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MLB Postseason: The biggest losers of the past decade

By Bill Felber

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Zack Greinke #21 of the Houston Astros is taken out of the game against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning in Game Seven of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Zack Greinke #21 of the Houston Astros is taken out of the game against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning in Game Seven of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

These 10 teams proved themselves superior during their regular seasons but came up losers in the MLB Postseason.

Before the MLB Postseason begins on Tuesday, it’s vital that one thing be understood. This month-long exercise is not about identifying and recognizing the game’s best team.

If that were the purpose, the post-season would involve only the half dozen teams that have established themselves as the best in their respective divisions. After all, if you’re not the best team in the NL Central, it’s not possible for you to be the best team in baseball.

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No, the postseason is not about picking a champ. It’s about what everything else in America is about. It’s about the money.

That’s why the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams this season…to generate maximum revenue. MLB, the owners, and players will all derive more than half their season-long income from what is about to transpire over the next few weeks, the bulk of it from television rights.

There’s nothing new in that fact; it’s been obvious since MLB first admitted non-division winners to the playoff competition a quarter-century ago.

But it is important for fans, especially those of the really exceptional teams, to understand. Are you listening, Los Angeles Dodgers?

You and each of you are about to enter a world where events transpire in a vortex. The result is often unpredictability.

Since 2011 alone,  the World Series has been won five times by a team that did not have the best record in its league. Three times that champion had the eighth-best record among playoff teams.

For details about the unpredictability of playoffs, we need look no further than 2019, when the Washington Nationals – a wild card entry – emerged as the champion. The Nats were one of those three winners who began play with the eighth-best record: their win total was exceeded by Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Minnesota, Atlanta, Oakland, and Tampa Bay.

The 2011 Cardinals and 2014 Giants also came out of the eighth starting gate to win it all.

Only four times in that same period has a team with the best regular-season record in its league won the World Series. Those four lucky survivors were the 2013 Red Sox, the 2015 Royals, the 2016 Cubs, and the 2018 Red Sox.

So beware, 2020 Dodgers (42-17 entering play Sunday) and Rays (39-20), there be demons ahead and they’re out to get you.

Here’s a look at the 10 best teams of the past decade that did not go on to win the sport’s ultimate prize.

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