World Series

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In baseball, the World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, played in October after the end of the regular season between the pennant winner of the American League and the pennant winner of the National League. The Series winner is determined through a best-of-seven playoff (except in 1903, 1919, 1920 and 1921 when the winner was determined through a best-of-nine playoff). The World Series has been an annual event since 1903. There were no World Series in 1904 and 1994. The New York Yankees have the most World Series titles, with 26 championships.

Table of contents

1 Introduction
2 Early World Series (1884-1900)
3 The Modern World Series (1903-present)
4 See also

Introduction

The first two games of the series are played in one team's home ballpark, the next three in the other team's ballpark, and the final two, if necessary, back in the first team's ballpark. Until 2003, the team given the home-field advantage was switched every year between the American League and the National League. Starting in 2003, however, the league that wins the All-Star Game is given the home field advantage in the World Series.

The "World" appellation has stuck despite the fact that only teams in the United States and Canada participate. Few would argue, however, that the World Series winner is a significantly better team than any team outside Major League Baseball. Attempts to pit the North American champions against champions in the Japanese or Latin American leagues have, so far, not succeeded.

A persistent myth is that the "World" in "World Series" came about because the New York World newspaper sponsored it. Baseball researcher Doug Pappas refutes that claim, demonstrating a linear progression from the phrase "World's Championship Series" (used to describe the 1903 series) to "World's Series" to "World Series". (For details, see Mr. Pappas's web page on the subject: http://roadsidephotos.com/baseball/name.htm ).

Baseball tournaments between international teams do occur, notably at the world championships and at the Olympic Games. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, the US sent a team of minor-league players, which won the gold medal, suggesting that a major-league team could defeat any non-American national team. Of course, major league teams do not consist entirely of US nationals; for example, about 10% of MLB players are from the Dominican Republic. Not all of the US nationals in MLB are eligible for Team USA; a significant minority are from Puerto Rico, which fields its own teams in international sports competitions. The famed Cuban national team (which was beaten by the Americans in 2000) has defeated Major League teams in some confrontations.

Currently, Major League Baseball and FIBA is trying to institute a World Cup for baseball, to be held quadrennially during the Northern Hemisphere winter at a warm-weather site, to serve as a true world championship of international baseball. The winter scheduling would allow players from the North American and Japanese major leagues to participate. The first World Cup is tentatively scheduled to follow the 2005 season.

The term World Series has since been appropriated by other championships, such as the World Series of Poker, the College World Series, the World Series of Birding and the World Series of Martial Arts. World Series Cricket was a short-lived but influential cricket competition.

Early World Series (1884-1900)

During the 1880s, the National League and American Association champions met on occasion, to determine the Championship of the United States. The series were not well-planned and the clubs in them organized things themselves. The series varied from six to 15 games.

1884: Providence NL defeats New York AA, 3 games to none.

1885: Chicago NL defeats St. Louis AA, 3 games to none (one tie)

1886: St. Louis AA defeats Chicago NL, 4 games to 2

1887: Detroit NL defeats St. Louis AA, 10 games to 5.

1888: New York NL (1) defeats St. Louis AA, 6 games to 4.

1889: New York NL (1) defeats Brooklyn AA, 6 games to 3

1890: Brooklyn AA and Louisville NL tied, 3 games to 3 (one tie).

1891: No series held; the American Association folded after the season ended.

In 1892, the National League (expanded to twelve teams after taking in four of the American Association clubs) played a split season, with the first-half and second-half champions meeting in a postseason series. The split-season experiment was not repeated.

1892: Boston defeats Cleveland, 5 games to none (one tie)

1893: No series held.

In 1894, the first-place and second-place National League teams met in postseason play. The games became known as the Temple Cup games, after Pittsburgh sportsman William C. Temple donated a cup to serve as the trophy. The games did not draw the interest people had hoped for.

1894: New York NL (1) defeated Baltimore, 4 games to none

1895: Cleveland defeats Baltimore, 4 games to 1

1896: Baltimore defeats Cleveland, 4 games to none

1897: Baltimore defeats Boston, 4 games to 1

1898: No series played due to the unprofitability of the 1897 series.

1899: No series played.

1900: Brooklyn defeats Pittsburgh, 3 games to 1

The Modern World Series (1903-present)

See separate article on the History of the modern World Series.