2058 - Battle of the Divisions

[RonCo]

The clarion call of “Best Division in Baseball” is always a fun one. Unless it’s not, right? I mean, it can get a little wearying to hear the Heartland guy pound their delusional chests. But I digress.

One things I find fun about the new schedule is that now, with all the interdivisional games glommed together, you can get a real sense of ebb and flow as far as the power structure goes. For example, let’s cut to the chase. Arguably the best division in baseball by the numbers is the Frontier Division. Or at least they are the most dominant division over their Johnson League Rivals. I say that because the Frontier Division went 273-239 against Atlantic Division rivals, a whopping 34-game variance.

In the Frick, things were essentially even, with the chest-beaters eking out a two-win advantage, finishing 257-255 against their Pacific Division rivals.

The question can be asked, of course, about whether this dominance is more an indicator of the weakness of the Atlantic Division than it is the dominance of the Frontier, I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader. That said, here are the beak-outs by team:

Vs ATLANTIC	W	L	PCT
Phoenix Talons	41	23	.641
Calgary Pioneers	40	24	.625
Las Vegas Hustlers	36	28	.563
Rocky Mountain Oysters	35	29	.547
Boise Spuds	33	31	.516
Mexico City Aztecs	31	33	.484
San Antonio Outlaws	29	35	.453
Edmonton Jackrabbits	28	36	.438

Vs FRONTIER	W	L	PCT
Charm City Jimmies	41	23	.641
Montreal Blazers	37	27	.578
New Orleans Crawdads	37	27	.578
Charlotte Flyers	33	31	.516
Rockville Pikemen	32	32	.500
Jacksonville Hurricanes	26	38	.406
Atlantic City Gamblers	23	41	.359
Brooklyn Robins	10	54	.156

Woah, right? I mean…look at that. Five of the eight Atlantic teams were .500 or better against the Frontier, but that lower portion of the division was horrific, and especially Brooklyn. In fact, take the Robins out, and you’ve got a whole nother ballgame.

Vs PACIFIC	W	L	PCT
Nashville Bluebirds	45	19	.703
Twin Cities River Monsters	40	24	.625
Omaha Cyclones	34	30	.531
Des Moines Kernels	32	32	.500
Chicago Black Sox	28	36	.438
Louisville Sluggers	27	37	.422
Madison Wolves	27	37	.422
Yellow Springs Nine	24	40	.375

Vs HEARTLAND	W	L	PCT
Sacramento Mad Popes	41	23	.641
Long Beach Surfers	35	29	.547
Vancouver Mounties	32	32	.500
Hawaii Tropics	31	33	.484
Portland Lumberjacks	30	34	.469
San Fernando Bears	30	34	.469
Valencia Stars	29	35	.453
Bikini Krill	27	37	.422

Not surprising, the Heartland and Pacific were actually pretty even, with the difference being Nashville was stouter at the top end, and the Pacific was stronger at the bottom.

So, which division is the best in baseball?

Well … that’s a fun question, right?

[BaseClogger]

Dang, I was going to do a Pacific vs Heartland feature but you beat me to it.

[Lane]

Dang, I was going to do a Pacific vs Heartland feature but you beat me to it.

you should still do it!

[Dington]

#heartland