Which team, if any, should take on the mantle of Team of the Decade from Major League Baseball?
In answering, please note your criteria.
Some criteria come to mind that can be used or not: number of wins, relative placements (I know Atlanta has the wins and am pretty sure they get the placements also), success in the playoffs, lack of more than one or maybe two poor seasons, staying power, etc.
Obvious candidates include Atlanta and New York, but other teams can be included as well…
It really shouldn’t matter who you are a fan of, the Yankees have pretty much squelched any debate on this point (coming from a huge Cubs/marginal Bravs fan). So, I would like to nominate the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Points in their favor:
Their long awaited and much heralded debut
The beautiful splendor of Tropicana Field
Rampant fan enthusiasm
Great and memorable players and lineups
Their yearly thrilling playoff chases
Their national TV exposure
And, finally, the way they have positioned themselves to completely own the AL East for years to come.
This past season, if neither the Yanks or Braves had won, I would have said it was a total wash, with a slight edge to the Braves for their regular season dominance.
But when you compare the Yankees three titles (and playoff appearances two other times and it would have been three if not for the strike), it’s obvious that the Yanks are the team of the '90s.
They are also, without doubt, the team of the century.
And the 1998 bunch, that was a whopping 125-50, is arguably the best team EVER in the history of the game.
No matter how you add it up, the answer always comes up Yankees!
I hate to agree with Satan, but the Yankees are the team of the 90’s and of the century. Thankfully though the century is just about over and with any luck the new century will be dominated by the Cleveland Indians.
What are the other team of the other decades of the century? My two cents:
1980’s: None
1970’s: Oakland A’s
1960’s: St. Louis Cardinals
1950’s: NY Yankees
1940’s: St. Louis Cardinals
1930’s: NY Yankees
1920’s: NY Yankees
1910’s: Boston Red Sox
1900’s: NY Giants.
Tough one, the Yanks have a good case, but they flat out sucked for the first half of the decade. 3 titles is a strong arguement. The Braves are a pillar of consistancy, and have the total wins. The Blue Jays have a case, but are overshadowed by the Yanks. Even with the last loss in the WS, I think I’d vote for the Braves. The Yanks were a little better than the Braves in the second half, but lost worse in the first half. So when talking about the entire decade i go with the Braves.