Excessive groups: Crimson Sox and Reds

Our widespread theme right this moment is the colour purple, as we proceed our weekly examination of the perfect and worst seasons for each big-league franchise in baseball’s Fashionable Period.

I’m working my manner by way of the alphabetical order of nicknames on successive Fridays, specializing in the acute performances by a pair of golf equipment between 1961 and 2022. That brings us right this moment to the Boston Crimson Sox and the Cincinnati Reds.

Each groups have loved a fair proportion of success in fashionable occasions. Boston has certified for the playoffs 19 occasions since 1961, successful world titles in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. The Reds are barely behind in each classes, although their numbers are nonetheless respectable: 13 playoff appearances and three world championships (1975, 1976, and 1990).

I’ve pinpointed the perfect and worst golf equipment for every of those franchises by calculating year-by-year group scores. (Click on right here to study extra in regards to the TS components.) Scores are plotted on an equalized 100-point scale, permitting direct comparisons of groups from totally different seasons.

That leaves us with these squads on the high and backside for every franchise, as decided by TS:

Greatest 12 months for the Crimson Sox: Boston’s second world champion within the Fashionable Period posted the best group rating, though the 2007 membership completed with fewer wins (96) than any of the opposite three title squads. The Sox edged the New York Yankees for the American League East crown, then shifted into excessive gear for an 11-3 file within the playoffs, capped by a World Sequence sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Designated hitter David Ortiz pummeled 35 homers and drove dwelling 117 runs. Third baseman Mike Lowell added 120 RBIs. Pitcher Josh Beckett received 20 video games.

Worst 12 months for the Crimson Sox: Boston had amassed 4 straight successful seasons earlier than the wheels fell off within the Covid-truncated 2020 season. The Sox completed final within the AL East with a 24-36 file. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers tied for the group lead with 11 dwelling runs. Nathan Eovaldi was the ace of the pitching employees with a 4-2 file.

Greatest 12 months for the Reds: The Huge Crimson Machine rolled to the Nationwide League West title by 20 video games over runner-up Los Angeles in 1975, and that was simply the beginning. A basic seven-game battle towards (sure) the Crimson Sox introduced Cincinnati its first World Sequence championship since 1940. Second baseman Joe Morgan received the NL’s Most Helpful Participant Award together with his .327 batting common, 67 stolen bases, and 94 RBIs. Third baseman Pete Rose batted .317. Catcher Johnny Bench topped the Reds with 28 homers.

Worst 12 months for the Reds: Cincinnati fell rapidly from the heights of the mid-Nineteen Seventies, plummeting to a 61-101 file by 1982, placing the Reds in final place within the NL West. Middle fielder Cesar Cedeno paced the membership with a .289 batting common, and he tied first baseman Dan Driessen for the group’s lead in RBIs (57). Pitcher Mario Soto went 14-13.

Scroll right down to see lists of the ten greatest and worst performances by each franchises between 1961 and 2022. Rankings for all 30 big-league golf equipment will be discovered within the print version of Baseball’s Best (and Worst) 2023 Yearbook.

Every group is listed beneath with a particular season in brackets, adopted by its regular-season win-loss file, postseason outcomes (if any) in parentheses, margin between runs scored and allowed per sport, and Fashionable Period percentile.

Postseason outcomes are abbreviated this fashion: P for a playoff look, L for a league title, and W for a World Sequence championship.

The Fashionable Period percentile is the share of all 1,656 groups between 1961 and 2022 that the given membership outperformed, based mostly on relative scores.

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• 1. Crimson Sox [2007], 96-66 (WLP), plus-1.30 margin, 99.0% in period

• 2. Crimson Sox [2004], 98-64 (WLP), plus-1.12 margin, 98.7% in period

• 3. Crimson Sox [2018], 108-54 (WLP), plus-1.41 margin, 97.8% in period

• 4. Crimson Sox [2013], 97-65 (WLP), plus-1.22 margin, 97.8% in period

• 5. Crimson Sox [1986], 95-66 (LP), plus-0.61 margin, 94.6% in period

• 6. Crimson Sox [1967], 92-70 (LP), plus-0.67 margin, 93.6% in period

• 7. Crimson Sox [2016], 93-69 (P), plus-1.14 margin, 93.0% in period

• 8. Crimson Sox [1975], 95-65 (LP), plus-0.54 margin, 91.2% in period

• 9. Crimson Sox [2008], 95-67 (P), plus-0.93 margin, 90.4% in period

• 10. Crimson Sox [2003], 95-67 (P), plus-0.94 margin, 86.8% in period

• 1. Crimson Sox [2020], 24-36, minus-0.98 margin, 12.3% in period

• 2. Crimson Sox [2014], 71-91, minus-0.50 margin, 15.8% in period

• 3. Crimson Sox [1965], 62-100, minus-0.75 margin, 16.2% in period

• 4. Crimson Sox [1966], 72-90, minus-0.47 margin, 17.1% in period

• 5. Crimson Sox [2012], 69-93, minus-0.44 margin, 18.0% in period

• 6. Crimson Sox [1964], 72-90, minus-0.65 margin, 22.5% in period

• 7. Crimson Sox [1992], 73-89, minus-0.43 margin, 22.7% in period

• 8. Crimson Sox [1994], 54-61, minus-0.60 margin, 29.8% in period

• 9. Crimson Sox [1962], 76-84, minus-0.31 margin, 30.2% in period

• 10. Crimson Sox [1961], 76-86, minus-0.39 margin, 30.6% in period

• 1. Reds [1975], 108-54 (WLP), plus-1.57 margin, 99.7% in period

• 2. Reds [1976], 102-60 (WLP), plus-1.38 margin, 99.3% in period

• 3. Reds [1970], 102-60 (LP), plus-0.58 margin, 97.2% in period

• 4. Reds [1990], 91-71 (WLP), plus-0.59 margin, 95.5% in period

• 5. Reds [1972], 95-59 (LP), plus-0.97 margin, 95.4% in period

• 6. Reds [1995], 85-59 (P), plus-0.86 margin, 92.5% in period

• 7. Reds [1961], 93-61 (LP), plus-0.37 margin, 89.9% in period

• 8. Reds [1973], 99-63 (P), plus-0.74 margin, 89.4% in period

• 9. Reds [1994], 66-48, plus-1.03 margin, 87.7% in period

• 10. Reds [1974], 98-64, plus-0.89 margin, 87.6% in period

• 1. Reds [1982], 61-101, minus-0.72 margin, 4.1% in period

• 2. Reds [2003], 69-93, minus-1.19 margin, 7.1% in period

• 3. Reds [1984], 70-92, minus-0.74 margin, 8.2% in period

• 4. Reds [2022], 62-100, minus-1.03 margin, 10.2% in period

• 5. Reds [2001], 66-96, minus-0.71 margin, 11.2% in period

• 6. Reds [2018], 67-95, minus-0.76 margin, 12.6% in period

• 7. Reds [2016], 68-94, minus-0.85 margin, 12.7% in period

• 8. Reds [1983], 74-88, minus-0.54 margin, 13.8% in period

• 9. Reds [2015], 64-98, minus-0.70 margin, 17.9% in period

• 10. Reds [2017], 68-94, minus-0.72 margin, 20.5% in period