World Series — Baseball Bench Coach

World Series; the championship of my favorite sport at the best time of the year! During the past week we have witnessed the Dodgers and Rays battle it out with Los Angeles now holding a 3-2 lead. There’s so much new about the Series this year – all games in the same ballpark; DH rule in effect in every game; and oh yes, crowds of just 11,500 (lowest since 1909) with background noise piped in. Yet, some longstanding traditions have indeed been maintained. Let’s look back at how the history of the World Series has played a part in the 2020 Fall Classic, certainly one to remember (or perhaps one to forget).

This is the 116th World Series between the AL and NL. The American League holds a 66-49 Series advantage. It all started in 1903 when the NL Pittsburgh Pirates were defeated 5 games to 3 by the upstart American League’s Boston Americans (now the Red Sox). The Americans were ready to defend their championship the next season, but the NL pennant-winning New York Giants, owned by John T. Brush, boycotted the 1904 Series. Among the reasons Brush cited was the lack of rules under which money would be split. After both leagues agreed to the “Brush Rules”, which included that the player shares would come from a portion of the gate receipts for the first four games only so as to prohibit fixing games, the Series returned in 1905 with the Giants beating the AL’s Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 1. The concern about gambling in the Series was well founded in the early days, resulting in the ultimate black eye for baseball in 1919. (See “Field of Dreams”, 08/10/2020.)

One huge story line in the Series this year is that MLB found a way to stage it in the face of the pandemic. Aside from the 1904 boycott, the only other year the Series wasn’t played was in 1994 when it was cancelled due to the players’ strike. The Series has survived so many events – the 1981 Series was played despite a long, mid-season work stoppage; in 1989 an earthquake struck the Bay Area right before Game 3 causing the Giants and Athletics match-up to be delayed 10 days; and in 2001 the Series started a week late due to the September 11 attacks. And of course, the 1918 World Series was also played while the country was in the midst of a pandemic, the Spanish influenza. (See “Shortened Season”, 06/08/2020.) I’m sure that MLB executives will be glad this week when the ’20 Series is safely in the books.

Home field advantage in the Series has always been an interesting topic. The Dodgers, who had an MLB best 43-17 regular season record, received the “home field” for the Series only so far as it gives them the last at bat in games 1, 2, and 6, and importantly, game 7 (if necessary). No Dodger Stadium, though. Until 2002, home field advantage in the Series alternated every year (even years – NL; and odd years – AL), no matter the records of the teams. In 2003-2016, home field advantage was determined by which league won the All-Star Game. MLB returned to reality in 2017 and adopted the much called for best record determination. The 2 (home) – 3 (away) – 2 (home) format goes all the way back to 1924. How “home field” plays out in winning the Series is across the spectrum. In 1987, the Twins captured the Series by winning its four home games, while last year the Nationals became the first world champions ever by winning four games on the road.

With the MLB’s adoption of the DH Rule in the 2020 shortened season, it’s been somewhat of a return to the World Series approach employed back in the 1970s. The American League first adopted the DH rule in 1973, but MLB opted not to use it for Series games until 1976. Beginning in 1976, all even-numbered years would include the DH and it would be used by both teams in all Series games. AL faithful were glad to see it, except Cincinnati turned it to its advantage by casting slugger Dan Driessen as a DH in the ’76 sweep of the Yankees. In 1986, MLB changed gears and imposed a rule that the DH was to be used for Series games played in the AL champion’s park but not in the NL ballpark. The rationale was that the DH should not affect the performance of the home team. (See “Universal DH”, 05/25/2020.) Over the past five games in this Series, the Dodgers and the Rays have effectively used the DH with several players serving in the role. It’s a testament to the amazing depth both teams have on their rosters.

The 2020 Series teams are certainly contrasts from an historical perspective. This is only the Rays second Series appearance, the first one in 2008 in a loss to the Phillies. Tampa Bay is one of 6 current teams to have never won it all, the others being Colorado, Milwaukee, San Diego, Seattle, and Texas. The Dodgers are in an NL elite class; this is their 24th Series appearance. My first memory of watching the World Series was in 1965 when Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale led LA to a Series win over Rod Carew and Tony Oliva of the Twins. The Dodgers had previously beaten the Yankees in 1963 (I was a little too young) and then in 1966 lost to Jim Palmer and the Orioles. Prior to the 60s, the Dodgers were certainly an NL dynasty, appearing in 7 Series between 1947 and 1959. Of course, those Dodgers most often had to face the AL dynasty Yankees, who reigned supreme. The Dodgers last won the Series in 1988. LA has been in 3 of the last 4 Series, losing in 2017 and 2018. There has been no team in Series history that has been in 3 of the last 4 played and not won one.

Just when I was getting used to having some day baseball during the 2020 postseason, MLB returned to prime time for all of the games this week. Night baseball in the MLB goes back to 1935 with the first night game at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. It was not until the 1971 Series when we witnessed Series play at night, a Game 4 encounter between the Pirates and the Orioles at Three Rivers Stadium. But of course nighttime television took over with its larger audiences and more attractive advertising spots. The last World Series game played during the day was 33 years ago, Game 6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis between the Cardinals and the Twins. I miss World Series day baseball tremendously, especially when games are played well over 3 hours and late into the night. It’s hard to imagine a 10-year old in Tampa staying up to see the final innings of the games this week.

If you were awake to see the Rays’ walk off win in Game 4 Saturday night, you saw some big-time drama. I often ponder what was the best World Series game in my generation. For many, maybe it was Jack Buck’s call of Kirk Gibson’s home run in Game 1 of the 1988 Series, “I don’t believe what I just saw”. (See “Rounding Third”, 08/24/2020.) For me, it had to be Game 6 of the 1975 World Series between my Reds and the Red Sox. I was a sixteen year-old kid sitting in my living room hoping beyond hope that the Big Red Machine would finally be World Champions. I had 13 pennies in my pocket and was sitting in a chair with the #13 mask-taped to the back of it. (See “Row 13, Seat 13”, 04/13/2020.) When Carlton Fisk hit the long drive toward the left field foul pole motioning for the ball to stay fair, I remember standing up and trying to push the ball the other way. I vividly recall the next evening before Game 7 watching Curt Gowdy’s interview of Pete Rose who said “last night was the greatest game I’ve ever played in”. It truly was the best Series game I’ve witnessed, especially after the Reds did take Game 7 and the Series.

The Dodgers and the Rays came into the 2020 Series as clearly the best in their respective leagues based on regular season won-loss records. Since postseason baseball went to eight teams in 1995, there have been only three Series between the teams with the top record in each league: Braves over the Indians in 1995; Yankees 1998 Series win over the Braves; and the Red Sox beating the Cardinals in 2013. One might think that the NL and AL best this past week would be involved in some late inning nail-biters. Other than the Game 4 thriller, the Fall Classic 2020 has so far fallen short in terms of close games. It’s certainly not been the 1991 Series between the Twins and the Braves, deemed by ESPN as the “greatest of all time”, when the 7-game win by Minnesota included five games decided by one run, four games determined in the final at-bat, and three games going into extra innings!

We might have, however, found a new “Mr. October”. Reggie Jackson of the Yankees was called that in 1977 after his incredible power show in the World Series win over LA. This time a Ray, Randy Arozarena, might be just as deserving of the nickname. Raise your hand if you knew about Arozarena before the playoffs (not me). In Game 4 of the Series, Arozarena set the new MLB mark for home runs in the postseason with his ninth blast. More than that though, a little thing he did might have served as a big difference in the Series. (See “Little Things”, 10/14/2019.) Because of Arozarena’s Game 3 HR off of Kenley Jansen, Dodger closer, Jansen pitched around Arozarena in the ninth inning of Game 4 and walked him. The result was Arozarena scoring the winning run on his wild sprint around the bases. Last night in Game 5 he set the MLB postseason hit record with 27.

I hope you enjoy the conclusion of the Series in the next few days. It’s been an interesting and fun season of baseball blog writing. I look forward to being back with you next spring for the third year of Baseball Bench Coach and a full season of Major League Baseball.

Until next Season,

your Baseball Bench Coach