2006 World Series

The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking Games 1, 3, 4 and 5. This was the third Series meeting between the Tigers and the Cardinals, the first in 38 years. St. Louis won the first in 1934, and Detroit won the second in 1968; each went the full seven games. The 1968 Series was the last before divisional play and an extra round of playoffs began.

It was only the fifth time in 40 years that the Series featured two teams that had both remained in the same city since the formation of the American League in 1901, the last time being the 2004 World Series between St. Louis and the Boston Red Sox. The last three prior to 2004 were in 1975 (Boston–Cincinnati), 1968 (Detroit–St. Louis) and 1967 (Boston–St. Louis).

The Cardinals, who moved into Busch Stadium in April, became the fourth team to win the Series in their home stadium's debut season, joining the 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates (Forbes Field), 1912 Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park) and 1923 New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium (I)),. In 2009, they would be joined by the 2009 New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium). St. Louis also won their 10th Fall Classic, second to only the Yankees' 27 (then 26) titles. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who won the 1989 World Series title with the Athletics, became the second manager in history to lead teams in both leagues to championships, joining Sparky Anderson.

The Cardinals finished the regular season 83–78. This is the second-worst record ever for a league champion (the 1973 New York Mets finished 82–79) and the worst record ever for a World Series champion. Previously the 1987 Minnesota Twins (85–77) held this dubious honor after defeating the Cardinals in the 1987 World Series.

Ceremonial First Pitches: Game 1: Al Kaline and Willie Horton; Game 2: Sparky Anderson and Alan Trammell; Game 3: Ozzie Smith; Game 4: Lou Brock; Game 5: Stan Musial

 Background

 A pair of battered ballclubs

Neither team was given much chance to advance far into October by many baseball pundits. Both teams stumbled through the second halves of their seasons. The Tigers, enjoying their first successful season after twelve years of futility, surprised the baseball world by building a ten-game lead in the American League Central, but eventually the lead evaporated in the final months and they lost the division to the Minnesota Twins on the last day of the season after being swept by the last-place Kansas City Royals at home, settling for a playoff berth as the AL Wild Card. The Cardinals held a seven-game advantage in the National League Central over the Cincinnati Reds and an 8 ¹⁄₂-game lead over the Houston Astros with just two weeks to play. However, the combination of a seven-game losing streak by St. Louis and an eight-game winning streak by the Astros (highlighted by a four-game sweep of the Cardinals in Houston) caused the Cardinals' lead to shrink to  ¹⁄₂-game with only a few games left. However, the Cardinals held on to clinch the division after an Astros' loss to the Atlanta Braves on the last day of the season.

Thus, both the Tigers and Cardinals were clear underdogs in their matches, against New York Yankees and San Diego Padres, respectively. The Tigers' pitching took care of the vaunted Yankees lineup, and won their series 3–1. The Cardinals also won their series 3–1, including the first two games in San Diego. The Tigers then swept the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, winning game four on a three-run walk-off home run by Magglio Ordóñez in the bottom of the ninth. The Cardinals won their series against the New York Mets with the help of a ninth-inning home run by Yadier Molina in a tense Game 7.

The Tigers had home-field advantage in the Series, due to the AL's 3–2 win over the NL in the 77th Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 11 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. These two teams had already played against each other in June 2006. The Tigers swept the Cardinals 3–0 in Detroit, part of an eight-game Cardinals losing streak. This was the first time since 2000 that teams meeting during the regular season met again in the World Series.

The Series marked the third time in a row that both teams sought to win a championship after at least a twenty-year drought. In 2004, the Boston Red Sox ended their 86-year hiatus by defeating the Cardinals; in 2005 the Chicago White Sox ended an 88-year drought by defeating the Houston Astros, who were competing in their first World Series after 43 seasons. The Tigers had not appeared in the World Series since winning it in 1984. The Cardinals last won in 1982, losing three times since then, in 1985, 1987 and 2004.

The Tigers were the eighth wild card team to compete in the World Series since MLB introduced the wild card in 1994. A wild-card team participated in the Series from 2002 to 2007.

Riding the momentum they built up during their surprisingly easy ALDS and ALCS victories, Detroit entered the Series as a prohibitive favorite. Bob Nightengale of USAToday expressed popular sentiment when he said "Tigers in three".

 Two veteran managers return to postseason play

St. Louis' manager Tony La Russa joined his mentor, Sparky Anderson, as only the second manager to win the World Series with teams in both leagues. La Russa won in 1989 with the Athletics. Coincidentally, Anderson first accomplished the feat by managing Detroit to their previous championship in 1984. He was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2. Interestingly, if the Tigers had defeated the Cardinals, Jim Leyland would have joined Anderson for this feat instead of LaRussa as he had already won the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins.

Jim Leyland is the seventh manager to win pennants in both leagues. The previous six are Joe McCarthy (1929 Cubs and the Yankees of 1932, 1936–39 and 1941–43), Yogi Berra (1964 Yankees, 1973 Mets), Alvin Dark (1962 Giants, 1974 A's), Sparky Anderson (1970, 1972, 1975–76 Reds, 1984 Tigers), Dick Williams (1967 Red Sox, 1972–73 A's, 1984 Padres), and Tony La Russa (1988–90 A's, 2004, 2006 Cardinals).

Additionally, the opposing managers are close friends. Leyland was La Russa's third base coach for the Chicago White Sox in the early 1980s. Leyland also served as a Pittsburgh-based advance scout for the Cardinals before he was hired by the Tigers.

This was the first World Series in 22 years to have two previous World Series-winning managers facing each other, but at the helms of new teams. As previously mentioned, Leyland previously won the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins, and La Russa won the 1989 World Series with the Oakland Athletics. Overall, it was the first World Series since 1999 to have two previous Series-winning managers facing each other.

 Summary

NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Detroit Tigers (1)

†: Game 4 was postponed due to rain on October 25. Game 5 was subsequently pushed back a day as well.

 Matchups

 Game 1

Saturday, October 21, 2006 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan

Two rookies faced off in Game 1 for the first time in history: Anthony Reyes for St. Louis and Justin Verlander for Detroit. It looked like the Tigers were going to get to Reyes early in the bottom of the first, when Craig Monroe doubled and Magglio Ordóñez walked. Carlos Guillén singled Monroe in, giving the Tigers a 1–0 lead. However in the top of the second, Scott Rolen hit a long home run to left field, tying the score at 1–1. Rolen was 0-for-15 in his career in the World Series before hitting the home run. The previous mark had been 0-for-13, set by Benny Kauff of the New York Giants in the 1917 World Series. In the third inning the Cards broke through, first when Chris Duncan's RBI double scored Yadier Molina to give the Cardinals the lead. On Verlander's next pitch, 2005 National League MVP Albert Pujols banged a two-run home run, punishing the rookie who elected to pitch to the dangerous Pujols, rather than walk him with first base open and two outs and pitch to Jim Edmonds.

Meanwhile, Anthony Reyes was the story. The pitcher who had the fewest regular season wins of a Game 1 World Series starter (5) at one point retired seventeen in a row from the first inning to the sixth inning, a World Series record for a rookie. The previous record was thirteen (John Stuper, STL, 1982, and Dickie Kerr, CHW, 1919). Reyes' final line was eight-plus innings, four hits, two runs, and four strikeouts. The Cards took advantage of Detroit's mistakes again in the sixth, when Brandon Inge made two errors in one play. With runners on second and third, Inge threw to home wild to score a run and then obstructed Scott Rolen, who was running home, to score another run. Craig Monroe hit a solo home run off Reyes in the bottom of the ninth, which led to Reyes being pulled from the game, as Braden Looper came in to finish the game. The final score was 7–2 Cardinals, marking the first time since 2003 that the National League had won a World Series game, and the first World Series game won by St. Louis since Game 5 of the 1987 World Series.

 Game 2

Sunday, October 22, 2006 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan

With a starting temperature of 44 °F (7 °C), controversy surrounded the start of Game 2 when Tigers starting pitcher Kenny Rogers was found to have a substance on a patch of the palm of his pitching hand during the first inning. Although Cardinals hitters claimed that the ball was doing "weird things" in the first inning, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa did not request an inspection of Rogers' hand to determine what the substance was. Rogers said it was dirt, and complied with a request from the umpires to wash his hands before the second inning.

Rogers would go on to pitch eight shutout innings, running his postseason streak to 23 straight shutout innings, giving up only two hits. Craig Monroe hit his second home run in the series, and Carlos Guillén, who was a home run away from the cycle, and Sean Casey each drove in runs to give the Tigers a 3–0 lead going into the ninth. Todd Jones then came into the game to close it out but got into a heavy jam, with Scott Rolen being driven in by Jim Edmonds before a force-out at second with the bases loaded won the game for the Tigers. Craig Monroe became the fifth player to hit a home run in each of his first two World Series games. The others were Barry Bonds for the Giants in 2002, Ted Simmons for the Brewers in 1982, Dusty Rhodes for the New York Giants in 1954, and Jimmie Foxx for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1929.

 Game 3

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at Busch Stadium (III) in St. Louis, Missouri

After the Cardinals were shut out by Detroit pitcher Kenny Rogers for eight innings in Game 2, St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter answered with eight shutout innings of his own in a 5–0 Cardinals victory in Game 3. Carpenter, making his World Series debut (he missed the entire 2004 World Series due to injury) gave up only three hits, struck out six and did not issue a walk, while throwing only 82 pitches. Only one Tiger reached second base.

St. Louis began the scoring in the fourth inning on a bases-loaded two-run double by center fielder Jim Edmonds off of Nate Robertson. Two more runs would score in the bottom of the seventh on an error by Detroit pitcher Joel Zumaya, who overthrew a routine ground ball to third baseman Brandon Inge. St. Louis would add another run in the eighth on a wild pitch.

Reliever Braden Looper would pitch a perfect ninth to close out the game and give St. Louis a two-games-to-one advantage in the Series.

The Cardinals became the first team since the Cincinnati Reds in 1970 to host a World Series game in their first season in a new ballpark.

 Game 4

Thursday, October 26, 2006 at Busch Stadium (III) in St. Louis, Missouri

Rainout of Game 4, October 25th.

Game 4 was pushed back a day because of rain, the first time a rainout had occurred since Game 1 in 1996. The fans from the game were to attend Game 5 (Which also happened to be the clinching game for the Cardinals). (Thus, fans who had tickets for Game 5 went to Game 4 instead.) The Cardinals won, taking a 3–1 series lead. The Tigers took a 3–0 lead into the top of the third, after Sean Casey had two RBIs, including a home run. The other RBI came from Detroit's Iván Rodríguez, who singled in Carlos Guillén. Rodriguez, who had been hitless in the previous three games, also went 3-for-4. In the bottom of the third, the Cardinals struck back with a run-scoring double by David Eckstein, scoring Aaron Miles who had the first stolen base of the series by either team. Yadier Molina doubled in Scott Rolen in the fourth to cut the Tiger lead to 3–2. The score remained that way, until the bottom of the seventh, when Eckstein led off with a double over the head of Curtis Granderson, who had slipped on the wet Busch Stadium outfield. Eckstein then scored on a sacrifice bunt by So Taguchi that was thrown over the head of Plácido Polanco covering first by Fernando Rodney, and that tied the score at three. Later that same inning, Preston Wilson hit a single to left with two outs that scored Taguchi from third. The Tigers tied the game in the top of the eighth on a Brandon Inge double that scored Iván Rodríguez. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cardinals would regain and keep the lead when Miles scored on a double by Eckstein just off the glove of outfielder Craig Monroe, who had been playing shallow and dove for a ball just out of his reach.

 Game 5

Friday, October 27, 2006 at Busch Stadium (III) in St. Louis, Missouri

On a day in which it rained much of the day but stopped early enough to not delay the game, the Cardinals won to clinch the championship four games to one, making this the first five-game series since the Yankees–Mets Series in 2000.

Justin Verlander pitched a sloppy first inning for Detroit, walking three and tying a World Series record for a single inning by throwing two wild pitches. He avoided allowing any runs, however, thanks to a good play by shortstop Carlos Guillén to get the third out on what was almost an infield hit.

The Cardinals took the lead in the second inning on a lead-off single by Yadier Molina followed by two advancing groundouts, and then an infield single by David Eckstein. Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge made a good play to stop the ball off Eckstein's bat, but then made a poor throw to first which got by the first baseman and allowed Eckstein to advance to second. The throwing error was the seventh error of the series by the Tigers, also giving them at least one error in every game to that point.

Cardinals pitcher Jeff Weaver (an ex-Tiger) was cruising into the fourth inning, and he appeared to be nowhere near trouble with a lead-off groundout, followed by a routine popup by Magglio Ordóñez. This popup turned out to be much more troublesome than it first appeared: right fielder Chris Duncan dropped the ball, apparently distracted by center fielder Jim Edmonds who was also going after the ball. With Ordóñez on via the error, the very next pitch of the game was hit by Sean Casey into the right-field seats just inside the foul pole for a two-run homer that gave Detroit the lead, 2–1. The Cardinals would threaten immediately in the bottom of the inning, however, with Yadier Molina and So Taguchi each singling to put runners at first and second with one out. Pitcher Jeff Weaver then came up and attempted to bunt the runners over to second and third. The bunt was fielded cleanly by the pitcher Justin Verlander, but he attempted to force out the lead runner at third and threw the ball into the left-field foul area. This allowed Molina to score to tie it up, with Taguchi and Weaver arriving safely at third and second. Later, Verlander said "I picked it up and said, Don't throw it away, instead of just throwing it. I got tentative." The throwing error by Verlander was the fifth error by Detroit pitchers in the World Series, having committed one per game, setting a new World Series record. (A placard held by a Cardinals fan in the stands read "HIT IT TO THE PITCHER").The next batter, David Eckstein, grounded out to score the runner from third, and St. Louis secured their lead, 3–2.

Chris Duncan misplayed another ball in the top of the sixth for a Sean Casey two-out double, but this time the runner would be stranded as Iván Rodríguez then struck out to end the inning. A David Eckstein single followed by a Preston Wilson walk in the bottom of the seventh put runners at first and second with none out for the heart of the Cardinals order: Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen. Pujols popped out and Edmonds flied out, so it appeared Detroit might hold the Cardinals to a one-run lead. Instead, Scott Rolen singled and scored Eckstein, doubling the Cardinals lead to 4–2.

Jeff Weaver retired the side in order, and the Cardinals went to the ninth, three outs away from their first World Series title in 24 years. The man called on to get those three outs would be Adam Wainwright, who had won the job of closer after the star free agent brought to St. Louis in 2002, Jason Isringhausen, had season-ending surgery. Detroit's clean-up hitter, Magglio Ordóñez, led off the inning. He proceeded to work a full count but then grounded out. The second batter, Sean Casey, worked a full count and then doubled to bring the tying run to the plate. The third batter, Iván Rodríguez, got ahead in the count 2–0 but grounded back to Wainwright on the next pitch, putting the Cardinals one out away. The fourth batter, Plácido Polanco, fell behind 1–2, but then worked a walk to put the tying run on. The fifth batter, Brandon Inge, fell behind 0–2, again putting the Cardinals one strike from a World Series championship. He did not extend the drama any longer, as he swung and missed at the next pitch (making it the first World Series to end on a strikeout since the 1988 World Series), giving the World Series title to the Cardinals. The final play of the 2006 season was made at 10:26pm Central Standard time. After the game, Wainwright, who threw a curveball for strike three to win the pennant and a slider to Inge to win the Series, said "I'll probably never throw another curve or slider again without thinking of those two pitches."

The Cardinals are honored as champions of the World Series by President George W. Bush at the White House on January 15, 2007.

In calling the win, Fox commentator Joe Buck said: "For the first time since 1982, St. Louis has a World Series winner!," echoing his late father's call of the Cardinals win of 1982: "And that's a winner! That's a winner! A World Series winner for the Cardinals!"

 Composite box

2006 World Series (4–1): St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.) over Detroit Tigers (A.L.)

 Broadcasting

The World Series was televised in the United States by Fox, with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver as booth announcers. The starting time for each television broadcast was 8:00 pm EDT/6:00 pm MDT.

On radio, the Series was broadcast nationally by ESPN Radio, with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan announcing. Locally, Dan Dickerson and Jim Price called the Series for the Tigers on WXYT-AM in Detroit (with retired, longtime Tiger announcer Ernie Harwell calling an inning of Game 1), while Mike Shannon and John Rooney called it for the Cardinals on KTRS-AM in St. Louis. Per contractual obligation, the non-flagship stations on the teams' radio networks carried the ESPN Radio broadcasts.

John Rooney had broadcast the 2005 Series for the Chicago White Sox, and thus became the first announcer to call back-to-back World Series championships as an employee of different teams.

Games 1, 3 and 4 set all-time lows for television ratings, with Game 4 falling 20% from the previous year's Game 4. The Series as a whole was also the lowest-rated ever, with the four games averaging a Nielsen rating of only 10.0 and a share of 17. By contrast, the six games of the 1980 Series—in the pre-cable television era—garnered a record-high rating of 32.8 and a share of 56.