In the last 70 or so years, the Chicago Cubs’ 1984 club probably was best equipped to go to the World Series, pending, of course, further developments this year. They had won the most games in the National League at 96 and, to reach the Series, they had to win only one round, a best-of-five league championship series against a San Diego Padres team that had a terrible rotation.
Then they had to take just one out of three in San Diego after winning the first playoff game 13-0 and the second one, 4-2, in Chicago. They won none after that and San Diego went to the Series as five-game fodder for the Detroit Tigers.