2014, the Mets officially non-tendered Eric Young Jr . On December 11, 2014, the Mets agreed to a one-year contract with John Mayberry Jr. During spring training, the Mets made trades for relief pitchers Jerry Blevins from the Washington Nationals and Alex Torres from the San Diego Padres . On Opening Day,
8505-439: The Mets won 5–1. In the following week, they split a four-game series with the Cardinals and were swept by the Pirates. While they started the final week of May by sweeping the Phillies, they closed the month by losing a series to the Marlins, ending May with a 28–23 record. The Mets lost a series in San Diego and also split a series in Arizona. Returning home, they were no-hit by Chris Heston on June 9, which would turn out to be
8640-407: The Mets' desire to bring in an outfield bat. Word spread quickly around the stadium, and eventually to Flores, who took the field in the 8th inning crying and visibly emotional. After the game, general manager Sandy Alderson confirmed with the media that the trade had fallen through due to either medical concerns or disagreements on money, meaning Flores and Wheeler remained Mets. The next day, Flores
8775-405: The Nationals, which included a no-hitter thrown by Max Scherzer on October 3, which was the second no-hitter thrown against the Mets all season. The next day, however, the Mets won 1–0. Jacob deGrom pitched 4 shutout innings and the Mets took a combined no-hitter into the 8th, but Clint Robinson singled off Jon Niese to end the no-hitter. Curtis Granderson then homered for the only run of
8910-471: The Royals represent a Major League record for a single postseason, a record which would later be equaled by the 2012 San Francisco Giants . The Royals also became the first team to win two Game 7s in one postseason. The 2017 Houston Astros are the only other team to achieve this feat. In the immediate aftermath of the 1985 World Series, umpire Don Denkinger received many hateful letters from Cardinals fans due to his blown call in Game 6 that essentially cost
9045-441: The Royals would have likely taken a 1–0 lead. Instead, Leibrandt and Cox traded scoreless innings until the eighth, when pinch-hitter Brian Harper singled home Terry Pendleton , who had singled earlier, to give the Cardinals a 1–0 lead. The Cardinals' 1–0 lead entering the bottom of the eighth was the result of St. Louis taking the upper hand after two situations that were mirror images of each other: In consecutive half-innings –
9180-422: The Royals, he became the first player in MLB history to be traded from a team (the St. Louis Cardinals ) during a season and play against that team in the World Series the same season. John Tudor scattered seven hits in 6 + 2 ⁄ 3 innings for the Cards and won with relief help from Todd Worrell . The Royals struck first in the second on Steve Balboni 's RBI single with runners on first and second, but
9315-430: The World Series alternated from year to year between the AL and NL. From 2003 to 2016, home-field advantage was given to the league that won that year's All-Star Game . Starting in 2017, home-field advantage was awarded to the league champion team with the better regular-season win–loss record, regardless of that team's seeding in earlier playoff rounds (i.e. a Wild Card team in one league will have home-field advantage over
9450-565: The World Series did not include a DH. Starting in 1976, the DH rule was used in the World Series held in even-numbered years. The Cincinnati Reds swept the 1976 Series in four games, using the same nine-man lineup in each contest. Dan Driessen was the Reds' DH during the series, thereby becoming the National League's first designated hitter. From 1986 to 2019, and in 2021, the DH was used only in World Series games played at American League parks, and pitchers were required to bat in games played at National League parks. In 2020, and starting in 2022,
9585-409: The World Series were from New York, with the Yankees playing against either the Dodgers or Giants. In 1958, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants took their long-time rivalry to the west coast, moving to Los Angeles and San Francisco , respectively, bringing Major League Baseball west of St. Louis and Kansas City . The Dodgers were the first of the two clubs to contest a World Series on
9720-436: The Yankees, until ended by new Athletics' owner Charles O. Finley. During that span, the Yankees played in all World Series except 1954 and 1959 , winning nine of them. From 1949 to 1953, the Yankees won the World Series five years in a row; from 1936 to 1939 the Yankees won four World Series Championships in a row. There are only two other occasions when a team has won at least three consecutive World Series: 1972 to 1974 by
9855-549: The Yankees. Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is regarded by most as one of the greatest World Series games ever played. It found the Boston Red Sox winning in the 12th inning in Fenway Park , defeating the Cincinnati Reds to force a seventh and deciding game. The game is best remembered for its exciting lead changes, nail-biting turns of events, and a game-winning walk-off home run by Carlton Fisk , resulting in
9990-434: The ball. "I was in good position, but Worrell is tall, the throw was high, and I couldn't watch his glove and his feet at the same time," Denkinger told Sports Illustrated . "It was a soft toss, and there was so much crowd noise, I couldn't hear the ball hit the glove." ABC showed the play from three different angles; two were high above the field and one was from behind third base, all with what Denkinger claimed he didn't get:
10125-558: The bases loaded and one out, Royals pinch hitter Dane Iorg (a former Cardinal who had won a championship ring with them in 1982 ) blooped a single to right field. Concepción scored the tying run and Sundberg approached the plate with the winning run. Right fielder Andy Van Slyke 's throw was on target, but Sundberg slid home safely with the game-winning run. The Royals celebrated the rally, and mobbed home plate. The Cardinals went to their dressing rooms, only to find champagne waiting for them and plastic over their lockers in anticipation for
10260-517: The best win–loss record at the end of the regular season. A structured playoff series began in 1969 when both the National and American Leagues were reorganized into two divisions each, East and West. The two division winners within each league played each other in a best-of-five League Championship Series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven. The National League Championship Series (NLCS) and American League Championship Series (ALCS), since
10395-414: The bottom of the 10th inning, despite having two outs and no one on base. The Red Sox, who held a 3–2 series lead, were twice one strike away from securing the championship, but failed to close out the inning as the Mets tie on a Bob Stanley wild pitch & win off an error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner. Due to the Mets claiming the series in Game 7, the Game 6 collapse entered baseball lore as part of
10530-469: The bottom of the ninth, Herzog called on rookie reliever Todd Worrell to relieve setup man Ken Dayley , who had pitched the eighth and would have been the winner had the Cardinals won. The first batter, pinch-hitter Jorge Orta , sent a chopping bouncer to the right of Jack Clark . He tossed the ball to Worrell, who tagged the bag ahead of Orta, but Clark's toss was behind Worrell, causing the running Orta to come between umpire Don Denkinger and his view of
10665-465: The bottom of the seventh and the top of the eighth – both teams had runners on first and second with their respective starting pitcher coming to bat. Kansas City manager Dick Howser opted to leave Leibrandt in the game to bat, but the Royals starter struck out to end the inning. In contrast, Whitey Herzog pulled Cardinals starter Cox for pinch hitter Harper, who then had the game's first hit with runners in scoring position to put St. Louis ahead 1–0. In
10800-559: The celebration that never came. Denkinger stated that he still believed he had made the right call until he later met with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth after the game and had the opportunity to see the replay himself. He would later claim that he was waiting to hear the ball land in Worrell's glove while watching the bag for Orta's foot. Due to the crowd noise in Royals Stadium, he ruled Orta safe because he never heard Worrell catch
10935-570: The champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best-of-seven playoff , is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy . The series is traditionally played in October, although before expansion of the regular-season schedule from 154 to 162 games the event occasionally started in late September (most recently in 1955 ) and the entire 1918 series took place early in that month due to
11070-615: The chances of a Nationals comeback. On September 26, the Mets clinched the National League East Division regular season championship after defeating the Cincinnati Reds 10–2. The Mets were the favorites to earn a home-field advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional Series , but finished 1–5 to end the season. This included being swept by the Phillies and dropping a series against
11205-452: The count full, Gibson hit a home run to right, inspiring iconic pronouncements by two legendary broadcasters calling the game, Vin Scully (on TV) and Jack Buck (on radio). On NBC, after Gibson limped around the bases, Scully famously exclaimed, "The impossible has happened!" and on radio, Buck equally famously exclaimed, "I don't believe what I just saw!" Gibson's home run set the tone for
11340-485: The earthquake, Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered the game to be postponed. Fans, workers, and the teams evacuated a blacked-out (although still sunlit) Candlestick. Game 3 was finally played on October 27, and Oakland won that day and the next to complete a four-game sweep. The 1991 World Series saw the Minnesota Twins defeating the Atlanta Braves four games to three to win the championship. ESPN selected it as
11475-471: The eighth off of Jeff Lahti on shortstop Ozzie Smith 's throwing error on Danny Jackson's ground ball, then in the ninth on Pat Sheridan 's RBI double. Jackson was the winning pitcher, following the same formula and pitching rotation as the Royals did in the ALCS where Jackson also won Game 5. Jackson threw an immaculate inning in the 7th, becoming the only pitcher to do so during a postseason game to date. Jackson scattered five hits, allowing only one run in
11610-408: The expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home-field advantage, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. Night games were played in the major leagues beginning with the Cincinnati Reds in 1935, but the World Series remained a strictly daytime event for years thereafter. In
11745-473: The field. Andújar was suspended for the first ten games of the 1986 season for his outburst. Although it has been rumored that Herzog sent in Andújar specifically to bait Denkinger, Herzog himself has said several times that Andújar was the only pitcher who still had anything left in his arm. After Game 5 loser Bob Forsch 's first pitch was wild to score Brett, he got out of the fifth-inning nightmare. He pitched
11880-414: The fifth and final game of the 1949 World Series , a Series game was finished under the lights for the first time due to encroaching darkness in the ninth inning. The first scheduled night World Series game was Game 4 of the 1971 World Series at Three Rivers Stadium . Afterward, World Series games were frequently scheduled at night, when television audiences were larger. Game 6 of the 1987 World Series
12015-465: The fifth time in World Series history that a team came back from a three games to one deficit to win a championship, and the first in which that team lost the first two games of the series at home (in the following year's Series, the New York Mets won after losing the first two series games at home). Bret Saberhagen 's victories in Games 3 and 7, allowing only a single run across his two starts, earned him
12150-497: The first of two no-hitters thrown against the Mets in 2015. New York rebounded to win a weekend series against the Braves, and also snapped the Toronto Blue Jays ' 11 game winning streak, which matched the Mets' 11-game streak as the longest winning streak of the year, by beating them on a walk-off hit by Wilmer Flores . After another win the following day, the Mets retook the division lead again. They then lost their next seven games in
12285-403: The first second baseman in the history of the World Series to hit in the clean-up spot in the batting order. White came through with a two-run home run off of Andújar in the fifth after George Brett got on base. The Cardinals scored their only run of the game in the sixth off of Bret Saberhagen on consecutive singles by Ozzie Smith , Tom Herr , and Jack Clark . The Royals padded their lead in
12420-539: The first two in Atlanta to start their second series, the Mets began an 11-game win streak that started with Colón picking up his second win. The Mets then returned home, and swept the Philadelphia Phillies , Miami Marlins , and Atlanta Braves . On April 23, 2015 the New York Mets beat the Braves 6–3 to complete a perfect 10 game homestand, tying their start to the 1986 season with a 13–3 record and tying
12555-403: The fix but declined to participate, hitting .324 for the series from 11 hits and committing no errors in the field. The Sox, who were promised $ 100,000 for cooperating, proceeded to lose the best-of-nine series in eight games, pitching poorly, hitting poorly and making many errors. Though he took the money, Jackson insisted to his death that he played to the best of his ability in the series (he
12690-401: The following year. The series-deciding seventh game was a scoreless tie (0–0) through the regular nine innings, and went into extra innings; Minnesota won by a score of 1–0 in the 10th inning, after their starting pitcher, Jack Morris , pitched a complete 10 inning shutout 7th game. (Morris was named Most Valuable Player for the Series.) With 69 innings in total, the 1991 World Series shares
12825-446: The game open in the bottom of the fifth. A succession of five Cardinal pitchers allowed six Royals runs, five coming after two were out. Campbell gave up a single to Sundberg and was immediately replaced by Jeff Lahti , who allowed four hits to score four runs before being replaced by Ricky Horton . After Horton gave up a single to Brett and fell behind on the count 2-0 to Frank White , Herzog replaced him with Joaquín Andújar , normally
12960-423: The game, and Jeurys Familia earned his 43rd save of the year, tying a club record previously held by Armando Benitez , who recorded 43 saves in 2001. The win also gave the Mets 90 victories, which Alderson had predicted of the team in 2014. The club ended the regular season with a record of 90–72, making it the first time since 2006 that the Mets won at least 90 games. The Mets played the Los Angeles Dodgers in
13095-405: The game. The owners agreed. Immediately after and notwithstanding the acquittals, Landis banned all of the players involved (including Weaver) for life. The White Sox would not win a World Series again until 2005 . The events of the 1919 Series, segueing into the "live ball" era , marked a point in time of change of the fortunes of several teams. The two most prolific World Series winners to date,
13230-411: The last day of the season, and the leagues had previously agreed to hold a World's Championship Series in 1904, but it was not binding, and Brush stuck to his original decision. In addition to political reasons, Brush also cited a number of legitimate grievances, including the lack of rules under which revenue would be split, where games would be played, and how they would be operated and staffed. During
13365-478: The lunging Worrell's glove. Denkinger called Orta safe. TV replays – not used by officials for play review until 2008 – indicated that Orta should have been called out, and an argument ensued on the field. The Cardinals argued briefly, but as crew chief and believing he had made the correct call, Denkinger did not reverse it. Orta remained at first. In his book You're Missing a Great Game , Herzog wrote that he later wished he had asked Commissioner Peter Ueberroth , who
13500-427: The modern World Series, with the terms arranged through negotiation of the owners of the championship teams beforehand. The number of games played ranged from as few as three in 1884 (Providence defeated New York three games to zero), to a high of fifteen in 1887 (Detroit beat St. Louis ten games to five). Both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game. The series
13635-590: The only inning in the series in which they scored more than one run. The Royals got back into the series by riding ace Bret Saberhagen to a 6–1 victory against twenty-game winner Joaquín Andújar . Saberhagen flashed messages on the television screen to his pregnant wife who was due to give birth any day. She eventually gave birth on October 26 (in Game 6). The Royals went up 2–0 in the fourth on Lonnie Smith 's two-run double that scored Jim Sundberg and Buddy Biancalana , who had walked and singled, respectively. Royals second baseman Frank White made history by becoming
13770-400: The only out the Cardinals would record. Porter then allowed a passed ball, advancing Concepción and Sundberg to third and second, respectively. With first base now open and two runners in scoring position, Herzog then chose to walk Royals pinch hitter Hal McRae to set up a potential double play. McRae was replaced by the faster John Wathan to pinch-run to avoid a potential double play. With
13905-660: The only walk-off home run the Mets hit that season. The Mets started August by sweeping the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins . They regained the lead in the NL East on August 3 and did not relinquish it for the rest of the season. On August 21, Céspedes became the 11th Met in franchise history and the third Met in 2015 to hit three home runs in a game when he did so against the Rockies. This feat
14040-641: The record for longest seven-game World Series ever, in terms of innings, with the 1924 World Series which was won by the Washington Senators , who would then become the Minnesota Twins. 2015 New York Mets season The 2015 New York Mets season was the 54th season in the franchises' history. The Mets finished the regular season with a record of 90–72, winning the National League East title on September 26, their first division title since 2006 and sixth overall. They defeated
14175-574: The reporters "residents of Panic City". Panic City became a popular term referring to Mets fans, especially on social media. After the sweep, the Mets went 4–2 on a road trip to the west coast in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They followed this with a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field that brought the team's record to 47–42 heading into the 2015 All Star Break. In the final game of this series, Kirk Nieuwenhuis became
14310-408: The series, as the Dodgers went on to beat the A's 4 games to 1. The severity of Gibson's injury prevented him from playing in any of the remaining games. When the 1989 World Series began, it was notable chiefly for being the first-ever World Series matchup between the two San Francisco Bay Area teams, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics . Oakland won the first two games at home, and
14445-451: The seventh off of Ricky Horton when George Brett drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a balk, then scored on White's double. Two outs later, White scored on Buddy Biancalana 's single to cap the scoring. John Tudor 's complete game shutout put the Cardinals on the verge of winning their second World Series in four years. Tito Landrum , only playing due to a tarp injury to Vince Coleman , continued to make his case for series MVP with
14580-434: The support of the band of Royal Rooters . The 1904 Series , if it had been held, would have been between the AL's Boston Americans (Boston Red Sox) and the NL's New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants ). At that point there was no governing body for the World Series nor any requirement that a Series be played. Thus the Giants' owner John T. Brush refused to allow his team to participate in such an event, citing
14715-408: The team record with an 11-game winning streak. During the eighth game of the season, David Wright pulled his hamstring while stealing a base. He left the game and Anthony Recker was brought in to play third base. After a number of weeks, Wright was diagnosed with spinal stenosis , raising questions as to whether the captain could ever return. During the 11 game winning streak, catcher Travis d'Arnaud
14850-519: The team with the best regular-season win–loss record in each league won its pennant and advanced to the World Series, barring a tie necessitating a pennant playoff . Since then each league has conducted a League Championship Series ( ALCS and NLCS ) preceding the World Series to determine which teams will advance, while those series have been preceded in turn by Division Series ( ALDS and NLDS ) since 1995, and Wild Card games or series in each league since 2012. Until 2002, home-field advantage in
14985-503: The tenth Met to hit three home runs in one game, and the first player in Mets history to hit three home runs in one home game; the previous nine did so on the road. On July 29, the Mets were involved in a bizarre series of events where it was reported through various social media outlets that Wilmer Flores had been traded, along with Zack Wheeler to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfielder Carlos Gómez , as part of
15120-496: The third baseman to end the threat. Tudor allowed just five hits in a complete game while striking out eight with one walk while Black went just five innings and allowing three runs on four hits and three walks. Entering this game, the Royals were 3–0 in must-win games in playoff elimination games. They improved their record to 4–0 with a decisive victory over the Cardinals, again by the score of 6–1. The Royals struck first on Frank White 's groundout with runners on second and third in
15255-537: The top level of organized baseball in the United States. All championships were awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. From 1884 to 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These series were disorganized in comparison to
15390-461: The top of the first off of Bob Forsch , but the Cardinals tied it off of Danny Jackson in the bottom half on back-to-back two-out doubles by Tom Herr and Jack Clark . However, they would not score after that. The Royals broke the game open in the second when Buddy Biancalana singled to score Jim Sundberg , who doubled with one out. After Lonnie Smith walked, Willie Wilson tripled home both runs to make it 4–1. The Royals added to their lead in
15525-517: The transition from right field to first base that season, lost track of the ball as he looked to find the dugout and the ball dropped on the top step of the dugout. Balboni then singled two pitches later, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. Onix Concepción was sent in as a pinch runner for the slow-footed Balboni. Catcher Jim Sundberg attempted to sacrifice the runners over, but he failed. With two strikes, he bunted anyway, and sent it back to Worrell, who threw to third to force out Orta,
15660-612: The two teams crossed the bridge to San Francisco to play Game 3 on Tuesday, October 17. ABC 's broadcast of Game 3 began at 5 pm local time, approximately 30 minutes before the first pitch was scheduled. At 5:04, while broadcasters Al Michaels and Tim McCarver were narrating highlights and the teams were warming up, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred (having a surface-wave magnitude of 7.1 with an epicenter ten miles (16 km) northeast of Santa Cruz, California). The earthquake caused substantial property and economic damage in
15795-518: The west coast, defeating the Chicago White Sox in 1959 . The 1962 Giants made the first California World Series appearance of that franchise, losing to the Yankees. The Dodgers made three World Series appearances in the 1960s: a 1963 win over the Yankees , a 1965 win over the Minnesota Twins and a 1966 loss to the Baltimore Orioles . Prior to 1969, the National League and the American League each crowned its champion (the "pennant winner") based on
15930-448: The winter of 1904–1905, however, feeling the sting of press criticism, Brush had a change of heart and proposed what came to be known as the "Brush Rules", under which the series were played subsequently. One rule was that player shares would come from a portion of the gate receipts for the first four games only. This was to discourage teams from fixing early games in order to prolong the series and make more money. Receipts for later games
16065-457: Was achieved early in the season by Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. On August 24 against the Phillies , David Wright played in his first game since April 14, having missed over four months due to a hamstring injury and a career-threatening bout of spinal stenosis . Wright hit a home run into the second deck in his first at-bat; this would be the first of eight Met home runs in the game, setting
16200-508: Was called up in mid-May and made his Major League debut on May 12 against the Chicago Cubs . He lost 6–1 in part of a four-game sweep by the Cubs at Wrigley Field . The Mets then returned home for a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers , winning two games to one. On Saturday, the Mets scored 14 runs, scoring 10 in the 4th inning, which included a grand slam hit by Wilmer Flores . Syndergaard picked up his first major league win on Sunday as
16335-424: Was ejected — reportedly after saying to Denkinger, "We wouldn't even be here if you hadn't missed the fucking call last night!" According to Denkinger, he replied, "Well, if you guys weren't hitting .120 in this World Series, we wouldn't be here." The next pitch was also called a ball to walk Sundberg, and Denkinger ejected Andújar, who then charged at Denkinger. It took three teammates to restrain him and get him off
16470-550: Was hit by a pitch, leading to a wrist injury. Kevin Plawecki was called up to replace d'Arnaud. In the same game, relief pitcher Jerry Blevins was hit by a line drive, breaking his arm. Their winning streak was broken in the first game of the Subway Series , where Jacob deGrom lost to Michael Pineda . The next day, in the second game of the series, Matt Harvey pitched 8.2 innings, but after giving up back-to-back hits, Harvey
16605-404: Was in attendance, to overrule the call and declare Orta out. If Ueberroth had refused to do so, Herzog would have pulled his team from the field and forfeited the game. Instead of one out and no one on, the Royals now had no outs and a runner on first for batter Steve Balboni . Balboni lifted a pop-up in foul territory along the edge of the first base dugout. Jack Clark, who had only recently made
16740-543: Was introduced in 1969—the pennant was awarded to the first-place club in the standings at the end of the season. For four seasons, 1894–1897, the league champions played the runners-up in the postseason championship series called the Temple Cup . A second attempt at this format was the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series, which was played only once, in 1900. In 1901, the American League was formed as
16875-399: Was on the bench while the Mets tried to put the previous night behind them, leading the Padres 7–1 in the 7th inning. However, Derek Norris cut into the lead with a grand slam off Hansel Robles , but the newly acquired reliever Tyler Clippard sent the game into the 9th with the Mets retaining a 7–5 lead. Jeurys Familia came in to close the game, but with two outs and one strike on Norris,
17010-409: Was only one out from tying the series at one apiece when he allowed an RBI single to Jack Clark . After a double and walk loaded the bases, Terry Pendleton cleared them with a double and gave the Cardinals a 4–2 lead. Quisenberry came in and after he walked Darrell Porter he got out of the inning. Jeff Lahti earned a save with a scoreless bottom of the inning. The Cardinals' four run ninth would be
17145-573: Was originally scheduled to be in the booth with Michaels and Palmer, but was removed from his assignment just prior to Game 1 because of the controversy surrounding his book I Never Played the Game . CBS Radio broadcast the series nationally, with Jack Buck on play-by-play and Sparky Anderson providing color commentary. Locally, Royals' flagship station WIBW ( Topeka ) aired the games in Kansas City with Denny Matthews and Fred White alternating on play-by-play and color, while in St. Louis
17280-656: Was promoted and referred to as "The Championship of the United States", "World's Championship Series", or "World's Series" for short. In his book Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 , Simon Winchester mentions in passing that the World Series was named for the New York World newspaper, but this view is disputed. The 19th-century competitions are, however, not officially recognized as part of World Series history by Major League Baseball , as it considers 19th-century baseball to be
17415-512: Was split among the two clubs and the National Commission, the governing body for the sport, which was able to cover much of its annual operating expense from World Series revenue. Most importantly, the now-official and compulsory World Series matches were operated strictly by the National Commission itself, not by the participating clubs. With the new rules in place and the National Commission in control, McGraw's Giants made it to
17550-489: Was taken out of the game. He would still get the victory. No Met would pitch a complete game until September. The Mets then lost the rubber match against the Yankees, their first appearance on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball since the 2013 season. In May, the Nationals took the division lead after taking three of four games from the Mets at Citi Field to start the month. Bartolo Colón saw his ERA increase to 4.80 at one point, effectively ending his All-Star chances. Noah Syndergaard
17685-582: Was the best hitter in the series, including having hit the series' only home run, but had markedly worse numbers in the games the White Sox lost). During the Series, writer and humorist Ring Lardner had facetiously called the event the "World's Serious". The Series turned out to indeed have serious consequences for the sport. After rumors circulated for nearly a year, the players were suspended in September 1920. The " Black Sox " were eventually acquitted in
17820-437: Was the first Saturday night game in World Series history. The Series began on a Saturday from 1969 through 1976 , and again from 1985 through 2006 (with the exception of 1990 , which began on a Tuesday night). The Royals went up 2–0 in the fourth off of Danny Cox when Willie Wilson hit a leadoff single that was followed by back-to-back RBI doubles by George Brett and Frank White . However Charlie Leibrandt continued
17955-419: Was the first World Series in which all games were played at night. Also, this was the second all-Missouri World Series; the first in 1944 was all-St. Louis series between the Cardinals and Browns (a decade later, they became the Baltimore Orioles ). This was the second of five World Series played completely on artificial turf ; the first was in 1980 and the others were in 1987 , 1993 and 2020 . This
18090-692: Was the last World Series game played in the daytime, indoors at the Metrodome in Minnesota. The last World Series played outdoors during the day was the final game of the 1984 series in Detroit's Tiger Stadium . The start time of this game (Game 5) was 4:45 PM, making it the last outdoor World Series game to be started during daylight hours, but the game concluded after sunset and the final innings were technically played at night. The last World Series game to be played outdoors entirely during daylight hours
18225-479: Was the previous day's game, Game 4, which started at 1:45 PM. During this seven-year period, only three teams won the World Series: the Oakland Athletics from 1972 to 1974, Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976, and New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. This is the only time in World Series history in which three teams have won consecutive series in succession. This period was book-ended by World Championships for
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