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Was the Dodgers 42-8 Run, the Most Dominant Stretch in Modern Sports History?

The most dominant single year/season stretches in sports over the past fifty years, in baseball, football, basketball, golf, tennis and hockey.

Playing like a $239 million pile of road kill through June 21st, the then 30-42 Los Angeles Dodgers embarked on arguably the greatest in-season turnaround in sports history. Compiling a 42-8 record from June 22nd to August 17th, the Dodgers climbed from worst to first in the National League West.

Manager Don Mattingly's decision to rest veterans, compounded by a slew of nagging injuries, have led to some late season hiccups. But barring a roller coaster turn for the worst, the Dodgers claim to the National League West title, is not a matter of if but when. If all goes according to plan, Los Angeles is poised to make a run deep into the post-season.

As momentous of a turnaround as this was for the Dodgers, was their 42-8 run the most dominant in sports history? Not by a long shot. Here is a countdown of the twelve most dominant professional or world championship single season performances in sports, over the past fifty years.

12. New England Patriots, 2020

Statistically speaking, there has never been a more explosive team in the Super Bowl Era. Outscoring their opponents by a record setting 19.7ppg, Tom Brady passed for 4,806 yards and 50 touchdowns, 23 of which were caught by Randy Moss -- both TD counts setting NFL records. To put things in perspective, the St. Louis Rams Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk led, Greatest Show on Turf offense of 1999, only outscored opponents by 17.8 points per game.

To the chagrin of the 72' Dolphins, the Pats stormed through 07' season with a perfect 16-0 record rolling to 18-0 in the playoffs and then -- they were shocked by Eli Manning, Michael Strahan and a stifling Giants defense 17-14.

But for their Super Bowl upset, the Patriots 07' season would have ranked as a season for the ages. As it is, their season was still strong enough to rank number 12 on this list.

11. Cincinati Reds, 1975

The Reds started the season with a lukewarm 18-19 record, trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending National League Champions, by 5 ½ games -- and then the Big Red Machine revved up. In an lineup sparked by "Charlie Hustle" Pete Rose and his .317 average, powered by Johnny Bench and George Foster's combined 51 home runs, it was Joe Morgan who led the way.

In the first of two consecutive MVP seasons, Morgan led the National League in OPS hitting .327 with 94 RBIs, 66 stolen bases, drew 132 walks and won a Gold Glove at 2nd base. The Reds went on a 41-9 run and never looked back, posting a 108-54 record and winning the division by 20 games.

The Reds won the National League Crown and went on battle the Boston Red Sox in a classic seven game World Series. Despite Carlton Fisk's Game 6, late game heroics -- he hit a walk off home run that he seemed to will just fair of the foul pole, the Reds proved just a shade better than the Sox. It took a Joe Morgan single in the 9th inning of Game 7, to drive in Ken Griffey and clinch the series. The lineup was set and the Reds delivered.

10. Iron Mike Tyson, 1988

As the reigning IBF Heavyweight Champion in 1987, Mike Tyson knocked out WBC champion James Smith and defeated WBC champion Tony Tucker to become, at 20 years and 4 months, the youngest boxer to unify all three titles. That was enough to mark as an impressive year in its own right -- then 1988 happened.

To ring in the New Year, Tyson squared off against storied former champion, Larry Holmes. In a display of youth bludgeoning experience, Tyson sent Holmes sprawling to the canvas in the fourth round of their title bout. Holmes picked himself up, only to be hammered down a second and then a third time for a knockout.

On March 21st, Tyson made even shorter work of Tony "TNT" Tubbs, knocking him out inside of two rounds and setting up a showdown with Michael Spinks. Spinks had previously defeated Larry Holmes to win the IBF crown, only to have his title vacated when he opted to fight Gerry Cooney rather #1 Contender Tony Tucker. Although Tyson defeated Tucker, most fight fans still regarded Spinks as the rightful, "linear champion".

On June 27th, Tyson and Spinks entered ring at the Atlantic City Convention Hall as a pair of undefeated champions, each with a claim to the heavyweight crown. And then, quicker than a pay per view fan could scoop up a slice of pizza and open a beer can, the fight was over. Lightning fast and booming like thunder, Tyson battered Spinks from the get go, forcing Spinks to buckle to his knee about a minute into the fight. In less than thirty seconds later and a second knockout later, Tyson tagged Spinks with a left-right combo to the head that sent Spinks down for good. The fight was over in 91 seconds. Mike Tyson was fear incarnate. As for Michael Spinks? The previously undefeated ex-champion would never fight again.

9/8 (T): U.S. Women's Soccer 99' amp; Brazil World Cup 70'

Oh the similarities. The U.S. Women's Soccer team of 99' is considered to be the greatest Women's World Cup team ever assembled and Brazil World Cup Team of 70' was undeniably the most dominant team, of arguably the greatest world cup tournament ever played. Whereas the U.S. team featured Mia Hamm, female soccer's answer to Pele, the 1970 team featured, well, Pele.

Despite the fact that the aging Pele was two World Cups past his prime, the Brazil team dominated the tournament. It was never close in group play; Brazil went 3-0 with a +5 goal differential. In the one and done rounds Brazil just got stronger. Playing with unrivaled skill and artistry, they won by scores of 4-2, 3-1 and 4-1 to claim the World Cup.

Likewise, the U.S. Women's Team went 3-0 in group play, outscoring their opponents 13-1. They would go on to defeat Germany 3-2 and Brazil 2-0, to advance to the Championship round.

This set up a showdown with China, who had likewise blown through the competition, culminating in a 5-0 victory over defending champion, Norway. In a back and forth match that came down to a shootout, U.S. goaltender Brianna Scurry saved a penalty shot by China's Liu Ying, to give the U.S. the advantage. Knotted up and down to a final kick, Brandi Chastain kicked a goal past China's goalkeeper, Gao Hong to win the tournament. Worked into a spontaneous shirt removing ecstasy, Chastain gave us the sports bra seen round the world.

7. Los Angeles Lakers, 71-72'

This is the year where Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich and company, put it all together and delivered a long overdue championship to the city of Los Angeles. Under the leadership of Coach Bill Sharman, the Lakers went on a still unmatched (nice try Lebron) 33 game winning streak, setting a regular season wins record of 69-12, that stood for 24 years.

It was Chamberlain, but rather Gail Goodrich and Jerry West who led the offense. Goodrich edged West for the team scoring title 25.9 ppg to 25.8, although West also chipped in 9.7 assists per game. While his offensive numbers were down, the 35 year old Chamberlain still dominated defensively, defending the post and snagging 19.2 rebounds per game.

For good measure, the Lakers would go on to defeat the Bucks 4 games to 2 in the Conference Finals and trounced the Knicks 4-1 in the NBA Finals, to secure a world Championship.

The only nitpick that keeps them from placing higher: Were they even the best Lakers team in the last fifty years (86-87' Lakers anyone) or just the most dominant against their given competition?

6. Montreal Canadiens, 76-77'

Paced by Steve Shutt's league leading 60 goals and Guy LaFleur's second consecutive league scoring title (136 points), the Canadiens outscored their opponents by 80 goals in the regular season, compiling a 60-8-12 record. The Canadiens 132 points in a season has never been matched nor and their record for fewest losses (8) and longest undefeated streak (34 games).

The Canadiens kept their momentum going in the playoffs. Spurred by LaFleur's 9 goals and 17 assists, they swept the St. Louis Blues 4-0, defeated the New York Islanders 4-2 and swept the Boston Bruins 4-0 in the finals, to claim their second straight Stanley Cup.

Setting an individual standard of dominance, LaFleur earned the Art Ross Trophy as the league's scoring champion, Hart Trophy as the league MVP and the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP.

5. Tiger Woods, 2000

Remember when Tiger Woods was quite probably the greatest golfer that the World had ever seen? In the year 2000, the average driving distance on the US PGA tour was a shade over 273 yards - Tiger's drives averaged 298 yards with astounding accuracy. But what set Woods apart, was his cool as ice swagger. If Woods was challenging for a lead deep into a tournament, he expected to win.

What transpired was a season for the ages. Tiger placed in a record seventeen top ten finishes, including 6 tournament wins and a trio of Majors wins in the British Open, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.

Tiger's crowning achievement was his performance at the U.S. Open, where he finished a record setting fifteen strokes ahead of second place finishers Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jiminez.

The only question that remains, is whether there enough of that guy left to win a Major again?

4. Steffi Graf, 1988

When Steffi Graf was in her prime, she did not simply beat her opponents, she annihilated them. 1988 marked the signature achievement of Steffi Graf's career - it was the year of the Golden Slam.

Quicker than you could say double bagel, Graf stormed through the women's draw without dropping a set. In what would be tennis legend Chris Evert's last appearance in a Grand Slam Final, Graf beat Evert in straight sets 6-1, 7-6.

At least Evert played with heart. In a blink and you missed it French Open Final, Graf dispatched of Natalia Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in 32 minutes.

Wimbledon threatened to be Graf's downfall. Facing Martina Navratilova at the venue where she'd captured 8 singles titles, Graf promptly fell behind 5-7, 0-2 before righting herself. Overwhelming Navratilova's serve and volley style, Graf would win 12 of the next 13 games, to win the match 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. In the process, she snapped Navratilova's 47 match winning streak.

And the cherry on top? Graf and Gabriela Sabatini picked up the Wimbledon Doubles Title, defeating Larisa Savachenko and Natalia Zvereva 6-3, 1-6, 12-10.

At the U.S. Open, Graf would face her Wimbledon doubles partner come adversary, Gabriela Sabatini in the Finals. Sabatini would stretch the match to three sets. But in the end, Graf prevailed, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Being an Olympic Year, this set Steffi Graf up to accomplish an unprecedented achievement - she could be the first person to sweep the 4 Grand Slam events and win an Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.

Cruising through the pre-medal rounds of the Olympic tournament, Graf once again found herself facing Sabatini in a tile match. This time Graf made quick work of Sabatini defeating her in straight sets 6-3, 6-3

3. Miami Dolphins, 1972

Under the leadership of Coach Don Shula, the Dolphins boasted the No.1 ranked offense in the league, scoring 385 points (27.5ppg) and counting their Super Bowl winning run, finished the season with a perfect 17-0 and record. However, that's not to say the season unfolded without challenges.

Things looked bleak when the Dolphins star quarterback, Bob Griese, broke his ankle while playing against the San Diego Chargers, only 5 weeks into the season. Fortunately, the two headed running attack of Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris picked up the slack. Operating behind Hall of Fame offensive linemen, Jim Langer amp; Larry Little, the duo combined for 2117 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

Not to be outdone, Miami's under the radar "No-Name Defense", led by linebacker Nick Buoniconti and tackle Manny Fernandez, allowed a stingy 171 points (12.2ppg), also ranking 1st in the league.

As steady as veteran backup quarterback Earl Morrall had been all season, the Dolphins faced a stiff challenge in the post-season, facing a Terry Bradshaw led Steelers team, in the AFC Championship Game. With the Dolphins down 10-7 at the half, Shula turned to the just recovered Bob Griese at halftime. Griese orchestrated an 80 yard drive in the 3rd quarter, to give the Dolphins a 14-13 lead and never looked back, winning 21-17.

Dolphins heroics were spread all around, in a low scoring Super Bowl. Griese 6 for 6 in completions in the first half, including a 28 yard touchdown pass to Howard Twilley, Csonka contributed 112 rushing yards and Fernandez contributed on 17 tackles and Jake Scott was named MVP, for intercepting two key passes.

But with the game knotted at 7-7, the Dolphins blocked a Steelers field goal, kicker Garo Yepremia picked up the ball and tried to connect on a pass only to be intercepted by the Dolphins Mike Bass. Bass would run the pick for a touchdown and the Dolphins would hold on to win 14-7.

Legend has it that to this day, whenever the final undefeated NFL team loses its first game of the season, the remaining member of the 1972 Dolphins pop open the champagne to celebrate. I wonder if they broke out the Grand Cru, when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl in 2020?

2. Chicago Bulls 95-96'

You think that Marvel's superhero team The Avengers is unstoppable? Perhaps, but with an NBA Championship on the line, I'd roll my dice with Superman (Michael Jordan), Batman (Scottie Pippen) and Rodman (Dennis Rodman).

In the Bulls penultimate season, Jordan averaged 30.4ppg 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Scottie Pippen chipped in 19.4ppg 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists and Rodman averaged 14.9 rebounds.

The "Zen Master" Phil Jackson, surrounded the Bulls big three with key role players, including 6th Man of the year Toni Kukoc (13.5ppg) and sharpshooter Steve Kerr (.shooting 51.5% from the 3-point line) and milked the most out of lesser talents, such as marginally gifted big man, Luc Longley.

The result? The Bulls started the season with a nearly unblemished 41-3 record and "slowed" to finish the regular season with a 72-10 record - that's a .878 winning percentage! The 2nd place Indiana Pacers finished 20 games behind Chicago.

In the playoffs, the Bulls swept the Miami Heat 3-0 in the first round, ousted the New York Knicks 4-1 in the Semi-Finals and then blanked the Orlando Magic 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Bulls would go on to face the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals. The Sonics had a strong season in their own right. Behind the strength of power forward Shawn Kemp (19.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game), the suffocating defense of Gary "the Glove" Payton (19.3 points and 2.9 steals per game) and the offensive contributions of Detlef Schrempf (17.1ppg) and Hersey Hawkins (15.6ppg), the Supersonics compiled a Western Conference best, 64-18 record.

The Bulls pounced on the Sonics, going up 3-0 to open the series. However Seattle would fight back, winning the next two games to close the series to 3-2. And while it was Jordan and his 30.7ppg who was crowned the series MVP, it was Rodman's 19 rebounds in Game 6 (including 11 offensive rebounds), that sealed the title for Chicago. They would go on to win the game 87-75 and win the series 4-2.

And while cases could be made that there are certain Lakers, Celtics and maybe even Heat teams who faced stronger competition and/or could match up favorably against Air Jordan and Company, there was no team who so thoroughly dominated the opposition that stood before them as the 95-96' Bulls.

1. Yankees, 1999

It was the perfect storm. The 1998 Yankees consisted of a core of homegrown star players Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettite and Mariano Rivera, whose stat line of 1.91 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 36 saves looks astoundingly similar to the stat line that he is posting for his final season in 2020. This group was complemented by proven veterans Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, David Wells, David Cone, Chuck Knoblauch, Scott Brosius and Cuban defector Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. Mix in a bench former all-stars like Daryl Strawberry, Chilli Davis and Tim Raines, what you had was a perfect blend of youth and experience, talent and depth, heart and hustle, to put together a season for the ages. And manager Joe Torre knew how to coax the best out of players.

As loaded with very good players as the Yankees lineup was, there were no offensive superstars. That season, Bernie Williams was the Yankees best offensive player, winning a batting title and posting a stat line of .339, 26 HRs, 97 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. While this was nothing to sneeze at, in the midst of the steroid era those numbers paled in comparison to the record breaking 70 home run and 147 RBI year that Mark McGwire had. To put things in perspective, Bernie Williams 26 home runs were tied for 44th in the league that season. Not that it mattered. The pieces of this Yankees squad fit together so well that on any given day, anyone could step up and carry the team. It was the team's collective confidence and chemistry that made them exceptional.

Derek Jeter practically mirrored Williams' performance, batting .324 with 30 stolen bases, 24 HRs and 84 RBIs, from the shortstop position. Tino Martinez led the team with 28 home runs, Paul O'Neill and Daryl Strawberry hit 24 apiece, Jorge Posada hit 17, Chuck Knoblauch 19 and top to bottom combined to hit 207 HRs. The Yankees would score 965 runs to lead the league in scoring.

The starting rotation of David Wells, David Cone, Andy Pettite, Hideki Irabu and Orlando Hernandez were all very good starters capable of flashes of greatness. Cone led the rotation with 20 wins, 209 strikeouts 3.55 ERA, El Duque had 12 wins and a team best 3.13 ERA, Wells had 18 wins with a 3.49 ERA, Pettite had 16 wins and Irabu had 13 wins. Behind Mariano Rivera and his 36 saves, the bullpen compiled a 28-9 record. The Yankees allowed 656 runs, the fewest in the league.

How dominant were the 1998 Yankees? They would finish the season with a 114-48 record - a .704 winning percentage. In the A.L. Divisional series, the Yankees went on to sweep the Rangers 3-0, in the A.L. Divisional Series. In the A.L. League Championship Series, a loaded Indians lineup, with the likes of Manny Ramirez 39HRs, 145 RBIs), Dave Justice (39HRs), Kenny Lofton (12HR, 54 SBs) and Jim Thome (HRs) would prove to be their stiffest challenge.

After winning game 1 handily 7-2, the Indians would come back to even the series at 1 game apiece and then exploded for 4 home runs in game three (one by Ramirez, one by Whiten, two by Thome) to take a 2-0 series lead. But that would be all she wrote, for the Indians. Behind the pitching of El Duque, the Yankees would win Game 4 by a score of 5-0, Wells would lead them to a 5-3 win in Game 5 and Cone would close the series out 9-5 in Game 6.

The Yankees completely overwhelmed the Padres in the World Series. New York scored 23 runs in the first three games of the series and shut out San Diego in Game 4, to complete the four game sweep. Counting the postseason, the Yankees would close out the season with a record 125 wins.

And who was crowned the World Series MVP? It wasn't Williams or Jeter, it was third baseman Scott Brosius. Traded from the A's in 1997 after having a down season, Brosius rebounded with the Yankees saving his best for last -- he hit .471 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs in the Fall Classic. Brosius picked a hell of a week to carry the team.