2005 World Series

Infobox World Series Expanded


year = 2005
champion = Chicago White Sox (4)
champion_manager = Ozzie Guillén
champion_games = 99-63, .611, GA: 6
runnerup = Houston Astros (0)
runnerup_manager = Phil Garner
runnerup_games = 89-73, .549, GB: 11
date = October 22, 2005–October 26, 2005
MVP = Jermaine Dye (Chicago)
television = FOX
announcers = Joe Buck and Tim McCarver
radio_network = ESPN
radio_announcers = Jon Miller and Joe Morgan
umpires = Joe West, Jeff Nelson, Jerry Layne, Derryl Cousins, Gary Cederstrom, Angel Hernandez
ALCS = Chicago White Sox over Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (4-1)
NLCS = Houston Astros over St. Louis Cardinals (4-2)

The 2005 World Series, the 101st Major League Baseball championship series, saw the American League champion Chicago White Sox sweep the National League champion Houston Astros 4 games to 0 in the best-of-seven-games series, winning their third championship and first since 1917.

Home field advantage was awarded to Chicago by virtue of the American League's 7-5 victory over the National League in the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Astros were attempting to become the fourth consecutive wild card team to win the Series, following the Anaheim Angels (2002), Florida Marlins (2003) and Boston Red Sox (2004). Both teams were attempting to overcome decades of disappointment: the Astros were making their first Series appearance in 44 years of play, while the White Sox waited exactly twice as long for a title, having last won the Series in 1917, and had not been in the Series since 1959.

Background

The Chicago White Sox finished the regular season with the best record in the American League at 99-63, the only team to go wire-to-wire in 2005. After starting the season on a tear, the White Sox began to fade in August, when a 15 ½ game lead fell all the way to 1 ½. However, the Sox were able to hold off the Cleveland Indians to win the American League Central Division by 6 games, sweeping Cleveland in three games on the season's final weekend. In the Division Series, the White Sox swept the defending champion Boston Red Sox. The League Championship Series began with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim winning Game 1, but a controversial finish to Game 2 helped the Sox start a run and win Games 2-5, all on complete games pitched by starters Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia, and José Contreras, clinching their first American League pennant in 46 years.

The Houston Astros won the Wild Card for the second straight year, once again clinching it on the final day of the season. The Astros embarked on a memorable Division Series rematch against the Atlanta Braves. With the Astros in the lead two games to one, the teams played an 18-inning marathon in Game 4, which was the longest (in both time and innings played) postseason game in history. In this game, Roger Clemens made only the second relief appearance of his career, and the first in postseason play. Chris Burke's walk-off home run ended the game in the bottom of the 18th. For the second straight year, the Astros played the St. Louis Cardinals in the League Championship Series. Like the White Sox, the Astros dropped Game 1, but were able to regroup and win Games 2-4. On the verge of clinching their first ever National League pennant in Game 5, Albert Pujols hit a mammoth home run off Brad Lidge to win the game. However, behind NLCS MVP Roy Oswalt, the Astros were able to win Game 6 and a trip to the World Series.

ummary

AL Chicago White Sox (4) vs NL Houston Astros (0)

Matchups

Game 1

Saturday, October 22, 2005 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, IllinoisLinescore
Road=Houston|RoadAbr=HOU
R1=0|R2=1|R3=2|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=3|RH=7|RE=1
Home=Chicago|HomeAbr=CHW
H1=1|H2=2|H3=0|H4=1|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=1|H9=X|HR=5|HH=10|HE=0
RSP=|HSP=
WP=José Contreras (1-0)|LP=Wandy Rodríguez (0-1)|SV=Bobby Jenks (1)
RoadHR=Mike Lamb (1)|HomeHR=Jermaine Dye (1), Joe Crede (1)|

Playing in their first World Series home game since 1959, the White Sox took an early lead with a home run from Jermaine Dye in the first inning. The Sox scored two more in the second when Juan Uribe doubled in A.J. Pierzynski after Carl Everett had already scored on a groundout earlier in the inning. The Astros responded again in the next inning when Lance Berkman hit a double, driving in Adam Everett and Craig Biggio. In the White Sox half of the fourth, Joe Crede hit what turned out to be the game winning home run. In the bottom of the eighth, Scott Podsednik hit a triple with Pierzynski on second. Roger Clemens recorded his shortest World Series start, leaving after the second inning with 53 pitches including 35 for strikes, due to a sore hamstring that he had previously injured (and caused him to miss his last regular season start) as the loss went to Wandy Rodríguez. José Contreras pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits for the win. Before exiting, Contreras allowed a leadoff double by Willie Taveras with no outs. Neal Cotts entered the game in the top of the 8th inning. It marked the first time in 5 games that the White Sox had gone to their bullpen. Cotts pitched 2/3s of an inning before Bobby Jenks was called upon by manager Ozzie Guillén to relieve him. Ozzie signaled for the large pitcher by holding his arms out wide and then up tall. In the post game conference Ozzie joked about the signal by saying he wanted to be clear he was asking for "The Big Boy". Bobby Jenks returned in the 9th to earn the save to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the series.

Game 2

Sunday, October 23, 2005 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, IllinoisLinescore
Road=Houston|RoadAbr=HOU
R1=0|R2=1|R3=1|R4=0|R5=2|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=2|RR=6|RH=9|RE=0
Home=Chicago|HomeAbr=CHW
H1=0|H2=2|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=4|H8=0|H9=1|HR=7|HH=12|HE=0
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Neal Cotts (1-0)|LP=Brad Lidge (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=Morgan Ensberg (1)|HomeHR=Scott Podsednik (1), Paul Konerko (1)|

On a miserably cold (51 degrees) and rainy evening, Morgan Ensberg's first-pitch home run off starter Mark Buehrle put the Astros on top in the second inning. The White Sox answered in the bottom of the second with two runs of their own off Andy Pettitte. Lance Berkman drove in three runs in the game, two of them on a go-ahead double in the top of the fifth. In the seventh inning, Dan Wheeler loaded the bases with a double to Juan Uribe, a walk to Tadahito Iguchi, and home plate umpire Jeff Nelson's ruling that Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitched ball. The ruling was considered questionable, as television replays showed that the ball hit Dye's bat (which would have made the pitch a foul ball rather than a HBP). The Astros brought in Chad Qualls, who promptly served up a grand slam to Paul Konerko on the very first pitch he threw, the eighteenth grand slam in the annals of the Fall Classic. In the top of the ninth, White Sox closer Bobby Jenks blew the save when he gave up a two-run game-tying pinch hit single to José Vizcaíno. In the bottom half of the ninth, Astros closer Brad Lidge gave up a one-out, walk-off home run — the fourteenth in Series history — to Scott Podsednik, giving Lidge his second loss in as many post-season appearances (his previous appearance was in Game 5 of 2005 National League Championship Series). Podsednik had not hit a single homer in the regular season, and this was his second of the post-season. The Series moved to Houston with the White Sox leading 2-0.

Game 3

Tuesday, October 25, 2005 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TexasLinescore
Compact=yes
Road=Chicago|RoadAbr=CHW
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=5|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|R10=0|R11=0|R12=0|R13=0|R14=2|RR=7|RH=14|RE=3
Home=Houston|HomeAbr=HOU
H1=1|H2=0|H3=2|H4=1|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=1|H9=0|H10=0|H11=0|H12=0|H13=0|H14=0|HR=5|HH=8|HE=1
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Dámaso Marte (1-0)|LP=Ezequiel Astacio (0-1)|SV=Mark Buehrle (1)
RoadHR=Geoff Blum (1), Joe Crede (2)|HomeHR=Jason Lane (1)|

Game 3 was the first ever World Series game played in the state of Texas. Before the game, it was ruled by Commissioner Bud Selig that the retractable roof would be open at Minute Maid Park, weather permitting. The Astros objected, citing that their record in games with the roof closed was better than with the retractable roof open. Selig's office claimed that the ruling was based on the rules established by Houston and were consistent with how the Astros organization treated the situation all year long, as well as the weather forecasts for that period of time.

In the game – the longest World Series game in length of time (five hours and forty-one minutes) and tied for the longest in number of innings (fourteen, tied with Game 2 of the 1916 World Series) – Lance Berkman singled with one out after a Craig Biggio lead-off double in the bottom of the first as the Astros struck early. The White Sox had a rally snuffed in the top of the second inning; after Paul Konerko hit a lead-off double and A.J. Pierzynski walked, Aaron Rowand hit into a line-drive double play. Adam Everett caught the ball and then doubled Konerko off second by flipping the ball to Biggio, who stepped on the bag. Houston scored in the bottom of the third when Everett led off with a walk. Everett got caught in a rundown and got hit by the ball on a Juan Uribe throwing error that hit Everett. A Roy Oswalt sacrifice bunt and a Biggio single sent Everett home. Berkman singled again with two out, sending Biggio to third. Then Morgan Ensberg singled Biggio home for the third run of the game. Jason Lane led off the Astros' fourth with a home run to left-center field. It was later shown in replays that the ball should not have been ruled a home run, hitting the left side of the yellow line on the unusual wall in left-center field.

The White Sox rallied in the top of the fifth, true to their "Win Or Die Trying" mantra of 2005, starting with a Joe Crede lead-off homer. Uribe, on first after hitting a single, scored on a Tadahito Iguchi base hit with one out, followed by Scott Podsednik coming home on a duck-snort single by Jermaine Dye. Pierzynski hit a two-out double to Tal's Hill, driving in two runs, scoring Iguchi and Dye giving the White Sox the lead. The Astros rallied in the last of the eighth with two outs when Lane's double scored Ensberg with the tying run after back-to-back walks by Ensberg and Mike Lamb, giving Dustin Hermanson a blown save. Houston tried to rally to win in the ninth, but stranded Chris Burke at third, after he had walked, reached second on an error and stolen third.

The Astros tried again in the tenth as well as in the eleventh, but failed each time. In the top of the fourteenth, after the Sox hit into a spectacular double play started by Ensberg, Geoff Blum (a former Astro) homered to right with two outs off Ezequiel Astacio. After two infield singles by Rowand and Crede that went a total of 150 feet according to McCarver, Uribe walked, and then Chris Widger walked thanks to Astacio's sudden wildness. The Astros tried to rally with the tying runs on first and third and two outs after a Uribe error, but Game 2 starter Mark Buehrle earned the save for winning pitcher Dámaso Marte when Everett popped out, bringing the White Sox one game closer to their first World Championship in eighty-eight years. Buehrle became the first pitcher ever to start a game in the Series, and save the next one.

Many records were set or tied in the game besides time and innings: The teams combined to use seventeen pitchers (nine for the White Sox, eight for the Astros), throwing a total of 482 pitches, and walking twenty-one batters combined (a dozen by Chicago, nine by Houston); forty-three players were used (the White Sox used twenty-two and the Astros used twenty-one), and thirty men were left on base (fifteen for each team), all new high-water marks in their categories in Fall Classic history. Scott Podsednik set a new all-time record with eight official-at-bats in this game. One record that was tied was most double plays turned, with six (four by the Astros, two by the White Sox).

Game 4

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TexasLinescore
Road=Chicago|RoadAbr=CHW
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=1|R9=0|RR=1|RH=8|RE=0
Home=Houston|HomeAbr=HOU
H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=0|HH=5|HE=0
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Freddy García (1-0)|LP=Brad Lidge (0-2)|SV=Bobby Jenks (2)|

Before the game, Major League Baseball unveiled its Latino Legends Team.

The fourth game was the pitchers' duel that had been promised throughout the series. Both Houston starter Brandon Backe and Chicago starter Freddy Garcia put zeros on the scoreboard through seven innings, the longest since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Scott Podsednik had a two-out triple in the top of the third, but Tadahito Iguchi grounded out to second, thus snuffing that threat. The Astros had the best chance of scoring in the sixth, but Jason Lane struck out with the bases loaded to end that rally. The White Sox had a chance in the top of the seventh with runners at second and third and two out, but shortstop Juan Uribe struck out to snuff the rally. The White Sox were able to break through in the next inning against embattled Houston closer Brad Lidge. Willie Harris hit a pinch-hit single. Podsednik moved Harris to second with a sacrifice bunt. Carl Everett pinch-hit for Iguchi and grounded out to the right side to allow Harris to move over to third. Jermaine Dye, the Most Valuable Player of the series, had the game-winning single, driving in Harris.

Things got a little sticky for the Sox in the Astros half of the eighth when reliever Cliff Politte hit Willy Taveras, threw a wild pitch, sending Taveras to second, and walked Lance Berkman. After Morgan Ensberg flew out to center, the White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén brought in Neal Cotts to finish the inning. Cotts induced pinch-hitter José Vizcaíno into a ground out to Uribe. Bobby Jenks, the 24-year-old fireballer, started the ninth inning. He allowed a single to Jason Lane and a sacrifice bunt to Brad Ausmus. Chris Burke came in to pinch-hit; he fouled one off to the left side, but Uribe made an amazing catch in the stands to retire Burke.

The game ended when Orlando Palmeiro grounded to Uribe. It was a bang-bang play as Paul Konerko caught the ball from Uribe at 11:01 p.m. CDT to begin the biggest celebration in Chicago since the sixth NBA championship by the Bulls in 1998, and end the second-longest period without a World Series title (the cross-town Chicago Cubs still own the longest such streak, as they have not won it since 1908). The 1-0 shutout was the first 1-run game to end a World Series since the 1995 World Series, in which Game 6 was won by the Atlanta Braves over the Cleveland Indians, and the first 1-0 game in any Series game since Game 5 of the 1996 World Series when the New York Yankees shut out the Braves in the last game ever played at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.

Composite Box

2005 World Series (4-0): Chicago White Sox (A.L.) over Houston Astros (N.L.)Linescore
Compact=yes
Road=Chicago White Sox
R1=1|R2=4|R3=0|R4=1|R5=5|R6=0|R7=4|R8=2|R9=1|R10=0|R11=0|R12=0|R13=0|R14=2|RR=20|RH=44|RE=3
Home=Houston Astros
H1=1|H2=2|H3=5|H4=1|H5=2|H6=0|H7=0|H8=1|H9=2|H10=0|H11=0|H12=0|H13=0|H14=0|HR=14|HH=29|HE=2Total Attendance: 168,422 Average Attendance: 42,106Winning Player’s Share: – $324,533 Losing Player’s Share – $191,985cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/wsshares.shtml|title=World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares|accessdate=2008-05-07|publisher=Baseball Almanac] |

Trivia

[
White House by President George W. Bush.]
*Ozzie Guillén became the first Latin-born manager in the history of the game to win a World Series.
*The White Sox tied the mark for consecutive post-season wins at 8 games (2004 Boston Red Sox).
*The White Sox finished the season by winning 16 of their last 17 games, beginning in the last week of the regular season.
*The White Sox' AL opponents in the playoffs, the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, were the last two AL franchises to have won a World Series (Boston in 2004, Anaheim in 2002)
*The White Sox became the second team (the first being 1999's New York Yankees) to go 11–1 in the postseason since the Major Leagues adopted a 3-level playoff format in by|1994.
*The White Sox were the sixth different team in as many years to win the championship; it also marked the first time in history that different AL teams had swept the Series in consecutive years.
*The White Sox had the best regular-season record in the AL, and led their division throughout the season (although they did not clinch a playoff spot until the final Thursday) and were thus guaranteed home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They easily advanced to the World Series with a 7–1 AL playoff mark. Meanwhile, the Astros won their wild card playoff berth by a single game and staged one of the largest upsets in a League Championship Series ever, defeating the Cardinals despite finishing eleven games behind them in the Central Division during the regular season.
*This was the first World Series in which each of the participating franchises had waited more than forty years to make a Fall Classic appearance.
*Game 1 was the first World Series game played in the city of Chicago (or the state of Illinois) since 1959; Game 3 was the first Series game ever played in Texas.
*This was the seventh major sports championship won by a Jerry Reinsdorf-owned team. Reinsdorf also owns the Chicago Bulls, who won six NBA championships in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
*The White Sox were the first division winner to win a World Series since the Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series. They were also the first team with the best league record to win the series since the Yankees won the 1999 World Series.
*This was the first World Series won by a team from the Central Division of either league since the league realignment prior to the by|1994 season.
*This was the third year in a row that the victorious team won the Series-clinching game on the road and to end in a shutout.
*The run differential of 6 in favor of the White Sox, tied the New York Yankees from the 1950 World Series, who swept the Philadelphia Phillies, as the lowest in a World Series.
*The White Sox were the first team in World Series history to win two games on the same calendar date, as Game 3 ended at 1:19 a.m. US CDT on Wednesday, October 26 (after starting at 7:40 p.m. CDT on October 25) while Game 4 ended at 11:01 p.m. CDT.
*The last time the Red Sox and White Sox won back-to-back World Series was when the White Sox won the 1917 title, bookended by Red Sox titles in 1916 and 1918.
*This was the 19th World Series to end in a four-game sweep, and the second consecutive Series (and 12th overall) in which the AL team swept the NL team.
*The last time that back-to-back sweeps occurred in the Series was in 1998 and 1999. The New York Yankees won both of those Series, defeating the San Diego Padres in 1998, and the Atlanta Braves the following year.
*The last time two different teams swept the Series in consecutive years happened in 1989 and 1990. The Oakland Athletics swept the San Francisco Giants in the earthquake-delayed 1989 Series, but the following year, the A's themselves were swept by the Cincinnati Reds.
*The Astros are only the second team to be 15 games below .500 at some point during the season (15–30) and still go on to appear in the World Series (the first being the 1914 Boston Braves).
*Tadahito Iguchi became the first Japanese-born player to win a World Series. Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Hideki Matsui, and So Taguchi all lost in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 World Series, respectively.
*Game 4 was John Rooney's final broadcast as the White Sox' radio play-by-play announcer. Rooney, who had been with the team since 1988 and their lead radio voice since 1989, went to the St. Louis Cardinals' booth the following season; the Cardinals subsequently won the 2006 World Series.
*It was the second time in as many years that a team won the World Series after an 80+ year drought.
*When José Contreras yielded the pitching duties to Neal Cotts in 8th inning of Game 1, it was the first time in forty-three innings, going back to the ALCS, that the White Sox bullpen had seen any action. This was because the last four games of the LCS were all complete games by the pitching staff which the 2/3 innings done by Cotts in Game 1 being the only time the bullpen was active.

eries quotes

Notes

References

*cite web |author=Forman, Sean L. |title=2005 World Series |date= |work=Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. |url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2005_WS.shtml |accessdate=2007-12-09

External links

* [http://mlb.mlb.com/ MLB official site]
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ps/y2005/index.jsp 2005 World Series official site]
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/schedule/ps_05.jsp 2005 Postseason schedule]
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/index.jsp Latest news from MLB]
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ps/y2005/home.jsp?view=ana_cws AL Championship Series]
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ps/y2005/home.jsp?view=hou_stl NL Championship Series]
* [http://www.whowins.com/ Historical and statistical analysis]
* [http://chicagocubsphotos.blogspot.com/2005/11/white-sox-illinois-general-assembly.html Jerry Reinsdorf and Ozzie Guillén at Illinois Senate World Series ceremony]
* [http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=cws Chicago White Sox Official Site]
* [http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=hou Houston Astros Official Site]