Trivia: Of all the 4-game sweeps in World Series history, which one(s) had the closest total scoring margin between the two teams?
Regular season win totals. 'Close' defined as games decided by 2 runs or less:
2005. . . . . CLOSE. . . REST
White Sox . . 59-33. . . 40-30
Astros. . . . 38-37. . . 51-36
2005. . . . . 1-RUN. . . REST
White Sox . . 35-14. . . 64-49
Astros. . . . 24-21. . . 65-52
There are your numbers for your 2005 pennant winners. The White Sox were unreal in 1-run games, no doubt. And it will be tough for them to reel off better than a .700 clip again this year in the column. The Astros also should've been better than just 24-21 in the 1-run games. Look no further than all of the 1-0 losses they endured when Clemens was on the hill.
However the Astros, in my experience, were a bigger anomaly last year than the ChiSox. Why? Because of their roller coaster offense that couldn't score when Clemens was on the mound yet somehow managed to break out a can of whupass in other games for 51 wins by 3 runs or more. A team can get on a roll and find itself in a lot of 1- or 2-run games easier than a team can lose 1-0, win 7-2, lose 2-1, win 8-3.
Trivia Answer: The White Sox swept the Astros in 2005 by a total of 6 runs (20-14) to tie the 1950 Yankees who swept the Phillies by 6 runs (11-5). Those are your closest, in terms of total score, World Series sweeps.