The Phillies are preparing for their first-ever Game 7. The St. Louis Cardinals have played 16 of them.
The Rangers won their second-ever Game 7 Monday night. They haven't been around as long as Phils, who started playing in 1883.
It may seem peculiar strange that a team that has been in business since Chester A. Arthur was president has never participated in any of the 60 post-season Game 7s in Major League history.
But one obvious reason for that is the fact from the time the Philadelphia Phillies began playing in 1883, they very simply haven’t been regular guests in the post season.
They have been involved in only 11 best-of seven series, all of them decided in six games or fewer. (Their record is 5-6.) They won the 1980 World Series in six games, and the 2008 championship in five. We won’t mention the other ones.
By contrast, the New York Yankees, winners of 27 World Series, have participated in 52 best-of-seven series, 14 of which were decided in Game 7, according to MLB.com.
Yet they aren’t No. 1 in that category: That distinction belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals, who have played 16 of them and have an 11-5 record in Game 7s. The Yanks are a rather unimpressive 6-8. They were in Game 7s in four consecutive seasons — 1955, 1956, 1057, 1958, and again in 1960.
Three other teams have never experienced the Game 7 drama, all way-younger franchises than the Phils: the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies. The Arizona Diamondbacks had their turn in 2001 when they won Game 7 over the Yankees, beating Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera with a walk-off single.
The Texas Rangers got their second taste Monday night. The Phils hope their first will be as satisfying.