Ranking World Series champs since 2000: 15-11
Not every World Series champion is created equally. While the marathon, 162-game schedule often gives a great idea as to which club is truly the best, the postseason is more of a crapshoot - all it takes is for a lesser team to get hot at the right time. With baseball on hiatus, theScore's editors broke down the last 20 years of champions and ranked them according to regular-season records, playoff dominance, and historical significance.
15. Florida Marlins, 2003
Record: 91-71
World Series: 4-2 vs. NYY
Thirty-eight games into the 2003 campaign, the Marlins didn’t look like they had a chance of making the playoffs, let alone winning a World Series, when they sat in last place with a 16-22 record.
That all changed when Florida fired manager Jeff Torborg and replaced him with Jack McKeon, who had been retired for two years.
McKeon led the Marlins into the playoffs as the wild-card team and they went on to make history despite being a poor defensive squad (minus-21 DRS) that was subpar on the road (38-43) during the regular season.
Without ever having home-field advantage, the Marlins toppled Barry Bonds and the heavily favored Giants in the NLDS, defeated the Cubs in one of the most controversial championship series in baseball history (Steve Bartman, anyone?), and overcame the odds to take down the Evil Empire Yankees.
Florida's lineup included Derrek Lee, Mike Lowell, and an emerging Miguel Cabrera and featured game-changing speed, but Josh Beckett's 2003 playoffs stood above the rest. In a legendary performance in Game 6 of the World Series, the hurler helped clinch the second title in Marlins history by pitching a complete-game shutout on three days' rest.
14. San Francisco Giants, 2010
Record: 92-70
World Series: 4-1 vs. TEX
The Giants kicked off their 2010s dynasty by defeating a 90-win Texas Rangers team in five games to capture their first of three championships in half a decade.
San Francisco only lost four times in the 2010 playoffs thanks to a dominant rotation featuring Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, and Matt Cain. The latter two pitchers didn't give up a single earned run across a combined 15 2/3 innings during the World Series. Closer Brian Wilson allowed one hit in three appearances. Buster Posey, that season's NL Rookie of the Year, was the defensive anchor behind the plate.
The team's offense wasn't anything to write home about, but it got the job done thanks to unexpected contributions from veterans. Infielder Edgar Renteria led the way and collected MVP honors after slashing .412/.444/.765 with two home runs and six RBIs in five contests. Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross also chipped in with a pair of round-trippers and some timely hits.
The Giants took down the Atlanta Braves in five games and the Philadelphia Phillies in six to reach the Fall Classic.
13. Philadelphia Phillies, 2008
Record: 92-70
World Series: 4-1 vs. TB
The Phillies had a powerful offense anchored by former MVPs Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, plus the steady Chase Utley and Shane Victorino. Their rotation wasn't stacked like future editions of this team; aside from Cole Hamels, their best starter was crafty, aging veteran Jamie Moyer. But the bullpen picked them up, as closer Brad Lidge turned in a perfect season.
Philadelphia didn't take first place for good until the second-to-last weekend of the campaign. But from there, the Phillies were unstoppable, losing only three times en route to the championship. Hamels won both the NLCS and World Series MVPs. Matt Stairs' pinch-hit homer at Dodger Stadium and the brutal World Series rainstorm that halted Game 5 in the sixth inning - for two days - were among the most memorable moments of their run.
One reason these Phillies are ranked here is their relatively weak slate of opponents in the playoffs. They easily defeated a wild-card team in the Brewers that was just happy to be in the division series, and an 84-win Dodgers squad that wasn't supposed to be in the NLCS. Their World Series opponents, the 97-win Rays, rolled over and made it a cakewalk for Philly. But even so, this squad was a machine and hardly a fluky champion. It wasn't the strongest Phillies team of this era, but it did win 90 games and stomp opponents in the playoffs, even if it wasn't always pretty. These Phillies got the job done - and at the end of the day, that's all you can ask of a champion.
12. Houston Astros, 2017
Record: 101-61
World Series: 4-3 vs. LAD
Baseball historians will have a very difficult time defining the 2017 Astros. Were they one of the most dominant teams ever formed? Yes. Are they one of three teams since the turn of the century to win 100 games and the championship? Sure. Did they cheat? Absolutely.
The impact of their cheating, though, will forever be a source of contention. In fact, it was a source of disagreement in our newsroom, with two editors ranking Houston dead last and four others ranking it no lower than eighth. There is also very little agreement on how much of an advantage stealing signs actually afforded the club. What we do know, however, is that the league did not take the title away.
There's also no telling how effectively the cheating scheme, which could only be implemented properly at their home ballpark, was used during the postseason. Don't forget that the Astros had to beat the Dodgers in L.A. for Game 7, and they did so pretty convincingly.
The Astros club that won the first title in franchise history would probably rank as one of the best teams of all time. However, their disregard for the rules creates some doubt.
11. Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001
Record: 92-70
World Series: 4-3 vs. NYY
The New York Yankees were supposed to win this World Series. In the wake of 9/11, the Yankees overcame a 2-0 series deficit to the Oakland A's - thanks in part to Derek Jeter's infamous flip - and then made mincemeat of the 116-win Seattle Mariners. The only thing standing in the way of four straight Yankees championships: the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks, who were in their fourth year of existence as a franchise.
Put another way, the Diamondbacks had never played in a league where the Yankees weren't champions.
The Yankees had gone 12-1 in World Series games over the previous three years but it was the D-Backs - led by the elite pitching duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling and a cast of obscure veterans including Craig Counsell, Matt Williams, and Reggie Sanders - that proved to be their match. Not a single player under 30 appeared in more than 100 games for Arizona, and The Big Unit had just turned 38.
The series wound up going an epic seven games, including two extra-inning tilts in the Bronx. Despite Jeter being crowned "Mr. November" because of his Game 4 walk-off, and even though the Yankees held a lead in the eighth inning of the final game, Luis Gonzalez's heroics against none other than Mariano Rivera sealed the deal.