2005 World Series

File:World Series Logo 2005.png

The 2005 World Series, the 101st playing of Major League Baseball's championship series, is currently taking place between the National League champion Houston Astros and the American League champion Chicago White Sox (Chicago leads 3-0), at the home venues of the participating teams. Home field advantage has been 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, played at Comerica Park in Detroit on July 12. The Astros are 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 are attempting to overcome decades of disappointment: the Astros are making their first Series appearance in forty-four years of play, while the White Sox have been waiting exactly twice as long for a title, having last won the Series eighty-eight years ago in 1917, and have not been in the Series since 1959.

Managers: Ozzie Guillén (Chicago), Phil Garner (Houston)

Umpires: Joe West, Jeff Nelson, Jerry Layne, Derryl Cousins, Gary Cederstrom, Angel Hernandez

Series MVP: TBD

Television commentators (FOX): Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, with Chris Myers on the field reporting. (NOTE: Lou Pinella was scheduled to join Buck and McCarver in the booth, but stayed in Florida due to Hurricane Wilma.)

Matchup

All times are US Eastern Time.

Game	Score	Date	Time
1	Chicago 5, Houston 3	October 22
2	Chicago 7, Houston 6	October 23
3	Chicago 7, Houston 5 (14)	October 25
4	Chicago at Houston	October 26	8:00 pm DST
5†	Chicago at Houston	October 27	8:00 pm
6†	Houston at Chicago	October 29	7:30 pm
7†	Houston at Chicago	October 30	7:30 pm ST

† if necessary

NOTES:

• Games in Chicago will be played at U.S. Cellular Field, while games in Houston will be played at Minute Maid Park.
• As usual in seven-game playoffs, if one team collects four victories before the series is played out, the rest of the series is dropped as unnecessary.
• Due to the length of pre-game ceremonies during the World Series, it is not unusual for games to start up to 30 minutes after the scheduled start time.

Game 1, October 22

U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois

The White Sox took an early lead with a home run from Jermaine Dye in the first inning. The Astros evened the score in the top of the second frame when Mike Lamb hit a home run of his own. The Sox scored two more in the bottom half when Juan Uribe doubled in A.J. Pierzynski and Carl Everett. 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 nnings, allowing three runs on six hits for the win, and Bobby Jenks earned the save to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the series.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	1
Chicago	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	×	5	10	0
WP: José Contreras (1-0)   LP: Wandy Rodríguez (0-1)  SV: Bobby Jenks (1) Home runs: HOU: Mike Lamb (1) ChW: Jermaine Dye (1), Joe Crede (1)

Time: 3 hrs., 13 min. Attendence: 41,206. Weather: 53°F, overcast; winds left to right at 6 MPH.

Game 2, October 23

U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois

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 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 appearances. The Series now moves to Houston with the White Sox leading 2-0.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	2	6	9	0
Chicago	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	1	7	12	0
WP: Neal Cotts (1-0)   LP: Brad Lidge (0-1)   Sv: none Home runs: Hou: Morgan Ensberg (1) ChW: Paul Konerko (1), Scott Podsednik (1)

Time: 3 hrs., 11 min. Attendence: 41,432. Weather: 45°F, cloudy with on and off rain; winds right to left at 10 MPH.

Game 3, October 25

Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

Before Game Three, it was ruled by Commissioner Bud Selig that the retractable roof would be open at Minute Maid Park for all three games (if they were needed). The Astros objected, citing their record in games with the roof open was worse than with the retractable roof closed. In the game, the longest World Series game in length of time and tied for the longest in number of innings, Lance Berkman singled with one out after a Craig Biggio lead-off double in the bottom of the first as the 'Stros 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 as Adam Everett caught Konerko napping off second and flipped the ball to Biggio, who stepped on the bag. Houston scored in the bottom of the third, when Everett led off with a walk, then in a rundown, returned on an Juan Uribe throwing error that hit Everett, and after an Roy Oswalt sacrifice bunt, Biggio singled to send Everett home. Berkman singled again with two out, sending Biggio to third, and 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. The ChiSox rallied, true to their "Win or Die Trying" mantra of 2005 in the top of the fifth, starting with a Joe Crede lead-off homer, then Uribe scored on a Tadahito Iguchi single with one out, followed by Scott Podsednik coming home on a duck-snort single by Jermaine Dye, and Pierzynski's two out, two run two bagger scoring Iguchi and Dye near Tal's Hill to give the Pale Hose 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, and giving Dustin Hermanson a blown save. Houston tried to rally to win in the ninth, but stranded Chris Burke at third, who had walked, reached second on an error and a steal of third, and again in the tenth as well as in the eleventh, but failed each time. In the top of the fourteenth, Geoff Blum, a former Astro, homered to right with two outs off Ezequiel Astacio after the Sox hit into a spectacular double play started by Ensberg. After two infield singles by Rowand and Crede that went an estimated 150 feet combined, Uribe walked, then Chris Widger walked thanks to Astacio's sudden wildness. The Astros tried to rally with the tying runs on first and third, but Game Two starter Mark Buehrle earned the save for winning pitcher Dámaso Matre when Everett popped out, moving the White Sox one game closer to their first World Champonship in eighty-eight years.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	R	H	E
Chicago	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	7	14	3
Houston	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	8	1
WP: Dámaso Marte (1-0)  LP: Ezequiel Astacio (0-1)  SV: Mark Buehrle (1)
HRs: ChW — Joe Crede (2), Geoff Blum (1)  Hou — Jason Lane (1)

Time: 5 hrs., 41 mins. Attendence: --,---. Weather: 61°F, clear; winds out to left at 8 MPH.

Game 4, October 26

Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

Team	R	H	E
Chicago	0	0	0
Houston	0	0	0

Scheduled Starters: ChW — Freddy Garcia; Hou — Brandon Backe.

Background

The Chicago White Sox have tended to be a frustrated franchise for some years, posting the fourth best winning percentage of any American League team from 1990-2004 with a mark of .527, behind only the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians. Despite being relatively successful, the franchise has been relatively unsuccessful in winning their division (winning only in 1993 and 2000), and then advancing beyond the opening playoff round. Even after posting the best record in the American League in 2005, they were perceived by some as a losing cause, after a late season slump. The White Sox are in a similar position as the Boston Red Sox a year ago, having been in only one World Series since the 1919-20 Black Sox Scandal, and last winning the title in 1917. The Houston Astros, who had never made a Series appearance since the franchise began play in 1962, followed their 2004 NLCS loss with a dismal start in 2005, beginning at 15-30 before turning their season around; they became the first team since the 1914 Boston Braves to win the pennant after falling 15 games under .500.

The 2005 Division Series began quickly, with the White Sox disposing of the Red Sox in three straight games (a result many called surprising) and the San Diego Padres having no way to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, being eliminated 3-0. The Astros clinched a spot in the NLCS with a Game 4 thriller against the Atlanta Braves in which they rallied from a five-run deficit to win in the 18th inning, the longest (in time and innings) playoff baseball game in history. The Los Angeles Angels had a tough series involving lots of travel (the first team in history to play three playoff games in three different cities in three consecutive nights), but eventually advanced to the ALCS with a 5-3 Game 5 win over the New York Yankees.

The first game of the ALCS went to the Angels, despite their traveling woes. In Game 2, a controversial call gave the White Sox an extra opportunity to win the game, swinging the momentum to the South Siders. Chicago swept the three games in Anaheim to advance to their first World Series since 1959.

In some ways, the Houston Astros are very similar to the Chicago White Sox. Between 1990 and 2004, they posted a .525 winning percentage, third in the National League behind the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants. Despite stringing together many successful seasons, the franchise has been unable to advance to the World Series. Both teams rely heavily on starting pitching, and have had their share of troubles over the year scoring runs in key situations. Perhaps the key difference between the clubs lies in the veteran nature of the Astros (Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio being the two longest serving teammates in Major League Baseball as of 2005), while the White Sox have fewer players with long playing careers (especially in Chicago).

The Astros defeated the Cardinals in the NLCS in six games, clinching their first pennant with a 5-1 win on October 19. Never before had a major league team taken so long (44 years) before earning its first World Series appearance. The Astros also became the first team since the Atlanta Braves in the 1991 NLCS to win a NLCS after losing Game 1 of the series.

Trivia

• The White Sox had the best regular-season record in the AL – although they did not clinch a playoff spot until the final weekend – 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 will be the first World Series in which both of the participating franchises have waited more than 40 years to make a Fall Classic appearance. In addition, neither state that will host a World Series game in 2005 has held such a game during this 40-year period. There has never been a World Series game in Texas, and there has not been one in Illinois since Game 6 of the 1959 World Series.
• This will be the first World Series in which a team from the Central Division of either league will win since the league realignment prior to the 1994 season, as the Astros are in the NL Central and the White Sox are in the AL Central.

External links

• MLB official site
• World Series official site
• 2005 Postseason schedule
• Latest news from MLB
• AL Championship Series
• NL Championship Series
• Historical and statistical analysis