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10 greatest pennant chases in Major League Baseball history

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Oct 18, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate on the field after game six of the National League Championship Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate on the field after game six of the National League Championship Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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9. 1908: Merkle’s Boner, Tigers Win by Half-Game

If you ever feel compelled to complain that the Major League Baseball season is too long, remember that every single game counts in a pennant race. In fact, every play counts. If he were alive today, you could just ask Fred Merkle, whose base-running mistake cost the New York Giants the National League pennant in 1908.

The Giants hosted the Chicago Cubs on September 23, with the two teams tied for first place in the National League. With the scored tied 1-1 with two out in the bottom of the ninth, Merkle hit a single that advanced the would-be winning run to third base. The next hitter, Al Bridwell, appeared to win the game with a single to center field, but Merkle (reportedly thrown off by fans rushing the field) never touched second base and the Cubs forced him out after the potential winning run crossed home plate.

As an unnamed journalist wrote in a New York Times article titled “A Boner Buries the Giants”:

"Censurable stupidity on the part of player Merkle in today’s game at the Polo Grounds between the Giants and Chicagos placed the New York team’s chances of winning the pennant in jeopardy. His unusual conduct in the final inning of a great game perhaps deprived New York of a victory that would have been unquestionable had he not committed a breach in baseball play that resulted in Umpire O’Day declaring the game a tie."

Because of the controversy that ensued, the two teams played a makeup game on October 8. In what was a de facto one-game playoff for the National League pennant (the teams had identical 98-55 records that were each one game better than third place Pittsburgh), the Cubs won 4-2 and “Merkle’s Boner” became part of baseball legend.

As it turns out, the American League also had a remarkable pennant race in 1908. The Detroit Tigers secured the title with a 7-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on the final day of the season, which gave them a half-game lead in the standings over the Cleveland Naps.

The Cubs won the World Series, which is their last world championship to date.

Next: 1962 National League

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