Five Great Baseball Pennant Races
5 of the Very Best Chases to Divisional and League Crowns
The 1951 race to the pennant between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants was as great a pennant race as there has ever been. Ever.
Major League Baseball's Five Greatest Pennant Races
Sure, people can debate which of the many pennant races in the past 100 years have been the best. But no rational fan can argue that each of these five are among the very best in baseball history.
No. 5 - The Braves and Giants Battle for the National League West
On August 11, 1993, the defending National League champions were 9 games behind the San Francisco Giants who were coasting toward a divsion title with an impressive 77-38 record. But the Braves got hot, very hot, during the last seven weeks of the season. Behind a pitching staff that included Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery (18-6, 2.93 ERA), the Braves won 38 of 48 games and came into the last day of the season tied for first place with the Giants.
Tom Glavine won his 22nd game of the year as the Braves prevailed 5-3 and finished the season at 104-58. Even though the Giants-Dodgers game wouldn't conclude for another hour, the Braves had reason to celebrate because Los Angeles was hammering San Francisco by a score of 7-1 in the sixth inning, and would ultimately prevail 12-1.
The Giants won 103 games but still finished in second place. They remain the only team in the era of divisional baseball to win more than 100 games and still miss the playoffs.
No. 4. The 1967 American League's Four-Way Pennant Race
On September 1, 1967, the Red Sox were in first place in the American League. But three teams, the Tigers, the Twins and the White Sox, were within 2 1/2 games of Boston. For the whole month, the four teams would trade positions 1 through 4, and by September 26th, the four teams were within 1 1/2 games of each other.
The season came down to the final two games, and the Red Sox beat the first place Twins twice, while the Tigers and Sox lost their final contests. During the two game series against Minnesota, Boston's left fielder Carl Yastrzemski went 10-for-13 to close out his Triple Crown winning season.
The Sox went on to lose the 1967 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
No. 3. Three Great Teams Go Down to the Wire in 1948
This one was a real doozy. Going into the final weekend of the season, the Yankees and Red Sox were each just one game behind the AL-leading Cleveland Indians. Moreover, New York and Boston were set to play a two-game series at Fenway Park to finish up the year. Cleveland was at home against the Detroit Tigers.
On Saturday, October 2, the Red Sox beat the Yankees' brains out by a score of 5-1, but Cleveland also won, trouncing the Tigers by a score of 8-0 behind great pitching from Gene Bearden. Accordingly, entering the last day of the season, the Indians held a one-game lead over the Sox. The Yankees were two games back and thus limited to the role of potential spoilers.
On Sunday, however, the Red Sox beat the Yankees 10-5 despite four hits from Joe DiMaggio. When the Indians lost 7-1 to the Tigers in front of 75,000 fans at Municipal Stadium, Boston and Cleveland had identical 96-58 records, and had to play a one-game playoff to determine who would win the American League pennant and play in the World Series.
The teams met on Monday, October 4 at Fenway Park to break the tie. Cleveland beat the Red Sox by a score of 8-3. It was just one of many heartbreaks for the Red Sox.
No. 2 - The 1978 American League East
The Yankees were 14 games back on July 14, but were able to tie the Red Sox for the lead on the last day of the season, setting up one of the most memorable games in the storied Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. To read about the whole race, click here.
No. 1. Dodgers and Giants Battle for the Hearts of New Yorkers in 1951
On August 11, 1951, the Brooklyn must have had the World Series on their minds. The team had a 13 1/2 game lead over its closest (and most hated) rivals, the New York Giants. But over the next seven weeks, the Dodgers would have to pay attention to matters that were much closer at hand.
The Giants, behind the stellar play of rookie Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Bobby Thomson, won 37 or their final 44 games. The Dodgers stumbled and almost fell, but were able to salvage a tie for first place as the regular season ended. The National League scheduled a three game playoff to break the tie.
The teams split the first two games, and the sudden death title game was played at the Polo Grounds on October 3, 1951. The game was a hard-fought battle marked by strong pitching on both sides. After seven innings, starters Don Newcombe and Sal Maglie held the game to a 1-1 tie. But in the top of the eighth inning, the Dodgers scored three runs to seemingly put the game out of reach, 4-1.
But Don Newcombe was getting tired. He had pitched 22 innings in just five days, and by the ninth inning, he was exhausted. Newcombe surrendered consecutive singles and a double to make the score 4-2 with two men on base. Newcombe was finally pulled from the game and he was replaced by Ralph Branca. Bobby Thomson strolled to the plate, may or may not have stolen the catcher's signal, and promptly deposited Branca's 0-1 fastball into the seats behind the left field wall, winning the game, the Series and completing the greatest comeback in baseball history.
Thomson's shot soon became known as the Shot Heard 'Round the World, and for the past 56 years, it has topped just about every single list of the best home runs in baseball history.
Aaah, pennant fever. It's hard not to catch it.
