World Series Legitimacy Tiers

World Series Legitimacy Tiers

Tier 4: Completely Illegitimate, because the winning team was exposed as a cheater

1997 Florida Marlins (Steroids: Gary Sheffield)

2001 Arizona Diamondbacks (Steroids: Luiz Gonzalez, Matt Williams)

2003 Florida Marlins (Steroids: Iván Rodríguez)

2004 Boston Red Sox (Steroids: David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez)

2007 Boston Red Sox (Steroids: David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez)

2013 Boston Red Sox (Steroids: David Ortiz)

2017 Houston Astros (Mechanics: Buzzers)

2018 Boston Red Sox (Mechanics: Apple Watches)

2022 Houston Astros (Mechanics: Buzzers)

Tier 3: Partly Legitimate, due to a shortened season (Less than 154 games)

1903 Boston Americans (Red Sox -- 138 games, seasons were 154 from 1904-61/62)

1918 Boston Red Sox (126 games, shortened at the end by World War I restrictions)

1919 Cincinnati Reds (140 games, shortened at the beginning by World War I restrictions)

1981 Los Angeles Dodgers 110 games, shortened in the middle by the Strike of '81)

1995 Atlanta Braves (144 games, shortened at the beginning by the Strike of '94)

2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (60 games, shortened by COVID restrictions)

Tier 2: Mostly Legitimate, but the opposing team had at least one significant injury

1904 Boston Americans (Red Sox)

1921 New York Giants (Yankees' Babe Ruth was injured in Game 2)

1925 Pittsburgh Pirates (Senators' Bucky Harris and Ossie Bluege both got hurt in the Series)

1941 New York Yankees (Dodgers' Freddie Fitzsimmons was injured in Game 3)

1942 St. Louis Cardinals (Yankees lost players due to the war effort)

1943 New York Yankees (Cardinals lost players due to the war effort)

1944 St. Louis Cardinals (Browns lost players due to the war effort)

1945 Detroit Tigers (Cubs lost players due to the war effort)

1946 St. Louis Cardinals (Red Sox' Dom DiMaggio was injured in Game 7)

1950 New York Yankees (Phillies lost Curt Simmons to Korean War)

1952 New York Yankees (Dodgers lost Don Newcombe to Korean War)

1953 New York Yankees (Dodgers lost Don Newcombe to Korean War)

1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (Yankees' Mickey Mantle was injured)

1964 St. Louis Cardinals (Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre was injured in Game 1)

1967 St. Louis Cardinals (Red Sox' Tony Conigliaro was injured)

1975 Cincinnati Reds (Red Sox' Jim Rice was injured)

1985 Kansas City Royals (Cardinals' Vince Coleman was injured)

1986 New York Mets (Red Sox' Bill Buckner was playing through injury)

1989 Oakland Athletics (Series disrupted by earthquake)

1996 New York Yankees (Braves' David Justice was injured)

Note: I'm counting 1904 in the "injury" category because the New York Giants basically forfeited. While no Giants were injured in the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, it's much easier to imagine them bouncing back without it happening than with it.

World War II did not affect the Yankees or the Cardinals much in either 1942 or 1943, the Cardinals or the Browns much in 1944, or the Tigers or the Cubs much in 1945. But it did affect their respective regular-season opponents, and thus their paths into the World Series, significantly. The Yankees were missing Tommy Henrich in '42; and missing him, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Keller and Phil Rizzuto in '43.

It should be noted that the Yankees lost Whitey Ford to the Korean War in the 1951 and '52 seasons, but not '53. So both '52 teams lost a key pitcher, so that makes the Yankees' '52 title more legitimate than those they won in '50 and '53. But the Giants lost Willie Mays for '52 and '53 as well, so, given that they won the Pennant with Mays in '51 and '54, that also casts the Dodgers' Pennants for those seasons in doubt.

Tier 1: Completely Legitimate, as far as we know

1905 New York Giants

1906 Chicago White Sox

1907 Chicago Cubs

1908 Chicago Cubs

1909 Pittsburgh Pirates

1910 Philadelphia Athletics

1911 Philadelphia Athletics

1912 Boston Red Sox

1913 Philadelphia Athletics

1914 Boston Braves

1915 Boston Red Sox

1916 Boston Red Sox

1917 Chicago White Sox

1920 Cleveland Indians (Guardians)

1922 New York Giants

1923 New York Yankees

1924 Washington Senators

1926 St. Louis Cardinals

1927 New York Yankees

1928 New York Yankees

1929 Philadelphia Athletics

1930 Philadelphia Athletics

1931 St. Louis Cardinals

1932 New York Yankees

1933 New York Giants

1934 St. Louis Cardinals

1935 Detroit Tigers

1936 New York Yankees

1937 New York Yankees

1938 New York Yankees

1939 New York Yankees

1940 Cincinnati Reds

1942 St. Louis Cardinals

1947 New York Yankees

1948 Cleveland Indians (Guardians)

1949 New York Yankees

1954 New York Giants

1956 New York Yankees

1957 Milwaukee Braves

1958 New York Yankees

1959 Los Angeles Dodgers

1960 Pittsburgh Pirates

1961 New York Yankees

1962 New York Yankees

1963 Los Angeles Dodgers

1965 Los Angeles Dodgers

1966 Baltimore Orioles

1968 Detroit Tigers

1969 New York Mets

1970 Baltimore Orioles

1971 Pittsburgh Pirates

1972 Oakland Athletics

1973 Oakland Athletics

1974 Oakland Athletics

1976 Cincinnati Reds

1977 New York Yankees

1978 New York Yankees

1979 Pittsburgh Pirates

1980 Philadelphia Phillies

1982 St. Louis Cardinals

1983 Baltimore Orioles

1984 Detroit Tigers

1987 Minnesota Twins

1988 Los Angeles Dodgers

1990 Cincinnati Reds

1991 Minnesota Twins

1992 Toronto Blue Jays

1993 Toronto Blue Jays

1998 New York Yankees

1999 New York Yankees

2000 New York Yankees

2002 Anaheim Angels

2005 Chicago White Sox

2006 St. Louis Cardinals

2008 Philadelphia Phillies

2009 New York Yankees

2010 San Francisco Giants

2011 St. Louis Cardinals

2012 San Francisco Giants

2014 San Francisco Giants

2015 Kansas City Royals

2016 Chicago Cubs

2019 Washington Nationals

2021 Atlanta Braves

2023 Texas Rangers

2024 Los Angeles Dodgers

2025 Los Angeles Dodgers

2026 Milwaukee Brewers

Therefore, counting Completely Legitimate as 1.00, Mostly Legitimate as 0.75, Partly Legitimate as 0.50, and Completely Illegitimate as 0.00,  then, by this measure: New York Yankees, 24.50; St. Louis Cardinals, 10.75; Los Angeles Dodgers, 7.00; Philadelphia Athletics, 5.00; Boston Red Sox, 4.75; Pittsburgh Pirates, 4.75; Cincinnati Reds, 4.75; New York Giants, 4.75; Detroit Tigers, 3.75; Oakland Athletics, 3.75; Baltimore Orioles, 3.75; Chicago White Sox, 3.00; San Francisco Giants, 3.00; Chicago Cubs, 3.00; Cleveland Indians, 2.00; Minnesota Twins, 2.00; Toronto Blue Jays, 2.00; Philadelphia Phillies, 2.00; Kansas City Royals, 1.75; New York Mets, 1.75; Atlanta Braves, 1.50; Boston Braves, 1.00; Washington Senators, 1.00, Los Angeles Angels, 1.00; Washington Nationals, 1.00; Texas Rangers, 1.00; Milwaukee Brewers, 1.00; Brooklyn Dodgers, 0.75; all other teams, 0.00.

If you count moved teams as combined totals: New York Yankees, 24.50; St. Louis Cardinals, 10.75; New York/San Francisco Giants, 7.75; Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, 7.75; Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics, 8.75; Boston Red Sox, 4.75; Pittsburgh Pirates, 4.75; Cincinnati Reds, 4.75; Detroit Tigers, 3.75; Baltimore Orioles, 3.75; Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, 3.00; Chicago White Sox, 3.00; Chicago Cubs, 3.00; Cleveland Indians, 2.00; Toronto Blue Jays, 2.00; Philadelphia Phillies, 2.00; Kansas City Royals, 1.75; New York Mets, 1.75; Atlanta Braves, 1.50; Boston Braves, 1.00; Los Angeles Angels, 1.00; Washington Nationals, 1.00; Texas Rangers, 1.00; Milwaukee Brewers, 1.00; all other teams, 0.00.

October 9, 1966: A World Series Sweep for Baltimore

Left to right: Brooks Robinson, Andy Etchebarren, Dave McNally

October 9, 1966, 60 years ago: Game 4 of the World Series is played at Memorial Stadium. This could be the clincher for the home team.

From 1902 to 1953, the St. Louis Browns were one of the least successful teams in what would become known as Major League Baseball. They won just 1 American League Pennant, in 1944. In only 3 other seasons -- 1902, 1922 and 1945 -- did they even come within 10 games of 1st place at the end of the season.

For the 1954 season, they were sold and moved, becoming the Baltimore Orioles. In 1960, they got into their 1st Pennant race. In 1964, with Hank Bauer managing them, and 3rd baseman Brooks Robinson winning the AL's Most Valuable Player award, they came within 2 games of the Pennant, behind the New York Yankees, with whom Bauer had won 9 Pennants as a right fielder.

In 1966, they obtained right fielder Frank Robinson. Having won the National League's MVP with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961, he was immediately named team Captain, and he led the O's to win the Pennant by 9 games over the defending Champion Minnesota Twins. The clincher came on September 22, a 6-1 win over the Kansas City Athletics, at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

Frank won the Triple Crown, and became the 1st player ever to win the MVP in both Leagues. In 2024, Shohei Ohtani became the 2nd.

To win the World Series, they would have to beat the defending Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and their lefty-righty combination of ace pitchers, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. In Game 1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Polish-born reliever Moe Drabowsky had to bail out Dave McNally, and set a Series record for relief pitchers that still stands, with 11 strikeouts. Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson both hit 1st-inning home runs, and the Orioles beat the Dodgers, 5-2.

In Game 2, Dodger center fielder Willie Davis, having trouble seeing a white baseball against the smog-gray L.A. sky, committed 3 errors in 1 inning, enabling the Orioles to win 6-0, and head back to Baltimore with a 2-0 lead. Jim Palmer, 9 days short of his 21st birthday, outdueled Koufax, who struggled with the Oriole bats, Davis' fielding, and the pain in his elbow. Koufax hadn't told very many people yet, but he had already decided that this would be his last major league season, so this was his last game. He was not yet 31. This could be called a "generational hinge" game.

Game 3 was the 1st World Series game played in the State of Maryland. The host Orioles continued their shocking upset, beating the Dodgers, 1-0. Wally Bunker pitched a shutout.

Memorial Stadium, in its 1954-69 configuration

Game 4 was decided by a home run, when Frank Robinson took a Drysdale pitch deep over the left field fence in the 4th inning. The lone run being scored on a homer for only the 5th time in the history of the Fall Classic, and the complete-game shutout thrown by McNally, Baltimore completed the 4-game sweep.

It was the 1st World Championship won by a Baltimore baseball team in 70 years, since the original version of the Orioles won the 1896 National League Pennant. For the Dodgers, 33 consecutive innings without scoring a run is a Series record for futility. Their streak would run to 38 innings before they scored in the 5th inning of Game 1 of the 1974 World Series, and remains a record.

The Orioles went on to win 4 Pennants and the 1970 World Series under manager Earl Weaver, and the 1983 World Series under manager Joe Altobelli. The Dodgers, however, went into rebuilding mode, winning the Pennant again in 1974.

There are 5 players still alive from the 1966 World Champion Baltimore Orioles: Luis Aparicio, Jim Palmer, John "Boog" Powell, Russ Snyder and Wally Bunker.

October 6, 1966: The Smoggy Sendoff of Sandy Koufax

Sandy Koufax (left) and Jim Palmer

October 6, 1966, 60 years ago: Game 2 of the World Series. Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Willie Davis, having trouble seeing a white baseball against the smog-gray Los Angeles sky, commits 3 errors in 1 inning, enabling the Baltimore Orioles to win 6-0, and take both World Series games at Dodger Stadium, and head back to Memorial Stadium with a 2-0 lead.

Jim Palmer, days short of his 21st birthday, outduels Sandy Koufax, who struggles with the Oriole bats, Davis' fielding, and the pain in his elbow.

Koufax has told only a few people yet, but he's already decided that this is his last major league game. He is not yet 31. This could be called a "generational hinge" game. To put it another way: Koufax had won 169 games, including 4 in the World Series, but would never win another; Palmer, if you count this game, had won 21, and 255 more would follow.

To this day, the Orioles have never won a Pennant without Palmer on their staff. But they won 6 with him, including the 1966, 1970 and 1983 World Series. He is the only pitcher to win a World Series game in 3 different decades. His 186 wins during the 1970s made him the winningest pitcher of the decade. By a weird coincidence, the scout who discovered him was Hal Newhouser, whose 170 wins during the 1940s made him the winningest pitcher of that decade.

Many American cities have had, and some still have, smog issues, due to topography. New York's used to be bad, up until the 1970s, when the effects of the environmental movement helped. Denver's is bad, because of the Rocky Mountains.

But Los Angeles is widely known for smog, because it's the American city most identified with driving as opposed to public transportation, and all that car exhaust flies east with the prevailing wind in the Northern Hemisphere, and runs smack into the San Gabriel Mountains, trapping it. To make matters worse, the city gets an average of only an inch and a quarter of rain per month.

On July 26, 1943, the smog in L.A. was so bad! (How bad was it?) It was so bad, people began calling the police, thinking that the Japanese were conducting chemical warfare as part of their effort in World War II. The Japanese military never developed anything like that, but America didn't know that at the time, and it had only been 25 years since World War I and Imperial Germany's use of poison gas..

On October 21, 1954, the smog in L.A. was so bad, the City actually closed its public schools for several days.

On October 16, 1966, 10 days after this World Series game, comedian Allan Sherman appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sherman, a Chicago native famed as a game show producer and a song parodist -- the "Weird Al" Yankovic of his time, many of his rewrites reflecting his Jewish heritage -- mentioned that he once lived in the L.A. suburb of Van Nuys, and sang this, to the tune of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes": 

They ask me through the years

why I shed these tears.

I, of course, replies:

When you live in Van Nuys

smog gets in your eyes.

I thought I'd play it wise

so I closed my eyes.

Then, what do you suppose?

When both my eyes I close

smog got in my nose.

I went to price

an anti-smog device

to fit behind my car.

But, all too quick

the smog became so thick

I could not find my car.

Ten thousand cars provide
carbon monoxide.
If they'd all drive a horse
there'd be no smog, of course…
But there'd be something worse!

In 1971, on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, taped outside Los Angeles in what they mockingly called "Beautiful Downtown Burbank," co-host Dan Rowan said this as part of his regular "News of the Future" sketch: "Los Angeles, two years from now: Race relations were solved in Los Angeles, when the smog became so thick, nobody could tell what anybody's color was!" (That didn't happen in 1973, but the city did elect its 1st black Mayor that year, Tom Bradley.)

The founding of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the passage of the Clean Air Act, both in 1970, helped. So did an additional Clean Air Act in 1990. L.A.'s last Stage 1 Smog Alert was in 2003; its last Stage 2 Smog Alert, in 1988; and its highest level of alarm, a Stage 3 Smog Alert, was last issued in 1974. Then again, the American Lung Association still ranked L.A. as the nation's most-polluted city as recently as 2013.

October 6, 1966 was a Thursday. Also on this day, LSD was declared illegal throughout the United States. And Irish soccer star Niall Quinn was born.

October 5, 2001: Barry Bonds Hits His 71st Home Run *

October 5, 2001, 25 years ago: At what was then known as Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park), Barry Bonds hits his 71st and 72nd home runs of the season, to set a new major league single-season record... which we now know is bogus. The 1st-inning homer, his record-breaking 71st, is off Dodger pitcher Chan Ho Park.

But the Dodgers win the game, 11-10. To make matters worse for Giant fans, the Dodgers' win both clinches the National League Western Division and eliminates the Giants, still their arch-rivals, from Playoff eligibility.

Bonds will raise his total to 73*. With teammate Rich Aurilia's 37 (as far as I know, his were legit), they set a (tainted) NL record for homers by teammates, 110. The major league record remains 115, by Mickey Mantle (54) and Roger Maris (still the legit record of 61) in 1961.

Ned Williamson, who played for the team now known as the Chicago Cubs, hit 27 home runs in 1884, thanks to a short left-field fence at the team's home ballpark. That remained a record through Major League Baseball's "Dead Ball Era," until 1919, when Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox hit 29.

For the 1920 season, Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees, and blew past his own record to hit 54. He raised the record to 59 in 1921, and 60 in 1927. That record stood until Maris hit 61 in '61. That record stood until Mark McGwire cheated his way to 70 in 1998. Bonds raised it to 73 in 2001. (UPDATE: Aaron Judge hit 62 in 2022.)

Deserve's Got Everything to Do With It: 2026 Baseball Edition

Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman): "I don't deserve this! To die like this!"

Will Munny (Clint Eastwood): "Deserve's got nothing to do with it!"

-- Unforgiven, 1992, directed by Eastwood

As I occasionally (but not annually) do, I am ranking Playoff teams by how much they, and their fanbases, deserve to win a World Championship. And I am casting baseball bias aside, so the Yankees won't be 1st.

Did I say I'm casting baseball bias aside? Not completely:

12. Boston Red Sox, American League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Boston is a liberal city. Massachusetts is a liberal State. New England is a liberal region. Fenway Park is historic. And Adley Rutschman and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are decent guys.

Don't Deserve At All Because: They're the Boston Red Sox. They cheat. Even before they started cheating, they were scum. And now, they have Aroldis Chapman. Fuck 'em!

11. Los Angeles Dodgers, National League Western Division Champions

May Deserve Because: Los Angeles is a liberal city in a Blue State. It deserves a break for what it's gone through in this calendar year, from the awful wildfires to Trump sending troops in to intimidate and agents in to illegally arrest. Dodger Stadium is a nice ballpark with a lot of history. Their players seem to be good guys. Magic Johnson is the main owner.

Don't Deserve At All Because: They won it all the last 2 years, and also just 6 seasons ago. Their manager, Dave Roberts, was a 2004 Red Sock. I'm sick of hearing about Shohei Ohtani. He's not better than Babe Ruth. And while current management had nothing to do with it, the Treason of '57 must never be forgotten or forgiven.

10. Houston Astros, American League Western Division Champions

May Deserve Because: I can't think of a single reason.

May Not Deserve Because: They cheat. And they still have Jose Altuve. Their last title was only 4 years ago. Also, they're from Texas. Finally, an 81-81 team doesn't deserve to be in the postseason.

9. Tampa Bay Rays, American League Eastern Division Champions

May Deserve Because: They haven't won a World Series in their 29 seasons of play. And... that's about it.

May Not Deserve Because: They're in Florida. The St. Petersburg side of Tampa Bay is a lot more conservative than the Tampa side. Tropicana Field is a stupid stadium with artificial turf. And their fans don't even show up for a winning team: The Rays averaged only 17,468 fans per game this season, 28th out of 30 teams. Only the other Florida team, the Miami Marlins, and the Sacramento Athletics, did worse -- and the Marlins were 80-82, while the A's were 64-98 and playing in a minor-league ballpark in a metro area that they plan to abandon after 1 more season. The Rays went 98-64, and still couldn't outdraw either of those teams. Don't tell me the stadium is in a bad location: The Yankees used to draw 2 million a year to the South Bronx, when it was the urban hellhole of America.

8. Atlanta Braves, National League Eastern Division Champions

May Deserve Because: Atlanta is a liberal city. If the Braves were going to leave downtown (or sort-of-downtown) Atlanta, then they did it the right way, creating a full destination, not just a ballpark. And Truist Park looks like it has all the options, even if it is named for a bank. (Two, in fact: For its 1st 2 seasons, it was SunTrust Bank.) Ronald Acuña Jr. is a great talent and a good guy, and while he's already won a title (with the 2021 Braves), Matt Olson and Mike Yastrzemski haven't. Indeed, Yaz the Younger might be able to win the title that his grandfather Carl never could in 23 seasons in Boston.

May Not Deserve Because: While Atlanta is a liberal city, Georgia is a conservative State. It went for Biden in 2020, and has 2 Democratic Senators, but went for Trump in 2016 and 2024, and hasn't elected a Democrat as Governor since Roy Barnes in 1998. Yes, the 1st 2 digits are a 19. And they did move out of the city to the northwestern suburbs. They didn't say they did it to get away from the city's black people, but they did say they went where the heart of their fan base was. Some heart. They have Chris Sale, who already has a tainted ring with the Red Sox. And, as I said, they won the title only 5 years ago.

7. New York Yankees, American League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: It would make a lot of people I know happy, since I only live only 47 miles away. They have Aaron Judge (though he's injured at the moment), Giancarlo Stanton (ditto), Gerrit Cole, and many other deserving players. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, the new Yankee Stadium is a fantastic ballpark, and there are easier ones to hit home runs in. And it's New York, the greatest city in the world.

May Not Deserve Because: A drought of 17 seasons might seem like an eternity to Yankee fans, but to most others, it's not so bad. And many Yankee fans, including yours truly, can become insufferable when our team is defending World Champions. The players deserve it a lot more than many of the fans do.

6. San Diego Padres, National League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: They have never won a World Series in 58 years of trying. The city's last baseball team that went as far as the Pennant was in the Pacific Coast League, the 1967 Padres. Petco Park is a nice ballpark. And their fans deserve it after the tease of last season. It would also make Emma Stone happy.

May Not Deserve Because: San Diego is one of the most conservative cities in the country. The Padres still insist upon foisting the occasional horrible uniform on us. Fernando Tatís Jr. is a known cheater, Manny Machado is a rotten guy, and Xander Bogaerts doesn't need another ring. And their fans are acting like Met Fans West: Talking a lot of trash, especially to the nearby more successful team (the Dodgers), without the sufficient results.

5. Chicago Cubs, National League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Chicago is a great liberal city, practically making Illinois a Blue State all by itself. Wrigley Field is a great and legendary ballpark. And for all their suffering, Cub fans deserve more than 1 World Championship in a century.

May Not Deserve Because: They won just 10 years ago. That's not a drought, unless you're a Yankee Fan. And there's no obvious player on the team that hasn't won a title and really deserves to. They're a good team, but they're not an especially interesting one. If they won another Pennant, and even another World Series, it would be nice, but it wouldn't be the wonderful story that it was in 2016.

4. Philadelphia Phillies, National League Wild Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Philadelphia is a great city. It's a liberal city. Pennsylvania is a Blue State. Citizens Bank Park is a great ballpark. It's been 18 years since they last won it all, with a complete turnover of players. It would make a few people I know happy, since I only live only 64 miles away.

May Not Deserve Because: Their fans have been known to be a bit rough. A 18-year drought isn't that bad: And Bryce Harper is generally considered to not be a good guy.

3. Chicago White Sox, American League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Chicago is a great city, a liberal city in a Blue State. Rate Field isn't the awful stadium people say it is: It's pretty good. While the Pale Hose last won the World Series, or a Pennant, just 21 years ago, that's their only Pennant in 77 years and their only title in 109 years. And they suffered through a 121-loss season just 2 years ago. For what the team has done in just those 2 years, and for what their fans have lived through, still in the shadow of the Cubs, they deserve to win.

May Not Deserve Because: Team owner Jerry Reinsdorf remains a jerk at age 90, and now he wants another new ballpark, when the one he has is only 35 years old. And there is, as yet, no compelling player on the White Sox, one that makes us say, "He deserves a ring." The only player on the team who has one is Andrew Benintendi, and that came with the 2018 Red Sox, so it's tainted, and I can't root for him, even if he was a Yankee in between.

2. Cleveland Guardians, American League Central Division Champions

May Deserve Because: They haven't won a World Series in 78 years. Progressive Field is a really good ballpark. They willingly got rid of a bigoted team name. Cleveland is a liberal city. It would make Drew Carey happy.

May Not Deserve Because: They held that bigoted team name for 107 years. They have no obvious individual player to root for, unless you want to count José Ramírez. Ohio is a Red State.

1. Milwaukee Brewers, National League Central Division Champions

May Deserve Because: Milwaukee is a liberal city. The Brewers have never won a World Series, and the city hasn't won one in 69 years, since the 1957 Braves. Christian Yelich is a terrific player in his 13th season, and deserves a ring. And they'd be doing it in memory of Bob Uecker.

May Not Deserve Because: American Family Field is more of an airplane hangar than a ballpark. Other than that, there's not much reason. It's not as if Bud Selig still owns the team.

There you have it: The team in the 2026 Major League Baseball Playoffs most deserving of winning the World Series is the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tommy John, 1943-2026

Before the surgery, for 31 years, there was the man. After the surgery debuted, for 52 years, there was the man. And, as rough as the condition that requires the surgery, and the return from it, can be, you'd much rather have the surgery named for Tommy John than the disease named for an earlier Yankee star, Lou Gehrig.

Thomas Edward John Jr. was born on May 22, 1943 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He starred in baseball and basketball at that city's Gerstmeyer High School, and was the valedictorian of its Class of 1961. But he had a stutter, so the school wouldn't let him give the valedictory speech.

In 1971, Gerstmeyer was consolidated with Garfield High School, which produced basketball stars Clyde Lovellette and Terry Dischinger. The combined school, Terre Haute North Vigo High School, has produced Major League Baseball players Brian Dorsett and Josh Phegley, and football stars Anthony Thompson and Steve Weatherford.

John was signed out of high school by the Cleveland Indians. He made his major league debut on September 6, 1963, wearing Number 37, pitching the 7th inning and allowing an unearned run on 2 hits, in a 7-2 loss to the Washington Senators at District of Columbia Stadium (later renamed Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington.

The Indians split him between starting and relieving the rest of 1963, and all of 1964. On January 20, 1965, the Indians made an epic mistake. It was the 2nd time they had done so with a trade involving slugging right fielder Rocky Colavito. They had traded Colavito, then 26 years old, to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn, and it worked out considerably better for the Tigers. Now, Colavito was 31, and struggling with injuries, was not the same player, and ended up playing his last major league game at 35..

It was a 3-way trade. The Indians got Colavito and Cam Carreon, basically a throw-in. The Kansas City Athletics got Jim Landis, Mike Hershberger and Fred Talbot, none of whom did much for them. And the Chicago White Sox got Tommy John, Tommie Agee and John Romano.

Romano, a catcher, gave the White Sox 2 good seasons before injuries cut his career short. Agee became the American League Rookie of the Year in 1966, and also hit well in 1967, before the White Sox made the mistake of trading him to the Mets.

But this trade still worked out well for the White Sox, as they put John into the starting rotation. Switching to the Number 25 that he wore for the rest of his career, he won 14 games in both 1965 and '66. In '66, he led the AL with 5 shutouts. In 1967, he went 10-13, but had a 2.47 ERA, and again led the AL in shutouts, with 6. The White Sox were in the AL Pennant race until the final weekend.

After the 1971 season, they traded John and utility infielder Steve Huntz to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dick Allen. This trade worked out very well for both teams. Allen led the AL in home runs in 1972, winning the AL Most Valuable Player award, and it's been suggested that the attendance he brought in saved the South Siders from being moved.

John went 11-5 for the Dodgers in 1972, 16-7 for a National League-leading .696 winning percentage in 1973, and was 13-3 for a League-leading .813 percentage in 1974, helping the Dodgers win the Pennant, before an injury cut his season short on July 17.

Would the Dodgers have won the 1974 World Series, against the Oakland Athletics, if John had been available? He likely would have started Game 3 instead of Al Downing, which the Dodgers lost, 3-2. (All 5 games, including Game 2, which the Dodgers won, ended with a 3-2 score.) Even if he had outpitched Catfish Hunter that day, he still would have had to start Game 6 and win again.

*

On September 25, 1974, John underwent surgery on his left elbow, his pitching elbow. The procedure was performed at Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, by Dr. Frank Jobe. This procedure is one where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, or with one from a deceased donor. It became known as "Tommy John Surgery" or "TJS."

Dr. Frank Jobe

Jobe gave the operation 100-1 odds of being successful, but John had it anyway, as his other option was to start working at a friend's car dealership back in Terre Haute.

Traditionally, a pitcher misses an entire season in rehabilitation from the surgery. Some come back from it well, some don't. Some end up needing a 2nd TJS. The fact that John, the 1st pitcher to undergo the procedure, came back so well from it gave other pitchers hope.

A year and a half later, on April 16, 1976, John returned to the mound. He didn’t pitch well, losing to the Atlanta Braves, 3-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. But he pitched without pain. Switching from his former blazing fastball and hard curveball to a sinker, in 22 games, all starts, he went 10-10 with a 3.09 ERA.

In 1977, he went 20-7, his 1st 20-win season, and had a 2.78 ERA. The Dodgers won the Pennant, and he started Game 3 of the World Series, but lost it to the Yankees and Mike Torrez. In 1978, he went 17-10 with a 3.30 ERA. The Dodgers won the Pennant again, and he started and won Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees. He also started Game 4, and pitched well, but was not involved in the decision, as the Yankees won in 10 innings.

Yankee owner George Steinbrenner must have liked what he saw: His contract with the Dodgers having run out, on November 21, 1978, the Yankees signed John to a 3-year contract worth $1.4 million. He was never better than when he was a 36- and a 37-year-old Yankee: He went 21-9 with a 2.96 ERA in 1979, and 22-9, including winning his 1st 7 decisions, and a 3.43 ERA in 1980. That year, he finished 2nd int he AL Cy Young Award voting to Steve Stone, who won 25 games for the Baltimore Orioles.

In the strike-shortened 1981 season, he went 9-8, 2.63. The Yankees won the Pennant, and he pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball against the Dodgers to win Game 2 of the World Series. The Yankees were 2 wins away from getting him his World Series ring.

But the Dodgers won the next 3 games. After 4 innings of Game 6, and the score 1-1, Yankee manager Bob Lemon screwed up, sending Bobby Murcer, another man who was closer than ever to a ring than at any time in a long career, up to pinch-hit for John. He flew out. Lemon then sent George Frazier in to relieve for John, and he allowed 3 runs in the 5th. The Yankees lost, 9-2, and John had now been in 3 World Series, all of them Yankees vs. Dodgers, and on the losing side of all 3.

Steinbrenner began to break up the dynasty. This included a trade on August 31, 1982: He sent John to the California Angels for pitcher Dennis Rasmussen. He did well for the Yankees, but they got rid of him too soon, so this wasn't a bad trade for them.

Like Steinbrenner, Gene Autry, the legendary entertainer known as "The Singing Cowboy" and the owner of the Angels, was willing to spend big money if he thought it would get him big results. The 1982 Angels' pitching staff included such veteran stars as John, Luis Tiant, Stan Bahnsen (all former Yankees), Bruce Kison, Steve Renko, Andy Hassler, Ken Forsch, Dave Goltz and John Curtis. Their veteran hitters included former Yankee Reggie Jackson, perennial AL batting Champion Rod Carew, Fred Lynn, Don Baylor (all former AL MVPs), Bob Boone (Aaron' father), Rick Burleson, Doug DeCinces, Juan Beníquez and Brian Downing.

It almost worked: The Angels won the AL Western Division title, and led the AL Championship Series 2 games to none. But the Milwaukee Brewers won the next 3 games to take the Pennant.

John never came so close to a Pennant again. The Angels released him in midseason in 1985, and he signed with the Oakland Athletics. They released him after the season. He was 42 years old, and that year off was 10 years back. It looked like he was done.

But injuries to their starting pitchers led the Yankees to bring John back on May 2, 1986. He made 13 appearances, including 10 starts, and went 5-3 with a 2.93 ERA. In 1987, he made 33 starts, and went 13-6, although his ERA rose to 4.03. In 1988, he turned 45, and was the oldest player in baseball, though that elbow ligament was only 14 years old. He 35 appearances, including 32 starts, and went 9-8 with a 4.49 ERA.

In 1989, he made 10 appearances, all starts, and went 2-7 with a 5.80 ERA. On May 30, 5 days after his last appearance, and 8 days after his 46th birthday, the Yankees released Tommy John.

*

When he began his career, John F. Kennedy was President, and had just spoken at the two-year-old Berlin Wall. There were 20 teams in Major League Baseball, 9 of them playing in ballparks that opened in 1912 or earlier, and none of them playing on artificial turf or under a dome. Stan Musial was still playing, and Casey Stengel was still managing. Tom Seaver was in college, Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt were in high school, and Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire were about to be born.

When he ended his career, George H.W. Bush was President, and the Berlin Wall was 5 months away from coming down. There were 26 teams in Major League Baseball, 3 of them playing in ballparks that opened in 1912 or earlier, 10 of them playing on artificial turf, and 4 of them playing under a dome. Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker and Jim Abbott were rookies. Derek Jeter was in high school, David Ortiz was in junior high; and Giancarlo Stanton, George Springer and Freddie Freeman were born.

Does Tommy John belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame? He won 288 games, and lost 231, for a winning percentage of .555. Indeed, he won more games after his surgery, 164, than he did before it, 124. Or, as John himself has put it, he won just 1 fewer game after his surgery than Sandy Koufax did in his entire injury-shortened career. (Given the nature of his condition, John's surgery, had it been available in Koufax's time, would have done him no good.) He also made more All-Star Games after, 3, than before, 1. His career ERA was 3.34, his ERA+ was 111, he pitched 46 shutouts, he had 2,245 strikeouts, and his WHIP was 1.283.

Here is a list of all the pitchers who match or surpass him in wins, winning percentage, shutouts and strikeouts, in chronological order: Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Eddie Plank, Walter Johnson, Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver and Roger Clemens. That's it, that's the list: 8 guys. And only 4 of them pitched all or most of their careers in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era: Spahn, Carlton, Seaver and Clemens.

Baseball-Reference.com, a website that makes writing this blog far easier, has a Hall of Fame Monitor, on which a "Likely HOFer" is at 100, John is at 112, suggesting that he should be in. It also has a Hall of Fame Standards, on which the "Average HOFer" is at 50; John is at 44, suggesting that he falls short.

It also has Similarity Scores, usually comparing players of similar positions. John's Top 10 most statistically similar pitchers are Jim Kaat, Robin Roberts, Bert Blyleven, Fergie Jenkins, Early Wynn, Tom Glavine, Burleigh Grimes, Tony Mullane, Don Sutton and Eppa Rixey. Mullane is the only one of these who is not in the Hall of Fame.

While he was eligible for election by the Baseball Writers Assocation of America, which votes on recently retired players, from 1995 to 2009, T.J. never received as much as 32 percent of the vote. He has been eligible for the Veterans Committee's Modern Era Subcommittee in 2020, and its Classic Era Subcommittee in 2025, but fell short both times.

In my opinion, he should be in the Hall of Fame, not just for the historical significance of the surgery that bears his name and has saved many other careers after his, but on merit. Essentially, he had two good careers that added up to one great career.

*

In 2012, Lindsey Berra, Yogi's granddaughter, who works for ESPN, pointed out that 1 out of every 7 pitchers then in the major leagues had undergone Tommy John surgery at some point in their careers.

Like basketball star Bill Walton, John overcame his stutter and became a broadcaster in his sport, calling games for the Minnesota Twins from 1994 to 1996, the International League's Charlotte Knights in 1997, and the Yankees in 1998.

That year, he participated in the Yankees' Old-Timers Day festivities at Yankee Stadium. I was at that game, as they celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the 1977 and 1978 World Series, inviting several former Yankees and former Dodgers. In the Old-Timers Game between the former Yankees and the former Dodgers, John pitched for the Dodgers, and gave up a walkoff home run to Willie Randolph. At the age of 55, he still wasn't ending up on the winning side of Yankee-Dodger festivities.

He was hired as the pitching coach at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. In the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he coached in the Montreal Expos' organization. In 2004 and 2005, he returned to the Pinstripe organization, as the manager of the Class A Staten Island Yankees. He managed the Connecticut-based Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League from the start of the 2007 season to mid-2009, resigning to go into business, including advertising a joint cream. He had no connection to the Tommy John underwear company.

Tommy John and Mariano Rivera,

a few Old-Timers Days ago

John married twice, and had 4 children, all of them with names beginning with T, and 2 of them touched by tragedy. In 1981, his 2-year-old son Travis fell nearly 40 feet from a 3rd-story window of the family's rented house in New Jersey, and lapsed into a coma for nearly 3 weeks. He underwent successful treatment, and returned home to walk and play normally. Steinbrenner invited him to throw out the ceremonial first ball before Game 2 of the 1981 World Series.

Taylor John wasn't son lucky: He dealt with depression, and in 2010, he took his prescription drugs in the wrong combination, and died from an overdose. He was 28 years old. "He was the greatest kid in the world, but he would get into these panic spells and deep abysses," his father said. "He was wired different than the rest of us."

Daughter Tamara went to Duke University, where she met her husband, Patrick Mannelly, who went on to play for the Chicago Bears. Son Tommy John III pitched for his father at Furman, named All-Southern Conference. It shouldn't surprise anyone to know that one of Tommy John's children went into medicine: Tommy III became a chiropractor, and wrote Minimize Injury, Maximize Performance: A Sports Parent's Survival Guide, which discusses the injury risk associated with young athletes specializing in one specific sport and suggests ways to prevent youth from ever having to undergo major sports-related surgery, such as Tommy John surgery.

Tommy John and his 3rd wife, Cheryl Zeldin, settled in Bradenton, Florida, in the Tampa Bay area. He fell victim to bladder cancer, and died yesterday, on August 15, 2026, at the age of 83.

In 1987, in his 2nd tenure with the Bronx Bombers, he was one of the people interviewed for the documentary New York Yankees: The Movie. So were Yankee legends Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto and Whitey Ford. Clips of interviews of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the then-still-living Joe DiMaggio and the still-living-now Reggie Jackson were included.

With John's death, there are only 8 survivors among the interviewees: Bobby Richardson, and John's former teammates Roy White, Lou Piniella, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Dave Righetti, Dave Winfield and Don Mattingly.

Yankees Struggle Against Dodgers

The Yankees began the official, though not numerical, 2nd half of the season by hosting the 2-time defending World Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. For a team riddled with injuries, it was not a good combination.

Gerrit Cole started on Friday night, and in 6 innings, he allowed 5 hits, no walks. He was brilliant. But the Yankee bats, depleted by injuries to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, couldn't hit, either. Jazz Chisholm singled with 2 out in the 2nd. Trent Grisham drew a walk with 2 out in the 3rd. In the 4th, Jasson Domínguez doubled, reached 3rd on an error on the throw to 2nd, and scored on a passed ball with Chisholm up.

In the 6th, Ben Rice singled with 1 out, and Cody Bellinger singled with 2 out. But Domínguez, having giveth a run, now taketh away a chance, by striking out to end the inning. So, through 6 innings, the Yankees were lucky to have a 1-0 lead.

Cole had thrown 92 pitches. That's usually enough for manager Aaron Boone to take a starting pitcher out, possibly on orders from general manager Brian Cashman. This time, he made the opposite mistake: He left Cole in for the top of the 7th. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Cole hadn't walked anybody yet, but he started the inning by walking Mookie Betts. And then Max Muncy hit a home run.

As the great New York sportscaster Warner Wolf would say, "Turn your sets off right there." Three Yankee relievers allowed just 2 baserunners, and it didn't matter. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 7th. They looked like they might have something going in the 8th. Grisham walked with 1 out, and Rice doubled, but Grisham was thrown out at the plate. Paul Goldschmidt was intentionally walked, with Max Schuemann sent as a pinch-runner. Bellinger just got under a pitch, and it didn't quite go out, and Andy Pages caught it in center field. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 9th.

Dodgers 2, Yankees 1. I'd like to say this one is all on Boone, but the Yankees only needed to score 1 more run to at least send this game to extra innings.

The Saturday afternoon game was rained out, forcing a day-night, split-admission doubleheader for yesterday. The opener was a battle of aces. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was up to the task. He allowed a home run to Grisham in the 4th, and a double to Chisholm and an RBI single to Anthony Volpe in the 8th.

Schlittler was not up to it. He gave up 2 runs in the 3rd, including an RBI double by Shohei Ohtani. He gave up 2 more runs in the 5th, and, at 4-1, the game already felt over. In the 8th, Jake Bird allowed a double, 3 singles and a walk, and ended up with 5 runs charged to him. He should not be in the major leagues. The Dodgers won, 8-2.

So the nightcap became a must, to prevent a total humiliation, not quite on the same level as the Dodgers taking 2 out of 3 Yankee Stadium games in the 2024 World Series, but perhaps capable of preventing the Yankees from being taken seriously for the rest of this season.

Boone decided to go for a bullpen game. I shuddered. But Ryan Yarbrough pitched 2 2/3rds innings, Paul Blackburn pitched 2 1/3rd, and Brent Headrick pitched 2, so no runs through 7. With 2 outs in the 1st inning, Goldschmidt doubled and Bellinger singled, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

But Boone brought Fernando Cruz in to pitch the 8th, and he gave up a game-tying leadoff homer to Tommy Edman. After 2 walks, Boone got Cruz out of there, and brought in David Bednar, the closer. He got 5 outs, allowing just 1 walk. And Chisholm hit one out in the bottom of the 8th. Yankees 2, Dodgers 1, to salvage the finale, and restore some pride.

*

And yet, the Yankees actually benefited from their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, being on a hot streak. They swept the Tampa Bay Rays 4 straight at Fenway Park. They have now won 13 straight games, and 18 out of their last 20. So the Rays now lead the American League Eastern Division by a game and a half over the Yankees, with the Sox having gotten back into the race, 6 games back.

That's a little good news. There was also bad news on the injury front: Aaron Judge probably won't be back before August 1, and Max Fried's 1st injury-rehab start, at Class AA Somerset, was a bit shaky. But Clarke Schmidt had his 1st batting-practice session, and it apparently went well.

Tonight, the Yankees begin another 3-game home Interleague series, this one with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Paul Skenes pitched yesterday, so the Yankees won't be facing him. As Bill Murray would say, So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

April 25, 1976: Rick Monday Saves an American Flag from Being Burned

April 25, 1976, 50 years ago: Rick Monday, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Vietnam War era, is playing center field for the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. He notices two people in left-centerfield, preparing to burn the American flag. He ran over and grabbed the flag from them.

"I was angry when I saw them start to do something like that to the flag," he said.

Later in 1976, Dodgers executive Al Campanis gave the flag to Monday. He still has it. "I know the people were very pleased to see Monday take the flag away from those guys," Manny Mota, who played with Monday, said. "I know Rick has done a lot of good things as a player and as a person. But what he did for his country, he will be remembered for the rest of his life as an American hero."

The actual flag has faded. The story has not.

Rick Monday didn't do a damn thing for his country by saving that flag. If anything, he interfered with two people who, however misguided and offensive, were exercising their constitutional rights. It was, literally, the least American thing he could have done.

This was 20 days after the event that became known as "the Soiling of Old Glory," in which a racist taunted a black man with a flag at City Hall in Boston. Has anybody ever asked Monday about that?

As for the game: The Dodgers beat the Cubs, 5-4. Ron Cey singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The Dodgers acquired Monday before the next season, fitting in with their heavily-promoted All-American image. Actually, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the quintessential American sports team: They abandoned the people from whence they came, not for a better life but for more money, and stole land from the people who were already at their destination.

Then they issued lies and platitudes about themselves, all the while hiding some great evils. Sure, their Brooklyn forebears had ended baseball's segregation, but Campanis himself exposed his own racial bigotry, and manager Tommy Lasorda was exposed as homophobic. And then there was their paragon of virtue, Steve Garvey... 

A 2-time All-Star, Monday reached the postseason with the Oakland Athletics before being traded to the Cubs, and won the 1981 World Series with the Dodgers, having hit a Pennant-clinching home run in the National League Championship Series against the Montreal Expos. He retired after the 1984 season, with a .264 lifetime batting average and 241 home runs.

He became a broadcaster for the Dodgers, and still has the flag. He claims he has been offered $1 million for it, but won't sell it. 

What Counts as a Dynasty, and What Doesn't

No, Dodger fans: Back-to-back titles is not a dynasty. Back-to-back-to-back titles is a dynasty.

3 out of 6 is not a dynasty. 3 out of 5 is not a dynasty. 3 out of 4 is not a dynasty. 3 out of 3 is a dynasty.

Let's start from the 1st World Series, in 1903, onward:

Counts

1936-39 New York Yankees: 4 straight World Series

1949-53 New York Yankees: 5 straight World Series

1972-74 Oakland Athletics: 3 straight World Series

1998-2000 New York Yankees: 3 straight World Series

That's it. That's the list.

I could have extended that last one further: 1996-2003 New York Yankees: 8 years, 6 Pennants, 4 World Series.

Almost Counts

1903-04 Boston Red Sox: 2 straight, but that's it

1906-08 Chicago Cubs: 3 straight Pennants, 2 straight World Series

1907-09 Detroit Tigers: 3 straight Pennants, but no World Series

1910-14 Philadelphia Athletics: 5 years, 4 Pennants, 3 World Series

1911-13 New York Giants: 3 straight Pennants. but no World Series

1912-18 Boston Red Sox: 7 years, 4 Pennants, 4 World Series

1921-23 New York Yankees: 3 straight Pennants, 1 World Series

1921-24 New York Giants: 4 straight Pennants, 2 straight World Series

1926-28 New York Yankees: 3 straight Pennants, 2 straight World Series

1929-31 Philadelphia Athletics: 3 straight Pennants, 2 straight World Series

1941-43 New York Yankees: 3 Pennants, 2 World Series

1942-46 St. Louis Cardinals: 5 years, 4 Pennants, 2 World Series

1952-56 Brooklyn Dodgers: 5 years, 4 Pennants, 1 World Series

1955-64 New York Yankees: 10 years, 9 Pennants, 4 World Series

1963-66 Los Angeles Dodgers: 4 years, 3 Pennants, 2 World Series

1969-71 Baltimore Orioles: 3 straight Pennants, 1 World Series

1970-76 Cincinnati Reds: 7 years, 5 Divisions, 4 Pennants, 2 World Series

1976-81 New York Yankees: 6 years, 5 Divisions, 4 Pennants, 2 World Series 

1988-90 Oakland Athletics: 3 straight Pennants, 1 World Series

1991-93 Toronto Blue Jays: 3 Divisions, 2 Pennants, 2 World Series

2010-14 San Francisco Giants: 5 years, 2 Divisions, 3 Pennants, 3 World Series

2017-22 Houston Astros: 6 years, 5 Divisions, 4 Pennants, 2 World Series

2017-25 Los Angeles Dodgers: 9 years, 8 Divisions, 5 Pennants, 3 World Series

The 1926-28 Yanks, the 1929-31 A's, the 1955-57 (or 1956-58) and the 1960-62 Yanks came so close, losing a World Series in a Game 7. I suppose I could connect the 1941-43 Yanks to the 1936-39 Yanks, and say, 8 years, 7 Pennants, 6 World Series including 3 straight.

Doesn't Come Close to Counting

1929-38 Chicago Cubs: 10 years, 4 Pennants, no World Series

1930-34 St. Louis Cardinals: 5 years, 3 Pennants, 2 World Series

1933-37 New York Giants: 5 years, 3 Pennants, 1 World Series

1964-68 St. Louis Cardinals: 5 years, 3 Pennants, 2 World Series

1970-79 Pittsburgh Pirates: 10 years, 6 Divisions, 2 Pennants, 2 World Series

1974-81 Los Angeles Dodgers: 8 years, 4 Pennants, 1 World Series

1976-83 Philadelphia Phillies: 8 years, 6 Divisions, 2 Pennants, 1 World Series

1976-85 Kansas City Royals: 10 years, 6 Divisions, 2 Pennants, 1 World Series

1986-88 New York Mets: 3 years, 2 Divisions, 1 Pennant, 1 World Series

1991-99 Atlanta Braves: 9 years, 8 Divisions, 5 Pennants, 1 World Series

2004-07 Boston Red Sox: 4 years, 1 Division, 2 Pennants, 2 World Series

2004-13 St. Louis Cardinals: 10 years, 5 Divisions, 4 Pennants, 2 World Series

2007-11 Philadelphia Phillies: 5 years, 5 Divisions, 2 Pennants, 1 World Series

If you extend the Red Sox' full Ortiz Era? 2003-13 Boston Red Sox: 11 years, 2 Divisions, 3 Pennants, 3 World Series. That doesn't come close, either. Extend it even further? 2003-18 Boston Red Sox: 16 years, 5 Division titles, 4 Pennants, 4 World Series. No, not even close.

Same with the Braves' full Bobby Cox Era: 1991-2005 Atlanta Braves: 15 years, 14 Divisions, 5 Pennants, 1 World Series.

Top 10 Closest Calls to Winning the World Series (Without Winning It)

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4 in 11 innings at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, to win Game 7 and the World Series.

The Dodgers thus won their 8th World Championship, their 9th counting their 1955 title as the Brooklyn Dodgers. By winning back-to-back World Series, they joined these teams in the achievement: The 1907-08 Chicago Cubs, the 1910-11 and 1929-30 Philadelphia Athletics, the 1915-16 Boston Red Sox, the 1921-22 New York Giants, the 1972-74 Oakland Athletics (3 straight), the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds, the 1992-93 Blue Jays; and the New York Yankees in 1927-28, 1936-39 (4 straight), 1949-53 (5 straight), 1961-62, 1977-78, and 1998-2000 (3 straight).

The Blue Jays were 2 outs away in the top of the 9th, when Miguel Rojas hit a home run to tie the game. In the 10th, Rojas made a key defensive play, throwing a runner out at the plate. In the 11th, Will Smith hit a home run. So, does this game go down in history as The Miguel Rojas Game, or the Will Smith Game?

As hard as both teams fought in this postseason, it was pretty clear that whichever team won would have fully earned the title of the best team in baseball. But, let's be honest: The Jays choked.

As a Star Trek fan, I noted that the Blue Jays had scored 4 runs, and that I hadn't seen a "Blue Jay 4" so ineffective since the callsign the plane of Captain John Christopher, played by Roger Perry, in the 1967 time-travel-themed episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday."

Top 10 Closest Calls to Winning the World Series (Without Winning It)

Honorable Mention: All teams that had a lead in Game 7 and still ended up losing, even if they're not in the Top 10:

1958 Milwaukee Braves: 24 outs away, lost to the New York Yankees.

1947 Brooklyn Dodgers: 16 outs away, lost to the New York Yankees.

1946 Boston Red Sox: 14 outs away, lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

1987 St. Louis Cardinals, 14 outs away, lost to the Minnesota Twins.

1982 Milwaukee Brewers, 12 outs away, lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

1979 Baltimore Orioles, 11 outs away, lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1940 Detroit Tigers: 9 outs away, lost to the Cincinnati Reds.

2019 Houston Astros: 8 outs away, lost to the Washington Nationals.

1975 Boston Red Sox: 7 outs away, lost to the Cincinnati Reds.

10 (Tie). 1925 Washington Senators: 4 outs away in Game 7, lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

10 (Tie). 1960 New York Yankees: 4 outs away in Game 7, lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

9. 2016 Cleveland Indians: 4 outs away in Game 7, lost in 10 innings to the Chicago Cubs.

8. 1924 New York Giants: 4 outs away in Game 7, lost in 12 innings to the Washington Senators.

7. 2001 New York Yankees: 2 outs away with 2 men on base in Game 7, lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

6. 1997 Cleveland Indians: 2 outs away with 2 men on base in Game 7, lost in 11 innings to the Florida Marlins. The team now known as the Cleveland Guardians rank "ahead" of the '01 Yankees because they got 2 more chances.

5. 2025 Toronto Blue Jays: 2 outs away with the bases empty in Game 7, lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

4. 1912 New York Giants: 2 outs away in the 10th in Game 8, after being 7 outs away in Game 7. This ranks them "ahead" of the 2025 Jays. Lost to the Boston Red Sox. (Game 2 was called due to darkness while tied.)

3. 1986 Boston Red Sox: 1 strike away -- in Game 6. And then, 11 outs away in Game 7. Lost both games, and the Series, to the New York Mets. As bad as it was, as much as it's thought of as the biggest meltdown in baseball history, there are 2 teams that, technically, came closer to winning it without winning it:

2. 2002 San Francisco Giants: 6 outs away -- in Game 6. And then, 22 outs away in Game 7. Lost both games, and the Series, to the Anaheim Angels. Blowing 2 such chances ranks them "ahead" of the '86 BoSox. But not ahead of:

1. 2011 Texas Rangers: 1 strike away -- in Game 6, in the 9th. Then, still in Game 6, 2 outs away in the 10th. Then they took the lead in the top of the 1st in Game 7, but the St. Louis Cardinals came right back in the bottom of the 1st, tied it, and went on to win.

Why I Hate the Los Angeles Baseball Team, and So Should You

Tomorrow night, Game 1 of the 2025 World Series will be played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The American League Champions, the Toronto Blue Jays, will host the National League Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in Games 1 and 2, and, if necessary, Games 6 and 7. Games 3 and 4, and, if necessary, 5 will be played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

The Blue Jays are the American League Champions for the 1st time since their only previous Pennants, the back-to-back World Series wins of 1992 and 1993 -- 32 years, almost a third of a century.

The Dodgers are the National League Champions for the 2nd year in a row, and the 5th time in the last 9 seasons.

Before that, they hadn't won a Pennant in 29 years, 1988 to 2017. Before that, they won 5 in a span of 15 years, 1974 to 1988. Before that, they hadn't won one in 8 years, 1966 to 1974. Before that, including their last few years as the Brooklyn Dodgers, they won 10 in 20 years and, if you extend it back 1 more year, just missed 4 others, 1946 to 1966.

They've won the World Series in 1955 in Brooklyn; and, in Los Angeles, in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2020 and 2024, and will likely be favored to win it again this year.

On a Facebook page titled "MLB Shit Talking !!!" (space, then 3 exclamation points), a Dodger fan named Lee Salomon wrote, and I haven't altered his text at all: 

You sorry ass people can't list ONE (1) LOGICAL reason for hating the Dodgers.

You try to make it about money, but almost every owner is a billionaire.

You try to make it about the Dodgers fans, but the Dodgers lead MLB in home AND road attendance every season.

.

Colin Cowherd said the Dodgers are the best run team in American sports. He is 100% correct.

I repeat, you sorry ass people can't list ONE (1) LOGICAL reason for hating the Dodgers 

This was my response:

You're missing the point. The reasons DON'T have to be logical. Playing baseball requires a great deal of logic. Being a baseball fan requires none. It's all based on feelings.

Up until 1957, the Dodgers represented not just the Borough of Brooklyn, and, by extension, the City of New York, but a state of mind. They were a team of the people. Their players lived in neighborhoods alongside the team's fans. They played in a small ballpark, where the players were close to the fans. They were visible as human beings. Being a Dodger fan meant being a part of a community.

When Jackie Robinson arrived in 1947, that community grew, but instead of diffusing it and weakening it, it made the community stronger, and ennobled it. Long before the Dallas Cowboys were created and took up that ridiculous slogan "America's Team," the Brooklyn Dodgers were a team for all America. Certainly, for underdogs, as they stood up to the more successful New York Giants, and then the even more successful New York Yankees. The Dodgers were blue-collar; the Yankees, white-collar. The Giants, whose success was earlier, could, I suppose, be called stiff-collar.

(Those teams represented something very different, but no less important. Life is full of defeats, so we look for teams that will win and lift us up. The Giants represented that up until the end of the 1930s, and the Yankees have since the early 1920s.)

Having risen from essentially team clerk in 1942 to owning 25 percent of the team to owning 75 percent of the team and bullying the owners of the remainder in 1950, in 1957, Walter O'Malley took the Dodgers out of Brooklyn, and moved them to Los Angeles.

While some of the Brooklyn "Boys of Summer" hung on for a while -- Gil Hodges until 1961, Duke Snider 1 more year -- by the time that Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, who barely pitched in Brooklyn, became baseball's dominant pitching tandem and led them to a title in 1963, they bore no real connection to their former identity, and that's how O'Malley wanted it.

They represented something else: Greed. To build their stadium, O'Malley saw to it that the people living on the land had their homes stolen from them. He maneuvered the City of Los Angeles into letting him have all the parking revenue, when the original offer was half. He refused to install water fountains in the ballpark, because he didn't want fans to have anything for free.

He was so devoted to the reserve clause and holding salaries down that he even gave his managers only one-year contracts, and after he died in 1979, his son Peter continued this until selling the team in 1997. Walter Alston got 23 one-year contracts; Tommy Lasorda, 20.

They also represented Hollywood glitz and fakery, instead of the real people of Los Angeles. They wanted Frank Sinatra and Steve McQueen to come to the games. They didn't want Joe Washington from Crenshaw or Ricardo Gonzalez from East L.A. I'd be interested to know how old Walter would have felt had he lived to see Fernandomania in 1981: How would he have felt about all those Mexicans coming into Dodger Stadium, his monument to himself? Aside from those 5 years, 1962 to 1966, when the blue-collar Jewish hero Koufax pitched every 4 days, it was the first time the Dodgers seemed human.

Rather, the Dodger hero of choice was Steve Garvey: Mr. Clean, the All-American Boy with the perfect hair, the perfect teeth, the beautiful blonde TV talk-show host wife, the powerful swing and the nice glove, who was actually a supreme hypocrite, leading to the "Steve Garvey is not my Padre" jokes after he went to San Diego and didn't have the protection of the L.A. media anymore.

And speaking of supreme hypocrites: Lasorda treated his players like family, except for Glenn Burke, whom he dumped after seeing baseball's first openly gay player get a little too friendly with Tommy Jr., whom Tommy Sr. insisted until his own death was not gay, and refused to accept that Jr.'s death from pneumonia was aided by AIDS. Lasorda didn't just eat too much: He was so fat because he was full of crap.

O'Malley was never baseball's best owner, Lasorda was never baseball's best manager, and wasn't even a very good one. Vin Scully was never baseball's best broadcaster. And Dodger Stadium wasn't even the best ballpark in Southern California. But all those ideas were pushed by the L.A. media machine, which is as strong as New York's and stronger than Boston's and Chicago's.

Then, in 1997, Peter O'Malley sold the Dodgers -- to Rupert Murdoch, the Fox News baron, who, by aiding people such as Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and eventually Donald Trump and Britain's Brexit movement, has done more damage to the world than any living person, even Vladimir Putin. That is a stain that can never be washed away, and makes the sins of Walter O'Malley look tame by comparison.

Murdoch sold the Dodgers to Frank McCourt in 2004. He had to sell the team in 2012, to a group whose public face is basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who is rightly beloved. But the current regime has actually embraced the team's Brooklyn past, including putting a statue of Robinson outside the stadium. At first glance, this would seem like a good thing to do. After all, while he never played for the team in Los Angeles, Robinson grew up in nearby Pasadena.

Except the current regime wants it both ways. They want both the Los Angeles legacy (Koufax, Lasorda, Fernando Valenzuela, Kirk Gibson) and the Brooklyn legacy (Robinson, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider). And it doesn't work that way. The Giants can sort-of get away with it, because Willie Mays did play for them in both New York and San Francisco. Same with the Braves, with Hank Aaron playing in both Milwaukee and Atlanta. But the A's barely even mentioned their Philadelphia success.

The Dodgers' owners want you to think Jackie Robinson played for them. Jackie Robinson did not play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not one damn game. Not only did he not play for Los Angeles, but Walter O'Malley actively resisted his acquisition, told manager Alston to move him around and eventually bench him, and finally traded him to the arch-rival Giants, before Jackie announced his retirement, which he had planned anyway, but it became a "To Hell with me? No, to Hell with YOU" moment.

Now, I do have some grudging respect for the Dodgers' ownership group. Yes, they spend a lot of money. But they should. It's professional baseball. The last team to win a World Championship without "buying it" was the 1868 New York Mutuals. The Dodgers do this. So do the Yankees, my team. So do the Mets. So have some other teams at various times, even though some no longer do so, and others have gone the other way, from not trying it to trying it. To paraphrase Michael Douglas in the film The American President, Yes, my team IS trying to buy the World Series, the question is, Why isn't YOURS, Bob?

I also have some respect for the Dodgers' owners for NOT demanding that the governments of City of Los Angeles, or the County of Los Angeles, or the State of California build them a new stadium at taxpayer expense, or else they will move, as happened with elsewhere in California, with the owners of the Oakland Athletics and the NFL's Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. They have maintained and updated Dodger Stadium, and let's give them credit for that. They can build 10 new ballparks and pay every penny of the cost themselves, and never miss the money. They don't do that, but they don't demand that the people do it for them, either.

But the Dodgers remain an organization built in Walter O'Malley's image. They represent what he represented: Greed and bigotry. Those things are irrational. So don't you DARE demand that we come up with a rational reason to hate them. We don't need one.

O'Malley was a man who, if he thought he could make more money by staying in Brooklyn, or by moving them to Miami, or to Tokyo, or to Moscow, or to Antarctica, than he could by moving them to Los Angeles, then that is where the Dodgers would have been playing since 1958. NYC construction czar Robert Moses wouldn't condemn the land on which he wanted to build his new stadium. But O'Malley could have gotten around Moses if he really wanted to stay in Brooklyn. He didn't.

So don't ask me to like or respect the Los Angeles Baseball Team, and don't ask me to come up with a rational reason for why.

Let's go, Blue Jays. Beat L.A., eh?