For some reason, I've always liked Canada's MLB teams. The Expos were the first team I considered my favorite (long story), and that fondness carries over to the current-day Nationals. The Blue Jays were the visiting team in the first ballgame I ever attended, and their classic uniforms are one of my all-time favorites (their return to this look may give them to top spot if I were to rank all of MLB's uniforms again). I may not be Canadian, but I can appreciate the country's baseball offerings.
A while back, someone on a message board posed the question of how many Canadian players played for the Expos and Blue Jays. It made me curious, so I decided to find out the answer. I counted a player as "Canadian" if he was born in Canada, because I don't have time to research whether a player may have moved there after being born somewhere else.
The answers I came up with were:
Expos (16): Claude Raymond, Larry Landreth, Bill Atkinson, Doug Frobel, Larry Walker, Dave Wainhouse, Matt Maysey, Matt Stairs, Denis Boucher, Mike Gardiner, Joe Siddall, Derek Aucoin, Rheal Cormier, Mike Johnson, Rob Ducey, Shawn Hill.
Blue Jays (17): Dave McKay, Paul Hodgson, Rob Ducey, Vince Horsman, Denis Boucher, Rob Butler, Paul Spoljaric, Paul Quantrill, Rich Butler, Steve Sinclair, Simon Pond, Corey Koskie, Matt Stairs, Scott Richmond, Shawn Hill, Adam Loewen, Brett Lawrie.
Several players, as you might have noticed, appeared on both lists, namely Matt Stairs, Denis Boucher, Rob Ducey and Shawn Hill. Only these four men can claim to be Canadian-born and to have played for both Canadian teams.
If I had more time, I could look into the question of which MLB team had the most Canadian-born players in one season, but right now, I can only answer for the Expos and Blue Jays.
The 1993 Expos had five Canadians (Boucher, Gardiner, Siddell, Stairs, Walker) and the 1999 Blue Jays had four Canadians (Rob Butler, Quantrill, Sinclair, Spoljaric).
Is there any team that had more than five? Perhaps someday this blog will be able to answer that question.
One thing I noticed while researching this information was that the 1980's seemed to be a low point for Canadian baseball players. There was no shortage of them in the previous decades, and in the 1990's there was a new wave of them, but not many came up during the 1980's. I have no idea why that is. Perhaps Canadian baseball culture in the '60s and '70s was weak? Could the '90s boom be attributed to the successes of the Expos and Blue Jays? I'd be interested in hearing from someone who knows.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
World Series Champions: The Plus Years
Sorry for being lazy, folks. I've finally gotten around to doing this post as a follow-up to the last one. Last time we looked at which World Series Champion teams had the most and the fewest of the same players in each year prior to the title. This time we're looking at the years following the title.
Plus-1
Median: 23
Top Teams: 1980 PHI (30), 1952 NYY (29), 1966 BAL (29), 1971 PIT (29), 1973 OAK (29), 2010 SFG (29)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (10), 1903 BOS (13), 1943 NYY (14), 1905 NYG (16), 1945 DET (16), 1934 STL (17), 1908 CHC (18), 1919 CIN (18), 1930 PHA (18), 1942 STL (18)
As with the Minus years, the bottom teams are either from an era of smaller rosters or war. One thing I discovered from doing this exercise is that player usage has gone up over the years. Since the year 2000, only one World Series Champion has used fewer than 40 players over the course of the season (that being the 2005 Chicago White Sox), so in a way I'm surprised that a team from over 30 years ago holds the top spot for players retained. Then again, you look at the teams just behind them, and you see several teams from that middle era as well, so perhaps the rates of player movement have similarly increased.
Plus-2
Median: 16
Top Teams: 1952 NYY (23), 1971 PIT (23), 1954 NYG (21), 1957 MLN (21), 1979 PIT (21), 1983 BAL (21), 1986 NYM (21), 1989 OAK (21)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (6), 1914 BSN (8), 1997 FLA (9), 1916 BOS (10), 1942 STL (10), 1919 CIN (11), 1941 NYY (11)
The top teams here all come from the same "middle era," interestingly enough.
Plus-3
Median: 12
Top Teams: 1951 NYY (20), 1986 NYM (20), 1962 NYY (19), 1943 NYY (18), 1946 STL (18), 1956 NYY (18), 1989 OAK (18), 1957 MLN (17)
Bottom Teams: 2003 FLA (2), 1918 BOS (4), 1974 OAK (4), 1941 NYY (5), 1997 FLA (5), 1914 BSN (7), 1915 BOS (7), 1919 CIN (7), 1944 STL (7), 1990 CIN (7)
The 2003 Marlins' fire sale was really something, wasn't it? Just three years later only two of those players remained!
Plus-4
Median: 9
Top Teams: 1946 STL (16), 1951 NYY (16), 1981 LAD (16), 1942 STL (14), 1957 MLN (14), 1961 NYY (14), 1962 NYY (14)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (0), 1974 OAK (2), 2003 FLA (2), 1934 STL (3)
Harry Frazee's 1918 Red Sox though, have everyone beat by getting rid of everyone in just four years! The top teams are a testament to the strength of the Cardinal, Yankee and Dodger systems that we always hear about. The Braves are a bit underrated in that regard.
Plus-5
Median: 6
Top Teams: 1941 NYY (15), 1946 STL (14), 1932 NYY (12), 1949 NYY (12), 1951 NYY (12), 1971 PIT (12)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (0), 2003 FLA (0), 1972 OAK (1), 1974 OAK (1), 1913 PHA (2), 1991 MIN (2)
Don't forget about that Pirate system either.
Plus-6
Median: 5
Top Teams: 1932 NYY (10), 1956 NYY (10), 1981 LAD (10), 1926 STL (9), 1942 STL (9), 1950 NYY (9), 1959 LAD (9), 1966 BAL (9), 1968 DET (9), 1989 OAK (9)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (0), 1921 NYG (0), 1972 OAK (0), 2003 FLA (0), 1903 BOS (1), 1916 BOS (1), 1930 PHA (1), 1973 OAK (1), 1974 OAK (1), 1983 BAL (1)
A lot of zeros coming up here. I never realized before I compiled this information how much the 1921 Giants turned over their roster.
Plus-7
Median: 3
Top Teams: 1939 NYY (10), 1965 LAD (9), 1959 LAD (8), 1966 BAL (8), 1996 NYY (8)
Bottom Teams: 1916 BOS (0), 1918 BOS (0), 1921 NYG (0), 1929 PHA (0), 1930 PHA (0), 1934 STL (0), 2003 FLA (0)
The 1939 Yankees benefit from World War II. Their Plus-7 year was 1946, so they had a bunch of players returning from the war who might have been traded or released if they hadn't been serving their country.
Plus-8
Median: 3
Top Teams: 1938 NYY (8), 1942 STL (7), 1966 BAL (7), 1948 CLE (6), 1971 PIT (6)
Bottom Teams: 1903 BOS (0), 1913 PHA (0), 1915 BOS (0), 1916 BOS (0), 1918 BOS (0), 1921 NYG (0), 1929 PHA (0), 1934 STL (0), 2001 ARI (0), 2003 FLA (0)
You can see the 1946 phenomenon strike again here.
Plus-9
Median: 2
Top Teams: 1937 NYY (7), 1996 NYY (7), 1933 NYG (6), 1942 STL (6), 1907 CHC (5), 1932 NYY (5), 1966 BAL (5)
Bottom Teams: 21 teams
By this point there are too many teams at the bottom with zero to mention each one individually.
Plus-10
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1932 NYY (5), 1936 NYY (5), 1923 NYY (4), 1937 NYY (4), 1956 NYY (4), 1966 BAL (4), 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (4), 1999 NYY (4), 2000 NYY (4)
Bottom Teams: 24 teams
All these Yankee teams! Where'd they come from? How does that franchise manage to keep their players together like that? Give credit where due though, to the 1966 Orioles.
Plus-11
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (4), 1999 NYY (4)
Well now, here's an interesting development. The Yankees' famed big four (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada) make that late-90's dynasty stand apart. If Andy Pettitte hadn't spent the 2011 season in retirement, the 2000 team would be up here too.
Plus-12
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (4), 1999 NYY (3), 2000 NYY (3)
Plus-13
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (4), 1995 ATL (3), 1998 NYY (3), 1999 NYY (3)
The usual suspects, except the 1995 Braves join the mix. The 2000 Yankees are ineligible because their Plus-13 year is coming up soon and doesn't qualify yet.
Plus-14
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1932 NYY (4), 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (3), 1924 WSH (2), 1942 STL (2), 1946 STL (2), 1953 NYY (2), 1966 BAL (2), 1982 STL (2)
Thanks to WWII, the 1932 Yankees sneak in here.
Plus-15
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1914 BSN (3), 1996 NYY (3), 1913 PHA (2), 1942 STL (2), 1946 STL (2), 1966 BAL (2)
Johnny Evers and Hank Gowdy were coaches for the 1929 Boston Braves, and it looks like they knew this list would be compiled one day, so they had to make some token appearances.
Plus-16
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (3), 1914 BSN (2), 1946 STL (2)
Plus-17
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1913 PHA (2), 1946 STL (2)
The 1963 Cardinals still had Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst hanging around. It looks like their departure was the last thing needed for them to get back to the World Series.
Plus-18
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1910 PHA (1), 1911 PHA (1), 1914 BSN (1), 1916 BOS (1), 1928 NYY (1), 1942 STL (1), 1944 STL (1), 1954 NYG (1), 1966 BAL (1), 1983 BAL (1)
Plus-19
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1910 PHA (1), 1911 PHA (1), 1914 BSN (1), 1915 BOS (1), 1942 STL (1), 1944 STL (1)
They're clearly dwindling now....
Plus-20
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1910 PHA (1), 1942 STL (1)
Plus-21
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1914 BSN (1), 1942 STL (1)
Thanks to two Hall of Famers, Stan Musial and Rabbit Maranville, these two teams are the only ones to suit up a player 21 years after the title.
Plus-1
Median: 23
Top Teams: 1980 PHI (30), 1952 NYY (29), 1966 BAL (29), 1971 PIT (29), 1973 OAK (29), 2010 SFG (29)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (10), 1903 BOS (13), 1943 NYY (14), 1905 NYG (16), 1945 DET (16), 1934 STL (17), 1908 CHC (18), 1919 CIN (18), 1930 PHA (18), 1942 STL (18)
As with the Minus years, the bottom teams are either from an era of smaller rosters or war. One thing I discovered from doing this exercise is that player usage has gone up over the years. Since the year 2000, only one World Series Champion has used fewer than 40 players over the course of the season (that being the 2005 Chicago White Sox), so in a way I'm surprised that a team from over 30 years ago holds the top spot for players retained. Then again, you look at the teams just behind them, and you see several teams from that middle era as well, so perhaps the rates of player movement have similarly increased.
Plus-2
Median: 16
Top Teams: 1952 NYY (23), 1971 PIT (23), 1954 NYG (21), 1957 MLN (21), 1979 PIT (21), 1983 BAL (21), 1986 NYM (21), 1989 OAK (21)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (6), 1914 BSN (8), 1997 FLA (9), 1916 BOS (10), 1942 STL (10), 1919 CIN (11), 1941 NYY (11)
The top teams here all come from the same "middle era," interestingly enough.
Plus-3
Median: 12
Top Teams: 1951 NYY (20), 1986 NYM (20), 1962 NYY (19), 1943 NYY (18), 1946 STL (18), 1956 NYY (18), 1989 OAK (18), 1957 MLN (17)
Bottom Teams: 2003 FLA (2), 1918 BOS (4), 1974 OAK (4), 1941 NYY (5), 1997 FLA (5), 1914 BSN (7), 1915 BOS (7), 1919 CIN (7), 1944 STL (7), 1990 CIN (7)
The 2003 Marlins' fire sale was really something, wasn't it? Just three years later only two of those players remained!
Plus-4
Median: 9
Top Teams: 1946 STL (16), 1951 NYY (16), 1981 LAD (16), 1942 STL (14), 1957 MLN (14), 1961 NYY (14), 1962 NYY (14)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (0), 1974 OAK (2), 2003 FLA (2), 1934 STL (3)
Harry Frazee's 1918 Red Sox though, have everyone beat by getting rid of everyone in just four years! The top teams are a testament to the strength of the Cardinal, Yankee and Dodger systems that we always hear about. The Braves are a bit underrated in that regard.
Plus-5
Median: 6
Top Teams: 1941 NYY (15), 1946 STL (14), 1932 NYY (12), 1949 NYY (12), 1951 NYY (12), 1971 PIT (12)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (0), 2003 FLA (0), 1972 OAK (1), 1974 OAK (1), 1913 PHA (2), 1991 MIN (2)
Don't forget about that Pirate system either.
Plus-6
Median: 5
Top Teams: 1932 NYY (10), 1956 NYY (10), 1981 LAD (10), 1926 STL (9), 1942 STL (9), 1950 NYY (9), 1959 LAD (9), 1966 BAL (9), 1968 DET (9), 1989 OAK (9)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (0), 1921 NYG (0), 1972 OAK (0), 2003 FLA (0), 1903 BOS (1), 1916 BOS (1), 1930 PHA (1), 1973 OAK (1), 1974 OAK (1), 1983 BAL (1)
A lot of zeros coming up here. I never realized before I compiled this information how much the 1921 Giants turned over their roster.
Plus-7
Median: 3
Top Teams: 1939 NYY (10), 1965 LAD (9), 1959 LAD (8), 1966 BAL (8), 1996 NYY (8)
Bottom Teams: 1916 BOS (0), 1918 BOS (0), 1921 NYG (0), 1929 PHA (0), 1930 PHA (0), 1934 STL (0), 2003 FLA (0)
The 1939 Yankees benefit from World War II. Their Plus-7 year was 1946, so they had a bunch of players returning from the war who might have been traded or released if they hadn't been serving their country.
Plus-8
Median: 3
Top Teams: 1938 NYY (8), 1942 STL (7), 1966 BAL (7), 1948 CLE (6), 1971 PIT (6)
Bottom Teams: 1903 BOS (0), 1913 PHA (0), 1915 BOS (0), 1916 BOS (0), 1918 BOS (0), 1921 NYG (0), 1929 PHA (0), 1934 STL (0), 2001 ARI (0), 2003 FLA (0)
You can see the 1946 phenomenon strike again here.
Plus-9
Median: 2
Top Teams: 1937 NYY (7), 1996 NYY (7), 1933 NYG (6), 1942 STL (6), 1907 CHC (5), 1932 NYY (5), 1966 BAL (5)
Bottom Teams: 21 teams
By this point there are too many teams at the bottom with zero to mention each one individually.
Plus-10
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1932 NYY (5), 1936 NYY (5), 1923 NYY (4), 1937 NYY (4), 1956 NYY (4), 1966 BAL (4), 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (4), 1999 NYY (4), 2000 NYY (4)
Bottom Teams: 24 teams
All these Yankee teams! Where'd they come from? How does that franchise manage to keep their players together like that? Give credit where due though, to the 1966 Orioles.
Plus-11
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (4), 1999 NYY (4)
Well now, here's an interesting development. The Yankees' famed big four (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada) make that late-90's dynasty stand apart. If Andy Pettitte hadn't spent the 2011 season in retirement, the 2000 team would be up here too.
Plus-12
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (4), 1999 NYY (3), 2000 NYY (3)
Plus-13
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (4), 1995 ATL (3), 1998 NYY (3), 1999 NYY (3)
The usual suspects, except the 1995 Braves join the mix. The 2000 Yankees are ineligible because their Plus-13 year is coming up soon and doesn't qualify yet.
Plus-14
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1932 NYY (4), 1996 NYY (4), 1998 NYY (3), 1924 WSH (2), 1942 STL (2), 1946 STL (2), 1953 NYY (2), 1966 BAL (2), 1982 STL (2)
Thanks to WWII, the 1932 Yankees sneak in here.
Plus-15
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1914 BSN (3), 1996 NYY (3), 1913 PHA (2), 1942 STL (2), 1946 STL (2), 1966 BAL (2)
Johnny Evers and Hank Gowdy were coaches for the 1929 Boston Braves, and it looks like they knew this list would be compiled one day, so they had to make some token appearances.
Plus-16
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1996 NYY (3), 1914 BSN (2), 1946 STL (2)
Plus-17
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1913 PHA (2), 1946 STL (2)
The 1963 Cardinals still had Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst hanging around. It looks like their departure was the last thing needed for them to get back to the World Series.
Plus-18
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1910 PHA (1), 1911 PHA (1), 1914 BSN (1), 1916 BOS (1), 1928 NYY (1), 1942 STL (1), 1944 STL (1), 1954 NYG (1), 1966 BAL (1), 1983 BAL (1)
Plus-19
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1910 PHA (1), 1911 PHA (1), 1914 BSN (1), 1915 BOS (1), 1942 STL (1), 1944 STL (1)
They're clearly dwindling now....
Plus-20
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1910 PHA (1), 1942 STL (1)
Plus-21
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1914 BSN (1), 1942 STL (1)
Thanks to two Hall of Famers, Stan Musial and Rabbit Maranville, these two teams are the only ones to suit up a player 21 years after the title.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
World Series Champions: The Minus Years
As any regular reader of this blog knows, I kind of have a fascination with teams that win the World Series. A group of guys that came together to reach the pinnacle of their sport just has a special mystique about it, and when it's in baseball, the only sport that really matters, it takes on an extra special meaning.
A while back I introduced the activity chart, which was inspired by the tidbits from my Profiling the World Series Winners series (which I really ought to resume at some point). I put together an activity chart for each of the World Series Champion teams, and with it I was able to see how different the trends were of players playing for these teams in the years before and after. Some teams kept their core together for many years, while others were dismantled through fire sales shortly after the championship. Similarly, others had their players grow and develop together long before they won anything, while others were put together rather quickly.
I decided to record the number of players who were with the team in each year removed from the championship year. For instance, the 1924 Washington Senators had 35 players get into a game that season. Of those 35, 20 also played a game for the 1923 Senators. Since 1923 was one year before 1924, 1923 is the "Minus-1" year for the 1924 Senators, and we would say their Minus-1 number is 20. Make sense?
With this post I thought I'd examine each Minus number so we can see which teams were the most extreme in the years before they hoisted the trophy.
Minus-24
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1930 PHA
As you can see, only one team makes the cut here. If it weren't for Eddie Collins making a few token appearances when he was primarily a coach, none of these teams would even have a Minus-24 qualifier.
Minus-23
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA
Same deal here. Collins and the A's went way back.
Minus-22
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
More of the same deal, except you can add Don Sutton and his return to the Dodgers during the '88 season to the fun.
Minus-21
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
Minus-20
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
Minus-19
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
Minus-18
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1925 PIT, 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1983 BAL, 1988 LAD
Babe Adams' and Jim Palmer's longevity are suddenly of interest to us.
Minus-17
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1930 PHA (2), 1924 WSH, 1929 PHA, 1979 PIT, 1983 BAL, 1987 MIN, 1988 LAD, 1990 CIN, 2004 BOS
The 1930 Athletics had Wally Schang as their backup catcher, giving them the top Minus-17 number.
Minus-16
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1930 PHA (2), 1924 WSH, 1925 PIT, 1929 PHA, 1931 STL, 1939 NYY, 1944 STL, 1959 LAD, 1962 NYY, 1971 PIT, 1979 PIT, 1983 BAL, 1987 MIN, 1988 LAD, 1990 CIN, 2004 BOS
The 1930 A's are still #1, though more teams are joining the fun.
Minus-15
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1924 WSH (2), 1925 PIT (2), 1930 PHA (2), 1945 DET (2), 1971 PIT (2)
By now we have enough twos that we don't need to list all the ones.
Minus-14
Median: 0
Top Teams: 2009 NYY (4), 1925 PIT (2), 1945 DET (2), 1971 PIT (2)
Wow. Now here's an interesting development: The 2009 Yankees had their big four, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada each make their debut in 1995, catapulting them to the #1 spot here with twice as many as anyone else. As much as I wish that team hadn't won the World Series, it's pretty impressive to see what they did here.
Minus-13
Median: 0
Top Teams: 2009 NYY (4), 1925 PIT (2), 1930 PHA (2), 1950 NYY (2), 1971 PIT (2), 1992 TOR (2)
Minus-12
Median: 1
Top Teams: 2009 NYY (4), 1959 LAD (3), 1985 KCR (3)
The median for all the teams is suddenly one, but there are still so many teams with zero that I don't need to list them all.
Minus-11
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1959 LAD (4), 1985 KCR (4), 2009 NYY (4), 1913 PHA (3), 1929 PHA (3), 1941 NYY (3), 1943 NYY (3), 1945 DET (3), 1962 NYY (3), 1981 LAD (3)
Move over, 2009 Yankees, you've got company!
Minus-10
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1985 KCR (5), 1913 PHA (4), 1941 NYY (4), 1947 NYY (4), 1959 LAD (4), 1980 PHI (4), 1981 LAD (4), 1992 TOR (4), 2009 NYY (4)
Bottom Teams: 25 teams
Fewer and fewer teams have zero, but there are still too many to list them all individually. The 1985 Royals have overtaken the "lead."
Minus-9
Median: 2
Top Teams: 1985 KCR (8), 1981 LAD (6), 1909 PIT (5), 1939 NYY (5), 1941 NYY (5), 1959 LAD (5), 1974 OAK (5)
Bottom Teams: 17 teams
Color me impressed. The 1985 Royals' have a Minus-9 number of 8! It's a testament to how committed they were to their core players in that era (or perhaps, how committed their core players were to them).
Minus-8
Median: 3
Top Teams: 1974 OAK (7), 1985 KCR (7), 1939 NYY (6), 1956 NYY (6), 1979 PIT (6), 1980 PHI (6), 1981 LAD (6)
Bottom Teams: 12 teams
The 1974 A's are right there with the Royals now.
Minus-7
Median: 4
Top Teams: 1974 OAK (10), 1962 NYY (9), 1983 BAL (9), 1938 NYY (8), 1955 BRO (8), 1980 PHI (8), 1985 KCR (8)
Bottom Teams: 1905 NYG (0), 1912 BOS (0), 1914 BSN (0), 1919 CIN (0), 1951 NYY (0), 1996 NYY (0), 2006 STL (0), 2010 SFG (0)
Ten in the Minus-7 year! Not bad, '74 A's, not bad. That's going back to the Kansas City Athletics, right there. At this point you can see which teams were built with a homegrown core and which teams came together quickly (although in the case of the 1951 Yankees, World War II was a big factor).
Minus-6
Median: 5
Top Teams: 1973 OAK (11), 1974 OAK (11), 1938 NYY (10), 1962 NYY (10), 1983 BAL (10)
Bottom Teams: 1905 NYG (0), 1951 NYY (0), 2010 SFG (0), 1914 BSN (1), 1919 CIN (1), 1942 STL (1), 1996 NYY (1), 1998 NYY (1), 2006 STL (1)
Five in the double digits now!
Minus-5
Median: 7
Top Teams: 1974 OAK (14), 1946 STL (13), 1983 BAL (13), 1930 PHA (12), 1937 NYY (12), 1956 NYY (12), 1973 OAK (12)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (1), 1919 CIN (1), 2010 SFG (1), 1912 BOS (2), 1969 NYM (2), 1998 NYY (2), 2006 STL (2)
At this point each of the bottom teams has at least one. It'd be really something if a championship team had turned over its entire roster in the previous five years.
Minus-4
Median: 9
Top Teams: 1973 OAK (15), 1983 BAL (15), 1946 STL (14), 1957 MLN (14)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (2), 1919 CIN (2), 1998 NYY (2), 1905 NYG (4), 1922 NYG (4), 1949 NYY (4), 2010 SFG (4)
The 1957 Braves had a huge infusion of future-championship talent coincide with their move to Milwaukee. It's amazing that the famous 114-win Yankees only had a Minus-4 number of 2.
Minus-3
Median: 12
Top Teams: 1957 MLN (19), 1970 BAL (18), 1983 BAL (18), 1972 OAK (17), 1981 LAD (17), 1951 NYY (16), 1958 NYY (16), 1976 CIN (16)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (3), 1919 CIN (5), 1948 CLE (5), 2006 STL (5), 2001 ARI (6)
I'm starting to think the 1914 Boston Braves might be the most surprising World Series Champion ever. They had a bunch of players who came together out of nowhere to somehow form a title-winner. The 2001 Diamondbacks just now qualify, because their Minus-3 year was also the franchise's debut season.
Minus-2
Median: 16
Top Teams: 1970 BAL (21), 1983 BAL (21), 1950 NYY (20), 1951 NYY (20), 1953 NYY (20), 1957 MLN (20)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (5), 1947 NYY (8), 1903 BOS (9), 1907 CHC (10), 1918 BOS (10), 1923 NYY (10), 1924 WSN (10), 1944 STL (10), 1997 FLA (10)
Few are the teams that can crack the 20 mark in the Minus-2 year! Some of the bottom teams, as you might be able to observe, were affected by wars or eras of smaller rosters.
Minus-1
Median: 22
Top Teams: 1956 NYY (30), 1953 NYY (29), 1974 OAK (29), 1992 TOR (29), 1983 BAL (28), 1989 OAK (28), 2009 NYY (28), 2010 SFG (28)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (11), 1933 NYG (13), 1903 BOS (14), 1919 CIN (14), 1946 STL (14), 1909 PIT (15), 1943 NYY (15)
Not much to say about the top teams, but the bottom teams here are interesting. As I said above, the World Wars impacted several of them, and the 1909 Pirates and 1933 Giants featured their share of newcomers.
Next time we'll look at the Plus Years!
A while back I introduced the activity chart, which was inspired by the tidbits from my Profiling the World Series Winners series (which I really ought to resume at some point). I put together an activity chart for each of the World Series Champion teams, and with it I was able to see how different the trends were of players playing for these teams in the years before and after. Some teams kept their core together for many years, while others were dismantled through fire sales shortly after the championship. Similarly, others had their players grow and develop together long before they won anything, while others were put together rather quickly.
I decided to record the number of players who were with the team in each year removed from the championship year. For instance, the 1924 Washington Senators had 35 players get into a game that season. Of those 35, 20 also played a game for the 1923 Senators. Since 1923 was one year before 1924, 1923 is the "Minus-1" year for the 1924 Senators, and we would say their Minus-1 number is 20. Make sense?
With this post I thought I'd examine each Minus number so we can see which teams were the most extreme in the years before they hoisted the trophy.
Minus-24
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1930 PHA
As you can see, only one team makes the cut here. If it weren't for Eddie Collins making a few token appearances when he was primarily a coach, none of these teams would even have a Minus-24 qualifier.
Minus-23
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA
Same deal here. Collins and the A's went way back.
Minus-22
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
More of the same deal, except you can add Don Sutton and his return to the Dodgers during the '88 season to the fun.
Minus-21
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
Minus-20
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
Minus-19
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1988 LAD
Minus-18
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1925 PIT, 1929 PHA, 1930 PHA, 1983 BAL, 1988 LAD
Babe Adams' and Jim Palmer's longevity are suddenly of interest to us.
Minus-17
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1930 PHA (2), 1924 WSH, 1929 PHA, 1979 PIT, 1983 BAL, 1987 MIN, 1988 LAD, 1990 CIN, 2004 BOS
The 1930 Athletics had Wally Schang as their backup catcher, giving them the top Minus-17 number.
Minus-16
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1930 PHA (2), 1924 WSH, 1925 PIT, 1929 PHA, 1931 STL, 1939 NYY, 1944 STL, 1959 LAD, 1962 NYY, 1971 PIT, 1979 PIT, 1983 BAL, 1987 MIN, 1988 LAD, 1990 CIN, 2004 BOS
The 1930 A's are still #1, though more teams are joining the fun.
Minus-15
Median: 0
Top Teams: 1924 WSH (2), 1925 PIT (2), 1930 PHA (2), 1945 DET (2), 1971 PIT (2)
By now we have enough twos that we don't need to list all the ones.
Minus-14
Median: 0
Top Teams: 2009 NYY (4), 1925 PIT (2), 1945 DET (2), 1971 PIT (2)
Wow. Now here's an interesting development: The 2009 Yankees had their big four, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada each make their debut in 1995, catapulting them to the #1 spot here with twice as many as anyone else. As much as I wish that team hadn't won the World Series, it's pretty impressive to see what they did here.
Minus-13
Median: 0
Top Teams: 2009 NYY (4), 1925 PIT (2), 1930 PHA (2), 1950 NYY (2), 1971 PIT (2), 1992 TOR (2)
Minus-12
Median: 1
Top Teams: 2009 NYY (4), 1959 LAD (3), 1985 KCR (3)
The median for all the teams is suddenly one, but there are still so many teams with zero that I don't need to list them all.
Minus-11
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1959 LAD (4), 1985 KCR (4), 2009 NYY (4), 1913 PHA (3), 1929 PHA (3), 1941 NYY (3), 1943 NYY (3), 1945 DET (3), 1962 NYY (3), 1981 LAD (3)
Move over, 2009 Yankees, you've got company!
Minus-10
Median: 1
Top Teams: 1985 KCR (5), 1913 PHA (4), 1941 NYY (4), 1947 NYY (4), 1959 LAD (4), 1980 PHI (4), 1981 LAD (4), 1992 TOR (4), 2009 NYY (4)
Bottom Teams: 25 teams
Fewer and fewer teams have zero, but there are still too many to list them all individually. The 1985 Royals have overtaken the "lead."
Minus-9
Median: 2
Top Teams: 1985 KCR (8), 1981 LAD (6), 1909 PIT (5), 1939 NYY (5), 1941 NYY (5), 1959 LAD (5), 1974 OAK (5)
Bottom Teams: 17 teams
Color me impressed. The 1985 Royals' have a Minus-9 number of 8! It's a testament to how committed they were to their core players in that era (or perhaps, how committed their core players were to them).
Minus-8
Median: 3
Top Teams: 1974 OAK (7), 1985 KCR (7), 1939 NYY (6), 1956 NYY (6), 1979 PIT (6), 1980 PHI (6), 1981 LAD (6)
Bottom Teams: 12 teams
The 1974 A's are right there with the Royals now.
Minus-7
Median: 4
Top Teams: 1974 OAK (10), 1962 NYY (9), 1983 BAL (9), 1938 NYY (8), 1955 BRO (8), 1980 PHI (8), 1985 KCR (8)
Bottom Teams: 1905 NYG (0), 1912 BOS (0), 1914 BSN (0), 1919 CIN (0), 1951 NYY (0), 1996 NYY (0), 2006 STL (0), 2010 SFG (0)
Ten in the Minus-7 year! Not bad, '74 A's, not bad. That's going back to the Kansas City Athletics, right there. At this point you can see which teams were built with a homegrown core and which teams came together quickly (although in the case of the 1951 Yankees, World War II was a big factor).
Minus-6
Median: 5
Top Teams: 1973 OAK (11), 1974 OAK (11), 1938 NYY (10), 1962 NYY (10), 1983 BAL (10)
Bottom Teams: 1905 NYG (0), 1951 NYY (0), 2010 SFG (0), 1914 BSN (1), 1919 CIN (1), 1942 STL (1), 1996 NYY (1), 1998 NYY (1), 2006 STL (1)
Five in the double digits now!
Minus-5
Median: 7
Top Teams: 1974 OAK (14), 1946 STL (13), 1983 BAL (13), 1930 PHA (12), 1937 NYY (12), 1956 NYY (12), 1973 OAK (12)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (1), 1919 CIN (1), 2010 SFG (1), 1912 BOS (2), 1969 NYM (2), 1998 NYY (2), 2006 STL (2)
At this point each of the bottom teams has at least one. It'd be really something if a championship team had turned over its entire roster in the previous five years.
Minus-4
Median: 9
Top Teams: 1973 OAK (15), 1983 BAL (15), 1946 STL (14), 1957 MLN (14)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (2), 1919 CIN (2), 1998 NYY (2), 1905 NYG (4), 1922 NYG (4), 1949 NYY (4), 2010 SFG (4)
The 1957 Braves had a huge infusion of future-championship talent coincide with their move to Milwaukee. It's amazing that the famous 114-win Yankees only had a Minus-4 number of 2.
Minus-3
Median: 12
Top Teams: 1957 MLN (19), 1970 BAL (18), 1983 BAL (18), 1972 OAK (17), 1981 LAD (17), 1951 NYY (16), 1958 NYY (16), 1976 CIN (16)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (3), 1919 CIN (5), 1948 CLE (5), 2006 STL (5), 2001 ARI (6)
I'm starting to think the 1914 Boston Braves might be the most surprising World Series Champion ever. They had a bunch of players who came together out of nowhere to somehow form a title-winner. The 2001 Diamondbacks just now qualify, because their Minus-3 year was also the franchise's debut season.
Minus-2
Median: 16
Top Teams: 1970 BAL (21), 1983 BAL (21), 1950 NYY (20), 1951 NYY (20), 1953 NYY (20), 1957 MLN (20)
Bottom Teams: 1914 BSN (5), 1947 NYY (8), 1903 BOS (9), 1907 CHC (10), 1918 BOS (10), 1923 NYY (10), 1924 WSN (10), 1944 STL (10), 1997 FLA (10)
Few are the teams that can crack the 20 mark in the Minus-2 year! Some of the bottom teams, as you might be able to observe, were affected by wars or eras of smaller rosters.
Minus-1
Median: 22
Top Teams: 1956 NYY (30), 1953 NYY (29), 1974 OAK (29), 1992 TOR (29), 1983 BAL (28), 1989 OAK (28), 2009 NYY (28), 2010 SFG (28)
Bottom Teams: 1918 BOS (11), 1933 NYG (13), 1903 BOS (14), 1919 CIN (14), 1946 STL (14), 1909 PIT (15), 1943 NYY (15)
Not much to say about the top teams, but the bottom teams here are interesting. As I said above, the World Wars impacted several of them, and the 1909 Pirates and 1933 Giants featured their share of newcomers.
Next time we'll look at the Plus Years!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Quick Notes to My Readers
Happy New Year, everyone! As I mentioned in my last post, I feel obligated to put something up on this blog at least once a month, if for no other reason than I don't want to feel like I'm abandoning it.
I'm just writing to say that I've been busy lately and perhaps will be unable to post anything substantive this month, so this is just to announce that I haven't forgotten about you guys. Believe me, I have some cool ideas in the pipeline, and once time allows, I plan to share them here. I'm almost finished collecting data for one of them, but there's still a bit more work to do before it'll be ready. The other one I could end up abandoning if I lose interest, but as of right now I plan on doing it. It'd be a follow-up to a post I did a few years ago called "The Waist Band."
One other thing I wanted to mention is that Blogger hasn't been allowing me to post comments recently, so if I don't respond to your comment here, it's not because I'm trying to ignore you. I'm not sure if the problem is with my browser or with Blogger, but for whatever reason, it's being weird. I hope to figure that problem out too once I get some more free time.
Stay tuned! This blog still has something to offer!
I'm just writing to say that I've been busy lately and perhaps will be unable to post anything substantive this month, so this is just to announce that I haven't forgotten about you guys. Believe me, I have some cool ideas in the pipeline, and once time allows, I plan to share them here. I'm almost finished collecting data for one of them, but there's still a bit more work to do before it'll be ready. The other one I could end up abandoning if I lose interest, but as of right now I plan on doing it. It'd be a follow-up to a post I did a few years ago called "The Waist Band."
One other thing I wanted to mention is that Blogger hasn't been allowing me to post comments recently, so if I don't respond to your comment here, it's not because I'm trying to ignore you. I'm not sure if the problem is with my browser or with Blogger, but for whatever reason, it's being weird. I hope to figure that problem out too once I get some more free time.
Stay tuned! This blog still has something to offer!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
First in Majors: World Series Champions
Since I try to put something up here at least once every calendar month, I feel obligated to give you this list. It's not much, but it'll have to do for now. My readers have my deepest apologies for not giving them something better.
You know the "Tidbits" section from Profiling the World Series Winners? That's probably my favorite part, especially the items that measure longevity. I've created master lists of each item, but several of them are incomplete, as Retrosheet doesn't yet have precise data for certain years, and many players from recent teams are still active. Because I can though, I thought I'd publish the only one I currently can put up completely: First in Majors.
Here it is:
You know the "Tidbits" section from Profiling the World Series Winners? That's probably my favorite part, especially the items that measure longevity. I've created master lists of each item, but several of them are incomplete, as Retrosheet doesn't yet have precise data for certain years, and many players from recent teams are still active. Because I can though, I thought I'd publish the only one I currently can put up completely: First in Majors.
Here it is:
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