Debate: Are the Indians still chasing the 1916 Giants' 26-game streak?
On Wednesday, the Cleveland Indians won their 21st game in a row, tying the 1935 Cubs and 1880 White Stockings for the longest winning streak in baseball history.
Or did they?
In 1916, the New York Giants won 26 games in a row. Sandwiched into those 26 wins, however, was a game called in a 1-1 tie due to rain and darkness. Now, 101 years later, this unfortunate result has led to much debate about where the Indians' streak stands in history. Is the record 21 or 26? Should we count the Giants' tie? How many wins do the Indians really need?
Before Cleveland goes for No. 22 on Thursday night, theScore's MLB editors Jonathan Soveta and Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb debate whether or not the Indians are still chasing the record.
Yes: 26 remains the record
Does Armando Galarraga get his perfect game because replay came in four years too late? Should we retroactively name the Cardinals champions of 1985 for the same reasons? Of course not. Different eras had some differences in rules, and we don't alter results because the game's evolved. This is the reason why the record belongs to the Giants unless Cleveland (or another team in future seasons) can win 27 consecutive games. Period.
Back in 1916, baseball didn't suspend ties and resume them later; rather, games called as ties simply ended as they were and got replayed from scratch later. While individual stats weren't erased, MLB has and continues to consider ties as unofficial games - as in, ties aren't counted in won-loss records. The 1916 Giants' tie in the midst of their record 26-game winning streak was one of those unofficial games called due to rain and darkness, and when they replayed it in a doubleheader the next day, they won again to keep the streak alive. John McGraw's Giants finished 1916 at 86-66 - with no ties visible in their standing. That's why their 26-game streak remains the record, as confirmed Thursday by John Thorn, MLB's official historian.
Let's be clear: to say they haven't yet matched the record does not denigrate what the 2017 Cleveland Indians, now owners of the longest streak in AL history, have accomplished. What they've done should be lauded forever, no matter where they go from here - but unless they win another seven in a row, to say they own even a share of the longest win streak in baseball history is plain wrong. - Sharkey-Gotlieb
No: It's 21 and a tie is a tie
In what world is a tie considered a win?
Give the Indians the credit they deserve. They've matched the 1935 Cubs' 21-game win streak, and as such, should be remembered as one of the three teams who strung together the most consecutive wins in major-league history. The keyword here is "consecutive," which the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as "following one after the other in order." All 26 of the 1916 Giants' wins did not follow one after the other in order.
That Giants side was great, no doubt, but their 1-1 tie with the Pittsburgh Pirates was sandwiched between a 12-game win streak and a 14-game win streak. It's also worth noting that their stalemate wasn't a shortened affair either; it was called off in the ninth inning due to rain. Yes, it was replayed the next day and didn't factor into either team's record that season, but the official stats from the tie stood: the 8 1/2 innings played, Honus Wagner's eighth-inning sacrifice fly and RBI; Giants hurler Pol Perritt's seven strikeouts; it all officially happened. If the game isn't supposed to count, it should have been erased and wiped clean from the record books. It wasn't.
If you want to immortalize the 1916 Giants - and you should - call it the best undefeated streak. But this season's Indians aren't chasing them anymore; they should now co-own the record for the most consecutive wins in Major League Baseball's history. - Soveta