| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 4–22, 1975[1] |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Cincinnati Reds (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Pete Rose (CIN) |
The1975 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament ofMajor League Baseball for the1975 season. The winners of each division advance to the postseason and face each other in aLeague Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in theWorld Series.
In the American League, theOakland Athletics made their fifth straight postseason appearance, and theBoston Red Sox made their first postseason appearance since1967. This was Boston’s last postseason appearance until1986.
In the National League, theCincinnati Reds returned for the fourth time in the past six seasons, and thePittsburgh Pirates returned for the fifth time in the past six seasons. This edition of the postseason would replicate itself in1990, as all four teams from the 1975 postseason would return that year.
The playoffs began on October 4, 1975, and concluded on October 22, 1975, with theCincinnati Reds defeating theBoston Red Sox in seven games in the1975 World Series. It was the first title for the Reds since1940, and their third overall.
The following teams qualified for the postseason:
| League Championship Series (ALCS,NLCS) | World Series | |||||||
| East | Boston | 3 | ||||||
| West | Oakland | 0 | ||||||
| AL | Boston | 3 | ||||||
| NL | Cincinnati | 4 | ||||||
| East | Pittsburgh | 0 | ||||||
| West | Cincinnati | 3 | ||||||
Boston won the series, 3–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 4 | Oakland Athletics – 1,Boston Red Sox – 7 | Fenway Park | 2:40 | 35,578[6] |
| 2 | October 5 | Oakland Athletics – 3,Boston Red Sox – 6 | Fenway Park | 2:27 | 35,578[7] |
| 3 | October 7 | Boston Red Sox – 5,Oakland Athletics – 3 | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 2:30 | 49,358[8] |
This was the first postseason meeting between the Red Sox and Athletics. The Red Sox shockingly swept the three-time defending World Series champion Athletics to advance to the World Series for the first time since1967.
Luis Tiant pitched a complete game for the Red Sox as they blew out the Athletics in Game 1.Carl Yastrzemski led the comeback effort for the Red Sox as they won by three runs to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Oakland.Rick Wise pitched seven solid innings and the Sox bullpen stopped a rally by the A’s to clinch the pennant. Game 3 was the first night game in ALCS history.[9] This was the first playoff series win by the Red Sox since the1918 World Series.
The Red Sox would win their next pennant in1986 over theCalifornia Angels in seven games after trailing 3–1 in the series and being a strike away from elimination in Game 5, but they would come up short in the World Series.
The loss to the Red Sox marked the end of the Athletics’ dynasty. They returned to the ALCS in1981, but were swept by theNew York Yankees. The Athletics would win their next pennant in1988, where they returned the favor and swept the Red Sox before coming up short in the World Series.
The Red Sox and Athletics would meet in the postseason again three more times - in the ALCS in 1988 and1990, and the ALDS in2003, with the Athletics sweeping the former two series, and the Red Sox winning the latter.
Cincinnati won the series, 3–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 4 | Pittsburgh Pirates – 3,Cincinnati Reds – 8 | Riverfront Stadium | 3:00 | 54,633[10] |
| 2 | October 5 | Pittsburgh Pirates – 1,Cincinnati Reds – 6 | Riverfront Stadium | 2:51 | 54,752[11] |
| 3 | October 7 | Cincinnati Reds – 5,Pittsburgh Pirates – 3(10) | Three Rivers Stadium | 2:47 | 46,355[12] |
This was the third postseason meeting in the history of thePirates-Reds rivalry (1970,1972). The Reds swept the Pirates to advance to the World Series for the third time in five years (in the process denying a rematch of the1903 World Series between the Pirates and Red Sox).
This series was not close -Don Gullett pitched a complete game as the Reds blew out the Pirates in Game 1, andFred Norman andRawly Eastwick held the Pirates' offense to just one run scored in Game 2 as the Reds went up 2–0 in the series headed to Pittsburgh. In Game 3, the Pirates held a 2–1 lead after seven innings, untilPete Rose hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth to put the Reds ahead for good, effectively securing the pennant. Game 3 was the first game of the NLCS played at night.[13]
The Reds returned to the NLCSthe next year, where they swept thePhiladelphia Phillies en route to a second straight World Series title.
The Pirates would exact revenge on the Reds in the NLCS in1979, and went on to win theWorld Series over theBaltimore Orioles in seven games.
Cincinnati won the series, 4–3.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11 | Cincinnati Reds – 0,Boston Red Sox – 6 | Fenway Park | 2:27 | 35,205[14] |
| 2 | October 12 | Cincinnati Reds – 3,Boston Red Sox – 2 | Fenway Park | 2:38 | 35,205[15] |
| 3 | October 14 | Boston Red Sox – 5,Cincinnati Reds – 6(10) | Riverfront Stadium | 3:03 | 55,392[16] |
| 4 | October 15 | Boston Red Sox – 5,Cincinnati Reds – 4 | Riverfront Stadium | 2:52 | 55,667[17] |
| 5 | October 16 | Boston Red Sox – 2,Cincinnati Reds – 6 | Riverfront Stadium | 2:23 | 56,393[18] |
| 6 | October 21† | Cincinnati Reds – 6,Boston Red Sox – 7(12) | Fenway Park | 4:01 | 35,205[19] |
| 7 | October 22 | Cincinnati Reds – 4,Boston Red Sox – 3 | Fenway Park | 2:52 | 35,205[20] |
†: postponed from October 18 due to rain
This World Series featured two teams with lengthy championship droughts. The Red Sox last won the World Series in1918, while the Reds won their last title in1940. In what many consider to be one of the greatest World Series ever played, the Reds defeated the Red Sox in seven games in a back-and-forth series, ending a 35-year championship drought.
Luis Tiant pitched a five-hit complete game shutout as the Red Sox took Game 1. The Reds took Game 2 by one run to tie the series despite using four different pitchers. When the series shifted to Cincinnati, the Reds narrowly took Game 3 thanks to a walk-off RBI fromJoe Morgan in the bottom of the tenth. In Game 4, despite giving up four runs, Tiant pitched another complete game for the Red Sox on three-days rest as Boston evened the series. In Game 5,Don Gullett and closerRawly Eastwick helped the Reds win by a 6–2 score to gain a 3–2 series lead going back toFenway Park.
Game 6 of the series is widely regarded as one of the greatest games ever played in World Series history - Boston'sFred Lynn got the Red Sox an early lead in the bottom of the first inning with a three-run home run, and after four more innings, the Reds scored three runs to tie the game at three runs each. The Reds then scored three more runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 6–3 lead, then Boston'sBernie Carbo hit another three-run home run to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Then, no runs were scored in the ninth, tenth, or eleventh innings of play. In the twelfth inning,Carlton Fisk hit one of the most famous walk-off home runs in postseason history to win the game for the Red Sox, and the series then moved on to a seventh game.
In Game 7, the Red Sox again took an early 3–0 lead, however it would not hold, as the Reds rallied late in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game, and then they took the lead for good in the top of the ninth thanks to a single by Morgan which scoredKen Griffey. The Reds closed out the series in the bottom of the ninth to capture their first championship in 35 years. This wasPete Rose’s first World Series championship, and he was namedWorld Series MVP.
The Reds would go on to repeat as World Series championsthe next year, sweeping theNew York Yankees. They would also add another championship in1990 in a sweep over theOakland Athletics.
The Red Sox's collapse in Game 7 contributed to the popular mythology of theCurse of the Bambino, which had been extended to 57 years. The Red Sox returned to the World Series in1986, but they lost theNew York Mets in seven games after being a strike away from the championship twice in Game 6. They would eventually end the curse in2004, where they swept theSt. Louis Cardinals to end their 86-year championship drought.
This was the last year thatNBC televised all postseason games nationally in the United States. Beginning in 1976, the postseason coverage would be split between NBC andABC.
Each team's local broadcaster also televised coverage of LCS games.
