Baseball's Most Dominating Defenses
Playing around some more with the Domination Index
Baseball’s Most Dominating Defenses
One of the flaws with the old Dynasties book is that the authors don’t pay much attention to the difference between offensive and defensive breakdowns.
Now, breaking down the Domination Index by its component parts is a little bit perilous. The Domination Index itself works well because ballpark factors even out. Any ballpark benefit enjoyed by Colorado Rockies hitters, for example, will likely be cancelled out by the fact that their pitchers have to also pitch in the same environment. The same is true for the defense of Houston Astros teams playing in the Astrodome: the thing that makes the pitching look awesome also holds the hitting back.
Having said that, it’s fun to take a look and see which teams were the best at defense and offense in baseball history by using this measure.
Remember, of course, that this is a team statistic, not an individual statistic. Team statistics are out of favor in modern baseball analysis — so much so, in fact, that basic team statistics like the all time leaders in double plays turned per season are almost impossible to find online. We’re looking at defense as a team concept here, and are not concerned about individual accomplishments, or about how the pitchers and other fielders ought to share the credit.
National League
The first thing you’ll notice here is that almost all of these teams played in parks that clearly favored pitching. Aside from the 1995 Braves, who played at the famous “Launching Pad” (though it wasn’t quite as notorious with Colorado in the league), every single one of these teams played in pitcher’s parks. As a side note, though, I think you could argue that the 1917 Polo Grounds was probably a neutral park that looks like a pitcher’s park due to the excellent Giants defense.
Also note that only two of these teams were pennant winners. The 1948 Braves won the pennant, though they didn’t really manage to pull away from the pack until mid-September. The 1995 Braves won the World Series, of course. The 1917 Giants also won the pennant, falling to the White Sox in 6. And, of course, the 2017 Dodgers made it to the 7th game of the World Series, losing to the Astros and the garbage can in a thriller.
Some of the other teams made postseason appearances. The 2006 Padres finished in first place in the NL West only to lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Cardinals. The 1981 Astros lost to the Dodgers in a hard-fought 5 game first round series.
But defense alone won’t win you a pennant.
The 1991 Dodgers are a team many of you probably remember. They lost a close pennant race to the Braves that season, hanging in there until the bitter end in early October.
In 2003, the Dodgers technically did finish in 2nd place, but were far out of the Wild Card race, not to mention the division itself. And in 1989, those defense-happy Dodgers didn’t even finish over .500, putting up a 77-83 record that was good enough for 4th.
Finally, the 1900 Pirates are a forgotten team that stayed in the pennant race until the final few weeks. In retrospect, the race probably should have been closer, especially when you consider the Topsy Hartsel controversy. It surprises me to see the 1900 Pirates on this list, but not the 1902 Pirates.
American League
This is where the fun really happens.
I bet you already knew that the 1990 Athletics were a great pitching team. You’re probably also not really that surprised by the 1974 Athletics, either.
But the 1923 Yankees? The 1998 Yankees? The 1999 Red Sox? All of these are teams more famous for their offense than their defense. And yet here they are on the list.
Unlike the National League, most of these teams were legitimately dominant. The 1990 Athletics, 1923 Yankees, 2017 Indians, 1998 Yankees, and 1974 Athletics all have Domination Index scores over 3.0, placing them unquestionably among the greatest teams in the history of the sport. The 1923 Yankees, 1998 Yankees, 1974 Athletics, 1981 Yankees, and 2022 Astros all won the World Series; the 1990 Athletics made it that far but lost.
The 2018 Astros made a playoff appearance, though they lost in the ALCS to the Red Sox. Similarly, the 2017 Indians made the playoffs after an excellent regular season, only to lose to the Yankees in a tight 5th game.
I remember watching the 1999 Red Sox lose that ALCS to the Yankees in a fairly embarrassing manner.
And that leaves us with the 1967 White Sox. That was the year of The Impossible Dream, when the Red Sox managed to emerge on top of the pile of contenders. Chicago finished only 3 games out, but found itself relegated to 4th place. Blame the hitting: the 2.54 runs allowed Domination Index rating only translated to a 1.578 Domination Index rating when pared with the offensive attack.
Japan
Finally, for fun, let’s take a look at the top 10 dominant defenses in Japanese history.
First comes the Central League:
And then the Pacific:
I don’t know enough about these teams or pennant races to make many comments. However, you can see here how the ballpark factors stand out — especially for the Hanshin Tigers and the Seibu Lions.
We’ll look a bit closer at these Japanese teams in the future.