It seems like the logical answer here would be this year’s Red Sox. They played consistently terrible for an entire month, whereas the ’04 Yanks only lost 4 games in a row. But here’s why that’s not the case. Until this season, the previous worst September collapse ever was by the 2007 Mets. The only reason I even know that is because for the past few weeks people kept bringing it up in reference to what the Sox were doing. With the exception of Mets fans, I don’t think anybody really knew or cared about what happened to them in ’07. By this time next year, the demise of the 2011 Red Sox will be mostly forgotten. Plus there’s the fact that the Braves also just gave away pretty much the same Wild Card lead that the Red Sox did (9 games vs. 8.5). So really, how big a deal can it be if two teams did it simultaneously?
On the other hand, what the 2004 Yankees did will live on forever. Becoming the first team of all time to blow a 3-0 lead in the playoffs, against their arch rivals, and leading to the end of an 86 year World Series drought? That’s something nobody will forget any time soon. It’s been almost 8 years now, and my guess is it’s still something the average sports fan knows about off of the top of their head. So sorry Yankee fans, the historical significance of it makes your team’s 2004 failure still the biggest choke ever.
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