Description
The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was played between October 24 and November 1. The series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the American League (AL) champion Houston Astros. It was sponsored by the internet television service YouTube TV and officially known as the World Series presented by YouTube TV.
The Astros defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, to win their first World Series in franchise history, and the first team from Texas to do so, and the first time since 2002 when two consecutive World Series went to seven games. Both teams set a World Series record with a combined total of 25 home runs throughout the entire series, including a team record 15 home runs by the Astros, and hit a combined total of eight home runs in Game 2 to set the single game World Series mark. Houston outfielder George Springer was named as the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) after hitting five home runs in the series to tie a World Series record with Reggie Jackson in 1977 and Chase Utley in 2009.
This was the first World Series in which home-field advantage was decided by the regular season record of pennant winners. From 1903 to 2002, home-field advantage had been determined by coin flips and by alternating between the AL and NL. From 2003 to 2016, it was determined by results from that season's All-Star Game, when it was awarded to the team from the winning league. The Dodgers earned home-field advantage over the Astros. The series was played in a 2¨C3¨C2 format, with the Dodgers hosting Games 1, 2, 6, and 7; and the Astros hosting Games 3, 4, and 5.
With a 101¨C61 regular season record, the team won its first American League West title, and their first division title since 2001. In the American League Division Series, they defeated the Boston Red Sox in four games and then defeated the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) in seven games. This was their second World Series appearance and first since 2005, when they were swept in four games by the Chicago White Sox.They became the first team in history to make it to the World Series as members of both the National League and the American League.
The city of Houston in August 2017 suffered record flooding from Hurricane Harvey. The team began to wear patches which had the logo of the team with the word Strong on the bottom of the patch, as well as promoting the hashtag Houston Strong. Manager A. J. Hinch has stated in an interview that the team wasn't just playing for a title, but to help boost moral support for the city.
On August 31, just seconds before the midnight deadline, the Astros traded for Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander. Following the trade, including the regular season and postseason to this point, Verlander had posted a 9¨C0 win-loss record with a 1.23 earned run average. He was named the ALCS MVP.