SIX STATS you might not know about… the World Series
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“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
1. The only two franchises that joined Major League Baseball after 1969 that have never appeared in a World Series are the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals (previously Montreal Expos).
2. The six teams that have played in the World Series but have never won are: Houston, Milwaukee (previously Seattle Pilots), San Diego, Colorado, Tampa Bay and Texas (could this be their year?). The two teams that have played in only one World Series but won that series are Arizona (2001) and Anaheim (2002).
3. The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates are the last team to win a World Series Game Seven on the road. Game Seven has been won by the home team in the last eight World Series where a Game Seven has been played.
4. Eighteen of the 106 World Series have been four-game sweeps.
5. Two American League Wild Card teams have won the World Series: Anaheim (2002) and Boston (2004). Two National League Wild Card teams have won the World Series: Florida (1997) and Florida (2003).
6. The New York Yankees have played in 40 World Series, tops in the A.L. The St. Louis have now played in 18 World Series, tied with the Dodgers and Giants, for most appearances in the NL. The Yankees and the Cardinals have played against each other five times in the World Series (1926, 1928, 1942, 1943, 1964). Either the Yankees or the Cardinals (or both) have appeared in 53 of the 107 World Series.
SIX STATS you might not know about… Baseball’s League Championship Series
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“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
1. In the 25 years of the seven-game League Championship Series (50 different series; 25 in the A.L. and 25 in the N.L.), there has been a four-game sweep only five times. The series has gone five games 14 times; six games 17 times; and the full seven-game series 14 times.
2. The last team to win back-to-back LCS was the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and 2009. The last A.L. team to win back-to-back LCS? The New York Yankees who won four straight LCS from 1998 to 2001. (The Texas Rangers have a chance to repeat if they win this year’s A.L. LCS.) The last team to lose back-to-back LCS were the L.A. Dodgers, who lost to the Phils in 2008 and 2009. The last A.L. team to lose back-to-back LCS? The Seattle Mariners who lost to the Yanks in 2000 and 2001.
3. The Wild Card has been a part of postseason baseball since 1995. In those 16 playoffs, the Wild Card team has made it to the LCS nine times in the American League and eight times in the National League.
4. The Washington Nationals have the longest drought to the LCS. The last time the Nationals franchise played in an LCS was the National League LCS in 1981 when they were the Montreal Expos. Seven other teams have not played in an LCS in this century: Milwaukee (last appearance 1982), Kansas City (1985), Pittsburgh (1992), Toronto (1993), Cincinnati (1995), Baltimore (1997), San Diego (1998).
5. The Yankees have played in the most LCS (since it was instituted in 1969) with 14. Oakland and Atlanta have each played in 11; Baltimore, Boston, L.A. Dodgers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis have played in nine.
6. Not surprisingly the Yankees have also won the most LCS with 11. Pittsburgh has lost the most LCS, 7.
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