The 2017 Dodgers, 2017 Indians and great sports teams or individuals

[pc1]

I live in the United States and have been a following of sports for ages. In all my years of following sports I have never seen in Major League Baseball a team that looked so invincible in the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers. People were calling this year's Dodger team the greatest of all time.
https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/08/22/los-angeles-dodgers-justin-turner

Yet shortly afterwards the Dodgers lost 15 of 16 and looked like the worst team in baseball. The 2017 Cleveland Indians looked like just an above average team but as of today they have won 20 games in a row and now are I believe the favorite to win the World Series.

Something like this is unusual because once greatness establishes itself, unless there are a lot of injuries you don't see a collapse like this. Now the Dodgers could still win the World Series but they can't be in the mythical running of greatest team ever.

I'm a big fan of greatness in sports. My question to all of you is what teams have you thought were virtually invincible in their various sports and what is your favorite sport teams and the year you had the most fun with that team.

Personally in baseball the best team I've seen is the 1998 New York Yankees but I've also be in awe of teams like the 1976 Incineration Reds aka The Big Red Machine and the 1970 Baltimore Orioles. The most exciting season was 1977 when the Yankees came back from way behind to win the World Series. It was a soap opera that they made a mini series about.

In American Football the team I was most in awe of was the 1985 Chicago Bears and in the National Basketball Association it was the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan.

I think of efficiency in a great team playing their top level to be something to be enjoyed and admired. Same with individuals in sport like tennis.

 

[jaggy]

Harlem Globetrotters should get a mention

 

[r2473]

Baseball is parity. Any team making playoffs can win it all. Team with best record wins as often as anyone else.

So different from basketball, football and tennis where you know going in the few teams (in some cases 1 team) that will win

 

[pc1]

Harlem Globetrotters should get a mention

Maybe the Washington Generals also.

 

[pc1]

Baseball is parity. Any team making playoffs can win it all. Team with best record wins as often as anyone else.

So different from basketball, football and tennis where you know going in the few teams (in some cases 1 team) that will win

It's tough with baseball. One player can't dominate like a Lebron can in basketball or a Jordan also in basketball.

 

[stringertom]

It's tough with baseball. One player can't dominate like a Lebron can in basketball or a Jordan also in basketball.

For a full season, not likely. For the postseason, there was a guy rightly called Mr. October and he was right in the middle of that memorable 1977 season you have mentioned...the straw that stirred the drink.

 

[pc1]

For a full season, not likely. For the postseason, there was a guy rightly called Mr. October and he was right in the middle of that memorable 1977 season you have mentioned...the straw that stirred the drink.

That was so weird. The ending was so ridiculous that if a sci-fi writer wrote it people would say it was too absurd to be real. Reggie hits three home runs on three pitches to win the 1977 World Series. Wish they made a miniseries on the 1978 Yankees.

 

[stringertom]

That was so weird. The ending was so ridiculous that if a sci-fi writer wrote it people would say it was too absurd to be real. Reggie hits three home runs on three pitches to win the 1977 World Series. Wish they made a miniseries on the 1978 Yankees.

From three different pitchers too. One of the greatest performances in postseason play in any sport.

As to your list of dominant team performances by season:

'84 SF 49'ers 15-1 regular season record (lone loss by a FG)...Montana, Roger Craig, Wendell Tyler and 3 Pro Bowl OL starters and a defense that led the league in fewest points allowed with the entire secondary Pro Bowlers. In their SB win they held Marino's Miami offense to 16 points on the heels of shutting out the Bears in the NFC Championship game.

1984 Detroit Tigers. Won the AL wire to wire with a 35-5 start they never yielded. Sparky Anderson at his best again after switching leagues from the Big Red Machine. Willie Hernandez was league Cy Young and MVP as a reliever. Jack Morris was the ace of a solid pitching rotation, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker were the best DP combo and great offensive infielders and the OF was anchored by Kirk Gibson and Chet Lemon.

1984-85 Edmonton Oilers. They defended their first Stanley Cup and absolutely the NHL that year. Gretzky, Messier and Jari Kurri at their prime with a defense anchored by Paul Coffey and the tandem goaltending of Andy Moog and Grant Fuhr. Gretzky had 208 points that season and a +/- of 98. He and Kurri combined for 144 goals.

1984 was a great year, no?

The best though were the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls at 72-10 with GOAT Jordan leading the way for Pippen, Kukoc, Harper and Rodman.