Cardinals–Royals rivalry
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The I-70 Series is a Major League Baseball rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League and Kansas City Royals of the American League. The rivalry is called this as the two cities are located in the state of Missouri, whose nickname is the "Show-Me State". They played each other for the first time in the 1985 World Series, which the Royals won in seven games, but which is perhaps best remembered for a controversial call from umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6. Due to their geographical proximity, the teams face each other every regular season in interleague play. This is also sometimes referred to as the I-70 Series.
Background
The Cardinals were one of Major League Baseball's original teams, having played in the National League in St. Louis since they were formed as the Brown Stockings in 1882. The Royals joined the majors in 1969 as one of the American League's first expansion teams. Because there was no interleague play until 1997, the only opportunity for the Cardinals and Royals to meet was in the World Series, which occurred in 1985. The two teams had gone through several periods of prolonged success (and several notable droughts) leading up to the 1985 World Series. The Cardinals fell on hard times in the 1970s, after winning the 1964 World Series and the 1967 World Series, and appearing in the 1968 World Series. The Kansas City Royals had become one of the best teams in baseball by the late 1970s, reaching the American League playoffs six times in nine years between 1976 and 1984, including the 1980 World Series. After several down years, the Cardinals emerged as a pennant contender in the early 1980s, winning the 1982 World Series.
1985 World Series
The first official meeting between the Cardinals and Royals was in the 1985 World Series. This marked only the second time in baseball history that two teams from the state of Missouri met in the World Series. The first time was in 1944 when the Cardinals played the St. Louis Browns who became the Baltimore Orioles after they relocated in 1954. That series also marked, to date, the last time that a World Series was held entirely in one ballpark, as the Cardinals and Browns shared a stadium at the time.
The Cardinals won the National League East division by three games over the New York Mets, then defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, four games to two, in the National League Championship Series. The Royals won the American League West division by one game over the California Angels then defeated the Toronto Blue Jays four games to three in the American League Championship Series.
The Royals lost the first two games at home, and were on the verge of elimination down 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th in Game 6 when umpire Don Denkinger made a controversial call, ruling runner Jorge Orta safe at first. The Royals would go on to win the game in the bottom of the 9th, and then win Game 7 the following day for their first and thus far only World Series title. The Royals became the first team ever to win the World Series after dropping Games 1 and 2 at home. This also marks, to date, the last playoff appearance for the Royals.
Interleague Play
Interleague play in 1997 allowed the I-70 Series to be revived in non-exhibition games. The first few seasons of the series were rather even, with the Cardinals holding a slight advantage with a 14–13 record through the 2003 season. Through the 2012 season, the Cardinals hold the series advantage 45–34. The Royals took two out of three from the Cardinals in 2010 behind victories from starting pitchers Zack Greinke and Bruce Chen. In 2011, the Cardinals won 4 of the 6 match-ups, 3 of them in the 8th inning or later. The last 4 games in the series were 1-run games. In 2012, the Cardinals again won 4 of the 6 games, on the strength of a three game sweep in St. Louis, June 22-24.
External links
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- [8]"There's always a festive air when the St. Louis Cardinals come to Kauffman Stadium to renew the old Missouri rivalry with the Royals."
Bibliography
- Spivak, Jeff. Crowning the Kansas City Royals: Remembering the 1985 World Series Champs. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1582618267.