The 10 Greatest MLB Teams to Lose in the World Series

At the end of the season, two great teams meet in the World Series. These teams have overcome every obstacle and had great success throughout the entire season, but one series can ultimately determine how that team will be remembered in the history books.

There have been many teams that have had amazing regular seasons, but they could not finish off the World Series. There have been 10 teams in particular who won at least 100 games but failed to win the ultimate prize. History doesn't normally remember who came in second, but we are going to today.

10. 2004 St. Louis Cardinals (105-57)

Albert Pujols, Edgar Renteria and Larry Walker had a solid World Series against the Boston Red Sox, but the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals were not able to do much of anything as the team collectively hit .190.

On top of that, the St. Louis pitching staff posted a combined 6.09 ERA, and the St. Louis Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox to end The Curse of the Bambino.

9. 1946 Boston Red Sox (104-50)

The 1946 World Series saw one of the best hitting matchups the game has ever known. Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox and Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals met in a series that went to seven games.

Both men were definitely underwhelming, and the difference actually ended up being St. Louis starting pitcher Harry Brecheen who pitched two complete games to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to victory.

8. 1995 Cleveland Indians (100-44)

In the defense of the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves had one of the best pitching staffs in recent memory, so it is somewhat understandable that they had trouble generating any offense.

On the other hand, the Cleveland Indians had an All-Star lineup with Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton among others. They fell in six games even though the series was much more intense than that.

7. 1934 Detroit Tigers (101-53)

The Detroit Tigers ultimately had a difficult time bringing the offense, and strong performances from Dizzy Dean and Paul Dean ultimately gave the St. Louis Cardinals and the edge in this World Series.

Joe Medwick also had a big series at the plate by driving in five runs to help the St. Louis Cardinals pull ahead and win the series in seven games.

6. 1931 Philadelphia Athletics (107-45)

In 1931, the Philadelphia Athletics were led by one of the best pitchers of all time in Lefty Grove.

However, when they took on the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series and Grove won two out of the three games he started, the Athletics were ultimately defeated in seven games thanks to excellent pitching from Burleigh Grimes and Bill Hallahan.

5. 1990 Oakland Athletics (103-59)

The Oakland Athletics had one of the most dynamic offenses in recent memory headlined by Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson. However, it was somewhat difficult for the three to get any momentum again the Cincinnati Reds as they only drove in three runs put together.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, got major performances from Chris Sabo and Eric Davis to pull off a four-game sweep.

4. 1988 Oakland Athletics (104-58)

After the Oakland Athletics offense burst out for four runs in the second inning of Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they were not able to cross the plate again for 18 innings.

Half of that was because of a complete game shutout from the future series MVP, Orel Hershiser, but the Oakland offense that had carried them all season only hit .177 as the Athletics fell in five games.

3. 1906 Chicago Cubs (116-36)

The Chicago White Sox took down their crosstown rivals in six games even though both teams really couldn't manage to hit the ball very much. The Chicago Cubs hit .196 for the series, and the White Sox hit a marginally better .198. The major difference came through timely hits.

The White Sox outscored the Cubs by eight runs, and that was ultimately the difference. It's kind of funny how little offense there was back then.

2. 1954 Cleveland Indians (111-43)

The Cleveland Indians had an excellent pitching staff that posted a 2.78 ERA throughout the entire season. However, when they met the New York Giants in the World Series, they were simply no match.

In four games, the Giants outscored the Indians 21-9, and, as a matter of fact, Dusty Rhodes almost drove in as many runs as the entire Cleveland offense (he had seven RBI). This was a surprising twist for a team that had been so dominant all year.

1. 1969 Baltimore Orioles (109-53)

It is hard to believe that a team that was headlined by Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar could be beaten in a best-of-seven series, but the New York Mets posted a remarkable 1.80 ERA for the series and won this duel in five games.

As a fun piece of trivia, Nolan Ryan appeared in two innings for the New York Mets without allowing a run during this World Series.

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