Page 16 - aruba-today-20240925

A16 SPORTS
Wednesday 25 september 2024

How hard is it to repeat as World Series champ? Texas just made it

24 seasons in a row without one

By STEPHEN HAWKINS those teams (20 of 30) are
AP Baseball Writer involved in a postseason
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — that is essentially the same
This is the 24th season in a length as hockey.
row that there will not be a Missing playoffs, multiple
repeat World Series cham- titles
pion, and Bruce Bochy There have been 16 differ-
knows firsthand how hard ent teams win titles since
it is trying to win back-to- the Yankees’ dominat-
back titles — or even get- ing stretch, and five oth-
ting back to the playoffs ers have played in the Fall
the following season. Classic.
“I should know because I’m The only managers other
0 for 4,” said Bochy, who is Bochy with multiple titles
wrapping up his 27th sea- since 2001 are Tony La
son as a big league man- Russa (St. Louis in 2006 and
ager. “I’ll say it again, you 2011) and Terry Francona
start with how difficult it is to (Boston in 2004 and 2007).
win a world championship. Houston is the only other
It’s really hard to do. To re- team to win more than
peat that, a lot has to hap- once, with A.J. Hinch in
pen.” 2017 and Dusty Baker two
Bochy and the reigning years ago.
champion Texas Rangers The Rangers are the 12th
won’t even be in the play- team since 2003 to miss the
offs. They will finish with a playoffs the year after be-
losing record a year after New York Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez (24) jumps into the arms of pitcher Mariano Rivera ing World Series champs.
the franchise’s first World as catcher Jorge Posada, third from right, Scott Brosius (18) and others celebrate after defeating Texas has been in third
Series title. the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series 4-2 to become the 2000 World Series Champions, place in the AL West since
The New York Yankees Oct. 26, 2000, at New York’s Shea Stadium. June 21, and below .500 a
were the last team to win Associated Press month longer than that in a
consecutive champion- season filled with injuries to
ships, three in a row from mentum and the two top-seeded tunity to play in the World the likes of Josh Jung, Evan
1998-2000. Derek Jeter, After making the World Se- teams get a bye with a Series because I really liked Carter and World Series
Mariano Rivera and the ries in 2017 and 2018, the nearly week-long gap be- our club then. We were a MVP shortstop Corey Sea-
Bronx Bombers even made Los Angeles Dodgers fi- tween games not neces- homer away from pulling ger and offensive struggles.
it back to the Fall Classic in nally ended a 32-year title sarily an advantage after that off.” Texas is scoring about 4.2
2001 when Arizona had a drought by winning in it all the daily routine of a 162- In other leagues runs a game after averag-
walk-off win in the deciding during the pandemic-short- game regular season. There have been multiple ing nearly 5 1/2 last season.
Game 7. ened 2020 season. Atlanta won the World Se- repeat champions in the ALCS MVP Adolis García
Only five teams have “Baseball is the most ran- ries in 2021, a year after los- NFL, NBA and NHL since isn’t close to the 39 hom-
played in back-to-back dom championship to cap- ing to Los Angeles in Game that run by the Yankees ers and 107 RBIs he had last
World Series since then. The ture,” Dodgers manager 7 of the NL Championship nearly a quarter-century year, leadoff hitter Marcus
best championship run was Dave Roberts said. “It is not Series. The Braves and the ago. Semien is about 40 points
that of the San Francisco always about the best ros- Dodgers were the National The Kansas City Chiefs are below the .276 batting av-
Giants, who won three titles ter, it is about the team that League’s top two seeds trying this season to be the erage he had and switch-
over five seasons (2010, gets the hottest, clearly. ... with byes the past two sea- first to win three consecu- hitting catcher Jonah Heim
2012 and 2014) when Bo- The best teams, in theory, sons and both lost in the di- tive Super Bowls. New Eng- didn’t repeat his impressive
chy was their manager. aren’t always hoisting that vision series each time. land went back-to-back in offensive production.
They also missed the post- trophy. That’s by design, as “The five days off we’ve 2004-05. The NFL sends 14 of “We just had to deal with
season the following year far as the playoff format.” had the last two years is its 32 teams to the playoffs, some things this year that
each time. Only 12 of 30 teams make not conducive to keeping 44% of the total and more we couldn’t quite over-
Bochy had been retired for the playoffs since the field things going,” Braves man- than than MLB (40%). come,” Bochy said. “Ev-
three years when the Rang- was expanded from 10 in ager Brian Snitker said. “It Half the NHL’s 32 teams ery season takes a life of
ers hired him and immedi- 2022 with the addition of is a tough thing to do. It is make the playoffs, a two- its own. We got the inju-
ately won the World Series a third wild card in each hard to win one obviously, month grind to determine ries (and) just our play too
following six consecutive league. The wild card be- but to back it up ... I looked the Stanley Cup champion. wasn’t quite as good, and
losing seasons. came a best-of-three series at ‘20 and how close we Including the NBA’s play-in we have to be honest
Playoff format and mo- instead of a single game, were to having an oppor- tournament, two-thirds of about that.”q