Top 20 MLB Teams of the Last 40 Years to Miss the Postseason

For the most part, everyone always remembers the champions.  Dan Gladden trotting home with the winning run in the epic Game 7 Minnesota Twins 1-0 victory in 1991.  Joe Carter's walk-off blast to give the Blue Jays back-to-back titles in 1993. Edgar Renteria's soft liner up the middle to give the Florida Marlins their first championship in 1997.  Brad Lidge crumpling to his knees to give the city of Philadelphia its first championship in any sport in 25 seasons.

However, the losers of the World Series aren't as easy to remember and on some occasions, even forgotten.  Quickly now, what team did Renteria hit that game winning single against? What team did the Phillies take down in '08?  The Yankees won titles in '96, '98, '99, '00.  Who against?  Without a quick search, some might not have a clue and I'm talking about pennant winning World Series runner-ups.

Now, let's go even deeper and take a look at the best teams of the last 40 years who didn't even get to participate in the playoffs or World Series.  Thanks to the bad luck of having a great season the same year another team in their division was just a tad better, these teams were all quickly forgotten except probably to the most faithful of diehards who will appreciate the overdue recognition.

20. 1982 Baltimore Orioles (94-68)

Highlights: Three future Hall of Famers in Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken and Jim Palmer.  Murray slugged .316-32-110 while Ripken's rookie campaign was .264-28-93.  OF John Lowenstein a very surprising .320-24-66. Palmer goes 15-5 with a 3.13 ERA while Dennis Martinez, Mike Flanagan and Scott McGregor all win 14+.  They put it all together winning the World Series in '83.

19. 1990 Chicago White Sox (94-68)

Highlights: Greg Hibbard, 14-9, 3.16  Jack McDowell, 14-9, 3.82.  Bobby Thigpen's 57 saves!  The entire starting outfield of Ivan Calderon, Lance Johnson and Sammy Sosa each stole 30+ bases.

18. 1993 Montreal Expos (94-68)

A common theme on this list will be the Montreal Expos.  This is the first appearance in the top 20.  How about this combination of power and speed: five players reached double-digits in HR and SB, Larry Walker (22 HR 29 SB), Marquis Grissom (19 HR  53 SB), Moises Alou (18 HR  17 SB), Sean Berry (14 HR  12 SB) and Wil Cordero (10 HR 12 SB).  Delino DeShields also chipped in 43 SB of his own.  Closer John Wetteland nailed down 43 saves and Dennis Martinez paced the staff with 15 wins.

17. 1987 Toronto Blue Jays (96-66)

Monster season for George Bell, .308-47-134.  Nine players reached double-digit in HRs including Jesse Barfield (28), Lloyd Moseby (26) and Fred McGriff (20).  Six pitchers reached double-digit wins led by Jimmy Key (17) and Jim Clancy (15).

16. 1979 Milwaukee Brewers (95-66)

Paul Molitor at 22 and Robin Yount at 23 as your double play combination. Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas and Sixto Lezcano all hit 20+ HRs and 100+ RBI. Three years away from "Harvey's Wallbangers" but this club was already showing signs of being mashers.  Sal Bando was the only regular over 30 years old. 

Try this on in today's game: Bill Castro led the team in saves...with six.  Sixty-one complete games out of the starting rotation of Lary Sorenson, Mike Caldwell, Jim Slaton, Bill Travers and Moose Haas will do that.

15. 1973 Los Angeles Dodgers (95-66)

What a young nucleus: Bill Buckner (23), Steve Garvey (24), Steve Yeager (24), Bill Russell (24), Lee Lacy (25), Ron Cey (25), Joe Ferguson (26), Willie Crawford (26), Davey Lopes (28).  No wonder this team was a powerhouse for the next decade.  Just think what they would have done without the Big Red Machine in the same division.

14. 1979 Montreal Expos (95-65)

Finishing just being the "We Are Family" World Champion Pirates.  This team was built with young future Hall of Famers, Gary Carter (25) and Andre Dawson (24) leading the way.  Bill "Spaceman" Lee went 16-10 with a 3.04 ERA while another Hall of Famer.  First baseman Tony Perez was brought in to show this team how to win.  Perez was the only regular over 29 years of age at 37.

13. 1999 Cincinnati Reds (96-67)

Lost two of their last three to force a one-game playoff to see this version of the Big Red Machine go away quietly against the NY Mets in game No. 163, 5-0.  Amazing offensive production as every starter (and two bench players) hit at least 10 HRs led by Greg Vaughn's 45.  Mike Cameron, Pokey Reese and Barry Larkin all swiped more than 30 bags.  Even 30-year-old catcher Ed Taubensee got in the act hitting .311-21-87.

12. 1985 New York Yankees (97-64)

Don Mattingly's phenomenal MVP season of .324-35-145, Rickey Henderson's .314-24-72 with 146 runs scored and 80 SBs and Ron Guidry's 22-6 record were not enough to beat out the Toronto Blue Jays first AL East crown.

11. 1977 Pittsburgh Pirates (96-66)

A few years away from their 1979 Championship, the Pirates finished four games behind the Phillies who won 101.  Closer Goose Gossage finished with 26 saves and a 1.62 ERA.  John Candelaria went 20-5 with a 2.34 ERA while Dave Parker paced the offense with a .338 average.

9. (Tie) 1977 Baltimore Orioles (97-64)

How in the world do not one, but two teams win 97 games in the same division, in the same year and neither make the playoffs? Look it up, the 1977 Orioles and Red Sox couldn't take down the eventual World Champion Yankees.

9. (Tie) 1977 Boston Red Sox (97-64)

Part two.  Tell me this isn't forgotten.  Two teams going home after the season ends with 97 wins from the same division.

1977 AL East Standings

1. NY Yankees  (100-62)

2. Boston Red Sox  (97-64)

2. Baltimore Orioles  (97-64)

4. Detroit Tigers (74-88)

5. Cleveland Indians  (71-90)

6. Milwaukee Brewers (67-95)

7. Toronto Blue Jays  (54-107)

8. 1985 New York Mets (98-64)

Again, just before winning it all is a re-occuring theme.  Dwight Gooden's sensational 24-4 1.53 ERA season.  Poor George Foster spent four seasons in NY; this one was his last, missing out on the parade in '86.  Gary Carter hit .281-32-100 while Darryl Strawberry crushed 29 HRs in just 111 games.

7. 1974 Cincinnati Reds (98-64)

The Big Red Machine finished four games behind the Dodgers.  Otherwise the Reds probably would have won three straight Championships along with '75 and '76. 

6. 1981 Cincinnati Reds (66-42)

The crazy strike of '81 caused the leagues to do "split seasons" pairing the champions of each against each other in the first Divisional Series matchups that obviously happen every season now.  The poor Reds didn't win the first half or the second half and finished .5 games behind the eventual World Champ Dodgers and then 1.5 games behind the Astros.  Great season for Tom Seaver going 14-2 with a 2.54 ERA, but he finished behind Dodger rookie Fernando Valenzuela for the Cy Young Award.

5. 1978 Boston Red Sox (99-64)

It took an epic collapse, a one-game playoff against the hated Yanks and Bucky Bleepin' Dent to oust the Sox in painful fashion.  Jim Rice went nuts in '78 with a .315 avg, 46 HR and 139 RBI playing in all 163 games.  Dennis Eckersley was a 20 game winner but unfortunately it is Mike Torrez' gopher ball to Dent that is remembered most.

4. 1994 New York Yankees (70-43)

Right before Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera came along, Buck Showalter had turned this franchise in the right direction and they were well on their way in '94 before the strike.  Catcher Mike Stanley slugged his way to .300-17-57 and Paul O'Neill hit .359-21-83.  Jimmy Key won 17 games and was the only Yank in double-digits.  Clsoer Steve Howe saved 15 games and had a 1.80 ERA.

3. 1980 Baltimore Orioles (100-62)

The Orioles lost the World Series in 1979, and won it in 1983, but even though they won 100 games in 1980, they finished three games behind the New York Yankees. The '77 and '82 squads also made this list as Baltimore really was a dominant team during this period. 

In '80, Steve Stone put it all together and finally stayed healthy to win 25 games and the AL Cy Young award.  Lefty Scott McGregor also won 20 games.  Offensively, 1B Eddie Murray hit .300-32-116 and RF Ken Singleton .304-24-104. CF Al Bumbry led the team with a .318 average while scoring 118 runs and stealing 44 bases. All of that did not equal a postseason appearance but it does get them No. 3 on the list.

2. 1994 Montreal Expos (74-40)

Basically, the 1994 strike killed Major League Baseball in Montreal. Arguably the best team ever in Montreal as they were well on their way to 105 wins but the strike and cancellation of the rest of the season quickly disheartened Montreal fans on baseball and the Expos were never the same.  On the hill, Ken Hill led the way with 16 wins and 22-year-old Pedro Martinez electrified opponents going 11-5 with a 3.42 ERA.  Moises Alou hit .339-22-78, Larry Walker .322-19-86, while their partner in the outfield Marquis Grissom hit .288-11-45.  The Expos were comfortably in first by six games over the Atlanta Braves and were well on their way to a postseason appearance.

1. 1993 San Francisco Giants (103-59)

The Giants were 103-58, tied with the Atlanta Braves heading into the regular season finale and got crushed by the rival Dodgers.  103 wins was not enough, believe it or not, to see postseason play.  NL MVP Barry Bonds spent his first season in a Giant uniform quite well hitting .336-46-123 while also scoring 129 runs, stealing 29 bags and walking 126 times.  But that wasn't it.  Third sacker Matt Williams hit .294-38-110, Robby Thompson .312-19-65, and ET Willie McGee could still hit .301 in 130 games.  Two 20 game winners led the rotation as well with Bill Swift going 21-8 with a 2.82 ERA and John Burkett 22-7, 3.65.  Closer Rod Beck burst onto the scene with 48 saves and a 2.16 ERA.  If 1993 happened today, the playoffs would have been:

1. Atlanta Braves (NL East Champ)

2. San Francisco Giants (NL West Champ)

3. St Louis Cardinals (NL Central Champs)

4. Philadelphia Phillies (NL Wild Card)

So the Giants would have played the Phillies while the Braves would have taken on the Cards.  But instead, the Phillies won the East, took down the Braves and represented the NL while SF got to clean out their lockers quickly after an amazing 103 win season.