Drought alert: MLB teams that could end long ones
By Bill Felber
Oakland Athletics
Billy Beane famously builds teams for the MLB regular season, a fact that frequently frustrates A’s fans in October. Since 2000, the Athletics have qualified for post-season play 11 times, yet they’ve won just one October series, that coming way back in 2006.
They haven’t won a World Series since 1989; that’s 32 seasons. In fact – omen alert – their drought is precisely as long as the Dodgers was until LA won in 2020. That 1989 team made the second of three straight World Series appearances, losing to the Dodgers in 1988, beating the Giants in 1989 and losing to the Reds in 1990.
Could Oakland win it all in 2021? Las Vegas makes them only the 12th favorite. Still, Beane’s approach means Oakland is likely to fulfill one vital requirement of championship teams…surviving into October. If the recent history of post-season ball demonstrates anything, it demonstrates that if you’re playing you have a chance.
Just ask the 2019 Nats, the 2014 Giants, the 2011 Cardinals, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the 2003 Marlins, or the 2002 Angels. All were wild card teams that won it all this century.
The Athletics return most of the core of a team that won 60 percent of its games during the shortened 60-game 2020 MLB season. They were four games better than any other team in their division, a margin that translates to 11 games over the course of a full season.