ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A season that was nearly cut short has been extended as far as it can go.
This will be the 35th winner-take-all Game 7 in World Series history, games filled with heroes and goats, legends and myths.
The previous three Game 7s were among the best ever: Jack Morris pitching all 10 innings as the Twins beat the Braves 1-0 in 1991; the Marlins rallying to beat the Indians 3-2 in 11 innings in 1997; and the Diamondbacks scoring twice off the invincible Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth in 2001.
Last year's Game 7 starters were Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. This season features the unlikely matchup of a rookie (John Lackey) and a pitcher who led his league in losses (Livan Hernandez).
Let's look into the memorable history of Game 7.
Biggest heroes
1. Bill Mazeroski, 1960 Pirates. The only man ever to end Game 7 of the World Series with a home run, Maz's bottom-of-the-ninth blast gave the Pirates a 10-9 win over the Yankees.
2. Johnny Podres, 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. Brooklyn had lost to the hated Yankees in 1941, '47,' 49, '52 and '53. The Dodgers had lost in 1916 and '20 as well. But, pitching in Yankee Stadium, the 22-year-old left-hander (who had gone just 9-10 during the regular season) finally delivered Brooklyn its World Series dream, scattering eight hits to beat the Yankees 2-0.
3. Jack Morris, 1991 Twins. Others have pitched shutouts in Game 7, but Morris had to pitch 10 innings for his win, capping off the most exciting World Series of all time.
4. Walter Johnson, 1924 Senators. At age 36, the Big Train -- perhaps the greatest pitcher ever -- finally reached the Fall Classic. But he lost Games 1 and 5. When the Senators tied up Game 7 in the eighth against the New York Giants, Johnson came on in the ninth and pitched four scoreless innings of relief as Washington finally won, 4-3 in 12 innings.
5. Willie Stargell, 1979 Pirates. Pops went 4-for-5, including a two-run homer in the sixth that gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead en route to a 4-1 win over the Orioles.
Biggest goats
1. Fred Snodgrass, 1912 New York Giants. Snodgrass muffed a flyball in the 10th inning, leading to the winning run scoring for the Red Sox in a 3-2 win.
2. Tony Fernandez, 1997 Indians. Fernandez let a routine groundball -- one that would have likely ended the 11th inning with a double play -- slip through his legs and the Marlins went on to score the winning run.
3. Lonnie Smith, 1991 Braves. With the game tied 0-0 against the Twins, Smith singled to lead off the eighth. Terry Pendleton doubled to deep left-center, a hit that should have easily scored Smith. However, Smith lost the ball and fell for second baseman Chuck Knoblauch's deke. He had to stop at third and Morris escaped the jam, getting Sid Bream to ground into a 3-2-3 double play.
4. Johnny Pesky, 1946 Red Sox. The Cardinals and Red Sox were tied 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth with Enos Slaughter on first base with two outs. Harry Walker doubled into left-center (the myth-makers say it was a single, but, he was credited with a double) but Slaughter didn't stop at third. Pesky, the Boston shortstop, hesitated on his relay throw and then threw wide as Country scored the winning run.
5. Babe Ruth, 1926 Yankees. The Cardinals led 3-2 in the ninth when Ruth drew a two-out walk. With cleanup hitter Bob Meusel up, Ruth tried to steal second. Catcher Bob O'Farrell threw him out. Series over.
Truth or legend?
Pete Alexander was on the mound when Ruth was caught stealing and that's only part of the Game 7 story from 1926. Alexander, 39, had pitched a complete-game victory in Game 6 and, as the story goes, had a drink or eight afterwards to celebrate. But manager Rogers Hornsby summoned Ol' Pete from the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and the bases loaded and St. Louis clinging to that one-run lead.
Tony Lazzeri lined a 1-1 pitch just foul down the third-base line. Alexander, picked up on waivers from the Cubs in June, then fanned him to end the inning. Some say Alexander was hungover when he came in, but Alexander always contended he didn't celebrate late into the night, because Hornsby had said he may be used.
Shutouts galore
Don't expect a shutout the way the Giants and Angels have been hitting. In nine of the previous 34 Game 7s, that's exactly what happened. We mentioned Morris and Podres. The others:
Babe Adams, 1909 Pirates. The rookie blanked the Tigers 8-0 for his third complete-game win of the Series.
Dizzy Dean, 1934 Cardinals. Diz, who won 30 games that year, pitched a six-hitter as the Cards whipped the Tigers 11-0.
Johnny Kucks, 1956 Yankees. Kucks pitched a three-hitter and Yogi Berra hit two home runs as New York walloped Brooklyn 9-0.
Lew Burdette, 1957 Braves. Allowed seven hits against the Yankees to win his third game of the Series.
Ralph Terry, 1962 Yankees. Terry, who served up Mazeroski's homer in 1960, beat Jack Sanford and the Giants 1-0. In the bottom of the ninth, Matt Alou reached on a bunt single and Willie Mays doubled with two outs, with Roger Maris making a good play to hold Alou at third. Willie McCovey then lined out to second baseman Bobby Richardson to end the game. Two inches higher and the Giants win.
Sandy Koufax, 1965 Dodgers. Koufax came back on two days' rest and beat the Twins 2-0 (his second straight shutout), allowing three hits while fanning 10.
Bret Saberhagen, 1985 Royals. The Royals had won Game 6 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth, setting up 20-game winners Saberhagen and John Tudor of the Cardinals for Game 7. The 21-year-old Saberhagen pitched a five-hitter as Kansas City won 11-0.
Gettin' ugly
Two of the above games featured ugly on-field incidents. In 1934 at Tiger Stadium (where the Cardinals had also won Game 6), Joe Medwick tripled in the sixth inning to make it 8-0 and slid hard into third baseman Marv Owen. When he went out to left field, Tiger fans pelted him with bottles, fruit and other debris. Commissioner Landis ordered Medwick to come out of the game.
In 1985, Whitey Herzog and the Cardinals embarrasingly self-destructed on more than the scoreboard. During a six-run fifth, Herzog and pitcher Joaquin Andujar were ejected in a stormy scene with the umpires.
Unlikely Game 7 starters
The unusual matchup of Hernandez and Lackey surely qualifies as one of most unanticipated pairings of Game 7 starters. It brings to mind the 1947 game between Brooklyn's Hal Gregg and New York's Spec Shea. No Dodger pitcher had lasted even five innings, but Gregg, who had gone 4-5 with a 5.88 ERA, had pitched well twice in long relief and got the start. Shea was a rookie, who had pitched well at 14-5, 3.07 ERA. Neither pitcher lasted past the fourth and the Yankees won 5-2.
Some others:
Don Larsen, who had an undistinguished except for his World Series perfect game, is one of only three pitchers to start Game 7 more than once (Bob Gibson did it three times and Larsen faced Burdette in '57 and '58). He didn't get out of the third in either start.
Joe Black, another rookie, started only twice in the regular season for Brooklyn in 1952, but started three times in the World Series, including Game 7 (he lost).
Two Game 7s not remembered because of Game 6
1975: Reds 4, Red Sox 3
The Red Sox scored three in the third off Don Gullett for a 3-0 lead, but Tony Perez hit a two-run homer off Bill Lee's blooper pitch in the sixth. The Reds tied it in the seventh. The winning run came against rookie reliever Jim Burton in the top of the ninth. Ken Griffey Sr. walked and reached third on a sacrifice and groundout. After Pete Rose walked, Joe Morgan singled in the winning run with a blooper to center.
1986: Mets 8, Red Sox 5
After blowing Game 6, the Red Sox led 3-0 entering the bottom of the sixth. The Mets scored three off Bruce Hurst to tie it. Game 6 loser Calvin Schiraldi came on in the seventh and Ray Knight greeted him with a go-ahead homer. The Mets went ahead 6-3 but the Red Sox made it 6-5 in the eighth and had a runner on second with no outs. But they couldn't score and New York added two more runs.
Random factoids
Two teams entered the ninth inning of Game 7 with a lead and lost the game. You may remember them: the 1997 Indians led the Marlins 2-1, but Florida tied the game with a run off Jose Mesa. And last year, when Luis Gonzalez bloooped a single over a drawn-in Yankee infield.
Also, in Game 8 in 1912 (there had been a tie), the Giants scored a run in the top of the 10th, but the Red Sox scored two in the bottom of the inning.
Bill Skowron of the 1956 Yankees hit the only Game 7 grand slam.
Yogi Berra, also 1956, is the only player with a two-homer game in Game 7.
Best relief outing in Game 7? Try Joe Page of the '47 Yankees, who pitched five innings of one-hit relief as the Yankees beat the Dodgers 5-2.
Six games have had pitchers who won 20 games that year, but only one Game 7 saw two starters who were both elected to the Hall of Fame: the 1926 game with Jesse Haines (Cardinals) and Waite Hoyt (Yankees).
Only two games have featured two starters who both would win 200 games in their careers. The 1940 game featured Paul Derringer (223) and Bobo Newsom (211) and 1968 game featured Bob Gibson (254) and Mickey Lolich (217).
Top five greatest games
5. 1946: Cardinals 4, Red Sox 3
St. Louis led 3-1 in the eighth as starter Murry Dickson had allowed only one hit since the first. But Boston got two pinch-hits to knock out Dickson. Harry Brecheen, who had won Games 2 and 6, came on in relief and got two outs but gave up a two-run double to Dom DiMaggio to tie the game and then retired Ted Williams on a pop-up. St. Louis scored in the bottom of the eighth when Slaughter beat Pesky's throw home. The Red Sox opened the ninth with singles from Rudy York and Bobby Doerr. A forceout put runners at first and third, but Brecheen got a popout and groundout to win the game.
4. 1924: Senators 4, Giants 3 (12 innings)
It wasn't well-played (the teams combined for seven errors), but was the longest Game 7 ever. Washington led 1-0 when New York scored three in the sixth. But Washington tied it in the bottom of the eighth when player/manager Bucky Harris hit a bad-hop two-run single over third baseman Fred Lindstrom. Walter Johnson came on in relief and shut the Giants down for four innings. The winning run came when Muddy Ruel doubled with one out -- after catcher Hank Gowdy had stumbled on his mask chasing a foul pop and dropped the ball. Johnson reached on an error to put runners at first and second. Earl McNeely then grounded to third -- and the ball took another bad hop over Lindstrom's head for the Series-winning run.
3. 2001: Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2
In a World Series that featured just about everything, this game had two 20-game winners squaring off in Clemens and Schilling. The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the eighth when rookie Alfonso Soriano homered off Schilling. Johnson, another 20-game winner came on and slammed the door and then Arizona scored two runs off Rivera, who had recorded 23 straight postseason saves. Tony Womack delivered a big double, Rivera threw away a bunt and Gonzalez won it with his blooper.
2. 1991: Twins 1, Braves 0 (10 innings)
A World Series that featured three extra-inning games, five games decided by one run and four games won in the final at-bat, ended with Morris going the distance with his famous gem. The winning scored when Dan Gladden blooped a hustle double into left-center and scored on Gene Larkin's single.
And the best ever ...
1960: Pirates 10, Yankees 9
New York outscored Pittsburgh 55-27 and outhit the Pirates 91-60. But Pittsburgh won all the close games, including a riveting back-and-forth Game 7. The Pirates led 4-0 after two, but New York scored one in the fifth, four in the sixth and two in the eighth to lead 7-4. Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek was knocked out of the game in the bottom of the eighth when a groundball bounced off his throat. New York led 7-6 when Hal Smith, who had replaced starting catcher Smokey Burgess in the eighth after Burgess had been pinch-run for, belted a three-run homer to give Pittsburgh a 9-7 lead.
Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh brought in 18-game winner Bob Friend, the Game 6 starter, to protect the 9-7 lead. But he gave up two hits and Harvey Haddix gave up an RBI single to Mickey Mantle. A key play followed when Yogi Berra grounded sharply to first baseman Rocky Nelson, who stepped on first for the second out. Mantle, knowing he couldn't reach second, scurried back to first (the force was now off) and avoided Nelson's tag as the tying run scored.
Ralph Terry, who had finally gotten the final out of the eighth, pitched to Bill Mazeroski leading off the bottom of the ninth.
Maz took ball one and then drilled a home run over the left-field wall at Forbes Field.
World Series champions.
