Game Notes, 10/30/2024 – World Series G5

In the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 1953 World Series, Brooklyn – facing elimination – was down two runs to the Yankees, only three outs away from seeing their season reach a dead end.  Gil Hodges flew out, but then Duke Snider drew a walk to bring Carl Furillo to the plate.  The right fielder then deposited an Allie Reynolds pitch into the right field seats, and suddenly, just like that, the game was tied and the Dodgers had a new avenue to follow.  Alas, the Yankees did what they often did in those years – brush off the quick turn of events to reinstall their dominance.  In the bottom half of the frame, Billy Martin’s single drove in the game and series-winning run:  Yankees 4, Dodgers 3, World Series over.  

Nearly one out of every three Fall Classics has concluded in a margin like this:  one run separating the teams in the final score of the final game, the slimmest of differentials being the difference between a title or, at the very least, one club resuscitating to force at least one more contest.  After the 1953 defeat and before 2024, the Dodgers had been in this spot on the map three other times – losses in 1966 (1-0 to the Orioles in Game 4) and 1974 (3-2 to the Athletics in Game 5); a 2-1 win over the Yankees in Game 4  in 1963.  Now, with the 2024 World Series journey complete, the ride has become a little less bumpy for the fans in Dodger Blue.

The Dodgers rallied from a 5-0 deficit to eke out a 7-6 win and claim the World Series title – the franchise’s eighth crown.

~The franchise’s eight World Series wins – in 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2020 and 2024 – matches the Dodgers with their eternal rivals, the Giants, for the fifth most.  The Yankees lead with 27, the Cardinals follow with 11, and the Red Sox and Athletics have nine.

~The Dodgers have defeated the Yankees four times in their 12 Fall Classic matchups:  1955, 1963, 1981 and 2024.  Those four Series wins over New York are the most for any franchise, moving Los Angeles ahead of St. Louis (the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in 1926, 1942 and 1964).

~In Game 4, the Dodgers had become the fourth team to be in line for a sweep and to drop that chance.  Like their predecessors – the 1910 Athletics, 1937 Yankees and 1970 Orioles – they came back to wrap up the Series in five.

~This World Series went only five games, but the two clubs were more evenly matched in the run-scoring, with the Dodgers plating 25 to the Yankees’ 24.

Some clinching game details:

~In their eight World Series clinching games, the Dodgers’ high in runs scored came in 1959 and 1981, when they tallied nine.  The 1981 victory came against the Yankees, of course.  New York’s high for runs allowed in a World Series-clinching loss is 10, courtesy of Bill Mazeroski and the 1960 Pirates.  

~There have been 120 World Series.  In the aggregate, a one-run game in the clincher is the most common outcome.  With the Dodgers’ 7-6 win in 2024 now part of the mix, there have been 37 clinchers to have come in at this tightest of margins.  This 2024 final game was the first to be decided by one run since the 2016 Fall Classic ended with the Cubs ahead of the Indians, 8-7 in 10 innings.  For the Dodgers, this 7-6 victory marked only their second clinching win by a single run, after their 2-1 margin to finish a sweep of the Yankees in 1963.  The Yankees have six clinching defeats by a one-run score (New York has been on the losing end of the Fall Classic 14 times).

~In this Game 5 win, the Dodgers used eight pitchers – the most ever in a World Series-clinching victory.  The previous high mark had been seven, shared by the 1992 Blue Jays and the 2020 Dodgers.

~The Yankees’ final line in this Game 5 loss included five unearned runs – the most ever for the losing team in a World Series clincher.  The previous high of four had been established by the 1911 Giants and matched by the 1925 Senators.  

~Nearly one-third (37 of 120) of the World Series winning clubs plated at least seven runs in the clincher.  Of these 37, the 2024 Dodgers are one of 11 to do so without the benefit of a home run.  It’s an interesting breakdown, in terms of when:

Five in the (World Series) Deadball Era, 1903-1919

1906 White Sox

1909 Pirates

1910 Athletics

1911 Athletics

1919 Reds

Four in the Liveball /Pre-Expansion Era, 1920-1960

1925 Pirates

1934 Cardinals

1945 Tigers

1954 Giants

Two in the Wild Card Era, 2012-2024

2015 Royals

2024 Dodgers

Freddie Freeman – named World Series MVP – didn’t homer, but the Dodgers first baseman did drive in two runs to finish the five-game World Series with 12 RBI and at least one in every game.

~The 12 RBI ties a World Series record, established by Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson in New York’s loss to Pittsburgh in 1960.  Before Freeman’s effort, the Dodgers record had been eight, shared by Duke Snider (1952) and Gil Hodges (1956).

~Freeman is one of four players to have at least one RBI in each of the first five World Series games in a year.  Danny Murphy was the first to do this, in 1910.  Amos Otis followed in 1980 and then Alex Bregman joined the club in 2017.

~Freeman’s final World Series rate stat line is highlighted by his 1.000 slugging percentage and 1.364 OPS.  For all Dodgers with a minimum of 12 plate appearances in a World Series, both of Freeman’s marks are higher than anyone else has ever produced.  The top-five for each category

Slugging Percentage

1.000 Freddie Freeman in 2024

.944 Joc Pederson in 2017

.840 Duke Snider in 1955

.833 David Freese in 2018

.828 Duke Snider in 1952

OPS

1.364 Freddie Freeman in 2024

1.344 Joc Pederson in 2017

1.333 David Freese in 2018

1.256 Corey Seager in 2020

1.215 Duke Snider in 1952

Dodgers World Series MVPs

1955 Johnny Podres

1959 Larry Sherry

1963 Sandy Koufax

1965 Sandy Koufax

1981 Steve Yeager, Pedro Guerrero, Ron Cey

1988 Orel Hershiser

2020 Corey Seager

2024 Freddie Freeman

Mookie Betts drove in two, including the go-ahead run in the eighth.  Betts’ sac fly late in the game was the first go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning or later in a clinching game since Ben Zobrist’s RBI double in the 10th inning of Game 7 for the Cubs in 2016.  

Walker Buehler fanned a pair in a perfect ninth to record a save.  The right-hander finished this World Series with one win (from his Game 3 start) and one save – he’s the first Dodger to have both a save and a win as a starter in a World Series.  

Teoscar Hernández drove in two runs (with a game-tying, two-run double in the fifth) and added a single in the clincher to finish the World Series with a team-leading .350 average.  In the Dodgers’ eight World Series titles, here’s the leading average hitter (min. 12 PA):

1955  Sandy Amorós           .333

1959  Gil Hodges                 .391

1963  Tommy Davis             .400

1965  Ron Fairly                  .379

1981  Steve Garvey             .417

1988  Mickey Hatcher          .368

2020  Corey Seager             .400

2020  Joc Pederson             .400

2024  Teoscar Hernández    .350

New York’s 3-4-5 hitters – Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton – homered in the Game 5 loss.  

~The last time the Yankees saw their 3-4-5 batters all go deep in the same game was a long time ago:  Game 3 of the 1939 Fall Classic when Charlie Keller, Joe DiMaggio and Bill Dickey did this against the Reds.  The Yankees won the game, 7-3.

~This was the first time – in a potential elimination game – any club’s 3-4-5 hitters all homered.

~This Game 5 loss marked the second time the Bronx Bombers dropped a World Series clincher when they hit at least three home runs.  The other defeat came in 1964’s Game 7, when Phil Linz, Mickey Mantle and Clete Boyer all homered (off Bob Gibson), but New York still lost, 7-5.

~Those two losses just referenced – in 1964 and 2024 – are the only two times any club has ever lost a clinching game when hitting three (or more) home runs.  Clubs are 12-2 when clubbing three or more home runs in a final World Series contest.

~ Chisholm’s homer gave him a World Series line of one home run and four steals.  There have been 23 players to record at least four stolen bases in a World Series, but only six of them added at least one longball to the overall performance.  

1993   Lenny Dykstra          4 HRs & 4 steals

1968   Lou Brock                 2 HRs & 7 steals

2020   Mookie Betts            2 HRs & 4 steals

1931   Pepper Martin           1 HR & 5 steals

1967   Lou Brock                 1 HR & 7 steals

2024   Jazz Chisholm, Jr.    1 HR & 4 steals

~Judge finished the Game 5 loss with six total bases (on a homer and a double), two walks and two RBI:  a pretty robust stat line for a clincher.  Judge is the 12th player to do this – at least six total bases, two RBI and four times reaching safely in the final game of a World Series.  He’s the first since Kirk Gibson in 1984 to do it and one of two to author this baseline in a defeat.  Fred Luderus – in the Phillies’ Game 5 loss to the Red Sox in 1915 – homered and doubled, drew a walk, was hit by a pitch, and drove in three.  

Juan Soto singled and drew three walks in the Game 5 loss.

~Soto finished the World Series with a .313/.522/.563 line.  All-time, he’s one of 109 to go .300/.500/.500 in a World Series (min. 12 PA).  He’s the first to do it in a losing effort since Yordan Alvarez for the Astros in 2019, the first Yankee to do this since Hideki Matsui in 2009, and the first Yankee to do it in a losing effort since Thurman Munson in 1976.

~Soto and Aaron Judge were both on base four times in this Game 5 loss.  They are two of 10 players in history to suffer a World Series-clinching defeat after reaching safely at least four times.  Before Soto and Judge, it had never happened to teammates.  Half the list is made up of Yankees, with Babe Ruth (G7, 1926), Thurman Munson (G4, 1976) and Willie Randolph (G6, 1981) preceding Soto and Judge.

Note:  Although there will be no more games this year to review, there will be another Game Notes coming:  within the next few days, there will be something put together to look back on the 2024 postseason as a whole.  If you’ve registered or subscribed, you should be receiving emailed alerts when new material is published and of course, you can check out our accounts on X, Facebook and Instagram for previews of new content.

Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.