(1920-present)
1, 1927 Yankees
2, 1939 Yankees
3, 1932 Yankees
4, 1998 Yankees
5, 1929 Athletics
6, 1938 Yankees
7, 1937 Yankees
8, 1936 Yankees
9, 1928 Yankees
10, 1931 Athletics
11, 1970 Orioles
12, 1976 Reds
13, 1995 Indians
14, 1969 Orioles
14, 1941 Yankees
16, 1922 Giants
17, 1975 Reds
18, 1954 Giants
19, 1950 Yankees
20,
1984 Tigers
As
many studies do, this look concluded that the '27 and '39 Yankees were the best teams of all time. I take the '27 Yankees
over the '39 team for a few reasons mainly relating to the ability to win big, but I also would back up my claim by asserting
that the '27 Yankees were more consistent in terms of holding a similar winning percentage against all teams they faced. Regardless,
though, any of the top fifteen or so teams could easily compete with the others. Remember, this is a judgment based on how
they played, not how good they might have been. Thus, for example, the 1976 Reds finish above the '75 team for their excellent
postseason despite the fact that the teams were of about the same quality.
Notes
The Florida Marlins have won two World Series', but they make up two of the worst teams on this list, because neither
won the division, and both had fairly poor records, and got "lucky" many times, winning by small margins. They never got "hot"
until the playoffs.
The dynasty of the Oakland Athletics in the 1970s supposedly had some great teams, as they won three straight World
Series titles. However, none of those teams scored above 706, a very poor score eclipsed by even a Wild Card winner like the
2002 Anaheim Angels.
The 1987 Twins are the lowest ranked team on the list. They finished the regular season 85-77.
The teams from pre-1920 have on average higher rankings than they probably deserve for a number of reasons, previously
mentioned.
|
(1900-present)
1. 1947 Athletics
2. 1971 Yankees
3. 1904 Cardinals
4. 1993 Mariners
5. 1975 Giants
6. 1903 Superbas
7. 2000 Angels
8. 1917 Cubs
9. 1968 Athletics
10. 1983 Padres
A strong case for the "forgettable"
title can be made for the 1947 Philadelphia
A's. Their season came in the middle of an impressive postseason drought for the A's that spanned from 1932 through 1970.
Philadelphia had finished in last place six of the previous seven years, but in
'47 made it clear early they were not going to finish in the cellar and hovered around five games back of first place until
late June. Despite that proximity to first place, they consistently sat behind two or three other teams and never could get
more than a game or two over .500. They were 18-19 at the end of May, and when July rolled around they were 33-32. Still a
month later they were just 49-48. They never managed to win more than four games in a row that whole year, which kept them
hovering around .500.
On August 26th the
A's beat the Indians 2-1 to pull up to 65-58, but even with the winning streak the A's remained in fourth place and had been
slowly falling behind the first place Yankees by consistently increasing margins. That deficit had been at least ten games
since early July. And in unsurprising fashion, the A's dropped their next seven to pull to .500.
For the remainder of the season
they went back and forth between two and four game winning and losing streaks and then alternated wins and losses one by one
over their last eight games.
Unlike with the '32 Tigers,
there was no unusual similarity between the pitchers or the non-stellar players. That isn't necessarily a requirement of an
average team. Most teams tend to have a few good players and some not so good ones. But the lineup lacked any superstar performances
– Barney McCosky batted .328 but hit just one home run – and was truly a lineup of average players having usual
seasons. Seven of the nine Athletics players with over 300 at bats were between the ages of 30 and 32, right at the back end
of their primes.
The one point of note about
the '47 A's was a nineteen year old second baseman that drew a walk in four plate appearances on the year named Nellie Fox,
just a footnote on the roster. Still, few teams can boast a 36-36 record at the All Star break, identical records at home
and on the road, and such an ability to be undistinguished, even amidst a string of uninspiring teams for one of baseball's
most historic franchises.
The '71 Yankees are a close
second and also easy to forget, especially when so much focus goes to the stronger teams of that franchise's history. But
although rarely studied, like all the others, their statistics are entered in the encyclopedias the same as those of the '27
team or the Big Red Machine. Only with hindsight are they forgettable. At the time, the start of the season surely abounded
with hope and prophecies of glory or failure. Rarely, though, do the players or team management aim to be forgotten among
the throngs of middle-of-the-road teams in history.
|
(1920-present)
1. 1942 Phillies*: 44
2. 1962 Mets: 44
3. 2003 Tigers: 45
4. 1935 Braves: 46
5. 1941 Phillies: 46
6. 1932 Red Sox: 47
7. 1928 Phillies: 48
8. 1938 Phillies: 48
9. 1939 Browns: 48
10. 1937 Browns: 49
11. 1926 Red Sox: 49
12. 1925 Red Sox: 50
13. 1963 Mets: 50
14. 1920 Athletics: 50
15. 1921 Phillies: 50
16. 1954 Athletics: 51
17. 1996 Tigers: 51
18. 1940 Phillies: 51
* The 1942 Phillies come out
on top, but 1942 was a partial war year. So this isn’t conclusive. But while not as well known as the ’62 Mets,
the Phillies were bad. They finished the season 42-109 (.278) They were consistently dominated by every team in the league
and were shutout 16 times. In games decided by five runs or more, they were 3-32. They actually had a decent record (23-29)
in one run games, indicating that they were perhaps lucky, or at least could somehow find a way to win the close ones. They
may have been even worse than their record.
An equally strong argument
can be made for the 1962 Mets – the difference was about three tenths of a win, and given that the study is certainly
imperfect, the Mets may certainly have been the worst team ever. Their win/loss record of 40-120 is just a .250 winning percentage.
Amazingly the Mets did tie the season series with the Cubs and won four shutouts. Their final record seems a little more indicative
of their actual strength than the Phillies’.
The 2003 Tigers, on the other
hand, were a different type of case. While horrible, they were bad because the organization was using young players, trying
to build a dynasty, which, by 2006, would be successful. Yet that one year is memorable for Detroit baseball
fans as the Tigers rallied at the very end of the season to avoid ending up with the fewest wins in baseball history.
Of teams from 1900 to 1920,
the 1916 Athletics, as many people believe, were certainly the worst. The “hundred dollar infield” finished just
36-117. A case could also be made for the 1919 Athletics or 1904 Senators as the worst team ever. And the 1899 Cleveland Spiders,
although off the range of the list, won the equivalent to 22 games today. Of course, in the 1870s, the Marylands did not win a single game.
|
