When Ian Anderson takes the pitcher's mound for the Atlanta Braves in Friday's Game 3 of the World Series, he'll become the latest Capital Region and greater upstate New York standout to reach baseball's Fall Classic.
Upstate has a storied history in the World Series, dating all the way back to the inaugural series in 1903. It includes players eventually immortalized in the Hall of Fame, whether through induction or mere statues to their postseason prowess.
Here's a list of the players who preceded Anderson on baseball's biggest stage:
Ed Phelps, 1903: An Albany native, Phelps, a catcher, appeared in the first World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who lost to the Boston Americans in eight games.
George Davis, 1906: Born in Cohoes, Davis, a switch hitter for the Chicago White Sox who was eventually elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, went 5 for 19 and drove in six runs between Games 4 and 6 of the White Sox’s six-game World Series win over the crosstown Cubs.
Johnny Evers, 1906-08, ’14: Classic-era baseball fans know him as the middle man in the famous trio of “Tinker to Evers to Chance” in the poem “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon.” But Evers, a Troy native, won three championships in his long Hall of Fame career, including with the 1908 Chicago Cubs. The next second baseman to win a ring with the “lovable loser” Cubs: Javier Baez, 108 years later.
Ira Thomas, 1908, ’10-11: The catcher from Ballston Spa won back-to-back world championships with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Rip Coleman, 1955: He wasn’t the most famous or successful upstate New York pitcher in the ’55 Series – that honor goes to Essex County native and Series MVP Johnny Podres – but Coleman, a Troy native, donned the pinstripes for the Yankees in Game 4, pitching one inning in the Yanks’ Game 4 loss to the eventual champion Brooklyn Dodgers. Coleman would get his ring a year later when the Yankees got their revenge on the “bums” from Brooklyn.
Johnny Podres, 1953, ’55, ’59, ’63: The most successful of any player on the list, Podres – arguably the most famous Witherbee resident of all time – was the MVP of the 1955 Series for the Dodgers, leading Brooklyn to its only world championship by winning two games in the series, including a complete-game shutout in Game 7. He’d follow the Dodgers to Los Angeles, winning two more rings there before tutoring eventual World Series MVPs Frank Viola and Curt Schilling as a pitching coach.
Roy Face, 1960: A Stephentown native, Face, a right-hander on the mound, pitched in four games of the Pirates’ thrilling seven-game upset of the Yankees, picking up three saves.
Jim Barbieri, 1966: The Schenectady native made a single pinch-hitting appearance in the World Series in his only season in the majors with the L.A. Dodgers, striking out in the fourth inning of Game 1 as the Dodgers were swept by the Baltimore Orioles.
Dave LaPoint, 1982: The Glens Falls native pitched for 12 years in the majors, but only reached the Fall Classic once, starting for the St. Louis Cardinals in their Game 4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. LaPoint’s happy ending: The Cardinals won the World Series in seven games.
John Tudor, 1985, ’87-88: Born in Schenectady, Tudor caught on with the Dodgers at the perfect time after stints in Boston, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Tudor had previously been on the losing end in the Fall Classic with the ’85 and ’87 Cards, but started Game 3 for the ’88 Dodgers, who won the series in five games.
Randy St. Claire, 1991: Also a Glens Falls native, St. Claire pitched one inning for the Atlanta Braves in the epic ’91 Series loss to Minnesota, finishing Atlanta’s Game 5 win on the mound. From there, all the late-inning success went the Twins’ way.