Which teams dominate as the best World Series runner-up since 2000?

What if Barry Bonds’ sole trip to the World Series ended in victory? What if the 2004 Cardinals were able to extend the curse of the Bambino?

There are so many incredible MLB teams of the last 25 years than just those that ended up crowned as World Series champions. 

[25 World Series Champs Since 2000, Ranked: The Full List]

Don’t get us wrong. Ranking the champions of the 21st century is great, but let’s take a look at the top 10 teams since 2000 that have achieved… lost World Series.

1.2019 Houston Astros
Regular season: 107–55 (1st in the West)
ALDS: Defeated Rays, 3-2
ALCS: Defeated Yankees, 4-3
World Series: Lost to Nationals, 3-4

The 2019 Astros outscored their regular season opponents by 280 runs, the most of any World Series winner Between 2000 and 2024, only one of those clubs, the 2016 Cubs, has hit more than 250. Their offense alone has produced more wins than replacement (45) than 10 World Series champions from this century, and that’s not counting the coronavirus-impacted 2020 season. Additionally, their rotation eventually included Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Zach Greinke. This team—arguably the best of the Astros’ two-championship dynasty—would lose the seven-game World Series to the wild-card Nationals.

2. 2004 St. Louis Cardinals
Regular Season: 105–57 (1st in NL Central)
NLDS: Defeated Dodgers, 3-1
NLCS: Defeated Astros, 4-3
World Series: Lost to Red Sox, 0-4

The 2004 Cardinals, winners of 105 games, featured a peak Albert Pujols, future Hall of Famers in Scott Rolen and Larry Walker, a 34-year-old Jim Edmunds who was still almost as good overall as Pujols, a deep and even deeper rotation, three top-5 MVP candidates and three Gold Glove winners. They were knocked out of the World Series by the 2004 Red Sox, who played as if they would never lose another game after coming back from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the ALCS.

3. 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers
Regular season: 104–58 (1st in NW)
NLDS: Defeated Diamondbacks, 3-1
NLCS: Defeated Cubs 4-1
World Series: Lost to Astros, 3-4

The Dodgers are in a funny place in all of these rankings, with their most impressive World Series championship coming in the shortened 2020 season, and their 2024 title campaign being impressive, but not elite compared to the best of the century so far. Most truly terrible Dodgers teams lost in the World Series or before, and the 2017 club was one such example. They won 104 games and outscored opponents by 190 runs, then dominated both the Diamondbacks and Cubs by winning 7 of 8 postseason games against them in the NLDS and NLCS, respectively. In the end, though, the Astros were overmatched in the seven-game World Series.

4. 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers
Regular Season: 92–71 (1st in NL West)
NLDS: Defeated the Braves, 3-1
NLCS: Defeated Brewers, 4-3
World Series: Lost to Red Sox, 1-4

As we used to say. The 2018 version of the Dodgers won just 92 games, but they outscored opponents by 194 runs and actually had more wins than replacement than the 2017 team – their expected win-loss record put them at 102, with 10 wins to go! They cannot take full credit for their victories He should They’ve been compared to a team that has already won over 100 games, but they still deserve credit for what probably should have been a championship club… had they not faced the buzzsaw that was the 2018 Red Sox in the World Series.

5. 2021 Houston Astros
Regular season: 95–67 (1st in the West)
ALDS: Defeated White Sox, 3-1
ALCS: Defeated Red Sox, 4-2
World Series: Lost to the Braves, 2-4

You’d be right if you’re sensing a theme here — the Astros and Dodgers have been truly exceptional over the past decade, even in the years they didn’t finish. The Braves beat the Astros in six games, which is why they played them in the first place: Among World Series losers this century, the ’21 Astros have the second-highest run differential, and they were basically as good as any of the teams here in front of them besides the 2019 version, which is on a completely different level. They should have won, meaning they were the dominant force that season, but the word “should” rarely carries weight in October.

6. 2013 St. Louis Cardinals
Regular Season: 97–65 (1st in NL Central)
NLDS: Defeated Pirates, 3-2
NLCS: Defeated Dodgers, 4-2
World Series: Lost to Red Sox, 2-4

Don’t worry, other teams have lost a World Series this century besides the three mentioned above, and you’ll be reading about them soon. If St. Louis’ 2006 title was a cosmic rebalancing of the team’s 2004 defeat, the opposite effect occurred regarding the 2011 champions and the 2013 loss. Matt Carpenter and Holiday had monster seasons at the plate, veterans Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran flourished, and Adam Wainwright finished second in the NL Cy Young race and led the league in innings pitched. The Red Sox were the opponent again, though this time at least it took St. Louis six games to fall.

7. 2011 Texas Rangers
Regular season: 96–66 (1st in the West)
ALDS: Defeated Rays, 3-1
ALCS: Defeated Tigers, 4-2
World Series: Lost to Cardinals, 3-4

The 2011 World Series was already a heartbreaking defeat for the Rangers and their fans after their failure in the 2010 edition to the Giants. Part of what made it so terrible wasn’t just the feeling of defeat from the jaws of victory, but also because this Rangers team… great. They have won 96 games and have just under 55 wins above replacement while outscoring opponents by 176 points. In the end, though, Cardinals champion David Freese was there to put an end to them with a monster series and amazing — or terrible, depending on your point of view — timing.

8. 2002 San Francisco Giants
Regular Season: 95–66 (2nd in NL West)
NLDS: Defeated the Braves, 3-2
NLCS: Defeated Cardinals, 4-1
World Series: Lost to the Angels, 3-4

What a struggle the Giants had in the 2002 World Series. The Angels were one of the best World Series champions of the century, and the Giants, with Barry Bonds at the peak of his career, were no slouch either. They won 95 regular-season games and outscored opponents by 167 runs even as Bonds intentionally walked a then-record 68 times — and with plenty of unintentional intentional walks mixed in with his 198 total free passes. Bonds hit .370/.582/.799 — all tops in the league — with 46 at-bats, winning the NL MVP award. She hit .356/.581/.978 with 8 other players in the postseason… but it wasn’t enough.

9. 2003 New York Yankees
Regular season: 101–61 (1st in East)
ALDS: Defeated Twins, 3-1
ALCS: Defeated Red Sox, 4-3
World Series: Lost to Marlins, 2-4

This was part of a string of bad luck the Yankees had after the 2000 World Series: the 2001 team was truly great and the 2004 team was another excellent team. But their best team to lose in the World Series was the 2003 edition. That team won 101 games, even defeating the rival Red Sox in a seven-game ALCS thriller, as Aaron Boone ended Boston’s season with a home run in extra innings off Tim Wakefield. The 2003 Marlins were unbeatable by any of that, and their roster of rookies and emerging stars took down New York’s seasoned veterans in six games.

10. 2006 Detroit Tigers
Regular season: 95–67 (1st in AL Central)
ALDS: Defeated Yankees, 3-1
ALCS: Defeated Athletics 4-0
World Series: Lost to Cardinals, 1-4

The Tigers haven’t won every title since 1984, but they’ve had opportunities this century. They were swept in 2012 by the Giants, and lost in the ALCS in 2013 and 2011. Their best team of the 21st century is also the one that came closest to winning it all, the 2006 Tigers. While they finished second in the AL Central, they also won 95 games, just one fewer than the division champion Twins — they were the better team, too, otherwise you’d see Minnesota on this list. The Detroit Yankees and Athletics were eliminated before falling short to the Cardinals in the World Series.

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