The 2011 World Series

For me, each new World Series is like a holiday gift. You never know what you’re going to get. Will it be fun? Will it be enjoyable? Will it be memorable? As I sit down to watch the first game of this year’s World Series, I can’t resist the urge to review some of the old ones.

Not Again! I’ve seen some clunkers in my time. Any World Series that is decided in four games, in my opinion, qualifies as a dud. It’s a lot of excitement for nothing. Each time I endure one of these I feel like asking for my money back. Such was the case in 1963, when the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the New York Yankees. It was stunning how Sandy Koufax struck out fifteen of the Bronx Bombers in the first game. He was so good I was almost expecting something like this to happen. But throw in wins by Johnny Podres, Don Drysdale and a second one by Koufax, and it’s all over. How about 1990, when a well-balanced Cincinnati Reds team swept the defending World Champion Oakland Athletics. Those A’s were a mighty power, making their third straight appearance in the fall classic, but the Reds cut through them like a hot knife through butter. In 2007, another clunker unfolded as the Colorado Rockies stormed into the World Series and were quickly dispatched by the triumphant Boston Red Sox.

Nail Bitters: At the opposite end of the spectrum are those fall classics that were so tense and so hotly contested that viewing them was unnerving at best and excruciating at worst, especially if your team was in the mix. The 1975 Boston Red Sox – Cincinnati Reds World Series is high on my list. I’ll never forget watching that extra-inning Game 6 with my neighbors so many years ago. Who among us willever forget the famous image of Carlton Fisk after he hit the game-winning home run? Many people claim the 1991 Atlanta Braves – Minnesota Twins was the best ever. Five games were decided by one run, four games were decided in the final at bat and three games went into extra innings.

Unexpected Heroes: Another unknown is what player will seemingly come out of nowhere to seize the spotlight. In the 1969 series against the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets infielder Al Weis, a lifetime .219 hitter, struck at a .455 clip. New York Yankees 2nd Baseman Bobby Richardson was valued for his defense, yet in the 1960 World Series, won by the Pittsburgh Pirates, he knocked in twelve runs in a performance that won him the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. It’s interesting to note this was the only time a World Series MVP was selected from the losing team.

Umpire Interference: You never want an Umpire’s bad call to affect the outcome of a game. I’ve never forgotten that Don Denkinger made an incorrect call at a key moment in the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals – Kansas City Royals World Series. Denkinger called a runner safe when he was out at first, and before you knew it the entire outcome of the game had changed.

Play Ball! Who knows what surprises, disappointments or tension-filled moments are waiting for us in this year’s Fall Classic? I’m looking forward to finding out. Enjoy the World Series, everybody!