Taking the long view
These were the best (and worst) big-league clubs over the past decade as a whole
The fortunes of the typical ballclub vary from year to year, sometimes drastically.
Just ask the Washington Nationals. They barely scraped above .500 in 2018, failing to make the playoffs. Yet they went all the way in 2019, winning the World Series in dramatic fashion. Then they collapsed in 2020, plummeting to their worst record in a decade.
The key to greatness, of course, is to modulate this up-and-down pattern whenever possible, remaining on the sunny side of .500.
That’s easier said that done. Only four major-league teams won more than 55% of their games between 2011 and 2020, and every club missed the playoffs at least twice in that span.
Eight franchises won world titles during the decade, with the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants picking up a pair apiece. But three of those fortunate teams — the Giants, Houston Astros, and Kansas City Royals — actually posted losing records for the 10-year period, despite their shiny trophies.
Excellence, it seems, truly is an elusive quality.
We’re accustomed to analyzing teams on a season-by-season basis, but I decided to take a wider view by focusing on 2011 through 2020 as a block. My formula was simple: I averaged each club’s team scores (TS) for every year over the decade.
You remember TS, right? It plots a club’s annual performance on a 100-point scale, based on winning percentage, offensive firepower, defensive skill (encompassing pitching and fielding), and postseason success.
No team has ever been so outstanding as to earn a perfect score of 100 points, nor has one been so bumbling as to receive a zero. The extremes in the Expansion Era (1961 to 2020) have both occurred in Detroit — the famed 1984 Tigers at 97.109 points and the atrocious 1996 version of the same franchise at 5.197. (Click here to learn more about TS.)
So which of the 30 big-league teams has enjoyed the most consistent success over the past 10 years? The Dodgers emerged with a comfortable advantage in average TS, as in several other indicators:
Los Angeles earned 69.129 TS points per season during the 2011-2020 period, nearly eight and a half points better than the runner-up St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers posted a 10-year regular-season record of 882-636 for a winning percentage of .581. The New York Yankees came closest at .566, putting them 15 points behind the leader.
L.A. qualified for the playoffs eight times in 10 tries, the only club to do that well. The Cardinals and Yankees made seven playoff appearances apiece.
The Dodgers grabbed their lone world title for the decade less than two months ago. But they qualified for the World Series in three of the past 10 seasons, another unmatched feat. The Astros, Cardinals, Giants, Red Sox, and Royals made two World Series appearances each.
Below are the 2011-2020 rankings for all 30 clubs, based on their average team scores. Each profile also gives a team’s regular-season record, postseason achievements, its best and worst seasons in terms of TS, its year-by-year variation (up or down in TS from each preceding season), and its current TS streak as of the end of 2020.
1. Dodgers
2011-2020 average TS: 69.129
Record: 882-636 (.581)
Postseason: 8 playoffs, 3 league titles, 1 world title
Best season: 2020 (94.085 TS)
Worst season: 2011 (50.241 TS)
Variation: 7 up, 3 down
Current streak: 2 up
2. Cardinals
2011-2020 average TS: 60.676
Record: 843-673 (.556)
Postseason: 7 playoffs, 2 league titles, 1 world title
Best season: 2013 (78.949 TS)
Worst season: 2020 (48.121 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 1 down
3. Nationals
2011-2020 average TS: 59.772
Record: 836-681 (.551)
Postseason: 5 playoffs, 1 league title, 1 world title
Best season: 2019 (76.595 TS)
Worst season: 2020 (36.489 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 1 down
4. Yankees
2011-2020 average TS: 57.771
Record: 859-659 (.566)
Postseason: 7 playoffs
Best season: 2011 (68.712 TS)
Worst season: 2016 (43.581 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 1 down
5. Indians
2011-2020 average TS: 54.696
Record: 821-695 (.542)
Postseason: 5 playoffs, 1 league title
Best season: 2017 (76.821 TS)
Worst season: 2012 (21.658 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 1 up
6. Rays
2011-2020 average TS: 53.796
Record: 804-715 (.529)
Postseason: 4 playoffs, 1 league title
Best season: 2020 (77.699 TS)
Worst season: 2016 (33.259 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 4 up
7. Red Sox
2011-2020 average TS: 53.177
Record: 807-711 (.532)
Postseason: 4 playoffs, 2 league titles, 2 world titles
Best season: 2018 (81.765 TS)
Worst season: 2020 (26.276 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 2 down
8. Athletics
2011-2020 average TS: 50.280
Record: 794-724 (.523)
Postseason: 6 playoffs
Best season: 2014 (64.760 TS)
Worst season: 2016 (25.326 TS)
Variation: 7 up, 3 down
Current streak: 4 up
9. Cubs
2011-2020 average TS: 49.688
Record: 776-742 (.511)
Postseason: 5 playoffs, 1 league title, 1 world title
Best season: 2016 (92.166 TS)
Worst season: 2012 (19.962 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 1 up
10. Braves
2011-2020 average TS: 49.273
Record: 787-730 (.519)
Postseason: 5 playoffs
Best season: 2013 (67.754 TS)
Worst season: 2015 (23.755 TS)
Variation: 7 up, 3 down
Current streak: 5 up
11. Brewers
2011-2020 average TS: 48.442
Record: 776-743 (.511)
Postseason: 4 playoffs
Best season: 2011 (66.346 TS)
Worst season: 2015 (31.853 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 2 down
12. Giants
2011-2020 average TS: 47.856
Record: 758-760 (.499)
Postseason: 3 playoffs, 2 league titles, 2 world titles
Best season: 2012 (72.475 TS)
Worst season: 2017 (25.547 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 3 up
13. Angels
2011-2020 average TS: 46.283
Record: 768-750 (.506)
Postseason: 1 playoff
Best season: 2014 (70.719 TS)
Worst season: 2016 (34.030 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 1 up
14. Rangers
2011-2020 average TS: 45.683
Record: 775-744 (.510)
Postseason: 4 playoffs, 1 league title
Best season: 2011 (78.226 TS)
Worst season: 2014 (18.535 TS)
Variation: 4 up, 6 down
Current streak: 1 down
15. Astros
2011-2020 average TS: 45.400
Record: 742-776 (.489)
Postseason: 5 playoffs, 2 league titles, 1 world title
Best season: 2017 (84.140 TS)
Worst season: 2013 (10.531 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 1 down
16. Blue Jays
2011-2020 average TS: 45.106
Record: 741-777 (.488)
Postseason: 3 playoffs
Best season: 2015 (77.296 TS)
Worst season: 2012 (31.560 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 1 up
17. Diamondbacks
2011-2020 average TS: 44.752
Record: 753-765 (.496)
Postseason: 2 playoffs
Best season: 2017 (64.767 TS)
Worst season: 2014 (19.252 TS)
Variation: 4 up, 6 down
Current streak: 1 down
18. Mets
2011-2020 average TS: 44.258
Record: 740-778 (.487)
Postseason: 2 playoffs, 1 league title
Best season: 2015 (68.509 TS)
Worst season: 2017 (31.513 TS)
Variation: 4 up, 6 down
Current streak: 1 down
19. Pirates
2011-2020 average TS: 42.310
Record: 754-762 (.497)
Postseason: 3 playoffs
Best season: 2015 (64.640 TS)
Worst season: 2020 (17.177 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 2 down
20. Royals
2011-2020 average TS: 41.924
Record: 717-801 (.472)
Postseason: 2 playoffs, 2 league titles, 1 world title
Best season: 2015 (75.761 TS)
Worst season: 2018 (25.256 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 2 up
21. Tigers
2011-2020 average TS: 41.485
Record: 724-789 (.479)
Postseason: 4 playoffs, 1 league title
Best season: 2012 (64.777 TS)
Worst season: 2019 (14.908 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 1 up
22. Reds
2011-2020 average TS: 41.204
Record: 715-803 (.471)
Postseason: 3 playoffs
Best season: 2012 (62.608 TS)
Worst season: 2018 (26.389 TS)
Variation: 4 up, 6 down
Current streak: 2 up
23. Mariners
2011-2020 average TS: 39.442
Record: 724-794 (.477)
Postseason: None
Best season: 2014 (54.608 TS)
Worst season: 2011 (28.441 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 2 down
24. Orioles
2011-2020 average TS: 39.128
Record: 714-804 (.470)
Postseason: 3 playoffs
Best season: 2014 (64.226 TS)
Worst season: 2018 (15.199 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 2 up
25. Phillies
2011-2020 average TS: 38.420
Record: 718-800 (.473)
Postseason: 1 playoff
Best season: 2011 (75.484 TS)
Worst season: 2015 (21.197 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 1 down
26. Twins
2011-2020 average TS: 37.290
Record: 707-811 (.466)
Postseason: 3 playoffs
Best season: 2019 (64.878 TS)
Worst season: 2016 (15.628 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 1 down
27. White Sox
2011-2020 average TS: 36.768
Record: 690-827 (.455)
Postseason: 1 playoff
Best season: 2020 (63.906 TS)
Worst season: 2017 (26.072 TS)
Variation: 6 up, 4 down
Current streak: 3 up
28. Padres
2011-2020 average TS: 36.691
Record: 686-832 (.452)
Postseason: 1 playoff
Best season: 2020 (68.422 TS)
Worst season: 2018 (23.626 TS)
Variation: 4 up, 6 down
Current streak: 2 up
29. Rockies
2011-2020 average TS: 36.354
Record: 695-824 (.458)
Postseason: 2 playoffs
Best season: 2018 (54.142 TS)
Worst season: 2012 (24.098 TS)
Variation: 5 up, 5 down
Current streak: 2 down
30. Marlins
2011-2020 average TS: 31.748
Record: 658-858 (.434)
Postseason: 1 playoff
Best season: 2016 (42.501 TS)
Worst season: 2018 (15.434 TS)
Variation: 4 up, 6 down
Current streak: 2 up