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On the top 10 World Series-winning teams...
What about the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers? No one expected this team to beat the Yankees, let alone sweep them 4-0. Koufax and Drysdale. Maury Wills and Tommie Davis. A true Hall of Fame World Series Team!
Alex Mouton, Las Vegas
You forgot to note the Oakland A's that won the World Series in 1972, '73, and '74. Those fellows were not a collection of prima donnas. They played gritty baseball and made it fun to watch.
Anthony V. Rodrigues, Hawaii
What? No Philadelphia A's from 1929-31? Always included in every top-5 list of this kind, it featured four future HOFs (Grove, Foxx, Cochrane and Simmons), the first three of which are always considered to be one of the best ever at their respective positions. Since this was the crew that stopped the mini-dynasty of the Murderers Row Yankees, many baseball historians think the A's of this era was the greatest team ever assembled — or could have been if Mr. Mack hadn't dismantled the team during the depression.
Gary Kardon, Philadelphia
On the 10 greatest World Series Moments...
It may not have been a Larsen perfect game, and it doesn't have the drama of a walk-off homer, but Jack Morris' 10 innings of shutout ball against the hard-hitting Braves came in the seventh game of the 1991 Fall Classic, the best World Series ever. Morris has to make the top ten list.
John Dempsey, Lynn, Mass.
On Bush's ceremonial first pitch...
He has less business on the baseball field than he does being President. It surely is not one of baseball's greatest moments. You have so many to choose from, yet you pick the clown prince of the free world trying to imitate one of baseball's great pitchers. You should be ashamed. Bush league at its best.
Frank Conway, Blasdell, N.Y.
Thanks so much for recognizing this moment on your list. As a baseball fan, New Yorker and American, seeing the Commander-In-Chief out there alone on the mound of Yankee Stadium, so soon after that tragic day, did more to radiate my pride and love for our country than any other moment in my entire life. As I heard the cheers of USA shake the foundations of the stadium, all at once I felt imminence pride, sadness and, most of all, resolve. It defined what being an American is all about.
Stephen Velasquez, New York, N.Y.
On the argument that the World Series is America's greatest championship event...
Only in the Super Bowl will you find a matchup with two greats going head-to-head in a one-time, winner-take-all event. I think of Namath vs. Unitas. Bradshaw vs. Staubach. Elway vs. Favre. Those battles were epic. In addition, I think the relative anonymity of the participants in the Super Bowl is an asset, rather than a liability. It demonstrates the glory of the team, rather than the individual. Everybody remembers the units, rather than the players: The Steel Curtain, America's Team, the '85 Bears, the Purple People Eaters.
Bryan Newland, Lansing, Mich.
Great article. Just proves that the World Series is still America's greatest sporting event. While the Super Bowl is more about commercials, fancy pre-game, post-game and half-time shows, overhypeness and other fancy gimmicks. The World Series sticks to the sport without the glitter.
Rick Charleston, Somerton, Ariz.
Excellent article encapsulating why the Boston Globe's Bob Ryan calls baseball the "finest game invented by the mind of man." I would agree but assert a game of this type must have had divine inspiration.
Mark Stevens, Lunenburg, Mass.
This is a wonderful article about a wonderful game. I would have added something about the mystique that the World Series adds to the game. What other sport has a franchise "cursed" to the point where they have not won a World Series in 85 years, only to come excruciatingly close many times? The Super Bowl, Stanley Cup Finals, NBA Finals, etc. cannot match that.
Mark Mingee, Hampton, Va.