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EXPECT
THE UNEXPECTED After watching Arizona win the record setting game six by the score of 15-2 over the Yankees, two thoughts came to mind. The first thought was simply, wow! Arizona unleashed an offensive barrage, the likes of which have not been seen very often in World Series play. The Diamondbacks got a World Series record 22 hits in the game and set another record as nine different players recorded an RBI. The eight runs and nine hits in the third inning were both the second highest totals in World Series history, as was the 13-run margin of victory. Matt Williams tied the record with two hits in one inning and became the first player to hit two doubles in one inning. Danny Batista collected five RBIs in the game, the second most in World Series history. Tony Womack tied the record for most at bats in a nine-inning game. Every player in the starting lineup had a base hit. Even Randy Johnson had a hit, an RBI and scored two runs. The list could go on and on. But broken down it all means the same thing. That Arizona has forced a deciding game seven. Which leads to my second thought. What should we expect from this game seven? It has been a World Series that has had just about everything. If Don Larson were here, we would have it all. This World Series will go down as one of the most memorable and exciting of all time. Like all other exciting World Series though, the most memorable part will be what happens in game seven. Game Seven. It is what every player dreams of. Playing in that last game of the World Series with the championship on the line. The only question is who will step up and write the final chapter of this Series? And what can we expect that final chapter to say? There is little doubt that whatever happens will be something spectacular, especially given the way the first six games have gone. Can we expect to see something we have already seen in past game seven thrillers? Or something completely new? We have already seen some clutch pitching performances in past game sevens. Bob Gibson recording his third World Series win with a complete game performance in 1967 for St. Louis, only to be outdone the following year by Mickey Lolich for Detroit who accomplished the same feat. In 1971, Steve Blass of Pittsburgh pitched a one run, complete game win over Baltimore, only to be immortalized later for not being able to find the plate. Perhaps one of the best performances by a pitcher came in 1965, when Sandy Koufax threw a complete game, three-hit shutout to carry the Dodgers to the title. That may have only been outdone by Jack Morris pitching a 10-inning, complete game shutout, allowing just four hits as the Twins beat Atlanta 1-0 for the title in 1991. We have also seen some clutch hitting performances in past game sevens. Florida won the championship in 1997 with an 11th inning RBI single by Edgar Renteria to score Craig Counsell, then of the Marlins, and now a member of the Diamondbacks. Joe Morgan hit an RBI single in 1975 to lift Cincinnati over Boston in one of the greatest World Series of all time. Then there was perhaps the greatest ending of a game seven in World Series history. Game seven in 1960 saw defensive specialist Bill Mazeroski hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Pittsburgh to a 10-9 win over the Yankees. Whatever happens in game seven, it will likely rank up there with these past performances. It may be a similar performance to something we have seen in the past, or it could be something completely different, just like every other game thus far in the series. Going into game seven, it is interesting to note that there are just six players on the two teams who have even played in a game seven of the World Series. Four of those six actually played in game seven and only two of the six have come out on the winning end. It matches two 20-game winners in a game seven for just the sixth time in World Series history, and the first since 1985. It is the eighth time since 1979 the Series has gone to a game seven, and 1979 marks the last time that a road team won game seven. What do those facts mean going into this game seven? Probably nothing. After all, this World Series has given us everything that we did not expect. Why should game seven be any different.
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