Excessive groups: Cardinals and Cubs

The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are ensnared in a rivalry that’s notably lengthy and infrequently bitter.

That’s what occurs when two groups have performed in the identical league since 1892 and are situated in the identical a part of the nation (simply 300 miles aside).

However the indeniable logic of alphabetical order is forcing these fierce rivals to share the highlight right now.

I’m devoting every Friday to an examination of the acute seasons for a pair of franchises, their finest and worst years in the course of the Fashionable Period (1961 by 2022). The Braves and Brewers had been final week’s duo, which brings us to the subsequent two nicknames on the checklist. Sure, the Cardinals and the Cubs.

I calculated the workforce scores for each St. Louis and Chicago membership within the 62-year interval, after which I ranked them from finest to worst. The system for TS generates an equalized rating on a 100-point scale, permitting direct comparisons of groups from totally different years. (Click on right here to study extra concerning the calculations.)

The next had been the acute seasons for every membership.

Finest yr for the Cardinals: St. Louis has gained 5 world championships within the Fashionable Period. The strongest of these titlists was the 1967 Playing cards, winners of the Nationwide League by 10.5 video games over runner-up San Francisco. The World Collection was harder, with St. Louis needing seven video games to subdue the Boston Purple Sox. First baseman Orlando Cepeda drove in 111 runs and gained the NL’s Most Priceless Participant Award. Middle fielder Curt Flood hit for a .335 common. Pitcher Bob Gibson gained 13 video games within the common season and three extra within the World Collection.

Worst yr for the Cardinals: The Nineties had been a depressing decade for the Playing cards, who suffered 5 sub-.500 seasons and made the playoffs solely as soon as. They touched backside in 1995, ending 22.5 video games behind first-place Cincinnati within the NL Central. Proper fielder Brian Jordan batted a stable .296 and stole 24 bases. Nearer Tom Henke one way or the other gathered 36 saves for a workforce that gained solely 62 video games.

Finest yr for the Cubs: Any baseball fan is aware of the reply on this class. The Cubs loved their best season in 2016, once they gained their first world title in 108 years. It was a detailed name, after all. Victory didn’t come till the tenth inning of Sport Seven of the World Collection towards the Cleveland Indians. Third baseman Kris Bryant was named the NL’s MVP after hitting 39 homers and driving dwelling 102 runs. First baseman Anthony Rizzo added 109 RBIs. Pitchers Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta respectively went 19-5 and 18-8.

Worst yr for the Cubs: The 1981 season was depressing for everyone, due to the midyear lull of two months due to a labor dispute. Nevertheless it was an particularly unhealthy yr for the Cubs, who completed with the worst report within the Nationwide League, 27 video games under .500. Mike Krukow was the one pitcher within the rotation to interrupt even, operating up a report of 9-9. First baseman Invoice Buckner batted .311.

Should you scroll down, you’ll see the highest and backside 10 lists for each groups between 1961 and 2022. Related rankings for all 30 big-league golf equipment will be discovered within the print version of Baseball’s Best (and Worst) 2023 Yearbook.

Every workforce is listed under with the yr in brackets, adopted by its regular-season win-loss report, postseason outcomes (if any) in parentheses, margin between runs scored and allowed per sport, and Fashionable Period percentile.

Postseason outcomes are abbreviated this manner: P for an look within the playoffs, L for a league championship, and W for a World Collection title.

The Fashionable Period percentile is the share of all 1,656 golf equipment within the 1961-2022 interval that the given workforce outperformed, based mostly on relative TS outcomes.

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• 1. Cardinals [1967], 101-60 (WLP), plus-0.86 margin, 98.6% in period

• 2. Cardinals [1968], 97-65 (LP), plus-0.69 margin, 98.2% in period

• 3. Cardinals [2004], 105-57 (LP), plus-1.21 margin, 97.5% in period

• 4. Cardinals [1985], 101-61 (LP), plus-1.08 margin, 97.3% in period

• 5. Cardinals [2013], 97-65 (LP), plus-1.15 margin, 96.8% in period

• 6. Cardinals [2005], 100-62 (P), plus-1.06 margin, 95.6% in period

• 7. Cardinals [2011], 90-72 (WLP), plus-0.43 margin, 95.0% in period

• 8. Cardinals [1982], 92-70 (WLP), plus-0.47 margin, 94.7% in period

• 9. Cardinals [1987], 95-67 (LP), plus-0.65 margin, 93.7% in period

• 10. Cardinals [1964], 93-69 (WLP), plus-0.39 margin, 92.9% in period

• 1. Cardinals [1995], 62-81, minus-0.66 margin, 10.3% in period

• 2. Cardinals [1978], 69-93, minus-0.35 margin, 18.1% in period

• 3. Cardinals [1990], 70-92, minus-0.61 margin, 21.5% in period

• 4. Cardinals [1994], 53-61, minus-0.75 margin, 25.1% in period

• 5. Cardinals [2007], 78-84, minus-0.64 margin, 26.9% in period

• 6. Cardinals [1988], 76-86, minus-0.34 margin, 34.7% in period

• 7. Cardinals [1976], 72-90, minus-0.26 margin, 35.2% in period

• 8. Cardinals [1997], 73-89, minus-0.12 margin, 36.8% in period

• 9. Cardinals [1999], 75-86, minus-0.18 margin, 37.5% in period

• 10. Cardinals [1970], 76-86, minus-0.02 margin, 41.0% in period

• 1. Cubs [2016], 103-58 (WLP), plus-1.56 margin, 99.8% in period

• 2. Cubs [2008], 97-64 (P), plus-1.14 margin, 93.2% in period

• 3. Cubs [1984], 96-65 (P), plus-0.65 margin, 90.8% in period

• 4. Cubs [2015], 97-65 (P), plus-0.50 margin, 86.0% in period

• 5. Cubs [1989], 93-69 (P), plus-0.49 margin, 84.7% in period

• 6. Cubs [2018], 95-68 (P), plus-0.71 margin, 81.3% in period

• 7. Cubs [2017], 92-70 (P), plus-0.78 margin, 81.0% in period

• 8. Cubs [1970], 84-78, plus-0.78 margin, 76.9% in period

• 9. Cubs [2004], 89-73, plus-0.77 margin, 76.6% in period

• 10. Cubs [1972], 85-70, plus-0.76 margin, 76.6% in period

• 1. Cubs [1981], 38-65, minus-1.07 margin, 3.8% in period

• 2. Cubs [1980], 64-98, minus-0.70 margin, 4.0% in period

• 3. Cubs [2012], 61-101, minus-0.90 margin, 4.8% in period

• 4. Cubs [1966], 59-103, minus-1.02 margin, 5.3% in period

• 5. Cubs [2006], 66-96, minus-0.73 margin, 5.6% in period

• 6. Cubs [2000], 65-97, minus-0.86 margin, 9.5% in period

• 7. Cubs [1962], 59-103, minus-1.20 margin, 10.0% in period

• 8. Cubs [1999], 67-95, minus-1.07 margin, 11.3% in period

• 9. Cubs [1997], 68-94, minus-0.44 margin, 11.7% in period

• 10. Cubs [1974], 66-96, minus-0.97 margin, 14.7% in period