Regular season success is not necessarily a guarantee that an MLB team will win the World Series.
It does put you in an advantageous position and gives the team a confidence boost, but that’s that: once the series starts, the regular season record is left behind and whoever gets four wins first takes the trophy.
Historically, we have seen some of the best regular season teams ever assembled fall short of the title, or even lose in the first playoff rounds.
The New York Yankees, however, usually win the Fall Classic when they finish with a high regular season wins output.
“Most wins in any of the last 100 MLB regular season: 2001 Mariners, 116 (lost ALCS); 1998 Yankees, 114 (won WS); 2022 Dodgers, 111 (lost NLDS); 1954 Indians, 111 (lost WS); 1927 Yankees, 110 (won WS); 1969 Orioles, 109 (lost WS); 1961 Yankees, 109 (won WS),” Codify Baseball tweeted.
Most wins in any of the last 100 MLB regular season:
2001 Mariners, 116 (lost ALCS)
1998 Yankees, 114 (won WS)
2022 Dodgers, 111 (lost NLDS)
1954 Indians, 111 (lost WS)
1927 Yankees, 110 (won WS)
1969 Orioles, 109 (lost WS)
1961 Yankees, 109 (won WS)— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) November 8, 2022
The 2001 Mariners have the record for most regular season wins, yet they didn’t even make the World Series.
The 2022 Dodgers suffered a similar fate.
The Yankees Turn Elite Regular Seasons Into Titles
Yet the Yankees are usually able to overcome that trend that mainly involves other teams.
The 1998 team represented a franchise record in wins for the Yankees, with 114.
What did they do? They dominated the San Diego Padres in the Fall Classic.
The 1927 Yankees, the “Murderers’ Row” team, won 110 contests and took home the title.
The 1961 Yanks, with Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle fighting for the single-season home run record, also won the World Series after taking 109 regular season games.
Dominant Yankees teams throughout history are usually able to turn that regular season success into a trophy.
The last time it happened was in 2009, when they had 103 regular season wins and defeated the Phillies in the last series of the year.