The 1986 Red Sox were within one strike of winning the World Series on three consecutive batters, and each time, the result was a single.

What the players had to say is so good.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1976346/the_1986_boston_red_sox_really_were.html?singlepage=true&cat=14

The World Series is not the playoffs.

The point is that the Red Sox would have been better off losing to the Angels and avoiding the World Series. Of course, you have to try to win every game, and every series, and what happens, happens, but beating the Angels is not viewed as a great accomplishment.

If the Red Sox won the World Series, beating the Angels would be considered one of the greatest of all clutch performances.

It WAS one of the great clutch performances, but it has become meaningless.