MLB's postseason picture is becoming clearer by the day, but a couple division races are still yet to be determined, including, improbably, the race for the American League Central title between the Tigers and Guardians. The Guardians, 15 1/2 games back of the first-place Tigers and fresh off of getting swept in a three-game series by Detroit, had no reason to dream about October baseball as the MLB schedule headed for the All-Star break. But just two months later, Cleveland is in the midst of one of the most impressive comebacks baseball has ever seen in a division race, as the club erased a that entire deficit—which was still 12 1/2 games exactly a month ago—to pull even with the Tigers for a first-place tie in the AL Central in the season's final week.
Should the Guardians ultimately end up taking the Central, it will undoubtedly go down as one of the most impressive comebacks, and, unfortunately for the Tigers, one of the biggest blown division leads in the history of the sport.
Detroit would be joining several teams in the annals of baseball misfortune, as there have been multiple hefty division leads blown since MLB added the divisions back in 1969.
Biggest Blown Division Leads in MLB History1978 Boston Red Sox
Division Lead: 14 games over the Yankees as of July 19, 1978
Riding a retooled pitching staff and a productive lineup powered by outfielder Jim Rice's incredible AL MVP campaign, Boston raced out of the gate, winning 34 of its first 40 games at home, stretching its AL East lead past double digits as the George Steinbrenner-Billy Martin Yankees seemingly created more headlines than victories. But things changed as the season entered the dog days of summer. When the chaotic Yankees fell to 14 games back of Boston in mid-July and Martin was fired after he publicly scorned Steinbrenner to reporters, the Yankees potentially winning the division was the last thing on anyone's mind.
But the Bob Lemon-led Bronx Bombers got hot down the stretch and the Red Sox found themselves in the midst of a full-blown collapse, thanks to sloppy defense and the revamped pitching staff being unable to find its first half form. In a four-game series in September now known as "The Boston Massacre," the Yankees traveled to Fenway Park and outscored the error-stricken Red Sox 42–9 to amazingly pull even with Boston for first place. The Red Sox found a second wind down the stretch, resulting in a tie and a one-game playoff, in which Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent hit one of the most famous home runs of all time, becoming a hero in New York and a new curse word in Boston. With a 5–4 win over Boston, New York was, incredibly, postseason-bound, where they would eventually capture the club's second straight championship.
2012 Texas Rangers
Division Lead: 13 Games over the Oakland Athletics entering July 2012
A decade after the "Moneyball" Athletics' magical ride to the postseason, Billy Beane's Athletics caught lightning in a bottle once again in 2012. And the Rangers, just a year removed from consecutive World Series appearances, entered the history books for all the wrong reasons. Texas, boasting a pitching staff led by Yu Darvish and a lineup powered by Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler, seemed poised to run away with the AL West for a third straight season. It certainly looked that way in June, with the Athletics sitting at 37–42 and a distant 13 games behind the powerful Rangers.
But in almost reversal of fortunes, Oakland began to pitch better and slug while Texas's bats went quiet and its rotation failed to pitch deep into games. Much like the Yankees-Red Sox race in 1978, the quest for the AL West title came down to the season's final week. Texas, clinging to a four-game lead with six games left to play, split two games against the Angels, then headed to Oakland for a pivotal three-game series. The Athletics won the first two games, tied Texas for the division lead, then overcame a four-run deficit to stun the Rangers—who kicked the ball around the field to the tune of three errors—and clinch the division title.
1995 California Angels
Division Lead: 13 games over the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 2, 1995
The Angels seemed destined for October as the calendar entered August. California, as they were called back then, held a seemingly commanding double-digit lead over the Mariners, who were under .500. Just two weeks later, the Angels still held a 11 1/2-game lead over Seattle. But September was not kind to the Angels, who endured not one, but two nine-game losing streaks in the regular season's final month as the surging Mariners played .700 baseball to pull even with California, resulting in a one-game tiebreaker, which they lost thanks to a complete game gem from Hall of Fame lefthander Randy Johnson. Making the collapse sting even more for Angels fans? The club was in first place for a whopping 129 days but failed to make the postseason.
1973 Chicago Cubs
Division Lead: 12 1/2 games over the Mets on July 8, 1973
Just four years after spending 150 days in first place and ultimately missing the postseason after a second-half swoon, the cursed Cubbies did it again. With a talented roster headlined by Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo and Billy Williams, Chicago seemed poised to have a chance at its first World Series appearance in nearly 30 years. The club raced out of the gate to a 47-32 record and a 12 1/2 game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Little did they know it was all downhill from there. All the Cubs had to do to win the division was play .500 ball. Instead, Chicago, complete with an Aug. 14 meltdown from staff ace Fergie Jenkins in which he hurled four bats out of the dugout following a frustrating outing on the mound, completely collapsed in July and August, then barely traded water in September to finish the season an astounding 30-53 after the stellar start. The collapse opened the door for the "ya gotta believe" Mets, who improbably won the division and then advanced to the World Series.
2007 New York Mets
Division Lead: Seven games over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 13, 2007
While the 2007 Mets' division lead doesn't exacty reach the heights of the previous four on this list, they made the list for a simple reason: their collapse occurred so swiftly and so late in the season. On Sept. 13, the club owned the best record in baseball and was armed with much of the core that had advanced to the doorstep of the World Series the year prior. They had a seven-game lead over the Phillies with 17 games remaining in the regular season. Then, out of nowhere, the Mets collapsed. First, they were painfully swept by the Phillies from Sept. 14–17, then they dropped six of their last seven games to fall out of the playoffs completely. The worst part? New York's fate was sealed in front of its home fans against the then-Florida Marlins in the season's final game.
Honorable mentions: Blown division and wild card leads 2011 Boston Red Sox
Wild Card Lead: Nine games over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 21969 Chicago Cubs
Division Lead: Nine games over the Mets on Aug. 162011 Atlanta Braves
Wild Card Lead: Seven-and-a-half games over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 1
