This
one hasn’t played out exactly how the pundits thought it would.
Yankees-Phillies was a slam dunk. Maybe the Tigers pull through in the AL. But
certainly, no one was taking down the mighty Phillies and their superstar rotation,
right?
Wrong.
The
Rangers and Cardinals defied the odds and conventional wisdom to reach this the
107th World Series.
St.
Louis had to rally from 10.5 games down in the wild card race in late August,
and the Rangers were motivated by losing last year’s Fall Classic to the San
Francisco Giants.
With
their 18th NL pennant, the Cardinals are making their first
appearance as a wild card entry. Texas is making its second straight appearance
– and second-ever.
Here’s
a look at some of the fun facts associated with this year’s Series:
–
The Rangers are only the second team ever to win four
games in a series in which there starting pitchers did not record a win. The
other is the 1997 Cleveland Indians.
–
As neither the Yankees nor the Phillies won a single
playoff series, 2011 marks the 12th consecutive year that the World
Series will not feature both No. 1 seeds. The last time was 1999, when the
Braves and Yankees met. It is also the second consecutive year that neither No.
1 seed made it (the Yankees and Phillies both lost in the LCS last year) and
fourth time in the last six years.
–
Arthur Rhodes will win a World Series ring no matter
what. He was released earlier this year by the Rangers. Last year, Bengie
Molina was traded from San Francisco to Texas to make room for Buster Posey. He
still received a World Series ring despite being on the losing team.
–
No current Rangers have played on a winning World
Series team. However, David Murhpy owns a ring after appearing in three games
for the 2007 Red Sox. Yorvit Torrealba is the only Ranger to play in a World
Series for a different team (2007 Rockies).
–
If the Cardinals win, they will be the first Wild Card
team since the 2004 Red Sox to do so. Ironically, that Red Sox team beat the
Cardinals to end their historic drought. The Cardinals’ 90 wins would also
represent the fewest by a World Series winning team since… the Cardinals. In
2006 St. Louis set a Major League record for fewest wins by a World
Series-winning team in a non-strike, 162-game season (83).
–
The team with homefield advantage has won 12 of the 16
World Series played since the advent of the Wild Card in 1995. The lone
exceptions are the 1999 Yankees, 2003 Marlins, 2008 Phillies, and of course,
the 2006 Cardinals.
–
The two remaining franchises that have never played in
a World Series are the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals. The Rangers
had been one of three before last year.
Be the first to comment on "World Series trends and fun facts"