In the world of Major League Baseball (MLB), luck can sometimes play as significant a role as skill in determining the outcomes of games and seasons. One of the luckiest moments in MLB history occurred on October 4, 1985, during Game 5 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with the Royals trailing by one run, a controversial call on a routine play at third base allowed the Royals to continue their rally. The umpire’s decision to rule that Blue Jays’ third baseman, Garth Iorg, had missed the tag on a sliding Royal’s base runner proved pivotal, as it extended the inning and eventually led to the Royals winning the game and advancing to the World Series, where they secured the championship. This moment exemplifies how a stroke of luck can dramatically alter the course of a postseason series.

Another remarkable instance of fortune in MLB was the “Greatest Game Ever Played” on October 16, 2004, when the Boston Red Sox staged an unprecedented comeback against the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS. Down three games to none in the series, the Red Sox faced elimination, but in the 12th inning, a wild pitch by Yankees’ reliever Mariano Rivera allowed the Red Sox to score the winning run. This serendipitous moment was a key factor in the Red Sox completing a historic comeback to win the series and eventually break the “Curse of the Bambino” with a World Series victory.

Additionally, the 2017 MLB season brought one of the luckiest plays ever seen, when the Houston Astros’ José Altuve hit a walk-off home run in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. Altuve’s dramatic two-run homer not only clinched the series for the Astros but also showcased the unpredictable nature of baseball, where a single swing can define a team’s season. This moment highlighted how luck and opportunity intersect in baseball, turning what could have been a season-ending defeat into a pathway to the World Series title.

These instances illustrate that in baseball, sometimes luck can outweigh skill and strategy, creating moments of fortune that become part of the game’s rich tapestry. From controversial calls to improbable comebacks and clutch plays, these lucky moments remind fans that in MLB, anything can happen, and the line between victory and defeat can often be as thin as a single lucky break.