The Best Losers in MLB History

When the World Series is over the best team always wins. Right? That isn't always the case. There are some circumstances where the second, third or even fourth best team rises to the top to claim the title, and that team that should be there has fallen to the wayside. Here are the top ten teams that had outstanding seasons only to fall short in the World Series or maybe not even make the Series.

10. 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers

The Dodgers finished with a record of 104-50, only to finish second, two games behind the Cardinals. The Dodgers had four pitchers have fifteen or more wins on the season. They also finished second in the league in runs, doubles, batting average, shutouts and ERA. Unfortunately for the Dodger faithful the Cardinals finished first in all of those categories as well as in the standings.

9. 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

The 1962 version was similar to the 1942 version. They also had great pitching; four pitchers won at least fourteen games. The 1962 Dodgers finished 102-63, and in second place once again, one game behind the San Francisco Giants. At the end of the season Maury Wills received the MVP award and Don Drysdale received the Cy Young award after going 25-9.

8. 2004 St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals ran through the National League finishing at 105-57. They led the National League in runs, batting average and slugging percentage. The Cardinals where led by Albert Pujols' 46 home runs and 123 RBI, and Jason Isringhausen's 47 saves ran through the playoffs. They first defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and then beat the Houston Astros in the NLCS. When they reached the World Series they ran into the Boston Red Sox, who were on their miracle run.

7. 1998 Atlanta Braves

The Braves of 1998 had it all. They had hitters in Javy Lopez, Andre Galarraga, Chipper Jones and Andrew Jones who all had over thirty home runs and 90 RBI each. They had the pitching (like usual in the 1990's for them) in Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Maddux finished with a record of 18-9 an ERA of 2.22. Glavine went 20-6, with an ERA of 2.47 and got the Cy Young Award. The Braves that year went 106-56 and lost in the NLCS to the San Diego Padres.

6. 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers

This was going to be the year for the Dodgers. They had the pitchers in Don Newcombe, 20-9, and Preacher Roe, 22-3. They led the league in runs, doubles, home runs, batting average, and stolen bases. Catcher, Roy Campanella, got the MVP award. The Dodgers finished at 97-59 and in a tie for the National League title with the New York Giants. They had a one game playoff and ......the Dodgers didn't win. That's why they make this list.

5. 1969 Baltimore Orioles

The 1969 Baltimore Orioles finished at 109-53, 19 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers. They were led by 23 game winner Mike Cuellar and 20 game winner Dave McNally. They were huge favorites in the World Series against the New York Mets. The Mets took the series four games to one. The Orioles pitchers didn't do badly in the series, 2.72 ERA, but the Mets pitchers were better, 1.80 ERA.

4. 1954 Cleveland Indians

Cleveland fans suffered through three consecutive seasons of second place finishes before 1954. The Indians top three pitchers, Early Wynn, Mike Garcia and Bob Lemon, each won more than 19 games. They each had an ERA under 2.75. The Indian hitters led the American League with 156 home runs while only hitting .262, but that was enough to finish the regular season at 111-43. In the World Series the Indian bats didn't show up. They only hit .190 and scored 9 runs in losing four straight games to the New York Giants.

3. 1943 St. Louis Cardinals

The strengths of the 1943 Cardinals were their fielding (.976 2^nd in NL) and hitting (.279 1^st in NL). There wasn't much competion for the Cardinals in the National League that year. They finished 105-49, going 44-18 in the final two months of the season, and ran away with the National League pennant. When they got to the World Series there strengths seemed to be weaknesses. In five games with the New York Yankees the Cardinals hit .224, scored 9 runs and committed 10 errors. They lost four games to one.

2. 1906 Chicago Cubs

We go way back for this great team that collapsed when it mattered most. The Cubs finished the regular season at 116-50. Their closest competition was the New York Giants who finished twenty games behind. The Cubs pitchers were outstanding during the season. The leader was Mordecai Brown, who finished with a record of 26-6 and an ERA of 1.04. In fact, the pitching staff of the Cubs finished with an ERA of 1.75 for the season. In the World Series the Cubs lost to cross town rivals, White Sox, four games to 2 games. It was a battle to see which team would win, neither hit above .200, and the White Sox had 15 errors in the six games. But it came down to the last two games when the Cubs top two pitchers, Mordecai Brown and Jack Pfiester gave up 10 runs in 3 innings.

The Top Team to fall apart when it mattered most is.....

1. 2001 Seattle Mariners

The Mariners of 2001 started the season in first place and didn't look back, finishing 116-46. They didn't have more than nine losses in any month. The Mariners were paced by Rookie of the Year and MVP Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro hit .350 and scored 127 runs on the year. Their pitching was stacked as well, led by Jamie Moyer and Freddie Garcia. Moyer won 20 games on the year and Garcia won 18 and posted an ERA of 3.05. They beat everyone during the regular season. Once they got to the playoffs it was a different story. The Mariners defeated the Indians in the ALDS but then lost to the New York Yankees, four games to one game, in the ALCS.

This list originally started out as a list of about twenty teams. While narrowing the list down I really looked at which teams were expected to be a champion but then didn't get it done when it mattered most. Every year there is a chance that a new team will rise up and then fall down to take the place of one of these teams. That is the beauty of baseball.

Resource:
www.baseball-reference.com