Finest groups of 2011-2015 – by G. Scott Thomas

The 2013 World Sequence featured baseball’s greatest postseason matchup in years.

The Boston Crimson Sox and St. Louis Cardinals completed with an identical regular-season data of 97-65. They went on to win the championship sequence of their respective leagues with relative ease.

The Sox and Playing cards predictably cut up the primary 4 video games of the 2013 World Sequence. Boston then shifted into overdrive to win the subsequent two — and the world title.

These two golf equipment had been so sturdy that they rank as one of the best groups of your complete interval from 2011 via 2015. The Crimson Sox, as befitting a champion, are No. 1 within the standings for the half-decade, with the Cardinals No. 2.

The rankings are based mostly on my calculations of workforce scores, that are expressed on a 100-point scale. (Click on right here to be taught concerning the TS system.)

The 2013 Crimson Sox earned a rating of 81.732 factors, placing them forward of everyone else within the 2011-2015 half-decade and 97.8 % of all 1,656 golf equipment within the Trendy Period (1961-2022). The Cardinals from the identical 12 months are slotted at 78.949 factors, giving them a Trendy Period percentile of 96.8 %.

Third via fifth locations on the 2011-2015 record are held by the 2011 Texas Rangers, 2015 Toronto Blue Jays, and 2015 Kansas Metropolis Royals.

I’m unveiling my scores of the Trendy Period’s greatest groups at five-year intervals on successive Mondays. Click on right here to see the earlier rankings: 1961-1965, 1966-1970, 1971-1975, 1976-1980, 1981-1985, 1986-1990, 1991-1995, 1996-2000, 2001-2005, and 2006-2010.

Look under for the record of the ten greatest groups from 2011 to 2015. Every is proven with its win-loss report, workforce rating, and Trendy Period percentile.

A brand new installment will arrive in your e-mail every weekday morning

• Document: 97-65

• Workforce rating: 81.732 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 97.8%

• Supervisor: John Farrell

• Stars: Ironman Dustin Pedroia led the American League with 724 plate appearances. The second baseman batted .301 and scored 91 runs. Designated hitter David Ortiz complemented his .309 common with 30 homers and 103 RBIs.

• Backside line: The Crimson Sox closed with a scorching 16-9 report in September to lock down the American League East. They proceeded to go 11-5 within the postseason, successively ousting the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, and the Cardinals.

• Document: 97-65

• Workforce rating: 78.949 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 96.8%

• Supervisor: Mike Matheny

• Stars: Yadier Molina gained a Gold Glove as a catcher and batted .319 with 80 RBIs. Second baseman Matt Carpenter was proper behind him with a .318 common. Pitcher Adam Wainwright completed second within the race for the NL’s Cy Younger Award with a 19-9 report and a couple of.94 ERA.

• Backside line: The Cardinals outdueled the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds for the Nationwide League Central crown. They despatched the Pirates packing within the NL Division Sequence, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers within the Championship Sequence, and had been overwhelmed by the Crimson Sox within the remaining spherical.

• Document: 96-66

• Workforce rating: 78.226 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 96.4%

• Supervisor: Ron Washington

• Stars: Second baseman Ian Kinsler mixed energy (32 homers) with velocity (30 stolen bases). Third baseman Adrian Beltre matched Kinsler’s home-run whole and chipped in with 105 RBIs. Pitcher C.J. Wilson went 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA.

• Backside line: The Rangers seized the lead within the AL West on Might 16 and by no means surrendered it, ending with a 10-game lead over the runner-up Los Angeles Angels. Texas adopted with playoff triumphs over the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers earlier than dropping Sport Seven of a dramatic World Sequence to the Cardinals.

• Document: 93-69

• Workforce rating: 77.296 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 96.0%

• Supervisor: John Gibbons

• Stars: Third baseman Josh Donaldson gained the American League’s Most Priceless Participant Award by hitting .297 with 41 homers and 123 runs batted in. Proper fielder Jose Bautista launched 40 homers. Mark Buehrle anchored the pitching workers with 15 wins.

• Backside line: The Blue Jays rolled via the American League East, leaving the New York Yankees six video games behind and the opposite three golf equipment at the very least a dozen video games again. However the playoffs didn’t fulfill Toronto’s desires. The Jays struggled previous Texas within the first spherical, then misplaced to Kansas Metropolis within the AL Championship Sequence.

• Document: 95-67

• Workforce rating: 75.761 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 95.2%

• Supervisor: Ned Yost

• Stars: Middle fielder Lorenzo Cain batted .307, stole 28 bases, and scored 101 runs. He positioned third within the balloting for the AL’s Most Priceless Participant Award. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales drove residence 106 runs. First baseman Eric Hosmer hit .297 with 93 RBIs.

• Backside line: The Royals entered 2015 with a single objective. They’d misplaced the World Sequence in a tightly fought Sport Seven the earlier 12 months, they usually aimed to rectify that shortcoming. They rolled via the AL Central by 12 video games over runner-up Minnesota, then went 11-5 within the playoffs, culminating with a five-game World Sequence conquer the New York Mets.

• 6. St. Louis Cardinals (2011), 90-72, 95.0%

• 7. Philadelphia Phillies (2011), 102-60, 94.9%

• 8. Washington Nationals (2014), 96-66, 94.7%

• 9. San Francisco Giants (2012), 94-68, 92.8%

• 10. San Francisco Giants (2014), 88-74, 92.3%