Baseball pundits always argue whether the World Series champion is the best team in baseball or just the team that got hot at the right time heading into the playoffs. Sometimes, the best baseball team is the World Series winner. In other years, it’s more debatable. Here are some of the best MLB teams that failed to close their seasons with a World Series championship.

1988 New York Mets

The Mets’ middle of the lineup featured Darryl Strawberry, Kevin McReynolds, and Howard Johnson. Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and Lenny Dykstra filled out the rest of the list. The rotation was solid, too, with Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, and David Cone.

Strawberry led the team with 39 home runs, David Cone had 20 wins, and Gooden added 18.

However, in seven games, the Mets came up short against the Dodgers in the NLCS.

1990 Oakland A’s

The A’s were led by league MVP Rickey Henderson and power hitters Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Their pitchers were also pretty good, with Bob Welch winning the Cy Young that year. Dave Stewart, Mike Moore, and legendary closer Dennis Eckersley made it hard for opposing batters.

 The Bash Brothers, McGwire, and Canseco combined for 76 home runs. Henderson batted .328 and hit 28 home runs. Stewart and Welch both had 20-plus wins for the A’s pitching staff.

The A’s were ultimately upset in the World Series by the Cincinnati Reds.

1993 Atlanta Braves

The Braves won 104 games in 1993 to barely win the NL West over the San Francisco Giants. They had stars in David Justice, Fred McGriff, and Ron Gant. On the mound, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz made up one of the most feared pitching staffs.

Justice led the Braves in home runs with 40, and Gant with 36. Maddux and Glavine led the way on the mound with 42 wins combined.

The Braves lost in the NLCS to the Philadelphia Phillies.

1995 Cleveland Indians

The 1995 Indians breezed through the strike-shortened season, winning 100 of their 144 games. Cleveland had incredible talent at the plate with Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, and Eddie Murray. They had Orel Hershiser, El Presidente Dennis Martinez, and 1995 Cy Young Candidate Jose Mesa on the mound.

Belle had a fantastic season, batting .317 and hit 50 home runs. Martinez led the Indians in ERA with 3.08, and Charles Nagy and Hershiser had 16 wins.

Unfortunately, the Indians could not get past the Atlanta Braves, who had future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Chipper Jones.

2001 Seattle Mariners

The Mariners won 116 games in 2001, which tied for the most wins in a single season in MLB history. The Mariners were led by AL MVP Ichiro Suzuki, who also picked up the American League’s batting title. Along with Suzuki, the Mariners had Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, and Brett Boone. Four of their starting pitchers (Freddy Garcia, Jaime Moyer, John Halama, and Paul Abbott) won at least 15 games. On top of that, their closer, Kazuhiro Sasaki, saved 45 games.

Suzuki and Boone were monsters at the plate. Suzuki batted .350, while Boone batted .331 with 37 home runs.

Even with all that firepower, the Mariners were upset in the ALCS by the New York Yankees in five games.

2001 Oakland A’s

People talk about the 2002 A’s because of the big winning streak, but the 2001 team was better. Johnny Damon led off at the plate, with Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejeda, and Eric Chavez behind him. Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Mark Mulder made the pitching rotation nasty.

Giambi, Tejeda, and Chavez all hit over 30 home runs, and Hudson, Mulder, and Zito all won over 15 games, with Mulder leading the way with 21.

In the playoffs, the A’s blew a 2-0 lead against the New York Yankees in a best-of-five ALCS and were eliminated.