The thing about all sports precedents: They make interesting history, but they don't necessarily tell you much about what you're about to see. With that caveat in mind, here's are historical signs and portents that surround Wednesday night's climactic World Series game -- the final contest of Major League Baseball's long, long season -- between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals.
- The New York/San Francisco Giants have won 21 National League pennants in baseball's modern (post-1900) era. They've been in 20 World Series (there was no Series in the Giants' first pennant year, 1904) and won seven (1905, 1921, 1922, 1933, 1954, 2010, 2012).
- The Giants have won the deciding game in five of their seven World Series titles on the road: (in 1921, against the Yankees; in 1933, vs. Washington Senators; in 1954, vs. Cleveland Indians; in 2010, vs. Texas Rangers; in 2012, vs. Detroit Tigers).
- The Giants are 0-4 all-time in World Series winner-take-all games. They lost the seventh and deciding World Series games in 1912, vs. Boston Red Sox; 1924, vs. Washington; 1962, vs. Yankees; and 2002, vs. Anaheim Angels.
- The Giants did win one Game 7. That was in 1921, against the Yankees. But it wasn't the decisive game, since the World Series that year was a best-of-nine affair. (The Giants won it in eight games.)
- Since 1980, Royals are the ninth home team to win Game 6 when down 3-2 in the World Series. Each of the previous eight went on to win Game 7.
- The Royals have won 14 of their last 17 postseason games dating back to Game 5 of the 1985 World Series.
- The Royals are playing the second World Series Game 7 in franchise history (they beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-0 Cardinals in 1985)
- The last team to win Game 7 of the World Series on the road: 1979, the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Baltimore Orioles. (Nine Fall Classics have gone to seven games since then -- not counting tonight's game.)