Post by greeme on Feb 5, 2014 15:16:41 GMT -5
I have been trying to figure out what makes a winning team so I figured that I would make a list of the 20 best teams overall and see how they were built. It was kind of hard ranking the teams because the playoffs are somewhat of a crapshoot but on the other hand you can’t just ignore that the point is to win it all. Out of the 10 teams that won 110 games or more only 2 won the World Series. Good teams are more likely to have top pitching than hitting. Almost all teams have a stud starter and closer. Top hitters seem not to be necessary and it is more important to have top to bottom hitters in the lineup than a few studs. Speed also seems to be underrated, especially looking at the way the 2004 Cubs were built. It is cheaper than power and easier to get. Of course having Wood/Santana/Meche can’t hurt either.
#20 –
Team - 2004 San Francisco Giants - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/2004.html
Record: 104-58
Postseason Results:
Lost NL League Series 1-4 to Montreal Expos
Won Division Series 3-2 over Chicago (N) Cubs
Team All-Stars: Chris Gissell, Bob Howry
highest paid player -Chipper Jones - $ 9,780,000
This team was all about pitching. It had 2 starters over 300 and nobody over 20 hrs. Nobody over 20 steals either. The giants were in the top third of nl teams in only 3 categories: hrs, doubles and walks. Pitching was another story altogether. The giants had 3 20 game winners and a fourth pitcher with 19 wins. They also had an all star closer rolaids relief man award winner, bob howry, with 50 saves. The giants were top 3 in the nl in all pitching categories except ks led by all star, 22 game winner, chis gissell.
#19 -
Team - 1999 Houston Astros - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/hou/1999.html
Record: 105-57
Postseason Results:
Lost NL League Series 2-4 to San Francisco Giants
Won Division Series 3-2 over Chicago (N) Cubs
Team All-Stars: Jeff Bagwell,Mike Piazza,Donnie Wall
highest paid player - Jose Canseco - $ 18,000,000
The Astros were a dominant hitting team with 5 players hitting 25+ hrs, led by all star Jeff Bagwell’s nl leading 46 dingers. All star catcher Mike Piazza added 29 hrs to go along with a .329 avg. They led the NL in almost all important batting categories. Their pitching was solid but not spectacular. All star Donnie Wall was the ace of their staff with 18 wins and a 2.31 era.
#18 –
Team - 1999 San Francisco Giants - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/1999.html
Record: 100-62
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-3 over Boston Red Sox
Won NL League Series 4-2 over Houston Astros
Won Division Series 3-0 over Atlanta Braves
Team All-Stars: Tom Glavine, Juan Gonzalez, Bill Mueller
highest paid player: Gary Sheffield - $ 18,000,000
The giants beat the previous team on this list 4-2 in the nl league championship series and then took the world series in 7 games over the red sox. The giants were led by 1999 mvp juan gonzalez who slugged 42 hrs to go with an nl leading 146 rbis and a .310 avg (side point - not really sure why he won the mvp over larry walker). The giants hitting was good but not great, even with gonzalez they were just an average hr hitting team. The giants had the winningest pitcher in the league in tom glavine and the league leader in saves in rob beck.
#17 –
Team - 2002 Atlanta Braves – bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/atl/2002.html
Record: 100-63
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-2 over Baltimore Orioles
Won NL League Series 4-2 over Montreal Expos
Won Division Series 3-1 over San Francisco Giants
Team All-Stars: Mike Lincoln
highest paid player: Mike Lincoln - $ 10,000,000
The braves have the worst winning % on this list but they did win the world series, knocking off the orioles in 6 games. The braves offense was led by chipper jones and nl rbi leader javy lopez. The braves led the nl in avg, runs, rbis, obp and ops. The pitching was solid led by all star mike lincoln’s 19 wins and 2.67 era. Their closer, robb nen, was erratic saving 46 games but having a 3-8 record and a 4.75 era.
#16 –
Team - 1999 OAKLAND ATHLETICS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/oak/1999.html
Record: 107-55
Postseason Results:
Lost AL League Series 3-4 to Boston Red Sox
Won Division Series 3-0 over Chicago (A) White Sox
Team All-Stars: Jason Giambi, Jeff Kent, Todd Van Poppel
highest paid player: Jeff Kent - $ 20,000,000
A monster of a team offensively. They led the AL in batting avg and obp and were third in hrs. They were led by 2 allstart, Jeff Kent and Jason Giambi, who both had at least 30 dingers. They had 4 solid starters who each won at least 15 games led by Todd van Poppel who led the As in pretty much every pitching category. Robb Nen had a good year out of the pen saving 29 games and winning 8 with a 2.84 era.
#15 –
Team - 2001 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/2001.html
Record: 103-59
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-3 over Oakland Athletics
Won NL League Series 4-1 over Montreal Expos
Won Division Series 3-0 over Chicago (N) Cubs
Team All-Stars: Jim Pittsley, Kevin Rogers, Kirk Rueter
highest paid player: Gary Sheffield - $ 18,000,000
Spencer’s third team on this list. Spencer seemed to have dominated here in the early years. Kirk Reuter won the Cy and he might not have even been the best pitcher on his own team. Jim Pittsley had a miniscule 1.69 era and a great 19-5 record but I guess the game preferred Kirk’s 23-6 record. Not sure why tbh. Kenny Rogers was no slouch either and made the all star team with the other two. They were pretty mediocre offensively and except for being 2nd in the league in walks they really didn’t stand out in any category. Their most valuable hitter might have been Chuck Knoublauch who led the league with 71 sbs and was 5th in the league in runs.
#14 –
Team - 1996 ATLANTA BRAVES - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/atl/1996.html
Record: 102-60
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-2 over New York (A) Yankees
Won NL League Series 4-2 over San Francisco Giants
Won Divisional Series 3-1 over Los Angeles Dodgers
Team All-Stars: Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko, Javy Lopez, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, John Wetteland
highest paid player: Greg Maddux - $ 6,775,000
Wow. Seven all stars. You don’t see that everyday. Really just a dominant team. Greg Maddux won the Cy Young award and John Wettland won the Rolaids relief man award. Oddly enough even though Chipper, Klesko and Lopez were all-stars, only jones managed to end up in the top 5 in any hitting category finishing 5th in walks. The team had depth though and 6 players hit 20 or more home runs led by Lopez’s 32. The Braves were 2nd or 3rd in most hitting categories. They might have had a better regular season record if they went with 4 starters because Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz/Avery was dominant. On the other hand, I guess that they stayed fresher for the playoffs. Oddly enough they were only 4th in the NL in era even with Maddux’s league leading 2.19 era.
#13 –
Team - 1998 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/1998.html
Record: 104-58
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-2 over Chicago (A) White Sox
Won NL League Series 4-3 over Philadelphia Phillies
Won Division Series 3-1 over Houston Astros
Team All-Stars: Rod Beck, John Smiley, Billy Taylor
highest paid player: Matt Williams and John Smiley - $ 9,250,000
Last Spencer team, I promise. This one was his third one that won the WS. Most of his dominant teams look the same. Great pitching and average hitting. This team walked less than usual even though they had the league leader in walks, Barry Bonds. The Giants had more pop than previous teams led by Juan Gonzalez’s 38 hrs, good for 5th in the NL. The Giants used a 4 man rotation led by Cy Young winner John Smiley who was 23-8 with an era of 2.80. Rod Beck was second in the league with 42 saves. They also had 2 gold glove winners in Bill Mueller and Barry Bonds.
#12 –
Team - 2004 CHICAGO (N) CUBS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/chn/2004.html
Record: 110-52
Postseason Results:
Lost Division Series 2-3 to San Francisco Giants
Team All-Stars: Johan Santana, Kerry Wood
highest paid player: Kerry Wood - $ 20,000,005
Done with Spencer’s teams and now we start with the first of Play’s teams on the list. Ironic because Spencer bounced Play’s team in the first round. That is why this is the lowest ranked team with 110 wins or more. Kerry Wood was the star of the team winning both the MVP and the CY becoming the only player to win both. It seems that Play went with a three man rotation and each of Meche/Santana/Wood won at least 22 games. That team had a ton of speed, leading the NL in steals with 5(!!!) players with 58 stls or more led by Furcal’s 72 steals. Ronnie Belliard was great overall, winning the gold glove, leading the league in triples and ending up in the top 5 in tbs and hits.
#11 –
Team - 2004 SEATTLE MARINERS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sea/2004.html
Record: 107-55
Postseason Results:
Lost World Series 0-4 to Montreal Expos
Won AL League Series 4-1 over Baltimore Orioles
Won Division Series 3-0 over Chicago (A) White Sox
Team All-Stars: Aaron Fultz, Trot Nixon, Alex Rodriguez, David Ross
highest paid player: Alex Rodriguez - $ 20,000,000
Nanz’s team looked great in the regular season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs before the wheels fell off in the world series when they got swept by the Styros. Another well balanced team led by the AL MVP David Ross (27 hrs, 112 rbis, .344 batting avg). Their lineup had 3 all stars. Arod had a 30-40 season. I’m surprised that the realism police didn’t demand that he get suspended. The pitching was also solid. Keith Foulke won the Rolaids award and Rich Harden went 23-8 with 12 cpgs, 6 shutouts and a 2.14 era.
#20 –
Team - 2004 San Francisco Giants - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/2004.html
Record: 104-58
Postseason Results:
Lost NL League Series 1-4 to Montreal Expos
Won Division Series 3-2 over Chicago (N) Cubs
Team All-Stars: Chris Gissell, Bob Howry
highest paid player -Chipper Jones - $ 9,780,000
This team was all about pitching. It had 2 starters over 300 and nobody over 20 hrs. Nobody over 20 steals either. The giants were in the top third of nl teams in only 3 categories: hrs, doubles and walks. Pitching was another story altogether. The giants had 3 20 game winners and a fourth pitcher with 19 wins. They also had an all star closer rolaids relief man award winner, bob howry, with 50 saves. The giants were top 3 in the nl in all pitching categories except ks led by all star, 22 game winner, chis gissell.
#19 -
Team - 1999 Houston Astros - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/hou/1999.html
Record: 105-57
Postseason Results:
Lost NL League Series 2-4 to San Francisco Giants
Won Division Series 3-2 over Chicago (N) Cubs
Team All-Stars: Jeff Bagwell,Mike Piazza,Donnie Wall
highest paid player - Jose Canseco - $ 18,000,000
The Astros were a dominant hitting team with 5 players hitting 25+ hrs, led by all star Jeff Bagwell’s nl leading 46 dingers. All star catcher Mike Piazza added 29 hrs to go along with a .329 avg. They led the NL in almost all important batting categories. Their pitching was solid but not spectacular. All star Donnie Wall was the ace of their staff with 18 wins and a 2.31 era.
#18 –
Team - 1999 San Francisco Giants - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/1999.html
Record: 100-62
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-3 over Boston Red Sox
Won NL League Series 4-2 over Houston Astros
Won Division Series 3-0 over Atlanta Braves
Team All-Stars: Tom Glavine, Juan Gonzalez, Bill Mueller
highest paid player: Gary Sheffield - $ 18,000,000
The giants beat the previous team on this list 4-2 in the nl league championship series and then took the world series in 7 games over the red sox. The giants were led by 1999 mvp juan gonzalez who slugged 42 hrs to go with an nl leading 146 rbis and a .310 avg (side point - not really sure why he won the mvp over larry walker). The giants hitting was good but not great, even with gonzalez they were just an average hr hitting team. The giants had the winningest pitcher in the league in tom glavine and the league leader in saves in rob beck.
#17 –
Team - 2002 Atlanta Braves – bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/atl/2002.html
Record: 100-63
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-2 over Baltimore Orioles
Won NL League Series 4-2 over Montreal Expos
Won Division Series 3-1 over San Francisco Giants
Team All-Stars: Mike Lincoln
highest paid player: Mike Lincoln - $ 10,000,000
The braves have the worst winning % on this list but they did win the world series, knocking off the orioles in 6 games. The braves offense was led by chipper jones and nl rbi leader javy lopez. The braves led the nl in avg, runs, rbis, obp and ops. The pitching was solid led by all star mike lincoln’s 19 wins and 2.67 era. Their closer, robb nen, was erratic saving 46 games but having a 3-8 record and a 4.75 era.
#16 –
Team - 1999 OAKLAND ATHLETICS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/oak/1999.html
Record: 107-55
Postseason Results:
Lost AL League Series 3-4 to Boston Red Sox
Won Division Series 3-0 over Chicago (A) White Sox
Team All-Stars: Jason Giambi, Jeff Kent, Todd Van Poppel
highest paid player: Jeff Kent - $ 20,000,000
A monster of a team offensively. They led the AL in batting avg and obp and were third in hrs. They were led by 2 allstart, Jeff Kent and Jason Giambi, who both had at least 30 dingers. They had 4 solid starters who each won at least 15 games led by Todd van Poppel who led the As in pretty much every pitching category. Robb Nen had a good year out of the pen saving 29 games and winning 8 with a 2.84 era.
#15 –
Team - 2001 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/2001.html
Record: 103-59
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-3 over Oakland Athletics
Won NL League Series 4-1 over Montreal Expos
Won Division Series 3-0 over Chicago (N) Cubs
Team All-Stars: Jim Pittsley, Kevin Rogers, Kirk Rueter
highest paid player: Gary Sheffield - $ 18,000,000
Spencer’s third team on this list. Spencer seemed to have dominated here in the early years. Kirk Reuter won the Cy and he might not have even been the best pitcher on his own team. Jim Pittsley had a miniscule 1.69 era and a great 19-5 record but I guess the game preferred Kirk’s 23-6 record. Not sure why tbh. Kenny Rogers was no slouch either and made the all star team with the other two. They were pretty mediocre offensively and except for being 2nd in the league in walks they really didn’t stand out in any category. Their most valuable hitter might have been Chuck Knoublauch who led the league with 71 sbs and was 5th in the league in runs.
#14 –
Team - 1996 ATLANTA BRAVES - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/atl/1996.html
Record: 102-60
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-2 over New York (A) Yankees
Won NL League Series 4-2 over San Francisco Giants
Won Divisional Series 3-1 over Los Angeles Dodgers
Team All-Stars: Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko, Javy Lopez, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, John Wetteland
highest paid player: Greg Maddux - $ 6,775,000
Wow. Seven all stars. You don’t see that everyday. Really just a dominant team. Greg Maddux won the Cy Young award and John Wettland won the Rolaids relief man award. Oddly enough even though Chipper, Klesko and Lopez were all-stars, only jones managed to end up in the top 5 in any hitting category finishing 5th in walks. The team had depth though and 6 players hit 20 or more home runs led by Lopez’s 32. The Braves were 2nd or 3rd in most hitting categories. They might have had a better regular season record if they went with 4 starters because Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz/Avery was dominant. On the other hand, I guess that they stayed fresher for the playoffs. Oddly enough they were only 4th in the NL in era even with Maddux’s league leading 2.19 era.
#13 –
Team - 1998 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sfn/1998.html
Record: 104-58
Postseason Results:
Won World Series 4-2 over Chicago (A) White Sox
Won NL League Series 4-3 over Philadelphia Phillies
Won Division Series 3-1 over Houston Astros
Team All-Stars: Rod Beck, John Smiley, Billy Taylor
highest paid player: Matt Williams and John Smiley - $ 9,250,000
Last Spencer team, I promise. This one was his third one that won the WS. Most of his dominant teams look the same. Great pitching and average hitting. This team walked less than usual even though they had the league leader in walks, Barry Bonds. The Giants had more pop than previous teams led by Juan Gonzalez’s 38 hrs, good for 5th in the NL. The Giants used a 4 man rotation led by Cy Young winner John Smiley who was 23-8 with an era of 2.80. Rod Beck was second in the league with 42 saves. They also had 2 gold glove winners in Bill Mueller and Barry Bonds.
#12 –
Team - 2004 CHICAGO (N) CUBS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/chn/2004.html
Record: 110-52
Postseason Results:
Lost Division Series 2-3 to San Francisco Giants
Team All-Stars: Johan Santana, Kerry Wood
highest paid player: Kerry Wood - $ 20,000,005
Done with Spencer’s teams and now we start with the first of Play’s teams on the list. Ironic because Spencer bounced Play’s team in the first round. That is why this is the lowest ranked team with 110 wins or more. Kerry Wood was the star of the team winning both the MVP and the CY becoming the only player to win both. It seems that Play went with a three man rotation and each of Meche/Santana/Wood won at least 22 games. That team had a ton of speed, leading the NL in steals with 5(!!!) players with 58 stls or more led by Furcal’s 72 steals. Ronnie Belliard was great overall, winning the gold glove, leading the league in triples and ending up in the top 5 in tbs and hits.
#11 –
Team - 2004 SEATTLE MARINERS - bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/CATO/teams/sea/2004.html
Record: 107-55
Postseason Results:
Lost World Series 0-4 to Montreal Expos
Won AL League Series 4-1 over Baltimore Orioles
Won Division Series 3-0 over Chicago (A) White Sox
Team All-Stars: Aaron Fultz, Trot Nixon, Alex Rodriguez, David Ross
highest paid player: Alex Rodriguez - $ 20,000,000
Nanz’s team looked great in the regular season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs before the wheels fell off in the world series when they got swept by the Styros. Another well balanced team led by the AL MVP David Ross (27 hrs, 112 rbis, .344 batting avg). Their lineup had 3 all stars. Arod had a 30-40 season. I’m surprised that the realism police didn’t demand that he get suspended. The pitching was also solid. Keith Foulke won the Rolaids award and Rich Harden went 23-8 with 12 cpgs, 6 shutouts and a 2.14 era.
