Tonight, the Royals and Giants will square off in the final MLB game of the 2014 season. It’s a winner take all Game 7 between the two clubs, and there’s a ton at stake for both teams. For the Royals, they have a chance to excise all the demons that have plagued their club for the last 29 seasons. For the Giants, it’s a chance to become just the fourth team in the divisional era to win as many as three titles in a five year span, which would effectively make them a dynasty.
Needless to say, we’re all set up for what could be a classic. But does history back that narrative? Well….sort of. While World Series Game 7s were very common in the pre-divisional era (22 from 1905-1968), they’ve been much less so since the introduction of the Championship Series – just 14 Game 7s have happened since 1969, and only four of those (excluding this year) have come since the 1994 strike. Here’s a brief recap of those 14 Game 7s, which could give Giants and Royals fans a taste of what to expect tonight.
2011 – Cardinals 6, Rangers 2.
The Rangers used up all of their mojo in Game 6. In that contest, they blew leads of 3-2, 4-3, 7-4, and 9-7 before losing on a David Freese walk off homer in the 11th inning. In Game 7, they scored two quick runs in the first off of Chris Carpenter…and then, nothing. Over the final eight innings of the game, they recorded just three hits. and had just one baserunner advance as far as third base. Once Allen Craig homered off of Matt Harrison in the third to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead, all of the drama was over.
2002 – Angels 4, Giants 1.
The Giants led Game 6 5-0 in the seventh. They were just eight outs away from a title. Then, the bullpen absolutely collapsed, the Angels scored six unaswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings, and we moved on to Game 7. There wasn’t much drama – the Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second, which was quickly erased in the bottom of the inning by the Angels. In the third, Garrett Anderson hit a bases loaded double to increase the Angels’ lead to 4-1, and that was that. Anaheim’s win expectancy dropped below 80% for just one batter over the final six innings of the game.
2001 – Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2.
This game brought the drama to an extreme degree. The Diamondbacks slaughtered the Yankees and Andy Pettitte 15-2 in Game 6 to set up this deciding contest, and it lived up to the hype. Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling traded zeroes for five innings before Arizona took a 1-0 lead after a Danny Bautista RBI double. The Yankees quickly got that run back in the seventh when Tino Martinez singled in Derek Jeter to knot the contest at one. In the eighth, Alfonso Soriano led off with a homer against Schilling to push New York ahead 2-1. Miguel Batista relieved Schilling for a batter, and Randy Johnson came in to set down the final four Yankees in order. In the ninth, the Diamondbacks shocked Mariano Rivera, scoring a pair of runs to win in thrilling, walk off fashion.
1997 – Marlins 3, Indians 2.
The drama was high in this one – extra innings in Game 7? C’mon. Cleveland took Game 6 4-1 to force the pivotal game, and their two runs in the third nearly held up for nine…until Jose Mesa allowed a game-tying sac fly to Craig Counsell in the ninth. In extras, the Marlins put two on in the tenth but couldn’t end the game, but broke through in the 11th. Charles Nagy loaded the bases with one out (no thanks to an error on Tony Fernandez at second base), and after a force out at home got out number two, Edgar Renteria singled up the middle to bring the city of Miami its first title since the Dolphins won back to back Super Bowls in the early-1970s.
1991 – Twins 1, Braves 0.
Everyone knows what happened here. The Twins forced a Game 7 after Kirby Puckett’s 11th inning walk off homer, and John Smoltz and Jack Morris engaged in a pitchers duel for the ages. Smoltz was done after 7 1/3, but Morris finished the tenth on the hill. The Twins won the championship after Gene Larkin singled in Dan Gladden. Just an incredible game all-around.
1987 – Twins 4, Cardinals 2.
The Twins won Game 6 11-5 to force a Game 7, and the Cardinals jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. It would all be downhill from there, however – St. Louis tallied just two hits in the final seven innings, and Twins pitching faced more than the minimum in just one inning the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Twins chipped away, scoring one in the second, one in the fifth, one in the sixth to take the lead, and one in the eighth to ice away the series.
1986 – Mets 8, Red Sox 5.
The Red Sox blew Game 6 in extras, despite taking a two-run lead in the tenth and recording the first two outs without incident in the bottom of the inning. In Game 7, they plated three in the second to take an early lead, but the balloon popped after the Mets scored three of their own in the sixth. New York tacked on three more in the seventh, and answered Boston’s two in the eighth with two of their own. Jesse Orosco set down the Sox in order in the ninth, and that set off all of the anti-Bill Buckner vitriol that lasted until Boston’s 2004 title.
1985 – Royals 11, Cardinals 0.
St. Louis was three outs away from winning the series in Game 6. But Don Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first in a call that would clearly be overturned today, and Todd Worrell completed a meltdown that culminated in a Dane Iorg walk off single to force Game 7. And then…the Cardinals didn’t show up. Kansas City scored two in the second, three in the third, and six in the fifth to rout the Cardinals 11-0. St. Louis didn’t even get a runner to second base until the seventh inning.
1982 – Cardinals 6, Brewers 3.
The Cardinals routed the Brewers 13-1 in Game 6 to force a Game 7. The Cardinals struck first in that contest, scoring one in the fourth off of Pete Vuckovich. The Brewers answered with one in the fifth, and scored a pair in the sixth off of Joaquin Andujar to take a 3-1 lead. But the Cardinals struck back with three of their own in the sixth to make it 4-3, and added two more in the eighth to ice the game and the title.
1979 – Pirates 4, Orioles 1.
Pittsburgh shut out Baltimore 4-0 in Game 6 to force the deciding game at Memorial Stadium, and the Orioles couldn’t do much of anything in Game 7. Rich Dauer led off the third with a homer for the Orioles to give them a 1-0 lead, but that would be the highlight of the evening for Baltimore. A two-run homer by Willie Stargell in the sixth put the Pirates in front 2-1, and Pittsburgh added two more in the ninth to give themselves breathing room. The Orioles recorded just two hits after Dauer’s homer, and one of those runners was thrown out trying to steal second.
1975 – Reds 4, Red Sox 3.
Carlton Fisk’s dramatic homer over the Green Monster in Game 6 forced Game 7. In the final game, Boston took a 3-0 lead in the third off of Don Gullett before Cincinnati began to fight back. A sixth-inning two-run homer by Tony Perez made it 3-2. An RBI single by Pete Rose in the seventh tied the game at three. In the ninth, Joe Morgan singled in Ken Griffey to give the Reds a 4-3 lead. Will McEnaney shut the door in the ninth to bring the Big Red Machine a title.
1973 – Athletics 5, Mets 2.
The A’s edged New York 3-1 in Game 6 to make Game 7 a reality, but Oakland turned the final game into a foregone conclusion early on after a pair of two-run homers in the third by Bert Campaneris and Reggie Jackson gave them a 4-0 lead. Oakland tacked on another run in the fifth before the Mets answered with single runs in the sixth and ninth, but the lack of an extended rally shut down New York’s title hopes.
1972 – Athletics 3, Reds 2.
Cincinnati rolled to an 8-1 win in Game 6, shellacking Vida Blue and a trio of relievers to force Game 7. But Oakland wouldn’t trail for an inning in the clincher, scoring a first inning run after a Gene Tenace RBI single and holding on from there. The Reds would tie the game at one in the fifth after a Hal McRae sac fly, but Tenace doubled in another run in the sixth, and Sal Bando doubled him in to make it 3-1. Cincinnati threatened in the sixth and eighth, but came up short.
1971 – Pirates 2, Orioles 1.
We conclude with this pitchers duel in Baltimore. The Orioles forced Game 7 by walking off 3-2 in ten innings in Game 6, and sent Mike Cuellar to the hill to take on Steve Blass. Pittsburgh struck first in the fourth after a solo homer by Roberto Clemente. Meanwhile, Baltimore was shut down by Blass, and didn’t get a runner to third base in the first seven innings of the game. Jose Pagan doubled Willie Stargell in to make it 2-0 in the eighth, but the Orioles quickly broke through with an RBI groundout by Don Buford. But that would be all for Baltimore, and Blass set the Orioles down in order in the ninth to send Pittsburgh to glory.
What does this mean for Game 7 tonight? Only two of the 14 World Series Game 7s in the divisional era were decided by more than three runs – and one of those two was by four runs. We also had six one run games over this time period. It’s also kind of silly to parrot the “the last nine Game 7s have been won by the home team” talking point, because seven of the last eight before that streak (dating back to the pre-divisional era) were won by the *road* team.
Don’t try to predict a winner based on history. Just prepare yourselves for what will likely be one hell of a baseball game.
