Fansided

50 best MLB teams that didn’t win the World Series

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Oct 25, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of the World Series logo in the St. Louis Cardinals dugout during workouts a day before game three of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of the World Series logo in the St. Louis Cardinals dugout during workouts a day before game three of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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2001 Seattle Mariners. 1. player. 62. . 116-46. Lost in the ALCS

Do you want to know how good the 2001 Seattle Mariners were? With a record of 116-46, which tied the Major League record for wins in a season, the Mariners beat a 102-win Oakland Athletics team by 14 games in the American League West. And the A’s were the second best team in baseball by a full seven games over the AL East champion New York Yankees.

Of course, Seattle lost to those very Yankees in the American League Championship Series, four games to one. It cost the Mariners the first trip to the World Series in franchise history, and remains the closest that the club has ever come to the Fall Classic. To date, only Seattle and the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos have never appeared in the World Series, and the Mariners are one of eight big league clubs that have never won it all.

In 2001, the Seattle Mariners had a much different identity than they had in previous years. After the superstar trio of Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson all left town, the Mariners didn’t seem to have much in terms of star power on their roster. However, that changed quickly when the team signed Ichiro Suzuki out of Japan. Ichiro exploded onto the scene with an MVP season as a rookie in 2001. The 27-year old outfielder led Major League Baseball with 242 hits and 56 stolen bases, and won the AL batting title with a .350 average.

But one player doesn’t win 116 games. The Mariners got career performances from Bret Boone (.331/.372/.578, 37 HR, 141 RBI) and Mike Cameron (25 HR, 110 RBI), as well as a strong season from DH Edgar Martinez (.306/.423/.543, 23 HR, 116 RBI).

Unfortunately for Mariners fans, Seattle’s historic season came to an end because the team’s explosive lineup was neutralized by a New York pitching staff that held the M’s to a total of eight runs in four losses in the ALCS.

Next: The MLB All-Time 25-Man Roster

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