Major League Baseball’s very first World Series took place in 1903. It was a best of nine contest with the Boston Americans squaring off against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston won it in eight games, but the real winners were fans of baseball.
That inaugural Series created a fall tradition that lives on today. It’s quite impressive that after more than 120 years of playing baseball championships, the Series is as popular as ever – if not more so.
CURRENT STATE OF THE ART
Best of all, you can bet on it. 888Sport's baseball betting section has a whole host of markets for punters to enjoy and the Major League Baseball World Series is undoubtedly the biggest event in the sport.
While we all hope that this year’s Series will be baseball’s post-season paragon, competition for that title is tough.
Nevertheless, since it’s always good to know what you are up again, here, from great to greatest, is a list of the five Series to beat for a spot within top-tier status.
THE DAVID FREESE SHOW
St. Louis Cardinals vs Texas Rangers, 2011
Going seven games, already puts this World Series in the arena for top 5.
But the action got hot and heavy in game six, which was a must win for the Cardinals.
Going into the ninth inning, they were perilously behind by two runs; then they tied it up in the ninth – via a David Freese triple – and won in extra innings with Freese stepping up again and hitting an 11th inning homer.
With momentum on their side, the cardinals took down the Series in game 7.
SUBWAY SHOWDOWN STOPS IN THE BRONX
New York Yankees vs. New York Mets, 2000
As a resident of Gotham, it is impossible for me to not be biased toward a Subway Series. So, this is a littler personal.
Though the Yankees all but swept it, the first game went for nearly five hours over a stretch of 12 innings. Things were tied at three runs for each side, with two outs and bases loaded, when Turk Wendell got off a single to secure a Yankees victory.
The Mets lost the next game and won the third – following NSYNC singing the national anthem. The Yankees squeaked a 3-2 win in game four and put their cross-borough rival against the ropes.
Game 5 was a nailbiter, tied at two runs apiece (thanks to a homerun from Series MVP Derek Jeter) until the top of the ninth inning.
With two outs and two Yankees on base, a wild throw from centerfield to home (on a hit from Luis Sojo) gave the Yankees a go-ahead run that the Mets could not match in the bottom of the ninth.
No doubt, the subway ride home from Shea Stadium (now known as Citi Field) was a quiet one that night.
CRITICAL ERRORS IN 1924
Washington Senators vs. New York Giants, 1924
ESPN magazine goes back more the 100 years for third place. The magazine characterizes game 7 as trophy worthy, and we are not arguing.
Weirdly, the game began with a right-handed pitcher for the Senators who was replaced with a lefty after just two batters. Going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Senators were behind by two and managed to tie the game at 3.
From there it became a battle of the stranded runners in innings nine through 11. Defense is obviously tight all around, until the bottom of the 12th when two errors allowed for the Senators’ game winning score.
Fans – many waving their hats – immediately swarmed the field.
FINISIHING IN THE RED
Cincinnati Reds vs. Boston Red Sox, 1975
As reported in the Boston Globe, this game was remarkable not so much for the play that went down – though the Series did go seven games and the Reds emerged victorious – but more for a technical turn.
In the sixth game of the ’75 Series, fans were treated to the very first reaction shot from a batter.
Typically, the cameraman made a point to follow the ball. But, after a Carlton Fisk shot into the outfield, the Red Sox slugger was shown waving the for the ball to stay fair.
The Globe reported that this happened because the cameraman had a large rat crawling up his leg. As a result, he froze and never took his focus off of Fisk. That moment came so loaded with drama that the reaction shot has become a sports-world staple.
THE BEST OF THE BEST?
Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves, 1991
Describing any one thing as the best-ever is perilous. But this matchup so often gets the crown that we feel compelled to go for it.
Even before the first pitch was thrown, something extraordinary was going on in 1991: A season earlier, in 1990, both teams finished at the bottoms of their divisions. Considering that, if the expectation was for something special to go down in ’91, baseball fans were not disappointed.
The Series stretched to seven games with five of them won by just a single run. Four games were decided by the final at bat and the seventh game entered the ninth inning with a 0-0 score. The Twins took it in the 10th with a winning run for what proved to be the team’s only World Series appearance thus far.
Let’s see if we can top that this season.
