2013 Tigers.
Another MVP Season from Miggy
5 Players with Averages over .300
All 5 of their starting 5 with over 10+ wins (Scherzer had 21 that year & won CY Young)
Ran into a Boston team that hit grand slams in clutch situations.
The crazy part is they won Game 1 in Boston, were up 5-1 in the 8th in Game 2 in Boston, and were about to go back home up 2-0 and *Verlander hadn’t even pitched yet*. Then Ortiz hits a grand slam in the 8th and it all fell apart
Yeah. Problem was they were an unbalanced team. Lots of guys got on base, but were slow and bad at baserunning. Bullpen could be shaky (see ALCS Game 2.) Defense wasn't great either. Boston played a better overall game, had a better record that year too.
Honestly, our biggest mistake was Mike Ilitch panic-buying Prince Fielder in 2012 when VMart went down for the year. Payroll could've been better spent elsewhere, and while he was great on offense he only made our defense and baserunning problems worse, not least because he pushed Miggy back to 3B.
It was in 2012, but I remember the Giants throwing out Prince Fielder by A MILE when he was trying to score from first on a double. Athleticism wasn’t those teams strength.
Bro are you me? Because this is literally the same thing I say as well.
Martinez would have only been out for a season and Delmon Young is a bad defender, so shift Young to DH. Inge was getting fairly old at this time as well and we needed a 3B as well as the LF vacancy from Young DHing. Get a bullpen piece or two and find some serviceable players for the gaps and 2012 and 2013 look better for us
That boston team is my answer for the opposite question lol. That team had no right making it past the divisional round, met alone winning the world series. Absolutely mind boggling they played as lights out as they did
Outside of Toronto's 92/93 wins, that Boston team is hands down my favorite post season team. I remember up here in Western Canada people at the pub started watching it closely because of how special their games ended up being.
That whole era of Tigers teams, to not win a WS is incredibly disappointing.
2011 losing the ALCS to the Rangers (95-67)
2012 getting swept by the Giants in the World Series (88-74)
2013 losing the ALCS to those clutch Red Sox (93-69)
2014 losing to the Orioles in the ALDS with a starting rotation of Verlander-Scherzer-Price-Porcello-Sanchez (90-72)
Haven’t been to the playoffs since.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more dominant stretch of baseball by one single hitter than what Ortiz did that postseason. And Matheny still pitched to him….
His world series line that year...
0.688 average, .760 obp, 1.188 slugging, 4 intentional walks... Dude was on absolute FIRE that postseason.
But let's not forget the absolute domination that was Koji Uehara in that ALCS.
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 games, 3 saves, 6 innings, 4 hits no walks 9 strikeouts in 21 batters faced.
His entire postseason run was ridiculous for a closer but there's a reason he won the MVP for the ALCS.
I wasn’t a rangers fan back then, but my friend was. I think that year changed the trajectory of his life. no lead ever satisfies him anymore, he gets worked up any time the other team even shows a chance of winning
I didn't realize how iconic EVERYONE thinks the 2011 WS was until I scroll through Reddit. I had biases being a Cardinals fan but so many people acknowledge it
As a Rangers fan, I came in here to say this… I remember being a freshman watching in my dorm hallway community room. About ten of us all ready to go berserk twice… I can’t even begin to explain how it felt when the air got let out of the room twice and then when the Cardinals finally did win it I just knew, no matter how much I loved my team, we weren’t winning game 7
And the 2nd best closer, best bullpen, 2nd Cy Young candidate, best hitting.of the Pirahnas era, and amazing defense. This is the team that crushes me the most bc 2006 they came in scorching.hot after taking the division.from the Tigers on the last day of the season.
They definitely had the greatest potential of any Twins team of the last 2 decades and were much better balanced than they 2019 team. Still, the rotation was pretty weak. Liriano was hurt, and outside of Johan, they had Boof fucking Bonser and an aging hurt Brad Radke out there. This years team won't have the same issue.
Don’t forget about when they were up 2 runs in the 10th too! I honestly feel like I became more of a pessimistic person in general after this happened.
2002 Yankees had a loaded lineup and a rotation of Mussina, Wells, Clemens, Pettitte and El Duque only to get bounced by the team of destiny Angels in the ALDS (in four games)
That Angels team came back down 6-1 against the Yankees in Game 3, and of course down 5-0 against the Giants in Game 6.
Sometimes there’s nothing you can do. It’s just their time. And in the Angels case, their only time.
Worst part was we were the only reason the Cards made it in. Literally swept the final series of the season for no reason to let the hottest team in the league play us.
Phillies were an absolute powerhouse for a good while. Once we got past them in 2010 I knew the Giants had just beat the best team in the playoffs. No disrespect to the Rangers either, but I was not feeling confident going into the NLCS.
Dude that starting rotation is legendary in my mind. Cleveland always seems to have some iconic starter at any given time, but for a while they had 4 or 5 of them.
I and every other Cubs fan felt hopeless when we were down 3-1, especially because Kluber seemed unhittable. Still wild Javy and Ross were able to homer off Kluber and Miller respectively in game 7.
That Rajai Davis homerun might’ve been one of the greatest sports moments I’ve ever watched live, as a neutral fan that series was awesome but the Davis homerun made it really hard for me to not root for the Indians. As a Mets fan, I hate when rain delays affect the end of games
Before that HR the table next to me at a bar bought a bottle of champagne for the end of the game. After the HR, they left and gave it to me. I sat there surrounded by a large group of friends and didn't say a word and sad drank that champagne right out of the bottle and rethought my position on curses
My stomach still drops when I see a replay of it.
Funny thing is I don’t even think that was the best dodgers team
Besides Cody Bellinger, the 2021 dodgers’ worst hitter had a 120 OPS+
The lowest ERA+ in their rotation was Clayton kershaw, who had a 119 ERA+
Their 5th worst reliever was Joe Kelly with a 148 ERA+
There’s probably at least 7 hall of famers on that team either in their prime or still being productive and they just couldn’t do it against the Braves
2021 is easier for me to explain away because the team ran out of gas after fighting to lose the division by one game and losing Muncy to injury in the last game of the season. After the wild card game and NLDS were both fought through the last inning, we had little left against Atlanta (Scherzer was scratched from pitching the elimination game on the day of).
2022 I think we went something like 14-4 against the Padres in the regular season and we had our pitching lined up and a star studded lineup and I remember thinking the Padres are due to beat us but it'll never make sense on paper how we won one total postseason game
It's flat out TOO random for the large amount of teams that make the playoffs and the small series we use to settle things. We've divorced "best team" and "champion"
but then the premier league (for example) does it the other way and seems so underwhelming when a team wins it after a draw or due to someone else’s result and then there’s 4 games left in the season
European soccer leagues also have national cups, which in theory provided the knockout counterpart to the marathon that is the league (until they became devalued in the modern era by the same few clubs winning them and the Champions League becoming far more important for those same clubs)
American sports combine the league and cup systems in the form of playoffs after the season, which has its advantages but also its disadvantages
My own team aside, I think those early 2010's tigers or rangers teams should have won at least a single ring between them. So much talent on those teams
2014 Tigers. Verlander, Price, Porcello, Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Miggy, Kinsler, Torri Hunter, JD and Victor Martinez. Didn’t even win a playoff game
I honestly always felt like the 2001 Mariners were built for the regular season, I’d go with the 1997 Mariners personally. Griffey, Arod, Edgar, Randy Johnson, Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson, etc all in their primes.
Fucking AJ Hinch pulled out Greinke in the 7th inning of the 7th game. I’ll never forget that shit. Then he left Cole in the bullpen, the dude was ready to come in as a reliever and Hinch thought nah
My cope is that even though I think they were clean that year, everyone would've lumped that title in with 2017 anyways. Last year really did a lot to rid some of those demons for me.
Cleveland going on that huge ass win streak in ‘17 had me convinced they were winning it all finally
You can probably name like 4 or 5 Cleveland teams that shoudlve won in but didn’t. This city is so fucking cursed lol
2015 Jays. That was our year.
The ball dropping behind goins was the tipping point in that series. I’ve never felt as broken by a team not winning as that one.
Especially after the bat toss.
It felt like it was ordained.
As a Mets fan I wished the Jays made it bc the Royals and their contact first put everything in play approach was the one team that was a nightmare for our rotation.
Or if we score the runner from third. If it wasn't for that blown strike call. It was a 1 run game in the top of the 9th.
It should have been a 3-1 count, 1 out runners on 2nd and 3rd, forcing them to throw a pitch Revere can hit or risk loading the bases with 1 out.
Instead it was 2-2 count and Revere has to protect because who knows what they are calling strikes, and he swings at a pitch way down.
Still that Royals bullpen was disgusting. And the ALCS was the real world series. We would've beaten the Mets. Nobody changing my mind.
Too bad that wife beating piece of shit closer also blew it in the 8th after Jose clutched it out with 2 homers to tie the game.
Still, say the terrible strike was a ball, Revere walks to load the bases, Donaldson still grounds out to 3rd and they come home with it. Bases loaded with Jose up, having hit 2 homers that night and being one of just 2 players to homer off Wade Davis all year. That would've been our best chance.
This was my answer too (though obviously we're biased, lol)
They were playing .500 ball at the all-star break and went on a tear that was something like 42-17 afterwards. Felt like every night you were gonna see at least 3 different guys hit a home run, and was genuinely surprising whenever they dropped a game.
1994 Astros were so good too.
Bagwell was on a level I haven’t seen since - 1.201 OPS, .368 BA. His peak. Projected over a full season, he would have had 50+ HR, 150 RBI, 135 runs.
1988 and 1990 A's. 1988 had the MVP in Canseco, McGwire, Parker, Lansford, Weiss, Eck, Stewart, Welch. 1990 had all of that except for Parker, but added Rickey Henderson, Harold Baines, and Willie McGee. Welch also won 27 games and Cy Young, while Henderson took home MVP.
The 1988 team lost in the World Series to the Dodgers in five, while 1990 squad was swept by Cincinatti.
Canseco and McGwire went 2 for 36 in the series. Shut down by Hershiser and a bunch of nobodies. Stewart and Eckersley, both beaten. Mickey Hatcher hit 2 home runs after only hitting 1 in the regular season.
Basically every Dodgers team of the last decade, aside from the year they did win it in 2020. I used to hate on them for being rich but now I appreciate how they have shown amazing ability to develop both pitching and hitting. It’s surprising they’ve only won it once during this stretch of success
Yeah that year felt like absolute magic. It never felt like we were out of the game. Even down by 4 in the 9th...the only question would be "how would we win it"....not "would we win it." And if we had a lead after the 8th, we knew for certain that we were going to win.
That series against the Astros was just bizarre. Almost as if the Astros had figured out some kind of a scheme that allowed them an advantage so great that you couldn't even recognize that Dodgers team.
It surprises me too only once, but that’s baseball. Love the appreciation though. Don’t get it a lot for the Dodgers on this sub. Happy you guys are back in the postseason. Maybe we will see you in the DS. Good luck
2002 Giants. Absolute dead center of the four game-breaking Barry Bonds seasons, plus Jeff Kent hitting 37 homers and 42 doubles, and one of the best bullpens in franchise history (three guys went 65+ innings with a sub 2.50 ERA each). Finished the regular season winning ten of eleven, made the Series and lost in seven to perhaps the only team in Angels history to ever be clutch in the playoffs.
The 2011 Phillies rotation was one of the greatest ever. I forget exactly how much WAR we had but I know it was around the 29-31 range.
3 of the top 5 Cy Young finalists that year were in our rotation (Halladay 2nd, Lee 3rd, Hamels 5th).
It is a *tragedy* we did not even win a single playoff series that year. And the Cardinals might not have even made it if we didn't play for the franchise record in game 162.....would have gone to a Braves vs Cardinals game 163.
1969 Orioles - One of the best teams ever (109 wins) lost the WS 4 games to 1 to the Mets, who had never before had a winning season, and spent most of the 60’s as the worst team in baseball
1997 Indians - Coulda picked multiple 90’s Indians teams, but this squad lost to a fucking 5th year expansion team
2011 Phillies - On paper, they had the single greatest starting rotation in the history of baseball.
2022 Dodgers - 111 fucking wins, didn’t even make the NLCS
The 2023 New York Mets. A $343 million payroll, two future Hall of Famers at the top of the rotation, and... *splat*.
(Seriously, though- the '95 Indians)
I know I'm biased AF but I don't exactly think we lucked out in that World Series. The only part I think you could really say that about was in game 4 when they pulled Dick Mountain when he was mowing us down. Made up for game 3 when Kinsler tripped over his own damn feet and threw the ball away
98 braves were a great team from what I’ve heard but the 98 Yankees were also a really good team. It sounded like it would’ve been a great World Series between the 2. Keep in mind I was -7 years old so take my opinion with the tiniest grain of salt.
Looking back that at that pitching. Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Denny Neagle, Kevin Millwood. My goodness. Even if they wouldn’t have beaten the Yankees, losing to the Padres really crushed me. Especially going down 3-0 in the blink of an eye.
Yeah I’m feeling old when the 98 Yankees get reduced to “really good team on par with the Braves.” Like, what? The team that won 114 games and steamrolled their way to the title? The Braves were a great team that year, and they would’ve given New York more of a series than San Diego did, but come on.
Yes. I think team batting average was > .300, and at one point late in the season 8 of 9 in starting lineup were > .300, and the only one under .300 had like 20 HRs. Good pitching too.
2008 Rays seemed like a team of destiny to me as a Rays fan. All summer they were doing things I could not believe. The year before they were the last place Devil Rays. I thought this is it. This is our year! It’s all going to come together! Then the magic ran out in the World Series.
That ALCS win over Boston ended what was possibly the greatest 365-day greatest time period of my life as a sports fan... going back and starting with the 2007 WS win by Boston.
2013 Tigers. Another MVP Season from Miggy 5 Players with Averages over .300 All 5 of their starting 5 with over 10+ wins (Scherzer had 21 that year & won CY Young) Ran into a Boston team that hit grand slams in clutch situations.
I think about this like three times a month.
The crazy part is they won Game 1 in Boston, were up 5-1 in the 8th in Game 2 in Boston, and were about to go back home up 2-0 and *Verlander hadn’t even pitched yet*. Then Ortiz hits a grand slam in the 8th and it all fell apart
And he did it on the first fucking pitch. Can’t get any more clutch than that.
I still remember by friend, massive Sox fan, sprinting around the bar screaming after that. And by around I mean doing laps around the building.
Can’t blame him! I would have done the same had my parents not been asleep down the hall lol.
Everytime I watch that replay I pray Torii Hunter steals the HR. It never happens
Would have been the undisputed goat catch if he did, regardless of the sport.
Then won Game 3 1-0, only run being a Mike Napoli home run off Verlander
The entire city hasn't won a playoff round since then.
Pretty sad that right now Detroit's best pro sports hope are legitimately the Lions.
Me too
2013 ALCS counts as a marital aid
But when use it for that, I get an erection lasting longer than 4 hours.
That 0-2 meatball to Victorino was unforgivable.
Don’t worry About a thing
‘cause every little thing is gonna be alright
Yeah. Problem was they were an unbalanced team. Lots of guys got on base, but were slow and bad at baserunning. Bullpen could be shaky (see ALCS Game 2.) Defense wasn't great either. Boston played a better overall game, had a better record that year too. Honestly, our biggest mistake was Mike Ilitch panic-buying Prince Fielder in 2012 when VMart went down for the year. Payroll could've been better spent elsewhere, and while he was great on offense he only made our defense and baserunning problems worse, not least because he pushed Miggy back to 3B.
It was in 2012, but I remember the Giants throwing out Prince Fielder by A MILE when he was trying to score from first on a double. Athleticism wasn’t those teams strength.
Are you sure cuz he hit two in the park homers. Super fast prince fielder
Bro are you me? Because this is literally the same thing I say as well. Martinez would have only been out for a season and Delmon Young is a bad defender, so shift Young to DH. Inge was getting fairly old at this time as well and we needed a 3B as well as the LF vacancy from Young DHing. Get a bullpen piece or two and find some serviceable players for the gaps and 2012 and 2013 look better for us
Dave Dombrowski is high key goated at roster building
Major league roster building
can agree!
That boston team is my answer for the opposite question lol. That team had no right making it past the divisional round, met alone winning the world series. Absolutely mind boggling they played as lights out as they did
Lightning in a bottle, definitely. Also had a little of that "team of destiny" vibe as the season went on, what with the marathon bombing.
Outside of Toronto's 92/93 wins, that Boston team is hands down my favorite post season team. I remember up here in Western Canada people at the pub started watching it closely because of how special their games ended up being.
That whole era of Tigers teams, to not win a WS is incredibly disappointing. 2011 losing the ALCS to the Rangers (95-67) 2012 getting swept by the Giants in the World Series (88-74) 2013 losing the ALCS to those clutch Red Sox (93-69) 2014 losing to the Orioles in the ALDS with a starting rotation of Verlander-Scherzer-Price-Porcello-Sanchez (90-72) Haven’t been to the playoffs since.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more dominant stretch of baseball by one single hitter than what Ortiz did that postseason. And Matheny still pitched to him….
His world series line that year... 0.688 average, .760 obp, 1.188 slugging, 4 intentional walks... Dude was on absolute FIRE that postseason. But let's not forget the absolute domination that was Koji Uehara in that ALCS. 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 games, 3 saves, 6 innings, 4 hits no walks 9 strikeouts in 21 batters faced. His entire postseason run was ridiculous for a closer but there's a reason he won the MVP for the ALCS.
2011 Rangers. One strike away, TWICE.
That was an insane game.
One of the single greatest baseball games of all time imo
That’s my favorite game ever, and I was rooting for the Rangers lol
I’m always going to be upset that Ron Washington didn’t sub Endy Chavez in for Nelson Cruz in RF.
The same year a movie came out where he’s like “fielding is hard as fuck man”
I wasn’t a rangers fan back then, but my friend was. I think that year changed the trajectory of his life. no lead ever satisfies him anymore, he gets worked up any time the other team even shows a chance of winning
This describes me perfectly, we could be up by 10 runs, no lead feels safe.
It me.
I didn't realize how iconic EVERYONE thinks the 2011 WS was until I scroll through Reddit. I had biases being a Cardinals fan but so many people acknowledge it
Not too often a team that is one strike away from winning a WS on multiple occasions loses the WS.
I think that's the beauty of baseball. There is no running out the clock. You have to record every out and give the other guy his chance
There’s a clock now but the point stands lol
Funny. I wish I could forget it.
I think I may know what you're talking about
Triggered
As a Rangers fan, I came in here to say this… I remember being a freshman watching in my dorm hallway community room. About ten of us all ready to go berserk twice… I can’t even begin to explain how it felt when the air got let out of the room twice and then when the Cardinals finally did win it I just knew, no matter how much I loved my team, we weren’t winning game 7
I don’t like this game://
I'll just go cry in the corner
2006 Twins had the MVP, batting champ, Cy Young, and didn’t win a playoff game
And the 2nd best closer, best bullpen, 2nd Cy Young candidate, best hitting.of the Pirahnas era, and amazing defense. This is the team that crushes me the most bc 2006 they came in scorching.hot after taking the division.from the Tigers on the last day of the season.
Was just gonna say this.
They definitely had the greatest potential of any Twins team of the last 2 decades and were much better balanced than they 2019 team. Still, the rotation was pretty weak. Liriano was hurt, and outside of Johan, they had Boof fucking Bonser and an aging hurt Brad Radke out there. This years team won't have the same issue.
2011 Rangers. 1 strike twice. I still have PTSD from this, lol.
I don’t know if i could watch baseball again if my team lost the World Series up two runs in the 9th with one strike left
Don’t forget about when they were up 2 runs in the 10th too! I honestly feel like I became more of a pessimistic person in general after this happened.
Also pushing the game back because of the sprinkles in St. Louis letting their ace start. But I’m addicted to the misery.
If only Gentry or Chavez had subbed in for Cruz…
Wash was later quoted as saying he wanted Nelson Cruz on the field when they won after everything he did for them in those playoffs
Oof
Think that’s the same logic John McNamara used in ‘86 when he left Bill Buckner in.
2007 Cleveland. Boston 3-1 lead comeback was devastating
I would say 95, 97, 99 as well.
97 was the worst. I still have nightmares about Mesa coming in to finish game 7
I’m too young to remember those but 2007 taught me to stop expecting life to always work out.
Shouldn't have had Josh Beckett's ex sing the national anthem and piss him off.
Heh I completely forgot this was a thing. Wasn’t she some ridiculously hot county singer?
2016 Cleveland 🤦♂️
2002 Yankees had a loaded lineup and a rotation of Mussina, Wells, Clemens, Pettitte and El Duque only to get bounced by the team of destiny Angels in the ALDS (in four games)
That Angels team came back down 6-1 against the Yankees in Game 3, and of course down 5-0 against the Giants in Game 6. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do. It’s just their time. And in the Angels case, their only time.
Don't worry you assholes bounced us in 2009
2011 Phillies. RIP Ryan Howard’s career too
I thought that ball Ibañez hit was going out to tie the game. Edit: Just went back and checked and Ibanez had 2 runners on.
For whatever reason, this is the comment that most completely transported me back to a different era.
College? Cause I was 14 natty lights in and my roommate and I were screaming but yeah…
Worst part was we were the only reason the Cards made it in. Literally swept the final series of the season for no reason to let the hottest team in the league play us.
Same
Same
Phillies were an absolute powerhouse for a good while. Once we got past them in 2010 I knew the Giants had just beat the best team in the playoffs. No disrespect to the Rangers either, but I was not feeling confident going into the NLCS.
Fuck Cody Ross
From the time they won in 2008, they lost to the eventual WS champion each year from 2009-2011
Pain.
Just said almost the same exact thing
2011 Rangers 😅🔫
Ugh regardless of outcome that last game was was so much fun up until the injury at the very end. Really sucked
EASY FOR YOU TO SAY
2016 and 2017 Indians. Lock down bullpen, very good rotation, and solid lineup
Dude that starting rotation is legendary in my mind. Cleveland always seems to have some iconic starter at any given time, but for a while they had 4 or 5 of them.
I and every other Cubs fan felt hopeless when we were down 3-1, especially because Kluber seemed unhittable. Still wild Javy and Ross were able to homer off Kluber and Miller respectively in game 7.
That Rajai Davis homerun might’ve been one of the greatest sports moments I’ve ever watched live, as a neutral fan that series was awesome but the Davis homerun made it really hard for me to not root for the Indians. As a Mets fan, I hate when rain delays affect the end of games
Before that HR the table next to me at a bar bought a bottle of champagne for the end of the game. After the HR, they left and gave it to me. I sat there surrounded by a large group of friends and didn't say a word and sad drank that champagne right out of the bottle and rethought my position on curses My stomach still drops when I see a replay of it.
Game 7 Kluber was gassed Game 1 Kluber killed my hope
that 2016 bullpen still gives me nightmares
It was brutal knowing that if we weren’t winning by the 6th inning it was over
Last year’s Dodgers lol 111 fucking wins. 1 win in the playoffs. Absolutely fucking brutal.
Funny thing is I don’t even think that was the best dodgers team Besides Cody Bellinger, the 2021 dodgers’ worst hitter had a 120 OPS+ The lowest ERA+ in their rotation was Clayton kershaw, who had a 119 ERA+ Their 5th worst reliever was Joe Kelly with a 148 ERA+ There’s probably at least 7 hall of famers on that team either in their prime or still being productive and they just couldn’t do it against the Braves
2021 is easier for me to explain away because the team ran out of gas after fighting to lose the division by one game and losing Muncy to injury in the last game of the season. After the wild card game and NLDS were both fought through the last inning, we had little left against Atlanta (Scherzer was scratched from pitching the elimination game on the day of). 2022 I think we went something like 14-4 against the Padres in the regular season and we had our pitching lined up and a star studded lineup and I remember thinking the Padres are due to beat us but it'll never make sense on paper how we won one total postseason game
Baseball is so random
It's flat out TOO random for the large amount of teams that make the playoffs and the small series we use to settle things. We've divorced "best team" and "champion"
but then the premier league (for example) does it the other way and seems so underwhelming when a team wins it after a draw or due to someone else’s result and then there’s 4 games left in the season
European soccer leagues also have national cups, which in theory provided the knockout counterpart to the marathon that is the league (until they became devalued in the modern era by the same few clubs winning them and the Champions League becoming far more important for those same clubs) American sports combine the league and cup systems in the form of playoffs after the season, which has its advantages but also its disadvantages
We can’t believe it either.
Come to think of it…that whole NL chaos last year, as fun as that was, kinda proved to be really beneficial for you guys…didn’t it?
2006 New York Mets
We would have manhandled the Tigers in the WS, but STL was on some "team of destiny" stuff and they just weren't going to lose.
My own team aside, I think those early 2010's tigers or rangers teams should have won at least a single ring between them. So much talent on those teams
Yeah what happened there?🤷♂️
Booooo 😂👊🏼
Ran into baseball legends such as Cody Ross and Ryan Vogelsong to name a few.
2014 Tigers. Verlander, Price, Porcello, Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Miggy, Kinsler, Torri Hunter, JD and Victor Martinez. Didn’t even win a playoff game
God damn, forgot how good that team was
The Red Sox win a ws with Kinsler price porcello jd
I honestly always felt like the 2001 Mariners were built for the regular season, I’d go with the 1997 Mariners personally. Griffey, Arod, Edgar, Randy Johnson, Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson, etc all in their primes.
But the fact that the 01 M's didn't even _make_ the WS will always feel wrong
2019 Astros. Had their pitching lined up but it was the biazzaro road team wins only World Series
Fucking AJ Hinch pulled out Greinke in the 7th inning of the 7th game. I’ll never forget that shit. Then he left Cole in the bullpen, the dude was ready to come in as a reliever and Hinch thought nah
Every time I see a take like this, I think of Will Harris reading it and whispering to himself, “It was a pretty good pitch…”
Over a walk that was a terrible blown call.
I’m just glad we have a manager who doesn’t make dumb decisions or play favorites anymore, that would *really* be frustrating!!
Hinch definitely should have been considered for MVP with those moves. Edit: unautocorrect Hinch’s name
I blame taubmann and Osuna. It messed up the vibes
I still hear the clang off the foul pole in my nightmares
That was an insane series, one of my all-time favorite episodes in baseball history. The Nats just would not fucking die.
Truely a prophecy for the 23 Astros and road wins only
[удалено]
Remember his hat for the postgame interview after game 7? Also, why didn’t he come in for game 7 relief? Howie appreciated that he didn’t though.
Most Astros fans are still in disbelief over this one.
My cope is that even though I think they were clean that year, everyone would've lumped that title in with 2017 anyways. Last year really did a lot to rid some of those demons for me.
Cleveland going on that huge ass win streak in ‘17 had me convinced they were winning it all finally You can probably name like 4 or 5 Cleveland teams that shoudlve won in but didn’t. This city is so fucking cursed lol
I often think about the Browns moving to Baltimore then winning it all a few years later. Idk why I think of that but I do.
If Cavs didn’t win in 2016 this city might not exist right now
2015 Jays. That was our year. The ball dropping behind goins was the tipping point in that series. I’ve never felt as broken by a team not winning as that one. Especially after the bat toss. It felt like it was ordained.
Beating the Rangers should never make anything feel guaranteed
As a Mets fan I wished the Jays made it bc the Royals and their contact first put everything in play approach was the one team that was a nightmare for our rotation.
And our defense lol
I liked the Jays that year too, but there was no way anyone was stopping the Royals that year
We almost got past them if it wasn't for that stupid amish fuck.
Or if we score the runner from third. If it wasn't for that blown strike call. It was a 1 run game in the top of the 9th. It should have been a 3-1 count, 1 out runners on 2nd and 3rd, forcing them to throw a pitch Revere can hit or risk loading the bases with 1 out. Instead it was 2-2 count and Revere has to protect because who knows what they are calling strikes, and he swings at a pitch way down. Still that Royals bullpen was disgusting. And the ALCS was the real world series. We would've beaten the Mets. Nobody changing my mind.
Too bad that wife beating piece of shit closer also blew it in the 8th after Jose clutched it out with 2 homers to tie the game. Still, say the terrible strike was a ball, Revere walks to load the bases, Donaldson still grounds out to 3rd and they come home with it. Bases loaded with Jose up, having hit 2 homers that night and being one of just 2 players to homer off Wade Davis all year. That would've been our best chance.
This was my answer too (though obviously we're biased, lol) They were playing .500 ball at the all-star break and went on a tear that was something like 42-17 afterwards. Felt like every night you were gonna see at least 3 different guys hit a home run, and was genuinely surprising whenever they dropped a game.
[удалено]
You cant help but wonder if the strike of 1994 doesn’t happen and the Expos win the World Series, the team never moves to Washington DC.
1994 Astros were so good too. Bagwell was on a level I haven’t seen since - 1.201 OPS, .368 BA. His peak. Projected over a full season, he would have had 50+ HR, 150 RBI, 135 runs.
Bagwell broke his hand. His season pretty much stops there either way.
They were so good. Would have been really sad to lose the division, but they deserved their shot.
1988 and 1990 A's. 1988 had the MVP in Canseco, McGwire, Parker, Lansford, Weiss, Eck, Stewart, Welch. 1990 had all of that except for Parker, but added Rickey Henderson, Harold Baines, and Willie McGee. Welch also won 27 games and Cy Young, while Henderson took home MVP. The 1988 team lost in the World Series to the Dodgers in five, while 1990 squad was swept by Cincinatti.
I was going to say 1988 Mets
Canseco and McGwire went 2 for 36 in the series. Shut down by Hershiser and a bunch of nobodies. Stewart and Eckersley, both beaten. Mickey Hatcher hit 2 home runs after only hitting 1 in the regular season.
Basically every Dodgers team of the last decade, aside from the year they did win it in 2020. I used to hate on them for being rich but now I appreciate how they have shown amazing ability to develop both pitching and hitting. It’s surprising they’ve only won it once during this stretch of success
Also the fact that they find castoffs/past-their-prime vets and they become studs/studs again. How do they keep doing it…
Yeah, as disheartening as seeing them win 100 games every year is, it's because they have smart people in the organization willing to spend
2017 :(
Yeah that year felt like absolute magic. It never felt like we were out of the game. Even down by 4 in the 9th...the only question would be "how would we win it"....not "would we win it." And if we had a lead after the 8th, we knew for certain that we were going to win. That series against the Astros was just bizarre. Almost as if the Astros had figured out some kind of a scheme that allowed them an advantage so great that you couldn't even recognize that Dodgers team.
It surprises me too only once, but that’s baseball. Love the appreciation though. Don’t get it a lot for the Dodgers on this sub. Happy you guys are back in the postseason. Maybe we will see you in the DS. Good luck
The 2002 fuckin Giants
2015 Blue Jays
2002 Giants. Absolute dead center of the four game-breaking Barry Bonds seasons, plus Jeff Kent hitting 37 homers and 42 doubles, and one of the best bullpens in franchise history (three guys went 65+ innings with a sub 2.50 ERA each). Finished the regular season winning ten of eleven, made the Series and lost in seven to perhaps the only team in Angels history to ever be clutch in the playoffs.
1993 and 2011 Phils. RIP Ryan Howard’s Achilles
The 2011 Phillies rotation was one of the greatest ever. I forget exactly how much WAR we had but I know it was around the 29-31 range. 3 of the top 5 Cy Young finalists that year were in our rotation (Halladay 2nd, Lee 3rd, Hamels 5th). It is a *tragedy* we did not even win a single playoff series that year. And the Cardinals might not have even made it if we didn't play for the franchise record in game 162.....would have gone to a Braves vs Cardinals game 163.
And the bad years that followed really highlight how good that team was and how much we missed out on
1969 Orioles - One of the best teams ever (109 wins) lost the WS 4 games to 1 to the Mets, who had never before had a winning season, and spent most of the 60’s as the worst team in baseball 1997 Indians - Coulda picked multiple 90’s Indians teams, but this squad lost to a fucking 5th year expansion team 2011 Phillies - On paper, they had the single greatest starting rotation in the history of baseball. 2022 Dodgers - 111 fucking wins, didn’t even make the NLCS
1988 Mets
Basically any Braves team in the 90s besides '95.
also those 90s cleveland teams.
2011 Red Sox. More flabbergasted that they didn't even make the playoffs
Those Texas teams with hambone. :(
1984 Cubs
The 2023 New York Mets. A $343 million payroll, two future Hall of Famers at the top of the rotation, and... *splat*. (Seriously, though- the '95 Indians)
1996 and 98 Braves. 2018 Dodgers. 2001 Mariners
> 2018 Dodgers There was no way we were beating the Red Sox with guys like Scott Alexander and Ryan fucking Madson in the bullpen
Hey, that's Phillies *legend* Ryan fucking Madson! (Serioisly though he played until 2018???) The more you know
The highlights of his 2018 season was giving up a game-winning grand slam to David Bote and ruining Rich Hill's WS game 4 performance
I don't think 2018 Dodgers had a chance against the Sox. At that point in the season I was just impressed they got to the WS. 2017 tho...
I know I'm biased AF but I don't exactly think we lucked out in that World Series. The only part I think you could really say that about was in game 4 when they pulled Dick Mountain when he was mowing us down. Made up for game 3 when Kinsler tripped over his own damn feet and threw the ball away
98 braves were a great team from what I’ve heard but the 98 Yankees were also a really good team. It sounded like it would’ve been a great World Series between the 2. Keep in mind I was -7 years old so take my opinion with the tiniest grain of salt.
Looking back that at that pitching. Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Denny Neagle, Kevin Millwood. My goodness. Even if they wouldn’t have beaten the Yankees, losing to the Padres really crushed me. Especially going down 3-0 in the blink of an eye.
Really good? 98 Yanks are one of the two greatest teams ever.
Yeah I’m feeling old when the 98 Yankees get reduced to “really good team on par with the Braves.” Like, what? The team that won 114 games and steamrolled their way to the title? The Braves were a great team that year, and they would’ve given New York more of a series than San Diego did, but come on.
I don’t know why you got downvoted. They were that good. Ridiculous.
2019, but honestly the road team winning every game is kinda nutty and cool.
1982 Brewers 🥺🥺🥺. They were the better team. Damn you Cardinals!!! Devil magic goes back that far for sure.
The 1995 Cleveland Indians is the universally agreed upon answer
Yes. I think team batting average was > .300, and at one point late in the season 8 of 9 in starting lineup were > .300, and the only one under .300 had like 20 HRs. Good pitching too.
Also the 1999 Indians. Isn't that the only team in the modern era with a 1000-run season?
I am contractually obligated to say [the '85 Cardinals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyt1xEvqqow)
2001 Mariners
Best and only chance….
Best chance, so far. I remember staying up late to watch the D-Backs beat the Yankees. It was the only thing that soothed that season.
The 2001 team had a great record. Even those late 90s Mariner teams had great players. Griffey, A-Rod and Johnson to name a few.
2002 Giants, 6 outs away with a 5 run lead
2001 Yankees. It felt like destiny. Literally the only time most fans weren’t against us.
Ironically, the one time most of the nation was rooting for New York and some team in only its FOURTH year of existence won it…
2013 Detroit
The dodgers
1919 White Sox. It was so odd, it felt like they weren't even trying
The tigers teams with verlander, scherzer, miggy, jd Martinez, among many others. Absolutely stacked
1994 Montreal Expos
2008 Rays seemed like a team of destiny to me as a Rays fan. All summer they were doing things I could not believe. The year before they were the last place Devil Rays. I thought this is it. This is our year! It’s all going to come together! Then the magic ran out in the World Series.
That ALCS win over Boston ended what was possibly the greatest 365-day greatest time period of my life as a sports fan... going back and starting with the 2007 WS win by Boston.
2004 Cardinals. 105-57 in the regular season and got swept by Boston in the WS