The Worst Loss in Baseball History
The 1986 Red Sox Came As Close As Possible to Winning But Lost
Dec 31, 2007
It remains the worst defeat in baseball history. The 1986 Boston Red Sox World Series defeat remains the worst in baseball history. There is virtually no chance that any team will ever suffer a more agonizing loss. Murray Chass, a New York Times baseball columnist, recognized the possibility the day before it happened. On October 25, 1986, Mr. Chass wrote "Now they have a 3-2 edge in the World Series, they need only one victory – if not tonight tomorrow night – and the skeptics wonder gleefully (while their fans tremble prayerfully) if the Red Sox have set themselves up for the ultimate collapse." Did they ever.
Keith Hernandez Went to the Clubhouse
Keith Hernandez flied out to center field for the second out of the tenth inning. The Red Sox were leading 5-3 and needed one more out to become World Champions. Hernandez walked into the dugout and didn’t stop. He picked up his hat and glove, went the clubhouse, sat down in manager Davey Johnson’s office, and turned on the television.
The Strike That Never Was
With two strikes, Gary Carter singled. With two strikes, Kevin Mitchell singled. With two strikes, Ray Knight singled home the Mets’ fifth run. Bob Stanley replaced Calvin Shiraldi and threw a wild pitch, allowing Mitchell to score the tying run and moving Knight to second. Everyone knows what happened next would have been prevented if Boston manager John McNamara had replaced hobbled Bill Buckner at first base, but he didn’t and Knight scored the winning run. Three times the Red Sox were within one strike of winning the World Championship and even after the game was tied, Wilson hit a 3-2 pitch for the game losing error.
Why Did Roger Leave?
Roger Clemens started for Boston and held the Mets hitless through four innings. The Mets scored twice in the fifth to tie the game, but after seven, the Sox led, 3-2. In the top of the eighth, McNamara pinch hit for Clemens, who was working on five days rest. It is still not clear whether Clemens asked out because of a blister on his right index finger or if McNamara felt Boston’s chances were better with Calvin Schiraldi on the mound. McNamara claims that Clemens told him, "That's all I can pitch." Clemens maintains that he was yanked after the seventh despite having retired the Mets easily that inning.
Three Chances For Strike Three
In 1986, there was one playoff round and no wild card. The idea was to win the division, beat the other division winner, and then win the World Series. Losing the World Series is not synonymous with a successful season. The Red Sox had three chances to get one strike but for them, it was not one strike in any of three chances and you’re World Champion. They never got the strike.
Worse Than 1946 or 2001
Losing the 1986 World Series was as bad as it gets because a team can’t get closer to victory than to come within one strike of winning – three times. Being swept is bad, but there can be no regrets. When a team losing four consecutive games in the World Series, they are not the better team – ever. Losing the seventh game of the World Series is painful, and some teams have suffered almost as much the 1986 Red Sox. The 2001 Yankees were within two outs of winning, but two outs are different from one strike. The 1946 Red Sox lost Game 7 when Enos Slaughter scored from first base on a single, but that occurred in the eighth inning Boston still had a chance. The 1986 Red Sox had Game 7, but it only made the suffering worse.
The Braves and Yankees
The only World Series loss that would be worse than Boston’s 1986 defeat would be for a team to lose after leading in games, three to zero. It has never happened. The closest a team ever came back after trailing by three games was to win two game before losing, but in the 1999 playoffs the Mets almost won three consecutive games after the Braves won the first three games, and then, in 2004, the Red Sox lost the first three games in the playoffs against New York and then won four consecutive games. It was bad, but it wasn’t as bad as 1986.
References:
- Chass, Murray. "Red Sox Confront Skeptics." New York Times. 25 October 1986, p. 47.
- Moran, Malcolm. "Even Mets Are Amazed; 'How Did We Do It?' Aguilera Wonders." New York Times. 26 October 1986, p. 204.
- Durso, Joseph. "3 Runs in 10th Inning Come With 2 Outs for 6-5 Victory; Mets Stage 3-Run Rally Against Red Sox in 10th." New York Times. 26 October 1986, p. 2.
