sportznut
02-22-2005, 08:55 PM
Best Fantasy Seasons of All Time (40-21)
Monday, February 14, 2005
Modified: Thursday, February 17, 2005
As we count down the days to the 2005 fantasy baseball season, we're also taking a look back at the history of our game. Taking into account both the years before and after the advent of Rotisserie Baseball in the early 1980s, we're counting down the top 100 single seasons in fantasy baseball history. Here are Nos. 40-21:
40. Randy Johnson, SP, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: 21-6 record, 2.49 ERA, 1.013 WHIP, 372 K, 249.2 IP
Though the Big Unit didn't even lead his own team in victories in 2001, his season was still one of the best for fantasy owners. He set a career high in strikeouts, registering the third-highest total of any pitcher since 1900, and posted a major-league best ERA more than two full runs lower than the league average. Johnson earned the National League Cy Young award for his performance, his third in a string of four straight.
39. Sammy Sosa, OF, 1998 Chicago Cubs
Stats: .308 AVG, 66 HR, 158 RBI, 18 SB, 134 R, 643 AB
For 37 years, many players had been chasing Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 homers. Mark McGwire would be the man to finally achieve the feat in 1998, but Sosa, who also surpassed Maris in that same year, is the one who had the more complete fantasy season. Most people knew the name McGwire entering 1998, but no one could have forecasted Sosa as the year's NL Most Valuable Player, the major-league leader in RBI and runs scored, and the man with the third-highest single-season home run total of all time.
http://www.espn.go.com/media/fantasy/2005/0216/photo/a_gehrig_fht.jpg
Gehrig was a seven-time All-Star.
38. Lou Gehrig, 1B, 1930 New York Yankees
Stats: .379 AVG, 41 HR, 174 RBI, 12 SB, 143 R, 581 AB
The first of several appearances by Gehrig on this list, his 1930 campaign ranks lowest because it came in one of the higher-scoring seasons in baseball history. Nevertheless, he still registered the second-most RBI in the majors, and the sixth-most RBI in a single season all time, in that year. He also placed third in homers, seventh in batting average and eighth in runs scored.
37. Sandy Koufax, SP, 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers
Stats: 25-5 record, 1.88 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 306 K, 311 IP
It's a shame fantasy baseball wasn't widespread by the 1960s, because Koufax would have absolutely owned the game for the four-year span from 1963-66, much like how Pedro Martinez dominated the late 1990s. This was Koufax's first big fantasy year, as he led the major leagues in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts on his way to earning the NL MVP and major-league Cy Young awards (it was shared back then).
36. Ty Cobb, OF, 1915 Detroit Tigers
Stats: .369 AVG, 3 HR, 99 RBI, 96 SB, 144 R, 563 AB
Amazingly, Cobb won just one MVP award and one Triple Crown in his Hall-of-Fame career, yet he still receives plenty of recognition as one of the game's all-time best hitters. Imagine what fantasy baseball would have done for him? Cobb practically owned the batting average, RBI and stolen base categories for a 10-year span in the early 20th century, and in 1915, he led the majors by 27 points in batting, 41 stolen bases and 26 runs scored.
35. Babe Ruth, OF, 1930 New York Yankees
Stats: .359 AVG, 49 HR, 153 RBI, 10 SB, 150 R, 518 AB
The 1930 season could have been considered the first true "juiced-ball" season, and Ruth's example as the slugger of the previous decade could easily be pointed to as inspiration for the offensive outburst. While Ruth was no longer alone in his hitting dominance, he did rank second in homers, fifth in runs scored, sixth in RBI, 10th in batting average in 1930. His 49 homers would become the sixth-highest single-season total at the time, trailing four of his own performances and Hack Wilson's 56 in 1930.
34. Dwight Gooden, SP, 1985 New York Mets
Stats: 24-4 record, 1.53 ERA, 0.965 WHIP, 268 K, 276.2 IP
Yet another player who wasn't struck by the "sophomore slump," Gooden actually improved upon his 1984 rookie season, in which he set a new rookie strikeout record. In 1985, he wound up winning the NL Triple Crown as well as the Cy Young award, leading the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts and finishing second in WHIP. Gooden also had 16 complete games and eight shutouts, numbers that now seem virtually unreachable.
33. Jimmie Foxx, 1B, 1933 Philadelphia Athletics
Stats: .356 AVG, 48 HR, 163 RBI, 2 SB, 125 R, 573 AB
Though Foxx's 1933 season was somewhat disappointing when compared to his previous campaign, he still displayed the same level of statistical dominance over the rest of the league. The American League Triple Crown winner and MVP, Foxx led the majors in homers (by 14) and RBI (by 24) and finished second in batting average and runs scored.
BEYOND THE BEST
Most people are well aware of the difficulties Jackie Robinson faced when he broke the color barrier in 1947. But Jewish ballplayers faced a similarly difficult time earning a welcome into the game. Hank Greenberg was the game's first Jewish superstar and one of the all-time greats, and his power explosion of 1938 earned a comfortable No. 31 ranking on our list. He finished just two home runs shy of Babe Ruth's single-season record, and many believe that he might have had a better chance at surpassing Ruth had pitchers not chosen to walk Greenberg, who stood at 58 homers with five games left to play. While it's impossible to judge the accuracy of that claim, Greenberg would never acknowledge it. He went 5-for-18 in those five games, drawing four walks, comparable to his rate the entire season. More interesting than that debate is the fact that Greenberg lost one home run to a rainout earlier in the year, and two others to ground-rule doubles that landed in a screen that was not there when Ruth played in 1927. Had he earned those three homers to surpass Ruth, his 1938 totals might have garnered far more attention in the history books. In fantasy leagues, however, his numbers still stand out among the all-time greats. 32. Pete Alexander, SP, 1915 Philadelphia Phillies
Stats: 31-10 record, 3 SV, 1.22 ERA, 0.842 WHIP, 241 K, 376.1 IP
This would be the first truly exceptional season of Alexander's career, and strangely enough, he didn't garner a single MVP vote for it despite placing in the top 10 in the balloting in 1911 and 1914. In 1915, however, Alexander was the major-league leader in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts, and by a pretty decent margin in each category.
31. Hank Greenberg, 1B, 1938 Detroit Tigers
Stats: .315 AVG, 58 HR, 146 RBI, 7 SB, 144 R, 556 AB
Greenberg led the major leagues in homers and runs scored in 1938, and he finished second in RBI. His 58 homers tied him for the third-most all time, and were just two away from tying Ruth's single-season record. Some say Greenberg might have surpassed Ruth had he not walked a career-high 119 times; surprisingly enough, his batting average tumbled 22 points from the previous season despite the increase in walks.
30. Pedro Martinez, SP, 2000 Boston Red Sox
Stats: 18-6 record, 1.74 ERA, 0.737 WHIP, 284 K, 217 IP
Fantasy owners love to see a pitcher keep runners off the basepaths, and no pitcher in history did it better than Martinez in 2000. He set the single-season record for WHIP with his 0.737 mark, and he registered an ERA 3.25 points below the league average. Martinez's win total might leave something to be desired, but in his second straight AL Cy Young season, he was about as mistake-free as a pitcher can be.
http://www.espn.go.com/media/fantasy/2005/0216/photo/a_hornsby_fht.jpg
Hornsby was a two-time MVP.
29. Rogers Hornsby, 2B, 1925 St. Louis Cardinals
Stats: .403 AVG, 39 HR, 143 RBI, 5 SB, 133 R, 504 AB
His second NL Triple Crown also earned him his first league-MVP award, as Hornsby led the major leagues in batting average, homers and RBI and finished third in runs scored. He also had a career-best 1.203 OPS, a number which has been topped by only three men in baseball history, all outfielders (Barry Bonds, Ruth and Ted Williams).
28. Babe Ruth, OF, 1928 New York Yankees
Stats: .323 AVG, 54 HR, 142 RBI, 4 SB, 163 R, 536 AB
Ruth's fourth and final 50-homer campaign came before any other player had notched even one in his career. It would be two more years before Hack Wilson would reach that plateau, and Ruth still owned the category in 1928, leading the majors by 23. Ruth also led the majors in runs scored by 21 and tied teammate Lou Gehrig for the RBI lead.
27. Jimmie Foxx, 1B, 1938 Boston Red Sox
Stats: .349 AVG, 50 HR, 175 RBI, 5 SB, 139 R, 565 AB
Foxx reached the 50-homer plateau for the second time in his career in 1938, becoming just the second player to reach that level twice, and the first one to do it with two different teams. He would finish second in the majors to Hank Greenberg's 58, but Foxx would still manage to lead the majors in batting average and RBI while placing second in runs scored.
26. Barry Bonds, OF, 2001 San Francisco Giants
Stats: .328 AVG, 73 HR, 137 RBI, 13 SB, 129 R, 476 AB
While the 2001 season was extremely homer-friendly, the fact remains that Bonds still hit nine more homers than anyone else in baseball that year, 16 more than the No. 3 man, 21 more than No. 4 and 24 more than No. 5. He also became one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball, breaking Ruth's single-season record by drawing 177 walks, which, in turn, helped him increase his batting average. Bonds also managed to land in the top 10 in both RBI and runs scored.
25. Randy Johnson, SP, 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: 24-5 record, 2.32 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 334 K, 260 IP
At the ripe age of 38, the Big Unit enjoyed the best fantasy season of his career, winning a career-high 24 games. He led all major leaguers in that department as well as strikeouts, and finished second in ERA and fifth in WHIP en route to his fourth consecutive NL Cy Young award. Even more impressive is that Johnson threw a major-league high 260 innings, a remarkable total for a pitcher of his age.
24. Babe Ruth, OF, 1924 New York Yankees
Stats: .378 AVG, 46 HR, 121 RBI, 9 SB, 143 R, 529 AB
The 1924 season could have been considered a "down" year by Ruth's usual standards, but by leading the majors by 19 homers, he still proved his ability to carry a fantasy team in the category. He also led the majors in runs scored, leading by 22, finished second in batting average and third in RBI. At the time, Ruth's 46 homers gave him each of the three highest single-season home run totals.
23. Chuck Klein, OF, 1932 Philadelphia Phillies
Stats: .348 AVG, 38 HR, 137 RBI, 20 SB, 152 R, 650 AB
As home-run production continued to increase across the majors in the early 1930s, stolen base totals were on a steep decline. Fewer than 1,000 bases were stolen in 1932, making a five-category performer like Klein much more valuable had there been fantasy baseball at the time. He finished third in the majors with his 20 steals, and he also placed first in runs scored, third in homers, fifth in batting average and sixth in RBI.
22. Lou Gehrig, 1B, 1936 New York Yankees
Stats: .354 AVG, 49 HR, 152 RBI, 3 SB, 167 R, 579 AB
Gehrig earned his second and final AL MVP award in 1936, when he led all major leaguers in homers and runs scored, while ranking second in RBI and fifth in batting average. It would be his 10th consecutive season registering an OPS of 1.000 or greater, and he'd extend the streak to 11 the following year, a record which still stands today.
21. Larry Walker, OF, 1997 Colorado Rockies
Stats: .366 AVG, 49 HR, 130 RBI, 33 SB, 143 R, 568 AB
The advent of baseball in Colorado had the fantasy baseball world full of excitement in the mid-1990s, as the thinner air led to increased offensive totals, and therefore more thrilling performances. There have been dozens of great hitting efforts in Rockies history, but Walker's 1997 is the one that stands out as an all-time great. That's the year in which he joined the 30/30 club, with a unique distinction: He hit more homers than any player achieved in the 46 30/30 seasons in baseball history, and he was just one homer short of becoming the first player to ever top 50 homers and 30 steals in the same season. Walker, the NL MVP, also finished second in batting average in 1997. Maybe baseball purists can write off great hitting performances by Rockies due to the Coors Field factor, but in fantasy baseball, we're all about the numbers, and these were great ones.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Modified: Thursday, February 17, 2005
As we count down the days to the 2005 fantasy baseball season, we're also taking a look back at the history of our game. Taking into account both the years before and after the advent of Rotisserie Baseball in the early 1980s, we're counting down the top 100 single seasons in fantasy baseball history. Here are Nos. 40-21:
40. Randy Johnson, SP, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: 21-6 record, 2.49 ERA, 1.013 WHIP, 372 K, 249.2 IP
Though the Big Unit didn't even lead his own team in victories in 2001, his season was still one of the best for fantasy owners. He set a career high in strikeouts, registering the third-highest total of any pitcher since 1900, and posted a major-league best ERA more than two full runs lower than the league average. Johnson earned the National League Cy Young award for his performance, his third in a string of four straight.
39. Sammy Sosa, OF, 1998 Chicago Cubs
Stats: .308 AVG, 66 HR, 158 RBI, 18 SB, 134 R, 643 AB
For 37 years, many players had been chasing Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 homers. Mark McGwire would be the man to finally achieve the feat in 1998, but Sosa, who also surpassed Maris in that same year, is the one who had the more complete fantasy season. Most people knew the name McGwire entering 1998, but no one could have forecasted Sosa as the year's NL Most Valuable Player, the major-league leader in RBI and runs scored, and the man with the third-highest single-season home run total of all time.
http://www.espn.go.com/media/fantasy/2005/0216/photo/a_gehrig_fht.jpg
Gehrig was a seven-time All-Star.
38. Lou Gehrig, 1B, 1930 New York Yankees
Stats: .379 AVG, 41 HR, 174 RBI, 12 SB, 143 R, 581 AB
The first of several appearances by Gehrig on this list, his 1930 campaign ranks lowest because it came in one of the higher-scoring seasons in baseball history. Nevertheless, he still registered the second-most RBI in the majors, and the sixth-most RBI in a single season all time, in that year. He also placed third in homers, seventh in batting average and eighth in runs scored.
37. Sandy Koufax, SP, 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers
Stats: 25-5 record, 1.88 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 306 K, 311 IP
It's a shame fantasy baseball wasn't widespread by the 1960s, because Koufax would have absolutely owned the game for the four-year span from 1963-66, much like how Pedro Martinez dominated the late 1990s. This was Koufax's first big fantasy year, as he led the major leagues in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts on his way to earning the NL MVP and major-league Cy Young awards (it was shared back then).
36. Ty Cobb, OF, 1915 Detroit Tigers
Stats: .369 AVG, 3 HR, 99 RBI, 96 SB, 144 R, 563 AB
Amazingly, Cobb won just one MVP award and one Triple Crown in his Hall-of-Fame career, yet he still receives plenty of recognition as one of the game's all-time best hitters. Imagine what fantasy baseball would have done for him? Cobb practically owned the batting average, RBI and stolen base categories for a 10-year span in the early 20th century, and in 1915, he led the majors by 27 points in batting, 41 stolen bases and 26 runs scored.
35. Babe Ruth, OF, 1930 New York Yankees
Stats: .359 AVG, 49 HR, 153 RBI, 10 SB, 150 R, 518 AB
The 1930 season could have been considered the first true "juiced-ball" season, and Ruth's example as the slugger of the previous decade could easily be pointed to as inspiration for the offensive outburst. While Ruth was no longer alone in his hitting dominance, he did rank second in homers, fifth in runs scored, sixth in RBI, 10th in batting average in 1930. His 49 homers would become the sixth-highest single-season total at the time, trailing four of his own performances and Hack Wilson's 56 in 1930.
34. Dwight Gooden, SP, 1985 New York Mets
Stats: 24-4 record, 1.53 ERA, 0.965 WHIP, 268 K, 276.2 IP
Yet another player who wasn't struck by the "sophomore slump," Gooden actually improved upon his 1984 rookie season, in which he set a new rookie strikeout record. In 1985, he wound up winning the NL Triple Crown as well as the Cy Young award, leading the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts and finishing second in WHIP. Gooden also had 16 complete games and eight shutouts, numbers that now seem virtually unreachable.
33. Jimmie Foxx, 1B, 1933 Philadelphia Athletics
Stats: .356 AVG, 48 HR, 163 RBI, 2 SB, 125 R, 573 AB
Though Foxx's 1933 season was somewhat disappointing when compared to his previous campaign, he still displayed the same level of statistical dominance over the rest of the league. The American League Triple Crown winner and MVP, Foxx led the majors in homers (by 14) and RBI (by 24) and finished second in batting average and runs scored.
BEYOND THE BEST
Most people are well aware of the difficulties Jackie Robinson faced when he broke the color barrier in 1947. But Jewish ballplayers faced a similarly difficult time earning a welcome into the game. Hank Greenberg was the game's first Jewish superstar and one of the all-time greats, and his power explosion of 1938 earned a comfortable No. 31 ranking on our list. He finished just two home runs shy of Babe Ruth's single-season record, and many believe that he might have had a better chance at surpassing Ruth had pitchers not chosen to walk Greenberg, who stood at 58 homers with five games left to play. While it's impossible to judge the accuracy of that claim, Greenberg would never acknowledge it. He went 5-for-18 in those five games, drawing four walks, comparable to his rate the entire season. More interesting than that debate is the fact that Greenberg lost one home run to a rainout earlier in the year, and two others to ground-rule doubles that landed in a screen that was not there when Ruth played in 1927. Had he earned those three homers to surpass Ruth, his 1938 totals might have garnered far more attention in the history books. In fantasy leagues, however, his numbers still stand out among the all-time greats. 32. Pete Alexander, SP, 1915 Philadelphia Phillies
Stats: 31-10 record, 3 SV, 1.22 ERA, 0.842 WHIP, 241 K, 376.1 IP
This would be the first truly exceptional season of Alexander's career, and strangely enough, he didn't garner a single MVP vote for it despite placing in the top 10 in the balloting in 1911 and 1914. In 1915, however, Alexander was the major-league leader in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts, and by a pretty decent margin in each category.
31. Hank Greenberg, 1B, 1938 Detroit Tigers
Stats: .315 AVG, 58 HR, 146 RBI, 7 SB, 144 R, 556 AB
Greenberg led the major leagues in homers and runs scored in 1938, and he finished second in RBI. His 58 homers tied him for the third-most all time, and were just two away from tying Ruth's single-season record. Some say Greenberg might have surpassed Ruth had he not walked a career-high 119 times; surprisingly enough, his batting average tumbled 22 points from the previous season despite the increase in walks.
30. Pedro Martinez, SP, 2000 Boston Red Sox
Stats: 18-6 record, 1.74 ERA, 0.737 WHIP, 284 K, 217 IP
Fantasy owners love to see a pitcher keep runners off the basepaths, and no pitcher in history did it better than Martinez in 2000. He set the single-season record for WHIP with his 0.737 mark, and he registered an ERA 3.25 points below the league average. Martinez's win total might leave something to be desired, but in his second straight AL Cy Young season, he was about as mistake-free as a pitcher can be.
http://www.espn.go.com/media/fantasy/2005/0216/photo/a_hornsby_fht.jpg
Hornsby was a two-time MVP.
29. Rogers Hornsby, 2B, 1925 St. Louis Cardinals
Stats: .403 AVG, 39 HR, 143 RBI, 5 SB, 133 R, 504 AB
His second NL Triple Crown also earned him his first league-MVP award, as Hornsby led the major leagues in batting average, homers and RBI and finished third in runs scored. He also had a career-best 1.203 OPS, a number which has been topped by only three men in baseball history, all outfielders (Barry Bonds, Ruth and Ted Williams).
28. Babe Ruth, OF, 1928 New York Yankees
Stats: .323 AVG, 54 HR, 142 RBI, 4 SB, 163 R, 536 AB
Ruth's fourth and final 50-homer campaign came before any other player had notched even one in his career. It would be two more years before Hack Wilson would reach that plateau, and Ruth still owned the category in 1928, leading the majors by 23. Ruth also led the majors in runs scored by 21 and tied teammate Lou Gehrig for the RBI lead.
27. Jimmie Foxx, 1B, 1938 Boston Red Sox
Stats: .349 AVG, 50 HR, 175 RBI, 5 SB, 139 R, 565 AB
Foxx reached the 50-homer plateau for the second time in his career in 1938, becoming just the second player to reach that level twice, and the first one to do it with two different teams. He would finish second in the majors to Hank Greenberg's 58, but Foxx would still manage to lead the majors in batting average and RBI while placing second in runs scored.
26. Barry Bonds, OF, 2001 San Francisco Giants
Stats: .328 AVG, 73 HR, 137 RBI, 13 SB, 129 R, 476 AB
While the 2001 season was extremely homer-friendly, the fact remains that Bonds still hit nine more homers than anyone else in baseball that year, 16 more than the No. 3 man, 21 more than No. 4 and 24 more than No. 5. He also became one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball, breaking Ruth's single-season record by drawing 177 walks, which, in turn, helped him increase his batting average. Bonds also managed to land in the top 10 in both RBI and runs scored.
25. Randy Johnson, SP, 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: 24-5 record, 2.32 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 334 K, 260 IP
At the ripe age of 38, the Big Unit enjoyed the best fantasy season of his career, winning a career-high 24 games. He led all major leaguers in that department as well as strikeouts, and finished second in ERA and fifth in WHIP en route to his fourth consecutive NL Cy Young award. Even more impressive is that Johnson threw a major-league high 260 innings, a remarkable total for a pitcher of his age.
24. Babe Ruth, OF, 1924 New York Yankees
Stats: .378 AVG, 46 HR, 121 RBI, 9 SB, 143 R, 529 AB
The 1924 season could have been considered a "down" year by Ruth's usual standards, but by leading the majors by 19 homers, he still proved his ability to carry a fantasy team in the category. He also led the majors in runs scored, leading by 22, finished second in batting average and third in RBI. At the time, Ruth's 46 homers gave him each of the three highest single-season home run totals.
23. Chuck Klein, OF, 1932 Philadelphia Phillies
Stats: .348 AVG, 38 HR, 137 RBI, 20 SB, 152 R, 650 AB
As home-run production continued to increase across the majors in the early 1930s, stolen base totals were on a steep decline. Fewer than 1,000 bases were stolen in 1932, making a five-category performer like Klein much more valuable had there been fantasy baseball at the time. He finished third in the majors with his 20 steals, and he also placed first in runs scored, third in homers, fifth in batting average and sixth in RBI.
22. Lou Gehrig, 1B, 1936 New York Yankees
Stats: .354 AVG, 49 HR, 152 RBI, 3 SB, 167 R, 579 AB
Gehrig earned his second and final AL MVP award in 1936, when he led all major leaguers in homers and runs scored, while ranking second in RBI and fifth in batting average. It would be his 10th consecutive season registering an OPS of 1.000 or greater, and he'd extend the streak to 11 the following year, a record which still stands today.
21. Larry Walker, OF, 1997 Colorado Rockies
Stats: .366 AVG, 49 HR, 130 RBI, 33 SB, 143 R, 568 AB
The advent of baseball in Colorado had the fantasy baseball world full of excitement in the mid-1990s, as the thinner air led to increased offensive totals, and therefore more thrilling performances. There have been dozens of great hitting efforts in Rockies history, but Walker's 1997 is the one that stands out as an all-time great. That's the year in which he joined the 30/30 club, with a unique distinction: He hit more homers than any player achieved in the 46 30/30 seasons in baseball history, and he was just one homer short of becoming the first player to ever top 50 homers and 30 steals in the same season. Walker, the NL MVP, also finished second in batting average in 1997. Maybe baseball purists can write off great hitting performances by Rockies due to the Coors Field factor, but in fantasy baseball, we're all about the numbers, and these were great ones.