Unbelievable Triumphs That Slipped Away: Inside MLB’s Greatest Teams That Never Claimed the World Series Crown
We all love a championship, right? But what if I told you some of the greatest MLB teams ever never hoisted that coveted World Series trophy? It’s like crafting the perfect symphony only for the final note to fall flat. Take the 2001 Seattle Mariners—they dazzled the league, almost rewriting history with 116 wins, tying a century-old Cubs record, yet they stumbled when it mattered most. That got me wondering—how do you truly measure greatness when the ultimate prize slips through your fingers? Enter the historical TRACR model, a brilliant tool that cuts through the noise, comparing teams across eras by adjusting for all those quirks baseball’s thrown our way. Curious if your favorite team made this ‘best but no ring’ list? Let’s dive into a data-driven journey spotlighting the top 10 MLB squads that, against all odds, came up just short. LEARN MORE.
The Mariners had a chance to do just that on the final day of the regular season but fell 4-3 to the Texas Rangers. They managed to set the American League single-season wins mark and matched the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most overall at 116-46.
Babe Ruth hit .373 with 46 home runs and 162 RBIs, while Lou Gehrig batted .341 with 46 homers and 184 RBIs, so itâs probably no surprise this Yankees team finished with the second-highest O-TRACR (2.03) of all time. But Lefty Gomez also won 21 games on the mound. Still, all that wasnât enough, as the Yankees (94-59) finished 13.5 games back of the Philadelphia Athletics (107-45) in the American League.
Remember how good the 2022 Dodgers were? After a 12-game winning streak in August, Los Angeles improved to 79-33 and some began to wonder whether it might threaten the wins record. The Dodgers ended up with the seventh-best D-TRACR (minus-1.28) of the modern era and tied for fourth all time with 111 regular-season victories. It was a tough pill to swallow, though, when the rival San Diego Padres beat Los Angeles in the NLDS in four games.
But even this dominant Seattle team that finished with a plus-300 run differential wasnât immune to the variance of the MLB postseason. The Mariners were bounced from the ALCS in five games by the battle-tested New York Yankees, who had won four of the previous five World Series.
However, the crosstown Chicago White Sox stunned the Cubs in the World Series, beating Mordecai âThree Fingerâ Brown in the Game 6 clincher.
Coincidentally, the 1906 Cubs team that the Mariners matched during the regular season had also fallen short in the playoffs. Chicago, which featured the famous Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double-play combo, still owns the highest winning percentage in baseball history (.763) after finishing 116-36.
A rookie named Ichiro hit .350. Bret Boone belted 37 home runs. Edgar Martinez was on his way to the Hall of Fame. Jamie Moyer won 20 games.
No team in Astros history finished with a better record than the 2019 edition (107-55). There was a fierce battle between Houstonâs 20-game winners Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole in the AL Cy Young race (Verlander won his second). However, the Astros lost to the Washington Nationals in a World Series in which the road team won all seven games (a first-time occurrence).
Weâre going to let the data help end the debate once and for all. Our historical TRACR ranks the greatest MLB teams that failed to win the World Series. Is your team in the top 10?
It might be tough to believe, but the 2001 Mariners are the eighth-best team in MLB history not to win a World Series. That new guy named Ichiro won the AL MVP, a Gold Glove, a batting title and the AL Rookie of the Year, helping the Mariners to a historic season despite losing Alex Rodriguez in free agency during the previous offseason.
The Astros got back and won it again in 2022 when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. That team finished with a 1.47 TRACR that ranked third in MLB that season.
1. 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers (2.17 TRACR)
The Giants opened the 1912 season 54-11 before finishing 103-48 behind a great pitching staff that included Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson. New York, however, lost in the World Series to the Boston Red Sox 4-3 after Fred Snodgrass dropped a fly ball in the final game.
2. 1906 Chicago Cubs (2.13)
As we mentioned earlier, the 1906 Cubs finished with a .763 winning percentage (116-36) that remains the highest of the modern era. This Chicago team was carried by its pitching and defense, holding the 10th-best D-TRACR (-1.25) of the modern era. In the World Series, the Cubs were upset by the 93-win White Sox. It would be one of many heartbreaking moments for the franchise in the century to come.
3. 1931 New York Yankees (2.07)
So it would stand to reason that one of these teams had to be the best in MLB history not to win a World Series, right?
4. 1942 New York Yankees (1.97)
The 1942 Yankees (103-51) were more of a pitching-and-defense type of team than they were in the Ruth years. These Yanks have the 41st-best D-TRACR of all time, but only the 154th-best O-TRACR despite having Joe DiMaggio. New York lost to a St. Louis Cardinals team that ranks 16th in the modern era, per TRACR, with Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter leading the way. These Yankees rank 17th overall, but fourth on this list no one wants to be on.
5. 1912 New York Giants (1.92)
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6. 2019 Houston Astros (1.90)
Not only did the 1950 Red Sox not win the World Series, but they also didnât even make the playoffs. Of course, only one team from each league made the postseason in those days. The Red Sox went 94-60 and finished with the highest O-TRACR (2.80) of the modern era despite Ted Williams being limited to 89 games after suffering a broken arm in the All-Star Game. Still, Williams, Walt Dropo, Vern Stephens and Bobby Doerr all hit at least 27 homers. However, it was only good enough for third place behind the Yankees (98-56) and Detroit Tigers (95-59).
7. 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers (1.88)
Using our historical TRACR model, weâve ranked the top 10 Major League Baseball team across the modern era (since 1901) that didnât win the World Series. TRACR (Team Rating Adjusted for Competition and Roster) normalizes performance from league environmental factors that can either inflate or deflate numbers (live-ball era, dead-ball era, the year of the pitcher, the steroid era, etc.), making it possible to compare teams across eras.
8. 2001 Seattle Mariners (1.88)
Itâs hard to believe a team that finished 106-56 didnât win its division, but the 2021 Dodgers finished one game behind the rival San Francisco Giants. Los Angeles had the last laugh in the playoffs, knocking the Giants out in the NLDS. The Dodgers, however, lost to the Braves in the NLCS in six games.
9. 1950 Boston Red Sox (1.84)
The 2001 Seattle Mariners were coasting at 47-12 on June 8. They were on their way to the AL West title and playoffs. They only thing still up in the air was whether theyâd set the MLB record for victories in a season.
10. 2018 Houston Astros (1.81)
It uses advanced metrics and other factors to calculate how many runs per nine innings better or worse teams are or were compared to the league-average club during a given season, including the playoffs. From that output, weâre able to create an offensive TRACR (O-TRACR), defensive TRACR (run prevention, so pitching and defense) and overall TRACR. Lower is better for defensive TRACR (D-TRACR).
Perhaps it was some kind of cosmic karma. After a 2017 World Series title that was later tainted by revelations the Astros used technology to steal signs that season, Houston came up short in 2018 after finishing 103-59 in the regular season and the following season (remember, the 2019 Astros are listed at No. 6) despite posting two of the higher TRACR marks of all time.
The post Empty Greatness: The Best MLB Teams That Didn’t Win the World Series appeared first on Opta Analyst.
So here are the highest-rated teams of all time that came up short in the Fall Classic.
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