Reforming The World Series

After decades as a devoted fan of baseball, I can no longer keep silent about a miscarriage of justice. I ask you to join in two petitions I am preparing for the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

In 1960, the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates (of Pennsylvania, no less) played in the world series. Over seven games, the Yankees outscored the Pirates by an overwhelming and record-setting margin, 55 runs to 27 runs, proving themselves the better team. Despite this, baseball’s archaic “rules” led to the Pirates being acclaimed as World Champions. The Yankees won three contests by overwhelming scores of 16-3, 12-0 and 10-0, while “losing” four games by scores of 6-4, 3-2, 5-2 and 10-9.

To confirm the inequity of the “runs scored in a game” metric, we need to recognize it dates from an era when African-Americans were barred from the major league game.  Other equitable factors also weigh in favor of the Yankees. It turns out the Bronx Bombers had more hits than the Pirates in six of the seven games, and despite only playing three games at Yankee Stadium compared to four at Forbes Field, the total population of Yankee attendees was 200,566 compared to a mere 149,137 at the Pirates games.

I therefore ask for your support in petitioning (1) to retroactively award the 1960 championship to the Yankees and (2) preventing future miscarriages of justice by providing that, in future series, the team that scores the most overall runs is declared the champion.  This is hard for me as a Red Sox fan, but social justice demands it, and I have empathy for Yankee fans unfairly deprived of yet another championship, particularly when I reflect back on the 1975 World Series in which the Red Sox beat the Reds three games to four, another triumph ignored by the 1% of baseball's elite who control the rigged system!