All-Time Top 15 Team Turnarounds

By Chad Klassen
Love of Sports Correspondent

By now, sports fans surely know the story of the triumphant rise of the once-debunked Tampa Bay Rays to the tops of the standings.

But the Rays aren’t the first team to shock the sports world.

Here are some other franchises that have managed to put together the most impressive single-season turnarounds of all-time.

They include two of the most-improved teams in the history of baseball. Two teams that actually ended up meeting in the World Series.

Top 15 Team Turnarounds

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (2004)

Despite a rare postseason miss for them in 2003, this is still a team that deserves some props for turning around their win total, going from 6-10 to 15-1 in a single year. During that ‘03 season, they started 2-6, endured a five-game losing skid and seemed out of sync with Tommy Maddox at the helm. But the next year, with rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger taking over, Pittsburgh put together one of its most impressive seasons of all time. The 11th overall pick was surrounded with talent on offense and became just the fifth NFL team to end with a 15-1 record. The Steelers used home-field advantage to jet passed New York, but ran into the Patriots juggernaut in the AFC Championship. Despite the disappointment, it was still quite the impressive turnaround.

14. Atlanta Falcons (1998)

This team went from 7-9 and out of the playoffs in 1997 to 14-2 in 1998, winning the NFC West and putting together a magical Super Bowl run before losing to Denver and John Elway. The emergence of journeyman quarterback Chris Chandler, who was traded to the team before the ’97 season, brought the team some good fortunes with his Pro Bowl year. Jamal Anderson was the second-best back in the league that year, behind only Terrell Davis. He carried the ball 410 times and amassed 1,846 yards and 14 TDs to help the Falcons appear in their first and only Super Bowl.

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (1999)

Despite being an expansion franchise, the Diamondbacks entered the 1998 major league season with the prospect of contending in the NL West. Unfortunately, they fell short of that goal, finishing 65-97 and 33 games behind the division-winning Padres. The 1999 edition of the ballclub came through on those high expectations and surprised a lot of people, posting a 100-62 record for the best mark in the NL West. A trade for the “Big Unit” Randy Johnson solidified the rotation, and the addition of Luis Gonzalez, who hit .336 and piled up a league-best 206 hits, helped the drastic turnaround. Arizona fell to the New York Mets 3-1 in the ALDS, but it was a year that saw the team make tremendous strides and ultimately paved the way for the World Series championship team two years later, when the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees in a classic seven-game series.

12. Detroit Lions (1991)

A disappointing 6-10 record in 1990 extended the team’s playoff drought to seven years. Even with the most electrifying player in the game, Barry Sanders, Detroit couldn’t seem to put the winning pieces together. But that would all change during the ‘91 season, when the Lions registered a significant six-win improvement in the standings. The team went on a remarkable run, winning five straight contests early in the season and posting a six-game winning streak to end the regular season. In his third NFL campaign, Sanders finally got a taste of the playoffs after scoring an unprecedented 12-4 record, good enough for their first division title since 1983. Riding the late-season momentum, Detroit steamrolled the Cowboys 38-9 on wildcard weekend. While the season came to an abrupt end the next week in Washington, it was a turnaround Lions fans sure haven’t forgotten.

11. Pittsburgh Penguins (2006-07)

Following decades of glory with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins went into hiding. Amidst consecutive last-place finishes, there were rumblings about moving the team. Then came the 2005 Draft. The franchise won the right to pick young phenom Sidney Crosby, and fans jumped back onto the bandwagon. Crosby made an immediate impact in his first NHL season, but he alone wasn’t nearly enough to dig the franchise out of its dark days, as the team had another overall disastrous 2005-06 campaign and finished last in the East. In his sophomore year, though, the Pens surrounded “Sid the Kid” with more young blood and Pittsburgh fans witnessed the biggest turnaround in NHL history. Evgeni Malkin escaped his homeland Russia and 18-year-old prospect Jordan Staal joined the team, both helping the Penguins win 25 more games and make the playoffs.

10. Detroit Tigers (2006)

Before Jim Leyland took over in the Tigers dugout, this team was in shambles and not looking anything like a major league squad. Three years prior to the 2006 turnaround, Detroit was the eighth-worst baseball team in history, with a 43-119 record. In ‘05, the team signed Magglio Ordonez as a free agent, but it only bumped the club into a 71-win team. The next year, Leyland was hired to turn the fortunes around. He certainly did wonders in the short term, helping to arouse the emergence of unsung players like Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge. Coupled with solid production from young guys, the team’s All-Stars: Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Guillen and Ordonez, were all major pieces to Detroit’s sudden emergence as an AL contender and its unforeseen World Series run. 

9. New England Patriots (2001)

This was the year that launched the Patriots’ dynasty, with their first of three Super Bowls coming in the 2001 season. Out of its three championships in four years, this one was the most unexpected, mainly because they had come off a few rebuilding campaigns and weren’t expected to make the playoffs, let alone win the Super Bowl. The team finished 5-11 in 2000 and got off to a rough start the following season, coming out of the gates 0-2 under Drew Bledsoe. But when the longtime Patriots quarterback suffered an injury, the football world was introduced to a guy named Tom Brady, who led the squad to 11 victories, including a six-game winning steak to end the regular season. The Super Bowl run included a controversial call against Oakland in the divisional round, but the 2001 Patriots team nevertheless deserves a position among the greatest sports turnarounds ever.

8. San Francisco 49ers (1981)

Despite all the winning teams in the 1980s, the 49ers were one of the consistently bad teams the decade before. But it took the franchise another year to see its full potential under Bill Walsh. In 1980, San Fran came out of the gates 3-0, but lost its next eight games and finished the season at 6-10, yet again missing the playoffs. In his third year, though, Walsh’s brilliance was exposed to the rest of the league. In the offseason, the team had drafted Ronnie Lott and signed Hall of Famer Fred Dean to bolster the defense. Joe Montana also emerged as a top-flight quarterback in his third NFL season, and everything came together to spell a major turnaround for the franchise. The 49ers started slow again, with a 1-2 record, but racked off seven and five-game winning streaks to finish 13-3. The playoff run included “The Catch” in the NFC Championship Game to advance and eventually capture their first ever Super Bowl title. 

7. Phoenix Suns (2004-05)

The Suns boast the NBA’s other unprecedented turnaround. The team had suffered from one of its worst franchise records, and following the 29-53 mark during the 2003-04 campaign, they signed All-Star point guard Steve Nash. This move transformed them into an elite team, as Nash became the quarterback of the Suns’ run-and-gun style and turned both Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion into perennial All-Stars. With all three of those guys clicking on all cylinders, Phoenix was bests in the West, at 62-20, and won their first two playoff series before running into the Spurs machine in the conference final. But to this day, it’s still widely considered one of the best single-season improvements.

6. New Orleans Saints (2006)

This was, and quite possibly still remains, the best story in football in recent memory. It wasn’t only the Saints’ incredible turnaround on the field, but also how their play raised everyone’s spirits off the field. New Orleans was completely decimated following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, even destroying sections of the Louisiana Superdome. This forced the Saints to play some of their home games on the road in 2005, and compounding all this adversity was the fact they were a terrible team that ended 3-13. The next year, the team pulled off a seven-win turnaround in 2006 to finish 10-6, hosting a divisional playoff game and advancing to its first ever NFC Championship. New Orleans had signed Drew Brees and drafted Reggie Bush second overall, two players who helped turn the Saints offense into one of the better units in the league.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (2008)

Ever since its inaugural season in 1998, Tampa Bay has been the butt of most baseball jokes. The team had never come close to the .500 mark and was coming off a dismal 66-96 record in 2007. But as we head into the stretch drive, we’re experiencing one of the best stories in sports, with the Rays holding the AL East lead and not showing any signs of slowing down. Despite injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay sports one of the upper-echelon starting rotations and continues to get timely hitting from guys like B.J. Upton. It must’ve been the ‘Devil’ in their nickname that was cursing the franchise, but now that they’re only the Rays, the sky’s the limit for this group.

4. Atlanta Braves (1991)

The only reason the Braves are in the fourth slot is because they lost in the World Series to Minnesota. But their turnaround stands equal to, or maybe even better than, the Twins remarkable story, recording a 94-68 mark – a 29-win improvement from 1990. The next season, like Minnesota, they went from worst to first in the NL West division and had a tremendous playoff run to the World Series in 1991. Atlanta had already boasted NL Rookie of the Year David Justice, but the team also signed Deion Sanders and others in the offseason to bolster the lineup. The moves sure seemed to do the trick, as the Braves erased the 65-97 record from their memories and were competitive all season long, translating into their tremendous playoff success before falling in the World Series. 

3. Minnesota Twins (1991)

After being stuck in mediocrity for much of the 1980s, the 1990s were seemingly heading down the same path, as the Twins kicked off the decade with a subpar 1990 season, at 74-88. However, in 1991, the team went from worst to first in the division and was near the top of the AL all year with a solid starting trio of Jack Morris, Kevin Tapani and Scott Erickson. The Twins stepped their play up in the postseason, which was saw brilliant performances from guys like Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek throughout. And, of course, who could forget Puckett’s home run in Game 6 with Jack Buck’s famous call: “We’ll see you tomorrow night!”? It forced a seventh and deciding game, which the Twins won 1-0 to take the World Series, capping off one of the more compelling turnarounds in baseball history.

2. St. Louis Rams (1999)

For decades, the Rams had always been a franchise that just couldn’t get it right, drafting poorly and lacking the necessary talent to compete in the NFL. The year before its miraculous turnaround, St. Louis had traded for dynamic running back Marshall Faulk, but it didn’t turn into immediate success, as the team finished 4-12. The true brilliance of the Faulk trade, though, shone during the 1999 campaign. Longtime fans were offered an exciting brand of football with the “Greatest Show on Turf” that guided St. Louis to a franchise-record 13-3 mark. Coupled with Faulk in the offensive backfield, the sudden emergence of journeyman quarterback Kurt Warner helped the Rams record their best season ever, culminating in a Super Bowl XXXIV victory.

1. Boston Celtics (2007-08)

It only concluded a couple months ago, but we witnessed the greatest single-season turnaround ever in sports with this year’s Celtics team. Following a completely disastrous 2006-07 campaign, in which they suffered through an agonizing 18-game losing streak, GM Danny Ainge vastly improved his team with two key moves. He picked up Kevin Garnett from Minnesota to give Boston a legitimate threat in the paint, and they acquired Ray Allen from Seattle to add some dynamic outside shooting – both meant to compliment superstar Paul Pierce. But who knew the additions of the two All-Stars would translate into a 42-win improvement and an NBA championship in Boston?

Honorable Mentions

Jacksonville Jaguars (1996): Following their 4-12 expansion season in 1995, the Jaguars surprised a lot of people when they posted a 9-7 record and advanced to the AFC Championship.

San Diego Chargers (2004): After nearly a decade of pain and suffering, the Chargers followed up on a 4-12 season in 2003 with an eight-win upgrade to finish 12-4 and host a playoff game.

San Antonio Spurs (1997-98): It’s hard for some basketball fans to think back this far, but the Spurs weren’t always tops in the NBA. They were an abominable 20-62 during the 1996-97 campaign, but got lucky in the draft and selected Tim Duncan to bounce back the following season with a 56-26 record, securing a playoff berth and advancing to the second round.

Philadelphia Flyers (2007-08): The Flyers were in the basement of the Eastern Conference only two seasons ago, finishing with a 22-48-12 record. Philly signed a bunch of free agents, which helped the team post a 20-win improvement and advance to the conference finals before losing to the Penguins in May.

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