1999 MLB Postseason

The 1999 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1999 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

In the American League, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians returned to the postseason for the fifth straight time, and the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers returned for the second year in a row. This was Texas’ last postseason appearance until 2010.

In the National League, the Atlanta Braves made their eighth straight postseason appearance, the Houston Astros made their third straight appearance, the New York Mets made their first appearance since 1988, and the Arizona Diamondbacks made their postseason debut two years into their existence.

The postseason began on October 5, 1999, and ended on October 27, 1999, with the Yankees sweeping the Braves in the 1999 World Series. It was the Yankees' 25th title, which made the Yankees the team with the most championship wins in North American sports, surpassing the Montreal Canadiens who won 24.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

# New York Yankees – 98–64, AL East champions
# Cleveland Indians – 97–65, AL Central champions
# Texas Rangers – 95–67, AL West champions
# Boston Red Sox – 94–68

National League

# Atlanta Braves – 103–59, NL East champions
# Arizona Diamondbacks – 100–62, NL West champions
# Houston Astros – 97–65, NL Central champions
# New York Mets – 97–66

Playoff bracket

Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.

American League Division Series

(1) New York Yankees vs. (3) Texas Rangers

This was the third postseason meeting between the Yankees and Rangers. The Yankees once again swept the Rangers to return to the ALCS for the fourth time in six years.

This series was not close - the Yankees again held the Rangers to only one run scored throughout the entire series. The Yankees blew out the Rangers in a shutout victory in Game 1. Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera kept the Rangers’ offense at bay in Game 2 as the Yankees won 3–1, with the Rangers’ only run coming from a home run by Juan González. In Arlington for Game 3, Roger Clemens and Rivera shutout the Rangers as the Yankees completed the sweep.

The Yankees and Rangers would meet one more time in the 2010 ALCS, and the Rangers would finally break through before falling in the World Series that year.

(2) Cleveland Indians vs. (4) Boston Red Sox

This was the third postseason meeting between the Indians and Red Sox. The Red Sox overcame a two games to none series deficit to defeat the Indians in five games, reaching the ALCS for the first time since 1990.

The Indians controlled the tempo of the first two games - they won Game 1 thanks to a walk-off RBI single from Travis Fryman and blew out the Red Sox in Game 2, capped off by a grand slam from Jim Thome. In Boston, things got ugly for the Indians. The Red Sox blew out the Indians in Game 3 to get on the board in the series. Game 4 was the most notable game of the entire series, as the Red Sox decimated the Indians by a 23–7 score, handing the Indians their worst postseason loss ever. The 23 runs scored by the Red Sox in Game 4 still stands as an MLB record for most runs scored by one team in a single postseason game. Game 5 was an offensive shootout between both teams, which was ultimately won by the Red Sox, capped off by a grand slam from Troy O'Leary. This was the first playoff series win by the Red Sox since the 1986 ALCS.

The Red Sox and Indians would meet again in the 2007 ALCS and the ALDS in 2016, with the Red Sox winning the former and the Indians winning the latter.

National League Division Series

(1) Atlanta Braves vs. (3) Houston Astros

This was the second postseason meeting between the Braves and Astros. The Braves once again defeated the Astros to return to the NLCS for a record eighth straight time.

The Astros stole Game 1 on the road in a blowout win thanks to home runs from Daryle Ward and Ken Caminiti. However, they committed numerous errors in Game 2 that led to the series being tied headed back home. In Game 3, the Braves led 3–2 going into the seventh, until the Astros tied the game off an RBI single from Bill Spiers that forced extra innings, where the Braves won off a two-run RBI double from Brian Jordan in the top of the twelfth. In Game 4, the Braves jumped out to a big lead early, then the Astros cut the lead to two in the bottom of the eighth. However, John Rocker ended the Astros’ rally in the bottom of the ninth to give the Braves the win. Game 4 was the last game ever played at the Astrodome.

The Braves and Astros would meet again in the NLDS in 2001, 2004, and 2005, with the Braves winning the former and the Astros winning the latter two. They would also meet in the 2021 World Series, which was won by the Braves in six games.

(2) Arizona Diamondbacks vs. (4) New York Mets

This was the first postseason in franchise history for the Diamondbacks, as they made it in their second year in their history, becoming the fastest expansion team to accomplish such a feat. The Mets defeated the Diamondbacks in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since 1988.

In Phoenix, the Mets stole Game 1 on the road thanks to a home run from John Olerud and a grand slam from Edgardo Alfonzo. Todd Stottlemyre pitched six solid innings for the Diamondbacks as they won their first playoff game in franchise history in a blowout win in Game 2 to even the series headed to Queens. Rick Reed and the Mets bullpen silenced the Diamondbacks’ offense in Game 3 as they prevailed in a blowout win. In Game 4, the Diamondbacks took the lead in top of the eighth thanks to a two-run double from Jay Bell, but the Mets tied the game in the bottom of the inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Roger Cedeño, which forced extra innings. The Mets won the series in the bottom of the tenth thanks to a walk-off home run from Todd Pratt.

The next postseason appearance for the Diamondbacks would be in 2001, where they went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees in seven games.

American League Championship Series

(1) New York Yankees vs. (4) Boston Red Sox

This was the first postseason meeting in the history of the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in five games to return to the World Series for the fourth time in five years.

The Yankees narrowly took the first two games in the Bronx to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Boston. Game 3 was the anticipated matchup between Pedro Martínez and Roger Clemens, which the Red Sox won in a blowout, 13–1, to avoid a sweep. Game 3 was known for chants thrown at Clemens by the Fenway Park crowd as he was retired in the third inning, as they shouted "Where is Roger?" and then followed up with "In the Shower". However, the Yankees responded with a blowout win in Game 4 to go up 3–1 in the series, and then took Game 5 by a 6–1 score to secure the pennant.

Both teams would meet again in the ALCS in 2003 and 2004, as well as the ALDS in 2018, and the AL Wild Card Game in 2021, with the Yankees winning the former and the Red Sox winning the latter three.

This was the first edition of the postseason where both teams from New York City appeared in the LCS, a phenomenon that has only repeated twice since (2000 and 2024).

The Yankees returned to the ALCS again the next year, where they defeated the Seattle Mariners in six games en route to completing a World Series three-peat. The Red Sox would not return to the postseason again until 2003.

National League Championship Series

(1) Atlanta Braves vs. (4) New York Mets

This was a rematch of the very first NLCS from 1969, which the Miracle Mets squad won in a sweep over the Braves en route to their first World Series title. On the 30th anniversary of the first-ever NLCS, the Braves returned the favor, winning the series in six games and returning to the World Series for the fifth time this decade.

Greg Maddux lead the Braves to victory in Game 1, and the Braves took Game 2 by one run to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Queens. The Braves shut out the Mets in Game 3 thanks to a solid pitching performance from Tom Glavine to go up 3–0 in the series. In Game 4, the Mets held off a late rally by the Braves to avoid a sweep. In a long and ugly Game 5, the Mets rallied in the bottom of the fifteenth inning to win and send the series back to Atlanta. Game 6 was an offensive duel that went down to the wire in extra innings. In the top of the tenth, the Mets took a one-run lead, however the Braves countered by tying the game in the bottom of the inning to stay alive. In the bottom of the eleventh, the Braves loaded the bases thanks to two intentional walks from New York's Kenny Rogers, who then walked Andruw Jones on a 3–2 count, giving the Braves the win on a walk-off walk.

This was the first edition of the postseason where both teams from New York City appeared in the LCS, a phenomenon that has only repeated twice since (2000 and 2024).

The Mets would return to the NLCS the next year, and defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in five games to return to the World Series. This would be the last NL pennant won by the Braves until 2021, where they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games en route to a World Series title.

1999 World Series

(AL1) New York Yankees vs. (NL1) Atlanta Braves

This was the fourth World Series meeting between the Yankees and Braves. The Braves had won in 1957, while the Yankees won in 1958 and 1996. The Yankees would sweep the MLB-best Braves to repeat as World Series champions, winning their third title in the past four years.

In Atlanta, the Yankees shocked the Braves, as they held them to only three runs scored in the first two games to go up 2–0 in the series headed to the Bronx. The only close battle of the series occurred in Game 3, as the game remained tied at 5 going into extra innings until New York's Chad Curtis hit a walk-off solo home run to put the Yankees ahead 3–0 in the series. The Yankees closed out the series with a solid pitching performance from Roger Clemens in Game 4. This was the last championship the Yankees won at the original Yankee Stadium.

With the win, the Yankees became the first team to win the World Series in back-to-back sweeps since they did so in 1938 and 1939, and still remain the only franchise in the MLB to accomplish such a feat. The Braves also became the seventh 100+ win team to be swept in the postseason and first since the 1990 Oakland Athletics, who were also swept in the World Series.

This was the first World Series to feature both #1 seeds from the American and National leagues, a phenomenon that has only been repeated three times since, in 2013, 2020, and 2024.

The Yankees returned to the World Series the next year, and defeated their cross-town rival New York Mets in five games to finish off a three-peat. The Braves wouldn't return to the World Series again until 2021, where they defeated the Houston Astros in six games.

Broadcasting

This was the fourth season under a five-year U.S. rights agreement with ESPN, Fox, and NBC. Division Series games aired across ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, and NBC. Fox then televised the American League Championship Series, while NBC aired both the National League Championship Series and the World Series. This would eventually mark the last time that NBC televised the World Series.

References

External links

League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 1999

{{DEFAULTSORT:1999 Major League Baseball Season

Major League Baseball postseason