Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge going for history as AL playoff picture continues to form
USA TODAY Sports’ Gabe Lacques breaks down the storylines to watch in the AL as the MLB seasons winds down.
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The Detroit Tigers were one of the best teams in baseball all year, but then everything changed.
Boasting a 12.5-game lead in the AL Central on Aug. 25, the Tigers are now just one game up on the Cleveland Guardians for first-place in the division.
The Guardians rattled off 10 consecutive wins from Sept. 11-20. Even after losing on Sept. 21, Cleveland’s record this month sits at an astonishing 16-5. Detroit, meanwhile, has gone just 5-13, having lost six in a row.
This Tigers team seems like a far cry from the squad that boasted a 59-34 record in early July. If they fail to win the AL Central, they could very well end up missing the playoffs entirely, which would be one of the biggest late-season collapses in MLB history. Here are some of the other most dishonorable collapses of all-time.
Worst playoff collapses in MLB history2011 Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox were in a heated duel with the New York Yankees for AL East dominance for most of this season. On Sept. 1, the Red Sox held a 0.5-game lead over the Yankees. Even if the Yankees pulled ahead, though, the wild card was all but assured. The Tampa Bay Rays were nine games back as the biggest competitor for the spot.
Well, the Red Sox had seven games against the Rays remaining on their schedule. The Rays won six of those games. In fact, for the remainder of the year, the Red Sox didn’t win a single series, only ever splitting a two-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 13-14.
Still, despite the abysmal play, when the final game of the regular season approached, the Red Sox had a path to the postseason if they could just beat the Baltimore Orioles, a team that came into the final game of the season with just 68 wins. The Orioles finished the year with 69.
The Red Sox gave it a good run, heading into the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead. However, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the bases empty, Chris Davis drilled a double off Jonathan Paplebon. That was followed up with a ground-rule double from Nolan Reimold to tie the game, and a single from Robert Andino to drive in the winning run.
Thankfully, the Tampa Bay Rays weren’t having much fun either. They needed to win to push Boston out of the playoff race, but trailed the New York Yankees 7-0 in the bottom of the eighth. Tampa would score eight unanswered runs to win. Boston fell short by one game.
2011 Atlanta Braves
The Red Sox weren’t the only organization wallowing in misery in 2011. The Atlanta Braves held a similar lead in the wild-card race heading into September. They might have trailed the Phillies by 7.5 games in the NL East, but they were 8.5 games up on the St. Louis Cardinals for the wild-card berth.
Anyone who knows the 2011 season knows that the Cardinals went on to win the World Series. However, it took a lot of luck. Particularly from the Braves, who not only got swept by the Cardinals in September but were also swept by the Phillies in the final three games of the season. The Phillies had already locked up the best record in baseball. They had nothing to play for, and the Braves couldn’t manage a single win.
All Atlanta needed was one win to secure a playoff berth. Instead, much like the Red Sox, the Braves fell apart. They even held a 3-2 lead heading into the ninth inning, but closer Craig Kimbrel blew the save when he surrendered a sacrifice fly from Chase Utley to drive in the tying run. The Phillies would win in the 13th.
2010 San Diego Padres
In 2010, the San Diego Padres were on the verge of breaking a three-year playoff drought, sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat in the NL West with a 6.5 game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants on Aug. 25.
The Padres then proceeded to lose 10 consecutive games, tied for the third-longest losing streak in franchise history and their longest in the 21st century. It was a massive shift in the standings that not only gave the Giants hope but also the division lead. As fate would have it though, the Padres still weren’t out of it. With just three games left, and despite going just 12-13 in the 25 games between the massive losing streak and the final series of the season, the Padres still had an opportunity to reach the playoffs by sweeping the Giants.
They were three games back with three to play, and the Padres put up a good fight, winning each of the first two games of the series. If the Padres could’ve managed to win the final game, they would’ve set up a play-in game for the NL West title – and even if they lost that game, they would’ve been tied with the Atlanta Braves for the wild card, which would’ve prompted a play-in game for that final berth as well. It all rested on that last game.
The Padres were shut out.
The Giants, meanwhile, went on to win the World Series, their first of three within a five-year span. Oh, and even worse, that 90-win season remains their second-best in the 21st century (93 wins in 2024), and they couldn’t even secure a playoff spot.
2007 New York Mets
Unlike most teams on this list, the 2007 Mets’ downfall did not start at the beginning of September. In fact, the team had a seven-game lead over the Phillies for first-place in the NL East on Sept. 12. They even boasted an NL-best 83-62 record.
With just 17 games to play, the Mets couldn’t possibly screw up their chances, right? They went 5-12, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies.
As is the case for most of the teams on this list, it all came down to the final game. If the Mets won, they would’ve been tied with the Phillies for first in their division. However, the Marlins crushed the Mets, 8-1. New York’s starter Tom Glavine pitched just one-third of an inning, allowing seven earned runs and all but sealing the Mets’ fate.
1995 California Angels
With just two months to play in the 1995 season, the Angels held an 11-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West. The Angels then lost nine consecutive games at the end of August into early September.
With three weeks remaining, the Angels held a six-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West. The Angels then lost nine straight games to drop three games back of the Mariners.
Shockingly though, the Angels didn’t just roll over and die like most other teams on this list. They fought back, winning six of their last eight games, and actually forced a one-game playoff with Seattle for the AL West crown. Randy Johson threw a 125-pitch complete game, as the Mariners cruised to a 9-1 win.
1964 Philadelphia Phillies
Arguably the most infamous collapse of all-time, the 1964 Phillies held a healthy 6.5-game lead with just 12 games to play on Sept. 20. They lost their next 10 in a row.
Even worse is that 10 games was more than enough to put the Phillies away. Just seven games into the skid, the Cincinnati Reds had gone 8-0 during that same stretch, snatching first-place away from the Phillies. But the losses kept piling up. The St. Louis Cardinals finished the stretch by sweeping the Phillies themselves, a massive move for the Cardinals, who wound up winning the pennant after Philadelphia recovered to beat Cincinnati in its final two games of the season.
When all was said and done, the Phillies finished the year tied with the Reds, but both teams fell one game short of the Cardinals.
Much of this debacle could be blamed on Phillies’ manager Gene Mauch, who panicked during the losing streak and tried to cover up their thin rotation but constantly throwing the team’s two best starters – Jim Bunning and Chris Short – on just two days rest. Obviously, that did not work out well.
2025 MLB Playoff picture
Here is the current MLB playoff picture as of Monday, September 22. The top-six teams in each league make the playoffs.
American League:Toronto Blue Jays: 90-66 (clinched playoff berth)Seattle Mariners: 87-69Detroit Tigers: 85-71New York Yankees: 88-68Boston Red Sox: 85-71Cleveland Guardians: 84-72Houston Astros: 84-72National League:Milwaukee Brewers: 95-61 (clinched division)Philadelphia Phillies: 92-64 (clinched division)Los Angeles Dodgers: 88-68 (clinched playoff berth)Chicago Cubs: 88-68 (clinched playoff berth)San Diego Padres: 85-71Cincinnati Reds: 80-76New York Mets: 80-76