Top Five World Series of My Lifetime
On nonelection years, I'm forced to find other things to occupy my mind in the fall. Postseason baseball frequently fits the bill, and I'm sitting here watching Game 3 of the 2007 World Series on a Saturday evening remembering some of the classic World Series I watched as a boy. The last several World Series have been dreary affairs, with few cliffhanger games or come-from-behind moments. The odds are against such affairs occurring with regularity, but it has happened with impressive regularity over the years. Here are the five favorite World Series of my lifetime in descending order.....
#5--2001 (Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees). The NY Yankees dominated postseason baseball for several years, winning three World Series in five years and becoming the team everybody loved to hate due to their enormous payroll, slimeball owner, and flukish ability to deliver success when it was needed most. The Arizona Diamondbacks had a solid team in 2001 and outplayed the Yankees night after night, yet managed to surrender a run or two at the end of several games and allowed the Yankees to sneak in with a win. Thankfully, Arizona would seize the moment in Game 7, getting to seemingly indestructible closer Mariano Rivera and coming from behind to win.
#4--1985 (Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals). Not too often do we see a World Series pitting two teams from Missouri against each other, but the small-market underdogs delivered an exciting seven-game series where the smug and flamboyant mid-1980's St. Louis Cardinals busted out of the gate with a 2-0 lead, leaving Kansas City with little room for error. The underdog Royals were the classic Davids facing off against the Goliath Cardinals, a classic "villain" team commandeered by the irksome manager Whitey Herzog and a couple of equally annoying players (Joaquin Andujar, John Tudor). Most of the games were memorable and suspenseful, and the good-guy Royals headed by small-scale heroes as Charlie Leibrandt and Bret Saberhagen, emerged victorious after Game 7.
#3--1987 (Minnesota Twins vs. St. Louis Cardinals). I'm a little biased here as the Minnesota Twins are my team, but there's no denying this was a great World Series. Nobody gave the lowly Twins a chance against the mighty Cardinals, a team that was a close variation on the villainous runner-up team from the 1985 Series, and still managed by the noxious Whitey Herzog. And after the Cardinals won all three games in their home stadium, it looked like the Series was theirs to lose when they returned to Minnesota for Game 6. The Twins came from behind in Game 6 with a memorable grand slam by Kent Hrbek and would head into Game 7 with ace Frank Viola pitching. It was another great game but the Twins would emerge victorious with their first World Series title.
#2--1986 (New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox). A great Series despite its heartbreaking death spiral into unimaginable disappointment in Game 6, the cocky and larger-than-life New York Mets ended up stealing victory from the jaws of defeat by stellar means. The "100-year curse" allegedly afflicting the Red Sox since they traded Babe Ruth in 1919 reared its ugly head. A young Roger Clemens had pitched a near-flawless Game 6 and was taken out so the Boston closer (whose name escapes me) could get the save. The Red Sox were ahead by three and managed two outs against the Mets in the bottom of the ninth when all hell broke loose. The Mets scored six back-to-back hits but were still poised to win the World Series when a routine ground ball rolled between the legs of injured first baseman Bill Buckner, cementing the Mets rally and sending the Series to a Game 7, where they would go onto win. Love it or hate it (I hated it), it was one of the most stunning moments in the history of professional sports.
#1--1991 (Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves). Often cited as the best World Series not only of my lifetime, but of all time, two teams that had risen from the basement of their respective divisions the previous season strung together underdog teams that went the distance in 1991. The Twins won two at home, the Braves won three at home, and the Twins would return to Minnesota allegedly dispirited for Game 6. Nearly every game ended with extreme and intense drama. Kirby Puckett would knock an 11th-inning homerun out of the park to end Game 6, leading into a Game 7 that will go down as one of the all-time best pitcher's duals between the Twins' Jack Morris and the Braves' John Smoltz, tied 0-0 at the end of the 9th inning. A highlight of Game 7 was the wry fielder's fakeout employed by Twins infielders Chuck Knoblauch and Greg Gagne to trick Braves' baserunner Lonnie Smith into believing he was being tagged out on a double-play ball. It was perhaps the greatest piece of baseball theatre I've ever seen, and paved the way for the Twins to score the single run they needed to win the World Series in the 10th inning.
Honorable Mentions--the 1988 World Series (Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Oakland A's), if for no other reason than the uber-dramatic game-ending homerun in Game 1, where injured Dodgers' hitter Kirk Gibson limped up to the plate with no more than one good swing in him and pounded out a homerun that would help the Dodgers score a come-from-behind win and suck the oxygen out of the heavily favored A's, ultimately beating them four games to one. The other HM goes to the 1993 World Series (Philadelphia Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays), where the scruffy blue-collar Phillies looked poised to win in Game 7, until long-haired relief pitcher Mitch Williams surrendered several runs, including the game-winning homerun by Toronto hitter Joe Carter. It's a safe bet that the vast majority of viewers were pulling for the flamboyant Phillies team that year, but even in defeat, it stands out as an epic Series.
I'm a fairweather friend when it comes to baseball. Unless I care who wins, I have a hard time getting excited about it. Furthermore, the number of games that qualify as exciting just aren't that many. Still, there's no greater game in the world when one of those exciting games breaks out....and postseason baseball delivers them in disproportionate numbers to the regular season. The 2007 World Series is shaping up to be a dud, but this game has proven time and time again that we never know what to expect from the next inning let alone the next game. I'll be eager to see how it all plays out in the next game(s).
#5--2001 (Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees). The NY Yankees dominated postseason baseball for several years, winning three World Series in five years and becoming the team everybody loved to hate due to their enormous payroll, slimeball owner, and flukish ability to deliver success when it was needed most. The Arizona Diamondbacks had a solid team in 2001 and outplayed the Yankees night after night, yet managed to surrender a run or two at the end of several games and allowed the Yankees to sneak in with a win. Thankfully, Arizona would seize the moment in Game 7, getting to seemingly indestructible closer Mariano Rivera and coming from behind to win.
#4--1985 (Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals). Not too often do we see a World Series pitting two teams from Missouri against each other, but the small-market underdogs delivered an exciting seven-game series where the smug and flamboyant mid-1980's St. Louis Cardinals busted out of the gate with a 2-0 lead, leaving Kansas City with little room for error. The underdog Royals were the classic Davids facing off against the Goliath Cardinals, a classic "villain" team commandeered by the irksome manager Whitey Herzog and a couple of equally annoying players (Joaquin Andujar, John Tudor). Most of the games were memorable and suspenseful, and the good-guy Royals headed by small-scale heroes as Charlie Leibrandt and Bret Saberhagen, emerged victorious after Game 7.
#3--1987 (Minnesota Twins vs. St. Louis Cardinals). I'm a little biased here as the Minnesota Twins are my team, but there's no denying this was a great World Series. Nobody gave the lowly Twins a chance against the mighty Cardinals, a team that was a close variation on the villainous runner-up team from the 1985 Series, and still managed by the noxious Whitey Herzog. And after the Cardinals won all three games in their home stadium, it looked like the Series was theirs to lose when they returned to Minnesota for Game 6. The Twins came from behind in Game 6 with a memorable grand slam by Kent Hrbek and would head into Game 7 with ace Frank Viola pitching. It was another great game but the Twins would emerge victorious with their first World Series title.
#2--1986 (New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox). A great Series despite its heartbreaking death spiral into unimaginable disappointment in Game 6, the cocky and larger-than-life New York Mets ended up stealing victory from the jaws of defeat by stellar means. The "100-year curse" allegedly afflicting the Red Sox since they traded Babe Ruth in 1919 reared its ugly head. A young Roger Clemens had pitched a near-flawless Game 6 and was taken out so the Boston closer (whose name escapes me) could get the save. The Red Sox were ahead by three and managed two outs against the Mets in the bottom of the ninth when all hell broke loose. The Mets scored six back-to-back hits but were still poised to win the World Series when a routine ground ball rolled between the legs of injured first baseman Bill Buckner, cementing the Mets rally and sending the Series to a Game 7, where they would go onto win. Love it or hate it (I hated it), it was one of the most stunning moments in the history of professional sports.
#1--1991 (Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves). Often cited as the best World Series not only of my lifetime, but of all time, two teams that had risen from the basement of their respective divisions the previous season strung together underdog teams that went the distance in 1991. The Twins won two at home, the Braves won three at home, and the Twins would return to Minnesota allegedly dispirited for Game 6. Nearly every game ended with extreme and intense drama. Kirby Puckett would knock an 11th-inning homerun out of the park to end Game 6, leading into a Game 7 that will go down as one of the all-time best pitcher's duals between the Twins' Jack Morris and the Braves' John Smoltz, tied 0-0 at the end of the 9th inning. A highlight of Game 7 was the wry fielder's fakeout employed by Twins infielders Chuck Knoblauch and Greg Gagne to trick Braves' baserunner Lonnie Smith into believing he was being tagged out on a double-play ball. It was perhaps the greatest piece of baseball theatre I've ever seen, and paved the way for the Twins to score the single run they needed to win the World Series in the 10th inning.
Honorable Mentions--the 1988 World Series (Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Oakland A's), if for no other reason than the uber-dramatic game-ending homerun in Game 1, where injured Dodgers' hitter Kirk Gibson limped up to the plate with no more than one good swing in him and pounded out a homerun that would help the Dodgers score a come-from-behind win and suck the oxygen out of the heavily favored A's, ultimately beating them four games to one. The other HM goes to the 1993 World Series (Philadelphia Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays), where the scruffy blue-collar Phillies looked poised to win in Game 7, until long-haired relief pitcher Mitch Williams surrendered several runs, including the game-winning homerun by Toronto hitter Joe Carter. It's a safe bet that the vast majority of viewers were pulling for the flamboyant Phillies team that year, but even in defeat, it stands out as an epic Series.
I'm a fairweather friend when it comes to baseball. Unless I care who wins, I have a hard time getting excited about it. Furthermore, the number of games that qualify as exciting just aren't that many. Still, there's no greater game in the world when one of those exciting games breaks out....and postseason baseball delivers them in disproportionate numbers to the regular season. The 2007 World Series is shaping up to be a dud, but this game has proven time and time again that we never know what to expect from the next inning let alone the next game. I'll be eager to see how it all plays out in the next game(s).
posted by Mark at 6:11 PM
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