An idea occurred to me out of nowhere – as they so often do – that most of the great teams that people write about are the dynasties. So I thought, “What about the non-dynasties?” That is, what about the teams that were really good for one year, and then receded into the fog of history? It seemed like these teams – out-of-nowhere success stories – would be just as interesting to write about, if not more so.
So I compiled my list of teams with a few caveats. One is that I generally wanted teams that made the postseason. That may seem unfair at first, but then who would read a series of essays about “Worst-to-Third” teams? Secondly, I wanted teams that were not very good before and after their season of success, since this would make their one good season an interesting oasis of winning. And thirdly, I’ll admit that I was biased toward teams that were a good story and potentially fun to write about. Hopefully then, they will also be fun to read about.
The series will run in chronological order. This sets up a potential anticlimax, since the first team in the series just might be the biggest miracle story in baseball history: the 1914 Miracle Braves.
