The New York Yankees were still considered invincible in 2009. They had won 26 World Series titles in their illustrious history, including four championships in the previous 13 seasons, a record no other franchise could match.
So it shocked no one that the Yanks took home a 27th crown in 2009. Or that their ’09 roster was so strong that it ranked as the very best in the major leagues during the half-decade from 2006 to 2010.
But something else would have surprised the typical fan back then — the championship drought that lay ahead. Every single Yankees squad since 2010 has won more than half of its games, but not one has earned an American League pennant, let alone a world title.
That leaves New York fans to sustain themselves with the legend of the 2009 Yankees, who were better than 99.4 percent of all big-league clubs during the Modern Era (1961 to the present), according to my calculations of team scores. (Click here to learn more about the formula for TS, which is plotted on a 100-point scale.)
The runners-up in my standings for the 2006-2010 period are the 2007 Boston Red Sox, followed by the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies, 2007 Colorado Rockies, and 2006 New York Mets.
Today’s rankings are part of a continuing series that will soon encompass the entire Modern Era. Follow these links to read previous installments:
Scroll below for a rundown of the 10 highest-rated ballclubs from 2006 to 2010. Each is shown with its win-loss record and its Modern Era percentile, which is the share of all 1961-2022 teams that a given club outperformed.
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1. New York Yankees (2009)
Record: 103-59
Team score: 87.433 points
Modern Era percentile: 99.4%
Manager: Joe Girardi
Stars: Shortstop Derek Jeter finished third in the race for the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award. He batted .334 with 18 home runs and 30 stolen bases. Pitcher CC Sabathia joined the Yanks as a free agent and went 19-8 in his initial season in the Bronx.
Bottom line: The Yankees won the American League East with relative ease, finishing eight games ahead of second-place Boston. They put together a collective record of 11-4 in the playoffs, rolling to what remains their most recent world championship.
2. Boston Red Sox (2007)
Record: 96-66
Team score: 85.711 points
Modern Era percentile: 99.0%
Manager: Terry Francona
Stars: Pitcher Josh Beckett led the American League with 20 wins. He finished second in the balloting for the Cy Young Award. Designated hitter David Ortiz led the team with 35 homers, while third baseman Mike Lowell drove home 120 runs.
Bottom line: The Red Sox romped to an 11.5-game lead in the AL East by July 4, then frittered away almost all of it. They clung to a two-game margin over the Yankees at the end. The AL Championship Series was equally stressful, with the Sox rallying from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Cleveland in Game Seven. But the World Series was a walk in the park, a four-game sweep of Colorado.
3. Philadelphia Phillies (2008)
Record: 92-70
Team score: 78.344 points
Modern Era percentile: 96.6%
Manager: Charlie Manuel
Stars: Second baseman Chase Utley swatted 33 homers, drove in 104 runs, and batted .292. His running mate at shortstop, Jimmy Rollins, hit .277, stole 47 bases, and won a Gold Glove.
Bottom line: The Phillies had to hold off the New York Mets and Florida Marlins to win the National League East. But the postseason couldn’t have been easier, with successive five-game triumphs over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series and the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series.
4. Colorado Rockies (2007)
Record: 90-73
Team score: 75.518 points
Modern Era percentile: 95.0%
Manager: Clint Hurdle
Stars: Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki delivered 24 homers, 99 RBIs, and a .291 batting average. He finished second to Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun for the NL’s Rookie of the Year Award. Left fielder Matt Holliday was an even bigger source of power, hitting 36 home runs.
Bottom line: The Rockies, who played their first game in 1993, have never won a divisional title. Not even in 2007, when they made their only World Series appearance. Colorado parlayed a wild-card bid into sweeps of Philadelphia and Arizona in the National League playoffs, only to be swept in turn by Boston in the World Series.
5. New York Mets (2006)
Record: 97-65
Team score: 74.757 points
Modern Era percentile: 94.4%
Manager: Willie Randolph
Stars: Carlos Beltran launched 41 homers, drove home 116 runs, and won a Gold Glove for his fielding expertise in center field. Also finishing in triple digits for RBIs were third baseman David Wright (116) and first baseman Carlos Delgado (114).
Bottom line: It all came so easily. The Mets won the National League East by 12 games over runner-up Philadelphia, then dispatched the Dodgers with three straight victories in the first postseason round. But the dream dissolved in the NL Championship Series, taken by St. Louis in a nail-biting Game Seven.
Next five
6. San Francisco Giants (2010), 92-70, 94.1%
7. Tampa Bay Rays (2008), 97-65, 93.5%
8. Chicago Cubs (2008), 97-64, 93.2%
9. Philadelphia Phillies (2009), 93-69, 93.1%
10. Detroit Tigers (2006), 95-67, 91.5%