SWC75
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I once read an article by former big league pitcher Mike Torrez’s wife in which she described her joy when her husband “won the World Series” by catching a pop up to end the 1977 series. I’ve also seen these:
(last outs 1943-2017)
and to update it:
EVERY final play from the World Series from 1990-2020! (1990-2020)
Further Update:
Last out of Every World Series (2010-2022) (2010-2022)
Just let the joy of all these teams wash over you. Life can be difficult. it can sometimes seem impossible. It's good to be reminded from time to time that dreams can come true and great effort be rewarded. Victory is existential. It tells the world that we are here. We win therefore we are.
I thought it would be interesting to record what players made the play that terminated each World Series and won it for their team. These would be players who recorded the final out or scored or drove in the winning “walk off” run. If there’s a strike out, I’ll record both the pitcher and catcher, since the catcher gets the put-out in that situation. On any other play in the field, I’ll record the put-out and anyone who gets an assist. For a walk-off run I’ll record who scored it and anyone who got an RBI. The games that end with the winning run being scored are in italics. I later decided to go back and record the pitchers and catchers when they weren’t already noted and give them credit – or blame, as well, as they were a part of every play. I also decided to note when a team won its first World Series or it’s first in at least a generation, which I defined as 20 years.
These are the guys who “won the World Series” – and lost it - on the final play.
World Series and MLB Playoffs | Baseball-Reference.com
1903: The Red Sox’ Bill Dineen struck out the Pirates’ Honus Wagner for their – and anyone’s – first World Series title. Lou Crigar was the catcher.
1905: The Athletics’ Lave Cross grounds to the Giant’s Bill Dahlen at short who throws to Dan McGann at first for the Giants’ first title. Christy Mathewson was the pitcher and Roger Bresnahan the catcher.
1906: The Cubs’ Frank Schulte grounds out to the White Sox’ first baseman, Jiggs Donahue, unassisted, for the White Sox’ first title. Doc White was the pitcher and Billy Sullivan the catcher.
1907: The Tigers’ Boss Schmidt pops out to the Cubs’ shortstop, Joe Tinker, for the Cub’s first title. Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown was the pitcher, Johnny Kling the catcher.
1908: The Tigers’ Boss Schmidt pops out to the Cubs’ catcher, Johnny Kling. (Schmidt becomes the first player to make the final out twice.) Orval Overall was the pitcher.
1909: The Tigers’ Tom Jones flies out to the Pirates’ left Fielder, Fred Clarke, for their first title. Babe Adams was the pitcher, George Gibson the catcher.
1910: The Cubs’ Johnny Kling grounds to short where the Athletics’ Jack Barry makes the unassisted force-out at 2nd of the Cubs’ Jimmy Archer. It’s the A’s first title. Jack Coombs was the pitcher, Jake Lapp the catcher.
1911: The Giants’ Art Wilson ground to the Athletics’ Home Run Baker at third who throws to Stuffy McInnis at first for the out. Chief Bender was the pitcher, Ira Thomas the catcher.
1912: Larry Gardner of the Red Sox hits a sacrifice fly to Giants’ right fielder Josh DeVore and the Sox’ Steve Yerkes scores from 3rd. The first time the Series ended on an offensive play. Christy Mathewson and Chief Meyers were the Giant’s battery.
1913: The Giants’ Larry Doyle flies to the Athletics’ right fielder Eddie Murphy, (no not that one). Eddie Plank and Wally Schang were the battery.
1914: The Athletics’ Stuffy McInnis grounds to third where the Braves’ Charlie Deal throws to Butch Schmidt at first for the out for the Braves’ first title. Dick Rudolph and Hank Gowdy were the battery.
1915: The Phillies’ Bill Killefer grounds out to the Red Sox’ Everett Scott at short who throws to Del Gainer at first. Rube Foster and Hick Cady were the battery. Rube and Hick?!?
1916: The Dodger’s Mike Mowery pops out to the Red Sox’ Everett Scott at short. (Scott becomes the first player to make the winning play twice.) Ernie Shore and Hick Cady were the battery.
1917: Lew McCarty of the Giants grounds to the White Sox’s Eddie Collins at second, who throws to Chick Gandil at first for the out. Red Faber and Ray Schalk were the battery.
1918: Les Mann of the Cubs grounds to the Red Sox’ Dave Shean at second who throws to Stuffy McInnis at first for the out. Carl Mays and Wally Schang were the battery.
1919: The White Sox’ Shoeless Joe Jackson grounded to the Reds’ Morrie Rath at second who threw to Jake Daubert at first for the out and the Reds’ first championship. Hod Eller and Bill Rariden were the battery.
1920: The Dodgers’, (actually they were called the Robins at the time), Ed Konetchy grounds to the Indians’ shortstop, Joe Sewell, who flips to Bill Wambsganss at second base. Stan Coveleski and Steve O’Neill were the battery. It was the Indians’ first title.
1921: The Yankees’ Home Run Baker grounds to the Giant’s Johnny Rawlings at second who throws to first baseman George Kelly to get Baker. The Yankees’ Aaron Ward, who had been running to third, got tagged out by Frankie Frisch there on a throw from Kelly. The battery was Art Nehf and Frank ‘Pancho’ Snyder.
1922: The Yankees’ Aaron Ward flies to the Giant’s Ross Youngs in right. Art Nehf and Frank ‘Pancho’ Snyder were again the battery.
1923: The Giants’ Jack Bentley grounds to Yankees’ second baseman Aaron Ward who tosses to Wally Pipp at first for the out. This was the Yankee’s first of their 27 championships. They were also the first franchise to win after a wait of at least 20 years. Herb Pennock and Wally Schang, both of whom started out with Connie Mack’s Athletics, were the battery. The early Yankee pennant winners were full of former Red Sox and Athletics, the two most successful franchises of the teens, both of whom had fallen on hard financial times. Colonel Ruppert was very happy to buy their player’s contracts. Those guys knew how to win!
1924: The Senators’ Earl McNeeley doubles off of the Giants’ Jack Bentley and Muddy Ruel scores from second. Hank Gowdy was the catcher. It was the Washington Senators only WS championship, (after a 21 year wait), although they would later win two more, (1987, 1991), as the Minnesota Twins and the Washington Nationals, the former Montreal Expos, would win in 2019.
1925: The Pirates’ Red Oldham strikes out the Senators’ Goose Goslin looking. Johnny Gooch was catching.
1926: Down 2-3 with 2 outs in the 9th, Bob Meusel at the plate and Grover Cleveland Alexander on the mound, the Yankees’ Babe Ruth decides to steal second and is throw out by the Cardinals’ Bob O’Farrell. Rogers Hornsby tagged him out, a meeting of the two greatest hitters of the era. Grover Cleveland ‘Pete’ Alexander was pitching. This is the Cardinals first championship, 23 years after the first WS.
1927: With the Tony Lazzeri at the plate, the Pirates’ Johnny Miljus uncorks a wild pitch and the Yankees’ Earl Combs scores from third. The catcher was Johnny Gooch.
1928: The Cardinals’ Frankie Frisch pops out to the Yankees’ Babe Ruth, who had already hit three home runs, in left, a nice comeback from 1926. Waite Hoyt and Pat Collins were the battery.
1929: The Athletics’ Bing Miller doubles off the Cubs’ Pat Malone and Al Simmons scores from second. Zach Taylor was the catcher.
1930: The Cardinals’ Jimmie Wilson flew out to the Athletics’ Bing Miller in right. George Earnshaw and Mickey Cochrane were the battery.
1931: The Athletics’ Max Bishop flew out to the Cardinals’ Pepper Martin in center. ‘Wild’ Bill Hallahan and Jimmie Wilson were the battery.
1932: The Cubs’ Riggs Stephenson flew out to The Yankees’ Ben Chapman in right. Herb Pennock and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1933: The Giants’ Dolf Luque stuck out the Senators’ Joe Kuhel (Yep, ‘Joe Cool)’). Gus Mancuso was the catcher.
1934: The Tigers’ Marv Owen grounded to Leo Durocher at short who flipped to Frankie Frisch at second for the force-out. Dizzy Dean and Bill DeLancey were the battery.
1935: The Tigers’ Goose Goslin singles to right off the Cubs’ Larry French, driving in Mickey Cochrane from second. Gabby Hartnett was the catcher. This was Detroit’s first WS title, 33 years after the event started.
1936: The Giant’s Harry Danning grounds to the Yankees’ Lou Gehrig at first, who puts him out, unassisted. Johnny Murphy and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1937: The Giants’ Jo Jo Moore grounds to Lou Gehrig at first who flips to pitcher Lefty Gomez, covering at first, for the out. Bill Dickey was the catcher.
1938: The Cubs’ Billy Herman grounded to Yankees’ pitcher, Red Ruffing, who threw to Lou Gehrig at first for the out. (The Iron Horse figures in three straight series winning plays – this was his last WS play.) Bill Dickey was the catcher.
1939: The Reds’ Wally Berger lined out to the Yankees’ Frank Crosetti at short as the Yankees win their fourth straight title. Johnny Murphy and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1940: The Tigers’ Earl Averill grounds to the Reds’ Lonnie Frey at second who throws to Frank McCormick at first for the out. Paul Derringer and Jimmie Wilson were the battery. It’s the Reds’ first title in 21 years.
1941: The Dodgers’ Jimmy Wasdell flies to the Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio in deep center, (down two with nobody on base). Ernie ‘Tiny’ Bonham and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1942: The Yankees’ George Selkirk grounds to the Cardinals’ Jimmy Brown, (no, not that one!), at second who throws to Johnny Hopp at first for the out. Johnny Beazley and Walker Cooper were the battery.
1943: The Cardinals’ Debs Garmes grounds to the Yankees’ Joe Gordon at second, who throws to Nick Etten at first for the out. Spud (whose first name was Spurgeon ☹) Chandler and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1944: The Cardinals’ Ted Wilks strikes out the Browns’ Mike Chartak. Walker Cooper was the catcher.
1945: The Cubs’ Don Johnson grounds to the Tigers’ Skeeter Webb at short who tosses to Eddie Mayo at second for the force-out. Hal Newhouser and Bob Swift were the battery.
1946: The Red Sox’ Tom McBride grounds to the Cardinals’ Marty Marion at short who tosses to Red Schoendienst at second for the force-out. Harry Brecheen and Del Rice were the battery.
1947: The Dodgers’ Bruce Edwards grounds into a double play: The Yankees’ Phil Rizzuto at short to Snuffy Stirnweiss at second to George McQuinn at first. Joe Page and Aaron Robinson were the battery.
1948: The Braves’ Tommy Holmes flew out to the Indians’ Bob Kennedy in left. Gene Bearden and Jim Hegan were the battery. It was the Indians’ first title in 28 years, (and they haven’t won since).
1949: The Yankees’ Joe Page struck out the Dodgers’ Gil Hodges. Yogi Berra was the catcher.
1950: The Yankees’ Gene Woodling had a chance to win the series for the Yankees when a long drive off the bat of the Phillies’ Andy Seminick went to the left field warning track but Gene lost the ball in the sun and dropped it. Two runs scored, to get the Phils to within 2-5. 21 year old Whitey Ford then gave up a single to allow the tying run to come to the plate and Casey Stengel replaced him with 33 year old Allie Reynolds, who struck out Stan Lopata swinging to end it. The catcher, of course, was Yogi Berra.
1951: The Giants’ Sal Ivars lined out to the Yankees’ Hank Bauer in right. Bob Kuzava and Yogi Berra were the battery.
1952: The Yankees’ Gene Woodling gets a second chance as the Dodgers’ Pee Wee Reese flies out to him in left. Kuzava and Berra were again the battery.
1953: The Yankees’ Billy Martin singles off the Dodgers’ Clem Labine to score Hank Bauer from second. Roy Campanella was the catcher.
1954: The Indians’ Dale Mitchell pops up to the Giants’ Hank Thompson at third. Johnny Antonelli and Wes Westrum were the battery. It was the Giants’ first title in 21 years.
1955: The Yankees’ Elston Howard grounds to the Dodgers’ Pee Wee Reese who throws to Gil Hodges at first and the Brooklyn Dodgers, after losing all seven prior World Series that they were in, the last 5 to the Yankees, were at last on top of the baseball world. It was their first ever title, 52 years after the first World Series and the only title Brooklyn ever won. Johnny Podres, famously, and Roy Campanella were the battery.
1956: Back to normal: The Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson ends his career with a strikeout but the ball gets by the Yogi Berra, who throws to Bill Skowron at first to put the Yankees back on top. Johnny Kucks was the pitcher.
1957: The world turns upside down again as the Yankees’ Bill Skowron grounds to Eddie Mathews who runs across the third base bag to make the Milwaukee Braves world champions. It was the Braves’ first title in 43 years and Milwaukee’s on championship. Lew Burdette and Del Crandall were the battery.
1958: Back to Normal II: The Braves’ Red Schoendienst lines out to the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle in center field. Bob Turley and Yogi Berra were the battery.
1959: The world gets dizzy as the Yankees don’t even make the series and the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Chicago White Sox, whose shortstop Luis Aparicio flies out to Wally Moon in left to win it. Larry Sherry and John Roseboro were the battery for LA’s first championship.
1960: The Pirates’ Bill Mazeroski becomes the first player to win the WS on a walk-off home run against the Yankees. Ralph Terry, (not Art Ditmar as the announcer erroneously said) made the pitch and Johnny Blanchard called it. It was the Pirates’ first title in 35 years.
1961: The Yankees’ left fielder Hector Lopez caught a fly ball from the Reds’ Vada Pinson. Bud Daley and Elston Howard were the battery.
1962: The Giants’ Willie McCovey lined out to the Yankees’ Bobby Richardson. Ralph Terry and Elston Howard were the battery.
1963: The Yankees’ Hector Lopez grounds to the Dodgers’ Maury Wills at short who throws to former Yankee Bill Skowron at first for the out. Sandy Koufax and John Roseboro were the battery.
1964: The Yankees’ Bobby Richardson popped out to the Cardinals Dal Maxvill at second. (Bob Gibson’s 9th inning, starting with a 7-3 lead: strikeout, home run, strikeout, home run, ground out.) Tim McCarver was the catcher.
1965: The Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax struck out the Twins’ Bob Allison. Johnny Roseboro was the catcher.
1966: The Dodgers’ Lou Johnson flies out to the Orioles Russ Snyder in centerfield. Dave McNally and Andy Etchebarren were the battery. It was the franchise’s first championship, 63 years after the World Series first came into existence. Of the 16 teams that had existed since 1903, this left only the Phillies without a title.
1967: The Cardinals’ Bob Gibson struck out the Red Sox’ George Scott. Tim McCarver was the catcher.
1968: The Cardinals’ Tim McCarver popped out to the Tiger’s catcher, Bill Freehan. Mickey Lolich was the pitcher. It was the Tigers’ first title in 23 years.
1969: The Orioles’ Davey Johnson, (the Mets’ manager the next time they won in 1986), flied out to the Mets’ Cleon Jones in left. Jerry Koosman and Jerry Grote were the battery. This was the Mets’ first title after 7 years during which they finished 9th once and 10th six times.
1970: The Reds’ Pat Corrales grounded to the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson who threw to Boog Powell for the out. It was the 22nd out Robinson had created in the five-game series with his defensive plays. Mike Cuellar and Andy Etchebarren were the battery.
1971: The Orioles’ Merv Rettenmund grounded to the Pirates’ Jackie Hernandez at short who threw to Bob Robertson at first for the out. Steve Blass and Manny Sanguillen were the battery.
1972: The Reds’ Pete Rose flew out to the Athletics’ Joe Rudi in left. Rollie Fingers and Dave Duncan were the battery. It was the A’s first title in 42 years, during which they had had 33 losing seasons in three different cities.
1973: The Mets’ Wayne Garrett popped out to The Athletics’ Bert Campaneris at short. Darold Knowles and Ray Fosse were the battery.
1974: The Dodgers’ Von Joshua bounced back to the Athletics’ Rollie Fingers who threw to Joe Rudi at first for the out. Ray Fosse was the catcher.
1975: The Red Sox’ Carl Yastrzemski flew out to the Reds’ Cesar Geronimo in center. Will McEnaney and Johnny Bench were the battery. It was the Reds’ first title in 35 years.
1976: The Yankees’ Roy White flew out to the Reds’ George Foster in left. Will McEnaney and Johnny Bench were again the battery.
1977: The Dodgers’ Lee Lacy popped a bunt to the Yankees’ pitcher, Mike Torrez. Thurman Munson was the catcher.
1978: The Dodgers’ Ron Cey popped out to the Yankees’ catcher, Thurman Munson. Goose Gossage was the pitcher.
1979: The Orioles’ Pat Kelly flew out to the Pirates’ Omar Moreno in center field. Kent Tekulve and Steve Nicosia were the battery.
1980: The Phillies’ Tug McGraw struck out the Royals’ Willie Wilson. Bob Boone was the catcher. The Phillies were the last team in existence in 1903 that hadn’t won the World Series and they finally did it after 77 years.
1981: The Yankees’ Bob Watson flew out to the Dodgers’ Pedro Guerrero in center field. The battery was all Steves: Howe and Yeager.
1982: The Cardinals’ Bruce Sutter struck out the Brewers’ Gorman Thomas. Darrell Porter was the catcher.
1983: The Phillies’ Gary Maddox lined out to the Orioles’ Cal Ripken at short. Scott McGregor and Rick Dempsey, both former Syracuse Chiefs, were the battery.
1984: The Padres’ Tony Gwynn flew out to the Tiger’s Larry Herndon in left field. Willie Hernandez and Lance Parrish were the battery.
1985: The Cardinals’ Andy Van Slyke flew out to the Royals’ Darryl Motley in right. The battery was Brent Saberhagen and Jim Sundberg. This was the Royal’s first title.
1986: The Mets’ Jesse Orosco stuck out the Red Sox’ Marty Barrett. Gary Carter was the catcher.
1987: The Cardinals’ Willie McGee grounded out to the twins’ Gary Gaetti at third, who threw to Kent Hrbek at first for the out. Jeff Reardon and Tim Laudner were the battery. This was Minnesota’s first ever championship and the franchises’ first since they were the Washington Senators in 1924, 63 years earlier.
1988: The Dodgers’ Orel Hershiser struck out the Athletics’ Tony Phillips. Rick Dempsey was the catcher.
1989: The Giants’ Brett Butler grounded to the Athletics’ Tony Phillips at second who threw to the pitcher, Dennis Eckersley, covering 1st. Terry Steinbach was the catcher.
1990: The Athletics’ Carney Lansford popped out to the Reds’ Todd Benzinger at first base. Randy Myers was the pitcher and Joe Oliver the catcher.
1991: With the bases loaded, the Twins’ Gene Larkin hit a ball off the Braves’ Alejandro Pena to deep left center, over the heads of the outfielders. The game was tied so it went into the books as a single, scoring Dan Gladden. Greg Olson was the catcher.
1992: The Braves’ Otis Nixon bunts, fielded by the Blue Jays’ pitcher, Mike Timlin, who throws to Joe Carter at first for the out. Pat Borders was the catcher. The Blue Jays, in their 17th season, become the first team based outside of the USA to win the ‘World’ Series.
1993: The Blue Jays’ Joe Carter becomes the second man to end a World Series with a home run off the Phillies’ Mitch Williams. Bill Mazeroski’s home run came with the game tied and nobody on in the 7th game. Carter’s came with the Blue Jays up 3-2 in games but down 5-6 in game 6 and with two men on. Paul Molitor actually scored the winning run. Darren Daulton was the catcher.
1994: No World Series due to the strike.
1995: The Indians’ Carlos Baerga flew out to the Braves’ Marquis Grissom in centerfield. Mark Wohlers was the pitcher, Javy Lopez the catcher. The Braves won their third World Series, one in each of the cities they have represented: Boston in 1914, Milwaukee 43 years later and Atlanta 38 years after that.
1996: The Braves’ Mark Lemke popped out to the Yankees’ Charlie Hayes at third. John Wetteland was the pitcher and Joe Girardi the catcher.
1997: The Marlins’ Edgar Renteria singled off the Indians’ Charles Nagy, scoring Craig Counsell in the 10th. Sandy Alomar was the catcher. The Marlins win the World Series in their fifth season of exitance, and, like the 1969 Mets, with their first winning team.
1998: The Padres’ Mark Sweeney grounded a pitch from the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera to Scott Brosius at third who throws to Tino Martinez at first for the out. Joe Girardi was the catcher.
1999: The Braves’ Keith Lockhardt flew out to the Yankees’ Ricky Ledee in left. Mariano Rivera was the pitcher, Jorge Posada the catcher.
2000: The Mets’ Mike Piazza flies to the Yankee’s Bernie Williams in centerfield. Mariano Rivera was the pitcher, Jorge Posada the catcher.
2001: The Diamondback’s Luis Gonzalez (lf) singles to center off the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, scoring Jay Bell (2b,ph). Jorge Posada was, as usual, the catcher. The D-backs won their first title in only their third year.
2002: The Giants’ Kenny Lofton flied to the Angels’ Darin Erstad in center. Troy Percival was the pitcher, Bengie Molina the catcher. The Angels won their first title in their 42nd season of operations.
2003: The Yankees’ Jorge Posada grounded out to the Marlins’ Josh Beckett, who recorded the out at first himself. Ivan Rodriguez was the catcher.
2004: The Cardinals’ Edgar Renteria grounded to the Red Sox’s pitcher Keith Foulke, who threw to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to end the Sox’ 86-year drought since they last won the World Series. Jason Varitek was the catcher.
2005: A year later the White Sox ended their 88-year streak when the Astros’ Orlando Palmeiro grounded to Juan Uribe at short who threw to Paul Konerko at first base. Bobby Jenks was the pitcher, A.J. Pierzynski the catcher.
2006: The Cardinals ended a little ol’ 24 year streak when Adam Wainwright struck out the Tiger’s Brandon Inge. Yadier Molina was the catcher.
2007: The Red Sox’ Jonathan Papelbon stuck out the Rockies’ Seth Smith. Jason Varitek was the catcher.
2008: The Phillies ended a 28-year streak when Brad Lidge struck out the Ray’s Eric Hinske. Carlos Ruiz was the catcher.
2009: The Phillies’ Shane Victorino grounded out to the Yankees’ Robinson Cano at second who threw to Mark Teixeira at first for the out. Mariano Rivera was the pitcher, Jorge Posada the catcher.
2010: The Giants’ Bryan Wilson struck out the Rangers’ Nelson Cruz to end their 56 year streak without a championship. Buster Posey was the catcher.
2011: The Rangers’ David Murphy flew out to the Cardinals’ Allen Craig in left. Jason Motte was the pitcher. Yadier Molina was the catcher.
2012: The Giants’ Sergio Romo struck out the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera – looking, in a one run game at a pitch right down the pipe. Buster Posey was the catcher.
2013: The Red Sox’ Koji Uehara struck out the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter. David Ross was the catcher.
2014: The Royals’ Salvador Perez fouled out to the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval at third. Madison Bumgarner was the pitcher. Buster Posey was the catcher.
2015: The Royals’ Wade Davis strikes out the Mets’ Wilmer Flores to end their 30 year streak without a championship. Drew Butera was the catcher.
2016: The Indians’ Michael Martinez grounded to the Cubs’ Kris Bryant at third who threw to Anthony Rizzo at first to end the Cub’s 108-year streak without a championship. Mike Montgomery and Miguel Montero were the battery.
2017: The Dodgers’ Corey Seagar grounds to the Astros’ Jose Altuve at second who throws to Yuli Gurriel and first for the out. Charlie Morton was the pitcher, Brian McCann the catcher. The Astros won their first WS ever, in their 56th season.
2018: The Red Sox’ Chris Sale struck out the Dodgers’ Manny Machado. Christian Vasquez was the catcher.
2019: The Nationals’ Daniel Hudson struck out the Astros’ Michael Brantley to win the franchises’ first WS in their 51st year and the city of Washington’s first title in 95 years. Yan Gomez was the catcher.
2020: The Dodgers’ Julio Urias struck out the Rays’ Willy Adames for their first title in 32 years. Austin Barnes was the catcher.
2021: The Astros’ Yuli Gurriel grounds to the Braves’ Dansby Swanson who throws to Freddie Freeman at first for the out.
2022: The Phillies’ Nick Castellanos popped out to the right field foul territory, caught by the Astro’s Kyle Tucker.
Observations:
- Only 11 of the 117 World Series have ended on a walk-off run and none since the Diamondback’s Luis Gonzalez hit that blooper over Derek Jeter’s head to end the Yankee’s run of three straight times in 2001.
- Here are the 22 World Series that have ended on strikeouts: 1903, 1925, 1933, 1944, 1949, 1950, 1956, 1965, 1967, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020. Do you detect a trend there?
- A milder but related trend: 14 of the 28 times a series has ended with an outfielder catching the ball have come since Davy Johnson hit that ball to Cleon Jones in 1969.
- Babe Ruth’s ill-advised and -fated attempt to steal second base in 1926 is the only time a World Series that ended with a player being thrown out on a play that didn’t involve the bat and ball making contact.
- Two World Series have ended on a double play: 1921 and 1947.
- The mighty 1927 Yankees are the only team to win a World Series on a wild pitch.
- A breakdown by position: Pitcher: 3 put-outs, (p), 4 assists (a); Catcher, (minus strikeouts which are technically catcher put-outs) 3p; First: 31p (3 unassisted), 1a, Second: 6p, 12a; Short 6p, 11a; Third 4p, 6a; Left 11p, Center 10p, Right 7p, no doubt a reflection of the number of left vs. right-handed hitters.
- Ships coming in, (wins after at least a 20 year wait): 1923 Yankees (20 years), 1924 Senators (21), 1926 Cardinals (23), 1935 Tigers (32), 1940 Reds (21), 1948 Indians (28), 1954 Giants (21), 1955 Dodgers (52), 1957 Braves (43), 1960 Pirates (35), 1966 Orioles (63), 1968 Tigers (23), 1972 Athletics (42), 1975 Reds (35), 1980 Phillies (77), 1987 Twins (63), 1995 Braves (37), 2002 Angels (40), 2004 Red Sox (86)- this really opened up the floodgates: they’ve had to add extra chapters to documentaries; 2005 White Sox (88), 2006 Cardinals (24), 2008 Phillies (28), 2010 Giants (56), 2015 Royals (30), the big one: 2016 Cubs (108), 2017 Astros (55), 2019 Nationals (50 for the franchise, 95 for the city), 2020 Dodgers (32) and the 2021 Braves (26). That’s 29 ships coming in, 12 in this century. The earlier ones are dominated by the National League because they had no equivalent of the Yankees. I think we are having so many ships come in recent years because there are so many teams, free agents and so many playoff series to win: the wealth is being spread which makes winning more possible but doing it frequently more difficult.
- The most frequent ‘winners’ are catchers, especially Yankee’s catchers, primarily because they were part of the battery and thus called the pitch that produced the final out. But they could also make defensive plays or score or drive in runs. Bill Dickey won the World Series 7 times, all by calling the pitch. Yogi Berra won it 6 times, half of them by calling strike-out pitches. Mariano Rivera had an assist and threw the last pitch three other times. Lou Gehrig had an assist and two put-outs. Jorge Posada called three last pitches. Buster Posey called three that resulted in strike-outs. John Roseboro called three last pitches, one a strikeout. Wally Schang called last pitches for three different teams: the Athletics, (1913), Red Sox, (1918), and Yankees, (1923). The “two-timers include Hank Bauer, who made a great catch in 1951 and scored the winning run two years later, Johnny Bench, an early Red Sox catcher named Hick Cady, Mickey Cochrane, who scored the winning run for the first ever Tigers champion in 1935, Walker Cooper, Rick Dempsey, Andy Etchebarren, Rollie Fingers, Ray Fosse, Frankie Frisch, who had two put-outs as a second baseman, 13 years apart, Bob Gibson, Elston Howard, George Kelly, John McGraw’s first baseman who beat the first two Yankee pennant winners, Johnny Kling, the Cub’s catcher for their first two World Series wins, Sandy Koufax, Bob Kuzava, Stengel’s favorite reliever in the early 50’s, Tim McCarver, Will McEnaney, who was on the mound for both of the Big Red Machine’s victories, Stuffy McInnis, who caught the last out for the A’s in 1911 and the Red Sox in 1918, Bing Miller, who drove in the winning run for Connie Mack in 1929 and caught the last out for him in 1930, Yadier Molina, Thurman Munson, Johnny Murphy, a Yankee’s reliever in the late 30’s and much later the Met’s GM in 1969, Art Nehf, McGraw’s pitcher in 1921-22, Joe Page, the great Yankees’ reliever of the late 40’s, herb Pennock, who threw the last pitch for their first title in 1923 and again 9 years later, Joe Rudi, who caught the last out as an outfielder in 1972 and as a first baseman in 1974, Everett Scoot, (whose consecutive games record Lou Gehrig later broke), who had assists in both 1915 and 1916, Bill Skowron who got the last put-out for the Yankees in 1956 and against them in 1963, Pancho Snyder, McGraw’s catcher in 1921-22, Jason Varitek, Jimmie Wilson, who called the last pitch for the Cardinals in in 1931, became a Reds’ coach and, pressed into service due to an injury to Ernie Lombardi and a the suicide of Willard Herschberger, again called the last pitch in 1940, at the age of 40.
Frank Sinatra - Winners
- Fewer players have ‘lost’ the World Series because it usually just takes one. Jack Bentley was a sort of ‘Babe Ruth of the minors’, who followed the Babe for the Baltimore Orioles and was both a star pitcher and hitter. He wound up with McGraw’s Giants and grounded into an out to give the Yankees their first title in 1923, then threw the pitch that Earl McNeeley doubled off the wall to score the Senator’s Muddy Ruel for that team’s only title the next year. Jorge Posada called the pitch that Luis Gonzalez hit over Derek Jeter’s head in 2001 and grounded out to end the loss to the Marlins in 2003. Poor Boss Schmidt popped up to end the 1907 series and did the same thing a year later. That’s got to be the most disgusting way to end a series and the most helpless feeling as you run to first base knowing it won’t matter if you get there.
There Used To Be A Ballpark
- 23 players have both won and lost a World Series. The most prolific are Mariano Rivera, who gave up that hit to Gonzalez but threw the winning pitch four other times and his catcher Jorge Posada, who called the winning -pitch three times. Frankie Frisch was part of the 1921 double play and made the putout that ended the 1934 series but also flew out to Babe Ruth to end the 1928 series. Aaron Ward made the last out in three straight World Series from 1921-23, the first with his feet, the second with his bat and the third with his glove. Jimmie Wilson, Elston Howard and Tim McCarver twice called the last pitch but also made the final out once. Home Run Baker made the last put out in 1911 and the last out a decade later. Hank Gowdy called the last pitch in a win in 1914 and a loss a decade later. Goose Goslin stuck out for the last out in 1925 and got the walk-off hit, you guessed it, a decade later. Roy Campanella called the losing pitch in 1953 and the winning one in 1955. Gil Hodges struck out to end the 1949 series but caught the last out when Brooklyn finally came out on top in 1955. Hector Lopez caught the last out in 1961 and grounded into it in 1963. Christy Mathewson threw the last pitch in 1905 and again in 1912. Unfortunately for him, the latter one was a sacrifice fly. Tony Phillips stuck out in 1988 but fielded a grounder and tossed to Dennis Eckersley at first for the final out the next year. Pee Wee Reese flew out to Gene Woodling in 1952 but threw out Elston Howard in 1955. Edgar Renteria singled in 1997 but ground out seven years later. Sometimes they make it through, sometimes they don’t. Bobby Richardson famously caught a line drive in 1962 but popped up two years later. The great Babe Ruth was caught stealing in 1926 but two years later hit three home runs and caught the last out against the same Cardinal team. Don’t wound the bear. Red Schoendienst made the last out with his glove in 1946 and with his bat a dozen years later. Yuli Gurriel caught the final out for the Astros in 2017 on a grounder to second and hit into the last out in 2021 on a grounder to short.
That's Life (Remastered 2008)
(last outs 1943-2017)
and to update it:
EVERY final play from the World Series from 1990-2020! (1990-2020)
Further Update:
Last out of Every World Series (2010-2022) (2010-2022)
Just let the joy of all these teams wash over you. Life can be difficult. it can sometimes seem impossible. It's good to be reminded from time to time that dreams can come true and great effort be rewarded. Victory is existential. It tells the world that we are here. We win therefore we are.
I thought it would be interesting to record what players made the play that terminated each World Series and won it for their team. These would be players who recorded the final out or scored or drove in the winning “walk off” run. If there’s a strike out, I’ll record both the pitcher and catcher, since the catcher gets the put-out in that situation. On any other play in the field, I’ll record the put-out and anyone who gets an assist. For a walk-off run I’ll record who scored it and anyone who got an RBI. The games that end with the winning run being scored are in italics. I later decided to go back and record the pitchers and catchers when they weren’t already noted and give them credit – or blame, as well, as they were a part of every play. I also decided to note when a team won its first World Series or it’s first in at least a generation, which I defined as 20 years.
These are the guys who “won the World Series” – and lost it - on the final play.
World Series and MLB Playoffs | Baseball-Reference.com
1903: The Red Sox’ Bill Dineen struck out the Pirates’ Honus Wagner for their – and anyone’s – first World Series title. Lou Crigar was the catcher.
1905: The Athletics’ Lave Cross grounds to the Giant’s Bill Dahlen at short who throws to Dan McGann at first for the Giants’ first title. Christy Mathewson was the pitcher and Roger Bresnahan the catcher.
1906: The Cubs’ Frank Schulte grounds out to the White Sox’ first baseman, Jiggs Donahue, unassisted, for the White Sox’ first title. Doc White was the pitcher and Billy Sullivan the catcher.
1907: The Tigers’ Boss Schmidt pops out to the Cubs’ shortstop, Joe Tinker, for the Cub’s first title. Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown was the pitcher, Johnny Kling the catcher.
1908: The Tigers’ Boss Schmidt pops out to the Cubs’ catcher, Johnny Kling. (Schmidt becomes the first player to make the final out twice.) Orval Overall was the pitcher.
1909: The Tigers’ Tom Jones flies out to the Pirates’ left Fielder, Fred Clarke, for their first title. Babe Adams was the pitcher, George Gibson the catcher.
1910: The Cubs’ Johnny Kling grounds to short where the Athletics’ Jack Barry makes the unassisted force-out at 2nd of the Cubs’ Jimmy Archer. It’s the A’s first title. Jack Coombs was the pitcher, Jake Lapp the catcher.
1911: The Giants’ Art Wilson ground to the Athletics’ Home Run Baker at third who throws to Stuffy McInnis at first for the out. Chief Bender was the pitcher, Ira Thomas the catcher.
1912: Larry Gardner of the Red Sox hits a sacrifice fly to Giants’ right fielder Josh DeVore and the Sox’ Steve Yerkes scores from 3rd. The first time the Series ended on an offensive play. Christy Mathewson and Chief Meyers were the Giant’s battery.
1913: The Giants’ Larry Doyle flies to the Athletics’ right fielder Eddie Murphy, (no not that one). Eddie Plank and Wally Schang were the battery.
1914: The Athletics’ Stuffy McInnis grounds to third where the Braves’ Charlie Deal throws to Butch Schmidt at first for the out for the Braves’ first title. Dick Rudolph and Hank Gowdy were the battery.
1915: The Phillies’ Bill Killefer grounds out to the Red Sox’ Everett Scott at short who throws to Del Gainer at first. Rube Foster and Hick Cady were the battery. Rube and Hick?!?
1916: The Dodger’s Mike Mowery pops out to the Red Sox’ Everett Scott at short. (Scott becomes the first player to make the winning play twice.) Ernie Shore and Hick Cady were the battery.
1917: Lew McCarty of the Giants grounds to the White Sox’s Eddie Collins at second, who throws to Chick Gandil at first for the out. Red Faber and Ray Schalk were the battery.
1918: Les Mann of the Cubs grounds to the Red Sox’ Dave Shean at second who throws to Stuffy McInnis at first for the out. Carl Mays and Wally Schang were the battery.
1919: The White Sox’ Shoeless Joe Jackson grounded to the Reds’ Morrie Rath at second who threw to Jake Daubert at first for the out and the Reds’ first championship. Hod Eller and Bill Rariden were the battery.
1920: The Dodgers’, (actually they were called the Robins at the time), Ed Konetchy grounds to the Indians’ shortstop, Joe Sewell, who flips to Bill Wambsganss at second base. Stan Coveleski and Steve O’Neill were the battery. It was the Indians’ first title.
1921: The Yankees’ Home Run Baker grounds to the Giant’s Johnny Rawlings at second who throws to first baseman George Kelly to get Baker. The Yankees’ Aaron Ward, who had been running to third, got tagged out by Frankie Frisch there on a throw from Kelly. The battery was Art Nehf and Frank ‘Pancho’ Snyder.
1922: The Yankees’ Aaron Ward flies to the Giant’s Ross Youngs in right. Art Nehf and Frank ‘Pancho’ Snyder were again the battery.
1923: The Giants’ Jack Bentley grounds to Yankees’ second baseman Aaron Ward who tosses to Wally Pipp at first for the out. This was the Yankee’s first of their 27 championships. They were also the first franchise to win after a wait of at least 20 years. Herb Pennock and Wally Schang, both of whom started out with Connie Mack’s Athletics, were the battery. The early Yankee pennant winners were full of former Red Sox and Athletics, the two most successful franchises of the teens, both of whom had fallen on hard financial times. Colonel Ruppert was very happy to buy their player’s contracts. Those guys knew how to win!
1924: The Senators’ Earl McNeeley doubles off of the Giants’ Jack Bentley and Muddy Ruel scores from second. Hank Gowdy was the catcher. It was the Washington Senators only WS championship, (after a 21 year wait), although they would later win two more, (1987, 1991), as the Minnesota Twins and the Washington Nationals, the former Montreal Expos, would win in 2019.
1925: The Pirates’ Red Oldham strikes out the Senators’ Goose Goslin looking. Johnny Gooch was catching.
1926: Down 2-3 with 2 outs in the 9th, Bob Meusel at the plate and Grover Cleveland Alexander on the mound, the Yankees’ Babe Ruth decides to steal second and is throw out by the Cardinals’ Bob O’Farrell. Rogers Hornsby tagged him out, a meeting of the two greatest hitters of the era. Grover Cleveland ‘Pete’ Alexander was pitching. This is the Cardinals first championship, 23 years after the first WS.
1927: With the Tony Lazzeri at the plate, the Pirates’ Johnny Miljus uncorks a wild pitch and the Yankees’ Earl Combs scores from third. The catcher was Johnny Gooch.
1928: The Cardinals’ Frankie Frisch pops out to the Yankees’ Babe Ruth, who had already hit three home runs, in left, a nice comeback from 1926. Waite Hoyt and Pat Collins were the battery.
1929: The Athletics’ Bing Miller doubles off the Cubs’ Pat Malone and Al Simmons scores from second. Zach Taylor was the catcher.
1930: The Cardinals’ Jimmie Wilson flew out to the Athletics’ Bing Miller in right. George Earnshaw and Mickey Cochrane were the battery.
1931: The Athletics’ Max Bishop flew out to the Cardinals’ Pepper Martin in center. ‘Wild’ Bill Hallahan and Jimmie Wilson were the battery.
1932: The Cubs’ Riggs Stephenson flew out to The Yankees’ Ben Chapman in right. Herb Pennock and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1933: The Giants’ Dolf Luque stuck out the Senators’ Joe Kuhel (Yep, ‘Joe Cool)’). Gus Mancuso was the catcher.
1934: The Tigers’ Marv Owen grounded to Leo Durocher at short who flipped to Frankie Frisch at second for the force-out. Dizzy Dean and Bill DeLancey were the battery.
1935: The Tigers’ Goose Goslin singles to right off the Cubs’ Larry French, driving in Mickey Cochrane from second. Gabby Hartnett was the catcher. This was Detroit’s first WS title, 33 years after the event started.
1936: The Giant’s Harry Danning grounds to the Yankees’ Lou Gehrig at first, who puts him out, unassisted. Johnny Murphy and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1937: The Giants’ Jo Jo Moore grounds to Lou Gehrig at first who flips to pitcher Lefty Gomez, covering at first, for the out. Bill Dickey was the catcher.
1938: The Cubs’ Billy Herman grounded to Yankees’ pitcher, Red Ruffing, who threw to Lou Gehrig at first for the out. (The Iron Horse figures in three straight series winning plays – this was his last WS play.) Bill Dickey was the catcher.
1939: The Reds’ Wally Berger lined out to the Yankees’ Frank Crosetti at short as the Yankees win their fourth straight title. Johnny Murphy and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1940: The Tigers’ Earl Averill grounds to the Reds’ Lonnie Frey at second who throws to Frank McCormick at first for the out. Paul Derringer and Jimmie Wilson were the battery. It’s the Reds’ first title in 21 years.
1941: The Dodgers’ Jimmy Wasdell flies to the Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio in deep center, (down two with nobody on base). Ernie ‘Tiny’ Bonham and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1942: The Yankees’ George Selkirk grounds to the Cardinals’ Jimmy Brown, (no, not that one!), at second who throws to Johnny Hopp at first for the out. Johnny Beazley and Walker Cooper were the battery.
1943: The Cardinals’ Debs Garmes grounds to the Yankees’ Joe Gordon at second, who throws to Nick Etten at first for the out. Spud (whose first name was Spurgeon ☹) Chandler and Bill Dickey were the battery.
1944: The Cardinals’ Ted Wilks strikes out the Browns’ Mike Chartak. Walker Cooper was the catcher.
1945: The Cubs’ Don Johnson grounds to the Tigers’ Skeeter Webb at short who tosses to Eddie Mayo at second for the force-out. Hal Newhouser and Bob Swift were the battery.
1946: The Red Sox’ Tom McBride grounds to the Cardinals’ Marty Marion at short who tosses to Red Schoendienst at second for the force-out. Harry Brecheen and Del Rice were the battery.
1947: The Dodgers’ Bruce Edwards grounds into a double play: The Yankees’ Phil Rizzuto at short to Snuffy Stirnweiss at second to George McQuinn at first. Joe Page and Aaron Robinson were the battery.
1948: The Braves’ Tommy Holmes flew out to the Indians’ Bob Kennedy in left. Gene Bearden and Jim Hegan were the battery. It was the Indians’ first title in 28 years, (and they haven’t won since).
1949: The Yankees’ Joe Page struck out the Dodgers’ Gil Hodges. Yogi Berra was the catcher.
1950: The Yankees’ Gene Woodling had a chance to win the series for the Yankees when a long drive off the bat of the Phillies’ Andy Seminick went to the left field warning track but Gene lost the ball in the sun and dropped it. Two runs scored, to get the Phils to within 2-5. 21 year old Whitey Ford then gave up a single to allow the tying run to come to the plate and Casey Stengel replaced him with 33 year old Allie Reynolds, who struck out Stan Lopata swinging to end it. The catcher, of course, was Yogi Berra.
1951: The Giants’ Sal Ivars lined out to the Yankees’ Hank Bauer in right. Bob Kuzava and Yogi Berra were the battery.
1952: The Yankees’ Gene Woodling gets a second chance as the Dodgers’ Pee Wee Reese flies out to him in left. Kuzava and Berra were again the battery.
1953: The Yankees’ Billy Martin singles off the Dodgers’ Clem Labine to score Hank Bauer from second. Roy Campanella was the catcher.
1954: The Indians’ Dale Mitchell pops up to the Giants’ Hank Thompson at third. Johnny Antonelli and Wes Westrum were the battery. It was the Giants’ first title in 21 years.
1955: The Yankees’ Elston Howard grounds to the Dodgers’ Pee Wee Reese who throws to Gil Hodges at first and the Brooklyn Dodgers, after losing all seven prior World Series that they were in, the last 5 to the Yankees, were at last on top of the baseball world. It was their first ever title, 52 years after the first World Series and the only title Brooklyn ever won. Johnny Podres, famously, and Roy Campanella were the battery.
1956: Back to normal: The Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson ends his career with a strikeout but the ball gets by the Yogi Berra, who throws to Bill Skowron at first to put the Yankees back on top. Johnny Kucks was the pitcher.
1957: The world turns upside down again as the Yankees’ Bill Skowron grounds to Eddie Mathews who runs across the third base bag to make the Milwaukee Braves world champions. It was the Braves’ first title in 43 years and Milwaukee’s on championship. Lew Burdette and Del Crandall were the battery.
1958: Back to Normal II: The Braves’ Red Schoendienst lines out to the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle in center field. Bob Turley and Yogi Berra were the battery.
1959: The world gets dizzy as the Yankees don’t even make the series and the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Chicago White Sox, whose shortstop Luis Aparicio flies out to Wally Moon in left to win it. Larry Sherry and John Roseboro were the battery for LA’s first championship.
1960: The Pirates’ Bill Mazeroski becomes the first player to win the WS on a walk-off home run against the Yankees. Ralph Terry, (not Art Ditmar as the announcer erroneously said) made the pitch and Johnny Blanchard called it. It was the Pirates’ first title in 35 years.
1961: The Yankees’ left fielder Hector Lopez caught a fly ball from the Reds’ Vada Pinson. Bud Daley and Elston Howard were the battery.
1962: The Giants’ Willie McCovey lined out to the Yankees’ Bobby Richardson. Ralph Terry and Elston Howard were the battery.
1963: The Yankees’ Hector Lopez grounds to the Dodgers’ Maury Wills at short who throws to former Yankee Bill Skowron at first for the out. Sandy Koufax and John Roseboro were the battery.
1964: The Yankees’ Bobby Richardson popped out to the Cardinals Dal Maxvill at second. (Bob Gibson’s 9th inning, starting with a 7-3 lead: strikeout, home run, strikeout, home run, ground out.) Tim McCarver was the catcher.
1965: The Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax struck out the Twins’ Bob Allison. Johnny Roseboro was the catcher.
1966: The Dodgers’ Lou Johnson flies out to the Orioles Russ Snyder in centerfield. Dave McNally and Andy Etchebarren were the battery. It was the franchise’s first championship, 63 years after the World Series first came into existence. Of the 16 teams that had existed since 1903, this left only the Phillies without a title.
1967: The Cardinals’ Bob Gibson struck out the Red Sox’ George Scott. Tim McCarver was the catcher.
1968: The Cardinals’ Tim McCarver popped out to the Tiger’s catcher, Bill Freehan. Mickey Lolich was the pitcher. It was the Tigers’ first title in 23 years.
1969: The Orioles’ Davey Johnson, (the Mets’ manager the next time they won in 1986), flied out to the Mets’ Cleon Jones in left. Jerry Koosman and Jerry Grote were the battery. This was the Mets’ first title after 7 years during which they finished 9th once and 10th six times.
1970: The Reds’ Pat Corrales grounded to the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson who threw to Boog Powell for the out. It was the 22nd out Robinson had created in the five-game series with his defensive plays. Mike Cuellar and Andy Etchebarren were the battery.
1971: The Orioles’ Merv Rettenmund grounded to the Pirates’ Jackie Hernandez at short who threw to Bob Robertson at first for the out. Steve Blass and Manny Sanguillen were the battery.
1972: The Reds’ Pete Rose flew out to the Athletics’ Joe Rudi in left. Rollie Fingers and Dave Duncan were the battery. It was the A’s first title in 42 years, during which they had had 33 losing seasons in three different cities.
1973: The Mets’ Wayne Garrett popped out to The Athletics’ Bert Campaneris at short. Darold Knowles and Ray Fosse were the battery.
1974: The Dodgers’ Von Joshua bounced back to the Athletics’ Rollie Fingers who threw to Joe Rudi at first for the out. Ray Fosse was the catcher.
1975: The Red Sox’ Carl Yastrzemski flew out to the Reds’ Cesar Geronimo in center. Will McEnaney and Johnny Bench were the battery. It was the Reds’ first title in 35 years.
1976: The Yankees’ Roy White flew out to the Reds’ George Foster in left. Will McEnaney and Johnny Bench were again the battery.
1977: The Dodgers’ Lee Lacy popped a bunt to the Yankees’ pitcher, Mike Torrez. Thurman Munson was the catcher.
1978: The Dodgers’ Ron Cey popped out to the Yankees’ catcher, Thurman Munson. Goose Gossage was the pitcher.
1979: The Orioles’ Pat Kelly flew out to the Pirates’ Omar Moreno in center field. Kent Tekulve and Steve Nicosia were the battery.
1980: The Phillies’ Tug McGraw struck out the Royals’ Willie Wilson. Bob Boone was the catcher. The Phillies were the last team in existence in 1903 that hadn’t won the World Series and they finally did it after 77 years.
1981: The Yankees’ Bob Watson flew out to the Dodgers’ Pedro Guerrero in center field. The battery was all Steves: Howe and Yeager.
1982: The Cardinals’ Bruce Sutter struck out the Brewers’ Gorman Thomas. Darrell Porter was the catcher.
1983: The Phillies’ Gary Maddox lined out to the Orioles’ Cal Ripken at short. Scott McGregor and Rick Dempsey, both former Syracuse Chiefs, were the battery.
1984: The Padres’ Tony Gwynn flew out to the Tiger’s Larry Herndon in left field. Willie Hernandez and Lance Parrish were the battery.
1985: The Cardinals’ Andy Van Slyke flew out to the Royals’ Darryl Motley in right. The battery was Brent Saberhagen and Jim Sundberg. This was the Royal’s first title.
1986: The Mets’ Jesse Orosco stuck out the Red Sox’ Marty Barrett. Gary Carter was the catcher.
1987: The Cardinals’ Willie McGee grounded out to the twins’ Gary Gaetti at third, who threw to Kent Hrbek at first for the out. Jeff Reardon and Tim Laudner were the battery. This was Minnesota’s first ever championship and the franchises’ first since they were the Washington Senators in 1924, 63 years earlier.
1988: The Dodgers’ Orel Hershiser struck out the Athletics’ Tony Phillips. Rick Dempsey was the catcher.
1989: The Giants’ Brett Butler grounded to the Athletics’ Tony Phillips at second who threw to the pitcher, Dennis Eckersley, covering 1st. Terry Steinbach was the catcher.
1990: The Athletics’ Carney Lansford popped out to the Reds’ Todd Benzinger at first base. Randy Myers was the pitcher and Joe Oliver the catcher.
1991: With the bases loaded, the Twins’ Gene Larkin hit a ball off the Braves’ Alejandro Pena to deep left center, over the heads of the outfielders. The game was tied so it went into the books as a single, scoring Dan Gladden. Greg Olson was the catcher.
1992: The Braves’ Otis Nixon bunts, fielded by the Blue Jays’ pitcher, Mike Timlin, who throws to Joe Carter at first for the out. Pat Borders was the catcher. The Blue Jays, in their 17th season, become the first team based outside of the USA to win the ‘World’ Series.
1993: The Blue Jays’ Joe Carter becomes the second man to end a World Series with a home run off the Phillies’ Mitch Williams. Bill Mazeroski’s home run came with the game tied and nobody on in the 7th game. Carter’s came with the Blue Jays up 3-2 in games but down 5-6 in game 6 and with two men on. Paul Molitor actually scored the winning run. Darren Daulton was the catcher.
1994: No World Series due to the strike.
1995: The Indians’ Carlos Baerga flew out to the Braves’ Marquis Grissom in centerfield. Mark Wohlers was the pitcher, Javy Lopez the catcher. The Braves won their third World Series, one in each of the cities they have represented: Boston in 1914, Milwaukee 43 years later and Atlanta 38 years after that.
1996: The Braves’ Mark Lemke popped out to the Yankees’ Charlie Hayes at third. John Wetteland was the pitcher and Joe Girardi the catcher.
1997: The Marlins’ Edgar Renteria singled off the Indians’ Charles Nagy, scoring Craig Counsell in the 10th. Sandy Alomar was the catcher. The Marlins win the World Series in their fifth season of exitance, and, like the 1969 Mets, with their first winning team.
1998: The Padres’ Mark Sweeney grounded a pitch from the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera to Scott Brosius at third who throws to Tino Martinez at first for the out. Joe Girardi was the catcher.
1999: The Braves’ Keith Lockhardt flew out to the Yankees’ Ricky Ledee in left. Mariano Rivera was the pitcher, Jorge Posada the catcher.
2000: The Mets’ Mike Piazza flies to the Yankee’s Bernie Williams in centerfield. Mariano Rivera was the pitcher, Jorge Posada the catcher.
2001: The Diamondback’s Luis Gonzalez (lf) singles to center off the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, scoring Jay Bell (2b,ph). Jorge Posada was, as usual, the catcher. The D-backs won their first title in only their third year.
2002: The Giants’ Kenny Lofton flied to the Angels’ Darin Erstad in center. Troy Percival was the pitcher, Bengie Molina the catcher. The Angels won their first title in their 42nd season of operations.
2003: The Yankees’ Jorge Posada grounded out to the Marlins’ Josh Beckett, who recorded the out at first himself. Ivan Rodriguez was the catcher.
2004: The Cardinals’ Edgar Renteria grounded to the Red Sox’s pitcher Keith Foulke, who threw to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to end the Sox’ 86-year drought since they last won the World Series. Jason Varitek was the catcher.
2005: A year later the White Sox ended their 88-year streak when the Astros’ Orlando Palmeiro grounded to Juan Uribe at short who threw to Paul Konerko at first base. Bobby Jenks was the pitcher, A.J. Pierzynski the catcher.
2006: The Cardinals ended a little ol’ 24 year streak when Adam Wainwright struck out the Tiger’s Brandon Inge. Yadier Molina was the catcher.
2007: The Red Sox’ Jonathan Papelbon stuck out the Rockies’ Seth Smith. Jason Varitek was the catcher.
2008: The Phillies ended a 28-year streak when Brad Lidge struck out the Ray’s Eric Hinske. Carlos Ruiz was the catcher.
2009: The Phillies’ Shane Victorino grounded out to the Yankees’ Robinson Cano at second who threw to Mark Teixeira at first for the out. Mariano Rivera was the pitcher, Jorge Posada the catcher.
2010: The Giants’ Bryan Wilson struck out the Rangers’ Nelson Cruz to end their 56 year streak without a championship. Buster Posey was the catcher.
2011: The Rangers’ David Murphy flew out to the Cardinals’ Allen Craig in left. Jason Motte was the pitcher. Yadier Molina was the catcher.
2012: The Giants’ Sergio Romo struck out the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera – looking, in a one run game at a pitch right down the pipe. Buster Posey was the catcher.
2013: The Red Sox’ Koji Uehara struck out the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter. David Ross was the catcher.
2014: The Royals’ Salvador Perez fouled out to the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval at third. Madison Bumgarner was the pitcher. Buster Posey was the catcher.
2015: The Royals’ Wade Davis strikes out the Mets’ Wilmer Flores to end their 30 year streak without a championship. Drew Butera was the catcher.
2016: The Indians’ Michael Martinez grounded to the Cubs’ Kris Bryant at third who threw to Anthony Rizzo at first to end the Cub’s 108-year streak without a championship. Mike Montgomery and Miguel Montero were the battery.
2017: The Dodgers’ Corey Seagar grounds to the Astros’ Jose Altuve at second who throws to Yuli Gurriel and first for the out. Charlie Morton was the pitcher, Brian McCann the catcher. The Astros won their first WS ever, in their 56th season.
2018: The Red Sox’ Chris Sale struck out the Dodgers’ Manny Machado. Christian Vasquez was the catcher.
2019: The Nationals’ Daniel Hudson struck out the Astros’ Michael Brantley to win the franchises’ first WS in their 51st year and the city of Washington’s first title in 95 years. Yan Gomez was the catcher.
2020: The Dodgers’ Julio Urias struck out the Rays’ Willy Adames for their first title in 32 years. Austin Barnes was the catcher.
2021: The Astros’ Yuli Gurriel grounds to the Braves’ Dansby Swanson who throws to Freddie Freeman at first for the out.
2022: The Phillies’ Nick Castellanos popped out to the right field foul territory, caught by the Astro’s Kyle Tucker.
Observations:
- Only 11 of the 117 World Series have ended on a walk-off run and none since the Diamondback’s Luis Gonzalez hit that blooper over Derek Jeter’s head to end the Yankee’s run of three straight times in 2001.
- Here are the 22 World Series that have ended on strikeouts: 1903, 1925, 1933, 1944, 1949, 1950, 1956, 1965, 1967, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020. Do you detect a trend there?
- A milder but related trend: 14 of the 28 times a series has ended with an outfielder catching the ball have come since Davy Johnson hit that ball to Cleon Jones in 1969.
- Babe Ruth’s ill-advised and -fated attempt to steal second base in 1926 is the only time a World Series that ended with a player being thrown out on a play that didn’t involve the bat and ball making contact.
- Two World Series have ended on a double play: 1921 and 1947.
- The mighty 1927 Yankees are the only team to win a World Series on a wild pitch.
- A breakdown by position: Pitcher: 3 put-outs, (p), 4 assists (a); Catcher, (minus strikeouts which are technically catcher put-outs) 3p; First: 31p (3 unassisted), 1a, Second: 6p, 12a; Short 6p, 11a; Third 4p, 6a; Left 11p, Center 10p, Right 7p, no doubt a reflection of the number of left vs. right-handed hitters.
- Ships coming in, (wins after at least a 20 year wait): 1923 Yankees (20 years), 1924 Senators (21), 1926 Cardinals (23), 1935 Tigers (32), 1940 Reds (21), 1948 Indians (28), 1954 Giants (21), 1955 Dodgers (52), 1957 Braves (43), 1960 Pirates (35), 1966 Orioles (63), 1968 Tigers (23), 1972 Athletics (42), 1975 Reds (35), 1980 Phillies (77), 1987 Twins (63), 1995 Braves (37), 2002 Angels (40), 2004 Red Sox (86)- this really opened up the floodgates: they’ve had to add extra chapters to documentaries; 2005 White Sox (88), 2006 Cardinals (24), 2008 Phillies (28), 2010 Giants (56), 2015 Royals (30), the big one: 2016 Cubs (108), 2017 Astros (55), 2019 Nationals (50 for the franchise, 95 for the city), 2020 Dodgers (32) and the 2021 Braves (26). That’s 29 ships coming in, 12 in this century. The earlier ones are dominated by the National League because they had no equivalent of the Yankees. I think we are having so many ships come in recent years because there are so many teams, free agents and so many playoff series to win: the wealth is being spread which makes winning more possible but doing it frequently more difficult.
- The most frequent ‘winners’ are catchers, especially Yankee’s catchers, primarily because they were part of the battery and thus called the pitch that produced the final out. But they could also make defensive plays or score or drive in runs. Bill Dickey won the World Series 7 times, all by calling the pitch. Yogi Berra won it 6 times, half of them by calling strike-out pitches. Mariano Rivera had an assist and threw the last pitch three other times. Lou Gehrig had an assist and two put-outs. Jorge Posada called three last pitches. Buster Posey called three that resulted in strike-outs. John Roseboro called three last pitches, one a strikeout. Wally Schang called last pitches for three different teams: the Athletics, (1913), Red Sox, (1918), and Yankees, (1923). The “two-timers include Hank Bauer, who made a great catch in 1951 and scored the winning run two years later, Johnny Bench, an early Red Sox catcher named Hick Cady, Mickey Cochrane, who scored the winning run for the first ever Tigers champion in 1935, Walker Cooper, Rick Dempsey, Andy Etchebarren, Rollie Fingers, Ray Fosse, Frankie Frisch, who had two put-outs as a second baseman, 13 years apart, Bob Gibson, Elston Howard, George Kelly, John McGraw’s first baseman who beat the first two Yankee pennant winners, Johnny Kling, the Cub’s catcher for their first two World Series wins, Sandy Koufax, Bob Kuzava, Stengel’s favorite reliever in the early 50’s, Tim McCarver, Will McEnaney, who was on the mound for both of the Big Red Machine’s victories, Stuffy McInnis, who caught the last out for the A’s in 1911 and the Red Sox in 1918, Bing Miller, who drove in the winning run for Connie Mack in 1929 and caught the last out for him in 1930, Yadier Molina, Thurman Munson, Johnny Murphy, a Yankee’s reliever in the late 30’s and much later the Met’s GM in 1969, Art Nehf, McGraw’s pitcher in 1921-22, Joe Page, the great Yankees’ reliever of the late 40’s, herb Pennock, who threw the last pitch for their first title in 1923 and again 9 years later, Joe Rudi, who caught the last out as an outfielder in 1972 and as a first baseman in 1974, Everett Scoot, (whose consecutive games record Lou Gehrig later broke), who had assists in both 1915 and 1916, Bill Skowron who got the last put-out for the Yankees in 1956 and against them in 1963, Pancho Snyder, McGraw’s catcher in 1921-22, Jason Varitek, Jimmie Wilson, who called the last pitch for the Cardinals in in 1931, became a Reds’ coach and, pressed into service due to an injury to Ernie Lombardi and a the suicide of Willard Herschberger, again called the last pitch in 1940, at the age of 40.
Frank Sinatra - Winners
- Fewer players have ‘lost’ the World Series because it usually just takes one. Jack Bentley was a sort of ‘Babe Ruth of the minors’, who followed the Babe for the Baltimore Orioles and was both a star pitcher and hitter. He wound up with McGraw’s Giants and grounded into an out to give the Yankees their first title in 1923, then threw the pitch that Earl McNeeley doubled off the wall to score the Senator’s Muddy Ruel for that team’s only title the next year. Jorge Posada called the pitch that Luis Gonzalez hit over Derek Jeter’s head in 2001 and grounded out to end the loss to the Marlins in 2003. Poor Boss Schmidt popped up to end the 1907 series and did the same thing a year later. That’s got to be the most disgusting way to end a series and the most helpless feeling as you run to first base knowing it won’t matter if you get there.
There Used To Be A Ballpark
- 23 players have both won and lost a World Series. The most prolific are Mariano Rivera, who gave up that hit to Gonzalez but threw the winning pitch four other times and his catcher Jorge Posada, who called the winning -pitch three times. Frankie Frisch was part of the 1921 double play and made the putout that ended the 1934 series but also flew out to Babe Ruth to end the 1928 series. Aaron Ward made the last out in three straight World Series from 1921-23, the first with his feet, the second with his bat and the third with his glove. Jimmie Wilson, Elston Howard and Tim McCarver twice called the last pitch but also made the final out once. Home Run Baker made the last put out in 1911 and the last out a decade later. Hank Gowdy called the last pitch in a win in 1914 and a loss a decade later. Goose Goslin stuck out for the last out in 1925 and got the walk-off hit, you guessed it, a decade later. Roy Campanella called the losing pitch in 1953 and the winning one in 1955. Gil Hodges struck out to end the 1949 series but caught the last out when Brooklyn finally came out on top in 1955. Hector Lopez caught the last out in 1961 and grounded into it in 1963. Christy Mathewson threw the last pitch in 1905 and again in 1912. Unfortunately for him, the latter one was a sacrifice fly. Tony Phillips stuck out in 1988 but fielded a grounder and tossed to Dennis Eckersley at first for the final out the next year. Pee Wee Reese flew out to Gene Woodling in 1952 but threw out Elston Howard in 1955. Edgar Renteria singled in 1997 but ground out seven years later. Sometimes they make it through, sometimes they don’t. Bobby Richardson famously caught a line drive in 1962 but popped up two years later. The great Babe Ruth was caught stealing in 1926 but two years later hit three home runs and caught the last out against the same Cardinal team. Don’t wound the bear. Red Schoendienst made the last out with his glove in 1946 and with his bat a dozen years later. Yuli Gurriel caught the final out for the Astros in 2017 on a grounder to second and hit into the last out in 2021 on a grounder to short.
That's Life (Remastered 2008)
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