# Why do we call it "The World Series" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2000, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795 "2000-11-19T01:37:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gnostic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Gnostic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gnostic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/1 "2000-11-19T01:37:16Z")
When in fact we only play teams from the USA, is it because we are afraid to play say, teams from Japan or Mexico? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/2 "2000-11-19T01:52:36Z")
Seeing as how the origin of the term “world’s series” goes back in baseball to the 1880’s, when not too many other countries were playing the game, I suggest that **fear** of other teams is not a big factor. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/3 "2000-11-19T03:46:36Z")
The hypothesis I heard was that it was named after the newspaper that first sponsored it, _The World_. > [@](#): > > When in fact we only play teams from the USA You do know that Toronto isn’t in the USA, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/4 "2000-11-19T06:28:38Z")
Because we can, and it sounds better. NBA and NFL winners are also referred to as world champions [OK, and the WNBA also]. Seriously, for these type games, the US leagues pay more for players and spend more on TV, and so tend to be best at the US form of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/5 "2000-11-19T07:42:00Z")
What league regulation restricts playership to native-born Americans? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/6 "2000-11-19T07:47:42Z")
According to the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the phrase “World Series” dates back to 1884, when a postseason series between the NL and AA champions was referred to as the “World’s Championship Series”. In 1887, the Spalding Guide used the phrase “World Series.” I believe the link to the _New York World_ has not been proved, although I can’t point to any hard evidence that proves that particular negative. ---
**Author:** ![Lawmill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lawmill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawmill)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/7 "2000-11-19T18:45:05Z")
starfish said: > [@](#): > > Because we can, and it sounds better. NBA and NFL winners are also referred to as world champions [OK, and the WNBA also]. I’ll accept that the NBA and NFL champions are superior to any Eurasian team. But can you definitely say that the Yankees are better than any Japanese or Latin American team? If the sport is competitive internationally, I think the “World Champion” should compete with the best teams in the world for that honor. > [@](#): > > Seriously, for these type games, the US leagues pay more for players and spend more on TV, and so tend to be best at the US form of the game. They “tend” to be the best, does that mean that they are authoritatively the best team in the world every year? Galatasaray, a small Turkish soccer club, managed to knock off quite a few teams filled with highly paid players en route to winning the UEFA Cup a few years back. Like George C. Scott said, Americans like a winner. We don’t like being reminded that we aren’t always the best. When we only compete with teams from our own continent, that isn’t much of a problem. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/8 "2000-11-19T21:03:16Z")
Considering that numerous mediocre American players have gone on to stardom in Japanese baseball, while only a handful of Japanese players have been capable of success in the major leagues, I think it’s safe to say American major league baseball is far superior to Japanese baseball. Now… IF the Dominican Republic had even a quarter as many people as the USA, they might kick our butts! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/9 "2000-11-19T23:26:28Z")
Not to be jingoistic, but if the New York Yankees (the current World Series champion) took on the Yomiuri Giants (the current Japan Series champion), the Yankees would win a best of 7 series about 90% of the time. Note that in Japan, the championship is called the Japan Series (translating it into English) and there is never any pretense that the caliber of play is higher than it is in the U.S. The passion may be higher, but that is another matter. A baseball World Cup is a project that both the owners and the Players Association are trying to work on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/10 "2000-11-19T23:41:32Z")
So when Toronto wins it all again, you can pat yourself on the back for being so international. What language do they speak in Scotland, Mavis? ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/11 "2000-11-20T02:48:33Z")
That US/North American teams are (arguably) the best in the world at a particular sport is to me a poor justification for calling the league champion the “world champion.” You can only declare yourself champion of the domain in which you compete, IMO. To argue “Well, everybody else is no good,” is little better than just declaring the Yankees the 2001 champions and not bothering to play season. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/12 "2000-11-20T04:11:02Z")
A few points: 1. The story about the World Series being named after the New York World newspaper is an urban myth. 2. As has been pointed out, “World Series” is a traditional (and trademarked) name that dates back to 1887; it’s not a deliberately descriptive term. The modern World Series started in 1903 and simply adopted the old name. The reason they still use it is because they’ve used it for 97 years. 3. The argument over the World Series being a phony name is A0 ignorant of the history of the name and b) misses the point. Baseball _has no world championship._ There is no World Cup of Baseball where all the world’s countries send their best possible teams to compete. The soccer World Cup or the hockey World Cup just don’t have a baseball equivalent. Given the fact that Major League Baseball invites people from all nations to compete, it’s simply a fact of life the Major League Baseball is the highest calibre of baseball being played. Except for maybe playing against a Japanese team, who would they play? All the best Dominican, Canadian, Australian, and Mexican players play in MLB. Even the Cubans and Japanese are starting to filter over. It’s quite reasonable to state that, as it stands, it’s the world championship. If there WERE an international championship, I would see a point to changing the name. There isn’t. The MLB playoffs are as good as it gets. I appreciate that the Japanese League teams are pretty good, but they aren’t AS good, and at some point you have to concede that you can only have so large a playoff system before you get this: > [@](#): > > SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The San Francisco Giants defeated the Stoney Creek Little League All-Stars by a score of 451-0 last night, advancing to the ninth playoff round under the new True World Series format, where every team in the world gets a crack. Giants ace Livan Hernandez pitched his third perfect game of the playoffs, dazzling Stoney Creek’s frightened 12-year-old batters with a devastating array of 96-mile-per-hour fastballs and 16-inch-break curves. Hernandez had previously tossed perfect games against both the Mike’s Hardware T-Ball Thunderbirds and the Belleville Goodyear Plant Slo-Pitch Sluggers. Giants slugger Barry Bonds went 21-for-22 with 19 home runs, striking out once against relief pitcher Timmy McAndrews, who had cried after Bonds homered off him earlier in the inning… ---
**Author:** ![Shingen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Shingen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shingen)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/13 "2000-11-22T05:52:58Z")
Not directly related, but a team of Major League All-Stars do come over here to Japan and play a team of Japanese League All-Stars every so often. They did so this year, and while the Major Leaguers did win the series, they didn’t win all the games, losing 2 and tieing 1. Now the “Major League All-Stars” were not all the top players. (I don’t remember any Yankees or Mets.) However the team wasn’t a bunch of bench warmers either (e.g. Barry Bonds.) However it should also be noted that many of the major leaguers were spotted in Roppongi, well lubricated, on the nights before some of the games… ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/14 "2000-11-22T13:49:04Z")
The same reason that “The Miss Universe Pageant” is called that without entrants from other planets. :D:D ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/15 "2000-11-22T14:00:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lawmill \* > **They “tend” to be the best, does that mean that they are authoritatively the best team in the world every year? Galatasaray, a small Turkish soccer club, managed to knock off quite a few teams filled with highly paid players en route to winning the UEFA Cup a few years back.** Although they did surprise many, **Galatasaray** is by no means a small football (yeah, yeah - soccer… UGH) club. They’re richly funded and sponsored, and have a very international selection of great quality. It’s not like some amateur club took the title, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/16 "2001-11-06T15:21:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shingen \* > \*\*However the team wasn’t a bunch of bench warmers either (e.g. Barry Bonds.) \*\* When I first read this, I thought you were referring to Barry Bonds as an example of a bench warmer. Made me wonder if you were Mark McGwire’s brother-in-law or something. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/17 "2001-11-06T16:44:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*Seeing as how the origin of the term “world’s series” goes back in baseball to the 1880’s, when not too many other countries were playing the game, I suggest that **fear** of other teams is not a big factor. \*\* Baseball was being played in countries like Japan and Cuba as early as the 1880’s. ---
**Author:** ![keithnmick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90db22/32.png) [@keithnmick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keithnmick)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/18 "2001-11-06T17:37:10Z")
don’t all major US sports refer to their champions as “world champions”. We’ve got the world champion Baltimore Ravens and so on. It’s one thing to say you’re the world champ, another entirely to prove it. In soccer in addition to the world cup, which consists of national teams competing, there is also the world club championship (I think it used to be called the supercup) in which professional teams compete - usually the winners of major championships from different continents. I guess you never hear about the “world champion dallas burn”, or whoever won the MLS trophy. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/19 "2001-11-07T04:17:27Z")
**Tony** said > [@](#): > > Baseball was being played in countries like Japan and Cuba as early as the 1880’s. Are you making a statement here, or did you forget to add a question mark? What is your evidence that baseball was played in Japan and Cuba in the 1880’s? ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795/20 "2001-11-07T13:36:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SCSimmons \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Shingen \* > > \*\*However the team wasn’t a bunch of bench warmers either (e.g. Barry Bonds.) \*\* > > When I first read this, I thought you were referring to Barry Bonds as an example of a bench warmer. Made me wonder if you were Mark McGwire’s brother-in-law or something. 🙂 \*\* I think perhaps he was referring to that…but remember, he wrote that post in 2000, before Barry notched 73 homers. Tough to tell what he meant. Jman [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-the-world-series/41795.md?page=2)