’Pen Pal
THERE are many sporting events of note. Depending on your interests or the part of the country you live in, certain events may mean more than others. The Super Bowl, the NBA playoffs, the Indy 500, the Stanley Cup and all college national championships come to mind. Nothing beats the
World SeriesNone, though, has had the lasting importance or interest that the World Series has had.
I'm one of those guys who think that there should be federal, state and municipal laws regulating the series. These laws would mandate that each World Series go seven games, with each game going extra innings. And all games would be played on natural grass during the day.
I guess that's the baseball purist in me. I forgot to mention, each team would need to wear their leggings (stirrups to people on the U.S. continent) low, with all black shoes.
There have been many terrific games and moments in the history of the Series. Can you remember Bill Mazeroski's home run in the 1960 Series? What about Bob Gibson's dominance in the 1964 classic? Or the Oakland A's dominance in the early 1970s? Then there was the monumental 1975 series between Cincinnati's Big Red Machine and the Boston Red Sox. Even today, Carlton Fisk's home run and the image of his body English coaxing it fair is replayed when the Series comes around.
What about the contests between the Yankees and the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978? Or the 1989 "Battle of the Bay" between the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants in the year of the earthquake?
Then we can talk about some unforgettable, or should I say forgettable, moments -- especially the 1997 Series between the Florida Marlins and the Cleveland Indians, when umpire Eric Gregg called the worst game in the history of baseball. To this day, when the Series is brought up, that incident is mentioned.
In the old days, up to 1968, the World Series featured the winners of each league in a seven-game playoff. In 1969, continuing through 1980, each league played a league championship series (ALCS and NLCS) to determine who would meet for the actual Series. Then in 1995, Major League Baseball instituted a division playoff system preceding the NLCS or ALCS.
OK, NOW THAT the history stuff is settled, we can get to the most important question: Which was the best World Series ever?
We all have our favorite teams. You probably know by now that my two teams are the Yankees (I probably could say "Yankees" before "mommy" or "daddy"), and the Giants. It would be a difficult decision for me to make if those teams ever competed for the crown.
Forget for a moment who your favorite teams are, or the teams with the greatest star power. Which teams would you choose for the best World Series ever in 2001?
If you're a true baseball fan, I know you'll come up with this: The Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs haven't won a Series since 1908, and the Sox since 1918!
So there you have it. Pal's picks for the best World Series ever. You gotta love that.
Pal Eldredge is a baseball commentator for KFVE
and former varsity baseball coach at Punahou School.
His column runs Mondays during the Major League Baseball season.
Star-Bulletin sports can be reached at 529-4785 or: sports@starbulletin.com