World Series Game 5: The most decisive moments in MLB history
By Bill Felber
There have been 19 World Series sweeps, but that still leaves 99 Game 5 entries from which to select 10 most pivotal moments.
That list turns out to be both strong and talent-laden. No fewer than six of the 10 most decisive moments in Game 5 history involved members of the Hall of Fame. That’s more than for any other selection of games highlighted in this series.
The Game 5 highlights are singular for another reason, that being the author of the list’s No. 1 entry. He is the same player who led a previous entry in this series, making him the only player ever to have produced the most decisive moments in the history of two distinct World Series games.
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers will try to write some history of their own as they play Game 5. But as they do, it might be fun to look back on the best moments from past Series.
The standard of measurement is Win Probability Added, a relatively new statistic that calculates the extent to which the play in question influenced the game’s outcome.
You can keep an eye open for installments looking at the 10 most decisive moments from World Series Games 6 and Game 7.
For tonight, here are the 10 most decisive moments of World Series Games 5
t-8. Alex Bregman, 2017 Houston Astros. Game 5 of the 2017 World Series was a frustrating one for the home town Astros. In a Series deadlocked at two games each, they carried an 11-8 lead into the eighth inning only to see the Dodgers rally for four runs (three in the top of the ninth) to create a 12-12 tie.
When the game moved to the bottom of the 10th, Dodger closer Kenley Jansen retired the first two batters he faced, Evan Gattis and Marwin Gonzalez. But he made the mistake of walking Brian McCann and complicated his problems by hitting George Springer, moving pinch runner Derek Fisher into scoring position.
That gave Bregman a window of opportunity, and he crashed through it. He lined Jansen’s first pitch for a solid single into left field, scoring Fisher with the winning run. The Astros won the Series in seven games. Bregman Win Probability Added: 39 percent.