So, as the Mariners blew a 10-game lead this season, I put my "Greatest Chokes" list up in the Seattle Sports thread, and in doing so, realized there were still a few others missing.
So here is the latest revision of a list originally created to "honor" Schmuck Bowalter's 2022 Flopperinos:
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Largest leads ever blown
(For pennant or division; whether the team achieved a wild-card is irrelevant for this list. Lead expressed relative to the team that eventually caught the chokers; other teams may been closer at one point, but proved irrelevant to the final result):
1914 NY Giants, led by 15 games on July 5. (They were 40-24, the Boston Braves were 26-40. The Braves were last in an 8-team NL; the nearest team to the lead was the Cubs, 3.5 games back.) The Giants went 44-46 the rest of the year, while the Braves went 68-19, winning by 10.5 games. The 25.5 games gained is a record, AFAIK.
Some attributed the success of the "Miracle" Braves to the Native American luck symbol they wore on their caps on opening day. But the Swastika (which is not the Nazi Hakenkreuz ["hooked cross"] although it is now soiled by the imitation) hardly worked its magic overnight: the Braves started 3-16, then stabilized with a 23-24 stretch before having that incredible finishing kick.
1978 Red Sox, led by 14 games on July 19. (Sox were 62-28, Yanks 48-42. Yankees were fourth, Boston led Milwaukee by 9 games.) Boston went 37-35, Yankees went 51-21. Yanks won 1-game playoff.
1951 Dodgers, led by 13 games on August 11. (70-35, Giants were 59-50.). They went 26-23 while the Giants were going 37-8, and lost a 3-game playoff.
2012 Rangers, led by 13 games on June 30. (They were 50-29, Oakland was 37-42. The Angels were 6.5 behind Texas.) Rangers muddle their way to a 43-40 record for the second half, while the Athletics catch fire, go 57-26 and win by one game. Both teams flop in the post-season.
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New entry:
1973 Cubs, led by 12.5 games on July 8. (They were 50-37, the Mets were 34-46. The Mets were
last in the Eastern Division; St. Louis was closest to Chicago, 5 games behind.) Cubs melt down like Three Mile Island, going 27-47 after this and finishing 5th, while the Mets have a moderately hot 48-33 close to edge the Cardinals by 1.5 games.
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1995 Angels, led by 11.5 games on August 16. (They were 64-39, Seattle was 52-50. The Rangers were 10.5 behind California.). Complete flop, going 14-27 while the Mariners went 26-16 to close the 144 game season, and then won a 1-game playoff.
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New entries:
1964 Phillies, led by 11 games on August 23. (They were 76-47, St. Louis was 65-58. The Cardinals were in 4th place; the Reds and Giants were 7.5 games behind Philadelphia.) The "Philly Phold" saw them go 16-23 down the stretch, while the Cards closed with a 28-11 kick.
1987 Brewers, led by 11 games on May 5. (They were 20-5, propelled by a 13-0 start, Detroit was 9-16. The Tigers were in 6th place; the Blow Jays, I mean Blue Jays, and the Yankees were 4.5 behind Milwaukee.) Brew Crew trudges home in 71-66, finishing 3rd while Detroit goes 89-48, beating out Toronto by 2 games. (Toronto led by 3.5 games at the start of the final week, but lost their last 7 games in a row.)
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2022 Mets, led by 10.5 on June 1st. (Mets were 35-17, Braves were 24-27.) Mets went 66-44 the rest of the way, while Atlanta went 77-34 and won the division on…a tiebreak, Lorde help us.
1942 Dodgers, led by 10 games on August 5. (Dodgers were 74-30, Cardinals were 63-39.) Dodgers go 30-20, Cards go 43-9, win by 2.
1969 Cubs, led by 10 games on August 14. (Chicago was 74-43, Mets were 62-51, in third place [Cardinals were 9 back]). The Cubs tanked completely, going 18-27 (worse than the Pirates and Cards, and 4 NL West teams, too) while the Mets went 38-11, winning by 8 games. Bill "Froggy" Hands went 4-3 in September, and Ferguson Jenkins was 3-4; the rest of the team was 1-10.
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New entries:
1989 Orioles, led by 10 games on July 5th. (The Birds, trying to atone for that 0-21 star the year before, were 47-34 for the first half, whereas Toronto [trying to recover from the 12-24 start that got Jimy Williams the axe] was 38-45. The Blue Jays were 6th; the Yankees were 6.5 games behind Baltimore.) Orioles flutter home with a 40-41 second half, while Toronto goes 51-28, winning by 2.
1993 Giants, led by 10 games on July 22. (San Francisco was 65-32; Atlanta was 55-42.) The Giants went a functional 38-27 down the stretch, but started Salomon Torres on the final day. The Braves got white hot, finishing
49-16 and started Tom Glavine on the last day. Tom Glavine is in the Hall of Fame. Salomon Torres is not. Braves win by 1 game.
2002 Mariners, led by 10 games on May 24. (Trying to make up for flopping after a 116-win season the previous year, Seattle started 31-16; Oakland was 21-26, only percentage points ahead of last place Texas [the Angels were 5 back of Seattle]) Mariners can only manage 62-53 after this, finishing 3rd while the A's (energized by the
Moneyball 20-game win streak) surge to an 82-33 finish, 20 games better than Seattle, and beat out California by 4 games.
(Of course, the Wild Card makes this all moot, as the Angels go on to win the World Series anyhow, but even so.)
And now, our newest entry…
2024 Mariners, led by 10 games on June 18. (Ms were 44-31; both Texas teams were 33-40.) Mariners muck home at 41-46, while the Asstros go 55-33, winning by 3.5 games.
So, welcome back to the club, Mariners, but that choke only ties for 10th on the List. Buck's Brigade is in 9th, one place worse than you.