Is Atlanta’s 14 Consecutive (1991-2005) Division Titles An Unbreakable Record?
The Atlanta Braves were at the top of the baseball world during the 1990s and early 2000s, when they won an unprecedented 14 straight division titles. It wasn’t easy, by any means. In 1993, they won 104 games, beating out the San Francisco Giants, who won 103 games, by one game. After the division realignments and wild card addition in 1995, they had to compete in the division with big-market teams like the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. Star players came and went. But through it all, they kept winning, year after year.
Two perennial playoff contenders that have a shot at breaking this record have one thing working against them – each other.Never heard of this before? Get up to speed here. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are in contention just about every season, but they play in the same division. It would be tough for one of them to go on a run of division titles with the other one always there to battle it out.
The switch to unbalanced schedules also makes it more difficult for one team to go on a run of division titles. With more games against their division mates, contending teams are going to see more lead changes and have the difficult task of needing to dominate a whole division – their own – for over a decade. Even in the small, four-team American League West, such domination of three teams for a long period of time would be very difficult.
So, is it an unbreakable record? Probably. There stars aligned just right for the Braves to go on a run. They did not miss on any players or contracts for over a decade, and had their best players in their best years. A 14-year run of division titles, even in a league with six divisions, is a once-in-a-millennium occurrence.