Studeman: Losing momentum in the sixth game

From SABR member Dave Studeman at The Hardball Times on October 29, 2013:

In this year’s Hardball Times Annual (link will be posted soon!), I’ve included an article on the teams that have come closest to winning the World Series without actually winning it. You might correctly guess that the 1986 Red Sox are at the top of the list, but that’s all I’m going to tell you for now. But the book: it’s got 30 other great articles just like it.

I have found that most people think that all teams that blow it in the sixth game of a World Series lose hope and have no chance of winning the seventh game. Like a good sabermetrician, I’ve been a skeptic; momentum is only as good as the next starting pitcher. But, like a good sabermetrician, I should examine the evidence.

So here’s a quick list of the teams that lost the sixth game of the World Series after almost winning the game (and the Series). I’m going to list only those teams that reached at least a 90 percent Championship Expectancy level in the sixth game before losing it, and I’m going to talk about what happened in the seventh game.

Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/losing-momentum-in-the-sixth-game/



Originally published: October 30, 2013. Last Updated: October 30, 2013.