Ranking the greatest World Series champions in baseball history: Nos. 20-1

Throughout the month of January, a cast of editors from theScore will share their rankings of the greatest teams, performances, pitchers, and position players in baseball history. This list focuses on the greatest World Series champions:

100-81 | 80-61 | 60-41 | 40-21 | 20-1

Voter list:

• James Bisson, National Sports Editor
• Brandon Wile, Senior MLB Editor
• Jonah Birenbaum, MLB News Editor
• Michael Bradburn, MLB News Editor
• Jason Wilson, MLB News Editor
• Bryan Mcwilliam, MLB News Editor
• Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb, MLB News Editor
• Dylan Perego, News Editor
• Josh Wegman, News Editor

20. 1905 New York Giants

The 1905 Giants owe a debt of gratitude to Christy Mathewson for almost single-handedly winning them the title. Mathewson fashioned one of the greatest World Series performances of all time by shutting out the Philadelphia Athletics three times in six days. He allowed 13 hits in 27 innings and walked just one batter. -- Mcwilliam

19. 1953 New York Yankees

This was the last of five straight championships - as well as the sixth in seven seasons - and this iteration of the Yankees was the perfect culmination of what the franchise had built and maintained. Mickey Mantle provided timely, if not numerous, hits in the World Series while Yogi Berra and Billy Martin were borderline impossible outs. -- Wilson

18. 1968 Detroit Tigers

Fittingly, in the "Year of the Pitcher," the Tigers outlasted the Cardinals in the World Series largely because of ace left-hander Mickey Lolich, who crafted a 1.67 ERA over three complete games - including a five-hit, one-run gem that nudged his club to a 4-1 victory in a Game 7 showdown with Bob Gibson, the National League MVP, at Busch Stadium. -- Birenbaum

17. 1907 Chicago Cubs

One of the greatest Cubs teams of all time, the 1907 version did what it couldn't do the previous year (a season in which Chicago earned 116 victories) - win a World Series. It was the franchise's first title and washed away the sour taste from the season prior. The Cubs held Tigers outfielder - and batting champion - Ty Cobb to just four hits during the series. -- Mcwilliam

16. 1936 New York Yankees

The Yankees proved they didn't need the Great Bambino to win it all in '36, as Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, and a young Joe DiMaggio led the Bronx Bombers to a 4-2 series win over the New York Giants. Lefty Gomez won a pair of contests for the Yankees, including the decisive sixth game at the Polo Grounds. This would end up being the first of four consecutive titles for the most decorated franchise in the history of the sport. -- Perego

15. 2004 Boston Red Sox

Thirteen years after one of the most incredible World Series runs in history, Dave Roberts still hasn't had to pay for a beer in Beantown. His gutsy steal in Game 4 famously set the stage for Boston's incredible comeback from 0-3 down to the hated Yankees in the ALCS, and the rest - including an agonizing 86-year title drought - became history. -- Bisson

14. 1976 Cincinnati Reds

Winning the World Series once felt so nice that the Big Red Machine decided to do it twice. Overcoming expectations and winning back-to-back crowns is no easy feat, but the Reds had no trouble humbling the New York Yankees with a four-game sweep in '76. Johnny Bench played out of his mind, batting .533 with two home runs and six RBIs on his way to capturing World Series MVP honors. -- Perego

13. 1912 Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox were an absolute powerhouse in the 1910s, and won their first of four World Series titles of the decade in 1912. It took eight games (including a tie) to take down the New York Giants, as Smoky Joe Wood, who had already started two games in the series, won the deciding contest after relieving Hugh Bedient. Remarkably, the Red Sox defeated legend Christy Mathewson not once, but twice, despite the Hall of Famer's 0.94 ERA in the series. -- Perego

12. 1910 Philadelphia Athletics

This was the first championship of a near-dynasty in the 1910s, and this team was the beginning of the $100,000 infield. Eddie Collins, Frank "Home Run" Baker, and Jack Barry would later be joined by Stuffy McInnis to form one of the greatest infields of all time. The A's didn't have much trouble against the Cubs in the World Series, taking them down 4-1 with Baker and Collins doing a lot of damage (18 hits, seven doubles, seven RBIs). -- Mcwilliam

11. 1942 St. Louis Cardinals

Led by rookie Stan Musial and MVP starter Mort Cooper, who won 22 games and posted a 1.78 ERA, the 1942 Cardinals won 110 of 159 (.691) games throughout the regular season and playoffs. St. Louis actually began just 38-27, but stormed to the finish line with a 68-21 record over the final three months - including wins in 12 of its final 13 games. The Cardinals would meet the 107-win Yankees in the World Series, and took them down in just five games. -- Wile

10. 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates

It's not hard to imagine a team winning 110 games when you consider that its top five starters boasted a full-season ERA below 2.40. The Pirates also had the league's preeminent hitting star in Honus Wagner, who batted .339 with 100 RBIs. The Pirates and Tigers alternated wins over the first six games of the World Series before Pittsburgh capped its first championship with an 8-0 whitewash in Game 7. -- Bisson

9. 1932 New York Yankees

Following a shocking three-year stretch without a championship, the Yankees - in their second season under legendary manager Joe McCarthy - returned to the World Series with a vengeance in 1932, sweeping the Cubs in four games. Led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, who combined to go 14-for-32 (.438) with five homers and six walks, the Yankees outscored the Cubs 37-19 in a series that featured 13 future Hall of Famers. -- Birenbaum

8. 1986 New York Mets

The Curse of the Bambino's credibility is inextricably linked with the 1986 World Series, which produced the most famous gaffe in baseball history, maybe even sports history. Dismiss it as superstition if you like, but everybody knew the Red Sox were toast following Bill Buckner's indelible, game-ending error in Game 6. And they were; despite taking an early 3-0 lead in Game 7, the accursed Red Sox dropped the series finale 8-5 to gift the New York Mets a championship. -- Birenbaum

7. 1929 Philadelphia Athletics

Trailing 8-0 in the seventh inning of Game 4 against the Chicago Cubs (albeit with a 2-1 series lead), the Philadelphia Athletics, helmed by the iconic Connie Mack, authored one of the most unforgettable comebacks in World Series history, putting up a 10-spot to wrest the most improbable victory from the jaws of defeat - an onslaught aptly dubbed the "Mack Attack." Two days later, the A's erased a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Cubs and secure their first title in 16 years. -- Birenbaum

6. 1975 Cincinnati Reds

Armed with a star-studded lineup, the Reds led the majors with 108 wins and set the all-time NL mark with a 64-17 record at home. Cincinnati outscored its opponents by 254 runs and had six starters with double-digit victories. After wrapping up the regular season with a 20-game lead, the Reds swept the Pirates in the NLCS and advanced to one of the greatest World Series of all time. Cincinnati would knock off the Red Sox in seven games on a ninth-inning RBI single by Joe Morgan in the decisive contest. -- Wile

5. 1939 New York Yankees

1939 wasn't the year of DiMaggio's famous hitting streak, but it was certainly his best season, as he slashed .381/.448/.671 with 30 homers and 126 RBIs. And Joltin' Joe was one of five future Hall of Famers on this club, which mathematically could've posted an even better winning percentage. Five players with OBPs above .400 led the Yanks to a Pythagorean record of 111-40. -- Wegman

4. 2016 Chicago Cubs

It certainly took a while. The Cubs reached the World Series for the first time since 1945 and actually won the damn thing in seven games over the Indians for their first title since 1908. After winning 103 games during the regular season, the Cubs progressed through the opening two rounds of the playoffs with relative ease. Things turned south quickly, however, as Chicago fell into a 3-1 series hole to Cleveland. These Cubs wouldn't fall victim to past curses, though, as they became the first team to erase a 3-1 series deficit to win the World Series since the 1985 Royals. -- Wile

3. 1970 Baltimore Orioles

This should have been a dynasty. In the end, this was the only Orioles team that brought home a World Series championship amidst three consecutive 100-win seasons, but they cruised. The O's lost just one game in the 1970 postseason, with Brooks Robinson making up for his punchless bat the year before. He hit .429 with two homers in five World Series games against the Reds. -- Wilson

2. 1998 New York Yankees

The 1998 Yankees were shockingly dominant from start to finish. The club won an AL-record 114 games - a record that stood for just three years - and finished the regular season 22 games ahead of the Red Sox. They outscored their opponents by 309 runs during the regular season and continued to steamroll teams during the playoffs, winning 11 of 13 games. They swept the Padres in the World Series and finished the season with 125 wins overall - the most by any championship team in MLB history. -- Wile

1. 1927 New York Yankees

This was Murderers' Row, as the Yankees featured six Hall of Fame players - the most ever on a championship team. Legend has it that their World Series opponents from Pittsburgh lost all hope of winning after watching the Yankees take batting practice before Game 1. Led by Babe Ruth's 60 homers and MVP Lou Gehrig, who drove in 175 runs, the '27 Yankees racked up a then-AL-record 110 victories - winning the pennant by 19 games over Philadelphia - before steamrolling the Pirates in four games by a combined score of 23-10 (fun fact: New York won the series on a walk-off wild pitch). Baseball has changed a lot since 1927, but one thing that remains the same is the 1927 Yankees' status as the sport's most famous, and iconic, championship team. -- Sharkey-Gotlieb

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)