I happened to catch Rob Ellis of Philly’s Whip radio last night and he threw out a stat that turns out was slightly inaccurate but nonetheless interesting. He said the Phillies streak of 4 straight division titles had been only done by 5 teams in MLB history and it was only the 2nd time it happened in the NL.
I decided after discussing amongst other RDM members to do some research and see if that was the case. Here are my results.
In MLB History there has been only 6 teams that have finished 1st atop their division 4 or more times in a row. Those teams are
- New York Yankees
- Atlanta Braves
- Cleveland Indians
- Oakland Athletics
- Philadelphia Phillies
- San Francisco Giants
The top 3 longest streak belongs to the Braves with 11 from 1995-2005. The Yankees with 9 from 1998-2006 and 3 teams are tied with 5 they are the Yankees from 1949-1953 , 1960-1964, the Indians from 1995-1999 and Athletics from 1971-1975.
Below is a breakdown of every team that has finished 1st atop their division 3 or more times in a row.
Yankees
Div 3 yrs in a row = 4
1921-1923
1926-1928
1941-1943
1976-1978
Div 4 yrs in a row = 2
1936-1939
1955-1958
Div 5 yrs in a row = 2
1949-1953
1960-1964
Div 9 yrs in a row = 1
1998-2006
Braves
Div 3 yrs in a row = 2
1891-1893
1991-1993
Div 11 yrs in a row = 1
1995-2005
Orioles
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
1969-1971
Indians
Div 5 yrs in a row = 1
1995-1999
Tigers
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
1907-1909
Astros
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
1997-1999
Royals
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
1976-1978
Angels
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
2007-2009
Twins
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
2002-2004
Athletics
Div 3 yrs in a row = 2
1929-1931
1988-1990
Div 5 yrs in a row = 1
1971-1975
Phillies
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
1976-1978
Div 4 yrs in a row = 1
2007-2010
Pirates
Div 3 yrs in a row = 3
1901-1903
1970-1972
1990-1992
Giants
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
1911-1913
Div 4 yrs in a row = 1
1921-1924
Cardinals (*Honorable Mention)
Div 3 yrs in a row = 2
1942-1944
2004-2006
Div 4 yrs in a row = 1
1885-1888* (American Association League)
Blue Jays
Div 3 yrs in a row = 1
1991-1993
4 comments
stickguy
9/28/2010-4:18pm at 4:18 pm (UTC -4)
I still hate them. MF4D does too.
kingman 26
9/28/2010-4:23pm at 4:23 pm (UTC -4)
I still don’t.
metsfan4decades
9/28/2010-6:06pm at 6:06 pm (UTC -4)
You’ve got that right.
Let’s go Padres! Let’s Go Giants! Let’s Go Braves! Let’s Go Reds!
kingman 26
9/28/2010-4:25pm at 4:25 pm (UTC -4)
Looks like you did a very thorough job Mr N, and I for one sincerely appreciate that.
1987 still just kills me. If not for that frigin Terry Pendleton, WE would be on that damn list.
And probably have three rings.
Vomit.