I-70 Series

The I-70 series began as a reference to the 1985 World Series and is now an annual interleague matchup between the two Major League Baseball teams in the state of Missouri, the American League's Kansas City Royals in the state's extreme west, and the National League's St. Louis Cardinals in the state's extreme east. This series is interesting not only because of the intrastate rivalry, but also because of "The Call". It is called the I-70 series because that interstate connects those cities.

"The Call"

"The Call" is one of the more memorable, or heatbreaking, moments in World Series history. It was game six of the 1985 World Series with St. Louis leading Kansas City 3 games to 2. The Cardinals had taken a 1-0 on an 8th-inning single by little-used backup catcher Brian Harper after Danny Cox and Charlie Leibrandt had battled tit-for-tat all game long. Todd Worrell was now in the game for the Cardinals in the 9th inning facing Jorge Orta for the Royals. Orta hit a slow roller to firstbaseman Jack Clark who tossed to Worrell covering first base. First base umpire Don Denkinger called Orta safe but later replays and photographs showed he was clearly out by a step. After the call, St. Louis collapsed and allowed Kansas City to score two runs in the inning and win the game 2-1. This call is blamed by Cardinal fans for costing St. Louis the game, while Royals fans point out the St. Louis implosion: Jack Clark bungling a foul pop-up hit by the next batter, Steve Balboni, who singled immediately thereafter, and then a passed ball by Darrell Porter, which allowed the two runners who eventually scored (Onix Concepcion, who pinch-ran for Balboni and was on second, and Jim Sundberg, who was on first) to advance to scoring position. Kansas City easily won game seven 11-0, and with it the Royals took home their only World Series Trophy.

Related Topics:
World Series - Brian Harper - Danny Cox - Charlie Leibrandt - Todd Worrell - Jorge Orta - Jack Clark - Don Denkinger - Steve Balboni - Passed ball - Darrell Porter - Pinch-ran - Jim Sundberg - World Series Trophy

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On August 22, 2005, in an episode of its The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... series, ESPN Classic examined why Denkinger's call is actually not to blame for the Cardinals losing the 1985 World Series.

Related Topics:
August 22 - 2005 - The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... - ESPN Classic

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