Ten Greatest MLB Players to Never Win a World Series
There have been some great players in the history of Major League Baseball. Guys like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron are just a few of the names who pop into people's heads when they name the greatest players of all-time. But a common thread among the three aforementioned players, along with many of the other greats, is that they were able to win a World Series ring. The question is, who are the greatest players to never capture the ultimate prize? I set out to compile a list, ultimately deciding on the ten players listed below.
#10: Robin Yount
As one of the rare players to spend his entire career with one team, Yount was the catalyst for the Milwaukee Brewers' run to the 1982 World Series, as he won the American League Most Valuable Player Award that year. Unfortunately, his second consecutive trip to the playoffs would also be his last. Despite another MVP Award in '89 - following his move from shortstop to center field, now making him one of only four players to ever accomplish that feat at two different positions - his Brewers never made it back to the Series.
#9: Harmon Killebrew
Best known for his time with the Minnesota Twins as their power-hitting first baseman/third baseman/outfielder, Killebrew was a 13-time All-Star (making appearances at each position). He hit 40 or more homers eight times and is currently 11th on the all-time home run list with 573 career dingers. Unfortunately, in his only World Series appearance in 1965, his Twins fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a heartbreaking Game 7.
#8: Rod Carew
Just two years after their World Series loss, Killebrew and the Twins were joined by another future Hall of Famer in speedy infielder Carew, who would win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. While he appeared in the All-Star Game in each of his first 18 seasons (he played 19 seasons overall), Carew's teams (the Twins and the then-California Angels) never made it out of the first round of the playoffs.
#7: Willie McCovey
Though he is one of the most prolific home run hitters in MLB history, McCovey appeared in the playoffs just two times and in his only World Series, he made Game 7's final out on a line drive that was snared by New York Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson. The fact that the part of San Francisco Bay that sits behind the right field wall of the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park certainly speaks to the legacy that McCovey left, but he would undoubtedly trade that honor for a World Series title.
#6: Carl Yastrzemski
The Boston Red Sox' career leader in numerous categories, "Yaz" was an 18-time All-Star and a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner as well as the 1967 AL MVP. Despite the fact that he was the one to raise the Sox' World Series banner in '04, he never won a championship during his time as a player, which was in the middle of the franchise's 86-year Series drought.
#5: Tony Gwynn
One of baseball's all-time best hitters, Gwynn is probably the greatest San Diego Padres player ever. He was the kind of guy who would dink and dunk you to death, but he would almost always make contact. In 20 seasons, he struck out just 434 times compared to 790 walks (which translates to 21.7 strikeouts and 39.5 walks per year), numbers that are unheard of not only today, but at any point in MLB history. He was a part of each of the franchise's two World Series appearances (in 1984 and '98), but was never able to help them get over the hump.
#4: Ernie Banks
"Mr. Cub" is as synonymous with the Chicago Cubs as modern-day players like Derek Jeter of the Yankees and Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves. He spent all 19 of his seasons with Chicago and while he never experienced the postseason, he was a 14-time All-Star and the first shortstop in National League history to win back-to-back MVP Awards (in 1958 and '59).
#3: Nap Lajoie
Lajoie is probably the most least-recognized player on this list and given that he made his debut in 1896, that's understandable. However, the fact that he posted a career batting average of .338 (the same as the previously mentioned Gwynn) while also recording over 3,000 hits and a .380 on-base percentage made it impossible to leave him off the list. In 1901, he won the AL Triple Crown with a .426 average, 14 homers, and 125 RBIs. However, just like Banks, Lajoie never played in a single playoff game.
#2: Ty Cobb
Known as Lajoie's biggest rival, Cobb is much more well-known. In 24 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Cobb set a plethora of records that still stand today: highest career batting average (.367), most career steals of home (54), and most batting titles (12). Though his Tigers made the World Series in 1907, '08, and '09, they never quite made it to the pinnacle of their sport.
#1: Ted Williams
No one else deserves the number one spot on this list as much as "The Splendid Splinter," who is generally considered as one of the top three players in baseball history. God only knows how many more records Williams would have accrued had he not left twice to be in the U.S. Marines. His numbers are already gaudy enough (a .344 batting average, 521 homers, and 1,839 RBIs to go along with a staggering .482 on-base percentage), so one has to think that they would have been even more mind-boggling had he been able to stay around. During the first of his two AL MVP years (1946), Williams led the Red Sox to the World Series, where they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
Source: ESPN.com
