|
Best
Offenses
Since 1900, seven teams have scored 1,000
or more runs in a season: 4 of those 7 were the New York Yankees
"Murderer's Row" squads of the 1930s: 1930 (1,062), 1931
(1,067), 1932 (1,002), and 1936 (1,065). The other three are the 1930 St. Louis Cardinals,
who scored 1,004 runs; the 1999 Cleveland Indians, who scored 1,009;
and the 1950 Boston Red Sox (1,027).
But all of those teams scored their totals in big offensive years.
In 5 of the 7 seasons in which a team scored 1,000+ runs, the league
average was above 800. But if we compare teams to the league
average, here is what we get:
| |
Team |
Runs |
Lg.
Avg. |
%
above avg |
| 1931 |
New York Yankees |
1,067 |
794 |
+34.3 |
| 1976 |
Cincinnati Reds |
857 |
645 |
+32.9 |
| 1950 |
Boston Red Sox |
1,027 |
782 |
+31.4 |
| 1953 |
Brooklyn Dodgers |
955 |
739 |
+29.2 |
| 1927 |
New York Yankees |
975 |
762 |
+28.0 |
| 1930 |
New York Yankees |
1,062 |
834 |
+27.4 |
| 1942 |
St. Louis Cardinals |
755 |
598 |
+26.3 |
| 1965 |
Cincinnati Reds |
825 |
656 |
+25.8 |
| 1946 |
Boston Red Sox |
792 |
792 |
+25.7 |
| 1975 |
Cincinnati Reds |
840 |
668 |
+25.7 |
Another way to determine a
great offense is not by referencing the relationship to the league
average, but by looking at how many standard deviations above the
average the team ended up. Here are the top teams in that category
(excluding the Colorado Rockies, whose run stats are juiced by at least
25% as a result of the ballpark):
| |
Team |
Runs |
#
Std Dev above lg. avg |
| 1976 |
Cincinnati Reds |
857 |
+ 2.44 |
| 1975 |
Cincinnati Reds |
840 |
+ 2.36 |
| 1953 |
Brooklyn Dodgers |
955 |
+ 2.24 |
| 1993 |
Philadelphia Phillies |
877 |
+ 2.23 |
| 1982 |
Milwaukee Brewers |
891 |
+ 2.15 |
| 1965 |
Minnesota Twins |
774 |
+ 2.14 |
| 1986 |
New York Mets |
825 |
+ 2.08 |
| 1935 |
Detroit Tigers |
919 |
+ 2.08 |
| 1968 |
Detroit Tigers |
671 |
+ 2.07 |
| 1949 |
Brooklyn Dodgers |
879 |
+ 2.06 |
So which method is
better? Rob Neyer and Eddie Epstein use the latter approach in Baseball
Dynasties, but I have a preference for the former. Regardless, the 1976 Reds and 1953 Dodgers are near the
tops of both lists. Both teams had a team slugging percentage exactly
63 points better than the league average. The '53 Dodgers had an
OBP of .366, 31 points better than the league average. The '76
Reds also had a team OBP of .366 - what are the odds of that??? - and
that was 46 points above the league average.
In my book, the Reds come
out slightly ahead; the Dodgers had the benefit of playing in Ebbetts
Field, which had a park index of 107 that year and had a reputation for
being a little more lively than old Riverfront Stadium, which was basically
a neutral park. But it's very close.
|
