Post by Sha-Le Unique on Jun 8, 2015 0:33:47 GMT -5
Missed this last season, so I'll just do this now for our first decade of HOFFBL history.
To make this interesting and a little more creative in an effort to make this look completely legit and feature no opinionated bias speculation, I decided to do a points system for this, as follows:
- Overall 10-year win-loss records will be ranked on a 2-40 point scale, which includes:
1st in Wins - 20 points
2nd in Wins - 18 points
3rd in Wins - 16 points
4th in Wins - 14 points
5th in Wins - 12 points
6th in Wins - 10 points
7th in Wins - 8 points
8th in Wins - 6 points
9th in Wins - 4 points
10th in Wins - 2 points
Some teams may have also had that one great season and did not reach similar success in other seasons. As a result, top win season ranks (in other words, ranking the # of wins in each team's best seasons) will be done on a 1-16 point season, to reflect that overall 10-year records are worth more, which makes sense.
Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 10 points
2nd Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 9 points
3rd Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 8 points
4th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 7 points
5th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 6 points
6th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 5 points
7th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 4 points
8th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 3 points
9th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 2 points
10th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 1 point
In addition, if a team wins a division title, that's an additional 5 points per division title. If a team has won its league's respective pennant, they will get 10 points per pennant won. As for World Series championships, each team will get 20 points per championship won.
Let's get this started!
10. Washington Senators
Former Yankees Cy Young Award winner Jim McDonald has been one of the few bright spots for the Senators in their young history.
Overall Record: 106-218 (10/10) - 2 points
Best Season: 58-104 in 1962 (10/10) - 1 points
Total - 3 points
This second version of the Washington Senators have both struggled to hit and struggled to pitch well over time and are in the middle of what will likely be a very long rebuild. The Senators have some really nice pitching spects in the minors, but lack the minor league hitting depth in comparison. But with top prospect Lew Krausse nearly ready for his eventual debut, better days could be coming along for the Senators.
9. Los Angeles Angels
Veteran first baseman Joe Adcock had some solid seasons during his time with the Angels.
Overall Record: 142-182 (9/10) - 4 points
Best Season: 72-90 in 1962 (9/10) - 2 points
Total: 6 points
The Angels are next as we round out the expansion teams. They have quietly built up a decent farm system, although they could use another elite bat or 2 for the future. With the Dodgers around, it will tough for the Angels to build up a solid fan base, but once a few more of the top prospects are up, the Angels could make some noise in the AL West. So far though, the Angels have not hit or pitched particularly well, but younger players like Carl Boles, Donn Clendenon, Jerry Walker and Mickey Lolich are giving the Angels and their fans some hope for the future.
8. Baltimore Orioles
Ace Larry Jackson has been a mainstay with the Orioles since his MLB debut in 1955.
Overall Record: 616-930 (8/10) - 6 points
Best Season: 76-86 in 1962 (8/10) - 3 points
Total: 9 points
Through their first 10 seasons, the Orioles did not put together a single winning season. This of course changed in 1963, but this ranking is for 1953-1962. The Orioles were in a long rebuild and stockpiled quite a bit of young talent. All of this has finally started to pay off now, with the Orioles having a very bright future. They have depth both in the lineup (Jack Bloomfield, John Weekly, Frank Howard, Brooks Robinson) and in the pitching staff (Larry Jackson, Juan Marichal, Bill Short, Gary Peters). They continue to have a solid farm system as well. Dave is already the 3rd Orioles GM, but will depart for the Royals at the end of the decade. Hopefully, his eventual successor will be able to keep the Orioles running strong by the 70s and beyond.
7. Kansas City Athletics
The A's are hoping the bat of Sadaharu Oh can help lead them to more success.
Overall Record: 665-891 (7/10) - 8 points
Best Season: 81-73 in 1953 (6/10) - 5 points
Total: 13 points
The A's still only have 1 winning season in 1953, when they went 81-73 out of the gate. Since then, they've been rebuilding and rebuilding and then rebuilding even more. In all this time, the A's have put together a very young team with a lot of potential. The problem is that this potential just has not been reached yet and it's unknown when that will actually occur. Credit Noah for continuing to be patient throughout the entire process and not making an attempt to sacrifice all his talent to win a lot more for just 2 or 3 seasons.
The A's in their history have not had too many hitters to build around, aside from the now retired and potential Hall of Fame outfielder Gus Zernial. With a team currently built around Sadaharu Oh, John Romano, Karl Kuehl and Lee Maye offensively, the A's have a very promising future. Building a pitching staff with just as much potential is what is really missing from this team, but with time, the A's will be going places.
6. Minnesota Twins
Harmon Killebrew for a long time has been the face of the Twins. Finding talent to surround him though has been more of a challenge for the Twins.
Overall Record: 705-851 (6/10) - 10 points
Best Season: 81-73 (1953) (6/10) - 5 points
Total: 15 points
Like the A's, the Twins have not had a winning season since 1953 when they too went 81-73. This of course was back when they were the Washington Senators. The Twins have had Harmon Killebrew since 1956 as their franchise player and more recently added a second cornerstone in catcher Tom Haller. Finding more talent to surround them in the lineup though seems to be a never-ending project for the Twins. Likewise on the pitching end, the Twins had Chuck Stobbs for many years, but never had a particularly deep rotation that could help them really contend for the playoffs every season.
Due to the Twins' hits and misses over the years, it's no surprise that the Twins have been slightly under .500 more often than not each season. But the future now looks a lot better for the Twins, who are 2 or 3 elite pitchers away from having one of the best teams in the AL. They're also the first team to have already used 2 FPR selections in Killebrew and top prospect Rod Carew.
5. Boston Red Sox
Dick Gernert is 1 of only a handful of players to have been with the same team since 1953.
Overall Record: 779-777 (5/10) - 12 points
Best Season: 94-68 in 1962 (5/10) - 6 points
Total - 18 points
Where do we begin here? Has it been the injuries? Players underachieving? A lack of talent? Dealing with the Yankees? The Red Sox are a mystery in the AL for sure. They've put together some very good seasons that happened to be noticeably worse than the division winning teams over the years. In their 2 best seasons in 1961 and 1962, the Red Sox won 93 and 94 games, respectively. Yet, they were in a distant 3rd place due to their competition.
In other words, you could look at the Red Sox with a glass half full or a glass half empty perspective. And the fact that they haven't made the postseason yet definitely has not been due to a lack of talent. Offensively, the Red Sox have had great hitters like Luis Aparicio, Frank Thomas, Dick Gernert, Del Ennis, Mike Solomko and Ken Boyer at different points in team history. And on the pitching end, the trio of Don Rowe, Joe Albanese, and Frank Baumann have been as solid as any over time.
The Red Sox though will need to make the most of the next few years with such a dry farm system and poor finances. Maybe they'll catch a break soon...or maybe the Curse of the Bambino will continue to haunt them.
4. Cleveland Indians
Rocky Colavito has been the main cornerstone player for the Indians since 1955.
Overall Record: 781-775 (4/10) - 14 points
Best Season: 97-57 (4/10) - 7 points
Total: 21 points
It's too bad Ashes hasn't had much time to devote to this league. If he did, the landscape of the AL West could have looked drastically different. Anyway, the Indians had a lot of success in their first 2 seasons but they weren't good enough to reach the postseason. Since then, the Indians have basically been a .500 team, with a few good seasons and a few bad seasons sprinkled in. The trio of Al Rosen, Rocky Colavito and Roger Maris helped the Indians be a consistent offensive threat. But Rosen has since retired and Maris left via free agency. They have since been replaced in the lineup by players like Roberto Barbon, Dick Brown and Tony Oliva, among others. On the pitching end, the Indians had an ace in Mike Garcia early on, but never really had a particularly elite pitching staff.
The Indians are yet another AL West team that is moving in the right direction and that division could become very competitive within the next few seasons. The Indians also have a lot of young pitching depth in the minor leagues that could come in handy in the future.
3. Detroit Tigers
Al Kaline since the start has been one of the best overall players in the league and holds numerous team single season and career records.
Overall Record: 848-708 (3/10) - 16 points
Best Season: 98-56 in 1960 (2/10) - 9 points
2x Division Titles - 10 points
1x AL Pennant - 10 points
1x World Series Championship - 20 points
Total: 65 points
Despite having one of the league's best lineups and some very good pitching for many seasons, the Tigers were stuck behind the Yankees in the standings for their first 2 competitive seasons in 1956 and 1957. Then in 1958, they won the first ever AL West title by 1 game over the rival White Sox. They then lost a very close ALCS to the Yankees 4 games to 3. After a 2nd place finish in 1959, the Tigers put together their best season in 1960 with 98 wins. They beat the Yankees 4 games to 1 in the ALCS and then swept the Dodgers in the 1960 World Series to win their first championship.
After being relocated to the AL East in 1961, the Tigers finished a distant 2nd place that year and finished 2nd again in 1962. They have since won their second championship in 1963 and clearly have a great future going forward. Despite the AL East being very competitive as is, it will be tough to stop the Tigers for a while now.
Over time, the Tigers have had a bunch of great hitters, including Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Larry Doby, Harvey Kuenn, Jerry Kindall, Dan Dobbek, and Ed Bouchee. They've also had some great pitchers, such as Art Houtteman, Paul Foytack, Jim Bunning, Garland Shifflett, and Billy Hoeft. Hal Woodeshick and Fritz Dorish have been elite closers for the Tigers as well.
2. Chicago White Sox
The left arm of Billy Pierce has been as critical as anything to the White Sox' more recent success.
Overall Record: 873-683 (2/10) - 18 points
Best Season: 98-56 (2/10) - 9 points
3x Division Titles - 15 points
1x AL Pennant - 10 points
1x World Series Championship - 20 points
Total: 72 points
Over time, the AL has certainly been dominated by 3 particular teams. The first of which are the White Sox, who became an AL West powerhouse, after being above average for most of the first half of the decade. The White Sox have not had a losing season since 1953. They also won 3 AL West titles in 1959, 1961, and 1962. In 1959, they upset the heavily favored Yankees and won the AL pennant 4 games to 2. They then defeated the Pirates 4 games to 2 to win the 1959 World Series. The White Sox though were not as fortunate in the 1961 and 1962 ALCS'. In 1961, they lost to the Yankees 4 games to 3 and in 1962, they lost to the Tigers 4 games to 1.
The White Sox have been led by their dominant pitching for years, with Billy Pierce and Mike Fornieles both consistently carrying them from 1 season to the next. Steve Ridzik, Connie Johnson and Mudcat Grant have all been solid contributors as well. Bud Byerly and later, Lindy McDaniel were reliable closers as well. Don Robertson, Joe Cunningham, Earl Battey, Don Gile and Jim King have been the team's most productive hitters over time.
The White Sox have continued to dominate the AL West and have a few very good spects in the minors as well. But as long as their pitching continues to be great, the rest of the AL West teams will have their work cut out.
1. New York Yankees
Between all the great players the Yankees have had over the years, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle have been the 2 consistent presences for what has been the most successful team in HOFFBL by far.
Overall Record: 1033-523 (1/10) - 20 points
Best Season: 110-44 in 1955 (1/10) - 10 points
5x Division Titles - 25 points
8x AL Pennants - 80 points
4x World Series Championships - 80 points
Total: 215 points
Obviously this is a landslide for the Yankees, who have simply dominated the entire league since the start. They've had a ton of offensive stars, including Mickey Mantle, Norm Siebern, Yogi Berra, Gus Triandos, and Wally Post, among others. They've had even more elite pitchers, such as Whitey Ford, Vic Raschi, Eddie Lopat, Jim McDonald, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Jackie Collum, Bill Henry, Don Larsen and Tex Clevenger. And then there are the elite closers Tom Gorman and Dick Hyde, both of whom were/have been long mainstays in the Bronx.
The Yankees made the playoffs every single season from 1953-1962. They went straight to the World Series from 1953-1957 and won 5 AL East titles from 1958-1962. The Yankees won the inaugural 1953 World Series 4 games to 1 over the Braves. They then lost the 1954 World Series 4 games to 2 against the Cardinals before bouncing back in 1955 to win their second championship 4 games to 3 over the Dodgers. The Yankees then lost another World Series to the Cardinals in 1956 4 games to 2. In 1957, the Yankees won their third title 4 games to 1 against the Dodgers. In the first ever ALCS in 1958, the Yankees beat the Tigers 4 games to 3. The Dodgers then turned the table and beat the Yankees 4 games to 2 in the 1958 World Series.
The 1959 Yankees missed the World Series for the first time after losing 4 games to 2 against the eventual champion White Sox. They then lost again in the ALCS in 1960 to the eventual champion Tigers. The 1961 Yankees beat the White Sox 4 games to 1 in the ALCS before losing to the Dodgers 3 games to 2 in the 1961 World Series. The 1962 Yankees beat the White Sox again in the ALCS 4 games to 3 and then won their fourth title over the Pirates 4 games to 3 in the 1962 World Series.
The Yankees right now are retooling after a 2nd place finish in 1963. But with all the talent they have, they should be able to bounce back within a few seasons and try to expand their trophy case that much more. Heck, they might need a second trophy case by now.
NL ranks coming up next!
To make this interesting and a little more creative in an effort to make this look completely legit and feature no opinionated bias speculation, I decided to do a points system for this, as follows:
- Overall 10-year win-loss records will be ranked on a 2-40 point scale, which includes:
1st in Wins - 20 points
2nd in Wins - 18 points
3rd in Wins - 16 points
4th in Wins - 14 points
5th in Wins - 12 points
6th in Wins - 10 points
7th in Wins - 8 points
8th in Wins - 6 points
9th in Wins - 4 points
10th in Wins - 2 points
Some teams may have also had that one great season and did not reach similar success in other seasons. As a result, top win season ranks (in other words, ranking the # of wins in each team's best seasons) will be done on a 1-16 point season, to reflect that overall 10-year records are worth more, which makes sense.
Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 10 points
2nd Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 9 points
3rd Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 8 points
4th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 7 points
5th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 6 points
6th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 5 points
7th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 4 points
8th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 3 points
9th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 2 points
10th Most Wins in Team's Best Season - 1 point
In addition, if a team wins a division title, that's an additional 5 points per division title. If a team has won its league's respective pennant, they will get 10 points per pennant won. As for World Series championships, each team will get 20 points per championship won.
Let's get this started!
10. Washington Senators
Former Yankees Cy Young Award winner Jim McDonald has been one of the few bright spots for the Senators in their young history.
Overall Record: 106-218 (10/10) - 2 points
Best Season: 58-104 in 1962 (10/10) - 1 points
Total - 3 points
This second version of the Washington Senators have both struggled to hit and struggled to pitch well over time and are in the middle of what will likely be a very long rebuild. The Senators have some really nice pitching spects in the minors, but lack the minor league hitting depth in comparison. But with top prospect Lew Krausse nearly ready for his eventual debut, better days could be coming along for the Senators.
9. Los Angeles Angels
Veteran first baseman Joe Adcock had some solid seasons during his time with the Angels.
Overall Record: 142-182 (9/10) - 4 points
Best Season: 72-90 in 1962 (9/10) - 2 points
Total: 6 points
The Angels are next as we round out the expansion teams. They have quietly built up a decent farm system, although they could use another elite bat or 2 for the future. With the Dodgers around, it will tough for the Angels to build up a solid fan base, but once a few more of the top prospects are up, the Angels could make some noise in the AL West. So far though, the Angels have not hit or pitched particularly well, but younger players like Carl Boles, Donn Clendenon, Jerry Walker and Mickey Lolich are giving the Angels and their fans some hope for the future.
8. Baltimore Orioles
Ace Larry Jackson has been a mainstay with the Orioles since his MLB debut in 1955.
Overall Record: 616-930 (8/10) - 6 points
Best Season: 76-86 in 1962 (8/10) - 3 points
Total: 9 points
Through their first 10 seasons, the Orioles did not put together a single winning season. This of course changed in 1963, but this ranking is for 1953-1962. The Orioles were in a long rebuild and stockpiled quite a bit of young talent. All of this has finally started to pay off now, with the Orioles having a very bright future. They have depth both in the lineup (Jack Bloomfield, John Weekly, Frank Howard, Brooks Robinson) and in the pitching staff (Larry Jackson, Juan Marichal, Bill Short, Gary Peters). They continue to have a solid farm system as well. Dave is already the 3rd Orioles GM, but will depart for the Royals at the end of the decade. Hopefully, his eventual successor will be able to keep the Orioles running strong by the 70s and beyond.
7. Kansas City Athletics
The A's are hoping the bat of Sadaharu Oh can help lead them to more success.
Overall Record: 665-891 (7/10) - 8 points
Best Season: 81-73 in 1953 (6/10) - 5 points
Total: 13 points
The A's still only have 1 winning season in 1953, when they went 81-73 out of the gate. Since then, they've been rebuilding and rebuilding and then rebuilding even more. In all this time, the A's have put together a very young team with a lot of potential. The problem is that this potential just has not been reached yet and it's unknown when that will actually occur. Credit Noah for continuing to be patient throughout the entire process and not making an attempt to sacrifice all his talent to win a lot more for just 2 or 3 seasons.
The A's in their history have not had too many hitters to build around, aside from the now retired and potential Hall of Fame outfielder Gus Zernial. With a team currently built around Sadaharu Oh, John Romano, Karl Kuehl and Lee Maye offensively, the A's have a very promising future. Building a pitching staff with just as much potential is what is really missing from this team, but with time, the A's will be going places.
6. Minnesota Twins
Harmon Killebrew for a long time has been the face of the Twins. Finding talent to surround him though has been more of a challenge for the Twins.
Overall Record: 705-851 (6/10) - 10 points
Best Season: 81-73 (1953) (6/10) - 5 points
Total: 15 points
Like the A's, the Twins have not had a winning season since 1953 when they too went 81-73. This of course was back when they were the Washington Senators. The Twins have had Harmon Killebrew since 1956 as their franchise player and more recently added a second cornerstone in catcher Tom Haller. Finding more talent to surround them in the lineup though seems to be a never-ending project for the Twins. Likewise on the pitching end, the Twins had Chuck Stobbs for many years, but never had a particularly deep rotation that could help them really contend for the playoffs every season.
Due to the Twins' hits and misses over the years, it's no surprise that the Twins have been slightly under .500 more often than not each season. But the future now looks a lot better for the Twins, who are 2 or 3 elite pitchers away from having one of the best teams in the AL. They're also the first team to have already used 2 FPR selections in Killebrew and top prospect Rod Carew.
5. Boston Red Sox
Dick Gernert is 1 of only a handful of players to have been with the same team since 1953.
Overall Record: 779-777 (5/10) - 12 points
Best Season: 94-68 in 1962 (5/10) - 6 points
Total - 18 points
Where do we begin here? Has it been the injuries? Players underachieving? A lack of talent? Dealing with the Yankees? The Red Sox are a mystery in the AL for sure. They've put together some very good seasons that happened to be noticeably worse than the division winning teams over the years. In their 2 best seasons in 1961 and 1962, the Red Sox won 93 and 94 games, respectively. Yet, they were in a distant 3rd place due to their competition.
In other words, you could look at the Red Sox with a glass half full or a glass half empty perspective. And the fact that they haven't made the postseason yet definitely has not been due to a lack of talent. Offensively, the Red Sox have had great hitters like Luis Aparicio, Frank Thomas, Dick Gernert, Del Ennis, Mike Solomko and Ken Boyer at different points in team history. And on the pitching end, the trio of Don Rowe, Joe Albanese, and Frank Baumann have been as solid as any over time.
The Red Sox though will need to make the most of the next few years with such a dry farm system and poor finances. Maybe they'll catch a break soon...or maybe the Curse of the Bambino will continue to haunt them.
4. Cleveland Indians
Rocky Colavito has been the main cornerstone player for the Indians since 1955.
Overall Record: 781-775 (4/10) - 14 points
Best Season: 97-57 (4/10) - 7 points
Total: 21 points
It's too bad Ashes hasn't had much time to devote to this league. If he did, the landscape of the AL West could have looked drastically different. Anyway, the Indians had a lot of success in their first 2 seasons but they weren't good enough to reach the postseason. Since then, the Indians have basically been a .500 team, with a few good seasons and a few bad seasons sprinkled in. The trio of Al Rosen, Rocky Colavito and Roger Maris helped the Indians be a consistent offensive threat. But Rosen has since retired and Maris left via free agency. They have since been replaced in the lineup by players like Roberto Barbon, Dick Brown and Tony Oliva, among others. On the pitching end, the Indians had an ace in Mike Garcia early on, but never really had a particularly elite pitching staff.
The Indians are yet another AL West team that is moving in the right direction and that division could become very competitive within the next few seasons. The Indians also have a lot of young pitching depth in the minor leagues that could come in handy in the future.
3. Detroit Tigers
Al Kaline since the start has been one of the best overall players in the league and holds numerous team single season and career records.
Overall Record: 848-708 (3/10) - 16 points
Best Season: 98-56 in 1960 (2/10) - 9 points
2x Division Titles - 10 points
1x AL Pennant - 10 points
1x World Series Championship - 20 points
Total: 65 points
Despite having one of the league's best lineups and some very good pitching for many seasons, the Tigers were stuck behind the Yankees in the standings for their first 2 competitive seasons in 1956 and 1957. Then in 1958, they won the first ever AL West title by 1 game over the rival White Sox. They then lost a very close ALCS to the Yankees 4 games to 3. After a 2nd place finish in 1959, the Tigers put together their best season in 1960 with 98 wins. They beat the Yankees 4 games to 1 in the ALCS and then swept the Dodgers in the 1960 World Series to win their first championship.
After being relocated to the AL East in 1961, the Tigers finished a distant 2nd place that year and finished 2nd again in 1962. They have since won their second championship in 1963 and clearly have a great future going forward. Despite the AL East being very competitive as is, it will be tough to stop the Tigers for a while now.
Over time, the Tigers have had a bunch of great hitters, including Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Larry Doby, Harvey Kuenn, Jerry Kindall, Dan Dobbek, and Ed Bouchee. They've also had some great pitchers, such as Art Houtteman, Paul Foytack, Jim Bunning, Garland Shifflett, and Billy Hoeft. Hal Woodeshick and Fritz Dorish have been elite closers for the Tigers as well.
2. Chicago White Sox
The left arm of Billy Pierce has been as critical as anything to the White Sox' more recent success.
Overall Record: 873-683 (2/10) - 18 points
Best Season: 98-56 (2/10) - 9 points
3x Division Titles - 15 points
1x AL Pennant - 10 points
1x World Series Championship - 20 points
Total: 72 points
Over time, the AL has certainly been dominated by 3 particular teams. The first of which are the White Sox, who became an AL West powerhouse, after being above average for most of the first half of the decade. The White Sox have not had a losing season since 1953. They also won 3 AL West titles in 1959, 1961, and 1962. In 1959, they upset the heavily favored Yankees and won the AL pennant 4 games to 2. They then defeated the Pirates 4 games to 2 to win the 1959 World Series. The White Sox though were not as fortunate in the 1961 and 1962 ALCS'. In 1961, they lost to the Yankees 4 games to 3 and in 1962, they lost to the Tigers 4 games to 1.
The White Sox have been led by their dominant pitching for years, with Billy Pierce and Mike Fornieles both consistently carrying them from 1 season to the next. Steve Ridzik, Connie Johnson and Mudcat Grant have all been solid contributors as well. Bud Byerly and later, Lindy McDaniel were reliable closers as well. Don Robertson, Joe Cunningham, Earl Battey, Don Gile and Jim King have been the team's most productive hitters over time.
The White Sox have continued to dominate the AL West and have a few very good spects in the minors as well. But as long as their pitching continues to be great, the rest of the AL West teams will have their work cut out.
1. New York Yankees
Between all the great players the Yankees have had over the years, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle have been the 2 consistent presences for what has been the most successful team in HOFFBL by far.
Overall Record: 1033-523 (1/10) - 20 points
Best Season: 110-44 in 1955 (1/10) - 10 points
5x Division Titles - 25 points
8x AL Pennants - 80 points
4x World Series Championships - 80 points
Total: 215 points
Obviously this is a landslide for the Yankees, who have simply dominated the entire league since the start. They've had a ton of offensive stars, including Mickey Mantle, Norm Siebern, Yogi Berra, Gus Triandos, and Wally Post, among others. They've had even more elite pitchers, such as Whitey Ford, Vic Raschi, Eddie Lopat, Jim McDonald, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Jackie Collum, Bill Henry, Don Larsen and Tex Clevenger. And then there are the elite closers Tom Gorman and Dick Hyde, both of whom were/have been long mainstays in the Bronx.
The Yankees made the playoffs every single season from 1953-1962. They went straight to the World Series from 1953-1957 and won 5 AL East titles from 1958-1962. The Yankees won the inaugural 1953 World Series 4 games to 1 over the Braves. They then lost the 1954 World Series 4 games to 2 against the Cardinals before bouncing back in 1955 to win their second championship 4 games to 3 over the Dodgers. The Yankees then lost another World Series to the Cardinals in 1956 4 games to 2. In 1957, the Yankees won their third title 4 games to 1 against the Dodgers. In the first ever ALCS in 1958, the Yankees beat the Tigers 4 games to 3. The Dodgers then turned the table and beat the Yankees 4 games to 2 in the 1958 World Series.
The 1959 Yankees missed the World Series for the first time after losing 4 games to 2 against the eventual champion White Sox. They then lost again in the ALCS in 1960 to the eventual champion Tigers. The 1961 Yankees beat the White Sox 4 games to 1 in the ALCS before losing to the Dodgers 3 games to 2 in the 1961 World Series. The 1962 Yankees beat the White Sox again in the ALCS 4 games to 3 and then won their fourth title over the Pirates 4 games to 3 in the 1962 World Series.
The Yankees right now are retooling after a 2nd place finish in 1963. But with all the talent they have, they should be able to bounce back within a few seasons and try to expand their trophy case that much more. Heck, they might need a second trophy case by now.
NL ranks coming up next!
