Baseball's Most Exciting Games, No. 2: One Strike Away

Game 6, 2011 World Series: Texas Rangers at St. Louis Cardinals

October 27, 2011, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

Texas leads series 3-2

There were two strikes when David Freese sent the line drive to deep right. That's what probably made it most painful of all for the Rangers. They were literally one strike away from their first championship, in their 40th season in Texas. And instead of getting that last strike, Rangers closer Neftali Feliz gave up a deep line drive to right field that had Nelson Cruz drifting back.

Oh, right, Cruz was back there. Cruz hadn't yet been relegated to full-time DH duty by 2011 - he was only 30 years old, after all - but he had a big enough sample size for people to realize that his future did not lie in the outfield. The Rangers had a chance to take him out, too - Endy Chavez had pinch-hit for the pitcher the previous inning, so it would have been no problem to do a double-switch to keep Chavez's glove in the game. Plus, Chavez had a history of making series-saving catches against the Cardinals. There was really no reason at all for Cruz to still be back there.

But back there he was. He tried to jump for Freese's hit, but barely missed it, and it hit the wall. And then, the real trouble began, because of instead of dying at the wall, the ball bounced back past Cruz and into mid right field. That allowed Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman - neither of whom were going to win a footrace, unless it was against each other - to both score, and it allowed Freese to make it safely to third for the biggest triple of the 21st Century. And the stunned Rangers were left to wonder how they had blown it again.

Because this wasn't the first lead the Rangers had blown in Game 6. They had blown leads in the 1st, 4th, and 6th innings, too. So you had to admire the Cardinals' resiliency. You could knock them down, but they got right back up again.

The top of the 5th was looking especially big right about now. The Rangers scored once to take a 4-3 lead and ended up loading the bases with two outs. That brought up Colby Lewis, their starting pitcher, which brought up a decision. Lewis had been pitching well, but this was a chance for a knock-out blow, a way to put the game to bed early. It must have been tempting to pinch-hit for Lewis and let the bullpen take care of the rest. But manager Ron Washington didn't have anybody warming up, and if the pinch-hitter failed, and quickly, the reliever wouldn't have been ready in time. So he let Lewis hit, and Lewis struck out, and the lead stayed at 1.

We've already established the Cardinals were resilient, and that showed in the bottom of the sixth. They loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with just one out, knocking Lewis out of the game, and reliver Alexi Ogando promptly walked Yadier Molina to tie the game. Busch Stadium was rocking, and not for the last time of the night, and Ogando couldn't find the strike zone. But his catcher, Mike Napoli, bailed him out by picking Matt Holliday off of third base. (You remember Matt Holliday, right?) Immediately after the pickoff, Ogando threw a wild pitch, which would have scored a run if not for Napoli's throw; after walking Nick Punto (Nick Punto!), Ogando was mercifully removed and Derek Holland helped the Rangers escape the inning.

And then came the 7th inning, which started with back-to-back home runs from Adrian Beltre and Cruz. See, the Rangers had a little bit of resiliency of their own. They added another run for a 7-4 lead, and at that point, if the Rangers themselves weren't counting the outs, you know their fans were.

Allen Craig hit a home run in the bottom of the 8th for the Cardinals, but that was only one of the three runs they needed. After three straight St. Louis singles loaded the bases with two outs, Rafael Furcal grounded out to reliver Mike Adams, and the Rangers were three outs away.

And that brought us to the bottom of the 9th, and a 1-2 count on Freese, and a deep line drive to right. You could knock the Cardinals down, but they got back up again. And they almost ended it on the next batter, when Molina hit a sinking liner to right, but Cruz made a nice running catch to keep the game alive.

And the Rangers kept countering. This time it was Josh Hamilton, batting in the top of the 10th with one on and one out, hitting the first pitch he saw out to deep right for the Rangers' second two-run lead in as many innings. Once again, the Cardinals fought back, only for the Rangers to respond. A pair of heavyweights trading haymakers.

Once again, the Cardinals fought back. The first two batters of the bottom of the 10th singles. Pitcher Kyle Lohse, pinch-hitting, bunted them over. A grounder from Ryan Theriot scored one, but now there were two outs. Again the Rangers were one out from winning, and the Cardinals were on the canvas. Again, one out away turned into one strike away as Scott Feldman got Berkman to a 2-2 count. And again, the Cardinals bounced up off the canvas and delivered a counterpunch, this time with a single to center that tied the game.

The Rangers were in shock. The Cardinals were in raptures. Busch Stadium was shaking. And though it wasn't technically over yet, it might as well have been. The Rangers went down mostly quietly in the top of the 11th. Maybe the fight had been beaten out of them. Leading off the bottom of the 11th was that man again, David Freese. Cruz wasn't in right anymore, finally replaced by Esteban German, a defensive replacement coming two innings too late.

But German, couldn't do anything about the ball Freese hit next. Chavez couldn't have done anything either, for that matter, nor Cruz. Hamilton started back in center, turned his body as the ball drifted, then stopped, took one look at where the ball was headed, then started jogging back to the dugout before it even landed.

Fans scrambled for the ball on the grassy hill beyond center. Joe Buck channeled his father. Fireworks went off beyond the stadium's walls, their light bouncing off the Gateway Arch. The Cardinals leapt out of the dugout in joy. Freese jogged around the bases - you can run a little slower on a home run than on a triple - and then met his teammates at home plate. The Cardinals had thrown the last, decisive punch.

The Rangers were spent. They had twice been one strike away from a championship and let it slip away. And they couldn't put up much of a fight as the Cardinals rode the wave to a comfortable win in Game 7. It was the Cardinals' 11th title, the second-highest total in baseball history. The Rangers are still looking for their first.

Game 6, 2011 World Series Overall Rank: 2 Top 10 Swing: 286 Top play: David Freese's game-tying triple (WPA of 54% for St. Louis) Loser's largest WE: 96 Bottom of the 9th, 1 out, Texas up 7-5, Albert Pujols batting for St. Louis Average LI: 1.71 Highest leverage moment: 6.47 (B10, 2 outs, runners on first and second, Texas up 9-8, Lance Berkman batting for St. Louis)

  

Baseball's Most Exciting Games: Honorable Mention

Before I dig into the meat of my top 25 list of Baseball's Most Exciting Games, I thought I'd write about four games that were close, but just missed out on qualifying.

The first two is a pair of early World Series games that ended in ties. Both of these games would have made the Top 25 list if I hadn't made the arbitrary decision that ties in baseball are weird and thus shouldn't be talked about. Ties were much more common in baseball before the stadiums had lights, and the official policy was always to just pretend the games didn't happen and replay them later. 

But I can't imagine the disappointment you'd feel if you were watching an extra-inning World Series game, full of clutch hitting and dramatic comebacks, only to have the umpires decide it was too dark to continue and call it off. All that excitement, and the game didn't even count? Come on.

See? Four fingers. 

The first such game came in Game 1 of the 1907 World Series. One year after winning 116 games but losing the World Series, the Cubs were back as National League champions. They were led by pitcher Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown, who actually had four fingers, the liar (see picture at right). The American League champion was the Detroit Tigers, led by 20-year-old  Ty Cobb. In 1907, Cobb lead the American League in batting, runs batted in, and stolen bases. Plus at that point in his life he hadn't yet killed a man, so his future was bright.

(The early baseball world was a completely different world than ours.)  

In Game 1, the Tigers - with the help of three Cub errors - scored three runs in the top of the 8th to take a 3-1 lead. The Cubs got one back in the bottom of the ninth and had two runners on with two outs. Tigers pitcher Wild Bill Donovan then struck out pinch-hitter Del Howard to seemingly end the game, but catcher Boss Schmidt dropped the third strike, allowing Howard to reach and the tying run to score. During the next plate appearance, Schmidt redeemed himself by tagging out Johnny Evers trying to steal home. Schmidt also tagged out a runner at the plate to end the 10th inning. There was no more scoring (despite the Cubs loading the bases in the 11th) and the game was called by darkness after the 12th inning.

Game 1, 1907 World Series Overall Rank: 21 Top 10 Swing: 193 Top play: B9, 2 out, Detroit up 3-2, Del Howard strikes out, Harry Steinfeldt scores on E2, Johnny Evers to 3rd, Howard to 1st (WPA of 40% for Chicago) Loser's largest WE: 95 Detroit leading 3-1, T9, 1 out, 1 on base (measured as highest WE for either team since game ended as a tie) Average LI: 1.89 Highest leverage moment: 8.15 (Howard's at bat in B9)

The other tie that cracked the top 25 list was Game 2 of the 1912 World Series. With the Red Sox leading the series 1-0, Game 2 was played in Fenway Park, then in its inaugural season. Fenway has had a gigantic wall in left field since the day it opened, but in 1912 the wall wasn't green, and there was a 10-foot-tall hill leading up to it from the playing field. Because safety! That hill eventually got the nickname Duffy's Cliff because of the skill Boston leftfielder Duffy Lewis showed in navigating it.

But with Boston leading 4-2 in the eighth inning. Duffy Lewis fell on Duffy's Cliff while chasing a fly ball. His fall helped start a New York Giant rally, which ended with them taking a 5-4 lead. The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the 8th, and the game eventually went into extra innings. 

In the top of the 10th, Fred Merkle (old time baseball names ruled) hit a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly. And then came the chaos of the bottom of the 10th. With one out, Tris Speaker hit one deep to center field. As he was rounding first, he appeared to miss the base, but he kept right on going past second and on to third, where Giants third baseman Buck Herzog got in his way, apparently intentionally. Speaker crashed into Herzog, but kept going anyway, and he scored when catcher Art Wilson dropped the relay throw. The Giants appealed to the umpires about Speaker missing first, but the appeal was denied, and the game was tied. 

(Imagine for a second if that play had happened in modern times. Sports Twitter would have melted.)

Anyway, two Giants were thrown out stealing in the top of the 11th, the Red Sox went down in order in the bottom of the inning, and the umpires decided to call it a tie, ignoring the protests of the players who thought they could keep going.

 

Game 2, 1912 World Series Overall Rank: 15 Top 10 Swing: 247 Top Play: B10, 1 out, New York up 6-5, Tris Speaker triples to center, scores on error by catcher (WPA of 47% for Boston) Loser's largest WE: 88 The start of Speaker's at bat in the 10th (measured as highest WE for either team since game ended as a tie) Average LI: 1.70 Highest leverage moment: 6.88 (B9, 2 outs, bases loaded, game tied 5-5, Red Murray batting for New York)

The other two honorable mention games actually came to a conclusion. Game 1 of the 1946 World Series was the first World Series game for the Red Sox since they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1919.  The Cardinals were one strike from winning in the top of the ninth before Tom McBride hit an RBI single to tie the game. Boston's Rudy York then hit a home run in the 10th to win it. Other people who played in this series included Ted Williams (in his first full season back from the War), Stan Musial (playing in his fourth World Series in five seasons), and Johnny Pesky, Pinky Higgins, Rip Russell, Harry Walker, and Tex Hughson (all listed because, again, old-time baseball names ruled). 

  

Game 1, 1946 World Series Overall Rank: 29 Top 10 Swing: 219 Top Play: T10, 2 outs, tied 2-2, Rudy York homers to left (WPA of 42% for Boston) Loser's largest WE: 92 St. Louis leading 2-1, 1 out, T9, Pinky Higgins batting Average LI: 1.70 Highest leverage moment: 6.12 (B9, 1 out, runners on 1st and 3rd, St. Louis leading 2-1, Roy Partee batting for Boston)

The other game that just missed the cutoff was Game 7 of the 1924 World Series, a game that was surprisingly modern. Washington Senators manager Bucky Harris (also the team's second baseman) picked righty Curly Ogden as the starting pitcher, forcing the New York Giants to commit to their left-handed lineup; after one batter, Harris brought in lefty George Mogridge as the actual starter. It was one of baseball's first instances of the "Opener." 

The opener concept worked great for a while, as the Senators had a 1-0 lead going into the 6th inning. But the Giants scored three times in the 6th (with the help of two straight Washington errors) and the Senators trailed 3-1 going into the 8th.  

In the 8th, with the bases loaded and two outs, Harris hit a grounder to third that seemed certain to end the inning. However, it took a bad hop off a pebble to get past Freddie Lindstrom to score two runs and tie the game. Walter Johnson then entered in relief for Washington in the top of the 9th and held the Giants scoreless through the 12th. In the bottom of the 12th, Washington's Muddy Ruel hit a popup behind the plate that Giants catcher Hank Gowdy seemed to be tracking. But Gowdy stepped on his discarded catcher's mask, fell over, and let the ball drop. Ruel then doubled to put the Series winning run on base. Two batters later, Earl McNeely hit a grounder to third that should have ended the inning, but another bad hop off a pebble let the ball get into left field, allowing Ruel to score the series-winning run.

(Even though that series was 98 years ago, there's a surviving highlight reel. Think of it as 1924's version of SportsCenter.)

Game 7, 1924 World Series Overall Rank: 28 Top 10 Swing: 215 Top Play: B8, 2 out, bases loaded, New York up 3-1, Bucky Harris singles to left, Nemo Leibold and Muddy Ruel score, Mule Shirley to second (WPA of 35% for Washington) Loser's largest WE: 87 B8, 1 out, nobody on base, Nemo Leibold batting  Average LI: 1.88 Highest leverage moment: 6.05 (Harris' 8th-inning single)

So those were the just-missed games, the two I cut off the list because ties in baseball are stupid and the two that just missed. That Senators win in particular is one always mentioned when people compile lists of the greatest ever baseball games. And yet it didn't make the top 25. 

Starting tomorrow, we'll begin the actual list of baseball's 25 most exciting games, looking at a game where both teams pulled off three-run rallies that started with two outs in the inning. 

2011 World Series: About last year

The Teams
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) - 18th World Series (Won 10 previous times)
American League: Texas Rangers (96-66) - Second World Series


What Happened
So that was it, then. The Cardinals kept trying to come back from deficits in the sixth game of the World Series, but they had finally run out of outs. David Freese's two-out line drive was hit right at Texas right fielder Nelson Cruz, and it was going to be the final out of series, and the Cardinals' season of comebacks will end one comeback short. Cruz had to just run back and to his left - not the easiest catch, but one he should have easily made.

But Cruz didn't run back and to his left. He drifted. Maybe he misread the ball, or maybe he thought he was closer to the wall than he was, but Cruz didn't get all the way back on the ball, and it sailed over his head, hitting the wall. Two runs scored, and Freese slid into third, and the Cardinals jumped up and down in exhilaration while the Rangers noticeably slumped their shoulders in shock. They were one strike from a championship. Instead, they had to play on ... and try to keep Freese at third.



Freese stayed there, and the teams entered the 10th. The Rangers took the lead again, as Josh Hamilton hit a massive home two-run home run. Once again, the Rangers had a two-run lead with three outs to go to clinch the championship. And once again, the Cardinals came back. They had already scored once when Albert Pujols came up to bat with two outs and a runner on second. That's when Texas manager Ron Washington made all major league managers, past and present, alive and dead, gasp in shock: he walked Pujols to put the game-winning run on base.

It defied all logic. It broke all the rules of managing, both written and unwritten. And ... it kinda made sense. That's how good Pujols had been that series, including his three home run game in Game 3. With the World Series on the line, Washington decided he'd rather face anybody else. And it almost didn't work, as Lance Berkman hit a single that scored the game-tying run and sent Pujols to third. Pujols stayed there, though, and the teams went on to the 11th.

And then David Freese did what Washington was afraid Pujols would do. He ended this incredible, indescribable game with a home run.


Game 6 was just one game, but it was the best World Series game in a decade. The 2011 World Series only happened a year ago, but it's the game that stands out, and deservedly so. There were a couple other great games in the series; Game 2, for example, was scoreless until a lone Cardinals run in the 7th, but the Rangers scored twice in the ninth to win it. But Game 6 is what stands out. It's true now, one year later, and it will likely be true 50 years from now. It was just one of those games.

MVP
Freese. He had the two huge hits in Game 6, plus the game-tying double early in Game 7. An easy pick. 

Scores 
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Texas	2	2	7	4	4	9	2
St. Louis	3	1	16	0	2	10 (11)	6

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

5. 2011 - St. Louis (N) def. Texas (A) 4-3
6. 1912 - Boston (A) def. New York (N) 4-3 (1 tie)
7. 1992 - Toronto (A) def. Atlanta (N) 4-2
8. 1947 - New York (A) def. Brooklyn (N) 4-3
9. 1972 - Oakland (A) def. Cincinnati (N) 4-3
Numbers 10-19
Numbers 20-29
Numbers 30-39
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

3. 1960: Pittsburgh 10, New York (A) 9
5. 1997: Florida 3, Cleveland 2
6. 1912: Boston (A) 3, New York (N) 2 (game 8)
7. 1946: St. Louis (N) 4, Boston (A) 3
9. 1925: Pittsburgh 9, Washington 7
10. 1926: St. Louis (N) 3, New York (A) 2
11. 1962: New York (A) 1, San Francisco 0
12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
14. 1952: New York (A) 4, Brooklyn 2
15. 1971: Pittsburgh 2, Baltimore 1
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
17. 1972: Oakland 3, Cincinnati 2
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
20. 1986: New York (N) 8, Boston 5 
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
23. 1973: Oakland 5, New York (N) 2
24. 2002: Anaheim 4, San Francisco 1
25. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
26. 1947: New York (A) 5, Brooklyn 2
27. 2011: St. Louis 6, Texas 2
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5
30. 1957: Milwaukee 5, New York (A) 0
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0 
35. 1985: Kansas City 11, St. Louis 0
36. 1956: New York (A) 9, Brooklyn 0

1926 World Series: Alexander in the Rain

The Teams
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (89-65) - First World Series
American League: New York Yankees (91-63) - Fourth World Series (Won in 1923)

What Happened
Lou Gehrig tossed the bat aside and jogged to first. The Yankees would have probably much preferred to have Gehrig swing the bat, but the Cardinals were having none of it, not with Game 7 of the World Series on the line. So Gehrig went to first, and the bases were loaded, and Tony Lazzeri walked to the plate. 1926 was Lazzeri's rookie season, but he hit the ground running, hitting 18 home runs, driving in 114 runs, and finishing 10th in the MVP voting. He wasn't Ruth or Gehrig, but he was a feared hitter.

So the Yankee fans roared to life. They were still down 3-2, with two outs in the seventh, but they had all the momentum. Cardinals manager Rogers Hornsby walked slowly in from his position at second base to the mound to speak to pitcher Jesse Haines. Haines, a knuckleballer, had thrown a great game, capping off a great series, but he couldn't go on. All those knuckleballs had popped blisters on his finger tips; he was bleeding, and it was raining to boot, so he couldn't grip the ball. So with the crowd still roaring, Hornsby pointed out to the bullpen beyond the outfield.

The bullpen door swung open, and out walked a tall, lanky figure, walking slowly, deliberately through the mist. The man walking toward the mound had seen it all, done it all, except win the World Series. Now here he was, 39 years old, alcoholic and epileptic, coming in for the most important appearance of his career. And at the sight of him, the Yankee fans fell deathly silent.

Grover Cleveland Alexander, often known as Old Pete, had already won 327 games when he walked toward the Yankee Stadium mound that day. More importantly, he had beaten the Yankees twice in that World Series, including a complete-game victory the previous day. Because of those nine innings, nobody expected him to see the mound in Game 7, most of all, probably, Alexander himself. But there he was, taking the ball from Hornsby and preparing to save the Cardinals' season. And the Yankee fans fell silent, because they knew what he could do.

Hornsby asked Alexander how he wanted to pitch to Lazzeri. Alexander wanted to start him with a high and inside fastball. Hornsby wasn't sure, but Alexander said "Sure, he'll swing, but he'll never be able to keep it fair." Hornsby nodded and jogged back to his position. Alexander turned toward the plate to face Lazzeri, one epileptic to another, and fired a high and inside fastball. Lazzeri swung and blasted it high and deep to left, and for a moment, Yankee fans had hope. But just like Alexander had predicted, the ball started drifting, eventually landing safely foul in the seats in deep left. Strike one.

Having shown Lazzeri the fastball, the wily Alexander now had the rookie right where he wanted him. The next two pitches were breaking balls, starting in the middle of the plate and breaking hard away. Lazzeri had no chance, flailing at both of them to strike out and end the inning.

Alexander's strike out of Lazzeri was the biggest out of the series, but it wasn't over yet. Alexander retired the next five Yankees, bringing up Babe Ruth with two out in the bottom of the ninth. It was a potentially great moment, the Hall of Fame pitcher against the greatest player of all time with a World Series on the line. But Alexander and Hornsby wanted nothing to do with it. Ruth had already homered four times in the series, and Alexander wasn't going to make it five. He walked Ruth, officially not intentionally, but it might as well have been. And just as Alexander settled in to face Bob Meusel, Ruth inexplicably broke for second.

Maybe he was frustrated at the Cardinals refusing to pitch to him, as his ninth inning walk was his fourth of the game and his 11th of the series. Or maybe he thought he could catch the Cardinals napping and put himself in scoring position. Whatever he was thinking, most observers agreed that Ruth's decision to try to steal in the 9th inning of Game 7 was by far the worst decision of his career, maybe even the only mental mistake he ever made. He was thrown out by a mile. The Cardinals were World Champions.

MVP
Had Haines been able to finish Game 7, he might have had an argument. But Alexander won the MVP award the moment those bullpen doors opened in Game 7.  (Well, there wasn't an official MVP award back then, but you get the idea). Along with his Game 7 save, Alexander won Games 2 and 6 and gave up only four runs on 12 hits while striking out 17 in 20 innings pitched. And while he pitched in four more seasons after 1926, the World Series title was the fitting cap to a brilliant career.

Random Fact
The Cardinals were the last National League team to make it to a World Series. By 1926, the only team that hadn't made it were the Browns, the Cardinals' landlords, who wouldn't break through until 1944.

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

St. Louis	1	6	4	5	2	10	3
New York	2	2	0	10	3 (10)	2	2

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

13. 1926 - St. Louis (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
14. 1995 - Atlanta (N) def. Cleveland (A) 4-2
15. 1960 - Pittsburgh (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
16. 1952 - New York (A) def. Brooklyn (N) 4-3
17. 1997 - Florida (N) def. Cleveland (A) 4-3
18. 1993 - Toronto (A) def. Philadelphia (N) 4-2
19. 1956 - New York (A) def. Brooklyn (N) 4-3
Numbers 20-29
Numbers 30-39
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

3. 1960: Pittsburgh 10, New York (A) 9
5. 1997: Florida 3, Cleveland 2
7. 1946: St. Louis (N) 4, Boston (A) 3
9. 1925: Pittsburgh 9, Washington 7
10. 1926: St. Louis (N) 3, New York (A) 2
12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
14. 1952: New York (A) 4, Brooklyn 2
15. 1971: Pittsburgh 2, Baltimore 1
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
23. 1973: Oakland 5, New York (N) 2
24. 2002: Anaheim 4, San Francisco 1
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5
30. 1957: Milwaukee 5, New York (A) 0
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0 
35. 1985: Kansas City 11, St. Louis 0
36. 1956: New York (A) 9, Brooklyn 0

September 28, 2011: The Final Day

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Where was the best seat in the house for something like this? The final day of the season, four games, four different cities, each with playoff implications. The best place, of course, was your couch at home, where you could take in all the action as it happened - no relying on the scoreboard to show highlights, no peering at the out-of-town scores and wondering if they're up-to-the-minute.

But imagine what it was like in the normally stale Tropicana Field on September 28, 2011, as Rays fans were treated to updates to three games that swung the postseason fortunes of four teams, plus a game happening right in front of them, the first one to start and the last one to end, the one that decided it all.

At 7:10 eastern, the first pitch was thrown in St. Petersburg (Rays vs. Yankees), Atlanta (Braves against Phillies), and Baltimore (Orioles vs. Red Sox). Four hours later, none of those games were over, the two playoff spots available still up for grabs. Their drama easily overshadowed the fourth big game of the night, the Houston-St. Louis tilt that started at 8:10 and was over about 10 minutes later. The Cardinals scored four runs in the first, Chris Carpenter only gave up two hits, and St. Louis beat the hapless Astros 8-0 to clinch a tie for the NL Wild Card spot. After the game, they boarded a plane for St. Louis not knowing if their next game would a one-game playoff at home against Atlanta or Game 1 of the NLDS in Philadelphia.

The Phillies and Braves were deciding that one for themselves down in Dixie, with Atlanta hoping to avert a huge collapse, while Philadelphia was trying to knock their division rival out of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Rays and Red Sox were tied for the AL Wild Card lead, with the Rays needing to get past the division-champion Yankees at home and the Red Sox forced to deal with the lowly Orioles on the road. The next five hours were a flurry of game- and season-changing swings, shifts of momentum so dramatic it gave viewers whiplash. If you were watching at home and you took too long watching a replay of another dramatic hit, you risked missing watching the next one. It was a baseball night for the ages.

(All Times Eastern)

7:40 - Dustin Pedroia singles for Boston, driving in the first run in Baltimore.
7:54 - Mark Teixiera hits a grand slam for New York, putting the Yankees up 5-0 in the second inning.
8:03 - Dan Uggla homers for Atlanta, putting the Braves up 3-1 in the third.
8:06 - J.J. Hardy hits a two-run home run for Baltimore, putting the Orioles ahead of Boston 2-1.
8:20 - A balk ties the game in Baltimore.
8:35 - Teixiera homers again for New York, making it 6-0. While he's being congratulated in the dugout, Pedroia homers for Boston, and the Red Sox are ahead 3-2.
9:07 - After three scoreless innings in Atlanta, the Braves' Jack Wilson commits an error to reduce the Braves' lead to 3-2.
9:34 - With Boston leading 3-2, the seventh-inning stretch turned into a rain delay. As they walked into their clubhouse, they saw that Tampa Bay was trailing 7-0, and they breathed a sigh of relief. They had gone 7-19 in September to blow a 9-game lead in the wild card, but now it looked like they'd get in anyway. After all, at that exact point, Tampa Bay's win expectancy was 0. Nada. The Red Sox sat back to watch like the rest of the country.

While it was raining in Baltimore ...

9:56 - A Chase Utley sacrifice fly ties the Philadelphia-Atlanta game at 3-3 in the top of the ninth.
10:11 - Wilson strikes out for the final out in the bottom of the ninth. Atlanta and Philadelphia are going to extra innings.
10:17 - Sam Fuld draws a bases-loaded walk for Tampa Bay's first run. It was still 7-1 in the eighth inning in their game, but Fuld's walk was the start of something. Because then Sean Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to score a second run, and a sacrifice fly scored a third run. Then, at
10:23 - Evan Longoria hits a three-run home run to cut the Rays deficit to 7-6.

Here, then, came one of those Baseball Moments, the kind of thing that happens only in America's oldest sport. At 10:47, the Rays were one out from likely elimination. They were trailing 7-6, while the Red Sox were waiting out a rain shower with a 3-2 lead. Coming up to bat for Tampa Bay was Dan Johnson, a .108 hitter who hadn't gotten a hit since April 27. The last hope for Tampa had almost no hope of getting it done. But then,

10:47 - Johnson hits a deep line drive to right field that says fair by about two inches. Home run. Tie game. Bedlam. Chaos. And the night was just getting started.
10:58 - In Baltimore, the Red Sox wander out of the clubhouse in a daze. Their game was continuing, while they had watched their sure playoff berth disappear into the seats in Tampa Bay. They still had the lead in their game, but if this was a boxing match, they were staggering.
11:13 - In Atlanta - remember this game? - Martin Prado grounds out with runners on the corners to end the 12th inning. On to the 13th.
11:18 - Boston's Marco Scutaro is thrown out at home trying to extend Boston's lead. It remains 3-2 entering the ninth.
11:28 - A two-out infield single by Hunter Pence in the 13th inning gives the Phillies the lead for the first time since the top of the first.
11:40 - Phillies 4, Atlanta 3, Final. Atlanta is eliminated. On their flight back home, St. Louis starts to celebrate their playoff berth. Meanwhile, Jonathan Papelbon is in the game to close it out for Boston, with a win giving them no worse than a tie for the Wild Card. He strikes out the first two batters before giving up a first-pitch double to Chris Davis.
11:59 - Nolan Reimold hits a double for Baltimore, tying the game.
12:02 - Robert Andino hits a sinking liner to left. At first, it looks like Carl Crawford is going to catch it, but he just misses it. Reimold scores. Baltimore wins. The Red Sox walk off the field in shock, their collapse complete.



12:05 - In St. Petersburg, with Evan Longoria up in the bottom of the 12th, the sign appears on the scoreboard: BAL 4, BOS 3, F. The crowd goes wild, cheering madly and ringing their cowbells, believing in miracles. The Rays are on the top step of the dugout, pounding the railing in anticipation. Longoria steps out of the batters box because of the cheering, calming himself. He steps back in. He swings. A low liner to left. Hooking. Sinking.

Gone.

1946 World Series: The Mad Dash

The Teams
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (98-58) - Ninth World Series (Won in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944)
American League: Boston Red Sox (104-50) - Sixth World Series (Won in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918)


What Happened
Harry Walker ripped a liner to left center, and Enos Slaughter took off. Two outs, tie game, eighth inning, Game 7 - there was no reason for hesitation. Slaughter got a great jump and was already halfway to third base when the Boston outfielders were getting to the ball. Approaching third base, Slaughter snuck a peak over his right should to try to figure out how close Dom DiMaggio was to the ball, and ... wait, where the hell was DiMaggio?

That's right. On the bench. There were three DiMaggio brothers who played Major League baseball, and it was said that of the three, Joe was the best hitter, Dom was the best fielder, and Vince was the best singer. Dom could hit a little, too, as evidenced by his spot in the No. 3 hole in the Boston lineup, directly in front of the legendary Ted Williams. It was Dom's two-out, two-run double in the top of the eighth that put this Game 7 in a tie to begin with. But as he rounded first, he felt something pull in his leg; he made it to second, but that was it. He had to come out. He was replaced by Leon Culberson, who was no DiMaggio, either in the field or at the bat. Hopefully, as far as the Red Sox were concerned, it wouldn't matter.

It mattered. At least, to Enos Slaughter it mattered. With DiMaggio and his laser arm out in center field, Slaughter might have stopped at third base on that hit. But it was Culberson, and Slaughter kept going, running right through his coach's stop sign and accelerating toward home. Culberson retrieved the ball and threw to cutoff man Johnny Pesky, who ....

... wait, an aside here. For more than 50 years, most people who were at Game 7 claimed that Pesky hesitated when catching the throw from Culberson. The story went that Culberson threw in to Pesky, and Pesky, not expecting to have to throw the ball, turned around and paused to look for the runners, only throwing when he saw Slaughter running for home. It was a convenient story, a good place for Red Sox fans to look when trying to find a scapegoat for what would be their first World Series loss ever. But it wasn't true. Video unearthed many decades after the fact showed the play clearly, and it showed that Pesky didn't hesistate. He got the ball, he spun, and he fired, all in one motion. Maybe he was surprised, and because of that he didn't get everything he could have on his throw. But he didn't hesitate.

Back to the game, although the suspense is probably gone at this point. Slaughter slid home well ahead of the throw, giving St. Louis the lead. His run was praised as the ultimate example of hustle, and it is often said that he scored from first on a single, a compliment that leaves out the minor detail that Walker was (admittedly very generously) awarded a double on the hit. After Boston went down in order in the ninth, St. Louis had its third World Championship of the decade, while Boston was left scratching their heads.

Little did the Red Sox know that Slaughter's Mad Dash in 1946 was the beginning of the Curse of the Bambino. It had been a great series so far, with the teams alternating wins through the first six games. Game 1 had been the best so far, with Tom McBride rescuing the Red Sox from the dead with a game-tying single with two outs in the ninth. Rudy York then hit a go-ahead home run with two outs in the tenth - bouncing it off a concession stand in left field - to give the Red Sox the win. The main story line for the rest of the series was the struggles of Ted Williams, who hit only .200 with one run batted in in what turned out to be his only World Series. Despite that, the Red Sox were still up 3-games-to-2 when the series returned to St. Louis for Games 6 and 7. They never got that that fourth win. In fact, it took them until 2004 to get that fourth win.

MVP
Walker had better overall numbers, and got the series-winning hit, but Slaughter's mad dash was the defining moment of the series, and it capped a seven game where it seemed like Slaughter got every big hit for St. Louis.

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Boston	3 (10)	0	4	3	6	1	3
St. Louis	2	3	0	12	3	4	4

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

28. 1946 - St. Louis (N) def. Boston (A) 4-3
29. 1925 - Pittsburgh (N) def. Washington (A) 4-3
Numbers 30-39
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

7. 1946: St. Louis (N) 4, Boston (A) 3
9. 1925: Pittsburgh 9, Washington 7
12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5
30. 1957: Milwaukee 5, New York (A) 0
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0 
36. 1985: Kansas City 11, St. Louis 0

1985 World Series: The Champions of Missouri

The Teams
American League: Kansas City Royals (91-71) - Second World Series
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (101-61) - 14th World Series (won in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982)

What Happened
The Buckner Game. The Bartman Game. Merkle's Boner. Baseball history is full of games known for one disastrous event, an event that, while it may not have been the direct cause of a team's misfortune, it was still received most of the blame. Another such game was Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, now forever known as the Denkinger Game.

It's too bad that the Denkinger Game is what's remembered about this series, because it was a fairly good series. Both teams used speed and pitching as their primary weapons, with that strategy taken to an extreme by the Cardinals. St. Louis stole 317 bases in 1985, the highest total in the National League since 1912, and advanced to their second World Series of the decade.

Also playing in their second World Series were the Royals, who were a dynasty on the way down. After coming close to the World Series three times in the 1970s and making it - but losing - in 1980, the Royals started to sink down the standings as their key players started to age. With young pitchers refueling the roster, the revitalized Royals bounced back into the postseason for one last chance at a championship.

The Cardinals won the first two games in Kansas City, but only one won of the three home games, forcing a return to Kansas City. With a championship in their sites, St. Louis took the lead in Game 6 with a pinch-hit single by third-string catcher Brian Harper, his first hit of the postseason. That tlead was still in place in the bottom of the ninth when rookie Todd Worrell took the mound to try to nail down a championship. Kansas City pinch-hitter Jorge Orta lead off with a chopper down the first-base line. Jack Clark fielded the ball cleanly and flipped it to Worrell in what seemed like plenty of time to get the first out, but first-base umpire Don Denkinger inexplicably called Orta safe.

Looks out to me.

The Cardinals went ballistic, arguing in vain that Denkinger had blown the call. He didn't flinch. The call had been made, and it wasn't gonna change. Still upset about the call, the Cardinals melted down. The only out they got in the bottom of the ninth was on a failed sacrifice attempt, and the Royals won on Dane Iorg's two-run bases-loaded single.
 
After the game, the Cardinals acted as if Denkinger himself had cost them the game, even though his blown call meant there was a runner on first with nobody on base, a situation many teams had gotten out of with no problem. That didn't matter. The Cardinals were pissed, and they stayed that way through Game 7. With Denkinger behind the plate for the deciding game, St. Louis melted down. Manager Whitey Herzog was ejected in the third inning, while pitcher Joaquin Andujar - the Cardinals' fifth pitcher of the game - was kicked out in the fifth. By the time the carnage was done, Kansas City had won its first championship with an 11-0 pounding, and the Cardinals and their fans were left cursing Denkinger's name.

MVP
It has been said that Bret Saberhagen was a great pitcher only in odd-numbered years. Well, 1985 was an odd-numbered year. He went 20-6 to win the Cy Young Award that year, then continued his domination in the postseason, beating the Cardinals with a pair of complete-game gems. He only gave up 1 run in a Game 3 win, then shut out the Cardinals during their Game 7 meltdown.


Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

St. Louis	3	4	1	3	1	1	0
Kansas City	1	2	6	0	6	2	11

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

31. 1985 - Kansas City (A) def. St. Louis (N) 4-3
32. 1969 - New York (N) def. Baltimore (A) 4-1
33. 1935 - Detroit (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-2
34. 1934 - St. Louis (N) def. Detroit (A) 4-3
35. 1964 - St. Louis (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
36. 2003 - Florida (N) def. New York (A) 4-2
37. 1977 - New York (A) def. Los Angeles (N) 4-2
38. 1996 - New York (A) def. Atlanta (N) 4-2
39. 1921 - New York (N) def. New York (A) 5-3

Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0 
36. 1985: Kansas City 11, St. Louis 0

1934 World Series: The Gashouse Gang

The Teams
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (95-58) - Fifth World Series (Won in 1926, 1931)
American League: Detroit Tigers (101-53) - Fourth World Series 

What Happened
The bravado started in spring training when Jay "Dizzy" Dean, the Cardinals ace known as much for his bravado as his pitching prowess, told the gathered reporters that "Me and Paul will win 50 games this year." Paul was Dizzy's younger brother, and 1934 was his first year in the Majors. For Dizzy to suggest that his rookie brother would match him in wins was beyond ridiculous, but statements like that were expected from Dizzy.

Turns out that Dizzy was something like a prophet. He won 30 games, Paul won 19, and the two brothers led the team that would become known as the Gashouse Gang. The name fit, as they looked and played like the poor, dirty, Depression-era small town fans who grew to love them. They ran their way into contention in the National League, entering the final weekend trailing the Giants by a half game. The St. Louis swept four straight from the Reds - with the Dean brothers winning three of those - while the Giants were getting swept in Brooklyn, and the Cardinals advanced to the World Series.

The 1934 Detroit Tigers didn't have a fancy nickname, but maybe they should of. Their No. 2 through 5 spots in the batting order were all occupied by Hall of Famers, and the four men comprising their starting infield missed only one game between them. They were good, and they took advantage of the aging Yankees to run away with the American League pennant with ease.

While the Tigers were good, they were inexperienced - the franchise had never won the World Series, and only two players on their playoff roster - player-manager Mickey Cochrane and outfielder Goose Goslin - had seen the promised land. That inexperience showed in Game 1, as the Tigers committed 5 errors. Since they were batting against Dizzy Dean, that was about four too many. After the Tigers evened the series in Game 2, it was Paul Dean's turn to shut them down, and the Cardinals took a 2-1 series lead.

The legend of Dizzy Dean grew in Game 4 when, sent into the game as a pinch-runner, he didn't bother to slide breaking up a double play and took a throw to the head. He was knocked unconscious and sent to the hospital, where is stay led to the famous headline "X-Ray of Dean's Head Reveals Nothing." The press got a good laugh at that, but the Cardinals weren't laughing, as they were down 3-2 in the series and heading back to Detroit for the final two games.

Paul Dean responded to the challenge in Game 6, throwing a complete game, getting the great Hank Greenberg to pop out to end an eighth-inning threat, and winning the game to force Game 7. Game 7 was ... well, the Tiger fans were throwing fruit and vegetables and paper on the field by the end of the third inning, during which the Cardinals scored seven runs to put the series away. Dizzy Dean - probably mostly recovered from his beaning - got two hits in the big inning, then threw strikes the rest of the way. With the Cardinals still piling on the runs and the crowd getting downright angry, all the tension finally came to a head in the sixth inning.

With two outs in the inning, Ducky Medwick hit a gapper and started running, not stopping until he was sliding - spikes first - into third. His slide knocked down Detroit's Marv Owen, which just made the crowd furious. They picked up the yelling and throwing stuff with a vengence, continuing as the Cardinals added two more runs, then really picking it up when Medwick took his normal spot in left field in the bottom of the inning. The umpires stopped the game twice to restore order, but to no avail; the chaos didn't end until Medwick was removed from the game by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. It was an unfair decision, of course, but since the Cardinals were up 11-0 nothing at that point, it didn't really matter. The Gashouse Gang had their title. And while they seemed primed for a National League dynasty, this Cardinals team fizzled out after their one glorious season. For all their fame and bravado, the Gashouse Gang only played in one World Series.

Defining Game
While the Cardinals had the Dean brothers, the Tigers had a great pitcher of their own in Schoolboy Rowe (Dizzy? Ducky? Schoolboy? What happened to all the great nicknames?) He was great for Detroit in a must-win Game 2, but he still trailed 2-1 entering the ninth inning. After Pete Fox singled to lead off the ninth for Detroit, Rowe went up to the plate himself. Naturally, the play would be to pinch-hit for the pitcher, but Rowe had batted above .300 in 1934. He knew what to do with a bat. He bunted Fox over to second, and Gee Walker - pinch hitting not for the pitcher, but the leadoff hitter - drove Fox in with the tying run. Rowe then kept the Tigers afloat until the 12th, when the Hall of Famers took over. Cochrane made the first out, but Charlie Gehringer and Greenberg drew consecutive walks, before Goslin drove home Gehringer with the game-winning run.

MVP
Medwick, Pepper Martin, and Ripper Collins all had great a great series at the plate. Any of them would have been a good choice for MVP. But this was Dizzy's team all the way. He and Paul won all four games of the series for St. Louis - for those keeping track, that put their season win total at 53 wins between them - and as the emotional leader of the Gashouse Gang (and because of his Game 7 shutout) Dizzy would have been the obvious choice.

Random Fact
With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 0-4 in World Series play in franchise history. In all four World Series, they were shut out in the clinching game. 

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

St. Louis	8	2	4	5	1	4	11
Detroit	3	3 (12)	1	10	3	3	0

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

34. 1934 - St. Louis (N) def. Detroit (A) 4-3
35. 1964 - St. Louis (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
36. 2003 - Florida (N) def. New York (A) 4-2
37. 1977 - New York (A) def. Los Angeles (N) 4-2
38. 1996 - New York (A) def. Atlanta (N) 4-2
39. 1921 - New York (N) def. New York (A) 5-3
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5

31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0

1964 World Series: Turning Point

The Teams
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (93-69) - 10th World Series (won in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946)
American League: New York Yankees (99-63) - 29th World Series (won 20 previous times)

What Happened
For the 15th time in 18 seasons, the Yankees won the American League pennant in 1964. It was a tradition as reliable as baseball itself. But this year, the Yankees dynasty was sputtering to an end. Mickey Mantle was now a sore-legged right fielder, Yogi Berra was managing rather than catching, and even the great Whitey Ford was starting to reach the end of the line.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were back on their way up. After dominating the 1940s with a team built by Branch Rickey, St. Louis fell back in the 1950s after Rickey moved on to Brooklyn and the stars he signed with the Cardinals started to retire. In 1964, though, they climbed back on top, riding the superb pitching of Bob Gibson to beat the Dodgers and Giants to the pennant.

Ford looked to give the Yankees an early lead in the series, and he took a 4-2 lead into the 6th inning. Then, suddenly, his arm went dead. With no warning or explanation, Ford lost all zip on his fastball and command of his off-speed pitches, and he left the game in the middle of the inning; he would never pitch in a World Series game again. Meanwhile, the Cardinals were mounting a comeback off Ford and reliever Al Downing. By the time they were done, they had a 9-5 win.

Ford's arm troubles turned out to be a lucky break for the Cardinals, as they lost the next two games, including Game 3 on a walk-off home run by Mantle. The Cardinals then seized the advantage in the series, winning Games 4 and 5 in Yankee Stadium. Game 4 was won on the strength of a Ken Boyer grand slam, and Gibson followed that up with a complete-game, 13-strikeout gem, which the Cardinals won on a three-run home run by Tim McCarver in the 10th.

Back home in St. Louis, the Cardinals blew their first chance to clinch by losing Game 6; Joe Pepitone's eighth-inning grand slam was the biggest blast. Game 7 was a matchup between Gibson, who was pitching just two days after throwing 10 innings in Game 5, and Mel Stottlemyre, the 22-year-old Yankee rookie who beat Gibson in Game 2. Like Gibson, Stottlemyre had also pitched in Game 7; unlike the great Cardinals' ace, he seemed to be affected by it. The Cardinals scored three runs off Stottlemyre in the 4th, then added three more off Downing in the 5th. That was enough for Gibson, but only just so - he gave up three home runs, including two in the ninth - but ended up with the 7-5 win.

The '64 series was viewed as a turning point in baseball. In a simply athletic sense, it propelled the Cardinals into dynasty stage, as they went to the World Series two more times in the 60s, while the Yankees wouldn't be back until 1976. On a larger front, it has retroactively been assigned a big racial significance, as the "blacker" National League had once again proven superior to the "whiter" American League. In reality, the Cardinals were a bad team to use as this example, as they were among the last National League teams to integrate, doing so seven years after Jackie Robinson debuted and just one year before the Yankees. Still, though, the fact remains that the National League teams were generally quick to embrace black or Hispanic players while the American League was slower to, and that seemed to change after 1964.

Defining Game
Through four innings, Game 5 was a great pitching duel between Gibson, the Cardinals ace, and Stottlemyre, the de facto Yankees ace now that Ford was out. The only threat came in the second, when the Yankees loaded the bases before Gibson struck out Clete Boyer (Ken's brother) and Stottlemyre to end the threat. That was it until Gibson started his own rally in the fifth, singling and scoring the first run. The Cardinals added one more run that inning, then sat back and let Gibson do his thing. That worked just fine until the 9th, when New York's Tom Tresh hit a stunning two-out, two-run home run to send the game into extra innings. Forced to work extra, the Cardinals bats woke up again, as McCarver's three-run home run gave Gibson a huge cushion. This time, he finished the job.

MVP
Not surprisingly, Gibson won the award after winning Games 5 and 7, even though of the three World Series he would eventually pitch in, this one was his worst. Still, you can't argue with 31 strikeouts in 27 innings. Well, unless you're McCarver. The Cardinals catcher batted .478 in the series with 11 hits and five runs batted in. He even added a steal of home in Game 7. Think of that the next time he says something asinine on a national baseball broadcast.

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

New York	5	8	2	3	2	8	5
St. Louis	9	3	1	4	5 (10)	3	7

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

35. 1964 - St. Louis (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
36. 2003 - Florida (N) def. New York (A) 4-2
37. 1977 - New York (A) def. Los Angeles (N) 4-2
38. 1996 - New York (A) def. Atlanta (N) 4-2
39. 1921 - New York (N) def. New York (A) 5-3
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5

31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0

1982 World Series: Budweiser vs. Miller

The Teams
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (92-70) - 13th World Series (won in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967)
American League: Milwaukee Brewers (95-67) - First World Series

What Happened
It was power against speed. Harvey's Wallbangers against Whiteyball. The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals certainly took different approaches to winning in 1982. The Brewers were offense at its finest, with 8 players reaching double figures in home runs and 6 getting to 20. The Cardinals, meanwhile, did it with speed, finishing last in the National League in home runs but stealing a league-high 200 bases and hitting almost as many triples as home runs.

One thing they had in common was a Hall of Fame closer, but while Bruce Sutter was ready and able to close games out for the Cardinals, Rollie Fingers was not able to answer the bell for the Brewers. After getting injured in September of that year, Fingers was unavailable for the entire playoffs, and a team that desperately needed veteran postseason leadership would have to find it elsewhere.

I had a longtime Brewer fan tell me once that Milwaukee would have won the 1982 World Series if Fingers had been healthy. Not knowing any better, I took his word for it at the time, but now I'm not so sure. No closers were needed in Game 1 - a 10-0 Brewers win - or Game 6 - a 13-1 win for the Cardinals. But what about the others?

The two best bets for games where Fingers would have made a difference were Games 2 and 7. First, Game 2. With the Brewers up 4-2, St. Louis catcher Darrell Porter hit a 2-run double in the sixth inning to tie the game. The Cardinals then got two runners on against starter-turned-reliever Bob McClure in the 7th before McClure got out of it, then got two more on in the 8th before manager Harvey Kuenn pulled the plug. In came de facto closer Pete Ladd, who walked the next two hitters to force home the eventual winning run. Brewer fans might say Fingers would have made a difference there, but would he have even been in the game? Before getting hurt, he only entered the game 10 times when the Brewers didn't have the lead in 1982, and while he was asked to pitch multiple innings many times in his time with the Athletics, Fingers was rarely asked to do so with the Brewers in 1982, especially late in the season. It's much more likely that, since it was a road game, he would have been saved with the hope the Brewers took the lead. And even if he came in to clean up McClure's mess in the 8th and succeeded, there's no guarantee the Brewers would have scored off Sutter to get the win.

So then to look at Game 7. Again, the Brewers lead in the late innings, taking a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 6th. Then, starter Pete Vuckovich gave up two straight one out hits before giving way to McClure, who promptly walked his first batter before giving up a devastating - and, as it turned out, series-turning - bases-loaded single to Keith Hernandez. George Hendrick followed with a go-ahead single, and the Cardinals held on from there. So would Fingers had made a difference? Again, it's unlikely he would have been in the game so early. At no point during the season did Fingers enter a game before the 7th inning, and while Kuenn would have been well within his right to bring in his Hall of Famer at that point, he would have been playing with fire by asking his 35-year-old closer to get 11 outs in a Game 7.

There's no doubt Fingers would have pitched better than the relievers Milwaukee threw out there in the 1982 World Series, but there's a lot of doubt that he would have been able to have much influence in the outcomes of the games. Milwaukee didn't lose the 1982 World Series because Fingers was hurt. They lost because they didn't have enough quality pitchers to go with their sterling offensive players.

Defining Game
Sometimes, all a team needs is the smallest opening, and they burst through. One small misstep, one little mistake, and you pay for it big time. That happened to St. Louis in Game 4, and it almost cost them the series. The Cardinals were up 5-1 in the 8th inning, five outs away from a 3-games-to-1 series lead. Then Ben Ogilvie hit a grounder to Hernandez at first, and Hernandez flipped it towards Cardinals starter Dave LaPoint, and LaPoint dropped the ball. It was a small opening, and Milwaukee took full advantage. After four hits, two walks, and a wild pitch, Milwaukee had scored six unearned runs. They retied the series, and it took the Cardinals two games to recover.

MVP
Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter won the award under the always possible "somebody's gotta win it" theory. Sure, he had a fine series, with 8 hits and 5 runs batted in, none bigger than his sixth inning two-out, two-strike, two-run double to tie Game 2. But it's not the type of resume that jumps out at you. Joaquin Andujar probably should have won the award, since he won both his starts, including Game 7. But the fact that it was only two starts might have hurt him. In truth, the best player in the series was Milwaukee's Robin Yount, who had 12 hits for a .414 average, but nobody's going to vote for someone from the losing team any more.   

Scores(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Milwaukee	10	4	2	7	6	1	3
St. Louis	0	5	6	5	4	13	6

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

47. 1982 - St. Louis (N) def. Milwaukee (A) 4-3
48. 1923 - New York (A) def. New York (N) 4-2
49. 1944 - St. Louis (N) def. St. Louis (A) 4-2
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York 0
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 2
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles 2, Minnesota 0 
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0 

1944 World Series: St. Louis Showdown

The Teams
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (105-49) - Eighth World Series (won in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942)
American League: St. Louis Browns (89-65) - First World Series

What Happened
The mass exodus of players to World War II reached its peak in 1944, as nearly every Major League team was missing one or two star players. The lone exception was the St. Louis Cardinals, who kept virtually all their players, stars or not, and so cruised to their third straight National League pennant. Over in the American League, the lack of stars left the race wide open, and in the end, the Cardinals' landlords, the St. Louis Browns, ended up on top.

While the Cardinals were used to the World Series by this point, the Browns were not. The 1944 season was their first American League pennant; really, it was one of the only times they ever came close. And while they might not have been too happy to face their tenants in the World Series, both teams fans were beside themselves in excitement. And at least the teams didn't have to travel.

The Browns started their first series in style. They only got two hits off Cardinals ace Mort Cooper in Game 1, but they came in back-to-back at bats, and the second one was a home run by George McQuinn in the fourth inning. The two runs were enough for an opening win. After losing Game 2 in 11 innings, the Browns fought back to take Game 3, getting five straight singles in the third to put the game away early.

The Browns were on top of the world, leading the World Series 2 games to 1. Unfortunately, that was the high point of the franchise. Stan Musial killed any momentum the Browns might have had with a two-run home run in the top of the first in Game 4, and the Browns only scored two runs the rest of the series. The Cardinals won the series 4-2, and the Browns never got back there. They quickly plummeted back to the lower parts of the standings they were used to, and nine years later, they were playing in Baltimore.

Defining Game
After the Browns stunned the Cardinals in Game 1, the Cardinals were hoping to limit the damage by tying the series in Game 2. They scored a pair of unearned runs off Nels Potter to take a 2-0 lead before the Browns tied it with a pair in the seventh. After both teams failed to capitalize on threats in the 8th inning, there was little action until the 11th. McQuinn - who was by far the Browns best hitter all series - led off the top of the 11th with a double. When the Browns tried to sacrifice him over to third, Cardinals reliever Blix Donnelly fielded the bunt and fired to third to get the lead runner. That killed the Browns threat, and the Cardinals offense took it from there. Ray Sanders led off the bottom of the 11th with a single, and was on second after a successful sacrifice. Ken O'Dea then ended it with a single. The Cardinals' Game 2 win was huge, and it looked even bigger when the Browns won the next day.

MVP
McQuinn was the best player in the series, batting .438 with 5 of the Browns' 9 runs batted in, stats that look even more better considering the Cardinals walked him every opportunity they got. But his team lost, and Musial's team didn't. He led a balanced Cardinals attack with a .308 average and three extra base hits, and his Game 4 home run may have been the biggest hit of the series.


Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Stl Browns	2	2	6	1	0	1
Stl Cardinals	1	3 (11)	2	5	2	3

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

49. 1944 - St. Louis (N) def. St. Louis (A) 4-2
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107