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The American League Central pennant race was one for the ages.
It went down to the last few days and even featured an epic one-game playoff, which went to extra innings and was described by players on both the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers as the best baseball game they had ever witnessed, let alone been a part of.
It also featured some history.
The Tigers became the first team in Major League Baseball to blow a three-game lead with four games to play.
It was a huge fall from grace, which will be detailed further in this week's Top 10, a look at the most colossal collapses in sports history.
10. San Diego Chargers, 1987 NFL season
Dishonourable mention goes to the Chargers, who began the strike-shortened season with a loss, then reeled off eight straight wins to look like Super Bowl contenders as December approached. However, they lost their last six games to finish the 15-game season at 8-7 and miss the playoffs.
9. Arnold Palmer, 1966 U.S. Open
For all his greatness, all his achievements and all his accolades, Palmer actually pulled off one of golf's biggest collapses when he took a seven-stroke lead into the final nine holes and lost at Olympic Club. Palmer entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over Billy Casper and it was seven strokes by the time they made the turn. By the time they teed off on 18, Casper was leading (he shot 32 on the back, while Palmer was 39). To his credit, Palmer evened it up on 18 and forced an 18-hole playoff the next day, where he again blew a lead on the back nine and lost.
8. Washington Redskins, 1978 NFL season
The Redskins opened the season with six straight wins and had visions of a perfect season until their bubble burst on Oct. 15 with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, the 'Skins lost eight of their last 10 games, including their last five, to fall to 8-8 and miss the playoffs.
7. Detroit Red Wings, 1942 Stanley Cup final
Despite having just a 19-25-4 record in the regular season, the Wings won two rounds of playoffs and built up a 3-0 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1942 Stanley Cup final. After that, things didn't go so well. The Leafs won Game 4 4-3 in Detroit, then won 9-3, 3-0 and 3-1 to finish off the series. Detroit was the only team in NHL history to have blown a 3-0 series lead until the Pittsburgh Penguins matched the feat in 1975, losing to the New York Islanders.
6. New York Mets, 2007 NL East
The Mets had a seven-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 12 and seemed to be cruising to the pennant when disaster struck. They lost 12 of their last 17 games, including eight losses against the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins, who were battling for last place. The final humiliation came when veteran star pitcher Tom Glavine was shelled by the Marlins on the final day of the season and the Mets finished one game behind the Phillies.
5. Detroit Tigers, 2009 AL Central
As we mentioned earlier, the Tigers had a three-game lead on the Minnesota Twins with four games to play. They had a seven-game edge with 20 games left and spent 146 days in first place. They split a four-game series with the Twins in the final week of the season and could have wrapped up the AL Central crown with a win in the back end of a doubleheader on the fourth-last day of the season. They lost that game, proceeded to drop two of the next three against the Chicago White Sox and then blew a couple of leads in the one-game playoff to lose to the Twins and complete the collapse.
4. Jean Van de Velde, 1999 British Open
The Frenchman had a huge lead in the final round at Carnoustie and walked up to the 18th tee with a three-stroke lead. Insurmountable, you say? You would think so. After all, he only needed a double bogey to win. But Van de Velde made mistake after mistake on the 18th hole, and found himself standing in the knee-deep water of the Barry Burn after three shots. He went on to take a triple-bogey seven, fell into a three-way tie for first place with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie and lost the four-hole playoff to Lawrie.
3. New York Yankees, 2004 ALCS
After dumping on the Boston Red Sox for 86 years, nobody saw this one coming. The Yankees hammered on the Sox for the first three games of the ALCS and led 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4. But dominant Yankees closer Mariano Rivera blew the save and the Red Sox went on to win in extra innings. They went on to win the next three games (and their first World Series in 86 years) and stun the high and mighty Yankees. It was the only time in baseball history a team has blown a 3-0 series lead.
2. Houston Oilers, 1993 AFC Wild-Card Game
This one has made the Top 10 before, but that time we were talking about comebacks and giving kudos to the Buffalo Bills. From the Oilers' perspective, this was a pure choke job. Warren Moon and the Oilers built up a 35-3 lead early in the third quarter of an NFL playoff game at Rich Stadium in Buffalo. But, with backup quarterback Frank Reich at the controls, the Bills scored four touchdowns in seven minutes and added another in the fourth quarter to give Buffalo the lead. Houston scrambled to tie with a late field goal but lost in overtime and went home after blowing the biggest lead in NFL history.
1. Philadelphia Phillies, 1964 NL East
Holding a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games left, the Phillies were already printing playoff and World Series tickets when they took a major nosedive. When they came home from a road trip on Sept. 21, the team was greeted by Philly's mayor and thousands of fans. The exuberance soon died off as the Phillies proceeded to lose eight straight games at home and two more on the road to finish second behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
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