The New York Yankees' Five Worst World Series Losses

The New York Yankees have had more than their share of glorious World Series victories, but they have also suffered some stinging World Series losses. The Yankee fan has seen his team lose out on other World Series wins in a variety of painful ways, from the greatest name in the game being caught stealing to the sport's greatest closer not getting the job done. Walk-off homers have done in the Yankees in the World Series as well, and in the borough of Brooklyn the old timers still fondly remember a pitcher that gave them their only crown. Here in order of how badly they hurt for the Yankee fan are their five worst World Series losses.

In fifth place on this roster is their 2003 World Series debacle against the Marlins, with the Game Four defeat in focus. Roger Clemens had started that contest and allowed three first inning runs before settling down and holding Florida scoreless. Trailing 3-1 going into the last of the ninth at Dolphin Stadium, New York rallied to tie the game on a two-out triple by pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra. Aaron Boone, who had etched his name in Yankee lore by hitting a twelfth inning homer to beat Boston in Game Seven of the ALCS and send the Bombers to the Series, missed a chance to have even more babies named after him when he grounded out with Sierra on third. The tilt went to extra innings and Yankee Jeff Weaver entered the game in the eleventh. He got through that frame, but with the score still knotted at 3-3, Weaver served up a gopher ball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The win helped propel Florida to the championship, as they won Game Five 6-4 and then sent Josh Beckett to the hill to shut New York out 2-0 in Game Six. Weaver, who had cost the Yankees lefty Ted Lilly to acquire, never threw another pitch for New York; he was traded to the Dodgers for Kevin Brown, who would have his own catastrophic playoff moments with the team in 2004.

Fourth place is reserved for Game Seven of the 1926 Series against the Cardinals. New York was down a run in the top of the seventh at Yankee Stadium when they got something going in the bottom of the seventh. An Earl Combs single, a sacrifice, and walks to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig sandwiched around a groundout by Bob Meusel brought second baseman Tony Lazzeri to the plate. The Cardinals brought in a hung-over Pete Alexander, who had thrown a complete game the day before in winning 10-2 to tie the Series. Alexander then survived a wicked line drive from Tony that just went foul before striking the future Hall of Famer out. New York did nothing again until the last of the ninth, when Babe Ruth walked with two outs. Incredibly, with Lou Gehrig batting, Ruth decided he should steal second all on his own. He was thrown out by a mile and Gehrig was left standing at the dish in wonder as St. Louis celebrated.

The third worst Yankee World Series loss came in another Game Seven, to the Brooklyn Dodgers, a team New York had beaten in five previous tries in the Fall Classic. New York had forced a deciding contest with a 5-1 victory the day before, but they could muster little against World Series MVP Johnny Podres and lost 2-0. One of their best threats came in the third, when they had men on first and second and two away. But Gil McDougald's single hit Phil Rizzuto, who was of course called out, and the chance was gone. In the bottom of the sixth Billy Martin walked and McDougald got a bunt hit to third with nobody out, but Yogi Berra hit into a double play and Hank Bauer grounded out to short. Berra and Bauer stranded two more in the eighth and Podres retired the side in order in the ninth for a 2-0 shutout, his second win of the Series, as all of Flatbush went crazy.

A walk-off homer in a Game Seven to cost you a World Series would be at the top of most team's lists of worst losses, but the 1960 blow by Pirates' second sacker Bill Mazeroski is only second on the Yankees inventory of bad beats. Maz hit his homer off of Ralph Terry to lead off the last half of the ninth at old Forbes Field, a shot that caused the great Mickey Mantle of the Yankees to weep in the locker room. He had good reason, as New York had outscored Pittsburgh 38 to 3 in their three wins of that Series, only to lose all the close games. They had rallied to tie the score in the top of the ninth with a pair of runs after the Bucs had taken a 9-7 lead in the eighth. That frame saw a potential double play ball hit to Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek hop up and strike him in the throat, and all hell break loose after as Pittsburgh took advantage, scoring the go-ahead runs on a three-run blast by pinch-hitter Hal Smith off of reliever Jim Coates. Harvey Haddix, he of the lost perfect game fame in 1959, got the win, as the baseball gods evened things up with him in a big way.

The worst World Series loss the Yankee ever took was to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game Seven of the 2001 Classic. After taking a three games to two lead on the strength of wonderfully dramatic game-tying homers at Yankee Stadium on successive nights by Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius, New York went to the desert needing just one win to clinch their fifth title in six years. Andy Pettitte started Game Six and promptly got bombed for six runs in two plus innings, and Jay Witasick assured himself of never wearing the pinstripes again when he came on in relief and allowed nine men to score, getting just four outs. The resulting 15-2 shellacking precipitated a seventh game, which Curt Schilling and Arizona were leading 1-0 into the seventh when a Tino single scored the tying run. Alfonso Soriano then put the Yanks ahead in the eighth with a home run and when New York threatened to score more, lefty Randy Johnson came on to put out the fire, even though he had pitched the day before. Johnson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and the Diamondbacks came up against Mariano Rivera to start the home half of the inning, down 2-1. Mark Grace singled, and then Rivera cost himself and New York big-time when he threw the attempted sacrifice bunt by Damian Miller wide of second base. The next bunt, by Jay Bell, failed to move up the runners, as Rivera forced the man at third, but Tony Womack then doubled to right to score the tying run. Rivera hit Craig Counsell with a pitch and then allowed a soft, looping dying quail of a hit by Luis Gonzalez over the drawn in infield to beat the Yankees.