All Time Team-Based off best single year

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Posted By: Bobby Binder

Something different if you could choose your team based off a single season stats by position who would you select:

1st base: Jimmy Foxx-1932 58Hr, 169 RBI, .364 BA
2nd Base: Rogers Hornsby-1924 .424 BA, 25 HR, 89 RBI
Short Stop: Honus Wagner 1900 .381 BA, 100 RBI
3rd Base: George Brett 1980 .390 BA, 24 HR, 118 RBI
Catcher: Johnny Bench 1970 .293 BA, 45 HR, 148 RBI
Right Field: Babe Ruth 1921 .378 BA, 59 HR, 171 RBI
Center: Joe DiMaggio 1939 .381 BA, 30 HR, 126 RBI
Left Field: Ty Cobb 1911 .420 BA, 127 RBI,

Pitcher: Christy Mathewson 1908 37-11, 11 Shut outs, 1.43 ERA, 259 K's
Pitcher: Jack Chesbro 1904, 41-12, 6 Shut outs, 1.82 ERA, 239 K's
Pitcher: Walter Johnson 1913, 36-7, 11 Shut outs, 1.14 ERA, 243 K's
Pitcher: Sandy Koufax 1963, 25-5, 11 Shut outs, 1.88 ERA, 306 K's

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Posted By: barrysloate

That's a pretty accurate list, although if you count Bonds, his best seasons are equal to or surpass anyone's. And I might pick Koufax in 1965, when he was 26-8 with 382 strikeouts and pitched his perfect game. But 1963 will do.

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Posted By: Chris Counts

I agree with your selections and I commend you for avoiding hitters who played in 1929 and 1930. I would, however, lobby for Lefty Grove's 1931 season to be included. He went 31-4 with a 2.06 ERA, leading the league in wins, winning percentage, complete games, shutouts and ERA. Given the era he played in, I believe his season was as good as any for a pitcher ...

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Posted By: jamie

don't forget these modern guys

dwight gooden- 1985
24-4 1.53 era 16cg 8 sho 268 so and he won the cy young and pitching triple crown

ron guidry- 1978
25-3 1.78 era 16cg 9 sho 248 so

bob gibson- 1968
22-9 1.13 era 28 cg (unreal!) 13 sho 268 so

pedro martinez in '97, '99, '00

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Posted By: jay behrens

There are better options at CF. First one that comes to mind is Ken Williams in 1922. Hit .332 with 39HR 155RBI, 125R and 37SB. I also take Kauff's 1914 Season over DiMaggio's.

No matter what you think of Bonds, it's hard to argue against not having him on the list. The only thing that really stops it is possible the only season that was as good or greater than his, Cobb's 1911 season.

I agree that Grove's 1930 belongs there and should be #1. Chebro gets bumped from the list for it. 3 deadball era pitchers is overkill. I would also put Gibson's 1968 season in there and bump Matty. And yes, for those of you that know I think Koufax is incredibly overrated, I do think he belongs on this list because he had some incredible single seasons, but not a career worthy of the HOF. Drysdale even more so because never put up the incredible years that Koufax did.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Jay

Hornsby's best year was 1922 .401 BA, 42 HRs, 152 RBIs (and 17 stolen bases)

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Posted By: howard

No doubt Kauff and Williams had great years but Kauff did not play CF full time until the following year and Williams was a LF. I would take Mantle's '56, '57, and '61 seasons and probably a couple of Mays' seasons over Dimaggio's best. I'd also take '27 Gehrig over '32 Foxx but that's like comparing apples to oranges.

Howard

P.s. - I agree that several of Bonds years could be on the list.

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Posted By: Bob

Don't have the stats in front of me but that one glorious year for Smokey Joe Wood in which he dominated from the mound all year and in to the Series before injuring his arm during a delayed warm up period before his 3rd World Series game, comes to mind.

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Posted By: D.C. Markel

Here's a few that come to mind:

Mickey Mantle - 1956 .353 BA, 53 HR, 130 RBI

Ted Williams - 1941 .406 BA, 37 HR, 120 RBI

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Posted By: Paul

How about 1908 Ed Walsh-

40W-15L
ERA-1.42
CG-42
SHO-11
K's-269

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Posted By: howard

Piazza, the year he hit over .360 with 40 HRs, has a claim for the best season for a catcher.

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Posted By: Anonymous

How about the 1930 season for Lefty Grove - he won the QUADRUPLE CROWN!!

He led the majors (both leagues) in Wins, K's, ERA, AND SAVES!

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Posted By: Dylan

a few more consideration...
Dizzy Dean 1934
W-30 L-7 CG-24 SO-195 ERA-2.66

Tom Seaver 1969
W-25 L-7 CG-18 SO-208 ERA-2.21

Mordecai Brown 1906
W-26 L-6 CG-27 ERA-1.04 WOW!

Randy Johnson 2002
W-24 L-5 CG-8 SO-334 ERA-2.32

Also Clemens in '86 was pretty good but not as good as those above.

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Posted By: PC

That's a great list. I'd add Gibson before Koufax -- Gibson's 1968 season is tops in the modern era. And I'd add Lefty Grove before either of them (31-4 in the 1931 season).

One could also argue Gehrig over Foxx, and there's a case for Mantle and Williams, but at that level it doesn't really matter. They are all good choices.

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Posted By: barrysloate

What about a relief pitcher?

Dennis Eckersley 1990:

Won 4, Lost 2
Saves: 48
ERA: 0.61
73 Innings, 42 hits, 2 Walks.

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Posted By: Dylan

I dunno,Gibsons and Koufax's best years are a tossup to me. Its really hard when you compare HOF pitchers most dominent season and try and decide which was better. There's so many phenomanal seasons.

I think its easier to compare stats from decade to decade. No ones really touched the pitchers of the 1950's( perhaps not the most dominent decade stats wise) But here's a list of the best pitched years in the 1950's...
Konstanty '50 16-7 2.66 ERA 22 SV (NL MVP)
Maglie '51 23-6 2.93 ERA 22 CG
Roberts '52 29-7 2.59 ERA 30 CG
Spahn '53 23-7 2.10 ERA 24 CG
Newcomb '56 27-7 3.06 ERA 18 CG (NL MVP, NL CY YOUNG)
Shantz '52 24-7 2.48 ERA 27 CG
Lemon '54 23-7 2.72 ERA 21 CG
Bunning '57 20-8 2.69 ERA 14 CG
Antonelli '54 21-7 2.30 ERA 18 CG

I've got to say Roberts or Shantz in '52 or Spahn in '53 look like the best pitched years of the decade.

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Posted By: howard

Nice list Dylan. I think I have a couple of worthy additions, all from 1952. Although he was overshadowed by Shantz, Allie Reynolds had an astounding season and finished second in the MVP voting. He was 20-8 and led the league in K's and with a 2.06 ERA. He also completed 24 of 29 starts and recorded a save in each of his six relief appearances. In the NL Hoyt Wilhelm and Joe Black had two of the greatest relief seasons ever. Wilhelm was 15-3 and pitched enough innings to lead the league with a 2.43 ERA. Black was 15-4 and at 2.15 had an even better ERA than Wilhelm but was a few innings shy of qualifying for the title. Black very nearly won the MVP but Wilhelm beat him out for the Rookie of the Year.

Honorable mention to Billy Pierce who in 1955 had the lowest ERA of the decade at 1.97 though it resulted in only a 15-10 record.

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Posted By: Andrew Parks

The Greatest Seasons by players not in the Hall but are eligible?

C - Ted Simmons .332 18 100
1B - Mark McGwire .299 70 147
2B - Juan Samuel .272 28 100 35 SB
3B - Al Rosen .336 43 145
SS - Alan Trammell .343 28 105 21 SB
LF - Jim Rice .315 46 139
CF - Ken Williams .332 39 155 37 SB
RF - Roger Maris .269 61 142

P - Vida Blue 24-8 1.82 301 K
P - Denny McClain 31-6 1.96 208 K
P - Joe Wood 34-5 1.91 258 K
P - Dwight Gooden 24-4 1.53 268 K

RP - Roy Face 18-1 2.70
RP - Sparky Lyle 13-5 2.17 26 SV
RP - Mark Davis 4-3 1.85 44 SV
RP - John Hiller 10-5 1.44 38 SV
RP - Bobby Thigpen 4-6 1.83 57 SV

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Posted By: howard

Mcginnity is in the HOF. You can replace him with '78 Guidry (25-3, 1.73) or '85 Gooden (24-4, 1.53).

Also, Ken Williams was not a CF. Bobby Murcer had a great 1971 season (.331, 25 HR's, .430 OBP) which was a miserable year for A.L. hitters. I'm sure there must be better examples than that, though.

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Posted By: Brian (misunderestimated)

I realize that a few of these are problematic for one reason or another but (ifno one already has) they merit at least a mention:

P (RH) GC Alexander 1916: 33-12 1.55 ERA 16 Shut-outs (best ever)

2b Lajoie 1901 .426 BA; 14 HR; 145 Runs; 125 RBI; 48 2Bs; 232 H (all league leading in a 131 game season) NOTE- This was the first "major league" season for the AL so it the level of competition was relatively low)

SS Honus Wagner 1908: .354 BA; 109 RBI; 10 HR; 39 2b; 100 Runs; 201 Hits & 53 SB (he led the league in all of these categories except HR and Runs where he was 2nd) This was during the dead ball era: the average hitter hit .247.

LF Barry Bonds 2001: 73 HR, 137 RBI, .328 BA. 177 BB .863 Slugging Avg (highest ever)& 1.379 OPS (on base + slugging)

OF Tip O'Neil 1887 AA(124 Game season): 167 Runs, 225 Hits; 52 2B; 19 3B; 14 HR; 123 RBI; .435 BA (all league leading) NOTE: According to the Stat mongers the AA was generally inferior to the NL but in 1887 they were pretty close to equal.

1B Gehrig 1927: 47 Hr 175 RBI, 109 Walks; 149 Runs, 218 Hits .373 BA and the MVP (even though his teammate hit 60 HRs)

P Joe Wood 1912 AL: 34-5; 10 Shut outs; 1.91 ERA --> Walter Johnson probably had a better season that year (with an inferior team) but I thought I'd mention Smokey Joe.

P (RH) G. Maddux 1995: 19-2 1.63 ERA; 23 Walks and (of course) a gold glove

OF Billy Hamiton 1894: 129 Games; 220 Hits; 192 Runs; .404 B.A; 98 SB;
111 BB (he is one of three players with more career runs than games played -- the other two are more obscure: Stovey and Gore)

and of course:
P (RH) Old Hoss Radbourne 1884 :
59-12 1.38 ERA 11 SHO, 441 SO 73 Games started (all complete)-- all of these led the league. Post-pseason: 3 wins (no earned runs, all complete game wins) in 3 straight games in the earliest ancestor of the World Series (over fellow future HOFer Tim Keefe)
______
The three responses were as follows:
1. howard
(Login howard38) Re: Please move to the single season AS thread -- I goofed May 3 2007, 10:08 PM

Brian, Ruth was not eligible to win the MVP as he had won it in 1923. The rules at the time did not allow for repeat winners. In 1926 George Burns(!) won it over Ruth. Of course, Gehrigs '27 season was so great he might have won it anyway.

2. John Kalafarski
(Login whycough) Single Season AS May 3 2007, 11:03 PM

Brian, please no Bonds. Only human people who used talent only.
--
3. Larry
(Login larryhaven) Bonds May 3 2007, 11:56 PM

He was human back when he played for Pittsburgh. Now he looks like the Michelin Man.