From a Game 1 walk-off home run to a last-inning rally that saved the series, these World Series highlights helped make this year’s championship one of baseball’s most memorable. It also marked the return of two teams to their first championship in twelve and twenty-two years respectively — the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Corey Seager-led Dodgers made it a three-peat with a 1-0 victory over the Yankees in Game 5. Shohei Ohtani, who was a superstar as both a pitcher and hitter this season, has now finally won a World Series ring after moving to America from Japan in 2018 and having a record-breaking season. His leadoff single in Game 5 sparked the two-run rally against a Yankee bullpen that included a bizarre catcher’s interference call against Aaron Judge.
On the other hand, New York’s Jeurys Familia came careening down to Earth after bringing a 0.00 ERA into Game 5. He would blow all of his save opportunities in the series, letting the Kansas City Royals back into Game 6 with his blown saves. Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas would send the game to extra innings with a pair of RBI singles in the 14th inning.
The 2004 World Series was a remarkable affair that ended with the Boston Red Sox breaking their 86-year drought known as “The Curse of the Bambino”. This series is remembered for Bill Buckner’s infamous error in Game 6, which became the defining moment of a collapse that entered the lexicon of baseball superstitions.