Should a pair of asterisks be appended to today’s ratings of the best major-league clubs in the period from 2016 through 2020?
You could make a good case.
The 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers, who locked down first place in the five-year rankings, played in a Covid-shortened season. The 2017 Houston Astros, who placed third in the standings for the half-decade, had their world title overshadowed by a well-publicized scandal.
But baseball’s power structure has resisted the urge to treat either club any differently. The Dodgers were accorded full championship honors in 2020, notwithstanding their truncated 60-game schedule. And the Astros were allowed to keep their 2017 World Series trophy, even after allegations surfaced of widespread cheating.
The Dodgers posted a 43-17 record in 2020, giving them the highest single-year winning percentage (.717) in baseball’s Modern Era, which goes all the way back to 1961. Their team score of 94.085 points was the best in the 2016-2020 span and the fourth-best among all 1,656 clubs that competed during the past 62 seasons. (Click here to learn more about the formula for TS, which is plotted on a 100-point scale.)
The 2016 Chicago Cubs, who won the franchise’s first World Series title in 108 years, finished second in the standings for the half-decade, followed by the 2017 Astros, the 2017 Dodgers, and the 2018 Boston Red Sox.
Today’s rankings are part of a continuing series that will reach its conclusion next Monday. Follow these links to read previous installments:
Scroll below for a breakdown of the 10 highest-rated ballclubs from 2016 to 2020. Each is shown with its win-loss record and its Modern Era percentile, which is the share of all teams that played between 1961 and 2022 that it outperformed.
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1. Los Angeles Dodgers (2020)
Record: 43-17
Team score: 94.085 points
Modern Era percentile: 99.8%
Manager: Dave Roberts
Stars: Right fielder Mookie Betts was shipped off to Los Angeles by the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster winter trade. He proceeded to bat .292, win a Gold Glove, and finish second in the race for the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award. Shortstop Corey Seager led the Dodgers in runs batted in (41) and batting average (.307).
Bottom line: Los Angeles easily won its eighth straight National League West crown, then eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Rays en route to 2020’s world championship. The Dodgers’ postseason record was 13-5.
2. Chicago Cubs (2016)
Record: 103-58
Team score: 92.166 points
Modern Era percentile: 99.8%
Manager: Joe Maddon
Stars: Third baseman Kris Bryant was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player after bashing 39 homers, driving in 102 runs, and batting .292. First baseman Anthony Rizzo paced the Cubs with 109 RBIs. Pitcher Jon Lester went 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA.
Bottom line: Chicago fans had been dreaming of a championship ever since the Cubs’ previous world title in 1908. The 2016 club breezed through the NL Central by 17.5 games over runner-up St. Louis, then scored playoff victories over the Giants and the Dodgers before squeaking past the Cleveland Indians in a seven-game World Series.
3. Houston Astros (2017)
Record: 101-61
Team score: 84.140 points
Modern Era percentile: 98.5%
Manager: A.J. Hinch
Stars: Second baseman Jose Altuve (.346) won his third American League batting title in four seasons. He was rewarded with the league’s MVP trophy. Shortstop Carlos Correa hit .315 and drove in 84 runs. Center fielder George Springer swatted 34 homers.
Bottom line: The Astros knocked off the Dodgers in Game Seven of the 2017 World Series, bringing Houston its first championship. The regular season had been a simple affair, with the Astros taking the AL West by 21 games, but the playoffs were anything but easy. Houston’s postseason record was 11-7.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (2017)
Record: 104-58
Team score: 82.495 points
Modern Era percentile: 98.1%
Manager: Dave Roberts
Stars: Pitcher Clayton Kershaw led the National League in wins (18) and earned run average (2.31). He placed second to Washington’s Max Scherzer in balloting for the Cy Young Award. Third baseman Justin Turner batted .322 with 21 homers and 71 runs batted in.
Bottom line: The NL West race wasn’t much of a challenge, with the Dodgers finishing 11 games ahead of the pack. Nor did the NL playoffs pose any difficulty, as Los Angeles lost only one game in ousting Arizona and Chicago. But the World Series against Houston ended in disappointment.
5. Boston Red Sox (2018)
Record: 108-54
Team score: 81.765 points
Modern Era percentile: 97.8%
Manager: Alex Cora
Stars: Right fielder Mookie Betts won the Most Valuable Player Award after leading the American League in runs scored (129), batting average (.346), and slugging average (.640). Pitcher Chris Sale fashioned a 12-4 record with a microscopic 2.11 ERA.
Bottom line: The Red Sox grabbed the AL East lead from the New York Yankees in early July and powered to an eight-game lead by the end. Boston cruised through the playoffs with an 11-3 record, capped by a five-game World Series triumph over the Dodgers.
Next five
6. Houston Astros (2019), 107-55, 97.1%
7. Los Angeles Dodgers (2019), 106-56, 96.9%
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (2018), 92-71, 96.7%
9. Tampa Bay Rays (2020), 40-20, 96.3%
10. Cleveland Indians (2017), 102-60, 95.8%