LONGEST LCS STREAKS

SINCE THE DIVISIONAL ERA BEGAN IN 1969, ONLY TWO TEAMS HAVE REACHED A LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES IN FIVE CONSECUTIVE SEASONS. THE ASTROS WILL ATTEMPT TO BECOME THE THIRD

2021-03-31 - By Steve Schaeffer • STAFF WRITER

BRAVES

1991-93, 95-99 NL pennants: 5 World Series titles: 1 Mainstays: LHP TOM GLAVINE, RHP John Smoltz

This might have been a nineyear streak if not for a strike that ended the 1994 season on Aug. 12, when the Braves were in position to be the NL’S first wild card team if they couldn’t make up a six-game gap on the Expos in the East. Pitching was the key to this sterling run under manager Bobby Cox, particularly after Greg Maddux joined Glavine and Smoltz in 1993 to give Atlanta a Cooperstown triumvirate. Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones became an integral piece in 1995, the lone season the Braves capped with a championship.

ATHLETICS

1971-75 AL pennants: 3 World Series titles: 3 Mainstays: 3B Sal Bando, LHP Vida Blue, SS Bert Campaneris, RHP Rollie Fingers, OF REGGIE JACKSON, OF Joe Rudi

Not since the 1800s had baseball seen a collection of mustaches like Oakland’s, but the A’s facial hair took a back seat to their talent, ultimately broken up by the early years of free agency. Jackson established himself as a superstar with the Athletics, whose championships came in 1972 (in seven games over the Reds), 1973 (in seven games over the Mets) and 1974 (in five games over the Dodgers). Had Catfish Hunter, who won 21, 21, 21 and 25 games from 1971 to 1974, not left for the Yankees as a free agent, Oakland might have topped Boston in the 1975 ALCS.

ASTROS

2017-20 AL pennants: 2 World Series titles: 1 Mainstays: 2B JOSE ALTUVE, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Carlos Correa, 1B Yuli Gurriel, OF Josh Reddick, OF George Springer

Three straight seasons of tripledigit losses from 2011 to 2013 gave way to a Core Four of Altuve, Bregman, Correa and Springer that gave opposing pitchers fits, especially in the postseason. Acquired at the Aug. 31 deadline, pitcher Justin Verlander was the last piece needed to put the franchise over the top in 2017, though a sign-stealing scandal would call the legitimacy of that year’s title into question. The Astros were three innings away from a second crown in 2019, but the Nats were uncooperative after Zack Greinke was pulled in the seventh inning of Game 7.

YANKEES

1998-2001 AL pennants: 4 World Series titles: 3 Mainstays: 3B Scott Brosius, SS DEREK JETER, 2B/OF Chuck Knoblauch, 1B Tino Martinez, OF Paul O’neill, LHP Andy Pettitte, C Jorge Posada, RHP Mariano Rivera, OF Bernie Williams

It was an admirable feat keeping so many strong players together this long, and it helped the Yanks become the last team to date to win three championships in a row. They fell just shy of a fourth in 2001, bowing to Arizona in seven games. Roger Clemens was aboard for the last three pennants, but it’s the 1998 team that can make a plausible case for being the best ever. With a staff including Pettitte, David Wells, David Cone and Orlando Hernandez, New York won 114 games before going 11-2 in the playoffs, including a World Series sweep of the Padres.

CARDINALS

2011-14 NL pennants: 2 World Series titles: 1 Mainstays: OF Matt Holliday, OF Jon Jay, C YADIER MOLINA

Despite the absence of ace Adam Wainwright, who missed the year because of Tommy John surgery, the Cards won it all in 2011, their last season with Albert Pujols at first base and Tony La Russa in the dugout. The heroics of David Freese and Lance Berkman pulled them from the brink of defeat in Game 6 of that year’s World Series against the Rangers, and St. Louis won the title in Game 7. With Wainwright back in 2012, the Cardinals reloaded under new manager Mike Matheny, winning another pennant in 2013 but losing the World Series to Boston in six games.