The 2013 World Series featured baseball’s best postseason matchup in years.
The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals finished with identical regular-season records of 97-65. They went on to win the championship series of their respective leagues with relative ease.
The Sox and Cards predictably split the first four games of the 2013 World Series. Boston then shifted into overdrive to win the next two — and the world title.
Those two clubs were so strong that they rank as the best teams of the entire period from 2011 through 2015. The Red Sox, as befitting a champion, are No. 1 in the standings for the half-decade, with the Cardinals No. 2.
The rankings are based on my calculations of team scores, which are expressed on a 100-point scale. (Click here to learn about the TS formula.)
The 2013 Red Sox earned a score of 81.732 points, putting them ahead of everybody else in the 2011-2015 half-decade and 97.8 percent of all 1,656 clubs in the Modern Era (1961-2022). The Cardinals from the same year are slotted at 78.949 points, giving them a Modern Era percentile of 96.8 percent.
Third through fifth places on the 2011-2015 list are held by the 2011 Texas Rangers, 2015 Toronto Blue Jays, and 2015 Kansas City Royals.
I’m unveiling my ratings of the Modern Era’s best teams at five-year intervals on successive Mondays. Click here to see the previous rankings: 1961-1965, 1966-1970, 1971-1975, 1976-1980, 1981-1985, 1986-1990, 1991-1995, 1996-2000, 2001-2005, and 2006-2010.
Look below for the list of the 10 best teams from 2011 to 2015. Each is shown with its win-loss record, team score, and Modern Era percentile.
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1. Boston Red Sox (2013)
Record: 97-65
Team score: 81.732 points
Modern Era percentile: 97.8%
Manager: 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 average with 30 homers and 103 RBIs.
Bottom line: The Red Sox closed with a sizzling 16-9 record in September to lock down the American League East. They proceeded to go 11-5 in the postseason, successively ousting the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, and the Cardinals.
2. St. Louis Cardinals (2013)
Record: 97-65
Team score: 78.949 points
Modern Era percentile: 96.8%
Manager: Mike Matheny
Stars: Yadier Molina won a Gold Glove as a catcher and batted .319 with 80 RBIs. Second baseman Matt Carpenter was right behind him with a .318 average. Pitcher Adam Wainwright finished second in the race for the NL’s Cy Young Award with a 19-9 record and 2.94 ERA.
Bottom line: The Cardinals outdueled the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds for the National League Central crown. They sent the Pirates packing in the NL Division Series, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Championship Series, and were beaten by the Red Sox in the final round.
3. Texas Rangers (2011)
Record: 96-66
Team score: 78.226 points
Modern Era percentile: 96.4%
Manager: Ron Washington
Stars: Second baseman Ian Kinsler combined power (32 homers) with speed (30 stolen bases). Third baseman Adrian Beltre matched Kinsler’s home-run total and chipped in with 105 RBIs. Pitcher C.J. Wilson went 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA.
Bottom line: The Rangers seized the lead in the AL West on May 16 and never surrendered it, finishing with a 10-game lead over the runner-up Los Angeles Angels. Texas followed with playoff triumphs over the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers before losing Game Seven of a dramatic World Series to the Cardinals.
4. Toronto Blue Jays (2015)
Record: 93-69
Team score: 77.296 points
Modern Era percentile: 96.0%
Manager: John Gibbons
Stars: Third baseman Josh Donaldson won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award by hitting .297 with 41 homers and 123 runs batted in. Right fielder Jose Bautista launched 40 homers. Mark Buehrle anchored the pitching staff with 15 wins.
Bottom line: The Blue Jays rolled through the American League East, leaving the New York Yankees six games behind and the other three clubs at least a dozen games back. But the playoffs didn’t fulfill Toronto’s dreams. The Jays struggled past Texas in the first round, then lost to Kansas City in the AL Championship Series.
5. Kansas City Royals (2015)
Record: 95-67
Team score: 75.761 points
Modern Era percentile: 95.2%
Manager: Ned Yost
Stars: Center fielder Lorenzo Cain batted .307, stole 28 bases, and scored 101 runs. He placed third in the balloting for the AL’s Most Valuable Player Award. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales drove home 106 runs. First baseman Eric Hosmer hit .297 with 93 RBIs.
Bottom line: The Royals entered 2015 with a single goal. They had lost the World Series in a tightly fought Game Seven the previous year, and they aimed to rectify that shortcoming. They rolled through the AL Central by 12 games over runner-up Minnesota, then went 11-5 in the playoffs, culminating with a five-game World Series triumph over the New York Mets.
Next five
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%