IX. The Strongest Franchises Of Early Baseball
We have finally reached the point at which we can begin to suggest answers to the practical questions which are the point of this exercise. If the Yankees are the strongest team of baseball history (if? IF??), when did they become so? How far ahead are they? Who is second? Who is weakest? Is there any realistic chance that any other team could ever catch the Yankees?
Of course my answers to these questions are just estimates. The thing is. ..well, who else has estimates at all? Who else writes about these kind of issues? These are interesting questions; this is my effort to suggest how they might be answered. That’s all it is.
The National League started in 1876. The National League was a re-organized version of an earlier league, the National Association, which had played from 1871 to 1875. In recent years it has become popular to try to treat the National Association as “major league” baseball. The view of the author is that none of it is major league baseball; the “major league” baseball of 1889 does not resemble major league baseball in any way, shape or form, does not meet any standard or test of “major league” status, and cannot reasonably be described as major league ball. The National Association doesn’t meet the standards of a good High School League. This is not hyperbole; it doesn’t.
But. . .that’s neither here nor there. The history and legacy of the Chicago Cubs undeniably traces back to 1876, and arguably before then, but we’ll treat the Cubs of 1876 as a clean start.
By 1880 there were seven teams in the National League, of which the Cubs and the Boston Braves were by far the strongest:
1880
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
5.1
|
1880
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
4.8
|
1880
|
Providence
|
Grays
|
NL
|
2.3
|
1880
|
Cincinnati
|
Red Stockings
|
NL
|
1.8
|
1880
|
Cleveland
|
Blues
|
NL
|
1.3
|
1880
|
Buffalo
|
Bisons
|
NL
|
1.2
|
1880
|
Troy
|
Trojans
|
NL
|
0.8
|
1880
|
Worcester
|
Ruby Legs
|
NL
|
0.8
|
1880
|
TOTAL STRENGTH
|
|
|
18.01
|
1880
|
AVERAGE STRENGTH
|
|
|
2.25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There were also seven defunct teams by then, but all of them, having come and gone very quickly, were legally dead by 1880.
Baseball in 1880 was at a very primitive state, as indicated by that “18.0” number. Games rarely drew crowds as large as 1,000 fans. Teams had one pitcher, or two, and often the one pitcher was a 19-year-old kid, or 20 or 21. Players were just starting to wear gloves. It wasn’t really anything like major league baseball is now.
In 1880 the Cubs went 67-17, winning the National League in a walk. By that time Cap Anson had pioneered the practice of stealing the best players from other leagues—the practice that ultimately made the National League the “major” league. It had also put the Chicago team ahead of the other National League teams, where they would stay for the first half of the 1880s. The success of baseball in Chicago had proved the economic viability of baseball as a spectator sport, and other leagues were organizing all around the country to get in on the action. Throughout the 1880s, many of these teams and leagues made an effort to match the stature of the National League.
The most successful rival league was the American Association, and the most successful team in the American Association was the St. Louis team managed by Charles Comiskey. The St. Louis and Chicago teams played some post-season series which were kind of half-assed World Series, and these two teams emerged as the teams with the strongest traditions.
In 1890 the players organized a union, and started their own league, the Players League. The teams in the Players League had no history or tradition, but they played. In 1890 there were 25 “active” major league teams, as one team replaced another in mid-season. The strongest of those franchises are the ones that still survive today:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1890
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
18.7
|
1890
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
AA
|
15.4
|
1890
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
15.3
|
1890
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
11.9
|
1890
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
11.5
|
1890
|
Philadelphia
|
Athletics
|
AA
|
10.5
|
1890
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
10.1
|
1890
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
AA
|
8.9
|
1890
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
8.9
|
1890
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AA
|
6.5
|
1890
|
Cleveland
|
Spiders
|
NL
|
4.0
|
1890
|
New York
|
Giants
|
PL
|
3.8
|
1890
|
Pittsburgh
|
Burghers
|
PL
|
2.9
|
1890
|
Columbus
|
Buckeyes
|
AA
|
2.8
|
1890
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
2.7
|
1890
|
Buffalo
|
Bisons
|
PL
|
2.5
|
1890
|
Boston
|
Red Stockings
|
PL
|
2.0
|
1890
|
Brooklyn
|
Wonders
|
PL
|
1.7
|
1890
|
Chicago
|
Pirates
|
PL
|
1.6
|
1890
|
Philadelphia
|
Quakers
|
PL
|
1.4
|
1890
|
Toledo
|
Maumees
|
AA
|
1.4
|
1890
|
Rochester
|
Hop-Bitters
|
AA
|
1.3
|
1890
|
Syracuse
|
Stars
|
AA
|
1.1
|
1890
|
Cleveland
|
Infants
|
PL
|
0.9
|
1890
|
Brooklyn
|
Gladiators
|
AA
|
0.1
|
The Cleveland Infants and Brooklyn Gladiators were new teams that were declared legally dead as soon as the season was over. Three other teams were inactive in 1890 but still alive in memory:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1890
|
Detroit
|
Wolverines
|
NL
|
3.7
|
1890
|
Providence
|
Grays
|
NL
|
3.7
|
1890
|
St. Louis
|
Maroons
|
NL
|
1.4
|
And two other teams lived into 1890 (in spirit) but died after that horrible season:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
|
1890
|
Indiana
|
Hoosiers
|
NL
|
0.9
|
Legally Dead
|
1890
|
Kansas City
|
Cowboys
|
AA
|
0.6
|
Legally Dead
|
In 1880 the total historical strength of the existing franchises was 18.01 stakes. In 1890 it was 156.99 stakes. Baseball had grown enormously during those ten years.
Still, 1890 was a horrible season because the Players League divided the players, divided the loyalties of the fans, created confused identities, and everybody lost a lot of money. In all likelihood fewer people attended baseball games in 1890 than had in 1889, and there were more teams to split the audience. It was a tough summer, and the Players League folded at the end of the year.
After the 1891 season the American Association and the National League folded into one twelve-team league. The twelve-team league didn’t work well. There were interlocking ownership arrangements, with the same people owning shares in several different teams. The owners moved players around to re-pay debts among themselves or to amuse themselves, causing the league to divide into strong teams and extremely weak, non-competitive teams. After the 1899 season four of the weak, non-competitive teams were dropped from the league by agreement among the owners.
The Boston Braves and the Baltimore Orioles were the great teams of the 1890s. As the Braves came into the decade with a tradition already in place, by 1900 the Braves were the strongest team in baseball history:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1900
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
29.2
|
1900
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
26.1
|
1900
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
21.5
|
1900
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
21.3
|
1900
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
20.6
|
1900
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
20.3
|
1900
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
18.4
|
1900
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
14.7
|
|
|
21.5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Although the Baltimore Orioles had been one of the glamour teams of the 1890s, they did not survive the cut in 1899. As best I understand this, each “cabal” of owners agreed to cut one of their weak teams. The people who owned the Baltimore Orioles also owned the Brooklyn team, and they placed their bet on Brooklyn, agreeing to cut out Baltimore.
The two leagues (the National League and American Association) in 1891 had unified in an effort to create a monopoly. The monopoly failed because of the poor ownership arrangements, so that whereas the 1880s were a great decade for baseball, a boom decade, and the early 1890s were a continuation of that boom, the late 1890s (1897-1899) were ugly and unhealthy.
In addition to the eight “active” teams, there were nine other teams in 1900 that were alive in memory although they were no longer playing:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1900
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
NL
|
9.5
|
1900
|
Cleveland
|
Spiders
|
NL
|
6.9
|
1900
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
NL
|
6.1
|
1900
|
Philadelphia
|
Athletics
|
AA
|
4.5
|
1900
|
Detroit
|
Wolverines
|
NL
|
2.7
|
1900
|
Providence
|
Grays
|
NL
|
2.7
|
1900
|
Columbus
|
Buckeyes
|
AA
|
1.4
|
1900
|
New York
|
Metropolitians
|
AA
|
1.4
|
1900
|
Pittsburgh
|
Burghers
|
PL
|
1.3
|
1900
|
Boston
|
Red Stockings
|
AA
|
1.3
|
1900
|
St. Louis
|
Maroons
|
NL
|
1.1
|
But the total strength of all the franchises in 1900 (including the nine inactive ones) was 172.12, barely up from 1890 (156.99).
The American League declared itself a major league competitor in 1901. The National League, by trying to consolidate its monopoly, had unwittingly fed its new competitor. The American League teams picked up the legacies discarded by the nine teams listed above—a new Baltimore Orioles team in Baltimore, a new team in Cleveland, in Philadelphia, in Detroit, in Boston and in St. Louis (in 1902). All of these teams picked up the legacies of inactive teams.
Still, the “real” National League teams were well ahead in terms of having an established fan base and a going business, and by 1910 the National League teams remained far ahead. The powerhouse teams of the decade were the Cubs with Tinker, Evers and Chance, the Giants with Mathewson and McGinnity, and the Pirates with Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1910
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
48.0
|
1910
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
37.1
|
1910
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
35.7
|
1910
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
28.5
|
1910
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
28.0
|
1910
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
27.2
|
1910
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
25.0
|
1910
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
24.1
|
1910
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
20.7
|
1910
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
19.9
|
1910
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
19.1
|
1910
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
19.0
|
1910
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
16.4
|
1910
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
15.4
|
1910
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
10.3
|
1910
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
8.1
|
Average Strength of Existing Teams:
|
|
23.9
|
The average strength of an existing team, you will note, had increased very little during these ten years, but as there were twice as many active teams, the total strength had shot up, including the four franchises that lived on in memory, to 397.1:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1910
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
NL
|
7.0
|
1910
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
NL
|
4.5
|
1910
|
Providence
|
Grays
|
NL
|
2.0
|
1910
|
Columbus
|
Buckeyes
|
AA
|
1.1
|
|
TOTAL :
|
|
|
397.1
|
The Cubs’ era of greatness ended early in the next decade, but they were so far ahead in 1910 that it would take some years for anyone to catch up. By 1920, however, they had rivals:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1920
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
50.1
|
1920
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
47.9
|
1920
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
45.2
|
1920
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
38.7
|
1920
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
38.0
|
1920
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
35.9
|
1920
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
35.6
|
1920
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
35.3
|
1920
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
33.2
|
1920
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
33.0
|
1920
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
30.4
|
1920
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
25.7
|
1920
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
25.5
|
1920
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
23.4
|
1920
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
19.3
|
1920
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
16.7
|
Average Strength of Existing Franchises:
|
33.4
|
The National League teams were still richer, had a longer history and tradition, but the difference was receding in memory, and it was receding more rapidly because the American League won the World Series almost every year. The Red Sox won the World Series in 1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918. Other American League teams won in 1911, 1913, 1917 and 1920. The American League was “creating history” at a much faster pace.
The weakest teams in 1920 were the Browns and the Washington Senators—teams that would remain weak, generally speaking, over the next several decades. Just ahead of them, however, were two teams that would soon begin to make some more positive history: the Yankees and the Cardinals.
Meanwhile, another rival league had come and gone. The Federal League played in 1913, and claimed major league status in 1914-1915. As had happened in 1890, the existence of too many teams competing head to head—three teams in St. Louis, three teams in Chicago, two in Pittsburgh—confused the fans and resulted in fewer fans attending the games, even as there were more players to support. The league folded but lived on in a lawsuit, and in Wrigley Field. Wrigley Field—you probably know this—was built for the Chicago Whales, and baseball’s anti-trust exemption grew out of a suit filed by Federal League owners who were cut out of the 1916 settlement between the leagues. Because of the Federal League there were nine “inactive but still living” teams in 1920:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1920
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
NL
|
5.2
|
1920
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
NL
|
3.3
|
1920
|
Chicago
|
Whales
|
FL
|
1.6
|
1920
|
Providence
|
Grays
|
NL
|
1.5
|
1920
|
Buffalo
|
Buffeds
|
FL
|
1.3
|
1920
|
Pittsburgh
|
Rebels
|
FL
|
1.3
|
1920
|
St. Louis
|
Terriers
|
FL
|
1.2
|
1920
|
Kansas City
|
Packers
|
FL
|
1.2
|
1920
|
Brooklyn
|
Tip-Tops
|
FL
|
1.2
|
Total Strength of all "living" franchises:
|
|
551.5
|
X. The Era of Stability
There is a phrase you often hear, “The sixteen original franchises”. I don’t much care for the phrase, which supposes that baseball history began where our memories begin. There are, of course, not sixteen “original” franchises, at all. There were, up to 1960, sixteen survivors of a long war in which many more than sixteen teams were killed. Still, we know to what the phrase refers, and so I’ll use it.
The New York Giants won the World Series in 1921. By so doing, the Giants passed the Cubs as the strongest franchise of baseball history. They would hold that position for the rest of the decade. The Yankees, meanwhile, were charging up the list:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1930
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
58.8
|
1930
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
52.5
|
1930
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
52.1
|
1930
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
50.1
|
1930
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
49.5
|
1930
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
41.9
|
1930
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
41.5
|
1930
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
39.3
|
1930
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
37.8
|
1930
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
36.9
|
1930
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
35.5
|
1930
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
34.4
|
1930
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
33.7
|
1930
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
32.5
|
1930
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
30.4
|
1930
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
25.0
|
AVERAGE OF ACTIVE TEAMS:
|
40.7
|
And five of the defunct franchises continued to live on:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1930
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
NL
|
3.8
|
1930
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
NL
|
2.4
|
1930
|
Chicago
|
Whales
|
FL
|
1.2
|
1930
|
Providence
|
Grays
|
NL
|
1.1
|
1930
|
Buffalo
|
Buffeds
|
FL
|
1.0
|
TOTAL STRENGTH OF ALL FRANCHISES:
|
661.5
|
Now then, one of our relevant questions. When did the Yankees ascend to the position of the greatest team through baseball history?
1937. The Yankees won the World Series in 1932 and 1936, which pushed them up to second place on the all-time list—and the Cardinals, winning the World Series in 1931 and 1934, had moved up to fourth:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1936
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
64.6
|
1936
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
63.6
|
1936
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
55.0
|
1936
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
53.0
|
In 1937 the Yankees and the Giants met in the World Series, as they had in 1936. Had the Giants been able to beat the Yankees, they would have solidified their hold as the greatest franchise in baseball history. Instead, the Yankees destroyed them in five games (8-1, 8-1, 5-1, 3-7, 4-2), and the Yankees took the lead chair. There they remain, 73 years later. By 1940, World Series triumphs in 1938 and 1939 had pushed them well ahead:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1940
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
79.6
|
1940
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
63.8
|
1940
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
55.8
|
1940
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
53.6
|
1940
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
51.9
|
1940
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
48.3
|
1940
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
47.4
|
1940
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
44.1
|
1940
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
43.7
|
1940
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
43.6
|
1940
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
38.7
|
1940
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
38.7
|
1940
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
38.4
|
1940
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
36.3
|
1940
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
29.2
|
1940
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
25.3
|
Average Strength of Active Teams:
|
46.1
|
Only two of the inactive franchises still had a pulse:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1940
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
NL
|
2.8
|
1940
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
NL
|
1.8
|
Total Strength of all 18 living franchises:
|
743.0
|
But the Old Orioles were very much alive in the lore of the game. Several of the 1890s Baltimore Orioles became famous managers in the 20th century, and told stories about the Orioles to newspaper writers. The “2.8” figure above understates how “live” the Orioles really were at that time.
The great teams of the 1940s were the St. Louis Cardinals and the Yankees. The Cardinals won the World Series in 1942, 1944 and 1946, the Yankees in 1941, 1943, 1947 and 1949. By 1950 they were the 1-2 teams of baseball history:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1950
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
100.4
|
1950
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
71.7
|
1950
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
59.6
|
1950
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
53.0
|
1950
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
52.9
|
1950
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
51.8
|
1950
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
50.4
|
1950
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
49.2
|
1950
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
46.9
|
1950
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
46.3
|
1950
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
44.6
|
1950
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
39.4
|
1950
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
39.0
|
1950
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
38.5
|
1950
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
30.3
|
1950
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
29.1
|
Average:
|
|
|
50.2
|
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1950
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
NL
|
2.1
|
1950
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
NL
|
1.3
|
Total of active and inactive teams:
|
|
806.6
|
OK, let’s review quickly the bidding. In 1900 the average historical capital of an active major league team was 22 stakes. In 1910 it was 24 stakes; in 1920, 33 stakes. By 1930 this had increased to 41 stakes, by 1940 to 46, and by 1950 to 50 stakes. In 1952 it actually reached a peak of 50.9. As baseball had been stable for a long time, with the same teams playing in the same cities, their historical capital had accumulated.
Historical capital is not exactly the same as “fan base”, but in a sense that is what we are talking about here. When teams in the 1880s had very, very little historical property, they also had very small fan bases. That grew, and grew, and grew—and attendance grew and grew. By 1948 the Historical property of a major league team was 49.5 stakes. The average attendance at a game was 16,913 fans.
In the 1950s this changed suddenly. Teams started abandoning their fans—abandoning their historical capital—to market themselves to cities that didn’t know or care anything about them. When that created problems, baseball manufactured new teams as surrogates for the old. This gave them two teams with no history instead of one. The average attendance at a major league game dropped by 15%, and failed to grow for 20 years thereafter. It wasn’t until they stopped doing this that baseball began to grow once again. In 1975 the average attendance at a major league game was 15,403—27 years of a negative growth rate in per-game attendance.
XI. The Era of Instability
I notice this in so many areas: that people think of the 1950s as a safe and stable era, when in reality there has never been any era of American history or perhaps any era of world history which was wrenched so thoroughly by so many powerful changes. The radicalism of the 1960s was an after-effect of the profound changes of the years 1946 to 1960.
In baseball as well. The St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore, picking up the thread of the Orioles’ history but dividing their own. The Braves left Boston, the Athletics left Kansas City, and the Dodgers and Giants caught the last train for the coast. The Yankees, meanwhile, continued to win the World Series almost every year:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1960
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
114.8
|
1960
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
66.8
|
1960
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
55.7
|
1960
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
52.0
|
1960
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
50.7
|
1960
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
50.2
|
1960
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
49.0
|
1960
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
47.1
|
1960
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
45.9
|
1960
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
37.5
|
1960
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
35.5
|
1960
|
Milwaukee
|
Braves
|
NL
|
34.9
|
1960
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
34.4
|
1960
|
San Francisco
|
Giants
|
NL
|
33.9
|
1960
|
Kansas City
|
A's
|
AL
|
22.9
|
1960
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
21.5
|
Average Strength of Existing Franchises:
|
48.7
|
So while the Yankees reached a ridiculous level of domination, the average historical strength of a franchise actually went down for the first time, as history shifted into inactive franchises:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1960
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
29.0
|
1960
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
25.8
|
1960
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
15.5
|
1960
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
14.8
|
1960
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
11.6
|
1960
|
Louisville
|
Colonels
|
NL
|
1.0
|
Colonels legally dead at conclusion of 1960 season.
|
Total Stakes of Active and Inactive Franchises:
|
850.5
|
Let’s follow the Yankees forward for two more years. In 1961 the Yankees won 109 games and the World Series. This increased their historical strength to 119.1 stakes. In 1962 they won 96 games and the World Series. This increased their historical strength to 122.7.
122.7 stakes is the highest point of dominance ever achieved by any major league team. Remember the “sustenance number”, the won-lost record that would be needed to sustain a team at this level? At 122.7, the sustenance level for the 1962 Yankees was 133-29—133 wins. The level, in practice, could only be sustained by winning at least two World Series every five years. The Yankees at that time had won eight World Championships in 13 years, nine in 15 years—on top of a long period of dominance before that. Even though they won the American League again in 1963 and 1964, their level of dominance rolled back a little bit, and then receded significantly when the franchise entered a “dark period” beginning in 1965.
The highest peak ever reached by any franchise other than the Yankees was reached by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967—75.8. The Cardinals, baseball’s second-strongest franchise for more than 25 years by 1967, won the World Series in 1964 and again in 1967, pushing them to that level. Their sustenance level at that point was 98 wins. They had to win 98 games a year, from 1967 forward, to tread water. In 1968 they won 97.
In the rest of baseball, franchise moves continued, with the Senators moving to Minnesota, the Braves to Atlanta and the Athletics to Oakland. Meanwhile, baseball expanded rapidly, adding eight new teams in nine years. What the powers of that era didn’t know—or didn’t care—was that they had created a massive “slippage” in the game’s historical stature.
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1970
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
108.9
|
1970
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
74.5
|
1970
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
59.0
|
1970
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
54.2
|
1970
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
53.8
|
1970
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
52.0
|
1970
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
51.2
|
1970
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
50.5
|
1970
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
48.8
|
1970
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
48.1
|
1970
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
43.9
|
1970
|
San Francisco
|
Giants
|
NL
|
42.7
|
1970
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
38.3
|
1970
|
New York
|
Mets
|
NL
|
34.2
|
1970
|
Minnesota
|
Twins
|
AL
|
30.9
|
1970
|
Atlanta
|
Braves
|
NL
|
24.4
|
1970
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
23.6
|
1970
|
Milwaukee
|
Brewers
|
AL
|
18.5
|
1970
|
Oakland
|
A's
|
AL
|
15.9
|
1970
|
Kansas City
|
Royals
|
AL
|
13.4
|
1970
|
California
|
Angels
|
AL
|
12.9
|
1970
|
Houston
|
Astros
|
NL
|
9.7
|
1970
|
Montreal
|
Expos
|
NL
|
1.7
|
1970
|
San Diego
|
Padres
|
NL
|
1.3
|
Average Strength of Active Franchise:
|
38.0
|
The average historical capital of an active franchise had regressed in twenty years from 51 stakes to 38. The Royals picked up the legacy of the Kansas City Athletics, the Brewers the legacy of the Milwaukee Braves, the Mets the legacy of the Giants, the Senators the legacy of the old Senators, but still, these were not strong franchises. They were young, immature franchises. There were four franchise legacies that remained as orphans:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1970
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
19.0
|
1970
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
12.3
|
1970
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
10.9
|
1970
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
8.5
|
Total Strength of Active and Inactive Teams:
|
963.4
|
There was one more franchise move in the early 1970s—Washington to Texas—and then this era ended, this era of hop-scotching teams. Attendance began to increase, from that point on, almost every year. By 1979 it was up to 20,748. By 1990 it was 26,000 per game.
XII. The Modern Era
There was another expansion in 1977, but whereas baseball had expanded by 50% in the 1960s—from sixteen teams to twenty-four—it has expanded by only 25% in the last 41 years (1969 to 2010). By 1980 the Yankees were winning World Series again. The Cardinals struggled through the 1970s, fighting with their players, but held on to second place. The Dodgers, having fallen to 14th among the 16 teams by abandoning one-half of their history in Brooklyn, had re-built themselves by 1980 to the sixth position, while the Royals—after only 11 years—had surpassed the Angels and the Astros by dominating the American League West.
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1980
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
107.3
|
1980
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
68.7
|
1980
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
66.0
|
1980
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
65.9
|
1980
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
57.2
|
1980
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
55.6
|
1980
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
54.4
|
1980
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
52.0
|
1980
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
51.2
|
1980
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
48.6
|
1980
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
48.5
|
1980
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
48.2
|
1980
|
San Francisco
|
Giants
|
NL
|
44.7
|
1980
|
New York
|
Mets
|
NL
|
37.1
|
1980
|
Minnesota
|
Twins
|
AL
|
36.4
|
1980
|
Oakland
|
A's
|
AL
|
36.2
|
1980
|
Texas
|
Rangers
|
AL
|
29.9
|
1980
|
Atlanta
|
Braves
|
NL
|
29.4
|
1980
|
Kansas City
|
Royals
|
AL
|
26.9
|
1980
|
Milwaukee
|
Brewers
|
AL
|
26.3
|
1980
|
California
|
Angels
|
AL
|
22.0
|
1980
|
Houston
|
Astros
|
NL
|
21.4
|
1980
|
Montreal
|
Expos
|
NL
|
14.1
|
1980
|
San Diego
|
Padres
|
NL
|
10.8
|
1980
|
Seattle
|
Mariners
|
AL
|
3.2
|
1980
|
Toronto
|
Blue Jays
|
AL
|
2.8
|
|
Average
|
|
|
41.0
|
Five inactive franchises hung around as memories:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1980
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
14.0
|
1980
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
9.1
|
1980
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
9.0
|
1980
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
8.1
|
1980
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
6.3
|
|
Total:
|
|
|
1111.3
|
The Yankees won more games in the 1980s than any other franchise. They won no World Series, however, and in 1990 they had a genuinely bad season, finishing 67-95. By 1990 the position of the Yankee franchise, while still far superior to any other, was not what it once had been:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1990
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
94.0
|
1990
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
67.4
|
1990
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
67.3
|
1990
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
64.5
|
1990
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
61.8
|
1990
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
61.3
|
1990
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
55.4
|
1990
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
55.1
|
1990
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
49.5
|
1990
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
49.2
|
1990
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
48.9
|
1990
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
48.6
|
1990
|
New York
|
Mets
|
NL
|
47.9
|
1990
|
Oakland
|
A's
|
AL
|
47.0
|
1990
|
San Francisco
|
Giants
|
NL
|
46.8
|
1990
|
Minnesota
|
Twins
|
AL
|
43.5
|
1990
|
Kansas City
|
Royals
|
AL
|
38.7
|
1990
|
Texas
|
Rangers
|
AL
|
34.0
|
1990
|
Milwaukee
|
Brewers
|
AL
|
33.4
|
1990
|
Atlanta
|
Braves
|
NL
|
32.2
|
1990
|
California
|
Angels
|
AL
|
30.5
|
1990
|
Houston
|
Astros
|
NL
|
30.1
|
1990
|
Montreal
|
Expos
|
NL
|
25.0
|
1990
|
San Diego
|
Padres
|
NL
|
21.1
|
1990
|
Toronto
|
Blue Jays
|
AL
|
17.8
|
1990
|
Seattle
|
Mariners
|
AL
|
13.0
|
Average Strength of Active Franchises:
|
45.5
|
The Dodgers were up to fourth, and the Reds, by winning the World Series in 1990, had dislodged the Cardinals from their #2 spot. Five inactive franchises could still be said to be remembered:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1990
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
10.3
|
1990
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
6.7
|
1990
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
6.7
|
1990
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
5.9
|
1990
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
4.6
|
Gross Strength of all Active and Inactive Teams:
|
1218.2
|
By the year 2000 baseball had all thirty of its current franchises. Perhaps the most striking thing on the chart below is how far back the Minnesota Twins had fallen:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
2000
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
105.5
|
2000
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
64.3
|
2000
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
63.5
|
2000
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
61.9
|
2000
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
57.6
|
2000
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
56.4
|
2000
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
55.8
|
2000
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
54.8
|
2000
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
52.5
|
2000
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
51.3
|
2000
|
San Francisco
|
Giants
|
NL
|
49.1
|
2000
|
New York
|
Mets
|
NL
|
48.9
|
2000
|
Atlanta
|
Braves
|
NL
|
48.0
|
2000
|
Oakland
|
A's
|
AL
|
47.7
|
2000
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
47.6
|
2000
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
47.5
|
2000
|
Minnesota
|
Twins
|
AL
|
47.0
|
2000
|
Kansas City
|
Royals
|
AL
|
40.3
|
2000
|
Texas
|
Rangers
|
AL
|
39.3
|
2000
|
Houston
|
Astros
|
NL
|
37.1
|
2000
|
Milwaukee
|
Brewers
|
NL
|
36.9
|
2000
|
Toronto
|
Blue Jays
|
AL
|
35.4
|
2000
|
Anaheim
|
Angels
|
AL
|
34.9
|
2000
|
Montreal
|
Expos
|
NL
|
31.2
|
2000
|
San Diego
|
Padres
|
NL
|
28.5
|
2000
|
Seattle
|
Mariners
|
AL
|
23.4
|
2000
|
Florida
|
Marlins
|
NL
|
13.4
|
2000
|
Colorado
|
Rockies
|
NL
|
10.4
|
2000
|
Arizona
|
Diamondbacks
|
NL
|
5.0
|
2000
|
Tampa Bay
|
Devil Rays
|
AL
|
3.1
|
Average Historical Strength:
|
|
43.3
|
The Twins, of course, had a generally unmemorable history as the Washington Senators, and took but half of that legacy with them to Minnesota. It’s easy to forget how terrible they were through most of the 1990s, posting eight straight losing records, and losing 90+ games every year from 1997 through 2000. That was the era when the commissioner wanted to bury them.
The two expansions had pushed the average historical strength of a team back down to 43 stakes. There wasn’t much left of the abandoned franchises:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
2000
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
7.6
|
2000
|
Washington
|
Senators
|
AL
|
4.9
|
2000
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
4.9
|
2000
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
4.4
|
2000
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
3.4
|
Total for Active and Inactive Franchises:
|
1320.6
|
XIII. The Current Rankings
We come, finally, to 2010, or at least to 2009. Obviously the Yankees remain the strongest franchise, while the Cardinals have retaken the #2 spot:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
2009
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
103.4
|
2009
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
68.9
|
The Red Sox, having won 95 games six times in the last seven years, have advanced in the last decade from eighth to third, followed by the Dodgers and the Reds:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
2009
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
103.4
|
2009
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
68.9
|
2009
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
68.2
|
2009
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
61.7
|
2009
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
59.7
|
This project was provoked by an e-mail exchange with a gentleman named Pete Brewer, who says that ten years ago he and I discussed this issue, he arguing then that the Philadelphia Phillies had been historically the weakest of the sixteen original franchises. My system doesn’t quite agree; it sees the Twins—but only the Twins—as weaker. Wherever the Phillies were ten years ago, they’re certainly in a much happier place now:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
2009
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
103.4
|
2009
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
68.9
|
2009
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
68.2
|
2009
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
61.7
|
2009
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
59.7
|
2009
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
57.5
|
2009
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
56.0
|
The Phillies are in seventh place among the sixteen original franchises; seventh place also among the 30. The teams bunch up after that. The Tigers rank eighth and the Angels rank 18th—still second-highest among the expansion teams—but there are only six stakes separating the Tigers from the Angels:
|
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1
|
2009
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
103.4
|
2
|
2009
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
68.9
|
3
|
2009
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
68.2
|
4
|
2009
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
61.7
|
5
|
2009
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
59.7
|
6
|
2009
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
57.5
|
7
|
2009
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
56.0
|
8
|
2009
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
53.3
|
9
|
2009
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
52.7
|
10
|
2009
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
52.6
|
11
|
2009
|
Atlanta
|
Braves
|
NL
|
51.7
|
12
|
2009
|
Oakland
|
A's
|
AL
|
51.5
|
13
|
2009
|
San Francisco
|
Giants
|
NL
|
51.2
|
14
|
2009
|
Minnesota
|
Twins
|
AL
|
51.0
|
15
|
2009
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
50.9
|
16
|
2009
|
New York
|
Mets
|
NL
|
50.0
|
17
|
2009
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
49.7
|
18
|
2009
|
Los Angeles
|
Angels
|
AL
|
46.8
|
Those rankings in the middle of the chart could change in one year. The once-proud Cubs are now the weakest of the sixteen originals. We gave an accounting of the expansion teams early in the article. We’ll add them in here:
|
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
1
|
2009
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
103.4
|
2
|
2009
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
68.9
|
3
|
2009
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
68.2
|
4
|
2009
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
61.7
|
5
|
2009
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
59.7
|
6
|
2009
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
57.5
|
7
|
2009
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
56.0
|
8
|
2009
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
53.3
|
9
|
2009
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
52.7
|
10
|
2009
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
52.6
|
11
|
2009
|
Atlanta
|
Braves
|
NL
|
51.7
|
12
|
2009
|
Oakland
|
A's
|
AL
|
51.5
|
13
|
2009
|
San Francisco
|
Giants
|
NL
|
51.2
|
14
|
2009
|
Minnesota
|
Twins
|
AL
|
51.0
|
15
|
2009
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
50.9
|
16
|
2009
|
New York
|
Mets
|
NL
|
50.0
|
17
|
2009
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
49.7
|
18
|
2009
|
Los Angeles
|
Angels
|
AL
|
46.8
|
19
|
2009
|
Houston
|
Astros
|
NL
|
42.1
|
20
|
2009
|
Texas
|
Rangers
|
AL
|
42.1
|
21
|
2009
|
Toronto
|
Blue Jays
|
AL
|
39.6
|
22
|
2009
|
Milwaukee
|
Brewers
|
NL
|
39.1
|
23
|
2009
|
Kansas City
|
Royals
|
AL
|
38.8
|
24
|
2009
|
San Diego
|
Padres
|
NL
|
33.4
|
25
|
2009
|
Seattle
|
Mariners
|
AL
|
31.1
|
26
|
2009
|
Florida
|
Marlins
|
NL
|
27.4
|
27
|
2009
|
Washington
|
Nationals
|
NL
|
23.1
|
28
|
2009
|
Arizona
|
Diamondbacks
|
NL
|
20.3
|
29
|
2009
|
Colorado
|
Rockies
|
NL
|
19.5
|
30
|
2009
|
Tampa Bay
|
Rays
|
AL
|
11.9
|
|
Average of Active Franchises:
|
46.8
|
The average team has more history now than has been the case since 1960, just before the first expansion. Baseball has five other teams that live on in active memory:
YEAR
|
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
Stakes
|
2009
|
Montreal
|
Expos
|
NL
|
14.1
|
2009
|
Brooklyn
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
5.8
|
2009
|
Boston
|
Braves
|
NL
|
3.7
|
2009
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
3.3
|
2009
|
St. Louis
|
Browns
|
AL
|
2.6
|
Major League Total:
|
1434.5
|
The most striking thing about the list above is that it still divides almost like a peanut into original and expansion teams. This is not a necessary outcome of the method. Some of the expansion teams have been around now for 50 years, almost, and some of them inherited the legacy of other teams, and thus did not start at zero. There’s been plenty of time, since 1969, for expansion teams to overcome their starting deficit and emerge, by now, as mid-range teams. They just haven’t done it. If the Florida Marlins were to continue to play the way they have played in the last ten years for another twenty, that certainly would put them ahead of several of the “original” franchises. If the Royals had continued to build from where they were in 1985, if the Blue Jays had continued to build from where they were in 1993, or if the Angels had started winning regularly a few years earlier, these franchises could be at 60 stakes by now, or certainly over 50. It’s just.. .none of them have done it.
This chart summarizes the high-stakes marks of each franchise, with their won-lost records in the seasons when this was attained. . .double-entry for the Expos/Nationals:
City
|
Team
|
Lg
|
YEAR
|
W
|
L
|
WPct
|
Stakes
|
|
Note
|
New York
|
Yankees
|
AL
|
1962
|
96
|
66
|
.593
|
122.7
|
|
|
St. Louis
|
Cardinals
|
NL
|
1967
|
101
|
60
|
.627
|
75.8
|
|
|
Boston
|
Red Sox
|
AL
|
2009
|
95
|
67
|
.586
|
68.2
|
|
Current.
|
Cincinnati
|
Reds
|
NL
|
1990
|
91
|
71
|
.562
|
67.4
|
|
The Nasty Boys, building on The Big Red Machine.
|
Pittsburgh
|
Pirates
|
NL
|
1979
|
98
|
64
|
.605
|
66.3
|
|
We are Fam-a-lee.
|
New York
|
Giants
|
NL
|
1954
|
97
|
57
|
.630
|
65.4
|
|
Mays' catch on Wertz. High-stakes mark in San Francisco was 2004.
|
Los Angeles
|
Dodgers
|
NL
|
1988
|
94
|
67
|
.584
|
65.1
|
|
Kirk Gibson's one- legged homer.
|
Detroit
|
Tigers
|
AL
|
1988
|
88
|
74
|
.543
|
63.2
|
|
Building off 1984.
|
Chicago
|
White Sox
|
AL
|
2006
|
90
|
72
|
.556
|
58.0
|
|
Ozzie's Magic.
|
Baltimore
|
Orioles
|
AL
|
1984
|
85
|
77
|
.525
|
57.4
|
|
Building off 1983.
|
Chicago
|
Cubs
|
NL
|
1939
|
84
|
70
|
.545
|
56.1
|
|
|
Philadelphia
|
Phillies
|
NL
|
2009
|
93
|
69
|
.574
|
56.0
|
|
Current.
|
Cleveland
|
Indians
|
AL
|
1959
|
89
|
65
|
.578
|
55.8
|
|
Just before the trade of Colavito.
|
Philadelphia
|
A's
|
AL
|
1933
|
79
|
72
|
.523
|
53.9
|
|
High-stakes mark in Oakland was 2006. Team is near this level now.
|
Atlanta
|
Braves
|
NL
|
2007
|
84
|
78
|
.519
|
51.7
|
|
|
Minnesota
|
Twins
|
AL
|
2009
|
87
|
76
|
.534
|
51.0
|
|
Current.
|
New York
|
Mets
|
NL
|
2008
|
89
|
73
|
.549
|
50.3
|
|
|
Los Angeles
|
Angels
|
AL
|
2009
|
96
|
65
|
.596
|
46.8
|
|
Current.
|
Houston
|
Astros
|
NL
|
2009
|
74
|
88
|
.457
|
42.1
|
|
Current.
|
Texas
|
Rangers
|
AL
|
2009
|
87
|
75
|
.537
|
42.1
|
|
Current.
|
Kansas City
|
Royals
|
AL
|
1996
|
75
|
86
|
.466
|
40.4
|
|
Sustenance numbers are not high, but they haven't been meeting them.
|
Toronto
|
Blue Jays
|
AL
|
2009
|
75
|
87
|
.463
|
39.6
|
|
Current.
|
Milwaukee
|
Brewers
|
NL
|
2009
|
80
|
82
|
.494
|
39.1
|
|
Current.
|
San Diego
|
Padres
|
NL
|
2009
|
75
|
87
|
.463
|
33.4
|
|
Current.
|
Montreal
|
Expos
|
NL
|
2004
|
67
|
95
|
.414
|
32.9
|
|
|
Seattle
|
Mariners
|
AL
|
2009
|
85
|
77
|
.525
|
31.1
|
|
Current.
|
Florida
|
Marlins
|
NL
|
2009
|
87
|
75
|
.537
|
27.4
|
|
Current.
|
Washington
|
Nationals
|
NL
|
2009
|
59
|
103
|
.364
|
23.1
|
|
Current.
|
Arizona
|
Diamondbacks
|
NL
|
2009
|
70
|
92
|
.432
|
20.3
|
|
Current.
|
Colorado
|
Rockies
|
NL
|
2009
|
92
|
70
|
.568
|
19.5
|
|
Current.
|
Tampa Bay
|
Rays
|
AL
|
2009
|
84
|
78
|
.519
|
11.9
|
|
Current.
|
Is it possible, in your lifetime or in mine, for the Yankees to become no longer the dominant franchise of baseball history?
Marginally. Marginally possible.
First, I don’t think it is possible unless you accept the proposition that recent history must count at least somewhat more than the more distant eras. If you don’t accept that proposition, then I think it is not realistically possible. Somebody else would have to win fifteen World Series in 25 years, and I just don’t see how that’s possible in a 30-club competition. But I also think you would have a hard time justifying the idea that, in evaluating 2010 franchise histories, 1950 should count as much as 2009. That’s just not how we think about teams or think about history.
Second, I don’t think it is possible unless the Yankees, post-Steinbrenner, post-Jeter and post-Rivera, fall into a period of poor performance, like that from 1965-1975 or circa 1990, but lasting at least fifteen years. If the Yankees continue to play even reasonably well and continue to win one World Series per decade or so, it is very unlikely that they could lose their position as history’s dominant franchise any time in the next thirty years. I’m 60 years old. I’m fairly sure that I won’t live long enough to see any other team develop a credible claim to be the strongest franchise in baseball history.