2015 World Series
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The 2015 World Series was the championship series of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
(NL)
champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
and the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
(AL)
champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
. The series was played between October 27 and November 1, with the Royals winning the series 4games to 1, clinching the team's second World Series and first since the 1985 series. It was the first time since
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that the Series extended into November. The Royals had home field advantage for the series because of the AL's 6–3 victory in the
Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...
. It was the 13th World Series in which home field advantage was awarded to the league that won the All-Star Game, a practice that was discontinued after the 2016 season. The series was played in a 2-3-2 format: the Royals hosted Games 1and 2, and would have hosted Games 6and 7 had they been needed. The Mets hosted Games 3, 4, and5. The Royals became the first team since the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
in the
1989 World Series The 1989 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1989 season. The 86th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the ...
to win the World Series after losing in the previous year; and in addition, they became the first expansion team to win the World Series since the
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...
won it all in
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
. It was also the first World Series played between two expansion teams. Salvador Pérez was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.


Background

This was the first World Series in which both teams were
expansion teams An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
, which are teams that were formed after the 1960 season; the Mets began play in 1962 and the Royals in 1969. Additionally, they have been the most successful expansion teams in the major leagues: the Mets and Royals were the first expansion teams in their respective leagues to win not only a league championship pennant ( 1969 for the Mets and
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
for the Royals) but the World Series as well (the Mets in 1969 and the Royals in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
). With five and four pennants respectively, the Mets and Royals have the most league championships among the expansion franchises. Each team was also seeking to end a championship drought; the Royals' previous championship was in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
, with the Mets' last title coming one year later in 1986.


New York Mets

The Mets made their fifth appearance in the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
after sweeping the Cubs 4–0 in the 2015 National League Championship Series (NLCS). They had split their four previous appearances, winning the 1969 World Series against the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
and the
1986 World Series The 1986 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 Major League Baseball season, 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Lea ...
against the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, while losing the
1973 World Series The 1973 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1973 Major League Baseball season, 1973 season. The 70th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Leag ...
against the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
and the 2000 World Series against the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
, their cross-town rivals. The Mets qualified for the postseason by winning the National League (NL) East, their sixth division title. The third-seeded Mets faced the #2 seed
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
in the 2015 NL Division Series, winning in five games. In the 2015 NLCS, Daniel Murphy led the team by hitting
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s in each game of the four-game sweep of the fifth-seeded
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. By winning the NLCS, the Mets became the first expansion franchise to play in the World Series five times. In addition, the Mets have made World Series appearances in all but one of their six decades of existence, not appearing in any that were played during the 1990s. This was the first World Series appearance for Mets'
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
Terry Collins, who had never reached the postseason as a manager prior to 2015.


Kansas City Royals

The Royals made their second consecutive appearance in the World Series, both under Ned Yost, and fourth overall. They won the 1985 World Series against the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
, and lost their two other appearances, the
1980 World Series The 1980 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 77th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Amer ...
against the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
and the 2014 World Series against the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. The Royals qualified for the postseason by winning the American League (AL) Central, their seventh division title and their first since winning the AL West in 1985. The top-seeded Royals faced the #5 seed
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
in the 2015 American League Division Series, winning in five games. They followed that up in the 2015 American League Championship Series, beating the second-seeded
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
in six games. By winning the ALCS, the Royals became the first team to play in consecutive World Series since the Texas Rangers played in the
2010 World Series The 2010 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2010 Major League Baseball season, 2010 season. The 106th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American L ...
and
2011 World Series The 2011 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2011 Major League Baseball season, 2011 season. The 107th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Le ...
.


Series preview

The series began on October 27. The American League won the 2015 All-Star Game, therefore the Royals had home field advantage for the series. The Mets and the Royals hadn't played each other since 2013. Though the Mets boasted four
starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
s who could throw over — Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz—the Royals had the best team
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
against pitches over that speed during the 2015 season. And while the Mets' starting pitchers had the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in MLB, the Royals' roster of strong contact hitters led baseball in contact rate. The Royals also had a superior defensive team, finishing second in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved, while the Mets finished 21st. The Royals
bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...
, anchored by Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera, also provided a strength. While the Mets hitters performed better against left-handed pitchers than right-handed pitchers, the Royals four starting pitchers, Johnny Cueto,
Edinson Vólquez Edinson Vólquez (; born July 3, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City R ...
, Yordano Ventura, and Chris Young, and primary relievers, Davis, Herrera, Ryan Madson, and Luke Hochevar, are right-handed.


Summary


Game summaries


Game 1

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by
George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hit ( ...
while Andy Grammer sang the national anthem. Matt Harvey started Game1 for the Mets, while
Edinson Vólquez Edinson Vólquez (; born July 3, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City R ...
started for the Royals. Vólquez's father had died earlier in the day. He was not aware of his father's death until after he left the game. On the first pitch thrown by Harvey, Alcides Escobar hit an inside-the-park
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
, the first in a World Series game since Mule Haas in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series, and the first hit by a leadoff batter since Patsy Dougherty did it in Game 2 of the
1903 World Series The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion 1903 Boston Americans season, Boston Americans against the National League (baseball), National League (NL ...
. In the fourth inning, Murphy recorded the Mets' first hit, and later scored their first run on a hit by Travis d'Arnaud. Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the fifth inning to give the Mets a 2–1 lead. The Mets took a 3–1 lead in the top of the sixth when
Michael Conforto Michael Thomas Conforto (born March 1, 1993), nicknamed "Scooter", is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets and San Francisco ...
drove in Yoenis Céspedes with a sacrifice fly. Mike Moustakas then saved a run with a diving stop and throw out to first to end the top of the sixth. Eric Hosmer reduced the lead to 3–2 with a sacrifice fly, and set a new Royals' postseason
run batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...
(RBI) record in the process. A single by Moustakas tied the game at three, but in the top of the eighth,
Wilmer Flores Wilmer Alejandro Flores Garcia (born August 6, 1991), nicknamed "Catire", is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). On his 16th birthday in 2007, Flores signed as an internation ...
reached on an fielding error by Hosmer, allowing Juan Lagares to score the go-ahead run and give the Mets a 4–3 lead. In the bottom of the ninth with the Mets two outs away from taking Game 1, Alex Gordon tied the game for the Royals with a home run to deep center field, as Jeurys Familia blew his first save in six postseason opportunities and his first since July 30. With the home run, Gordon became the first player since Scott Brosius in the
2001 World Series The 2001 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 Major League Baseball season, 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (ba ...
, and just the fifth player in history, to tie a World Series game on a home run in the ninth inning. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Granderson robbed the speedy Jarrod Dyson of a multi-base hit with a running, leaping catch that prevented what probably would have been a lead-off triple. The Mets went on to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the 14th, Escobar reached first on a throwing error by
David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Mets. Chosen by the Mets in the 2001 Major League Baseball dr ...
, and Bartolo Colón gave up a base hit to Ben Zobrist, allowing Escobar to reach third. Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to Granderson in right field to drive in the winning run. This was the first time in World Series history that the same player scored both the first run of the game on the first pitch, and the last run of the game on the final pitch. The game ended at 12:18a.m. CDT, lasting five hours and nine minutes. The game tied the record for the longest game by innings in World Series history, shared with Game2 in the 1916 World Series and Game3 in the 2005 World Series. However, the record has since been surpassed by Game3 of the 2018 World Series, which was 18 innings long. The loss made Colón the oldest player ever to lose a World Series game. With the loss, the Mets fell to 0–5 in Game 1 of the World Series, having lost the first game in all 5 of their appearances, including the two years they won the series ( 1969 and 1986).


Game 2

In Game 2, Jacob deGrom started for the Mets, and Johnny Cueto started for the Royals. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Medal of Honor recipients Don Ballard, Charles Hagemeister, and Roger Donlon while country singer
Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboar ...
sang the national anthem. Cueto walked Curtis Granderson to lead off the fourth and Daniel Murphy one out later. Yoenis Céspedes's hit into a forceout at second before Lucas Duda's RBI single put the Mets up 1–0. Duda produced the Mets' only other hit in the game in the second and Cueto retired them in order through the ninth. In the fifth inning, deGrom allowed a leadoff walk to Alex Gordon and subsequent single to Alex Rios before Alcides Escobar's RBI single tied the game. Ben Zobrist's groundout moved the runners up and after Lorenzo Cain lined out to center, Eric Hosmer's two-run single put the Royals up 3–1. Kendrys Morales's single moved Hosmer to third and Mike Moustakas's single made it 4-1 Royals. The Royals blew the game open in the eighth off of Jon Niese, who allowed a leadoff single to Moustakas, subsequent single to Salvador Pérez, and RBI double to Gordon. Addison Reed relieved Niese and allowed a sacrifice fly to
Paulo Orlando Paulo Roberto Orlando (; born November 1, 1985) is a Brazilian former professional baseball outfielder. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. He represented Brazil at the 2013 World Baseball Classi ...
and RBI triple to Escobar to make it 7-1 Kansas City. Cueto walked Murphy with two outs in the ninth before getting Cespedes to fly out to right to finish the
complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
, becoming the first AL pitcher to accomplish this feat in the World Series since Jack Morris in Game7 of the
1991 World Series The 1991 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1991 season. The 88th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins (95–67) an ...
, as the Royals defeated the Mets and took a two games to zero lead in the series. Cueto became the first AL pitcher since
Jim Lonborg James Reynold Lonborg (born April 16, 1942) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nicknam ...
in the 1967 World Series to throw a World Series complete game while allowing two hits or fewer.


Game 3

The series shifted to
Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Boroughs of New York, borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York M ...
, the home stadium of the Mets, for Game3. Yordano Ventura started for the Royals and Noah Syndergaard started for the Mets. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Mike Piazza to catcher Kevin Plawecki while
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
sang the national anthem. With no
designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...
(DH) in NL parks, the Mets started
Michael Conforto Michael Thomas Conforto (born March 1, 1993), nicknamed "Scooter", is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets and San Francisco ...
, their DH for Game2, in the outfield instead of Juan Lagares, and the Royals did not start Kendrys Morales, their regular DH. Zobrist scored for the Royals in the first inning on a
force play In baseball, a force play or force out occurs when a runner is required to advance to a base which a player on the opposing team has already reached while in possession of the ball. There are two situations in which a force play occurs: One, a ...
. In the bottom of the first inning, Wright hit a two-run homer that also scored Granderson. For the Royals, Alex Ríos drove Salvador Pérez home in the second inning, and scored on a
passed ball In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a run ...
by d'Arnaud, giving the Royals a 3–2 lead. After a Syndergaard single, Granderson hit a two-run home run just over the right field wall in the third inning, and the Mets took a 4–3 lead. The Mets added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Conforto, and four more in the sixth inning, including an RBI single by Juan Uribe, in his first at bat since September 20. The Royals made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in this game, the first coming in the fourth inning when pitcher Yordano Ventura forgot to cover the base on a ground ball to the first baseman, and the second in the sixth inning when Royals pitcher Franklin Morales triple-clutched Granderson's ground ball, allowing all runners to be safe, which led to a 2-run single by Wright. In the fifth inning, Royals player Raúl A. Mondesí made his Major League Baseball debut, pinch hitting for
Danny Duffy Daniel Richard Duffy (born December 21, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. After being drafte ...
. Mondesí became the first player ever to make his MLB debut in the World Series.


Game 4

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by country singer
Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...
, son of former Mets relief pitcher Tug McGraw while
Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...
sang the national anthem. The starting pitchers for Game4 were Chris Young of the Royals and Steven Matz of the Mets. Conforto scored the game's first run with a home run in the third inning, and Flores scored later in the inning on a Granderson sacrifice fly, when right-fielder Ríos did not make an immediate throw home (thinking his catch was the third out of the inning). The Royals cut the deficit to 2–1 in the top of the fifth when Pérez doubled and was then driven in by Gordon. However, in the bottom of the fifth, Conforto hit another home run, becoming the first rookie to hit two home runs in a World Series game since
Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tex ...
in 1996. In the sixth inning, Zobrist hit his eighth double of the postseason, tying a postseason record previously set by
Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (, ; born December 11, 1985) is a Dominicans, Dominican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Domin ...
and David Freese of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. Lorenzo Cain drove in Zobrist in to make it a 3–2 game. In the eighth inning, after recording the first out, Tyler Clippard walked two consecutive batters to force Terry Collins to bring in Familia. A key fielding
error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...
by Daniel Murphy allowed the tying run to score. The Royals took the lead on an RBI single from Moustakas, and then Pérez added an insurance run with another RBI base hit to give Kansas City the 5–3 lead. For Familia, it was his second blown save of the series, and second out of seven opportunities this postseason, though this one could be partly attributed to Murphy's error. Wade Davis converted a two-inning save for the Royals, his fourth overall this postseason. Davis pitched a perfect eighth, but got into some trouble with one out in the ninth when Murphy hit a hard grounder that Moustakas could not field cleanly, and then Céspedes got a base hit to bring the winning run to the plate in Duda. However, Duda hit a soft
line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...
that was caught by Moustakas, who then doubled off Céspedes at first to end the game. Céspedes had started running thinking the ball would hit the ground.


Game 5

Vólquez returned to the Dominican Republic for his father's funeral the day after Game1, but he returned in time to start Game5. Harvey started for the Mets.
New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
firefighter Frank Pizarro sang the national anthem,
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
performed "
America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Church (Newark), Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New ...
", and the first pitches were thrown by Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, and Darryl Strawberry. Granderson led off the first inning with a home run for the Mets, and scored the Mets' second run in the sixth inning. The Mets had a chance to break the game open in that sixth inning as they loaded the bases with no outs, but had to settle for one run after Céspedes lined a foul ball off his leg and was injured, leaving the game after popping up for the first out of the inning. Duda hit a sacrifice fly before d'Arnaud grounded out to end the inning. Harvey pitched eight shutout innings for the Mets, and convinced Collins to keep him in the game for the ninth. He then gave up a leadoff walk to Cain in the ninth inning, and the Royals got a run when Hosmer drove Cain in with a double, prompting Collins to call upon Familia to relieve Harvey. After a groundout by Moustakas advanced Hosmer to third base with one out, Pérez hit a ground ball to third baseman
David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Mets. Chosen by the Mets in the 2001 Major League Baseball dr ...
. Wright, after checking Hosmer at third, threw to first base for the second out; however, Hosmer broke for home as soon as the ball was thrown. Duda, who fielded the out at first, threw wide at home attempting to throw Hosmer out, and the latter scored the tying run. This resulted in Familia blowing his third save of the postseason and the series; his eight save opportunities tied the postseason record set in 2002 by Robb Nen. In the top of the 12th inning, with Addison Reed pitching for the Mets, Pérez hit a single for the Royals. Pinch running for Pérez, Dyson stole a base and scored on a single by
pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...
Christian Colón. Colón scored on a hit by Escobar. The Royals loaded the bases, and Cain drove home three more runs with a double off of Bartolo Colón. Davis pitched a shutout inning for the Royals to complete the series and win the championship. With Game 5 having crept well past midnight eastern time, Flores struck out looking to end the game, series, and baseball season, with the Royals winning and ending their 30-year World Series title drought. Pérez, who batted 8-for-22 (.364) in the series, and caught every inning for the Royals with the exception of the final inning of the series, won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. He became the first catcher to win the award since
Pat Borders Patrick Lance Borders (born May 14, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player and current minor league manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to . He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1992 World Series ...
won it in the 1992 World Series, and the second Venezuelan player, following
Pablo Sandoval Pablo Emilio Sandoval Reyes (born August 11, 1986) is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball third baseman for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball ...
, who won it in the 2012 World Series. Paulo Orlando made history as the first Brazilian player to win the World Series and the third South American to do so, the first was the Venezuelan player
Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League ...
and the second was the Colombian player Edgar Rentería.


Composite line score

2015 World Series (4–1):
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
(AL) beat
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
(NL).


Broadcasting


Television

Fox broadcast the series in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, with
play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...
announcer
Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster for ESPN. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for Fox's Nati ...
calling the action along with
color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
s Harold Reynolds and
Tom Verducci Thomas Verducci (born October 23, 1960) is an American sportswriter who writes for ''Sports Illustrated'' and its online magazine SI.com. He writes primarily about baseball. He is also a reporter and commentator for Fox Major League Baseball a ...
and field reporters Ken Rosenthal and
Erin Andrews Erin Jill Andrews (born May 4, 1978) is an American sportscaster and television personality. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox Sports in 2 ...
. The pregame and postgame show featured host Kevin Burkhardt with analysts Frank Thomas, Raul Ibanez,
Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (April 14, 1941 – September 30, 2024), nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a member of ...
, and
Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...
.
Fox Deportes Fox Deportes (formerly Fox Sports en Español) is an American pay television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming in Spanish, aimed at the Hispanic population in the United States. Launched in 1993, Fox Deportes, a divis ...
offered a Spanish telecast of the series in the United States. The MLB International feed featured
Matt Vasgersian Matt Vasgersian (né Vasgerdsian; '; September 28, 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is the alternative play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and Major Leagu ...
and
John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time Ma ...
with play-by-play and analysis, respectively. Fox suffered an outage during their broadcast of followed by a five-minute delay while officials addressed the availability of video review due to the loss of Fox's feed; the teams agreed to allow the use of footage from the world feed of the game for video review. Fox temporarily switched to the MLB International feed of the game with Vasgersian and Smoltz to restore coverage. The video from the feed was then accompanied by Fox's commentators before the full Fox production was restored. The World Series started on a Tuesday for the second straight year, instead of a Wednesday as in the past. The practice was to avoid games on Thursday and Monday nights, generally big days of television viewing, where Fox's telecast would face stiff competition from '' Thursday Night Football'', '' ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime'', various popular primetime entertainment shows, and ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
''. Had the World Series gone to a Game 6, it would have competed against Election Day coverage for the first time in World Series history, though 2015 was not a presidential or midterm election. All World Series held since 2015 were scheduled to complete prior to Election Day.


Ratings

Game 1 of the World Series averaged a 4.6
rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
on Fox, making it the most watched Game1 since the
2010 World Series The 2010 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2010 Major League Baseball season, 2010 season. The 106th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American L ...
. Game2 then had a 3.9 rating, up 24 percent from last season's Game2. The series also recorded the most watched Game3 since
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
. Game 5 went head-to-head with an ''
NBC Sunday Night Football ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''SNF'') is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, w ...
'' game between the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
and the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
(both undefeated). Media sources like ''
Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
'' predicted this heavy competition would result in series-low ratings. While the football game drew the larger audience, the Royals and Mets did average a 10.0 rating, the highest for a World Series Game5 since 2003.


Radio

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
aired the series, with
Dan Shulman Daniel Shulman (born February 9, 1967) is a Canadian sportscaster with Sportsnet as well as the American network ESPN. Shulman serves as the play-by-play announcer and the moderator for the Toronto Blue Jays telecasts on Sportsnet. Durin ...
on play-by-play,
Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American professional baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2009. As ...
handling color commentary, and Buster Olney serving as field reporter.
Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
pitcher
Chris Archer Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Archer attended Clayton High School ( ...
served as a guest commentator for selected innings in Games 1, 2and 5.
Marc Kestecher Marc David Kestecher (born March 22, 1968) is an American Sports commentator, play-by-play announcer radio Sportscaster, sports and News presenter, news anchor. Early life and education He was raised in Guilderland, New York and graduated from S ...
anchored pre-game and post-game coverage for the network along with Chris Singleton and Peter Pascarelli. Locally, the series was broadcast on the teams'
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
radio stations with their respective announcing crews. In New York, WOR aired the games in English, with Howie Rose and
Josh Lewin Josh Lewin (born ) is an American sportscaster who works as a play-by-play announcer for the UCLA Bruins football and basketball teams. Early life and education Lewin was born and raised in Rochester, New York. He attended Brighton High Scho ...
announcing, while WEPN-AM aired the games in Spanish, with Juan Alicea and Max Pérez Jiménez announcing. In Kansas City, KCSP broadcast the games, with Denny Matthews, Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Stewart, and Steve Physioc announcing.
WEPN-FM WEPN-FM (98.7 FM, "La Exitosa 98.7") is a radio station in New York City, owned by Emmis Corporation. The station carries a Spanish-language format with a gold-based mix of Latin pop and English-language adult contemporary music. The station' ...
and WHB, the ESPN Radio affiliates in New York and Kansas City respectively, aired the network's coverage of the series in those cities.


Aftermath

To date, Johnny Cueto's Game 2 pitching gem is the most recent World Series complete game. The Royals became the first team and in World Series history to start three pitchers— Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, and Cueto—born outside the United States. Later, the Astros would accomplish this feat when they started four foreign-born pitchers in the 2021 World Series. The Mets and Royals met on
Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...
of the 2016 season, on April 3, 2016, for a
Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: Sun ...
game in Kansas City. It was the first ever time in MLB history a defending champion opened against the team they beat in the World Series. The Mets and Royals split the short two-game series to start the season, while the Mets would sweep the other half of their four games season series at
Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Boroughs of New York, borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York M ...
in June. As was the case with their 1985 championship, the Royals missed the postseason a year after winning the World Series. After 81 and 80-win seasons for the next two years, a pair of 100-loss seasons followed in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
and
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, during which management dismantled the core of the 2015 team and Ned Yost retired from managing. Of the players who played for the 2015 Royals, only Salvador Pérez remained with the team as of 2023. The Mets qualified for the 2016 National League Wild Card Game after an 87-win season, but lost to the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. This was followed by a 70-win season in Terry Collins' final year as manager. Both teams would next win a postseason series a day apart in
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
when both won their respective Wild Card Series match-ups (against
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
and
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, respectively) to advance to the Division Series. This was the only World Series appearance by a New York City team during the 2010s decade. The 2010s became the first decade since the 1910s that a team from New York City failed to win a World Series.


''Back to the Future'' prediction

In the 1989 film ''
Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the Back ...
'', the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
are depicted as the 2015 World Series champions, defeating a fictional American League team from
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, whose mascot is an
alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...
, in a five-game sweep ending on or before October 21. Screenwriter Bob Gale, who co-wrote the script of ''Back to the Future PartII'', originally intended it as a joke, saying "Being a baseball fan, I thought, 'OK, let's come up with one of the most unlikely scenarios we can think of, referencing both the Cubs' long championship drought (at the time, having most recently won the 1908 World Series) and the lack (at the time) of any major-league franchise in Florida. He also explained that the October 21 prediction was based on the postseason structure at the time of writing (prior to
Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series ...
or
Wild Card Series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best ...
), and thus could have been accurate. In the actual 2015 postseason, the Cubs advanced to the
National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Natio ...
(NLCS), but were eliminated in four games by the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
. The final game of that series took place on October 21, the same date as the fictional events in the film. One year later, however, the Cubs did win the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
, beating the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
in seven games.


See also

*
2015 Japan Series The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks ...
* 2015 Korean Series


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015 World Series
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
2010s in Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City Royals postseason New York Mets postseason World Series
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
Baseball competitions in Kansas City, Missouri Baseball competitions in New York City 2010s in Queens Flushing, Queens