The World Series in 1968 The defending champion St. Louis Cardinals faced the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series, which the Tigers won in seven games for their first championship since 1945 and third in franchise history. The Cardinals were led by Red Schoendienst’s.276 batting average and 37 RBIs, while Joe Torre won his second consecutive MVP award. In addition, the Series marked the final appearance of All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Del Unser, who died in a car crash a few days after the Series ended.
What team hasn’t made the World Series? Every team has at least once, except for the Oakland Athletics and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals. The A’s have never even made it to the Series, while the Expos/Natinals played only one season (2005) - they didn’t make the playoffs but instead were purchased by Major League Baseball before the next season began.
The Kansas City Royals are the most recent team to join the MLB, having started playing in 1975. They’ve never been past the Division Series stage but did win the American League West title in 1985.
The Chicago Cubs have the longest active championship drought, having not won a title since 1908.
In a repeat of the 1907 Series, the defending champion Chicago Cubs faced the Detroit Tigers in the 1908 World Series. The Cubs won their second World Series triumph in five games in the first replay of this new tournament. (Game 1 is in Detroit; games 2 and 3 are in Chicago; and games 4 and 5 are in Detroit.) Joe Jackson of the Cubs hit three home runs in the series.
The Cubs’ Larry McWilliams took home the MVP award for his performance in the Series (3 for 9 with six RBIs). In addition, he had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier that year. Ty Cobb of the Tigers was named the winner of the Triple Crown Award for leading the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.
Cobb’s.416 batting average was good for first place among all hitters during the season’s final week. He was followed by George Suggs of the Cincinnati Reds (who finished second with a.419 mark), Jack Doyle of the Pirates (third with a.423 average), and Ed Delahanty of the Phillies (fourth with a.424 average).
Louisville Slugger produced more than 100 bats in 1908. One of them was used by Cobb in the Series. It was recovered from Tiger Stadium after the 2008 film starring Michael Bay was released. That bat is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The ideal World Series, featuring five one-run games and the most memorable extra-inning game in World Series history, Game 6, which was won by Carlton Fisk’s down-the-line smash. Game 7 is one of the World Series’ most underappreciated games. Everyone remembers Game 7, when Jack Morris outdueled John Smoltz with a 10-inning shutout.
The Pirates defeated the Tigers in the inaugural seven-game World Series in 1909. It was depressing. Only one game was close, none went to overtime, and Game 7 was a rout. Three years later, the Red Sox and Giants faced each other in their own seven-game series (eight, if you count the World Series). The Pirates defeated the Tigers in the inaugural seven-game World Series in 1909.
The 1987 World Series was the 84th edition of Major League Baseball’s championship series, and it marked the end of the 1987 season. The American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins faced the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals in a best-of-seven series. The Cards defeated the Twins in five games to claim their second world title.
Both the AL and NL had strong cases as champions. The Twins finished with a record of 102-60, while the Cardinals went 100-58. However, the Cardinals won by ten games over their nearest competitor - the San Francisco Giants - so they received the edge over the Twins on account of winning more games during the regular season.
The Cardinals captured the hearts of the city of St. Louis and its fans when they came from behind to defeat the heavily favored Toronto Blue Jays in seven games for their first world title. Outfielder Vince Coleman led the way for St. Louis with three home runs and nine RBIs. Pitcher John Tudor also contributed with six strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings pitched. Toronto’s Dave Winfield was the only player with multiple hits during this series. He got four hits out of the leadoff position in all five games that St. Louis played at home.
1985 World Series The St. Louis Cardinals were beaten by the Kansas City Royals (4-3) in seven games. After winning the Division Series 3-1 over the San Diego Padres, they met the winner of the Chicago Cubs vs New York Mets series. The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead into Game 1 at Busch Stadium, but lost it in the ninth when Keith Hernandez scored from first on a ground out by Willie Wilson. In Game 2, the Cubs tied it up at one point before the Cards won it in the 12th inning on an error by Cubs third baseman Mike Lansing. They took a 2-1 lead into Game 3 at home, but the Cubs came back to win it 4-3 after Lee Smith gave up three runs in the seventh.
The Cardinals went on to lose Games 4 and 5 at KC too. In Game 6, Chris Carpenter pitched a complete game victory as St. Louis took a 3-2 lead into the ninth. But Bill Buckner made an error that allowed two runs to score and the Royals went on to win it 4-3. In the final game at Busch Stadium, Dwight Evans hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Joe Sambito to give the Cubs a 3-1 series win and the world championship.
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