With the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians playing Game Seven tonight, we look back at the seven greatest Game Sevens in World Series history.
The Chicago Cubs have come back from being down three games to one to force a Game Seven in the 2016 World Series. It will be Kyle Hendricks on the mound for the Cubs. Hendricks led all MLB starting pitchers in ERA this year, with a 2.13 mark (minimum 162 innings pitched). Corey Kluber toes the slab for Cleveland. He’s 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA in five postseason starts this year. Every baseball fan in the country would love to see an epic Game Seven.
World Series Game Sevens have become more rare in recent times. In the 40-year period from 1940 to 1979, there were twenty Game Sevens. In the 36-year stretch since 1980, there have been just ten, although this year’s series will mark the third time in the last six years that the World Series has gone the full seven games.
There have been many truly epic Game Sevens and plenty of anti-climatic flops. The first ever World Series-clinching Game Seven was in 1909. The series featured the 110-win Pittsburgh Pirates against the 98-win Detroit Tigers. The Pirates had Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner on the roster and the Tigers had fellow Hall of Famer Ty Cobb. The games had gone back and forth with the Pirates winning Games One, Three, and Five, and the Tigers evening up the series each time by winning Games Two, Four, and Six. Then came Game Seven and the series ended with an uncompetitive 8-0 blowout for the Pirates.
Two other World Series, 1934 and 1985, ended with one team blowing out the other by a score of 11-0. Even with those lopsided final games, those were still interesting series. The 1934 series had the Gashouse Gang, led by colorful pitcher Dizzy Dean. The 1985 series had the controversial Game Six call at first base by umpire Don Denkinger that helped the Kansas City Royals win the game 2-1.
But enough about the Game Seven blowouts. Let’s look at the seven greatest Game Sevens in World Series history.