We’re going to let the data help end the debate once and for all. Our historical TRACR model has ranked the best MLB teams of all time. Is your favorite team in the top 10?
We’re not here to ruin all barstool arguments.
Just this one.
There were the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig teams of the late 1920s, the Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio teams of the 1930s, the Whitey Ford, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle teams of the ‘50s, the 1998 Yankees with Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter, and on and on.
The New York Yankees have won 27 World Series titles, by far the most in MLB history. But which one was the best?
How about the St. Louis Cardinals’ 11 championship teams? Were the Gashouse Gang teams the greatest? Was it one of Stan Musial’s teams in the ‘40s?
How would the Oakland A’s teams of the early 1970s or Ted Williams’ Boston Red Sox fared against some of the best clubs of all time?
With so many eras and so many legendary teams, trying to figure out which clubs were truly the best of all time has always been left to a subjective barstool argument.
Until now.
Using our historical TRACR model, we’ve ranked every Major League Baseball team across the modern era (since 1901). TRACR (Team Rating Adjusted for Competition and Roster) normalizes performance from league environmental factors that can either inflate or deflate numbers (live-ball era, dead-ball era, the year of the pitcher, the steroid era, etc.), making it possible to compare teams across eras.
It uses advanced metrics and other factors to calculate how many runs per nine innings better or worse teams are or were compared to the league-average club during a given season, including the playoffs. From that output, we’re able to create an offensive TRACR (O-TRACR), defensive TRACR (run prevention, so pitching and defense) and overall TRACR. Lower is better for defensive TRACR (D-TRACR).
So here are the highest-rated baseball teams of all time, per TRACR.
The 10 Best MLB Teams of All Time
1. 1939 New York Yankees (3.03 TRACR)
It didn’t take long for the Yankees to get back on top following the end of the Babe Ruth era. And the last of New York’s four straight World Series titles in the late 1930s was the best of its 27 championships. With Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon and Bill Dickey leading the offense and fellow Hall of Famers Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez on the pitching staff, the Yanks went 106-45 to win the American League pennant by 17.0 games over the Boston Red Sox. These Yankees were exceptional in terms of run prevention, finishing with by far the best D-TRACR (minus-1.74) of the modern era. Charlie Keller went 7 for 16 with three homers as New York swept the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.
2. 1927 New York Yankees (2.73)
This is probably the club most figured would be at the top with two of the most feared hitters of all time. Babe Ruth hit .356 with 60 home runs and 165 RBIs and Lou Gehrig batted .373 with 47 homers and 173 RBIs for the Yankees, who went 110-44 for a franchise-record .714 winning percentage. These Yankees have the 13th-highest offensive TRACR (1.54) of the modern era, but pitchers Wilcy Moore, Waite Hoyt, Urban Shocker and Herb Pennock all won between 18-22 games. The Yanks were unstoppable down the stretch, going 32-7 from Aug. 24 on, including a four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.
3. 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (2.51)
You can put an asterisk on this one if you’d like. Yes, it was only a 60-game season. But after years of knocking on the door, the Dodgers finally put it all together in 2020. They won an MLB-best 43 games during the regular season, swept the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres in the wild-card round and NLDS, respectively, before having to rally back from a 3-1 deficit to get past the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. This team posted the third-best D-TRACR (-1.34) of the modern era. Corey Seager hit .328 with eight homers and 20 RBIs in 18 postseason games, earning both the NLCS and World Series MVP honors.
4. 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates (2.49)
What do we know about the 1902 Pirates? We know they were dominant, after all they’re on this list. In fact, they went 103-36 to capture the NL pennant by a whopping 27.5-game margin over the Brooklyn Superbas. Honus Wagner was one of the stars, leading the league with 91 RBIs. Ginger Beaumont won the batting title with a .357 average and it says a lot about this era that Tommy Leach led the league with six home runs. This Pittsburgh team ended up with the 10th-best offensive TRACR (1.60) of the modern era. How about Jack Chesbro (28 wins) and the pitching staff? They only allowed four homers all season.
5. 1937 New York Yankees (2.34)
It won’t be the last time a Yankees team from the 1930s shows up in the rankings. The 1937 edition featured Lou Gehrig (.351, 37 HRs, 158 RBIs), Joe DiMaggio (.346, 46 HRs, 167 RBIs) and Bill Dickey (.332, 29 HRs, 133 RBIs) in a fearsome lineup. This was the last season in which Gehrig batted over .300 with over 30 homers before having to retire after the 1939 season. Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing both won 20 games, and the Yanks finished the regular season 102-52 before beating the rival New York Giants in five games in the World Series. Hall of Fame second baseman Tony Lazzeri, Myril Hoag, Gehrig and DiMaggio all homered in the Fall Classic.
6. 1936 New York Yankees (2.26)
After three straight second-place finishes to the Washington Senators and then Detroit Tigers, the Yankees started their run of four straight titles under Joe McCarthy in 1936. Not by accident, the team’s re-emergence coincided with Joe DiMaggio’s rise to the big-league club on May 3. The rookie made an immediate impact, batting .323 with 29 home runs and 125 RBIs to form one of the best duos in Major League Baseball history with Lou Gehrig (.354, 49 HRs, 152 RBIs). It was also the first of Hall of Fame right-hander Red Ruffin’s four consecutive 20-win seasons.
7. 1929 Philadelphia Athletics (2.18)
The A’s, who would later move to Kansas City and then Oakland, certainly had an interesting 50-year run under legendary manager Connie Mack. During that time, the franchise both enjoyed some of the greatest teams in baseball history and some of the worst. After finishing behind a couple of all-time great Yankees teams in 1927 and ‘28, the Athletics finally broke through with the first of three straight AL pennants in 1929. Lefty Grove went 20-6 and led the American League in ERA and strikeouts, while George Earnshaw won 24 games. Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons led the offense. In the World Series, Philadelphia defeated the Chicago Cubs in five games.
8. 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers (2.17)
We know the 2022 Dodgers did not win it all. So you might ask if a team can be one of the greatest of all time if it didn’t win the title? Of course, it’s debatable. But it’s important to note that our historic TRACR measures performance over the entirety of the season; we’re not just listing title winners. And don’t forget how good the Dodgers were in 2022. After a 12-game winning streak in August, Los Angeles improved to 79-33 and some began to wonder whether they might threaten the record of 116 wins held by the 2001 Seattle Mariners and 1906 Chicago Cubs (more on them to follow). They ended up with the seventh-best D-TRACR (-1.28) of the modern era and tied for fourth all time with 111 regular-season victories.
9. 1906 Chicago Cubs (2.13)
Again, if you’re a team that didn’t win the World Series, you must have had an unbelievable season to make these rankings. That’s the case with the 1906 Cubs. Behind the famous double-play combination of Tinkers to Evers to Chance and 26-game winner Three Finger Brown, Chicago finished 116-36 with a .763 winning percentage that remains the highest of the modern era. The club’s 116 wins stood alone until the Seattle Mariners, led by Ken Griffey Jr., matched that mark in 2001. This Chicago team owns the 10th-best D-TRACR (-1.25) of the modern era. In the World Series, however, the Cubs were upset by the 93-win Chicago White Sox in six games.
10. 1901 Pittsburgh Pirates (2.10)
At the start of the modern era, two years before the first World Series, there was the 1901 Pirates. Left fielder/manager Fred Clarke guided the Buccos to the best record in the majors at 90-49 and the first of three straight National League pennants. Honus Wagner, known as the Flying Dutchman, hit .353 with a league-best 126 RBIs and 49 stolen bases in his second year with the Pirates. Pittsburgh posted the ninth-best offensive TRACR (1.63) we’ve recorded. Deacon Phillippe won a team-high 22 games and Jack Chesbro won 21.
Every MLB Franchise’s Best Team
We’ve ordered these from the best of the best (the highest single-season TRACR) on down, not including those already listed in the top 10.
2.02 – 1904 New York Giants (14th Overall)
Behind Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson (33-12) and Joe McGinnity (35-8), the Giants won 106 games and own the 14th-best D-TRACR of the past 123 years.
1.98 – 1942 St. Louis Cardinals (16th)
The 1942 Cardinals are the 16th-best team of the modern era, per TRACR. With Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter leading the way, St. Louis won 106 games and beat the mighty Yankees in the World Series.
1.90 – 2019 Houston Astros (20th)
No team in Astros history finished with a better record than the 2019 edition (107-55). However, the Astros lost to the Washington Nationals in a World Series in which the road team won all seven games.
1.88 – 2001 Seattle Mariners (23rd)
Ichiro Suzuki won the AL MVP, a Gold Glove, a batting title (.350) and the AL Rookie of the Year, helping the Mariners match the MLB record with 116 wins despite losing Alex Rodriguez in free agency.
1.84 – 1950 Boston Red Sox (24th)
Ted Williams was limited to 89 games after suffering a broken arm in the All-Star Game, but the Red Sox still finished 94-60. Unfortunately, it was only good enough for third place behind the Yankees (98-56) and Tigers (95-59).
1.83 – 1948 Cleveland (now Guardians) (25th)
Cleveland, which featured Bob Feller, Satchel Paige, Joe Gordon, Lou Boudreau and Larry Doby, won 97 games and defeated the Red Sox in the World Series.
1.75 – 1934 Detroit Tigers (36th)
This Hank Greenberg-led club won 101 games but lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
1.74 – 1975 Cincinnati Reds (37th)
The Big Red Machine won a franchise-record 108 games and beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in what is considered one of the best World Series of all time. This team ranks 30th in O-TRACR (1.33) across the modern era.
1.71 – 1969 Baltimore Orioles (38th)
The 1969 O’s may have lost to the Miracle Mets in the World Series, but they would come back to win it the following year. Baltimore actually reached three straight Fall Classics starting with the ’69 team, which won a franchise-best 109 games.
1.58 – 2020 San Diego Padres (59th)
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado helped the Padres finish 37-23 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. They lost to the eventual champion Dodgers in the NLDS.
1.57 – 2002 Anaheim Angels (now Los Angeles Angels) (65th)
The Angels overcame a five-run deficit in the late innings of Game 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7 of the World Series. They won that one as well to clinch the franchise’s first title.
1.52 – 1901 Chicago White Stockings (now White Sox) (76th)
This team was a little bit better than the 2024 White Sox.
1.50 – 1998 Atlanta Braves (82nd)
Maddux. Glavine. Smoltz. The Braves won 14 straight division titles between 1991-2005, and this was the best of them. They won a franchise-record 106 games but lost to the San Diego Padres in the NLCS.
1.50 – 1930 Washington Senators (now Minnesota Twins) (83rd)
Walter Johnson managed the Senators to a second-place, 94-win season in 1930 that actually posted a better TRACR than their World Series teams in 1924, ’25 and ’33.
1.46 – 1976 Philadelphia Phillies (95th)
Mike Schmidt hit 38 homers and Steve Carlton won 20 games, but the 101-win Phillies were swept by the 102-win Reds in the NLCS.
1.45 – 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks (97th)
In only their second season, the D-backs won a franchise-record 100 games before falling to the New York Mets in the NLDS. Two years later, they became the fastest expansion team to win a World Series.
1.43 – 1986 New York Mets (102nd)
The 1986 World Series will never be forgotten, but it wasn’t an upset run by the Mets. New York won 108 game and is ranked 102nd in the modern era by our model.
1.43 – 2015 Toronto Blue Jays (105th)
Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista all hit 39 or more homers and the 2015 Blue Jays (93-69) posted the 14th-highest O-TRACR of the modern era.
1.38 – 2021 Tampa Bay Rays (118th)
For the first time in franchise history, the Rays reached triple-digit victories in 2021. It was also the best team Tampa Bay has had, rating just ahead of the 2023 and 2020 clubs.
1.23 – 2011 Texas Rangers (173rd)
Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre all hit at least 25 home runs for the 2011 Rangers (96-66), who rank 33rd in O-TRACR (1.31) over this time span.
1.15 – 1978 Milwaukee Brewers (203rd)
It would be another four years until they reached the World Series, but the 1978 Brewers set the foundation with the likes of Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor leading the team to the first winning season in franchise history.
1.15 – 2019 Washington Nationals (207th)
Yes, the 1994 Montreal Expos were great (1.10 TRACR)., but the 2019 World Series championship team rates as the best of the Expos/Nationals franchise.
1.02 – 1977 Kansas City Royals (281st)
Though they won the World Series in 1985 and 2015, the George Brett-led Royals won a franchise-record 102 games in 1977.
0.69 – 2007 Colorado Rockies (537th)
The Rockies haven’t had a great history, and in 2007, they were only 76-72 on Sept. 15 before winning 21 of 22 games, including the playoffs, to reach their first World Series.
0.55 – 1997 Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins) (691st)
In only their fourth year of existence, the Marlins set what’s still a franchise record with 92 wins under Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland. They also won the first of their two championships.
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