Collapse (sports)
In the context of sports a collapse is where a team with a seemingly insurmountable lead in a game, series or season standings puts on such a poor performance in the remainder of the event that they ultimately lose or fail to advance. Typically the term collapse is used in relation to a performance in a season with many games, but it has been less commonly applied to single games or matches.[1] A collapse can be considered a form of choking extended over an extended period of time although sometimes a Collapse can be less the result of failure but bad luck or regression to the mean.
Notable Collapses[edit]
Year | Sport | Team/Person | Lead | Peak Probability of Victory | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1908 | Baseball | New York Giants | 4.5 games ahead with 21 remaining | 95.5% | 11-10 | Caught by Chicago Cubs after 14-2 streak. |
1921 | Baseball | Pittsburgh Pirates | 7.5 games ahead with 34 remaining | 94.6% | 14-23 | Collapse started after 5 game sweep by the New York Giants. |
1934 | Baseball | New York Giants | 7 games ahead with 23 remaining | 99.2% | 8-13 | Caught by St. Louis Cardinals going 18-5. |
1942 | Baseball | Brooklyn Dodgers | 9.5 games ahead with 42 remaining | 96.9% | 25-17 | Caught by St. Louis Cardinals going 38-6. |
1951 | Baseball | Brooklyn Dodgers | 12.5 games ahead with 49 remaining | 99.7% | 25-24 | Worst collapse before divisional play. Caught by New York Giants, who went 37-7; does not include three-game tiebreaker series. |
1962 | Baseball | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4 games ahead with 7 remaining | 98.1% | 1-6 | Does not include three-game tiebreaker series. |
1964 | Baseball | Philadelphia Phillies | 6.5 games ahead with 12 remaining | 96.2% | 2-10 | Poor management of pitching staff. Caught by Cincinnati and St. Louis; St. Louis would win pennant. |
1969 | Baseball | Chicago Cubs | 8 games ahead with 30 remaining | 97.9% | 15-25 | |
1978 | Baseball | Boston Red Sox | 9 games ahead with 46 remaining | 96.5% | 25-22 | Caught by New York Yankees going 35-12, including a one game tiebreaker. |
1978 | American Football | Washington Redskins | 6-0 to start season | 2-8 | ||
1983 | Baseball | Atlanta Braves | 6.5 games ahead with 48 remaining | 96.4% | 19-29 | |
1987 | American Football | San Diego Chargers | 8-1 to start season | 0-6 | One game cancelled due to strike. | |
1993 | Baseball | San Francisco Giants | 9.5 games ahead with 51 remaining | 98.3% | 29-22 | Caught by Atlanta Braves going 39-11. |
1993 | American Football | Miami Dolphins | 9-2 to start season | 0-5 | ||
1994 | Association Football | France | 3 points ahead with 2 games remaining for World Cup qualification | 0-2 | Lost to Israel and Bulgaria, caught by the latter. | |
1994 | American Football | Philadelphia Eagles | 7-2 to start season | 0-7 | ||
1995 | Baseball | California Angels | 9.5 games ahead (12 ahead for Wild Card) with 38 remaining | 99.988% | 12-26 | Includes one-game tiebreaker with Seattle Mariners. Statistically worst collapse in history. Season shortened from 162 to 144 games due to the players' strike. |
1995 | American Football | Oakland Raiders | 8-2 to start season | 0-6 | ||
1996 | American Football | Kansas City Chiefs | 8-3 to start season | 1-4 | ||
1999 | Baseball | Cincinnati Reds | 1 game ahead (2.5 ahead for Wild Card) with 4 remaining | 98.4% | 1-4 | Includes one-game tiebreaker with New York Mets. |
2002 | Baseball | Boston Red Sox | 3.5 games ahead (6 ahead for Wild Card) with 105 remaining | 95.8% | 53-52 | |
2002 | American Football | San Diego Chargers | 6-1 to start season | 2-7 | ||
2003 | Baseball | Seattle Mariners | 7.5 games ahead (8 ahead for Wild Card) with 92 remaining | 97.9% | 45-47 | |
2003 | American Football | Minnesota Vikings | 6-0 to start season | 3-7 | Eliminated on final play of last season game. | |
2004 | Baseball | New York Yankees | Leading Boston Red Sox 3-0 in the 2004 American League Championship Series | 99.7% | 0-4 | The Red Sox became the first, and currently the only team in MLB history to 3-0 deficit. They would go on to win the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. |
2005 | Baseball | Cleveland Indians | 1.5 games behind (1 game ahead for Wild Card) with 7 remaining | 96.5% | 1-6 | |
2006 | American Football | Denver Broncos | 7-2 to start season | 95.8% | 2-5 | |
2006 | Basketball | Los Angeles Lakers | Leading Phoenix Suns 3-1 in the 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals | 91.2% | 0-3 | The Suns became the eighth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit. |
2007 | Baseball | New York Mets | 7 games ahead (4.5 games ahead of the Wild Card) with 17 remaining | 99.5% | 5-12 | |
2008 | American Football | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9-3 to start season | 95% | 0-4 | |
2008 | American Football | New York Jets | 8-3 to start season | 94% | 1-4 | |
2009 | Baseball | Detroit Tigers | 7 games ahead (4 behind for Wild Card) with 26 remaining | 96% | 11-16 | Includes one-game tiebreaker with Minnesota Twins. |
2009 | American Football | Denver Broncos | 6-0 to start season | 96.5% | 2-8 | |
2009 | American Football | New York Giants | 5-0 to start season | 92.2% | 3-8 | |
2009 | American Football | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-2 to start season | 92% | 3-5 | |
2010 | Baseball | San Diego Padres | 6.5 games ahead (6.5 ahead for Wild Card) with 37 remaining | 97.2% | 14-23 | |
2011 | Baseball | Boston Red Sox | 0.5 games ahead (9 games ahead for Wild Card) with 27 remaining | 99.6% | 7-20 | Eliminated on last game of season on 9th inning, 2 strike, 2 out pitch.[2] |
2011 | Baseball | Atlanta Braves | 8.5 games ahead for Wild Card with 18 remaining | 99.2% | 5-13 | |
2013 | Baseball | Texas Rangers | 2 games ahead (3.5 games ahead for Wild Card) with 27 remaining | 97.1% | 12-16 | Includes one-game tiebreaker with Tampa Bay Rays. [4] |
2014 | Baseball | Oakland Athletics | 10 games ahead with 86 remaining | 96.4% | 28-35 | The Athletics struggled for six weeks late in the season, shortly after trading power hitter Yoenis Cespedes, who had just had back-to-back Home Run Derby wins. They failed to defend their back-to-back Western Division titles and barely qualified for the wildcard game, which they lost to the Kansas City Royals. The Royals would go on to win the 2014 American League Championship Series. |
References[edit]
- ↑ "ESPN.com - Page2 - The greatest collapses in sports history". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ↑ Silver, Nate (2011-09-27). "September Collapse of Red Sox Could Be Worst Ever - NYTimes.com". Fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ↑ Silver, Nate (2007-09-27). "Lies, Damned Lies: Blowing It". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ↑ "2013 Texas Rangers Playoff Picture". coolstandings.com. 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
External links[edit]
See also[edit]
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