Welcome to my new (and nonetheless evolving) format for Baseball’s Greatest (and Worst).
That is the 452nd installment of my publication, which dates again to September 2020. I’ve typically adopted a twice-weekly schedule — Tuesday and Friday — although I did deviate into an every-weekday plan throughout 2023’s common season (April by September).
One other season is upon us, so I’m as soon as once more attempting one thing new. I’ll be releasing a brand new version as soon as every week, overlaying a number of subjects in a single put up.
So let’s get to it.
It’s very, very simple to root for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Their star-studded lineup is a key issue, in fact. Nearly anyone would discover it emotionally rewarding to cheer for a batting order that features Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani, three of baseball’s best gamers.
After which there’s the seemingly perpetual document of success. The Dodgers have certified for the playoffs 11 years in a row, a streak unmatched within the main leagues.
I suspected that the Dodgers could be essentially the most engaging franchise to informal followers, and I devised a easy scoring system to check my principle.
I sifted by the standings for the previous 10 seasons (2014-2023) and awarded factors for every efficiency: one level for a non-playoff membership that completed with a profitable share of .550 or higher, two for every playoff qualification, three for every league championship, and 4 for every World Collection title.
I additionally subtracted factors for poor seasons, taking one level away for a profitable share of .450 or much less, two off for a document of .400 or under.
Factors weren’t cumulative. A membership that gained a world title obtained solely 4 factors for that yr, not further credit score for its league championship and playoff slot. And a workforce with a .390 share misplaced solely two factors, not three for falling under each damaging milestones.
The Dodgers, as I suspected, got here out on high. Their complete of 24 factors stamped them as baseball’s best workforce to root for. Listed here are the highest 10:
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1. Dodgers, 24 factors
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2. Astros, 21 factors
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3. Yankees, 14 factors
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4. Guardians, 12 factors
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5. Braves, 11 factors
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5. Cardinals, 11 factors
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5. Cubs, 11 factors
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5. Rays, 11 factors
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9. Blue Jays, 10 factors
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10. Brewers, 9 factors
The Detroit Tigers final made the playoffs in 2014, and so they final posted a profitable document in 2016. Their followers have recognized little however distress ever since.
That’s why the Tigers sit atop the flip facet of my ease-of-support rankings with a rating of minus-seven factors. Listed here are the ten groups (really 11 with ties) whose followers require the strongest stomachs:
There’s a fable about fan assist in Oakland — particularly that there is fan assist in Oakland.
Annual attendance for the Athletics has topped 2 million solely 12 occasions for the reason that franchise relocated from Kansas Metropolis in 1968, and it has reached that exalted degree simply as soon as since 2005.
Contemplate this: Sixty p.c of all big-league golf equipment — 18 of 30 — drew greater than 2 million followers final yr. The A’s had been lifeless final at 832,352.
It’s true, in fact, that the potential relocation of the franchise to Las Vegas has difficult the scenario. Fan teams urged a boycott of Opening Day this yr, suppressing Oakland’s attendance to an introduced determine of 13,522.
However Opening Day crowds had been slipping even earlier than Vegas entered the image. Right here’s a take a look at the attendance for the Athletics’ first dwelling sport in each season since 2014, excepting the Covid-affected years of 2020 and 2021:
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Immediately’s quiz is concentrated on pitchers who began on North America’s Opening Day, which was March 28 for 26 golf equipment and March 29 for Atlanta, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and the New York Mets. (The Seoul Collection between the Dodgers and Padres doesn’t depend for this train.)
A bit trick: Each pitcher listed under is on a big-league roster, however not all of them labored an opener. Look to the underside of this text for the solutions.
1. Which two starters threw essentially the most pitches on Opening Day?
2. Which former teammates each common six-inning one-hitters on Opening Day?
3. Which beginning pitcher was shelled for essentially the most Opening Day runs?
4. Which Opening Day starter issued essentially the most walks?
5. Just one starter allowed two opposing runners to steal on Opening Day. Who was he?
Anthony Rizzo crowds the plate. I imply, he actually crowds the plate, virtually standing on high of it.
That’s why the longtime first baseman for the Yankees (and earlier than that, the Cubs) is the chief amongst lively gamers in getting hit by pitches.
Rizzo had been plunked 213 occasions previous to this season, placing him eighth within the all-time standings. (And he wasted no time in 2024, getting hit by Framber Valdez in his third plate look on Opening Day.)
Listed here are the rankings, courtesy of Baseball Reference:
Rizzo, who turns 35 in August, has led the majors in hit-by-pitches 3 times, peaking at 30 with the Cubs in 2015. He was plunked 35 occasions in 969 plate appearances the previous two seasons with the Yankees, the equal of 14.4 per 400 PA. If he averages 400 appearances this yr and the following two seasons — and maintains his current HBP charge — he’ll go Jason Kendall to enter the highest 5 by the tip of the 2026 season.
I’m going to spend the following six months following a few distinctive groups from the previous. The primary is the 1984 Tigers, which I’ve judged to be the best workforce in baseball’s Trendy Period (1961 to the current).
I’m going to replace the Tigers’ document as of the equal date of every publication, although I’m making a small exception on this primary week.
The 1984 season started on April 3, and in the present day is April 2. However let’s look rapidly forward, simply this as soon as.
Future Corridor of Famer Jack Morris labored seven innings towards Minnesota on April 3, 1984, giving up only one run on 5 hits. He struck out eight. The Tigers and Twins had been locked in a decent sport till the highest of the sixth, when catcher Lance Parrish singled dwelling a pair of runs to widen Detroit’s result in 4-1. The ultimate rating was 8-1, placing the Tigers atop the American League East with a pristine 1-0 document.
The New York Mets misplaced 120 video games in 1962, their inaugural season. No different membership within the Trendy Period has suffered so many defeats.
We’ll have to attend a bit to begin monitoring the Mets’ descent into ineptitude. The baseball season began at a extra civilized time within the Nineteen Sixties. The Mets had been nonetheless in spring coaching on April 2, 1962, greater than every week away from Opening Day in St. Louis.
I can inform you that their scheduled starter could be Roger Craig. Extra on him later.
1-C and D. (Ragans threw 97 pitches towards the Twins, Webb 97 towards the Padres.)
2-B. (Burnes and Peralta had been teammates in Milwaukee.)
3-B. (The Diamondbacks scored 10 runs — all earned — in simply two and a 3rd innings towards Freeland.)
4-D. (Valdez gave up six walks in simply 4 and two-thirds innings vs. the Yankees.)
5-C. (Strider gave up a pair of stolen bases to the Phillies.)
