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Digging a deep hole History not kind to teams down 0-3 in best-of-7 series
Posted: Wednesday October 27, 1999 02:32 PM
By James Quintong, CNN/SI After the heartbreaking 6-5 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series, the Atlanta Braves are in one of the least-desired positions in sports -- down 0-3 in a best-of-seven series. History is against the Braves. No major league team ever has won a series after losing the first three games. The last three World Series that started with one team winning the first three games have ended in a sweep, including the Yankees last year over the San Diego Padres. In the last 10 years, there have been seven postseason series that have started 0-3; only twice have those series gone past a fourth game.
However, the Braves have been on both ends of these almost-rallies in the past two years. Atlanta took the first three games from the Mets in this year's NLCS, before New York rallied to win two at home. The Braves eventually won the series, but only after a dramatic 11-inning battle in Game 6. In the 1998 NLCS, the Braves found themselves in a similar situation. Atlanta dug itself a 0-3 hole against San Diego, which included losing the first two games at Turner Field. The Braves rallied to take two straight from the Padres on the road, only to lose the series in a sixth game back at home. However, recovering from a 0-3 series deficit is not impossible. While it has never been done in baseball or the NBA, it has happened twice (and nearly a third time) in the NHL.
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs rallied from a 0-3 deficit and won four straight over the Detroit Red Wings to take the Stanley Cup. Toronto outscored Detroit 19-7 in the final four games to finish off the amazing comeback. The New York Islanders pulled off the same 0-3 recovery against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Islanders found themselves in the same 0-3 hole against the Philadelphia Flyers in the next round and rallied to win three straight before falling in a dramatic Game 7.
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