Nearly every baseball fan knows that only one team -- the 2004 Boston Red Sox -- has ever come back from a 3-0 postseason series deficit to win. But in the World Series, forget about winning the series. Simply making it to a Game 5 is an accomplishment.
The Tampa Bay Rays survived to play another day thanks to Ben Williamson's 12th-inning walk-off in Game 4 on Tuesday, forcing the Milwaukee Brewers to wait at least one more day to celebrate their franchise's first championship. In fending off the sweep, the Rays joined rare company.
Only four other teams -- the 2024 New York Yankees, the 1970 Cincinnati Reds, the 1937 New York Giants and the 1910 Chicago Cubs -- had ever won Game 4 after trailing the series 3-0, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs. She added that only 10 previous teams (out of 43) that fell behind 3-0 in any best-of-seven series avoided a sweep.
In the World Series, no team trailing 3-0 has even made it to a Game 6.
The Rays have made a custom of turning baseball convention on its head for almost two decades, however. Their emphasis on speed and putting the ball in play to reach this Fall Classic has challenged the widespread MLB philosophy of playing for the three-run home run. Simpson, who singled to set up Williamson's walk-off in the 12th, is infamous for his inability to make solid bat contact -- and all he's done is bat .293 with five stolen bases and endless game-saving, highlight-reel catches in this postseason.
It's on to Game 5 for the Rays. And if they stick to their usual habits, the result there will be anything but normal.