There have been many classic moments in World Series history. On this Baseball Classics podcast, I take you back to 3 of them featuring dramatic come from behind Game 1 victories spanning back 60 years of the Fall Classic. Each first game win was over a team considered as the clear favorite to win it all that season and become World Series champions.
Each thrilling game 1 win set the tone for these underdog teams on their way to a combined 12-1 record in the World Series and etching iconic moments in MLB history still talked about today and for many decades to come.I will bring you back in time to feel the mood going into Game 1, sharing not only the opening day lineups, but a brief review of key players season performances. Who was hot and who was not going into the big show. Then we’ll step into each game, the dramatic and game changing moments for each team. These victories knocked the breath out of their opponents. Based on the way they won, it’s no wonder they lost their mojo the rest of the way. Alright, let’s get started.
1954 Cleveland Indians vs. New York Giants
We begin with a World Series game 1 that features a play that will never be forgotten in MLB history, it’s “The Catch”, yet there was plenty of drama before and afterwards too.
First, let’s take a close up look at these two World Series foes. The 1954 Cleveland Indians wound up with one of the best all-time records in MLB history at 111-43 for a .720 winning percentage while the Giants finished at 97-57.
Both teams had terrific pitching staffs. Cleveland was had a league leading ERA of 2.78, the Giants finished at 3.09. They also led the league with a 1.202 WHIP, the Giants pitching came in at 1.346. The Indians starters had 77 complete games, while the Giants had 45. Interestingly the Giants had more complete game shutouts by a margin of 17 to 12. The Indians team fielding was better with a mark of .979 compared to .975 of the Giants.
At the plate, the teams finished with nearly identical batting averages at .264 for the Giants and .262 for the Indians. With 186 home runs, the Giants had 30 more than the Indians. The offensive mainstays for the Indians were Bobby Avila, Al Rosen, Larry Doby and Al Smith. The Giants hitting stars were Willie Mays, Don Mueller, Hank Thompson, Alvin Dark, and lurking on the bench was clutch pinch-hitter Dusty Rhodes.
Heading into the World Series, the Indians were hot through the season including down the stretch with records of 26-6 and 16-7 in the months of August and September respectively. The Giants during that same stretch were 17-10 and 15-10.
With the better pitching and defense, nearly equal hitting, and 111 wins the Indians were the team to beat heading to game one on September 29, 1954 at the Polo Grounds.
1954 Cleveland Indians
Manager – Al Lopez
Al Smith, LF
Bobby Avila, 2B
Larry Doby, CF
Al Rosen 3B
Vic Wertz, 1B
Dave Philley, RF
George Strickand, SS
Jim Hegan, C
Bob Lemon (23-7)
1954 New York Giants
Manager – Leo Durocher
Whitey Lockman, 1B
Alvin Dark, SS
Don Mueller, RF
Willie Mays, CF
Hank Thompson, 3B
Monte Irvin, LF
Davey Williams, 2B
Wes Westrum, C
1988 Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Next up, the 1988 Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Dodgers managed by Tony LaRussa and Tommy Lasorda respectively.
The A’s racked up a 104-58 record, winning their division handily by 13 games. Meanwhile in southern California, the Dodgers wound up 94 – 67 winning their division by 7 games.
The Dodgers had a modest team batting average of .248 which was the league average. They were modest across the board at the plate including their power numbers, or lack there of, managing only 99 home runs. The A’s were the opposite with the long ball, the bash brothers alone, consisting of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire smashed 74 home runs. Years later Canseco admitted and McGwire never denied using illegal steroids to enhance their performance. Oakland had a .263 team batting average, 4 points higher than the league average along with 156 long balls.
Both teams had terrific pitching staffs. Oakland had an AL low team ERA of 3.44 to compliment their strong hitting. Their bullpen dominated the Major Leagues with 64 saves, led by Dennis Eckersley owning 45 of them. Only the New York Mets had a lower team ERA in the NL and allowed fewer homers. Dodgers pitching had a 2.96 ERA and came in third whiffing 1029 batters while A’s batters had the 5th most strikeouts in the AL. Oakland was better with the glove, coming in with a .983 team fielding average while the Dodgers only managed a .977 performance. That comes to 142 errors committed by LA compared to only 105 by Oakland fielders.
The offensive powerhouse for the A’s were Jose Conseco, Dave Henderson, and Mark McGwire. The Dodger offense was led by Kirk Gibson, Mike Marshall, and Steve Sax.
Heading into the World Series, the Dodgers were hot through the season including down the stretch with records of 17-12 and 17-12 in the months of August, and September combined with October respectively. The A’s during that same stretch were a red hot 20-9 and 20-8.
With the better hitting and defense, and impressive league leading AL staff, the A’s were favorites to take the World Series title. Game 1 is played in Dodger Stadium on October 15, 1988.
1988 Oakland Athletics
Manager – Tony LaRussa
Carney Lansford, 3B
Dave Henderson, CF
Jose Conseco, RF
Dave Parker, LF
Mark McGwire, 1B
Terry Steinbach, C
Glenn Hubbard, 2B
Walt Weiss, SS
Dave Stewart, P
1988 Los Angeles Dodgers
Manager – Tommy Lasorda
Steve Sax, 2B
Franklin Stubbs, 1B
Mickey Hatcher, LF
Mike Marshall, RF
John Shelby, CF
Mike Scioscia, C
Jeff Hamilton, 3B
Alfredo Griffin, SS
Tim Belcher, P
Kirk Gibson – PH (sustained injuries to both legs during the NLCS, game 5 left knee, game 7 right knee – both times sliding hard into 2nd base) Game 4 12th inning HR, Game 5 3-run HR.
2004 St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox
In the 100th World Series, for the first time since 1918 the Boston Red Sox became Major League Baseball champions sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox finished the regular season with a 98-64 record entering the playoffs as a Wild Card, defeating the Angels 3 games to 1 and then coming from down 3 games to none to win 4 in a row over the Yankees vaulting them into the Fall Classic including extra innings wins in games 4 & 5. The Cards had the best regular season record in baseball at 105-57. Like the Red Sox, they won 3 games to 1 in their first playoff series over the Angels; then in a tough match held back the feisty Astros in 7 games.
The Cardinals led the NL with a .278 batting average, .460 SA, and .804 OPS on their way to belting over 200 home runs. These red birds were led by Albert Puljos, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen. Each batting over .300, scoring over 100 runs, and knocking in over 100 with 46, 42, and 34 home runs.
The Red Sox tied with the Angels earning a .282 team batting average, though besting the league in slugging and OPS at marks of 472, .832 respectively. They were led by Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Johnny Damon all finishing the season batting over .300. Ramirez clubbed 43 HR’s while Ortiz banged out 41, and even Damon had 20.
The AL ERA’s were high, though the Red Sox staff came in 3rd best with a 4.18 spot compared to the league average of 4.63. They were tied with Baltimore allowing the fewest HR’s in the league at 159. St. Louis carried a team ERA of 3.75 compared to a NL average of 4.30 and walked the fewest batters surrending only 440 base on balls compared to the NL high mark of 697 Rockies pitchers allowed. The Cards had a respectable .985 team fielding average while the Red Sox came in at .981 committing 21 more errors that season.
The Red Sox closed out the regular season finishing with records of 21-7 and 21-11 in August, then combined September and October. Over that same period of time the Cardinals finished an identical 21-7 record and slightly lower 18-13 finish.
Game 1 was played October 23, 2004 in Boston’s Fenway Park.
2004 St. Louis Cardinals
Manager – Tony LaRussa
Edgar Renteria, SS
Larry Walker, RF
Albert Puljos, 1B
Scott Roland, 3B
Jim Edmonds, CF
Reggie Sanders, DH
Tony Womack, 2B
Mike Matheny, C
So Taguchi, LF
SP – Woody Williams
2004 Boston Red Sox
Manager – Terry Francona
Johnny Damon, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Manny Ramirez, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Millar, 1B
Trot Nixon, RF
Bill Mueller, 3B
Doug Mirabelli, C
Mark Bellhorn, 2B
SP – Tim Wakefield
Both teams top starters had pitched late into the championship series, leaving their weaker starters to take the mound for Game 1. Both were hammered, surrending a combined 12 runs over 6 IP.
The game was a flurry from beginning to end as the Red Sox pushed across 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning to take the lead in large part to a Big Pappi 3-run homer down the right field line. By the time the 3rd inning had finished, Boston led 7-2. Then the Cardinals went to work, scoring 3 times in the top of the 4th and 2 more in the top of the 6th to catch the Red Sox with a clutch 2-out none-on rally to make it a 7-7 game. Both innings, the lower half of the Cardinals lineup factored in.
After a crowd favorite 7th inning stretch rendition of Sweet Caroline and a couple of walks early in the inning that led to a couple of runs, Boston had the lead back and the crowd back into the game. It was short lived as once again, the bottom of the order ignited the Cardinals to turn the lineup over as they earned their way to hits scoring 2 more knotting the game again, 9-9.
Things looked promising for the top-flight Cardinals until an error by shortstop Edgar Renteria brought Mark Bellhorn to the plate. Bellhorn had been hot homering in his prior 2 games against the archrival Yankees. He took the pitch down the right field line, listen to the call… Bellhorn became the first second baseman ever to homer in three consecutive postseason games
Though Foulke surrendered the tying runs in the 8th to the Cardinals, this time he was able to secure the game taking the win racking up 2 strikeouts in the top of the 9th.
What was the common denominator in all 3 game 1 winners…the dreaded free ticket on base, in this case it was walks allowed by the Indians and A’s, and an error by the Cardinals.
Baseball Classics Resources Used For This Podcast
Baseball Classics – www.BaseballClassicsBaseballGame.com
Baseball Reference – www.baseball-reference.com
Baseball Almanac – http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/wsmenu.shtml