It used to be an annual rite of passage to see great sports teams miss the playoffs. But then, computers were once 18-feet tall and the interweb was a pre-zygotic glimmer in Al Gore’s eye.

Amidst the steady playoff expansion in pro sports, it’s rare that outstanding teams spend the postseason on the sidelines. Since the NFL increased its playoff roster to 12 teams in 1990, there have been more undeserving teams playing football in January (cough, 2008 Cardinals, cough) than excellent teams left to lament the injustice of the football gods.

Likewise, the growth of baseball’s playoffs from four to eight teams after 1993 ended the era of 100-win teams that spent October watching—or ignoring—baseball. And in the NBA and NHL, sports where more than half of all teams make the playoffs, it’s been almost impossible for a good team to miss the playoffs. (We’re still waiting for the first good hockey team that misses the playoffs.)

The 2008 Pats are almost surely the greatest team to miss the playoffs under their sport’s current playoff format. And yet they are not even the best New England team to miss the playoffs under current postseason set-ups.

(Disclaimer: no NHL teams are featured in this list, because none deserve to be.)

No. 6: 2000-01 Houston Rockets

Record: 45-37 (.549)

Notable: Based on points scored (97.2 per game) and points allowed (94.9), the Rockets performed at the level of a 48-win team

The Rockets featured an electric backcourt, helmed by Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, a difference-maker in the middle in Maurice Taylor and the man with the best hair in the NBA (Moochie Norris). But the loss of Hakeem Olajuwon for 24 regular-season games with back and leg injuries prevented Houston from being a scary playoff opponent, or even from being a postseason team.

No. 5: 2003 Seattle Mariners

Record: 93-69

Notable: Since 1995, 29 teams have featured three or more 15-game winners. The ’03 Mariners are one of just three such teams to miss the playoffs.

This was a team with dominant pitching, as the Mariners finished second in the American League with a 3.76 ERA. The lineup featured Ichiro as well as, arguably, the best player in the game at two separate positions (second baseman Bret Boone and designated hitter Edgar Martinez).

Yet somehow, the ’03 Mariners ended up seeming an afterthought. Though their run differential was that of a 98-win team, Seattle instead ended up two games behind the 95-win Red Sox in the wild card race. Seattle hasn’t sniffed legitimate contention since.

No. 4: 2007-08 Golden State Warriors

Record: 48-34 (.585)

Notable: Four NBA teams (1994-95 Rockets, 1977-78 Bullets, 1974-75 Warriors, 1968-69 Celtics) have won 48 or fewer regular-season games en route to a title in the 82-game era

The 1994-95 Rockets won an NBA championship after claiming just 47 regular-season wins. The 2007-08 Warriors took one more ‘W’ during the regular-season in a positively brutal Western Conference, and yet failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The development was difficult to fathom for a team that featured three players who poured in 20 or more points a game (Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson) and solid supporting cast members in Al Harrington and Andris Biedrins.

No. 3: 1999 Cincinnati Reds

Record: 96-67 (.589)

Notable: The ’99 Reds are the only baseball team to miss the playoffs (under the current format) after winning more than 95 games.

This was hardly a team of superstars. The foremost strength of the ’99 Reds was a dominant bullpen, anchored by Scott Williamson, Danny Graves and Scott Sullivan.

The team also featured a fascinating combination of speed (164 steals) and power (209 homers, led by Greg Vaughn’s 45 and Sean Casey’s 25), as well as where-did-that-come-from seasons from starters Pete Harnisch (16-10, 3.68) and Steve Parris (11-4, 3.50).

Yet the Reds’ 96-66 record was only good enough to get Cincinnati to a one-game playoff against the Mets. The clock struck midnight in that game, and despite a winning percentage that was superior to seven of the 14 World Series winners under the current format, the Reds were left on the outside looking in during the postseason.

No. 2: 2008 New England Patriots

Record: 11-5 (.688)

Notable: Six teams have won the Super Bowl with a winning percentage of .688 or worse

The Patriots closed the season with a tremendously balanced offense that ranked as one of the best in the NFL and a defense that, in the final weeks of the season, finally seemed to rediscover its bend-don’t-break formula for success. The team closed with four straight wins, and looked as good as any team in the NFL in the final weeks of the season.

One could make a case that, after 17 weeks, the Pats had a strong claim to being one of the four or six best teams in the NFL, joining the Giants, Steelers, Colts and perhaps the Ravens and Panthers. And yet, the plug was pulled on their season. Since the playoffs expanded to their current 12-team format, no other club has won 11 but remained idle in January.

No. 1: 2002 Boston Red Sox

Record: 93-69 (.574)

Notable: The first year of the current Red Sox ownership group featured one of its best teams, yet the team still managed to miss the playoffs

The 2002 Red Sox were a dominant team. They had a pair of 20-game winners who also recorded the top two ERAs in the American League (Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez). They had a batting title winner—albeit one who made an ill-fated decision to break an finger with a headfirst slide into home—in Manny Ramirez. The shortstop (Nomar Garciaparra) drove in 120 runs. A clean-cut yet dynamic leadoff hitter (Johnny Damon) helmed the top of the order.

The team steamrolled its opponents, scoring an average of just 5.3 runs a game and allowing a stingy 4.1 runs a contest, numbers that typically would translate to a 100-62 season. Instead, the Sox weren’t even close, finishing a full six games out of the wild card. It would be difficult to imagine a more talented group accomplishing less.

Alex Speier is a senior writer for WEEI.com.