{{infobox world series expanded | image

| year 1979 | champion Pittsburgh Pirates (4) | champion_manager Chuck Tanner | champion_games 98–64, .605, GA: 2 | runnerup Baltimore Orioles (3) | runnerup_manager Earl Weaver | runnerup_games 102–57, .642, GA: 8 | date October 10–October 17 | MVP Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh, at 39, the oldest in history) | television ABC | announcers Keith Jackson (Games 1–2, 6–7), Al Michaels (Games 3–5), Howard Cosell and Don Drysdale | radio_network CBS | radio_announcers Vin Scully and Sparky Anderson | umpires Jerry Neudecker (AL), Bob Engel (NL), Russ Goetz (AL), Paul Runge (NL), Jim McKean (AL), Terry Tata (NL) | HOFers Pirates: Bert Blyleven, Willie Stargell . Orioles: Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Earl Weaver (mgr.). | ALCS Baltimore Orioles over California Angels (3–1) | NLCS Pittsburgh Pirates over Cincinnati Reds (3–0) | image2 }}

The 1979 World Series matched the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) against the American League's Baltimore Orioles (102–57), with the Pirates coming back from a three games to one deficit to win the Series in seven games. The Pirates were famous for adopting Sister Sledge's hit anthem "We Are Family" as their theme song.

Willie Stargell, pitcher Bruce Kison, and catcher Manny Sanguillen were the only players left over from the Pirates team that last faced the Orioles in the 1971 World Series, and Orioles' pitcher Jim Palmer, Mark Belanger, and manager Earl Weaver were the only ones who were still with the team that faced the Pirates in that same previous meeting.

In this Series, it was the American League team's "turn" to play by National League rules, meaning no designated hitter and the Orioles' pitchers would have to bat. While this resulted in Tim Stoddard getting his first major league hit and RBI in Game 4, overall, it hurt the Orioles because Lee May, their designated hitter for much of the season and a key part of their offense, was only able to bat three times in the whole series.

Willie Stargell, the series MVP, hit .400 with a record seven extra-base hits and matched Reggie Jackson's record of 25 total bases, set in 1977.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were the last team to win Game 7 of the World Series on the road. They were also the last road team to win Game 7 of the championship round, in any major league sport, until the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena to win the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. The city of Pittsburgh would celebrate their next championship just three months later when the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XIV.

Background

Baltimore Orioles

These same two teams met at the beginning of the decade, in . Earl Weaver's Orioles had won the first two games of that series only to lose to Danny Murtaugh's Pirates in seven. This time Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner was looking to win a Series of his own. Gone were the likes of slugger Boog Powell and defensive wizard Brooks Robinson—shortstop Mark Belanger and pitcher Jim Palmer were the only two remaining players from the 1971 roster. A young (23 year old) "Steady Eddie" Murray was a staple at first-base and an emerging superstar. The only other real "star" hitter on the team was right-fielder Ken Singleton who set career highs in home runs, 35, and runs batted in, 111, in the regular season. Center fielder Al Bumbry provided the speed, 37 swipes, and outfielder Gary Roenicke and third-baseman Doug DeCinces provided some additional power. The talented pitching staff was captained by veteran catcher Rick Dempsey. The starters were led by 1979 Cy Young Award winner, Mike Flanagan (23–9, 3.08), Scott McGregor (13–6, 3.35), Steve Stone (11–7, 3.77) and Jim Palmer (10–6, 3.30). The bullpen helped with 30 wins against only 13 losses led by Don Stanhouse (7–3, 21 saves) and Tippy Martinez (10–3, 2.88). The Orioles won the American League East rather easily, finishing eight games ahead of second place Milwaukee Brewers.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On the other hand, these Pittsburgh Pirates struggled early in the season eventually winning the National League East by just two games over the Montreal Expos. Only after getting infielders, Tim Foli (from the New York Mets) and Bill Madlock (from the San Francisco Giants), did the Pirates start winning consistently. The great Roberto Clemente had inspired the 1971 team toward the title and the key ingredient to this team was his successor and spiritual leader, 38-year-old Willie "Pops" Stargell. His clubhouse demeanor, a simple good-heartedness and friendly manner, helped keep the Pirates loose during a tight divisional race with a surprise sweep of the always powerful Cincinnati Reds in the League Championship Series.

The Bucs lineup featured the National League leader in stolen bases, Omar Moreno with 77; team runs batted in leader, Dave Parker with 98, and two-time batting champion, Bill Madlock (1975, 1976). Madlock would add two more batting titles in 1981 and 1983. The pitching staff was a ragtag bunch led by the "Candy-Man", John Candelaria's fourteen wins (nine losses) with five other pitchers winning ten or more games. The tall and lean Kent Tekulve had 31 saves, good for second in the league, while winning ten games.

"Pops" Stargell would hit three home runs in this series becoming the oldest player to win both the regular season MVP and the World Series MVP. His "Family" would persevere after losing three out of the first four games, giving Earl Weaver and his Orioles a déjà vu nightmare when the Bucs came back to win in seven games.

Summary

Matchups

Game 1

Wednesday, October 10, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland

On a cold wet October night (including some light snow), the 1979 World Series got off to an ugly start. The Orioles scored five runs in the first, two on a throwing error by second baseman Phil Garner, one on a wild pitch by starter Bruce Kison, and the final two on a homer by Doug DeCinces. The Pirate relief corps held the Orioles in check as the Pirates clawed their way back on the strength of four hits by Dave Parker and a homer by Willie Stargell. The rally fell short, and the O's escaped with a 5–4 win.

Game 2

Thursday, October 11, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland

This time, the Pirates struck first with two in the second on an RBI single by Bill Madlock and a sacrifice fly by catcher Ed Ott. The Orioles countered in the bottom half of the inning with an Eddie Murray solo homer. Murray would also tie the game in the sixth by doubling in Ken Singleton. Murray tried to put the Orioles ahead in the same inning by tagging and attempting to score on a line-out to right by John Lowenstein, but Dave Parker threw him out easily. Making the decision to send Murray that much more odd was the fact that Parker's throw to the plate arrived well ahead of him. Murray tried to bowl Ott over at the plate, but the stocky Ott held fast, staying on his feet.

Murray also made a questionable base running decision in the eighth. With Murray on second and Doug DeCinces on first with no outs, Lowenstein grounded near third base and Tim Foli, who was headed to cover third expecting a bunt, came up with the ball and attempted to tag Murray, who eluded him. Foli then threw to Phil Garner at second to force DeCinces. Murray, however, slowed between second and third and was tagged out in a rundown. Murray would not collect another hit or RBI for the rest of the Series.

In the ninth, after a two-out single by Ott and a walk to Garner, Manny Sanguillen pinch-hit for Don Robinson and hacked a high and outside fastball from Don Stanhouse into right for a single. Ott barely slid past the outstretched arms of catcher Rick Dempsey to score the winning run, after Murray had questionably cut-off a strong throw from RF Ken Singleton. Kent Tekulve retired the side in the ninth for the save.

Game 3

Friday, October 12, 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

With left-hander John Candelaria taking the mound for the Pirates, Oriole manager Earl Weaver made a couple of lineup changes, hoping to spark more offense. He led off with Kiko Garcia, playing shortstop in place of light-hitting Mark Belanger, and used Benny Ayala in place of Al Bumbry. Ayala and Garcia were both right-handed hitters. The moves paid off as Ayala slammed a two-run homer in the third, and Garcia sparked a five-run rally in the fourth with a bases-loaded triple as part of a 4-for-4, four RBI evening. O's starter Scott McGregor pitched a complete game for the victory.

Game 4

Saturday, October 13, 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pirates jumped on starter Dennis Martinez for four runs in the second on a homer by Stargell, a two-run double by Ott, and an RBI single by Omar Moreno. The Orioles struck back with three in the third off Jim Bibby on a two-run double by Game 3 hero Garcia, followed by an RBI double by Ken Singleton. The Pirates stretched the lead to 6–3 on single runs in the fifth and sixth on RBI doubles by John Milner and Dave Parker.

In the eighth, Earl Weaver once again showed some strategic genius. With one out and the bases loaded, Pirates manager Chuck Tanner sent in submarining relief ace Kent Tekulve to face right-handed hitting Gary Roenicke. Weaver countered by pinch-hitting lefty John Lowenstein, figuring the lefty would be better able to hit Tekulve's sidewhip pitches. Lowenstein made the move pay off by slamming a two-run double. After a walk loaded the bases again, Weaver sent another lefty hitter, Terry Crowley, to bat for Dave Skaggs. Crowley smashed another two-run double off Tekulve to give the Orioles the lead. To add insult to injury, pitcher Tim Stoddard, batting because Weaver was out of pinch hitters at that point, followed with an RBI single. An RBI force-out by Bumbry ended the scoring.

Game 5

Sunday, October 14, 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

With a world championship on the line and Game 1 starter Bruce Kison injured, Chuck Tanner decided to go with little-used veteran left-hander Jim Rooker as his starter. He would let Rooker go as long as possible, then bring in Bert Blyleven to finish, saving his two best pitchers, sore-shouldered John Candelaria and Jim Bibby for Games 6 and 7, if played. The risky move more than paid off as Rooker gave Tanner five good innings, holding the Orioles to one run in the fifth when Gary Roenicke scored on a double play grounder. The Pirate bats finally came alive against Mike Flanagan in the sixth on a Dave Parker RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Willie Stargell. The Pirates added two more in the seventh on a RBI triple by Tim Foli and a RBI double by Parker, and then three more in the eighth on a RBI single by Phil Garner and a two-run single by Foli. Thanks to the unexpected performance from Rooker, a 4-for-4 day from Bill Madlock, and Foli's three RBIs, the Pirates had staved off defeat.

Chuck Tanner's mother died the morning of Game 5 (this was mentioned during the telecast by announcer Howard Cosell). 1960 World Series hero Bill Mazeroski threw out the first ball in Game 5, which would be Three Rivers Stadium's final World Series game; PNC Park has not hosted a World Series since it opened.

Game 6

Tuesday, October 16, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland

Back home at Memorial Stadium, the Oriole bats continued to be unexpectedly cold as John Candelaria and Jim Palmer locked into a scoreless duel through six innings. Dave Parker broke the ice with a RBI single in the seventh, followed by a Stargell sacrifice fly. The Pirates added two more runs in the eighth on a Bill Robinson sac fly and a RBI single by Omar Moreno.

Game 7

Wednesday, October 17, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland

The Pirates capped an amazing comeback on the strength of Willie Stargell, who went 4 for 5 with a single, two doubles, and a towering two-run homer in the sixth off Scott McGregor. For insurance in the ninth, Omar Moreno collected an RBI single, while another run scored when Dave Parker and Bill Robinson were hit by pitches back-to-back, scoring Moreno. Orioles manager Earl Weaver made five pitching changes in the ninth inning in an attempt to keep the game within reach. The O's only run came on a Rich Dauer solo homer in the third, the team's only RBI in the last three games. Significantly, Eddie Murray, the Orioles' main offensive threat, was 0 for 21 in the final five games of the Series, including a fly-out to Parker to end the 8th with the bases loaded and two outs (following an intentional walk to Ken Singleton). Following their six run outburst in the eighth inning of Game 4, the Birds scored only twice more over the series' final 28 innings.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter made an appearance in Game 7, he threw out the first ball, and after the game made a visit to the victorious Pittsburgh locker room.

Composite box

1979 World Series (4–3): Pittsburgh Pirates (N.L.) over Baltimore Orioles (A.L.)

Records

Five Pirates had ten or more hits in this series, a World Series record.

Uniforms

The Pirates wore four different uniform combinations during the series:

gold cap, black jersey and gold pants for Games 1 & 5

black cap, gold jersey and black pants for Games 2, 6 & 7

black cap and solid white pinstriped uniform for Game 3

black cap and solid gold uniform for Game 4.

The Orioles wore three different uniform combinations of their own:

white cap, orange jersey and white pants for Games 1 and 7

white cap, white jersey and white pants for Games 2 and 6

white cap, grey jersey and grey pants for Games 3,4 and 5

Broadcasting

This was the first World Series in which the participating teams' announcers were not involved in the play-calling on national radio, (Network television had done the same in 1977.) For the '79 Classic, Vin Scully and Sparky Anderson handled the play-by-play work for the CBS Radio Network. But because of their lead-announcer status for CBS Radio, Scully and Jack Buck did wind up calling their regular teams' Series games on CBS Radio in the 1980s—Scully in 1981 (his Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the New York Yankees) and Buck in 1985 and 1987 (Buck's St. Louis Cardinals against the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins), as would Jon Miller for ESPN Radio in 2002 (his San Francisco Giants against the Anaheim Angels and 2010 against the Texas Rangers). The Series was televised by ABC, with play-by-play announcers Keith Jackson (in Baltimore) and Al Michaels (in Pittsburgh), and color commentators Howard Cosell and Don Drysdale, who also covered the World Series Trophy presentation ceremony.

In 2006 a "collector's edition" DVD box set, featuring the complete ABC telecasts of all seven games, was issued by Major League Baseball and A&E; Home Video.

Series quotes

Notes

References

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. (Neft and Cohen 377–382)

Reichler, Joseph, ed. (1982). ''The Baseball Encyclopedia'' (5th ed.), p. 2209. MacMillian Publishing. ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

External links

Fimrite, Ron. "A Series Of Ups And Downs," ''Sports Illustrated'', October 22, 1979.

Fimrite, Ron. "Rising From The Ashes," ''Sports Illustrated'', October 29, 1979.

1979 Pittsburgh Pirates at baseballlibrary.com

1979 Baltimore Orioles at baseballlibrary.com

Category:World Series World Series Category:Pittsburgh Pirates postseason Category:Baltimore Orioles postseason

fr:Série mondiale 1979 ja:1979年のワールドシリーズ ru:Мировая серия 1979

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, the conclusion of the postseason. Since the Series takes place in October, sportswriters many years ago dubbed the event the Fall Classic; it is also sometimes known as the October Classic or simply The Series. It is played between the League Championship Series winning clubs from MLB's two circuits, the American and National Leagues. The World Series has been played every year since 1903 with the exception of 1904 (boycott) and 1994 (player strike). Though professional baseball has employed various championship formulas since the 1860s, the term "World Series" is usually understood to refer exclusively to the modern World Series.

In spite of its name, the World Series is contested solely between Major League Baseball's American and National Leagues. The post-season series between the AL and NL was originally called the "Championship of the World" or "World's Championship Series" (from 1884). The 1890 Spalding Guide expressed an intent to expand the championship to the entire world, following the 1888–89 world tour organized by Albert Spalding, owner of the Chicago White Stockings. Over time, the event's name was shortened to "World's Series" and then "World Series." Contrary to popular legend, the name of the series is not related to the ''New York World'' newspaper.

The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff except for 1903, 1919, 1920, and 1921, when the winner was determined through a best-of-nine playoff. The winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy and the team presents its players and executives individual World Series championship rings. The Series-winning club also receives a larger proportion of the gate receipts from the series.

The New York Yankees of the American League have played in 40 of the 106 World Series and have won 27 World Series championships, more than any other Major League franchise. From the National League, the San Francisco Giants (formerly New York Giants) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (formerly Brooklyn Dodgers) have appeared in 18 World Series championships. The Giants were invited to the World Series 19 times, but boycotted the event in 1904. The St. Louis Cardinals have represented the National League 17 times and have won 10 championships, which is the second most of any Major League Team. Presently, the Chicago Cubs have played the most seasons without winning the World Series, with their last championship coming in 1908. The 2010 World Series Champions are the San Francisco Giants.

Precursors to the modern World Series (1857–1902)

The original World Series

Until the formation of the American Association in 1882 as a second major league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–75) and then the National League (founded 1876) represented the top level of organized baseball in the United States. All championships went to whoever had the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. Starting in 1884 and going through 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 matchups were disorganized in comparison to the modern Series: games played ranged from as few as three in 1884 to a high of 15 in 1887 (Detroit beat St. Louis 10 games to 5), and both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game.

The series were promoted and referred to as "The Championship of the United States", "World's Championship Series", or "World's Series" for short.

The 19th-century competitions are, however, not officially recognized as part of World Series history by Major League Baseball, as the organization considers 19th-century baseball to be a prologue to the modern baseball era. Until about 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's World Championships 1884–1928" in a single table, but the 1943 edition lists "Baseball World Championships–1903-1942".)

1892–1900: "The Monopoly Years"

Following the collapse of the American Association after the 1891 season, four of its clubs were admitted to the National League, which was again the only major league. The league championship was awarded in 1892 by a playoff between half-season champions. This scheme was abandoned after one season. Beginning in 1893 — and continuing until divisional play 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, 1894–97, the league champions played the runners-up in the post season 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 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.

Modern World Series (1903–present)

First attempt

After two years of bitter competition and player raiding (in 1902, the AL and NL champions even went so far as to challenge each other to a tournament in ''football'' after the end of the baseball season), the National and American Leagues made peace and, as part of the accord, several pairs of teams squared off for interleague exhibition games after the 1903 season. These series were arranged by the participating clubs, as the 1880s World's Series matches had been. One of them matched the two pennant winners, Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL and the Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox) of the AL; that one is known as the 1903 World Series. It had been arranged well in advance by the two owners, as both teams were league leaders by large margins. Boston upset Pittsburgh by 5 games to 3, winning with pitching depth behind Cy Young and Bill Dinneen and with the support of the band of Royal Rooters. The Series brought much civic pride to Boston and proved the new American League could beat the Nationals.

Boycott of 1904

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 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 NY Yankees), were leading the AL, and the prospect of facing the Highlanders did not please Giants management. Boston won on 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 factually cited the lack of rules under which money would be split, where games would be played, and how they would be operated and staffed.

During the winter of 1904–05, 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 would be 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's 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 decided to show up for the 1905 Series, and beat the Philadelphia A's four games to one. The Series was held in every subsequent season for 89 years.

The list of post-season rules evolved over time. In 1925, Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets convinced others to adopt as a permanent rule the 2–3–2 pattern used in 1924. Prior to 1924, the pattern had been to alternate by game or to make another arrangement convenient to both clubs.

1919: The fix

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 8 players of the Chicago White Sox 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 the fix but declined to participate. The Sox, who were promised $100,000 for cooperating, proceeded to lose the 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 was the best hitter in the series, 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 acquitted in a criminal conspiracy trial. However, baseball in the meantime had established the office of Commissioner in an effort to protect the game's integrity, and the first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain 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, seguéing into the "live ball" era, marked a point in time of change of the fortunes of a number of teams. The two most prolific World Series winners to date, the Yankees and the Cardinals, did not win their first championship until the 1920s; and three of the teams that were highly successful prior to 1920 (the Red Sox, White Sox and 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 are still waiting for their next trophy, and have not appeared in the Fall Classic since 1945, the longest drought of any MLB club.

New York Yankees dynasty (1920–1964)

The New York Yankees traded for Babe Ruth 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. Over 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 1947 and 1964, when the Yankees reached the World Series 15 times in eighteen years (missing only 1948, 1954, and 1959), winning ten. From 1949 to 1953, the Yankees won the World Series five years in a row; from 1936–1939 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 the Oakland Athletics, and 1998 to 2000 by the New York Yankees.

During this period, the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers took their long-time rivalry to the west coast, moving in 1958 to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, and thus bringing Major League Baseball west of St. Louis. The Dodgers were the first of the two clubs to contest a World Series on the west coast, defeating the Chicago White Sox in 1959. The Giants followed suit in 1962, losing to the Yankees.

1969: League Championship Series

Prior to 1969, the National League and the American League each crowned its champion (the "pennant winner") based on 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 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.

1971: World Series at night

MLB night games started being held in 1935 by the Cincinnati Reds, but the World Series remained a strictly daytime event for years thereafter. In the final game of the 1949 World Series, a Series game was finished under lights for the first time. The first scheduled night World Series game was Game 4 of the 1971 World Series. Afterwards more and more Series games were scheduled at night, when television audiences were larger. Game 6 of the 1987 World Series was the last World Series game played in the daytime.

1972–1978: Three of a kind

During this seven year period, only three teams won the World Series: the Oakland Athletics from 1972–1974, 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 different teams have won consecutive series in succession.

1976: The Designated Hitter comes to the World Series

The National and American Leagues operated under essentially identical rules until 1973, when the American League adopted the designated hitter 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, the World Series did not include a DH. Starting in 1976, the World Series allowed for the use of a DH in even-numbered years only. Finally, in 1986, baseball adopted the current rule in which the DH is used for World Series games played in the AL champion's park but not the NL champion's. Thus, the DH rule's use or non-use can help the team that has home-field advantage.

1989: Earthquake

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 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 p.m. 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 (magnitude 6.9 with an epicenter ten miles (16 km) northeast of Santa Cruz, CA). The earthquake caused substantial property and economic damage in the Bay Area and killed 62 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 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.

1992–1993 The World Series goes North

World Series games were contested outside of the United States for the first time in 1992, with the Toronto Blue Jays defeating the Atlanta Braves in six games. The World Series returned to Canada in 1993, with the Blue Jays victorious again, this time against the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. No other Series has featured a team from outside of the United States. Toronto is the only expansion team to win successive World Series titles. The 1993 World Series was also notable for being only the second championship concluded by a home run and the first concluded by a come-from-behind homer, after Joe Carter's three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning sealed an 8–6 Toronto win in Game 6. The first Series to end with a homer was the 1960 World Series, when Bill Mazeroski hit a ninth-inning solo shot in Game 7 to win the championship for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1994: League Division Series

In 1994, each league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and the newly introduced wild card winner advancing to a best-of-five playoff round (the "division series"), the National League Division Series (NLDS) and American League Division Series (ALDS), which was played in 1981 due to a strike. The team with the best league record is matched against the wild card team, unless they are in the same division, in which case, the team with the second-best record plays against the wild card winner. The remaining two division winners are pitted against each other. The winners of the series in the first round advance to the best-of-seven NLCS and ALCS. Due to a players' strike, however, the NLDS and ALDS were not played until 1995. Beginning in 1998, home field advantage was given to the team with the better regular season record, with the exception that the Wild Card team cannot get home-field advantage.

1994–95 strike

After the boycott of 1904, the World Series was played every year until 1994 despite World War I, the global influenza pandemic of 1918–19, the Great Depression of the 1930s, America's involvement in World War II, and even an earthquake in the host cities of the 1989 World Series. A breakdown in collective bargaining led to a strike in August 1994 and the eventual cancellation of the rest of the season, including the playoffs.

As the labor talks began, baseball franchise owners demanded a salary cap in order to limit payrolls, the elimination of salary arbitration, and the right to retain free agent players by matching a competitor's best offer. The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) refused to agree to limit payrolls, noting that the responsibility for high payrolls lay with those owners who were voluntarily offering contracts. One difficulty in reaching a settlement was the absence of a commissioner. When Fay Vincent was forced to resign in 1992, owners did not replace him, electing instead to make Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig acting commissioner. Thus the commissioner, responsible for ensuring the integrity and protecting the welfare of the game, was an interested party rather than a neutral arbiter, and baseball headed into the 1994 work stoppage without an independent commissioner for the first time since the office was founded in 1920.

The previous collective bargaining agreement expired on December 31, 1993, and baseball began the 1994 season without a new agreement. Owners and players negotiated as the season progressed, but owners refused to give up the idea of a salary cap and players refused to accept one. On August 12, 1994, the players went on strike. After a month passed with no progress in the labor talks, Selig canceled the rest of the 1994 season and the postseason on September 14. The World Series was not played for the first time in 90 years. The Montreal Expos were the best team in baseball at the time of the stoppage, with a record of 74–40. (Since their founding in 1969, the Expos, now the Washington Nationals, have never played in a World Series.)

The labor dispute lasted into the spring of 1995, with owners beginning spring training with replacement players. However, the MLBPA returned to work on April 2, 1995 after a federal judge, future U.S. Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, ruled that the owners had engaged in unfair labor practices. The season started on April 25 and the 1995 World Series was played as scheduled, with Atlanta beating Cleveland four games to two.

2003: All-Star Game used to determine home-field advantage

Prior to 2003, home-field advantage in the World Series alternated from year to year between the NL and AL. After the 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game ended in a tie, MLB decided to award home-field advantage in the World Series to the winner of the All-Star Game. (It is unclear who would receive home-field advantage if the All-Star Game ends in a tie or if the All-Star Game is rained out.) Originally implemented as a two-year trial from 2003 to 2004, the practice has been extended indefinitely. The American League won every All-Star Game since this change until 2010 and thus has enjoyed home-field advantage from 2002, when it also had home-field advantage based on the alternating schedule, through 2009.

As of the conclusion of the 2010 World Series, the AL and NL have each won the World Series four times since the All-Star Game was used to determine home-field advantage.

Modern World Series appearances by franchise

World Series record by team or franchise, 1903–2010

! Teams †	! SeriesWins	! SeriesPlayed	! LatestWin	! LatestPlayed
	27	40	2009	2009
	10	17	2006	2006
	9	14	1989	1990
	7	11	2007	2007
	6	18	2010	2010
	6	18	1988	1988
	5	9	1990	1990
	5	7	1979	1979
	4	10	1984	2006
	3	9	1995	1999
	3	7	1983	1983
	3	6	1991	1991
	3	5	2005	2005
	2	10	1908	1945
	2	7	2008	2009
	2	5	1948	1997
	2	4	1986	2000
	2	2	2003	2003
	2	2	1993	1993
	1	2	1985	1985
	1	1	2002	2002
	1	1	2001	2001
	0	2		1998
bgcolor="ffbbdd"	0	1		2010
	0	1		2008
	0	1		2007
	0	1		2005
	0	1		1982
	0	0
	0	0

AL = American League NL = National League

* Joined the AL or NL after 1960

''See also:'' List of World Series championsSource: MLB.com

Notes

American League (AL) teams have won 62 of 106 World Series completed so far (62–44 or 58.5%–41.5%). The New York Yankees have won 27, accounting for about 25% of all the series played and about 44% of the 62 wins by American League teams. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 10 World Series, or about 9% of all victories and about 23% of the 44 National League victories.

When the first modern World Series was played in 1903, eight teams constituted the American League (founded 1901) and another eight constituted the National League (founded 1876). All sixteen of the 1903 teams have won at least two Series.

No new team joined either league until 1961; fourteen "expansion teams" have joined since then. Twelve of the fourteen have played in a World Series and 19 of the 48 Series contested during 1961–2010 have featured an expansion team, always paired with one of the sixteen 1903 teams. The expansion teams have won 9 of the 19 Series (47%) in which they have played.

Team patterns in the World Series

This information is up to date through the 2010 World Series:

Streaks and droughts

#Since their first championship in 1923, the New York Yankees have won two or more World Series titles in every decade except the 1980s, when they won none. Additionally, they have won at least one American League pennant in every decade since the 1920s. The Yankees are the only team in either League to win more than three series in a row, winning in four consecutive seasons from 1936 to 1939, and five consecutive seasons from 1949 to 1953. #The New York Giants' four World Series appearances from 1921 to 1924 are the most consecutive appearances for any National League franchise. #The 1907–1908 Cubs, 1921–1922 Giants and 1975–1976 Reds are the only National League teams to win back-to-back World Series. #The 1907–1909 Detroit Tigers and the 1911–1913 New York Giants are the only teams to lose three consecutive World Series. #The Chicago Cubs hold the record for the longest World Series drought (still active through 2010), with their last title coming in 1908 (102 years). In fact, they also hold the longest drought without a World Series appearance, not having won the NL pennant since 1945. Even had they won the 1945 World Series, they would still hold the longest active World Series championship drought, the second longest being since 1948 by the Cleveland Indians. #Twenty-two of the 28 teams to play in the World Series have won it at least once. The only exceptions are: Houston Astros (formerly Colt .45s, enfranchised in 1962), Milwaukee Brewers (formerly Seattle Pilots, 1969), San Diego Padres (1969), Colorado Rockies (1993), Tampa Bay Rays (formerly Devil Rays, 1998), and Texas Rangers (formerly Washington Senators, 1961). The Padres are the only one of these six to have appeared twice (1984, 1998). #As of 2010, only two teams (both of them expansion) have not won a pennant: the Washington Nationals (formerly Montreal Expos, est. 1969), and Seattle Mariners (est. 1977). However, both teams have participated in post-season play and competed in the League Championship Series.

Game-by-game

#Game 7 has been won by the home team in the last 8 world series that have gone to seven games (the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals, 1985 Kansas City Royals, 1986 New York Mets, 1987 and 1991 Minnesota Twins, 1997 Florida Marlins, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, and 2002 Anaheim Angels). The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates are the last team to win a World Series Game 7 on the road. The recent trend suggests the ''theoretical'' advantage to gaining Game 7 at home by winning the All-Star Game. This trend contradicts the previous historical trend in which Game 7 had been most often won by the road team: Not just 1979, but also 1975, 1972, 1971, 1968, 1967, 1965 and 1962. During the 1960s and 1970s, the home team had won Game 7 only in 1960, 1964, and 1973. However, no Series has extended to Game 7 since the All-Star Game rule took effect in 2003. The greatest comeback in World Series history was in 1968, when the Detroit Tigers came back from a 3–1 game disadvantage to win game 5 after being behind by 3 runs, then winning games 6 and 7 on the road at St. Louis. #The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers are the last team to win a World Series after losing the first two games on the road (against New York). The recent tendency of a team winning the first two games at home and then winning the Series suggests the ''theoretical'' advantage to gaining home-field advantage (and the first two games at home) by winning the All-Star Game. #The Pittsburgh Pirates have won all five of their World Series championships in seven games. #There have been 18 World Series four-game (4–0) sweeps. Nine different teams have swept a World Series at least once, the Yankees having done so most often (8 times). Both the Red Sox and Reds have done it twice. The Braves, Orioles, White Sox, Dodgers, Athletics and Giants have each swept one Series. Six of these teams (all but the Orioles, Red Sox and White Sox) have also been swept 0–4 in at least one World Series. The Red Sox' two World Series sweeps are the most of any team that has never been swept in one. #The Athletics, Cardinals, Cubs, and Yankees are the only teams to be swept in two World Series. The Athletics and Yankees are the only two of these with at least one World Series sweep to their credit, the other two being among eight teams overall that have never swept a World Series, but have been swept in one (the Astros, Indians, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, and Rockies being the others). #The Cubs in 1907 and the Giants in 1922 won 4 games to 0, but each of those Series' included a tied game and are not considered to be true sweeps. In 1907, the first game was the tie and the Cubs won four straight after that. In 1922, Game 2 was the tie. #The Cincinnati Reds are the only National League team which has swept a World Series since 1963, sweeping the series in 1976 and 1990. #Nine World Series have ended with "walkoff" hits, i.e., that game and the Series ended when the home team won with a base hit in the bottom of the ninth or in extra innings. (Also, the 1912 World Series ended in a walkoff sacrifice fly.) The first walkoff Series winner came in the 1924 World Series, when Earl McNeely doubled home Muddy Ruel in the bottom of the 12th inning of Game 7 to win a championship for the Washington Senators. The most recent walkoff Series winner was the 2001 World Series, which ended with Luis Gonzalez blooping a single over the head of Derek Jeter to score Jay Bell. Two men have ended a World Series with a walk-off home run: Bill Mazeroski in 1960 and Joe Carter in 1993. Mazeroski's was a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 to win a championship for the Pittsburgh Pirates, while Carter's was a three-run shot in Game 6 that won a championship for the Toronto Blue Jays. #The Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays are the first teams to have an elimination game (or ''any'' game) be suspended because of weather, and not have it cancelled. Game 5 (in Philadelphia) was suspended Monday, October 27, 2008 with a 2–2 score, and resumed in the bottom of the sixth on October 29.

Local rivalries

When two teams share the same state or metropolitan area, fans often develop strong loyalties to one and antipathies towards the other, sometimes building on already-existing rivalries between cities or neighborhoods. Before the introduction of interleague play in 1997, the only opportunity for two teams in different leagues to face each other in official competition would have been in a World Series.

Cross-town Series

The first city to host an entire World Series is Chicago in 1906, when the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs in six games.

Fourteen "Subway Series" have been played entirely within New York City. Thirteen matched the American League's New York Yankees with either the New York Giants or the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. The initial instances occurred in 1921 and 1922, when the Giants beat the Yankees in consecutive World Series that were not technically "subway series" since the teams shared the Polo Grounds as their home ballpark. The last Subway Series involving the original New York ballclubs came in 1956, when the Yankees beat the Dodgers. The trio was separated in 1958 when the Dodgers and Giants moved to California, and an all-NY Series did not recur until 2000, when the Yankees defeated the New York Mets in five games.

The last World Series played entirely in one ballpark was the 1944 "Streetcar Series" between the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns. The Cardinals won in six games, all held in their shared home, Sportsman's Park.

The 1989 World Series, sometimes called the "Bay Bridge Series" or the "BART Series" (after the connecting transit line), featured the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants, teams that play just across San Francisco Bay from each other. The series is most remembered for the major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay area just before game 3 was scheduled to begin. The quake caused significant damage to both communities and severed the Bay Bridge that connects them, forcing the postponement of the series. Play resumed ten days later, and the A's swept the Giants in four games.

Other neighborhood rivalries

For the other two cities where a cross-town competition, connected by local transit, was once possible — Boston (until 1953 when the Braves moved to Milwaukee) and Philadelphia (until 1955 when the Athletics moved to Kansas City) — an October meeting came closest to occurring in 1948, when the Boston Braves won the National League pennant, and their nearby rivals, the Boston Red Sox, tied for the American League pennant on the last day of the season. However, the Cleveland Indians defeated the Red Sox in a one-game playoff, and then defeated the Braves in the Series.

Before the modern World Series era, an opportunity for an all-Boston contest between league champions was missed. In 1891, the Braves, then the Boston Beaneaters, of the National League declined to play the Boston Reds of the soon-to-dissolve American Association. The only meeting of neighbouring teams in the pre-modern World Series era occurred in 1889, when the National League's champion, the New York Giants, defeated the American Association's champion, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

Other cross-state rivalries

The historic rivalry between Northern and Southern California added to the interest in the Oakland Athletics-Los Angeles Dodgers series in 1974 and 1988 and in the San Francisco Giants' series against the then-Anaheim Angels in 2002. (The two Los Angeles area teams have never competed in a Series, nor has the only team in San Diego, the Padres, ever played a Series against another California team.)

Other than the St. Louis World Series of 1944, the only postseason tournament entirely within Missouri was the I-70 Series in 1985 (named for the interstate highway connecting the two cities) between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals, who won at home in the seventh game.

While the Philadelphia Athletics never played in World Series against either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Pittsburgh Pirates, they did engage in a popular semi-annual tradition of preseason City Series exhibition games against the Phillies.

In the only other states that also have or once had teams in both major leagues since 1903, there has never been a World Series between teams in Florida (Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays), Texas (Houston Astros and Texas Rangers) or Ohio (Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians). The last pair came closest to facing each other when the Indians won the 1995 American League pennant in the same year that the Reds lost the NL Championship Series.

The original sixteen teams

At the time the first modern World Series began in 1903, each league had eight clubs, all of which survive today (although sometimes in a different city or with a new nickname), comprising the "original sixteen".

#Every original team has won at least two World Series titles. The Philadelphia Phillies (National League) were the last of the original teams to win their first Series, in . They were also the last to win at least two, with their second Series victory in . #The last original American League team to win its first World Series was the Baltimore Orioles (former St. Louis Browns), winning in . #The Orioles were also the last original team in the majors to make their first World Series appearance, as the St. Louis Browns in . Although they never won another American League pennant while in St. Louis, they have won three World Series in six appearances since moving to Baltimore. The last original National League team to make their modern World Series début were the St. Louis Cardinals in , which they also won. Ironically, as noted above, they have gone on to win more World Series than any other National League club, holding the lead at 10 victories through 2009. #The New York Yankees have defeated all eight original NL teams in a World Series. Conversely, they have lost at least one World Series to every original NL team except the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Boston Red Sox have played at least one Series against every original National League team ''except'' the (Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta) Braves, with whom they shared a home city through 1953. #The St. Louis Cardinals are currently the only club of the National League's original eight that holds an overall Series lead over the Yankees, 3 to 2, taking that lead in 1964. The Giants won their first two Series over the Yankees (1921 and 1922), but the Yankees have faced the Giants five times since then and have won all five, taking the overall lead over the Giants in 1937. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Yankees have faced each other twice (1927 and 1960), with the Yankees winning in 1927 and the Pirates winning in 1960, making the two teams .500 against each other. #Since the two leagues expanded beyond eight teams apiece in 1961, only two of the original sixteen teams have not won a World Series against the larger field of competitors: the American League Cleveland Indians, who have not won a Series since 1948 (defeating the Boston Braves), and the National League Chicago Cubs, who last won a Series in 1908 (defeating the Detroit Tigers).

Expansion teams (after 1960)

#The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks was the fastest expansion franchise ever to win a pennant (4th season) and a World Series (4th season), after being founded in 1998. Second fastest were the 1997 Florida Marlins, after being founded in 1993 (5th season). The fastest AL expansion franchise to win a pennant was the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 (11th season) and the fastest AL expansion franchise to win a World Series was the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 (16th season). #While the New York Mets (NL) were the first expansion team to win or appear in the World Series (1969), the American League would have to wait until 1980 for its first expansion-team World Series appearance, and until 1985 for its first expansion-team win. Both were by the Kansas City Royals. The AL also had two expansion teams appear in the World Series (the Milwaukee Brewers being the second, in 1982) before the National League's second expansion team to appear—the San Diego Padres in 1984. #No two out of the fourteen post-1960 expansion teams have yet met each other in a World Series, although twelve expansion teams have now contested at least one Series (each time against one of the sixteen teams established by 1903). Expansion teams are 9–10 in the World Series, with three teams (the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins) each winning two. Six expansion teams have appeared in the World Series without ever winning a championship: Texas Rangers (formerly Washington Senators), Houston Astros (formerly Colt .45s), Milwaukee Brewers (formerly Seattle Pilots), San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, and Tampa Bay Rays (formerly Devil Rays). Two expansion teams have not yet won a league pennant (and therefore also have not appeared in a World Series): the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals (formerly Montreal Expos). #The Toronto Blue Jays (1992 and 1993), Florida Marlins (1997 and 2003) Arizona Diamondbacks (2001) and Los Angeles Angels (2002) have never lost a World Series appearance.

Other notes

#The team with the better regular season winning percentage has won the World Series 53 times, or 50% (53 of 106) of the time. #The Toronto Blue Jays are the only non-U.S. team ever to win a pennant or a World Series, doing both twice, in 1992 and 1993. #The Chicago Cubs are the only team with a title to have never clinched one at home.

International participation

Despite its name, the World Series remains solely the championship of the major-league baseball teams in the United States and Canada, although MLB, its players, and the media sometimes informally refer to World Series winners as "world champions of baseball."

The United States, Canada and Mexico (''Liga Méxicana de Béisbol'', established 1925) were the only professional baseball countries until a few decades into the 20th century. The first Japanese professional baseball efforts began in 1920. The current Japanese leagues date from the late 1940s (after World War II). Various Latin American leagues also formed around that time.

By the 1990s, baseball was played at a highly-skilled level in many countries. Reaching North America's high-salary major leagues is the goal of many of the best players around the world, which gives a strong international flavor to the Series. Many of the best players from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, and elsewhere now play in the majors. One notable exception is Cuban citizens, because of the political tensions between the USA and Cuba since 1959 (yet a number of Cuba's finest ballplayers have still managed to defect to the United States over the past half-century to play in the American professional leagues). Japanese professional players also have a difficult time coming to the major leagues. They become free agents only after nine years playing service in NPB, although their Japanese teams may at any time "post" them for bids from MLB teams, which commonly happens at the player's request.

Image gallery

See also

AL pennant winners (1901–1968)

NL pennant winners (1876–1968)

MLB division winners

AL Wild Card winners (since 1994)

NL Wild Card winners (since 1994)

MLB postseason

MLB postseason teams

MLB franchise postseason droughts

MLB rivalries

List of most experienced baseball players never to play in a World Series

World Series champions

World Series starting pitchers

World Series broadcasters

World Series television ratings

Home advantage

Chronicle-Telegraph Cup

Temple Cup

Negro League World Series

College World Series

Japan Series

Korean Series

Asia Series

Asian Baseball Championship

Baseball at the Asian Games

Americas Baseball Cup

Caribbean World Series

Baseball at the Central American and Caribbean Games

Baseball at the Pan American Games

European Baseball Championship

European Cup (baseball)

European Champion Cup Final Four

Baseball World Cup

World Baseball Classic

Women's Baseball World Cup

Intercontinental Cup (International Baseball Federation (IBAF))

Baseball at the Summer Olympics

References

Source books

Ernest Lanigan, ''Baseball Cyclopedia'', 1922, originally published by ''Baseball Magazine'', available as a reprint from McFarland.

Jordan A. Deutsch, Richard M. Cohen, David Neft, Roland T. Johnson, ''The Scrapbook History of Baseball'', 1975, Bobbs-Merrill Company.

''Sporting News'', ''Baseball Record Book'' and ''Baseball Guide'', published annually since ca. 1941.

Other sources

External links

Baseball Reference "postseason" page, listing every World Series, with links to play-by-play summaries of every game

WorldSeries.com – Official Website

Sporting News: History of the World Series

Baseball Almanac: World Series

Coolest World Series teams ever

ESPN Classic – Who's #1?: Best World Series

* Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1903 Category:Annual sporting events in the United States

ca:Sèries Mundials de beisbol cs:Světová série de:World Series el:Αμερικανικό πρωτάθλημα Μπέιζμπολ es:Serie Mundial fr:Série mondiale ko:월드 시리즈 hr:World Series id:World Series it:World Series he:וורלד סיריס la:Series Mundana lv:Pasaules sērija hu:World Series nl:World Series ja:ワールドシリーズ pl:World Series pt:World Series ru:Мировая серия simple:World Series sk:Svetová séria sh:World Series fi:World Series sv:World Series uk:Світова серія zh:世界大賽

Name	Willie Stargell
Position	Left fielder / First baseman
Bats	Left
Throws	Left
Birth date	March 06, 1940
Birth place	Earlsboro, Oklahoma
Death date	April 09, 2001
Death place	Wilmington, North Carolina
Debutdate	September 16
Debutyear	1962
Debutteam	Pittsburgh Pirates
Finaldate	October 3
Finalyear	1982
Finalteam	Pittsburgh Pirates
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.282
Stat2label	Home runs
Stat2value	475
Stat3label	Runs batted in
Stat3value	1,540
Teams	Pittsburgh Pirates (–)
Highlights	7× All-Star selection (1964, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978) 2× World Series champion (, ) 1979 NL MVP 1979 World Series MVP 1979 Babe Ruth Award 1979 NLCS MVP 1978 Hutch Award 1974 Roberto Clemente Award 1974 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Pittsburgh Pirates #8 retired
Hofdate	1988
Hofvote	82.4% (first ballot) }}

Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career (1962-1982) with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over his 21-year career with the Pirates, he batted .282, with 2,232 hits, 423 doubles, 475 home runs and 1540 runs batted in, helping his team capture six National League East division titles, two National League pennants and two World Series (1971, 1979).

Career

Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma, but later moved to Alameda, California where he attended Encinal High School. He was signed by the Pirates at age 22, and made his Major League debut at the end of the 1962 season. He soon became a standout player, making his first of 7 trips to the All-Star Game in 1964.

Beloved in Pittsburgh for his style of play and affable manner, Stargell was known for hitting monstrous home runs, including 7 of the 16 balls ever hit completely out of Forbes Field and several of the upper-tier home runs at its successor, Three Rivers Stadium. At one time, Stargell held the record for the longest homer in nearly half of the National League parks. Standing 6 feet 2 inches, Stargell seemed larger, with his long arms and unique bat-handling practice of holding only the knob of the bat with his lower hand combining to provide extra bat extension, Stargell's swings seemed designed to hit home runs of the Ruthian variety. When most batters would use a simple lead-weighted bat in the on-deck circle, Stargell took to warming up with a sledgehammer, adding another layer of intimidation. While standing in the batter's box, he would windmill his bat until the pitcher started his windup.

Stargell hit the first home run at Shea Stadium in the first game played in that stadium on April 17, 1964.

Only four home runs have ever been hit out of Dodger Stadium, and Stargell hit two of them. The first came on August 6, 1969 off Alan Foster and measured 507 feet—to date, the longest home run ever hit at Dodger Stadium. The second, on May 8, 1973 against Andy Messersmith, measured 470 feet. Dodger starter Don Sutton said of Stargell, "I never saw anything like it. He doesn't just hit pitchers, he takes away their dignity."

On June 25, 1971, Stargell hit the longest home run in Veterans Stadium history during a 14-4 Pirates win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The spot where the ball landed (the shot came in the second inning and chased starting pitcher Jim Bunning) was eventually marked with a yellow star with a black "S" inside a white circle until Stargell's 2001 death, when the white circle was painted black. The star remained in place until the stadium's 2004 demolition.

In 1973 Stargell achieved the rare feat of simultaneously leading the league in both doubles and homers. Stargell had more than 40 of each; he was the first player to chalk up this 40-40 accomplishment since Hank Greenberg in 1940; other players have done so since (notably Albert Belle, the only 50-50 player).

In 1978, against Wayne Twitchell of the Montreal Expos, Stargell hit the only fair ball ever to reach the upper deck of Olympic Stadium. The seat where the ball landed (the home run was measured at 535 feet) has since been painted in yellow, while the other seats in the upper deck are red.

Bob Prince, the colorful longtime Pirate radio announcer would greet a Stargell home run with the phrase "Chicken on the Hill". This referred to Stargell's ownership of a chicken restaurant in Pittsburgh's Hill District. For a time, whenever he homered, Stargell's restaurant would give away free chicken to all patrons present in the restaurant at the time of the home run, in a promotion dubbed "Chicken on the Hill with Will".

Stargell also originated the practice of giving his teammates "stars" for their caps. Upon a good play or game, Stargell would give fellow players an embroidered star to place on their caps, which at the time were old-fashioned pillbox caps. These stars became known as "Stargell Stars". The practice began during the turbulent 1978 season, when the Pirates came from fourth place and 11.5 games behind in mid-August, to challenge the first-place Philadelphia Phillies for the division title. As fate would have it, the season was scheduled to end in a dramatic, four-game showdown against the Phillies in Pittsburgh, in which the Pirates had to win all four games to claim the title. Following a Pirate sweep of the Friday-night double-header, Stargell belted a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning of the season's ultimate game to give the Pirates an early 4-1 lead, although the Pirates would relinquish that lead later in the game and fall two runs short after a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, thus eliminating themselves from contention for the pennant. Stargell called that 1978 team his favorite team ever, and predicted that the Pirates would win the World Series the following year.

And the Pirates did just that in 1979, in a fashion similar to the way they had ended the 1978 season: from last place in the NL East at the end of April, the Pirates clawed their way into a first place battle with the Montreal Expos during the latter half of the season, exciting fans with numerous come-from-behind victories along the way (many during their final at-bat) to claim the division pennant on the last day of the season. And Stargell led all the way. At his urging as captain, the team adopted the Sister Sledge hit song "We Are Family" as the team anthem. Then his play on the field inspired his teammates and earned him the MVP awards in both the NLCS and the World Series. Stargell capped off the year by hitting a dramatic home run in Baltimore during the late innings of a close Game 7 to seal a Pirates championship. The home run, coincidentally, credited Stargell with the winning runs in both Game 7's of the two post-season meetings between the Pirates and the Orioles (1971 and 1979). The 1979 World Series victory also made the Pirates the only franchise in baseball history to twice recover from a three-games-to-one deficit and win a World Series (previously they had done so in 1925 against the Washington Senators).

In addition to his NLCS and World Series MVP awards, Stargell was named the co-MVP of the 1979 season (along with St. Louis' Keith Hernandez). Stargell is the only player to have won all three trophies in a single year. He shared the ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine's "Sportsmen of the Year" award with NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who also played at Three Rivers Stadium, for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pirates manager Chuck Tanner said of Stargell, "Having him on your ball club is like having a diamond ring on your finger." Teammate Al Oliver once said, "If he asked us to jump off the Fort Pitt Bridge, we would ask him what kind of dive he wanted. That's how much respect we have for the man."

Legacy, post-retirement and death

Observers believe Stargell's career total of 475 home runs was depressed by playing in Forbes Field, whose deep left-center field distance was 457 feet. Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente estimated, perhaps generously, that Stargell hit 400 fly balls to the warning track in left and center fields during his eight seasons in the park. In addition, the short fence in right field (300 feet to the foul pole) was guarded by a screen more than 20 feet high which ran from the right-field line to the 375-foot mark in right center. Three Rivers Stadium, a neutral hitter's park, boosted Stargell's power numbers. The Pirates moved into Three Rivers in mid-1970, and he hit 310 of his 475 career home runs from 1970 until his retirement, despite turning 30 in 1970. In his first full season in the Pirates' new stadium, 1971, Stargell led the league with 48 home runs. He won one other home run title in 1973, a year in which he hit 44 home runs, drove in 119 runs and had a .646 slugging percentage.

After retirement, Stargell spent several years as a coach for the Atlanta Braves. While working for the Braves, he heavily influenced a young Chipper Jones. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988, his first year of eligibility. In 1999, he ranked 81st on ''The Sporting News''' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was also nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Stargell was the last person to throw out the first pitch at Three Rivers Stadium. He had, six years earlier, thrown out the ceremonial first pitch at the 1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

His autograph suggests that he preferred "Wilver" to "Willie," and Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully typically called him "Wilver Stargell."

In the 1985 trial of alleged cocaine dealer Curtis Strong, Stargell was accused by Dale Berra (Yogi's son) and John Milner (both former Pirates teammates) of distributing "greenies" (amphetamines) to players. Stargell strongly denied these charges.

After years of suffering from a kidney disorder, he died of complications related to a stroke in Wilmington, North Carolina, on April 9, 2001; on that same day (coincidentally, the first game at the Pirates' new stadium, PNC Park), a larger-than-life statue of him was unveiled as part of the opening-day ceremonies.

Stargell's own quotations

"The (umpire) says 'play' ball, not 'work' ball."

"Trying to hit Sandy Koufax was like trying to drink coffee with a fork."

"Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor's mailbox."

"They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and they tell you to hit it square." (Ted Williams and Pete Rose have also been credited with similar versions of this quote.)

"Now I know why they boo Richie—Dick Allen—all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenir." (Allen, also well known for mammoth home runs and not very beloved by Philadelphia Phillies fans, had hit a ball over the left-center field roof of Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium.)

(After winning a game in 1979 against the Cincinnati Reds with a pinch RBI single after a disputed check-swing call) "Maybe it was this black bat I used. Or this black shirt or my black arms that made the Reds think they saw something."

"Now when they walk down the street, the people of Pittsburgh can say that we come from a city that has nothing but champions!" (Stargell during the celebratory parade in the city after the 1979 World Series, that year Pittsburgh won both their third Super Bowl and second World Series of the seventies. This quote is attributed to the creation of one of Pittsburgh's nicknames: "The City Of Champions")

Highlights

Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee (1988)

National League Co-MVP (shared with Keith Hernandez, 1979)

7-time Top 10 MVP (1971–75, 1978–79)

7-time All-Star (1964–66, 1971–73, 1978)

National League Championship Series MVP (1979)

World Series MVP (1979)

ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year (1979)

Led National League in Slugging Percentage (1973)

Twice led National League in OPS (1973–74)

Led National League in Doubles (1973)

Twice led National League in Home Runs (1971 and 1973)

Led National League in RBI (1973)

Twice led National League in Extra-Base Hits (1971 and 1973)

Hit for the cycle (1964)

Threw the last pitch at Three Rivers Stadium, as part of the park's farewell ceremony (2000)

See also

List of major league players with 2,000 hits

Hitting for the cycle

Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame

List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records

List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles

List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs

List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI

List of Major League Baseball RBI champions

List of Major League Baseball home run champions

List of Major League Baseball doubles champions

References

External links

A biography of Willie Stargell from the SABR Bio Project

Category:Atlanta Braves coaches Category:Major League Baseball first base coaches Category:Major League Baseball hitting coaches Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Major League Baseball left fielders Category:Major League Baseball first basemen Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players Category:National League All-Stars Category:Baseball players from Oklahoma Category:African American baseball players Category:National League home run champions Category:National League RBI champions Category:People from Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Águilas Cibaeñas players Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Category:1940 births Category:2001 deaths

fr:Willie Stargell ja:ウィリー・スタージェル

Name	Brooks Robinson
Position	Third baseman
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Birth date	May 18, 1937
Birth place	Little Rock, Arkansas
Debutdate	September 17
Debutyear	1955
Debutteam	Baltimore Orioles
Finaldate	August 13
Finalyear	1977
Finalteam	Baltimore Orioles
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.267
Stat2label	Hits
Stat2value	2,848
Stat3label	Home runs
Stat3value	268
Stat4label	Runs batted in
Stat4value	1,357
Teams	Baltimore Orioles (–)
Highlights	18× All-Star selection (1960, 1960², 1961, 1961², 1962, 1962², 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974) 2× World Series champion (, ) 16× Gold Glove Award winner (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975) 1964 AL MVP 1970 World Series MVP 1966 MLB All-Star Game MVP 1972 Roberto Clemente Award 1970 Babe Ruth Award 1966 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Baltimore Orioles #5 retired Major League Baseball All-Century Team
Hofdate
Hofvote	91.98% }}

Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former American professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles (1955–1977). Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as one of the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history. He won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards during his career, tied with pitcher Jim Kaat for the second most all-time for any player at any position. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.

Early life

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Brooks Calbert and Ethel Mae (née Denker) Robinson. His father worked for a large bakery in Little Rock, Colonial Bakery, and then went to work for the Little Rock Fire Department (rising to the rank of captain-), while his mother at first worked for Sears Roebuck & Company, and then in the controller's office at the state capitol. His father played second base for a semi-pro team. Young Brooks Robinson, Jr., delivered the ''Arkansas Gazette'' on this bike, and also operated the scoreboard and sold soft drinks at Lamar Porter Field.

After he graduated from Little Rock High School on May 27, 1955, where he was scouted for the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball program in Fayetteville, he played in South America in 1955 and in Cuba in 1957. In the off season of 1956-1957, and then again in 1958, he attended two winter semesters at Little Rock University, majoring in business. He went into the army in 1959, joining the Arkansas National Guard right before he was to be drafted into the United States Army.

Career

Robinson was drafted by the Orioles as an amateur free agent in 1955. In 1964, Robinson had his best season offensively, hitting for a .318 batting average with 28 home runs and led the league with 118 runs batted in, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award. In the American League MVP voting, he received 18 of the 20 first-place votes, with Mickey Mantle finishing second. In 1966, he was voted the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, and finished second to team mate Frank Robinson in the American League Most Valuable Player Award voting, as the Orioles went on to win the 1966 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the 1970 post-season, Robinson hit for a .583 batting average in the 1970 American League Championship Series against the Minnesota Twins. In the 1970 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Robinson had a .429 batting average with 2 home runs, however, it was his defensive prowess at third base that stood out, making several impressive plays during the series that robbed the Reds of apparent base hits. His performance won him the World Series MVP Award presented by ''SPORT'', as well as the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. After the 1970 World Series, Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson quipped, "I'm beginning to see Brooks in my sleep. If I dropped this paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first."

In his playing career, Robinson was selected for the All-Star team in 15 consecutive years (-74), and played in four World Series. He compiled a .267 career batting average with 2,848 hits, 268 home runs and 1357 runs batted in. Robinson led the American League in fielding percentage a record 11 times, and at the time of his retirement, his .971 career fielding average was the highest ever for a third baseman. His totals of 2870 games played at third base, 2697 career putouts, 6205 career assists, 8902 career total chances and 618 double plays, were records for third basemen at the time of his retirement. Robinson's 23 seasons with one team set a new major league record, since tied by Carl Yastrzemski. Only Yastrzemski (3308), Hank Aaron (3076) and Stan Musial (3026) played more games for one franchise. Robinson also hit into four triple plays during his career, a major league record. He commented, "I wouldn't mind seeing someone erase my record of hitting into four triple plays."

Retirement

When the Orioles started their team Hall of Fame, Brooks and Frank Robinson were the first two men inducted. Following his retirement as a player, Robinson began a successful career as a color commentator for the Orioles' television broadcasts. In 1982, local television WMAR's on air news team in Baltimore, Maryland went on strike and picketed the WMAR headquarters for the two months approaching the baseball season. When Robinson refused to cross the picket line, WMAR management re-opened the negotiations and the strike ended the next day.

Honors

At the conclusion of his final season in 1977, his jersey number 5 was retired by the Orioles. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, one of only 16 players to have been honored on the first ballot (not including the five charter members chosen in the first election in 1936). Considered among the greatest all-time Orioles, Robinson and the man usually considered the greatest Baltimore Colt football player, Johnny Unitas, had plaques in their honor in the lobby of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. When the Orioles played their last game there on October 6, 1991, Robinson and Unitas were invited to throw out the ceremonial first balls. (Unitas threw a football.) After the conclusion of the game, several Oriole players took the field in the uniforms of their time and stood at their old positions on the field, Robinson was chosen to be the first player to come out (Cal Ripken, Jr. was chosen to be the last).

In 1999, he ranked Number 80 on ''The Sporting News'' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

A longtime supporter of Scouting, Robinson served for many years on the executive board of the Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and is a recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. On December 5, 2006 he was recognized for his accomplishments on and off of the field when he received the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation ''Lifetime Achievement Award''. On May 16, 2007, Radio Tower Drive, a road in Pikesville, Maryland was renamed "Brooks Robinson Drive" in honor of Robinson's 70th birthday.

On July 2, 2008, the minor league team in York, Pennsylvania, where Robinson got his start, held a ceremony honoring him for being voted as a member on the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team. The award was created by Rawlings and voted by fans to celebrate the golden anniversary of the award.

Other

Brooks Robinson started his career at Lamar Porter Field, a neighborhood baseball field in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In 2008, Brooks released a charity wine called Brooks Robinson Chardonnay with all of his proceeds donated to the Baltimore Community Foundation in a fund created in the name of Brooks and his wife Connie Robinson.

Brooks Robinson currently serves as president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA), an organization that assists players and fans to interact off the field. Major League legends Bob Boone, George Brett, Chuck Hinton, Mike Hegan, Robin Yount, Rusty Staub, Carl Erskine and Al Kaline preside as Vice Presidents. As well as the non-profit missions of the MLBPAA, the organization assists former major-leaguers through its wholly owned for-profit organizations MLAM (Major League Alumni Marketing), and MLAS (Major League Alumni Services). MLAM goals include implementing a player pool and gaining compensation for former players through appearances and endorsements, while protecting the name and likeness of former players from unauthorized uses.

Robinson is one of the investors in the Opening Day Partners group, of which owns four teams in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The group named the Brooks Robinson Plaza at the entrance of Sovereign Bank Stadium in York, Pennsylvania in his honor. In the 1970s, Robinson published his autobiography entitled ''Third Base is My Home''.

He met his future wife, Constance Louise "Connie" Butcher, on an Orioles team flight from Kansas City to Boston in July 1959, where she was working as a flight attendant for United Air Lines. He was so smitten with her that he kept ordering iced teas from her. Some of his teammates encouraged him to go talk to her. After drinking his third glass, he returned it to her in the galley. There he told her: "I want to tell you something. If any of these guys, the Baltimore Orioles, ask you for a date, tell 'em you don't date married men. Understand? I'm the only single guy on the team." Before the plane landed in Boston the two had made a date to go out. He was not the only bachelor on the flight, something he lied about to keep her from talking to them. Brooks and Constance were married in her hometown of Windsor, Ontario, Canada on October 8, 1960.

On March 31, 2011, Robinson was admitted to Greater Baltimore Medical Center for emergency surgery after he developed an infection and fever. In the two weeks he spent in the hospital, he received an outpouring of letters and well-wishes from fans around the country. He had also previously been successfully treated for prostate cancer in 2009.

Robinson was raised a Methodist, and is now a Roman Catholic, having converted in 1970.

Quotes

Perhaps the greatest accolades he received as a player came from his opponents. After the 1970 World Series upon seeing him receive his World Series MVP award ceremony in which he received a brand new Toyota as part of his award, Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench said, "Gee! If we had known he wanted a new car that bad, we'd have chipped in and bought him one."

"I'm beginning to see Brooks (Robinson) in my sleep. If I dropped a paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first." - Sparky Anderson

"That kid plays third base like he came down from a higher league." - Umpire Ed Runge

"Brooks never had a candy bar named after him. In Baltimore, people named their children after him." - Gordon Beard

"Very nice (play)...where do they plug Mr. Hoover in?" - Lee May

See also

List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

List of major league players with 2,000 hits

List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles

List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs

List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI

Hitting for the cycle

List of Major League Baseball RBI champions

References

External links

Brooks Robinson official web site

Gallery and Archive - Brooks Robinson. - ''The Baltimore Sun''

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Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League RBI champions Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Baltimore Orioles broadcasters Category:Baltimore Orioles coaches Category:Baltimore Orioles players Category:San Antonio Missions players Category:Baseball players from Arkansas Category:Gold Glove Award winners Category:Major League Baseball announcers Category:Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Category:Major League Baseball third basemen Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:People associated with the Boy Scouts of America Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland Category:People from Little Rock, Arkansas

de:Brooks Robinson fr:Brooks Robinson ko:브룩스 로빈슨 ja:ブルックス・ロビンソン zh:布魯克斯·羅賓森