Ranking the Pennant Winners

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 48
YEAR: 1997
TEAM: Florida Marlins
TOP WAR: 508.7
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Won World Series 4-3 over Cleveland Indians
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	508.7	48
TOP BATTER WAR	301.3	56
TOP PITCHING WAR	207.4	40
TOTAL WAR	639.8	41
TOTAL BATTER WAR	404.9	43
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	234.9	43
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	131.1	30
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	103.6	21
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	27.5	49
BATTER AGE	28.00	55
PITCHER AGE	27.53	62
TOP BATTER AGE	29.36	38
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.20	67

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	25	Charles Johnson	22.6
1B	31	Jeff Conine	19.5
2B	21	Luis Castillo	29.1
SS	20	Edgar Rentaria	32.4
3B	34	Bobby Bonilla	30.2
LF	30	Moises Alou	39.9
CF	34	Devon White	47.3
RF	28	Gary Sheffield	60.5
BENCH	38	Jim Eisenreich	13.2
BENCH	28	Kurt Abbot	0.5
BENCH	34	John Cangelosi	6.1

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	32	Kevin Brown	67.8
SP	27	Alex Fernandez	28.5
SP	31	Al Leiter	40.0
SP	23	Tony Saunders	2.7
SP	29	Pat Rapp	9.3
SP	22	Livan Hernandez	30.0
RP	27	Robb Nen	15.0
RP	25	Jay Powell	2.8
RP	34	Dennis Cook	10.7
RP	22	Felix Heredia	0.6

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	24	Cliff Floyd	25.9
BENCH	35	Darren Daulton	23.0
BENCH	26	Craig Counsell	22.4
BENCH	21	Mark Kotsay	21.4
BULLPEN	26	Rick Helling	20.2
BENCH	26	Gregg Zaun	13.7
BENCH	22	Josh Booty	0.0

Comments: The squad best known for being dismantled in the immediate aftermath of their title (only to raise from the ashes 6 years later to win again), the hallmark of this team was a balanced offense anchored by HOFer Gary Sheffield and a very top heavy veteran rotation led by the criminally underrated Kevin Brown (Livan Hernandez was a rookie that year who didn’t come on until late in the year). He is also mostly forgotten now, but older folks will remember Devon White as the silky smooth CF who is probably best known for being a member of the Blue Jays title teams in the early 90s. The bench was full of guys who hadn’t quite popped yet (and well, Darren Daulton) but would have solid careers in their own right.

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 47
YEAR: 1985
TEAM: Kansas City Royals
TOP WAR: 511.4
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Won World Series over St Louis Cardinals 4-3
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	511.4	47
TOP BATTER WAR	298.1	57
TOP PITCHING WAR	213.3	35
TOTAL WAR	575.2	58
TOTAL BATTER WAR	314.1	62
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	261.1	37
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	63.8	67
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	16	76
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	47.8	32
BATTER AGE	30.43	5
PITCHER AGE	27.57	56
TOP BATTER AGE	30.73	14
TOP PITCHER AGE	26.60	73

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	34	Jim Sundberg	40.5
1B	28	Steve Balboni	0.9
2B	34	Frank White	34.8
SS	27	Onix Concepcion	0.0
3B	32	George Brett	88.6
LF	29	Lonnie Smith	38.5
CF	29	Willie Wilson	46.1
RF	25	Darryl Motley	0.5
DH	39	Hal McRae	27.9
BENCH	34	Jorge Orta	14.9
BENCH	27	Pat Sheridan	5.4

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	28	Charlie Leibrandt	33.3
SP	21	Bret Saberhagen	58.9
SP	23	Danny Jackson	17.1
SP	28	Bud Black	20.9
SP	22	Mark Gubicza	37.4
RP	32	Dan Quisenberry	24.6
RP	30	Joe Beckwith	2.9
RP	25	Mike Jones	-0.1
RP	29	Mike LaCoss	0.2
RP	28	Steve Farr	18.1

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BULLPEN	34	Dennis Leonard	25.7
BULLPEN	37	Larry Gura	21.4
BENCH	32	Omar Moreno	9.6

Comments: The last good Royals team for a generation after basically a full decade of contention (including some epic battles with the Yankees in the 70s and a World Series loss to the Phillies in 1980), and by the looks of that lineup there were some guys who would have fit in very well with the shitty teams that succeeded them. 3 guys in the starting lineup with a career WAR of <1.0 is not exactly something you expect to see form a World Series winner. Then again, it wasn’t like the bench had much better to offer, as Moreno is the only guy above 5.0 there. The starting rotation was very young and pretty well balanced, with rookie phenom Bret Saberhagen leading the way.

[usnspecialist]

Still some of my favorites yet to be ranked, 68 Orioles, 72 A's and the Indians teams in the 90's. Really enjoying this series.

im assuming you mean the 69 Orioles (68 is before the data here, and also would have been the tigers anyway). Also those A's are coming right up....

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 46
YEAR: 1972
TEAM: Oakland Athletics
TOP WAR: 511.7
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Won World Series over Cincinnati Reds 4-3
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	511.7	46
TOP BATTER WAR	315.9	46
TOP PITCHING WAR	195.8	45
TOTAL WAR	708.4	29
TOTAL BATTER WAR	476.4	20
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	232.0	45
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	196.7	6
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	160.5	3
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	36.2	37
BATTER AGE	28.78	36
PITCHER AGE	28.27	40
TOP BATTER AGE	28.09	63
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.80	59

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	26	Dave Duncan	6.5
1B	29	Mike Epstein	12.7
2B	30	Tim Cullen	3.7
SS	30	Bert Campaneris	53.1
3B	28	Sal Bando	61.5
LF	25	Joe Rudi	25.5
CF	26	Reggie Jackson	74.0
RF	25	Angel Mangual	2.1
BENCH	25	Gene Tenace	46.8
BENCH	32	Larry Brown	6.9
BENCH	33	Matty Alou	23.1

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	26	Catfish Hunter	40.9
SP	26	Ken Holtzman	27.3
SP	27	Blue Moon Odom	5.4
SP	22	Vida Blue	45.1
SP	24	Dave Hamilton	3.8
RP	25	Rollie Fingers	25.6
RP	34	Joe Horlen	23.1
RP	34	Bob Locker	10.2
RP	30	Darold Knowles	12.0
RP	30	Gary Waslewski	2.4

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	34	Orlando Cepeda	50.1
BENCH	22	George Hendrick	29.1
BENCH	34	Don Mincher	23.1
BULLPEN	28	Denny McLain	19.3
BENCH	31	Dick Green	16.0
BULLPEN	34	Diego Segui	12.6
BENCH	28	Curt Biefary	11.0
BENCH	28	Ollie Brown	10.4

Comments: The first of the 3 peat Athletics, this is also their best team on paper. The starting rotation is mostly unchanged from previous entries on this list (although the bullpen was of higher quality), and a lot of the offensive names remain the same. What gives this team a boost is having Matty Alou instead of his brother Jesus (who featured on the subsequent teams), as that bought them an extra 22 WAR. This garbage WAR total seems impressive from the offensive side, but a bulk of that is from 3 pinch hit appearances from Orlando Cepada (acquired in a mid-season trade for Denny McLain), before he had to have season ending surgery. Other than that it was a solid deep bench, but nothing unlike what we have seen from prior teams.

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 45
YEAR: 1979
TEAM: Baltimore Orioles
TOP WAR: 524.6
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series to Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	524.6	45
TOP BATTER WAR	314.6	47
TOP PITCHING WAR	210.0	37
TOTAL WAR	554.6	62
TOTAL BATTER WAR	345.2	57
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	209.4	54
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	30	80
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	30.6	67
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	-0.6	80
BATTER AGE	28.86	34
PITCHER AGE	26.42	76
TOP BATTER AGE	29.27	40
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.00	70

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	29	Rick Dempsey	25.1
1B	23	Eddie Murray	68.7
2B	26	Rich Dauer	14.4
SS	25	Kiko Garcia	4.9
3B	28	Doug DiCinces	41.7
LF	24	Gary Roenicke	15.4
CF	32	Al Bumbry	24.5
RF	32	Ken Singleton	41.8
DH	36	Lee May	27.2
BENCH	35	Mark Belanger	40.9
BENCH	32	John Lowenstein	10.0

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	25	Dennis Martinez	48.7
SP	27	Mike Flanagan	25.5
SP	31	Steve Stone	17.1
SP	25	Scott McGregor	20.2
SP	33	Jim Palmer	68.5
RP	28	Don Stanhouse	5.7
RP	24	Sammy Stewart	10.0
RP	29	Tippy Martinez	8.6
RP	26	Tim Stoddard	4.6
RP	22	Dave Ford	1.1

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	34	Pat Kelly	11.7
BULLPEN	23	Jeff Rineer	0.1

Comments: A relatively balanced but shallow team (there were only 12 pitchers on the roster this entire season, and rineer is the only one not already mentioned who had a positive career WAR), this Orioles team took the We Are Family Pirates to 7 before falling. The offense was solid at every position except SS (which a certain Ironman would fill in a few years time), as the headliner there was a young future HOFer in Eddie Murray. The rotation was relatively balanced agewise, with Jim Palmer on the backend of his career and El Presidente Dennis Martinez as the ace. Martinez wasn’t nearly as good as his brother, but he had a pretty damn good career in his own right. Steve Stone also featured before going on to become a well known broadcaster on both sides of Chicago a generation later.

[Dington]

RANK: 45
YEAR: 1979
TEAM: Baltimore Orioles
TOP WAR: 524.6
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series to Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	524.6	45
TOP BATTER WAR	314.6	47
TOP PITCHING WAR	210.0	37
TOTAL WAR	554.6	62
TOTAL BATTER WAR	345.2	57
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	209.4	54
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	30	80
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	30.6	67
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	-0.6	80
BATTER AGE	28.86	34
PITCHER AGE	26.42	76
TOP BATTER AGE	29.27	40
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.00	70

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	29	Rick Dempsey	25.1
1B	23	Eddie Murray	68.7
2B	26	Rich Dauer	14.4
SS	25	Kiko Garcia	4.9
3B	28	Doug DiCinces	41.7
LF	24	Gary Roenicke	15.4
CF	32	Al Bumbry	24.5
RF	32	Ken Singleton	41.8
DH	36	Lee May	27.2
BENCH	35	Mark Belanger	40.9
BENCH	32	John Lowenstein	10.0

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	25	Dennis Martinez	48.7
SP	27	Mike Flanagan	25.5
SP	31	Steve Stone	17.1
SP	25	Scott McGregor	20.2
SP	33	Jim Palmer	68.5
RP	28	Don Stanhouse	5.7
RP	24	Sammy Stewart	10.0
RP	29	Tippy Martinez	8.6
RP	26	Tim Stoddard	4.6
RP	22	Dave Ford	1.1

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	34	Pat Kelly	11.7
BULLPEN	23	Jeff Rineer	0.1

Comments: A relatively balanced but shallow team (there were only 12 pitchers on the roster this entire season, and rineer is the only one not already mentioned who had a positive career WAR), this Orioles team took the We Are Family Pirates to 7 before falling. The offense was solid at every position except SS (which a certain Ironman would fill in a few years time), as the headliner there was a young future HOFer in Eddie Murray. The rotation was relatively balanced agewise, with Jim Palmer on the backend of his career and El Presidente Dennis Martinez as the ace. Martinez wasn’t nearly as good as his brother, but he had a pretty damn good career in his own right. Steve Stone also featured before going on to become a well known broadcaster on both sides of Chicago a generation later.

Who was El Presidentes brother?

[Jwalk100]

RANK: 48
YEAR: 1997
TEAM: Florida Marlins
TOP WAR: 508.7
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Won World Series 4-3 over Cleveland Indians
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	508.7	48
TOP BATTER WAR	301.3	56
TOP PITCHING WAR	207.4	40
TOTAL WAR	639.8	41
TOTAL BATTER WAR	404.9	43
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	234.9	43
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	131.1	30
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	103.6	21
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	27.5	49
BATTER AGE	28.00	55
PITCHER AGE	27.53	62
TOP BATTER AGE	29.36	38
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.20	67

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	25	Charles Johnson	22.6
1B	31	Jeff Conine	19.5
2B	21	Luis Castillo	29.1
SS	20	Edgar Rentaria	32.4
3B	34	Bobby Bonilla	30.2
LF	30	Moises Alou	39.9
CF	34	Devon White	47.3
RF	28	Gary Sheffield	60.5
BENCH	38	Jim Eisenreich	13.2
BENCH	28	Kurt Abbot	0.5
BENCH	34	John Cangelosi	6.1

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	32	Kevin Brown	67.8
SP	27	Alex Fernandez	28.5
SP	31	Al Leiter	40.0
SP	23	Tony Saunders	2.7
SP	29	Pat Rapp	9.3
SP	22	Livan Hernandez	30.0
RP	27	Robb Nen	15.0
RP	25	Jay Powell	2.8
RP	34	Dennis Cook	10.7
RP	22	Felix Heredia	0.6

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	24	Cliff Floyd	25.9
BENCH	35	Darren Daulton	23.0
BENCH	26	Craig Counsell	22.4
BENCH	21	Mark Kotsay	21.4
BULLPEN	26	Rick Helling	20.2
BENCH	26	Gregg Zaun	13.7
BENCH	22	Josh Booty	0.0

Comments: The squad best known for being dismantled in the immediate aftermath of their title (only to raise from the ashes 6 years later to win again), the hallmark of this team was a balanced offense anchored by HOFer Gary Sheffield and a very top heavy veteran rotation led by the criminally underrated Kevin Brown (Livan Hernandez was a rookie that year who didn’t come on until late in the year). He is also mostly forgotten now, but older folks will remember Devon White as the silky smooth CF who is probably best known for being a member of the Blue Jays title teams in the early 90s. The bench was full of guys who hadn’t quite popped yet (and well, Darren Daulton) but would have solid careers in their own right.

Josh Booty was a QB at LSU under Nick Saban. He ended up in the NFL for a short time.

[trmmilwwi]

Love this series. The names bring me back for sure. Sheffield (with his gold teeth), Charles Johnson, Saberhagen. My card collecting prime.

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 45
YEAR: 1979
TEAM: Baltimore Orioles
TOP WAR: 524.6
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series to Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	524.6	45
TOP BATTER WAR	314.6	47
TOP PITCHING WAR	210.0	37
TOTAL WAR	554.6	62
TOTAL BATTER WAR	345.2	57
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	209.4	54
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	30	80
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	30.6	67
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	-0.6	80
BATTER AGE	28.86	34
PITCHER AGE	26.42	76
TOP BATTER AGE	29.27	40
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.00	70

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	29	Rick Dempsey	25.1
1B	23	Eddie Murray	68.7
2B	26	Rich Dauer	14.4
SS	25	Kiko Garcia	4.9
3B	28	Doug DiCinces	41.7
LF	24	Gary Roenicke	15.4
CF	32	Al Bumbry	24.5
RF	32	Ken Singleton	41.8
DH	36	Lee May	27.2
BENCH	35	Mark Belanger	40.9
BENCH	32	John Lowenstein	10.0

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	25	Dennis Martinez	48.7
SP	27	Mike Flanagan	25.5
SP	31	Steve Stone	17.1
SP	25	Scott McGregor	20.2
SP	33	Jim Palmer	68.5
RP	28	Don Stanhouse	5.7
RP	24	Sammy Stewart	10.0
RP	29	Tippy Martinez	8.6
RP	26	Tim Stoddard	4.6
RP	22	Dave Ford	1.1

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	34	Pat Kelly	11.7
BULLPEN	23	Jeff Rineer	0.1

Comments: A relatively balanced but shallow team (there were only 12 pitchers on the roster this entire season, and rineer is the only one not already mentioned who had a positive career WAR), this Orioles team took the We Are Family Pirates to 7 before falling. The offense was solid at every position except SS (which a certain Ironman would fill in a few years time), as the headliner there was a young future HOFer in Eddie Murray. The rotation was relatively balanced agewise, with Jim Palmer on the backend of his career and El Presidente Dennis Martinez as the ace. Martinez wasn’t nearly as good as his brother, but he had a pretty damn good career in his own right. Steve Stone also featured before going on to become a well known broadcaster on both sides of Chicago a generation later.

Who was El Presidentes brother?

The greatest right handed pitcher of the last 30 years, Pedro Martinez.

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 48
YEAR: 1997
TEAM: Florida Marlins
TOP WAR: 508.7
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Won World Series 4-3 over Cleveland Indians
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	508.7	48
TOP BATTER WAR	301.3	56
TOP PITCHING WAR	207.4	40
TOTAL WAR	639.8	41
TOTAL BATTER WAR	404.9	43
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	234.9	43
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	131.1	30
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	103.6	21
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	27.5	49
BATTER AGE	28.00	55
PITCHER AGE	27.53	62
TOP BATTER AGE	29.36	38
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.20	67

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	25	Charles Johnson	22.6
1B	31	Jeff Conine	19.5
2B	21	Luis Castillo	29.1
SS	20	Edgar Rentaria	32.4
3B	34	Bobby Bonilla	30.2
LF	30	Moises Alou	39.9
CF	34	Devon White	47.3
RF	28	Gary Sheffield	60.5
BENCH	38	Jim Eisenreich	13.2
BENCH	28	Kurt Abbot	0.5
BENCH	34	John Cangelosi	6.1

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	32	Kevin Brown	67.8
SP	27	Alex Fernandez	28.5
SP	31	Al Leiter	40.0
SP	23	Tony Saunders	2.7
SP	29	Pat Rapp	9.3
SP	22	Livan Hernandez	30.0
RP	27	Robb Nen	15.0
RP	25	Jay Powell	2.8
RP	34	Dennis Cook	10.7
RP	22	Felix Heredia	0.6

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	24	Cliff Floyd	25.9
BENCH	35	Darren Daulton	23.0
BENCH	26	Craig Counsell	22.4
BENCH	21	Mark Kotsay	21.4
BULLPEN	26	Rick Helling	20.2
BENCH	26	Gregg Zaun	13.7
BENCH	22	Josh Booty	0.0

Comments: The squad best known for being dismantled in the immediate aftermath of their title (only to raise from the ashes 6 years later to win again), the hallmark of this team was a balanced offense anchored by HOFer Gary Sheffield and a very top heavy veteran rotation led by the criminally underrated Kevin Brown (Livan Hernandez was a rookie that year who didn’t come on until late in the year). He is also mostly forgotten now, but older folks will remember Devon White as the silky smooth CF who is probably best known for being a member of the Blue Jays title teams in the early 90s. The bench was full of guys who hadn’t quite popped yet (and well, Darren Daulton) but would have solid careers in their own right.

Josh Booty was a QB at LSU under Nick Saban. He ended up in the NFL for a short time.

i meant to mention something about that, which is why i tossed him in there (the "others of note" is basically anyone over 10 WAR and/or people who are well known for other reasons).

[Dington]

RANK: 45
YEAR: 1979
TEAM: Baltimore Orioles
TOP WAR: 524.6
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series to Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	524.6	45
TOP BATTER WAR	314.6	47
TOP PITCHING WAR	210.0	37
TOTAL WAR	554.6	62
TOTAL BATTER WAR	345.2	57
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	209.4	54
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	30	80
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	30.6	67
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	-0.6	80
BATTER AGE	28.86	34
PITCHER AGE	26.42	76
TOP BATTER AGE	29.27	40
TOP PITCHER AGE	27.00	70

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	29	Rick Dempsey	25.1
1B	23	Eddie Murray	68.7
2B	26	Rich Dauer	14.4
SS	25	Kiko Garcia	4.9
3B	28	Doug DiCinces	41.7
LF	24	Gary Roenicke	15.4
CF	32	Al Bumbry	24.5
RF	32	Ken Singleton	41.8
DH	36	Lee May	27.2
BENCH	35	Mark Belanger	40.9
BENCH	32	John Lowenstein	10.0

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	25	Dennis Martinez	48.7
SP	27	Mike Flanagan	25.5
SP	31	Steve Stone	17.1
SP	25	Scott McGregor	20.2
SP	33	Jim Palmer	68.5
RP	28	Don Stanhouse	5.7
RP	24	Sammy Stewart	10.0
RP	29	Tippy Martinez	8.6
RP	26	Tim Stoddard	4.6
RP	22	Dave Ford	1.1

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	34	Pat Kelly	11.7
BULLPEN	23	Jeff Rineer	0.1

Comments: A relatively balanced but shallow team (there were only 12 pitchers on the roster this entire season, and rineer is the only one not already mentioned who had a positive career WAR), this Orioles team took the We Are Family Pirates to 7 before falling. The offense was solid at every position except SS (which a certain Ironman would fill in a few years time), as the headliner there was a young future HOFer in Eddie Murray. The rotation was relatively balanced agewise, with Jim Palmer on the backend of his career and El Presidente Dennis Martinez as the ace. Martinez wasn’t nearly as good as his brother, but he had a pretty damn good career in his own right. Steve Stone also featured before going on to become a well known broadcaster on both sides of Chicago a generation later.

Who was El Presidentes brother?

The greatest right handed pitcher of the last 30 years, Pedro Martinez.

I think you're confusing Ramon and Pedro as brothers. No relation to El Presidente.

[usnspecialist]

Who was El Presidentes brother?

The greatest right handed pitcher of the last 30 years, Pedro Martinez.

I think you're confusing Ramon and Pedro as brothers. No relation to El Presidente.

you think correctly.

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 44
YEAR: 2002
TEAM: San Francisco Giants
TOP WAR: 525.4
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series 4-3 to Anaheim Angels
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	525.4	44
TOP BATTER WAR	401.4	20
TOP PITCHING WAR	124.0	70
TOTAL WAR	631.3	43
TOTAL BATTER WAR	468.0	23
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	163.3	69
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	105.9	46
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	66.6	45
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	39.3	34
BATTER AGE	30.57	4
PITCHER AGE	29.06	25
TOP BATTER AGE	32.45	3
TOP PITCHER AGE	29.50	32

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	37	Benito Santiago	27.4
1B	34	JT Snow	11.0
2B	34	Jeff Kent	55.4
SS	30	Rich Aurilia	18.2
3B	29	David Bell	15.2
LF	37	Barry Bonds	163.0
CF	30	Tsuyoshi Shinjo	3.9
RF	34	Reggie Sanders	39.8
BENCH	35	Kenny Lofton	68.4
BENCH	28	Damon Minor	0.1
BENCH	29	Ramon Martinez	-0.8

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	27	Livan Hernandez	30.0
SP	28	Russ Ortiz	13.2
SP	31	Kirk Rueter	16.3
SP	29	Jason Schmidt	29.5
SP	26	Ryan Jensen	-0.3
RP	32	Robb Nen	15.0
RP	34	Tim Worrel	8.7
RP	29	Felix Rodriguez	8.5
RP	29	Jay Witasick	2.6
RP	30	Chad Zerbe	0.5

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BULLPEN	27	Joe Nathan	26.7
BENCH	31	Bill Mueller	23.9
BENCH	39	Shawon Dunston	11.5

Comments: The one World Series appearance for maybe the greatest hitter of all time (and the first for manager Dusty Baker), and it happened with a group of old dudes. Only 1 lineup member under the age of 30 (David Bell at the ripe old age of 29), and of the 9 starters there is really only other 1 guy worth a historical note in Jeff Kent (although Kenny Lofton off the bench is an incredible weapon historically that deserves FAR more respect than he got). Also if you have a guy in Barry Bonds who basically has 2 HOF careers worth of WAR and you still barely crack the top 1/4 of pennant winning offenses, that is not great for you… The starting rotation is only slightly younger, and full of guys that are pretty “meh”, both at the time and in hindsight.

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 43
YEAR: 1994
TEAM: Chicago White Sox
TOP WAR: 525.7
PLAYOFF RESULTS: NONE (2nd in AL at the time, but New York Yankees were #1 and are well represented from this time)
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	525.7	43
TOP BATTER WAR	342.1	32
TOP PITCHING WAR	183.6	51
TOTAL WAR	563.1	61
TOTAL BATTER WAR	372.8	49
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	190.3	59
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	37.4	77
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	30.7	66
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	6.7	72
BATTER AGE	29.75	19
PITCHER AGE	29.71	15
TOP BATTER AGE	30.00	25
TOP PITCHER AGE	29.50	32

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	30	Ron Karkovice	14.6
1B	26	Frank Thomas	73.8
2B	29	Joey Cora	7.9
SS	30	Ozzie Guillen	20.9
3B	26	Robin Ventura	56.1
LF	34	Tim Raines	69.4
CF	30	Lance Johnson	30.2
RF	30	Darrin Jackson	11.3
DH	35	Julio Franco	43.6
BENCH	33	Mike LaValliere	13.9
BENCH	27	Norberto Martin	0.4

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	28	Jack McDowell	27.8
SP	24	Alex Fernandez	28.5
SP	24	Wilson Alvarez	24.8
SP	23	Jason Bere	3.3
SP	37	Scott Sanderson	27.7
RP	29	Roberto Hernandez	18.5
RP	33	Jose DeLeon	15.0
RP	33	Kirk McCaskill	14.3
RP	31	Dennis Cook	10.7
RP	33	Paul Assenmacher	13.0

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	32	Dan Pasqua	10.7
BENCH	29	Craig Grabeck	10.2
BULLPEN	36	Atlee Hammaker	8.3
BENCH	32	Bob Melvin	2.5

Comments: As mentioned above, the White Sox were not leading the American League at this time (although they were leading the AL West, the Yankees had a better overall record), but I made the executive decision because the Yankees from this generation were VERY well represented later on in this list to get some variety. This was a team that had a lot of promising potential as a good bulk of their lineup and rotation were in the middle of the prime (and they had also made the 1993 ALCS the year before), but they never really came back after the strike with any sort of spark. Anytime a team can have only 1 member of the 10 man rotation and 2 of their top 11 hitters with below 10 WAR, that is a pretty balanced team. As a White Sox fan it would have been fun to see what this team was capable of but alas….

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 42
YEAR: 1972
TEAM: Cincinnati Reds
TOP WAR: 532.8
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series 4-3 to Oakland Athletics
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	532.8	42
TOP BATTER WAR	443.3	8
TOP PITCHING WAR	89.5	81
TOTAL WAR	615.8	46
TOTAL BATTER WAR	502.1	14
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	113.7	80
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	83.0	61
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	58.8	50
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	24.2	53
BATTER AGE	27.33	73
PITCHER AGE	26.23	78
TOP BATTER AGE	26.64	78
TOP PITCHER AGE	25.30	81

TOP HITTERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	24	Johnny Bench	75.2
1B	30	Tony Perez	54.0
2B	28	Joe Morgan	100.5
SS	24	Dave Concepcion	40.1
3B	31	Denis Menke	28.1
LF	31	Pete Rose	79.7
CF	26	Bobby Tolan	10.1
RF	24	Cesar Geronimo	12.9
BENCH	24	Darrel Chaney	-3.4
BENCH	28	Joe Hague	1.9
BENCH	23	George Foster	44.2

TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
SP	29	Jack Billingham	7.4
SP	22	Ross Grimsley	5.1
SP	24	Gary Nolan	25.9
SP	28	Jim McGlothlin	6.3
SP	21	Don Gullett	18.2
RP	23	Wayne Simpson	-1.0
RP	31	Clay Carroll	17.7
RP	24	Tom Hall	5.9
RP	25	Pedro Borbon	5.2
RP	26	Ed Sprague	-1.2

OTHERS OF NOTE:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
BENCH	26	Hal McRae	27.9
BENCH	24	Bernie Carbo	18.4
BULLPEN	28	Jim Merritt	16.1
BENCH	35	Julian Javier	13.9

Comments: Holy unbalanced team batman. Meet the 2nd worst pitching staff of any pennant winning team covered (and spoiler alert, it finished 0.1 ahead of another Reds team from this era). The Big Red Machine was clearly focused around offense, and in that the did VERY well. 3 HOFers (Bench, Perez, Morgan) plus Pete Rose, not to mention guys like George Foster and Dave Concepcion who didn’t exactly suck either. The pitching staff on the other hand, featured almost as many guys with 10+ WAR (3) as negative WAR (2) which is not exactly ideal. This team also wraps up the bottom half of our list, we are halfway there folks!!

[RonCo]

RANK: 44
YEAR: 2002
TEAM: San Francisco Giants
TOP WAR: 525.4
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series 4-3 to Anaheim Angels


TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	37	Benito Santiago	27.4
1B	34	JT Snow	11.0
2B	34	Jeff Kent	55.4
SS	30	Rich Aurilia	18.2
3B	29	David Bell	15.2
LF	37	Barry Bonds	163.0
CF	30	Tsuyoshi Shinjo	3.9
RF	34	Reggie Sanders	39.8
BENCH	35	Kenny Lofton	68.4
BENCH	28	Damon Minor	0.1
BENCH	29	Ramon Martinez	-0.8

Dang ... another double-paste.

No pitchers!

Aside: It's annoying that Bonds did the stuff because he'd be in just based on his first career. Dummy.

[RonCo]

Comments: As mentioned above, the White Sox were not leading the American League at this time (although they were leading the AL West, the Yankees had a better overall record), but I made the executive decision because the Yankees from this generation were VERY well represented later on in this list to get some variety. This was a team that had a lot of promising potential as a good bulk of their lineup and rotation were in the middle of the prime (and they had also made the 1993 ALCS the year before), but they never really came back after the strike with any sort of spark. Anytime a team can have only 1 member of the 10 man rotation and 2 of their top 11 hitters with below 10 WAR, that is a pretty balanced team. As a White Sox fan it would have been fun to see what this team was capable of but alas….

Yeah, it would have been great to see an older Tim Raines get another shot here. The strike year has the same "what if" kind of feel as the pandemic year. Yes, the Dodgers got their World Series out of it, but we got robbed of the full story that a real season allows.

[RonCo]

RANK: 42
YEAR: 1972
TEAM: Cincinnati Reds
TOP WAR: 532.8
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series 4-3 to Oakland Athletics
TOTALS:

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
TOP TOTAL WAR	532.8	42
TOP BATTER WAR	443.3	8
TOP PITCHING WAR	89.5	81
TOTAL WAR	615.8	46
TOTAL BATTER WAR	502.1	14
TOTAL PITCHER WAR	113.7	80
GARBAGE TOTAL WAR	83.0	61
GARBAGE BATTER WAR	58.8	50
GARBAGE PITCHER WAR	24.2	53
BATTER AGE	27.33	73
PITCHER AGE	26.23	78
TOP BATTER AGE	26.64	78
TOP PITCHER AGE	25.30	81

Comments: Holy unbalanced team batman. Meet the 2nd worst pitching staff of any pennant winning team covered (and spoiler alert, it finished 0.1 ahead of another Reds team from this era). The Big Red Machine was clearly focused around offense, and in that the did VERY well. 3 HOFers (Bench, Perez, Morgan) plus Pete Rose, not to mention guys like George Foster and Dave Concepcion who didn’t exactly suck either. The pitching staff on the other hand, featured almost as many guys with 10+ WAR (3) as negative WAR (2) which is not exactly ideal. This team also wraps up the bottom half of our list, we are halfway there folks!!

As a kid living in the area and following the Big Red Machine, I can say that (1) Hell to the Yes on the Offense, but (2) while the staff rarely had mega-career pitchers, they were full of guys who were at their peaks...meaning whatever WAR their careers had were being created in those moments. That's perhaps a sign of a good front office and/or scouting/coaching staff. Maybe?

Per BBRef, the Reds' staff was third in the league in ERA that year, anyway.

Regardless, the Reds could always hit.

[usnspecialist]

Comments: As mentioned above, the White Sox were not leading the American League at this time (although they were leading the AL West, the Yankees had a better overall record), but I made the executive decision because the Yankees from this generation were VERY well represented later on in this list to get some variety. This was a team that had a lot of promising potential as a good bulk of their lineup and rotation were in the middle of the prime (and they had also made the 1993 ALCS the year before), but they never really came back after the strike with any sort of spark. Anytime a team can have only 1 member of the 10 man rotation and 2 of their top 11 hitters with below 10 WAR, that is a pretty balanced team. As a White Sox fan it would have been fun to see what this team was capable of but alas….

Yeah, it would have been great to see an older Tim Raines get another shot here. The strike year has the same "what if" kind of feel as the pandemic year. Yes, the Dodgers got their World Series out of it, but we got robbed of the full story that a real season allows.

raines actually DID get a ring with the yankees a few years later, albeit in a supporting role (he was actually 11th on that team, so he will count towards their stats for the purposes of this).

[usnspecialist]

RANK: 44
YEAR: 2002
TEAM: San Francisco Giants
TOP WAR: 525.4
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lost World Series 4-3 to Anaheim Angels


TOP PITCHERS:

POSITION	AGE	NAME	WAR
C	37	Benito Santiago	27.4
1B	34	JT Snow	11.0
2B	34	Jeff Kent	55.4
SS	30	Rich Aurilia	18.2
3B	29	David Bell	15.2
LF	37	Barry Bonds	163.0
CF	30	Tsuyoshi Shinjo	3.9
RF	34	Reggie Sanders	39.8
BENCH	35	Kenny Lofton	68.4
BENCH	28	Damon Minor	0.1
BENCH	29	Ramon Martinez	-0.8

Dang ... another double-paste.

No pitchers!

Aside: It's annoying that Bonds did the stuff because he'd be in just based on his first career. Dummy.

fixed but as you see the pitchers aren't really much to look at anyway...