Quote:
Originally Posted by robw1959
True. However, I did not specify "the most successful team" ever. That could be another interesting post. But success and greatness don't necessarily go hand in hand, and we could all give many examples of outstanding players who toiled on mediocre teams. And I also didn't specify "the greatest team" ever. That research would have to take into account such factors as the prime years of a career. Again, that would be another interesting post.
By asking for the "greatest roster ever," I am trying to ascertain which team had the best players of all time for one season on it, regardless of their ages. In 1928, those Philadelphia Athletics didn't even play in the World Series. But the stars were so perfectly aligned that they were able to get the immortals Cobb and Speaker each in their last season, Eddie Collins at the tail-end of his HOF career, and also land HOF players such as Grove, Cochrane, Foxx, and Simmons so early in their MLB careers. All in all, they formed such an amazing roster.
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Yes, if you are looking for the team with the best players of all time on it for one season (irrespective of how those individual players performed that specific year) then you probably picked the right one.
If, however, you are taking a different approach and looking for the team that had the best players during a specific season, I think it is hard to beat the 1954 Indians. They had the highest winning percentage of any team since the 1909 Pirates at .724 (110-42) and featured 4 of the top AL MVP vote getters in Larry Doby (2nd), Bobby Avila (3rd), Bob Lemon (5th), and Early Wynn (6th). Al Rosen also had a strong year, slugging over .500
Bobby Avila led the AL in Batting Average at .341, Doby led the AL in HRs (32) and RBIs (126).
Mike Garcia led the AL in ERA with 2.64 (Lemon and Wynn were also in the top 4). Bob Lemon and Early Wynn tied for the AL lead in wins with 23 each.
They did, however, get swept by the Giants in the World Series.