Read the arguments by Sports Geek and Bleacher Fan about which teams they believe were the best World Series champions of this decade.
Since the final World Series of this decade was just completed, The Sports Debates must debate which specific World Series winning team was the best of the decade. (The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals do not belong in the discussion. That team was eliminated from consideration quite early in our conversation.) Almost everyone, at least almost everyone outside of New York, was thrilled to see the Boston Red Sox win in 2004. In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the heavily favored New York Yankees in the post 9/11 World Series. To me, that remains the best World Series I have ever personally watched, with the exception of the 1991 World Series (minus the outcome, of course). But as far as team of the decade, I really feel the 2003 Florida Marlins got hot at the right time and ended up being the best World Series championship team of this decade.
The Florida Marlins have been either hit or miss since its inception in 1993. The team won the World Series in 1997, too, but this 2003 team just had something about it. Not many experts expected much out of it. Sure the team won 91 games in the regular season (a full ten games behind division winner, Atlanta). The 91-win season occurred after starting the season 19-29 and changing managers (Jeff Torborg was replaced by Jack McKeon). And the team was not really expected to do much in the playoffs. But, they defeated San Francisco in the first round, a series that concluded with Ivan Rodriguez holding on to the ball at home plate after being run over by J.T. Snow.
Many people, fair or not, think of Steve Bartman when they think of the 2003 NLCS. But the Marlins deserve some serious credit for overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the series. The Marlins won Game six and seven against the Cubs in Chicago when the Cubbies featured young guns Mark Prior and Kerry Wood on the bump.
After the NLCS came the supposed mismatch against the heavily favored New York Yankees. The Marlins payroll was $54 million, compared to the $164 million payroll of the Yankees. However, behind dominant starting pitching, Florida won its second World Series in six seasons, winning four games to two. Josh Beckett pitched the clincher, going the distance on three days rest in one of the most clutch starting pitching performances in postseason history.
The postseason was the coming out party for then-20 year old Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera was called up midseason but he really caught the attention of the baseball world during the postseason. The highlights include hitting three home runs in the NLCS and hitting a home run off of Roger Clemens in the World Series (in what was supposed to be Clemens’ last season… hahahaha!).
What carried the Marlins was the young pitching trio of Beckett, Brad Penny, and rookie sensation Dontrelle Willis. Those three showed no fear in being thrust unexpectedly into the postseason spotlight.
The 2003 Marlins were a true underdog pretty much the entire season. The team overcame that stigma to win a title. For that, the 2003 Florida Marlins deserve to be called the team of the decade!
The 2005 White Sox were the best World Series team of the decade.
Uh, okay. Why?