In the World Series, a sweep refers to a Major League Baseball (MLB) team winning four straight games and losing none in a best-of-seven format.
There have been 19 sweeps in World Series history. The American League has been responsible for thirteen of the sweeps, with the New York Yankees account for more than half of those, with a record eight. The National League is responsible for the remaining six sweeps, with the New York / San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds each achieving two.
The first sweep is credited to the 1914 "Miracle" Boston Braves who defeated the 1914 Philadelphia Athletics in four straight games. The most recent sweep occurred in the 2012 World Series, when the San Francisco Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers.
List of sweeps +Key National League team (NL) American League team (AL) Year Winning team Manager Losing team Manager Series MVP Ref. Boston Braves Philadelphia Athletics — New York Yankees Pittsburgh Pirates — New York Yankees St. Louis Cardinals — New York Yankees Chicago Cubs — New York Yankees Chicago Cubs — New York Yankees Cincinnati Reds — New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies — New York Giants Cleveland Indians — Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees Baltimore Orioles Los Angeles Dodgers Cincinnati Reds New York Yankees Oakland Athletics San Francisco Giants Cincinnati Reds Oakland Athletics New York Yankees San Diego Padres New York Yankees Atlanta Braves Boston Red Sox St. Louis Cardinals Chicago White Sox Houston Astros Boston Red Sox Colorado Rockies San Francisco Giants Detroit Tigers
Disputed There is a dispute as to whether the following World Series can be considered sweeps as, in both cases, while the team did win four games and lost none, each series had a tied game. A number of sources do not recognize them as official sweeps while others list them as such.
Year Winning team Manager Series result Losing team Manager Ref. Chicago Cubs 4–0–(1)Detroit Tigers New York Giants 4–0–(1)New York Yankees
Sweeps by franchise The New York Yankees have completed the most numbers of sweeps in MLB history, with eight. The New York / San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Red Sox are tied at second with two each. To date, the Red Sox are the only team with multiple sweeps to have never been swept themselves.
The most times a team has been swept is two, with four teams "earning" the distinction: Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia / Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals. Of those teams, the Cubs and the Cardinals have never completed a sweep themselves.
FranchiseNo. of sweeps achievedNo. of sweeps by opponentNew York Yankees82Boston Red Sox20New York / San Francisco Giants21Cincinnati Reds21St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles10Chicago White Sox10Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers11Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves11Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics12Cleveland Guardians01Houston Astros01San Diego Padres01Philadelphia Phillies01Pittsburgh Pirates01Detroit Tigers01Colorado Rockies01Chicago Cubs02St. Louis Cardinals02Los Angeles Angels00Arizona Diamondbacks00Seattle Mariners00Texas Rangers00Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals00Kansas City Royals00Miami Marlins00Milwaukee Brewers00Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins00New York Mets00Tampa Bay Rays00Toronto Blue Jays00
Instances where a sweep was prevented In the 25 times teams have taken a 3-0 World Series lead, the opponent has forced a Game 5 four times. No team which has forced a World Series Game 5 has gone on to force a Game 6, let alone complete a comeback, i.e. a "reverse sweep."
Year Winning team Manager Series result Losing team Manager Ref. Philadelphia Athletics 4–1Chicago Cubs New York Yankees 4–1New York Giants Baltimore Orioles 4–1Cincinnati Reds Los Angeles Dodgers 4–1New York Yankees
See also List of World Series champions List of Major League Baseball game sevens List of teams that have overcome 3–0 series deficits
Notes The Astros were in the National League from 1962 to 2012, after which they moved to the American League.
References
External links World Series Sweeps at Baseball Almanac