Thus ends baseball’s first decade of the 21st century.
It was a decade that featured several great teams, but few great World Series. The Yankees hoisted the first and final championship trophies of the period from 2000-09. For most, they established themselves as the “team of the decade” thanks to two championships, two additional pennants, and nine playoff appearances in the 10-year stretch.
Both of the Yankees’ triumphs featured little more than the glimmer of drama. That was true for most of the World Series in the decade. There were some great storylines that impacted not just a year but generations, most notably the titles for the 2004 Red Sox and the 2005 championship for the White Sox.
But aside from a mesmerizing Fall Classic in 2001 when the Diamondbacks beat New York and, arguably, the Marlins’ shocking upset over the Yankees in 2003, few World Series were long enough and dramatic enough to stand out as truly great.
Nonetheless, that takes nothing away from the teams that claimed the championships. Surely, they should not be faulted for simply flattening their opponents en route to the World Series.
While the Yankees were likely the top franchise over the course of the decade, it is interesting to contemplate which of the 10 World Series winners was the best team. Stacked up against each other, which year’s champion was the best?
NO. 10: 2006 CARDINALS
Regular-season record: 83-78 – fewest wins of any World Series winner in the decade
vs. teams over .500: 21-26 (.447) – worst record against teams over .500, and fewest games against teams over .500
Expected record (as calculated by Pythagorean formula, which calculates expected wins based on runs scored and runs allowed): 82-79
Playoffs: 11-5 (1 elimination game)
Strengths: Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright
Weaknesses: Non-existent lineup depth, non-existent starting depth, absence of bullpen stability
This team is the poster child for the fact that the postseason takes on a life of its own, and that any of the eight teams in October can win it all.
The Cardinals made it to the playoffs only because baseball’s rules dictate that the International League, er, N.L. Central needed a postseason representative. The Cardinals thus backed in with a team that was awful in the regular season.
That said, this team did have the benefit of arguably the best hitter and pitcher in the National League. Nonetheless, in baseball, such a tandem rarely guarantees much more than a .500 record (witness the Cardinals’ regular-season performance). In retrospect, it is absurd to think that the likes of Jason Marquis and Jeff Weaver and Anthony Reyes could prove dominating, at times, in the most meaningful games of the year.
David Eckstein as World Series MVP? This was lightning in a bottle.
NO. 9: 2003 MARLINS
Regular-season record: 91-71
vs. teams over .500: 53-48
Expected record: 87-75
Playoffs: 11-6 (3 elimination games)
Strengths: Incredible young talent, a singularly dominant postseason pitcher (Josh Beckett), a manager who seemed to hit the jackpot with every gut decision, team speed
Weaknesses: Pitiful outfield production, unpredictable pitching staff
The talent on this Marlins team was, at times, incredible. Not only did the team feature an emergent postseason force in Josh Beckett as well as other long-on-promise starters such as Brad Penny, Dontrelle Willis and Carl Pavano (yes, back when he was promising), but the lineup had speed (Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo), young power hitters in or entering their primes (Mike Lowell, Derrek Lee, Ivan Rodriguez) and a young phenom in Miguel Cabrera.
Even so, this team had no business doing what it did. They were 10 games under .500 on May 22, and they had players who were so young (Beckett was 23, Cabrera 20, Willis 21, Penny 25) that they should have been dealing simultaneously with puberty and developmental issues, perhaps en route to positioning themselves to win in the next year or two.
But Trader Jack McKeon just kept rolling sevens, and Beckett was as dominant as any postseason pitcher in the decade. For perspective: he was great in 2007, when he had a 1.20 ERA in four playoff appearances spanning 30 innings – but he pitched more than 40 percent more innings in forging a 2.11 ERA in 42.2 innings in 2003, a simply enormous workload that was the single most significant factor in the
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