As it stands right now, the Boston Red Sox are 92-59 with 11 games remaining on their schedule.* For those of you whom are math majors out there, you’ll notice that the Red Sox have a pretty realistic, albeit slightly unlikely, chance at breaking the 100-win mark for the first time since 1946. Yes, that same 1946 team, stackedwith Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom Dimaggio, that won 104 games on their way to narrowly losing a grueling, heartbreaking seven game World Series matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals.
* Raise your hand if you thought you’d read that sentence this season. Really? REALLY? Man, you guys are total liars.
While 100-win seasons aren’t exactly commonplace, they’re also not exceptionally rare. Since the American and National Leagues was split into divisions, and League Championship Series were instituted into the playoff structure, there have been exactly 46 such campaigns in 44 major league seasons. Of course, some years, the major leagues have featured as many as three 100-win seasons. In others, 17 to be exact (including two strike ridden seasons), no teams broke the triple digit win barrier.
Perhaps most interesting about teams breaking the 100-win barrier in the regular season is how little that seems to matter come playoff time. This has been expecially true since 1980. From 1969 to 1980, the league featured 17 100-win seasons. During that time, 11 of those teams won league pennants, and six won the World Series. From 1982 until 1993, prior to the three division structure and wild card were instituted, the league featured only eight 100-win seasons, with only two capturing World Series titles.* Since 1995, baseball has seen an eye popping 21 100-win seasons. Guess how many of those ended in World Series championships? Two. And only five other teams reached the World Series before losing.
* I’ve left the 1981 and 1994 seasons out of the sample since such large chunks of both seasons were lost due to labor strikes.
Yes, despite the outright domination during the regular season, 25 of the 29 teams who have put together 100-win campaigns since 1982 have found that their season long efforts mean disturbingly little once the playoffs come around. Let’s take a quick look at each case.
1969 – Baltimore Orioles (109-53) – The Baltimore Orioles were one of the three best teams of the division/playoff era during the regular season. Their +262 run differential was absolutely dominant. Lost to the Miracle Mets.
1969 – New York Mets (100-62) – The Miracle Mets rode Tom Seaver and an unbelievably hot streak to one of the most shocking World Championships ever.
1970 – Baltimore Orioles (108-54) – This edition of the Orioles was just as good as their predecessor, except this time they won the World Series.
1970 Cincinnati Reds (102-60) – A few members of the core Big Red Machine were on this team, but they weren’t quite ready yet. Lost to the Orioles in the World Series.
1971 Baltimore Orioles (101-61) – Notice a pattern? Another great Orioles team, but this one lost to the Pirates in seven games.
1971 Oakland Athletics (101-61) – This was the start of a five year run that would net the A’s five straight division championships and three World Series championships (1972-1974). This was their only 100-win campaign of their run. They lost in the ALCS to the Orioles.
1974 Los Angeles Dodgers (102-60) – The Dodgers had quite a team with Sutton, Messersmith, Garvey, Buckner, and Lopes, but they couldn’t knock off the swinging A’s during the World Series. Lost in five.
1975 Cincinnati Reds (108-54) – I hate this team. I wasn’t even alive, and I hate them. Seriously though, this was the best team in baseball in 1975–and one of the best all time. They deserved to beat the Red Sox in seven games.
1976 Cincinnati Reds (102-60) – Big Red Machine Part 2: Electric Bugaloo. This series win was much more palatable. They swept the Yankees in four.
1976 Philadelphia Phillies (101-61) – A really good team, packed with stars. Unfortunately for them, the Reds were amazing. They were swept in the NLCS.
1977 Philadelphia Phillies (101-61) – The Phillies had never won a championship in their history to this point. After losing in the NLCS in four games to the Dodgers, I’m guessing Phillies fans assumed God hated them. They would finally win in 1980 despite not winning only 91 games.
1977 New York Yankees (101-61) – Bronx Zoo. Reggie Jackson. Billy Martin Proof that you don’t need good chemistry to win a championship.
1977 Kansas City Royals (100-62) – This might sound weird now, but from 1976 to 1985, the Royals were really, really good. Unfortunately for them, they had a lot of competition.
1978 New York Yankees (100-63) – Bucky Fucking Dent. I’m not even going to bleep it. I hate this team most of all. Satan’s fingerprints are all over this season. Billy Martin was fired mid-season, and they still won it all.
1979 Baltimore Orioles (102-60) – The best team in baseball went up 3-1 in the World Series against the Pirates. Then, they lost the next three games.
1980 New York Yankees (103-59) – And the managerial carousel continues, with this time the spinner landing on Dick Howser. Didn’t do one bit of good to hurt the Yankees. Until the postseason, anyway. The Royals finally knocked them off in the ALCS. Naturally, Howser was fired after the season.
1980 Baltimore Orioles (100-62) – One of two teams on this list that didn’t even make the playoffs. They’d win another World Series in 1983 on the strength of 98 wins. Between 1966 and 1983, they won three WS, six AL pennants, and broke the 100-win barrier five times. They were really freaking good.
1984 Detroit Tigers (104-58) – The Tigers owned the season from Opening Day through the World Series. They started out 35-5, and never looked back.
1985 St. Louis Cardinals (105-57) – Speed, defense, and Astroturf. One of the most perfect small ball teams ever. They should have won the World Series, but Don Denkinger ripped it right out of their hands in Game 6 with one of the worst calls ever. Game 7 was an 11-0 blowout by the Royals.
1986 New York Mets (108-54) – Another team I hate. At the same time, the Mets were definitely the best team in baseball. On a rational level, it’s hard to feel bad about winning three games in a series the Red Sox should have won zero. Goddam you, Mookie Wilson.
1988 Oakland Athletics (104-58) – The A’s were the best team that year, but Kirk Gibson’s miracle home run off of Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 took the wind out of their sails. The Dodgers beat the A’s in five.
1990 Oakland Athletics (103-59) – After winning 99 games and the WS in 1989, the A’s returned yet again. They looked like they were about to blow through the Reds, but then something strange happened. They were completely dismantled. Swept in the WS.
1993 Atlanta Braves (104-58) – They earned this one. They were 52-40 the day before they traded for Fred McGriff. They went 52-18 afterwards, overtaking the Giants on the last day of the season. It didn’t matter. They were knocked out in the NLCS by the Phillies.
1993 San Francisco Giants (103-59) – The second team to win 100-games and miss the playoffs. They owned the NL West all season–until the end. If only realignment had happened one year earlier.
1995 Cleveland Indians (100-44) – Their lineup was disgustingly awesome, and their pitching was good enough. The fact they won 100 in 144 games should say it all. Sadly, they were knocked out by the Braves in the World Series. It would be the Braves only win during their streak of regular season dominance.
1997 Atlanta Braves (101-61) – Get used to seeing the Braves listed here. They’re here a lot. The 101 wins was all for not. They were knocked out in the NLCS by the Florida Marlins in six.
1998 New York Yankees (114-48) – They started out 1-4, and went 124-45 the rest of the way, which includes 11-1 in the playoffs. Probably the most perfect team I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. They dismantled the Padres in the WS.
1998 Atlanta Braves (106-56) – I still can’t believe this Braves team lost to the Padres in the NLCS. They were the only team that could have knocked off the Yankees in 1998.
1998 Houston Astros (102-60) – They surged after acquiring Randy Johnson in a mid-season trade. Still, they lost to their rival, the Braves, in the NLDS.
1999 Atlanta Braves (103-59) – Hello again, Atlanta. 100+ win season, and all it got you was a sweep at the hands of the Yankees in the World Series.
1999 Arizona Diamondbacks (100-62) – Second year expansion teams should never reach .500, let alone win 100 games…yet, somehow they did. They would lose in the NLDS, but would win the crown two years later in their fourth season.
2001 Seattle Mariners (116-56) – Everything about this team was absolutely spectacular. Pitching. Hitting. Defense. Postseason play. Ok, scratch that last one. Despite tying the all-time record for wins in a season, they lost in the ALCS to the Yankees. They didn’t even reach the World Series.
2001 Oakland Athletics (102-60) – They were the Wild Card team. If anyone ever wants to ask me what I think about penalizing a team with a one game playoff because of divisions based on geography, this is one of the teams I point to. Granted, they lost in the ALDS in five games to the Yankees, but still. They had second best record in baseball in 2001.
2002 New York Yankees (103-59) – After reaching the World Series in five out of six seasons (and winning four), everyone assumed they’d be back again. They signed Jason Giambi and Mike Mussina. What could possibly deny them? I don’t know. Maybe the eventual champion, Anaheim Angels, in the ALDS.
2002 Oakland Athletics (103-59) – They had a magical season that climax with an unbelievable 20 game win streak. Yet they lost in the ALDS in five games for the third year in a row. They’d repeat that feat a fourth straight time in 2003.
2002 Atlanta Braves (101-61) – Oh, hello old friend. 101 wins? Surely, you did very well in the playoffs, right? No? Lost in the ALDS again?
2003 New York Yankees (101-61) – Aaron Fucking Boone. Ok. That’s the last time. I promise. Still, they lost the WS in six to the upstart Marlins. At least it had kind of a happy ending. Kinda.
2003 Atlanta Braves (101-61) – Ok, Atlanta. This is your last chance. I’m serious. I’m not putting you on this list again. Did you win the World Series? No? AGAIN?!!! Please take your place over there next to the Buffalo Bills.
2003 San Francisco Gians (100-62) – After having the WS within their grasp only to lose it, the Giants tried to recapture the magic once again. And they did. Until the NLDS. They lost to the Marlins in a four game shocker.
2004 New York Yankees (101-61) – How this Yankee team won 101 games, I’ll never know. Their starting pitching was mediocre. Either way, I love this Yankee team because they blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox in the ALCS. The Curse of Shaughnessy’s Fake Curse was broken!
2004 St. Louis Cardinals (105-57) – Had Chris Carpenter not missed the World Series and had Scott Rolen’s shoulder not been in pieces, the Series might have turned out differently. Instead, they were totally owned by the Red Sox.
2005 St. Louis Cardinals (100-62) – Despite another 100-win season, they lost in the NLCS to their division rival, the Astros. Interestingly enough, they’d finally with the WS in 2006, despite only winning 83 games. Go figure.
2008 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (100-62) – Nice team, but they got owned by the Red Sox in the ALDS again. At least this year they won a game.
2009 New York Yankees (103-59) – They went 51-22 after the All-Star break, and rode the last three man rotation all through the playoffs to a World Series championship.
2011 Philadephia Phillies (102-60) – They had the best rotation in baseball, and a lineup that had some All-Stars who were passed their prime. Still, they were the odds on favorite to win it all. Instead, they lost in five games to the Cardinals in the NLDS. The Cards would win it all.
The moral of the story is that while a 100-win season might be a cool landmark for this team to make, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot. Winning 100 games will get you to the playoffs (nearly every time), but once the playoffs start, everyone’s 0-0. Like it or not, the playoffs are pretty much a crapshoot.