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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(Original Caption) After smashing the Brooklyn Dodgers, 10-6, in the fifth World Series game, October 9, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, these 1949 World Champion New York Yankees have good cause to cheer. Gathered here are: (left to right) Gene Woodling, Phil Rizzuto, Cliff Mapes, manager Casey Stengel, and Gus Niarhos with Joe Page in front of him.
(Original Caption) After smashing the Brooklyn Dodgers, 10-6, in the fifth World Series game, October 9, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, these 1949 World Champion New York Yankees have good cause to cheer. Gathered here are: (left to right) Gene Woodling, Phil Rizzuto, Cliff Mapes, manager Casey Stengel, and Gus Niarhos with Joe Page in front of him. /

5. Dodgers and Yankees clinch pennants on final day, 1949

The fact that Major League Baseball once played an entire season with two teams heading directly to the World Series without any type of playoff system is still almost impossible to wrap one’s head around. It’s even harder to imagine both league pennants being up for grabs on the final day of the year, but 1949 was a pennant race for the ages.

As has been the case in so many pennant races in MLB history, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were the last two teams standing in the American League on the final day of the 1949 season. The Yankees had been in sole possession of first place from April 21 to September 25, but began coming back to the field at the end of the year. In his second MVP season, Ted Williams batted .361/.506/.679 with 23 home runs and 74 RBI in the second half, trying to do everything in his power to keep the Red Sox on the heels of the Yankees.

In the end, the Yankees were too much for the Red Sox. They found their way at the last possible moment, sweeping the final series of the year. The Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals did battle on the NL side, with St. Louis suffering a key four-game losing streak in September to hand the pennant to the Dodgers.

The Yankees won the World Series over the Dodgers 4-1 to start a run of five World Series crowns in a row. The Dodgers lost the World Series two more times before finally winning their first in 1955.

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