Top 50 PBL Teams from the 2020s
Apr 12, 2020 13:23:40 GMT -5
AstrosGM_Shane, Rich - Former GM, and 5 more like this
Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Apr 12, 2020 13:23:40 GMT -5
Top Team Seasons of the Decade:
This is built on five parts. Standard deviations above/below the mean for 1) Wins, 2) Pythag and 3) WAR. And also Playoff finishing and Championship-winning. This means that how you do in the playoffs matters, but not completely. A team with 110-win record, pythag and WAR will probably be considered the top team of their season, even if they get bounced in the Divisional Series. The use of standard deviations rewards performance in competitive leagues; when lots of teams are tanking and five teams have 100+ win records, you get less credit for success. The number in parenthesis after the team names is their rank that year.
The ‘Pyramid Members’ section is just a list of how many (if any) of their best players made the Hall of Fame Pyramid and what level they made.
#50. 2023 Texas Rangers (5th), 96-66, ALCS (Greg Sheehan)
#49. 2025 Toronto Blue Jays (4th), 100-62, ALDS (Danny Sheehan)
#48. 2020 San Francisco Giants (5th), 101-61, NLCS (Robert Nichols)
#47. 2025 St. Louis Cardinals (3rd), 90-72, NLCS
#46. 2029 Colorado Rockies (6th), 96-66, Wild Card (Randy Pickard)
#45. 2022 Minnesota Twins (7th), 87-75, Pennant (Chris Ojanen)
#44. 2024 Oakland Athletics (4th), 98-64, ALDS (Derek Bobola)
#43. 2027 New York Yankees (4th), 94-68, ALCS (Robert Nichols)
#42. 2021 New York Mets (6th), 103-59, NLDS
#41. 2028 Kansas City Royals (5th), 93-69, World Series Champions (Tim Ervin)
#40. 2028 New York Yankees (4th), 98-64, ALDS (Robert Nichols)
#39. 2029 Atlanta Braves (5th), 98-64, NLDS (Anthony Valentine)
#38. 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers (6th), 103-59, NLDS (Tomas Bekker)
#37. 2024 Seattle Mariners (3rd), 100-62, ALDS
#36. 2027 Montreal Expos (3rd), 103-59, Wild Card
#35. 2026 Colorado Rockies (4th), 97-65, ALCS (Randy Pickard)
#34. 2029 Toronto Blue Jays (4th), 100-62, ALDS (Danny Sheehan)
#33. 2028 Washington Nationals (3rd), 100-62, Pennant (Chris Ojanen)
#32. 2020 Seattle Mariners (4th), 102-60, ALDS
#31. 2021 New York Yankees (5th), 101-61, Wild Card (Randy Pickard)
#30. 2026 Toronto Blue Jays (3rd), 96-66, ALDS (Danny Sheehan)
#29. 2022 Oakland Athletics (5th), 101-61, Wild Card (Kyle Jenkins)
#28. 2021 Tampa Bay Rays (4th), 102-60, ALCS (EJ Joseph)
#27. 2023 Miami Marlins (4th), 91-71, World Series Champions (Derek Bobola)
#26. 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates (4th), 95-67, Wild Card (Shane Callahan)
#25. 2022 Tampa Bay Rays (3rd) - EJ Joseph
Results: 99-63, 5.06 RS/G v 3.67 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 19 Games, Lost 4-2 in ALCS
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.38, Hitting + Fielding: +1.40, Pitching: +1.09
Top Batters: Marvin Webb, RF (5.4), Jae Yun Kim, C (4.9), Matt Robinson, 3B (4.8), Manny Ramos, SS (3.7)
Top Pitchers: Tim Lincecum (6.8), Brent Marshall (5.1), Bob Barnett (4.3), Dalton Denorfia (1.7 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Tim Lincecum), One Diamond (Jae Yun Kim), One Bronze (Marvin Webb)
Commentary: The last of the dominant EJ Joseph years. The rest of the decade the Rays never got above 87 wins. But this year they boasted 99 wins and both pythag and WAR above 100. They were probably the second best team in the AL that year (behind Seattle), but they still got a bye. They knocked off Detroit before falling to upstart Minnesota in the ALCS. Two Hall of Famers on this team, Marvin Webb and Tim Lincecum.
#24. 2029 New York Yankees (3rd) - Robert Nichols
Results: 104-58, 4.94 RS/G v 3.79 RA/G (100-62), Won Div by 4 Games, Lost 4-1 in ALCS to Oakland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.43, Hitting + Fielding: +1.23, Pitching: +1.35
Top Batters: Sotan Kono, LF (6.3), Chris Guess, 3B (5.8), Anthony Garcia, C (3.5)
Top Pitchers: Julio Rivera (5.6), Martin Fernandez (4.5), Tim Rogers (4.2), Julio Carranza (1.6 - CL), Carlos Lopez (1.5 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono), One Honorable Mention (Anthony Garcia)
Commentary: This was probably the 3rd best Robert Nichols Yankees squad in the decade. The Yankees had no shortage of quality competition. They tangled with Danny Sheehan’s Jays all year before barely winning the division, and faced them again in the ALDS and squeaked out with a 3-2 win. In the ALCS they faced Oakland (a strong squad in their own right) and were bounced in five.
#23. 2029 Oakland Athletics (2nd) - Derek Bobola
Results: 98-64, 4.49 RS/G v 3.78 RA/G (94-68), Won Div by 2 Games, Won World Series over Pittsburgh Pirates
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.02, Hitting + Fielding: +0.79, Pitching: +1.09
Top Batters: Arturo Rivera, RF (5.9), Tyrone Crowe, C (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Chris Bryant (6.7), Ed Rogers (3.7), Brandon Phillips (1.8 - CL), Jeff Browne (1.6 - CL), Bob Alexander (1.5 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Silver (Chris Bryant)
Commentary: Like the above Yankees team these A’s were tested by an outstanding divisional foe in Randy Pickard’s Rockies, who were objectively better but finished two games behind and were knocked out in the Wild Card round. This squad was the culmination of Derek Bobola’s six years in Oakland (for the decade). In the Playoffs Oakland faced the above Yankees, and in the World Series they faced a ferocious Pirates team. In a tight seven-game series the A’s emerged victorious.
You know it’s funny. Chris Bryant was by far their best pitcher; there was another pitcher with the same name who was an inner-circle Hall of Famer in the late 30s and early 40s. And this Chris Bryant (for the A’s) was 24. That’s nuts. It’s super weird to see a dominant season from this guy when he was 24, when I remember him still being great when into his late 30s.
#22. 2022 Chicago Cubs (2nd)
Results: 99-63, 5.23 RS/G v 4.14 RA/G (98-64), Won Div by 7 Games, Won World Series
WAR Ratings: Overall: +0.91, Hitting + Fielding: +1.33, Pitching: +0.14
Top Batters: Israel Hinojosa, 3B (7.0), Donald Carson, SS (4.9), Byron Wiley, DH (3.7)
Top Pitchers: Bruno Hale (3.9), Jose Carlos (2.0 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Honorable Mention (Israel Hinojosa)
Commentary: This 2022 Cubs were the first (and best) of several excellent Cubs teams in the 2020s. It’s a little weird to put a Championship team this low, but the Cubs were 4th in wins, 6th in pythag and 8th in WAR. They won the World Series and they were a very good team, but they were hardly dominant. It is notable, btw, that pretty much every team here has at least one honorable mention player or better. Here it’s Israel Hinojosa here.
#21. 2022 Seattle Mariners (1st)
Results: 102-60, 5.06 RS/G v 4.29 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 1 Games, Lost 3-0 in Divisional Round to Minnesota
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.84, Hitting + Fielding: +1.58, Pitching: +1.89
Top Batters: Giralldo Croner, CF (6.3), Bryan Anderson, C (5.7), Lee Holt, 3B (4.6), Jesus Garcia, SS (3.7), Jorge Robles, LF (3.5)
Top Pitchers: Alfonso Olivo (5.3), Keyvius Sampson (4.7), Elwood Holman (4.1), Salvador Canseco (3.0 - CL), David Cortes (2.4 - MR), Carlos Lopez (1.7 - MR)
Pyramid Members: Two Silvers (Giralldo Croner and Bryan Anderson), One Bronze (Keyvius Sampson)
Commentary: This was objectively the best regular season Mariners team of the decade, and probably the best team in the PBL that year. 102 wins, 103 pythag and 108 WAR wins . . . anytime you can throw 100+ up on all three stats you have a damned good team. So of course, they get swept in the ALDS by Minnesota. What are you gonna do?
#20. 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd) - Tomas Bekker
Results: 99-63, 4.91 RS/G v 3.75 RA/G (100-62), Won Div by 20 Games, Lost 4-0 in NLCS
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.63, Hitting + Fielding: +1.86, Pitching: +0.81
Top Batters: Bryce Harper, C (6.5), Jimmy McIntosh, LF (5.9), Jorge Fonseca, SS (5.0), Gerardo Ortega, 3B (4.8)
Top Pitchers: Martin Perez (5.1), Gary Price (4.2), John Horton (2.0 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Bryce Harper), Two Silver (Jimmy McIntosh, Gary Price and Martin Perez)
Commentary: The Dodgers had a very strong decade (3rd best in the league) and this is their worst of the three top 25 squads they had. There’s nothing bad to say about this team. Their pitching was a little light (for a team on this list) but their bats were legit, led by Pantheon-dweller Bryce Harper and that Jimmy McIntosh guy (age 26) sounds familiar . . . They were far and away the second best team in the NL that year. The hard part is they existed in the same PBL that had the 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the best freaking teams ever. It happens. Did boast three Silver-tier Hall of Famers in Perez, Price and McIntosh in addition to Harper.
#19. 2020 Oakland Athletics (3rd) - Kyle Jenkins
Results: 105-57, 5.42 RS/G v 3.77 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 3 Games, Lost 4-2 in ALCS to Tampa Bay
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.65, Hitting + Fielding: +1.81, Pitching: +1.04
Top Batters: Sotan Kono, LF (10.9), Richard Washington, RF (6.7), Juan Berroa, 1B (5.1), Pepe Rivera, 2B (4.1), Herb Steele, C (3.9)
Top Pitchers: Lou Martin (4.8), Justin Masterson (3.6), Eric Wright (1.8 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono), Two Silvers (Richard Washington and Lou Martin)
Commentary: Okay, you may say. This Oakland team posted 105 wins (!!), 107 pythag and 106 WAR wins and made it to the ALCS, and they only finish 19th for the decade? Here’s the thing, 2020 was the least competitive season I’ve found so far (from 2010 to 2032). The PBL posted six (six!) 100+ win teams. It posted four 100+ pythags and four 100+ WAR wins. And while we’re at it, four different teams at 60 wins or lower, two teams with pythags below 60 and three teams with WAR below 60 (one below 50!). So you have to take all of these Oakland stats with a grain of salt. They barely won their division, sneaking past Seattle (102 wins, 104 pythag and 101 WAR-wins; did I mention that 2020 had a weird number of dominant teams?) Aided by a monster season from Sotan Kono at age 23 (I think “King” Kono would have been a great nickname), Oakland bashed their way through Seattle in the ALDS before falling to eventual Champion Tampa Bay in the ALCS. This wasn’t the best Oakland team of the decade; 2021 would be even better.
#18. 2023 Seattle Mariners (3rd)
Results: 100-62, 5.62 RS/G v 4.51 RA/G (97-65), Won Div by 15 Games, Lost 4-2 in World Series 4-2 to Miami
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.88, Hitting + Fielding: +1.84, Pitching: +1.49
Top Batters: Giralldo Croner, CF (5.2), Giancarlo Stanton, RF (5.0), Antonio Lopez, 1B (4.8), Lee Holt, 3B (4.7), Bryan Anderson, C (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Keyvius Sampson (4.7), Richard Wilde (3.9), Carlos Lopez (1.5 - CL)
Pyramid Members: Two Silver (Giralldo Croner, Bryan Anderson), Two Bronze (Keyvius Sampson, Giancarlo Stanton)
Commentary: The Mariners more or less brought back the same roster from 2022 and this time dominated the American League. They had the most wins by 4, the best pythag by 4 and the most WAR by 10. And they stomped through the playoffs, losing only two games in the AL until they fell to the Marlins in the World Series. Next year’s team would be excellent as well, but 2023 would be the high-water mark for the Mariners for the decade.
#17. 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd) - Tomas Bekker
Results: 107-55, 5.71 RS/G v 4.20 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 35 Games, Lost 4-0 in NLCS to Miami
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.31, Hitting + Fielding: +1.68, Pitching: +0.41
Top Batters: Bryce Harper, C (8.2), Steve Johnston, 1B (5.3), Jorge Fonseca, SS (4.1), Carlos Martinez, CF (3.6)
Top Pitchers: Jorge Orozco (4.4), Tim Rogers (4.2), Martin Perez (3.6)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Bryce Harper - 30), One Silver (Martin Perez - 32)
Commentary: The last of the three-straight 103+ win seasons in LA, and the second best. At this point their stars are starting to get a little old (both 30+) but the roster is still trucking. In what is a familiar refrain, Tomas Bekker’s Dodgers were the second best team in the NL by a good margin in both directions. Eventual World Series Winner Miami won 16 less games, 12 less pythag and had 4 less WAR. That said, they simply weren’t on the level of the best team in the NL.
#16. 2028 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 105-57, 5.23 RS/G v 3.65 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 16 Games, Lost 3-0 in Divisional Round to Chicago
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.90, Hitting + Fielding: +1.98, Pitching: +1.42
Top Batters: Richard Washington, RF (5.7), Roberto Vasti, LF (5.2), Juan Sandoval, DH (4.8), Jeff Merrill, CF (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Tom Diaz (5.9), Louie Harding (4.9), Daron Acord (2.0 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 32), One Silver (Richard Washington - 33)
Commentary: Would you believe that this is the second-worst Pittsburgh team of the decade? That only one Pirates team didn’t make the Top 25? And that, implicitly, 9 of the top 16 teams of the decade played for Shane Callahan? I’m going to be straight with you, if hearing an endless litany of how dominant the Pirates were in the 20s is a problem for you, stop reading right now. The Pirates in the 2020s were more dominant than the Yankees were in either the 1920s or the 1930s. Now that’s measured in terms of winning percentage; obviously the Pirates only won one championship in this decade, while the Yankees won 3 and 5 respectively. Then again, the Yankees automatically made the World Series by having the best record in the league (a league with only 7 other teams). The Pirates had the best record nine times, and tied for the best record once, and that was in a league with 15 other teams. Do you think that maybe Pittsburgh might have won more championships if the playoff structure advanced them automatically to the World Series 9.5 times? Yeah, it’s possible. This might have been the most dominant team-decade the PBL ever saw, but I haven’t actually crunched the numbers for the 30s and 40s yet, so we’ll see.
Oh yeah, so the 2028 Pirates had the best record in the NL, the best pythag in the NL and the most WAR in the NL. Naturally they were bounced in three by an 86-win Cubs team.
#15. 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers (3rd) - Tomas Bekker
Results: 105-57, 5.27 RS/G v 3.86 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 16 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to Oakland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.64, Hitting + Fielding: +1.78, Pitching: +1.13
Top Batters: Bryce Harper, C (9.0), Millard Browning, 2B (5.4), Kelly Bruner, LF (3.7)
Top Pitchers: Jorge Orozco (5.6), Martin Perez (4.1), Nate Doyle (1.6 - CL), Jonathan Broxton (1.5 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Bryce Harper - 28) and One Silver (Martin Perez - 30)
Commentary: The best of the Tomas Bekker Dodgers in the 20s. In fairness, the ‘21, ‘22 and ‘23 editions were all really good but this year had the highest WAR (by 6) and got the furthest in the playoffs (winning the National League Pennant). Given that the Dodgers’ role this decade was generally to be behind the Pirates (as they are in this ranking), it must have been very satisfying to defeat them 4-2 in the NLCS. It is unfortunate that their victory led them to face the one non-Pittsburgh team that was actually better than them, Kyle Jenkins’ 2021 Oakland Athletics.
#14. 2023 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 111-51, 5.86 RS/G v 3.99 RA/G (108-54), Won Div by 24 Games, Lost 3-2 in Divisional Round to Miami
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.98, Hitting + Fielding: +1.71, Pitching: +1.93
Top Batters: Gian Guzman, DH (7.1), Perry Thomas, 1B (5.3), Richard Washington, LF (5.0)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (5.7), Tom Diaz (3.5), Orlando Yan (1.7 - CL), Jose Nunez (1.6 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 31), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 34) and One Silver (Richard Washington - 28) and One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 29)
Commentary: Do you realize how nuts that record is? The Mets won 87 games that year, and the Pirates still won their division by 24 games. The Pirates only made it to the Divisional Round, but they are considered here to be the greatest team of the year. They had 111 wins (107 and 100 were 2 and 3), 108 pythag (103 and 97 were 2 and 3) and 107 WAR-wins (105 and 98 were 2 and 3). They were simply freaking dominant (in everything except the playoffs).
The thing that stands out about the Pirates is how good their pitching was. You may or may not have noticed that it’s pretty common to have teams with Batter WAR Ratings above +1.5 on this list. But pitcher WAR Ratings above +1.5 are pretty rare (they absolutely happened, but great pitching by itself isn’t enough (check out the ‘26 and ‘27 Diamondbacks)). 21 teams had Pitcher WAR ratings above +1.5, but only 12 made the top 25. Eight of those twelve were Pittsburgh Pirates’ teams (the others? The 2022 Mariners, the 2027 Rockies, the 2024 Yankees and 2028 Rockies.
If you’re curious about the converse, batting WAR rating . . . Like with pitching, 21 teams had a batter WAR rating at or above +1.5, but sixteen of those teams made the top 25. Nine of those sixteen were Pirates (the other seven: 2028 Rockies, 2026 Dodgers, 2023 Mariners, 2020 Athletics, 2021 Dodgers, 2023 Dodgers and 2022 Mariners). Shout out to the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays who had the 3rd best batter WAR Rating of the decade but average pitching, combining to finish #30 on this list. The highest pitching team not to make the top 25? The 2022 Pirates (roll eyes) who had the 4th best pitching of the decade, but only really good hitting, finishing #26 on this list.
So yeah, welcome to the 8th best Pittsburgh team of the decade.
#13. 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 104-58, 5.60 RS/G v 3.86 RA/G (108-54), Won Div by 7 Games, Lost 4-2 in World Series against Tampa Bay
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.87, Hitting + Fielding: +1.54, Pitching: +2.03
Top Batters: Gian Guzman, DH (7.2), Antonio Garza, LF (5.7), Fernando Martinez, CF (5.5), Wayne Barr, SS (4.1)
Top Pitchers: Daniel Tuttle (6.2), Jameson Taillon (5.3), Stephen Strasburg (3.6), Tommy Hanson (3.5), Joe Wallace (2.7 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 28), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 31), One Silver (Stephen Strasburg - 31), One Bronze (Tommy Hanson - 33), One Honorable Mention (Daniel Tuttle - 29)
Commentary: Man, if the Pirates had been able to get Vasti a little earlier they would have won Pyramid-Tier bingo. The Pirates were awesome this year, if not quite as dominant as some of their other iterations. In fact, regular-season-wise, they were barely better than the 2020 Rays who would defeat them in the World Series. Luckily, being dominant in the regular season before falling short in the playoffs wouldn’t become a trend for this otherwise dominant franchise. Or would it . . .
Seriously, look at that rotation. Sure they were all a little past their prime, but you’re talking about four Hall of Fame starting pitchers.
#12. 2028 Colorado Rockies (1st) - Randy Pickard
Results: 108-54, 5.14 RS/G v 3.59 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 10 Games, Lost 3-2 in Divisional Round to Cleveland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.11, Hitting + Fielding: +2.04, Pitching: +1.79
Top Batters: Giralldo Croner, RF (5.6), David Taylor, LF (5.4), Gabriel Viera, CF (4.8), Erik Clemons, C (4.1), Francisco Villarreal, 2B (3.7), Francisco Gonzalez, 1B (3.5)
Top Pitchers: Pedro Vargo (5.7), Xavier Jimenez (4.2), Marc-Andre Canuel (3.9), Andres Carrillo (3.6), Brady Armstrong (2.1 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Silver (Giralldo Croner - 33), One Bronze (Brady Armstrong - 24), One Honorable Mention (Pedro Vargo - 28)
Commentary: From 2020 to 2023 the Rockies were sub-par, finishing with 58, 58, 74 and 80 wins. Then in 2024 a mysterious two-headed stranger strolled into the Double Deuce. His name was Randy Pickard. The ‘24 Rockies only won 78 games, but their wins for the next five years: 90, 97, 101, 108 and 96. Two of those teams made the Top 25 list here and this this is considered the second best of them (the best regular season team, but without much postseason success).
How good was this team? Well, they broke the +2 WAR Rating threshold, which only five teams this decade did. This is literally the best team in the decade to lose in the Divisional Round. This team was so good, brace yourself, they outperformed the Pirates in the Regular Season.
Mic Drop.
They won three more games than the Pirates, had the same Pythag, and had three more WAR. The 2028 Rockies are the only team *in the decade* not to be worse than the Pirates in any of the big 3 metrics (wins, pythag and WAR). It’s a shame they flamed out early in the playoffs (as did, of course, the Pirates). But the 2028 Rockies were a great freaking team.
#11. 2025 New York Yankees (2nd) - Robert Nichols
Results: 103-59, 5.12 RS/G v 3.92 RA/G (100-62), Won Div by 3 Games, Won the World Series!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.34, Hitting + Fielding: +1.16, Pitching: +1.32
Top Batters: Luis Gomez, LF (5.8), Brandon Gray, 3B (4.3), Matt Fuenmayo, CF (3.9), Perry Thomas, 1B (3.7), Sotan Kono, DH (3.4)
Top Pitchers: Teodoro Contreras (4.6), Phil Jackson (4.6), Yoriyoshi Nakayama (4.1), John Williams (3.6), Guy Wallace (2.0 - CL), Dave Nix (1.9 - MR), Carlos Villanueva (1.5 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono - 28), One Silver (Luis Gomez - 36), One Bronze (Phil Jackson - 32)
Commentary: The listing of Kono is a bit cheaty; the Yankees actually picked Kono up in trade mid-year from Derek Bobola’s Oakland A’s. Credit for this team is hard to attribute; Randy Pickard left the team in 2023 (past three seasons at that point were 101, 96 and 89 wins). Robert Nichols took over and immediately put up two 100+ win years, both of which ended in Championships. This is the second, and less impressive, of those seasons. The discerning may notice that, despite 103 wins and a championship, these Yankees are only listed as the 2nd best team of the year. Just trust me, when we get to the #1 team from that year, it’ll make sense.
Shout out to old-man Luis Gomez, leading the team in WAR at the age of 36.
#10. 2020 Tampa Bay Rays (1st) - EJ Joseph
Results: 102-60, 5.44 RS/G v 3.77 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 13 Games, Won the World Series!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.45, Hitting + Fielding: +1.27, Pitching: +1.44
Top Batters: Jae Yun Kim, C (7.4), Marvin Webb, RF (4.6), Prince Fielder, DH (4.4)
Top Pitchers: Tim Lincecum (9.6), Tanner Scheppers (4.1), Brent Marshall (3.9), Mark Miller (1.6 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Tim Lincecum - 35), One Diamond (Jae Yun Kim - 29), One Silver (Prince Fielder - 36), One Bronze (Marvin Webb - 32)
Commentary: Led by Tim Lincecum (arguably the best PBL pitcher ever), these Rays were nasty, boasting a star-studded (if slightly old) cast. And it wasn’t like the AL was easy for them; Kyle Jenkins’ Athletics and the Mariners were both 100+ win teams, each with 100+ wins in both pythag and WAR. Tampa had to defeat Oakland in the ALCS and faced a formidable Pittsburgh team in the World Series. They won it in six. But this was their high-water mark; the next two seasons were very good but not great, and they slid into mediocrity for the rest of the decade.
#9. 2029 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 110-52, 5.08 RS/G v 3.56 RA/G (106-56), Won Div by 18 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to Oakland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.85, Hitting + Fielding: +2.08, Pitching: +1.08
Top Batters: Richard Washington, RF (6.7), Roberto Vasti, LF (6.6), Juan Sandoval, 1B (6.3), Juan Carlos Colon, SS (5.5), Jorge Rodriguez, CF (5.4)
Top Pitchers: Tom Diaz (4.7), Jeffrey McKelvie (4.3), Lou Martin (3.5), Jose Nunez (2.2 - CL), Daron Acord (1.7 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 33), Two Silver (Richard Washington - 34, Lou Martin - 34), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 35)
Commentary: So this one’s a little weird, right? After all, this is a 110-win team that actually won the Pennant, but somehow only finishes 9th? What gives?
First, spots 7, 8 and 9 are rated almost identically. So there’s that. And once you get to #6, every team either won the World Series or threw up the WAR of a 120-win team. So . . . #9 is a pretty solid spot all told.
So, time for our humble brag moment of “Since the Pirates didn’t win the World Series, how much better were they than the team that did?” Derek Bobola’s A’s won the championship that year (team #23 for the decade). Pittsburgh won 12 more games, had a pythag 12 games higher and 12 WAR more. Basically, Pittsburgh in the regular season was as much better than the A’s as the A’s were better than a normal 84-win team. That said, the ‘29 Pirates were part of a relative downward trend. From 2025 through 2027 the Pirates’ WAR Rating was always above +2. In ‘28 and ‘29 they only had ratings of +1.90 and +1.85 respectively (only - hah!). This comparably downward trend would continue into the 2030s.
#8. 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 111-51, 5.64 RS/G v 4.06 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 27 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to New York Yankees
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.84, Hitting + Fielding: +1.61, Pitching: +1.74
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (7.4), Richard Washington, RF (5.8), Antonio Garza, DH (4.5)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (5.7), Tom Diaz (4.5), Jose Nunez (2.1 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 28), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 32), One Silver (Richard Washington - 29), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 30)
Commentary: This team wasn’t appreciably better than the 2023 edition, except that they won the Pennant instead of getting knocked out in the NLDS. 2024 started a two year tradition of having a great team, getting to the World Series and then losing to the Yankees.
I’m sorry I don’t have more to add, but literally, try writing nine different interesting articles on different iterations of the Pirates. Taking a break.
#7. 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 110-52, 5.49 RS/G v 3.70 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 17 Games, Lost 4-2 in NLCS to Los Angeles Dodgers
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.05, Hitting + Fielding: +1.87, Pitching: +1.96
Top Batters: Gian Guzman, DH (7.1), Erik Clemons, C (5.0), Ted Arnold, 3B (4.8), Chris Simpson, 2B (4.7), Fernando Martinez, CF (4.3)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (4.9), Tommy Hanson (4.6), Jesus Mendez (3.7), Jose Nunez (2.6 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 29), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 32), One Bronze (Tommy Hanson - 34)
Commentary: Man, this team really struggled before getting Roberto Vasti . . .
So yeah, 110 wins, 109-win pythag, WAR Rating of +2.05, knocked out in the NLCS.
Fourth best Pittsburgh Pirates team of the decade, seventh best team of the decade.
#6. 2027 Colorado Rockies (2nd) - Randy Pickard
Results: 101-51, 5.02 RS/G v 3.64 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 11 Games, Won World Series!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.61, Hitting + Fielding: +1.16, Pitching: +1.83
Top Batters: Francisco Gonzalez, 1B (6.8), Gabriel Viera, CF (5.8), David Taylor, LF (4.7), Giralldo Croner, RF (4.5)
Top Pitchers: Pedro Vargo (6.7), Andres Carrillo (5.2), Xavier Jimenez (4.9), Alfred Rivera (3.9), Dalton Denorfia (1.9 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Silver (Giralldo Croner - 32), One Honorable Mention (Pedro Vargo - 27)
Commentary: Oh thank God for a non-Pirates team. This was a great team. Not a lot of Hall of Famers, but a deep squad of very good players. This squad was the best in the AL by a pretty good amount. Most wins (by 5), highest pythag (by 5), and most WAR (by 8). And these Rockies won their league pretty decisively, going on to win the World Series. But they’re not the #1 team for 2027 because, you guessed it, the Pirates were better.
#5. 2024 New York Yankees (1st) - Robert Nichols
Results: 106-56, 5.33 RS/G v 3.85 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 12 Games, Won the World Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.50, Hitting + Fielding: +1.07, Pitching: +1.80
Top Batters: Tim Porter, C (5.3), Luis Gomez, LF (4.1), Melvin Burgess, 2B (4.0), Brandon Gray, 3B (3.8)
Top Pitchers: Gary Price (6.4), Teodoro Contreras (5.7), Yoriyoshi Nakayama (5.0), Guy Wallace (1.9 - CL)
Pyramid Members: Two Silvers (Luis Gomez - 35, Gary Price - 33)
Commentary: This was the high-water-mark for the Yankees this decade. They had a very strong 2025 and then slid down to merely being really good for the rest of the decade. But let the record show that this season was Robert Nichols’ first in New York. So was this Nichols transforming a good team into a contender? Or Randy Pickard building a great team that Nichols inherited? Who knows? Either way, this team featured excellent pitching and solid hitting, smashing its way through the AL (including perennial Yankee-thorn Toronto) before defeating Pittsburgh in the World Series over seven games.
#4. 2021 Oakland Athletics (1st) - Kyle Jenkins
Results: 108-54, 4.91 RS/G v 3.62 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 12 Games, Won World Series over Los Angeles Dodgers!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.71, Hitting + Fielding: +1.49, Pitching: +1.74
Top Batters: Sotan Kono, LF (5.4), Herb Steele, C (4.3), Leon Ibarra, CF (4.3), Juan Berroa, 1B (3.8)
Top Pitchers: Lou Martin (6.1), Peter Dunn (4.5), Jeff Browne (1.7 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono - 24), One Silver (Lou Martin - 26)
Commentary: This is the second-best World Series winner of the decade. They had 108 wins, 103 pythag and a WAR-wins of 105, in a fairly competitive year. And let’s not forget that the Rays, Yankees and Mariners were all very good this year. And in fact Oakland had to beat two of them (Seattle and Tampa Bay) in the playoffs to win the AL. Led by Hall of Famers Sotan Kono (though a down year compared to the prior year’s 10.9 WAR, 53 home run and 721 slugging MVP season) and Lou Martin still in their youth, this really was one of the best teams of the decade.
#3. 2027 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 113-49, 5.75 RS/G v 3.84 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 10 Games, Lost 4-3 in NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.76, Hitting + Fielding: +2.56, Pitching: +2.33
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (10.1), Richard Washington, CF (6.5), Steve Walton, SS (6.2), Luis Hernandez, 3B (4.7), Ramon Gardea, 1B (4.0), Sergio Lopez, 2B (3.8)
Top Pitchers: Lou Martin (7.0), Jameson Taillon (5.3), Tom Diaz (5.2), Jose Nunez (2.3 - CL), Daron Acord (2.0 - MR), Alfredo Todd (1.9 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 31), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 35), Two Silvers (Lou Martin - 32, Richard Washington - 32), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 33)
Commentary: Shout out to the Expos, who won 103 only to finish ten games behind the Pirates this year. But yeah, this team was grotesque. WAR ratings above +2 in every stat (and I mean, considerably above +2.) 10 WAR from Roberto “I’m the freaking best” Vasti, 7 WAR from Lou Martin, plus another 11.8 from Washington and Taillon combined . . . This team was nuts.
But they didn’t win the World Series, how good can they be?
They won 113 games, 2nd highest in the decade.
They had a 109-win pythag, tied for the 3rd best in the decade.
They had a 120-win WAR, third in the decade (and that’s ten WAR ahead of the 4th best).
A 120-win WAR . . . I don’t even know what to do with that, or a WAR Rating at +2.76.
I’m completely fine with this being considered the third-best team of the decade, and I don’t care that they didn’t win a pennant.
#2. 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 120-42, 5.64 RS/G v 3.33 RA/G (117-45), Won Div by 38 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to the New York Yankees
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.96, Hitting + Fielding: +2.75, Pitching: +2.69
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (8.6), Gian Guzman, DH (6.2), Richard Washington, RF (5.3), Erik Clemons, C (3.6)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (8.2), Tom Diaz (6.0), Lou Martin (5.0), Austin West (3.5), Daron Acord (1.7 - CL), Jose Nunez (1.7 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 29), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 33), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 36), Two Silver (Lou Martin - 30, Richard Washington - 30), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 31)
Commentary: This may go down in history as the best team not to win the World Series. Here’s how they compare with the rest of 2025:
1st in Wins (by 17), Runs Scored (by 84), Runs allowed (by 82), Pythag (by 17), Hitter WAR (by 12.5), Pitcher WAR (by 6.2), Total WAR (by 21.3).
So by every meaningful stat, they were the best in the league, and they were the best by a toooooon.
Here’s how they compare to the *decade*:
1st in wins (by 7)
6th in Runs Scored
1st in Runs Allowed (by 20)
1st in Pythag (by 5 wins)
1st in Hitter WAR (by 1.8)
2nd in Pitcher WAR
2nd in Total WAR
So . . . The 2025 Pirates were better than all 319 other teams in four of the major stats, and better than 318 teams in two more. There is an argument that this may have been the best team in the decade. But there’s one thing the 2026 Pirates have that the 2025 Pirates don’t . . .
#1. 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 112-50, 5.41 RS/G v 3.45 RA/G (112-50), Won Div by 38 Games, Won World Series 4-0 over the Kansas City Royals!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.95, Hitting + Fielding: +2.29, Pitching: +2.84
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (8.8), Richard Washington, RF (4.8), Antonio Garza, DH (4.5), Erik Clemons, C (4.1), Luis Hernandez, SS (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (8.1), Lou Martin (7.2), Austin West (4.7), Tom Diaz (3.6), Jose Nunez (2.2 - CL), Alfredo Todd (1.6 - MR), Daron Acord (1.6 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 30), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 34), Two Silver (Richard Washington - 31, Lou Martin - 31), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 32)
Commentary: This team legit lost zero playoff games. Zero. Playoff games. Also. Did you know that they scored the most runs that year? And allowed the least runs? And had the highest wins (13 more than the #2), highest pythag (12 more than the #2), and WAR (17.6 more than the #2)? You know I go on about WAR Rating sometimes? How a WAR rating of +1 is a really good team (low 90s wins), and a WAR rating of +2 is historically excellent (because it’s almost always a 100+ win team)? Pittsburgh’s WAR rating this year was +2.95.
I can’t get over the zero playoff losses thing. It’s like Pittsburgh boiled a decade of dominance into one playoff season and simply battered every opponent into oblivion. I haven’t run the full history of the PBL’s teams yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised, at all, if the 2026 Pirates ended up as the #1 team in PBL History.
This is built on five parts. Standard deviations above/below the mean for 1) Wins, 2) Pythag and 3) WAR. And also Playoff finishing and Championship-winning. This means that how you do in the playoffs matters, but not completely. A team with 110-win record, pythag and WAR will probably be considered the top team of their season, even if they get bounced in the Divisional Series. The use of standard deviations rewards performance in competitive leagues; when lots of teams are tanking and five teams have 100+ win records, you get less credit for success. The number in parenthesis after the team names is their rank that year.
The ‘Pyramid Members’ section is just a list of how many (if any) of their best players made the Hall of Fame Pyramid and what level they made.
#50. 2023 Texas Rangers (5th), 96-66, ALCS (Greg Sheehan)
#49. 2025 Toronto Blue Jays (4th), 100-62, ALDS (Danny Sheehan)
#48. 2020 San Francisco Giants (5th), 101-61, NLCS (Robert Nichols)
#47. 2025 St. Louis Cardinals (3rd), 90-72, NLCS
#46. 2029 Colorado Rockies (6th), 96-66, Wild Card (Randy Pickard)
#45. 2022 Minnesota Twins (7th), 87-75, Pennant (Chris Ojanen)
#44. 2024 Oakland Athletics (4th), 98-64, ALDS (Derek Bobola)
#43. 2027 New York Yankees (4th), 94-68, ALCS (Robert Nichols)
#42. 2021 New York Mets (6th), 103-59, NLDS
#41. 2028 Kansas City Royals (5th), 93-69, World Series Champions (Tim Ervin)
#40. 2028 New York Yankees (4th), 98-64, ALDS (Robert Nichols)
#39. 2029 Atlanta Braves (5th), 98-64, NLDS (Anthony Valentine)
#38. 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers (6th), 103-59, NLDS (Tomas Bekker)
#37. 2024 Seattle Mariners (3rd), 100-62, ALDS
#36. 2027 Montreal Expos (3rd), 103-59, Wild Card
#35. 2026 Colorado Rockies (4th), 97-65, ALCS (Randy Pickard)
#34. 2029 Toronto Blue Jays (4th), 100-62, ALDS (Danny Sheehan)
#33. 2028 Washington Nationals (3rd), 100-62, Pennant (Chris Ojanen)
#32. 2020 Seattle Mariners (4th), 102-60, ALDS
#31. 2021 New York Yankees (5th), 101-61, Wild Card (Randy Pickard)
#30. 2026 Toronto Blue Jays (3rd), 96-66, ALDS (Danny Sheehan)
#29. 2022 Oakland Athletics (5th), 101-61, Wild Card (Kyle Jenkins)
#28. 2021 Tampa Bay Rays (4th), 102-60, ALCS (EJ Joseph)
#27. 2023 Miami Marlins (4th), 91-71, World Series Champions (Derek Bobola)
#26. 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates (4th), 95-67, Wild Card (Shane Callahan)
#25. 2022 Tampa Bay Rays (3rd) - EJ Joseph
Results: 99-63, 5.06 RS/G v 3.67 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 19 Games, Lost 4-2 in ALCS
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.38, Hitting + Fielding: +1.40, Pitching: +1.09
Top Batters: Marvin Webb, RF (5.4), Jae Yun Kim, C (4.9), Matt Robinson, 3B (4.8), Manny Ramos, SS (3.7)
Top Pitchers: Tim Lincecum (6.8), Brent Marshall (5.1), Bob Barnett (4.3), Dalton Denorfia (1.7 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Tim Lincecum), One Diamond (Jae Yun Kim), One Bronze (Marvin Webb)
Commentary: The last of the dominant EJ Joseph years. The rest of the decade the Rays never got above 87 wins. But this year they boasted 99 wins and both pythag and WAR above 100. They were probably the second best team in the AL that year (behind Seattle), but they still got a bye. They knocked off Detroit before falling to upstart Minnesota in the ALCS. Two Hall of Famers on this team, Marvin Webb and Tim Lincecum.
#24. 2029 New York Yankees (3rd) - Robert Nichols
Results: 104-58, 4.94 RS/G v 3.79 RA/G (100-62), Won Div by 4 Games, Lost 4-1 in ALCS to Oakland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.43, Hitting + Fielding: +1.23, Pitching: +1.35
Top Batters: Sotan Kono, LF (6.3), Chris Guess, 3B (5.8), Anthony Garcia, C (3.5)
Top Pitchers: Julio Rivera (5.6), Martin Fernandez (4.5), Tim Rogers (4.2), Julio Carranza (1.6 - CL), Carlos Lopez (1.5 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono), One Honorable Mention (Anthony Garcia)
Commentary: This was probably the 3rd best Robert Nichols Yankees squad in the decade. The Yankees had no shortage of quality competition. They tangled with Danny Sheehan’s Jays all year before barely winning the division, and faced them again in the ALDS and squeaked out with a 3-2 win. In the ALCS they faced Oakland (a strong squad in their own right) and were bounced in five.
#23. 2029 Oakland Athletics (2nd) - Derek Bobola
Results: 98-64, 4.49 RS/G v 3.78 RA/G (94-68), Won Div by 2 Games, Won World Series over Pittsburgh Pirates
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.02, Hitting + Fielding: +0.79, Pitching: +1.09
Top Batters: Arturo Rivera, RF (5.9), Tyrone Crowe, C (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Chris Bryant (6.7), Ed Rogers (3.7), Brandon Phillips (1.8 - CL), Jeff Browne (1.6 - CL), Bob Alexander (1.5 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Silver (Chris Bryant)
Commentary: Like the above Yankees team these A’s were tested by an outstanding divisional foe in Randy Pickard’s Rockies, who were objectively better but finished two games behind and were knocked out in the Wild Card round. This squad was the culmination of Derek Bobola’s six years in Oakland (for the decade). In the Playoffs Oakland faced the above Yankees, and in the World Series they faced a ferocious Pirates team. In a tight seven-game series the A’s emerged victorious.
You know it’s funny. Chris Bryant was by far their best pitcher; there was another pitcher with the same name who was an inner-circle Hall of Famer in the late 30s and early 40s. And this Chris Bryant (for the A’s) was 24. That’s nuts. It’s super weird to see a dominant season from this guy when he was 24, when I remember him still being great when into his late 30s.
#22. 2022 Chicago Cubs (2nd)
Results: 99-63, 5.23 RS/G v 4.14 RA/G (98-64), Won Div by 7 Games, Won World Series
WAR Ratings: Overall: +0.91, Hitting + Fielding: +1.33, Pitching: +0.14
Top Batters: Israel Hinojosa, 3B (7.0), Donald Carson, SS (4.9), Byron Wiley, DH (3.7)
Top Pitchers: Bruno Hale (3.9), Jose Carlos (2.0 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Honorable Mention (Israel Hinojosa)
Commentary: This 2022 Cubs were the first (and best) of several excellent Cubs teams in the 2020s. It’s a little weird to put a Championship team this low, but the Cubs were 4th in wins, 6th in pythag and 8th in WAR. They won the World Series and they were a very good team, but they were hardly dominant. It is notable, btw, that pretty much every team here has at least one honorable mention player or better. Here it’s Israel Hinojosa here.
#21. 2022 Seattle Mariners (1st)
Results: 102-60, 5.06 RS/G v 4.29 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 1 Games, Lost 3-0 in Divisional Round to Minnesota
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.84, Hitting + Fielding: +1.58, Pitching: +1.89
Top Batters: Giralldo Croner, CF (6.3), Bryan Anderson, C (5.7), Lee Holt, 3B (4.6), Jesus Garcia, SS (3.7), Jorge Robles, LF (3.5)
Top Pitchers: Alfonso Olivo (5.3), Keyvius Sampson (4.7), Elwood Holman (4.1), Salvador Canseco (3.0 - CL), David Cortes (2.4 - MR), Carlos Lopez (1.7 - MR)
Pyramid Members: Two Silvers (Giralldo Croner and Bryan Anderson), One Bronze (Keyvius Sampson)
Commentary: This was objectively the best regular season Mariners team of the decade, and probably the best team in the PBL that year. 102 wins, 103 pythag and 108 WAR wins . . . anytime you can throw 100+ up on all three stats you have a damned good team. So of course, they get swept in the ALDS by Minnesota. What are you gonna do?
#20. 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd) - Tomas Bekker
Results: 99-63, 4.91 RS/G v 3.75 RA/G (100-62), Won Div by 20 Games, Lost 4-0 in NLCS
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.63, Hitting + Fielding: +1.86, Pitching: +0.81
Top Batters: Bryce Harper, C (6.5), Jimmy McIntosh, LF (5.9), Jorge Fonseca, SS (5.0), Gerardo Ortega, 3B (4.8)
Top Pitchers: Martin Perez (5.1), Gary Price (4.2), John Horton (2.0 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Bryce Harper), Two Silver (Jimmy McIntosh, Gary Price and Martin Perez)
Commentary: The Dodgers had a very strong decade (3rd best in the league) and this is their worst of the three top 25 squads they had. There’s nothing bad to say about this team. Their pitching was a little light (for a team on this list) but their bats were legit, led by Pantheon-dweller Bryce Harper and that Jimmy McIntosh guy (age 26) sounds familiar . . . They were far and away the second best team in the NL that year. The hard part is they existed in the same PBL that had the 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the best freaking teams ever. It happens. Did boast three Silver-tier Hall of Famers in Perez, Price and McIntosh in addition to Harper.
#19. 2020 Oakland Athletics (3rd) - Kyle Jenkins
Results: 105-57, 5.42 RS/G v 3.77 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 3 Games, Lost 4-2 in ALCS to Tampa Bay
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.65, Hitting + Fielding: +1.81, Pitching: +1.04
Top Batters: Sotan Kono, LF (10.9), Richard Washington, RF (6.7), Juan Berroa, 1B (5.1), Pepe Rivera, 2B (4.1), Herb Steele, C (3.9)
Top Pitchers: Lou Martin (4.8), Justin Masterson (3.6), Eric Wright (1.8 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono), Two Silvers (Richard Washington and Lou Martin)
Commentary: Okay, you may say. This Oakland team posted 105 wins (!!), 107 pythag and 106 WAR wins and made it to the ALCS, and they only finish 19th for the decade? Here’s the thing, 2020 was the least competitive season I’ve found so far (from 2010 to 2032). The PBL posted six (six!) 100+ win teams. It posted four 100+ pythags and four 100+ WAR wins. And while we’re at it, four different teams at 60 wins or lower, two teams with pythags below 60 and three teams with WAR below 60 (one below 50!). So you have to take all of these Oakland stats with a grain of salt. They barely won their division, sneaking past Seattle (102 wins, 104 pythag and 101 WAR-wins; did I mention that 2020 had a weird number of dominant teams?) Aided by a monster season from Sotan Kono at age 23 (I think “King” Kono would have been a great nickname), Oakland bashed their way through Seattle in the ALDS before falling to eventual Champion Tampa Bay in the ALCS. This wasn’t the best Oakland team of the decade; 2021 would be even better.
#18. 2023 Seattle Mariners (3rd)
Results: 100-62, 5.62 RS/G v 4.51 RA/G (97-65), Won Div by 15 Games, Lost 4-2 in World Series 4-2 to Miami
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.88, Hitting + Fielding: +1.84, Pitching: +1.49
Top Batters: Giralldo Croner, CF (5.2), Giancarlo Stanton, RF (5.0), Antonio Lopez, 1B (4.8), Lee Holt, 3B (4.7), Bryan Anderson, C (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Keyvius Sampson (4.7), Richard Wilde (3.9), Carlos Lopez (1.5 - CL)
Pyramid Members: Two Silver (Giralldo Croner, Bryan Anderson), Two Bronze (Keyvius Sampson, Giancarlo Stanton)
Commentary: The Mariners more or less brought back the same roster from 2022 and this time dominated the American League. They had the most wins by 4, the best pythag by 4 and the most WAR by 10. And they stomped through the playoffs, losing only two games in the AL until they fell to the Marlins in the World Series. Next year’s team would be excellent as well, but 2023 would be the high-water mark for the Mariners for the decade.
#17. 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd) - Tomas Bekker
Results: 107-55, 5.71 RS/G v 4.20 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 35 Games, Lost 4-0 in NLCS to Miami
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.31, Hitting + Fielding: +1.68, Pitching: +0.41
Top Batters: Bryce Harper, C (8.2), Steve Johnston, 1B (5.3), Jorge Fonseca, SS (4.1), Carlos Martinez, CF (3.6)
Top Pitchers: Jorge Orozco (4.4), Tim Rogers (4.2), Martin Perez (3.6)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Bryce Harper - 30), One Silver (Martin Perez - 32)
Commentary: The last of the three-straight 103+ win seasons in LA, and the second best. At this point their stars are starting to get a little old (both 30+) but the roster is still trucking. In what is a familiar refrain, Tomas Bekker’s Dodgers were the second best team in the NL by a good margin in both directions. Eventual World Series Winner Miami won 16 less games, 12 less pythag and had 4 less WAR. That said, they simply weren’t on the level of the best team in the NL.
#16. 2028 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 105-57, 5.23 RS/G v 3.65 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 16 Games, Lost 3-0 in Divisional Round to Chicago
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.90, Hitting + Fielding: +1.98, Pitching: +1.42
Top Batters: Richard Washington, RF (5.7), Roberto Vasti, LF (5.2), Juan Sandoval, DH (4.8), Jeff Merrill, CF (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Tom Diaz (5.9), Louie Harding (4.9), Daron Acord (2.0 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 32), One Silver (Richard Washington - 33)
Commentary: Would you believe that this is the second-worst Pittsburgh team of the decade? That only one Pirates team didn’t make the Top 25? And that, implicitly, 9 of the top 16 teams of the decade played for Shane Callahan? I’m going to be straight with you, if hearing an endless litany of how dominant the Pirates were in the 20s is a problem for you, stop reading right now. The Pirates in the 2020s were more dominant than the Yankees were in either the 1920s or the 1930s. Now that’s measured in terms of winning percentage; obviously the Pirates only won one championship in this decade, while the Yankees won 3 and 5 respectively. Then again, the Yankees automatically made the World Series by having the best record in the league (a league with only 7 other teams). The Pirates had the best record nine times, and tied for the best record once, and that was in a league with 15 other teams. Do you think that maybe Pittsburgh might have won more championships if the playoff structure advanced them automatically to the World Series 9.5 times? Yeah, it’s possible. This might have been the most dominant team-decade the PBL ever saw, but I haven’t actually crunched the numbers for the 30s and 40s yet, so we’ll see.
Oh yeah, so the 2028 Pirates had the best record in the NL, the best pythag in the NL and the most WAR in the NL. Naturally they were bounced in three by an 86-win Cubs team.
#15. 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers (3rd) - Tomas Bekker
Results: 105-57, 5.27 RS/G v 3.86 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 16 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to Oakland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.64, Hitting + Fielding: +1.78, Pitching: +1.13
Top Batters: Bryce Harper, C (9.0), Millard Browning, 2B (5.4), Kelly Bruner, LF (3.7)
Top Pitchers: Jorge Orozco (5.6), Martin Perez (4.1), Nate Doyle (1.6 - CL), Jonathan Broxton (1.5 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Bryce Harper - 28) and One Silver (Martin Perez - 30)
Commentary: The best of the Tomas Bekker Dodgers in the 20s. In fairness, the ‘21, ‘22 and ‘23 editions were all really good but this year had the highest WAR (by 6) and got the furthest in the playoffs (winning the National League Pennant). Given that the Dodgers’ role this decade was generally to be behind the Pirates (as they are in this ranking), it must have been very satisfying to defeat them 4-2 in the NLCS. It is unfortunate that their victory led them to face the one non-Pittsburgh team that was actually better than them, Kyle Jenkins’ 2021 Oakland Athletics.
#14. 2023 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 111-51, 5.86 RS/G v 3.99 RA/G (108-54), Won Div by 24 Games, Lost 3-2 in Divisional Round to Miami
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.98, Hitting + Fielding: +1.71, Pitching: +1.93
Top Batters: Gian Guzman, DH (7.1), Perry Thomas, 1B (5.3), Richard Washington, LF (5.0)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (5.7), Tom Diaz (3.5), Orlando Yan (1.7 - CL), Jose Nunez (1.6 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 31), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 34) and One Silver (Richard Washington - 28) and One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 29)
Commentary: Do you realize how nuts that record is? The Mets won 87 games that year, and the Pirates still won their division by 24 games. The Pirates only made it to the Divisional Round, but they are considered here to be the greatest team of the year. They had 111 wins (107 and 100 were 2 and 3), 108 pythag (103 and 97 were 2 and 3) and 107 WAR-wins (105 and 98 were 2 and 3). They were simply freaking dominant (in everything except the playoffs).
The thing that stands out about the Pirates is how good their pitching was. You may or may not have noticed that it’s pretty common to have teams with Batter WAR Ratings above +1.5 on this list. But pitcher WAR Ratings above +1.5 are pretty rare (they absolutely happened, but great pitching by itself isn’t enough (check out the ‘26 and ‘27 Diamondbacks)). 21 teams had Pitcher WAR ratings above +1.5, but only 12 made the top 25. Eight of those twelve were Pittsburgh Pirates’ teams (the others? The 2022 Mariners, the 2027 Rockies, the 2024 Yankees and 2028 Rockies.
If you’re curious about the converse, batting WAR rating . . . Like with pitching, 21 teams had a batter WAR rating at or above +1.5, but sixteen of those teams made the top 25. Nine of those sixteen were Pirates (the other seven: 2028 Rockies, 2026 Dodgers, 2023 Mariners, 2020 Athletics, 2021 Dodgers, 2023 Dodgers and 2022 Mariners). Shout out to the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays who had the 3rd best batter WAR Rating of the decade but average pitching, combining to finish #30 on this list. The highest pitching team not to make the top 25? The 2022 Pirates (roll eyes) who had the 4th best pitching of the decade, but only really good hitting, finishing #26 on this list.
So yeah, welcome to the 8th best Pittsburgh team of the decade.
#13. 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 104-58, 5.60 RS/G v 3.86 RA/G (108-54), Won Div by 7 Games, Lost 4-2 in World Series against Tampa Bay
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.87, Hitting + Fielding: +1.54, Pitching: +2.03
Top Batters: Gian Guzman, DH (7.2), Antonio Garza, LF (5.7), Fernando Martinez, CF (5.5), Wayne Barr, SS (4.1)
Top Pitchers: Daniel Tuttle (6.2), Jameson Taillon (5.3), Stephen Strasburg (3.6), Tommy Hanson (3.5), Joe Wallace (2.7 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 28), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 31), One Silver (Stephen Strasburg - 31), One Bronze (Tommy Hanson - 33), One Honorable Mention (Daniel Tuttle - 29)
Commentary: Man, if the Pirates had been able to get Vasti a little earlier they would have won Pyramid-Tier bingo. The Pirates were awesome this year, if not quite as dominant as some of their other iterations. In fact, regular-season-wise, they were barely better than the 2020 Rays who would defeat them in the World Series. Luckily, being dominant in the regular season before falling short in the playoffs wouldn’t become a trend for this otherwise dominant franchise. Or would it . . .
Seriously, look at that rotation. Sure they were all a little past their prime, but you’re talking about four Hall of Fame starting pitchers.
#12. 2028 Colorado Rockies (1st) - Randy Pickard
Results: 108-54, 5.14 RS/G v 3.59 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 10 Games, Lost 3-2 in Divisional Round to Cleveland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.11, Hitting + Fielding: +2.04, Pitching: +1.79
Top Batters: Giralldo Croner, RF (5.6), David Taylor, LF (5.4), Gabriel Viera, CF (4.8), Erik Clemons, C (4.1), Francisco Villarreal, 2B (3.7), Francisco Gonzalez, 1B (3.5)
Top Pitchers: Pedro Vargo (5.7), Xavier Jimenez (4.2), Marc-Andre Canuel (3.9), Andres Carrillo (3.6), Brady Armstrong (2.1 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Silver (Giralldo Croner - 33), One Bronze (Brady Armstrong - 24), One Honorable Mention (Pedro Vargo - 28)
Commentary: From 2020 to 2023 the Rockies were sub-par, finishing with 58, 58, 74 and 80 wins. Then in 2024 a mysterious two-headed stranger strolled into the Double Deuce. His name was Randy Pickard. The ‘24 Rockies only won 78 games, but their wins for the next five years: 90, 97, 101, 108 and 96. Two of those teams made the Top 25 list here and this this is considered the second best of them (the best regular season team, but without much postseason success).
How good was this team? Well, they broke the +2 WAR Rating threshold, which only five teams this decade did. This is literally the best team in the decade to lose in the Divisional Round. This team was so good, brace yourself, they outperformed the Pirates in the Regular Season.
Mic Drop.
They won three more games than the Pirates, had the same Pythag, and had three more WAR. The 2028 Rockies are the only team *in the decade* not to be worse than the Pirates in any of the big 3 metrics (wins, pythag and WAR). It’s a shame they flamed out early in the playoffs (as did, of course, the Pirates). But the 2028 Rockies were a great freaking team.
#11. 2025 New York Yankees (2nd) - Robert Nichols
Results: 103-59, 5.12 RS/G v 3.92 RA/G (100-62), Won Div by 3 Games, Won the World Series!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.34, Hitting + Fielding: +1.16, Pitching: +1.32
Top Batters: Luis Gomez, LF (5.8), Brandon Gray, 3B (4.3), Matt Fuenmayo, CF (3.9), Perry Thomas, 1B (3.7), Sotan Kono, DH (3.4)
Top Pitchers: Teodoro Contreras (4.6), Phil Jackson (4.6), Yoriyoshi Nakayama (4.1), John Williams (3.6), Guy Wallace (2.0 - CL), Dave Nix (1.9 - MR), Carlos Villanueva (1.5 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono - 28), One Silver (Luis Gomez - 36), One Bronze (Phil Jackson - 32)
Commentary: The listing of Kono is a bit cheaty; the Yankees actually picked Kono up in trade mid-year from Derek Bobola’s Oakland A’s. Credit for this team is hard to attribute; Randy Pickard left the team in 2023 (past three seasons at that point were 101, 96 and 89 wins). Robert Nichols took over and immediately put up two 100+ win years, both of which ended in Championships. This is the second, and less impressive, of those seasons. The discerning may notice that, despite 103 wins and a championship, these Yankees are only listed as the 2nd best team of the year. Just trust me, when we get to the #1 team from that year, it’ll make sense.
Shout out to old-man Luis Gomez, leading the team in WAR at the age of 36.
#10. 2020 Tampa Bay Rays (1st) - EJ Joseph
Results: 102-60, 5.44 RS/G v 3.77 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 13 Games, Won the World Series!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.45, Hitting + Fielding: +1.27, Pitching: +1.44
Top Batters: Jae Yun Kim, C (7.4), Marvin Webb, RF (4.6), Prince Fielder, DH (4.4)
Top Pitchers: Tim Lincecum (9.6), Tanner Scheppers (4.1), Brent Marshall (3.9), Mark Miller (1.6 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Tim Lincecum - 35), One Diamond (Jae Yun Kim - 29), One Silver (Prince Fielder - 36), One Bronze (Marvin Webb - 32)
Commentary: Led by Tim Lincecum (arguably the best PBL pitcher ever), these Rays were nasty, boasting a star-studded (if slightly old) cast. And it wasn’t like the AL was easy for them; Kyle Jenkins’ Athletics and the Mariners were both 100+ win teams, each with 100+ wins in both pythag and WAR. Tampa had to defeat Oakland in the ALCS and faced a formidable Pittsburgh team in the World Series. They won it in six. But this was their high-water mark; the next two seasons were very good but not great, and they slid into mediocrity for the rest of the decade.
#9. 2029 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 110-52, 5.08 RS/G v 3.56 RA/G (106-56), Won Div by 18 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to Oakland
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.85, Hitting + Fielding: +2.08, Pitching: +1.08
Top Batters: Richard Washington, RF (6.7), Roberto Vasti, LF (6.6), Juan Sandoval, 1B (6.3), Juan Carlos Colon, SS (5.5), Jorge Rodriguez, CF (5.4)
Top Pitchers: Tom Diaz (4.7), Jeffrey McKelvie (4.3), Lou Martin (3.5), Jose Nunez (2.2 - CL), Daron Acord (1.7 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 33), Two Silver (Richard Washington - 34, Lou Martin - 34), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 35)
Commentary: So this one’s a little weird, right? After all, this is a 110-win team that actually won the Pennant, but somehow only finishes 9th? What gives?
First, spots 7, 8 and 9 are rated almost identically. So there’s that. And once you get to #6, every team either won the World Series or threw up the WAR of a 120-win team. So . . . #9 is a pretty solid spot all told.
So, time for our humble brag moment of “Since the Pirates didn’t win the World Series, how much better were they than the team that did?” Derek Bobola’s A’s won the championship that year (team #23 for the decade). Pittsburgh won 12 more games, had a pythag 12 games higher and 12 WAR more. Basically, Pittsburgh in the regular season was as much better than the A’s as the A’s were better than a normal 84-win team. That said, the ‘29 Pirates were part of a relative downward trend. From 2025 through 2027 the Pirates’ WAR Rating was always above +2. In ‘28 and ‘29 they only had ratings of +1.90 and +1.85 respectively (only - hah!). This comparably downward trend would continue into the 2030s.
#8. 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 111-51, 5.64 RS/G v 4.06 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 27 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to New York Yankees
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.84, Hitting + Fielding: +1.61, Pitching: +1.74
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (7.4), Richard Washington, RF (5.8), Antonio Garza, DH (4.5)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (5.7), Tom Diaz (4.5), Jose Nunez (2.1 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 28), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 32), One Silver (Richard Washington - 29), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 30)
Commentary: This team wasn’t appreciably better than the 2023 edition, except that they won the Pennant instead of getting knocked out in the NLDS. 2024 started a two year tradition of having a great team, getting to the World Series and then losing to the Yankees.
I’m sorry I don’t have more to add, but literally, try writing nine different interesting articles on different iterations of the Pirates. Taking a break.
#7. 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane Callahan
Results: 110-52, 5.49 RS/G v 3.70 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 17 Games, Lost 4-2 in NLCS to Los Angeles Dodgers
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.05, Hitting + Fielding: +1.87, Pitching: +1.96
Top Batters: Gian Guzman, DH (7.1), Erik Clemons, C (5.0), Ted Arnold, 3B (4.8), Chris Simpson, 2B (4.7), Fernando Martinez, CF (4.3)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (4.9), Tommy Hanson (4.6), Jesus Mendez (3.7), Jose Nunez (2.6 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 29), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 32), One Bronze (Tommy Hanson - 34)
Commentary: Man, this team really struggled before getting Roberto Vasti . . .
So yeah, 110 wins, 109-win pythag, WAR Rating of +2.05, knocked out in the NLCS.
Fourth best Pittsburgh Pirates team of the decade, seventh best team of the decade.
#6. 2027 Colorado Rockies (2nd) - Randy Pickard
Results: 101-51, 5.02 RS/G v 3.64 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 11 Games, Won World Series!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.61, Hitting + Fielding: +1.16, Pitching: +1.83
Top Batters: Francisco Gonzalez, 1B (6.8), Gabriel Viera, CF (5.8), David Taylor, LF (4.7), Giralldo Croner, RF (4.5)
Top Pitchers: Pedro Vargo (6.7), Andres Carrillo (5.2), Xavier Jimenez (4.9), Alfred Rivera (3.9), Dalton Denorfia (1.9 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Silver (Giralldo Croner - 32), One Honorable Mention (Pedro Vargo - 27)
Commentary: Oh thank God for a non-Pirates team. This was a great team. Not a lot of Hall of Famers, but a deep squad of very good players. This squad was the best in the AL by a pretty good amount. Most wins (by 5), highest pythag (by 5), and most WAR (by 8). And these Rockies won their league pretty decisively, going on to win the World Series. But they’re not the #1 team for 2027 because, you guessed it, the Pirates were better.
#5. 2024 New York Yankees (1st) - Robert Nichols
Results: 106-56, 5.33 RS/G v 3.85 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 12 Games, Won the World Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.50, Hitting + Fielding: +1.07, Pitching: +1.80
Top Batters: Tim Porter, C (5.3), Luis Gomez, LF (4.1), Melvin Burgess, 2B (4.0), Brandon Gray, 3B (3.8)
Top Pitchers: Gary Price (6.4), Teodoro Contreras (5.7), Yoriyoshi Nakayama (5.0), Guy Wallace (1.9 - CL)
Pyramid Members: Two Silvers (Luis Gomez - 35, Gary Price - 33)
Commentary: This was the high-water-mark for the Yankees this decade. They had a very strong 2025 and then slid down to merely being really good for the rest of the decade. But let the record show that this season was Robert Nichols’ first in New York. So was this Nichols transforming a good team into a contender? Or Randy Pickard building a great team that Nichols inherited? Who knows? Either way, this team featured excellent pitching and solid hitting, smashing its way through the AL (including perennial Yankee-thorn Toronto) before defeating Pittsburgh in the World Series over seven games.
#4. 2021 Oakland Athletics (1st) - Kyle Jenkins
Results: 108-54, 4.91 RS/G v 3.62 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 12 Games, Won World Series over Los Angeles Dodgers!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.71, Hitting + Fielding: +1.49, Pitching: +1.74
Top Batters: Sotan Kono, LF (5.4), Herb Steele, C (4.3), Leon Ibarra, CF (4.3), Juan Berroa, 1B (3.8)
Top Pitchers: Lou Martin (6.1), Peter Dunn (4.5), Jeff Browne (1.7 - CL)
Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono - 24), One Silver (Lou Martin - 26)
Commentary: This is the second-best World Series winner of the decade. They had 108 wins, 103 pythag and a WAR-wins of 105, in a fairly competitive year. And let’s not forget that the Rays, Yankees and Mariners were all very good this year. And in fact Oakland had to beat two of them (Seattle and Tampa Bay) in the playoffs to win the AL. Led by Hall of Famers Sotan Kono (though a down year compared to the prior year’s 10.9 WAR, 53 home run and 721 slugging MVP season) and Lou Martin still in their youth, this really was one of the best teams of the decade.
#3. 2027 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 113-49, 5.75 RS/G v 3.84 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 10 Games, Lost 4-3 in NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.76, Hitting + Fielding: +2.56, Pitching: +2.33
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (10.1), Richard Washington, CF (6.5), Steve Walton, SS (6.2), Luis Hernandez, 3B (4.7), Ramon Gardea, 1B (4.0), Sergio Lopez, 2B (3.8)
Top Pitchers: Lou Martin (7.0), Jameson Taillon (5.3), Tom Diaz (5.2), Jose Nunez (2.3 - CL), Daron Acord (2.0 - MR), Alfredo Todd (1.9 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 31), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 35), Two Silvers (Lou Martin - 32, Richard Washington - 32), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 33)
Commentary: Shout out to the Expos, who won 103 only to finish ten games behind the Pirates this year. But yeah, this team was grotesque. WAR ratings above +2 in every stat (and I mean, considerably above +2.) 10 WAR from Roberto “I’m the freaking best” Vasti, 7 WAR from Lou Martin, plus another 11.8 from Washington and Taillon combined . . . This team was nuts.
But they didn’t win the World Series, how good can they be?
They won 113 games, 2nd highest in the decade.
They had a 109-win pythag, tied for the 3rd best in the decade.
They had a 120-win WAR, third in the decade (and that’s ten WAR ahead of the 4th best).
A 120-win WAR . . . I don’t even know what to do with that, or a WAR Rating at +2.76.
I’m completely fine with this being considered the third-best team of the decade, and I don’t care that they didn’t win a pennant.
#2. 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 120-42, 5.64 RS/G v 3.33 RA/G (117-45), Won Div by 38 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to the New York Yankees
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.96, Hitting + Fielding: +2.75, Pitching: +2.69
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (8.6), Gian Guzman, DH (6.2), Richard Washington, RF (5.3), Erik Clemons, C (3.6)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (8.2), Tom Diaz (6.0), Lou Martin (5.0), Austin West (3.5), Daron Acord (1.7 - CL), Jose Nunez (1.7 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 29), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 33), One Gold (Gian Guzman - 36), Two Silver (Lou Martin - 30, Richard Washington - 30), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 31)
Commentary: This may go down in history as the best team not to win the World Series. Here’s how they compare with the rest of 2025:
1st in Wins (by 17), Runs Scored (by 84), Runs allowed (by 82), Pythag (by 17), Hitter WAR (by 12.5), Pitcher WAR (by 6.2), Total WAR (by 21.3).
So by every meaningful stat, they were the best in the league, and they were the best by a toooooon.
Here’s how they compare to the *decade*:
1st in wins (by 7)
6th in Runs Scored
1st in Runs Allowed (by 20)
1st in Pythag (by 5 wins)
1st in Hitter WAR (by 1.8)
2nd in Pitcher WAR
2nd in Total WAR
So . . . The 2025 Pirates were better than all 319 other teams in four of the major stats, and better than 318 teams in two more. There is an argument that this may have been the best team in the decade. But there’s one thing the 2026 Pirates have that the 2025 Pirates don’t . . .
#1. 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane Callahan
Results: 112-50, 5.41 RS/G v 3.45 RA/G (112-50), Won Div by 38 Games, Won World Series 4-0 over the Kansas City Royals!
WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.95, Hitting + Fielding: +2.29, Pitching: +2.84
Top Batters: Roberto Vasti, LF (8.8), Richard Washington, RF (4.8), Antonio Garza, DH (4.5), Erik Clemons, C (4.1), Luis Hernandez, SS (4.0)
Top Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (8.1), Lou Martin (7.2), Austin West (4.7), Tom Diaz (3.6), Jose Nunez (2.2 - CL), Alfredo Todd (1.6 - MR), Daron Acord (1.6 - MR)
Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 30), One Diamond (Jameson Taillon - 34), Two Silver (Richard Washington - 31, Lou Martin - 31), One Honorable Mention (Jose Nunez - 32)
Commentary: This team legit lost zero playoff games. Zero. Playoff games. Also. Did you know that they scored the most runs that year? And allowed the least runs? And had the highest wins (13 more than the #2), highest pythag (12 more than the #2), and WAR (17.6 more than the #2)? You know I go on about WAR Rating sometimes? How a WAR rating of +1 is a really good team (low 90s wins), and a WAR rating of +2 is historically excellent (because it’s almost always a 100+ win team)? Pittsburgh’s WAR rating this year was +2.95.
I can’t get over the zero playoff losses thing. It’s like Pittsburgh boiled a decade of dominance into one playoff season and simply battered every opponent into oblivion. I haven’t run the full history of the PBL’s teams yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised, at all, if the 2026 Pirates ended up as the #1 team in PBL History.