Showdown Bot Review, GREATEST 32 TEAMS OF PAST 28 YEARS: PART 3 (TOP TEN TEAMS)

As I mentioned in the Part 2, the post size was simply too large and slowing everything down on the original post (found here). Therefore, I've split the teams up.... and here's the TOP TEN Showdown squads of the past 28 years via the Showdown bot!

 10. 2011 Rangers: 

Coming in at 6,570 points, the second World Series Rangers team is one of the bigger surprises on this countdown! Suggested by Japes on the Discord, this squad vastly outperforms its Pythagorean ranking (20) in actual showdown form, bringing a well-balanced contender to all you dear readers as it cracks the top ten teams. As I mentioned before, this team is close to my heart from the 2011 set, and I loved bringing them together here -- the rotation is much better than it was in Colby's set and the bullpen is FIRE. I want to shout out trade deadline additions Uehara and Adams for bringing epic cards to the backend. That said, the big surprise for many is a staple in my showdown lineups already -- 2011 Mike Napoli. I'm glad the BOT had almost the exact same card spit out that I've been using for a while, that Ob 10, HR at 17 with good defense catcher for 570 points (his arm is weaker than mine though, so maybe platoon him at C). Also, I went back to the cold blue for these cards and I'm thrilled at how they turned out -- maybe my favorite looking team in the set! Who are your picks for best looking teams?

9. 2018 Boston Red Sox: 

You knew you'd see them eventually, coming in at 6570 points (and perhaps earlier than expected), the 108 win Boston Red Sox squad of 2018! They were one of the first teams that I made and here's why they're ranked "low" in points -- they have 12 hitters because of their lineup depth (and two terrible catchers) and that cost them. However, I don't think swapping out their worst hitter (10 points) for next best reliever gets them over the number nine team in points anyway, so I kept it this way :) 

As for the cards themselves, first and foremost you need to appreciate MVP Mookie Betts and his 690 point do-it-all card! He's supported by OB 10, HR at 17 JD Martinez, giving them a beastly 1-2 punch. The rotation is led by Tier 1 stud Chris Sale, who really REALLY has a Jacob DeGrom 2018-like card as a C4, no doubles. David Price and Eovaldi add Tier 2 sp cards, and Porcello is a really solid guy as a Tier 3, no doubles. Eduardo also puts up a Tier 3 no doubles card, giving this squad a LETHAL starting five. The three-man bullpen is also stellar, without any doubles, and Tier 0 Brasier and Scott Williamson clone Craig Kimbrel!  

8. 2001 Seattle Mariners: 

The winningest regular season team in the modern era, the '01 Mariners come in at 6,760 points. Despite having the highest Pythagorean W-L % of any team on this list (.662), they're "only" eighth in points! The reason is clear -- lack of elite starpower.... that said, this team is LOADED with depth at every level. I don't know why Ichiro is so expensive as an OB 8, but the dude is a single machine with speed and defense to boot. Edgar looks like a clone of his original card self, with Olerud coming through with a good OB 10 and Bret Boone bringing a dependable OB 9 to the cleanup spot. The pitching is where the team shines, with a pair of tier 2 starters and a LOADED bullpen. Arthur Rhodes is particularly deadly at 260 points. I lose love Tier 1, C6, IP 4 Piniero as a long reliever. The've got four relievers at 200 points or better... in the end, I see why this is such a good regular season team, but it clearly seems like a bottom of the top 10 squad when compared to the more powerful, star-laden teams ahead!

Also, I've got to say I love the design of these cards too -- the aqua Mariners cards are a strong challenger to the 2011 Rangers in the aesthetic department!

BONUS: I had to make 2001 A-Rod and put him back on the Mariners, just to give everyone a lil taste of how good this squad (120 wins??) would've been if he'd stayed in Seattle.

7. 2015 Blue Jays: 

And just like that, we're back to a team from 2015! Narrowly edging out the 2001 Mariners with 6,790 points, it's the 2015 ALCS Blue Jays, whose loss to the 2015 Royals still baffles me (and the "on paper" comparison). Toronto was a Pythagorean W-L team of .628 for the season, but if you add superstars David Price and Tulo for the whole slate.... wowza! Sadly, with stats normalized, the 2-3-4 for Donaldson, Bautsita and Encarnacion go from OB 10, HR at 17 to OB 9, HR at 17, but they're still a difficult task for any staff. Seriuosly, the top 8 hitters are all solid on this squad, but even OB 6 Pillar (the only hitter under OB 7) has a deadly chart for power dice games! The rotation supporting this lineup is even better -- David Price brings a Pedro-type card like Corey Kluber above, and then he's assisted by Tier 2, no doubles, Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. A pair of Tier 3 vets fill in the 4th and 5th starter spots, and then the bullpen has a bunch of Control 4 guys, with a pair of Tier 1 options and the two Tier 3 relievers don't give up doubles. Seriously, how'd these guys fall to the Royals?? 

6. 2020 Padres 

Undoubtedly the biggest surprise in the countdown, the 2020 Padres came in at 6,840 points and the number 6 spot! Yes, this ranking is at least partially because of the small sample size of the 2020 season, but with the revived brown uniforms and best Padres team since 1998, let's just enjoy it! Six of the hitters are OB 8 or better, the other three are all OB 7 guys with great charts, and there's a good balance of speed and power on the squad. I think there's an argument to e made that it's the deepest lineup we've seen so far, even including the 04 Cardinals and 01 Mariners. The rotation doesn't let up, with Lamet leading the rotation with an incredible 810 point card and supported by Tier 2 Zach Davies and studly Tier 3 pitchers, including the trade addition Mike Clevinger. Technically Paddack is also a Tier 2, but the HR and 2B on his chart is brutal. In the bullpen, there's a fantastic duo in Pomeranz and Rosenthal, both Tier 1 closers with no xbh on their charts. 

Honestly, this team has no obvious weakness and could 100% win a tournament of these greatest teams. An absolute powerhouse that makes me super, super hyped to see how many Ws the Padres put up in 2021 with Darvish and Snell added to the rotation! Finally...... ok, I think this has to be my favorite looking team, I love the friar logo!

5. 2016 Chicago Cubs

Y'all thought this would be the top team, did you? Or at least suspected it?? Well, here's the 103 win curse breaking Cubbies, bringing a roster totaling 6,850 points. The lineup is down a few pegs compared to the 2016 set charing we previously did because of the "all stats are compared to 1999 stats" aspect of the BOT -- but that's a feature, not a bug! However, it does mean that instead of four OB 10 hitters, the 2016 Cubs have OB 10 Dexter and then three OB 9 hitters at the top. MVP Kris Bryant suffers the most, now he's like a lesser 01 Troy Glaus. Still, it's a decent lineup with a strong big 4 and some fun pieces below, especially David Ross. C+10 with 16-20 HR at an OB 7 for only 230 points?? Yes please! However, as the lineup got weaker, the rotation got STRONGER with the Bot... much stronger! Hendricks is now a Tier 1 with Control 6 and the remaining pitchers are all Tier 2 with no doubles! As the weakest starter is 580 points, it's unquestionably in the running for best rotation in this set. The bullpen keeps the great pitching rolling with Chapman, Strop and Edwards bringing Tier 1 cards. Overall, while a step down lineup wise from the Padres, the rotation definitely puts the Cubs ahead of them in my book!

4. 1998 Braves: 

You had to know that one of the teams from the Braves 90s dynasty would be on this list, and it's the 7,110 point and 106 win Braves in the 1998 season. The top eight hitters are stacked, especially Chipper Jones and Galarraga (the precursor to his legendary PR card). I also like the card that Eddie Perez managed to put together, even though Javy Lopez was the primary catcher (and also a good card). I think people will find a lot of use for XBH machine and defensive wizard Andruw Jones' card too. 

Of course, it wouldn't be part of the Braves dynasty without an incredible rotaiton, and we've got Tier 1 Maddux, Tier 2 Glavine and Tier 2 Smoltz leading the charge. In the bullpen, three Tier 2 relievers provide the primary support. The almost 300 point jump from the Cubs is palpable when comparing their lineups and minimal drop off in starting pitching, proving the separation between the top four teams and the rest of the competition.

3. 2019 Dodgers

Another team from 2019 makes an appearance on the list -- the 106 win Dodgers! Coming in at a studly 7,210 points, the 2019 Dodgers are the likely the apex of the "couldn't win the big one" Dodgers of the 2010s. (Also, I realize the 2020 version was potentially better, but I wanted to avoid the super small sample size when I could pick a team as incredible as this one, which had a .662 Pythagorean W/L %). The lineup is absolutely loaded with everything you could want -- a super star in MVP Bellinger, high OB power hitters in Turner, Muncy and Freese, absolutely bonkers power from OB 7 hitters in Joc and Will Smith, and some super solid middle OB hitters in Seager, Taylor and Verdugo. But it's not just the lineup that makes this squad so good -- the rotation has four Tier 2 pitchers, and then the bullpen has all Tier 1 or Tier 2 pitchers! Seriously, no weaknesses AT ALL beyond nit-picking on a lack of high OB hitters, which may be the only thing keeping them from overtaking the next team on this list!

2. 1998 Yankees

That's right, the team I'm guessing most of you assumed would be #1 is coming in second at 7,280 points. The Yankees won an incredible 114 games in 1998, the most wins for a World Series champion in the modern era. While this lineup may have lacked a Giambi or A-Rod card that's OB 10, HR at 17 like future squads, the 98 squad has an incredibly deep and balanced lineup! Jeter feels overpriced (like Ichiro earlier), but I'm a fan of his card as a leadoff guy beyond the cost. There's only one hitter who's below OB 8, and that's the potent power hitter Darryl Strawberry! Definitely a team that can "death by one thousand cuts (or hits)" their opponents into submission!  Like all of these top notch teams, the Yankees also have a powerful rotation, led by Tier 2 Orlando Hernandez and David Wells, and there's another Tier 3 card for David Cone, the Showdown staple starter. The bullpen provides plenty of supoprt, especially thanks to Tier 1, Control 6 Mariano Rivera -- very reminiscent of the 01 version of the HOF closer. 

All in all, I think the 1998 Yankees are worthy of their #2 seed. The lineup may have an argument as the deepest one in the set... if not for the number one team, and the pitching is stellar!  

1.    2019 Houston Astros

The 2018 version actually had the highest Pythagorean W-L % (a ridiculous .675) of any team in the past 28 years, but the 2019 version is undoubtedly the best Showdown team assembled in the past 28 years (and probably the best of the modern era, period). Coming in at a staggering 8,080 points, this team out-prices the teams in my All Decade league!!! How big is that gap in talent?? There's a bigger gap between the #1 and #2 teams than there is between the #5 Cubs and #20 Tigers -- just insane! Also, wild that the four best teams all came from just two seasons: 1998 and 2019 (and the two NL teams didn't even make the World Series those years).

The cost is not a surprise when you go through it -- SEVEN hitters over 400 points, SIX hitters over 450 points, TWO hitters over 600 points in the lineup; THREE Tier 1 starting pitchers; THREE Tier 1 relievers. Seriously, there's not a single weakness. You need the offense to have an off night while a Pedro-like starter has an off start followed by an all-ace relief squad also choking. It takes a "best case" scenario to get the W.... I don't know how the Nats managed to beat them, but they're (on paper) deserving of the #1 Team spot!

If you made it all the way here -- congratulations on your patience, I hope you've enjoyed!!! More importantly, I hope you go out and check out the Showdown Bot and put together your own fun cards! Let me know what your favorite teams here are, whether that you'd love to play with or aesthetically! I'll send y'all off with my top ten teams from a "looks" angle in this list: (1) Padres; (2) Rangers; (3) Mariners; (4) Brewers, I'm biased for the wheat look; (5) Marlins; (6) Expos; (7) DBacks (love the classics); (8) Rockies; (9) Cubs and (10) Twins.

Again, big thanks to the creator of the Showdown Bot -- if you're reading this, we love the work you did in making the Bot and really, really appreciate what it does for fans of the game like us at the blog! You're the best!