Baseball Toaster: Mike's Baseball Rants : Rivalry Revelry

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Rivalry Revelry

2006-06-08 21:03

by Mike Carminati

I know that I said I would look at the overall franchise-versus-franchise records, but I want to take one more look at the season-series records more closely first. I thought that looking at just those teams that competed for a title would be a bit more interesting and more to the point.

So here are the closest (in terms of average margin of victory) season series of all time involving two teams including at least one first-place or playoff team. I limited the games apart between the two to less than six games.

Year	Team 1	PCT1	POS1	GB1	Team 2	PCT2	POS2	GB2	Tot G	Tot Run Diff	AvgRunDiff	Team1 W	Team2 W	GB Diff
1987	Toronto Blue Jays	.593	2	2	Detroit Tigers	.605	1	0	13	20	1.54	6	7	2
1994	Kansas City Royals	.557	3	4	Chicago White Sox	.593	1	0	10	16	1.60	7	3	4
1980	New York Yankees	.636	1	0	Baltimore Orioles	.617	2	3	13	24	1.85	6	7	3
2005	Philadelphia Phillies	.543	2	2	Houston Astros	.549	2	11	6	12	2.00	0	6	1
1980	Los Angeles Dodgers	.564	2	1	Houston Astros	.571	1	0	19	41	2.16	10	9	1
2003	Houston Astros	.537	2	1	Florida Marlins	.562	2	10	6	13	2.17	5	1	4
2002	Oakland Athletics	.636	1	0	Anaheim Angels	.611	2	4	20	45	2.25	11	9	4
2003	St. Louis Cardinals	.525	3	3	Chicago Cubs	.543	1	0	17	39	2.29	9	8	3
1980	Philadelphia Phillies	.562	1	0	Montreal Expos	.556	2	1	18	42	2.33	9	9	1
1996	Montreal Expos	.543	2	8	Los Angeles Dodgers	.556	2	1	12	28	2.33	3	9	2
1973	Los Angeles Dodgers	.590	2	3.5	Cincinnati Reds	.611	1	0	18	43	2.39	7	11	3.5
1985	St. Louis Cardinals	.623	1	0	New York Mets	.605	2	3	18	45	2.50	10	8	3
1974	St. Louis Cardinals	.534	2	1.5	Pittsburgh Pirates	.543	1	0	18	45	2.50	11	7	1.5
2001	St. Louis Cardinals	.574	2	0	San Francisco Giants	.556	2	2	6	15	2.50	2	4	3
1978	Texas Rangers	.537	2	5	Kansas City Royals	.568	1	0	15	38	2.53	8	7	5
1987	St. Louis Cardinals	.586	1	0	New York Mets	.568	2	3	18	46	2.56	9	9	3
2002	San Francisco Giants	.590	2	2.5	Arizona Diamondbacks	.605	1	0	19	49	2.58	11	8	2.5
1985	Toronto Blue Jays	.615	1	0	New York Yankees	.602	2	2	13	34	2.62	7	6	2
1995	Houston Astros	.528	2	9	Colorado Rockies	.535	2	1	8	21	2.63	4	4	1
2004	San Diego Padres	.537	3	6	Houston Astros	.568	2	13	6	16	2.67	4	2	5
1994	Houston Astros	.574	2	0.5	Cincinnati Reds	.579	1	0	10	27	2.70	6	4	0.5
1979	Pittsburgh Pirates	.605	1	0	Montreal Expos	.594	2	2	18	49	2.72	11	7	2
1983	Los Angeles Dodgers	.562	1	0	Atlanta Braves	.543	2	3	18	49	2.72	11	7	3
1981	St. Louis Cardinals	.578	1	0	Montreal Expos	.556	2	2	15	41	2.73	9	6	2
1972	Oakland Athletics	.600	1	0	Chicago White Sox	.565	2	5.5	15	41	2.73	8	7	5.5
1990	Toronto Blue Jays	.531	2	2	Boston Red Sox	.543	1	0	13	36	2.77	3	10	2
1998	New York Mets	.543	2	18	Chicago Cubs	.552	2	12.5	9	25	2.78	5	4	1.5

It's nice to find the '87 Blue Jays/Tigers at the top of the list, and I like seeing last year's Phils/Astros there as well, but there are not a lot of the usual rivalries on the list.

Now here are the worst season series of all time:

Year	Team 1	PCT1	POS1	GB1	Team 2	PCT2	POS2	GB2	Tot G	Tot Run Diff	AvgRunDiff	Team1 W	Team2 W	GB Diff
1995	New York Yankees	.549	2	7	California Angels	.538	2	1	12	63	5.25	5	7	1.5
1992	Toronto Blue Jays	.593	1	0	Milwaukee Brewers	.568	2	4	13	68	5.23	5	8	4
2005	New York Yankees	.586	1	0	Boston Red Sox	.586	2	0	19	99	5.21	10	9	0
2000	Toronto Blue Jays	.512	3	4.5	New York Yankees	.540	1	0	12	60	5.00	7	5	4.5
1978	New York Yankees	.613	1	0	Boston Red Sox	.607	2	1	16	80	5.00	9	7	1
1995	Texas Rangers	.514	3	4.5	Seattle Mariners	.545	1	0	13	64	4.92	3	10	4.5
1988	Detroit Tigers	.543	2	1	Boston Red Sox	.549	1	0	13	63	4.85	7	6	1
1998	Texas Rangers	.543	1	0	Anaheim Angels	.525	2	3	12	58	4.83	7	5	3
1997	New York Yankees	.593	2	2	Baltimore Orioles	.605	1	0	12	58	4.83	4	8	2
1982	Milwaukee Brewers	.586	1	0	Baltimore Orioles	.580	2	1	14	66	4.71	4	10	1
2000	Cleveland Indians	.556	2	5	Chicago White Sox	.586	1	0	13	61	4.69	5	8	5
1986	New York Yankees	.556	2	5.5	Boston Red Sox	.590	1	0	13	61	4.69	8	5	5.5
1979	Kansas City Royals	.525	2	3	California Angels	.543	1	0	13	61	4.69	6	7	3
1981	St. Louis Cardinals	.578	1	0	Philadelphia Phillies	.551	3	2.5	13	60	4.62	6	7	2.5
1988	Toronto Blue Jays	.537	3	2	Boston Red Sox	.549	1	0	13	60	4.62	11	2	2
2000	New York Mets	.580	2	1	Atlanta Braves	.586	1	0	13	59	4.54	6	7	1
2004	San Francisco Giants	.562	2	2	Houston Astros	.568	2	13	6	27	4.50	4	2	1
1989	Toronto Blue Jays	.549	1	0	Baltimore Orioles	.537	2	2	13	58	4.46	6	7	2
2003	Seattle Mariners	.574	2	3	Oakland Athletics	.593	1	0	19	84	4.42	12	7	3
1995	Seattle Mariners	.545	1	0	California Angels	.538	2	1	13	57	4.38	6	7	1
2000	Seattle Mariners	.562	2	0.5	Cleveland Indians	.556	2	5	9	39	4.33	2	7	1
1997	San Francisco Giants	.556	1	0	Los Angeles Dodgers	.543	2	2	12	51	4.25	6	6	2
2000	New York Yankees	.540	1	0	Boston Red Sox	.525	2	2.5	13	55	4.23	7	6	2.5
2005	Philadelphia Phillies	.543	2	2	Atlanta Braves	.556	1	0	19	80	4.21	10	9	2

The Red Sox and Yankees show up on this list a few of times, including the 1978 division rivals who ended up in a one-game playoff. It seems the typical rivalries that we usually think of.

Now. I want to look at the overall head-to-head records for all franchises to see which have played the tightest contests. Do the big rivalries (Yankees-Red Sox, Giants-Dodgers, etc.) actually play each other more evenly than just random matchups?

Here are the franchises who played the closest games in their overall head-to-head competition:

Franchise 1	W	Franchise 2	W	First	Last	Tot G	Tot Run Diff	AvgRunDiff
Philadelphia Phillies	3	Boston Red Sox	1	1998	1998	4	7	1.75
Milwaukee Grays	1	Atlanta Braves	11	1878	1878	12	23	1.92
Texas Rangers	3	Los Angeles Dodgers	1	1997	1997	4	8	2.00
Washington Olympics	1	Boston Red Stockings	4	1871	1871	5	10	2.00
Toledo Blue Stockings	5	Richmond Virginians	0	1884	1884	5	11	2.20
St. Louis Cardinals	3	Richmond Virginians	1	1884	1884	4	9	2.25
Texas Rangers	2	San Francisco Giants	2	1997	1997	4	9	2.25
New York Mutuals	5	New Haven Elm Citys	1	1875	1875	6	14	2.33
Philadelphia Athletics	5	Milwaukee Brewers	3	1891	1891	8	19	2.38
Boston Reds	6	Baltimore Monumentals	10	1884	1884	16	39	2.44
Chicago Whales	23	Baltimore Terrapins	21	1914	1915	44	109	2.48
Detroit Tigers	2	Colorado Rockies	4	2003	2003	6	15	2.50
Oakland Athletics	1	Los Angeles Dodgers	3	1997	1997	4	10	2.50
Texas Rangers	2	San Diego Padres	2	1997	1997	4	10	2.50
Toledo Maumees	3	Baltimore Orioles	3	1890	1890	6	15	2.50
Troy Haymakers	0	Fort Wayne Kekiongas	2	1871	1871	2	5	2.50
Newark Pepper	20	Chicago Whales	24	1914	1915	44	111	2.52
Syracuse Stars	1	Chicago Cubs	8	1879	1879	9	23	2.56
St. Louis Terriers	25	Brooklyn Tip-Tops	20	1914	1915	45	117	2.60
Toledo Blue Stockings	5	Pittsburgh Pirates	5	1884	1884	10	26	2.60

Pretty random, huh? Let's limit ourselves to just those potential rivals who have played at least, say, one hundred games against each other. Take two:

Franchise 1	W	Franchise 2	W	First	Last	Tot G	Tot Run Diff	AvgRunDiff
New York Mets	233	Los Angeles Dodgers	289	1962	2005	522	1479	2.83
Los Angeles Dodgers	60	Florida Marlins	52	1993	2005	112	323	2.88
Washington Nationals	306	New York Mets	310	1969	2005	616	1810	2.94
San Diego Padres	171	Chicago Cubs	224	1969	2005	395	1166	2.95
San Francisco Giants	67	Florida Marlins	41	1993	2005	108	319	2.95
Pittsburgh Pirates	66	Milwaukee Brewers	56	1998	2005	122	361	2.96
Washington Nationals	276	Chicago Cubs	250	1969	2005	526	1565	2.98
Houston Astros	304	Atlanta Braves	354	1962	2005	658	1963	2.98
San Diego Padres	203	New York Mets	200	1969	2005	403	1206	2.99
Milwaukee Brewers	168	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	178	1969	1997	346	1037	3.00
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	62	Baltimore Orioles	69	1998	2005	131	394	3.01
Washington Nationals	213	San Diego Padres	184	1969	2005	397	1197	3.02
St. Louis Cardinals	234	San Diego Padres	163	1969	2005	397	1203	3.03
Los Angeles Dodgers	363	Houston Astros	297	1962	2005	660	2000	3.03
Washington Nationals	299	Philadelphia Phillies	317	1969	2005	616	1875	3.04
Philadelphia Phillies	399	New York Mets	348	1962	2005	747	2286	3.06
San Diego Padres	236	Atlanta Braves	301	1969	2005	537	1650	3.07
San Francisco Giants	288	New York Mets	237	1962	2005	525	1614	3.07
Pittsburgh Pirates	346	New York Mets	310	1962	2005	656	2017	3.07
New York Mets	272	Atlanta Braves	328	1962	2005	600	1845	3.08
Washington Nationals	264	St. Louis Cardinals	272	1969	2005	536	1654	3.09
Washington Nationals	171	Los Angeles Dodgers	229	1969	2005	400	1236	3.09
San Diego Padres	257	Houston Astros	285	1969	2005	542	1677	3.09
San Diego Padres	295	Los Angeles Dodgers	323	1969	2005	618	1925	3.11
Chicago White Sox	316	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	318	1961	2005	634	1980	3.12

Ah, those classic Marlins-Dodgers matchups! Hmmm. But perhaps my favorite is the classic Pirates-Brewers rivalry from the last seven seasons as each team tries to avoid the NL Central basement on an annual basis.

So what are the worst rivalries? Again, most of the worst are from the nineteenth century. Barring those:

Franchise 1	W	Franchise 2	W	First	Last	Tot G	Tot Run Diff	AvgRunDiff
Colorado Rockies	59	Arizona Diamondbacks	73	1998	2005	132	539	4.08
San Diego Padres	96	Colorado Rockies	97	1993	2005	193	774	4.01
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	42	New York Yankees	88	1998	2005	130	521	4.01
Washington Nationals	50	Colorado Rockies	58	1993	2005	108	426	3.94
Colorado Rockies	54	Cincinnati Reds	63	1993	2005	117	453	3.87
Colorado Rockies	41	Atlanta Braves	75	1993	2005	116	446	3.84
Colorado Rockies	57	Chicago Cubs	61	1993	2005	118	453	3.84
San Francisco Giants	114	Colorado Rockies	79	1993	2005	193	740	3.83
Pittsburgh Pirates	59	Colorado Rockies	57	1993	2005	116	440	3.79
Florida Marlins	56	Chicago Cubs	59	1993	2005	115	433	3.77
Seattle Mariners	190	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	211	1977	2005	401	1500	3.74
Milwaukee Brewers	63	Cincinnati Reds	61	1998	2005	124	463	3.73
Kansas City Royals	244	Detroit Tigers	218	1969	2005	462	1704	3.69
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	44	Boston Red Sox	88	1998	2005	132	483	3.66
Toronto Blue Jays	159	Minnesota Twins	138	1977	2005	297	1080	3.64
St. Louis Cardinals	58	Colorado Rockies	62	1993	2005	120	436	3.63
Seattle Mariners	179	Minnesota Twins	165	1977	2005	344	1249	3.63
Seattle Mariners	142	Detroit Tigers	167	1977	2005	309	1115	3.61
Florida Marlins	83	Atlanta Braves	110	1993	2005	193	692	3.59
Oakland Athletics	267	Kansas City Royals	218	1969	2005	485	1738	3.58
Houston Astros	58	Colorado Rockies	55	1993	2005	113	404	3.58
Toronto Blue Jays	174	New York Yankees	218	1977	2005	392	1400	3.57
Florida Marlins	59	Colorado Rockies	59	1993	2005	118	421	3.57
Oakland Athletics	864	Cleveland Indians	994	1901	2005	1858	6620	3.56

Not surprisingly a lot of Rockie combos top the list. Then there's Tampa Bay-Yankees—poor Lou Piniella.

So where does this leave us? Are there any real rivalries?

I offer that there rivalries of the moment, two teams that are close in talent and happen to be competing for the same goal. Maybe the 1987 Tigers/Blue Jays was the greatest rivalry of all time because they were both so good and they were competing for the title in the same division. Their rivalry is pretty much dead now because they are in separate divisions and both teams have had some poor to mediocre seasons the last bunch of years.

By the way, the Red Sox beat the Yankees by six runs tonight, 9-3. I feel redeemed. Familiarity might breed contempt but it does not ensure a potent on-field rivalry.

Comments

2006-06-09 16:35:15

1. Underbruin

Mike, a question - do you feel that margin of victory is more important than a season series that ends up with the two teams winning/losing a similar number of games against each other?

For example, which is the better playoff series: a series that ends in 4 games, all of which are 1-run games? Or a 7-game series that has a few blowouts split between the two teams?

I ask because I note the example used of the 2005 Red Sox/Yankees series, which is the 'worst' of the Boston/New York season rivalries in game differential. However, the teams won 9 and 10 games, respectively. Or the '78 series, which saw the teams win 7 and 9 games.

Compare that to the 2005 Phillies/Astros series, which is qutie high on the 'best' list - the Astros won all 6 meetings between the teams, even though the average run-differential was only 2. I submit that in the eyes of many, the season series between the 2005 Yankees/Red Sox was a better one than that between the 2005 Phillies/Astros, because of the better distribution of won games.

I did a bit of math and calculated the average difference in head-to-head win/loss records, and the 'best series' group (table 1) had an average differential of 2.48, while the 'worst series' group (table 2) had an average differential of 2.67. That's not a particularly large differential, especially considering how big the margin of victories were for the 'worst series' group and how small those margins were for those in the 'best series' group.

What I can't figure is how the Expos/Nats v. the Mets hasn't become a classic 'rivalry.' One of the lowest average run differentials of the post-1800s, and out of a 616-game history the two have won almost the same number of games (310-306 in favor of the Mets). :-)

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