It should have been evens with Cleveland losing the series 3-1. The Lindor at bat should have ended on a strikeout not the grand slam....... I'm a Cleveland fan too so ya know it's true
Change ups. Yankees gave Jose and the middle of the order all change ups. The book was out that Jose couldn’t hit change ups after that season. It took like 2.5 years for Jose to fully bounce back
2013 Tigers. They had prime Miggy, Fielder, Victor Martinez, Peralta, etc. Also starting rotation of Verlander, Scherzer, David Price, Anibal Sanchez, and Doug Fister. All 5 were Cy Young worthy. I have no idea how they choked to BOS in the ALCS that year.
06 Tigers for me, had that amazing year (even if they collapsed on the division part at the end), and playoffs, then went to hell against a St. Louis team that was far beneath them on paper.
Correction, Price came in 2014. They still had Porcello in 2013 but he was elite too. To be fair, both those years had better teams than these Indians teams. One of them somehow didn’t win a playoff game lol (2014)
@@Kauhl2912 To be fair....2014 was the beginning of the downturn.....Leyland had just left in favor of Ausmus, they really kinda backed into the playoffs almost, having to clinch the Central on the final day of the season, they were a shell of their former teams. Think of that team as the equivalent to the Red Wings in the last year(s) of their playoff streak, or the Pistons in their last year of their mini one in 2009 (really closer to that considering again a wholly different team from their predecessors, a new coach, swept out of playoffs as the 8th seed in Round 1, etc), they were in the mix but only barely.
Red Sox actually had the better team that season. More wins, better run differential in a harder division. The Tigers’ biggest weakness that season was the bullpen, and it was completely exploited by the Sox. Also, the bats went cold at the worst time.
@@evrbody 1906 cubs won 116-36, played less games. Mariners had more chances to lose in a era that is significantly more difficult, 1908 Cube went 99-55-4
Call me bias if you want but I still think if they don’t stop game 7 for the rain delay the Indians would have won in 2016. But 2017 there were a few major decisions that cost that team you didn’t cover. The first you may not know about because it’s not your local team but our local writers and a lot of fans questioned the roster decisions made for that series. I don’t remember all the exact details but I do remember they kept the extra starting pitchers in the bullpen in place of some regular relievers that got them there. They also made a couple of offensive changes. Again I’m fuzzy on details but kipnis was hurt and missed the win streak and zimmer broke his hand during it. When they got to the playoffs kipnis was healthy but rather than slide Ramirez back to 3rd and Kipnis at 2nd they put Kipnis in center even though he hadn’t played there since college and he showed why they converted him to 2nd. Probably the biggest omission from this is the worst. Brantley had been out injured and came back like a week before the playoffs but they put him on the playoff roster anyway planning to only use him as a pinch hitter for that series. But in game 2 Encarnacion rounded 2nd and rolled his ankle trying to get back and was replaced by Brantley for games 2-4. He had only had a couple at bats before that and was clearly not ready to be back in the line up and looked horrible. Encarnacion came back for game 5 since it was win or go home but wasn’t 100% and didn’t look much better than Brantley. I also remember a lot of discussion on Brantley being a less than ideal replacement because of being a left handed hitter hurting the balance of the lineup. And if I recall it correctly the decision to roster Brantley (along with Kipnis in Center) made them leave Guyer off the roster. It was questioned at the time and all winter people were talking about the what ifs. If they put everyone back at their normal positions does Greg Allen’s defense in center change a few plays where Kipnis didn’t make the play or his arm wasn’t strong enough? With Ramirez back at 3rd do we see the 2 critical errors in game 4 that Urshela made? Ultimately though I still think the Encarnacion injury was what caused the collapse.
Taking Coco Crisp out in the middle of Game 7, who had been their most clutch veteran hitter, for their most inexperienced hitter Michael Martinez is the move I'll never get over. I called it a mistake when the move happened, and then who came up to the bat for their final out with the game on the line?
As a die hard Cleveland Indians/Gardians fan this still hurts along with the 2016 season.. Hopefully soon we can win the World Series like the Red Sox and Cubs did before us !!
soon? not a damn chance lmao. Owners are cheep af, and will never keep a good team around them. You drafted well and had a bunch of good people on rookie type contracts and then dumped them when it came time to pay. Your chance came and went and it wont be seen again for a long time. Especially since ramierez will only get older, and no significant attempts to build around him have been made.
@@Highlander055 if you said they won’t compete this year, I’d agree. But I’m not writing off the next 3-4 years at all. Cleveland has been consistently good under current owners. They are building around Jose Ramirez, just not with $20 million contracts for 3.0 WAR corner outfielders. Giving some big bats $$$ is no guarantee you will win. It’s a strategy, sure, but this is a good organization that develops talent as well as anyone. It’s the youngest team in baseball has a whole bunch of MLB talent high in the minors, either to bring in next couple years or trade for a run like when they got Miller.
They were the best offense that we will ever see a Cleveland team have. The only thing that could stop them, did. Having to face 3 hall of fame pitchers in their prime in the series is a very tough task. 97 hurts more because that Blockbuster team of rentals had no business winning it.
The 1954 Cleveland Indians take the cake in my book! 111 Wins and a .721 Winning Percentage, but the New York Giants were just too much for them in the World Series.
I am a Yankee fan and was only 6 when they won it all in 2009, so this was the first Yankee playoff run I was old enough to enjoy, I'll never forget the comeback, The Greg Bird game and Didi's game 5 will forever be some of my favorite sports moments
I'm an Indians/Guardians fan and I swore that 2017 was going to be the year. Right after being 1 game away from winning the WS in 2016, to blowing a 3-1 lead, to blowing a 2-0 lead in 2017 ALDS. Nothing but heartbreak. Its wild bc I remember not being that upset because I figured we could get right back to it. Never happened unfortunately.
To be honest, my initial reaction was no way. Then I checked it out...man there is good argument to be made. Interestingly enough and a good argument that Cleveland fans have suffered the most, a couple of other Cleveland teams show up on the list and may have been a hair better: '95 & '54. In more recent times I always thought the '88 and '90 A's made a good case. In any event, this is an awesome take: I never even thought about that 2017 team until know. Great job as always.
I’d say the 2012-2014 Detroit Tigers probably have a pretty good claim for this but I’d be interested to see how the metrics stack up against other teams
2001 Mariners and their 116 wins and didnt even make the WS might have something to say about this ...led by some rookie named Ichiro who won RoY and MVP his first season in MLB
9/11 ruined that season. Everybody was pulling for the Yankees to beat the M's in the playoffs as a feel good team to win it all for NYC... And of course, they didn't.
Yeah but that was a weak pitching staff for a world series winner. They handed the ball to Freddy Garcia to start their first playoff game. Decent pitcher sure, absolutely not who should be getting the ball on the mound first in the playoffs on an all time greatest team
@@brandynhenry7107 you can try and pick it apart but I'm the end that pitching staff led the team to the best record in the history of baseball. I am not going to debate Garcia as a staff ace compared to other great teams. In the end they won 116 times in 162 games the pitching couldn't have been that bad
@@MrCPrasky never said they were bad, obviously you don't go 116-46 if you are. Just that it was a more optimal regular season roster than playoffs. They got outscored(granted because of a 17-2 game) badly and went 5 against the Indians in the alds too. War horse starting pitching and a few reliable relievers are far more valuable in the postseason than the regular season because you can use them more from days off. Seattle didn't have that
Unpopular opinion, 2021 Dodgers. Scherzer, Urias, Kershaw, Buehler, May, Bauer Mookie, CT3, Muncy, Trea Turner, Justin Turner, former MVP Bellinger, Kenley Jansen….. Injuries just absolutely plagued this team. On paper they had no right to do anything BUT win. I understand a lot of people hate the Dodgers, but that team was an absolute unit
i'm an indians fan and i thought the 2017 team was even better than 2016. was at win 22 on that streak too. really underachieved with all that talent like you said.
2006 Yankees had one of the best steroid lineups of all time to never win it. Damon, Jeter, Rodriguez, Abreu, Sheffield, Giambi, Matsui, Posada, Cano. Bernie Williams and Milky Cabrera coming off the bench. They also had a 1-2 hall of famers punch with Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina in the rotation and the best closer of all time Rivera.
I am 61 years old and I don't think that I will live to see the Indians, now Guardians, ugh, win a World Series. They have had so many great teams that just couldn't do it. Their '95 team was a murderers row from top to bottom, but they were not going to beat the Braves with 3 Hall of Famers in their pitching rotation. '97 was another blown chance and that miserable Jose Mesa blew that one. Though I really blame the Indians IDIOT manager for taking Jackson out. Then 2007 against the Red Sox and 2016 against the Cubs and 2017 against the Yankees, the beat goes on. It truly is a shame, because Cleveland teams have been pretty amazing over the last 30 years. The GM's work with no money, they build up the teams and then ultimately lose all their good players, and yet, they have been to the World Series 3 times. Their time has got to come. Great video by the way. Thanks
1998 Braves take the cake. Greatest starting rotation of all time, 106 wins, set a then team record for homers. But got upset by the Padres in the NLCS
1994 Montreal Expos had the best record in baseball (on pace for 106 win season) when the player strike ended the season. By the next year, they had traded away their best players.
Man this video hurts. My mom and I spent every year after 2016 waiting to see them finally win it all and it never really came close. I haven't followed them at all since the end of last season, and they were the only sports team I actually cared about.
As a Cardinals fan, the 2004 Cardinals were the best team in the NL with 1 HoF fielder in his prime, 1 HoF fielder at the end of his career, & 2 other borderline HoF fielders in their prime, but got ran over by a white hot Red Sox team. After losing the slugfest in game 1, I was afraid the series could be over & it was. If Chris Carpenter had been healthy, maybe it would have been a better series? On the opposite side, the 2011 Rangers were a really good team & if they had a healthy Josh Hamilton who knows what would have happened.
Best team to not win it all were the 1906 Cubs. They were 116-36 in the regular season but lost the WS to the White Sox. The 2001 Mariners and the 1954 Indians are also great teams that did not win it all.
I agree with some of the comments saying the 2001 Mariners were the best team to not win. I understand that the Mariners had no prior World Series experience and they were facing the powerhouse Yankees, but their regular season seemed to show that they could get through anyone in the league. I feel that Ichiro's rookie/MVP season and their previous ALCS experience would be enough to get them to at least the World Series, if not win it. The 2001 Cleveland team may have lost to them in the ALDS but it severely exposed to flaws of the Mariners. Game 3 was a massacre. Shame Seattle wasn't good enough in a rematch against my Yanks
When I was a kid the 1922 Browns, yes the Browns, led by George Sisler, with solid support from the likes of Ken Williams, Baby Doll Jacobson and Jack Tobin plus a solid pitching staff, were said to be the best team that never won a pennant.
Being a Cleveland fan this hurts. I remember going on that 22 game win streak and I almost wish we hadn’t. We did it so close to the playoffs and after we lost that win streak we weren’t the same. Not sure what the stats are for wins/losses but from what I remember we didn’t do so well the rest of the season, we just couldn’t find our way after that loss
I know the popular team everyone wants to mention is the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies, and there is certainly a great case to be made for them winning it all. They were stacked from top to bottom and got stunned by the Cardinals in the NLDS, including a 1-0 shutout loss in the series finale. However, I’d like to direct everyone’s attention to the team that appeared in their second consecutive World Series that same year: the Texas Rangers. Nelson Cruz, Adrián Beltré, Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, Neftali Feliz, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, C.J. Wilson, Matt Harrison… this team was loaded and dominated in the postseason - including having the first-ever walk-off grand slam in the postseason in game two of the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers. They were one strike away from winning that title twice, yet came up short to a red-hot Cardinals team that took the baseball world by storm in 2011. Until the Rangers win it all, they will always be known as the team that was one strike away.
I would say that the 2001 Mariners hold that trophy. Best single season ever. Ichiro MVP, I think Griffey was gone but still. I think they’re one of the few teams that’s never even played in the WS, ever.
@@beastier86 I never knew about that. Back then it was a little harder to pay close attention to teams outside your area. If it was the end of the season they were probably playing all their non-starters and AAA call ups to save their big guns for the playoffs. I’m sure if you polled every MLB player and asked would you rather: A) set the record for the all time most wins in a season but not even go to the WS nonetheless win it or; B) win the WS. Probably 99.9% would rather win a WS.
Still not over this… PTSD from the 90s. I think the biggest issue was playing in the dog shit AL Central 2015 to 2018+ We proved offensively we could only sporadically score a lot of runs, but very frequently relied on our pitching to carry an anemic offense. When it came to scoring against contenders, it was always a pitching duel. You simply cannot expect even an elite rotation and above average bullpen to carry as much as the 2016 - 2017 Indians were called to do. I believe If the AL Central was more competitive and Tito would have wised up and fired Ty Van Burkleo things could have been different. Let’s go….GUARDians🤮🤮🤮
Who are the guardians again…. Doesn’t ring a bell …. It will always be the cleveland Indians … the guardians did not establish in 1901… they established in 2021…
1969-71 the Orioles played three straight WS but only won in 70. Upset in 69 by the Mets and 71 by the Pirates. Those years they lost they were 109-53 (1969) and 101-57 (1971). Also, both years they lost they came in having swept the pennant series. Definitely one of the most dominant teams to come up short (twice)
1995 Indians, World Series loser. Strike-shortened 100-44 record. Albert Belle and a couple of young sluggers, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez. Plus Eddie Murray, Carlos Baerga, and a defense of Sandy Alomar, Omar Vizquel, and Kenny Lofton up the middle.
The 1954 Indians (phenomenal pitching, negligible hitting) set the record for most wins by a team during the regular season, and then they proceeded to get swept in the World Series. They would have to be the best team to not win it all.
That 22 game winning streak was the start of a 33-4 finish to the regular season. Sure, almost entirely against lousy teams, but still completely nuts.
Hopefully that baseball team from Cleveland will go on a -22 game loosing streak this season so the owners will have to change the name back… because the guardians aren’t a household name … you know what is.. the Cleveland Indians
I completely agree with you. I had season tickets in from 93'-2008' and the 2017 team was the best Indians team I ever saw. For comparison sake the 1999' was the best offensive Indians team I ever saw
2002 Arizona Diamondbacks. Coming off of their 2001 World Series title, easily the best team in baseball all season long and then fell apart the last 2 weeks of the season with injuries
Robbie im glad you didn't call them the Guardians when referring to the past team. It only makes sense to call them the Guardians if your talking about them post-2022.
@@joegonzales1932 Personally? I feel like anytime a team moves cities and in particular changes their name....that should be seen as an entirely new franchise where records are concerned. Like for example, Quebec didn't win a Stanley Cup in 1996, Colorado did, same for the Nationals winning in 2019, that's THEIR history, NOT the Expos. That type of thing never sat right with me.
2019 Astros were the best team to not win imo. 1-2 in Cy Young, Top 3 in MVP, ROTY, same core as 2017 team all with better seasons (but Altuve, cus he didnt hit .381 on the road again). lost all their home games in the WS 🤦🏽 a video on them (has probably been made but) would be dope to see. 2017 Indians were nice tho... that win streak was insane. how did they choke???
As a Mets fan with family that roots for either the Mets or Yankee,you are correct. Also the 1988 Mets team was also the favorites to defeat the Dodgers in the NLCS and what an upset that was. The 2017 Yankees(or the Dodgers) had the next shot at winning it all but we know what happened with the Astros.
When looking at the Indians from the late 2010s and I see the shortcomings of Moneyball. It takes patchwork hitting, mostly hitters that hit well against either a righty or a lefty and with some timely substitutions were able to win some games. The problem is that come post season when every team substitutes more often the Indians needed to substitute more often and when a pinch hitter or relief pitcher is needed in late game situations the manager would turn to find the bench or bullpen empty. He'd already used up all his reserves just to remain in the game. I'll never forget game 7 of the 2016 world series and with the game on the line in the 10th inning and the tying run in scoring position with two outs and the Indians had Michael Martinez at the plate who had a career average of .194 was the Indians last hope. Why? Because throughout the game they had to substitute so much because their hitting wasn't that good. Moneyball is for teams that won't or can't play for actual good players and it keeps them competitive enough for the organization to make money while giving their fans garbage.
2011 Phillies definitely deserved to win it all. Godlike rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and the absolute UNIT Vance Worley; offensive juggernaut w/ Howard, Utley, Rollins, Ibañez etc., just a shame that Ryan Howard’s achilles gave out
I'm a huge tribe fan. However I think these late 2010s teams benefitted highly from the pine tar "goop". I think the starters were very good but became very very good with some additional help. Just my two sense, Cleveland had some fantastic luck with pitching prospects in the last 5 or so years which always made me suspicious.
Tired of hearing people bad mouth the current Indians team. This team is loaded with future all-stars. Don't sleep on this team they are young and hungry.
They were definitely good, but there have also been lots of other Indians teams that didn't win it all. The 1999 and 1995 teams definitely come to mind as well.
Most of you are listing regular season paper tigers like the 01 mariners or even 95 indians. Fact is if you don't have great top end pitching especially back then it didn't matter much what your eye candy batting order was. Rotations shorten and the top 2-3 starters and top half of the bullpen become much more valuable in the playoffs vs the regular season. Charles Nagy, late 30s Orel Hershiser, Freddy Garcia, and Paul Abbott were all decent pitchers but these are absolutely not ideal candidates to be handing the ball to in playoff situations and those two teams met their demise against rotations with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Andy Petitte, and Mariano Rivera in them. Great bats still run hot and cold. Great arms stay much more consistent
They didn't have the best record in MLB in 2017. The Dodgers had 104 wins that year. Personally, I think the 1997 Indians team was better, and I think several teams are in that "best team not to win it all" category. In terms of recent memory, the 2001 Seattle Mariners team that won 114 games almost has to be on the list by default. I would also throw in the 2001 Yankees who lost to Arizona in the World Series. That team was stacked with talent and pedigree. In terms of overall team talent and pedigree, I'll go with the 2019 Astros. They had the Cy Young winner and runner up, the AL Rookie of the Year, a team ERA of 3.66, a team OPS of .848, elite defense at almost every position and a ton of playoff experience. Starting pitchers: Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke, Wade Miley (until the Greinke trade), Jose Urquidy, Framber Valdez, Collin McHugh Relief pitchers: Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, Will Harris, Hector Rendon, Brad Peacock, Chris Devenski, Josh James, Joe Smith 1B: Yuli Gurriel 2B: Jose Altuve 3B: Alex Bregman SS: Carlos Correa LF: Michael Brantley CF: George Springer RF: Josh Reddick C: Martin Maldonado/Robinson Chirinos platoon DH: Yordan Alvarez Bench players: Aledmys Diaz, Jake Marisnick, Derek Fisher, Tony Kemp, Myles Straw They lost in Game 7 at home to the Nationals just like the 2016 Indians lost against the Cubs in Game 7 at home in 2016, although the Cubs were the best team in MLB in 2016. Not unlike football, the best team doesn't always win in baseball. It often comes down to who the hottest team is come playoff time.
90s Indians were arguably better. Thome Ramirez Eddie Murray and Dave Winfield were in the lineup at the same time at one point; over 2000 career HRs between them 4 alone. the problem. Maddux Glavine and Smoltz 2017's 22 game win streak was amazing though but such let down in the playoffs
I still can’t believe Atlanta only won once in the ‘90s. They had the Yankees against the ropes in 1996 only to choke...and those NLCS losses to the Phillies and Marlins were just bad.
They weren't even the best team in baseball. The Pirates had better pitching, lower team ERA, and better hitting, higher team BA and scored more runs. The Yankees just had 3 really good games in the WS. That doesn't make up for a 154 game schedule or the 4 they lost in the WS.
Sucks you didn’t mention Didi since he literally got kluber for a second time , as said by the announcer 🙂 gave us alot of momentum wit the cy young on the mound
They choked. Simple as that. It was really tough to watch. They should have won it all that season. Instead, they barely won game 2 (maybe they shouldn’t have based on the Chisenhall phantom HBP) and couldn’t hit in game 3. Then Urshella with his multiple errors in Game 4 and the Kluber implosion in Game 5 sealed it. But baseball is the one sport where often the best team doesn’t win it all.
Great video. Until you pointed it out, I had no clue the 2017 Indians pitching was that good. I think the 1996 Braves had the better rotation, but the 2017 Indians staff was obviously better overall.
Braves was more suited for playoffs though because having elite 1-3 pitchers is much more important than depth. Don't need 4-5 starters and a decent 2nd left handed middle reliever in the playoffs. Tom Glavine or Carlos Carrasco who would you rather have as your #2 making 2 starts in a series?
Indians in the 90s were absolutely ridiculous. Manny Ramirez. Kenny lofton. Albert belle. Jim thome. Roberto alomar. Omar vizquel. Carlos baerga. Travis fryman
