10 greatest pennant chases in Major League Baseball history
6. 1964 National League: Phillies Lose Ten in a Row
Sometimes a good team plays terribly at the worst possible time, which ends up costing it a shot at the World Series. And sometimes another good team takes advantage of such a situation by playing its best baseball of the season at that exact moment, and rides the momentum all the way to a world title.
The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies spent the first half of the season jockeying for first place in the ten-team National League. By late July, the Phils took control of the league and by August 20 had expanded their lead over second place Cincinnati and San Francisco to a season-high 7.5 games. Fourth place St. Louis was ten games back in the standings.
Over the next 29 games, the Phillies were a mediocre 15-14, but maintained a healthy 6.5-game lead over the Reds and Cardinals. Then, Philadelphia did the unthinkable. With just 12 games left on the schedule, the Phillies lost ten games in a row, three each to Cincinnati and St. Louis, who both surged ahead in the standings.
The Phillies finished the season with two wins over the Reds, but the damage had already been done. On the strength of an eight-game winning streak, including a three-game sweep of the Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals took first place for the first time all season September 30, following game No. 158 of 162.
With an 11-5 win over the New York Mets four days later, the Cardinals secured the unlikeliest of World Series bids. The Phillies suffered the embarrassment of one of the biggest meltdowns in Major League Baseball history.
After a thrilling seven-game World Series against the New York Yankees, the Cardinals were World Champs.
Next: 1993 National League West