The 2018 Red Sox in Historical Context by Jeff Sullivan October 29, 2018
Just about all the information here comes from Baseball Reference, and I’ve pulled data going back to 1903. I’ve decided to focus on four team statistics. They are:
overall winning percentage
overall run differential per game
overall winning percentage, z-score
overall run differential per game, z-score
The first two, I think, are pretty obvious. Of course I should be looking at winning percentage, and then run differential is another marker of dominance. The latter two are less obvious, but by looking at z-scores — the number of standard deviations from the league mean — we’re able to get an idea of exceptionality, if you will. It’s more notable if a team stands out from a league otherwise characterized by parity.
__________________________The first two, I think, are pretty obvious. Of course I should be looking at winning percentage, and then run differential is another marker of dominance. The latter two are less obvious, but by looking at z-scores — the number of standard deviations from the league mean — we’re able to get an idea of exceptionality, if you will. It’s more notable if a team stands out from a league otherwise characterized by parity.
Sullivan has a matrix with two different but mostly overlapping sets of 25 great teams sorted respectively on Win% and Win%, Z. The rank of the 1998 Yankees and 2018 Red Sox:
Yankee: 4, 4
Red Sox: 23, 22
Remember, that's out of 25 great teams. "Regular season and playoffs combined."
The 2009 Yankees are ranked 15 in the Win%, Z set. All Yankee and Red Sox teams ranked:
Win%
2. Yankees 1927
4. Yankees 1998
6. Yankees 1939
7. Yankees 1932
21. Yankees 1961
16. Red Sox 1912
23. Red Sox 2018
25. Red Sox 1915
Win%, Z set
4. Yankees 1998
15. Yankees 2009
21. Yankees 1927
22. Red Sox 2018
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