A personal World Series review: 1 through 10

I'm rating the 25 World Series that I covered from 1981 to 2007. That's the number because there was no Series played in 1994 and I didn't have the assignment in 2006. If I had, the 2006 Series between the Cardinals and the Tigers would have rated 26^th.

Here's the top 10, in reverse order for dramatic effect:

10—1981: The first one I covered, the Dodgers and the Yankees at the end of a strike-shortened season that was played in two "halves,'' with eight teams advancing to the playoffs.

The Yankees won the first two, then the Dodgers came back to win four straight. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner had a fight at an L.A. hotel – allegedly with Dodgers fans who were ripping New York City – and a couple of meltdowns as his team faded away against Tommy Lasorda's club.

And I had a chance to sit next to the venerable Red Smith, the greatest sports writer of all, in the press box for the three games in New York. He loved making fun of George.

9—1985: Umpire Don Denkinger saved Kansas City with the wretched call at first base in the sixth game, Cardinals starter Joaquin Andujar and manager Whitey Herzog were ejected by Denkinger in the first inning of the seventh game, and the Royals won their first World Series in seven games. On Tuesday, the Royals will be back for their second.

8—1982: Paul Molitor had a Series-record five hits and Robin Yount had four as Milwaukee won the first game over the Cardinals 10-0 in Busch Stadium. The Series turned into a wonderful brawl that the Cardinals won in seven games. It remains the only World Series appearance for the Brew Crew.

7--2002: The Angels had been part of baseball's first expansion, joining the American League in 1961. This was their first World Series. The Giants had moved from New York to San Francisco in 1958. They had played in two World Series (1962, 1989) in San Francisco without winning.

The Giants won Game 5 by 16-4 in Pac Bell Park to take a 3-2 lead, but then the Angels and the dastardly Rally Monkey came back to win Games 6 and 7 in Anaheim and claim a terrific World Series.

6--Toronto's 15-14 victory in Philadelphia in Game 4 was a brawl that had everything, including a rain delay. The Phillies were an amazing collection of characters, including Jim Fregosi as the wise-cracking manager, and the great Pod – Johnny Podres – as the pitching coach.

Dang, that Series was fun, and it finished dramatically, of course, with Joe Carter's winning home run in Game 6 for Toronto.

5--2001: Luis Gonzalez's bloop over a drawn-in infield gave Arizona a successful ninth-inning rally against the Yankees' Mariano Rivera in Game 7, allowing the Diamondbacks to gain a World Series championship in their fourth season of existence.

Steinbrenner's spending had helped the Yankees to three titles in a row and four out of five, and the resentment over the game's lack of competitive balance was at an all-time high.

4--2004: On the surface, the Red Sox' four-game sweep of the Cardinals was not a tour de force. Yet, it came after Boston had performed the most-spectacular feat in baseball's postseason history – coming back from down 3-0 to the hated Yankees in the ALCS – and it ended New England's torment after 86 years without a World Series championship.

Sitting in old Busch Stadium on that spectacular night, with the Red Sox and their fans still hollering and dancing 45 minutes after the game, and looking up at a full moon that was gigantic … I think I saw werewolves and vampires wearing Red Sox garb lurking in the shadows of that ballpark.

3--1989: Oakland beat San Francisco in a four-game sweep in the only Bay Area World Series. It took from Oct. 14 to Oct. 28 to complete. There was an interruption for an earthquake. When you're rocking in the top deck of Candlestick Park minutes before Game 3 is scheduled to start, it makes the World Series very distinctive.

2--1986: Dave Henderson, the Red Sox' magical "Hendu,'' hit a leadoff home run in the 10^th inning of Game 6 to give Boston a 4-3 lead over the Mets. Henderson's drive stuck the digital clock was that attached to Shea Stadium's second deck. The clock read 11:59. I quickly hacked a column lead suggesting Henderson's trip around the bases was New England's most-famous midnight journey since Paul Revere's in 1775.

The Mets rallied for three in the bottom of the 10^th for a 6-5 victory, rallied again two nights later (after a rain postponement) in Game 7, and New England would wait another 18 years for a Red Sox winner.