A Look at the Best Infields, Outfields and Pitching Staffs in Major League History.

Bill,

Based on total Win Shares, could you publish the top ten teams which had (1) the best starting infield (1b, 2b, 3b, ss), (2) the best starting outfield, (3) the best starting pitchers and (4) the best bullpen.

For pitchers, it might wise to include the top 10 by different eras as I doubt any modern era starting staff will compare to the pre 1920's Starting Pitchers.

Jeff S.

            That’s an interesting question, and I decided to get into it in greater depth than you requested, or, for that matter, greater depth than anyone could possibly care about.    This research is based on a file created for me by Matthew Namee in 2002, which hasn’t been updated for several years, so I’ll have to stop about 2000.   Also, I wrote about the “infields” question in the Historical Abstract.   But up to then, I’ll list the best three by decade, as well as the top ten overall:

1870s Infields

            1)  1876 Chicago Cubs (then called Colts, or something else)

            1B—Cal McVey (16), 2B—Ross Barnes (20), 3B—Cap Anson (14), SS—John Peters (12)   Total, 62.

            2)  1876 Boston (Braves)

            1B—Tim Murnane (10), 2B—John Morrill (8), 3B—(Harry Schafer (8), SS—George Wright (17).   Total, 43.

            3)  1879 Providence Grays

            1B—Joe Start (12), 2B—Mike McGeary (10), 3B—Bill Hague (4), SS—George Wright (16).   Total, 42.

1870s Outfields

            1)  1879 Providence Grays

            LF—Tom York (14), CF—Paul Hines (22), RF—Jim O’Rourke (17).  Total, 53.   (The fact that the 1879 Grays had both one of the best infields and one of the best outfields is moderately impressive, but remember that we are talking only about four years, 1876-1879, that there were six or eight teams in the league each year, and that the number of games increased in 1879, making more Win Shares available.)

            2)  1879 Boston (Braves)

            LF—Charley Jones (21), CF—John O’Rourke (17), RF—Sadie Houck (11).  Total, 49.

            3)  1879 Cincinnati Red Stockings

            LF—Buttercup Dickerson (14), CF—Pete Hotaling (14), RF—King Kelly (20).  Total, 48.

1870s Starting Pitching.

            1870s teams used basically one pitcher, with teams late in the decade starting to use a second pitcher once in a while, for weaker opponents. 

            1)  1879 Buffalo Bisons

            Pud Galvin (61), Bill McGunnigle (12).  Total, 73.

            2)  1876 Hartford Dark Blues

            Tommy Bond (47), Candy Cummings (22).  Total, 69.

            3)  1879 Providence Grays

            Monte Ward (51), Bobby Mathews (14).  Total, 65.

1870s Bullpens

            None.

1880s Infields

            1)  1884 New York Giants (American Association)

            1B—Dave Orr (27), 2B—Dasher Troy (14), 3B—Dude Esterbrook (26), SS—Candy Nelson (23).  Total, 90.

            2)  1889 Brooklyn Dodgers (American Association)

            1B—Dave Foutz (24), 2B—Hub Collins (24), 3B—George Pinckney (22), SS—Germany Smith (15).   Total, 85.

            3)  1887 Detroit Wolverines (National League)

            1B—Dan Brouthers (26), 2B—Fred Dunlap (23), 3B—Deacon White (15), SS—Jack Rowe (20).  Total, 84.

1880s Outfields

            1)  1885 Chicago Cubs

            LF—Abner Dalrymple (25), CF—George Gore (30), RF—King Kelly (24).  Total, 79.

            2)  1889 Brooklyn Dodgers (American Association)

            LF—Darky O’Brien (30), CF—Pop Corkhill (17), RF—Oyster Burns (25).  Total, 72.

            3)  1889 New York Giants (National League)

            LF—Jim O’Rourke (19), George Gore (23), Mike Tiernan (28).  Total, 70.

1880s Starting Pitching

            Baseball teams were using two-man staffs by the early 1880s, and three-man staffs in the late 1880s.  Places where there are more than three qualifying pitchers are essentially mid-season changes.

            1)  1886 St. Louis Cardinals or Browns (American Association, under Charlie Comiskey)

            Dave Foutz (62), Bob Caruthers (57), Nat Hudson (22), Jumbo McGinnis (4), Joe Murphy (1).   Total, 146.   Foutz and Caruthers both played the outfield when not pitching, and both were excellent hitters, inflating their totals even more.

            2)  1887 St. Louis (AA)

            Silver King (54), Bob Caruthers (43), Dave Foutz (37), Nat Hudson (4), Ed Knouff (1).  Total, 139.

            3)  1888 St. Louis (AA)

            Silver King (71), Nat Hudson (36), Ice Box Chamberlain (13), Jim Devlin (7), Ed Knouff (6).   TOtal, 133. 

1880s Bullpens

            None

1890s Infields

            1)  1898 Baltimore Orioles (National League)

            1B—Dan McGann (21), 2B—Gene DeMontreville (24), 3B—John McGraw (31), SS—Hughie Jennings (32). Total, 108, a record at the time.

            2)  1890 Brooklyn Dodgers (Players League)

1B—Dave Foutz (27), 2B—Hub Collins (28), 3B—George Pinckney (29), SS—Germany Smith (10).   Total, 94,  We note that this team—actually, the players on the team—switched leagues in 1890, joining the Players League, which was organized by the Players Union.   But the same four players formed one of the best infielders of the 1880s in 1889, and one of the best infielders of the 1890s, in a different league, in 1890.

3)  1891 Boston Red Stockings (American Association)

1B—Dan Brouthers (34), 2B—Cub Stricker (13), 3B--Duke Farrell (24), SS—Paul Radford (22).   Total, 88.   This is our second Cub Stricker reference on the site.

1890s Outfields

            1)  1899 Philadelphia Phillies

            LF—Ed Delahanty (41), CF—Roy Thomas (30), RF—Elmer Flick (23).   Total, 94.

            2)  1895 Philadelphia Phillies

            LF—Ed Delahanty (31), CF—Sliding Billy Hamilton (30), RF—Sam Thompson (28).   Total, 89.   All three players, all Hall of Famers, hit .389 to .404.

            3)  1897 Baltimore Orioles

            LF—Joe Kelley (26), CF—Jake Stenzel (24), RF—Willie Keeler (32).  Total 82.

1890s Starting Pitching

            By the 1890s teams were using three and occasionally four starting pitchers. 

            1)  1892 Boston Braves

Kid Nichols (49), Cy Young (48), Harry Staley (29), John Clarkson (16), Lee Viau (2).  Total, 144.

            2)  1894 New York Giants

            Amos Rusie (56), Jouett Meekin (48), Huyler Westervelt (9), Les German (7), Dad Clarke (6).   Total, 126. 

            3)  1890 Louisville Colonels (American Association)

            Scott Stratton (51), Red Ehret (34), George Meakim (17), Herb Goodall (12), Ed Daily (11).   Total, 125. 

1890s Bullpens

            None

1900s Infields

            1)  1908 Pittsburgh Pirates

            1B—Alan Storke (5), 2B—Ed Abbaticchio (22), 3B—Tommy Leach (31), SS—Honus Wagner (59).   Total, 117, a record at the time.   The 1908 Pirates are an unusual team, on which Honus Wagner produced his normal numbers, while the run context fell to such extraordinarily low levels that Wagner’s runs created had a huge impact.  

            2)  1906 Pittsburgh Pirates

            1B—Jim Nealon (18), 2B—Claude Ritchey (23), 3B—Tommy Sheehan (19), SS—Honus Wagner (46).   Total, 106.

            3)  1906 Chicago Cubs

            1B—Frank Chance (35), 2B—Johnny Evers (20), 3B—Harry Steinfeldt (33), SS—Joe Tinker (17).   Total, 105.   Tinker to Evers to Chance.

1900s Outfields

            1 (Tie))  1907 Detroit Tigers

            LF—Davy Jones (24), CF—Sam Crawford (36), RF—Ty Cobb (41).   Total, 101.

            1 (Tie))   1908 Detroit Tigers

            LF—Matty McIntyre (33), CF—Sam Crawford (32), RF—Ty Cobb (36).  Total, 101.

            3)  1909 Detroit Tigers

            LF—Matty McIntyre (15), CF—Sam Crawford (32), RF—Ty Cobb (44).  Total, 91. 

1900s Starting Pitching

            1)  1907 Chicago Cubs

            Orval Overall (32), Three Finger Brown (29), Carl Lundgren (25), Jack Pfiester (21), Ed Reulbach (19).   Total, 126. 

            2)  1904 New York Giants

            Joe McGinnity (42), Christy Mathews (34), Luther Taylor (22), Hooks Wiltse (13), Red Ames (8).  Total, 119. 

            3)  1901 Boston Braves

            Vic Willis (33), Bill Dineen (32), Kid Nichols (27), Togie Pittenger (21), Bob Lawson (3).   Total, 116.

1900s Bullpens

            None.  (1909 Pirates and 1906 Highlanders had 9 Win Shares each in the bullpen.  I decided to start listing them at 10.) 

1910s Infields

            1)  1913 Philadelphia Athletics

            1B—Stuffy McInnis (26), 2B—Eddie Collins (39), 3B—Home Run Baker (38), SS—Jack Barry (20).  Total, 123, a record which stands to this day.   This was the famous “$100,000 Infield”, long reputed to be the greatest infield of its time.  You will see people who say that the infield was overrated.   As you see, I don’t agree.

            2)  1914 Philadelphia Athletics

            1B—Stuffy McInnis (21), 2B—Eddie Collins (43), 3B—Home Run Baker (35), SS—Jack Barry (18).  Total, 117.    

            3)  1912 Philadelphia Athletics

            1B—Stuffy McInnis (24), 2B—Eddie Collins (36), 3B—Home Run Baker (39), SS—Jack Barry (16).  Total, 115.

            The fourth-best infield of the era was the 1911 A’s, and the sixth-best was the 1910 A’s.  

1910s Outfields

            1)  1915 Detroit Tigers

            LF—Bobby Veach (30), CF--Ty Cobb (48), RF--Sam Crawford (28).  Total, 106. Again, all all-time record.

            2)  1917 Detroit Tigers

            LF—Bobby Veach (31), CF—Ty Cobb (46), RF—Harry Heilmann (18).  Total, 95.

            3 (Tie))  1911 Detroit Tigers

            LF—Davy Jones (8), CF—Ty Cobb (47), RF—Sam Crawford (32).  Total, 87.

            3 (Tie))   1912 Boston Red Sox

            LF—Duffy Lewis (21), CF—Tris Speaker (51), RF—Harry Hooper (15).  Total, 87. 

            I think it is reasonable to say that the 1907-1917 Tigers, with Cobb and Crawford in the outfield, may have had the greatest outfields of all time.   The 106 total for the 1915 Tigers is the highest ever.   Whether there was something in the nature of the game, or some flaw in my accounting of the game, which caused the greatest infield and the greatest outfield to occur at the same moment. . ..I can’t say.   It could be just a coincidence. 

1910s Starting Pitching

            1)  1912 Boston Red Sox

            Smokey Joe Wood (44), Buck O’Brien (23), Hugh Bediant (21), Ray Collins (19), Sea Lion Hall (17).   Total, 124.

            2)  1917 Boston Red Sox

            Babe Ruth (36), Carl Mays (30), Dutch Leonard (22), Ernie Shore (17), Rube Foster (9).   Total, 114.

            3)  1915 Boston Red Sox

            Ernie Shore (25), Babe Ruth (23), Rube Foster (22), Joe Wood (20), Dutch Leonard (18).   Total, 108.

1910s Bullpens

            1)  1917 St. Louis Cardinals, led by Red Ames.   Total, 22.

            2)  1917 Yankees, led by Slim Love and Alan Russell.   Total, 19.

            3)  1917 Cleveland Indians, led by Fritz Coumbe.

            All of these pitchers also started a few games.   It appears that there may have been a move to use the bullpens in 1917, which may have been stunted by the War in 1918.   Speculating.

            Our bullpen totals before 1950 are of little use in identifying the best bullpens, because almost all relievers in this era are still spot starters.   Sometimes we have to make close calls as to who to designate a reliever and who a starter, and often the teams with the best bullpens are actually teams with pretty good spot starters.  Don’t take it too seriously and we’ll be alright.

            The “Team Totals” I am giving you here are actually the totals for the top three relievers on the staff, or the top three pitchers who we have designated as relievers.   But we don’t want to argue about it, so if you don’t agree, you’re right. 

1920s Infields

            1)  1927 New York Giants

            1B—Bill Terry (27), 2B—Rogers Hornsby (40), 3B—Fred Lindstrom (20), SS—Travis Jackson (24).   Total, 111.   All four players are in the Hall of Fame.

            2)  1921 St. Louis Cardinals

            1B—Jacques Fournier (27), 2B—Rogers Hornsby (41), 3B—Milt Stock (17), SS—Doc Lavan (14).   Total, 96.

            3)  1924 New York Giants

            1B—George Kelly (26), 2B—Frankie Frisch (30), 3B—Heine Groh (19), SS—Travis Jackson (20).   Total, 95.

            The seven best infields of the 1920s were all either Giants teams managed by John McGraw, or Cardinal teams managed by Branch Rickey.

1920s Outfields

            1)  1927 Yankees

            LF—Bob Meusel (21), CF—Earle Combs (31), RF—Babe Ruth (45).  Total, 97. 

            2)  1923 New York Yankees

            LF—Bob Meusel (16), CF—Whitey Witt (22), RF—Babe Ruth (55).  Total, 93.

            3)  1928 New York Yankees

            Meusel (18), Combs (28), Ruth (45).   Total, 91. 

            Fourth and fifth are the 1920-1921 Yankees. 

1920s Starting Pitching

            1)  1922 New York Yankees

            Bob Shawkey (27), Joe Bush (26), Waite Hoyt (21), Sad Sam Jones (20), Carl Mays (17),  Total, 111. 

            2)  1923 New York Yankees

            Joe Bush (24), Herb Pennock (23), Waite Hoyt (21), Sad Sam Jones (20), Bob Shawkey (19). Total, 107.

            3)  1923 Cincinnati Reds

            Dolph Luque (39), Eppa Rixey (26), Pete Donohue (21), Rube Benton (16).  Total, 102.

1920s Bullpens

            1)  1927 Yankees, led by Wilcy Moore, Team Total, 31.

            2)  1927 Washington Senators, led by Garland Braxton and Firpo Marberry.  Team Total, 30.

            3)  1929 New York Yankees, led by Tom Zachary, Roy Sherid and Wilcy Moore, Team Total, 29.

1930s Infields

            1)  1934 Detroit Tigers

1B—Hank Greenberg (31), 2B—Charlie Gehringer (37), 3B—Marv Owen (23), SS—Billy Rogell (24).   Total, 115.   Among their other accomplishments, all four players played every game of the season, except that Greenberg missed one game, which I think was Yom Kippur (not sure of that.)    Their RBI counts:  139 (Greenberg), 127 (Gehringer), 96 (Owen), 100 (Rogell).

            2)  1936 New York Yankees

            1B—Lou Gehrig (38), 2B—Tony Lazzeri (18), 3B—Red Rolfe (24), SS—Frankie Crosetti (24).  Total, 104.

            3 (Tie))  1935 Detroit Tigers

            1B—Greenberg (34), 2B—Gehringer (31), 3B—Owen (10), SS—Rogell (23).  Total, 98.

            3 (Tie))   1939 Cincinnati Reds

            1B—Frank McCormick (25), 2B—Lonny Frey (25), 3B—Billy Werber (25), SS—Billy Myers (23).   Total, 98.   The most balanced great infield of all time.   Billy Werber, who was the first Duke basketball All-American, is now the oldest living ex-player.

1930s Outfields

            1)  1935 New York Giants

            LF—Jo-Jo Moore (24), CF—Hank Leiber (28), RF—Mel Ott (35).  Total, 87.

            2)  1932 New York Yankees

            LF—Ben Chapman (22), CF—Earle Combs (25), RF—Babe Ruth (36).  Total, 83.

            3)  1939 New York Yankees

            LF—Charlie Keller (22), CF—Joe DiMaggio (34), RF—George Selkirk (22).  Total, 81.  

            Fourth is the 1931 Yankees.   The 1939 Yankees actually used a four-man outfielder, with Tommy Henrich splitting time with Selkirk and Keller.

1930s Starting Pitching

            1)  1931 Philadelphia Athletics

            Lefty Grove (42), George Earnshaw (29), Rube Walberg (24), Popeye Mahaffey (13), Eddie Rommel (12).  Total, 120. 

            2)  1934 St. Louis Cardinals

            Dizzy Dean (37), Paul Dean (22), Tex Carleton (15), Bill Walker (14), Wild Bill Hallahan (8).   Total, 96.

            3)  1934 New York Giants

            Carl Hubbell (32), Hal Schumacher (24), Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons (20), Roy Parmalee (11), Joe Bowman (7).   Total, 94.

1930s Bullpens

            1)  1939 St. Louis Cardinals, led by Bob Bowman and Clyde Shoun.  Team Total, 28.

            2)  1938 Chicago Cubs, led by Jack Russell and Charlie Root, Team Total, 25.

            2)  1930 Cardinals, led by Hi Bell, Al Grabowski and Jim Lindsey, Team Total also 25. 

1940s Infields

            1)  1946 St. Louis Cardinals

            1B—Stan Musial (44), 2B—Red Schoendienst (19), 3B—Whitey Kurowski (26), SS—Marty Marion (19).  Total, 108.

            2)  1949 Brooklyn Dodgers

            1B—Gil Hodges (21), 2B—Jackie Robinson (36), 3B—Billy Cox (8), SS—Pee Wee Reese (32).  Total, 97. 

            3)  1942 Brooklyn Dodgers

            1B—Dolph Camilli (28), 2B—Billy Herman (20), 3B—Arky Vaughan (19), SS—Pee Wee Reese (27).   Total, 94. 

1940s Outfields

            1)  1941 Yankees

            LF—Charlie Keller (32), CF--Joe DiMaggio (41), RF—Tommy Henrich (26).  Total, 99. 

            2 (Tie))  1942 Yankees

            Keller (34), DiMaggio (32), Henrich (19).  Total, 85.

            2 (Tie))  1942 Boston Red Sox

            LF—Ted Williams (46), CF—Dom DiMaggio (28), RF—Lou Finney (11).  Total, 85.

            2 (Tie))  1942 St. Louis Cardinals

            LF—Stan Musial (28), CF—Terry Moore (20), RF—Enos Slaughter (37).  Total, 85. 

            2 (Tie))  1948 St. Louis Cardinals

            LF—Enos Slaughter (26), CF—Stan Musial (46), RF—Ron Northey (13).  Total, 85. 

1940s Starting Pitching

            1)  1944 Detroit Tigers

            Dizzy Trout (42), Hal Newhouser (35), Subby Overmire (14), Rufe Gentry (8), Johnny Gorsica (5).   Total, 104.

            Newhouser, seen by Win Shares as the number two starter on the team, won the MVP Award by four points over Trout (236-232), although Trout actually received more first-place votes, 10-7.   That’s a pretty good pitching staff, when your number two starter is the MVP.  

            2)  1946 Detroit Tigers

            Newhouser (33), Trout (27), Fred Hutchinson (19), Virgil Trucks (16), Al Benton (8).  Total, 103.

            3 (Tie))  1949 Detroit Tigers

            Virgil Trucks (27), Hal Newhouser (25), Fred Hutchinson (19), Art Houtteman (14), Ted Gray (14).   Total, 99.

            3 (Tie))  1940 Cincinnati Reds

            Bucky Walters (32), Paul Derringer (24), Junior Thompson (18), Jim Turner (18), Whitey Moore (7).   Total, 99.

1940s Bullpens

            1)  1949 Cleveland Indians, led by Mike Garcia, Team Total, 31.

            1)  1940 Brooklyn Dodgers, led by Hugh Casey and Vito Tamulis, Team Total also 31.

            3)  1946 Brooklyn Dodgers, led by Hugh Casey, Hank Behrman and Art Herring, Team Total, 28. 

1950s Infields

            1)  1951 Brooklyn Dodgers

            1B—Gil Hodges (26), 2B—Jackie Robinson (38), 3B—Billy Cox (14), SS—Pee Wee Reese (22).  Total, 100.

            2)  1952 New York Giants

            1B—Whitey Lockman (23), 2B—Davey Williams (19), 3B—Bobby Thomson (25), SS—Al Dark (28).  Total, 95. 

            3)  1952 Brooklyn Dodgers

            1B—Gil Hodges (26), 2B—Jackie Robinson (34), 3B—Billy Cox (9), SS—Pee Wee Reese (23).   Total, 92. 

1950s Outfields

            1 (Tie))  1953 Brooklyn Dodgers

            LF—Jackie Robinson (25), CF—Duke Snider (37), RF—Carl Furillo (23).  Total, 85.

            1 (Tie))  1959 Cleveland Indians

            LF—Minnie Minoso (29), CF—Tito Francona (27), RF—Rocky Colavito (29).   Total, 85.   The 1959 Indians, again, used a four-man outfield, with Jimmy Piersall as the fourth man.   Francona didn’t get into the lineup until about June 1. 

            3)  1957 New York Yankees

            LF—Elston Howard (14), CF—Mickey Mantle (51), RF—Hank Bauer (17).  Total, 82. 

1950s Starting Pitching

            1)  1954 Cleveland Indians

            Early Wynn (24), Bob Lemon (24), Mike Garcia (24), Art Houtteman (14), Bob Feller (11).  Total, 97.

            2)  1956 Cleveland Indians

            Herb Score (28), Early Wynn (25), Bob Lemon (23), Mike Garcia (11), Hank Aguirre (3).   Total, 90.

            3 (Tie))  1950 Detroit Tigers

            Art Houtteman (25), Fred Hutchinson (21), Dizzy Trout (17), Hal Newhouser (15), Ted Gray (9).  Total, 87.

            3 (Tie))  1952 Philadelphia Phillies

            Robin Roberts (32), Karl Drews (18), Curt Simmons (17), Russ Meyer (14), Steve Ridzik (6).   Total, 87. 

1950s Bullpens

            1) 1954 New York Giants, led by Hoyt Wilhelm and Marv Grissom, Team Total 36. 

(Leo Durocher, who managed the Dodgers in the 1950s and the Giants in the 1960s, was far ahead of the curve in the use of his bullpen—dating back to the late 1930s.)

            2)  1954 Cleveland Indians, led by Don Mossi, Ray Narleski and Hal Newhouser, Team Total 32.

            2)  1959 Chicago White Sox, led by Gerry Staley and Turk Lown, Top Three Total 32. 

            Al Lopez, of course, managed both of these teams—the ’54 Indians and the ’59 White Sox.   He also managed the top bullpen of the 1960s.          

1960s Infields

            1)  1963 St. Louis Cardinals

            1B—Bill White (27), 2B—Julian Javier (15), 3B—Ken Boyer (23), SS—Dick Groat (31).   Total, 96.   All four infielders were on the NL All-Star one year. . .forget whether it was ’63 or ’64.

            2)  1969 Minnesota Twins

            1B—Rich Reese (17), 2B—Rod Carew (21), 3B—Harmon Killebrew (34), SS—Leo Cardenas (23).   Total, 95. 

            3)  1965 Los Angeles Dodgers

            1B—Wes Parker (20), 2B—Jim Lefebvre (23), 3B—Junior Gilliam (18), SS—Maury Wills (28).   Total, 89.

1960s Outfields

            1)  1961 Yankees

            LF—Yogi Berra (16), CF—Mickey Mantle (48), RF—Roger Maris (36).  Total, 100.

            2)  1968 Boston Red Sox

            LF—Carl Yastrzemski (39), CF—Reggie Smith (25), RF—Hawk Harrelson (28).   Total, 92. 

            3)   1963 San Francisco Giants

            LF—Willie McCovey (29), CF—Willie Mays (38), RF—Felipe Alou (21).  Total, 88. 

1960s Starting Pitching

            1)  1969 New York Mets

            Tom Seaver (32), Jerry Koosman (25), Gary Gentry (14), Don Cardwell (10), Jim McAndrew (7).  Total, 88.

            2)  1963 New York Yankees

            Whitey Ford (23), Jim Bouton (22), Ralph Terry (17), Al Downing (16), Stan Williams (9).  Total, 87.

            3)  1965 Los Angeles Dodgers

            Sandy Koufax (33), Don Drysdale (27), Claude Osteen (18), Johnny Podres (7), Nick Willhite (1).   Total, 86.

1960s Bullpens

            1)  1965 Chicago White Sox.   Eddie Fisher, Hoyt Wilhelm and Bob Locker—perhaps the best three-man bullpen of all time, totaling 44 Win Shares.

            2)  1968 White Sox.  Wilhelm, Locker and Wilbur Wood, Team Total, 40.

            3)  1967 White Sox.   Wilhelm, Locker, Wood and Don McMahon.  Top Three Total, 39.

            3)  1963 Boston Red Sox.   Dick Radatz, backed by Jack Lamabe.  Total, also 39. 

1970s Infields

            1)  1975 Cincinnati Reds

            1B—Tony Perez (19), 2B—Joe Morgan (44), 3B—Pete Rose (31), SS—Dave Concepcion (19).   Total, 113.

            2)  1976 Cincinnati Reds

            Perez (16), Morgan (37), Rose (30, Concepcion (23).   Total, 106.

            3)  1973 Cincinnati Reds

            1B—Perez (32), 2B--Morgan (40), 3B—Denis Menke  (12), SS--Concepcion (16).   Total, 100. 

            The 1974 Reds tie with the 1974 Phillies for fourth place.

1970s Outfields

            1)  1972 Houston Astros

            LF—Bob Watson (26), CF—Cesar Cedeno (33), RF—Jimmy Wynn (28).  Total, 87.

            2)  1970 Cincinnati Reds

            LF—Bernie Carbo (25), CF—Bobby Tolan (29), RF—Pete Rose (29).  Total, 83. 

            3)  1971 San Francisco Giants

            LF—Ken Henderson (23), CF—Willie Mays (27), RF—Bobby Bonds (32).  Total, 82. 

1970s Starting Pitching

            1)  1970 Chicago Cubs

            Ferguson Jenkins (26), Ken Holtzman (23), Bill Hands (21), Milt Pappas (15), Joe Decker (5).   Total, 90.

            2)  1971 Chicago Cubs

            Fergie (37), Pappas (20), Hands (15), Juan Pizzaro (8), Holtzman (7).  Total, 87. 

            3)  1971 Chicago White Sox

            Wilbur Wood (33), Tom Bradley (20), Tommy John (16), Bart Johnson (10), Joe Horlen (5).  Total, 84. 

1970s Bullpens

            1 Tie)  1970 Minnesota Twins.   Ron Perranoski, Stan Williams and Tom Hall, who was also a spot starter.  Team Total, 45.

            1 Tie)  1977 Chicago Cubs.   Bruce Sutter, Willie Hernandez and Paul Reuschel.   Top Three Total, 45.

            3)  1970 Philadelphia Phillies.   Dick Selma, Joe Hoerner and Barry Lersch.   I know it doesn’t sound like much, but they all had good years.   Team Total, 44.

1980s Infields

            1)   1982 Milwaukee Brewers

            1B—Cecil Cooper (29), 2B—Jim Gantner (15), 3B—Paul Molitor (30), SS—Robin Yount (39).  Total, 113.

            2)  1987 St. Louis Cardinals

            1B—Jack Clark (33), 2B—Tommie Herr (16), 3B—Terry Pendleton (21), SS—Ozzie Smith (33).  Total, 103.

            3)  1983 Milwaukee Brewers

            Cooper (25), Gantner (21), Molitor (23), Yount (33).  Total, 102.

1980s Outfields

            1)  1980 Oakland A’s

            1B—Rickey Henderson (34), CF—Dwayne Murphy (27), RF—Tony Armas (22).   Total, 83.

            2)  1984 San Diego Padres

            LF—Carmelo Martinez (21), Kevin McReynolds (25), Tony Gwynn (35).  Total, 81.

            3)  1988 New York Mets

            LF—Kevin McReynolds (31), CF—Lenny Dykstra (17), RF—Darryl Strawberry (30).  Total, 77. 

            Kevin McReynolds was on two of the three best outfields of the 1980s.   Who knew? 

1980s Starting Pitching

            1)  1985 Kansas City Royals

            Bret Saberhagen (24), Charlie Leibrandt (24), Danny Jackson (16), Mark Gubicza (12), Bud Black (10).   Total, 86.  

            2 (Tie))  1987 Kansas City Royals

            Bret Saberhagen (23), Charlie Leibrandt (20), Mark Gubicza (16), Danny Jackson (13), Bud Black (9).   Total, 81.

            2 (Tie))  1980 Oakland A’s

            Mike Norris (25), Rick Langford (19), Matt Keough (18), Steve McCatty (11), Brian Kingman (8).   Total, 81.

1980s Bullpens

            1)  1982 Red Sox.  Bob Stanley, Mark Clear and Tom Burgmeier.   They made zero starts among them, pitched over 100 innings each, went 33-16 with 30 Saves and all had ERAs a run better than the league.   Well, Stanley was 0.98 better. . .Team Total, 47.

            2)  1984 Tigers.   Willie Hernandez won the MVP Award, Senior Smoke (Aurelio Lopez) threw 138 innings backing him up and was 10-1.  Team Total, 43.

            3)  1987 Montreal Expos.  Tim Burke and Andy McGaffigan had good years.  Team Total, 42. 

1990s Infields

            1 (Tie))  1996 Baltimore Orioles

            1B—Rafael Palmeiro (30), 2B—Roberto Alomar (31), 3B—B. J. Surhoff (17), SS—Cal Ripken (22).  Total, 100.

            1 (Tie))  1996 Houston Astros

            1B—Jeff Bagwell (41), 2B—Craig Biggio (32), 3B—Sean Berry (19),  SS—Orlando Miller (8).  Total, 100.

            3)  1990 Detroit Tigers

            1B—Cecil Fielder (29), 2B—Lou Whitaker (19), 3B—Tony Phillips (22), SS—Alan Trammell (29).   Total, 99.

1990s Outfields

            1)  1991 Pittsburgh Pirates

            LF—Barry Bonds (37), CF—Andy Van Slyke (22), RF—Bobby Bonilla (31).  Total, 90.

            2)  1990 Pittsburgh Pirates

            Bonds (37), Van Slyke (23), Bonilla (23).   Total, 83.

            3 (Tie))  1992 Pittsburgh Pirates

            LF—Barry Bonds (41), CF—Andy Van Slyke (35), RF—Lloyd McClendon (5).  Total, 81. 

            3 (Tie))  1991 Oakland A’s

            LF—Rickey Hdnerson (25), CF—Dave Henderson (25), RF—Jose Canseco (31).  Total, 81. 

1990s Starting Pitching
            1)  1997 Atlanta Braves

            Greg Maddux (26), John Smoltz (21), Tom Glavine (21), Denny Neagle (21), Kevin Millwood (3).  Total, 92. 

            2)  1998 Atlanta Braves

            Maddux (25), Glavine (23), Smoltz (16), Neagle (14), Millwood (10).   Total, 88. 

            3)  1993 Atlanta Braves

            Maddux (25), Glavine (20), Steve Avery (19), Smoltz (16), Pete Smith (4).   Total, 84. 

            Five and six are the Braves of 1995 and 1996, eighth is the Braves of 1999. 

1990s Bullpens

            1)  The Nasty Boys.   The 1990 Cincinnati Reds—Dibble, Randy Myers and Norm Charlton.   Team Total, 48—as far as I know an all-time record.

            2)  1999 Cincinnati Reds.   Scott Williamson, Danny Graves and Scott Sullivan.   Team Total, 41.

            3)  1991 Toronto Blue Jays.   Tom Henke, Duane Ward and Mike Timlin.   Team Total, 42. 

            While I don’t have organized data since 2001, the infield of the 2001 Oakland A’s was the strongest since the 1982 Brewers, with Jason Giambi (38), Frank Menechino (18), Eric Chavez (26) and Miguel Tejada (25).   Total, 107. 

            OK, summarizing the top tens:

Infields

1.  1913 Philadelphia Athletics           Connie Mack               123

2.  1908 Pittsburgh Pirates                  Fred Clarke                 117

     1914 Philadelphia Athletics           Connie Mack               117

4.  1934 Detroit Tigers                        Mickey Cochrane        115

     1912 Philadelphia Athletics           Connie Mack               115

6.  1975 Cincinnati Reds                    Sparky Anderson        113

      1982 Milwaukee Brewers             Harvey Kuenn             113

8.  1927 New York Giants                  John McGraw             111

9.   1946 St. Louis Cardinals              Eddie Dyer                 108

      1898 Baltimore Orioles                 Ned Hanlon                108

Outfields

1.  1915 Detroit Tigers                        Hughie Jennings          106

2.  1908 Detroit Tigers                        Hughie Jennings          101

3.  1907 Detroit Tigers                        Hughie Jennings          101

4.  1961 New York Yankees              Ralph Houk                 100

5.  1941 New York Yankees              Joe McCarthy                99

6.  1927 New York Yankees              Miller Huggins              97

7.  1917 Detroit Tigers                        Hughie Jennings            95

8.  1899 Philadelphia Phillies              Bill Shettsline                94

9.  1920 New York Yankees              Miller Huggins              93

10.  1968 Boston Red Sox                  Dick Williams               92

Starting Five

1.  1886 St. Louis (AA)                      Charlie Comiskey        146

2.  1892 Boston Braves                       Frank Selee                 144

3.  1887 St. Louis (AA)                      Charlie Comiskey        139

4.  1888 St. Louis (AA)                      Charlie Comiskey        133

5.  1884 Providence Grays                  Frank Bancroft            129

6.  1907 Chicago Cubs                        Frank Chance              126

     1894 New York Giants                  Monte Ward                126

8.  1890 Louisville Colonels               Jack Chapman             125

9.  1912 Boston Red Sox                    Jake Stahl                    124

10.  1931 Philadelphia A’s                  Connie Mack               120

Top Three Relievers

1.  1990 Cincinnati Reds                    Lou Piniella                 48

2.  1982 Boston Red Sox                    Ralph Houk                 47

3.  1970 Minnesota Twins                   Bill Rigney                  45

     1977 Chicago Cubs                        Herman Franks            45

5.  1965 Chicago White Sox               Al Lopez                     44

     1970 Philadelphia Phillies              Frank Lucchessi          44

     1999 Cincinnati Reds                    Jack McKeon              44

8.  1977 Pittsburgh Pirates                  Chuck Tanner              43

     1984 Detroit Tigers                        Sparky Anderson        43

10. 1987 Montreal Expos                    Buck Rodgers             42

      1991 Toronto Blue Jays                Cito Gaston                 42

            It is nice that, even though our bullpen system has problems, the list is led off by probably the most famous “team” bullpen in history, and a bullpen that led its team to the World Championship. 

            The first three lists are so much dominated by older teams that I’m going to do a post-1950 list (since Bill James was born list) for those:

Infields

1.  1975 Cincinnati Reds                    Sparky Anderson        113

      1982 Milwaukee Brewers             Harvey Kuenn             113

3.  2001 Oakland A’s                          Art Howe                    107

4.  1976 Cincinnati Reds                    Sparky Anderson        106

5.  1987 St. Louis Cardinals               Whitey Herzog            103

6.  1983 Milwaukee Brewers              Harvey Kuenn             102

7.  1996 Baltimore Orioles                  Davey Johnson            100

     1996 Houston Astros                     Terry Collins               100

     1973 Cincinnati Reds                    Sparky Anderson        100

     1951 Brooklyn Dodgers                Charley Dressen          100

            Charley Dressen is unaccountably listed in the Encyclopedias as “Chuck”.  I don’t ever remember him being called “Chuck”.  

Outfields

1.  1961 New York Yankees              Ralph Houk                 100

2.  1968 Boston Red Sox                    Dick Williams               92

3.  1991 Pittsburgh Pirates                  Jim Leyland                  90

4.  1963 San Francisco Giants                        Alvin Dark                    88

5.  1962 Los Angeles Dodgers           Walter Alston                87

     1972 Houston Astros                     Harry Walker                87

7.  1953 Brooklyn Dodgers                Charley Dressen          85

     1959 Cleveland Indians                 Joe Gordon                   85

9.  1969  Baltimore Orioles                 Earl Weaver                  84

     1962  San Francisco Giants           Alvin Dark                    84

            The 1960s were so much the era of the great outfields that three of the best post-World War II outfields were not even listed on the decade roster—the 1962 Dodgers (Frank Howard, Willie Davis and Tommy Davis), the 1969 Baltimore Orioles (Don Buford, Paul Blair and Frank Robinson) and the 1962 San Francisco Giants (Harvey Kuenn, Willie Mays and Felipe Alou.)  

Starting Five

1.  1954 Cleveland Indians                 Al Lopez                     97

2.  1997 Atlanta Braves                      Bobby Cox                  92

3.  1956 Cleveland Indians                 Al Lopez                     90

     1970 Chicago Cubs                        Leo Durocher              90

5.  1969 New York Mets                    Gil Hodges                  88

     1998 Atlanta Braves                      Bobby Cox                  88

7.  1950 Detroit Tigers                        Red Rolfe                   87

     1952 Philadelphia Phillies              Steve O’Neill              87

      1963 New York Yankees             Ralph Houk                 87

     1971 Chicago Cubs                        Leo Durocher              87