By Rick Morris
^ Here’s one of
the strangest angles that we’ve come across in any sport. In
the LDS preview column, it was noted that the Royals and Angels combined
made it to the ALCS every year from 1976-86 except for 1981 and 1983 – but they
could never play each other there because both were in the AL West and under
the setup that existed from 1969-93, only one team from each division made it
to the postseason. Well, the Royals and
Orioles were in opposite divisions during those years, so nothing prevented
them from playing each other in the ALCS – except for some very strange
fate. From 1969-85, they combined to
make the ALCS 13 times in 17 seasons – but not once against each other!
^ With St. Louis and San Francisco
having met in the NLCS three times previously (1987, 2002 and 2012 – but never
in the NLDS), this fourth meeting marks only the third time that teams have
clashed this many times for a berth in the World Series. The other combo is the New York
Yankees/Kansas City (1976-78, 1980). But
there are two matchups that have occurred five times, Cincinnati/Pittsburgh
(1970, 1972, 1975, 1975, 1990) and the Los Angeles Dodgers/Philadelphia
(1977-78, 1983, 2008-09). But out of all
of those combinations, St. Louis/San Francisco is the most inexplicable one, as
the teams have had their meetings interrupted by more than a decade two
different times, meaning that they were trending upward in parallel fashion on
multiple occasions. This essentially
makes Cardinals/Giants the anti-Orioles/Royals.
The following matchups have occurred three times: the New York
Yankees/Boston (1998, 2003-04), Oakland/Boston (1975, 1988, 1990),
Oakland/Baltimore (1971, 1973-74).
^ St. Louis and San Francisco have now
gone 27 years from their first meeting in the NLCS in 1987. Is that the longest stretch from first
meeting to most recent? Not quite. Last year, St. Louis and the Los Angeles Dodgers
made it 28 years, from 1985 to 2013.
After the first edition of the NLCS in 1969, it took exactly 30 years
for the New York Mets and Atlanta to meet up again in ’99. But Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Dodgers
went even longer, bridging their rivalry at this level from 1977 to 2009, 32
years. The very longest, however, is 34
years, from 1972 to 2006 with Detroit and Oakland. Good news for St. Louis: they are the only team
on this list to win in both years, 1985 and 2013 against the Dodgers; every
other much-later-rematch was a reversed outcome from the previous time, a
positive omen for repeating 1987 against the Giants.
^ Given that in the LDS era teams from
the same division can play one another in the LCS, Baltimore and Kansas City
actually have a common opponent from LCS years past: the Yankees. The Royals lost to them from 1976-78, only to
break through in 1980. The Orioles lost
in the controversial Jeffrey Maier Series in 1996.
^ Baltimore and Kansas City both have
long LCS droughts: the Royals go back to 1985, while Baltimore made it in
1996-97, after having had a dry stretch going back to 1983. No team has had as much time between LCS
appearances as either the Orioles OR Royals: the closest is the Angels’
appearance in 2002 after 16 years, which of course culminated in their only
world championship.
^ Even with Baltimore’s drought, they
are the fourth franchise to make it to the ALCS in five out of the six decades
of existence, missing only the 2000s.
The Yankees and Red Sox are two of the other ones, each missing only the
1960s (which, in fairness, only consisted of 1969 as that was when the LCS was
invented). The other? Minnesota, who will have made the ALCS in
every decade if they manage it during the 2010s. Somehow, that doesn’t seem possible. Kansas City has now made it in three
different decades, the 1970s, 1980s and 2010s, tying them with Detroit, the Los
Angeles Angels and the Chicago White Sox and ranking them behind Oakland with
four.
^ St. Louis and San Francisco are squaring
off for the National League Championship with a one-year break between their
last matchup. This has happened a few
times previously. Oakland beat Boston in
the ALCS in 1988 and 1990, while Cincinnati topped Pittsburgh in the NLCS in
1970 and 1972. The New York Yankees beat
Kansas City in the 1978 ALCS, but the Royals reversed the outcome in 1980. The 1978 matchup was itself a rematch from
two years previous – but it’s also the only time that the same teams have
squared off three consecutive years. The
Yankees swept the 1976-78 meetings.
^ There is little to nothing in the way
of significant sports history between Baltimore and Kansas City. For St. Louis and San Francisco, it’s mainly
just these LCS meetings, although they have shared a rivalry in the NFC West
for 19 years – and will, in fact, renew it on Monday Night Football next week. Looking ahead to the World Series, Baltimore
and San Francisco have fairly little sports history between them. Kansas City and San Francisco,
notwithstanding having contested an NFL game last Sunday, have little sports
history between them as well – although their NFL teams shared the career of
Joe Montana. Baltimore and St. Louis
have a decent amount, as the Orioles are the relocated St. Louis Browns, who
won the American League pennant in 1944 and lost the World Series – to the St.
Louis Cardinals. Kansas City and San
Francisco, notwithstanding having contested an NFL game last Sunday, have
little sports history between them as well – although their NFL teams shared
the career of Joe Montana. But the most
significant sports history that would come into play with a World Series
matchup involves the 1985 “I-70 World Series” participants: Kansas City and St.
Louis. Perhaps Don Denkinger could throw
out the first pitch of Game 1. Too soon?
^ With a victory in the ALCS, Baltimore
will tie Oakland for the second-most amount of pennants in the LCS era with
6. Unsurprisingly, the Yankees lead with
11. A Royals win would give them their
third pennant of the LCS era, tying them with Detroit for fifth with 3.
^ San Francisco’s run of three pennants
since 2002 has installed them as the National League all-time leader with
22. Their hated rivals, the Los Angeles
Dodgers, are next with 21; they had taken the lead with their run of five
pennants from 1974-88, but have not won any since then. As a matter of fact, St. Louis is nipping at
their heels with 19. Paced by their
great run in the 1990s, Atlanta is next with 17 and the Chicago Cubs are
actually next with 16 – none of them recent, of course.
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