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Subject: Worst Baseball Collapses
Posted by: Madman
- [29246911] Wed, Aug 15, 14:38
This is a long way away from actually happening, but seeing the potential collapse of at least one team this year made me wonder -- "What are the worst single-season baseball collapses in history?"
One particular team was 24 games over .500 on July 12th, and on pace to win 103 games. Now they are on pace to win 87, and would appear lucky to finish above .500 (although this current downward momentum is likely exaggerated since this particular team in question has a historically HUGE home-field advantage and has been on the road a lot lately). This accomplishment appears possible despite the fact this particular team added about 35% to its base payroll for the next two years.
Which begs the question -- just how low would they have to go to become the biggest collapse in baseball history? |
| 1 | Mattinglyinthehall
ID: 46440216
Wed, Aug 15, 14:44
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'78 BoSox come to mind. 13 games up in mid August, finished in a tie with the Yankees.
Bucky Dent.
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| 2 | patjams
ID: 347131511
Wed, Aug 15, 14:46
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'77 Cubs?
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| 3 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Wed, Aug 15, 14:47
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in 1969 the Mets climbed from 9.5 games back on Aug 13th to beat out a team.
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| 4 | Mattinglyinthehall
ID: 46440216
Wed, Aug 15, 14:56
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Also, in 1998, Mets needed just one win in their last five games to force a playoff for the NL Wild Card and didn't make it.
Kenny Rogers
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| 5 | Ref
ID: 1442849
Wed, Aug 15, 14:59
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The Dodgers have done it a couple times, Remember Bobby Thompson's Homer to complete one miraculous season comeback?
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| 6 | ChicagoTRS
Sustainer
ID: 4324316
Wed, Aug 15, 15:12
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The famous one in Chicago is the collapse of the 69 Cubs...lost about a 10 game lead in August and I think the worst thing about it is the Mets ended up taking first by like 7 or 8 games so it was like a 17 game swing.
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| 7 | azdbacker, Guru Jr.
Donor
ID: 51392423
Wed, Aug 15, 15:13
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StLCards - that team was the 1969 Cubs.
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| 8 | ChicagoTRS
Sustainer
ID: 4324316
Wed, Aug 15, 15:14
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Didn't the Angels blow a huge lead a few years back.
I think the Red Sox blew like a 5 game lead with a week left in the season...the year Dent hit a homer in Fenway to finish them.
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| 9 | The Left Wings
ID: 456301816
Wed, Aug 15, 15:17
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How about the Mariners in, which one, 95 or 96 when they trailed by about 15 games at one point of the season and ended up tied with the California Angels. They took the playoff spot by winning the extra game, in which Randy Johnson came in to close the game.
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| 10 | ChicagoTRS
Sustainer
ID: 4324316
Wed, Aug 15, 15:18
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69 Cubs facts:
On August 14, the 69 Cubs led St.Louis by 8 1/2 games and the New York Mets by 9 1/2. Something happened along the way to a division title. By August 27, their lead was only 2 games. September was a worse nightmare. The Mets posted a 23-7 record, while the Cubbies struggled to a record of 8-17. The Mets went on to win the World Series.
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| 11 | Chris
ID: 235563022
Wed, Aug 15, 15:22
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I know there was a Philadelphia team that had what was considered the greatest collapse of all time. Can't think of the year for the life of me, but I think they lost the last 10 or 11 games of the season and lost a 7 or so game lead in that span.
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| 12 | ChicagoTRS
Sustainer
ID: 4324316
Wed, Aug 15, 15:23
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78 Red Sox Collapse:
1978 Managed by Don Zimmer, Boston led 2nd place Milwaukee in the AL East by nine games on July 19. The Yankees, in fourth place, were back by fourteen. Going into September the Boston lead over New York was cut to 7-1/2.
September 7, 1978: New York arrived in Boston for a four games series, four games back (with 24 remaining). Ex-Yankee Mike Torrez faced Catfish Hunter. The first inning began with a Butch Hobson error that the Yankees turned into two unearned runs. Torrez gave up four straight singles in the second and was sent to the showers. The Yankee lead was 7-0 before Boston's Hobson had his first at-bat. By the end of the fourth, the Yankees had thirteen hits and were ahead 12-0. New York finished the game with 21 hits and a 15-3 victory.
September 8, 1978: Mickey Rivers hit Jim Wright's first pitch of the game for a single. Rivers stole second on Wright's second pitch, and advanced to third when Carlton Fisk's throw got away from Rick Burleson. Before the Red Sox rookie had delivered his third pitch, New York's leadoff hitter was on third. Wright gave up four runs before being relieved by Tom Burgmeir in the second inning. Burgmeir gave up a single, walk, and a homer to the first three batters he faced. Boston's fielding imploded, and the game ended with a 13-2 Yankee victory. Boston had seven errors.
September 9, 1978: Dennis Eckersley took his 16-6 record (9-0 at Fenway) to the mound to face Ron Guidry. Guidry worked out of trouble in the first inning, and game was calm until the fourth. With two outs, Chris Chambliss singled. Graig Nettles walked, and Lou Piniella hit a single to short-center that fell in between five Red Sox; Bucky Dent blooped a two-strike pitch to short left. By the end of the inning there was another walk, a passed ball, a wild pitch, an error and seven Yankee runs on the board. Those were the only runs scored, and game ended at 7-0. Ron Guidry became the first lefty to shut out Boston at Fenway in four years.
September 10, 1978: Boston's rookie lefthander, Bobby Sprowl, started the game by walking both Mickey Rivers and Willie Randolph. Sprowl could not make it out of the first inning. New York built up a 6-0 lead, and won the game 7-4.
The weekend of September 7 is now known as "The Boston Massacre." The Yankees had a total of 67 hits, and won all four games by an average margin
of over eight runs. The Red Sox had eleven errors. Two weeks later Boston was down by 3-1/2 after losing another two games (out of three) in New York. The Red Sox won twelve of their final fourteen regular season games (including the last eight), forcing only the second one game playoff in American League history.
October 2, 1978, 1:30 pm: Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent entered the game with a batting average of .243, four homers and 37 RBI. 24-game winner Ron
Guidry was on the mound for New York. Carl Yastrzemski hit a solo home run over the right field fence in the second inning. Boston could not score George Scott after he led off the third with a double. In the sixth inning, Rick Burleson doubled, Jerry Remy sacrificed him to third, and Jim Rice drove him in. The Yankees were down 2-0 going into the seventh. Torrez got Graig Nettles out, but Chris Chambliss and Roy White hit a pair of singles. Jim Spencer flied out. Bucky Dent came to the plate with two men on and two out. Dent's three run homer (with the help of a bat borrowed from Mickey Rivers and a lot of help from the wind) made it just over the Green Monster and gave the Yankees the 3-2 lead (listen to the audio clip). Rivers followed with a walk. He stole second and Thurman Munson drove him in. A Reggie Jackson homer made it 5-2 in the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, the Red Sox (now facing Goose Gossage) responded with two runs of their own. New York did not score in the top of the ninth. Gossage struck out Dwight Evans. Rick Burleson walked, and Jerry Remy hit a liner to right field. Lou Piniella, playing right, was staring directly into the setting sun, and could not see the ball. Piniella stabbed blindly, but by luck the ball landed in his glove on one hop. Burleson could only advance to second. Jim Rice moved him to third on a sac fly -- Boston was down 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. With Burleson on third, Red Sox immortal Carl Yatrzemski stepped to the plate. Gossage delivered ball one, on the next pitch Yaz popped out to Graig Nettles, allowing the Yankees to go on to win the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers
for the second consecutive year. Guidry got his 25th win, to go 25-3 on the season. Bucky Dent hit a total of only 40 home runs in his twelve-year major league career.
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| 13 | Kings Fan
ID: 157501417
Wed, Aug 15, 15:24
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How about the Bay Bridge collapsing during the 1989 World Series? Different type of collapse, but nonetheless...
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| 14 | Mattinglyinthehall
ID: 46440216
Wed, Aug 15, 15:26
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The 2000 Yankees certainly attempted such a collapse, but their division rivals apparently refused to allow it.
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| 15 | ChicagoTRS
Sustainer
ID: 4324316
Wed, Aug 15, 15:31
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Good web site for Boston Red Sox colapses...
Chronological History of Amazing Boston Red Sox Losses, Remarkable Collapses and other Record Breaking Feats.
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| 16 | walk
Sustainer
ID: 592181610
Wed, Aug 15, 15:45
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Boy did I read every word of Chicago TRS's account of the boston massacre or what?!? I lived it, and recall watching those games on WPIX 11 when I was 17 very fondly. What a series! Unbelievable. The whole comeback was unreal, and the playoff game was a heartattack waiting to happen. I tellya, it's good to be a yankee fan.
- walk
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| 18 | Mattinglyinthehall
ID: 46440216
Wed, Aug 15, 15:52
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Anyone read Zimmer's autobiography and his accout of that season and that game? He feels the real hero of the one game playoff was Lou Pinella, who knew to shift a few feet toward the line when Yaz came up with runners on in the fifth and was in position to catch what would have been a certain multi-RBI double, that may have changed the outcome of the game.
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| 19 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Wed, Aug 15, 15:56
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1942: Winning 43 out of their last 51 games, St. Louis erased a 10.5 game deficit and passed Brooklyn on September 13th on their way to a world championship.
Maybe not so much a collapse by Brooklyn as an incredible run by St. Louis.
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| 20 | blue hen, almighty
Leader
ID: 34937217
Wed, Aug 15, 16:01
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Gene Mauch was the manager of the 1964 Phillies, who lost to the Cardinals.
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| 21 | Razor
Donor
ID: 6731713
Wed, Aug 15, 16:04
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What about 93 Giants? Sure they won 103 games, but they lost the one that mattered - game number 162 vs. surprise, surprise, LA. Piazza demolished the Giants that day. A great game in the LA/SF rivalry.
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| 22 | ChicagoTRS
Sustainer
ID: 4324316
Wed, Aug 15, 16:09
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64 Phillies:
Phillies lose 10 straight, blow 6 1/2-game lead with 12 remaining in 1964.
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| 23 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Wed, Aug 15, 16:16
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1964 - Cards finish 1 game ahead on both the Reds and the Phils. Thank you Cubbies for Lou Brock that year :)
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| 24 | steve houpt
ID: 20733522
Wed, Aug 15, 16:19
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From memory (??).
64 Phillies had 6 1/2 game lead with 11 to play. They beat Cincinnati last game of season to keep Cinci from tying Cards. Cinci and Phillies finished one game back.
Start of downfall was 1-0 loss to Cinci. Chico Ruiz stole home in 6th. Then lost 4 games to Braves. Finished with 3 and 3 against STL and CIN. Won last game against CIN.
Will check some books I just got from my Dad too see if any of above is 'totally' incorrect.
Team number two in SW is usually named:
"64 Phillies"
Sen Jim Bunning (fathers day perfect game)
Johnny Callison (AS Game 3 run HR)
Richie Allen (before Dick)
Chris Short
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| 25 | steve houpt
ID: 20733522
Wed, Aug 15, 16:31
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Was 12 games to go. Lost 10, won last two.
9-21-64 Mahaffey pitching, sixth inning, Chico Ruiz steals home! Phils lose to Reds 1-0
9-22-64 Short is pounded by the Reds! Phils lose 9-2
9-23-64 Reds Pinson homers twice off Dennis Bennett! Phils lose 6-4
9-24-64 Braves Joe Torre has 3 RBI's vs. Bunning! Phils lose 5-3
9-25-64 John Boozer beaten by Braves in 12th! Phils lose 7-5
9-26-64 Braves Rico Carty triples in ninth off Shantz! Phils lose 6-4
9-27-64 Callison's three homers can't outdo Braves! Phils lose 14-8
9-28-64 Card's Gibson outpitches Short! Phils lose 5-1
9-29-64 Card's Sadecki tops Dennis Bennett! Phils lose 4-2
9-30-64 Former Phil Curt Simmons outpitches Bunning! Phils lose 8-5
On Oct 2nd and 3rd they won, behind the pitching of Roebuck and Bunning; Bunnings' victory
being a 10-0 shutout on the last day of the season. They finished second, tied with Cincinnati,
while St. Louis took the Pennant.
64 Phillies
And I thought the 23 game losing streak in 1961 was bad.
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