The best teams that didn't win the World Series

These MLB clubs didn’t get to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy, but they are still highly spoken of to this day. Here are the five best baseball teams that did not win the World Series.

5. 2001 Seattle Mariners

The 2001 Mariners won an MLB-record 116 games, but they didn’t even make it to the World Series, getting bounced out in five games in the ALCS by the Yankees (95-65). Ichiro Suzuki batted .350 and won the AL MVP award in his rookie season, but most of his teammates from that year were unable to replicate what they did in 2001 in future seasons. Seattle hasn’t made the playoffs since.

4. 1985 St. Louis Cardinals

The 1985 Cardinals had the best record in baseball (101-61) and were a solid all-around team.

NL MVP Willie McGee (.353 batting average) led the National League’s best offense, which also featured Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith and four-time All-Star Jack Clark. Their pitching staff was the second-stingiest in the game, as it included Cy Young runner-up John Tudor (21-8, 1.93 ERA) and fellow 21-game winner Joaquin Andujar.

St. Louis was a considerable favorite over the 91-71 Kansas City Royals and was on the cusp of clinching the World Series in Game 6, but a blown call at first base by umpire Don Denkinger kept a Royals rally alive. K.C. eventually won Game 6 and completed the upset in Game 7.

3. 1969 Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles were the class of the American League in 1969, winning 109 games. Their lineup featured exceptional players in the prime of their careers including Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell, and Frank Robinson, and their rotation was led by Cy Young winner Mike Cuellar.

Baltimore beat the Twins in the inaugural ALCS to reach the World Series against an upstart New York Mets (100-62) squad. The Orioles won Game 1 with Cuellar against Tom Seaver, but the "Miracle Mets" would take the next four tilts en route to their first championship in franchise history. Baltimore would bounce back in 1970, beating the Reds in the Fall Classic.

2. 1954 Cleveland Indians

The 1954 Indians were the second-best team by winning percentage (.721) to not win the World Series in the modern era.

The 111-win club was led on the mound by the Hall of Fame trio of Bob Feller, Early Wynn, and Bob Lemon and in the field by Hall of Fame outfielder Larry Doby, who was tops in the AL in home runs (32) and RBI (126).

In spite of their enormous talent, Cleveland was swept out of the 1954 World Series by the New York Giants (97-57) in a series that featured Willie Mays’ famed over-the-shoulder catch in Game 1.

1. 1906 Chicago Cubs

At 116-36, the 1906 Cubs produced the best winning percentage in a season in MLB history (.736). Led by the celebrated double-play combo of shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance (all enshrined in Cooperstown), Chicago won the NL pennant by 20 games over the New York Giants. Their rotation was none too shabby either, as Hall of Famer Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown had a league-leading 1.04 ERA and was one of three Cubs starters with a sub-2.00 ERA.

Their World Series opponent was the crosstown rival White Sox (93-58), dubbed "The Hitless Wonders" as they sported an AL-worst .230 batting average. They would hit only .198 in the Fall Classic, but they beat the Cubs’ .196 team average en route to a stunning 4-2 World Series upset. However, the Cubs would win the next two Fall Classics before enduring a 108-year drought between titles. 

Honorable mentions: 1904 New York Giants, 1994 Montreal Expos

The players on the 1904 Giants and 1994 Expos were denied World Series titles due to circumstances beyond their control.

In the case of the Giants, who featured Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson and Joe McGinnity in their rotation, owner John T. Brush refused to play the American League’s Boston Americans in what would have been only the second modern World Series.

The Expos were victims of the 1994 player strike that led to the World Series being canceled. They were a league-leading 74-40 with star pitcher Pedro Martinez leading the way along with a lineup that featured Larry Walker, Moises Alou, and Cliff Floyd.

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