The Best MLB Teams That Didn't Win the World Series Since 2000
The best team doesn't always win in the playoffs. That's both one of the most frustrating and entertaining aspects of any given Major League Baseball season.
Twenty years ago, the Seattle Mariners made history with a 116-win regular season, yet they didn't even reach the World Series. They're just one example of a roster with a stellar lineup or pitching staff that dominated the first 162 games only to lose in the postseason.
While the list is subjective, it also considers regular-season record, run differential, awards and overall talent.
A notable omission is the 2019 Houston Astros, who finished 107-55 and lost in the World Series. While the sign-stealing scandal focused on the 2017 and 2018 seasons, allegations contend the Astros continued to use technology to aid them in 2019. While we don't know for sure, their exclusion is a happy medium to a strange situation.
2001 Seattle Mariners
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Not only are the 2001 Seattle Mariners an obvious choice, but they have a strong case as the best team featured.
Seattle finished 116-46—the greatest 162-game record in MLB history—and posted a plus-300 run differential.
Eight players made the All-Star roster, including future American League MVP Ichiro Suzuki. Bret Boone smacked 37 homers and drove in 141 runs, while both Mike Cameron and Edgar Martinez had 23-plus homers and at least 110 RBI. Freddy Garcia led the AL with a 3.05 ERA, and the ageless Jamie Moyer won 20 games.
But the season ended in immense disappointment.
Seattle fell in five games to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Beyond a 14-3 win in Game 3, the powerful lineup mustered only eight runs in four losses.
Remarkably, the Mariners have not reached the postseason since this record-setting campaign.
2002 Oakland Athletics
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Moneyball is based on the 2002 Oakland Athletics.
During the prior offseason, the A's lost key players Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen in free agency. Led by general manager Billy Beane and his numbers-based approach, though, the low-budget franchise pieced together a roster that earned an MLB-best 103 wins.
Most memorably, Oakland ripped off a 20-game winning streak that spanned parts of August and September. At the time, it was the longest since the 1935 Chicago Cubs won 21 consecutive games.
The offense leaned on AL MVP Miguel Tejada and Silver Slugger winner Eric Chavez, who both surpassed 30 homers and 100 RBI. Oakland's true strength was the three-headed monster of pitchers Tim Hudson, AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito and Mark Mulder, who won a combined 57 games.
But in a bit of cruel irony, the Minnesota Twins both snapped the legendary streak and eliminated the A's from the playoffs in the ALDS.
2003 New York Yankees
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In 2003, New York notched an MLB-best 101 wins and a plus-161 run differential. Derek Jeter hit .324, three players—Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano and Jorge Posada—smacked 30-plus homers, and Hideki Matsui joined Giambi and Posada in the 100-RBI club.
As future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera headlined the relievers, the rotation had multi-time All-Stars in Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and David Wells.
But the Yankees fell devastatingly short of a championship.
Aaron Boone hammered his iconic walk-off homer in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. New York advanced to face the Florida Marlins, who stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS but were still the NL wild-card team. New York entered the World Series with a clear advantage.
However, the Marlins quieted a lineup that averaged 5.4 runs during the regular season. Florida won Games 1, 4, 5 and 6, holding the Yankees to a combined nine runs in their losses.
2004 St. Louis Cardinals
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So close, yet so far away.
Although the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals reached the World Series, the Red Sox swept them right out. The series is remembered most for Boston snapping its 86-year championship drought.
St. Louis, though, had a spectacular team. Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds became known as the MV3 and all earned top-five finishes in NL MVP voting. Each one belted at least 34 homers and drove in 111 runs, powering the Cardinals to a plus-196 run differential and an MLB-best 105-57 record.
Additionally, Mike Matheny, Rolen and Edmonds won Gold Gloves. The rotation lacked a star—Chris Carpenter was the best of the group—but the bullpen consistently shut down games, leading to Jason Isringhausen's NL-leading 47 saves.
St. Louis simply ended up on the wrong side of Boston's historical run.
2011 Philadelphia Phillies
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The Philadelphia Phillies' starting pitching staff in 2011 was almost unfair.
Roy Halladay posted a 19-6 record with a 2.35 ERA and 2.20 FIP. Cliff Lee registered a 17-8 mark with a 2.40 ERA and 2.60 FIP. Cole Hamels went 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA and 3.05 FIP. And all three finished in the top five of NL Cy Young voting.
As if that's not enough, three-time All-Star Roy Oswalt (3.69 ERA) and rookie Vance Worley (3.01 ERA) rounded out the rotation. Ryan Madson put together a career-best season and saved 32 games, too.
Without question, the rotation carried the Phillies. Nevertheless, cleanup hitter Ryan Howard clubbed 33 homers and knocked in 116 runs. Jimmy Rollins stole 30 bases, and Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino made the All-Star team.
Unfortunately for the Phils, pitching wasn't enough in the postseason. They lost 3-2 to the Cardinals in the NL Division Series.
2013 Detroit Tigers
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After falling to the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 World Series, the Detroit Tigers showcased a stronger team in 2013.
Miguel Cabrera won his second straight AL MVP, while Max Scherzer won his first of three AL Cy Young awards with a scorching 21-3 record and 2.90 ERA. Anibal Sanchez's 2.57 ERA led the AL, and Prince Fielder, Jhonny Peralta and Torii Hunter joined Cabrera on the All-Star team.
Justin Verlander had a "down" season and still tallied a 3.28 FIP. Doug Fister and Rick Porcello completed a deep rotation that stayed healthy and threw more than 1,000 innings.
Fielder started to show signs of decline, yet he collected 25 homers and 106 RBI. Victor Martinez and Hunter both hit above .300 and drove in 80-plus runs.
But two late-inning collapses in the ALCS ended the once-promising season. David Ortiz's grand slam in Game 2—when Hunter went tumbling into the bullpen—prevented the Tigers from taking a 2-0 series lead back to Detroit.
2017 Cleveland Indians
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Because of the ALDS exit, Cleveland's 2017 season can sometimes be forgotten. However, the reigning AL champions entered the postseason—at worst—as co-World Series favorites with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cleveland compiled a 102-60 record and a staggering plus-254 run differential. Corey Kluber won the AL Cy Young with an 18-4 record and 2.25 ERA, while Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor earned top-five finishes in AL MVP voting.
That trio grabbed the headlines next to slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who paced the team with 38 homers, but the bullpen's league-leading 2.89 ERA fortified this roster.
In the ALDS, Cleveland jumped out to a 2-0 series lead on the Yankees. Five combined runs in the next three games, though, turned an exciting year into a disappointment.
2017 Los Angeles Dodgers
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There are few decades in MLB history as fantastically frustrating as the 2010s were to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
During that 10-year span, the Dodgers had exactly one losing season—and even finished 80-82 in that 2010 campaign. They won seven straight NL West titles from 2013 to 2019. But the legendary franchise could not navigate the postseason.
On the bright side, Los Angeles finally broke through in 2017 and reached the World Series. The Dodgers constructed a power-packed lineup with six players who belted 20-plus homers. Clayton Kershaw (18-4, 2.31 ERA), Alex Wood (16-3, 2.72 ERA) and Kenley Jansen (1.32 ERA, NL-high 41 saves) keyed a well-rounded pitching staff.
Nevertheless, the Dodgers fell to the Astros—including a 5-1 loss at home in the decisive Game 7.
Only adding to the agony of defeat, the Astros were later found to be engaged in a sign-stealing scandal. How exactly that affected the World Series is unknown, but it certainly doesn't do anything to eliminate the sour taste in the mouths of Dodgers fans.
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