Winning the World Series is hard. But some teams have made it look easier than others.
Only one team has run the table in the postseason in the Divisional Era (since 1969): the 1976 Reds (7-0). However, no team has had an undefeated postseason run since the Wild Card Era began in 1995, making the path to a World Series championship longer.
The 2022 Astros, despite a 7-0 start, could not become the first team in that time to go lossless in a single postseason. But by defeating the Phillies in a six-game World Series, they still closed the book on one of the finest postseason runs in recent history.
Houston is now tied for third on this list of the best single-postseason winning percentages during the Wild Card Era.
T-1) 2005 White Sox: .917 (11-1)
This was a magical year for the White Sox, who hadn’t won the World Series since 1917. Led by sluggers Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye and a deep starting rotation, Chicago lost just one game (Game 1 of the ALCS to the Angels) on its way to the franchise’s first championship in 88 years.
T-1) 1999 Yankees: .917 (11-1)
Smack dab in the middle of their dominant run in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Yankees posted one of the most dominant postseason performances in baseball history. Only Pedro Martinez – who was coming off one of the greatest seasons ever by a pitcher – could stop the Bronx Bombers in 1999, beating New York in Game 3 of the ALCS for its only postseason loss.
T-3) 2022 Astros: .846 (11-2)
Houston was a powerhouse in the regular season, going 106-56, winning the AL West by 16 games and claiming the AL’s No. 1 seed. After getting a first-round bye via the expanded playoff format, the Astros showed no signs of rust by sweeping the Mariners in the ALDS and the Yankees in the ALCS. But their seven-game win streak to begin the postseason ended at the hands of the Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park. Philadelphia would win two of the first three and appeared primed to pull off a major upset, only for Houston to reel off three straight victories to lock up the championship.
3rd) 1998 Yankees: .846 (11-2)
The best regular-season team in Yankees history didn’t stop there. New York lost just two games in the postseason to cap off perhaps the most dominant single-season run ever. Cleveland took two games from the Yankees during the ALCS before New York swept the Padres for its first of three straight World Series titles.
5th) 2018 Red Sox: .786 (11-3)
Another incredible regular-season team, Boston won a franchise-record 108 games in 2018. That success continued into October. The Red Sox lost exactly one game in each of the Division Series, LCS and World Series to make a championship look easy.
5th) 2008 Phillies: .786 (11-3)
The 2008 season was the peak of perhaps the best era in Phillies team history. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels led Philadelphia to its first World Series title in 28 years. The 2008 Phillies also lost one game in each of the NLDS, NLCS and World Series.
5th) 2007 Red Sox: .786 (11-3)
After decades without one, Boston won its second World Series in four seasons in 2007. The Red Sox had some trouble with Cleveland in the ALCS, going seven games before moving on to the World Series, but didn’t drop another game during that year’s postseason.
5th) 2004 Red Sox: .786 (11-3)
Boston’s 2004 postseason run will long be remembered for its legendary comeback from a 3-0 series deficit against the Yankees in the ALCS. But the club’s dominance in the series before and after that makes it one of the best ever. The Red Sox scored 25 runs in a three-game ALDS sweep of the Angels and cruised to a World Series sweep over the Cardinals to put an end to one of the most infamous championship droughts in sports history.
5th) 1995 Braves: .786 (11-3)
The Braves pulled off one of the winningest postseasons during the first year of the Wild Card Era. Although they made 14 postseasons in a row between 1991-2005, this was the only World Series win for Atlanta during that span. The club reached the World Series while losing only one combined game against the Rockies and Reds, then defeated Cleveland in a hard-fought six-game Fall Classic.
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