The Chicago Cubs’ 7 game triumph road/home win/loss configuration is the third in World Series history.
The World Series of 1968, 1979 and now 2016 are the only series where the winners in the 7 games followed this pattern: home, road, road, road, home, road and road.
What is more relevant perhaps is that 5 road team wins in seven games has to be at least tied for the most in a World Series. I am not sure, however.
In addition to the ’68 Detroit Tigers and 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates who simulated the great Dr. Martin Luther King, and “overcame,” the ’93 and ’77 Series followed the same pattern through 5 games.
However, with home run dramatics, the ’77 Yankees with 3 by Reggie Jackson and a forgotten key one by Chris Chambliss and the ’93 Blue Jays on Joe Carter’s W.S. ending home run broke the pattern and won it all at home in game 6.
Two extra inning, 7th game World Series losses for the Cleveland Indians in the last 20 W.S. (how many times in the 108 years sans a title did the Cubs suffer that way or with any tough loss with a chance to “title”–the answer is zero) but they are the Cubs, so they got the hype.
Their horrors were in the LCS, the Indians are in the World Series and while not quite the Red Sox in quantity or horror of coming close pain, they are getting close.
I despise the tragic human fact that we like to blame, inordinately blame others.
Yet while I have heard disproportionate blame placed on Earnest Byner, Jose Mesa and opponents John Elway and Michael Jordan for greatness vs Cleveland teams, it is time to cite the horrible decision Mike Hargrove, the Indians’ manager made in game 7 of the ’97 W.S., which was an even tougher loss for Cleveland, than the one last night.
I will do so in a post in the near future, say tomorrow.
Meanwhile is it “safe” to say, (just realized the painful coincidence as a tooth is yielding pain), that Joe Maddon often criticized here, proved my point that he is over rated.
He is so lucky that he won as the media, more “attack mode” than me, would have done so if his Cubs lost. They won, so he is vindicated. What hypocritical garbage!
Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier pictured above from the film “Marathon Man.”
Thankfully it is over but Fox and Joe Buck have already started their Super Bowl hype.
Buck need not correct the mistakes he makes, as his position is secure and as much as I do not like him, they would only get someone worse to replace him.
While it was good that neither Harold Reynolds nor Erin Andrews were involved in the Fox coverage, and that Tom Verducci was relegated to “sideline” work, over analyzing John Smoltz was close to unbearable.
Memo to Mr. Smoltz: “irregardless” is not a word in the English language!
P.S. Even the Fox camera work, usually good was no bargain.
The Chicago Cubs, the team that had the best regular season record, won their first World Series since 1908, winning (8-7) in 10 innings in game 7, at Cleveland vs the Indians, to complete a comeback from a three games to one series deficit.
Chicago (Cubs) are the sixth team to overcome a (3-1) World Series deficit and the fourth to do so by winning the last two games on the road (’58 Yankees, ’68 Tigers, as the great Ed Mathews was first on the losing end and then on the winning end and ’79 Pirates being the other three).
In winning a game in which they led (1-0), (5-1), (5-3), (6-3) but were tied (6-6), before Ben Zobrist’s run scoring double, highlighted a two run tenth inning, “Chi” became the first road team to win an extra inning, 7th game of a World Series.
After the many twists and turns that manifested in the (6-6) tie which included a rain delay of about 18 minutes before the top of the tenth inning commenced, Zobrist, who was named Series MVP (he paid off at 20 to 1), and was an integral part of last year’s champion, K.C. Royals, doubled the opposite way against losing pitcher Brian Shaw.
The hit not only put Chi ahead but eventually led to Miguel Montero’s hit, which turned out to be the margin of victory, when Cleveland scored a run in the bottom of the tenth inning.
Think perhaps Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Mantle, and a certain candy, all famous M and M’s as the pitcher (Mike Montgomery), hitter who drove in what proved to be the W.S. winning run (Miguel Montero) and the batter who made the last out (Michael Martinez) all have “MM” initials.
Ben Zobrist, pictured above, has played on consecutive World Series winning teams, making a vital contribution to the 2015 Kansas City Royals and being named World Series Most Valuable Player for the 2016 Chicago Cubs, who ended a 108 year title drought at the expense of the Cleveland Indians whose last title was 68 years ago.
Why “Round up the usual suspects?” It was the ending that the Epstein Brothers and Howard W. Koch used, as they needed an ending for “Casablanca.”
Seventy plus years later a grandson/grand nephew, the Chicago Cubs’ Theo Epstein, (the grandson of Philip and grand nephew of Julius), already the architect of a Red Sox team that ended a famed, long title drought, seeks to do it again.
This time a victory would end an even longer drought. Also it would be accomplished vs a team with a long drought of its own, one managed by the same man, who did so and helped the grandson/grand nephew end the aforementioned drought.
What a script! Now as the Epstein Brothers and Koch sought so many years back, all we need is an ending. One will be forthcoming tonight in game 7.
It is game 7 of The World Series tonight, the 5th such ‘epic” in the 19 telecast by Fox and Joe Buck.
The Cubs, slight favorites, at 6 to 5, have not won a World Series since 1908, getting beaten decisively by the Detroit Tigers in game 7 of the 1945 World Series, the last time before tonight, the Cubs played in a game in which a win would have given them a title.
There is a much different situation involving the Indians, a similar long drought of no title since 1948, but in their last game facing elimination, but also with a chance to title since that time, they suffered a heartbreaking (3-2) defeat at Florida vs the Marlins in game 7 of the 1997 World Series.
When Addison Russell (a man named Russell, the great Bill Russell, not so arguably the greatest winner in major North American sports league’s history, played in 5 game 7’s for the title and he and the Boston Celtics won them all) hit a 3rd inning grand slam last night it was seven and seven.
First it was (7-0) Cubs and that made it so likely, there would be a game seven in this World Series.
No matter who wins that game seven tonight, Fox people could get out the seven and seven and drink in celebration, as this tilt tonight, will get extraordinary ratings.
Although the game 6 of the finals to be played not long from now is in baseball, not basketball, it is appropriate Ray Allen, an excellent player and a man, who hit one of the great clutch shots in NBA history, retired today.
Ray won titles as a player, with both the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
It was as a member of the Heat, that Mr. Allen hit a tying 3 point field goal as time expired or close to it, forcing overtime for his team, which trailed the San Antonio Spurs three games to two in the 2013 NBA finals.
The Heat won that game in overtime and went on to win the crown in game 7.
Ray Allen, pictured above.
Only the vaunted New York Yankees have ever accomplished what the Cleveland Indians failed to do in Game 5 two nights ago, namely win game one of the W.S. at home and numbers (3-5) to wrap up the title on the road.
The Yankees accomplished that feat thrice from (1941-1961), doing so in 1949 as well as the above cited “bookend” years.
On two other occasions, a team won games 1,3,4, and 5, but not with the same home/road configuration as is in effect now.
Both instances involved World Series matching the Philadelphia Athletics vs the New York Giants. In 1905, the legendary Christy Mathewson hurled three shutout victories, as the Giants prevailed in games 1,3,4 and 5 while 8 years later the A’s returned the favor, handing “Big Six” (Mathewson) a loss in his last World Series game.
The great pitcher, Christy Mathewson, pictured above.
Tonight in game 6 of The World Series, the Cleveland Indians hope to win their first title since 1948, the city of Cleveland’s first title clinched at home since the Browns won the NFL Title game in 1964 and the baseball team’s first since 1920, when they take a (3-2) World Series lead into game 6 against the Chicago Cubs.
Toward that end, Cleveland, nearly a three to two underdog, will start Josh Tomlin while the Cubs who fought off elimination in a post-season series in which they trailed in games, for the first time since game 6 of the 1945 World Series (also in what was their last home World Series win), with their game 5 home win this past Sunday, have Jake Arrieta on the mound.
Cleveland has been victorious in all three of Tomlin’s starts, one in each round of the ridiculous expanded playoffs while the Cubs are (1-2) in Arrieta’s starts, that a win in Game 2 vs the Indians.
Again tonight, for the fourth time during the World Series and encompassing the entire NBA champion Cavaliers’ games thus far in the endless NBA regular season, there is both World Series baseball and basketball involving those two Cleveland teams. Tonight for the second time, a week apart, both games are in Cleveland, the NBA moving the starting time of Rockets/Cavs up an hour lessening the “conflict time” considerably.
The three Cleveland wins thus far in the World Series all came on nights the Cavaliers played (also won by the way), the losses on nights the Cavs were idle.
Andy B Sports 