When discussing the best teams in any sport some criteria need to be established. First and foremost, it seems the team in question has to win the championship. Second, the team has to have had an excellent record in the regular season. Third, the team must have to have hall of famers on the squad. Fourth, and finally, the team in question has to, at the very least, be an unarguably "great" team, you can always argue over the details of the "greatest" after the fact. So without further ado, here are the top three teams the great sport of baseball has ever seen due to record, championship, hall of famers, and reputation.
The 1941 New York Yankees
The '41 Yankees finished the regular season a mere 17 games up on the hated Boston Red Sox, winning their 12th pennant. Hall of famer Joe McCarthy managed the powerhouse. The Yankees finished the season 101-54 with the help of outfielder Joe DiMaggio's 30 home runs, 125 RBIs, and .357 batting average. Pitchers Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing finished the season with 15 wins and five and six losses, respectfully. If it wasn't for a 3-2 hiccup against the Brooklyn Dodgers in game two of the World Series the '41 Yankees would have swept. Songs were written about the 1941 New York Yankees, one of which was about DiMaggio's unbelievable 56-game hit streak.
The 1975 Cincinnati Reds
The 1975 Cincinnati Reds finished the regular season 108-54 and 20 games up on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Reds won the National League Championship Series in a three game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates and a nail-biting seven game World Series that saw two of those games go to extra innings against the Boston Red Sox. Ultimately the Reds won the World Series in game seven by a score of 4-3 at Fenway Park, in Boston. Four players batted over .300: second baseman Joe Morgan with .327, third baseman Pete Rose with .317, right fielder Ken Griffey with .305, and left fielder Joe Foster with .301. Pitcher Don Gullett dominated with a 15-4 record coupled with a 2.42 ERA.
The 1984 Detroit Tigers
The 1984 Detroit Tigers started their season with the best start ever by a Major League team: 35-5. The Tigers finished their season 104-58, 15 games ahead of the second place Toronto Blue Jays. Detroit won the World Series four games to one against the San Diego Padres. Shortstop Alan Trammell batted an amazing .450 in the postseason with two home runs and six RBI. Relief pitcher Willie Hernandez won the American League Cy Young award with a 9-3 record and and a 1.92 ERA and 112 strikeouts. Four of the five starting pitchers for Detroit finished the season with over 100 strikeouts and all starting pitchers had an ERA under 4.00. The "Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract" rated the top-100 position players of all time and seven of the 1984 Tigers made the list. Lance Parrish was voted the 19th best catcher of all-time; Lou Whitaker was voted the 13th best second baseman of all time; Alan Trammell was voted the 9th best shortstop of all time; Darrell Evans was voted the 10th best third baseman of all time; Howard Johnson was voted the 47th best third baseman of all time; Kirk Gibson was voted the 36th best left fielder of all time; Chet Lemon was voted the 48th best center fielder of all time.
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