2008 Major League Baseball postseason

The 2008 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2008 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

2008 Major League Baseball postseason
Tournament details
DatesOctober 1–29, 2008[1]
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsPhiladelphia Phillies
(2nd title)
Runners-upTampa Bay Rays
(1st World Series appearance)
Most valuable playerCole Hamels
(PHI)

In the American League, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim returned to the postseason for the fifth time in seven years, the Boston Red Sox returned for the fifth time in six years, the Chicago White Sox made their third appearance in the past nine years, and the Tampa Bay Rays made their postseason debut. This was the first postseason since 1993 to not feature the New York Yankees, who had previously made thirteen straight appearances from 1995 to 2007.

In the National League, the Chicago Cubs returned for the third time in six years, marking the first time since 1906 that both Chicago teams made the postseason. The Cubs had Lou Pinella leading them to the division title. The Philadelphia Phillies made their second straight appearance, the Los Angeles Dodgers made their third appearance in the past five years, and the Milwaukee Brewers made their first postseason appearance since 1982 (first as a member of the National League).

The postseason began on October 1, 2008, and ended on October 29, 2008, with the Phillies defeating the Rays in five games in the 2008 World Series. It was the first championship won by the Phillies since 1980.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League
  1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - 100–62, Clinched AL West[2]
  2. Tampa Bay Rays - 97–65, Clinched AL East[3]
  3. Chicago White Sox - 89–74, Clinched AL Central[4]
  4. Boston Red Sox - 95–67, Clinched Wild Card[5]

National League
  1. Chicago Cubs - 97–64, Clinched NL Central[6]
  2. Philadelphia Phillies - 92–70, Clinched NL East[7]
  3. Los Angeles Dodgers - 84–78, Clinched NL West[8]
  4. Milwaukee Brewers - 90–73, Clinched Wild Card[9]

Playoff bracket

Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS) 		League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS) 		World Series
         
1 LA Angels 1
4 Boston 3
4 Boston 3
American League
2 Tampa Bay 4
2 Tampa Bay 3
3 Chicago White Sox 1
AL2 Tampa Bay 1
NL2 Philadelphia 4
1 Chicago Cubs 0
3 LA Dodgers 3
3 LA Dodgers 1
National League
2 Philadelphia 4
2 Philadelphia 3
4 Milwaukee 1

Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.

American League Division Series
Main article: 2008 American League Division Series

(1) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. (4) Boston Red Sox

Boston won the series, 3–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 1Boston Red Sox – 4, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 1Angel Stadium of Anaheim3:1444,996[10] 
2October 3Boston Red Sox – 7, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 5Angel Stadium of Anaheim3:5145,354[11] 
3October 5Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 5, Boston Red Sox – 4 (12 innings)Fenway Park5:1939,067[12] 
4October 6Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 2, Boston Red Sox – 3Fenway Park2:5038,785[13]

In a rematch of the previous year's ALDS, the Red Sox again defeated the Angels to advance to the ALCS for the second year in a row. The Angels would sweep the Red Sox in the ALDS the next year.

(2) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (3) Chicago White Sox

Tampa Bay won the series, 3–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 2Chicago White Sox – 4, Tampa Bay Rays – 6Tropicana Field3:1035,041[14] 
2October 3Chicago White Sox – 2, Tampa Bay Rays – 6Tropicana Field3:1035,257[15] 
3October 5Tampa Bay Rays – 3, Chicago White Sox – 5U.S. Cellular Field3:0740,142[16] 
4October 6Tampa Bay Rays – 6, Chicago White Sox – 2U.S. Cellular Field3:1340,454[17]

In their postseason debut, the Rays defeated the White Sox in four games to advance to the ALCS for the first time in franchise history. The White Sox would not return to the postseason again until 2020.

National League Division Series
Main article: 2008 National League Division Series

(1) Chicago Cubs vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles won the series, 3–0.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 1Los Angeles Dodgers – 7, Chicago Cubs – 2Wrigley Field3:1042,099[18] 
2October 2Los Angeles Dodgers – 10, Chicago Cubs – 3Wrigley Field3:1042,136[19] 
3October 4Chicago Cubs – 1, Los Angeles Dodgers – 3Dodger Stadium3:0356,000[20]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Cubs and Dodgers. The Dodgers swept the Cubs to return to the NLCS for the first time in two decades.

Both teams would meet again in the NLCS in 2016 (won by the Cubs), and 2017 (won by the Dodgers).

(2) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (4) Milwaukee Brewers

Philadelphia won the series, 3–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 1Milwaukee Brewers – 1, Philadelphia Phillies – 3Citizens Bank Park2:3945,929[21] 
2October 2Milwaukee Brewers – 2, Philadelphia Phillies – 5Citizens Bank Park3:0046,208[22] 
3October 4Philadelphia Phillies – 1, Milwaukee Brewers – 4Miller Park3:3143,992[23] 
4October 5Philadelphia Phillies – 6, Milwaukee Brewers – 2Miller Park2:5343,934[24]

The Phillies defeated the Brewers in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since 1993. The Brewers would return to the postseason again in 2011, where they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games in the NLDS before falling in the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals.

American League Championship Series
Main article: 2008 American League Championship Series

(2) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (4) Boston Red Sox

Tampa Bay won the series, 4–3.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 10Boston Red Sox – 2, Tampa Bay Rays – 0Tropicana Field3:2535,001[25] 
2October 11Boston Red Sox – 8, Tampa Bay Rays – 9 (11 innings)Tropicana Field5:2734,904[26] 
3October 13Tampa Bay Rays – 9, Boston Red Sox – 1Fenway Park3:2338,031[27] 
4October 14Tampa Bay Rays – 13, Boston Red Sox – 4Fenway Park3:0738,133[28] 
5October 16Tampa Bay Rays – 7, Boston Red Sox – 8Fenway Park4:0838,437[29] 
6October 18Boston Red Sox – 4, Tampa Bay Rays – 2Tropicana Field3:4840,947[30] 
7October 19Boston Red Sox – 1, Tampa Bay Rays – 3Tropicana Field3:3140,473[31]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Rays and Red Sox. Despite blowing a 3–1 series lead, the Rays managed to hold on and advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history, denying the Red Sox a shot at back-to-back titles.

The Red Sox would return to the ALCS in 2013, where they defeated the Detroit Tigers in six games to capture the pennant. The Rays would win their next AL pennant in 2020 against the Houston Astros in seven games.

The Rays and Red Sox would meet again in the ALDS in 2013, and 2021, with both being won by the Red Sox.

National League Championship Series
Main article: 2008 National League Championship Series

(2) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers

Philadelphia won the series, 4–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 9Los Angeles Dodgers – 2, Philadelphia Phillies – 3Citizens Bank Park2:3645,839[32] 
2October 10Los Angeles Dodgers – 5, Philadelphia Phillies – 8Citizens Bank Park3:3345,883[33] 
3October 12Philadelphia Phillies – 2, Los Angeles Dodgers – 7Dodger Stadium2:5756,800[34] 
4October 13Philadelphia Phillies – 7, Los Angeles Dodgers – 5Dodger Stadium3:4456,800[35] 
5October 15Philadelphia Phillies – 5, Los Angeles Dodgers – 1Dodger Stadium3:1456,800[36]

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Phillies and Dodgers. They had previously met in the NLCS in 1977, 1978 and 1983, with the Dodgers winning the former two and the Phillies winning the latter. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers in five quick games to return to the World Series for the first time since 1993.

The two teams met again in next year's NLCS, with the same result as this series.

2008 World Series
Main article: 2008 World Series

(AL2) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (NL2) Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia won the series, 4–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 22Philadelphia Phillies – 3, Tampa Bay Rays – 2Tropicana Field3:2340,783[37] 
2October 23Philadelphia Phillies – 2, Tampa Bay Rays – 4Tropicana Field3:0540,843[38] 
3October 25Tampa Bay Rays – 4, Philadelphia Phillies – 5Citizens Bank Park3:4145,900[39] 
4October 26Tampa Bay Rays – 2, Philadelphia Phillies – 10Citizens Bank Park3:0845,903[40] 
5October 27†/29Tampa Bay Rays – 3, Philadelphia Phillies – 4Citizens Bank Park3:2845,940[41]

† - Game suspended in the sixth inning due to rain.

This was the first World Series since 2003 to feature a team from Florida, and the first since 1993 to feature a team from Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Rays in five games to win their first championship since 1980. This was the first championship of the four major North American sports leagues won by a team from Philadelphia since 1983, when the Philadelphia 76ers won the 1983 NBA Finals.

The Rays would return to the World Series again in 2020, but were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. The Phillies returned to the World Series the very next year in hopes of defending their title, but fell to the New York Yankees in six games.

References
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  2. "2008 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  3. "2008 Tampa Bay Rays Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  4. "2008 Chicago White Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  5. "2008 Boston Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  6. "2008 Chicago Cubs Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  7. "2008 Philadelphia Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  8. "2008 Los Angeles Dodgers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  9. "2008 Milwaukee Brewers statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  10. "2008 ALDS - Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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  14. "2008 ALDS - Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays - Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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  17. "2008 ALDS - Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox - Game 4". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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  21. "2008 NLDS - Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies - Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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  31. "2008 ALCS Game 7 – Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  32. "2008 NLCS Game 1 - Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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  36. "2008 NLCS Game 5 - Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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  38. "2008 World Series Game 2 - Philadelphia Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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  40. "2008 World Series Game 4 - Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  41. "2008 World Series Game 5 - Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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