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Red Sox: Top five MLB September collapses prove playoffs are still possible

By Sean Penney

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 18: Manager Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox looks on from the dugout during Game Five of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on October 18, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 18: Manager Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox looks on from the dugout during Game Five of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on October 18, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CA – OCTOBER 1: Tim Salmon #15 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim swings at the pitch in his final game against the Oakland Athletics on October 1, 2006 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The Athletics won 11-10 in extra innings. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – OCTOBER 1: Tim Salmon #15 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim swings at the pitch in his final game against the Oakland Athletics on October 1, 2006 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The Athletics won 11-10 in extra innings. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /

1995 Angels

The California Angels were on cruise control with a cushy 11-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West on August 9 of the 1995 season. The New York Yankees were a game ahead of Seattle for the lone Wild Card spot at the time.

By the time September rolled around, the Angels still held a 6.5 game lead. It wouldn’t be enough.

Not one, but two nine-game losing streaks caused California’s lead to vanish. Seattle stole the division lead away on September 22, nine days before the end of the regular season.

The Angels would manage a five-game winning streak to end the season to move back into a tie with Seattle, forcing a one-game playoff to determine the division winner. Unfortunately, they were shut down by Mariners ace Randy Johnson, who struck out 12 batters in a dominant 9-1 victory.

This scenario isn’t all that different from the one the Red Sox currently face. On September 6, the Angels had a 5.5 game lead in the division over Seattle. They were five games ahead of the Kansas City Royals, who held the Wild Card spot at the time, and six ahead of a Yankees team that would end up winning the Wild Card. The Mariners managed to climb over the Angels and Royals to make the playoffs despite a similar hole to the one Boston finds itself in now.

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