3 Texas Rangers collapses that were at least as bad as this one

The 2011 World Series was brutal for the Rangers

The 2011 World Series was particularly brutal for Rangers fans. It was supposed to be a chance at redemption after Texas got dominated by Tim Lincecum and the Giants the previous year. After handling the Rays and the Tigers pretty handily in the previous playoff rounds, expectations were high that the Rangers would finally be able to close the deal in 2011.

Things got off to a decent enough start. The Cardinals were playing them tough, but the Rangers had a three games to two lead through five games. Game Six, however, was a gut punch. Texas was up by two runs in the ninth inning with two outs and Neftali Feliz on the mound and the Cardinals had a pair of runners on. Feliz managed to get ahead of David Freese and St. Louis was down to their last strike, but Freese lined the next pitch to the right field wall for a triple to tie the game.

Undeterred, the Rangers offense would put up two more runs in the top of the 10th to again push the Cardinals to the brink of elimination thanks to a two run homer from Josh Harrison. However, despite being down to their last strike AGAIN, the Cardinals would tie the game yet again. After the Rangers' lineup came up empty in the 11th, the Rangers' bullpen would cough up the game-winning homer to David Freese and force a game seven.

The rest of the story is pretty well-known. The Rangers came out flat for the deciding game and the Cardinals won Game Seven handily to complete one of the worst World Series collapses in modern memory. This one is a reminder that sometimes it is better to not get that close to winning it all, because the pain from that World Series loss lingers even today.