Best Players in MLB History to Never Win a World Series
The weather is cooling off, the leaves are changing, and baseball players are hoping that their lifelong dreams are going to come true... It is October!
Some of the greatest players to ever play the game have left their marks during the World Series. However, there are many tremendous players that have never gotten the opportunity to win their very own World Series ring.
Here is my list of the top 10 players to never win a World Series:
10. Ernie Banks
Mr. Cub was named to the All-Century team and was a first ballot Hall of Famer. He finished his great career with 512 homeruns, 14 All-Star game selections, and two MVP awards. Unfortunately, Banks never played in a playoff game of any kind.
9. Nap Lajoie
Lajoie was one of the best turn-of-the-century players. He had an tremendous .338/.380/.466 career hitting line, to go with 3,242 hits and 380 stolen bases. His 1901 season with the Philadelphia Athletics was one of the greatest overall hitting seasons ever as he hit .426. Also, he led the league in runs, hits, 2B, HR, RBI, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and total bases. He too never played in a postseason game.
8. Harmon Killebrew
He is the greatest Minnesota Twin in history, and he put together a tremendous career. He hit an incredible 573 career homeruns, which ranks 11th all time. He won the MVP in 1969 when he led the league in homeruns, RBIs, and OBP. Unfortunately, he never saw postseason action in his career.
7. Tony Gwynn
Gwynn is one of the greatest pure hitters of all time. He finished with a batting average above .350 six times in his career, including the .394 that he put up in 1994. In addition, he was a 15-time All-Star, eight-time batting champion, seven-time Silver Slugger, and five-time Gold Glover. He played in two World Series with the Padres where he hit .371/.436/.457, but he never got the chance to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy.
6. George Sisler
Although Sisler never got the chance to play for a World Series, he did win the league’s first ever Most Valuable Player Award in 1922. That season, he led the league in runs, hits, triples, and stolen bases to go along with a .420 batting average and a 41-game hitting streak. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1939 and his .340 career average surely helped to get him there.
5. Carl Yastrzemski
Yaz is one of the greatest Red Sox of all time, and he put together some unbelievable seasons during the 1960s. The greatest of which has to be his MVP 1967 season where he hit 44 HRs with 121 RBIs to go along with an offensive line of .326/.418/.622/1.040 (all league-leading stats, triple crown winner). He was an 18-time All-Star and his seven Gold Gloves make him one of the greatest leftfielders in history. In his two World Series appearances where his Sox lost to St. Louis and Cincinnati, he hit .352/.438/.556 with three homeruns.
4. Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro might have the biggest “what if” hanging over his career when he retires. That is, “what if he had played his entire career in MLB?” He has 2,602 hits with a .322 average in MLB to go along with 1,278 hits and a .353 average in Japan. Without a doubt, he is one of the greatest hitters in all of baseball history. He also won seven Gold Gloves to go along with 452 stolen bases in MLB. As great as Ichiro has been, the teams he has played on usually have not been. He has only seen playoff action in 2001 with the Mariners and currently with the Yankees.
3. Ty Cobb
It is baffling looking at Ty Cobb numbers throughout his career. In the 11-year stretch between 1907 and 1917, Cobb led the league in most of the important offensive categories. He has the highest career batting average at .367, and he won 12 career batting titles to go along with nine straight at one point. He played in the World Series in three straight seasons (1907-1909), but his teams fell short each time.
2. Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey Jr. was my first favorite player, and kids all over the country tried their hand at his silky smooth swing at some point in Little League. Aside from being a hero to many, he was the best player of the 1990s. He hit the sixth most homeruns all time with 630, and that is incredible considering how he suffered through multiple injuries over several seasons. Regrettably, as great as his career was, the closest he ever got to the World Series was the ALCS in 1995. For one, I would have loved to have seen “The Kid” take his beautiful cuts on baseball’s biggest stage.
1. Ted Williams
In my opinion, Williams is the greatest hitter to ever live. His feats as the plate are legendary, and I really wish I could have been lucky enough to watch him play in person. He finished his career with a mind-boggling .344 average to go along with 521 homeruns and 2,654 hits. He won two Triple Crowns, two MVPs, six batting titles, and was selected to 19 All-Star games. He did all of this while missing three seasons in a row in order to serve our country as a pilot in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He played in the 1946 World Series, but his Red Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.
That’s my list, but we want to hear from you. Tweet to @MLBFanCave and @KyleOKC using the hash tag #WorldSeries and let us know who you think is the best player to never win a World Series.