T H E E X A M I N ER54 SU N DAY, NOV E M BER 1, 2009
10 2008:
Phinally!
We begin at the end, with the current kings of
baseball, the Phillies, who overcame terrible
weather and rode the strong pitching of Cole
Hamels to their first title in 25 years. Brad
Lidge (48 consecutive saves in the regular
season and playoffs) struck out Eric Hinske
for the final out of Game 5.
9 2006:
Timid Tigers
The Tigers breezed into the World Series as
heavy favorites over the 83-win Cardinals,
but left on the wrong end of an ugly five-game
defeat. Detroit committed eight errors and
became the first team since the 1990 Brew-
ers to have a pitcher make at least one error
in five straight games.
8 2000:
All aboard!
It's likely that no one outside of the New York
metropolitan area actually watched the Sub-
way Series between the Mets and Yankees.
They missed a heck of a show. Three of the
five games were decided by one run, including
Game 1, a 4-3 Yankees win that took 12 innings
and almost five hours to complete.
7 2009:
Ut-oh!
In the history of the Fall Classic, only one left-
handed batter (Babe Ruth) had hit two home
runs in one game off a left-handed pitcher. Then
Chase Utley duplicated the feat Wednesday
night, homering twice off CC Sabathia to stake
the Phillies to a 2-0 lead in their Game 1 win.
6 2002:
Snow gets a save
After scoring on a Kenny Lofton triple in
Game 5 -- and with runner David Bell hot on
his heels -- Snow prevented an awful colli-
sion at the plate by scooping up three-year-old
Giants batboy Darren Baker (son of manager
Dusty Baker), who had gone out to remove
Lofton's bat before the play was over.
5 2001:
Aura and mystique
With his two-out home run in the ninth inning
of Game 4, Yankees first baseman Tino Mar-
tinez became the first player in 72 years to
hit a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth
inning of a World Series game. But Martinez
didn't remain alone for long. The following
night, teammate Scott Brosius did the exact
same thing.
4 2003:
Brilliant Beckett
The Marlins were heavy underdogs. The Yan-
kees were perhaps feeling the hangover of their
dramaticALCSagainsttheRedSox.JoshBeck-
ett didn't care either way. The Florida righty
was dominant in two starts, striking out 19
batters in 16.1 innings and spinning a complete
game five-hitter in the clinching Game 6.
3 2005:
Wild walkoff
Light-hitting Scott Podsednik had not homered
in 568 regular season and playoff at-bats when
he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning of
Game 2 against Astros closer Brad Lidge. That
changed in a hurry, as the White Sox outfielder
became the first player with zero home runs in
a season to hit a World Series walkoff.
2 2004:
Curse-busters
The icing on the cake of the Red Sox' magical
playoff run was a rout of the 105-win Cardinals
in the Fall Classic for their first champion-
ship in 86 years. Boston scored 24 runs in
the four-game sweep as three of the four St.
Louis starters failed to make it through the
fifth inning.
1 2001:
Gonzo's broken bat
In perhaps the most dramatic moments of the
most dramatic World Series ever played, the
Diamondbacks rallied from a run down in the
ninth inning against Yankees closer Mariano
Rivera in Game 7. Arizona outfielder Luis Gon-
zalez dealt the final blow with a broken-bat
bloop single over shortstop for the series-win-
ning hit.
FIRE BACK!: Think we missed something? Have a list of your own? Send us
your comments at www.washingtonexaminer.com/bios/top10.html
World Series
moments since 2000
Perhaps no championship event in the history of sport has provided us with as many
iconic moments as the World Series: Babe Ruth called his shot; Kirk Gibson limped
around the bases. Here's a look at some of the best moments from the past 10 Fall Classics:
By Examiner Staff Writer James Irwin
GETTY IMAGES
Luis Gonzalez's broken-bat single against Mariano
Rivera knocked out the Yankees in a come-from-
behind win in 2001's Game 7.
1
SPORTS Top 10
There's no mathematical formula to determine
the best team of the decade. But there are
statistics -- and plenty of them -- to
back up just about any opinion within
reason. Three teams, the Phillies, the
Red Sox and the Yankees, have separated
themselves from the chase pack. Each has a
compelling case to make.
Nothing will be settled until the cur-
rent Fall Classic is over. A Yankees World
Series win likely keeps the TOTD award in
the Bronx. But a Phillies win will create a
huge debate, especially in Philadelphia and
Boston.
Should the Phillies win, they will have
won the final two World Series of the
decade, becoming the first National
League team to win back-to-back titles
since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds. Philadel-
phia ended the decade by winning three division
titles in a row and emerging as the clear
Alpha Dog of the senior circuit.
If the Yankees win the World Series,
they also will have two titles in the
decade, along with four American
League pennants and nine playoff appear-
ances. New York also won 965 regular
season games from 2000-2009, tops
in baseball.
Finally, there's the team that already
has two championships this decade:
the Red Sox, who swept their way to two
World Series in as many appearances. Bos-
ton also reached the playoffs six times
and won 920 regular season games.
* - Decade running from 2000-2009
jirwin@washingtonexaminer.com
Team of the decade?* It's up for grabs
GETTY IMAGES
In 2003, Josh Beckett dominated
the Yankees and the upstart Marlins
won in six games.
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