The Last 5 Small Market Baseball Teams To Have Won The World Series
Parity is the all the talk in the NFL , every year all 32 teams teams' (ok, maybe 3o - sorry Jacksonville & Oakland) fans have a good reason to feel hopeful, at least until pre-season ends.
MLB? Not so much in theory with the New York's & Boston's of the world opening up seemingly bottomless wallets to scoop up every big money free agent available.
But, there have been some real contenders & champions coming out of the smaller markets over the last few years as evidenced this year by The Orioles & Royals battling in this year's ACLS. These teams have to draft better, make smarter under the radar free agent signings & develop talent better but as we have seen - it's doable.
Here are the last 5 small market teams to win it all:
2011: St. Louis Cardinals
The Cards are a classic, historic team in St. Louis since 1882. They beat the Red Sox in 2011 4 games to 3 for the series win.
2006: St. Louis Cardinals
In 2006 the Cardinals beat another small market achiever in the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 1
2003: Florida Marlins
The Marlins changed their name & have bounced their payroll up & down over the years. But when they won their 2 surprising championships they were decidedly small marke & beat the might Yanks 4-2 in the '03 series.
2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
In 'o1 the Diamondbacks had a decent payroll, but when you have to represent an entire state....They beat the Yanks in seven 4-3
1997 Florida Marlins
In 1997 the Marlins came out of nowhere to beat another small market striver. They handled the Cleveland Indians 4-3