What else makes an outstanding World Series? How about close games filled with tension and drama? If you get seven lopsided games, what fun was that? The 1960 World Series saw the New York Yankees win three games by 13, 10 and 12 runs. When the Pittsburgh Pirates won their four games, they won by the margin of two, one, three, and a most memorable one run in Game Seven. Bill Mazeroski’s Game Seven World Series winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning was the difference.
Which games do you think were more interesting and suspenseful? The blowouts or the close ones?
A one-run game is the smallest margin in any baseball game. Despite going seven games, the 1965 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins, the 1968 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals, and the 1987 World Series between the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals did not have a one-run game.
The 1986 World Series between the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox often gets mentioned in the greatest World Series discussion. That series only had two one-run games and one extra-inning game, the memorable Game Six remembered for the ball rolling through Bill Buckner’s legs.
A great World Series should include close games and extra-inning games, and few things in sports match the drama and suspense of an extra-inning game seven.
Only four-game sevens went into extra innings, and the Cleveland Indians had the misfortune of losing two of them. Those four World Series were the 1924 series between the Washington Senators and the New York Giants, the 1991 series between the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves, the 1997 series between the Florida Marlins and the Cleveland Indians, and the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. That 2016 series had three one-run games, but the other four games (games one, two, four, and six) had the winning team winning by six, four, five, and six runs, respectively.
The 1912 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants lasted eight games. Yes, eight games. The Red Sox won four games to three, with game two being a 6-6 11-inning tie. The total margin of victory in those eight games was only 16 runs.
The 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox is often mentioned as the greatest World Series ever, and with good reason. That series had five one-run games, two of which went into extra innings, including the very memorable Game Six with Carlton Fisk’s extra-inning home run. Five of the last six games of that series were one-run games, including Game Seven. The combined margin of victory for those seven games was 15 runs.
The 1991 World Series between the Twins and Braves is another World Series that’s often mentioned as the greatest, and arguably so. The ’91 series had three extra-inning games, two of which were games six and seven. That series had the most extra-inning games of any World Series, going seven games. Game Five was the only non-close contest, with the Braves defeating the Twins 14-5. The combined margin of victory in those seven games was 17 runs.
The best World Series that seldom gets mentioned in the discussion of the greatest World Series is the 1972 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds, arguably the two best baseball franchises of the ‘70s. They combined to win five of the 10 World Series titles that decade.
Despite not having an extra-inning game, six of the seven games were one-run, including game seven. The only game that wasn’t one-run was game six, in which the Reds won 8-1. The others were 3-2, 2-1, 1-0, 3-2, 5-4 and 3-2. The 13 runs that were the combined margin of victory of those seven games is tied for the fewest of any seven-game World Series with the 1924 World Series between the Washington Senators and the New York Giants. That 1924 series had four one-run games, and games six and seven were one-run, with Game Seven going into extra innings.
Understandably, the 1975 World Series and the 1991 World Series are frequently mentioned as the greatest World Series. It’s forgivable that the 1924 World Series isn’t mentioned in discussing the greatest World Series as it was a century ago.
Still, I think the 1972 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds is the best World Series that doesn’t get talked about.
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John Baranowski is a sports historian and contributor to newspapers, sports publications, and sports websites. This and other articles written by him can be found on his blog.
