Jump to content

2015 World Series

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jimpoz (talk | contribs) at 04:44, 4 November 2023 (→Series preview: 2019 (Washington/Houston) was the second all-expansion World Series, not 2023 (Texas/Arizona)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

2015 World Series
Team (Wins) Manager(s) Season
Kansas City Royals (4) Ned Yost 95–67, .586, GA: 12
New York Mets (1) Terry Collins 90–72, .556, GA: 7
DatesOctober 27 – November 1
Venue(s)Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City)
Citi Field (New York)
MVPSalvador Pérez (Kansas City)
UmpiresGary Cederstrom (crew chief),
Bill Welke (games 1–2), Mike Everitt (games 3–5), Mark Carlson, Mike Winters, Jim Wolf, Alfonso Márquez, Ron Kulpa (replay assistant)
Broadcast
TelevisionFox (United States)
MLB International (International)
TV announcersJoe Buck, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci, Ken Rosenthal and Erin Andrews (Fox)
Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz (MLB International)
RadioESPN
KCSP (KC)
WOR (NYM)
Radio announcersDan Shulman and Aaron Boone (ESPN)
Denny Matthews, Ryan Lefebvre, and Steve Physioc (KCSP)
Howie Rose and Josh Lewin (WOR)
Streaming
ALCSKansas City Royals over Toronto Blue Jays (4–2)
NLCSNew York Mets over Chicago Cubs (4–0)
World Series program
← 2014 World Series 2016 →

The 2015 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals. The series was played between October 27 and November 1, with the Royals winning the series 4 games to 1, clinching the team's second World Series and first since the 1985 series. It was the first time since 2010 that the Series extended into November.[1]

The Royals had home field advantage for the series because of the AL's 6–3 victory in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was the 13th World Series in which home field advantage was awarded to the league that won the All-Star Game, a practice that was discontinued after the 2016 season. The series was played in a 2-3-2 format: the Royals hosted Games 1 and 2, and would have hosted Games 6 and 7 had they been needed. The Mets hosted Games 3, 4, and 5.

The Royals became the first team since the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 World Series to win the World Series after losing in the previous year.[2] It was also the first World Series played between two expansion teams. Salvador Pérez was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

Background

Main article: 2015 MLB Postseason

New York Mets

Main article: 2015 New York Mets season

The Mets made their fifth appearance in the World Series after sweeping the Cubs 4–0 in the 2015 National League Championship Series (NLCS).[3] They had split their four previous appearances, winning the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles and the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, while losing the 1973 World Series against the Oakland Athletics and the 2000 World Series against the New York Yankees, their cross-town rivals.[4]

The Mets qualified for the postseason by winning the National League (NL) East, their sixth division title.[5] The third-seeded Mets faced the #2 seed Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2015 NL Division Series, winning in five games. In the 2015 NLCS, Daniel Murphy led the team by hitting home runs in each game of the four-game sweep of the fifth-seeded Chicago Cubs.[6] By winning the NLCS, the Mets ensured they have the most World Series appearances by an expansion franchise with five, though that has since been tied by the Houston Astros. In addition, the Mets have made World Series appearances in all but one of their six decades of existence, not appearing in any that were played during the 1990s.[7] This was the first World Series appearance for Mets' manager Terry Collins.[8][9]

Kansas City Royals

Main article: 2015 Kansas City Royals season

The Royals made their second consecutive appearance in the World Series, both under Ned Yost, and fourth overall. They won the 1985 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and lost their two other appearances, the 1980 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies and the 2014 World Series against the San Francisco Giants.[10] The Royals qualified for the postseason by winning the American League (AL) Central, their seventh division title and their first since winning the AL West in 1985.[11] The top-seeded Royals faced the #5 seed Houston Astros in the 2015 American League Division Series, winning in five games. They followed that up in the 2015 American League Championship Series, beating the second-seeded Toronto Blue Jays in six games.[12]

By winning the ALCS, the Royals became the first team to play in consecutive World Series since the Texas Rangers played in the 2010 World Series and 2011 World Series.[13]

Series preview

The series began on October 27.[14] The American League won the 2015 All-Star Game, therefore the Royals had home field advantage for the series.[15]

The Mets and the Royals hadn't played each other since 2013. Though the Mets boasted four starting pitchers who could throw over 95 miles per hour (153 km/h)—Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz—the Royals had the best team batting average against pitches over that speed during the 2015 season. And while the Mets' starting pitchers had the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in MLB, the Royals' roster of strong contact hitters led baseball in contact rate. The Royals also had a superior defensive team, finishing second in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved, while the Mets finished 21st.[16] The Royals bullpen, anchored by Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera, also provided a strength.[17] While the Mets hitters performed better against left-handed pitchers than right-handed pitchers, the Royals four starting pitchers, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Vólquez, Yordano Ventura, and Chris Young, and primary relievers, Davis, Herrera, Ryan Madson, and Luke Hochevar, are right-handed.[18] This was also the first time the World Series was played by teams which both had entered the league as expansion teams. The Mets joined the National League in 1962, and the Royals joined the American League in 1969.[19] The 2019 World Series would be the next time this would happen.

Summary

Kansas City won the series, 4–1.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 27 New York Mets – 4, Kansas City Royals – 5 (14) Kauffman Stadium 5:09 40,320[20] 
2 October 28 New York Mets – 1, Kansas City Royals – 7 Kauffman Stadium 2:54 40,410[21] 
3 October 30 Kansas City Royals – 3, New York Mets – 9 Citi Field 3:22 44,781[22] 
4 October 31 Kansas City Royals – 5, New York Mets – 3 Citi Field 3:29 44,815[23] 
5 November 1 Kansas City Royals – 7, New York Mets – 2 (12) Citi Field 4:15 44,859[24]

Game summaries

Game 1

October 27, 2015 7:09 pm (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, 52 °F (11 °C), overcast
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 R H E
New York 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 11 1
Kansas City 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 11 1
WP: Chris Young (1–0)   LP: Bartolo Colón (0–1)
Home runs:
NYM: Curtis Granderson (1)
KC: Alcides Escobar (1), Alex Gordon (1)
Attendance: 40,320
Boxscore
Eric Hosmer walks off Game 1 with a sac fly.

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by George Brett while Andy Grammer sang the national anthem.[25] Matt Harvey started Game 1 for the Mets, while Edinson Vólquez started for the Royals.[26] Vólquez's father had died earlier in the day.[27] He was not aware of his father's death until after he left the game.[28]

On the first pitch thrown by Harvey, Alcides Escobar hit an inside-the-park home run, the first in a World Series game since Mule Haas in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series,[29][30] and the first hit by a leadoff batter since Patsy Dougherty did it in Game 2 of the 1903 World Series.[31] In the fourth inning, Murphy recorded the Mets' first hit, and later scored their first run on a hit by Travis d'Arnaud.[32] Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the fifth inning to give the Mets a 2–1 lead.[33] The Mets took a 3–1 lead in the top of the sixth when Michael Conforto drove in Yoenis Céspedes with a sacrifice fly. Mike Moustakas then saved a run with a diving stop and throw out to first to end the top of the sixth.[34] Eric Hosmer reduced the lead to 3–2 with a sacrifice fly, and set a new Royals' postseason run batted in (RBI) record in the process.[35][36] A single by Moustakas tied the game at three, but in the top of the eighth, Wilmer Flores reached on an fielding error by Hosmer, allowing Juan Lagares to score the go-ahead run and give the Mets a 4–3 lead. In the bottom of the ninth with the Mets two outs away from taking Game 1, Alex Gordon tied the game for the Royals with a home run to deep center field, as Jeurys Familia blew his first save in six postseason opportunities and his first since July 30.[37][38][39] With the home run, Gordon became the first player since Scott Brosius in the 2001 World Series, and just the fifth player in history, to tie a World Series game on a home run in the ninth inning.[40]

In the bottom of the 11th inning, Granderson robbed the speedy Jarrod Dyson of a multi-base hit with a running, leaping catch that prevented what probably would have been a lead-off triple. The Mets went on to get out of the inning.[41] In the bottom of the 14th, Escobar reached first on a throwing error by David Wright, and Bartolo Colón gave up a base hit to Ben Zobrist, allowing Escobar to reach third. Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to Granderson in right field to drive in the winning run. This was the first time in World Series history that the same player scored both the first run of the game on the first pitch, and the last run of the game on the final pitch. The game ended at 12:18 a.m. CDT, lasting five hours and nine minutes.[42] The game tied the record for the longest game by innings in World Series history, shared with Game 2 in the 1916 World Series and Game 3 in the 2005 World Series. However, the record has since been surpassed by Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, which was 18 innings long.[43] The loss made Colón the oldest player ever to lose a World Series game.[44]

Game 2

Johnny Cueto was the winning pitcher in Game 2, pitching a complete game.
October 28, 2015 7:08 pm (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, 52 °F (11 °C), clear
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 3 x 7 10 0
WP: Johnny Cueto (1–0)   LP: Jacob deGrom (0–1)
Attendance: 40,410
Boxscore

In Game 2, Jacob deGrom started for the Mets, and Johnny Cueto started for the Royals.[45] The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Medal of Honor recipients Don Ballard, Charles Hagemeister, and Roger Donlon while country singer Sara Evans sang the national anthem.[46] Cueto walked Curtis Granderson to lead off the fourth and Daniel Murphy one out later. Yoenis Céspedes's hit into a forceout at second before Lucas Duda's RBI single put the Mets up 1–0. Duda produced the Mets' only other hit in the game in the second and Cueto retired them in order through the ninth.

In the fifth inning, deGrom allowed a leadoff walk to Alex Gordon and subsequent single to Alex Rios before Alcides Escobar's RBI single tied the game. Ben Zobrist's groundout moved the runners up and after Lorenzo Cain lined out to center, Eric Hosmer's two-run single put the Royals up 3–1. Kendrys Morales's single moved Hosmer to third and Mike Moustakas's single made it 4-1 Royals.

The Royals blew the game open in the eighth off of Jon Niese, who allowed a leadoff single to Moustakas, subsequent single to Salvador Pérez, and RBI double to Gordon. Addison Reed relieved Niese and allowed a sacrifice fly to Paulo Orlando and RBI triple to Escobar to make it 7-1 Kansas City.[47]

Cueto walked Murphy with two outs in the ninth before getting Cespedes to fly out to right to finish the complete game, becoming the first AL pitcher to accomplish this feat in the World Series since Jack Morris in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, as the Royals defeated the Mets and took a two games to zero lead in the series.[48][49] Cueto became the first AL pitcher since Jim Lonborg in the 1967 World Series to throw a World Series complete game while allowing two hits or fewer.[50]

Cueto’s is the most recent World Series complete game as of 2023.[51]

Game 3

Billy Joel sang the National Anthem before Game 3.
October 30, 2015 8:08 pm (EDT) at Citi Field in Queens, New York, 52 °F (11 °C), clear
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0
New York 2 0 2 1 0 4 0 0 x 9 12 0
WP: Noah Syndergaard (1–0)   LP: Yordano Ventura (0–1)
Home runs:
KC: None
NYM: David Wright (1), Curtis Granderson (2)
Attendance: 44,781
Boxscore

The series shifted to Citi Field, the home stadium of the Mets, for Game 3. Yordano Ventura started for the Royals and Noah Syndergaard started for the Mets.[52] The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Mike Piazza to catcher Kevin Plawecki while Billy Joel sang the national anthem.[53] With no designated hitter (DH) in NL parks, the Mets started Michael Conforto, their DH for Game 2, in the outfield instead of Juan Lagares, and the Royals did not start Kendrys Morales, their regular DH.[54]

Zobrist scored for the Royals in the first inning on a force play. In the bottom of the first inning, Wright hit a two-run homer that also scored Granderson. For the Royals, Alex Ríos drove Salvador Pérez home in the second inning, and scored on a passed ball by d'Arnaud, giving the Royals a 3–2 lead.[55] After a Syndergaard single, Granderson hit a two-run home run just over the right field wall in the third inning, and the Mets took a 4–3 lead. The Mets added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Conforto, and four more in the sixth inning, including an RBI single by Juan Uribe, in his first at bat since September 20.[56] The Royals made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in this game, the first coming in the fourth inning when pitcher Yordano Ventura forgot to cover the base on a ground ball to the first baseman, and the second in the sixth inning when Royals pitcher Franklin Morales triple-clutched Granderson's ground ball, allowing all runners to be safe, which led to a 2-run single by Wright.[57]

In the fifth inning, Royals player Raúl A. Mondesí made his Major League Baseball debut, pinch hitting for Danny Duffy. Mondesí became the first player ever to make his MLB debut in the World Series.[58]

Game 4

Ben Zobrist hit his eighth double of the postseason, tying a postseason record previously set by Albert Pujols and David Freese of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.[59]
October 31, 2015 8:08 pm (EDT) at Citi Field in Queens, New York, 51 °F (11 °C), cloudy
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 5 9 0
New York 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 5 2
WP: Ryan Madson (1–0)   LP: Tyler Clippard (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (1)
Home runs:
KC: None
NYM: Michael Conforto 2 (2)
Attendance: 44,815
Boxscore

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by country singer Tim McGraw, son of former Mets relief pitcher Tug McGraw while Demi Lovato sang the national anthem.[60] The starting pitchers for Game 4 were Chris Young of the Royals and Steven Matz of the Mets.[61] Conforto scored the game's first run with a home run in the third inning, and Flores scored later in the inning on a Granderson sacrifice fly, when right-fielder Ríos did not make an immediate throw home (thinking his catch was the third out of the inning).[62] The Royals cut the deficit to 2–1 in the top of the fifth when Pérez doubled and was then driven in by Gordon.[63] However, in the bottom of the fifth, Conforto hit another home run, becoming the first rookie to hit two home runs in a World Series game since Andruw Jones in 1996.[64] In the sixth inning, Zobrist hit his eighth double of the postseason, tying a postseason record previously set by Albert Pujols and David Freese of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.[59] Lorenzo Cain drove in Zobrist in to make it a 3–2 game.[63]

In the eighth inning, after recording the first out, Tyler Clippard walked two consecutive batters to force Terry Collins to bring in Familia. A key fielding error by Daniel Murphy allowed the tying run to score. The Royals took the lead on an RBI single from Moustakas, and then Pérez added an insurance run with another RBI base hit to give Kansas City the 5–3 lead. For Familia, it was his second blown save of the series, and second out of seven opportunities this postseason, though this one could be partly attributed to Murphy's error. Wade Davis converted a two-inning save for the Royals, his fourth overall this postseason.[65] Davis pitched a perfect eighth, but got into some trouble with one out in the ninth when Murphy hit a hard grounder that Moustakas could not field cleanly, and then Céspedes got a base hit to bring the winning run to the plate in Duda. However, Duda hit a soft line drive that was caught by Moustakas, who then doubled off Céspedes at first to end the game. Céspedes had started running thinking the ball would hit the ground.[66]

Game 5

External videos
video icon Game 5 Full replay on MLB's official YouTube channel
Eric Hosmer scored the tying run in the top of the ninth inning.
Wade Davis throwing the last pitch of the 2015 World Series.
November 1, 2015 8:18 pm (EST) at Citi Field in Queens, New York, 61 °F (16 °C), cloudy
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 7 10 1
New York 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 2
WP: Luke Hochevar (1–0)   LP: Addison Reed (0–1)
Home runs:
KC: None
NYM: Curtis Granderson (3)
Attendance: 44,859
Boxscore

Vólquez returned to the Dominican Republic for his father's funeral the day after Game 1, but he returned in time to start Game 5.[67][68] Harvey started for the Mets.[69] New York City Fire Department firefighter Frank Pizarro sang the national anthem, Tony Bennett performed "America the Beautiful", and the first pitches were thrown by Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, and Darryl Strawberry.[70]

Granderson led off the first inning with a home run for the Mets,[71] and scored the Mets' second run in the sixth inning. The Mets had a chance to break the game open in that sixth inning as they loaded the bases with no outs, but had to settle for one run after Céspedes lined a foul ball off his leg and was injured, leaving the game after popping up for the first out of the inning. Duda hit a sacrifice fly before d'Arnaud grounded out to end the inning. Harvey pitched eight shutout innings for the Mets, and convinced Collins to keep him in the game for the ninth. He then gave up a leadoff walk to Cain in the ninth inning, and the Royals got a run when Hosmer drove Cain in with a double, prompting Collins to call upon Familia to relieve Harvey. After a groundout by Moustakas advanced Hosmer to third base with one out, Pérez hit a ground ball to third baseman David Wright. Wright, after checking Hosmer at third, threw to first base for the second out; however, Hosmer broke for home as soon as the ball was thrown. Duda, who fielded the out at first, threw wide at home attempting to throw Hosmer out, and the latter scored the tying run. This resulted in Familia blowing his third save of the postseason and the series; his eight save opportunities tied the postseason record set in 2002 by Robb Nen.[72]

In the top of the 12th inning, with Addison Reed pitching for the Mets, Pérez hit a single for the Royals. Pinch running for Pérez, Dyson stole a base and scored on a single by pinch hitter Christian Colón.[73] Colón scored on a hit by Escobar. The Royals loaded the bases, and Cain drove home three more runs with a double off of Bartolo Colón. Davis pitched a shutout inning for the Royals to complete the series and win the championship.[74][75] With Game 5 having crept well past midnight eastern time, Flores struck out looking to end the game, series, and baseball season, with the Royals winning and ending their 30-year World Series title drought.[76]

Pérez, who batted 8-for-22 (.364) in the series, and caught every inning for the Royals with the exception of the final inning of the series, won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. He became the first catcher to win the award since Pat Borders won it in the 1992 World Series, and the second Venezuelan player, following Pablo Sandoval, who won it in the 2012 World Series.[77] Paulo Orlando made history as the first Brazilian player to win the World Series and the third South American to do so, the first was the Venezuelan player Luis Aparicio and the second was the Colombian player Edgar Rentería.

Composite line score

Salvador Pérez was named the Most Valuable Player of the series.

2015 World Series (4–1): Kansas City Royals (AL) beat New York Mets (NL).

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 R H E
Kansas City Royals 2 2 0 0 5 3 0 6 3 0 0 5 0 1 27 47 2
New York Mets 3 0 4 3 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 34 6
Home runs:
KC: Alcides Escobar (1), Alex Gordon (1)
NYM: Curtis Granderson (3), David Wright (1), Michael Conforto (2)
Total attendance: 215,185   Average attendance: 43,037
Winning player's share: $370,069.03.   Losing player's share: $300,757.78.

Broadcasting

Television

Joe Buck, play-by-play announcer

Fox broadcast the series in the United States, with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck calling the action along with color analysts Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci and field reporters Ken Rosenthal and Erin Andrews. The pregame and postgame show featured host Kevin Burkhardt with analysts Frank Thomas, Raul Ibanez, Pete Rose, and Alex Rodriguez. Fox Deportes offered a Spanish telecast of the series in the United States. The MLB International feed featured Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz with play-by-play and analysis, respectively.[78]

Fox suffered an outage during their broadcast of followed by a five-minute delay while officials addressed the availability of video review due to the loss of Fox's feed; the teams agreed to allow the use of footage from the world feed of the game for video review. Fox temporarily switched to the MLB International feed of the game with Vasgersian and Smoltz to restore coverage. The video from the feed was then accompanied by Fox's commentators before the full Fox production was restored.[79]

The World Series started on a Tuesday for the second straight year, instead of a Wednesday as in the past. The practice was to avoid games on Thursday and Monday nights, generally big days of television viewing, where Fox's telecast would face stiff competition from Thursday Night Football, ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime, various popular primetime entertainment shows, and Monday Night Football.[80] Had the World Series gone to a Game 6, it would have competed against Election Day coverage for the first time in World Series history, though 2015 was not a presidential or midterm election. All World Series held since 2015 were scheduled to complete prior to Election Day.

Ratings

Further information: World Series television ratings

Game 1 of the World Series averaged a 4.6 rating on Fox, making it the most watched Game 1 since the 2010 World Series.[81] Game 2 then had a 3.9 rating, up 24 percent from last season's Game 2.[82] The series also recorded the most watched Game 3 since 2009.[83]

Game 5 went head-to-head with an NBC Sunday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos (both undefeated). Media sources like Sporting News predicted this heavy competition would result in series-low ratings.[84] While the football game drew the larger audience, the Royals and Mets did average a 10.0 rating, the highest for a World Series Game 5 since 2003.[85]

Game Ratings
(households) 		Share
(households) 		U.S. audience
(in millions) 		Ref
1 9.0 17 14.94 [86]
2 8.3 12 13.72 [87]
3 9.07 15 13.20 [88]
4 9.29 11 13.58 [89]
5 11.66 13 17.20 [90]

Radio

ESPN Radio aired the series, with Dan Shulman on play-by-play, Aaron Boone handling color commentary, and Buster Olney serving as field reporter. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Archer served as a guest commentator for selected innings in Games 1, 2 and 5. Marc Kestecher anchored pre-game and post-game coverage for the network along with Chris Singleton and Peter Pascarelli.[91]

Locally, the series was broadcast on the teams' flagship radio stations with their respective announcing crews. In New York, WOR aired the games in English, with Howie Rose and Josh Lewin announcing, while WEPN-AM aired the games in Spanish, with Juan Alicea and Max Pérez Jiménez announcing. In Kansas City, KCSP broadcast the games, with Denny Matthews, Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Stewart, and Steve Physioc announcing.[92] WEPN-FM and WHB, the ESPN Radio affiliates in New York and Kansas City respectively, aired the network's coverage of the series in those cities.[93][94]

Historical notes

Aftermath

This was the first World Series in which both teams were expansion teams, which are teams that were formed after the 1960 season; the Mets began play in 1962 and the Royals in 1969.[95][96] Additionally, they have been the most successful expansion teams in the major leagues: the Mets and Royals were the first expansion teams in their respective leagues to win not only a league championship pennant (1969 for the Mets and 1980 for the Royals) but the World Series as well (the Mets in 1969 and the Royals in 1985). With five and four pennants respectively, the Mets and Royals have the most league championships among the expansion franchises. Each team was also seeking to end a championship drought; the Royals' previous championship was in 1985, with the Mets' last title coming one year later in 1986.[97] The Mets and Royals met on Opening Day of the 2016 season, on April 3, 2016, for a Sunday night game in Kansas City.[98] Additionally, the Royals became the first team in World Series history to start three pitchers—Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, and Johnny Cueto—born outside the United States.[99]

As was the case with their 1985 championship, the Royals missed the postseason a year after winning the World Series. After 81 and 80-win seasons for the next two years, a pair of 100-loss seasons followed in 2018 and 2019, during which management dismantled the core of the 2015 team and Ned Yost retired from managing. Of the players who played for the 2015 Royals, only Salvador Pérez remained with the team as of 2022. The Mets qualified for the 2016 National League Wild Card Game after an 87-win season, but lost to the San Francisco Giants. This was followed by a 70-win season in Terry Collins' final year as manager.[100]

The Back to the Future prediction

In the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II, the Chicago Cubs are depicted as the 2015 World Series champions, defeating a fictional American League team from Miami whose mascot is an alligator in four-game sweep starting October 17 and ending on 21st, The Miami Marlins would not be formed until four years later whose mascot is a billfish. The Cubs would end up facing the Miami Marlins in the 2003 National League Championship Series but lost in seven games. Screenwriter Bob Gale, who co-wrote the script of Back to the Future Part II, originally intended it as a joke, saying "Being a baseball fan, I thought, 'OK, let's come up with one of the most unlikely scenarios we can think of'", referencing both the Cubs' long championship drought and the fact that Florida did not have a baseball team in 1989. He also explained that the October 21 prediction was based on the postseason structure at the time, and thus could have been accurate had MLB not added the Division Series in 1994 (but not played until 1995 due to the strike) and the Wild Card Game in 2012.[101] In the actual 2015 postseason, The Cubs advanced to the National League Championship Series but were eliminated in four games vs The New York Mets. Coincidentally, the final game of the NLCS took place on October 21, the same date as the fictional events in the film. The film's prediction would prove to be incorrect by a year.

See also

References

  1. ^ Jaffe, Jay (September 8, 2014). "MLB announces 2015 schedule with April start, October finish". Sports Illustrated. New York City: Time Inc. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  2. ^ Teams that lost WS and returned the next year, MLB.com, November 5, 2022
  3. ^ Kepner, Tyler (October 21, 2015). "Mets, Team of Big Shoulders, Sweep Cubs to Reach World Series". The New York Times. Chicago. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  4. ^ "Video: A look back at some memorable moments in Mets World Series history". WABC-TV. New York City: ABC Inc. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  5. ^ "Mets celebrate NL East championship". Newsday. New York City: Cablevision. September 27, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  6. ^ Rubin, Adam (October 22, 2015). "Mets headed to World Series after sweeping Cubs with 8–3 win". ESPN.com. Chicago: ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  7. ^ Cassavell, AJ (October 26, 2015). "DYK: Top facts about Mets–Royals matchup". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  8. ^ Nightengale, Bob (October 26, 2015). "Mets manager Terry Collins, a baseball lifer, gets his shot at World Series". USA Today. Kansas City, Missouri: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  9. ^ "2015 New York Mets". Baseball Reference. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  10. ^ "Royals Postseason Results". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  11. ^ Stephen, Eric (September 25, 2015). "Royals are first MLB team to clinch division in 2015". SB Nation. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  12. ^ "2015 Kansas City Royals". Baseball Reference. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  13. ^ Nightengale, Bob (October 27, 2015). "Heartbreak of 2014 has shaped Kansas City Royals' 2015 World Series run". USA Today. Kansas City, Missouri: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  14. ^ Newman, Mark (September 24, 2015). "2015 Postseason Schedule". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  15. ^ "Mike Trout goes deep right off the bat to carry American League to win". ESPN. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  16. ^ "World Series preview: Making cases for the Mets and Royals". USA Today. October 26, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  17. ^ Vorkunov, Mike (October 27, 2015). "World Series 2015: The definitive Mets-Kansas City Royals preview". NJ.com. NJ Advance Media. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  18. ^ "2015 World Series: 13 things to know about Mets–Royals matchup". CBS Sports. October 26, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  19. ^ The All-Expansion Team World Series, The Hardball Times, October 27, 2015
  20. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 1". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  21. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 2". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  22. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 3". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  23. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 4". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  24. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 5". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  25. ^ SI Wire. "World Series Game 1: George Brett to throw out first pitch". SI.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  26. ^ Normandin, Marc (October 27, 2015). "It's Matt Harvey vs. Edinson Volquez in World Series Game 1". SBNation.com. Vox Media. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  27. ^ Snyder, Matt (October 27, 2015). "Edinson Volquez's father dies on day of World Series Game 1". cbssports.com. Kansas City, Missouri: CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  28. ^ Gonzalez, Alden (October 28, 2015). "Volquez learns of father's death after start". MLB.com. Kansas City, Missouri: Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  29. ^ Gonzalez, Alden (October 28, 2015). "Escobar's inside-the-park HR one for the ages". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri: MLB Advanced Media, LP. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  30. ^ Snyder, Matt (October 28, 2015). "Alcides Escobar hits 1st World Series inside-the-park HR since 1929". cbssports.com. Kansas City, Missouri: CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  31. ^ Berg, Ted (October 27, 2015). "Alcides Escobar hits leadoff inside-the-park home run in World Series Game 1". USA Today. Kansas City, Missouri: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  32. ^ Bloom, Barry (October 28, 2015). "No HR, but Murphy has 10-game hit streak". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri: MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  33. ^ Hoch, Bryan (October 28, 2015). "Granderson goes deep, robs hit in Series return". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri: MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  34. ^ "2015 World Series Collector's Edition: 8 Disc-Collection". Major League Baseball. Official MLB DVD. 2015.
  35. ^ Flanagan, Jeffrey (October 28, 2015). "Hosmer gets redemption with walk-off RBI". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri: MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  36. ^ "World Series 2015: Mets 4–5 Royals—as it happened". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  37. ^ 2015 World Series Collector's Edition Sleevestats. United States of America: Major League Baseball. 2015. p. 1.
  38. ^ Hagen, Paul (October 28, 2015). "Gordon's heroics rewrite Game 1 ending". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri: MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  39. ^ Crasnick, Jerry (October 28, 2015). "Eric Hosmer's sac fly in 14th gives Royals dramatic Game 1 win". ESPN.com. Kansas City, Missouri: ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  40. ^ Official MLB Collector's Edition 2015 World Series Champions Kansas City Royals. United States of America: Fenn/McClelland & Stewart. 2015. p. 66.
  41. ^ "2015 World Series Collector's Edition". Major League Baseball, Inc. Official MLB DVD.
  42. ^ Burke, Matt (October 28, 2015). "Mets fall to Royals in a 14-inning Game 1 World Series classic". Metro.us. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  43. ^ McCalvy, Adam (October 27, 2015). "Fall Classic opener longest Game 1 in WS history". Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  44. ^ Verducci, Tom. "Life and death provided backdrop for wild, historic World Series opener". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  45. ^ Schoenfield, David (October 28, 2015). "Game 2 pitching preview: Jacob deGrom versus Johnny Cueto". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  46. ^ "World Series national anthems and first pitches". Newsday. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  47. ^ "Royals go up 2–0 on Mets in World Series behind Johnny Cueto's 2-hitter". ESPN News Services. Kansas City, Missouri: ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  48. ^ "Johnny Cueto outpitches Jacob deGrom as Royals take 2–0 World Series lead". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  49. ^ Lacques, Gabe (October 29, 2015). "Royals' Johnny Cueto makes history with World Series complete game". USA Today. Kansas City, Missouri: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  50. ^ 2015 World Series Collector's Edition Sleevestats. United States of America: Major League Baseball, Inc. 2015. p. 3.
  51. ^ Bloom, Barry M. (October 29, 2023). "D-backs Merrill Kelly Proves the World Series Complete Game Is Dead". Sportico. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  52. ^ Justice, Richard. "Ventura vs. Thor a showdown of MLB's hardest throwers". MLB.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  53. ^ Kerber, Fred (October 31, 2015). "Mike Piazza kicks off Game 3 with 'doo-doo' 1st pitch". New York Post. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  54. ^ Simon, Andrew. "Conforto in LF for Mets; Morales out for KC". MLB.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  55. ^ "Mets slam back into World Series with Game 3 domination". New York Post. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  56. ^ "Michael Conforto rewarded Collins' faith with this clutch play—New York Post". New York Post. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  57. ^ "Franklin Morales' misplay costly to Royals in Game 3 loss to Mets". USA TODAY. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  58. ^ "Royals' Raul A. Mondesi, 20, makes World Series history with debut". ESPN. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  59. ^ a b "Ben Zobrist hits eighth double, ties record". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  60. ^ "World Series 2015: Demi Lovato to sing Game 4 national anthem, Tim McGraw gets 1st pitch". NJ.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  61. ^ "Blogs—Sports Blogs". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  62. ^ "Royals Alex Rios loses track of outs in Game 4". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  63. ^ a b "2015 World Series Collector's Edition". Major League Baseball, Inc. Official MLB DVD. 2015.
  64. ^ "Mets Michael Conforto homers twice in Game 4". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  65. ^ DiComo, Anthony; Flanagan, Jeffrey. "Figure 8: KC rall-E stuns Mets; WS end tonight?". mlb.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  66. ^ Botte, Peter (November 1, 2015). "Yoenis Céspedes has another nightmare game for Mets in World Series Game 4 loss". New York Daily News.
  67. ^ Flanagan, Jeffrey. "Royals expect Volquez to return today". MLB.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  68. ^ Waldstein, David (November 1, 2015). "For Royals' Edinson Vólquez, a Bittersweet Start in His Father's Memory". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  69. ^ "In Game 5, Matt Harvey looks to make his own statement". lohud.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  70. ^ "Mets announce that a music legend will sing before Game 5". NJ.com. November 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  71. ^ "Granderson homers to give Mets early le". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  72. ^ Perry, Dayn (November 1, 2015). "2015 World Series: Mets' Matt Harvey talks his way in, and it backfires". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  73. ^ "Royals crowned kings of improbability and MLB". ESPN. November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  74. ^ "Watch: Christian Colon delivers 12th-inning game-winning RBI for Royals". Sports Illustrated. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  75. ^ Keh, Andrew (November 2, 2015). "Royals Battle Back Against Mets Then Win World Series With an Outburst". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  76. ^ "Royals win World Series as Yost says: 'I couldn't have written a better script'". Guardian. November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  77. ^ Kahrl, Christina (November 2, 2016). "Royals catcher Salvador Pérez named World Series MVP". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  78. ^ "John Smoltz to call games for Fox MLB telecasts". USA Today. New York City: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Associated Press. March 10, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  79. ^ Hoch, Bryan; Newman, Mark (October 27, 2015). "Game 1 briefly halted due to FOX outage". Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  80. ^ Calcaterra, Craig (October 22, 2015). "The Mets will have five days off before the World Series. Why?". HardballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  81. ^ "Ratings: World Series on Fox Off to Best Start Since 2010; 'Wicked City' Opens Quietly". Variety. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  82. ^ "World Series Game 2 Ratings Jump From 2014 & Beat GOP Debate, 'Arrow' Rises". deadline.com. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  83. ^ "World Series Ratings Hit 6-Year Game 3 High, 'Grimm' Returns Down, '20/20' Surges With Leah Remini Interview". deadline.com. October 30, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  84. ^ "Weekend ratings predictions: Packers-Broncos, World Series and more". Sporting News. October 29, 2015. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  85. ^ Patten, Dominic (November 2, 2015). "'World Series' Ratings Hit 12-Year Game 5 Viewership High, 'SNF' Wins Night With 23M Viewers". Deadline. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  86. ^ Paulsen (October 28, 2015). "Mets/Royals Opener Hits Multi-Year Highs on FOX". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  87. ^ Paulsen (October 30, 2015). "Mets/Royals Game 2 Trails Debate, But Hits Four-Year high". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  88. ^ Porter, Rick. "TV Ratings Friday: 'Grimm' returns lower, 'Hawaii Five-0' ticks up vs. World Series". Zap2it. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  89. ^ Porter, Rick. "TV Ratings Saturday: World Series doubles up college football". Zap2it. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  90. ^ Porter, Rick. "TV Ratings Sunday: NFL tops World Series, both drive scripted shows down". Zap2it. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  91. ^ "ESPN's Coverage of the 111th World Series: New York Mets vs. Kansas City Royals". sportsmedianews.com. October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  92. ^ "Your 2015 World Series Announcing Schedule". Awful Announcing. October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  93. ^ "World Series 2015 TV schedule: New York Mets vs. Kansas City Royals live stream: Time, TV, channel, how to watch online". NJ.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  94. ^ "Sports On the Air". kansascity. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  95. ^ Best, Neil. "Mets–Royals World Series is the first between 2 expansion teams—Newsday". Newsday. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  96. ^ "10 Things to Know About the World Series—NYMag". Daily Intelligencer. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  97. ^ "Top facts about Mets, Royals World Series". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  98. ^ "Royals' 2016 opener against the Mets will be on a Sunday night on ESPN". Kansas City Star. November 19, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  99. ^ "Royals' rotation puts the 'world' in World Series with Dominican flair". October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  100. ^ "New York Mets Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  101. ^ Placek, Christopher (October 9, 2015). "'Back to the Future' writer says 2015 Cubs prediction no longer a joke". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois: Paddock Publications, Inc. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
External videos
video icon 2015 World Series Game 5 - Royals vs. Mets on YouTube
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2015_World_Series&oldid=1183415544"