The Blue Jays won an epic ALCS Game 7 on Monday to clinch the pennant. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have known they’re heading to the World Series since Friday, when they wrapped up a sweep in the NLCS.
How rare is that disparity? We’re glad you asked.
This is the fifth time since the LCS round became best-of-seven in 1985 that one LCS was a sweep and the other went seven games.
The last time it happened was in 2012, when the Giants advanced in seven against the Cardinals and the Tigers swept the Yankees.
Before that, it happened in 2007, when the Red Sox won in seven against Cleveland and the Rockies swept the D-backs. It happened the year prior, too. In 2006, the Cardinals beat the Mets in seven and the Tigers swept the A’s.
The first instance of this was in 1988, when the Dodgers took down the Mets in seven games and the A’s swept the Red Sox.
You may have already noticed a theme here, but let’s spell it out. Each of the four previous times that one LCS was a sweep and the other went seven games, the team winning the seven-game LCS won the World Series, too. This is not anywhere near a large enough sample to draw on, but the facts of what happened are what they are. And they’re certainly worth noting.
