4.) San Francisco Giants (100-61), 2003
Rdiff: 117 / Postseason: Lost NLDS
In 2003, Barry Bonds, who some consider to be the greatest of all time, got his last opportunity to secure a World Series ring. After losing to the Anaheim Angels in the World Series in 2002, the San Francisco Giants made it to the postseason again in 2003.
Enter Josh Becket and the wild card Florida Marlins.
The Marlins strategy was to take the bat out of Bonds hands, and it worked! After losing game one, the Marlins rattled off three straight victories, eliminating any semblance of power from the Giants. That series, the Giants strung together a meesley .235 BA, .338 OBP, and .301 SLG. Barry Bonds would be walked eight times, more than twice as much as any member of either team.
Bonds would go down in history as the greatest player to never win a championship.
3.) St. Louis Cardinals (100-62), 2015
Rdiff: 122 / Postseason: Lost NLDS
After winning the World Series in 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals would go on to make the postseason four more times after that (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), never securing another ring.
Despite winning the NL Central with the best record in MLB, the Cards hit a wall once they came up against the up and coming, third place finishing, 2nd wild card, Chicago Cubs. After taking game one behind a gem by John Lackey, the Cardinals lost the next three games and were eliminated.
Since then, the Cardinals haven’t made the postseason again. In fact, they have finished third in the division two out of the last three years and face an impending rebuild.
2.) Los Angeles Angels (100-62), 2008
Rdiff: 68 / Postseason: Lost ALDS
In 2008, for the first time in their history, the Los Angeles Angels won 100 games, the most of any team in MLB that season. Despite being favored in the ALDS against the wild card Boston Red Sox, the Angels looked as though they didn’t belong on the same field.
The Red Sox won the series in four games. The only time the Angels managed to squeak in a win, it took 12 innings to do it. This would be the Angels sixth playoff appearance in eight years. After winning the World Series the first year, the Angels would never make it back to the World Series again.