World Series Notes

Tonight in game 6 at Houston, the Astros hope to win their second title in 3 seasons. Meanwhile the Nationals hope to force a 7th and decisive game tomorrow night.

This is the 16th World Series with this calendar (i.e. today October 29th is a/was a Tuesday) and more than half of the World Series played in such a calendar year (8) went to a decisive 7th game, those being (’02, ’91, ’85, ’68, ’57, ’46, ’40 and 1912). Twice 3 straight World Series with this calendar went to a seventh and deciding game (’85, ’91 and ’02 and before that ’40, ’46 and ’57).

Yesterday I cited the road team is an incredible (17-3) in the last 20 MLB, NHL and NBA final round games.

The road team has 7 straight World Series wins which broke the record of 6 set in the last 4 games of the 1949 World Series and first two in 1950.

The road team went (5-2) in the NHL final and (5-1) in the NBA final, manifesting in first time titles for the NHL St. Louis Blues and the NBA Toronto Raptors.

It would take a (7-0) road team World Series record to give another franchise, (the Nationals) a first time title. I do not believe any series in NBA, NHL or MLB annals has ever produced road team victories in the first six games.

Two baseball World Series resulted in road teams winning the first 5 games and the home team clinching the crown in game 6.

Those series were 90 years apart (the White Sox winning in 1906 and the Yankees in 1996).

Doc White, pictured above saved game 5 and won game 6 as the 1906 “Hitless Wonders,” Chicago White Sox upset the (116-36) Cubs in the World Series.

The 107 win Astros hope to follow the pattern of ’06 and for that matter ’96 and “6” the 93 win, wild card Nationals tonight.