50 best MLB teams that didn’t win the World Series
90. . 98-64. Lost in the NLDS. 2012 Washington Nationals. 50. player
The most recent team on our list, the 2012 Washington Nationals were the best team in the National League with a record of 98-64 – which gave them the first NL East title (and first winning record) since the franchise moved from Montreal prior to the 2005 season. Unfortunately, the season ended in very disappointing fashion.
Washington faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, and the two teams split the first four games of the series, making Game 5 at Nationals Park a winner-take-all event. The Nationals built a 6-0 lead with three runs in the first inning and three more in the third, and took a 7-5 lead into the ninth inning with a chance to win the first playoff series for a Washington Major League team since the Senators won the 1924 World Series. However, closer Drew Storen blew the save opportunity, the Cardinals scored four runs, and held on for the victory.
The loss was certainly disappointing, but with a young roster that included 19-year old NL Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper (22 HR, 59 RBI) and 23-year old Stephen Strasburg (15-6, 3.16) in addition to blossoming stars like Gio Gonzalez (21-8, 2.89) and Jordan Zimmerman (12-8, 2.94), there were still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of Major League Baseball in the nation’s capital.
Nevertheless, the Nationals still haven’t gotten over the hump. The club missed the postseason in 2013, lost again in the NLDS in 2014, and despite being heavy favorites to win the World Series in 2015, have spent the majority of the season hovering around .500 and have been looking up at the New York Mets in the NL East standings since August 3.
Next: 2011 Texas Rangers