Top 5 #4: Baseball Teams from SB Host Cities
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 11:58 pm
With the Super Bowl just days away, I thought we needed a baseball related Super Bowl list.
I decided to look at the baseball team(s) from the city that hosted the Super Bowl the season after the game was played in that city.
For example; SBI was played in Los Angeles in Jan 1967, so I would have looked at the 1967 seasons of the LA Dodgers and the California Angels. SBII was played in Miami, there was no team in Miami in 1968, so I moved on to 1969. I looked at all the possible teams from the last 48 Super Bowls sites, and here are........
The Top 5 Baseball Teams from SB Host Cities
#5: 2000 Atlanta Braves 95-67...........
One year after losing the World Series to the Yankees, the Braves won their 9th straight division title in 2000. This team was led at the plate by Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones. They combined for 72 HR's, 215RBI and 35SB's. On the mound, Greg Maddux won 19 games and Tom Glavine won 21. 2000 was the season John Smoltz missed because of arm surgery. The Braves were swept 3-0 in the NLDS.
#4: 1998 San Diego Padres 98-64...........
This was a team that came out of nowhere. The '97 Padres only won 76 games and not much was expected in 1998. Greg Vaughn had a career year with 50 HR's and Kevin Brown won 18 games in his one and only season in SD. The Friars beat Houston in the NLDS and then Atlanta in the NLCS before losing to the Yankees 4-2 in the WS. The Padres did not have a winning record again until 2004.
#3: 2006 Detroit Tigers 95-67...........
Like the Padres of '98, the Tigers increased their win total by over 20 games from the previous season. Jim Leyland was in his first season as manager of the Tigers and rookie pitcher Justin Verlander won 17 games. The Tigers were 3rd in the league in HR's and first in ERA. Detroit beat NY and Oakland in the playoffs before losing the WS in 5 games to St Louis.
#2: 2011 Texas Rangers 96-66................
After losing the 2010 World Series to the SF Giants, the Rangers made it back to the WS in 2011 to face the St Louis Cardinals. The Rangers lost Game 7 and the Series after playing one of the greatest games in WS history, Game 6. David Freeze and the Cardinals won Game 6 by a score of 10-9 over 11 innings in a game that went back and forth all night. I have a Ranger-Fan friend who is still pissed that Nelson Cruz didn't catch the David Freeze fly to deep right that went for a triple and tied the game at 7 with two outs in the 9th.
#1: 1977 LA Dodgers 98-64.............
It was the fifth full season of the Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey infield. This team was making the 2nd of what would eventual be 4 World Series appearances together over an 8 season period. Steve Garvey led the team in both HR's and RBI, while Tommy John (yes, that Tommy John) led the pitching staff in wins with 20. The Dodgers lost the WS to the Yankees in 6 games. They went back to the Series again in 1978, again losing to the Yankees.
I don't hold out much hope that the 2015 Arizona Diamondbacks will crack this list next year.
I decided to look at the baseball team(s) from the city that hosted the Super Bowl the season after the game was played in that city.
For example; SBI was played in Los Angeles in Jan 1967, so I would have looked at the 1967 seasons of the LA Dodgers and the California Angels. SBII was played in Miami, there was no team in Miami in 1968, so I moved on to 1969. I looked at all the possible teams from the last 48 Super Bowls sites, and here are........
The Top 5 Baseball Teams from SB Host Cities
#5: 2000 Atlanta Braves 95-67...........
One year after losing the World Series to the Yankees, the Braves won their 9th straight division title in 2000. This team was led at the plate by Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones. They combined for 72 HR's, 215RBI and 35SB's. On the mound, Greg Maddux won 19 games and Tom Glavine won 21. 2000 was the season John Smoltz missed because of arm surgery. The Braves were swept 3-0 in the NLDS.
#4: 1998 San Diego Padres 98-64...........
This was a team that came out of nowhere. The '97 Padres only won 76 games and not much was expected in 1998. Greg Vaughn had a career year with 50 HR's and Kevin Brown won 18 games in his one and only season in SD. The Friars beat Houston in the NLDS and then Atlanta in the NLCS before losing to the Yankees 4-2 in the WS. The Padres did not have a winning record again until 2004.
#3: 2006 Detroit Tigers 95-67...........
Like the Padres of '98, the Tigers increased their win total by over 20 games from the previous season. Jim Leyland was in his first season as manager of the Tigers and rookie pitcher Justin Verlander won 17 games. The Tigers were 3rd in the league in HR's and first in ERA. Detroit beat NY and Oakland in the playoffs before losing the WS in 5 games to St Louis.
#2: 2011 Texas Rangers 96-66................
After losing the 2010 World Series to the SF Giants, the Rangers made it back to the WS in 2011 to face the St Louis Cardinals. The Rangers lost Game 7 and the Series after playing one of the greatest games in WS history, Game 6. David Freeze and the Cardinals won Game 6 by a score of 10-9 over 11 innings in a game that went back and forth all night. I have a Ranger-Fan friend who is still pissed that Nelson Cruz didn't catch the David Freeze fly to deep right that went for a triple and tied the game at 7 with two outs in the 9th.
#1: 1977 LA Dodgers 98-64.............
It was the fifth full season of the Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey infield. This team was making the 2nd of what would eventual be 4 World Series appearances together over an 8 season period. Steve Garvey led the team in both HR's and RBI, while Tommy John (yes, that Tommy John) led the pitching staff in wins with 20. The Dodgers lost the WS to the Yankees in 6 games. They went back to the Series again in 1978, again losing to the Yankees.
I don't hold out much hope that the 2015 Arizona Diamondbacks will crack this list next year.