There Have Been Worse

Press Release: October 19, 1997

H. H. Hollingsworth
692 S. Sheraton Drive
Akron, Ohio 44319
330 644 2421
October 19, 1997

For Immediate Release

Indians and Marlins Are Not Great
But There Have Been Worse

Davey Johnson, manager of the Orioles, may have been right when he said, "The best team didn't win," but there have been worse.

The Indians' percentage of games won, .534 was the third worst for a league pennant winner since modern baseball began in 1901. Only the 1987 Minnesota Twins and the 1973 New York Mets among pennant winners won a lower percentage of their games.

And no pennant winning team had a higher E.R.A. than the Indians 4.73.

But despite this, the underdog Indians are a superior team to the underdog Florida Marlins. Among the 194 pennant winners since 1901, the Indians rank 163 while the Marlins are only 188.

This is because the Marlins finished absolute last (or 194th) in "Games Ahead of Second Place" and because of the Indians' hitting, as shown in the table below, which overcomes the Marlins' superior pitching.

The Indians ranked among the 40 best teams of all time in Batting Average, Net Batting Average, Net Slugging Average and Net Home Runs.

The Marlins did not make it into the Top 100 on any of our 11 criteria. The best they did on anything was 123rd in Net Earned Average.

This is according to Harry H. Hollingsworth, retired economist-statistician of Akron, Ohio. Hollingsworth is the author of the book, The Best and Worst Baseball Teams of All Time, published by SPI Books in 1994.

The top five teams in order since 1901 are the 1927 New York Yankees, 1939 Yankees, 1995 Cleveland Indians, 1929 Philadelphia Athletics and 1906 Chicago Cubs.

In the following table, the 1997 Indians and Marlins are ranked in each of the 11 criteria used to rank baseball's best teams:

RANK OF 1997 INDIANS AND MARLINS ON THE 11 FACTORS
(Among 194 Pennant Winners Since 1901)

		*Indians*		*Marlins*
Factor	Weight	Rank	Score	Rank	Score
1. Pct. of Games Won	.25	192	.534	179	.568
2. Games Ahead of Second	.15	98	6	194	-9
3. Batting Average	.05	34	.286	152	.259
4. Net Batting Ave.	.05	39	.015	179	-.004
5. Runs	.05	45	825	131	703
6. Net Runs	.05	122	67	184	-6
7. Net Slugging Ave.	.05	36	.039	187	-.015
8. Net Home Runs	.05	36	41	183	-18
9. Earned Run Ave.	.05	194	4.73	168	3.83
10. Net E.R.A.	.20	191	+.17	123	-.37
11. World Series Record	.05	NA	NA	NA	NA
TOTAL	1.00	163	33.6	188	19.2

NOTE: "Net" indicates how the team's score compared with the average for its league. The actual number of runs and home runs were adjusted to a 154-game schedule.

Hollingsworth held management positions in marketing research, sales forecasting and long range planning during a 32-year career with the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. He has published ratings of college and NFL teams since 1982 that are being run by the New York Post, and have been run by the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the New York Daily News.

His book, The Best and Worst Baseball Teams of All Time, may be purchased directly from Hollingsworth for $6 including postage and handling from 692 South Sheraton Dr., Akron, Ohio 44319.
*End*

Indians and Marlins Are Not Great But There Have Been Worse

Indians and Marlins Are Not Great
But There Have Been Worse