50 best MLB teams that didn’t win the World Series
49. player. 95. . 96-66. Lost in the World Series. 2011 Texas Rangers
The 2011 Texas Rangers came as close as any team in history from winning the World Series, only to fall short.
After failing to win the first World Championship in franchise history in the Fall Classic in 2010, the Rangers entered the 2011 season with a purpose. With a record of 96-66, Texas won the AL West by a comfortable ten games, then beat the Tampa Bay Rays three games to one in the ALDS and knocked out the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in the ALCS. Following a 4-2 victory in Game 5 of the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Rangers had a chance to win it all in Game 6 at Busch Stadium.
In a back-and-forth contest, the Rangers scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 7-4 lead. After the Cardinals scored one run in the eighth, the Rangers turned to closer Neftali Feliz with a two-run lead in the ninth inning. Feliz allowed two baserunners but also recorded two outs before David Freese came to the plate. With two strikes on him – putting the Rangers just one strike away from winning the game and the series – Freese connected on a long fly ball that Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz couldn’t track down, which resulted in a game-tying triple.
The Rangers scored two runs in the top of the tenth on a Josh Hamilton home run, and once again were one strike away from celebrating a World Series victory, but Lance Berkman’s RBI single tied the game again. In the 11th inning, Freese won the game with a walk home run, and the next day, the Cardinals won Game 7 by a score of 6-2 to capture the series.
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