The New York Mets and How Often Teams Finish the Sweep

Update: The Mets beat the Cubs 8-3 on Wednesday to sweep the NLCS. MLB teams going for a sweep are now 29-6 in Game Four (.829 winning percentage).

The New York Mets (yes, the New York Mets) are one win away from the World Series. They've raced out to a 3-0 lead in the NLCS and have a chance to secure a sweep tonight at Wrigley Field. Let's take a look at how often MLB teams finish the sweep.

The Mets are the 35th team in major league history to go up 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason series. Those teams are 28-6 in Game Four, good for an .824 winning percentage!

Of the six that managed to stay alive for another day, three were put away in the fifth game. The 1998 Braves won two games in San Diego to become the first team to force a Game Six after being down 3-0, but they lost. A year later they were on the other side when the Mets came back to push it to six games, but an Andruw Jones walk-off walk won the pennant, 4-2. The only team to force a Game Seven after losing the first three games is the 2004 Red Sox, who finished the job with a 10-3 thrashing of the rival Yankees in the Bronx.


1907 WS Chicago Cubs swept Detroit Tigers (Game One called a tie after 12 innings due to darkness)
1910 WS Philadelphia Athletics (lost Game Four to the Cubs, won Game Five)
1914 WS Boston Braves swept Philadelphia Athletics
1922 WS New York Giants swept New York Yankees (Game Two called a tie after 10 innings due to darkness)
1927 WS New York Yankees swept Pittsburgh Pirates
1928 WS New York Yankees swept St. Louis Cardinals
1932 WS New York Yankees swept Chicago Cubs
1937 WS New York Yankees (lost Game Four to the Giants, won Game Five)
1938 WS New York Yankees swept Chicago Cubs
1939 WS New York Yankees swept Cincinnati Reds
1950 WS New York Yankees swept Philadelphia Phillies
1954 WS New York Giants swept Cleveland Indians
1963 WS Los Angeles Dodgers swept New York Yankees
1966 WS Baltimore Orioles swept Los Angeles Dodgers
1970 WS Baltimore Orioles (lost Game Four to the Reds, won Game Five)
1976 WS Cincinnati Reds swept New York Yankees
1988 ALCS Oakland Athletics swept Boston Red Sox
1989 WS Oakland Athletics swept San Francisco Giants
1990 ALCS Oakland Athletics swept Boston Red Sox
1990 WS Cincinnati Reds swept Oakland Athletics
1995 NLCS Atlanta Braves swept Cincinnati Reds
1998 NLCS San Diego Padres (lost Games Four and Five to the Braves, won Game Six)
1998 WS New York Yankees swept San Diego Padres
1999 NLCS Atlanta Braves (lost Games Four and Five to the Mets, won Game Six)
1999 WS New York Yankees swept Atlanta Braves
2004 ALCS New York Yankees (lost four straight to the Red Sox, flopped into history books)
2004 WS Boston Red Sox swept St. Louis Cardinals
2005 WS Chicago White Sox swept Houston Astros
2006 ALCS Detroit Tigers swept Oakland Athletics
2007 NLCS Colorado Rockies swept Arizona Diamondbacks
2007 WS Boston Red Sox swept Colorado Rockies
2012 ALCS Detroit Tigers swept New York Yankees
2012 WS San Francisco Giants swept Detroit Tigers
2014 ALCS Kansas City Royals swept Baltimore Orioles
2015 NLCS New York Mets swept Chicago Cubs


Here's a different look at the group:

Year	Up 3-0	Down 3-0	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
1907 WS	Cubs	Tigers	Win
1910 WS	Athletics	Cubs	Loss	Win
1914 WS	Braves	Athletics	Win
1922 WS	Giants	Yankees	Win
1927 WS	Yankees	Pirates	Win
1928 WS	Yankees	Cardinals	Win
1932 WS	Yankees	Cubs	Win
1937 WS	Yankees	Giants	Loss	Win
1938 WS	Yankees	Cubs	Win
1939 WS	Yankees	Reds	Win
1950 WS	Yankees	Phillies	Win
1954 WS	Giants	Indians	Win
1963 WS	Dodgers	Yankees	Win
1966 WS	Orioles	Dodgers	Win
1970 WS	Orioles	Reds	Loss	Win
1976 WS	Reds	Yankees	Win
1988 ALCS	Athletics	Red Sox	Win
1989 WS	Athletics	Giants	Win
1990 ALCS	Athletics	Red Sox	Win
1990 WS	Reds	Athletics	Win
1995 NLCS	Braves	Reds	Win
1998 NLCS	Padres	Braves	Loss	Loss	Win
1998 WS	Yankees	Padres	Win
1999 NLCS	Braves	Mets	Loss	Loss	Win
1999 WS	Yankees	Braves	Win
2004 ALCS	Yankees	Red Sox	Loss	Loss	Loss	Loss
2004 WS	Red Sox	Cardinals	Win
2005 WS	White Sox	Astros	Win
2006 ALCS	Tigers	Athletics	Win
2007 NLCS	Rockies	Diamondbacks	Win
2007 WS	Red Sox	Rockies	Win
2012 ALCS	Tigers	Yankees	Win
2012 WS	Giants	Tigers	Win
2014 ALCS	Royals	Orioles	Win
2015 NLCS	Mets	Cubs	Win

Yoenis Cespedes Tyler Clippard Bartolo Colon Michael Conforto Michael Cuddyer Travis d'Arnaud Jacob deGrom Lucas Duda Jeurys Familia Wilmer Flores Sean Gilmartin Curtis Granderson Matt Harvey Kelly Johnson Juan Lagares Steven Matz Daniel Murphy Jon Niese Kirk Nieuwenhuis Kevin Plawecki Addison Reed Matt Reynolds Hansel Robles Noah Syndergaard David Wright Jake Arrieta Javier Baez Quintin Berry Kris Bryant Starlin Castro Trevor Cahill Chris Coghlan Chris Denorfia Dexter Fowler Justin Grimm Jason Hammel Kyle Hendricks Austin Jackson Tommy La Stella Jon Lester Miguel Montero Clayton Richard Anthony Rizzo Fernando Rodney Hector Rondon David Ross Kyle Schwarber Jorge Soler Pedro Strop Travis Wood