1988 New Orleans Crawdads
Four years after the 1984 Crawdads cracked my list at the #8 spot, the 1988 Crawdads out did that squad and ranked in at #6. Just to ruin any suspense, these two teams are the only two from within the same franchise to make our list twice. From here on out, you'll be reading about a different franchise. There will be obvious debate here as to which of these teams was actually better since they rank so closely to one another. So why is the 88 team better than the 84 team in my opinion? Well, the '88 team had a better record and had a better run differential for starters. The 1988 team had an easier time winning the title as well. So those are just two reasons.
The 1988 Crawdads scored 841 runs, 14 fewer runs than they had scored in 1984 but was still good enough for 2nd in the JL and 3rd overall in the MBWBA. The club was just 47 runs shy of leading the entire league in runs scored so the margin wasn't all that great. The offense was led by hall of famer Sawyer Silk who hit .318/.424/.689 with 46 homeruns and 139 RBI. Silk was 1 year removed from his magical 1987 season that I ranked as the 3rd best offensive season in MBWBA history. While Silk dominated the '87 season, his team did not win the title. He used that fuel to carry the club to its 3rd Landis Championship in 1988. Silk's 140 runs scored ranks as the 7th most run in a single season in league history, trailing his '87 standard of 166. Nolan Berran and Dave Sax provided protection for Silk in the lineup. Neither posted stats anywhere near Silk's, but helped provide punch to the offense. Both posted over 80 RBI and an OPS over .800.
Pitching is where the Crawdads owned the league. Their 598 runs allowed led the Frick League in 1988 and was 21 runs away from leading the entire league in runs scored. The Crawdads +243 run differential ranked as the 5th best run differential of any championship team. All 4 of those teams will rank above the 1988 team on this list. Only 1 team left on my list had a slightly lower run differential than the '88 Dads. The pitching rotation was led by the two-headed monster of Henry Ellis and Bill Max. Ellis finished the year 22-6 with 2.75 ERA and 222 strikeouts. Max also won 22 games, going 22-5 with a 2.91 ERA and 144 strikeouts. The bullpen was anchored by Gunga Oogalagunga who posted a career high 47 saves in 1988. His 47 saves and 2.12 ERA were the best of his career. It would also be the final time he'd post an ERA under 3.60 in full time action ever again. And in 1988, Gunga was only 25. Can someone explain to me again how he's the guy we idolize our relievers after? Nevermind, I'm getting diverted from the topic here.
The 1988 Crawdads completed the regular season with a 108-54 regular season record. Their 108 wins were the 4th most of any Landis winner in MBWBA history. Only the 116 Louisville Sluggers team won more games in 1988 than did the Crawdads. And for one of the rare times it seems to work out, these two teams would meet each other in the Landis Series. New Orleans cruised through the opening two rounds, disposing of Long Beach 3 games to 1. In the Cartwright Cup Series, the Crawdads would take down Vegas in 6, winning 4 games to 2. Louisville needed 1 less game to reach the Landis and with both teams on full rest, many expected an epic Landis Series. No one expected what actually happened. The Sluggers and their 116 regular season wins proved to be no match for the Crawdads who swept the Sluggers in 4 games to capture the Landis Cup.
Major Award Winners:
Three: Sawyer Silk (Owner's Choice: Hitter Award), Henry Ellis (Owner's Choice: Pitching Award), Gunga Oogalagunga (Owner's Choice: Reliever Award)
Fielding Awards:
One: Randy McClement (Catcher)
All-Stars:
Three: Sawyer Silk, Bill Max, and Gunga Oogalagunga
Hall of Famers:
Four: Bill Max, Sawyer Silk, Gunga Oogalagunga, and Benjamin Caldwell
So to recap the comparisons of the '84 and '88 teams. The '88 team had more award winners. The '84 team had more all-stars. The two teams had the same Hall of Fame players and the same number of fielding winners. Considering Silk was putting up better stats in '88, Gunga was at his best, the pitching staff had two 22 game winners, and won more games overall, I felt it was the better of the two squads and ranks as the 6th best Championship team of all-time.
Top 9 Championship Teams
#9 1980 Louisville Sluggers
#8 1984 New Orleans Crawdads
#7 1995 Chicago Black Sox
