Category: Historical

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Cubs are in the World Series. But what you probably don’t know is that they haven’t won it since 1908. OK, we’re all well aware and will be reminded of it a thousand times over the next week and a half. We’ll see highlights of the ball rolling through Leon Durham’s legs, a fan trying to catch a foul ball, Alex Gonzalez botch a potential double play ball, images of a black cats and goats, and a lot of photos of Tinker, Evers & Chance.

So if you’ll indulge me, let’s see how close the Cubs have come to winning the World Series in each season since 1903. For teams that reached the postseason, I’ll use their highest series win probability in their final series. For teams that failed to advance to the playoffs, I’ll use the highest pennant win probability they reached during the regular season.

*Click on image to expand

If you’re familiar with Chicago Cubs history, you know they were very good during the late 1920s and 1930’s. In fact, they had the second highest winning percentage of any team from 1929-1939. They just happened to run into Connie Mack’s A’s, Ruth and Gehrig’s Yankees, Greenberg and Cochrane’s Tigers, and Gehrig and DiMaggio’s Yankees.

They also came out on top of the National League in both seasons that were most affected by World Wars, 1918 and 1945. These were seasons that saw rosters severely impacted with some of the games best players going into the service or defense industry. The following seasons, when players returned to their teams, the Cubs fell to 21 games behind in 1919 and 14 1/2 games in 1946.

Then, from 1946 until 1983, the Cubs came no closer to winning the World Series than a 23.5% chance. The high point was 1969, when on August 13th, they were up 9 games in the National League East and had a 94.2% probability of winning the division. As we all know, the Amazin’ Mets came from behind to win the division and the World Series. But even if the Cubs had won the division, they would have still had to go through Hank Aaron’s Braves and the 109 win Orioles.

The Cubs have made the postseason six times since 1984, advancing to the NLCS on three different occasions. And just like the Cubs would have had to get past the Tigers (1984), A’s (1989) and Yankees (2003), this years Cubs will have to get past the Indians. The only difference is that the 2016 team will actually get a chance to do it.

Finally, if you prefer the data in a table, here is the year-by-year data, sorted by highest World Series win probability.

Year	Probability	Postseason
1945	77.4%	World Series
1935	67.4%	World Series
1932	57.8%	World Series
1929	54.8%	World Series
1938	53.4%	World Series
1918	52.2%	World Series
1910	50.9%	World Series
2016	50.0%
2003	48.9%
1984	45.6%	NLCS
1937	43.0%
1927	41.0%
1930	40.1%
1936	33.4%
1989	29.3%	NLCS
1911	26.4%
2015	26.4%	NLCS
1969	23.5%
1915	21.7%
1967	20.2%
1917	20.2%
1977	19.3%
1973	19.3%
1934	18.5%
1947	16.5%
1924	16.3%
1909	15.9%
1933	15.6%
2008	15.1%	NLDS
1928	13.4%
1970	13.3%
1913	13.2%
2007	13.0%	NLDS
1985	12.7%
1998	12.5%	NLDS
1978	12.4%
1920	12.4%
1926	12.3%
1914	12.0%
1922	11.6%
1958	10.9%
1952	10.8%
1912	10.7%
2001	10.6%
1975	10.6%
1923	10.5%
1931	10.3%
1939	10.0%
1955	9.8%
2004	9.8%
1963	9.7%
1916	9.7%
1987	9.4%
1925	9.4%
1951	9.2%
1946	9.1%
1919	9.1%
1921	8.9%
1950	8.8%
1953	8.4%
1941	7.9%
1959	7.8%
1940	7.3%
1980	7.3%
1995	7.2%
1949	7.2%
1965	7.2%
1954	7.1%
1948	7.1%
1942	7.0%
1961	7.0%
1960	7.0%
1956	6.8%
1944	6.7%
1943	6.6%
1988	6.5%
1991	6.5%
1972	6.3%
1968	6.2%
1979	6.1%
1957	5.9%
1990	5.9%
2009	5.8%
1964	5.8%
1976	5.7%
1999	5.2%
1981	5.2%
1974	5.1%
1962	5.0%
1966	4.9%
1982	4.7%
1992	4.7%
1971	4.6%
1996	4.5%
1986	4.4%
1983	4.2%
2005	4.1%
2006	4.0%
2013	3.8%
1993	3.6%
1994	3.5%
1997	3.4%
2014	3.4%
2000	3.3%
2011	3.2%
2010	3.2%
2002	3.0%

One thing that gives people like me headaches is having to deal with the fact that all ballparks are different. Don’t get me wrong, the uniqueness of the sport is part of what makes baseball so special. But it’s an imperfect science when attempting to compare players from different teams.

The other day, my friend and baseball statistic guru Ryan Spaeder was asked which park was the toughest on hitters, and this was his response:

Coors. When you hit well they credit the ballpark. https://t.co/xB19VklHxC

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) July 9, 2016

I thought it was perfect. Obviously, Coors Field is easily the most “hitter friendly” ballpark, but it is almost a no-win situation for a hitter. The Rockies have zero Hall of Famers in their 24 years of existence and their two best candidates (Larry Walker and Todd Helton) are unlikely to get in any time soon. The argument is their stats are inflated due to Coors Field, although it is impossible to say by exactly how much. We have park neutralized metrics such as OPS+ and wRC+ which include a park adjustment, and while I use them regularly, I admit they aren’t perfect.

The common practice in adjusting for ballpark is to take the ballpark factor, which estimates how a park influences run scoring compared to league average, and apply to it to each hitter. However, all players receive the same adjustment, no matter if they bat left-handed or right-handed, or if they are fly ball, ground ball, pull or spray hitters, etc. The assumption that all types of hitters should be treated the same is what I’m attempting to correct.

So while I know I’m not completely fixing the problem here, I’m offering an alternative. What I have are park adjusted career totals based off home and road splits. My first attempt was to just multiply road stats by two, but that would completely eliminate the player from playing ANY games in their home park and turn ballpark advantages into disadvantages and vice versa.

Instead, I decided to include home stats, but only at the same rate that a player would visit other parks. For example, Babe Ruth played in an era when his league had eight teams. That means that if he played in all ballparks an equal amount of time, he’d play in his home ballpark 12.5% (1/8) of his games. The other 87.5% would come from his road stats. A player in 2016 would play in their home park 6.67% (1/15) of the time.

Example

The formula is simple. For Babe Ruth’s home runs, we take his home HR/PA (347 / 5150 = .0674) and divide that by the number of teams in his league (.0674 / 8 = .00842). Next we take his road HR/PA (367 / 5473 = .0671) and multiply that by (7 / 8 = .875), which is the number of opponents in the league divided by the number of teams in the league (.0671 * .875 = .0587). Next, we add those two numbers together to get his new HR rate (.00842 + .0587 = .06712). To get his final career HR total, we multiply his rate by his career plate appearances (.06712 * 10623 = 713 HR). Surprisingly, he actually loses a HR, even though he played most of his career with a short right field at Yankee Stadium. We’ll see, however, that many players have a bigger difference in their adjusted career totals.

After neutralizing the stats, there are no new members of the 500 HR club, although we lose six players. The biggest drop is by Mel Ott, who loses over 20% of his career total. Ott played his entire career at The Polo Grounds, where the right field foul pole was just 258 feet from home plate. During his career there, lefthanded batters hit about 80% more HR there than they did at the other National League parks.

What is interesting about Mel Ott and The Polo Grounds is that while it allowed Ott to hit far more home runs, it came at the expense of other hits. So we take away 104 HR, but also credit him 83 singles, 87 doubles, and 21 triples. Overall, his production was increased at home, but not by as much as his home run total would indicate.

The second biggest drop is a bit surprising in Frank Thomas, who lost 90 home runs. Comiskey Park does favor HR hitters, but it’s far from the most drastic ballpark. Still, over his career, Thomas hit a HR in 6.2% of his plate appearances at home and 4.1% on the road.

David Ortiz is not only the biggest gainer on the list, but also among all players. He went from 525 HR to 589, and we’ll see that Fenway Park wreaks havoc on these neutralized stats.

The common theme with both of these lists is that those who saw their totals increase all played in parks that favored pitchers with the long ball, while those who saw their totals decrease played in parks that favored home runs.

Now let’s look at what is probably the second most popular career batting list, the “3,000 Hit Club”. (Note: Since we only have home/away splits going back to 1913, any player who began their career before this season is not included. Thus, no Cobb, Wagner or Speaker).

Just as with the “500 HR Club”, the “3000 Hit Club” only lost players. While some players see an increase their production and some see a decrease from these neutralized stats, as a whole, players will lose some production. This is due to home field advantage and because the majority of these neutralized stats are influenced by road stats. This may partly explain why there are no new members of either club.

Already, we see some of Fenway Park’s impact with David Ortiz’s increase in his home run total and both Yaz and Boggs seeing big decreases in their hit totals. Maybe the most telling is the list of players that saw the biggest decrease in their doubles.

Nine of the top 10 played most or all of their career at Fenway Park. You just don’t see this type of thing in other sports.

Players with Big Increases in Production

A fun thought experiment is to imagine how their careers would have turned out had Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams been traded for each other, with DiMaggio taking advantage of the Green Monster and Williams facing a short RF porch. Instead for DiMaggio, he had to contend with 451 feet to left-center field at Yankee Stadium. We estimate that with a neutral park, he would hit 45 more home runs and increase his overall production, with 31 more points of OPS.

Rick Wilkins may be the player farthest from your mind when you started reading, yet here he is. What is most amazing about him is just how drastic his home/road splits were when he spent the majority of his career at a hitters park in Wrigley Field. For his career, Wilkins hit .216/.298/.350 at home and .272/.366/.471 on the road. Who knows? Maybe he just got incredible nights sleep in hotel beds.

It’s no secret that AT&T Park favors pitchers, and what makes Buster Posey so special is that his raw stats are impressive, even before a park adjustment. But if we estimate what they would look like at more favorable parks, it becomes even more obvious that he’s on an early path to the Hall of Fame.

In the Willie Davis comment in his New Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James describes a method for converting a players stats from one run environment to another. This has come to be known as the “Willie Davis Method” and it is currently used on this site and is the basis for Baseball-Reference’s neutralized stats (with some additional adjustments). The problem with this method is it treats all batting events the same and are adjusted at the same proportion. As we have seen with Fenway Park, this is not the case. Anyway, Bill James introduced his method in Davis’s player comment because he spent much of his career at a horrible hitters park. As we can see from this neutralization method, Davis’s stats improve, and his +29 triples and +210 total bases are the most of any player in history.

As if Mike Piazza didn’t already have the most impressive statistics for any catcher in baseball history, they get even better after they are neutralized. In fact, every single home ballpark during Piazza’s career had a park factor below 1.

Players with Big Decreases in Production

Chuck Klein spent much of his career in the Baker Bowl, which was 280 ft to right field and 300 ft to right-center field. So it’s easy to see why he hit 63% of his home runs at home. When we neutralize his stats, his overall numbers are much less impressive, especially given the hitters era in which he played.

As we saw earlier, Wade Boggs takes a big hit, with his OPS dropping 63 points. This is similar to other Red Sox players, such as Bobby Doerr (-.084), Rico Petrocelli (-.069), Dom DiMaggio (-.059), Jim Rice (-.053) and Carl Yastrzemski (-.051).

Barry Larkin is an interesting case. He has a 21 point drop in OPS while his hit total increases by 29. The biggest change was losing 130 walks, decreasing his walk percentage from 10.4% to 8.9%. In fact, Riverfront Stadium regularly increased walks for right handed batters every season of Larkin’s career. This is just a reminder that park factors are not limited to balls in play.

As mentioned above, playing at Coors Field can be a no-win situation. Obviously, Larry Walkers stats have received a boost. But if we neutralize them, he still compares well to these two Hall of Famers.

Throw in 9 Gold Gloves and +94 fielding runs, and this should quell any fears you may have about his Coors-inflated stats.

CarGo loses 102 points in OPS, which is the most of anyone with at least 2000 career plate appearances. This may indicate that his style of play is more affected by Coors Field. It’s also possible that he has a tougher time adjusting to the different approaches opposing pitchers take on the road, as Eno Sarris suggests. This may point to a flaw in the neutralization method, especially for extreme ballparks like Coors Field.

Change in Type of Production

Hank Aaron played his career at two parks, Milwaukee County Stadium and Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Milwaukee favored pitchers in terms of the long ball, but Atlanta was known as “The Launching Pad” and had a big affect on home runs. Naturally, he sees a drop in his home run total, but also an increase in singles, doubles and triples. The overall level of production didn’t change much after neutralization, just how it changed.

Jay Buhner’s neutralized OPS is nearly identical to his actual OPS, but his peripherals see some changes. His singles and home runs increase, but his singles, doubles and walks decrease. This is just another example that a ballpark can change how a game is played while having very little impact on the run environment.

Flaws in the System

The unbalanced schedule and interleague play make it so not all teams visit the same ballpark an equal amount of times. This means that Rockies players will visit pitchers parks such as Petco, At&T and Dodgers Stadium more often than teams in other divisions. It’s possible this can be corrected by equalizing the amount a team will see a road park. However, this would complicate the process and I’m not completely comfortable with it.

As mentioned in the Carlos Gonzalez comment, it is possible that some players’ away stats are affected due to different approaches taken by pitchers based on the ballpark. I suspect this is only the case in the very extreme and unique parks. It is something to keep an eye on.

This method only uses career statistics, which contain large samples when dealing with home/road splits. A single season may not offer a big enough sample to completely trust, especially with part-time players.

Conclusion

This method is admittedly imperfect, but it does fix the problem with applying the same run adjustment to all players. If anything, it is an alternative to other methods of neutralizing ballparks. I’m open to any suggestions on improving this method and I may publish a pitching neutralization shortly.

For those interested, I have included a spreadsheet with neutralized stats that can be viewed here. It includes all players with at least 1000 PA and began their career after 1912.

The Royals are on the brink of winning their first World Series in 30 years, leading the Mets three games to one. While it’s certainly not over (5 of 43 teams have come back from being down 3-1 in the World Series), I figured it was as good of a time as any to write about the Royals 2011 Farm System.

Compilation of Royals Top Prospect Rankings
Prospect	Pos	FG	BA	BP	Sickels	Avg
Mike Moustakas	3B	1	3	1	1	1.5
Eric Hosmer	1B	2	1	3	2	2.0
Wil Myers	OF	3	2	4	3	3.0
John Lamb	LHP	5	4	2	6	4.3
Mike Montgomery	LHP	4	5	5	5	4.8
Danny Duffy	LHP	7	7	7	4	6.3
Chris Dwyer	LHP	9	8	6	9	8.0
Christian Colon	SS	8	6	8	11	8.3
Jeremy Jeffress	RHP	11			8	9.5
Brett Eibner	OF	12	10	14	10	11.5
Tim Collins	LHP	13	13	10	16	13.0
Aaron Crow	RHP	14	9	16	14	13.3
Tim Melville	RHP	15	14		15	14.7
Johnny Giavotella	2B	21	18	9	12	15.0
Yordano Ventura	RHP	10	12	13	27	15.5
Cheslor Cuthbert	3B	17	15	12	19	15.8
Louis Coleman	RHP	20	19	17	13	17.3
Jason Adam	RHP	16	11	15	28	17.5
Robinson Yambati	RHP	19	16	11	26	18.0
Salvador Perez	C	18	17	20	18	18.3
Patrick Keating	RHP	22	22		17	20.3
Will Smith	LHP			19	25	22.0
Derrick Robinson	OF	23	26	18		22.3
Jarrod Dyson	OF	26	20			23.0
Kevin Chapman	LHP				23	23.0
David Lough	OF	24	25		22	23.7
Jeff Bianchi	SS	30	21		21	24.0
Orlando Calixte	SS		24			24.0
Clint Robinson	1B		28		20	24.0
Buddy Baumann	LHP				24	24.0
Noah Arguelles	LHP	25				25.0
Humberto Arteaga	SS	27	23			25.0
Henry Barrera	RHP		27			27.0
Crawford Simmons	LHP	28				28.0
Lucas May	C	29				29.0
Elisaul Pimentel	RHP		29			29.0
Kelvin Herrera	RHP		30			30.0
Greg Holland	RHP					—

Below is a list of the top ten farm systems in 2011, using five different rankings from the industry. The first three were a consensus among most of the publications, with Kansas City topping the list in each one.

Compilation of Farm System Rankings
Rank	Team	BA	BP	Law	Sickels	THT	Avg
1	Royals	1	1	1	1	1	1.0
2	Rays	2	2	2	2	2	2.0
3	Braves	3	3	3	4	3	3.2
4	Blue Jays	4	5	4	5	4	4.4
5	Yankees	5	4	9	6	14	7.6
6	Reds	6	9	8	7	11	8.2
7	Indians	7	7	17	3	9	8.6
8	Angels	15	6	6	8	8	8.6
9	Phillies	10	8	5	11	12	9.2
10	Twins	12	15	7	9	6	9.8

Rankings alone won’t do the praise for this system justice, so here are some of the comments coming from those who ranked them:

Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus:

This is not just the best minor-league system in baseball, it’s the best by a wide margin. The more I wrote about these prospects, the more trouble I had figuring out any way for things to go wrong. Another winning record could occur as early as 2012, but more importantly, the team should return to annual playoff contention shortly thereafter.

Keith Law at ESPN:

The phrase “Mission Accomplished” has acquired an ironic connotation of late, but if anyone could use the phrase earnestly to describe his own efforts, it would be [Dayton] Moore, as the Royals have arms coming out of their ears.

That’s particularly impressive when you consider that Kansas City’s top two prospects are bats, and there are some solid position player prospects further down in the system.

Jim Callis at Baseball America:

The Royals set a record by placing nine players on our Top 100 Prospects list, starting with three of the very best hitting prospects in the minors in 1B Eric Hosmer, 3B Mike Moustakas and OF Wil Myers. They also have an enviable collection of lefthanders, led by John Lamb, Mike Montgomery, Danny Duffy and Chris Dwyer.

John Sickels at minorleagueball.com:

What can you say? This is one hell of a farm system. While the young pitching gets a large amount of attention, and deservedly so, the Royals also have three of the most elite young bats in baseball in the Moustakas/Hosmer/Myers troika.

Matt Hagen at The Hardball Times:

Kansas City has a plethora of top-end impact talent and loads of depth throughout. The best system in baseball and a reason to follow America’s pastime for long-suffering Royal fans.

It’s difficult to find one negative comment about this farm system. It contained high impact talent AND depth at almost all positions. Years of futility earned the Royals multiple early round draft picks. From 2005-2010, they had a top five pick on five different occasions. Additionally, Kansas City was active on the international front, signing players out of the Dominican (Kelvin Herrera & Yordano Ventura), Venezuela (Salvador Perez), and even Nicaragua (Cheslor Cuthbert).

In 2011, Doug Gray at minorleagueball.com assigned a monetary value to every prospect in baseball based on John Sickel’s grading system. He estimated the Kansas City farm system to be worth $243 million while the next best team (Tampa Bay) was worth $184 million. Here is a graph Doug provided, showing all farm systems in 2011:

But having a top farm system has never guaranteed success. Scott McKinney at Royals Review studied prospect success and failure rates and determined that 70% of Baseball America Top 100 prospects are failures. In August of this year, Alex Speier wrote in the Boston Globe:

Remarkably, none of the last 14 organizations to be designated with the top farm system by Baseball America has won a World Series since receiving that accolade. The last team to hoist a championship trophy following a top farm system ranking was the 2005 White Sox, four years after they’d been named the top farm system in 2001.

Of course, this will change if the Royals can win just one of the next three World Series games.

So what does a team with the best farm system need to do to reach the next step?
First, they need to continue to develop these players, as none of them are finished products.
The Royals did just that, as a good number of their prospects reached the big league level. Of course, not all of them have reached their potential, but that is expected.

Next, they need to surround this core with complimentary players.
Whether it is from outside the organization through free agency or via trade, Dayton Moore may have done his best work in this aspect. He parlayed Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi & Mike Montgomery into James Shields and more importantly, Wade Davis. He also signed Chris Young, Edinson Volquez, Kendrys Morales & Ryan Madson to fill out the roster. Finally, at the trade deadline this year, Moore traded prospects to acquire the final pieces to the puzzle in Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist.

Finally, they need luck.
Because sometimes no matter how hard you try, things just don’t go as planned. On the other hand, there’s always a chance to find that diamond in the rough that you weren’t expecting. As Branch Rickey said, “Luck is the residue of design.” It’s hard to tell how much of the Royals success is luck, but by putting the organization in the best situation possible, they have been in position to capitalize on many breaks.

We can now look back retroactively at the 2011 farm system to see where it ranks among the 30 teams in terms of wins above replacement. Granted, it is far too early to make a final judgement on these systems as most of the players are still beginning their careers. Below is a table showing how many wins above replacement each team’s 2011 farm system has produced, along with their winning percentages in subsequent seasons. The top prospect is the player with the most WAR in that farm system.

#	Teams	WAR	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Top Prospect
1	DBacks	100.4	.580	.500	.500	.395	.488	Paul Goldschmidt
2	Royals	91.4	.438	.444	.531	.549	.586	Salvador Perez
3	Angels	88.2	.531	.549	.481	.605	.525	Mike Trout
4	Braves	85.3	.549	.580	.593	.488	.414	Andrelton Simmons
5	Cardinals	74.9	.556	.543	.599	.556	.617	Matt Carpenter
6	Rays	70.6	.562	.556	.564	.475	.494	Desmond Jennings
7	Reds	70.3	.488	.599	.556	.469	.395	Todd Frazier
8	Indians	63.9	.494	.420	.568	.525	.503	Jason Kipnis
9	Pirates	61.6	.444	.488	.580	.543	.605	Starling Marte
10	Nationals	60.6	.497	.605	.531	.593	.512	Bryce Harper
11	Blue Jays	59.2	.500	.451	.457	.512	.574	Brett Lawrie
12	Mets	58.1	.475	.457	.457	.488	.556	Matt Harvey
13	White Sox	56.8	.488	.525	.389	.451	.469	Chris Sale
14	Astros	56.3	.346	.340	.315	.432	.531	Jose Altuve
15	Mariners	50.7	.414	.463	.438	.537	.469	Kyle Seager
16	Athletics	49.8	.457	.580	.593	.543	.420	Josh Donaldson
17	Twins	46.8	.389	.407	.407	.432	.512	Brian Dozier
18	Dodgers	42.7	.509	.531	.568	.580	.568	Kenley Jansen
19	Yankees	42.2	.599	.586	.525	.519	.537	Jose Quintana
20	Padres	42.2	.438	.469	.469	.475	.457	Anthony Rizzo
21	Rockies	41.5	.451	.395	.457	.407	.420	Nolan Arenado
22	Orioles	40.5	.426	.574	.525	.593	.500	Manny Machado
23	Red Sox	40.0	.556	.426	.599	.438	.481	Josh Reddick
24	Marlins	38.1	.444	.426	.383	.475	.438	Christian Yelich
25	Giants	36.5	.531	.580	.469	.543	.519	Brandon Crawford
26	Cubs	33.4	.438	.377	.407	.451	.599	Welington Castillo
27	Brewers	26.7	.593	.512	.457	.506	.420	Mike Fiers
28	Tigers	24.4	.586	.543	.574	.556	.460	Drew Smyly
29	Phillies	23.6	.630	.500	.451	.451	.389	Jarred Cosart
30	Rangers	23.4	.593	.574	.558	.414	.543	Pedro Strop

*Note: I have only included players with positive career WAR in these totals.

Surprisingly, the Diamondbacks have accumulated the most WAR of any team from the 2011 prospect class. However, Kansas City is not far behind in second place. Whether or not this farm system turns out to be among the all-time greats remains to be seen. But if they end up winning the World Series in the next few nights, it will be impossible not to deem it a success.

Thanks to Hawkins DuBois for helping out with prospect lists.

The Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals are headed for a decisive Game Five tonight. On Monday in Game Four, the Astros held a 6-2 lead and were just six outs from advancing to the ALCS. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Royals had a 0.8% series win expectancy. If Kansas City wins tonight, their comeback will go down as one of the greatest in postseason history. If they lose, it will be all for naught.

The following are the fifteen biggest comebacks in postseason history according to series win expectancy. These are comebacks from the brink of elimination, so you will not see single game comebacks such as Game Four of the 1929 World Series when the Athletics scored ten runs in the seventh inning after being down 8-0. This is because Philadelphia was not close to elimination.

15) 2012 NLDS

Giants defeat Reds (7.0% series win expectancy)

Background:
In 2012, MLB added a second wild card. To fit the wild card game in between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the division series, they changed the format of the division series from 2-2-1 to 2-3 in order to eliminate an extra travel day. This made it more difficult for the Giants, who lost both games at home and would have to win the final three in Cincinnati.

Low Point:
During the second inning of Game Three, the Reds held a 1-0 lead. Cincinnati was just seven innings from completing the sweep against the Giants.

The Outcome:
The Giants tied the game and that score remained until extra innings when the Reds scored on an error to force a fourth game. San Francisco never trailed during Game Four and the big blow came in the fifth inning of Game Five on a Buster Posey grand slam off of Mat Latos.

14) 1992 NLCS

Braves defeat Pirates (6.6% series win expectancy)

Background:
This was essentially the Pirates last opportunity at a World Championship. The nucleus of the team that lost both the 1990 and 1991 championship series was breaking apart. Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek were all but gone at the end of the season because the Pirates wouldn’t be able to compete with large market clubs in free agency.

While the Braves, with one of the best farm systems in baseball and the backing of billionaire owner Ted Turner, were looking for their second straight World Series appearance.

Low Point:
Going into the bottom of the ninth during Game Seven, Atlanta was down 2-0. They were facing Doug Drabek, who was just three outs away from a complete game shutout.

The Outcome:
The Braves quickly loaded the bases on a double, error, and a base on balls. Pirates manager Jim Leyland brought in his closer, Stan Belinda, in hopes of stopping the rally. Atlanta scored their first run on a sacrifice fly and reloaded the bases on a Damon Berryhill walk. A popout by pinch hitter Brian Hunter gave the Pirates their first out. With the pitcher’s spot due up, Braves manager Bobby Cox went with Francisco Cabrera, who had just eleven plate appearances all season.

In the outfield, Pirates center fielder Andy Van Slyke motioned to left fielder Barry Bonds to move in a few steps. Bonds did not oblige and it proved to be costly. Cabrera singled to left, easily scoring David Justice. Sid Bream rounded third as Bonds fielded the ball and threw home. The throw was a little off-line and Bream was safe by inches. Had Bonds moved in, most baseball fans might not be able to recognize Francisco Cabrera’s name.

13) 2003 ALCS

Yankees defeat Red Sox (6.0% series win expectancy)

Background:
It had been 85 years since the Red Sox last won a World Series. During that time, the rival Yankees had won 26 World Championships. It was known as “The Curse of the Bambino” and the Red Sox were going to have to get through their rival to end the suffering. The series was everything that Fox could have dreamed for and more. The two biggest markets, literally fighting their way to the World Series.

Low Point:
In the bottom of the eight in Game Seven, the Yankees were down 5-2 with just five outs remaining. On the mound for Boston was Pedro Martinez, who was going through arguably the most dominant stretch by any pitcher in baseball history.

The Outcome:
After the Yankees quickly scored their third run, Red Sox manager Grady Little went to the mound, but ultimately chose to stick with Martinez, rather than go with late inning relievers Mike Timlin or Alan Embree. The decision would ultimately be the defining moment in Little’s career as the Yankees tied the score just two batters later.

The game went into the 11th when Yankees third basemen Aaron Boone hit just the second pennant-clinching walk-off homerun in LCS history.

12) 1960 World Series

Pirates defeat Yankees (5.9% series win expectancy)

Background:
This was the classic David vs Goliath matchup. The Yankees were in their eleventh World Series in the last fourteen years while the Pirates were the champions of the senior circuit for the first time in 33 years. While the two teams split the first six games, the Yankees had outscored the Pirates 46-17.

Low Point:
In the top of the eighth in Game Seven, the Yankees scored two runs to increase their lead to 7-4. The Pirates had just six outs remaining vs Bobby Shantz.

The Outcome:
The bottom of the eighth began with three straight singles, which cut the lead to two. Yankees manager Casey Stengel replaced Shantz with Jim Coates, who then retired the first two batters he faced. Roberto Clemente followed with a single that cut the lead to one. That brought up backup catcher Hal Smith, who entered the game in the sixth inning. At the beginning of Smith’s plate appearance, the Pirates had a series win probability of 29%. Five pitches later, Smith hit the biggest series changing homerun in baseball history. The three-run shot gave the Pirates a 9-7 lead and a series win probability of 94%.

Unfortunately for Hal Smith and the Pirates, the Yankees scored two in the top of the ninth to tie the game. What followed would be the first World Series clinching Walk-Off homerun in history. The highlight of Bill Mazeroski dodging Pirates fans while waving his helmet around would be seen countless times by baseball fans. All while Hal Smith’s contribution would go largely forgotten.

11) 1995 ALDS

Mariners defeat Yankees (5.7% series win expectancy)

Background:
The Mariners shouldn’t have been in the playoffs. On August 15th, they were 12.5 games behind the division leading Angels and had a 0.4% chance of winning the division. Over the final month and a half of the regular season, they battle back and won a one-game tiebreaker.

Low Point:
During the third inning of Game Four, the Yankees were up 5-0 and just six innings away from advancing to the ALCS.

The Outcome:
Seattle quickly scored four runs in the fourth inning and eventually took the lead for good in the eighth inning of Game Four, forcing a deciding Game Five.

Through seven innings of Game Five, New York held a 4-2 lead. Their starter David Cone, had thrown 118 pitches and went back to the mound to face the heart of the Mariners order in the eighth. A Ken Griffey Jr solo homerun and a Doug Strange bases loaded walk tied the game.

Randy Johnson, who had thrown seven innings just two days before, came in the ninth inning to stop a Yankees rally and then struck out the side in the tenth. The Yankees would finally get a run across on him in the eleventh, moving just three outs away from a series victory.

The bottom of the eleventh would go on to be arguably the greatest moment in Mariners history. Facing New York’s ace, Jack McDowell, Seattle would get back-to-back singles by Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr. Designated Hitter Edgar Martinez would follow with a two-run double down the left field line as Griffey came around to score the winning run. The 1995 Mariners created so much excitement in Seattle, they are often credited for saving baseball in the city, as they would soon get funding for what would become Safeco Field.

10) 2012 NLDS

Cardinals defeat Nationals (3.7% series win expectancy)

Background:
After so many years in the basement of the National League East, Washington was finally benefiting from multiple early first round draft picks. During the regular season, they won a franchise record 98 games. The Cardinals were defending World Series champions and in their ninth postseason in the previous thirteen years.

Low Point:
The two clubs split the first four games, going into a deciding Game Five in Washington. The Nationals jumped out to a 6-0 lead, hitting three homeruns in the first three innings on Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright.

The Outcome:
St. Louis slowly chipped away, scattering five runs in the next five innings. They would go into the top of the ninth down by two, facing the Nationals closer Drew Storen.

A double and two walks loaded the bases with two outs. Daniel Descalso singled in two runs to tie the score and Pete Kozma singled in two more to take a 9-7 lead. Cardinals closer Jason Motte provided a perfect bottom of the ninth to advance to the NLCS.

9) 1980 NLCS

Phillies defeat Astros (3.6% series win expectancy)

Background:
The Phillies, who have been in existence since 1883, were still looking for their first World Series championship. They had lost three of the last four NLCS.

Low Point:
During Game Four, in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Astros were leading 2-0 and had just loaded the bases with just one out. Houston was just three innings away from appearing in their first World Series.

The Outcome:
With right-handed batter Luis Pujols coming up with the bases loaded, Phillies manager Dallas Green chose to replace his ace Steve Carlton with right-handed reliever Dickie Noles. Pujols then flew out to rightfielder Bake McBride, scoring Gary Woods from third on the sacrifice fly. However, several Phillies noticed that Woods left the base before McBride made the catch. An appeal followed and Woods was declared out and the run was taken off the board, ending the inning.

Philadelphia then scored three runs in the eighth before allowing Houston to tie it in the ninth, forcing extra innings for the third straight game. In the tenth, two runs on a Pete Rose single, and doubles by Greg Luzinski and Manny Trillo put the Phillies up for good.

Game Five would be the fourth straight extra inning game. There were four lead changes with each team having at least a 90% probability of winning before blowing their lead. The 1980 NLCS would go down as one of the most exciting postseason series in baseball history.

8) 2014 AL Wild Card

Royals defeat Athletics (3.2% series win expectancy)

Background:
The Kansas City Royals had not appeared in the postseason since 1985

Low Point:
Through seven innings, Oakland was ahead 7-3 with their ace Jon Lester on the mound.

The Outcome:
In the eighth, the Royals cut the deficit to one run by scoring three while stealing four bases on Oakland’s backup catcher Derek Norris, Jon Lester, and Luke Gregerson (who replaced Lester midway through the inning).

In the bottom of the ninth, the Royals manufactured the tying run with a Josh Willingham single, another stolen base by pinch runner Jarrod Dyson, and a sacrifice fly by Nori Aoki. The game would remained tied until the twelfth when Oakland took another lead with a walk, wild pitch, and single. Kansas City would have to mount yet another come back. A Christian Colon single scored Eric Hosmer (who tripled) to tie the game. Colon stole the Royals seventh base of the game to get into scoring position. Finally, catcher Salvador Perez singled in the winning run down the left field line, advancing Kansas City to the division series.

For a much more detailed account, you’ll certainly enjoy Andy McCullough’s The night Kansas City baseball came back to life.

7) 1968 World Series

Tigers defeat Cardinals (2.8% series win expectancy)

Background:
1968 was the year of the pitcher. Cardinals ace Bob Gibson posted a ridiculous 1.12 ERA while Tigers hurler Denny McLain became the first 30 game winner since Dizzy Dean in 1934.

Low Point:
St. Louis took three of the first four games of the series. In the fourth inning of Game Five, they held a 3-0 lead and had two runners aboard with just one out.

The Outcome:
On the mound for Detroit was Mickey Lolich, who would throw three complete games during the series and earn MVP honors. Lolich would quickly stop the threat in the fourth inducing a flyout and a strikeout. In the bottom half, the Tigers cut the lead to one with two triples, a sacrifice fly and single. They would take the lead for good in the seventh and force a Game Six (which was a 13-1 Tigers blowout).

Game Seven looked like a classic pitchers duel between Lolich and Gibson, with each club scoreless through six innings. In the top of the seventh, Gibson got two quick outs before Detroit started to rally. Norm Cash and Willie Horton each singled, but the big blow came on Jim Northrup’s two-run triple. Detroit held on to the lead and won their first World Series since 1945.

6) 2003 NLCS

Marlins defeat Cubs (2.2% series win expectancy)

Background:
The Cubs had not won a World Series since 1908 and had not won a pennant since 1945, while the Marlins were looking for their second World Series appearance in their eleventh season.

Low Point:
In the top of the eighth in Game Six, the Cubs held a 3-0 lead and were just five outs away from returning to the World Series.

The Outcome:
After getting the first out of the inning, Cubs pitcher Mark Prior allowed a double to Marlins leadoff hitter Juan Pierre. The next batter, Luis Castillo lofted a flyball down the leftfield line in foul territory. In what would forever be known as the “Steve Bartman Incident”, Cubs leftfielder Moises Alou leaped at the wall, only to have the ball deflected by a fan going for the souvenir. Alou was visibly upset because it would extend the at bat, which turned into a base on balls. The next batter, Ivan Rodriguez singled in Pierre, cutting the lead to two runs.

The next play is the most pivotal of the series, and should be more infamous than the Steve Bartman interference. Marlins rookie Miguel Cabrera hit a routine groundball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez. It’s possible the Cubs could have turned an inning ending double play. At the least, they could settle for one out. But Gonzalez misplayed the ball, and the error loaded the bases with just one out. Seven more runs would score in the inning and the Marlins would live to see another day.

Game Seven got off to a poor start for the “North Siders” as Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homerun off Kerry Wood. But that lead wouldn’t last long as the Cubs scored three in the second to tie it and another two in the third inning to take the lead. The Cubs were now eighteen outs away from the World Series. Whether it was the “Curse of the Billy Goat“, bad luck or poor performance, the Marlins re-took the lead for good in the fifth inning, advancing to the Fall Classic.

5) 2011 World Series

Cardinals defeat Rangers (2.1% series win expectancy)

Background:
The Rangers were back in the World Series after losing in 2010 to the Giants. The Cardinals were in their eighth postseason in the previous twelve years.

Low Point:
In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Six, the Rangers led 7-5 and were just two outs away from a World Series championship.

The Outcome:
Facing Texas closer Neftali Feliz, Albert Pujols doubled into the left-centerfield gap. The next batter, Lance Berkman drew a four-pitch walk, putting the tying run on base. Feliz got Allen Craig to strikeout for the second out of the inning. The Rangers outfield was playing deep in hopes to limit any hit to a single. Unfortunately, rightfielder Nelson Cruz was not playing deep enough as David Freese lined a ball just out of his reach and off the wall, bringing in both runs and to tie the score.

The Cardinals “momentum”, however, was short lived as in the top of the tenth inning, Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homerun off of Cardinals closer Jason Motte. Surely this would be enough to give the Rangers their first World Championship. But in the bottom half, the Cardinals manufactured two runs on three singles, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout. The game was yet again tied.

After Jake Westbrook held the Rangers scoreless in the top of the eleventh, ninth inning hero David Freese came to plate. On a full-count and the seventh pitch of the at bat, Freese hit a walk-off homerun to dead center, forcing a Game Seven. As the ball cleared the fence, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck told the audience “We will see you tomorrow night”. This was a nod to his late father, who twenty years earlier in the 1991 World Series used the same line when Kirby Puckett hit a walk-off homerun.

In Game Seven, the Rangers once again took a two-run lead in the first inning on doubles by Josh Hamilton and Michael Young. The lead would be short-lived as the Cardinals answered back with two of their own in the bottom of the first. In the second, David Freese added to his story with a two-run double. This is all the Cardinals would need as they held the Rangers scoreless the rest of the way.

4) 2004 ALCS

Red Sox defeat Yankees (1.8% series win expectancy)

Background:
After the disappointment of losing the 2003 ALCS, the Red Sox were facing the Yankees once again a year later.

Low Point:
This time around, the Yankees took the first three games and looked to be well on their way to another American League pennant. No team in baseball history had ever come back from being down 3-0 in a seven game series.

In the top of the ninth in Game Four, the Yankees held a 4-3 lead as Derek Jeter led off with a walk.

The Outcome:
Closer Keith Foulke, in his second inning of work, quickly retired the side on a groundout, strikeout and popup. Just after midnight in the bottom half of the inning, with three outs remaining, Kevin Millar drew a walk against future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera. With the tying run on base, Boston manager Terry Francona replaced Millar with pinch runner Dave Roberts. With Bill Mueller at the plate, Roberts drew three straight pickoff throws from Rivera. But on the first pitch of the at bat, Roberts took off and slid into second base, just ahead of the throw from Jorge Posada. It was the biggest stolen base in Red Sox history. The next pitch, Mueller showed bunt but wisely pulled back. On the third pitch, Mueller shot a groundball into center to tie the score. The game would go into the twelfth inning, when David Ortiz hit a two-run walk-off homerun off of Paul Quantrill.

Game Five would last fourteen innings and ended on another walk-off hit by David Ortiz. This time it was an RBI single scoring Johnny Damon.

Game Six was back in New York and was known as the “Bloody Sock Game”. Red Sox starter Curt Schilling would need a tendon in his right ankle temporarily sewn in place, allowing him to pitch. Schilling went seven innings and allowed one run, earning the win and forcing the series to to a seventh game.

Game Seven was the least competitive of all the games as Boston jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, capped off by a Johnny Damon grand slam in the second inning. The Red Sox became the first team in history to win the final four games after losing the first three.

3) 2002 World Series

Angels defeat Giants (1.5% series win expectancy)

Background:
The Anaheim Angels were in the World Series for the first time in their 42nd year of existence. The Giants were looking for their first World Series championship since their New York days in 1954.

Low Point:
In the bottom of the seventh inning in Game Six, the Giants held a 5-0 lead, just eight outs away from winning the World Series.

The Outcome:
With Giants starter Russ Ortiz still on the mound in the seventh, the Angels got two runners aboard on singles by Troy Glaus and Brad Fuller. With thunder sticks banging and the Rally Monkey jumping, Scott Speizio took Giants reliever Felix Rodriguez deep to cut the lead to two runs. It would take the Giants two more relievers to stop the rally and keep the two-run lead.

In the eighth, lead-off hitter Darin Erstad cut the lead to one run with a solo shot off of Tim Worrell. That was followed by Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson singles, with still nobody out. Giants manager Dusty Baker then decided to bring in his closer Robb Nen to stop the bleeding. However, Troy Glaus, the first batter to face Nen, drove in the tying and go-ahead runs on a double. The Angels lead would stand as they forced a final game.

San Francisco got out to an early Game Seven lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Reggie Sanders. This would not last long as the Bengie Molina would tie the score in the next half with an RBI double. A bases-clearing double by Garret Anderson in the third innging brought the score to 4-1 and the Angels the first World Series championship.

2) 1986 ALCS

Red Sox defeat Angels (0.8% series win expectancy)

Background:
It had been 68 years since the Red Sox had last won a World Series and their last appearance in the fall classic in 1975 would end in heartbreak. The Angels were looking for their first World Series appearance in their 26 year history.

Low Point:
California took three of the first four games and held a 5-2 lead through eight innings of Game Five. They were just three outs away from going to the World Series.

The Outcome:
In the top of the ninth, facing Angels starter Mike Witt, had one aboard on a Bill Buckner single and two outs remaining. Red Sox designated hitter and former Angels MVP Don Baylor cut the lead to one on a two-run homerun. Witt would get the next batter, Dwight Evans, to pop up for the second out. Angels manager Gene Mauch finally replaced Witt with reliever Gary Lucas, who would hit Rich Gedman on the first pitch. With the tying run aboard, Mauch brought in his closer Donnie Moore to face Dave Henderson. Henderson deposited the seventh pitch over the left field wall to take the lead. As a child, I thought that Henderson jumped six feet into the air as he watched the ball clear the fence. While his vertical leap is not 72 inches, he did get some major hang time.

What is often forgotten in this game is the Angels tied the score in the bottom of the ninth on a Rob Wilfong RBI single. The score would remained tied until the eleventh inning when Dave Henderson would once again come up to face Donnie Moore, this time with the bases loaded and no outs. Henderson drove in another run on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Gary Pettis. This lead would hold and Boston would live to see another day.

Boston easily won Game Six 10-4 and Game Seven 8-1 to get another shot at the World Series.

1) 1986 World Series

Mets defeat Red Sox (0.6% series win expectancy)

Background:
After Boston came back from having a 0.8% win expectancy in the ALCS, they were set to face the 108-win New York Mets in the World Series.

Low Point:
In the bottom of the tenth inning of Game Six, the Red Sox held a 5-3 lead with just two outs and the bases empty.

The Outcome:
The Mets’ last hope, catcher Gary Carter, singled to left. The pitcher’s spot was up next, so Mets manager Davey Johnson called on pinch hitter Kevin Mitchell, who lined the next pitch into center, moving Carter to second base. Ray Knight, the potential go-ahead run, lined an 0-2 pitch to right-center, scoring Carter and cutting Boston’s lead to one run.

Red Sox manager John McNamara chose to replace Schiraldi with Bob Stanley, who would uncork a wild pitch on the eighth pitch vs Mookie Wilson. This tied the game as Kevin Mitchell crossed the plate, while Ray Knight moved to second base. The next play would be the defining moment in first basemen Bill Buckner’s career. Mookie Wilson grounded the next pitch down the first base line in what looked to be a routine groundout to end the inning. Unfortunately for Buckner and the Red Sox, the ball scooted through his legs as Knight came around to score the winning run.

Boston took a three-run lead in the third inning of Game Seven, on solo homeruns by Dwight Evans and Rich Gedman and an RBI single by Wade Boggs. That lead lasted until the sixth when the Mets scored three of their own to tie the game. New York would score three more an inning later and that would be all they would need for the first World Series championship since 1969.

While Bill James was writing his Abstracts in the 1980’s, he came up with Similarity Scores, which puts a number on how similar the statistics are from two different players. Scores can range from 1000 for the most identical players to 0 for the most dissimilar. Consider that two players that are very much alike in Andre Thornton and John Mayberry Sr, who have a similarity score of 974 while Neifi Perez and Babe Ruth have a similarity score of 0.

I decided to take this concept and apply it to the winning percentages of teams in a single season and compare it to teams in other seasons. The method is very simple:
Find the difference between each team’s winning percentage from the two seasons being compared. For example, the New York Yankees in 2015 had a winning percentage of .537 while the Yankees of 1927 had a winning percentage of .714. The difference is .177 (.714-.537). Do this for all teams and find the average. Then multiply that average by 1000 and subtract it from 1000. Two identical seasons would have a score of 1000.

When comparing years with expansion teams (1961-present) to years before expansion (1901-1960), I only included teams that were active during the two seasons. So when comparing 2015 to 1915, only 16 teams will be included in the comparison since 14 teams were not active in 1915.

I was most curious to see which season is the most similar to 2015. Surprisingly (I guess any season before 2010 would surprise me), the most similar season to 2015 is 1945, which had a similarity score of 966. In fact, this is the second closest match (highest score) between two seasons in the entire history of baseball.

2015 vs 1945 (Similarity Score: 966):

Of course, when comparing 2015 to 1945, we are only considering the winning percentages of 16 of the 30 teams. So if we limit our search to the 30-team era (1998-2015), we’ll find that the most similar season to 2015 is …… 2014. Kind of boring, I know. But it’s natural that the most similar seasons are sequential since that is when team’s will have the most similar personnel.

2015 vs 2014 (Similarity Score: 937):

Now what if we want to see which season is most dissimilar to 2015 during the 30-team era? That would go to the 2002 season.

2015 vs 2002 (Similarity Score: 908):

Which two seasons in history have the most similar winning percentages? The 1922 and 1923 seasons. Again, back-to-back seasons are more likely to have higher scores because their team’s have changed the least.

1923 vs 1922 (Similarity Score: 968):

Next, these two seasons have the most dissimilar winning percentages:

1953 vs 1909 (Similarity Score: 819):

Finally, I’ve included a list of the top and bottom 15 similarity scores of all-time:

Highest Scores				Lowest Scores
Years	Score	Teams		Years	Score	Teams
1923 vs 1922	968	16		1953 vs 1909	819	16
2015 vs 1945	966	16		1954 vs 1909	831	16
1973 vs 1971	963	24		1961 vs 1912	836	16
1957 vs 1956	963	16		1915 vs 1906	836	16
1959 vs 1958	962	16		1946 vs 1906	839	16
1973 vs 1972	962	24		1943 vs 1909	839	16
1997 vs 1959	961	16		2002 vs 1908	840	16
1964 vs 1963	961	20		1956 vs 1912	840	16
1911 vs 1910	961	16		1942 vs 1907	840	16
1931 vs 1930	960	16		1953 vs 1912	842	16
1997 vs 1958	959	16		1942 vs 1913	842	16
1942 vs 1941	959	16		1942 vs 1909	842	16
1937 vs 1936	959	16		1957 vs 1912	843	16
1966 vs 1965	959	20		1928 vs 1915	843	16
1999 vs 1958	958	16		1921 vs 1909	843	16

Just like Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”. Year after year, we watch magic numbers and debate whether or not a team is “done” or if they still have a chance to make the playoffs. Pennant races are one of the countless reasons that make the game of baseball so unique. Some teams, like the 1984 Tigers, go the entire season without much of a fight from their rivals. Some, like the 2007 Mets, get so close to making the postseason, just to have it slip out of their hands. Others, stage what seem like improbable comebacks, after most, if not all fans have counted them out. Here are the nine greatest comebacks in baseball history.

Note: Earlier in the year, I added historical pennant race graphs to the site. These are pennant and wild card win expectancies from every single day in baseball history (1871-present). These expectancies are figured by simulating the remaining schedules 100,000 times, which over the course of baseball history, is 1.7 trillion game simulations. The best way to look at pennant win expectancy is based on a team’s record, the records of their divisional/league opponents and the remaining schedule, this is the probability that they will win the pennant.

9) 1934 St. Louis Cardinals (1.05% probability)

The Challenge:
On September 4th, the Cardinals were tied for second place with the Cubs, seven games behind the defending champion New York Giants. Of the 25 games left to play, St. Louis was scheduled to face teams in the second division 18 times.
How they did it:
The Gas House Gang’s pitchers were led by brothers Dizzy and Paul Dean, who won 49 games between the two of them. They started 13 and won 12 of the team’s final 25 games. St. Louis would tie the Giants for first place on September 28th, with two games remaining.
Before the season began, Giants manager and first basemen Bill Terry was asked how he felt about the Brooklyn Dodgers chances in the upcoming season. He responded “I haven’t heard anything from them lately. Are they still in the league?” Fate would have it that the Giants final two games would come against those same Dodgers. With the Cardinals Paul and Dizzy Dean facing the last place Reds for their final two games, the Giants had a tough battle ahead. Sure enough, the Dodgers were still in the league and would beat the Giants in both games while the Cardinals won their two to advance to the World Series.
World Series:
In the World Series, St. Louis faced the 101-win Detroit Tigers, led by future Hall of Famers Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, Mickey Cochrane & Leon “Goose” Goslin. Down 3 games to 2, the Cardinals tied the series with a late go ahead run in game six. Game seven was a 11-0 route, which included Cardinals left fielder Joe “Ducky” Medwick being forced to leave the field by Commissioner Landis, since Tigers fans were hurling objects in his direction. Medwick had slid hard into third base during the sixth inning, further angering fans who were already down due to their team’s grim prospects. At the time of Medwick’s removal, the Tigers had a 1% series win expectancy.

8) 2004 Houston Astros (1.03% probability)

The Challenge:
On August 26th, the Astros were a game over .500 and trailed the Cubs (7 GB), Giants (6 GB) and Padres (5 GB) for the National League wild card.
How they did it:
Not only did Houston have to surpass three teams to advance to the postseason, those three teams would all have winning records over the final 35 games of the season. That did not stop the Astros, as they would go 28-7 during that same stretch, which would include a 12-game winning streak from August 27th to September 8th. During the winning streak, the Astros offense averaged over nine runs per game, led by Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Lance Berkman, Jeff Kent & mid-season trade acquisition Carlos Beltran. They took the lead in the wild card on October 2nd with one game left to play and clinched the next day with a 5-3 win over the Rockies
Postseason:
After losing to the Braves in the 1997, 1999 & 2001 NLDS, the Astros finally got revenge by beating Atlanta in five games. They went on to face their division rival Cardinals in the NLCS, taking the series a full seven games. In the sixth inning of the final game, Houston had a 2-1 lead before the Cardinals scored three runs on the Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens. The Astros would only get one base runner in the final three innings as the Cardinals advanced to the World Series.

7) 1978 New York Yankees (1.02% probability)

The Challenge:
On July 18th, the defending champion Yankees were in fourth place in American League East and behind their hated rival and division leading Red Sox by 14 games.
How they did it:
In the second year of free agency, the 1978 Yankees roster was filled with high priced stars, clashing egos and colorful personalities, which led them to be referred to as “The Bronx Zoo”. In late July, manager Billy Martin went off on Reggie Jackson and owner George Steinbrenner to reporters. Before he could be fired, he resigned and was replaced by laid-back Bob Lemon. Under the new leadership, the Yankees went 47-20, highlighted by a four game sweep in Boston in mid-September which would leave the two teams tied for the division lead. The series would later be referred to as the “Boston Massacre”. They finished tied after 162 games at 99-63, so a tiebreaker was played at Fenway Park (chosen by coin flip). During the 7th inning, the Red Sox were leading 2-0 and had a win expectancy of 81.6%. That is until light-hitting Bucky Dent hit a three-run homerun that gave the Yankees the lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Postseason:
For the third straight year, the Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. Then they would beat the Dodgers in the World Series for the second season in a row.

6) 1951 New York Giants (0.86% probability)

The Challenge:
On August 11th with 44 games left to play, the Giants were 13 games behind the crosstown rival Brooklyn Dodgers, who were 70-36 and appeared to be well on their way to their third World Series in five years.
How they did it:
From August 12-27, the Giants won 16 straight games, cutting the Dodgers lead to five games. The race would go down to the final day of the season with the two teams tied after 154 games. This resulted in a best-of-three tiebreaker series. The game locations were decided by a coin toss, which the Dodgers won. However, they made a questionable decision to host the first game at home and play the second/third games on the road. After splitting the first two contests, the tiebreaker came down to the final (157th game). Down 4-1 in the 9th inning, the Giants series win expectancy was as low as 3.2%. But a 4 run rally culminating with Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” won the Giants the pennant. Years later, it was revealed that the Giants were stealing signs from center field at their home park during the series.
World Series:
After an exciting regular season finish, the Giants lost the World Series to the Yankees, who were in the middle of winning five World Series in a row. The 1951 World Series was the first for rookies Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle and the final for Joe DiMaggio.

5) 2011 St. Louis Cardinals (0.80% probability)

The Challenge:
On September 5th, the Cardinals were 10 games behind the Brewers in the division and 8.5 games behind the Braves for the Wild Card with 21 games remaining.
How they did it:
From September 9-11, the Cardinals swept a three game series from the Braves, cutting their wild card lead from 7.5 to 4.5 games. It didn’t stop there as St. Louis went 11-5 the rest of the way, while the Braves went 5-10.
The Cardinals comeback coincided with the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League, which ultimately culminated in “Game 162” on September 28th. Tied with Atlanta on the final day, the Cardinals defeated Houston, then retreated to the clubhouse to watch the end of Braves game. Needing a win to stay alive, the Braves had a 3-1 lead against the Phillies going into the seventh inning, before Philadelphia tied it in the ninth. Finally, the Phillies won it in the 13th, allowing the Cardinals to clinch the wild card.
Postseason:
The Cardinals defeated the 102-win Phillies in the NLDS. Then they went on to beat the division rival Brewers in the NLCS. Finally, they continued the dramatics of the regular season in the World Series vs the Rangers. During the 9th inning of game 6, the Cardinals had a 2.1% series win expectancy, but rallied behind clutch hits from David Freese and Lance Berkman to force a game 6 and eventually win the series.

4) 1964 St. Louis Cardinals (0.63% probability)

The Challenge:
On September 20th, with just 13 games left to play, the Cardinals were tied for second place with the Cincinnati Reds while 6.5 games behind the Phillies. At that point, Philadelphia was so close to clinching that they printed World Series tickets.
How they did it:
1964 is remembered much more for the Phillies collapse (and manager Gene Mauch’s questionable managerial moves) than the Cardinals comeback. But just about any comeback requires that other teams under-perform to some extent. The final stretch of the 1964 season produced one of the greatest pennant races in history that saw three teams occupy first place during the final week of the season. In the final 13 games, the Cardinals went 10-3, which included a three game sweep of the Phillies which moved them from third to first place.
World Series:
The Cardinals defeated the Yankees in seven games. Shortly after the series, Cardinals manager Johnny Keane resigned and was quickly hired by the Yankees to be their new manager. In fact, Keane had officially resigned during the pennant race in September.

3) 1973 New York Mets (0.50% probability)

The Challenge:
On August 5th, the Mets were in last place in the National League East and 11.5 games behind the division leading Cardinals.
How they did it:
The “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets got some help from the other National League division (West), who beat up on the Mets Eastern division rivals. Over the final two months of the season, every team in the East, save for the Mets, lost more games than they won while all but one Western division team won more than they lost. But that’s not to take away from the Mets’ accomplishment. They went 34-19 after August 5th and won the division by a game and a half. The pitching staff, led by Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman & Jon Matlack, had a league best 2.63 ERA over the final two months of the season.
They finished the season just three games over .500 (82-79) and have the lowest winning percentage (.509) of any pennant winning team in history.
Postseason:
The Mets defeated the Reds in the NLCS, which was highlighted by the infamous Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose fight. However, the Mets would lose the World Series to the Oakland A’s in 7 games. The series would also be the final games of Willie Mays’ career.

2) 1914 Boston Braves (0.25% probability)

The Challenge:
On July 5th, the Braves were in dead last and 15 games behind the leading Giants. They appeared to be on their way to their 12th consecutive sub-.500 season. What sets the 1914 Braves apart from the other teams on this list is that their comeback began earlier than any other team (just 66 games into the season).
How they did it:
The “Miracle Braves” finished the season 68-19 (after starting off 26-40). The turnaround wasn’t the result of one major change, but that of the entire team. Manager George Stallings used a strict platoon with his left fielders Joe Connolly (158 OPS+) and Ted Cather (115 OPS+), something that hadn’t been done regularly by 1914. Bill James became the ace of the staff, going 19-1 with a 1.55 ERA in 214 innings after July 5th. In the second half of the season, all but one regular batter had a higher OPS than they did in the first.
Not only did they leapfrog seven National League teams, they did it so easily that they finished ahead of the second place Giants by 10.5 games. In fact, they took over sole possession of fist place on September 8th and held on to that spot for the next four weeks. From July 5th until the end of the season, the Braves outscored their opponents by almost 2 runs per game.
World Series:
The Braves swept the defending champion and highly favored Philadelphia Athletics in four games.

1) 1930 St. Louis Cardinals (0.16% probability)

The Challenge:
On August 19th, the Cardinals were in fourth place and ten games back of the first place Cubs with 37 games remaining, 23 of which were on the road. Of the 100,000 simulations from that date, the Cardinals would win the pennant just 160 times, or one in every 625 simulations.
How they did it:
As if that wasn’t a big enough hurdle, the three teams in front of the Cards on August 19th would all play .500 or better the rest of the way. But that is what makes their comeback even more impressive. Sparked by the midseason trade in which they acquired future Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes, the Cardinals went 31-6 over the remaining 37 games and outscored their opponents by more than 100 runs. They tied for first place on September 16th and won the pennant by 2 games. On the final game of the season, after having already clinched the pennant, Dizzy Dean made his major league debut and allowed just one run and three hits in a complete game victory.
The club’s September run included a couple of crazy stories. On September 15th, the Cardinals were in Brooklyn to face the first place Dodgers. With the team being just a game behind in the standings, the next day’s starting pitcher Flint Rhem disappeared. Rhem, who was known to enjoy libations, even during prohibition, wouldn’t reappear until two days later. The story came out that Rhem said to have been kidnapped by several men and forced to drink liquor. However, it was later discovered that manager Gabby Street had concocted the kidnapping story.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, this did not hinder their comeback attempt. But maybe because they had the benefit of a soothsayer, who would instruct manager Gabby Street who to pitch and would correctly predict the outcome of those games. It seemed to work flawlessly until they reached the World Series.
World Series:
The Cardinals lost to Connie Macks’ Philadelphia A’s in 6 games. But the following season, they would exact revenge on the A’s by winning the 1931 World Series in seven games.

The 1930 Cardinals are rarely, if ever mentioned among the greatest comebacks in baseball history. Perhaps it is because their comeback didn’t also include a great collapse from a league rival. Perhaps it is because their roster didn’t include sexy names or inner circle Hall of Famers. A few of the Cardinals that did make it into the Hall of Fame are those that many feel are undeserving or are in the bottom tier (Jim Bottomley, Jesse Haines & Chick Hafey). Whatever the reason, the 1930 St. Louis Cardinals deserve the credit of overcoming the most difficult odds of winning the pennant in baseball history.

Honarable Mention

10) 1883 BSN 1.18%
11) 2005 HOU 1.29%
12) 1936 NY1 1.29%
13) 1938 CHN 1.49%
14) 2011 TBA 1.77%
15) 1974 BAL 2.00%
16) 1988 BOS 2.12%
17) 1969 NYN 2.13%
18) 1987 DET 2.36%
19) 1974 PIT 2.50%
20) 2009 COL 2.56%
21) 1984 KCA 2.59%
22) 1995 NYA 2.60%
23) 2003 FLO 2.65%
24) 2013 LAN 2.79%
25) 2007 COL 2.83%