October 29, 2014: One More Chance

The Kansas City Royals tied up the World Series last night to force a Game 7 with the San Francisco Giants.  They meet tonight to determine the 2014 MLB Champion.  It’s all on the line… in this one game… 162+ games later, and it comes down to 1 game.  It doesn’t get much better than this.

How many Game 7s do you remember?  No, I’m not talking about Game 7s from earlier rounds of the playoffs, like the Blackhawks had last year.  It WAS the Western Conference Finals, but there still was one more round to be played.  The Game 7s that I’m talking about happen in the last game of the year.  This game that happens in the last round of NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and like tonight, in the World Series.  The last possible game that could be played.  There’s not many times Chicago teams have been in that spot.

The Chicago Bulls, who open the season tonight in MSG, have never played a Game 7 of the NBA Finals.  They played plenty of Game 7s, but just never in the final round:  MJ wouldn’t allow it.  No need to take any chances, and put it all on the line in one game where anything could happen.  The Bulls won 5 of their 6 NBA titles in Game 6.

The Blackhawks have played in the most Game 7s in the Finals for a Chicago team: twice.  This happened in 1965 & 1971, both losses at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.  In 1965, the home team won every game of the series.  In 1971, the Blackhawks had the home ice advantage.  The home team won in games 1 through 6, and the home team was up 2-0 in Game 7, but… 3 unanswered goals spelled doom for the Hawks, and the Canadiens took us down again.

It’s happened one time in the World Series, and for that, you have to go back to the last time the Cubs made the World Series in 1945.  They lost in 7 games to the Detroit Tigers, but this series is remembered for another reason.  It was Game 4 of this series where the owner of Billy Goat tavern and his pet goat were asked to leave the game:  the Curse of the Billy Goat was born.  No need to discuss this any further.  This was the one and only time a Chicago baseball team has played in a Game 7 of the World Series. 
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So only 3 Game 7 appearances between our teams.  The last game of the year has occurred 71 times.  The NBA Finals went to a Game 7 eighteen times:  the Celtics won 7 of them.  The last time was in 2013 when the Heat defeated the Spurs.  The Stanley Cup Finals went to a Game 7 sixteen times:  the last time being in 2011 when the Bruins took out the Canucks.  Tonight will be the 37th time it happens in the World Series.  The last time this happened in baseball was in 2011 where the Cardinals, one pitch from elimination in Game 6, came back to beat the Rangers.  Now that’s excitement… too bad it had to be the Cardinals to do it.

What may be more exciting is a walk-off hit in Game 7 of the World Series.  Luis Gonzalez delivered that in 2001 against Mariano Rivera as the Dbacks beat the Yankees, and Edgar Renteria did the same in the 11th inning in 1997 to give the Marlins the title over the Indians.  Gene Larkin of the Minnesota Twins did it in 1991 against the Atlanta Braves, again in extra innings; the 10th inning.  The biggest walk off hit of course is a home run, and this has happened ONE time in a World Series game 7.  No, Joe Carter was in Game 6; it was Bill Mazeroski in 1960 as the Pirates walked off against the Yankees.  This could be classified as the biggest hit EVER in major league baseball.

As I’m sure they’ll tell you tonight, the teams playing in this year’s version have some history.  The Giants have played in the deciding game 4 times, twice as the New York Giants and twice in San Francisco; they are 0-4!  The Royals meanwhile played in this game the one time they made it to the World Series back in 1985.  Anybody remember that result?  An 11-0 whitewash of the St. Louis Cardinals; I knew I liked the Royals for another reason.

How will this game go tonight?  Tim Hudson vs Jeremy Guthrie with Madison Baumgarner waiting in the wings for the Giants and the vaunted Royal bullpen ready to pitch as much as necessary.  There is no tomorrow, only tonight.  Everything on the line.  Although Bruce Bochy is a far superior manager than Ned Yost, and besides the fact that I like Hudson over Guthrie, I still think KC wins it.  They are home after all.  The home team has won the last 9 World Series game 7s.  Let the drama begin.