Houston Astros: Three reasons not to worry about the Cleveland Indians
How Did Great Teams Fare in Postseason?
It’s time for a history lesson in House of Houston 101. Today, we talk about the teams in the past that have been successful with winning streaks and how far they went. Let’s begin with Brad Pitt’s baseball alter ego and talk about the 2002 A’s.
Moneyball is one of the best sports movies out there and if the Oscars were smarter, it would’ve Best Picture and given Pitt and Jonah Hill an Oscar. The movie tells the story of how a limited budget team became one of the best teams in 2002 with a strategy by their GM to find good players.
What the team got was an American League record 20 straight wins?
But how did the A’s do in the playoffs? SPOILER ALERT: Not good at all.
Then we go to the 1977 Kansas City Royals. They won 16 in a row too. What did it get them?
Five games which made The Bronx is Burning a great miniseries.
Now let’s shift to the 1935 Chicago Cubs. They won a league record 21 straight games. How did they do in the World Series that year? Lost in 6 to the Detroit Tigers.
1947 Yankees – Barely defeated Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games.
1916 New York Giants – Didn’t qualify for the World Series.
1904 New York Giants – Refused to play the AL Champs in the World Series.
Conclusion
The link you see above has an article with all the winning streaks of 16 or over. Of the teams listed, eight of these teams reached the fall classic and only three (1909 Pirates, 1947 Yankees, 1953 Yankees) went on to win the World Series title.
Now that does not mean it doesn’t guarantee the Indians a championship. But the odds here don’t favor the Indians winning it all. They may be the favorites to represent the American League, but who’s to say they’ll win it all?