Best Game 7's In World Series History
By Jason Lisk
Sometimes the Game 6 overshadows the Game 7 in history, but these games lived up to the hype. Again, with apologies to Enos Slaughter racing from first in 1946 or Walter Johnson coming in relief to pitch 4 scoreless innings for the Senators only World Series’ win, these are the best Game 7’s since 1960.
1975, Reds 4, Red Sox 3: It was hard to top the dramatic ending from the prevous game, but the Big Red Machine and the Red Sox played another classic in game 7. The Red Sox went up 3-0 early, but the Reds slowly came back. Tony Perez hit a 2-run homer off Bill “Spaceman” Lee, then tied it in the top of the 7th on a Pete Rose single. In the top of the 9th, the Reds scored the winning run on a Joe Morgan bloop single.
1997 Marlins 3, Indians 2 (11th inning): The Indians had a 2-0 lead on their way to the first World Series title since 1948. The Marlins scored 1 in the bottom of the 7th, then Craig Counsell delivered a sac fly against Jose Mesa in the bottom of the 9th. Two innings later, Counsell came home on Edgar Renteria’s single to win the Series for the fledgling franchise in just its fifth season.
1991 Twins 1, Braves 0 (10 innings): The game that made Jack Morris into a larger than life figure for his complete game. A night after Kirby Puckett won game 6 with a dramatic extra inning home run, the Twins won another one in dramatic fashion. The Braves had a chance to score in the top of the 8th but squandered it when Lonnie Smith slowed going around second and only went to third on a double. In the bottom of the 10th, Dan Gladden doubled to lead off, and then Bobby Cox intentionally walked Puckett and Hrbek, bringing Gene Larkin to the plate. Larkin delivered the game winning single.
2001, Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2: This memorable pitcher’s duel between Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling delivered on the hype. The Yankees were three-time defending champions, and took a 2-1 lead in the 8th on an Alfonso Soriano home run. In the bottom of the 9th, Rivera gave up a single to slump buster Mark Grace, then committed an error on the throw to second after the bunt. The Diamondbacks tied it on Tony Womack’s double, then Luis Gonzalez delivered one of the biggest singles in World Series history.
1960, Pirates 10, Yankees 9: In the wildest game 7 with massive swings, the Yankees came into the final game as the heavyweight. In the 3 wins over the Pirates in the Series, Mantle, Maris and company had outscored the Pirates 38-3. The Pirates jumped to an early 4-0 lead, but the Yankees erased it with 8 straight. In the bottom of the 8th, the Pirates scored 5 runs to take a lead into the 9th, but the Yankees manufactured two runs, with the final one scoring while Mantle was almost tagged out returning to first after a wild force play. In the bottom of the 9th, Bill Mazeroski, the light hitting, slick fielding second baseman, hit the first walk off home run in a game 7 in World Series history.
[photo via Getty]