50 best MLB teams that didn’t win the World Series
. 103-59. 2nd Place, NL West. 1993 San Francisco Giants. 46. player. 31
Some of the greatest teams to fall short of a World Series title never even had an opportunity to prove their worth in a playoff series. The 1993 season was the last in Major League Baseball to feature two divisions in each league, with the champions of each division meeting directly in the League Championship Series. Because the playoff platform did not include a Wild Card team, if a team finished in second place – even if they won 103 games during the regular season – they would be left out completely.
This was the exact scenario that the San Francisco Giants suffered through in 1993. The Giants played in the NL West, which also included the Atlanta Braves, who were included in the division when the franchise resided in Milwaukee and were never shifted following a relocation to the Eastern Time Zone in 1966. Therefore, the star-studded lineup that included recently acquired free agent and ’93 NL MVP Barry Bonds (.336/.458/.677, 46 HR, 123 RBI, 29 SB) and fellow sluggers Matt Williams (38 HR, 110 RBI), Will Clark (14 HR, 73 RBI) and Robby Thompson (19 HR, 65 RBI) were forced to regularly face off with Atlanta’s Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
The Giants’ pitching staff, which included 20-game winners Bill Swift (21-8, 2.82) and John Burkett (22-7, 3.65) and menacing closer Rod Beck (2.16, 48 saves) were called on to neutralize Atlanta’s potent lineup that featured David Justice, Ron Gant, Fred McGriff, and more – in addition to the rest of the league.
For the most part, the Giants excelled. After all, they won 103 games, which was more than anyone in baseball – aside from the Atlanta Braves. And when the Giants squandered a 9-game lead in the standings to lose the division by a single game, they were forced to watch the Braves play (and lose) in the NLCS.
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