The 2010 MLB World Series

Often referred to as the “Fall Classic,” the World Series is one of the most popular and historic sporting events in the United States and has been contested annually between the champions of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) since 1903, with the exceptions of 1904 (not held because the NL winner refused to play the AL winner) and 1994 (canceled because of a players’ strike).

Over the years the drama of the World Series has produced a plethora of unexpected heroes (such as Bill Mazeroski and Joe Carter, who hit Series-winning home runs in 1960 and 1993, respectively), outstanding individual feats (including Willie Mays’s famed over-the-shoulder catch in 1954 and Reggie Jackson’s three home runs in game six of the 1977 Series), and tragic figures (from the Series-throwing “Chicago Black Sox” in 1917 to Bill Buckner and his infamous misplayed ground ball in 1986). While there are, of course, no guarantees that the 2008 iteration of the World Series will contain achievements as noteworthy as the those of past Fall Classics, the eventful 2008 baseball season bodes well for the possibility of an exciting postseason.

The World Series, also commonly known as the "Fall Classic" is the culmination of the Major League Baseball playoffs. The winners from the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS) square off in a best of 7 series. The home field advantage for the World Series is determined by the league that wins the MLB All-Star Game.

The World Series (a.k.a. October Classic, The Series) first appeared in 1903 in a match between the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) from the American League and the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. The Sox won the series five games to three, giving credibility to the American League (The American League was a newly founded division). The following year, the Red Sox once more made the Series but opponents New York Giants refused to play on grounds that the American League was inferior and that there were no formalized rules for the championship. Quick to respond, the MLB instituted the new World Series in 1905 as a permanent fixture. The leagues would “meet annually in a series of games for the professional baseball championship of the world.