PBL History - 2010 to 2019
Nov 19, 2019 17:38:16 GMT -5
Rich - Former GM, Texas Rangers, and 6 more like this
Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Nov 19, 2019 17:38:16 GMT -5
The first section here is the ‘Breakdown by Year’. This will cover the league average batting line along with the runs, home runs, successful steals and strikeouts per game for that season. We’ll walk through the playoff teams that year, with the number in parenthesis being the number of wins that team earned, and if there’s a #, that’s their ranking for the decade overall. The ‘Left Out Teams’ are generally teams that won a ton of games but still managed to not make the playoffs.
After recounting the playoffs all the teams for that year are listed sorted by category (“Good”, “Average”, “Poor” etc) in the order of quality, so the first listed “Good” team is ranked higher than the second listed “Good team”. We’ll take a tour through the MVPs, Cy Youngs and the top five hitters and pitchers in each league (as evaluated by WAR). Then we’ll have some commentary and then on to the next season.. .
I also will talk about the best playoffs of the decade. The formula to determine this is calculated around two things. 1) Longer series are better. A seven game series is a much, much bigger deal than a four game sweep. 2) We want great baseball, which means that we want great baseball teams. While in the real world, watching an 82-win Cinderella may be inspiring, in this system we want the best possible teams matched up against each other.
Breakdown by Year:
2010:
The very first year of the PBL. It was a pretty competitive year, with five strong teams competing for the top of the league. The MVP/Cy Young awards were fairly silly, in that only Albert Pujols had any business winning his; Tim Lincecum was cheated of a Cy Young.
2010 Playoffs Review, 5th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 4th, Championship Round: 7th, World Series: 6th
The first round kicked off with a bang, the highlight of which was a five-game series between Tampa Bay and Seattle (two top 35 teams). And in every series, the favorites (NYA, TBA, COL, STL) won. So that’s good for great baseball right?
So, the upside is that the ALCS and NLCS probably featured the four best teams in the league, which is great (104, 100, 98 and 95 wins). The downside was two-fold. 1) None of these teams was historically great (the 104-win Yankees overperformed their pythag and WAR) so it was a playoff of ‘Extremely Good Teams’ but featured nobody better and 2) the series were all short. The Yankees knocked out the Rays 4-1 and the Cards dropped the Rockies 4-1, which really limited the amount of drama that could build.
And while, upside, the World Series featured two of the best three teams in the league (Yankees and Cardinals) the series again went down 4-1 Yankees which was disappointing given the teams’ parity. 2010 actually had an excellent playoffs in terms of team quality, but the lack of long-series drama put a limit to how great the playoffs could be.
Stat Breakdown: 264/336/419, 4.8 R/G, 1.04 HR/G, 0.60 SB/G, 7.09 K/G
Playoff Teams (AL): New York Yankees (104, #10), Tampa Bay Rays (100, #22), Seattle Mariners (97, #32), Minnesota Twins (90, #98)
Playoff Teams (NL): St. Louis Cardinals (98, #21), Colorado Rockies (95, #23), San Francisco Giants (93, #63), Philadelphia Phillies (92, #37)
Left Out Teams: Boston Red Sox (94, #53)
Divisional Rounds: Yankees defeat Twins 3-1, Rays defeat Mariners 3-2, Cardinals defeat Giants 3-1, Rockies defeat Phillies 3-1
Championship Series: Yankees defeat Rays 4-1, Cardinals defeat Rockies 4-1
World Series: Yankees defeat Cardinals 4-1
Stupidly Good:
Extremely Good: New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies
Quite Good: Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox
Good: San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins
Average: Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers
Poor: Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals
Quite Bad: Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers
Extremely Bad: Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros
Stupidly Bad:
MVPs: Prince Fielder, SEA (5.2, DH), Albert Pujols, STL (9.6, 1B)
Cy Youngs: CC Sabathia, NYA (6.0), Adam Wainwright, STL (5.2)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Joe Mauer, MIN (7.1, C - GG), Carl Crawford, TBA (6.4, LF - GG), Kendry Morales, LAA (6.1, 1B - GG), Evan Longoria, TBA (5.9, 3B), Kevin Youkilis, BOS (5.8, 1B)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Albert Pujols, STL (9.6, 1B - GG), Chase Utley, PHI (8.5, 2B), Troy Tulowitzki, COL (7.5, SS), Hanley Ramirez, FLN (6.7, SS), Ryan Zimmerman, ATL (6.6, 3B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Felix Hernandez, SEA (7.3), Rich Harden, TEX (7.1), Jon Lester, BOS (6.7), Josh Beckett, BOS (6.5), Zack Greinke, KCA (6.5)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (7.4), Jonathan Sanchez, SFN (6.0), Chris Carpenter, STL (5.9), Brad Penny, STL (5.7), Ricky Nolasco, FLO (5.7)
2011:
A year with only one particularly strong team (Boston), where the underdogs won everything and the playoffs were a Cinderella bloodbath. Prince Fielder wins another MVP he shouldn’t have (a theme for the 2010s) but 2011 seems to be a bit of an inflection point, where the new GMs start actively changing the future of their franchises, for better or for worse. The teams that would dominate the later part of the decade are already starting to improve.
2011 Playoffs Review, 10th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 5th, Championship Round: 10th, World Series: 9th
The playoffs started off pretty well, with a lot of exciting, long series (three of the four games went 5 games, and the other went 4). Unfortunately, all the Cinderallas won. Kansas City (#70) beat a really good Red Sox team, Seattle (#79) beat a strong Tampa Bay team, the Mets (#64) beat a strong Colorado team and the Reds (#44) edged out a better San Francisco team (#35). Every single underdog won.
This set up the worst championship round of the decade. This isn’t because the teams were bad; both Kansas City and Seattle were legit 90-win teams and the Reds were actually a little better; only the Mets had the black mark of an 81-win pythag. It’s just that when compared to other years where the championship games have at least one (or two) great teams, this one comes out pretty drab, as the Mets upset the Reds in 5 and the Mariners take the Royals in 6.
The World Series was a six-game affair where the worst regular season team in the playoffs, the Mets, upset the worst aggregate team in the playoffs, the Mariners. Seriously, even crediting them with their playoff success, the Mets only show as the 64th best team of the decade, and the Mariners the 79th. It was an exciting playoffs, but it was a disappointment if you wanted to watch great baseball teams play each other.
Stat Breakdown: 261/333/413, 4.7 R/G, 1.01 HR/G, 0.65 SB/G, 6.90 K/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Boston Red Sox (106, #19), Tampa Bay Rays (97, #38), Kansas City Royals (90, #70), Seattle Mariners (90, #79)
Playoff Teams (NL): Colorado Rockies (97, #34), Cincinnati Reds (96, #44), San Francisco Giants (94, #35), New York Mets (91, #64)
Left Out: Los Angeles Dodgers (93, #71), New York Yankees (91, #99), Philadelphia Phillies (90, #120)
Divisional Series: Royals defeat Red Sox 3-2, Mariners defeat Rays 3-2, Mets defeat Colorado 3-1, Cincinnati defeats Giants 3-2
Championship Series: Mariners defeat Royals 4-2, Mets defeat Reds 4-1
World Series: Mets defeat Mariners 4-2
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Boston Red Sox
Quite Good Teams: Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds
Good Teams: New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers
Average Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians
Poor Teams: Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles
Quite Bad Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs
Extremely Bad Teams: Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Prince Fielder, SEA (6.0, DH), Pablo Sandoval, SFN (9.2, 3B)
Cy Youngs: Zack Greinke, KCA (7.2), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.6)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Evan Longoria, TBA (7.3, 3B - GG), Marco Scutaro, BOS (6.4, SS), Desmond Jennings, DET (6.3, CF), Brett Gardner, NYA (6.0, LF - GG), Prince Fielder, SEA (6.0, DH)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Pablo Sandoval, SFN (9.2, 3B), Albert Pujols, STL (8.6, 1B), Jay Bruce, CIN (7.7, RF), Dexter Fowler, COL (7.6, CF), Troy Tulowitzki, COL (7.4, SS - GG)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Zack Greinke, KCA (7.2), Josh Beckett, BOS (6.2), James Shields, TBA (5.7), Jon Lester, BOS (5.4), Danny Haren, TBA (5.1)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.6), Roy Halladay, PHI (6.1), Ricky Nolasco, FLO (6.1), Matt Cain, SFN (5.6), James McDonald, LAN (5.6)
2012 PBL Season
The first of two years where the Rangers and Rays were at each others’ throats in the AL. Those two teams over 2012 and 2013 make up four of the top sixteen teams of the decade and they always played each other in the playoffs. In this part of the decade the AL generally has the stronger teams. Matt Cain has the misfortune to pitch in the same league (and on the same team) as Tim Lincecum.
Playoffs Review, 8th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 8th, Championship Round: 9th, World Series: 5th
The second disappointing playoffs in a row, even if it ended reasonably well. The Divisional Round had two good series: Tampa Bay defeating the Rangers (which would have been an amazing series given that they’re both top 20 teams had the Rays not swept the series) and the Braves upsetting the Rockies in 5. The Dodgers/Cards could have been good had the Dodgers not swept and the Twins v Red Sox was disappointing despite the five-game length, given that the Twins were an 82-win pretender (#158 overall on the decade). The Twins won the series of course.
Which meant that even though the NLCS was pretty good (Dodgers beat a decent Braves team in 6) the ALCS had the Twins in it which meant that even the Rays being taken to seven against them wasn’t enough to generate interest.
If there was a saving grace it was that the World Series featured a stupidly good team (Tampa Bay, #6) against an excellent team (Los Angeles Dodgers, #27), and even though the Rays won handily in five, it still featured a really nice matchup.
Stat Breakdown: 268 / 342 / 433, 5.1 R/G, 1.15 HR/G, 0.69 SB/G, 6.89 K/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Texas Rangers (109, #16), Boston Red Sox (100, #43), Tampa Bay Rays (97, #6), Minnesota Twins (82, #158)
Playoff Teams (NL): Colorado Rockies (104, #17), Los Angeles Dodgers (99, #27), St. Louis Cardinals (94, #62), Atlanta Braves (91, #60)
Left Out: San Francisco Giants (97, #57), Washington Nationals (90, #108)
Divisional Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Texas Rangers 3-0, Minnesota Twins defeat Boston Red Sox 3-1, Atlanta Braves defeat Colorado Rockies 3-2, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat St. Louis Cardinals 3-0
Championship Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Minnesota Twins 4-3, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Atlanta Braves 4-2
World Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams: Tampa Bay Rays
Extremely Good Teams: Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies
Quite Good Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants
Good Teams: Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, New York Mets
Average Teams: Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians
Poor Teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers
Quite Bad Teams: San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays
MVPs: Joe Mauer, MIN (6.4, C), Albert Pujols, STL (8.2, 1B)
Cy Youngs: Jon Lester, BOS (6.5), Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.2)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Carlos Pena, BAL (7.0, 1B), Julio Bourbon, TEX (6.9, CF), Joe Mauer, MIN (6.4, C - GG), Evan Longoria, TBA (6.3, 3B), Prince Fielder, SEA (6.0, DH)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Matt Holliday, STL (8.2, LF), Albert Pujols, STL (8.2, 1B - GG), Dustin Ackley, ATL (7.8, 2B), Hanley Ramirez, LAN (7.4, SS), Jason Heyward, WAS (6.9, RF)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Jon Lester, BOS (6.5), Tyler Matzek, TEX (5.2), Danny Haren, TBA (5.2), Yovani Gallardo, CLE (5.0), Felix Hernandez, SEA (4.6)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.2), Matt Cain, SFN (8.2), Brandon Webb, COL (7.1), Josh Johnson, FLO (7.0), Justin Verlander, SFN (6.8)
2013 PBL Season:
2013 featured the Rays/Rangers rematch and a National League with not a lot of dominant teams. Prince Fielder wins another MVP (this time he only finished 1.4 WAR behind the leader) while Tim Lincecum wins a Cy Young that probably should have gone to Stephen Strasburg. Aaron Hicks begin his string of freakishly dominant seasons where he single-handedly puts the Cubs in the playoffs as often as not.
Playoffs Review, 4th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 10th, Championship Round: 4th, World Series: 3rd
The 2013 playoffs (not unlike 2012) opened with a whimper but ended with a bang. The Divisional Round was a disappointing affair. The Rangers and Rays put up decent series, defeating modest opposition (White Sox and Mariners respectively) in four games each. The Atlanta Braves that year were a very curious historical outlier; they were only 85-77 but they had the WAR of a 97-win team, which is to say, they were a bit of a sleeping giant. The Braves had a good series dropping the Rockies in 4, but the fans snoozed through the Diamondbacks sweeping the overperforming Cubs (92-70, but with a pythag and WAR close to league average).
The Championship Series, in contrast, were spectacular. The Diamondbacks weren’t particularly great but it took the Braves seven games to beat them which made for an exciting finish. And the Rays and Rangers (the two best teams in the AL for the second year running) got a much-needed rematch after the prior year’s Divisional Series (they played each other in the first round, ending in a sweep for the Rays). In the 5th best individual CS of the decade (and the best to this point), the Rangers got revenge, defeating the Rays in a tight six-game series.
The World Series was excellent, with the dark horse Braves upsetting the Rangers in six. The 2013 playoffs ended with some great series, and would be the highlight of the decade for another several years.
League Stats: 259/332/416, 4.69 R/G, 1.08 HR/G, 6.84 K/G, 0.59 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Tampa Bay Rays (102, #13), Texas Rangers (100, #14), Chicago White Sox (91, #61), Seattle Mariners (91, #83)
Playoff Teams (NL): Colorado Rockies (93, #65), Chicago Cubs (92, #105), Arizona Diamondbacks (89, #67), Atlanta Braves (85, #29)
Left Out:
Divisional Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Seattle Mariners 3-1, Texas Rangers defeat Chicago White Sox 3-1, Atlanta Braves defeat Colorado Rockies 3-1, Arizona Diamondbacks defeat Chicago Cubs 3-0
Championship Series: Texas Rangers defeat Tampa Bay Rays 4-2, Atlanta Braves defeat Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3
World Series: Atlanta Braves defeat Texas Rangers 4-2
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers
Quite Good Teams: Atlanta Braves
Good Teams: Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers
Average Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies
Poor Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Miami Marlins
Quite Bad Teams: Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays
MVPs: Prince Fielder, BOS (7.4, DH), Carlos Gonzalez, COL (7.2, RF)
Cy Youngs: James Shields, TBA (5.7), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.9)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Carlos Santana, CLE (8.8, C), Prince Fielder, BOS (7.4, DH), Gian Guzman, CHA (6.5, 1B), Joe Mauer, MIN (6.2, C), Dustin Pedroia, BOS (6.0, 2B)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (7.7, CF), Carlos Gonzalez, COL (7.2, RF), Logan Morrison, MIA (7.1, 1B), Hanley Ramirez, LAN (7.1, SS), Ryan Zimmerman, ATL (7.0, 3B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Josh Johnson, BAL (5.8), James Shields, TBA (5.7), Felix Hernandez, SEA (5.0), Tim Matzek, TEX (4.2), Ubaldo Jimenez, SEA (4.1)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Stephen Strasburg, ATL (9.7), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.9), Cole Hamels, PHI (7.3), Adam Wainwright, SLN (6.4), Clay Buchholz, MIL (6.3)
2014 PBL Season:
The Pittsburgh Pirates make the playoffs to start their string of eleven billion playoff seasons, this year with a humble 91 wins. Ryan Braun wins the AL MVP (the subtle mystery, why Seattle players keep winning the MVP without finishing at the top of the WAR chart). The Cubs enjoy a 100-win season while the Red Sox find themselves as the top team by far in the AL.
2014 Playoffs Review, 7th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 9th, Championship Round: 6th, World Series: 7th
The National League Divisional Round was excellent, featuring good teams and four-game series. Atlanta, looking dominant with 102 wins coming off their championship the prior year, was upset by a quality Pittsburgh team while the decent Dodgers upset a high-quality Cubs team. The buzzkill was the AL playoffs, which featured the Red Sox (96 wins, #15) and then a bunch of also-rans (the Rays, Mariners and White Sox were #59, #78 and #102 that year). In a battle of the Sox the Red prevailed in five games (not enough to salvage Chicago’s low quality) and fans snoozed through the Rays sweeping Seattle.
In the championship round, the AL provided the excitement with the Rays taking the Red Sox to seven games, while the Dodgers upset the Pirates in five (a series not helped by having the two underdogs winning their series in the first round).
The World Series was a little disappointing, as the excellent Red Sox team defeated the overmatched Dodgers in five games.
League Stats: 261/334/416, 4.75 R/G, 1.04 HR/G, 7.09 K/G, 0.63 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Boston Red Sox (96, #15), Tampa Bay Rays (91, #59), Seattle Mariners (90, #78), Chicago White Sox (85, #102)
Playoff Teams (NL): Atlanta Braves (102, #11), Chicago Cubs (100, #28), Pittsburgh Pirates (91, #30), Los Angeles Dodgers (90, #50)
Left Out:
Divisional Series: Boston Red Sox defeat Chicago White Sox 3-2, Tampa Bay Rays defeat Seattle Mariners 3-0, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Atlanta Braves 3-1, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Chicago Cubs 3-1
Championship Series: Boston Red Sox defeat Tampa Bay Rays 4-3, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1
World Series: Boston Red Sox defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox
Quite Good Teams: Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays
Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals
Average Teams: Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians
Poor Teams: Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies
Quite Bad Teams: Los Angeles Angels, Arizona DIamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds
Extremely Bad Teams: Baltimore Orioles
Stupidly Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays
MVPs: Ryan Braun, SEA (6.0, LF), Pablo Sandoval, PIT (8.5, 3B)
Cy Youngs: Mike Pelfrey, CLE (4.8), Stephen Strasburg, ATL (8.7)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Bryan Anderson, SEA (7.2, C), Joe Mauer, MIN (6.4, C - GG), Ryan Braun, SEA (6.0, LF), Fernando Martinez, KCA (5.7, RF), Anthony Casario, CHA (5.6, CF)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Pablo Sandoval, PIT (8.5, 3B), Aaron Hicks, CHN (7.7, CF - GG), Giancarlo Stanton, MIA (7.2, RF), Ryan Zimmerman, ATL (6.5, 3B), Chase Headley, SDN (6.4, 3B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Josh Beckett, MIN (5.6), Felix Hernandez, SEA (5.2), Phil Hughes, TBA (5.1), Ubaldo Jimenez, SEA (5.1), Mike Pelfrey, CLE (4.8)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Stephen Strasburg, ATL (8.7), Tim Lincecum, SFN (7.1), Clay Buchholz, MIL (6.9), Gary Price, HOU (6.2), Brett Anderson (6.0)
2015 PBL Season:
The American League increasingly finds itself low on top teams, with a bunch of solid but not great representatives going into the playoffs. The NL, in contrast, is building some juggernauts. The Pirates win 100+ games, the Giants look great, the Nationals look great and the Marlins barely miss the playoffs while winning 91 games. I’ll give you a hint, you’ll see them again. Also, this is another year with bizarre awards choices. Aaron Hicks puts up 10+ WAR and loses the MVP to the 7.8 WAR Joshua Leyland. 7.8 is a great year, but how often do you get 10+ WAR? What did the voters do, shrug their shoulders and say “Look, sure this guy’s the best fielding center fielder in the league, sure he’s an amazing all-around hitter, but it’s kind of boring. I mean, he’s just so good. Let’s give it to that Leyland guy. He’s had the second best WAR on his team; nobody will see it coming.” The Jeremy Hellickson Cy Young may be equally inexplicable.
2015 Playoffs Review, 9th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 2nd, Championship Round: 8th, World Series: 10th
The 2015 playoffs, on paper, should have been amazing. They featured three teams in the top 20 for the decade and two in the top ten. Unfortunately, 2015 was one of the most lopsided years ever; *all* the best teams on the league were in the NL. The 2015 Miami Marlins had a better record than all but three of the AL teams, a better pythag than all but one of the AL teams, and at least ten WAR greater than *any* AL team. Did I mention that the Marlins didn’t even make the playoffs in the NL? That’s how bad it was.
The NL featured Pittsburgh (101 wins, #18), Washington (98 wins, #7), San Francisco (98 wins, #9) and the Cubs (92 wins, #41). The Al featured Detroit (96 wins, #47), Tampa Bay (95 wins, #48), Seattle (92 wins, #54) and Houston (87 wins, #76). Not a remotely fair fight.
Presumably you can see why this divisional round is rated so high; how often do you get top 20 (decade) teams squaring off in the first round (it did happen in 2012 between Tampa and Texas but that’s it so far)? San Francisco defeated Pittsburgh in 4 and Washington managed to hold off the Cubs in 5, combining for some excellent viewing numbers. In the AL most of the excitement came from the Mariners upsetting the Rays in five while the Astros surprised the Tigers in 4.
The NLCS was as enjoyable as a five-game series can be, with the Nationals making short work of the Giants. The ALCS was far less satisfying, with the Astros upsetting the Mariners in five to be a serious underdog in the World Series. Sometimes it’s luck, but weak conferences make Cinderella teams much more likely.
The World Series was nasty, brutish and short, with the Nationals vaporizing the overwhelmed Astros in four quick games. A lot of historically great teams, but when they’re all in one conference you can only do so much.
League Stats: 260/333/412, 4.69 R/G, 1.03 HR/G, 7.04 K/G, 0.55 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Detroit Tigers (96, #47), Tampa Bay Rays (95, #48), Seattle Mariners (92, #54), Houston Astros (87, #76)
Playoff Teams (NL): Pittsburgh Pirates (101, #18), Washington Nationals (98, #7), San Francisco Giants (98, #9), Chicago Cubs (92, #41)
Left Out: Miami Marlins (91, #31)
Divisional Series: Houston Astros defeat Detroit Tigers 3-1, Seattle Mariners defeat Tampa Bay Rays 3-2, San Francisco Giants defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1, Washington Nationals defeat Chicago Cubs 3-2
Championship Series: Houston Astros defeat Seattle Mariners 4-1, Washington Nationals defeat San Francisco Giants 4-1
World Series: Washington Nationals defeat Houston Astros 4-0
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates
Quite Good Teams: Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners
Good Teams: Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies
Average Teams: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres
Poor Teams: Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Carolina Warhounds, Portland Beavers
Quite Bad Teams: New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies
Extremely Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Gian Guzman, CHA (7.2, 1B), Joshua Leyland, MIA (7.8, C)
Cy Youngs: Tyler Matzek, TBA (6.4), Jeremy Hellickson, WAS (5.2)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Gian Guzman, CHA (7.2, 1B), Marvin Webb, TBA (6.8, RF), Adrian Cardenas, OAK (6.2, 3B), Luis Gomez, BAL (6.1, LF), Bryan Anderson, SEA (6.1, C)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (10.2, CF), Troy Tulowitzki, COL (8.9, SS), Logan Morrison, MIA (7.9, 1B), Joshua Leyland, MIA (7.8, C), Jae Yun Kim, ARI (7.4, C)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Tyler Matzek, TBA (6.4), Gary Price, HOU (6.3), Jake Peavy, CLE (6.2), Ubaldo Jimenez, DET (5.2), Felix Hernandez, SEA (4.5)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.3), Jennry Mejia, WAS (7.6), Keyvius Sampson, SDN (6.9), Aroldis Chapman, MIA (6.6), Adam Wainwright, SLN (5.6)
2016 PBL Season:
2016 marks the point where the top teams in the NL get way, way, way better than the top teams in the AL. Miami has their first of three insane years while Pittsburgh has their best year of the decade.
2016 Playoffs Review, 1st out of 10:
Divisional Round: 3rd, Championship Round: 1st, World Series: 1st
The 2016 playoffs were the best in the decade, by far. Curiously, the inter-league imbalance was just as bad as the prior year, perhaps even worse. But two, great, great, great teams made this an incredible playoffs to watch. The 2016 Pirates and the 2016 Marlins were in a class of their own this year, standing as some of the best in the decade. The Pirates won 113 games (2nd in the decade) and the Marlins won 108 (5th in the decade). The Pirates had the 2nd best pythag of the decade, the Marlins had the 3rd best. The Pirates had the best WAR of the decade, the Marlins had the 2nd best. I cannot emphasize this enough, these were two of the best teams ever and they happened not only to be in the same year, but the same league.
In the divisional round the Orioles beat the Astros in four while the Tigers beat the Mariners in four, but all eyes were on the NL. The Pirates easily swept the Rockies but the 97-win Giants took the Marlins to the full five games before the Marlins put it away (this was the 2nd highest divisional round series of the decade).
In the AL the Tigers swept the Orioles, making for low drama but, again, the NLCS was poised for a clash of the titans. The series lasted six games and when all was said and done, the Pirates had prevailed. This was the highest rated Championship Series of the decade and was a bigger deal than many of the World Series.
And just when you might have thought that the excitement was over the gutsy Tigers took the Pirates to a full seven games, and only when the Pirates walked out of that game seven as World Champions did their status as one of the very best teams ever become confirmed. You probably could not ask for a better intersection of quality and drama.
League Stats: 259/332/412, 4.62 R/G, 1.03 HR/G, 7.08 K/G, 0.53 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Baltimore Orioles (100, #40), Seattle Mariners (96, #39), Houston Astros (93, #81), Detroit Tigers (90, #49)
Playoff Teams (NL): Pittsburgh Pirates (113, #1), Miami Marlins (108, #4), San Francisco Giants (97, #58), Colorado Rockies (93, #66)
Left Out:
Divisional Series: Baltimore Orioles defeat Houston Astros 3-1, Detroit Tigers defeat Seattle Mariners 3-1, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Colorado Rockies 3-0, Miami Marlins defeat San Francisco Giants 3-2
Championship Series: Detroit Tigers defeat Baltimore Orioles 4-0, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Miami Marlins 4-2
World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Detroit Tigers 4-3
Stupidly Good Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins
Extremely Good Teams:
Quite Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants
Good Teams: Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers
Average Teams: Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers
Poor Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Portland Beavers, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Carolina Warhounds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels
Quite Bad Teams: Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams: Philadelphia Phillies
MVPs: Gian Guzman, CHA (8.5, 1B), Joshua Leyland, MIA (10.2, C)
Cy Youngs: Felix Hernandez, SEA (6.6), Casey Kelly, PIT (5.6)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Gian Guzman, CHA (8.5, 1B), Jaff Decker, TEX (7.3, LF), Luis Gomez, BAL (7.1, LF - GG), Carlos Santana, CLE (6.4, C), Adrian Cardenas, OAK (6.1, 3B)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (11.2, CF), Joshua Leyland, MIA (10.2, C), Ricardo Aranda, PIT (8.1, CF), Bryce Harper, WAS (7.8, C), Jae-yun Kim, ARI (7.3, C)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Felix Hernandez, SEA (6.6), Gary Price, HOU (6.4), Ubaldo Jimenez, DET (5.4), Clay Buchholz, BOS (5.0), Gavin Floyd, NYA (4.6)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (7.6), Jameson Taillon, PIT (6.7), Zack Greinke, COL (6.7), Tommy Hanson, PIT (5.9), Casey Kelly, PIT (5.6)
2017 PBL Season:
2017 played out a lot of the storylines of the prior year. Miami and Pittsburgh got to rematch in the NLCS and Aaron Hicks finally won the MVP. Carlos Gutierrez of Tampa Bay shows how win-focused the voters of 2017 were, in that he won the Cy Young with a 21-6 campaign where he struck out only 4.6 per 9 and put up a measly 3.2 WAR. Just when you think they figure it out with Hicks (not that you could really miss giving it to a guy who had the most WAR in the NL by 4, but still) . . .
2017 Playoffs Review, 4th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 7th, Championship Round: 3rd, World Series: 4th
The 2017 playoffs saw the two leagues a little more balanced. The AL had two excellent teams in Seattle and Detroit, a respectable dark horse in Tampa Bay and the underwhelming Rangers (who may have won 97 games, but had the WAR of a league-average team). The NL, by contrast, had two decent teams (Arizona and Pittsburgh), one team that probably shouldn’t have been involved (Cincinnati) and the predictable Miami juggernaut. Of course everything turns on its head in the first round with the two best teams in the AL losing (the five-game series between Tampa Bay and Seattle was a highlight) while the two better teams won in the NL.
In the ALCS the five-game series between the Rays and Rangers got little attention which is unsurprising given the comparably low quality of the teams and the short series. But the NLCS, a rematch of the prior year’s spectacular matchup, was must-watch television. Boasting better ratings than the World Series, Miami v Pittsburgh went to seven games with the Marlins eventually prevailing. Even with Pittsburgh not as good as the prior year, the drama of the rematch and the full seven-game length were everything you could ask for.
The World Series was, comparatively, a disappointment. Miami outclassed Tampa Bay completely, so naturally the Marlins choked hard and the Rays took the series in 5. It was still pretty decent; Tampa Bay was a solid team and the Marlins were probably a Top 10 all-time roster. After this year the Marlins would have one more shot to close the deal.
League Stats: 260/333/417, 4.67 R/G, 1.07 HR/G, 6.97 K/G, 0.54 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Seattle Mariners (99, #25), Texas Rangers (97, #74), Detroit Tigers (96, #20), Tampa Bay Rays (90, #46)
Playoff Teams (NL): Miami Marlins (97, #2), Arizona Diamondbacks (95, #52), Pittsburgh Pirates (88, #36), Cincinnati Reds (84, #118)
Left Out: Minnesota Twins (93)
Divisional Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Seattle Mariners 3-2, Texas Rangers defeat Detroit Tigers 3-0, Miami Marlins defeat Cincinnati Reds 3-1, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2
Championship Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Texas Rangers 4-1, Miami Marlins defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3
World Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Miami Marlins 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams: Miami Marlins
Extremely Good Teams: Detroit Tigers
Quite Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks
Good Teams: Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants
Average Teams: Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Carolina Warhounds
Poor Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, Portland Beavers, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox
Quite Bad Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels
Extremely Bad Teams: Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Gian Guzman, MIN (6.7, 1B), Aaron Hicks, CHN (12.4, CF)
Cy Youngs: Carlos Gutierrez, TBA (3.2), Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.0)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Joe Mauer, MIN (7.4, C), Gian Guzman, MIN (6.7, 1B), Bryce Harper, HOU (6.4, C), Giralldo Croner, SEA (5.9, CF), Marvin Webb, TBA (5.9, RF - GG)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (12.4, CF - GG), Julio Morban, MIA (8.3, LF), Joshua Leyland, MIA (7.9, C), Matt Weiters, PIT (7.0, C), Ricardo Aranda, PIT (6.8, CF)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Jon Lester, MIN (6.0), Brett Myers, NYA (5.6), Kelvin de la Cruz, HOU (5.0), Zack Wheeler, SEA (4.9), Rick Porcello, MIN (4.8)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.0), Jameson Taillon, PIT (7.3), Stephen Strasburg, PIT (6.8), Lou Martin, ATL (6.6), Keyvius Sampson, MIA (6.5)
2018 PBL Season:
The PBL goes all-DH in both leagues, but curiously, scoring/hitting do not change at all. Mysterious. 2018 represents another fantastic playoffs and another year of the Marlins being fantastic and coming up short.
2018 Playoffs Review, 2nd out of 10:
Divisional Round: 1st, Championship Round: 2nd, World Series: 2nd
The 2018 playoffs were fantastic and it was all because of the National League. The AL was pretty lopsided, with one excellent team (Seattle), one quite good team (Tampa Bay) and two good teams (Texas and Minnesota). In the Divisional Round Seattle swept the Twins and the Rays dropped the Rangers in five. But in the National League you had four fantastic teams, with the worst of them still better than the #2 team in the AL. So of course both NL series went to the wire, with Miami edging out Pittsburgh while the Dodgers snuck past the Reds. Those two series, with four excellent teams playing the full five games made 2018 the best Divisional Round of the decade.
Even after that whale of a round, the Championship Series did not disappoint. An excellent Seattle team tangled with Tampa Bay, taking six tough games to advance. While Miami didn’t face Pittsburgh in the NLCS for the 3rd time in a row (though they did have that meeting in the NLDS) they squared off against a very good Dodgers team for six games. Ultimately the two best teams from each league advanced.
Even though the World Series was comparably brief, Seattle and Miami constituted two of the best teams of the decade. In fact, Seattle was the best underdog in the World Series of the decade. And while Miami was the better team, Seattle’s 4-1 victory wasn’t a huge surprise given how capable that team was. Great playoffs.
League Stats: 259/330/416, 4.67 R/G, 1.09 HR/G, 7.00 K/G, 0.56 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Seattle Mariners (98, #12), Tampa Bay Rays (97, #45), Texas Rangers (97, #69), Minnesota Twins (94, #73)
Playoff Teams (NL): Miami Marlins (115, #3), Cincinnati Reds (104, #24), Los Angeles Dodgers (100, #33), Pittsburgh Pirates (95, #26)
Left Out: San Francisco Giants (91), Detroit Tigers (90)
Divisional Series: Seattle Mariners defeat Minnesota Twins 3-0, Tampa Bay Rays defeat Texas Rangers 3-2, Miami Marlins defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Cincinnati Reds 3-2
Championship Series: Seattle Mariners defeat Tampa Bay Rays 4-2, Miami Marlins defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2
World Series: Seattle Mariners defeat Miami Marlins 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams: Miami Marlins
Extremely Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds
Quite Good Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays
Good Teams: Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks
Average Teams: Portland Beavers, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets
Poor Teams: Carolina Warhounds, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros
Quite Bad Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Jae Yun Kim, TBA (8.4, C), Aaron Hicks, CHN (9.8, CF)
Cy Youngs: Jon Lester, MIN (5.9), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.8)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Jae Yun Kim, TBA (8.4, C), Bryan Anderson, SEA (7.1, C), Prince Fielder, TBA (7.0, DH), Roberto Vasti, NYA (6.4, LF), Marvin Webb, TBA (6.2, RF)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (9.8, CF), Bryce Harper, MIA (7.4, C), Matt Wieters, PIT (7.3, C), Adrian Cardenas, LAN (7.0, 3B), Travis Ishikawa, MIA (6.9, 1B - GG)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Jon Lester, MIN (5.9), Chris Sale, DET (4.7), Brent Marshall, TBA (4.6), Juan Zapien, POR (4.5), Felix Hernandez, SEA (4.1)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.8), Naftali Feliz, CHN (6.7), Phil Jackson, MIA (6.3), Lou Martin, ATL (6.1), Jameson Taillon, PIT (5.8)
2019 PBL Season:
2019 is a very interesting year because many teams that seem as though they’d be ranked highly are not, and a lot of it comes down to a lack of competition. There were a lot of teams with good records that year, but there were an equal number with very bad records. Winning 100 games in a year where everybody’s reasonably competitive is a lot more impressive than winning 100 games in a year where multiple teams are tanking so hard that they can’t even win 60 games. 2019 had a lot of good teams and a lot of bad teams, but only two great teams. With Miami taking a step back the way was open for a renewed Pirates team along with the always-good Giants to push to the top of the National League. This was the first year to have a Wildcard round.
2019 Playoffs Review, 6th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 6th, Championship Round: 5th, World Series: 8th
As per usual for the decade, the playoffs shaped up very NL-heavy in terms of talent. Sure the AL fielded four teams in the 93 to 96 win range, but the NL fielded three 100+ win teams and five 92+ win teams, so in a watered-down year the NL clearly had an advantage.
The Wildcard round let the Dodgers move past the Diamondbacks, while the Red Sox pulled off a small upset against Tampa Bay. While the three-game Divisional Series between Boston and Texas was underwhelming (with Texas sweeping), the five-game set between Baltimore and Minnesota proved an evenly matched contest that eventually saw the Twins move forward. The NLDSs were excellent, each with a top team matched against a capable underdog. The Giants prevailed against the Dodgers while the Mets upset the Pirates, both in four.
The ALCS may have gone to six games, but the Rangers comparably low quality (only two wins above average in WAR) made the Twins’ victory somewhat underwhelming. The NLCS, in contrast, pitted the dominant Giants against the capable Mets who had just upset the Pirates in four. The battle lasted a full seven games, but ultimately the Giants were able to prevail.
The World Series wasn’t a disappointment in terms of team quality; the Giants were an excellent team and the Twins were an able representative for the AL. But when the better team takes down the underdog in four straight, it does take a certain something out of it. It was a good World Series for the Giants, but a bad World Series for viewers.
League Stats: 256/324/400, 4.50 R/G, 0.95 HR/G, 7.08 K/G, 0.58 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Baltimore Orioles (96, #56), Texas Rangers (96, #85), Boston Red Sox (93, #84), Tampa Bay Rays (93, #75), Minnesota Twins (89, #51)
Playoff Teams (NL): San Francisco Giants (109, #5), Pittsburgh Pirates (107, #8), New York Mets (100, #42), Arizona Diamondbacks (95, #90), Los Angeles Dodgers (92, #55)
Left Out:
Wild Card Round: Boston Red Sox defeat Tampa Bay Rays 1-0, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0
Divisional Series: Texas Rangers defeat Boston Red Sox 3-0, Minnesota Twins defeat Baltimore Orioles 3-2, San Francisco Giants defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1, New York Mets defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1
Championship Series: Minnesota Twins defeat Texas Rangers 4-2, San Francisco Giants defeat New York Mets 4-3
World Series: San Francisco Giants defeat Minnesota Twins 4-0
Stupidly Good Teams: San Francisco Giants
Extremely Good Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates
Quite Good Teams: New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles
Good Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics
Average Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers
Poor Teams: New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Carolina Warhounds, Portland Beavers
Quite Bad Teams: Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves
Extremely Bad Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Richard Washington, OAK (8.4, RF), An-yi Yuen, ARI (7.0, RF)
Cy Youngs: Chad James, TBA (6.1), Jameson Taillon, PIT (7.5)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Roberto Vasti, NYA (9.7, LF - GG), Giralldo Croner, SEA (8.6, CF), Richard Washington, OAK (8.4, RF), Luis Gomez, BAL (6.6, LF), Giancarlo Stanton, SEA (6.4, RF)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (9.2, CF), Bryce Harper, MIA (8.8, C), An-yi Yuen, ARI (7.0, RF), Ricardo Aranda, PIT (7.0, CF), Arturo Rosado, NYN (6.5, 1B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Phil Jackson, MIN (7.5), Chad James, TBA (6.1), Felix Hernandez, SEA (5.8), Lou Martin, OAK (5.7), Edinson Volquez, BOS (5.3)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Jameson Taillon, PIT (7.5), Tim Lincecum, SFN (5.2), Bryan Merrills, MIA (4.7), Matt Capps, SFN (4.7), Chad Billingsley, LAN (4.6)
After recounting the playoffs all the teams for that year are listed sorted by category (“Good”, “Average”, “Poor” etc) in the order of quality, so the first listed “Good” team is ranked higher than the second listed “Good team”. We’ll take a tour through the MVPs, Cy Youngs and the top five hitters and pitchers in each league (as evaluated by WAR). Then we’ll have some commentary and then on to the next season.. .
I also will talk about the best playoffs of the decade. The formula to determine this is calculated around two things. 1) Longer series are better. A seven game series is a much, much bigger deal than a four game sweep. 2) We want great baseball, which means that we want great baseball teams. While in the real world, watching an 82-win Cinderella may be inspiring, in this system we want the best possible teams matched up against each other.
Breakdown by Year:
2010:
The very first year of the PBL. It was a pretty competitive year, with five strong teams competing for the top of the league. The MVP/Cy Young awards were fairly silly, in that only Albert Pujols had any business winning his; Tim Lincecum was cheated of a Cy Young.
2010 Playoffs Review, 5th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 4th, Championship Round: 7th, World Series: 6th
The first round kicked off with a bang, the highlight of which was a five-game series between Tampa Bay and Seattle (two top 35 teams). And in every series, the favorites (NYA, TBA, COL, STL) won. So that’s good for great baseball right?
So, the upside is that the ALCS and NLCS probably featured the four best teams in the league, which is great (104, 100, 98 and 95 wins). The downside was two-fold. 1) None of these teams was historically great (the 104-win Yankees overperformed their pythag and WAR) so it was a playoff of ‘Extremely Good Teams’ but featured nobody better and 2) the series were all short. The Yankees knocked out the Rays 4-1 and the Cards dropped the Rockies 4-1, which really limited the amount of drama that could build.
And while, upside, the World Series featured two of the best three teams in the league (Yankees and Cardinals) the series again went down 4-1 Yankees which was disappointing given the teams’ parity. 2010 actually had an excellent playoffs in terms of team quality, but the lack of long-series drama put a limit to how great the playoffs could be.
Stat Breakdown: 264/336/419, 4.8 R/G, 1.04 HR/G, 0.60 SB/G, 7.09 K/G
Playoff Teams (AL): New York Yankees (104, #10), Tampa Bay Rays (100, #22), Seattle Mariners (97, #32), Minnesota Twins (90, #98)
Playoff Teams (NL): St. Louis Cardinals (98, #21), Colorado Rockies (95, #23), San Francisco Giants (93, #63), Philadelphia Phillies (92, #37)
Left Out Teams: Boston Red Sox (94, #53)
Divisional Rounds: Yankees defeat Twins 3-1, Rays defeat Mariners 3-2, Cardinals defeat Giants 3-1, Rockies defeat Phillies 3-1
Championship Series: Yankees defeat Rays 4-1, Cardinals defeat Rockies 4-1
World Series: Yankees defeat Cardinals 4-1
Stupidly Good:
Extremely Good: New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies
Quite Good: Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox
Good: San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins
Average: Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers
Poor: Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals
Quite Bad: Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers
Extremely Bad: Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros
Stupidly Bad:
MVPs: Prince Fielder, SEA (5.2, DH), Albert Pujols, STL (9.6, 1B)
Cy Youngs: CC Sabathia, NYA (6.0), Adam Wainwright, STL (5.2)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Joe Mauer, MIN (7.1, C - GG), Carl Crawford, TBA (6.4, LF - GG), Kendry Morales, LAA (6.1, 1B - GG), Evan Longoria, TBA (5.9, 3B), Kevin Youkilis, BOS (5.8, 1B)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Albert Pujols, STL (9.6, 1B - GG), Chase Utley, PHI (8.5, 2B), Troy Tulowitzki, COL (7.5, SS), Hanley Ramirez, FLN (6.7, SS), Ryan Zimmerman, ATL (6.6, 3B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Felix Hernandez, SEA (7.3), Rich Harden, TEX (7.1), Jon Lester, BOS (6.7), Josh Beckett, BOS (6.5), Zack Greinke, KCA (6.5)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (7.4), Jonathan Sanchez, SFN (6.0), Chris Carpenter, STL (5.9), Brad Penny, STL (5.7), Ricky Nolasco, FLO (5.7)
2011:
A year with only one particularly strong team (Boston), where the underdogs won everything and the playoffs were a Cinderella bloodbath. Prince Fielder wins another MVP he shouldn’t have (a theme for the 2010s) but 2011 seems to be a bit of an inflection point, where the new GMs start actively changing the future of their franchises, for better or for worse. The teams that would dominate the later part of the decade are already starting to improve.
2011 Playoffs Review, 10th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 5th, Championship Round: 10th, World Series: 9th
The playoffs started off pretty well, with a lot of exciting, long series (three of the four games went 5 games, and the other went 4). Unfortunately, all the Cinderallas won. Kansas City (#70) beat a really good Red Sox team, Seattle (#79) beat a strong Tampa Bay team, the Mets (#64) beat a strong Colorado team and the Reds (#44) edged out a better San Francisco team (#35). Every single underdog won.
This set up the worst championship round of the decade. This isn’t because the teams were bad; both Kansas City and Seattle were legit 90-win teams and the Reds were actually a little better; only the Mets had the black mark of an 81-win pythag. It’s just that when compared to other years where the championship games have at least one (or two) great teams, this one comes out pretty drab, as the Mets upset the Reds in 5 and the Mariners take the Royals in 6.
The World Series was a six-game affair where the worst regular season team in the playoffs, the Mets, upset the worst aggregate team in the playoffs, the Mariners. Seriously, even crediting them with their playoff success, the Mets only show as the 64th best team of the decade, and the Mariners the 79th. It was an exciting playoffs, but it was a disappointment if you wanted to watch great baseball teams play each other.
Stat Breakdown: 261/333/413, 4.7 R/G, 1.01 HR/G, 0.65 SB/G, 6.90 K/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Boston Red Sox (106, #19), Tampa Bay Rays (97, #38), Kansas City Royals (90, #70), Seattle Mariners (90, #79)
Playoff Teams (NL): Colorado Rockies (97, #34), Cincinnati Reds (96, #44), San Francisco Giants (94, #35), New York Mets (91, #64)
Left Out: Los Angeles Dodgers (93, #71), New York Yankees (91, #99), Philadelphia Phillies (90, #120)
Divisional Series: Royals defeat Red Sox 3-2, Mariners defeat Rays 3-2, Mets defeat Colorado 3-1, Cincinnati defeats Giants 3-2
Championship Series: Mariners defeat Royals 4-2, Mets defeat Reds 4-1
World Series: Mets defeat Mariners 4-2
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Boston Red Sox
Quite Good Teams: Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds
Good Teams: New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers
Average Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians
Poor Teams: Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles
Quite Bad Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs
Extremely Bad Teams: Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Prince Fielder, SEA (6.0, DH), Pablo Sandoval, SFN (9.2, 3B)
Cy Youngs: Zack Greinke, KCA (7.2), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.6)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Evan Longoria, TBA (7.3, 3B - GG), Marco Scutaro, BOS (6.4, SS), Desmond Jennings, DET (6.3, CF), Brett Gardner, NYA (6.0, LF - GG), Prince Fielder, SEA (6.0, DH)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Pablo Sandoval, SFN (9.2, 3B), Albert Pujols, STL (8.6, 1B), Jay Bruce, CIN (7.7, RF), Dexter Fowler, COL (7.6, CF), Troy Tulowitzki, COL (7.4, SS - GG)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Zack Greinke, KCA (7.2), Josh Beckett, BOS (6.2), James Shields, TBA (5.7), Jon Lester, BOS (5.4), Danny Haren, TBA (5.1)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.6), Roy Halladay, PHI (6.1), Ricky Nolasco, FLO (6.1), Matt Cain, SFN (5.6), James McDonald, LAN (5.6)
2012 PBL Season
The first of two years where the Rangers and Rays were at each others’ throats in the AL. Those two teams over 2012 and 2013 make up four of the top sixteen teams of the decade and they always played each other in the playoffs. In this part of the decade the AL generally has the stronger teams. Matt Cain has the misfortune to pitch in the same league (and on the same team) as Tim Lincecum.
Playoffs Review, 8th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 8th, Championship Round: 9th, World Series: 5th
The second disappointing playoffs in a row, even if it ended reasonably well. The Divisional Round had two good series: Tampa Bay defeating the Rangers (which would have been an amazing series given that they’re both top 20 teams had the Rays not swept the series) and the Braves upsetting the Rockies in 5. The Dodgers/Cards could have been good had the Dodgers not swept and the Twins v Red Sox was disappointing despite the five-game length, given that the Twins were an 82-win pretender (#158 overall on the decade). The Twins won the series of course.
Which meant that even though the NLCS was pretty good (Dodgers beat a decent Braves team in 6) the ALCS had the Twins in it which meant that even the Rays being taken to seven against them wasn’t enough to generate interest.
If there was a saving grace it was that the World Series featured a stupidly good team (Tampa Bay, #6) against an excellent team (Los Angeles Dodgers, #27), and even though the Rays won handily in five, it still featured a really nice matchup.
Stat Breakdown: 268 / 342 / 433, 5.1 R/G, 1.15 HR/G, 0.69 SB/G, 6.89 K/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Texas Rangers (109, #16), Boston Red Sox (100, #43), Tampa Bay Rays (97, #6), Minnesota Twins (82, #158)
Playoff Teams (NL): Colorado Rockies (104, #17), Los Angeles Dodgers (99, #27), St. Louis Cardinals (94, #62), Atlanta Braves (91, #60)
Left Out: San Francisco Giants (97, #57), Washington Nationals (90, #108)
Divisional Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Texas Rangers 3-0, Minnesota Twins defeat Boston Red Sox 3-1, Atlanta Braves defeat Colorado Rockies 3-2, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat St. Louis Cardinals 3-0
Championship Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Minnesota Twins 4-3, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Atlanta Braves 4-2
World Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams: Tampa Bay Rays
Extremely Good Teams: Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies
Quite Good Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants
Good Teams: Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, New York Mets
Average Teams: Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians
Poor Teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers
Quite Bad Teams: San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays
MVPs: Joe Mauer, MIN (6.4, C), Albert Pujols, STL (8.2, 1B)
Cy Youngs: Jon Lester, BOS (6.5), Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.2)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Carlos Pena, BAL (7.0, 1B), Julio Bourbon, TEX (6.9, CF), Joe Mauer, MIN (6.4, C - GG), Evan Longoria, TBA (6.3, 3B), Prince Fielder, SEA (6.0, DH)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Matt Holliday, STL (8.2, LF), Albert Pujols, STL (8.2, 1B - GG), Dustin Ackley, ATL (7.8, 2B), Hanley Ramirez, LAN (7.4, SS), Jason Heyward, WAS (6.9, RF)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Jon Lester, BOS (6.5), Tyler Matzek, TEX (5.2), Danny Haren, TBA (5.2), Yovani Gallardo, CLE (5.0), Felix Hernandez, SEA (4.6)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.2), Matt Cain, SFN (8.2), Brandon Webb, COL (7.1), Josh Johnson, FLO (7.0), Justin Verlander, SFN (6.8)
2013 PBL Season:
2013 featured the Rays/Rangers rematch and a National League with not a lot of dominant teams. Prince Fielder wins another MVP (this time he only finished 1.4 WAR behind the leader) while Tim Lincecum wins a Cy Young that probably should have gone to Stephen Strasburg. Aaron Hicks begin his string of freakishly dominant seasons where he single-handedly puts the Cubs in the playoffs as often as not.
Playoffs Review, 4th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 10th, Championship Round: 4th, World Series: 3rd
The 2013 playoffs (not unlike 2012) opened with a whimper but ended with a bang. The Divisional Round was a disappointing affair. The Rangers and Rays put up decent series, defeating modest opposition (White Sox and Mariners respectively) in four games each. The Atlanta Braves that year were a very curious historical outlier; they were only 85-77 but they had the WAR of a 97-win team, which is to say, they were a bit of a sleeping giant. The Braves had a good series dropping the Rockies in 4, but the fans snoozed through the Diamondbacks sweeping the overperforming Cubs (92-70, but with a pythag and WAR close to league average).
The Championship Series, in contrast, were spectacular. The Diamondbacks weren’t particularly great but it took the Braves seven games to beat them which made for an exciting finish. And the Rays and Rangers (the two best teams in the AL for the second year running) got a much-needed rematch after the prior year’s Divisional Series (they played each other in the first round, ending in a sweep for the Rays). In the 5th best individual CS of the decade (and the best to this point), the Rangers got revenge, defeating the Rays in a tight six-game series.
The World Series was excellent, with the dark horse Braves upsetting the Rangers in six. The 2013 playoffs ended with some great series, and would be the highlight of the decade for another several years.
League Stats: 259/332/416, 4.69 R/G, 1.08 HR/G, 6.84 K/G, 0.59 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Tampa Bay Rays (102, #13), Texas Rangers (100, #14), Chicago White Sox (91, #61), Seattle Mariners (91, #83)
Playoff Teams (NL): Colorado Rockies (93, #65), Chicago Cubs (92, #105), Arizona Diamondbacks (89, #67), Atlanta Braves (85, #29)
Left Out:
Divisional Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Seattle Mariners 3-1, Texas Rangers defeat Chicago White Sox 3-1, Atlanta Braves defeat Colorado Rockies 3-1, Arizona Diamondbacks defeat Chicago Cubs 3-0
Championship Series: Texas Rangers defeat Tampa Bay Rays 4-2, Atlanta Braves defeat Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3
World Series: Atlanta Braves defeat Texas Rangers 4-2
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers
Quite Good Teams: Atlanta Braves
Good Teams: Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers
Average Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies
Poor Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Miami Marlins
Quite Bad Teams: Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays
MVPs: Prince Fielder, BOS (7.4, DH), Carlos Gonzalez, COL (7.2, RF)
Cy Youngs: James Shields, TBA (5.7), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.9)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Carlos Santana, CLE (8.8, C), Prince Fielder, BOS (7.4, DH), Gian Guzman, CHA (6.5, 1B), Joe Mauer, MIN (6.2, C), Dustin Pedroia, BOS (6.0, 2B)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (7.7, CF), Carlos Gonzalez, COL (7.2, RF), Logan Morrison, MIA (7.1, 1B), Hanley Ramirez, LAN (7.1, SS), Ryan Zimmerman, ATL (7.0, 3B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Josh Johnson, BAL (5.8), James Shields, TBA (5.7), Felix Hernandez, SEA (5.0), Tim Matzek, TEX (4.2), Ubaldo Jimenez, SEA (4.1)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Stephen Strasburg, ATL (9.7), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.9), Cole Hamels, PHI (7.3), Adam Wainwright, SLN (6.4), Clay Buchholz, MIL (6.3)
2014 PBL Season:
The Pittsburgh Pirates make the playoffs to start their string of eleven billion playoff seasons, this year with a humble 91 wins. Ryan Braun wins the AL MVP (the subtle mystery, why Seattle players keep winning the MVP without finishing at the top of the WAR chart). The Cubs enjoy a 100-win season while the Red Sox find themselves as the top team by far in the AL.
2014 Playoffs Review, 7th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 9th, Championship Round: 6th, World Series: 7th
The National League Divisional Round was excellent, featuring good teams and four-game series. Atlanta, looking dominant with 102 wins coming off their championship the prior year, was upset by a quality Pittsburgh team while the decent Dodgers upset a high-quality Cubs team. The buzzkill was the AL playoffs, which featured the Red Sox (96 wins, #15) and then a bunch of also-rans (the Rays, Mariners and White Sox were #59, #78 and #102 that year). In a battle of the Sox the Red prevailed in five games (not enough to salvage Chicago’s low quality) and fans snoozed through the Rays sweeping Seattle.
In the championship round, the AL provided the excitement with the Rays taking the Red Sox to seven games, while the Dodgers upset the Pirates in five (a series not helped by having the two underdogs winning their series in the first round).
The World Series was a little disappointing, as the excellent Red Sox team defeated the overmatched Dodgers in five games.
League Stats: 261/334/416, 4.75 R/G, 1.04 HR/G, 7.09 K/G, 0.63 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Boston Red Sox (96, #15), Tampa Bay Rays (91, #59), Seattle Mariners (90, #78), Chicago White Sox (85, #102)
Playoff Teams (NL): Atlanta Braves (102, #11), Chicago Cubs (100, #28), Pittsburgh Pirates (91, #30), Los Angeles Dodgers (90, #50)
Left Out:
Divisional Series: Boston Red Sox defeat Chicago White Sox 3-2, Tampa Bay Rays defeat Seattle Mariners 3-0, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Atlanta Braves 3-1, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Chicago Cubs 3-1
Championship Series: Boston Red Sox defeat Tampa Bay Rays 4-3, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1
World Series: Boston Red Sox defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox
Quite Good Teams: Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays
Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals
Average Teams: Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians
Poor Teams: Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies
Quite Bad Teams: Los Angeles Angels, Arizona DIamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds
Extremely Bad Teams: Baltimore Orioles
Stupidly Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays
MVPs: Ryan Braun, SEA (6.0, LF), Pablo Sandoval, PIT (8.5, 3B)
Cy Youngs: Mike Pelfrey, CLE (4.8), Stephen Strasburg, ATL (8.7)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Bryan Anderson, SEA (7.2, C), Joe Mauer, MIN (6.4, C - GG), Ryan Braun, SEA (6.0, LF), Fernando Martinez, KCA (5.7, RF), Anthony Casario, CHA (5.6, CF)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Pablo Sandoval, PIT (8.5, 3B), Aaron Hicks, CHN (7.7, CF - GG), Giancarlo Stanton, MIA (7.2, RF), Ryan Zimmerman, ATL (6.5, 3B), Chase Headley, SDN (6.4, 3B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Josh Beckett, MIN (5.6), Felix Hernandez, SEA (5.2), Phil Hughes, TBA (5.1), Ubaldo Jimenez, SEA (5.1), Mike Pelfrey, CLE (4.8)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Stephen Strasburg, ATL (8.7), Tim Lincecum, SFN (7.1), Clay Buchholz, MIL (6.9), Gary Price, HOU (6.2), Brett Anderson (6.0)
2015 PBL Season:
The American League increasingly finds itself low on top teams, with a bunch of solid but not great representatives going into the playoffs. The NL, in contrast, is building some juggernauts. The Pirates win 100+ games, the Giants look great, the Nationals look great and the Marlins barely miss the playoffs while winning 91 games. I’ll give you a hint, you’ll see them again. Also, this is another year with bizarre awards choices. Aaron Hicks puts up 10+ WAR and loses the MVP to the 7.8 WAR Joshua Leyland. 7.8 is a great year, but how often do you get 10+ WAR? What did the voters do, shrug their shoulders and say “Look, sure this guy’s the best fielding center fielder in the league, sure he’s an amazing all-around hitter, but it’s kind of boring. I mean, he’s just so good. Let’s give it to that Leyland guy. He’s had the second best WAR on his team; nobody will see it coming.” The Jeremy Hellickson Cy Young may be equally inexplicable.
2015 Playoffs Review, 9th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 2nd, Championship Round: 8th, World Series: 10th
The 2015 playoffs, on paper, should have been amazing. They featured three teams in the top 20 for the decade and two in the top ten. Unfortunately, 2015 was one of the most lopsided years ever; *all* the best teams on the league were in the NL. The 2015 Miami Marlins had a better record than all but three of the AL teams, a better pythag than all but one of the AL teams, and at least ten WAR greater than *any* AL team. Did I mention that the Marlins didn’t even make the playoffs in the NL? That’s how bad it was.
The NL featured Pittsburgh (101 wins, #18), Washington (98 wins, #7), San Francisco (98 wins, #9) and the Cubs (92 wins, #41). The Al featured Detroit (96 wins, #47), Tampa Bay (95 wins, #48), Seattle (92 wins, #54) and Houston (87 wins, #76). Not a remotely fair fight.
Presumably you can see why this divisional round is rated so high; how often do you get top 20 (decade) teams squaring off in the first round (it did happen in 2012 between Tampa and Texas but that’s it so far)? San Francisco defeated Pittsburgh in 4 and Washington managed to hold off the Cubs in 5, combining for some excellent viewing numbers. In the AL most of the excitement came from the Mariners upsetting the Rays in five while the Astros surprised the Tigers in 4.
The NLCS was as enjoyable as a five-game series can be, with the Nationals making short work of the Giants. The ALCS was far less satisfying, with the Astros upsetting the Mariners in five to be a serious underdog in the World Series. Sometimes it’s luck, but weak conferences make Cinderella teams much more likely.
The World Series was nasty, brutish and short, with the Nationals vaporizing the overwhelmed Astros in four quick games. A lot of historically great teams, but when they’re all in one conference you can only do so much.
League Stats: 260/333/412, 4.69 R/G, 1.03 HR/G, 7.04 K/G, 0.55 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Detroit Tigers (96, #47), Tampa Bay Rays (95, #48), Seattle Mariners (92, #54), Houston Astros (87, #76)
Playoff Teams (NL): Pittsburgh Pirates (101, #18), Washington Nationals (98, #7), San Francisco Giants (98, #9), Chicago Cubs (92, #41)
Left Out: Miami Marlins (91, #31)
Divisional Series: Houston Astros defeat Detroit Tigers 3-1, Seattle Mariners defeat Tampa Bay Rays 3-2, San Francisco Giants defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1, Washington Nationals defeat Chicago Cubs 3-2
Championship Series: Houston Astros defeat Seattle Mariners 4-1, Washington Nationals defeat San Francisco Giants 4-1
World Series: Washington Nationals defeat Houston Astros 4-0
Stupidly Good Teams:
Extremely Good Teams: Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates
Quite Good Teams: Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners
Good Teams: Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies
Average Teams: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres
Poor Teams: Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Carolina Warhounds, Portland Beavers
Quite Bad Teams: New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies
Extremely Bad Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Gian Guzman, CHA (7.2, 1B), Joshua Leyland, MIA (7.8, C)
Cy Youngs: Tyler Matzek, TBA (6.4), Jeremy Hellickson, WAS (5.2)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Gian Guzman, CHA (7.2, 1B), Marvin Webb, TBA (6.8, RF), Adrian Cardenas, OAK (6.2, 3B), Luis Gomez, BAL (6.1, LF), Bryan Anderson, SEA (6.1, C)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (10.2, CF), Troy Tulowitzki, COL (8.9, SS), Logan Morrison, MIA (7.9, 1B), Joshua Leyland, MIA (7.8, C), Jae Yun Kim, ARI (7.4, C)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Tyler Matzek, TBA (6.4), Gary Price, HOU (6.3), Jake Peavy, CLE (6.2), Ubaldo Jimenez, DET (5.2), Felix Hernandez, SEA (4.5)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.3), Jennry Mejia, WAS (7.6), Keyvius Sampson, SDN (6.9), Aroldis Chapman, MIA (6.6), Adam Wainwright, SLN (5.6)
2016 PBL Season:
2016 marks the point where the top teams in the NL get way, way, way better than the top teams in the AL. Miami has their first of three insane years while Pittsburgh has their best year of the decade.
2016 Playoffs Review, 1st out of 10:
Divisional Round: 3rd, Championship Round: 1st, World Series: 1st
The 2016 playoffs were the best in the decade, by far. Curiously, the inter-league imbalance was just as bad as the prior year, perhaps even worse. But two, great, great, great teams made this an incredible playoffs to watch. The 2016 Pirates and the 2016 Marlins were in a class of their own this year, standing as some of the best in the decade. The Pirates won 113 games (2nd in the decade) and the Marlins won 108 (5th in the decade). The Pirates had the 2nd best pythag of the decade, the Marlins had the 3rd best. The Pirates had the best WAR of the decade, the Marlins had the 2nd best. I cannot emphasize this enough, these were two of the best teams ever and they happened not only to be in the same year, but the same league.
In the divisional round the Orioles beat the Astros in four while the Tigers beat the Mariners in four, but all eyes were on the NL. The Pirates easily swept the Rockies but the 97-win Giants took the Marlins to the full five games before the Marlins put it away (this was the 2nd highest divisional round series of the decade).
In the AL the Tigers swept the Orioles, making for low drama but, again, the NLCS was poised for a clash of the titans. The series lasted six games and when all was said and done, the Pirates had prevailed. This was the highest rated Championship Series of the decade and was a bigger deal than many of the World Series.
And just when you might have thought that the excitement was over the gutsy Tigers took the Pirates to a full seven games, and only when the Pirates walked out of that game seven as World Champions did their status as one of the very best teams ever become confirmed. You probably could not ask for a better intersection of quality and drama.
League Stats: 259/332/412, 4.62 R/G, 1.03 HR/G, 7.08 K/G, 0.53 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Baltimore Orioles (100, #40), Seattle Mariners (96, #39), Houston Astros (93, #81), Detroit Tigers (90, #49)
Playoff Teams (NL): Pittsburgh Pirates (113, #1), Miami Marlins (108, #4), San Francisco Giants (97, #58), Colorado Rockies (93, #66)
Left Out:
Divisional Series: Baltimore Orioles defeat Houston Astros 3-1, Detroit Tigers defeat Seattle Mariners 3-1, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Colorado Rockies 3-0, Miami Marlins defeat San Francisco Giants 3-2
Championship Series: Detroit Tigers defeat Baltimore Orioles 4-0, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Miami Marlins 4-2
World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Detroit Tigers 4-3
Stupidly Good Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins
Extremely Good Teams:
Quite Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants
Good Teams: Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers
Average Teams: Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers
Poor Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Portland Beavers, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Carolina Warhounds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels
Quite Bad Teams: Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams: Philadelphia Phillies
MVPs: Gian Guzman, CHA (8.5, 1B), Joshua Leyland, MIA (10.2, C)
Cy Youngs: Felix Hernandez, SEA (6.6), Casey Kelly, PIT (5.6)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Gian Guzman, CHA (8.5, 1B), Jaff Decker, TEX (7.3, LF), Luis Gomez, BAL (7.1, LF - GG), Carlos Santana, CLE (6.4, C), Adrian Cardenas, OAK (6.1, 3B)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (11.2, CF), Joshua Leyland, MIA (10.2, C), Ricardo Aranda, PIT (8.1, CF), Bryce Harper, WAS (7.8, C), Jae-yun Kim, ARI (7.3, C)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Felix Hernandez, SEA (6.6), Gary Price, HOU (6.4), Ubaldo Jimenez, DET (5.4), Clay Buchholz, BOS (5.0), Gavin Floyd, NYA (4.6)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (7.6), Jameson Taillon, PIT (6.7), Zack Greinke, COL (6.7), Tommy Hanson, PIT (5.9), Casey Kelly, PIT (5.6)
2017 PBL Season:
2017 played out a lot of the storylines of the prior year. Miami and Pittsburgh got to rematch in the NLCS and Aaron Hicks finally won the MVP. Carlos Gutierrez of Tampa Bay shows how win-focused the voters of 2017 were, in that he won the Cy Young with a 21-6 campaign where he struck out only 4.6 per 9 and put up a measly 3.2 WAR. Just when you think they figure it out with Hicks (not that you could really miss giving it to a guy who had the most WAR in the NL by 4, but still) . . .
2017 Playoffs Review, 4th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 7th, Championship Round: 3rd, World Series: 4th
The 2017 playoffs saw the two leagues a little more balanced. The AL had two excellent teams in Seattle and Detroit, a respectable dark horse in Tampa Bay and the underwhelming Rangers (who may have won 97 games, but had the WAR of a league-average team). The NL, by contrast, had two decent teams (Arizona and Pittsburgh), one team that probably shouldn’t have been involved (Cincinnati) and the predictable Miami juggernaut. Of course everything turns on its head in the first round with the two best teams in the AL losing (the five-game series between Tampa Bay and Seattle was a highlight) while the two better teams won in the NL.
In the ALCS the five-game series between the Rays and Rangers got little attention which is unsurprising given the comparably low quality of the teams and the short series. But the NLCS, a rematch of the prior year’s spectacular matchup, was must-watch television. Boasting better ratings than the World Series, Miami v Pittsburgh went to seven games with the Marlins eventually prevailing. Even with Pittsburgh not as good as the prior year, the drama of the rematch and the full seven-game length were everything you could ask for.
The World Series was, comparatively, a disappointment. Miami outclassed Tampa Bay completely, so naturally the Marlins choked hard and the Rays took the series in 5. It was still pretty decent; Tampa Bay was a solid team and the Marlins were probably a Top 10 all-time roster. After this year the Marlins would have one more shot to close the deal.
League Stats: 260/333/417, 4.67 R/G, 1.07 HR/G, 6.97 K/G, 0.54 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Seattle Mariners (99, #25), Texas Rangers (97, #74), Detroit Tigers (96, #20), Tampa Bay Rays (90, #46)
Playoff Teams (NL): Miami Marlins (97, #2), Arizona Diamondbacks (95, #52), Pittsburgh Pirates (88, #36), Cincinnati Reds (84, #118)
Left Out: Minnesota Twins (93)
Divisional Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Seattle Mariners 3-2, Texas Rangers defeat Detroit Tigers 3-0, Miami Marlins defeat Cincinnati Reds 3-1, Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2
Championship Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Texas Rangers 4-1, Miami Marlins defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3
World Series: Tampa Bay Rays defeat Miami Marlins 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams: Miami Marlins
Extremely Good Teams: Detroit Tigers
Quite Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks
Good Teams: Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants
Average Teams: Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Carolina Warhounds
Poor Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, Portland Beavers, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox
Quite Bad Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels
Extremely Bad Teams: Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Gian Guzman, MIN (6.7, 1B), Aaron Hicks, CHN (12.4, CF)
Cy Youngs: Carlos Gutierrez, TBA (3.2), Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.0)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Joe Mauer, MIN (7.4, C), Gian Guzman, MIN (6.7, 1B), Bryce Harper, HOU (6.4, C), Giralldo Croner, SEA (5.9, CF), Marvin Webb, TBA (5.9, RF - GG)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (12.4, CF - GG), Julio Morban, MIA (8.3, LF), Joshua Leyland, MIA (7.9, C), Matt Weiters, PIT (7.0, C), Ricardo Aranda, PIT (6.8, CF)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Jon Lester, MIN (6.0), Brett Myers, NYA (5.6), Kelvin de la Cruz, HOU (5.0), Zack Wheeler, SEA (4.9), Rick Porcello, MIN (4.8)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (9.0), Jameson Taillon, PIT (7.3), Stephen Strasburg, PIT (6.8), Lou Martin, ATL (6.6), Keyvius Sampson, MIA (6.5)
2018 PBL Season:
The PBL goes all-DH in both leagues, but curiously, scoring/hitting do not change at all. Mysterious. 2018 represents another fantastic playoffs and another year of the Marlins being fantastic and coming up short.
2018 Playoffs Review, 2nd out of 10:
Divisional Round: 1st, Championship Round: 2nd, World Series: 2nd
The 2018 playoffs were fantastic and it was all because of the National League. The AL was pretty lopsided, with one excellent team (Seattle), one quite good team (Tampa Bay) and two good teams (Texas and Minnesota). In the Divisional Round Seattle swept the Twins and the Rays dropped the Rangers in five. But in the National League you had four fantastic teams, with the worst of them still better than the #2 team in the AL. So of course both NL series went to the wire, with Miami edging out Pittsburgh while the Dodgers snuck past the Reds. Those two series, with four excellent teams playing the full five games made 2018 the best Divisional Round of the decade.
Even after that whale of a round, the Championship Series did not disappoint. An excellent Seattle team tangled with Tampa Bay, taking six tough games to advance. While Miami didn’t face Pittsburgh in the NLCS for the 3rd time in a row (though they did have that meeting in the NLDS) they squared off against a very good Dodgers team for six games. Ultimately the two best teams from each league advanced.
Even though the World Series was comparably brief, Seattle and Miami constituted two of the best teams of the decade. In fact, Seattle was the best underdog in the World Series of the decade. And while Miami was the better team, Seattle’s 4-1 victory wasn’t a huge surprise given how capable that team was. Great playoffs.
League Stats: 259/330/416, 4.67 R/G, 1.09 HR/G, 7.00 K/G, 0.56 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Seattle Mariners (98, #12), Tampa Bay Rays (97, #45), Texas Rangers (97, #69), Minnesota Twins (94, #73)
Playoff Teams (NL): Miami Marlins (115, #3), Cincinnati Reds (104, #24), Los Angeles Dodgers (100, #33), Pittsburgh Pirates (95, #26)
Left Out: San Francisco Giants (91), Detroit Tigers (90)
Divisional Series: Seattle Mariners defeat Minnesota Twins 3-0, Tampa Bay Rays defeat Texas Rangers 3-2, Miami Marlins defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Cincinnati Reds 3-2
Championship Series: Seattle Mariners defeat Tampa Bay Rays 4-2, Miami Marlins defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2
World Series: Seattle Mariners defeat Miami Marlins 4-1
Stupidly Good Teams: Miami Marlins
Extremely Good Teams: Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds
Quite Good Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays
Good Teams: Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks
Average Teams: Portland Beavers, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets
Poor Teams: Carolina Warhounds, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros
Quite Bad Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics
Extremely Bad Teams:
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Jae Yun Kim, TBA (8.4, C), Aaron Hicks, CHN (9.8, CF)
Cy Youngs: Jon Lester, MIN (5.9), Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.8)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Jae Yun Kim, TBA (8.4, C), Bryan Anderson, SEA (7.1, C), Prince Fielder, TBA (7.0, DH), Roberto Vasti, NYA (6.4, LF), Marvin Webb, TBA (6.2, RF)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (9.8, CF), Bryce Harper, MIA (7.4, C), Matt Wieters, PIT (7.3, C), Adrian Cardenas, LAN (7.0, 3B), Travis Ishikawa, MIA (6.9, 1B - GG)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Jon Lester, MIN (5.9), Chris Sale, DET (4.7), Brent Marshall, TBA (4.6), Juan Zapien, POR (4.5), Felix Hernandez, SEA (4.1)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Tim Lincecum, SFN (8.8), Naftali Feliz, CHN (6.7), Phil Jackson, MIA (6.3), Lou Martin, ATL (6.1), Jameson Taillon, PIT (5.8)
2019 PBL Season:
2019 is a very interesting year because many teams that seem as though they’d be ranked highly are not, and a lot of it comes down to a lack of competition. There were a lot of teams with good records that year, but there were an equal number with very bad records. Winning 100 games in a year where everybody’s reasonably competitive is a lot more impressive than winning 100 games in a year where multiple teams are tanking so hard that they can’t even win 60 games. 2019 had a lot of good teams and a lot of bad teams, but only two great teams. With Miami taking a step back the way was open for a renewed Pirates team along with the always-good Giants to push to the top of the National League. This was the first year to have a Wildcard round.
2019 Playoffs Review, 6th out of 10:
Divisional Round: 6th, Championship Round: 5th, World Series: 8th
As per usual for the decade, the playoffs shaped up very NL-heavy in terms of talent. Sure the AL fielded four teams in the 93 to 96 win range, but the NL fielded three 100+ win teams and five 92+ win teams, so in a watered-down year the NL clearly had an advantage.
The Wildcard round let the Dodgers move past the Diamondbacks, while the Red Sox pulled off a small upset against Tampa Bay. While the three-game Divisional Series between Boston and Texas was underwhelming (with Texas sweeping), the five-game set between Baltimore and Minnesota proved an evenly matched contest that eventually saw the Twins move forward. The NLDSs were excellent, each with a top team matched against a capable underdog. The Giants prevailed against the Dodgers while the Mets upset the Pirates, both in four.
The ALCS may have gone to six games, but the Rangers comparably low quality (only two wins above average in WAR) made the Twins’ victory somewhat underwhelming. The NLCS, in contrast, pitted the dominant Giants against the capable Mets who had just upset the Pirates in four. The battle lasted a full seven games, but ultimately the Giants were able to prevail.
The World Series wasn’t a disappointment in terms of team quality; the Giants were an excellent team and the Twins were an able representative for the AL. But when the better team takes down the underdog in four straight, it does take a certain something out of it. It was a good World Series for the Giants, but a bad World Series for viewers.
League Stats: 256/324/400, 4.50 R/G, 0.95 HR/G, 7.08 K/G, 0.58 SB/G
Playoff Teams (AL): Baltimore Orioles (96, #56), Texas Rangers (96, #85), Boston Red Sox (93, #84), Tampa Bay Rays (93, #75), Minnesota Twins (89, #51)
Playoff Teams (NL): San Francisco Giants (109, #5), Pittsburgh Pirates (107, #8), New York Mets (100, #42), Arizona Diamondbacks (95, #90), Los Angeles Dodgers (92, #55)
Left Out:
Wild Card Round: Boston Red Sox defeat Tampa Bay Rays 1-0, Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0
Divisional Series: Texas Rangers defeat Boston Red Sox 3-0, Minnesota Twins defeat Baltimore Orioles 3-2, San Francisco Giants defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1, New York Mets defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1
Championship Series: Minnesota Twins defeat Texas Rangers 4-2, San Francisco Giants defeat New York Mets 4-3
World Series: San Francisco Giants defeat Minnesota Twins 4-0
Stupidly Good Teams: San Francisco Giants
Extremely Good Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates
Quite Good Teams: New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles
Good Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics
Average Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers
Poor Teams: New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Carolina Warhounds, Portland Beavers
Quite Bad Teams: Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves
Extremely Bad Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies
Stupidly Bad Teams:
MVPs: Richard Washington, OAK (8.4, RF), An-yi Yuen, ARI (7.0, RF)
Cy Youngs: Chad James, TBA (6.1), Jameson Taillon, PIT (7.5)
Top 5 Hitters (AL): Roberto Vasti, NYA (9.7, LF - GG), Giralldo Croner, SEA (8.6, CF), Richard Washington, OAK (8.4, RF), Luis Gomez, BAL (6.6, LF), Giancarlo Stanton, SEA (6.4, RF)
Top 5 Hitters (NL): Aaron Hicks, CHN (9.2, CF), Bryce Harper, MIA (8.8, C), An-yi Yuen, ARI (7.0, RF), Ricardo Aranda, PIT (7.0, CF), Arturo Rosado, NYN (6.5, 1B)
Top 5 Pitchers (AL): Phil Jackson, MIN (7.5), Chad James, TBA (6.1), Felix Hernandez, SEA (5.8), Lou Martin, OAK (5.7), Edinson Volquez, BOS (5.3)
Top 5 Pitchers (NL): Jameson Taillon, PIT (7.5), Tim Lincecum, SFN (5.2), Bryan Merrills, MIA (4.7), Matt Capps, SFN (4.7), Chad Billingsley, LAN (4.6)