#’s, I Have Numbers

Try this one as 12 teams in the ‘offs/2024 baseball drags on.

I have 4 examples of teams winning their last crown the number of years ago, with said team winning at least the pennant that number year.

Surely examples are needed.

All 4 won pennants but only one won the World Series in that #’d year.

The Detroit Tigers last title was 40 years ago and they were 7’d in the 1940 World Series by the Cincinnati Reds.

Cincinnati also won the 1919 World Series vs the White Sox, whose last crown was 19 years ago in 2005.

The Minnesota Twins nee Washington Senators won it all most recently 33 years ago in 1991.

As the Senators, “Wash” lost to the New York Giants in the 1933 World Series.

Only the Chicago Cubs, who ended a 108 year title drought, winning a 7 game World Series from the then Indians (now the Guardians, still sans a crown since ’48 and whose one eighth “div” lead has been cut to just one and a fraction games over the Twins) 8 years ago won the numbered year World Series as their last previous crown had been achieved in 1908.

Who but me, and all this to avoid talk of the “shooting fish in a barrel”/very lucky U.S. Men’s team winning by just 4 points vs Serbia, which was “Siberia-ish” in shooting when it counted most.

The great player, Ed Roush, pictured above, felt and I believe justifiably, that his 1919 champion Reds would have won vs the White Sox whether the “Chi” team played all out or not.

Cincinnati did win and that is the point.