2008 MLB World Series

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4 games to 1 to win the 2008 MLB World Series!

The wait is over and it’s finally time for the 2008 World Series! Last year’s World Series winners the Boston Red Sox scored a wild card berth but the Tampa Bay Rays shocked the world by beating them to take home the AL Pennant and securing a spot in the 2008 World Series (their first-ever trip there). Unfortunately for Chicago Cubs’ fans, 2008 wasn’t the year that brought the end to the “Curse of the Billy Goat”. The Philadelphia Phillies will represent the NL in the World Series this year. Though some fans have been disappointed, plenty more have been elated, and there’s still plenty of action to come. If you want to be there to see it all live, don’t wait, get your 2008 World Series tickets today!

How did all this World Series history begin? The first World Series between the AL and NL was in 1903. The World Series began when Pittsburgh of the older National League (founded in 1876) invited Boston of the American League (founded in 1901) to play a best-of-9 game series to determine which of the two league champions was the best.

Boston was the surprise winner, 5 games to 3. The 1904 NL champion New York Giants refused to play Boston the following year, so there was no Series. Giants' owner John T. Brush and his manager John McGraw both despised AL president Ban Johnson and considered the junior circuit to be a minor league. By the following year, however, Brush and Johnson had smoothed out their differences and the Giants agreed to play Philadelphia in a best-of-7 game series. Since then the World Series has been a best-of-7 format, except from 1919-21 when it returned to best-of-9.

The 1904 NL champion New York Giants refused to play Boston the following year, so there was no Series.

In 1922 the World Series was broadcast over the radio for the first time. In 1947 the first World Series was televised locally for the first time.

The 1951 World Series was broadcast coast to coast for the first time. The World Series was played between the two New York teams. The New York Giants lost to the Yankees 4-2. Willie Mays had only four hits in the loss.

The World Series was cancelled for only the second time in 1994 due to the players' strike.

Going into the 2008 post season, the New York Yankees have won the World Series 26 times. With their win in 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals have now surpassed the Philadelphia-Oakland A's nine World Series triumphs. The Brooklyn-Los Angeles Dodgers have six under their belt, the Boston Red Sox have eight, and the Cincinnati Reds, New York-San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates have five to their credit.