30 greatest World Series in MLB history
5. Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets, 1986
Aside from a 1-0 pitcher’s duel in Game 1, there was nothing exciting about the first five games of the 1986 World Series. Games two through five were decided by an average four-and-a-half runs.
The final two games of the series, however, had more than enough drama to make up for a lack of excitement in the previous four.
Game 6 went back-and-forth throughout, and featured four lead changes. American League Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens delivered a four-hit, eight-strikeout performance for the Red Sox, leaving them with a 3-2 lead heading into the final two frames. The Mets tied things up in the bottom of the eighth, though, sending the game to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Boston took a two-run lead. The Red Sox retired the first two batters of the bottom half of the inning, and stood just one out away from the franchise’s first World Series victory in 68 years.
Then, everything came crashing down.
Three singles and a wild pitch later, and the Mets had tied the game. With the winning run on second base, Mookie Wilson hit a routine roundball in the direction of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. The ball tok an unexpected hop, Buckner allowed it to pass through his legs and the rest is history.
Boston took an early lead in Game 7, but an eight-run explosion during the late innings carried New York to its second World Series title.
Mets third baseman Ray Knight took home MVP honors after recording five RBI and four runs while hitting .391 at the plate, but undeservedly or not, it is Buckner whose name will always be associated with the 1986 World Series.
Next: 4. New York Yankees vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1960