Major League Baseball is the oldest of the major professional sports leagues in the US and Canada, with upwards of 25 million viewers per season, with digital viewership increasing year on year, and attracting sports fans and gamblers alike. At the outset of the season, current title holders Los Angeles Dodgers looked to be the team to beat, but currently, they are just third in their division, with 23 wins, compared to the 25 wins of the leading teams, with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres looking to be the teams to beat.
Mere days ago Austin Nola homered a career-high six runs, leading the San Diego padres to a 13-3 win against the St. Louis Cardinals. The rest of the league is equally exciting, with many of the leagues a very tight race at the top, with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Oakland Athletics all topping their regional divisions with 25 wins so far. Often favorites for betting, the New York Yankees are towards the bottom of their league, and the Mets, another New York Team, though topping their league have yet to shine. For all your betting needs, you can find all the baseball picks for today quickly and easily using OLBG.
1954 World Series
The one where the New York Giants swept the floor with the Cleveland Indians
Sports Team History FILE - In this Oct. 5, 1933, file photo, President Franklin D. Roosevelt prepares to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at at Griffith Stadium in Washington, before Game 3 of baseball's World Series between as Washington Senators manager Joe Cronin, third from right, and New York Giants manager Bill Terry, second from right, look on. The President uncorked an almost wild throw that sent the players scrambling. In clinching a playoff spot, the Washington Nationals put the nation's capital in baseball's postseason for the first time in nearly 80 years. (AP Photo/File)
The Indians were sure favorites to win, having eliminated the Yankees (the 1953 winners), won a record 111 games out of the 154 game season, and current American League Champions. This was to be the first time the Indians were swept in a World Series, and the first time the Giants had swept an opponent in four games.
The first game was marked by ‘The Catch’, a spectacular piece of gameplay by center fielder Willie Mays who managed to catch a ball over his shoulder whilst on the run to record the out and followed this up with a throw to the infield that stopped other runners advancing. The Giants won the game 5-2 and ‘The Catch’ has gone down in history as one of the greatest plays in baseball history. From there, The Giants continued their dominance, beating the Indians 3-1, 6-2, and 7-4 to take the title for the first time since 1933.
1995 American League West
The one where the Seattle Mariners won their first ALW title
Before 1995, the Mariners had never qualified for the playoffs and had finished over .500 just twice in 18 years. Throughout the 1995 season, it looked like the city that had lost its first franchise, the Seattle Pilots, after just one year were heading the same way: by the mid-season, they were 53-53 and 12.5 games behind the first-placed California Angels.
However, the highly unlikely happened: coupled with a blinder of the second half of the season, and a fortuitous (for the Mariners, at least) collapse of the Angels’ game, meant that at the end of the season the Mariners were tied for first place, and they continued their strong form defeating the Angels to take the title. Though they ultimately lost the American League Championship Series to the Cleveland Indians, the 1995 season rekindled Seattle’s love for baseball.
1966 World Series
The one where the newbie team Baltimore Orioles defeated incumbent champions the Los Angeles Dodgers
Sports Team History 1966-baltimore-orioles World Series
In their first World Series after moving to Baltimore, no one could have imagined that the Orioles would pose much of a challenge to any team, let alone the Dodgers. They did, after all, have top players Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, and the Orioles' most famous player, Babe Ruth, was long gone.
However, the O’s came together and not only managed to hold the Dodger hitters to a record low batting average of .142 and just 2 runs over the four games (both in the first game), but managed to shine, with Jim Palmer becoming the youngest pitcher ever to win a complete game at just 20 years old.
1906 World Series
The one where two Chicago teams faced off
The 1906 World Series was a very uneven match between the Chicago Cubs, posting the highest regular-season win (116) and highest winning percentage (.763), and the Chicago White Sox, known as the ‘Hitless Wonders’ who finished with the worst batting average of any team, of just .228. This was the first World Series played by teams from the same city, and the only time both Chicago teams qualified for the playoffs in over 100 years.
The first four games were split, with both teams having a fairly tough time and low batting rate; though where the Cubs decreased, the Sox increased. It was in the final two games that the Sox really made a mark, getting stronger and stronger and causing what was, and still is, one of the biggest upsets in MLB history.
These are just some of the upsets that have happened throughout the years of MLB. Every few years a team comes along that is able to shake things up, showcase new talent, and a new way of playing. Keep following this season to see what else could happen in this fast-paced and highly dynamic sport.
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