Showdown Bot Review, GREATEST 32 TEAMS OF PAST 28 YEARS: PART 2

Due to the slow speeds loading the original, all 640+ cards in one post, I'm splitting up the massive Showdown Bot post! So below, here's teams 20 to 11 on the countdown!

You can find the first post, teams 32 to 21 here.

 20. 2013 Tigers: 

The early 2010s Tigers were arguably the strongest collection of talent of the era, and the best version of that squad came in 2013 and comes in at 6,060 points. Although Verlander had a down season in 2013, he's still a stellar Tier 3 and he's supported by a Pedro-like Max Scherzer. Seriously, I think that Scherzer is the best starting pitcher we've seen on this list so far-- what a 770 point BEAST! Anibal Sanchez is actually the second best starter, bringing a great 580 point card to the squad. Not to be outdone by Scherzer is Miguel Cabrera, putting together his best Showdown card at OB 10, HR at 17. That's right, even stronger than his triple crown year of 2012, Miggy's second MVP campaign is the centerpiece for the lineup filled with decent OB hitters with... not a lot of pop or speed. This is many showdown managers nightmares, but worked well enough to get this team a (.610%) in Pythagorean calcs and the number 20 spot on our countdown!

19. 2018 Brewers: 

A team especially dear to my heart, the 6,070 point NL Central champions and near-pennant winners, the 2018 Brewers! I actually think they came out stronger via the BOT than in the 2018 set, although the lineup remains heavily skewed to low OB hitters, with only four hitters over OB 6... fortunately, one of those is MVP Christian Yelich, a do-everything baller who snagged a 600 point, OB 10 card with speed and power. LoCain is also upgraded here, as the Bot gave him the HR that we controversially denied him. With that elite CF defense, maybe someone will shell out the big bucks for him (I would not). Aguilar and Shaw remain a potent duo of OB 8 hitters. The biggest boost came in the rotation, where now the Brewers have not one, but two Tier 2 starters to lean on. Gio and Chase also snag stellar Tier 3 cards rather than being Tier 4, giving this team upgrades all around... and the bullpen remains super deadly. However, instead of that C3, 1-19 out card, Hader comes in with a C5, 1-18 out Billy Wagner supreme card with a trio of other Tier 2 or better with no doubles support... and also a C5, Tier 2 Soria!! Dang, this squad's pitching staff is absolutely loaded. I think this would be such a fun squad to manage due to the flexibility and defense in the low OB hitters -- can you mix and match your way to enough runs for this bullpen to lock it down? Counsel could to a tune of 95 wins, and the points say it's much better than the Pythagorean 91 wins, ranking inside the top 20 instead of the 26 spot!

T-17. 2016 Nationals: 

Topping their predeceasor 1994 squad, the 2016 Nationals come in at a hot 6,090 points! Leading the charge is sensational speedster Trea Turner, who doesn't get SS eligibility from the BOT but has a lot of flexibility (and singles!). He's followed up by a guy I would 1000% target in the early rounds of a draft, Daniel Murphy and his ridiculous 13-16 2B range! Rendon and Harper provide decent support. The lineup is far from great behind them, but they only need a couple of runs with this pitching staff, led by anotehr Max Scherzer over 700 points, with this version coming in like our original 2018 Jacob DeGrom as a Tier 1, Control 4. Tier 2 Strasburg has his back, and a collection of solid Tier 3 starters plus a couple Tier 1 relievers in the bullpen shows why this team was probably the most dangerous threat to the Cubs in 2016... but they choked against the Dodgers and end up here, tied for 17th place on this countdown!

T-17. 2011 Phillies: Tied with the 2016 Nats (suprisingly) is the first powerhouse Showdown team I played with in a custom set -- the 6,090 point 2011 Phillies. This squad won 102 games and was brought to life in the first custom set I received from the OG, Colby T, with my friends in college. We played the heck out of that 2011 set, which almost always ended with the fearsome foursome rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Worley (seriously) matching up with the Rangers (more on that team later). Due to the BOT making everything compatible with the 00 set, the Phillies lineup suffered here. Victorino is still a boss, but Pence, Ruiz and Mayberry take slight hits. Overall, there's no one over an OB 8 in the lineup. That said, like the Angels, there's plenty of balance and I like Utley and Howard alot... plus OB 7 Rollins can be deadly! Also, most importantly, that Dom Brown cut out is my favorite in this entire collection! 

Some things remained the same -- namely, how unstoppable this rotation is with Halladay, Lee, and Hamels at the front. Worley also brings another Tier 2 card to the table, and you gotta respect Tier 3 Oswalt at the end. Madson and Bastardo are lockdown, and this is (in my opinion) easily the best team on the backhalf of the countdown and better than the number 17 ranking.

16. 2006 Mets: Finishing the first half of the countdown is the 2006 New York Mets, a fun collection of up-and-coming young talent and veteran studs, totaling 6,170 points. Reyes and Wright start things off with fun OB 8 cards, and Beltran and Delgado support them with pop! The lineup falls off a cliff after those four, but we again see how simply having four good hitters + great pitching pays off for teams, as Pedro enters the list again with a Tier 2 card and veteran Tom Glavine turns in a solid Tier 3. John Maine has arguably the best card on this team, but I'll be honest -- I never heard of him before making this set. Orlando Hernandez rounds out the top four starters with a card eerily similar to his origianl showdown card. The bullpen is stellar, especially because it has a BILLY WAGNER and that always counts for more in Showdown! Despite being 80 points more, I'd take the 2011 Phillies over this team any day.

15. 1995 Indians: 

Entering the top 15 is my good buddy and fellow creator Matt's (perhaps all-time favor team and) creation on the bot-- the 6,260 point Cleveland Indians! Legendary for going 100-44, Cleveland's team comes in at number 15 despite being number 8 via Pythagorean projections, largely due a weak rotation. That said, this lineup is LOADED at every turn and would be so fun to play as. It starts with speedy Lofton and the famous 50HR/502B Albert Belle, followed by a pair of OB 10 power hitters in Thome and Manny, with even more pop behind them! It doesn't let up until light-hitting defensive wizard Vizquel, but it becomes even deeper if Sandy Alomar Jr enters the lineup. The controls are all unfortunately low, but there's a lot of good charts in there. Maybe I spoke too harshly about this rotation, I like Dennis Martinez a lot here, and Ogea is an outright STUD. That said, the best pitcher is undoubtedly Jose Mesa's C6, Tier 1 card with no doubles that will be snatched up quickly. All in all, I love that Matt made these guys and was hyped to add them to my list (giving a perfect 32 for a bracket).... even if they weren't the best Cleveland squad of the past 28 years!

14. 2017 Indians: 

We didn't have to wait long to see the BEST Cleveland team: the 6,270 point squad from 2017. Yes, I am also surprised the 102 win, juggernaut Cleveland squad from 2017 ended up here. On the Pythagorean W/L rankings, they're number 4 (.664) and barely behind the "are they the best ever?" discussion candidate 2016 Cubs. So why'd they fall so far in the rankings? Low point hitters, plain and simple. Now, the lineup is far from putrid, but it lacks any OB 10 hitters and has a plethora of low onbase guys, even star SS Francisco Lindor. Ok, that's not totally fair of me -- there's five hitters of OB 8 or better and a trio of OB 9 guys, but there's not a lot of HR power and speed can run very dry on this team. In fact, there's not a single Speed A -- definitely scary for most Showdown managers! However, the pitching is simply immaculate. Cy Young Kluber is here in all of his glory, putting up a Pedro-like 680 point card! Tier 2 Cookie Carrasco has his back, followed by not 1 or 2, but FOUR Tier 3 starters. Then there's the bullpen, where we again have a C5, 1-18 out fireman in Andrew Miller. He's supported by a Tier 1 and two Tier 2 pitchers, giving the 2017 Tribe arguably the best bullpen thus far! 

What do you think about the #4 team falling to #14 -- did the points or Pythagorean formula get it wrong?

13. 1999 DBacks:

Ok, maybe this is cheating on my part, but the best DBacks team was the original card squad! Coming in at 6,280 points, we're all well acquainted with this baller (and beautiful) team. Obviously, Randy Johnson is the best, and shouts to Matt Williams for putting up two power-hitting OB 7 cards in this grouping. I never realized how balanced this team was until comparing them to these other loaded teams, but they're undoubtedly a true worthy contender and, frankly, it's amazing considering this was Arizona's second year of existence! 

Full disclosure if you're interested in playing games out between these BOT squads, the 1999 Reds are also arguably the best Cincinnati squad in this time period, but I wanted to make a team featuring peak Votto and Chapman and Cueto. Also, shouts to this Jay Bell card for still captivating my attention and looking super epic 20 years later.

12. 2019 Twins: Another one of my absolute favorite single season squads that I've rooted for in my lifetime, the 6,300 point BOOMBA SQUAD comes in at 12 even though Pythagorean projects them at 23. Simply put, this lineup is BONKERS. Byron Buxton was the only player to break the BOT with the 00 formula -- he simply had too many XBH in too low of an OBP for the bot to handle it, resulting in me using the 01 formula to get this chart :0 After the solid hitting Arraez comes perhaps the most deadly 3-4-5 to a lineup on this list: Cruz, Garver, Sano! These three are a nightmare of power.... and look at the backend, where it seems like everyone is rocking a 14-20 or 15-20 HR range! If you're playing with mistake pitch dice, this team is an instant title contender. Due to the BOT, the rotation isn't half bad either with TWO Tier 2 starters before a bullpen featuring four Tier 2 relievers. Honestly, this is a sneaky amazing team and, somehow, only the first squad from 2019 to make this list.... but far from the last! 

BONUS: He doesn't count against their point total, but I had to try out a 2020 Donaldson and see how awesome he makes that stacked lineup above (hint: even better).

11. 2004 Cardinals: 

Essentially an upgraded version of the '96 Orioles, the '04 Cardinals have arguably the best lineup of the past 28 years! Overall, they come in at 6,520 points, even with a rotation that isn't flashy or spectacular. However, I'm regretting my proclamation about the Twins 3-4-5 when I look at this teams 2-3-4-5.... four consecutive OB 10 hitters, all 18-20 HR range or better! With good OB 8 hitters on both sides of them, this lineup is scary scary scary good. Tier 3 starters abound, just trying to keep the other team below four runs before the bullpen comes in to shut the door while this offense goes for 5+ runs. Seriously, hats off to this powerhouse team and I'm a little scared to see how great the top 10 squads are!