MLB Showdown Obsession

Winning a World Series is tough...repeating right away is harder...and you can imagine the difficulty in winning three in a row. That being said, the Yankees have the most famous sets of consecutive championships; the 5 in a row from 1949-1953, the 4 in a row from 1936-1939, and the most recent set of trio titles from 1998-2000...but there was one other team in the long history of Major League Baseball that climbed the mountain three straight seasons without being based in the Bronx. The Athletics were entering their 5th season in Oakland as 1972 began. Their first season was less than inspiring, but season by season they had built themselves into serious contenders. In '71 they won the AL West, but stumbled in the ALCS. Expectations were in place as the Swingin' A's entered play. Owner Charlie O. Finley made sure to make his team stand out. He insisted the team be known just as the A's to distinguish them from their Philadelphia Athletics days. He famously gave a bonu...