Fansided

Top 25 MLB pennant races of all time

By Joshua Sadlock

(Original Caption) Bucky Dent is a happy fellow as he jumps on home plate and is greeted by Roy White and Chris Chambliss after he hit a three-run home run in the 7th inning at Fenway Park.
(Original Caption) Bucky Dent is a happy fellow as he jumps on home plate and is greeted by Roy White and Chris Chambliss after he hit a three-run home run in the 7th inning at Fenway Park. /
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American baseball player Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers slides into third base as he steals in 104th base for the season (setting a league record) during the third game of the playoffs against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, October 3, 1962. The Giants won the game and series, advancing to the World Series (where they were defeated by the New York Yankees). (Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images)
American baseball player Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers slides into third base as he steals in 104th base for the season (setting a league record) during the third game of the playoffs against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, October 3, 1962. The Giants won the game and series, advancing to the World Series (where they were defeated by the New York Yankees). (Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images) /

10. Giants and Dodgers finish tied, 1962

If Major League Baseball ever decides to do away with the one-game Wild Card system and go to a three-game series, the Commissioner can look to the 1962 playoff between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants for inspiration.

In 1962, the Dodgers and Giants both 101 games, but it was a late slide by the Dodgers with nine losses in their final 12 games that allowed the Giants to make up a four-game deficit and pull into a tie on the final day of the year. At that time, teams who finished tied for the pennant played a three-game tiebreaker to determine who would advance to the World Series. Both teams had more wins than the AL pennant-winning New York Yankees, but that mattered not in pre-division baseball.

This was the first time in the league’s West Coast experiment that Los Angeles and San Francisco would figure heavily in the league’s narrative at the same time. There was plenty of star power to enjoy in this matchup, with Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale at the height of their powers, Maury Wills running wild on the bases and the Giants star-studded lineup that featured Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda and Felipe Alou.

The Giants shelled Koufax in Game 1 and cruised to an 8-0 victory. They also had a big lead in Game 2, but blew it and fell to the Dodgers 8-7. Game 3 was just as dramatic, with the Dodgers blowing a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth and losing 6-4. The Giants won the playoff, but went down in seven games to the Yankees in the World Series.

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