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.

"Trivia"

• The Cardinals' .185 batting average was the lowest ever for a seven game World Series.
• Denkinger is regarded by Cardinals fans to be sole cause of the 1985 'Runnin Redbirds' Implosion in games 6 & 7. He was voted as the #1 'Worst St. Louis Sports Personality' in 1996 by (St. Louis' NBC affiliate) KSDK Sports Anchor Mike Bush (#2 was Bill Bidwell and #3 was Mike Keenan)
• Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog was ejected in Game 7 by the home plate umpire Don Denkinger, who infamously called Jorge Orta safe at first in Game 6. When asked why he would allow himself to get ejected from the seventh game of the World Series, Herzog said, "I've seen enough!"
• The day before starting Game 7, World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen's wife Janeane gave birth to the couples first child, Drew William. In the 8th inning of Game 7, Saberhagen looked directly towards ABC's cameras and asked his wife over the air, "Is the baby still there?"
• John Tudor was so enraged by his performance in Game 7 (allowing five earned runs and four walks in 2 1/3 innings) that he took a punch at an electric fan afterwards. The fan got the better of the encounter.
• This was the first World Series featuring Tim McCarver, who called the game with Al Michaels and Jim Palmer for ABC. Howard Cosell was originally supposed to be in the booth but was removed just prior to the World Series because of the controversy surrounding his book "I Never Played the Game"
• Game 6 hero Dane Iorg's nose was broken when his teammates (led by 230-pound pitcher Mike Jones) mobbed him after his game winning hit in Game 6.
• Perhaps the most memorable image of the series was George Brett racing over to tightly hug Bret Saberhagen after the clinching out. Just moments earlier, Brett approached Saberhagen at the mound and told him to stick around to watch the final out