Ranking the greatest World Series champions in baseball history: Nos. 60-41

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

60. 1966 Baltimore Orioles

Thank you, Frank Robinson. The Orioles acquired the superstar prior to the 1966 season, and he promptly took home AL MVP and Triple Crown honors as Baltimore topped the league by a whopping nine games. Yet, while Robinson also went on to take home World Series MVP honors, the Orioles' pitching staff was the real hero, limiting the Dodgers to just two total runs en route to a Fall Classic sweep. - Bisson

59. 1972 Oakland Athletics

The '72 Athletics had it all, and it translated into World Series success. Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris were forces at the plate and in the field, while the rotation of Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman, Blue Moon Odom, and Vida Blue was dominant. This Fall Classic is best remembered, though, for Gene Tenace's heroic efforts. The team went on to capture the next two World Series and cement itself as one of baseball's all-time greats. - Perego

58. 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates

Despite winning 97 games, the Pirates were clear underdogs in the 1971 Series as they squared off against a 101-win Orioles team that trounced the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series. Dropping the first two games didn't help, but Pittsburgh rebounded to win the next three at home, then upended the host O's 2-1 in a thrilling Game 7. - Bisson

57. 1952 New York Yankees

Casey Stengel's Yankees won their fourth of five straight championships in 1952, and yet again it came at the expense of their civic rivals in Brooklyn in a seven-game thriller. Mickey Mantle hit his first of 18 World Series homers in Game 6, and Billy Martin played the role of hero with a game-saving catch late in Game 7 at Ebbets Field. - Sharkey-Gotlieb

56. 1946 St. Louis Cardinals

One year after his return from the war, Stan "the Man" Musial took home MVP honors, slashing .365/.434/.587 and carrying the Cardinals all the way to the World Series, where they defeated the Red Sox 4-3. - Wegman

55. 2013 Boston Red Sox

After a nightmare 2012 season under the "guidance" of Bobby Valentine, the Red Sox ditched the manager, trading two players to the Toronto Blue Jays for skipper John Farrell. Things turned around quickly in Beantown, as Boston soared from last place to a division title. During the postseason, the Red Sox rallied around eventual World Series MVP David Ortiz, who became the first non-Yankee to win three World Series titles with one team since Jim Palmer accomplished the feat with Baltimore across three decades from 1966-1983. - Mcwilliam

54. 1989 Oakland Athletics

Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Dave Stewart, and Dennis Eckersley. This team was filled with star power, and it didn't disappoint, going 8-1 in the playoffs, including a four-game sweep of the Giants in the World Series. - Wegman

53. 1908 Chicago Cubs

Prior to 2016, 1908 saw the Cubs' last run of dominance. They won their second straight World Series, taking down the Detroit Tigers in just five games. The Cubs were led by the legendary Tinkers-Evers-Chance trio, along with Hall of Famer Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown on the mound. - Perego

52. 1956 New York Yankees

The two best teams in baseball resided in New York in 1956. After the Yankees and Dodgers finished with the top two records in the majors, they met in the World Series. The teams featured 12 future Hall of Famers - Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Enos Slaughter, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, and Dick Williams - and played out an epic seven-game series. While there was plenty of firepower between the clubs, it was a lesser-known player who stole the show. Yankees right-hander Don Larsen tossed a perfect game in Game 5 - the only one to ever come in the World Series. New York won the series with a 9-0 victory in Game 7. - Wile

51. 1969 New York Mets

This group of underdogs captured the hearts of New Yorkers, and all of baseball, just eight years into its existence. Powered by a homegrown rotation of Tom Seaver (maybe the greatest Met of them all), Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, and Nolan Ryan, these Mets also featured a lineup of characters and plucky underdogs, plus former Brooklyn Dodgers great Gil Hodges as manager. After seven straight losing records, the '69 Mets won 100 games, held off the stacked Cubs for the division title, then upset Earl Weaver's high-powered Orioles in five to win the series. It was, truly, a miracle. - Sharkey-Gotlieb

50. 1993 Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays became the first back-to-back World Series champions since the 1977-78 Yankees when they took down the Phillies in six games. With a lineup that contained All-Stars John Olerud, Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, Paul Molitor, and Devon White, the Blue Jays were shut out just once during the regular season and won the AL East by seven games. Carter, who led the team with 33 homers during the regular season, hit the game-winning three-run home run in Game 6 to give the Blue Jays the World Series win. - Wile

49. 1947 New York Yankees

In the first World Series featuring a desegregated roster - with Jackie Robinson playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers - it was the Bronx Bombers who prevailed in seven games. The 1947 Fall Classic marked the 11th time the Yankees won the championship. To put that into perspective, the team with the second-most World Series wins - the St. Louis Cardinals - currently has 11. - Bradburn

48. 1920 Cleveland Indians

Galvanized by grief over the loss of shortstop Ray Chapman, who died early in the season after getting struck in the head by a pitch, the Indians trounced the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-2 in the 1920 series - a best-of-nine showdown. Not surprisingly, the live-ball era's inaugural Fall Classic featured several notable firsts, including the first World Series grand slam, the first World Series home run by a pitcher, and the first - and only - World Series triple play. - Birenbaum

47. 1950 New York Yankees

They say the best teams are built strong up the middle, and the '50 Yankees are a prime example, with Yogi Berra behind the plate, Phil Rizzuto at short, and Joe DiMaggio in center field. The trio combined for 17.6 WAR. In what was arguably Berra's best season, he slashed .322/.383/.533 with 28 homers and 124 RBIs, striking out just 12 times in 656 plate appearances. - Wegman

46. 1992 Toronto Blue Jays

In one of the most exciting finishes in World Series history, the Braves were down to their final strike, and Tom Henke blew a save and squandered a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Dave Winfield would double in two runs - WAMCO leaders White and Alomar - in the top of the 11th and create some padding for Jimmy Key to close it out. The Braves made it interesting one last time by scoring a run on an error in the final frame, but the Blue Jays prevailed to make Cito Gaston the first African-American manager to win a championship in MLB history, and bring the Commissioner's Trophy to Canada for the first time as well. - Bradburn

45. 2007 Boston Red Sox

Heading into the World Series, the Rockies hadn't lost a single game, sweeping away the Phillies and Diamondbacks in seven straight. Of course, that train ran out of steam, with the Red Sox refusing to yield a single victory and outscoring the Rockies 29-10 in four games. Mike Lowell went off, going 6-for-15 with three walks and a key home run in Game 4 to give the Red Sox a late 3-0 lead. Jonathan Papelbon came in to weather a late rally from Colorado that made the score 4-3 and help Boston clinch its second World Series of the new millennium. - Bradburn

44. 1940 Cincinnati Reds

The 1940 Cincinnati Reds won 100 games for the first time in franchise history - a feat they wouldn't accomplish again until 1970. Slugging first baseman Frank McCormick led the charge, hitting 44 doubles and driving in 127 runs en route to MVP honors. After defeating the Detroit Tigers in a riveting World Series, the Reds didn't win another until 1975. - Mcwilliam

43. 1999 New York Yankees

In a rematch of the 1996 World Series, the Yankees made even shorter work of Atlanta than they had before, vanquishing the ill-fated late-'90s Braves in four straight games. Of course, it may not have gone that way if it weren't for Mariano Rivera coming in to put out fires late in three of the four games. The Braves appeared in five of the decade's nine Fall Classics, prevailing just once. - Bradburn

42. 1938 New York Yankees

The Yankees swept the Cubs thanks to a pair of complete games from Red Ruffing and the hitting of Joe Gordon and Bill Dickey. They got production from Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig, too. The former was just getting his career started, while the latter was nearing the end of the line. - Wilson

41. 1954 New York Giants

Before the Giants moved to the Bay Area, they had quite a run in New York, appearing in 16 World Series and winning seven titles. Their 1954 win was their last in the Big Apple. They had some guy named Willie Mays return from military service to absolutely dominate baseball en route to his first MVP. Mays slugged a ridiculous .667 during the regular season, but his campaign might be best remembered for "The Catch" during Game 1 of the World Series.
- Mcwilliam

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)