2005 World Series
The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League champion Chicago White Sox and the National League champion Houston Astros. The White Sox swept the Astros in four games, winning their third World Series championship and their first in 88 years, ending the Curse of the Black Sox. The series was played between October 22–26, 2005.
Home field advantage was awarded to Chicago by virtue of the AL's 7–5 victory over the NL in the 2005 MLB All-Star Game. The Astros were attempting to become the fourth consecutive wild card team to win the Series, following the Anaheim Angels, Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox. Both teams were attempting to overcome decades of disappointment, with a combined 132 years between the two teams without a title. The Astros were making their first Series appearance in 44 years of play, while the White Sox had waited exactly twice as long for a title, having last won the Series in 1917, and had not been in the Series since 1959, three years before the Astros' inaugural season. As of 2025, this is the most recent postseason series won by the White Sox.
As part of MLB's divisional realignment in 2013, the Astros agreed to change leagues. As of 2025, Houston has won four American League pennants and two World Series championships.
Background
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox finished the regular season with the best record in the American League at 99–63. The 2005 White Sox led their division wire to wire and only lost one game in the postseason. After starting the season on a tear, the White Sox began to fade in August, when a game lead fell all the way to at one point. However, the White Sox were able to hold off the Cleveland Indians to win the American League Central Division by six games, sweeping the Indians in three games on the season's final weekend. In the American League Division Series, the top-seeded White Sox swept the defending champion Boston Red Sox. The American League Championship Series began with the second-seeded Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim winning Game 1, but a controversial uncaught third strike in Game 2 helped the White Sox start a run and win Games 2–5, all on complete games pitched by starters Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy García, and José Contreras, clinching their first American League pennant since 1959. In game 3 of the ALDS Orlando Hernandez came in with the bases loaded due to Damaso Marte loading the bases with a single and back to back walks. El Duque came in and induced 2 pop outs and a strike out to end the inning and preserve the lead.Image:Frank Thomas 2005 ALDS first pitch.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Frank Thomas throws out the ceremonial first pitch of the 2005 ALDS between the White Sox and Red Sox.
Manager Ozzie Guillén then led the White Sox to a World Series victory, their first in 88 years. Slugger Frank Thomas was not on the post-season roster because he was injured, but the team honored his perennial contributions to the franchise during Game 1 of the Division Series against the Red Sox when he was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. "What a feeling," Thomas said. "Standing all around the place. People really cheering me. I had tears in my eyes. To really know the fans cared that much about me – it was a great feeling. One of my proudest moments in the game."
The White Sox completed the 2005 postseason with an 11-1 record. The White Sox also won the last 5 regular season games and thus closed out the 2005 campaign winning 16 of the last 17 games played and 19 of their last 22, a record finish unmatched in all of MLB history.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros won the Wild Card for the second straight year, once again clinching it on the final day of the season. The Astros embarked on a memorable National League Division Series rematch against the Atlanta Braves, who were the second seed in the National League. With the Astros in the lead two games to one, the teams played an 18-inning marathon in Game 4, which was the longest postseason game in history. In this game, Roger Clemens made only the second relief appearance of his career, and the first in postseason play. Chris Burke's walk-off home run ended the game in the bottom of the 18th. For the second straight year, the Astros played the top-seeded St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. Like the White Sox, the Astros dropped Game 1, but were able to regroup and win Games 2–4. With the Astros on the verge of clinching their first ever National League pennant in Game 5, Albert Pujols hit a mammoth three-run home run off Brad Lidge in the top of the ninth inning to take the lead, and subsequently stave off elimination. However, behind NLCS MVP Roy Oswalt, the Astros were able to defeat the Cardinals 5–1 in Game 6 and earned a trip to the World Series. With the win, this was the Astros' first World Series appearance in franchise history, and the last game played in Busch Stadium II, as it was demolished months after the game and the Cardinals moved to Busch Stadium III the next season.Summary
Matchups
Game 1
Playing in their first World Series home game since 1959, the White Sox took an early lead with a home run from Jermaine Dye in the first inning. After Mike Lamb's home run tied the game in the second, the Sox scored two more in the second when Juan Uribe doubled in A. J. Pierzynski after Carl Everett had already scored on a groundout earlier in the inning. The Astros responded in the next inning when Lance Berkman hit a double, driving in Adam Everett and Craig Biggio. In the White Sox half of the fourth, Joe Crede hit what turned out to be the game-winning home run. In the bottom of the eighth, Scott Podsednik hit a triple with Pierzynski on second off of Russ Springer for an insurance run. Roger Clemens recorded his shortest World Series start, leaving after the second inning with 53 pitches, including 35 for strikes, due to a sore hamstring that he had previously injured as the loss went to Wandy Rodríguez. José Contreras pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits for the win. Before exiting, Contreras allowed a leadoff double by Willie Taveras with no outs. Neal Cotts entered the game in the top of the eighth inning. It marked the first time in five games that the White Sox had gone to their bullpen. Cotts pitched innings before Bobby Jenks was called upon by manager Ozzie Guillén to relieve him. Guillen signaled for the large pitcher by holding his arms out wide and then up high. In the postgame conference, the Sox manager joked that he wanted to be clear he was asking for "The Big Boy." Jenks returned in the ninth to earn the save, giving the White Sox a 1–0 lead in the series. In 2025, the game also became noted for the attendance of Robert Francis Prevost, a White Sox fan, South Side native, and the future Pope Leo XIV, who was a prior for the Order of Saint Augustine at the time and briefly appeared in a crowd shot during Fox's broadcast in the top of the 9th inning.Game 2
On a cold and rainy evening, Morgan Ensberg's first-pitch home run off starter Mark Buehrle put the Astros on top in the second inning. The White Sox answered in the bottom of the second with two runs off Andy Pettitte on Joe Crede's RBI single with two on and Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly, the only runs Pettitte allowed in six solid innings. Houston's Lance Berkman tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the third after a one-out triple by Willy Taveras, then hit a two-run double in the fifth to give the Astros a 4–2 lead. In the seventh, Dan Wheeler loaded the bases with a double by Juan Uribe, a walk to Tadahito Iguchi, and plate umpire Jeff Nelson's ruling that Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitched ball. The Astros brought in Chad Qualls, who promptly served up a grand slam to Paul Konerko on his first pitch, the 18th grand slam in the annals of the Fall Classic. In the top of the ninth, Sox closer Bobby Jenks blew the save on a game-tying pinch-hit two-run single by José Vizcaíno. In the bottom of the ninth, Astros closer Brad Lidge gave up a one-out, walk-off home run—the 14th in Series history—to Scott Podsednik, giving Lidge his second loss in as many post-season appearances. Podsednik had not hit a single homer in the regular season, but this was his second of the post-season. This was the second time in World Series history where a grand slam and a walk-off home run were hit in the same game. The Oakland A's Jose Canseco and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series were the first to do it. Never before had a World Series grand slam and a World Series walk-off home run been hit by the same team in the same game. Until the grand slam by Adam Duvall of the Atlanta Braves in 2021 World Series, the grand slam by Konerko was the last World Series grand slam hit by the home team.Game 3
Game 3 was the first World Series game played in the state of Texas. Before the game, it was ruled by Commissioner Bud Selig that the retractable roof would be open at Minute Maid Park, weather permitting. The Astros objected, citing that their record in games with the roof closed was better than with the retractable roof open. Selig's office claimed that the ruling was based on the rules established by Houston and were consistent with how the Astros organization treated the situation all year long, as well as the weather forecasts for that period of time.The game would become the longest World Series game in length of time and tied for the longest in number of innings until it was surpassed by Game 3 of the 2018 World Series. Houston struck early on a Lance Berkman single after a Craig Biggio lead-off double in the bottom of the first off Chicago starter Jon Garland. A White Sox rally was snuffed in the second inning; after Paul Konerko hit a leadoff double and A. J. Pierzynski walked, Aaron Rowand lined out into a double play. Houston scored in the third; Adam Everett walked, was caught in a rundown and got hit by the ball on a Juan Uribe throwing error, then scored on a Roy Oswalt sacrifice bunt and a Biggio single. Two batters later, Morgan Ensberg singled Biggio home. Jason Lane led off the Astros' fourth with a home run to left-center field. It was later shown in replays that the ball should not have been ruled a home run, hitting to the left of the yellow line on the unusual wall in left-center field.
After Houston starter Roy Oswalt had thrown four shutout innings, the White Sox rallied for five runs in the top of the fifth, true to their "Win Or Die Trying" mantra of 2005, starting with a Joe Crede lead-off homer. Uribe, on first after hitting a single, scored on a Tadahito Iguchi base hit with one out, followed by Scott Podsednik coming home on a single by Jermaine Dye. Pierzynski hit a two-out double to Tal's Hill, driving in two runs, scoring Iguchi and Dye giving the Sox the lead. The Astros rallied in the last of the eighth when the Sox bullpen collapsed. Cliff Politte got two outs, but walked Ensberg and was replaced by Neal Cotts, who promptly walked Mike Lamb to put two on and forced the Sox to put their regular-season closer Dustin Hermanson in place of Cotts. However, Hermanson could not hold down the save when Lane doubled to score Ensberg, but did not allow many more runs by striking out Brad Ausmus. Houston tried to rally to win in the ninth against Orlando Hernandez, but stranded Chris Burke at third, after he had walked, reached second on an error and stolen third.
The Astros tried again in the 10th as well as in the 11th, but failed each time. In the top of the 14th, after the Sox hit into a spectacular double play started by Ensberg, Geoff Blum, who had entered the game in the 13th, homered to right with two outs and saddled Astros reliever Ezequiel Astacio with the loss. The White Sox then put men on first and second thanks to singles by Rowand and Crede, and a subsequent walk to Uribe loaded the bases for Chris Widger, who walked to force home Rowand and padded the White Sox' lead to 7–5. Astacio was yanked after Widger's at-bat and was replaced by Game 1 loser Wandy Rodriguez, who got the final out to prevent any further damage. Trailing by two runs, Houston tried to rally with the tying runs on first and third and two outs after a Uribe error. Game 2 starter Mark Buehrle earned the save for winning pitcher Dámaso Marte when Everett popped out, bringing Chicago one game closer to its first championship in 88 years. Buehrle became the first pitcher to start a game in the Series and save the next one since Bob Turley of the Yankees in the 1958 World Series.
Many records were set or tied besides time and innings: The teams combined to use 17 pitchers, throwing a total of 482 pitches, and walking 21 batters ; 43 players were used, and 30 men were left on base, all new high-water marks in Fall Classic history. Scott Podsednik set a new all-time record with eight official at-bats in this game. One tied record was total double plays, with six.