By popular demand, what are the greatest division/wild card races (1995-present) in MLB history?

Estil

I had been thinking of doing this topic for quite some time. While I do indeed stand behind my belief that true pennant races only go up to 1993, I do also recognize that there were some fantastic division/wild card races from 1995 onward, even though they were not true pennant races. Also I noticed some people in the other topic were upset by my not including them so by popular demand I created this topic to also shine the spotlight on the greatest division/wild card races from 1995 onward. Here are the ground rules:

1. Just like in the topic covering true pennant races (before 1994) any that required a one game playoff get an automatic bid. As per MLB rules, one game playoffs are only used if it's "winner goes on, loser goes home" situation. Starting in 2009, home field is determined by the team with the better "head-to-head" record instead of a coin toss.
2. Just like with both of the magical 2011 wild card races, ones that involve overcoming a big deficit in the final month or even better still the last week or two.
3. Any that had three or more teams still mathematically in the race with only a week or so to go.
4. Ideally, the race should not have the second place team being able to "fall back" on the wild card.

And some trivia for ya.

* Remember how in the era of true pennant races the Dodgers and Red Sox were involved in every pennant playoff, won all the coin tosses for home field, and yet lost six out of seven (1959 Dodgers being the one exception)? Well during the "wild card era" of 1995 onward, the Dodgers and Red Sox have never been involved in a one game playoff.

* As for home field advantage, only once has the host team failed to win (1999 Reds).

* In the "pennant race era" (1993 or earlier), there has never been a pennant playoff two years in a row. But in the "wild card era", not only has it occurred twice, but it was the same race. They are the 1998 and 1999 NL Wild Card, and the 2008 and 2009 AL Central. And incredibly, both NL Wild Card races involved four different teams and both AL Central playoffs involved three out of four different teams (only the Twins were in both). More on those later of course.

* In the "wild card era", the winner of a one game playoff has never won a World Series, and only the 2007 Rockies appeared in the Fall Classic.

* Both 2011 Wild Card races involved major comebacks in the final month, and both of the victims of those collapses had a chance to force a one-game playoff but both teams lost those final games, and both lost in extra innings. More on those later.


I'll add more to this list as I go along.

1995 AL West (Mariners) - In the first ever season with the three division/wild card format not counting the strike season, neither the Mariners or the Angels have ever appeared in the Fall Classic, and the Seattle Mariners have never appeared in the playoffs at all. In fact, until their success of this season, they were in very real danger of leaving Seattle! On August 2nd, the Angels were 13 games ahead of Seattle and it looked like they'd run away with the division. Unfortunately for the Halos, they would go on not one, but two nine game losing streaks on August 25 and September 13. Seattle was able to take advantage of this with the help of getting Ken Griffey Jr back from an injury. Seattle took first place on September 22 and the Angels would fall to three games back with five to go. But similar to the 1978 AL East race, the Angels would not stay dead and by winning all five of those remaining games and the Mariners losing three out of four, it meant the first one game playoff in the "wild card era". The Mariners would blow out the Angels 9-1 at the Kingdome to win the division and would go on to finish American League Runner-Up to the Cleveland Indians.

1998 NL Wild Card (Cubs) - While most of the nation's attention was focused on the McGwire/Sosa home run record chase, Sosa's Cubs were in contention to make their first postseason appearance in nine years (though they finished dead last in their division the year before). But the defending West Division champion Giants as well as the Mets had other ideas. In fact, on September 25, all three teams were tied for the Wild Card at 88-72. So it looked like there was a chance for a three team tie right? Well, the Mets lost the last two games and finished one game short. So it was the Giants versus the Cubs at Wrigley. The Cubs took a 5-0 lead into the 9th inning, but the Giants fell two runs short and the Cubbies were back in the post season for the first time in almost a decade.

1999 NL Central (Astros) & NL Wild Card (Mets) - Frustrated with just missing a potential three team playoff the previous year, the Mets made sure to finish first for the Wild Card this year. Unfortunately so too did the Reds, despite having a meager 77-85 record the previous year. The Mets did have a commanding seven game lead on the NL East division but blew the lead to the "Team of the '90s", the Braves. Meanwhile the Reds and Astros were locked up in a very tight race for the Central Division title, and the Astros clinched it by winning the final game of the season. Remember how there was a possibility of a three way tie in 1998? Had the Astros lost, there would've been a three way tie for the Wild Card, with the Mets taking the 'Card and the Astros and Reds in a one game playoff for the Central. Instead, the Astros got the Central and the Reds hosted the Mets in a one game playoff. Despite having home field, the Reds didn't put up much of a fight in the playoff getting only two hits as the Mets won 5-0. The Mets would go on to make history in the NLCS as the only other team (besides the 1998 Braves who ironically they were playing against in that series) to come back from a three games to none deficit to make it as far as a Game 6 (until the 2004 Red Sox of course).

2007 NL East (Phillies) - Remember the embarrassing collapse from a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games left to play that the Phillies went through in 1964 (as well as nearly blowing the 1950 pennant to the Dodgers)? Well the Mets had a seven game lead in the NL East Division with just 17 games left to go. Looks pretty safe right? Well the Mets would lose 12 of those last 17 games while the team that ultimately caught them and won the division won 13 out of their last 17 games. Ironically, it was those very same Phillies, who would go on to win their second World Series crown the very next year. And incredibly, the Phillies' miraculous comeback occurred on the very same season they became the first MLB to have the dubious honor of reaching 10,000 losses!

2007 NL Wild Card (Rockies) - The NL West race proved to be as nailbiting as they come with the Diamondback holding first place for 89 days and the Padres for 52 days. Ultimately the Diamondbacks would win the division by just one game. So perhaps the Padres could just fall back on the wild card right? After all they did win 11 of their last 17 games. Unfortunately for the Padres, another team in the wild card hunt won 13 of their last 14 games to force a one game playoff. The playoff game would become perhaps the most exciting of the "wild card era" as the game went into overtime tied 6-6 and after the top of the 13th inning, the Padres went up two runs. The Rockies would see their two runs and raise them one to clinch the wild card. But the Rockies were just getting warmed up, and they swept both the NLDS and NLCS to reach the first ever World Series, which was also a sweep. Unfortunately for the Rockies, this time they were on the bad side of that sweep, losing to the Red Sox.

2008 AL Central (White Sox) - Since mid-May, the White Sox and Twins were in a very tight division race, and with the Twins going a mere 11-15 in September, you'd think that'd be enough to finish them right? Well with the help of a three game sweep of the ChiSox, the teams ended the season tied, needing a one game playoff. It was a classic pitchers duel as the Good Guys only gave up a mere two hits and one run in the seventh inning was all they needed to wrap up the division title. The Twinkies would have better luck next year though...

2009 AL Central (Twins) - Although the Detroit Tigers were supposed to be in division contention the previous year, injuries that year prevented it, but they were locked and loaded to be in the hunt in 2009. But the Twins who came up just short in 2008 weren't going to just sit there and take it. Both teams would win 16 games in September (but the Tigers 12 losses that month were one more than the Twins' 11), but it was October that made the difference. The Tigers squandered their division lead by losing three of their last four while the Twins swept their last four to force the tie-breaker. And just like the 2007 wild card tie-breaker, it was a classic nail biter that also went into extra innings, tied 4-4. After the score remaining knotted up 5-5 after the 10th inning (after the Twins' Alexi Casilla goofed tagging up on third and getting the third out), it was at the bottom of the 12th that Casilla went from goat to hero by driving in the game winning run to capture the division for the Twins.

2011 NL Wild Card (Cardinals) - In a very unusual season with both wild card races featuring big comebacks in the final month (more on the AL Wild Card race next), the Atlanta Braves were sitting pretty at 10.5 games up on the wild card on August 24. Looks like it's time to go ahead and print up those NL Wild Card championship t-shirts and caps right? Unfortunately for Atlanta they chose instead to go 9-18 in the month of September, while at the same time St. Louis would win 23 of their last 32 games. Just like with the AL Wild Card race (more on that later), the Braves had a chance to save themselves from a humiliating choke job by winning their last game of the season against the Phillies (the Redbirds blew out the Astros earlier 8-0 to clinch at least a tie for the wild card). After leaving what would be the winning run on third base in the bottom of the 12th inning of that game, Hunter Pence of the Phillies drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 13th and the Braves could not answer. The Braves loss secured one of the most improbable comebacks in history for the Cardinals, but they were just getting warmed up. In fact, they would go on to win the World Series in a thrilling fashion over the two time AL Champion Texas Rangers. If this sounds awfully familiar, the Redbirds won their 1964 World Series title in a very similar fashion (needing a big comeback to capture the flag).

2011 AL Wild Card (Devil Rays) - Starting 0-6 to begin the season is never a good sign, and on September 3, the Devil Rays (yes I know that's not their name anymore; deal with it) were trailing nine games behind the wild card leading Red Sox. With no team ever coming back from that big a deficit that late in the season and making the post-season, the Devil Rays gave up and started dreaming of next season...oh wait, that's not right. The Devil Rays decided instead that it ain't over till you're mathematically out and won 17 of their last 24 and in fact beat the BoSox three out of four times during that stretch. The Red Sox meanwhile, lost two of their last three games to the last place Orioles and only a Devil Rays loss would secure a one game playoff. As if that weren't embarrassing enough for Red Sox Nation, the Devil Rays were playing the Yankees on that last game, forcing Boston to put clothespins on their noses and hope for a Yankees win. That game would go to the 12th inning, and ultimately Tampa Bay would beat the Evil Empire 8-7. This most embarassing of collapses would ultimately cost Red Sox manager Terry Francona his job.