How do you define the best baseball teams of all time? It is the teams with the most talent or the teams that win the most games? Does a team have to win the World Series to be considered one of the best? Below are some of the best baseball teams in major league history based on players and winning:
1909 Pittsburg Pirates
The Pittsburg Pirates finished the 1909 season with a record of 110-42, accumulating an amazing .724 winning percentage. Out of the team’s starting pitchers, Deacon Phillips was the worst with an 8-3 record and a 2.32 earned run average (ERA). The best was Howie Camnitz, who won 25 games that year with a 1.62 ERA. Vic Willis won 22 games for the team. As for fielders, the team had future Hall of Famers Honus Wagner batting .339 for the season while getting 100 runs batted in (RBIs). Dots Miller and Bill Abstein hit 87 and 70 RBIs that season, respectively. The Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers that year to win the World Series.
1931 Philadelphia Athletics
With future Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx at first and Mickey Cochrane behind the plate, the Athletics won 107 games in their 1931 season. Cochrane hit .349 for the season with 89 home runs 17 home runs and 89 runs batted in (RBIs). Foxx hit 120 RBIs, but he finished second behind Al Simmons who brought in 128 runners. The starting pitchers comprised a win/loss record of 99-36 with Lefty Grove leading the team with 31 wins and only four losses. Simmons and Grove would later be elected to the Hall of Fame as well. The Athletics won the American League pennant that year, but lost the World Series to St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
It was a tough year for Charlie Keller. Although he would hit .334 with 11 home runs in 1939 for the Yankees, he came in second behind the great Joe DiMaggio. At the top of his game, DiMaggio batted .381 with 30 home runs and 126 RBIs. Also taking a back seat to DiMaggio was third baseman Red Rolfe (who hit .329), George Selkirk (who hit .306), and Bill Dickey (who hit .302). The Yankees steamrolled the Cincinnati Reds that year in four straight games to win the World Series, the team’s fourth in a row.
1986 New York Mets
The 1986 Mets were a cocky team, but with good reason. With high salaried players Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, and Gary Carter, the Mets proved that money could buy fame by winning 108 games that year, for a .667 winning percentage. Under the helm of manager Davey Johnson, the team beat the Houston Astros for the National League pennant then went on the beat the Boston Red Sox both mentally and physically in the 1986 World Series that may best be known for Bill Buckner’s fielding blunder in Game 6.
1984 Detroit Tigers
The 1984 Detroit Tigers were one of only three teams in history who spent the entire season at the top of their division. That year, the team won 104 games and lost only 58. Hitting for the Tigers were Silver Slugger winners Lance Parrish, Kirk Gibson, Lou Whitaker, and Howard Johnson. For the pitching staff, Jack Morris went 19-11 with a 3.60 ERA. Dan Petry backed that up with 18 wins and Milt Wilcox followed him with 17 wins. Beating the Kansas City Royals in three games for the American League title, the Tigers then beat the San Diego Padres in five games to win the World Series.
