World Series: Five best Game 7s of all-time

Where does the Chicago Cubs dramatic Game 7 win rank in the history of Game 7s of the World Series? Here are the five best.

The World Series rarely needs more drama. It consists of the two best baseball teams in MLB squaring off against each other. However, there are very few things in sports more exciting than a Game 7. Whether it’s in the NBA, NHL, or MLB, Game 7s have produced iconic images all across sports.

Baseball is no different. There have been 38 Game 7s in the history of the Fall Classic. Some of them have been blowouts, but others will be etched in the memory of fans for the rest of eternity. In the past 30 years, there have been quite a few close deciding games. Here are the five most entertaining and best Game 7s in the history of the World Series.

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5. 2016 – Chicago Cubs versus Cleveland Indians

This deserves to be on the list because of all the lead changes. It also gets on because it represents the longest Fall Classic drought being ended, as well as a new one being ushered in. The Chicago Cubs won their first World Series since 1908. Not only that, guess who has the longest drought in baseball now? That’s right, the Cleveland Indians. They haven’t won a title since 1948.

Why isn’t this higher on the list? For starters, it’s the only game on this list which didn’t have a walk-off hit. Also, while the game featured Cleveland bouncing back from multiple leads, the managerial decisions of Joe Maddon had a lot to do with them. The game could have been over in nine innings had the Cubs manager been wiser. Taking Kyle Hendricks out was sort of understandable. Had David Ross made a play he should have made, nobody would be criticizing Maddon for bringing in Jon Lester. The Cubs manager also took Lester out a bit too early.

It speaks to the drama involved in the other four games on this list that they found a way to be better than the Cubs ending their 108 year dry spell.

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4. 1997 – Florida Marlins versus Cleveland Indians

The 2016 World Series wasn’t the first time the Indians were involved in a dramatic Game 7 loss. Another one came in 1997, when the then Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins) became the first Wild Card team to win the World Series. They did so in epic fashion, with Edgar Renteria hitting a walk off single and Craig Counsell scoring the game winning run off Charles Nagy.

The game was relatively boring for the first six innings. Cleveland took a 2-0 lead behind six shutout innings from Jaret Wright and a two RBI single by Tony Fernandez. But after the sixth inning, the Marlins made their move.

Bobby Bonilla hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. The Indians nearly added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning, but Renteria threw Marquis Grissom out at home. Closer Rob Nen was able to get Brian Giles to fly out to keep the Marlins deficit at one run.

Counsell would be the hero of the bottom of the ninth after his sacrifice fly scored Moises Alou. Cleveland closer Jose Mesa blew the one run lead. In the 11th inning, Renteria’s single allowed Counsell to score from third base, giving the state of Florida their first World Series title.

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3. 2001 – Arizona Diamondbacks versus New York Yankees

The 2001 World Series was one everyone expected the New York Yankees to win. Not only were they coming off an impressive regular season, but they seemed to be rallying the country after the September 11 attacks. However, the Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t get that memo, beating them in one of the most memorable Game 7s in any sport.

How did the Diamondbacks end the Yankees impressive run of titles? Having two Hall of Fame caliber starting pitchers in Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling certainly helps. The two combined to dominate New York and gave Arizona a chance to beat the Yankees’ dynasty.

Game 7 came right after a 15-2 win for Arizona. It featured an epic duel between Roger Clemens and Schilling. Both pitchers brought their best. The Diamondbacks struck first after a Danny Bautista double scored Steve Finley from first base. However, the Yankees tied the game thanks to a Tino Martinez RBI single. Alfonso Soriano hit a solo home run off Schilling in the eighth inning to give New York a 2-1 lead.

Normally, going with Mariano Rivera for a two-inning save is a wise decision. Naturally, Joe Torre went to arguably the best closer of all-time to start the eighth inning. Tony Womack hit a game tying double in the ninth inning. With Jay Bell on third base, outfielder Luis Gonzalez hit a soft line drive just out of the reach of Derek Jeter to give the Diamondbacks their first World Series title.

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2. 1991 – Minnesota Twins versus Atlanta Braves

Not only did Game 7 during the 1991 World Series feature a walk-off hit by a slightly injured player, it also featured two of the best pitching performances of all-time. Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jack Morris had a career defining start with ten shutout innings while Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz went seven shutout innings.

The game remained scoreless through nine innings. In the bottom of the 10th inning, leadoff hitter Dan Gladden got a double thanks to a broken bat blooper that got by Brian Hunter. Ron Gant backed him up, but he was still able to get to second base.

Chuck Knoblauch executed a flawless sacrifice bunt to get Gladden over to third base. With Kirby Puckett at the plate, Braves manager Bobby Cox wanted no part of him, intentionally walking him instead. Cox made an interesting decision to load the bases by intentionally walking Kent Hrbek.

Tom Kelly had earlier used Jarvis Brown as a pinch runner for Chili Davis. With Brown scheduled to bat next, the Twins manager sent in injured utility infielder Gene Larkin to pinch hit. Larkin was healthy enough to hit a walk-off single, giving the Twins their second World Series since moving to Minnesota.

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1. 1960 – Pittsburgh Pirates versus New York Yankees

Only one Game 7 in the World Series has ended with a walk-off home run. That’s precisely what happened in the 1960 series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees. Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski etched his name in history with a walk-off home run to start the bottom of the ninth inning. It turned out to be the staple of his Hall of Fame case, with his induction finally occurring in 2001.

Even before the memorable home run, it was a terrific game. The Pirates jumped out to an early 4-0 lead thanks to Rocky Nelson’s two run homer and Bill Virdon’s two RBI single. However, the Yankees weren’t quite dead yet. They struck back in the fifth inning with a solo home run from Bill Skowron.

New York took a 5-4 lead thanks to a four run sixth inning, led by a three run homer by catcher Yogi Berra. They had a 7-4 lead after scoring two runs in the top of the eighth. However, the Pirates grabbed a 9-7 lead with five runs in the bottom of the inning. Hal Smith hit a three run homer to give Pittsburgh that lead.

The Yankees scored twice in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game. Mazeroski ended it as the first batter of the bottom of the ninth.