Top 25 MLB pennant races of all time

11. Dodgers, Braves and Reds go to the wire, 1956

With the New York Yankees running away with the AL pennant in 1956, MLB fans were treated with one of the best pennant races in league history on the NL side with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Milwaukee Braves and Cincinanti Reds duking it out until the final day of the season. This was the second-to-last year in Brooklyn for the Dodgers.

All three teams went through their own various losing streaks and slumps as they tried to stay atop the National League through September. The Braves were led by a young Henry Aaron, who, in his age-22 season, won the NL batting title and led MLB with 200 hits. Milwaukee was able to open up a 5.5-game lead in July and even maintained a 3.5-game lead into early September. They would continue to slide the rest of the way, and finished the year 92-62 in second place.

Brooklyn was able to capitalize on the misery of the Braves and edged into first place by sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates to end the season. They were only in first place for 10 days the entire year, but went to the World Series to face the Yankees where they lost.

This was just the beginning of an exciting period of baseball for the Braves in Milwaukee. They did not choke away the pennant in 1957 when Aaron led MLB in home runs and RBI and won the NL MVP. The Braves were able to win the World Series in seven games over the Yankees, and went back once again in 1958 where they came up a game short of repeating. The Braves continued to have winning seasons in Milwaukee until their move to Atlanta in 1966, but this three-year stretch was their peak until the great teams of the 1990s.