If “Game 7” is the best term in sports, it’s because “Game 8” just sounds wrong. In America’s three major non-football sports, the best-of-7 series has been the standard for as long as anyone can remember — except perhaps Nabi Tajima, who at 117 years old, is the world’s current oldest person, and was at least alive when the Boston Americans won the first World Series in 8 games. Maybe despite living in Japan and being one year old, she remembers it and thinks best-of-seven is a crock. I doubt it, though. Best-of-seven rules. Nabi knows what’s up.
In 1901, though, they were still playing a best-of-9 series, because they were dumb (hence all the racism), but Boston won, so it was ultimately still good. As you’ll see in our video, the most interesting characters in the drama were all Pittsburgh Pirates, including a pitcher who wasn’t in the series because he literally went crazy and tried to beat the doctors in his psych ward with a bedpost. Also, Honus Wagner was sick, probably from lack of nicotine. The Americans, who would later become the Red Sox (does this mean the Nationals are our real rivals?) merely had a pitcher named Cy Young, but he never even won a Cy Young award, so how good was he really?
I’m being told he was pretty good. Anyhow, watch the video to decipher the rest of it, and to (re)live Game 8.