Baseball disappointments-name your 2 or 3 worst

[rak147]

My biggest baseball disappointments were :

1. Minnesota Twins losing to LA Dodgers in '65 series

2. As best as I recall, and someone correct me if I am wrong,1967-Minn Twins went into Fenway and lost last 2 games of season and Red Sox won pennant; big Twins baseball fan even then and was hurting after that one;

[santotohof]

Ground ball through Leon Durhams legs in 84 and the 69 Mets

[KHenry14]

My disapointments...

1) Game 6 2002 WS

2) Buckner

3) Gibson

4) Earthquake

5) 1987 NLCS

KH14

[billny33]

Hey KHenry, why Buckner if youre more of a bay area fan?

Here's mine

#1 2001 - World Series game 7 9th inning (Luis Gonzales's role in the rally is overrated while Tony Womack's role is underrated. It was Womack's double that truly broke my spirit because I did not believe that such a moment (blowing that 9th inning lead) in such a significant situation was possible against Rivera and the Yankees. I felt it was an incredible tragedy for all those miracles and all that magic of games 3, 4, and 5, the Soriano walk off homer against 116 win-Seattle, the comeback from 2-0 against Oakland in Oakland and the famous Jeter play, the sense of winning to give hope for a heartbroken New York City after 9/11, in fact, that whole World Series and playoff run to me seemed larger than anything in sports I had ever seen before, larger than larger than life in fact-- to go for naught all directly because of one lightning-quick reversal of a rally that lasted a total of 14 pitches and 6 batters. It just didnt seem right. But some of that is probably my bias as a Yankee fan speaking. I do feel Schilling and Johnson, Grace and Williams, Womack and Gonzalez, all were great established players who deserved a ring before they got too old to play the game anymore.

#2 1995 - Division Series Yankees-Mariners. You cant feel any better about a team's chances than you would after that second emotional victory on Leyritz's homer, completely demoralizing Seattle it seemed. And of course there's the thinking "Anybody can win one out of three" Mattingly was finally in the playoffs and it seemed going to the 'real' (at least it seemed more real than ths newly invented ALDS back then) postseason the LCS, very soon. Suddenly all kinds of are-you-kidding-me comebacks befelled the Yankees, Seattle's offense defined clutch, always scoring just enough runs at the very moment you felt your team had them dead. In my eyes, they took away Mattingly's chances at further postseason glory in his final year, as well as a would-be series winning RBI double in the 6th inning of game 5. The team had not won anything at that point and so there were no past memories of championships (at least for me) to fall back on. Showalter then left along with martyr Mattingly (the most painful departure), Mike Stanley, Jack McDowell and many others during what appeared to be a very dark offseason. Little did we know...

#3 1997 - Division Series Yankees-Indians - The old Yankee magic from 96 was certainly still there. Case in point, the oft-forgotten game one of this series. 7th inning the Yanks were behind until back-to-back-to-back glorious homers by Raines, Jeter and O'Neill turned this game on its ear. The Yankees only had to win one of the next 2 games in gms 4 and 5. Game 4's runs came so scarce that the Yanks could only forge a nail-biting 2-1 lead, Rivera wasnt proven the way he is now but that Alomar opposite field HR in the 8th seemed almost flukish. From that point on, the crowd seemed to carry their team to an inevitable victory. Suddenly they make scoring the winning run in the 9th look almost like a breeze when I insisted it wouldnt be so easy. Yet that was even more flukish. The winning run scored on an awkward bouncer off reliever Ramiro Mendoza and bounced to where Jeter had been a second earlier. But no one could have anticipated the ball coming at him on a deflection off a pitcher. Game 5 saw a Yankee comeback from 4-0 that came painfully close to fruition. It was 4-3 in the 9th and we all knew O'Neill, batting 3rd in the inning, would be a savior of sorts. Why everyone else had to go and incompetently swing at the first pitch to loft weak fly balls is anybody's guess. O'Neill's elusive yet just as painful slide into second (he had just scorched a line-drive double off the lower part of the right-centerfield wall, the relay had clearly gotten to second base ahead of him) impossibly beating a tag that had been waiting for him at second base is one of the images I will forever remember as a Yankee fan. It is perhaps the truest example of his competitive spirit as well as how he sacrificed his body for his team's chances of winning yet no one ever speaks of it. All that went up in smoke as Bernie Williams lofted a can of corn to Brian Giles on the very next pitch to end the Yankees season.

Sorry if I got carried away. I guess to me each heartbreak is more than a result of one singular moment or incident and I feel the need to explain how they all connect.

[nightal]

1. Game 6 of the 1985 World Series

2. Game 7 of the 1968 World Series

3. The whole 1987 World Series

[RuthMayBond]

1) The Tribe's 1954 postseason, uh, efforts

2) '97 World Series, game 7 :grouchy

But getting away from my little corner of the world

1) Friggin' Brooklyn in '47 WS, games 5 & 7

2) Friggin' Brooklyn in '52 WS, games 6 & 7

3) Friggin' Brooklyn in '56 WS, games 3 & 5 (a trend here?)

4) Friggin' Braves in '57 WS, games 6 & 7

5) Friggin' Giants in '62 WS, games 3, 5 & 7

I could go on...

[KHenry14]

billny, two simple answers as to why I listed Buckner....

1) I've been sort of a closet Red Sox fan since the '75 series

2) As a baseball fan, I know how much winning that WS would have meant to all those Red Sox fans in New England, and combine that with my loathing of that particular Mets team and you can see why Buckner's gaffe hurt. :ughh

KH14

[Captain Cold Nose]

As someone who has followed the Pirates for a long as I can remember, two words: Sid Bream!

I actually liked the Mets at the time, and disliked the Astros, but I was disappointed that Mike Scott didn't get another chance at them in the 1986 NLCS.

I was very disappointed during the entire 1994 postseason.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally posted by Captain Cold Nose
I was very disappointed during the entire 1994 postseason.

Well, it was "evenly matched", and we didn't have to see the Yanks :p

[Eddie Collins]

Am I the only one who remembers a certain Mike Devereux(sp?) Homerun?

[yellowdog]

1. Mazeroski's HR in Game 7 in the 60' WS. I was a 9 year old, die hard Yankee fan and it took the Yankees winning it in '61 before my disappointment subsided.

2. 1991 World Series Game 7. A surprising year came to a disappointing end in an extra inning classic. At the time I wondered if I'd ever get another chance to see the Braves win a WS.

[catcher24]

1. 1997 WS Game #7 - I've never felt the same about Edgar Renteria since, but the real culprit is Jose Mesa (Mes ap eveythin') - come on, you're paid to get 3 stinking outs!
2. 1962 WS Game #7 - Huge Giants fan at the time (Mays was my favorite player). If only McCovey's long foul had stayed fair - or he hit the liner five feet in either direction!
3. 1986 WS Game #6 - I'm not een a big Redsox fan, but I didn't care for that Mets team.

RMB - You seem to dislike the Yankees (as they were the winners in your Brooklyn & Giants game listings). I understand that, as I personally loathe them. So I'm curious about your #4 choice - did you want the Yanks to win in '57? Milwaukee beat the Yanks in 57 - Burdette won three games. Now in '58, Milwaukee had the Yanks down three games to one, then lost the last three! Just wondering.

[Dizzy]

As a Cardinal fan I would have to say mine would be.

1) Game 7 1996 NLCS Vs. Braves :grouchy

2) Meltdown and complete distruction of Rick Ankiel

[Iron Jaw]

The Cardinals blowing a 3 game to 1 lead against the Tigers in 68'.

The Orioles losing to the Mets in 69'.

The Orioles blowing a 2 game to 0 lead against the Pirates in 1971 and a 3-1 lead against them in 1979.

Lee May hitting a three run homer to avert an Oriole sweep over the Reds in the 1970 World Series. May would later be an Oriole.

The Cardinals trading Ken Boyer to the Mets, Dick Groat and Bill White to the Phillies in 1966.

But really, those are all competitive dissappointments.

The real things that dissappointed me were:

1969 - the move to divisional play.

1972 - the first strike that affected the regular season, erasing 8 games.

1973 - the American League adopting the designated hitter rule on a "three year" trial. The rule was used in the American Association in 1969 and the league/fans dubbed it as a miserable failure. Why the AL wanted it - who knows. Still a thorn in the side. The fans tend to reject it - but the MLBPA is the only entity keeping it afloat - to save some immobile fat guy who makes millions career.

1975 - the beginning of the free agent market. This destroyed the concept of building a team through the farm system and introduced an era of overpaid players.

1981 - the second strike. This one was a mess. It erased 53 regular season games.

1994 - the move to a third division in each league and four teams in each league in the playoffs. Horrible idea. Then - the strike. One that erased 49 games and the entire post season. The only saving grace: In the bastardi$ed four division setup, Texas was leading their division with a sub .500 record. The strike erased the embarrassment of a sub .500 team in the playoffs.

1995 - the continued strike erased the first 18 games of the regular season.

Other items of discontent: The move to regular season, interleague play. The bad part - the games count in the standings despite the fact that teams are not competing against one another in the standings. The "only" good thing about it - American League pitchers finally have to swing a bat when they play in NL parks.

Another item: A tie in the All Star game - and not due to a rainout. Due to the the managers running out of pitchers and too chicken to continue the game with a position player. The game used to be a contest with both leagues desiring to win. It turned into a "I'm great but don't wanna risk my millions by getting my pinky hurt" show.

[Cubbie Blue]

2 still very fresh wounds

Game 6 NLCS 2003

Game 7 NLCS 2003

[catcher24]

Are there no Redsox fans on this site? I can't believe no one has mentioned game #7 of the ALCS last year!

[RuthMayBond]

Originally posted by catcher24
RMB - You seem to dislike the Yankees (as they were the winners in your Brooklyn & Giants game listings). I understand that, as I personally loathe them. So I'm curious about your #4 choice - did you want the Yanks to win in '57? Milwaukee beat the Yanks in 57 - Burdette won three games. Now in '58, Milwaukee had the Yanks down three games to one, then lost the last three! Just wondering.

My bad, I meant '58 not '57

[MetsFan11368]

Biggest disappointments?

OK, here they are.

1) Game 7 – 1973 WS
Thanks a lot, Reggie & Bert.

2) Game 7 – 1985 WS
Thanks a lot, George Brett.

3) Game 7 – 2001 WS
Thanks a lot, Gonzo.

[VTSoxFan]

Originally posted by catcher24
Are there no Redsox fans on this site? I can't believe no one has mentioned game #7 of the ALCS last year!

It still hurts too much to talk about much. They showed the retrospective of the Sox's '03 season on TV the other night and I couldn't watch Game 7. Just couldn't do it. Don't know if I ever will. :(

This one was worse than '86, because then, we still had another game. Last fall... we had it in the bag. We had it in our HANDS... and then to see Pedro hung out to dry like that in the midst of 55,000 people who despised the very air he breathed, all screaming with unholy glee... when every Sox fan in the known universe was screaming at their TVs and radios in unison "TAKE HIM OUT!!" And Grady left him there!! Oh god... It was exquisite, refined torture of the most spirit-breaking kind. The Spanish Inquisition never had tortures that effective. Torquemada would have loved it.

See? I tell ya, I just get too upset about it. :(

[BaseballBrian]

As disappointed as I was in the Dodgers beating the A's in '88(I'm an A's fan), I found their other postseason failures more difficult to take.
While the '88 Series seemed like some kind of fluke, it was 1990 that really bugged me. Seeing Jose Rijo and the 'Nasty Boys' totally dominate the A's made me sick!
I had been firmly convinced the Reds were a real fluke, and that they only lucked out because the NL WEst had been so mediocre that year. The A's just never showed up for Game 1, and it only got worse from there!
Canseco's butchering of that 8th-inning fly ball by Billy Hatcher in Game 2 really sums up the last few years of his A's career for me!
Seeing Eckersley lose another World Series game was even worse!
Game 3 was quite possibly one of the worst Series games ever played; Mike Moore looked like a zombie during pregame warmups, and proved that he had nothing. The A's got hammered 8-3 in a game that was over by the third inning.
Game 4 was a tease: We finally got that pitchers' duel between Rijo and Stewart, and the A's actualy scored an early run. Then Hatcher and Davis go down with serious injuries. Even if the A's couldn't win the Series, they suddenly had a good chance to send it back to Cincinnati.
But, the A's couldn't get anyone on base after the second inning, and in the eighth, 'little ball' by the Reds, with an A's error for bad measure, set up a 2-1 win...and Rijo, 'vindicated' after being traded by Oakland, won the MVP...Aaaargh!
To Rijo's credit, that season marked the start of 5 or 6 good years for him...while Canseco wore out his welcome fairly quickly!

The other one that sticks in my mind: Game 4 of the '92 ALCS: The A's can't hold a 5-run leadin the 8th, Eck has to come in early, barely survives the 8th with a 6-4 lead, and then gets tagged by Alomar in the 9th!
That '92 A's team was more flawed than the '88 through '90 versions. They just didn't have enough pitching depth, and couldn't make it to a potential Game 7 with Ron Darling pitching at Skydome(where he'd had an inordinate amount of success in his career).

[Iron Jaw]

Originally posted by VTSoxFan
when every Sox fan in the known universe was screaming at their TVs and radios in unison "TAKE HIM OUT!!" And Grady left him there!! Oh god... It was exquisite, refined torture of the most spirit-breaking kind. The Spanish Inquisition never had tortures that effective. Torquemada would have loved it.

See? I tell ya, I just get too upset about it. :(

How about the 67' World Series - when they threw Jim Lonborg on the mound with 2-days rest. Lonborg had already pitched two completes, tossing a 1-hitter and a 3-hitter. But he faced Gibson in the finale, who also tossed two complete game victories - one a shutout, the other should have been, except BoSox pitcher Jose Santiago homered. However Gibby had three days rest for the finale - and of course, the Cards blasted Lonborg 7-2 with Gibby himself hammering a longball. Now, of course, I loved that game.

[VTSoxFan]

Well, that was before my time. I get a scowl when I read about it, same as I get mad when I read about Denny Galehouse. Why did DENNY GALEHOUSE start the 1-game playoff with Cleveland in '48???

Last year, though... I get nauseated if I think on it too hard.

[LouGehrig]

Originally posted by billny33
#1 2001 - World Series game 7 9th inning (Luis Gonzales's role in the rally is overrated while Tony Womack's role is underrated. It was Womack's double that truly broke my spirit because I did not believe that such a moment (blowing that 9th inning lead) in such a significant situation was possible against Rivera and the Yankees.


Yes, you are, sadly, correct. That was the hit that brought home the realization that we could and would lose.

1960 was second worse because it was a WS and not a game that was needed to get to the WS.

[catcher24]

VTSox Fan - As a diehard Yankee hater, I feel your pain. As a Tribe fan, I can relate wholeheartedly. Refer to WS Game #7, 1997, Indians ahead of Marlins in 9th, 3 LOUSY OUTS TO GO. Jose Mesa blows the save, and Renteria drives a stake though the heart of Indians fans everywhere in the 11th. SOOOO CLOSE!!!

[Jose Tartabul]

Mine are:

1. Bud Selig being appointed acting commisioner
2. Bud Selig being appointed commisioner
3. Bud Selig remaining commisioner

[billny33]

Yeah, 1960 seems like it would have been a colossal letdown to live through, also 1964. Im sure 1980 and 81 were pretty bad too cuz the Royals and Dodgers were both huge rivals all yankee fans probably hated. I wonder which loss was more painful.

But 1960 I think is also the greatest david-goliath story in baseball history, so from a historical viewpoint I find it greatly intriguing.

[dgarza]

Originally posted by Iron Jaw


1981 - the second strike. This one was a mess. It erased 53 regular season games.
Especially for the Reds. With 2 catchers batting over .300 and Seaver with a 14-2 record. It was the last year of any real remnant of the Big Red Machine and they got squat for their record. After '81, the team would sink into to basement until Rose and Schott came along. Go figure.

[MetsFan11368]

Originally posted by Iron Jaw



1981 - the second strike. This one was a mess. It erased 53 regular season games.




That one really had to hurt, considering the Reds in the end had a better overall record (66-42) than the Dodgers did (63-47) yet the Dodgers were the ones going to the playoffs.

[The Dude]

1. 1982 WS Game 7 Rainout (yeah, I wasn't born yet, but I have all 7 games on tape and the clips from the nightly Milwaukee News programs).

2. Randy Johnson's 20 K's not being counted as 20 K's in a 9-inning game (like Wood, Clemens, and Clemens).

[catcher24]

1981 Strike - Yeah, the Reds got stiffed good in 81. Same thing happened to the Cardinals in the East. They had the best overall record (59-43, .578 pct.), but the Expos went to the playoffs (60-46,.556 pct.). The way they "reconciled" that 1981 strike by dividing the season didn't make a whole lot of people happy.

[Iron Jaw]

Originally posted by catcher24
The way they "reconciled" that 1981 strike by dividing the season didn't make a whole lot of people happy.

My choice after the 1981 strike would have been to revert to a straight league for the season and let the two teams with the best record go straight to the World Series. It would have made more sense than the asanine, class b minor league split season format. Heck, Kansas City made the cut and they were under .500 that year.

I remember how ticked off my dad was about the strike. He said they should make the greedy ba$tard$ play double headers every day and play as late in the year as necessary in order to finish the *%$&*@ 162 game season. Now that resolution would have made them think twice about striking again. But then, I doubt it.

[ElHalo]

1. 2001 Game 7 of the WS, largely for the reasons mentioned before (it just didn't seem POSSIBLE that we would lose).

2. Dodgers leave Brooklyn (yeah, I wasn't born yet, but to this day, my grandmother gets misty eyed when she tells me about what she was doing when she heard they were leaving... and my mother, who had been a big baseball fan as a kid, stopped watching the game and hasn't seen a baseball game since).

3. Barry Bonds NOT tripping on a storm grate at the age of 20 and prematurely ending his baseball career.

[Chisox73]

#1. GAME 4-1983 ALCS;White Sox starter Britt Burns was pitching the game of his life against the Baltimore Orioles in Game 4,with the White Sox facing elimination.Late in the game,White Sox SS Jerry Dybzynski was hung up betwen 2nd and 3rd base squashing what could have been the game winner.Then in the 10th inning with the score 0-0,burns gave up an upper deck home run to tito Landrum on his 150th pitch.The o's won the game 3-0 in 10,and the '83 pennant.

#2. GAME 5- 1981 NLCS;With the Montreal Expos just a few outs away from bringing home Canada's 1st pennant.Expos ace Steve rogers was summoned form the bullpen to lock up the series.But Dodger OF Rick Monday had other ideas.He sent a fastball over the right center field wall as Andre Dawson lept in vain.The Dodgers would win the game and the '81 pennant in ice cold Olympic Stadium.

[Retire21]

1) Game seven 2001 Series. Mostly for the ball that Mariano Rivera threw away, but also for what happened earlier. The blown call in the second when Paul O'neil was called out at third when everyone knew he was safe. Had that call been made right, he would have scored on that next fly ball and the ninth inning is played completly different.

2)1995 ALDS. For Donnie Baseball to get that far and have the rug pulled out...

3)1997 series in total. Two wild card teams in the biggest show on earth! Sacrelige.

[billny33]

Hey Retire, as I believe, even as a Yankee fan, the O'Neill play was not a blown call at all. The throw beat him, the tag beat him. There was no argument from O'Neill or Torre that I remember or mention of a questionable call from Joe Buck, Tim McCarver or Dan Patrick who did the SportsCenter hilight of it that night. It was also the first inning, not the second.

[125osprey]

SUNDBERG TRIPLES IN SIXTH;
ROYALS COME BACK FROM 3-1 SERIES DEFICIT!

October 16, 1985 at Exhibition Stadium, Toronto


JAYS DROP SEVEN STRAIGHT;
TIGERS WIN THE EAST!

Final seven games of 1987 schedule


MONDAY HOMERS OFF ROGERS;
DODGERS WIN THE PENNANT!


October 19, 1981 at Stade Olympique, Montreal

[RuthMayBond]

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B10260FLO1997.htm :grouchy :grouchy

[Ubiquitous]

The 1985 Cubs. They got off to a good start after their great 1984 Season (for Cubs anyway) and then injuries to the pitching staff submarined the cubs chances after a couple of months. The Cubs were in first place by four games on June 11th, and then like a typical Cubs team they then lost 13 games in a row to send them 4.5 games back. A place they never really recovered from.

1989 Cubs Playoffs. Going 4-1 in the playoffs that year after very good performances out of Grace, MAddux, Sandberg, Bielecki, and Williams was crushing.

2001 Cubs season. AS of Sept 1st the Cubs hold a slim lead on the Wild Card spot and are 3 games back of the division lead. They then go 12-15 and finish 5 games back. With the Cubs losing 4 games out of 6 to the Pirates (one of the worst teams in the majors that year and losing two out of three against the MArlins who ended up only winning 76 games that year. Throw in a sweep by thge Braves right after they dropped two to Florida and the season was gone. That is 9 losses that if they managed to win just one against the Braves and 4 more against the Pirates and Marlins and presto a three way tie for first. Yeah at that point that is kind of a long shot but this was a team that was in first place all the way until the middle of August and still had a shot at the playoffs going into September.

2005 WS. No matter how it went it wasn't going to be good. either the Astros win or the Sox.

[redsoxfansg]

Bill Buckner...
I think thats all that needs to be said...

[Elvis]

1982 - Joe Morgan homer off Terry Forster

1985 - Ozzie Smith Homer off Tom Niedenfuer.

1985 - Jack ******* Clark homer off Tom ******* Niedenfuer.

1998 O'Malley sells Dodgers to FOX.

[geezer]

Mine are:

1. Bud Selig being appointed acting commisioner
2. Bud Selig being appointed commisioner
3. Bud Selig remaining commisioner

Besides that, my disappointments were the following:

The Marlins beating the Yankees (I stopped following the Yanks after that)

The Yankees collapse against Boston, make me laugh hahahaha but was a little disappointing.

The Braves beating the Tribe (I hated the Braves and considered the Indians a superior team in 1995)

The Tribe beating the Orioles (I was still upset at them for losing to Atlanta in 1995)

Arizona beating Mariano Rivera in game 7 (Mariano was shown dead nervous when he was in the dugout before coming out at the bottom of the 9th)

[cup2006sensrule]

As an Expo fan my bad Memories trump most others...

1) 1994 lockout ends season as the Expos are in first place with a stacked team at 77-40 and have great shot at finally winning the World Series.

2) 1995, 1996 All the great players on 1994 team leave town

3) The Washington Nationals

[Jake83]

1. End of 1991 season. The Hated Giants broke my 8 year old heart ( But my father told me after the last game we will get the Giants back and we did in 93:D )

2. O'Malley selling the team

3. The disappointing 90's( First decade the Dodgers weren't in a World Series since the 30's:eek: :eek: )

[Francoeurstein]

1. Lonnie Smith's error in '91
2. '94 strike ( just hated it )
3. '99 series i hate losing to the yankees.

[soberdennis]

As someone who has followed the Pirates for a long as I can remember, two words: Sid Bream!

I actually liked the Mets at the time, and disliked the Astros, but I was disappointed that Mike Scott didn't get another chance at them in the 1986 NLCS.

I was very disappointed during the entire 1994 postseason.
Weren't we all in 1994. I think the most disappointed had to be the Yank and Expo fans since they had the best records.
Of course, the Yanks came back. But it was the best chance for Don Mattingly to get to the WS.
Since the Expos never got there, they had to be the most disappointed.
Also I was hoping Gwynn would get to .400 that year.

[soberdennis]

The Cardinals blowing a 3 game to 1 lead against the Tigers in 68'.

The Orioles losing to the Mets in 69'.

The Orioles blowing a 2 game to 0 lead against the Pirates in 1971 and a 3-1 lead against them in 1979.

Lee May hitting a three run homer to avert an Oriole sweep over the Reds in the 1970 World Series. May would later be an Oriole.

The Cardinals trading Ken Boyer to the Mets, Dick Groat and Bill White to the Phillies in 1966.

But really, those are all competitive dissappointments.

The real things that dissappointed me were:

1969 - the move to divisional play.

1972 - the first strike that affected the regular season, erasing 8 games.

1973 - the American League adopting the designated hitter rule on a "three year" trial. The rule was used in the American Association in 1969 and the league/fans dubbed it as a miserable failure. Why the AL wanted it - who knows. Still a thorn in the side. The fans tend to reject it - but the MLBPA is the only entity keeping it afloat - to save some immobile fat guy who makes millions career.

1975 - the beginning of the free agent market. This destroyed the concept of building a team through the farm system and introduced an era of overpaid players.

1981 - the second strike. This one was a mess. It erased 53 regular season games.

1994 - the move to a third division in each league and four teams in each league in the playoffs. Horrible idea. Then - the strike. One that erased 49 games and the entire post season. The only saving grace: In the bastardi$ed four division setup, Texas was leading their division with a sub .500 record. The strike erased the embarrassment of a sub .500 team in the playoffs.

1995 - the continued strike erased the first 18 games of the regular season.

Other items of discontent: The move to regular season, interleague play. The bad part - the games count in the standings despite the fact that teams are not competing against one another in the standings. The "only" good thing about it - American League pitchers finally have to swing a bat when they play in NL parks.

Another item: A tie in the All Star game - and not due to a rainout. Due to the the managers running out of pitchers and too chicken to continue the game with a position player. The game used to be a contest with both leagues desiring to win. It turned into a "I'm great but don't wanna risk my millions by getting my pinky hurt" show.
I'm always disappointed by strikes. 1981 and 1994 were absolutely the worst seasons for a base3ball fan. At least in 81, they had a postseason

[RuthMayBond]

Actually I had two in 1997. I was camped under Javy Lopez's home run in the All-Star game, just waiting for it to come down and it would be mine. It clangs off the foul pole :grouchy :grouchy

[baseball junkie]

My worst baseball disappointment was the 1988 NY Mets. They won 100 regular season games and lead the NL East by 15 games -- back when there were only two divisions in each league.

The team was packed with hitting talent, including potent sluggers Gary Carter, Howard Johnson, Kevin McReynolds and Darryl Strawberry. The Mets' offensive spark plug was Lenny Dykstra. Mookie Wilson and Keith Hernandez provided the veteran presence

The startng rotation consisted of Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Bobby Ojeda and Ron Darling and combined for 77 wins! The bullpen consisted of pitchers like Roger McDowell (159 career saves), Rick Aguilera (318 career saves) and was lead by a closer who should be in the Hall of Fame: Randy Myers. He posted a 1.72 ERA in 1988 and finished up his career with 347 saves.

Not even two years earlier the Mets had won the World Series over the Red Sox. In the NLCS the Mets were paired against perhaps the worst team to ever win a World Series -- the '88 L.A. Dodgers.

As a team the Dodgers posted a .214 batting average and a .290 on-base percentage in the NLCS and still won! How? The Bulldog. Orel Hershisher threw 24.7 innings at a 1.09 ERA and earned a save. More importantly in game 7 he threw a complete game shutout. The potent Mets' offense managed only 5 hits. The Mets choked in the biggest game in franchise history, a game that could have sent them to a second World Series in three years and launched a New York dynasty.

Instead the Mets choked and didn't make the playoffs again for 11 years.

Of course the end of the 1994 season was awful, too.

[Where is Chone Figgins]

1986 ALCS Game 5 The Crackhead Dave ****in Henderson's HR off a name never will be repeated by me or most Halo fans. Henderson then joins the A's and torments the O.C. even more

2005 ALCS Game 2 Bottom of the 9th Kelvim Escobar strikes out the ****sucker A.J. Piemendibfuifuhsidhujgbryh and Doug Eddings raises his arm to call the strike out but A.J. runs for 1st as the ANgels leave the field to hit and A.J. is called safe because Eddings was payed off by the Irish Mob in Chicago.
What happens next goes down in postseason lore.

1995 10 Game lead beginning of August Mariners go on an unbelievable win and the Angels can not buy a win. ANgels come back on the back of Chuck Finley in the last week to force a One game playoff in the Kingdome The Big Unit dominates the Angels and from 86 to 2002 Angels never were closer to playing postseason baseball

1998 season Angels fight and claw through out the year on the back of Darin Erstad but were swepted by Texas in Arlington to give Texas a 2 game lead Angels fought back to tie for 1st entering a 3 game series in Anaheim with 6 games to play but the
Angels in the 1st game fo down by 6 runs and Texas swepted the series ending our postseason hopes.

[west coast orange and black]

2002 world series game 6, inning 8

1989 world series result

1971 world series result

[Food]

3)1997 series in total. Two wild card teams in the biggest show on earth! Sacrelige.

Agreed. Sloppiest World Series I've ever seen. Going to extras in Game 7 only partially makes up for it.

2002 - Again, two wild card teams. Seven games, but I knew as I was watching it that these were not the two best teams in baseball in the first place.

1985 - Denkinger's blown call made everything that came after look like a joke.

[yankillaz]

1. Game 7, 1997 WS
2. Game 7, 2003 LCS
3. Game 5, 2000 LDS

[Seattle1]

1. Mariners lose to the Indians in the 1995 ALCS.

2. Mariners lose to the Yankees in the 2000 ALCS.

3. Mariners lose the last game of the 2001 regular season to just miss getting the stand-alone record for most regular-season MLB wins, then later lose to the Yankees in the ALCS.

Rats! :ughh

[Eastvanmungo]

1994... the strike robs the Expos of a chance to finally go all the way. The franchise never recovered.

The conspiracy guy in me thinks the MLB manufactured (or had some kind of hand in) the post strike HR explosion just to drum up attendance.
Since then, baseball has just been a bunch of steroid monkies hitting the long ball.

[Chelle]

3. Games 5, 6 and 7 of the 1979 WS

2. Peter Angelos becoming owner of the Orioles.

1. Watching Jeffrey Maier steal the ball that would have landed in Tony Tarasco's glove in Game 1 of the ALCS in '96 (I can still feel it in my soul).

[Murderers Row]

2001 World Series really, really, really broke my heart. I'm only 16 years old. So I never saw them win in 96, 98, 99, and 2000. So in 2001 I was 12, and it was the first World Series that I saw every inning of. As soon as Rivera threw the ball away at second base, I knew it was over but I didn't loose hope entirely. After Luis hit the ball over the pulled in infield I broke out in tears. I couldn't sleep that night. I just cried and cried.

[BoweryBoys]

Realignment to three divisions per league
Uneven number of teams between leagues
Interleague Play
The Wild Card
Players who show no respect for the uniform and wear the pant legs almost dragging in the dirt behind their shoe heels.
Players who show no respect for the uniform and it looks they they are wearing very baggy pajamas on the field.
Players who have forgotten how to wear their stirrups in the classy manner circa the 50's and 60's.
Players who wear their stirrups as if they think they are playing against Ruth and Cobb circa 1922.
Winner of All Star Game receiving home field advantage in WS.
Wild Card teams suffering no meanigful disadvantage in playoffs after not even finishing first.

BUD SELIG!

[wamby]

3)1997 series in total. Two wild card teams in the biggest show on earth! Sacrelige.

The 1997 World Series had only one wild card team. That said it was one of the worst played series that I've seen.

The 2002 Series had two wild card teams.