FACTS

Joe DiMaggio holds the career World Series record for grounding into double plays with seven instances!

The World Series record for reaching base via hit-by-pitch during a career is three held by nine different players (Yogi Berra, Bert Campaneris, Max Carey, Frank Chance, Elston Howard, Reggie Jackson, Frank Robinson, Fred Snodgrass, and Honus Wagner)!

Joe Carter holds the World Series record for sacrifice flies during a career with four; one in the 1992 World Series, and three in the 1993 World Series!

The Boycott of 1904

The 1904 Series was supposed to be between the AL's Boston Pilgrims and the NL's New York Giants. The Giants' owner, John Brush, refused to allow his team to play, citing the inferiority of the upstart American League. Brush also cited the lack of rules under which the games would be played and the money would be split. During the winter of 1904/05, however, Brush proposed what came to be known as the "Brush Rules", under which the series would be played over subsequent years.
One rule was that player shares would come from gate receipts from the first four games only. This was to discourage teams from throwing early games in order to prolong the series and make more money. Receipts for later games were split among the two teams and the National Commission (the new governing body for the sport, which was able to cover much of its annual operating expenses from World Series revenue).
The list evolved over time. In 1925, Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets convinced owners to adopt the current 2-3-2 system of scheduling World Series games (one team would host the first two games, the other team would host the next three, and the first team would host the last two if necessary; the leagues alternated which representative would host the first games).

What happened to the 1904 World Series ?

The inaugural World Series of 1903 was a resounding success and represented the first step in healing the bruised egos of both the veteran National and fledgling American Leagues. Pittsburgh and Boston went head-to-head for eight games proving that great baseball between the two leagues was possible and that a merger would benefit the growth of the sport. Unfortunately, some owners still disagreed with the concept and in 1904, it was prematurely cancelled. John T. Brush, president of the National League champion New York Giants, refused to play the returning American League champion Boston Americans. He was quoted as stating that he refused to compete with a "representative of the inferior American League". Surprisingly, Brush regretted the decision and later that year proposed to continue with the series as originally conceived. His about-face spawned the "Brush Rules," a set of guidelines relating to the on-field play and off-field finances of the World Series which exists to this day.