Where were you little whining toads during that whole freaking Chicago Bulls run? Or during the Cowboys’ run? Or the 49ers? Or the Lakers? Or the Celtics? Or UCLA? Or the even god damn New York Islanders? Hell if you overlook the fact that the Braves consistently choke, they’ve been playing at a very high level for longer than the Yanks. And their asshole quotient is muich higher. On the field, in the bullpen and in the front office.
It’s called a dynasty. It’s not unique to the Yanks, and it’s not unique to MLB. It’s sports. It happens. So quit yer bellyaching about too much money and too much talent.
How about next year, we replace a championship series with Awards of Participation. Every baseball player will get one and they can all hug and talk about how they’re all winners just for playing. Just so those lesser teams can feel loved.
The Expos would have made the playoffs. You certainly cannot say you know they’d have won the World Series based on the fact that they were 74-40 with 48 games to go. If you want a list of teams that had the best record in baseball 114 games in and didn’t win the World Series, it would be a long list. The very next season the Indians went 100-44, and they didn’t win the World Series.
In fact, with an eight team playoff system, or even the old four team system, it’s UNLIKELY that the team with the best record will win the World Series:
(Year/Team with best record/World champion)
1980 - NY YANKEES (103-59) Champions PHILADELPHIA (92-70)
1981 - CINCINNATI (66-42) Champions LOS ANGELES (63-47)
1982 - MILWAUKEE (95-67) Champions ST. LOUIS (92-70)
1983 - CHICAGO WS (99-63) Champions BALTIMORE (98-64)
1984 - DETROIT (104-58) Champions DETROIT
1985 - ST. LOUIS (101-61) Champions KANSAS CITY (91-71)
1986 - NY METS (108-54) Champions NY METS
1987 - DETROIT (98-64) Champions MINNESOTA (85-77)
1988 - OAKLAND (104-58) Champions LOS ANGELES (94-67)
1989 - OAKLAND (99-63) Champions OAKLAND
1990 - OAKLAND (103-59) Champions CINCINNATI (91-71)
1991 - PITTSBURGH (98-64) Champions MINNESOTA (95-67)
1992 - ATLANTA (98-64) Champions TORONTO (96-66)
1993 - ATLANTA (104-58) Champions TORONTO (95-67)
1994 - MONTREAL (74-40) No WS
1995 - CLEVELAND (100-44) Champions ATLANTA (90-54)
1996 - CLEVELAND (99-62) Champions NY YANKEES (92-70)
1997 - ATLANTA (101-61) Champions FLORIDA (92-70)
1998 - NY YANKEES (114-48) Champions NY YANKEES
1999 - ATLANTA (103-59) Champions NY YANKEES (98-64)
2000 - SAN FRANCISCO (97-65) Champions NY YANKEES (87-74)
2001 - SEATTLE (118-44) Champions - NY or Arizona
In the last 21 World Series, the major league team with the best record has won it all only four times. In many of these years the champion wasn’t even the SECOND best team.
Some teams still won’t pay that and likely won’t compete. The fans outta give the owner boycott hell for it.
You shave 29 million from the Yankee’s roster and they’re gonna suffer. Distribute that talent elsewhere around the league and they’re gonna suffer even more. They’ll be competitive ever so often but never again will they win 5 out of six or whatever it’s been.
Sour grapes? Horseshit. I’m not a Yankee’s or Diamondbacks or Red Socks or Dodgers fan, but I laugh at your assertions these teams or any others would have had any success without above average money being spent.
Spending the money doesn’t guarantee success but it’s bullshit to think the playing field isn’t severly tilted in it’s present form.
This is a genuine query, not having a go at you yanks!!
Why do they call it a WORLD series? Has anyone from outside North America ever been invited? After all, recent Olympics show there are better players around than Canadians…
and as a fyi, this summer sees a true World Series, where Australia and South Africa play 6 cricket Tests (3 here, 3 there) to decide the numero uno.
Cricket, you laughingly reply? Who plays that? Well, it is the number one sport for the billion people in the Indian subcontinent…how many fans worldwide for baseball?
What? Canadians? When did Canadians become the benchmark for baseball excellence?
It’s called the World Series because the best players in the world play there. There are representatives from the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Dominican, etc, etc, in the US major leagues.
Well, ok, that’s not really why they call it the World Series. They call it that to lend it a bit of sophomoric importance. But the above is reason why it can continued to be called that.
I dunno, never counted. But how many countries play cricket that weren’t originally a colony? Baseball has spread to countries where we didn’t overtly try and stamp out the native culture for 400 years.
