After watching Joe Girardi opt to go with Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler instead of Alex Rodriguez last night, I had to ask myself a few questions. The first of which was, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!”. The second question, after the game had ended, was whether or not home-field advantage really mattered. For this, I will break down the World Series matchups of the past 50 years to take a closer look.
Below, I have compiled a chart that has the last 30 World Series that have gone six games or longer. This way, we’ll know whether or not home-field advantage has worked in favor of a team or not. To explain the chart more fully, please listen. The first 3 columns are pretty self-explanatory. They represent: Year of the World Series, who won the World Series that year and who lost. The game tally is how many games were played for the World Series (max is seven, obviously). The next column asks whether or not the World Series champion had home-field advantage. The last column is the record of the team that had home-field advantage. The last column shows the record of the team with home-field advantage in those games 6 and 7.
For example; the Yankees defeated the Phillies in the 2009 World Series in six games. The Yankees had home-field advantage and they went 2-1 at Yankee Stadium during the series. The Yankees won Game 6.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Game Tally | Did winner have HF? | Record of team with HF | Record of team with HF advantage in games 6/7 |
| 2009 | Yankees | Phillies | 6 | Yes | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 2003 | Marlins | Yankees | 6 | No | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| 2001 | Diamondbacks | Yankees | 7 | Yes | 4-0 | 2-0 |
| 1997 | Marlins | Indians | 7 | Yes | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 1996 | Yankees | Braves | 6 | Yes | 1-2 | 1-0 |
| 1995 | Braves | Indians | 6 | Yes | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| 1993 | Blue Jays | Phillies | 6 | Yes | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 1992 | Blue Jays | Braves | 6 | No | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| 1992 | Twins | Braves | 7 | Yes | 4-0 | 2-0 |
| 1987 | Twins | Cardinals | 7 | Yes | 4-0 | 2-0 |
| 1986 | Mets | Red Sox | 7 | Yes | 2-2 | 2-0 |
| 1985 | Royals | Cardinals | 7 | Yes | 2-2 | 2-0 |
| 1981 | Dodgers | Yankees | 6 | No | 2-1 | 0-1 |
| 1980 | Phillies | Royals | 6 | Yes | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| 1979 | Pirates | Orioles | 7 | No | 1-3 | 0-2 |
| 1978 | Yankees | Dodgers | 6 | No | 2-1 | 0-1 |
| 1977 | Yankees | Dodgers | 6 | Yes | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 1975 | Reds | Red Sox | 7 | No | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 1973 | Athletics | Mets | 7 | Yes | 3-1 | 2-0 |
| 1972 | Athletics | Reds | 7 | No | 1-3 | 1-1 |
| 1971 | Orioles | Pirates | 7 | No | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| 1968 | Tigers | Cardinals | 7 | No | 1-3 | 0-2 |
| 1967 | Cardinals | Red Sox | 7 | No | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 1965 | Dodgers | Twins | 7 | No | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| 1964 | Cardinals | Yankees | 7 | Yes | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 1962 | Yankees | Giants | 7 | No | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 1960 | Pirates | Yankees | 7 | Yes | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 1959 | Dodgers | White Sox | 6 | No | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| 1958 | Yankees | Braves | 7 | No | 2-2 | 0-2 |
| 1957 | Braves | Yankees | 7 | No | 2-2 | 1-1 |
Now, what exactly is the meaning of all this? Well, take a close look at the column labeled “Winner had home-field?” The winner of the past 30 World Series’ that have gone six games or longer has had home-field advantage in exactly 15 of them. That means that in the other 15 World Series, the team that didn’t have home-field advantage stole the show on the road.
The one vibe I get out of this chart is that it’s very trendy. More recently (1985-2009), in the past 12 World Series that have gone six games or longer, the team with home-field advantage has emerged victorious 10 times. Whereas between 1957 and 1972, home-field teams have fallen 9 of 11 times. Should we be worried that the current trend will continue? Time will tell.
I’m sure there are other, more advanced ways of breaking this down. However, this data does prove that home-field advantage does not entirely tip the balance in favor of that team. When it’s all said and done, I would still take home-field advantage any day. It’s a much better feeling knowing that one’s team has the home crowd and atmosphere behind them in the make or break games 6 and 7.
If the Yankees return to the World Series for the 41st time this year, let’s hope they can take it at home in game 4 or 5.
