Too Easy.. I'm not even a baseball Geek.

2002

Anaheim vs. San Francisco

Game 1 Anaheim Angels 3, San Francisco Giants 4
Game 2 Anaheim Angels 11, San Francisco Giants 10
Game 3 San Francisco Giants 4, Anaheim Angels 10
Game 4 San Francisco Giants 4, Anaheim Angels 3
Game 5 San Francisco Giants 16, Anaheim Angels 4
Game 6 Anaheim Angels 6, San Francisco Giants 5
Game 7 Anaheim Angels 4, San Francisco Giants 1

Anaheim = 3+11+10+3+4+6+4 == 41
S. F. = 4+10+4+4+16+5+1 == 44

Okay. When was the time it happened before that? I was under the impression it hadn't happened since the 1950s. Shows what I know about Baseball.

1960 Pittsburgh Pirates over NY Yankees
Game 1 Pittsburgh 6 New York 4
Game 2 New York 16 Pittsburgh 3
Game 3 New York 10 Pittsburgh 0
Game 4 Pittsburgh 3 New York 2
Game 5 Pittsburgh 5 New York 2
Game 6 New York 12 Pittsburgh 0
Game 7 Pittsburgh 10 New York 9

Series Run Total
Pittsburgh 27
New York 55
Pittsburgh won 4 games to 3 despite being outscored more than 2-1

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ws_recaps.jsp?feature=1960

On the way to work, I remembered that the Yankees did it in 1996 against the Braves:
1 Atlanta 12 NEW YORK 1
2 Atlanta 4 NEW YORK 0
3 New York 5 ATLANTA 2
4 New York 8 ATLANTA 6
5 New York 1 ATLANTA 0
6 NEW YORK 3 Atlanta 2
Total Runs
Atlanta 26
New York 17

This is somewhat more of an oddity because it haoppened in only 6 games, so the losing team had only 2 opportunities to put up a high differential. I'm not sure, but I don't think it ever happened in a 5 game series that the losing team outscored the winning team. The 1960 Series, with its reverse ratio of better than 2:1, is I'm certain the most extreme example. You can, of course, come up with several examples where the winning team outscored the losing team by greater margins and/or ratios. E.g., 196, Dodgers outscore Yankees 12-4 for a 3:1 ratio and a sweep.
Also, the Yankees were close to doing it again in 2001. Had Mariano Rivera held onto the lead in the 9th inning of Game Seven, the Yankees would have won that Series despite being outscored 35-12, or nearly 3:1. The Diamondbacks scored 2 more runs, however, and won what is considered a close exciting Series despite a run differential of 37-12.

1931 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Athletics

St. Louis won the series 4 to 3 but was outscored 22 to 19.

Game1 Philadelphia 6 St. Louis 2
Game2 St. Louis 2 Philadelphia 0
Game3 St. Louis 5 Philadelphia 2
Game4 Philadelphia 3 St Louis 0
Game5 St. Louis 5 Philadelphia 1
Game6 Philadelphia 8 St. Louis 1
Game7 St. Louis 4 Philadelphia 2

St. Louis = 2+2+5+0+5+1+4 = 19
Philadelphia = 6+0+2+3+1+8+2 = 22

I wonder if there has been a repeat of one of my favorites: in 1991 the Cincinnati Reds started the season in first place and ended the season in first place without ever relinquishing the position.

They then went on to spank the Athletics in the Series. I can't recall what their playoff record was that year.

People:

Where are you finding these stats? I thought I was a baseball geek, but I am not worthy.

Casey,

It was actually the Reds who repeated the 1984 Tigers feat. The Tigers started that season 35-5 and went wire-to-wire in first place. They rolled over the San Diego Padres in 6 games to win the World Series.

That was the team that had Sparky Anderson as manager, Alan Trammell and Lou Whittaker in the infield (longest running SS-2nd base combo in baseball history), Jack Morris on the mound and Kirk Gibson in the outfield. Willie Hernandez, a relief pitcher, won the MVP that year. It was an awesome year.

The 1955 Dodgers also went wire-to-wire, and I think Detroit won the '84 Series in 5 games. I'm scaring myself.

The '98 Yankees deserve mention as well and NOT just because I'm a Yankees fan (I swear!). They did start out in a brief funk but then went on a LEGENDARY tear. At one point late in the season, their win/loss ratio stood only a hair's breadth from .800! The first six batters in their lineup all batted over .300 in this span and 7,8 and 9 were not far behind. A callup from the minors, Shane Spencer, hit something like 11 HRs in 9 games including 2 or 3 grand slams (I might be exaggerating a bit - I haven't checked the stats but it was a breathtaking run).

Not only did they finish the year with the best record in the history of the AL (to that point), but they swept all post-season opponents.

Man, what a hell of a year. That was Big Mac's year as well and Slammin' Sammy was right behind him. *Sigh* How many more weeks before the season opens?

WildMonk: what was their record that year?

Ara: thanks! I wasn't sure if any other team had done it or not, especially after the lengthened season. When did they move to the 162-game season anyway? I forget.

But I should have remembered the early '80s Tigers, as I've always considered the Sparkster as one of the truly world-class managers out there. This reminds me of another good question: who, besides Sparky Anderson, has managed Series teams in both leagues? And, who else has managed _winning_ series teams in both leagues? If anyone... :)

'84 Tigers and '76 Reds would be a sweet series, except Sparky would have to manage both sides :)))

I have to say I think the Reds would win, but only because the '76 Reds were one of the greatest teams in history, up there with the '30s Yankees, the '70s Steelers, and the '80s Fourty-Niners.

Casey:

I know Sparky was the first manager to win 100 games in both leagues and he was also the first manager to win the Series in both leagues.

Don't know if anyone else did it. Dick Williams maybe?

I'm afraid you are right : The Big Red Machine of the 70's would have beaten the Tigers of the 80's. Even Sparky would have to admit that.

Here's a trivia question for you:

Has there EVER been a World Series in which not a single participant eventually made it into the Hall of Fame?

Let's cut it off at, say, 1984.

It takes a few years for a player to GET IN -- five years after ending their career at the minimum. And not all great players necessarily retire at the end of the Series, right?

So...Up through 1984, can you name a World Series that didn't have a Hall of Fame player in it?

If you want, we can include managers too.

My hunch is that the WW2 years will yield results.

P.S. Other than Sparky, who was/were the Hall of Famer(s) from the '84 Series?

P.P.S Bonus round for all you trivia geeks out there. See if you can do it without searching the Net. Even with the Net, at least one of these questions is medium-hard:

1 -- Who was the star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox the last time they won the World Series? He's in the Hall of Fame. (easy!)

2 -- Who hit the first World Series home run in Yankee Stadium? (medium)

3 -- Denny McLain was the last pitcher to win 30 games. The day he did it, a rookie hit two home runs off of him. Name that player. (medium hard)

>>I wonder if there has been a repeat of one of my favorites: in 1991 the Cincinnati Reds started the season in first place and ended the season in first place without ever relinquishing the position.

The 1927 NY Yankees did the exact same thing beginning and ending the season in frist place while winning the World Serious.

>>1 -- Who was the star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox the last time they won the World Series? He's in the Hall of Fame. (easy!)

Babe Ruth was the star pitcher the last time the Bosox won the World Series in 1918. However, he rode the bench during the World Series that year because they had a pitcher named Smokey Joe Wood who won 36 games that season while winning three Boston Red Sox games in the 1918 World Series. So, I guess that Smokey Joe Wood HAS to be the correct answer even though you are thinking of Babe Ruth.

>>2 -- Who hit the first World Series home run in Yankee Stadium? (medium)

Was that Babe Ruth?

>>3 -- Denny McLain was the last pitcher to win 30 games. The day he did it, a rookie hit two home runs off of him. Name that player. (medium hard)

Was that Rod Carew?

Kevin:

[Ruth] rode the bench during the World Series that year because they had a pitcher named Smokey Joe Wood who won 36 games that season while winning three Boston Red Sox games in the 1918 World Series. So, I guess that Smokey Joe Wood HAS to be the correct answer even though you are thinking of Babe Ruth.

I think you have mixed up Wood with ... someone else? Wood went 34-5 for the Sox in 1912. That was his best season. He didn't play for the Sox in 1918.

In contrast, Ruth pitched 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in the 1918 Series, a mark that stood for forty-three years.

Question #2 -- The first regular season home run hit in Yankee Stadium belonged to the Babe. The first World Series home run belonged to someone else. Hint: it was an inside-the-park job.

Question #3 -- Not Rod Carew. Hint: The guy who did it is in the Hall of Fame.

Have you guys checked out the SimLeagues on MLB.com? Really cool stuff for baseball geeks. The link is on my blog from Friday's post.

was Babe Ruth black