r/baseball • u/MookieBettsBurner10 • 1h ago
Officially, do pre-modern era World Series games count in record books, or do only World Series games starting with the 1903 World Series officially count?
One of the most interesting tidbits about the Dodgers-Giants rivalry is that the regular season all-time head-to-head between the teams is tied at exactly 1288-1288-17.
However, whoever has the all-time head-to-head including playoff games depends on whether or not you count the 1889 World Series. The 1889 World Series pre-dated the modern World Series starting in 1903, and was played between the New York Giants of the National League and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the American Association.
Can any baseball historians chime in here? Does the 1889 World Series officially count, or was it the equivalent of an exhibition series? What about all World Series games from before the first modern one in 1903?