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Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Apr 16, 2020 11:53:19 GMT -5
The parenthetical is what rank they were in their year, so (10th) is the 10th best team of their season.
#100. 2031 Arizona Diamondbacks (10th), 92-70, Wild Card (Luc Hamel)
#99. 2030 Los Angeles Angels (12th), 88-74, Wild Card
#98. 2032 Kansas City Royals (9th), 95-67, Wild Card (Tim Ervin)
#97. 2030 Washington Nationals (11th), 92-70, Wild Card
#96. 2030 Montreal Expos (10th), 86-76, No Playoffs (Derek Bobola)
#95. 2036 Arizona Diamondbacks (9th), 87-75, Wild Card (Luc Hamel)
#94. 2035 Philadelphia Phillies (10th), 93-69, NLCS (Mark MacDonald)
#93. 2035 Boston Red Sox (9th), 88-74, No Playoffs (Derek Bobola)
#92. 2038 Arizona Diamondbacks (10th), 91-71, Wild Card (Luc Hamel)
#91. 2030 Kansas City Royals (9th), 90-72, ALCS (Tim Ervin)
#90. 2030 Oakland Athletics (8th), 85-77, ALDS
#89. 2034 Carolina Warhounds (10th), 89-73, NLDS
#88. 2037 New York Yankees (11th), 91-71, Wild Card (Mike Miller)
#87. 2038 Los Angeles Angels (9th), 91-71, ALDS (David Jones)
#86. 2031 Chicago White Sox (9th), 93-69, Wild Card
#85. 2037 Los Angeles Dodgers (10th), 91-71, Wild Card
#84. 2035 Texas Rangers (8th), 96-66, Wild Card (Greg Sheehan)
#83. 2032 Chicago White Sox (8th), 98-64, ALDS
#82. 2034 San Francisco Giants (9th), 90-72, NLCS (Tim Ackley)
#81. 2038 Carolina Warhounds (8th), 93-69, NLCS (Doug Ckabrink)
#80. 2037 Tampa Bay Rays (9th), 91-71, Wild Card
#79. 2034 Texas Rangers (8th), 96-66, Wild Card (Greg Sheehan)
#78. 2032 Carolina Warhounds (7th), 97-65, NLDS
#77. 2039 Boston Red Sox (10th), 95-67, Wild Card (Derek Bobola)
#76. 2035 Cincinnati Reds (7th), 92-70, Wild Card (Sean Bain)
#75. 2036 Boston Red Sox (8th), 89-73, No Playoffs (Derek Bobola)
#74. 2033 New York Mets (9th), 97-65, ALDS (Finlay Bennie)
#73. 2031 Carolina Warhounds (8th), 92-70, NLCS
#72. 2035 Baltimore Orioles (6th), 96-66, ALDS (John Williams)
#71. 2034 Miami Marlins (7th), 100-62, Wild Card (Nicholas Doulaveris)
#70. 2033 Arizona Diamondbacks (8th), 95-67, NLCS (Luc Hamel)
#69. 2038 Baltimore Orioles (7th), 103-59, Wild Card (John Williams)
#68. 2039 Atlanta Braves (9th), 98-64, Wild Card (Anthony Valentine)
#67. 2033 Miami Marlins (7th), 95-67, Wild Card (Nicholas Doulaveris)
#66. 2038 Cincinnati Reds (6th), 101-61, NLDS (Sean Bain)
#65. 2030 San Diego Padres (7th), 92-70, Wild Card (Ron Harrison)
#64. 2037 Cincinnati Reds (8th), 95-67, NLDS (Sean Bain)
#63. 2033 Chicago White Sox (6th), 102-60, NLDS
#62. 2031 Baltimore Orioles (7th), 89-73, Pennant (John Williams)
#61. 2032 Arizona Diamondbacks (6th), 102-60, Wild Card (Luc Hamel)
#60. 2037 Chicago White Sox (7th), 101-61, ALDS
#59. 2034 Chicago White Sox (6th), 97-65, ALCS
#58. 2033 Kansas City Royals (5th), 96-66, ALCS (Tim Ervin)
#57. 2036 Chicago White Sox (7th), 99-63, ALDS
#56. 2039 Los Angeles Angels (8th), 96-66, ALDS (David Jones)
#55. 2035 Arizona Diamondbacks (5th), 99-63, Pennant (Luc Hamel)
#54. 2037 Arizona Diamondbacks (6th), 92-70, NLDS (Luc Hamel)
#53. 2031 Miami Marlins (6th), 91-71, Wild Card (Nicholas Doulaveris)
#52. 2036 Tampa Bay Rays (6th), 96-66, ALCS (Randy Pickard)
#51. 2036 Baltimore Orioles (5th), 97-65, Pennant (John Williams)
#50. 2032 Miami Marlins (5th), 99-63, Wild Card (Nicholas Doulaveris)
#49. 2030 Chicago Cubs (6th), 99-63, NLDS
#48. 2035 San Diego Padres (4th), 102-60, NLDS (Ron Harrison)
#47. 2035 Tampa Bay Rays (3rd), 103-59, ALDS (Randy Pickard)
#46. 2039 Los Angeles Dodgers (7th), 100-62, NLDS
#45. 2034 Baltimore Orioles (5th), 102-60, Pennant (John Williams)
#44. 2039 Cincinnati Reds (6th), 98-64, NLDS (Sean Bain)
#43. 2030 Pittsburgh Pirates (5th), 95-67, NLDS (Shane Callahan)
#42. 2031 Boston Red Sox (5th), 98-64, ALDS
#41. 2037 Baltimore Orioles (5th), 97-65, ALCS (John Williams)
#40. 2039 Cleveland Indians (5th), 101-61, Pennant (Randy Pickard)
#39. 2037 Colorado Rockies (4th), 94-68, ALDS (Ben Spiro)
#38. 2030 Toronto Blue Jays (4th), 88-74, ALDS (Danny Sheehan)
#37. 2039 Oakland Athletics (4th), 98-64, ALDS (John Healy)
#36. 2031 Pittsburgh Pirates (4th), 101-61, NLDS (Shane Callahan)
#35. 2038 Miami Marlins (5th), 95-66, Wild Card (Nicholas Doulaveris)
#34. 2031 Kansas City Royals (3rd), 106-56, ALCS (Tim Ervin)
#33. 2037 Miami Marlins (3rd), 96-66, Pennant (Nicholas Doulaveris)
#32. 2034 Boston Red Sox (4th), 102-60, ALDS (Derek Bobola)
#31. 2038 Cleveland Indians (4th), 100-62, Pennant (Randy Pickard)
#30. 2039 Baltimore Orioles (3rd), 102-60, ALCS (John Williams)
#29. 2033 Pittsburgh Pirates (4th), 99-63, NLDS (Shane Callahan)
#28. 2036 Cincinnati Reds (4th), 103-59, NLDS (Sean Bain)
#27. 2036 New York Yankees (3rd), 101-61, ALDS (Mike Miller)
#26. 2033 Boston Red Sox (3rd), 91-71, World Series Champions! (Derek Bobola)
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Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Apr 16, 2020 11:53:35 GMT -5
I don't really know why the above graph is so small. But it's basically a graph of how non-competitive the league was on any given year (through the 30s). Specifically, this is the average of the standard deviations of wins, pythag and WAR for each year. So for a year where the standard deviations are 10 (like 2010), it means that 95% of the teams will be between two standard deviations (so that means 95% of teams (30.5 teams) are between 61 and 101 wins. But by the time you get to the 2030s, 95% of the teams are between 48 wins and 114 wins (this isn't exactly correct, but it's close enough). Does that look crazy? The point is that the 30s were not a competitive decade; the top teams were crazy good, and the bottom teams were crazy bad. You may have noticed a lot of teams in the 26-50 that actually had great looking resumes. Just remember; years in the 30s where less than 4 teams won 100+ games were fairly rare. So please take all of this with a grain of salt. A 110-win team in 2006 is really impressive. A 110-win team in 2036 is still impressive . . . but not as much. Why was the decade so uncompetitive, when financially the budgets were very even (compared to now)? All I can think is that teams started tanking in the 30s. Because it isn't just that the top teams were dominant, it's that the bad teams were awful, and there were a lot of them. But that's a theory, about which more can be discussed. #25. 2034 New York Yankees (3rd) - Mike MillerResults: 105-57, 4.85 RS/G v 3.38 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 3 Games, Lost 3-2 in ALDS to BaltimoreWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.52, Hitting + Fielding: +1.59, Pitching: +0.95Top Batters: Casey Williams, CF (7.9), Jorge Hernandez, LF (6.9), Rob McCoy, 2B (4.5), Roberto Vasti, DH (4.1), Armando Hernandez, RF (3.9)Top Pitchers: Leonard Tracy (4.4), Francisco Alvares (3.8), Rafael Rivera (3.8), Gregorio Cruz (2.2-CL)Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 38), One Bronze (Casey Williams - 28), Two Honorable Mention (Jorge Hernandez - 28, Rob McCoy - 25)Commentary: This is Mike Miller's first Yankees team. That said, there's a bit of an asterix, as his first year saw a 21-win downgrade from the year prior. This isn't a knock of course, but this is likely less Miller's team and more the natural continuation of an already-great roster. The 2034 AL East was the division of death. Three AL teams won 102+ games, and all three were in the AL East. The Yankees won the division, but the Orioles won the AL. This was a really good team; shout out to Roberto Vasti playing an important role at the age of 38. #24. 2037 Boston Red Sox (2nd) - Derek BobolaResults: 96-67, 4.78 RS/G v 4.05 RA/G (93-69), Lost Division by 1 game, Won World Series over Miami Marlins!WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.00, Hitting + Fielding: +0.89, Pitching: +0.80Top Batters: Wang Liu, 2B (6.0), Manny Cabrera, C (5.9), Lorne Henderson, LF (4.1), Sotan Kono, DH (3.7)Top Pitchers: Markus Price (5.9), Jim Lacy (4.7), Francis Lawrence (1.8 - CL)Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono - 40), One Bronze (Markus Price - 30), One Honorable Mention (Manny Cabrera - 32)Commentary: This team is weaker than it looks, historically. They did win the World Series, but only had a 93-win pythag and a +1 WAR Rating, and this is in a pretty lopsided decade. This was a weird-as-hell season. Because it was lopsided, but not in the way you’d guess. Only two teams broke 100 wins, three teams broke 100 pythag, three teams broke 100 WAR-wins. You might think that this was a competitive year; but you’d be wrong. Eleven teams won 90+ games, and more to the point, nine teams finished with less than 68 wins. There were a mountain of awful teams this year. This Red Sox team was the second best team of the season (particularly because of the championship), but it was really an underwhelming regular season team. Tied for 4th in record, tied for 10th in pythag, 8th in WAR . . . none of that screams dominant. #23. 2034 Pittsburgh Pirates (3rd) - Shane CallahanResults: 108-54, 4.44 RS/G v 3.06 RA/G (108-54), Won Div by 23 Games, Lost 3-2 in ALDS to San FranciscoWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.59, Hitting + Fielding: +1.49, Pitching: +1.27Top Batters: Donald Martinez-Esteves, SS (5.3), Martin Bingham, 3B (5.2), Wilson Martinez, DH (5.2), Manny Cabrera, C (5.0), Jorge Rodriguez, LF (3.9), Curt Peterson, CF (3.6)Top Pitchers: Kyle Scott (5.2), Doyle Moore (3.5), Gary Wood (2.4 - CL), Melvin Bell (1.8 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Silver (Gary Wood - 31), One Honorable Mention (Manny Cabrera - 29)Commentary: I think Shane deserves a serious shoutout for putting together a +1.49 batter rating, with 108 wins/pythag, with absolutely no Bronze or up players besides his closer (let the record show that Wood is one of the four best closers in PBL history). This was a great team, with the best record and second best pythag and WAR for that season. But with a decade of a lot of great teams, getting knocked out in the ALDS is a pretty big failing. The Pirates didn’t actually have a dominant first four years (I mean, yeah, all four teams were in the top 50, but that’s not great for Pittsburgh). I can’t say that the 2034 squad was the first great one of the decade (2032 was slightly better) but 2034 began a series of great seasons; every single one of the five seasons that followed this decade were better than this team. #22. 2033 San Diego Padres (2nd) - Ron HarrisonResults: 105-57, 4.48 RS/G v 3.27 RA/G (103-59), Won Div by 10 Games, Won Pennant lost in World Series to Boston 4-1WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.28, Hitting + Fielding: +0.63, Pitching: +1.95Top Batters: Herb Griffith, 1B (6.7), Jack Sellars, SS (5.0), Vicente Cruz, CF (3.6)Top Pitchers: Keith Parks (5.9), Chris McKay (4.9), Ed Crow (4.8), Warren Smith (4.7)Pyramid Members: Two Bronze (Herb Griffith - 25, Warren Smith - 29)Commentary: Ron Harrison took over San Diego in 2025, chasing five straight seasons below 76 wins. It wasn’t an instant turnaround; 83 wins was the best they managed. In 2030 they won 92 games (#65 for the decade), and that year was followed with five straight 100+ win seasons, including a four-in-a-row Pennant streak (a PBL record that still stands, breaking the 3-streak by the Pirates from ‘24 to ‘26). Of those five teams this is the fourth best, with a mere 103 pythag and 102 WAR-wins. #21. 2038 Los Angeles Dodgers (3rd) Results: 109-53, 4.90 RS/G v 3.29 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 18 Games, Lost 3-1 in NLDS to Carolina WarhoundsWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.57, Hitting + Fielding: +1.46, Pitching: +1.44Top Batters: Jared Harris, 1B (4.7), Raymond Harrington, 3B (4.6), Tal-hun Sun, CF (4.0), Stewart Jones, C (3.7), Ty Vance, SS (3.6)Top Pitchers: Gabriel Lopez (4.5), Danny Hayes (4.3), Brady Armstrong (3.9 - CL), Valentin Hernandez (3.5), Calvin Hines (1.8 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Gold (Raymond Harrington - 38), One Silver (Danny Hayes - 31), One Bronze (Brady Armstrong - 34)Commentary: I wouldn’t say that the Dodgers had a bad decade per se, but after the decade of excellence under Tomas Bekker, a merely better than average decade is a bit of a step back. The Dodgers only had three teams in the top 100 for the decade, and this is their only team in the top 25. This was a really, really good team. They put up 109 wins, pythag and WAR. Only the early defeat in the NLDS keeps them from ranking higher. But while we’re here, can we get a shout out for that Brady Armstrong season? That’s 3.9 WAR in only 80.2 innings. That’s 108 strikeouts, 4 home runs allowed and . . . six walks. One home run allowed every 20 innings is pretty good, 12 K/9 is pretty great, but a strikeout to walk ratio of 18 . . . Also, saves are dumb. But 58 saves . . . It was a great damned season. #20. 2032 New York Yankees (4th)Results: 109-53, 5.12 RS/G v 3.63 RA/G (106-56), Lost the division by 4 games, Lost 2-0 to Oakland in the Wild Card roundWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.95, Hitting + Fielding: +2.12, Pitching: +1.31Top Batters: Jorge Hernandez, LF (8.0), Casey Williams, CF (6.9), Armando Hernandez, RF (6.5), Jason Wilson, C (4.9), Martin Hernandez, 1B (4.1)Top Pitchers: Troy McClure (6.3), John Smith (4.4), Leonard Tracy (4.0), Mauro Martinez (1.5 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Gold (Jason Wilson - 27), One Bronze (Casey Williams - 26), One Honorable Mention (Jorge Hernandez - 26)Commentary: This was a crazy good team; the record was really good but their WAR was nuts. Only four teams this decade posted a WAR Rating north of +2; this roster had the sixth highest WAR of the decade. This Yankees roster was so curious. Look at the ages of those Pyramid players. You’ve got Jorge Hernandez who put up 7+ WAR a year for five years before flaming out, Casey Williams who put up 8+ WAR a year for five years before flaming out and Jason Wilson who was just a straight up boss. And since the Yankees had all three at their peaks . . . it was a good time. That said, one thing the Yankees did not have luck with was their division. They won 109 games this year but lost the division to the 113-win Red Sox (who went on to win the World Series). This team is so good that they can get knocked out in the Wild Card round and still be ranked #20. #19. 2030 Atlanta Braves (3rd) - Anthony ValentineResults: 92-70, 4.76 RS/G v 3.74 RA/G (98-64), Lost Div by 3 Games, Lost 4-1 in NLCS to MiamiWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.53, Hitting + Fielding: +1.53, Pitching: +1.03Top Batters: Richard Crisci, RF (7.7), Jae Yun Kim, C (4.4)Top Pitchers: Francisco Alvares (6.1), Jason Simmons (4.7), Fernando Ramirez (3.6), Roberto Salazar (1.9 - CL), David Cortes (1.7 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Gold (Jae Yun Kim - 39), One Silver (Roberto Salazar - 34), One Honorable Mention (Fernando Ramirez - 29)Commentary: Anthony Valentine ran the Braves through the entire 20s and, while he made the playoffs 7 times, never got out of the NLDS and only broke 90 wins once (though that 2029 team was secretly really good). In 2030 it all seemed to come together. While the record isn’t impressive, the team’s pythag and WAR were both at the 98-win level. And 2030 was a crazy competitive year; 98 win pythags in 2030 were like 106 win pythags by the mid-decade. This Braves team had the highest pythag in 2030 and the second highest WAR. They don’t look like a dominant team but they were. #18. 2036 Miami Marlins (2nd) - Nicholas DoulaverisResults: 109-57, 4.70 RS/G v 3.39 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 30 Games, Lost 4-2 in NLCS to PittsburghWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.47, Hitting + Fielding: +0.97, Pitching: +1.92Top Batters: Jorge Ramos, LF (4.7), Jerry Roberts, CF (3.6)Top Pitchers: Chris Bryant (7.4), Dave Bean (4.8), Jesus Mata (3.7), Alex Munoz (2.4 - CL), Daron Acord (1.7 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Silver (Chris Bryant - 31), Two Honorable Mentions (Dave Bean - 29, Alex Munoz - 28)Commentary: Nicholas Doulaveris took over the Marlins in 2027 coming off a strong of 70s-win seasons. By 2029 he had made the playoffs with 89 wins. And through the 30s the Marlins would have the 3rd best decade of any team in the league. Much of it was consistency; the worst team finished #102 for the decade. The Marlins only had 3 teams make the top 25, and this is the lowest of the 3. It’s not that this team was particularly bad (it had the best record of the ten, and the best pythag). It’s that the team’s WAR wasn’t overwhelming, and most of all, this team didn’t make the World Series, like the other two teams. #17. 2038 Boston Red Sox (2nd) - Derek BobolaResults: 104-58, 5.22 RS/G v 3.64 RA/G (107-55), Won Div by 1 Game, Lost 4-1 in ALCS to Cleveland IndiansWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.63, Hitting + Fielding: +1.46, Pitching: +1.54Top Batters: Sotan Kono, DH (5.1), Manny Cabrera, C (4.9), Mauro Cabrera, SS (4.9), Lorne Henderson, CF (4.1), Chuck Glendenning, 1B (3.5), Wang Liu, 2B (3.5)Top Pitchers: Markus Price (7.9), Francisco Perez (5.4), Jim Lacy (3.9), Kip Davis (1.8 - MR), Bill Trowsdale (1.8 - MR), Randy Spencer (1.6 - CL)Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Sotan Kono - 41), One Bronze (Markus Price - 31), One Honorable Mention (Manny Cabrera - 33)Commentary: Derek Bobola’s Red Sox had two peaks for the decade, one early in the 30s and one later. This was the best team in the later peak, better than the championship-winning #24 team. This squad had the 3rd best record, 3rd best pythag and 3rd best WAR, but advanced farther in the playoffs than any of the #2 teams. Note that Boston beat the Orioles by one game, continuing the “the AL East was a murderpit in the 30s” narrative. Can I just observe how good Manny Cabrera was? He just seems like an automatic 5 WAR for a contending team every year. By the numbers he should be Bronze level but he made one All-Star team his entire career. One. #16. 2035 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane CallahanResults: 110-62, 4.73 RS/G v 3.18 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 17 Games, Lost 3-1 in NLDS to ArizonaWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.59, Hitting + Fielding: +1.22, Pitching: +1.71Top Batters: Curt Peterson, CF (6.5), Stanton Jimenez, 3B (5.8), Christian Parker, 1B (4.0), Guy Richmond, RF (3.9), Wilson Martinez, LF (3.5)Top Pitchers: Kyle Scott (3.9), Gary Wood (2.6 - CL), Marv Harvey (1.9 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Silver (Gary Wood - 32), One Bronze (Stanton Jimenez - 28), One Honorable Mention (Guy Richmond - 30)Commentary: Wow. It’s nuts to start to see guys I came up in the league with. You can tell this is a long time ago, because Guy Richmond was still fielding a position (badum ching!). The ‘35 edition of the Pirates was pretty much a re-run of the ‘34 team, but slightly better. And like the ‘34 team, they were also knocked out in the Divisional Series. And like the ‘34 team, inferior to every subsequent Pirates team for the rest of the decade. #15. 2032 Pittsburgh Pirates (3rd) - Shane CallahanResults: 109-53, 5.28 RS/G v 3.78 RA/G (105-57), Won Div by 32 Games, Lost 4-3 in NLCS to San DiegoWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.60, Hitting + Fielding: +1.49, Pitching: +1.41Top Batters: Juan Sandoval, 1B (5.4), Manny Cabrera, C (5.3), Roberto Vasti, DH (4.8)Top Pitchers: Domingo Quintana (6.0), Al Albuquerque Jr (5.3), Kyle Scott (4.9), Jose Nunez (2.1 - CL)Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 36), Two Honorable Mentions (Manny Cabrera - 27, Jose Nunez - 38)Commentary: Thankfully we get to move past the 2035 Pirates to talk about . . . the 2032 Pirates. Well heck. At least it’s not as bad as the 20s. These Pirates are the highest ranked team for the decade that were only the 3rd best team of their season. Don’t misunderstand, they were really good (after all, they’re the 15th best team of the decade). But they were tied for 2nd in record, 4th in pythag and 4th in WAR. 2032 had some crazy good teams, with the Red Sox, Padres and Yankees all being extraordinary. And when the Padres win the Pennant, and the Red Sox the World Series . . . the Pirates finish 3rd. No shame there. #14. 2031 Chicago Cubs (2nd)Results: 107-55, 5.00 RS/G v 3.62 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 44 Games (!!), Lost 3-0 in NLDS to CarolinaWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.81, Hitting + Fielding: +1.59, Pitching: +1.59Top Batters: Pedro Chavez, 1B (5.5), Leon Kennedy, CF (4.4), Richard Washington, LF (3.6), Woody Barnett, 3B (3.5)Top Pitchers: David Williamson (7.0), Bruce Pinnock (5.6), Danny Hayes (5.6)Pyramid Members: Four Silvers (David Williamson - 30, Bruce Pinnock - 26, Danny Hayes - 24, Richard Washingtion - 32), One Honorable Mention (Pedro Chavez - 32)Commentary: What the heck, look at that rotation! Dino Williamson, Bruce Pinnock and Danny Hayes, all in their primes (well, Pinnock’s prime was in his mid 30s, but all reasonably young). This is actually the second best team from the 30s to lose in the divisional round. You may look at their wins and pythag and be a little confused about that, but remember, 2031 was still a fairly competitive year. The non-competitive era starts in 2032 or so. So 107 wins in 2031 was actually pretty good. This was a great team that fizzled in the playoff, as happens. But where did they come from? They were actually really good in 2030; they won 99 games and are ranked #49 for the decade. But they immediately imploded in 2032 and the Cubs didn’t see 80+ wins until 2042. Is it because they lost their pitching core? Actually, no, they had Williamson, Pinnock and Hayes for another several years. But their hitter WAR was actually below average every single year of the decade besides 2031 (even 2030 was below average). It looks like ‘31 was just a year where their bats clicked, albeit briefly. The weird thing about 2031 was that the AL was very competitive, but the NL was not. So you could be forgiven if you thought this team was overrated on this list. #13. 2030 Boston Red Sox (2nd) Results: 91-71, 4.22 RS/G v 3.52 RA/G (94-68), Won Div by 3 Games, Won World Series over Miami Marlins!WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.17, Hitting + Fielding: +0.91, Pitching: +1.08Top Batters: Joe Shaffer, DH (4.9), Sergio Maes, 2B (3.5), Francisco Camacho, 1B (3.5)Top Pitchers: Will Taylor (6.1), Chris Sampson (4.7), Bob Phillips (3.8)Pyramid Members: One Gold (Will Taylor - 24), One Honorable Mention (Chris Sampson - 25)Commentary: This may seem like an underwhelming option for the 2nd best team of its year, and the 13th best team of the decade. But remember, 2030 was the most competitive year on record. Boston only won 91 games (6th in the league, but the highest that year was 99), had a 94 pythag (4th in the league, but the highest was only 98), and 94.6 WAR wins (4th). Convert this to 2053 and it looks more like 98 wins, 102 pythag, and 102 WAR wins. Not amazing, but not bad either. And let’s not forget that they won the World Series, which does count for something. This was only the first good Red Sox team for the decade; they would go on to win three more titles and never finish below 88 wins for the 30s. There’s a reason they ranked as the 2nd best franchise of the decade. But, all told, this is ranked as their second best. #12. 2039 Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd) - Shane CallahanResults: 108-54, 5.39 RS/G v 3.54 RA/G (111-51), Won Div by 33 Games, Lost 4-2 in NLCS to MiamiWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.76, Hitting + Fielding: +1.66, Pitching: +1.46Top Batters: Stanton Jimenez, 3B (6.5), Hadde Lieder, CF (6.1), Guy Richmond, RF (4.8), Alvin Raymond, 1B (3.6)Top Pitchers: Ray Barry (7.4), Doyle Moore (3.5), Carlos Sims (3.5), Gary Wood (2.3 - CL), Ignacio Rodriguez (2.3 - MR)Pyramid Members: Two Silvers (Ray Barry - 27, Gary Wood - 36), One Bronze (Stanton Jimenez - 32), Two Honorable Mentions (Guy Richmond - 34, Alvin Raymond - 30)Commentary: From 2034 to 2039 the Pirates won 108, 110, 107, 108, 108 and 108 games. Their pythags were between 109 and 112, only their WAR wins varied (between 106 and 118). Their WAR Rating was never below +1.59, their hitter WAR ratings were never below +1.22 and their pitching WAR ratings were never below +1.27. We’re just talking a metronome of excellence. Not freakish dominance like we saw in the 20s, but consistent extremely good teams (the best or second best team in each season). And, counter to tradition, they actually won two titles in this span. 2039 was a fairly unremarkable team for this era in Pirates history; the best regular season team if not by a ton (#1 in wins, pythag and WAR by 5 wins, 5 wins and 4.5 wins respectively), but losing in the NLCS to the #2 team in that season (Miami, who went on to win the World Series) had the Pirates finish #2 overall. Still a great team. It’s a bit of a wacky paradigm when you can dismiss a team by saying “they were clearly the best team in the league for the regular season, got knocked out in the NLCS, unremarkable if only because this franchise was that good for six+ years running”. #11. 2030 Miami Marlins (1st) - Nicholas DoulaverisResults: 95-67, 4.91 RS/G v 4.23 RA/G (92-70), Won Div by 3 Games, Lost 4-3 in World Series to Boston Red SoxWAR Ratings: Overall: +2.26, Hitting + Fielding: +1.53, Pitching: +2.31Top Batters: Ed Malone, DH (4.4), Gerardo Ortega, 3B (4.4), Jorge Garcia, CF (4.1), Drew Thomas, C (4.1), Donald Martinez-Esteves, SS (3.9)Top Pitchers: James Solof (6.8), Dave Bean (5.9), John Jackson (5.2), Shawn Parker (3.8), Alfredo Todd (2.8 - MR), Orlando Lopez (2.4 - MR), Anderson Howard (2.3 - CL)Pyramid Members: One Bronze (Jorge Garcia - 26), Two Honorable Mention (Dave Bean - 23, Orlando Lopez - 30)Commentary: That 2030 was the most competitive year ever has been repeated at length, so I’ll try not to go into too much detail about it. Miami was the clear best team of the year, even if they didn’t win the World Series. They were 2nd in wins (by 4), second in pythag (by 6), but had 8 more WAR than anyone else. And 8 more WAR in 2030 was huge. Their WAR rating was +2.26. This is the 2nd highest WAR rating of the decade. Is it entirely legitimate? Probably not; when the league is so competitive, an extra five WAR from overperformance gives a disproportionate edge. But the gap between Miami and the #2 team in WAR (Atlanta), is the gap between Atlanta and the #8 team that year. It’s hard to know where just to rank the Marlins for this weird season, but I’m okay with #11. #10. 2037 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane CallahanResults: 108-54, 4.70 RS/G v 3.17 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 20 Games, Lost 4-3 in NLCS to MiamiWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.93, Hitting + Fielding: +1.72, Pitching: +1.53Top Batters: Curt Peterson, CF (5.8), Stanton Jimenez, 3B (4.9), Guy Richmond, RF (4.9)Top Pitchers: Jimmy Smith (8.0), Ray Barry (5.1), Doyle Moore (4.6), Carlos Sims (4.3)Pyramid Members: One Silver (Ray Barry - 25), Two Bronze (Stanton Jimenez - 30, Jimmy Smith - 30), One Honorable Mention (Guy Richmond - 32)Commentary: Most wins in the season by 7, highest pythag (by 6) and most WAR (by 11), lost in the NLCS to Miami. Sounds like 3-4 other seasons that decade. Unusual things? Shane picked up Jimmy Smith in trade with the Cardinals in 2036 where he put up 20 WAR over three seasons. Smith then hit free agency, signed a big contract with the Red Sox and proceeded to get knocked out for the year in his first game (though going on to pitch well in subsequent years). Classic example of Shane buying low and selling high. Or Tonya Hardinging his opponents, whatever. Also, Gary Wood DIDN’T BREAK 1.5 WAR!?!?! WHAT HAPPENED!?!?! INJURY!? NOOO WAY! GARY WOOD IS FOREVER! #9. 2034 San Diego Padres (1st) - Ron HarrisonResults: 105-57, 3.99 RS/G v 2.67 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 15 Games, Won World Series 4-2 over Baltimore!WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.25, Hitting + Fielding: +1.28, Pitching: +0.83Top Batters: Arturo Rivera, LF (6.5), Jack Sellars, SS (5.8), Herb Griffith, 1B (4.9), Oriol Alvarado, 2B (4.0)Top Pitchers: Ed Crow (4.6), Jim Lacy (4.5), Alex Munoz (1.8 - CL)Pyramid Members: One Silver (Arturo Rivera - 30), One Bronze (Herb Griffith - 26), One Honorable Mention (Alex Munoz - 26)Commentary: This is the fourth of Ron Harrison’s string of 100+ win Padre teams (and the last of his four-straight pennant-winners). It’s not that the teams stopped winning (though that happened too), it’s that Ron left his twice-champ Padres to take over the Brewers (leaving a dominant franchise to go to Milwaukee? What an iiiiidiot!) So yeah, back to the ‘34 Padres. They weren’t the best regular season team. They were tied for 2nd in wins (the Pirates had 3 more), had the highest pythag (by one) and had the fourth highest WAR (6 behind Boston in #1). But they showed up really nicely overall, finishing +1.25 standard deviations above the mean in all three stats. And it doesn’t hurt that where the other three really good that teams that year (Pittsburgh, Boston and the Yankees) all got knocked out in the Divisional Series where the Padres won the World Series. This is a long way of saying that the Padres were an excellent team, but only the 7th best World Series winner of the decade. #8. 2032 San Diego Padres (2nd) - Ron HarrisonResults: 106-56, 4.92 RS/G v 3.14 RA/G (112-50), Won Div by 4 Games, Lost 4-0 in World Series to Boston Red SoxWAR Ratings: Overall: +1.80, Hitting + Fielding: +1.65, Pitching: +1.60Top Batters: Herb Griffith, 1B (9.1), Arturo Rivera, RF (5.3), Christian Medina, 3B (5.1), Jerry Roberts, LF (4.2)Top Pitchers: Chris McKay (7.0), Warren Smith (6.6), Keith Parks (4.4), Gary Wood (2.0 - CL)Pyramid Members: Two Silver (Arturo Rivera - 28, Gary Wood - 29), Two Bronze (Herb Griffith - 24, Warren Smith - 28), One Honorable Mention (Christian Medina - 27)Commentary: That’s a pretty star-studded cast. Herb Griffith becomes the first person ever who was both feared and named “Herb”. Gary Wood continues his apparently endless string of times when he was awesome on a great team (though really this was closer to the beginning of that string; we’re just used to seeing him later in the 30s on Pittsburgh). And they’re all younger than 30; not a bad place to work with. This is the second best team in the decade not to win the World Series. They were not overtly dominant (4th best record, best pythag, 2nd best WAR) and also won the Pennant before losing to the Red Sox. This was probably the second best Padres team of the decade. And among all teams of the decade, had the 2nd highest pythag. #7. 2039 Miami Marlins (1st) - Nicholas DoulaverisResults: 103-59, 4.93 RS/G v 3.57 RA/G (104-58), Won Div by 5 Games, Won World Series over Cleveland Indians!WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.48, Hitting + Fielding: +0.78, Pitching: +1.96Top Batters: Jose Rivera, 1B (7.6), Curt Thomas, SS (5.5), Jeff Bunyan, DH (3.8)Top Pitchers: Chris Sampson (5.8), Chris Bryant (5.5), Mike Lucas (4.9), Travis Miller (2.1 - CL), Cole McGilp (1.5 - MR)Pyramid Members: Two Silvers (Jose Rivera - 31, Chris Bryant - 34), One Bronze (Jeff Bunyan - 40), One Honorable Mention (Chris Sampson - 34)Commentary: This is Nicholas Doulaveris’ most successful team, right before everything went off a cliff. Is this his best team from the decade? Maybe not. It has the 2nd best record (6 wins behind ‘36), tied for 2nd best pythag (1 behind ‘38, tied with ‘36) and the 5th best WAR (behind ‘38, ‘36, ‘30 and ‘32 from top to bottom). So don’t get me wrong, while this is a very good team (+1.35 or better on all three major stats), it probably isn’t purely better than the ‘36 version, and might not be better than the ‘30 version. But this is the only Marlins team in the decade that won the World Series. If you look at the ages of their best players, it does forecast somewhat the possibility of decline. #6. 2035 New York Yankees (1st) - Mike MillerResults: 98-64, 5.36 RS/G v 3.57 RA/G (110-52), Won Div by 2 Games, Won World Series 4-1 over Arizona!WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.99, Hitting + Fielding: +2.49, Pitching: +0.67Top Batters: Casey Williams, CF (8.5), Stu Lane, RF (7.8), Armando Hernandez, 2B (5.8), Jorge Hernandez, LF (5.2), Rob McCoy, SS (5.1), Daniel Burgess, 3B (3.9), Martin Hernandez, 1B (3.8)Top Pitchers: Francisco Alvares (4.7), Rafael Rivera (3.7), Mauro Martinez (2.7 - MR), Gregorio Cruz (1.8 - CL), Marc-Andre Canuel (1.5 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Bronze (Casey Williams - 28), Two Honorable Mention (Jorge Hernandez - 28, Rob McCoy - 25)Commentary: Holy shitake mushrooms, look at the WAR on those hitters. That is the second best hitter WAR for the decade (and it’s no coincidence that three of the top four teams are the ‘32, ‘33 and ‘35 Yankees). You’ve got Casey Williams in the middle of his stratospheric peak, Stu Lane (over 7 WAR a year over three years for the Yankees) . . . I mean, this team’s lineup was insane. How good was this lineup? They batted 282/349/457 (league average was 251/317/386). They scored 5.4 runs a game; the next highest team scored 4.7. They led the league in hits (by 73), home runs (by 39) and of course AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS. You know how I know that this wasn’t a real Mike Miller team? Because it didn’t lead the league in walks by a billion. This lineup was instead only 4th in walks, lamely compensating for it by hitting a ton. Jokes aside, this was Miller’s second year with the team and he didn’t mess with it too much. When you’ve got a winning hand you don’t need to get too creative with your betting. This is the 2nd best Yankees team of the decade, despite being the only one to win the World Series. #5. 2032 Boston Red Sox (1st) - Derek BobolaResults: 113-49, 5.06 RS/G v 3.30 RA/G (111-51), Won Div by 4 Games, Won World Series 4-0 over San Diego!WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.74, Hitting + Fielding: +1.55, Pitching: +1.60Top Batters: Wang Liu, 2B (6.9), Giralldo Croner, CF (4.9), Jesus Garcia, SS (4.8), Alex Becerra, 1B (4.2), Jimmy McIntosh, LF (3.9)Top Pitchers: Will Taylor (6.9), Chris Bryant (6.3), Bob Phillips (5.4), Pepe Nieves (1.7 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Gold (Will Taylor - 26), Three Silvers (Chris Bryant - 27, Giralldo Croner - 37, Jimmy McIntosh - 32) Commentary: Not a lot of teams can say that they had 4+ Silvers or better performing at a high level on the same team. This was the second Championship team the Red Sox had this decade, and it was the best. It had the best record of all the Red Sox teams of the decade, best pythag and 2nd best WAR. And for that matter, it was arguably the best regular season team that year, posting the best record (by 4), 2nd best pythag (by 1) and 3rd best WAR (by 4). And lest you accuse this team of having it easy, they had the 2032 Yankees in their own division (when you win 113 games and only win your division by 4 games . . . yeah). And if you’ve been paying attention you know that the early 30s Yankees were monsters. So these Red Sox didn’t simply overcome the stacked Yankees, but they met the other best team in the league (San Diego) and swept them decisively in the World Series. A curiosity though. That one-two punch of Will Taylor and Chris Bryant looks insane, and it was (especially since they were both under 28). But this was the only year they were together. Bryant was traded to Tampa Bay in the offseason and Taylor was flipped to Miami in the middle of the 2034 season (when Boston won 102 games). What did they get in return? What considerations were there for letting them go? The histories don’t exist so we can’t know. But it’s hard to imagine a better spot for a big-budget championship-winning team than two stud pitchers in their prime. I suppose that it’ll remain a mystery. #4. 2036 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane CallahanResults: 107-55, 4.89 RS/G v 3.33 RA/G (108-54), Won Div by 19 Games, Won World Series 4-2 over Baltimore!WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.02, Hitting + Fielding: +1.59, Pitching: +2.27Top Batters: Wilson Martinez, LF (6.8), Stanton Jimenez, 3B (4.9), Charles-Edouard Poulin (4.6), Carlton Webb, 2B (4.4), Curt Peterson, CF (4.2), Christian Parker, 1B (3.6)Top Pitchers: Carlos Sims (5.6), Ray Barry (5.1), Jimmy Smith (5.1), Doyle Moore (5.0), Kyle Scott (4.9), Alan Ayers (2.5 - MR), Pedro Gonzalez (2.0 - MR)Pyramid Members: One Silver (Ray Barry - 24), Two Bronzes (Stanton Jimenez - 29, Jimmy Smith - 29)Commentary: This team posted a +2.27 Pitching WAR rating, had two 2+ WAR relievers and five (five!) starters all posting WARs at 4.9 or higher. You should be impressed. But would you believe this is not the best pitching roster/performance in the decade? The 2030 Marlins are ranked higher, but I can understand not taking that so seriously because of the adjustment for competition. But compare them to the 2037 Diamondbacks. Their rotation was all above 5 WAR: Alfredo Rivera (5.0), Jose Cruz (5.1), Robbie Gill (5.3), Bruce Pinnock (6.2) . . . oh yeah and Orlando Perez (8.9). So this Pirates’ pitching was amazing, but not the best. I know that aside had nothing to do with the Pirates, but I write Pirates all the time and I’m probably not going to get to write up Luc’s rotations in Arizona for some time, so I took a detour. Sue me. The 2036 Pirates are the 3rd best Championship team of the decade along with being the 2nd best Pittsburgh team of the decade. They had the 4th best WAR rating for the decade and were solid from top to bottom. #3. 2031 San Diego Padres (1st) - Ron HarrisonResults: 106-56, 4.43 RS/G v 2.99 RA/G (109-53), Won Div by 14 Games, Won World Series over Baltimore 4-3!WAR Ratings: Overall: +1.86, Hitting + Fielding: +1.91, Pitching: +1.32Top Batters: Jason Wilson, C (8.6), Jerry Roberts, LF (4.8), Herb Griffith, 1B (3.9)Top Pitchers: Warren Smith (5.5), Gabriel Lopez (4.7), Julio Rivera (3.7), Gary Wood (2.5 - CL)Pyramid Members: One Diamond (Jason Wilson - 26), One Silver (Gary Wood - 28), Two Bronze (Herb Griffith - 23, Warren Smith - 27)Commentary: It’s easy to forget what a freak Jason Wilson was. I sure as heck hope the Padres got a king’s ransom for him from the Yankees, averaging 8 WAR a year and whatnot. There have only (so far) been nine PBL players that have made Diamond tier or higher and Wilson is one of them, and looking at his appearances on this list it’s easy to see why. The 2031 Padres not only won the World Series but were also the best regular season team in their league. They may have had one win less than the Cubs, but had a pythag five higher and a WAR one higher. And they, you know, won the World Series, which counts for something. Was this the best Padres team of the decade? They had the highest Win rating, highest pythag rating and highest WAR rating of the decade of Padres teams, so, yeah. I’d say so. This was the first of their four pennants, and it was the best. #2. 2038 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st) - Shane CallahanResults: 108-54, 5.38 RS/G v 3.48 RA/G (112-50), Won Div by 27 Games, Won World Series 4-1 over Cleveland!WAR Ratings: Overall: +2.05, Hitting + Fielding: +2.25, Pitching: +1.55Top Batters: Guy Richmond, DH (9.1), Stanton Jimenez, 3B (6.9), Riley Davis, SS (4.8), Alvin Raymond, 1B (4.6), Curt Peterson, CF (4.5), Carlton Webb, 2B (3.5)Top Pitchers: Jimmy Smith (7.0), Carlos Sims (6.1), Ray Barry (5.0), Alan Ayers (2.6 - MR), Gary Wood (2.4 - CL)Pyramid Members: Two Silvers (Ray Barry - 26, Gary Wood - 35), Two Bronzes (Jimmy Smith - 31, Stanton Jimenez - 31), Two Honorable Mentions (Guy Richmond - 33, Alvin Raymond - 29)Commentary: Wowza. Six Pyramid players. I don’t care that none of them were above Silver; six is a lot. Also, Guy Richmond with a 9.1 WAR season at DH!? Do you realize how well you have to hit to do that? He hit 350 / 431 / 672 (all three of which led the league by the way), while also getting 209 hits (led the league). He won an MVP for that season, and rightfully so. The funniest part is that he was such a bad fielder at Right that going to DH was probably a value increase for the guy. You’ve got to remember that Guy Richmond was a transcendent hitter. He averaged an OPS+ of 153 over 10k plate appearances. Looking for some comps? How about Frank Robinson (154 OPS+, 11.6k PA, Gold tier), Mel Ott (155 OPS+, 11.3k PA, Diamond), Manny Ramirez (154 OPS+, 9.8k PA, Bronze), Frank Thomas (156 OPS+ but only 9.5k PA, Bronze) or Joe DiMaggio (155 OPS+, 7.7k PA, Gold tier). I don’t know how your historical acumen is, but those are five extraordinarily good hitters. All of them were some of the best hitters in the league their entire career, but their values historically varied. The difference? Defense. Manny Ramirez is probably the best comparison in the sense of being an all-bat no-field outfielder. Manny was 129 runs below average in the field, over 16 thousand innings of fielding. Guy Richmond was 179 runs below average over only 13k innings of fielding. Basically, take Manny but make him almost twice as bad a fielder (on a per inning basis) and you’ve got Guy Richmond. But yeah, he sure could hit. The 2038 Pirates were the best Pirates team of the decade, and that puts them in excellent company. They had the 3rd best record, but best pythag and the best WAR of all ten Pirates teams. In 2038 they likewise had the 2nd best record, but had the best pythag and WAR of the league (a +2 WAR Rating is really, really great). This was the best World Series winner of the decade. I’m curious to see how this team compares to the Pirates teams from the 20s and 10s. But would you believe the #1 team on this list didn’t even make it past the Divisional Round? #1. 2033 New York Yankees (1st) Results: 126-36, 5.52 RS/G v 3.16 RA/G (119-43), Won Div by 35 Games, Lost 3-2 in ALDS to BostonWAR Ratings: Overall: +2.62, Hitting + Fielding: +2.88, Pitching: +1.56Top Batters: Jason Williams, C (10.4), Casey Williams, CF (8.7), Jorge Hernandez, LF (6.8), Rob McCoy, 2B (5.6), Roberto Vasti, DH (5.2), Martin Hernandez, 1B (4.0), Mauro Cabrera, SS (3.7)Top Pitchers: Francisco Alvares (4.7), Troy McClure (4.1), Gregorio Cruz (2.4 - CL)Pyramid Members: One Pantheon (Roberto Vasti - 37), One Diamond (Jason Williams - 28), One Bronze (Casey Williams - 27), Two Honorable Mentions (Rob McCoy - 24, Jorge Hernandez - 27)Commentary: I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the best hitting WAR Rating ever. Do you realize that, on paper, this team could have rolled out a replacement level pitching crew and still won 96 games? Their pitching was good, don’t get me wrong, but their hitting? Would you believe that the Yankees had #1, #2 and #3 in hitter WAR in the American League that year? Only eight teams in the PBL had more hitter WAR than the Yankees had with just those three hitters. The Yankees scored 5.5 runs a game (1.2 more than average), led the league in hits, home runs, AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS. This team lost only 36 games! 36! They had the best record in the decade by 13 games. They had the best pythag by 7 games. They led the decade in runs scored, but were actually 9th in runs allowed (for the decade!!). They had the most hitter WAR in the decade by 4, and the most total WAR by 6. This team was freaking ridiculous. So what if they didn’t make it out of the ALDS? They were obviously the best team of the decade. And they may be the best regular season PBL team ever! Will they be better than some of the juggernauts in prior decades that also won their Championship? Who knows? But I’ll leave you with one final thought. I call it, “Where Casey Williams goes, so go the Yankees”. 2032, 6.9 WAR, 109 wins 2033, 8.7 WAR, 126 wins 2034, 7.9 WAR, 105 wins 2035, 8.5 WAR, 98 wins 2036, 8.4 WAR, 101 wins 2037, 4.6 WAR, 91 wins 2038, 2.6 WAR, 70 wins 2039, 2.9 WAR, 85 wins 2040, 0.4 WAR, 73 wins Williams and those Yankees teams have a lot in common. Ridiculously dominant at their best, but compared to a lot of others their time in the sun was brief.
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