Putting together this list of the best World Series games was not easy, there have been many great moments in the fall classic over the last 100 years. From Sandy Koufax pitching a magnificent Game 7 against the Twins to win the 1965 World Series for the Dodgers to Kirk Gibson's 1988 home run in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Oakland A’s also for the Dodgers.
Throw in the 27 times the New York Yankees have claimed the top prize with legendary Baseball figures like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Derek Jeter and you have a slew of memories to choose from.
This list will break down some of the most insane and amazing World Series games of all time. Take your pick as to which one tops the other, that will depend on what team you follow. One thing is true though, these are baseball memories we have not and will not ever forget.
10. 1993, Game 4: Blue Jays 15, Phillies 14
Yeah, we are not making that score line up. There was a World Series game that produced 29 runs! The Toronto Blue Jays entered Game 4 of the 1993 World Series up two games to one over the Philadelphia Phillies on a rainy night in Phili. The first inning alone produced 7 runs combined for both teams and the game was a seesaw battle for much of the night with Toronto scoring 4 in the third and Philadelphia countering with 5 runs in the fifth inning. Toronto would break open the game with a six-run top of the eighth. Devon White would provide a two-run triple for the Blue Jays who would take the series lead 3-1.
A side note to this game was that Game 4 starter Mitch Williams, of the Phillies, received two death threats during the game and was not aware until the next night such threats were sent. Pretty much a wild night at the ballpark.
9. 1975, Game 6: Red Sox 7, Reds 6
The Boston Red Sox have provided some of the greatest World Series moments, be it for good or bad reasons. It’s hard to imagine that despite providing these memories the club did not lift The Curse of the Bambino until 2004. No game exemplifies this more than Game 6 of the 1975 series.
In the 12th inning, Boston’s Carlton Fisk hit a sinker down the left-field line and made gestures on his way to first by waving his hands for the ball to stay fair and the Home Run to stand when it struck the foul pole above the Green Monster. The home run counted, and the Red Sox tied the series and took that momentum into Game 7. Unfortunately, it was all for not as the Red Sox would blow a 3-0 lead and the Cincinnati Reds would claim the championship.
8. 2011, Game 6: Cardinals 10, Rangers 9
The Texas Rangers entered Game 6 of the 2011 World Series with a 3-2 lead and were leading 7-4 in Game 6 until the St. Louis Cardinals David Freese hit a two-run triple that tied the game at 7. During extra innings, the Rangers scored two runs in the top of the 10th but the Cardinals would counter by scoring two in the bottom of the 10th to tie the game. David Freese, the night's hero, would score a solo home run in the 11th to send the series to a seventh game.
7. 2016, Game 7: Cubs 8, Indians 7
Our list may seem a bit modern but that’s because a lot of these games are still in the fan’s recent memory. When we talk about curses and breaking steaks, the Chicago Cubs need a very honorable mention. The Cubs last World Series victory was in 1908 so that makes this achievement even more historic. In 2016 in the seventh game of the fall classic, the Cubs scored twice in the 10th inning and held on to the lead and ended the curse once and for all.
6. 2001, Game 4: Yankees 4, Diamondbacks 3
In a very difficult year for New York, after the attacks of September 11th, the city needed something to get behind after the tragic terror attacks on the World Trade Center. Enter the New York Yankees, who by then, had become Baseball’s modern dynasty. In a tight contest, Tino Martinez hit a two-run home run to tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the ninth and send the game to extra innings. Then at the stroke of midnight on November 1st, Derek Jeter became “Mr. November” and hit a solo home run to win the game for the Yankees 4-3.
5. 1977, Game 6: Yankees 8, Dodgers 4
Enter “Mr. October”, Reggie Jackson became the first player since Babe Ruth to hit three home runs in one World Series game and lift the Yankees to a championship. It was a strange year in New York in 1977, a blackout, the killer Son of Sam was caught in August after terrifying New Yorkers for two years, and a long hot summer ended with the Yankees winning the first of their back-to-back World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
4. 1991, Game 7: Twins 1, Braves 0
It’s all on the line, there is no tomorrow, it’s Game 7 of the World Series. Does it get much bigger than that? In 1991 in a tied series, the Minnesota Twins sent Jack Morris to the mound while the Atlanta Braves counted with John Smoltz. What resulted was an intense pitching match that produced 10 scoreless innings. It was not until Gene Larkin’s pinch-hit single that Minnesota won the title and one of Baseball’s most intense series of all time.
3. 2004, Game 4: Red Sox 3, Cardinals 0
October 27, 2004, will be a day forever remembered by Boston Red Sox and baseball fans. It marked the end of The Curse of the Bambino and finally gave Boston their sought-after World Series. The Series itself may not go down in the history books but the story around it was amazing. The Red Sox entered the 2004 World Series being down 0-3 to the New York Yankees in the ALCS and winning 4 games in a row as the Yankees choked to get to the big stage.
How to top that? Sweeping the World Series to end the Curse of the Bambino, how does that sound? Boston did just that, winning all 4 games to capture the World Series on October 27th. They never trailed in the series and buried the curse for good, ending their 86-year drought.
2. 1932, Game 3: Yankees 7, Cubs 5
What list can be complete without the Babe? The Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs in four games, but Game 3 went down in the history books for one of baseball’s most historical moments. Babe Ruth “called his shot” by pointing to the outfield of Wrigley Field and signaling he was about to hit a home run. He did just that and the Yankees won the game and eventually captured the World Series.
1. 1986, Game 6: Mets 6, Red Sox 5
In one of the craziest World Series ever played, the 1986 classic between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox was a rollercoaster from start to finish. The Red Sox took a 2-0 series lead only for the Mets to bounce back and tie the series at two, then the Red Sox took a 3-2 series lead by winning Game 5.
Enter Game 6 and one of baseball’s most incredible games. The night started when a parashooter entered Shea Stadium in the top of the first with a “Let’s Go Mets” sign. Boston took an early lead only for the Mets to rally. Boston would retake the lead in the seventh but in the eighth inning Mets catcher, Gary Carter drove in Lee Mazzilli to tie the game.
Boston would then have their chance to end The Curse of the Bambino in the tenth inning with Dave Henderson’s home run and Marty Barrett’s RBI single that gave Boston a two-run lead. In the bottom of the tenth the Mets led off with two outs and needing only one more out, the Red Sox choked.
The Mets, down to their final out, were able to get Gary Carter and Kevin Mitchell, who was buying plane tickets home when he was called in to bat, on base. Ray Knight would hit a third consecutive single that drove in Carter and had the Mets down to one. A visibly shaken Calvin Schiraldi was pulled from the game in favor of Boston’s other reliever Bob Stanley who pitched to Mookie Wilson.
The rest is history, Stanley would throw a wild pitch that drove in Mitchell and with a full count Wilson was able to hit a roller to first baseman Bill Buckner but the ball went through his glove and Ray Knight scored to give the Mets a 6-5 win.
Legend has it that during the 10th inning MLB representatives prepared the champagne and “Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions” shirts in the Boston locker room, and that during the course of the inning had to move the champagne, shirts, and celebration preparations out as Boston fell apart. Two nights later the Mets would rally again to defeat a bewildered Boston team.
