Most crushing series of losses ever? How does it rank?

[Longdistancetwins]

I’ve been a Twins fan for over 50 years, and I believe I have hit a new low.  Given the postseason/Yankee futility and being so outclassed and embarrassed on a national stage, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt worse.

 

How does this rank with other humiliations in a series of games?  Here’s a short list (I’m keeping this in a human perspective and not including devastating injuries and illnesses to players) of crushing team debacles on the field:

 

Losing the last two games of the season to the Red Sox in 1967 (mitigated somewhat by being part of the greatest pennant race in history and that Carl Yastrzemski was superhuman that year).

The late season collapse in 1984 (mitigated somewhat by our probably not belonging in the pennant race to begin with).

The entire 1982 season (mitigated somewhat by the novelty of the new stadium and the critics recognizing that we had a core of players with bright futures)

Losing six straight to the Orioles in the playoffs in 1969 and 1970 (mitigated by the fact that this is worse!)
 

Anything else on the list?  How do they rank?

[SpicyGarvSauce]

Over the last 20 years, the two that rank the highest as most crushing/disappointing for me are 2006 and 2019.

[Badsmerf]

2006 is way more crushing than this. That team was really good. Ace pitcher(s), stud position players, great closer... The FO picked up Phil Nevin and traded Kyle Lohse for nothing at the deadline. Despite that ineptitude, twins went 71-33 after June 8th..... Only to get swept by the A's in the ALDS.

[SpicyGarvSauce]

 

2006 is way more crushing than this. That team was really good. Ace pitcher(s), stud position players, great closer... The FO picked up Phil Nevin and traded Kyle Lohse for nothing at the deadline. Despite that ineptitude, twins went 71-33 after June 8th..... Only to get swept by the A's in the ALDS.

That team had AN ace pitcher - if Liriano doesn't get hurt, then yes...they have multiple and it may change everything.

That lineup wasn't as good as 2019, bullpen was meh...probably never got as good as the 2019 one was at it's peak. But they were a terrific team, riding high going into the postseason, and it all flamed out...early and quickly.

 

But your point remains - the front office/leadership at the top sat on their hands, didn't do anything to improve their current team (because they didn't want to mortgage the future!!!) and it bit them right in the ass.

[wavedog]

For me personally in addition to the others mentioned I would throw 2002 in there.  I think that was our first playoff appearance since the 1991 World Series win.   We got past the first series with Oakland and had home field advantage against the Angels.   My memories were of 1987 and 1991 when we won it all so I was expecting the same that year.   Getting Rally-monkeyed was tough. 

 

This year was interesting - it was like it progressively got worse.   At the start I didn't think we would win it all but I thought we would be competitive.  First game we take a lead - then lose it - then tie it up - then collapse.  2nd game is over by the 3rd inning - and last night was a little bit of a tease - we seem to either flail at the plate or when we hit shots it is right at a Yankee.     The fact we have lost all these games to the Yankees in a row now is of mythic proportion.    

[VATwinsFan]

 

I’ve been a Twins fan for over 50 years, and I believe I have hit a new low.  Given the postseason/Yankee futility and being so outclassed and embarrassed on a national stage, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt worse.

 

How does this rank with other humiliations in a series of games?  Here’s a short list (I’m keeping this in a human perspective and not including devastating injuries and illnesses to players) of crushing team debacles on the field:

 

Losing the last two games of the season to the Red Sox in 1967 (mitigated somewhat by being part of the greatest pennant race in history and that Carl Yastrzemski was superhuman that year).

The late season collapse in 1984 (mitigated somewhat by our probably not belonging in the pennant race to begin with).

The entire 1982 season (mitigated somewhat by the novelty of the new stadium and the critics recognizing that we had a core of players with bright futures)

Losing six straight to the Orioles in the playoffs in 1969 and 1970 (mitigated by the fact that this is worse!)
 

Anything else on the list?  How do they rank?

I think there's a difference between being humiliated i.e.the last 4 playoff series against the Yankees and A's, and experiencing huge disappointment i.e. 1967, 1969, 1970, 2002.  1982 was an odd year in that the young core got crushed the first 2-1/2 months of the season (16-54 at one point) but basically played .500 ball the rest of the year.

 

That being said, this one ranks up there as about the worst there's ever been.

[Dave Overlund]

No one mentions 2010, but the Twins had home-field advantage in the first round against New York. It was the first year of Target Field, and Thome was a huge spark for the chemistry of the team. It kind of felt like a season of destiny. 

 

I don't know if it's the "worst," but it was a heartbreaker. 

[Longdistancetwins]

 

For me personally in addition to the others mentioned I would throw 2002 in there.  I think that was our first playoff appearance since the 1991 World Series win.   We got past the first series with Oakland and had home field advantage against the Angels.   My memories were of 1987 and 1991 when we won it all so I was expecting the same that year.   Getting Rally-monkeyed was tough. 

I get that, but I soon reconciled to it as just being the Angels year.  The Oakland series was fun, and is forever enshrined in the last scenes of the movie, "Moneyball."

[Badsmerf]

That team had AN ace pitcher - if Liriano doesn't get hurt, then yes...they have multiple and it may change everything.

That lineup wasn't as good as 2019, bullpen was meh...probably never got as good as the 2019 one was at it's peak. But they were a terrific team, riding high going into the postseason, and it all flamed out...early and quickly.

 

But your point remains - the front office/leadership at the top sat on their hands, didn't do anything to improve their current team (because they didn't want to mortgage the future!!!) and it bit them right in the ass.

Liriano pitched through pain and hurt himself worse. Rest and rehab might have helped in his case. Even without Liriano at full strength, I pick that team over 2019 8/10 times. Santana would get 20 K's against the 2019 Twins.

[twinsnorth49]

'02 '06 and 2010 were worse for me. I expected more from those teams and believed they could go deeper. As much fun as I had watching this team and am encouraged for the future, I never really believed that would outplay their pitching in the long run. I will be more crushed next year if they address that and still fall flat on their faces. 

 

Haing said that, any loss to the Yankees, especially a sweep,  is soul crushing. 

[mickeymental]

my heart was broken in elementary school when koufax won game 7. but i've also been to six world series games in my life -- and the twins won them all. so i'll be ok.

 

i do worry about the newer twins fans who know nothing but total postseason failure. i fear they'll turn their backs on the twins forever. my mid-20s nephew is a huge sports fan who lives in minnesota. i asked him back in august if he was enjoying the surprising twins season so far. he said he doesn't follow baseball anymore -- that he's given up on the twins until they beat the yankees. and that was before this latest sweep!

[nicksaviking]

This team wasn't expected to do what they did this year, the playoff loss stunk but it didn't come close to crushing me. 2006 was really painful because they were supposed to win that year. Winning Game 1 of the ALCS in 2002 was also a pretty hard tease as then Rick Reed proceeded to get trounced in Game 2, then they lost Game 3 when Romero blew the one run lead in the bottom of the 8th and then nobody showed up for games 4 or 5.

 

Had I been alive for the 1965 WS, surely that would have been the worst though.

[Riverbrian]

This one is the most crushing because it lacks the benefit of time to heal the wounds. 

[Channing1964]

Definitely '06....but '08 hit me hard too with the 163rd game in Chicago.

[Puckett34]

Here's my list of heartbreak

 

1) 1998 Vikings (I was young, impressionable and naive)

2) 2006 Twins (Although it could be #1 if Liriano hadn't blown out his arm)

3) 2009 Vikings (Different verse, same as the first)

4) 2019 Twins (Good lineup, suspect pitching, neither synced up in the playoffs)

 

 

Honorable mention: 2002 Twins, 2010 Twins, 2009 Twins, 2008 Twins, 2015 Vikings, 2003 Twins, 2000 Vikings

[Puckett34]

 

Definitely '06....but '08 hit me hard too with the 163rd game in Chicago.

'08 is underrated in my opinion. Probably because '09 happened

[Longdistancetwins]

 

Had I been alive for the 1965 WS, surely that would have been the worst though.

 Crushing, but we didn't embarrass ourselves in '65, as far as I've heard. I mean Koufax and Drysdale, what are you going to do?  Hat's off to Kitty, Mudcat, and Camilo for keeping us in it.   

[jkcarew]

 

That team had AN ace pitcher - if Liriano doesn't get hurt, then yes...they have multiple and it may change everything.

That lineup wasn't as good as 2019, bullpen was meh...probably never got as good as the 2019 one was at it's peak. But they were a terrific team, riding high going into the postseason, and it all flamed out...early and quickly.

 

But your point remains - the front office/leadership at the top sat on their hands, didn't do anything to improve their current team (because they didn't want to mortgage the future!!!) and it bit them right in the ass.

It's really easy to argue that the 2006 team was better all-around team than this year's team. The 2006 team was top-5 offensively in the AL, and the pitching was top 1 (or 2, if ERA is your thing). Goes without saying the defense played a more positive factor that it did for the 2019 club. 2006 club also won more than lost against other winning teams...a necessity that year, since the AL Central only had one club that lost more than 84 games that year. Also, pretty easy to argue that the 2019 Yankees are stronger than the 2006 A's. But yes, it's not like the stars were aligning for the Twins in 2006, either...given Liriano's situation and the fact that Radke's arm was in the process of basically falling off.

[jkcarew]

The 1969 club is the first that I can remember following...Carew batting title, Killebrew MVP, division championship in the first year of divisional play.

 

In retrospect, I'd say 1970 was the worse. We didn't know it at the time, but...Killebrew was just about done being Killebrew, and it was the same for other aging stars like Perry/Tovar, etc.; Oliva was about done being Oliva (the knee);...and Twins fans were about to find out that their owner had no interest whatsoever in competing in the transforming market. Soon Jim Kaat and Luis Tiant would be posting multiple 6-8 WAR seasons with other teams...Kaat having been waived in 1973 because he was having a bad year (and Griffith didn't want to pay him $45K), and Tiant simply released after the 1970 season because Griffith didn't want to pay him $50K while he worked on re-inventing his delivery. Meanwhile, the farm was about to embark on a about a 13-year stretch of producing absolutely nothing. The 1970 series against the Orioles was easily as noncompetitive as this 2019 series was, and the 1970 debacle ushered in an era that made the late 1990's or the 20-teens seem like a golden age.

 

Next worse, 2006. 2019 was bad...but recency makes it worse than it will be remember, I think. (I hope.)

[notoriousgod71]

2019 wasn't the most crushing but it was probably the most disappointing just to realize how far behind the elite teams we are.

 

2004 was the most crushing for me because we were THIIIIIIIIIIIIS close to leading 2 games to none and then on top of that we took Johan out too early in Game 4 and saw Rincon blow it and ended up with Pat Borders not being able to catch a pitch.

 

2002 was similar as Adam Kennedy just ruined everything and the Angels boat raced us in the last four games.

[glunn]

 

For me personally in addition to the others mentioned I would throw 2002 in there.  I think that was our first playoff appearance since the 1991 World Series win.   We got past the first series with Oakland and had home field advantage against the Angels.   My memories were of 1987 and 1991 when we won it all so I was expecting the same that year.   Getting Rally-monkeyed was tough. 

 

This year was interesting - it was like it progressively got worse.   At the start I didn't think we would win it all but I thought we would be competitive.  First game we take a lead - then lose it - then tie it up - then collapse.  2nd game is over by the 3rd inning - and last night was a little bit of a tease - we seem to either flail at the plate or when we hit shots it is right at a Yankee.     The fact we have lost all these games to the Yankees in a row now is of mythic proportion.    

I was at that game in Anaheim. Still bitter.  

 

[Squirrel]

They’re all heartbreaking. True heartbreak is true heartbreak.

[Bomba2026]

I was a kid watching the 65 Series with Sandy Koufax and Drysdale....They were unbelievable and respectable. The Twins were new. This loss in 2019 hurt because this team was a true Team. I think these guys get along, have lots of talent and have made this season the most exciting since the Puckett Hrbek days...I thought this team had more talent, but the pitching was hit hard by Pineda. That was the straw. Next year....

[Otto von Ballpark]

This 2019 postseason was tough, because we spent a lot of time in anticipation.

 

Compared to 2006, when we were chasing Detroit down to the very end (albeit with the wild card as a fallback). Same with 2009.

 

But 2019, we had a big lead, and a little Cleveland scare but we mostly squashed that with two full weeks to go. And then it was a parade of articles and discussion here, about how all of our late emerging talents were "for real", and how the experience of veterans like Cruz, Marwin, and Romo was going to be valuable.

 

Then they laid this massive egg.

[Otto von Ballpark]

And of course, 2019 has the snowball effect of past postseasons. There wasn't really talk of a "Yankee curse" or even a playoff curse until 2009 or so.

 

I mean, the Twins didn't even need to win a series this year -- just one single win would have at least broken "the streak" and gotten a monkey off our back. And they didn't even come close to that, with some elementary mistakes. Very frustrating.

 

Although I guess one could also view that as lowered expectations too, so maybe it shouldn't hurt so much.

[howeda7]

 

Here's my list of heartbreak

 

1) 1998 Vikings (I was young, impressionable and naive)

2) 2006 Twins (Although it could be #1 if Liriano hadn't blown out his arm)

3) 2009 Vikings (Different verse, same as the first)

4) 2019 Twins (Good lineup, suspect pitching, neither synced up in the playoffs)

 

 

Honorable mention: 2002 Twins, 2010 Twins, 2009 Twins, 2008 Twins, 2015 Vikings, 2003 Twins, 2000 Vikings

1. 98 Vikings

2. 09 Vikings

3. 06 Twins-not so much losing to Oakland but from what could have been on 8/1 before Liriano and Radke's arms fell off

4.03 Gopher football Michigan game which cost them the Rose Bowl

5. 04 Twins

 

I would rank this year behind the 2009 Twins as well.

[USAFChief]

I dont think the Twins scored 7 or fewer runs in any three game series all year, until the ALDS.

 

The Twins were not swept in a 3 or 4 game series all year, until the ALDS.

 

Berrios did not have a single start that lasted only 4.0 IP all year, until the ALDS.

 

This was an epic collapse, and the worst of all time, IMO.

[D. Hocking]

In 2006 I was disappointed, but at the time I really thought they would build on that momentum in 2007.  In some I felt the disappointment more in 2007 when it did not become 2006 part 2.

 

2009 -- was a disappointment - but the Yankees were pretty dominant that year, I might have felt game 163 more the previous year.

 

2010 -- I saw a regular season game the last week of the season and Thome and Mauer could barely hobble to first base and Justin was out - so while they had a pretty good season by that point they were pretty beat up and in retrospect signs of things to come in 2011.

 

2019 -  I did not think they were as good as their record.  A lot of it was padded by playing some really bad teams in April and September and they were pretty mediocre the middle of the season.  I did not necessarily expect them to advance, but I did expect them to play better than they did and at least be competitive.   I think this year the play-off losing streak weighed on me a bit more.

 

The '98 Vikings was probably my biggest disappointment.  I was a little too young to be invested in the early super bowl losses, and if I remember correctly people were prepared for them to lose number 4.   It is crazy to think they have not even made to the big game in over 40 years when they went 4 times in my first 8 years of life.  The 98 game might have crushed something in my soul, because while I have been disappointed by other Viking losses (see, Favre, Brett), I am not sure I have ever felt quite as kicked in the gut since then.

 

My high school football team mid-80's --- so close to making it to State at a time where it was harder to even make it to the play-offs for high school  football.   I suppose the most crushing losses to me were high school related.  

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I suppose the most crushing losses to me were high school related.  

And the most crushing victory for you was the 2002 ALDS Game 5, specifically the celebration afterward crushing your hand.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Easily this season. Great job, Twins.