Entering the 2013 season, hardly anyone chose the Colorado Rockies or New York Yankees to contend for pennants. Both have shocked the baseball world by overcoming depth and injuries concerns, but we’ve seen plenty of that throughout MLB history.

The teams featured on this list made journeys all the way to the World Series despite being perceived as underdogs prior to Opening Day. Each slide reflects on previous seasons to explain why there was pessimism, identifies the difference-makers who made the pennant possible and states whether or not the team was victorious in the Fall Classic.

Every generation has had its unlikely successes.

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