"A great ballclub, a beautiful demonstration of what talent can do when assembled with planning and guided by intelligence." - Bill James, on the 1986 New York Mets [more inside]
posted by Trurl on May 16, 2012 - 36 comments

After beating the Texas Rangers on Sept. 3, the Boston Red Sox were 84-54. Although half a game behind the Yankees in the American League East, the Red Sox had a nine-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the wild card and roughly a 99.6 percent chance of making the playoffs. Fast forward one excruciating month to a dead heat with Tampa coming into tonight's bitter imbroglio. Boston struggles ahead of laughingstock Baltimore by a single run until a rain delay clears the field, leaving them in the surreal position of rooting for the hated Yankees playing down in Florida. They can only watch from the sidelines as the rival Rays, tied with Boston in the pennant race but down 7-0 against New York, roar back to life with six runs in the eighth inning and a tie run on the final pitch at the bottom of the ninth. And then, after blowing two different strikes that would have salvaged the game, Boston loses to Baltimore, completing what is arguably the worst late-breaking collapse in the history of major league baseball.
posted by Rhaomi on Sep 28, 2011 - 196 comments

Thanks, Bing! It was a long haul for the Pirates, they hadn't won since 1925, and, until recently, we didn't have a film record of the win.
posted by HuronBob on Sep 24, 2010 - 21 comments

Lionel Rodia: Superfan
posted by JVA on Jan 29, 2009 - 32 comments

The Double Curse of '86 - Many sports fans remember the game 6 error (youtube) of Bill Buckner that cost the Red Sox the championship. But a supposed new discovery seems to show that that the Sox were saddled with not one curse - but two. It could be real or just a new angle for the 20th anniversary. (previously on metafilter)
posted by bob sarabia on Oct 20, 2006 - 32 comments

It should have been an easy out...

"If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words. But more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game Six of the 1986 World Series." At the bottom of the 10th inning in Shay Stadium, with the Red Sox one out away from winning the World Series, the scoreboard flashed, "Congratulations Red Sox, 1986 World Series Champions!" Moments later, the Sox' Bill Buckner would let the ball go between his legs, allowing the Mets to win 6-5 and tie the series. Tonight, hours away from opening day at Fenway Park in Boston, take a moment to relive one of the most painful experiences in Sox history, Bucker and all, completely reenacted with Nintendo's old RBI Baseball.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow on Apr 10, 2006 - 44 comments

Omedetou! Japan beat Cuba 10-6 to win the first World Baseball Classic. The team was coached by Sadaharu Oh, one of the great stars of the Japanese leagues (868 home runs to boot), and featured the talents of a few Japanese players who have made the jump to American ball--Ichiro Suzuki and Akinori Otsuka. Is the World Series now an outdated misnomer?
posted by bardic on Mar 21, 2006 - 22 comments

88 years in the making. The Chicago White Sox have swept the series.
posted by wfrgms on Oct 26, 2005 - 74 comments

Searching for Bartman. A sports reporter’s account of his efforts to land an interview with “the most reclusive man in sports,” Steve Bartman. Bartman is the baseball fan blamed by many Chicago Cubs fans for preventing the Cubs from reaching the World Series in 2003 when he arguably interfered with a catch at a key point in the game. He received massive attention and ridicule after the incident, but never spoke to the media about it, except he released a short statement the day after the game.
posted by brain_drain on Jul 9, 2005 - 32 comments

Want to listen to the World Series on the Web? Pay $9.95. I know, it's a sports post, so (most) everyone will hate it, but I see a disturbing trend of no more free media lunches on the Web. CNN went subscription months ago, and most other places I've gone for free video/audio are drying up. All I wanted was to listen to the game. But I can't find it anywhere. All the regular stations I listen to that carry the game are silent. And how will the Angels make a valiant comeback if I can't cheer them on? (sigh)
posted by TheManWhoKnowsMostThings on Oct 26, 2002 - 25 comments

This ruined my day. The Yankees are going to buy another World Series. If I ever hear that the Yankees do not buy championship again I am going to poop my pants. They do buy championships. Man, do they suck.
posted by aj100 on Dec 6, 2001 - 58 comments

Diamondbacks win! Diamondbacks win! More importantly, the Yankees lose! Yankees lose! There's something supremely fitting that to win, the Diamondbacks had to come from behind against Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th in Game 7... this is one of the greatest, most intense World Series I've ever seen!
posted by hincandenza on Nov 4, 2001 - 49 comments

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.... for Boston Red Sox fans. This story from espn.com's Page 2 about Game 6 of the 1986 World Series is well-written and fills me with sympathy and empathy for Sox fans. See, as a Yakee fan, I was rooting against them at the time, but I feel sorry for them now. What a cruel punishment that game must have been. So close, and yet so far. (Please pardon my sports digression and shameless use of cliches.)
posted by msacheson on Oct 25, 2001 - 34 comments

No $250 million dollar crybabies here. The Little League World Series has been much more engaging than the pro game to me - mostly because the kids are there to play baseball as opposed to the ego and salaries that permeate MLB. (the broadcast, on the other hand, is the usual commercial b.s. with things like the "Bubblicious Lineup")
posted by owillis on Aug 26, 2001 - 22 comments

Yankees Suck! (Note: Graphic Content) Well, it looks like someone cracked the New York Yankees site because they won the Series. I hope one of the tv stations are forwarding anyone to the site.
posted by Cavatica on Oct 27, 2000 - 8 comments