The Backyard Batting Cage

The World Series of Baseball was first played in 1904   Since then, it has been played every year except for one.  The 1904 World Series pitted teams from the National League against the teams from the American League.  There have been scandals and incidents that have occurred throughout the World Series that actually threatened the sport of baseball. 

The first big scandal to hit the world of baseball happened at the 1919 World Series between the Boston Red Stockings and the Chicago White Sox.  The White Sox were dubbed “the Black Sox” after this series when it was discovered that gamblers approached the team and got them to throw the series for $100,000.  Eight men were banned for life from the game of baseball and the series went to the Red Sox.  The most famous of the “eight men out” was Joe “Shoeless” Jackson.  Movies and books have been written about this event and many make Jackson out to be innocent.  Although he was not the ringleader, historians believe he was in on the fix.  Whether or not he did it in fear for his life or because of the money is anyone’s guess.   Seven men were convicted of actually throwing the game and an eighth many was convicted of knowing about the fix but  not saying anything.  They were all subsequently banned for life from the game of baseball. 

After that scandal, baseball cracked down on gambling.  Anyone caught consorting with gamblers risked being banned from the sport.  What very few people realize is that before the 1919 game, it was routine that games were fixed by gamblers. 

Seventy years later, the San Francisco Earthquake actually shook Candlestick Park right before the first game of the 1989 world series.  The earthquake hit just as the ball players were warming up and the stands were packed.  Fortunately, no one at the ball park was injured, although 64 people died during this earthquake and the world series was postponed.

In 1994, baseball players went on strike looking for better salaries.  The 1994 world series was not played this year and threatened the entire sport.  It took several years for fans to return to the love of the game.

The World Series is played in October of every year and signifies the end of the baseball season that begins in the early Spring.  The New York Yankees hold the record of having the most wins of all of the World Series games.