2025 MLB postseason thread

[maumann]

Old man yelling at clouds but nobody alive right now can definitively say 2025 was the "greatest" anything. It's recency bias.

Was it one of the best I can recall? Most definitely. And if you want to say "best I've ever seen since I started watching baseball," that's perfectly OK. You just haven't been watching baseball very long.

But just in my lifetime the "postseason" consisted mainly of the World Series (and then one round of playoffs), so you've got Mazeroski's homer in 1960, Bobby Richardson snagging Willie McCovey's liner in 1962, Jim Northrup's triple over Curt Flood's head in 1968, the Mets upsetting the heavily-favored Orioles in 1969, Red Sox-Reds in 1975, Willie Stargell in 1979, Red Sox-Mets in 1986, the Reds shocking the A's in 1990, Jack Morris pitching his ass off against the Braves in 1991, the Marlins denying Cleveland in 1997, Mariano Rivera blowing a two-run lead against the D-backs in 2001 and on and on ...

I didn't see Christy Mathewson or Pete Alexander or Walter Johnson or the Gas House Gang or Enos Slaughter or Johnny Podres but 1924, 1925 and 1926 have to be right up there in terms of nail-biting Game 7s.

What 2025 did was destroy the whole "baseball is dying" myth that talking heads have been parroting. It's still a game that for all its flaws and warts, can mesmerize you at the most opportune time. And break your heart for an entire winter, if not the rest of your life.

Baseball fans will be talking about Ohtani and Yamamoto and Miguel Rojas and Will Smith as long as baseball exists. That's the beauty of the game.

 

[UNCGrad]

Completely agree, @maumann.

Baseball is boring...until it isn't.

 

[Chet Lemon]

Old man yelling at clouds but nobody alive right now can definitively say 2025 was the "greatest" anything. It's recency bias.

Was it one of the best I can recall? Most definitely. And if you want to say "best I've ever seen since I started watching baseball," that's perfectly OK. You just haven't been watching baseball very long.

But just in my lifetime the "postseason" consisted mainly of the World Series (and then one round of playoffs), so you've got Mazeroski's homer in 1960, Bobby Richardson snagging Willie McCovey's liner in 1962, Jim Northrup's triple over Curt Flood's head in 1968, the Mets upsetting the heavily-favored Orioles in 1969, Red Sox-Reds in 1975, Willie Stargell in 1979, Red Sox-Mets in 1986, the Reds shocking the A's in 1990, Jack Morris pitching his ass off against the Braves in 1991, the Marlins denying Cleveland in 1997, Mariano Rivera blowing a two-run lead against the D-backs in 2001 and on and on ...

I didn't see Christy Mathewson or Pete Alexander or Walter Johnson or the Gas House Gang or Enos Slaughter or Johnny Podres but 1924, 1925 and 1926 have to be right up there in terms of nail-biting Game 7s.

What 2025 did was destroy the whole "baseball is dying" myth that talking heads have been parroting. It's still a game that for all its flaws and warts, can mesmerize you at the most opportune time. And break your heart for an entire winter, if not the rest of your life.

Baseball fans will be talking about Ohtani and Yamamoto and Miguel Rojas and Will Smith as long as baseball exists. That's the beauty of the game.

I’m just thinking single games. My lifetime? Probably 2011 Game 6, 1991 Game 7, and this latest one spring immediately to mind. Maybe Game 6 of the 2003 CS because it was so bizarre. We’ll see if 2025 G7 stands the test of time. It’s fun when it isn’t just about a walk-off home run. Gibson’s walk off was a great ending. But that’s not the same as a great game.

 

[BTExpress]

Baseball was boring . . . until the pitch clock saved it from itself.

Three years ago Saturday's Game 7 ends at 1:45 a.m. ET instead of 12:20.

 

[Huggy]

Being the bitter New York Yankees fan girl that I am, I told myself that I wasn't going to watch ANY games in the World Series after they got eliminated by the Toronto Boo Jays (no that's not a misprint, I've been calling them the Boo Jays for the past few seasons) I lived in Los Angeles for 10 years and went to many a dodgers game at Dodger Stadium, but still I was telling myself I wasn't going to watch I just hoped somebody anybody would beat Toronto.
I'm SO glad I didn't take my own advice and watched what had to be one of the most exciting world series ever in my lifetime and I've been watching baseball since 1963.
It had everything, even a benches clearing "brawl" in the 7th game.
Wow. I'm STILL that bitter New York Yankees fan girl but not for nothing I was happy to see the Boo Jays do what the Toronto Maple Leafs seem to do all the time- lose in seven games.

The Leaf wish they could get to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

 

[micropolitan guy]

In Game 4 of the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia A's scored 10 times in the bottom of the 7th inning to erase an 8-0 deficit. They defeated the Cubs 10-8 to take a pivotal 3-1 lead.

In Game 5 of the series they scored three times with one already out in the last of the 9th to win 3-2, winning the series 4-1.

Maybe the top two back-to-back games in WS history.

I K-F is this century's Fred Merkle. Just take a normal secondary lead and run through the plate and the Jays are world champions.

 

[maumann]

In Game 4 of the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia A's scored 10 times in the bottom of the 7th inning to erase an 8-0 deficit. They defeated the Cubs 10-8 to take a pivotal 3-1 lead.

In Game 5 of the series they scored three times with one already out in the last of the 9th to win 3-2, winning the series 4-1.

Maybe the top two back-to-back games in WS history.

I K-F is this century's Fred Merkle. Just take a normal secondary lead and run through the plate and the Jays are world champions.

1968 and 1986 would also be two great 6-7s. And perhaps 1979 as well.

 

[Chet Lemon]

Those sound like great games. It seems that we have a bias in favor of teams facing elimination. (Fisk, etc.)

 

[micropolitan guy]

1968 and 1986 would also be two great 6-7s. And perhaps 1979 as well.

Wasn't Game 6 in 68 a blowout?

I didn't see it but I still believe Game 7 of 1960 is the best. Pirates lead early, Yankees rally, Pirates rally back ahead when the Kubek bad hop and a pinch-hit homer change everything, Yankees tie with two outs in the top of the 9th and then Maz walks it off.

 

[maumann]

Wasn't Game 6 in 68 a blowout?

I didn't see it but I still believe Game 7 of 1960 is the best. Pirates lead early, Yankees rally, Pirates rally back ahead when the Kubek bad hop and a pinch-hit homer change everything, Yankees tie with two outs in the top of the 9th and then Maz walks it off.

True on Game 6 but I was thinking about the 10-run inning that equalled 1929. Actually, the Tigers -- down 3-1 in the Series -- never trailed again after Kaline's seventh-inning single in Game 5. The Horton throw that nailed Brock at the plate in the fifth inning was the true turning point.

 

[Chet Lemon]

1960 was great, but I can never understand how that was a Major League curveball. It looks like he lobs it over the middle of the plate.

 

[No Phonies]

1960 was great, but I can never understand how that was a Major League curveball. It looks like he lobs it over the middle of the plate.

It was 1960.

 

[Chet Lemon]

It was 1960.

I know. That is in my post.

 

[FileNotFound]

All this talk about great Game 7s overlooks the most putrid Game 7: 1985, when the butthurt Cardinals continued a collapse for the ages because they were so miffed that they had to play the game at all after they lost Game 6 because of a bad call that could absolutely have not changed that game had they not turned into big babies.

(I grew up as a Cardinals fan, btw)

 

[Chet Lemon]

All this talk about great Game 7s overlooks the most putrid Game 7: 1985, when the butthurt Cardinals continued a collapse for the ages because they were so miffed that they had to play the game at all after they lost Game 6 because of a bad call that could absolutely have not changed that game had they not turned into big babies.

(I grew up as a Cardinals fan, btw)

Cubs in Game 6 of 2003 NLCS. Same thing. Fan touched the ball. OK, get over it. Put your big boy pants on and finish this thing now.

 

[MisterCreosote]

I’ll throw in an underrated one (if you don’t care about good pitching): Blue Jays 15, Phillies 14, 1993, Game 4.

I was there. Besides the standard “**** Mitch Williams” reaction, it was the most exciting game I ever saw live.

Mickey Morandini with the quote of the decade: “You score 14 runs and lose? Yeah, you can’t do that.”

 

[I Should Coco]

Maybe @Chet Lemon might agree with me that Geoff Blum belting a 14th-inning solo HR in Game 3 of the 2005 WS was pretty damn great! I was working at a daily paper in the Quad-Cities that night, and we held the second/final edition of our sports section to get that game in. It was funny to see Cub fans on our staff hold their nose and root for the Astros.

I was able to enjoy Game 4 at home, popping open a bottle of champagne with my wife when the White Sox won a classic pitchers' duel. Closed out by Big Bobby (RIP).

 

[Chet Lemon]

Maybe @Chet Lemon might agree with me that Geoff Blum belting a 14th-inning solo HR in Game 3 of the 2005 WS was pretty damn great! I was working at a daily paper in the Quad-Cities that night, and we held the second/final edition of our sports section to get that game in. It was funny to see Cub fans on our staff hold their nose and root for the Astros.

I was able to enjoy Game 4 at home, popping open a bottle of champagne with my wife when the White Sox won a classic pitchers' duel. Closed out by Big Bobby (RIP).

For a sweep, that series had some high drama throughout.

 

[No Phonies]

I know. That is in my post.

Oh my lord

I know you don't know much about the game, but you could try hiding it better – at least here.

 

[Songbird]

But just in my lifetime the "postseason" consisted mainly of the World Series (and then one round of playoffs), so you've got Mazeroski's homer in 1960, Bobby Richardson snagging Willie McCovey's liner in 1962, Jim Northrup's triple over Curt Flood's head in 1968, the Mets upsetting the heavily-favored Orioles in 1969, Red Sox-Reds in 1975, Willie Stargell in 1979, Red Sox-Mets in 1986, the Reds shocking the A's in 1990, Jack Morris pitching his ass off against the Braves in 1991, the Marlins denying Cleveland in 1997, Mariano Rivera blowing a two-run lead against the D-backs in 2001 and on and on ...

These are moments not Series on a whole.

Other than Mazeroski's homer, can anyone who was alive and watched talk at length about the other games?

Willie McCovey's liner? Against what team and what did that liner do? And that's just one play.

Northrup's triple over Flood's head?

You omitted Smoltz when referencing Morris. That was the most recent greatest Game 7 until this past Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Anyway.