2001 Seattle Mariners

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The 2001 Seattle Mariners come into the Great Teams Season with the most single season wins in history, 116, to their credit. With a solid pitching core and a deep offense led by AL MVP, AL Rookie of the Year, AL Batting Champion, and AL Stolen Base Leader Ichiro Suzuki, the Mariners are deep and will be a tough contender for any team…ever. As the greatest team to never play in the World Series, the 2001 Seattle Mariners are looking to etch their names into the history books once more.

Starters:

C: Dan Wilson
1B: John Olerud
2B: Bret Boone
SS: Carlos Guillen
3B: David Bell
OF: Al Martin
OF: Mike Cameron
OF: Ichiro Suzuki

4 Man Starting Rotation

Freddy Garcia
Aaron Sele
Jaime Moyer
Joel Piniero

1986 New York Mets

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Any team who goes 108-54 deserves to be in the conversation of the greatest team of all time and that’s exactly what the 1986 New York Mets accomplished. Taking the field for the Mets in the Great Teams Season is World Series MVP Ray Knight, NL Gold Glove winner Keith Hernandez, and a little bit of luck they carry over with them from the infamous game 6 Bill Buckner blooper. Don’t let their lucky run to the championship fool you, as the 1986 New York Mets look to make a statement by taking the Great Teams Season pennant as well.

Starters:

C: Gary Carter
1B: Keith Hernandez
2B: Wally Backman
SS: Rafael Santana
3B: Ray Knight
OF: George Foster
OF: Lenny Dykstra
OF: Darryl Strawberry

4 Man Starting Rotation

Dwight Gooden
Ron Darling
Bob Ojeda
Sid Fernandez

1984 Detroit Tigers

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The 1984 Detroit Tigers enter the Great Teams Season having gone wire to wire; starting out 9-0, going 35-5, and finishing the season 104-58 boasting the best record in the franchise’s history. Behind Cy Young and AL MVP award winning relief pitcher Willie Hernandez, the 1984 Tigers went 7-1 in the playoffs winning the championship and look forward to proving their dominance against the greatest teams in history.

Starters:

C: Lance Parrish
1B: Dave Bergman
2B: Lou Whittaker
SS: Alan Trammell
3B: Howard Johnson
OF: Larry Herndon
OF: Chet Lemon
OF: Kirk Gibson

4 Man Starting Rotation

Jack Morris
Dan Petry
Milt Wilcox
Juan Berenguer

1976 Philadelphia Phillies

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The 1976 Philadelphia Phillies arrive at the Great Team Season having won the National League East title for the first time as well as having their first season in franchise history finishing with over 100 wins. Led by future Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt who compiled 107 runs, led the league with 38 home runs and won the first of his 10 gold gloves at third base, the Phillies are looking to make something of their bicentennial powerhouse team.

Starters:

C: Bob Boone
1B: Dick Allen
2B: Dave Cash
SS: Larry Bowa
3B: Mike Schmidt
OF: Greg Luzinski
OF: Garry Maddox
OF: Jay Johnstone

4 Man Starting Rotation

Steve Carlton
Jim Kaat
Jim Lonborg
Larry Christenson

1975 Oakland A’s

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The 1975 Oakland Athletics qualify for the Great Teams Season as the only team who did not break the century mark in victories with only 98 to their credit. Having won championships in 1972, 1973, as well as 1974, the 1975 team did not achieve another World Series victory, but had the highest winning percentage of all of those previous years and behind 22 game winner Vida Blue they are always a difficult bunch to battle. The 1975 A’s are looking to achieve the victory that eluded them by winning the Great Teams Season with the lowest win to loss ratio of all of the participants.

Starters:

C: Gene Tenace
1B: Joe Rudi
2B: Phil Garner
SS: Bert Campaneris
3B: Sal Bando
OF: Claudell Washington
OF: Bill North
OF: Reggie Jackson

4 Man Starting Rotation

Vida Blue
Ken Holtzman
Dick Bosman
Stan Bahnsen

1975 Cincinnati Reds

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Anyone who does not understand why the 1975 Cincinnati Reds are in the Great Teams Season needs to have their baseball fan cards taken away. 108 wins, playoff victories over the Pirates and the Red Sox, 64-17 home record, 840 runs scored, and a +254 run differential should tell you enough about the “Big Red Machine” to understand their credentials. 1975 MVP Joe Morgan and “Charlie Hustle” himself, Pete Rose, lead the 1975 Reds into a Great Teams Seasons where they already know they are the best of all time and now they’re here to prove it.

Starters:

C: Johnny Bench
1B: Tony Perez
2B: Joe Morgan
SS: Dave Concepcion
3B: Pete Rose
OF: George Foster
OF: Cesar Geronimo
OF: Ken Griffey

4 Man Starting Rotation

Gary Nolan
Jack Billingham
Fred Norman
Dave Gullett

1969 Baltimore Orioles

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The 1969 Baltimore Orioles punched their ticket into the Great Teams Season with 109 wins, 53 losses, a sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the first ever ALCS, and the start of 3 straight World Series appearances. Despite losing the fall classic to the “Miracle” Mets in one of the greatest upsets in Series history, the Orioles squad of 1969 is considered one of the best of all time by many baseball pundits. Behind hitting superstars Frank Robinson and Boog Powell, fielding superstar Brooks Robinson, and pitching greats Mike Ceullar, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer, the 1969 Orioles should be tough for even the greatest teams of all time to contend with game in and game out.

Starters:

C: Elrod Hendricks
1B: Boog Powell
2B: Davey Johnston
SS: Mark Belanger
3B: Brooks Robinson
OF: Don Buford
OF: Paul Blair
OF: Frank Robinson

4 Man Starting Rotation

Mike Ceullar
Dave McNally
Jim Palmer
Jim Hardin

1965 Minnesota Twins

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The 1965 Minnesota Twins qualify for the Great Teams Season with a franchise record 102 wins and the highest total attendance of any team in the American League for that year. Behind offensive star Zoilo Versalles who won the AL MVP with 126 runs, Tony Oliva leading the league with a .321 batting average, and Mudcat Grant’s 21 wins which also led the league, the Twins coasted into the World Series with a 7 game lead. Despite losing the World Series in 7 games to the LA Dodgers, the 1965 Twins deserve to be in the Great Teams Season and are looking to prove it to all of the naysayers.

Starters:

C: Earl Battey
1B: Don Mincher
2B: Jerry Kindall
SS: Zolio Versalles
3B: Rich Rollins
OF: Bob Allen
OF: Jimmy Hall
OF: Tony Oliva

4 Man Starting Rotation

Mudcat Grant
Jim Kaat
Jim Perry
Camilo Pascual

1962 San Francisco Giants

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In 1962, the San Francisco Giants became the first NL Champions in a 162 game season winning 103 games and a 3 game playoff tiebreaker against their rival the Los Angeles Dodgers, but fell to the NY Yankees in a 7 game World Series despite dominating in nearly every category except the scoreboard. The Giants did not have a losing record against any other team in the National League and after falling just 3 feet short of a World Series title, the 1962 San Francisco Giants are looking to show their greatness against the rest of the teams in the Great Teams Seasons.

Starters:

C: Tom Haller
1B: Orlando Cepeda
2B: Chuck Hiller
SS: Joe Pagan
3B: Jim Davenport
OF: Havey Kuenn
OF: Willie Mays
OF: Felipe Alou

4 Man Starting Rotation

Billy O’Dell
Jack Sanford
Juan Marchial
Billy Pierce

1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

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The 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers come into the Great Teams Season having won a Los Angeles record of 102 wins and tied for the National League title. The LA Times described the season as a “gamut of sublime” with Maury Will’s 100 stolen bases, Don Drysdale’s 25 wins and Sandy Koufax’s no hitter despite having a multitude of fielding issues. Unfortunately the 1962 Dodgers would lose a 3 game playoff series and the pennant to our next team the San Francisco Giants. The Los Angeles Dodgers of 1962 are looking to finally have something to cheer about by winning a pennant against some of the greatest teams in history.

Starters:

C: John Roseboro
1B: Ron Fairly
2B: Jim Gilliam
SS: Maury Wills
3B: Darryl Spencer
OF: Tommie Davis
OF: Willie Davis
OF: Frank Howard

4 Man Starting Rotation

Don Drysdale
Johnny Podres
Sandy Koufax
Sandy Richert