World Series

by

Kenneth Matinale

radicalbaseball.blogspot.com

November 6, 2008 (2011 data added 10/23/13); updated May 2019

This material covers series starting in 1903 between the National League and the American League champions.  The purpose is to present data in a different form, which results in new observations.  In other words to find things hidden in plain sight.

Content:

1. Sunday in the park

2. Nine game series, eight games and tie

3. Home sweet home

4. Travel

5. Best of Seven WS

6. Sweeps

7. Regular Season

8. Yankees

9. Yanks 1960

This file contain pertinent data:

Word Series data.

The first tab in this file is in the form of a spreadsheet calendar.  It provides a panoramic view of when games were played and the result.  Home games are in caps, road games have gray background.  The final game is in bold.  Tie games have a pink background.  Five exceptional individual performances have yellow background: three homers in a game (Ruth twice and Jackson, Pujols and Sandoval) and Larsen's perfect game.  Games that are outlined were attended by the author.

It also contains data sheets with details including regular season stats for the teams.

From 1903 through 2018 there have been 114 WS.  There was no WS in 1904 and 1994.  Four WS were best of nine.  The other 110 WS were best of seven, in which the losing team won this number of games:

3 - 39

2 - 24

1 - 26

0 - 21.

1. Sunday in the park:

The first four Sunday games were played in Chicago:

- 1906 sixth and final game, White Sox defeat Cubs at home;

- 1908 game two, Cubs defeat Detroit;

- 1910 fifth and final game, Philadelphia Athletics defeat Cubs;

- 1917 game two, White Sox defeat New York Giants.

The next three Sunday games were in New York between the Giants and Yankees 1921, 1922, 1923.  There were Sunday games in 1924 (game 2) and 1925 (game 4), both in Washington and both won by the Senators.

The first WS with two Sunday games (2 & 7): 1926, both in New York at Yankee Stadium and both won by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The final two years before Sunday games became standard when there could have been a Sunday game but there was none both involved Philadelphia:

- 1929, in Philadelphia - Saturday game four, Monday game five;

- 1931, after playing the first two games in St. Louis on Wednesday and Thursday, no games were played Saturday or Sunday; play resumed Monday in Philadelphia.

2. Nine game series, eight games and ties:

Four WS were best of nine, none of which went nine:

- 1903 Boston Americans beat Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3;

- 1919 Cincinnati Reds beat Chicago White Sox 5-3;

- 1920 Cleveland Indians beat Brooklyn Robins 5-2;

- 1921 New York Giants beat New York Yankees 5-3.

In addition to 1903, 1919 and 1921 one other series went eight games: 

- 1912 Boston Red Sox beat New York Giant 4-3-1.  Game two ended in a tie.

There were two other ties:

- 1907 Chicago Cubs beat Detroit Tigers 4-0-1; game one was a tie;

- 1922 New York Giants beat New York Yankees 4-0-1; game two w as a tie.

3. Home sweet home:

In three WS both teams had the same home park:

- 1921 New York Giants and New York Yankees: Polo Grounds IV

- 1922 New York Giants and New York Yankees: Polo Grounds IV

- 1944 St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns: Sportsman's Park IV.

The home team won thirteen games in a row:

- the last three in 1986 after the road team won the first four

- all seven in 1987

- the first three in 1988; the road team won the last two.

In 1987, 1991 and 2001 the home team won all seven games.  Minnesota won two WS 4-3: over St. Louis (1987) and Atlanta (1991).  Arizona defeated the New York Yankees in 2001.

4. Travel:

1933, 1934, 1935: Even though the teams were in different cities, there were no off days.  This may have been to save money on trains, hotels and meals because of the national economic depression.

1943: The first three games were played in Yankee Stadium probably because of World War II travel restrictions.

1945: The first three games were played in Detroit and the final four in Chicago probably because of World War II travel restrictions.

1957: Starting with this WS (Milwaukee v. New York) off days for travel between locations became standard again.

23 WS had no off days.  The most recent was in 1955.  Twelve involved teams in different cities.  Chicago and St.Louis each had one no rest WS.  The other nine were in New York.  Seven were best of seven games, including 1912, which went eight games: 4-3-1.

5. Best of Seven WS:

39 best of seven WS went the distance, including 1912, which went eight games: 4-3-1.

Most WS won 4-3 (game seven home win in caps) by a team:

St. Louis Cardinals eight:

St. Louis also beat Texas 4-3 in 2011.

Pittsburgh Pirates five:

New York Yankees five:

Most WS lost 4-3 (game seven home win in caps) by a team:

New York Yankees six:

Giants four:

Boston Red Sox four:

Dodgers four, losing the final three at home:

1947 New York Yankees NYA

1952 New York Yankees nya

1956 New York Yankees nya

2017 Houston Astros hou

These teams lost WS 4-3 three times each:

Detroit Tigers

St. Louis Cardinals.

Eighteen of the thirty-nine 4-3 WS were won by the home team, including the longest such streak: 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2011. In the most recent three, the visiting team won game seven: 2014, 2016, 2017.

There were two streaks of five consecutive 4-3 WS won by the road team:

- 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958

- 1965, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972.

In three 4-3 WS the home team won the first six games but lost the seventh:

In three 4-3 WS the home team won all seven games:

Six teams were down 1-3 but won the last three games:

2016 Chicago Cubs down 1-3 to Cleveland won the last three games, including last two on the road.

6. Sweeps:

No best of nine WS loser had fewer than two wins.

There have been 21 WS in which the losing team did not win a game.  Two of those WS had a tie game (1907 & 1922):

In 2012 the Giants swept the Tigers 4-0.

New York Yankees are 8-3, leading in both wins and losses.

Second most wins - 3: New York Giants.

Two each for:

Boston Red Sox

Cincinnati Reds

Second most losses - 2:

Chicago Cubs

Athletics

St. Louis Cardinals.

7. Regular Season:

Run difference (scored v. allowed) per game:

Biggest advantage (at least one run per game):

Four of the top five were sweeps.

Biggest disadvantage and therefore the biggest upset - 1906:

1987 Minnesota Twins are the only WS winner to allow more runs than they scored.

8. Yankees:

The New York Yankees have the most:

- WS played: 40

- wins: 27

- losses: 13.

Teams defeated most often:

- Dodgers: 8 (six in Brooklyn)

- Giants: 5 (four in New York).

Teams winning most often v. Yankees: Cardinals and Dodgers (once in Brooklyn), 3 each.

The Yanks played one best of nine WS, losing 5-3 to the Giants in 1921.

Best of seven WS, in which the losing team won this number of games:

* Yanks were involved in one of the four best of nine WS.

The Yankees played in a much lower percentage of WS in which the loser won three games but had twice the percentage of WS in which the loser did not win a game.  In other words the Yanks have been less likely to go the maximum number of games and much more likely to go the minimum number of games.

Excluding the best of nine 1921 WS and the tie game in 1922, Yankees record in WS with these losses:

9. Yanks 1960:

In 1960 the Yankees lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 despite scoring at least nine runs in each of four games.  It was considered a great upset by Pittsburgh.  However, in the regular season the Yanks won only two more games: 97 to 95.  The Yanks bettered Pittsburgh per regular season game by only 0.1419355 runs scored minus runs allowed.  Among all 113 WS through 2017 that difference is 46th most, about in the middle.  Among the Yanks 40 WS it ranks 20th, again in the middle.  It was only an upset because the Yankees outscored Pittsburgh 55-27.  Based on regular season data the teams were about even.  This may have been overlooked because of the Yankees reputation and because the Yanks had won their final 15 regular season games.

There is a conventional wisdom that indicates that if Yankee manager Casey Stengel had started pitcher Whitey Ford in game one instead of waiting until game three that the Yankees would have won the 1960 WS.  Ford won games 3 and 6, pitching complete game shutouts in each, the second coming on three days rest.  This supposes that Ford would pitch and win games 1, 4, 7 with three days rest before games 4 and 7.  He was well rested for game one.  The WS was scheduled to go nine days and this made it possible for a pitcher to start three games.  However, Ford never pitched in a WS game seven in his entire career.  Ford started three games in only two WS:

- 1958: 0-1, 4.11 ERA

- 1962: 1-1, 4.12 ERA.

Pittsburgh's Vern Law did start games 1,4,7 in the 1960 WS.  He won the first two but had no decision in game 7:

Pittsburgh Pirates           IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Law                                   5     4   3   3   1           0   1

Ford's 1960 game log.

Ford's game log indicates that he usually (25 of 29 starts) got at least 4 days rest during the 1960 regular season.

Less than two months before his two WS shutouts, Ford had pitched consecutive shutouts.  Pitching on 4 days rest at home against Washington on Aug. 13 Ford threw a complete game 3 hit shutout.  Ford next pitched on TWO days rest against Baltimore and again threw a complete game 3 hit shutout.  His next start was on 4 days rest on Aug. 21 in Washington; he allowed one run (earned) on 4 hits in 5 innings and lost.

Ford's 1960 splits.

Ford's splits indicate that in an equal number of innings home and away he had these ERA: 2.51 Home, 3.66 Road.  If Ford started games 1,4,7 they would have been road, home, road.  In September Ford had his highest ERA in 1960: 4.41; second highest: 3.67 in July.  In his 12 wins Ford's ERA was 1.15; in his other games about 4.75.  When Ford was good he was very good.

Art Ditmar, who started game one, had an even worse home road ERA split: 2.29 v. 3.87.  Ditmar's September ERA of 3.11 was his third best.  Ditmar's ERA in his wins was 2.03, less than half his ERA in his other games.  Ditmar led the Yanks with 15 wins.

Bob Turley in 1960 had this home road ERA split: 3.63 v. 2.85.  Turley's 1.72 September ERA was his second best.  Turley's ERA in his wins was 1.84, about half his ERA in his other games.  Even though Turley was only 9-3 in 1960, the 1958 Cy Young award winner was a good choice to start one of the first two games in Pittsburgh.

Pirate batter splits in 1960.

Pirate OPS of top righty batters v. lefty pitchers:

Groat .893 (v. righty pitchers .718)

Clemente 1.033 (v. righty pitchers .717)

Stuart .726 (v. righty pitchers .807 - go figure)

Stuart was and always will be inexplicable.  Of the eight starting players catcher Smoky Burgess was the only lefty batter.  The reserves with the most at bats, Gino Cimoli and Hal Smith, were both righty batters.

Pirate record vs. left-handed starters: 31-17 (.646) , vs. right-handed starters: 64-42 (.604).

Obviously the lefty Ford would have been at a disadvantage against the heavily right hand batting Pirates.  Stengel must have known this.

Could Ford have pitched and won games 1, 4, 7?  Probably not.  It was rarely done.

The Yanks real problem was how the scores lined up.  Almost any realignment results in the Yankees winning.  For instance, if Turley and Ditmar had been switched in the first two games, instead of splitting 4-6, 16-3, the Yanks would sweep 4-3, 16-4 and win the WS 4-2.

In 1956 Stengel could have started Ford in game seven on three days rest.  However, Stengel started Johnny Kucks who pitched a shutout in his only WS start, probably because Stengel did not want to pitch Ford in Ebbets Field against the Dodgers righty batters.  In game one in Ebbets Field Ford allowed five runs in three innings.  George Wilson pinch hit for Ford in the top of the fourth with two out, nobody on base Dodgers leading 5-3; Wilson struck out.   Kucks pitched innings 4 and 5, allowing one run.  Two days later Kucks relieved Larsen in the second inning of game 2: Kucks faced one batter, a single to Reese.

In the Yanks previous WS (1958) with the Yanks trailing Milwaukee in games 3-2 Stengel started Ford in Milwaukee in game six on TWO days rest.  Ford was replaced in the second inning by Ditmar trailing 2-1 with bases loaded one out but the Yanks won 4-3 in 10 innings, then won game seven the next day.  Milwaukee started Spahn and Burdette in games 6 and 7 on TWO days rest.  Both lost.

In 1960 Stengel started Ford in game six on three days rest.  It was Turley's turn.  Turley would have had five days rest in game six.  Had Stengel simply started Turley and Ford in their normal rotation, Yanks would have won both games 6 and 7: 12-10, 9-0.

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