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. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
18 of 25
Next
BOSTON – OCTOBER 1967: Outfielder Carl (Yaz) Yaztrzemski #8 of the Boston Red Sox bats during a 1967 World Geries game in Fenway Park in October 1967 against the St. Louis Cardinals in Boston, Massachusetts . (Photo by Herb Scharfman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images)
BOSTON – OCTOBER 1967: Outfielder Carl (Yaz) Yaztrzemski #8 of the Boston Red Sox bats during a 1967 World Geries game in Fenway Park in October 1967 against the St. Louis Cardinals in Boston, Massachusetts . (Photo by Herb Scharfman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images) /

8. Four-team race, 1967

Major League Baseball was still two years away from going to divisional play in 1967 when the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, California Angels and Chicago White Sox engaged in one of the best pennant races of all time. All four teams were in it entering the final days of the regular season.

This would prove to be the year for the “Impossible Dream” Red Sox. Boston had floundered for the better part of a decade at the end of Ted Williams’ career and immediately following his retirement. By 1967, the Red Sox were trying to finish with a winning record for the first time since 1958.

Carl Yastrzemski was the big hero for the Red Sox in 1967. He won the Triple Crown and the AL MVP award, finishing with a .326/.418/.622 line with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. Jim Lonborg did the heavy lifting for the pitching staff, winning 22 games.

The Red Sox did not lead the American League by themselves a single day in the month of September and spent only six days in first place all season. On the final day of the year, they needed to win and have the Detroit Tigers lose at least one game of a doubleheader with the Angels. The Red Sox got their 5-3 win over the Twins and the Tigers did their part, sending the Red Sox to the World Series.

Home/MLB