I know. The 2001 Mariners went 116-46. They won more games in the regular season than the 1998 Yankees. But they didn’t get it done. They escaped the Indians in the first round and then lost….big….4 games to 1….to the Yanks in the ALCS.
So when we look at the greatest teams in our lifetimes, who is on top? The first season I remember was 1967, so I would have to start there. The 1969-1971 Orioles come to mind but there is one problem. They SHOULD have won three consecutive Series. They did not. They lost the 1969 WS to the Amazin’s. They lost in 1971 to the Buccos. The 1972-1974 A’s won three in a row—the only team other than the Yanks to do so. They had Reggie, Bando, Campy and a nice pitching situation of Hunter, Holtzman, Blue and Fingers. But they were extended to 7 games by the 82-79 1973 Mets for goodness sake. The Big Red Machine? Definitely. But the Reds are hurt by losing to the Orioles in 1970, the A’s in 1972 and the Mets in 1973 before breaking through in 1975 and 1976. Still (see previous post of back to back WS champs. Only three came from the NL, and the 1975-1976 Reds were probably the best of those NL teams)… the Mets were the dynasty that never were. 1986, but….they blew it to an inferior team in 1988 and never became what they should have been.
But the 1996-2003 Yanks? 4 WS titles. 6 WS in 8 years. A three-peat that was one inning away from “foreplay.” And in the middle of it all was the 1998 team. A team that went 114-48, then 11-2 in the postseason. The best of the bunch. An OPS+ of 116. An ERA+ of 117. In a season dominated by McGwire’s 70, Sosa’s 66 and even Greg Vaughn hitting 50, all they did was win…in every way. No 30 HR hitter, but enough balance all around. The right mix of power, speed, age, defense, pitching. The right ages.
C Jorge Posada. 26. .268-17-63 in a platoon role. OPS+ 115.
1B Tino. 29. .281-28-123. OPS+ 124.
2B Knobby. 30. Granted there are questions here. .265-17-64-31 OPS+ 102. Ok, just average, and the throwing problems didn’t kick in until 1999. Lower average than expected. More power.
SS Jeter. 24. 3rd in MVP voting. .324-19-84-30. OPS+ 127.
3B Brosious 31. WS MVP. Career year. .300-19-98-11-121
LF Curtis. 29. .243-10-56-21-90 (The weak link if you will, but a true CF that filled CF very adequately for Bernie when Bernie missed six weeks with a knee injury).
CF Bernie 29. The batting champ. .339-26-97-15 and missed six weeks. OPS+ a super 160.
RF O’Neill 35. The old man. .317-24-116-15. OPS+ 130.
DH Darryl. 36. Another “old guy” .247-24-57, OPS+ 132. The HR came in less than 300 AB.
Bench. Absolutely phenomenal.
Spencer. 26 What a month of September he had. .373-10-27 in just 67 AB. OPS+ 236!!!
Bush. 25 Good old Homer only had 71 AB and hit .380. A 134 OPS+
Raines. 38 .290-5-47 107
Girardi 33 .276-3-31 85 (for a backup C, 85 isn’t bad. Compare that to Molina’s OPS+ of 53 for this year).
Sojo 33 .231-0-14 OPS+ 37 (ok weak link, but compared to the rest….)
Chili Davis 38. Injuries limited him to 103 AB. .291-3-9 OPS+ 116.
Ledee 24. WS hero had just 79 AB. .241-1-12. OPS+ 81.
Pitching.
Cone 35 20-7, 3.55 ERA+ 124
Wells, 35 18-4, 3.49, 127
Pettitte (weak link in the rotation?) 26 16-11, 4.24, 104
El Duque 32 (not brought up until midseason) 12-4, 3.13, 141
Irabu 29 (they won 114 despite this guy. Now THAT is good)…13-9, 4.06. 109. Didn’t even pitch in the postseason.
Rivera. 28 3-0, 1.91, 36 saves. 232. Typical Mo. ERA+ 232.
Stanton 31 4-1, 6 saves, 5.47. 81. A lousy year.
Nelson 31 5-3, 3.79 3 saves, 117.
Mendoza 26 10-2, 3.25, 136
Lloyd 31 3-0, 1.67 264
Holmes 32 0-3, 3.33 2 saves 133
Buddie 27 4-1, 5.62 79
There are others. But check the ages. Check the OPS+ and ERA+. Not too much age. Not too many “weak links”. Not a lot of power, but look at the speed and OPS+ again. Balance. A team that started 1-3 and the next thing you knew, was 61-20 at the midpoint.
Probably the greatest team of our lifetimes.
1 response so far ↓
1 Jason // Oct 25, 2008 at 9:38 am
The 1998 Yankees were far and away the greatest team in my lifetime, in my opinion. Sterling is right when he discusses baseball in terms different from other sports because he rightly locates the dynamics of pitching in changing the lineup, and therefore a team’s chances, on a daily basis. The 1995-96 Bulls winning 72 were truly great, and they were maybe the second or third-best team on my list of best teams in my lifetime, but they could trot out the same lineup night after night. Being built around a superstar in Jordan, Pippen in his prime, and a specialist rebounding, defensive pest in Rodman didn’t hurt, either. Also impressive were the 2002-2004 UConn women’s basketball (winning 3 straight titles and 70 straight games), and Tennessee Lady Vols’ winning 3 straight titles from 1996-1998. They lost some players but had core groups for a few successful, consecutive years. But Baseball’s different. Hockey had its greats. The 1976-77 Canadiens went a ridiculous 60-8-12, but had mostly the same lineup, and Dryden played in 56 games–not a lot for goalies, but most of the games. The Oilers from 1983/84-1987/88 were dominant also, and hockey might never again see a team with that much talent for that long with free agency. But hockey is similar to other team sports and unlike baseball. Players don’t need to sit to rest and recuperate as pitchers do.
I think one of the greatest things about the 1998 Yankees were how they were forced to play with five different left fielders due to injuries but also depth. Injuries forced the team to find solutions, and everyone who played produced–really for the whole team but LF was a microcosm for that year. Spencer and El Duque’s (for the staff) arrivals sealed the deal. One of my all-time favorite signs, at Yankee Stadium or anywhere, was in late September. During the heat of the (in all likelihood steroid-driven) home-run chase, someone hung a sign: “McGwire 68, Sosa 66, Spencer 9.” Hilarious.
The 1998 Yankees had it all and played with a passion–a certain ANGER after failing to defend in 1997–on a daily basis that the current Yankees should emulate. Talent and sheer depth had much to do with those great late 1990s Yankees teams. So did attitude and comportment. There was a buzz about the Yankees entering 1998 that they were more than a little miffed at themselves for how 1997 ended. The beginning of 1998 only fanned those inner flames, and that fire never went out in that team. Once the Yankees started ripping off chunks of winning streaks, everyone else was playing for second.
That was our dynasty, Mike. Damn proud of it, too.
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