MadBum's Series

Well done to all of you who followed me on the San Francisco Giants to win their third World Series in five years. 2010, 2012 and now 2014. One of the more exciting finishes, with the Giants clinging on to win 3-2 on the road, after starting the game as underdogs. Home teams had won every Game 7 (nine) since 1979.

As I have written before, with the advent of replays and challenges this season, home advantage isn't what it used to be. A call in the bottom of the third inning, that prior to this season would have favoured the Kansas City Royals, was challenged by the Giants and overturned, and changed the momentum in my opinion. Having said that, the standard of officiating was very good, and this was only the second challenge, and the first to be successful. Although I don't have the full season totals for overturned calls, I do know that at the mid-season All Star break, 52% of the 606 challenges were successful. It would be interesting to see the numbers for home and road teams.