The 10 Most Shocking Sports Sweeps of All Time
Next week, on the season finale of Celebrity Dentistry 2...the most dramatic, life-altering, and shocking event...that will change...everything!
Yep, you know it's definitely Sweeps Week when you start seeing those promos. Sweeps Week is a magical time when networks pull out every last stop to get big ratings. There are guest stars, character deaths, and crazy stunts, but mostly there is The Big Surprise. They bring you in by promising the unexpected.
In sports, sweeps operate the exact opposite way; sweeps are usually expected. One team is clearly better than the other, and they mow through the series. Even if you don't expect a sweep, you generally won't be surprised by it. But every once in a while, a sweep will come out of nowhere. The underdog takes all four games; two teams that looked evenly matched turn out to be far more lopsided than anyone realized, or the defending champ forgot about the whole "defending" part.
So in keeping with the Sweeps Week tone, here are the 10 Most Shocking Sweeps Ever! [Cue dramatic music]
No. 10: 2008 NLDS—Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago Cubs 3-0
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Well, somebody had to win this series.
The Dodgers hadn't won a playoff series in 20 years, and the Cubs...were the Cubs. However, Chicago was favored to come out of the National League after having finished the season with 97 wins, second only to the Angels. The Cubs then proceeded to celebrate their accomplishment by rolling over and playing dead for three games. In the 27 innings played, they led in only three and lost the first two games at home by a combined score of 17-5. The 13-game win disparity between the teams was the most ever for a baseball playoff series that ended in a sweep by the underdog.
No. 9: 1991 Eastern Conference Finals—Chicago Bulls over Detroit Pistons 4-0
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Detroit's Bad Boys were the two-time defending champions, looking to get to their fourth straight NBA finals appearance. A young Bulls team had finally put things together and was expected to win, but the Pistons had always given Chicago fits with their "Jordan Rules" (a.k.a. beating the crap out of Michael Jordan) and had knocked them out of the last three playoffs.
The Bulls had apparently had enough. Jordan averaged 30 ppg in the series as Detroit never really gave them much of a challenge. Nobody saw a defeat of this magnitude coming, least of all the Pistons, who showed grace in defeat by walking off the court with eight seconds to go and refusing to shake hands with the Bulls players.
No. 8: 2003 Conference Quarterfinals—Anaheim Mighty Ducks over Detroit Red Wings 4-0
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The Mighty Ducks, with just one series win to their name in 2003, had yet to earn the "Mighty" part of their name. After getting swept by Detroit in their only two playoff appearances prior, facing the defending Stanley Cup champions Red Wings in the first round seemed like a certain death sentence for the seven seed.
But riding the hot glove of goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere in his first playoffs, Anaheim gutted out four one-goal victories for the sweep. It was only the second time in NHL history that the defending Stanley Cup champions were swept the following year.
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No. 7: 1983 Eastern Conference Semifinals—Milwaukee Bucks over Boston Celtics 4-0
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From 1981-1987 the Boston Celtics played in five NBA Championship games, winning three. However, 1983 stands out as the giant pimple in their 1980s prom picture. The Celtics, two years removed from their last championship, and with the same pieces intact, suffered a humiliating sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. Only Game Two was in the vicinity of being close as the Bucks completely demolished the C's mentally and physically.
The fact that Boston won it all the very next year makes this sweep all the more random and surprising.
No. 6: 1989 NBA Finals—Detroit Pistons over Los Angeles Lakers 4-0
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A rematch of the 1988 Finals that went to seven games, 1989 was supposed to be the same kind of knock-down, drag-out fight from the year before. The Lakers had won the last two championships and had even coined the phrase "three-peat" to describe their quest for a third straight. Magic Johnson was the reigning MVP, and the Lakers were 11-0 in the playoffs up to that point.
However, the injury bug bit L.A., and it bit them hard. Byron Scott hurt his hamstring just before the start of Game One and missed the entire series. Magic even went down with a hammy and missed the end of Game Two and most of Game Three. Detroit took that opportunity to deplete the three-peat and came away with a rare Finals sweep.
No. 5: 1963 World Series—Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees 4-0
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You didn't sweep the Yankees back then. You rarely even beat them. The Bronx Bombers had won the last two World Series and nine of the last 14. They had five players with 20 or more home runs, and they ran away with the American League pennant by 10.5 games. They were the Yankees, plain and simple.
The Dodgers were unimpressed. Led by Sandy Koufax, who earned wins in Games One and Four, the Dodgers shut down the Yankee offense completely, allowing only four runs in four games. The sweep seemed to put the Yankees into a tailspin, as the once-dominating franchise didn't win another World series for 14 years and therefore ruined my father's childhood.
No. 4: 1983 Stanley Cup Finals—New York Islanders over Edmonton Oilers 4-0
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Is it a shocking sweep when the winning team swept to win their fourth straight Stanley Cup? It was when the Islanders triumphed over the Oilers in 1983.
Although New York had hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup for the last three years, general consensus was that they were on their way out. The Islanders managed only the fourth best record in their conference that year. Meanwhile, the Oilers were the hottest team in hockey. Led by a young Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, Edmonton amassed the greatest offensive season in NHL history, scoring 424 goals. The makings were there for a new dynasty to begin.
The Islanders were not ready to give it up just yet though, as they put a beatdown for the ages on the upstart Oilers. New York outscored them 17-6 in the series and kept Gretzky, who had 12 playoff goals leading up to the game, without a goal.
No. 3: 1995 NBA Finals—Houston Rockets over Orlando Magic 4-0
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It was one of the most anticipated finals in recent memory. Shaq vs. Hakeem was billed as a modern day Russell vs. Wilt. The young Magic had the best record in the East, and slashing rookie Penny Hardaway was the perfect complement to O'Neal's dominance in the paint. Houston had won the championship the year before, but they were getting old and had managed only a six seed in the West.
Up three with less than 10 seconds on the clock in Game One, Nick Anderson, a 70 percent free throw shooter, stepped to the line with a chance to put the game away for the Magic. He missed both free throws badly, but Orlando got the rebound, and Anderson ended up with two more chances. He missed both of those too. Kenny Smith then hit a three for Houston to send the game into overtime, where the Rockets eventually came out on top.
The Magic (and Anderson's career) never recovered. The Rockets won Game Two in convincing fashion and then traveled home to finish off the series in four games, becoming the lowest seeded team to win the NBA title.
No. 2: 1990 World Series—Cincinnati Reds over Oakland A's 4-0
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The Oakland A's were the best team in baseball in 1990. The defending World Champions had won 103 games fueled by the Bash Brothers, two 20-game winners, Rickey Henderson, and Dennis Eckersley's mustache. They were also riding a 10-game winning streak coming into the World Series.
The Reds, on the other hand, had 12 fewer wins than the A's, did not have a single player with over 25 home runs, or a pitcher with over 15 wins. This series was over before it even started. But the Reds shocked everyone with a resounding 7-0 victory to open up the series. Then in Game Two, Eck came into a tie game in the 10th and gave up three hits to lose the game.
The series then moved to Oakland, but the A's could never get their offensive footing that had served them so well during the regular season and endured an embarrassing sweep in front of their fans. Still, Jose Canseco lists this as only his 285th most embarrassing moment.
No. 1: 2004 World Series—Boston Red Sox over St. Louis Cardinals 4-0
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The Red Sox earn the coveted spot of the Most Surprising Sweep Ever (!) because of the series before.Against the Yankees in the ALCS, they were just three outs away from getting swept themselves. Then Dave Roberts stole second, Big Papi was clutch, there was something about a bloody sock, and the rest is history.
Over the past five years, Red Sox Nation has become used to success; cocky even. But let's not forget that leading up to the 2004 World Series, the Red Sox had not won a World Series in 86 years. Boston fans had seen so many things go horribly wrong: Buckner, Aaron Effing Boone...there was still a sense of dread, the thought that something bad would happen. Even though this seemed like a team of destiny, it was almost too much to hope for.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals had just finished their very own dramatic seven-game series. They boasted the top offense in the National League and had arguably the game's best offensive player in Albert Pujols. The world held their breath as they prepared for a dramatic showdown between two offensive juggernauts and a Boston team looking to break a mythical curse. Sadly, the drama was reserved for Game One and Game One only, an 11-9 shootout that set the record for the highest scoring Game One in World Series history. Then Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, and Derek Lowe held St. Louis to just three total runs over the next three games, and the Red Sox felt something they hadn't felt in the playoffs in their entire existence: comfortable.
After 86 years of heartbreak, after the greatest comeback in playoff history the series before, the most shocking thing about Boston winning the World Series was the ease with which they accomplished it.
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